Select Board Meeting ~ June 14, 2022

2022-06-14 · Select Board · 2:31:46 · watch on YouTube →

A long regular Select Board meeting held with an interim town manager in place and a new manager not yet hired. The bulk of it was spent on capital and infrastructure problems: two grant-funded stream crossings that new Army Corps permitting has made far more expensive, a $3,800 manufacturer increase on a plow truck already ordered, failing heating and cooling systems at the town office and fire station, a leaking roof at the old town hall, and a proposal to move the town's phones and internet to Comcast. The planning board chair laid out four possible ordinance articles for the next town meeting. The board approved the truck increase, a $1.5 million tax anticipation note, and AmVets applications for a game of chance licence and a barbecue competition, and held off on the stream crossings and the HVAC work pending legal advice and a proper request for proposals.

What was discussed

1. 0:17
   Call to order and agenda amendments

   The chair opened the meeting on June 14, 2022 and led the pledge. The minutes of the May 24 meeting had not reached board members, so they were pulled from the consent agenda to be taken up next time.

2. 0:17
   Trek Across Maine passing through town

   The fire chief reported that riders would be in town Friday just after the morning commute, between the fire station and the Eureka Center. Estimates given ranged from 800 to 1,000 riders up to possibly 2,000. A memorandum of understanding for use of town land was already signed, and the event brings its own EMTs, mechanics, food, rest area and trash disposal.

3. 0:17
   Fire and EMS training on hostile events

   Thursday's EMS training will cover active shooter and hostile event response together with mass casualty triage, treatment and transport, prompted by recent events elsewhere in the country. The following Thursday the department will walk through the school, which had a recent fire alarm. The chief said the town would go to unified command in such an event, with state police likely leading, and that other target sites besides the school have been identified.

4. 0:17
   Call volume and mutual aid

   Call volume is up, with four calls the previous day and repeated double calls handled without mutual aid. The department sent one call to Lisbon and covered the Lisbon station twice during fires there.

5. 5:50
   Health agent report

   The fire chief, acting as health agent, reported that bird flu concern has receded and influenza is down, and that he has information on monkeypox for any resident who wants it. He also completed a full inspection of the AmVets building ahead of the licence items later on the agenda.

6. 5:50
   Two recruits certified

   Nick Webber and Noah Larabee graduated from Firefighter I and II, giving the department two newly certified firefighters. They will be brought before the board once their certificates arrive.

7. 5:50
   Stream crossing permits and redesign

   The public works director reported that the Army Corps permits came through but the design had to change because the streams were classified last year as Atlantic salmon habitat. The crossings must now be open-bottom concrete culverts with abutments rather than metal frame culverts, and the required clearance for floating debris raises the height and the width. The Quaker Meeting House Road crossing exceeds 20 feet and so becomes a bridge, which pulls MaineDOT into the approval; the Swamp Road crossing was kept at 18 and a half feet and stays out of the bridge category.

8. 5:50
   Ditching on Auburn Pownal Road

   Crews have been ditching on Auburn Pownal Road and finding dump sites immediately next to the work, which is saving fuel in the current market.

9. 11:40
   Whether one warrant article can fund one crossing

   Because the two crossings were voted in a single warrant article, the board could not say whether all of the money may now be spent on Swamp Road alone. The town attorney's opinion was to have been obtained before this meeting but was not; the interim town manager took responsibility for that. The grant itself is already on a one-year extension.

10. 11:40
    Cost of the revised Swamp Road crossing

    The whole of the roughly $101,000 would have to go into the Swamp Road crossing and would still leave the town about $2,000 short, which the public works director said he would cover from the professional services line. The added cost of about $54,500 comes from the change to concrete with abutments.

11. 17:20
    Whether to do the crossings at all

    Board members questioned whether the culverts genuinely need replacing now or could last another five years, and whether the increased specification amounts to an unfunded mandate. The consensus was to ask the granting authority whether the award can be amended to cover the same percentage of the new cost, and to reapply next year if not.

12. 17:20
    Price increase on the ordered plow truck

    The manufacturer imposed a $3,800 increase that the dealer cannot absorb. If the town cancelled, the build slot would be taken back rather than resold, and the town would go to the back of a two-year queue. Delivery is expected in 2023, with the truck built in late 2022 and then sent out for plow gear, so all the expense falls in the next fiscal year.

13. 23:10
    Old town hall roof leak

    The public works director traced an active leak in the rain from the second floor into the attic to a lifted or missing shingle. The three-tab roof and its flashing need full replacement, and there is rotten sheathing, rotted trim and paint coming off in pieces. A patch estimated at two or three hundred dollars falls under the $500 threshold, and a full roof should go into the FY23 capital budget with bids obtained first.

14. 29:05
    Union Church committee deferred

    A resident asked about the committee the board had asked the previous town manager to form for the Union Church building. The chair said the board is keeping to mission critical work until the new town manager is hired and up to speed, which puts the work into the FY24 budget cycle. Board members noted the building will need substantial money and asked what return taxpayers get beyond its historic presence.

15. 29:05
    Sight distance at the Route 136 subdivision entrance

    The entrance permit for the new subdivision at the top of the hill on Route 136 was issued by MaineDOT, not the town. The public works director called MaineDOT to raise concerns and a supervisor is looking into it. Board members described being unable to see traffic when turning in, and 911 addresses have been issued so residents are beginning to move in.

16. 29:05
    Planning board report: Deer Creek subdivision

    John Talbot, chair of the planning board, reported that the only project before the board is the Deer Creek 13-lot cluster subdivision past the school, across from Patriots Way. A few items were missing, so the completeness decision was postponed to the July 6 meeting, with a public hearing to follow if it is found complete. The town planner, fire chief and public works director have been sending comments back to the applicant in the meantime.

17. 34:28
    Planning board work plan: four possible articles

    A June 8 workshop produced four items that could become town meeting articles: historic commission changes, the conservation commission's resource protection maps, back lot road width, and language on road acceptance. The planning board expects to hold the public hearing for all four. The board is deliberately keeping the changes small and uncontroversial to improve the chance they pass.

18. 34:28
    Road acceptance language lost with the growth district

    Language stating that the town was not obliged to accept new roads sat in the Southwest Bend growth district section, and went with it when that section was repealed as part of the comprehensive plan. Nothing in the ordinance now addresses road acceptance at all, which the board identified as one of the things that sank the road article at town meeting. The board asked that a sentence be restored saying no road may be accepted as a town road without a town meeting vote, pointing to the existing performance standards.

19. 39:37
    Back lot road width

    The proposal would narrow a road serving a single back lot from 20 feet to 16 feet to reduce cost, limited to one back lot. Board members raised what happens if a 40-acre back lot is later subdivided, since a constriction between 20-foot sections would not be allowed, and asked that the right-of-way remain 50 feet. The planning board chair agreed to take that back and to include language requiring a return to the planning board for any addition.

20. 39:37
    State affordable housing law and accessory units

    Most of the new state law does not apply to Durham because it turns on public sewer, public water and a growth management district, but it does mandate that apartments be allowed within or attached to a house and that a standalone unit be allowed on the same lot. The town's ordinance already allows conversion of a single family home to apartments. Open questions include septic and well capacity testing, whether a separate septic field is required, and whether the two structures could later be separately owned.

21. 44:51
    Planning board timetable

    The town planner will work with Maine Municipal Association since other small towns face the same affordable housing law. Reports are due around Labor Day, with public input over the fall, public hearings in January and February, and articles brought to the board after that.

22. 44:51
    IT: phone system replacement

    Devin Garneau presented a Comcast VoiceEdge quote covering 18 phones at the town office, fire department and public works for about $390 a month, against $476.70 now paid to Consolidated on phones that are going up in price this month. Installation at all three sites is covered by a single installation fee.

23. 50:06
    IT: internet at the three buildings

    The town office pays $70 a month largely for unused email boxes and would move to a business 300 package, keeping business TV so the access channel continues, with a free upgrade to high definition. The fire department, currently subsidized by Comcast, would move to $159.89 a month plus a $69.95 equipment install and keep its static IP; public works would drop from $192.85 for 75 down to $159.89 for 200 down. Total cost lands just under $1,000 a month against $739.55 now, a difference of about $243.

24. 50:06
    Streaming and the E-911 subsidy question

    Meetings are currently uploaded to YouTube after the fact because there is not enough bandwidth to stream live. The upgrade would tie all three sites together and open up meetings at the Eureka Center and possible live streaming. The board asked Devin Garneau to check whether the fire department's E-911 subsidy transfers to the new system to reduce its monthly cost.

25. 55:21
    Getting internet to the Eureka Center

    The board returned to the question left over from the last meeting of whether to reach the Eureka Center by wireless air fiber, a drop from the pole, or a trench through the woods. Members noted a pole drop means another site rental and that a wired connection may matter if meetings are broadcast from there. Devin Garneau was asked to bring back the cost of doing it each way; ARPA funds were suggested as the source.

26. 1:01:31
    Comcast franchise renewal

    Notice of the franchise renewal process has arrived, roughly a year before expiry. The interim town manager asked whether board members want to sit in on negotiations, and the board discussed finding a consultant, contacting a Durham resident appointed to the governor's broadband board, asking Maine Municipal Association, or reaching a former board member who chaired the old telecommunications committee.

27. 1:07:24
    Tax lien and foreclosure policy

    The interim town manager asked the board to set a written policy on what happens when a lien matures, noting that some towns exclude properties with asbestos or pre-1976 mobile homes so the town does not inherit a disposal problem, and prohibit occupancy once the town owns the property. Board members said the town has consistently followed what state statute permits under Title 36 and has never actually had to take a property, and asked for a written policy matching the statute.

28. 1:07:24
    Position descriptions provided

    The interim town manager circulated position descriptions for town manager, tax collector and finance, written at the hiring committee's request, so the incoming manager and the board have something in writing to start from.

29. 1:18:33
    Heating and cooling quotes

    For the fire department, a York ducted system came in at $15,171, a Samsung ducted system at $16,060.18 with an uncertain lead time, and a non-ducted option at close to the same price; an electrician's cost is on top. For the town office, one unit is $10,567.47 and both units together $21,135, and the recommendation is to do both since they are the same age. Everything together is about $54,000, which does not include the air conditioning units; with those the figure discussed was about $75,000.

30. 1:23:43
    ARPA funds and a possible special town meeting

    The town received $200,000 in the first tranche of about $400,000 total. Spending it requires separate town meeting articles, which the board said is the opportunity for the public input residents asked for. After roughly $75,000 for HVAC and about $25,000 for technology, over $300,000 would remain.

31. 1:29:27
    Ducted versus non-ducted, and the cooling center

    The fire station has a boiler rather than forced hot air, so heat pumps would be a secondary heat source, and installers differed on whether to duct into individual offices and the restroom or use wall units in open space. The Eureka Center became the town's cooling center when two oversized heat pumps were installed there, sized for up to 50 people. The fire station is the school's reunification site in an emergency but has only one window unit.

32. 1:34:46
    Procurement process for the HVAC work

    Board members read the purchasing policy as calling for the informal bid process, meaning the scope of work goes to at least three contractors without a formal advertised sealed bid opening. Specifications need to be clear enough to compare quotes but not so specific that they exclude options. A board member offered an HVAC employee to help draft the specifications, and MMA was suggested as the place to post it.

33. 1:34:46
    Mileage reimbursement request

    The code enforcement officer, who uses his own vehicle for inspections, asked for more than the 58.5 cent IRS rate, which will not change until the end of the year. The interim town manager proposed a temporary rate of about 75 cents, dropping back to the IRS rate once gasoline in Maine returns to about $3.50 to $3.75, on the basis of an 8.5 percent loss of purchasing power.

34. 1:40:47
    Tax treatment of an above-IRS rate

    The board went back and forth over whether anything paid above the IRS rate becomes taxable income to the employee, and whether it is cleaner to call it a cost of living allowance. Members wanted the employee to come out whole after withholding rather than be handed a taxable problem.

35. 1:51:50
    Who else drives, and next steps on mileage

    The two front office staff who run to the Lisbon post office and the bank would be covered on the same proportional basis. The interim town manager will ask Maine Municipal Association and other town managers how they are handling it, bring the employee into the conversation before anything is set, and the board indicated whatever is agreed can be made retroactive.

36. 1:51:50
    Public comment: Nathan Leger

    Nathan Leger of Brianna Drive (?) introduced himself as the newly installed finance officer for AmVets Post 13, a former Coast Guard member and a Freeport police officer for four and a half years. The board took the AmVets item out of order so he could answer questions.

37. 1:57:08
    How the Queen of Hearts game would work

    Tickets would be sold from Sunday noon to Saturday 8 p.m., with a draw each Saturday; the drawn ticket wins $25 automatically and then picks from 54 cards, and finding the queen of hearts wins 60 percent of the jackpot. If another card turns up the pot rolls over. Play is limited to members and their guests, the money goes into a separate checking account restricted to building repairs, scholarships and veterans' work, and Leger, who runs the game, and his family are barred from playing.

38. 2:02:35
    Licensing questions on the game of chance

    The town licence is a precondition for the state licence, and each individual game requires its own permit at $60 a month, or about $700 for a year's licence. The board looked for a public hearing requirement on the application and found none stated, and concluded a hearing does not appear to be required given the state's 15-day filing window.

39. 2:02:35
    Public comment on accessory dwelling units

    Nathan Leger asked, as a new real estate investor, whether the town already has rules for accessory dwelling units. The board explained the state changed the law but each town must adopt its own standards, that Durham already allows accessory apartments, and that the new law goes beyond that and raises well and septic questions.

40. 2:07:41
    Historic District Commission correspondence

    The commission is recommending that the historic district ordinance be repealed and that protection focus on individual properties rather than a district. Board members said some of the roughly ten properties are already listed and some only eligible, and raised the interest of an owner who does not want the restrictions, and of abutters.

41. 2:13:37
    Historic preservation and property rights

    The existing ordinance bars demolition of buildings in certain categories aged 100 years or older, which board members framed as a question of municipal overreach onto private property. The interim town manager argued the town first has to decide what it wants to be, whether that is a defined downtown with sidewalks along Royalsborough Road or a narrower list of eligible individual buildings. The board's position is that its only role is deciding whether to put an ordinance on the warrant, and that the planner's job is not simply to codify what the commission wants; it asked that a letter be sent saying so and that a concrete draft be brought back.

42. 2:13:37
    Land use fee schedule to be posted

    An approved ordinance change pulled land use fees out of the ordinances so they can be adjusted without an ordinance amendment, but the fees were then not published anywhere, which caused a misunderstanding. The schedule presented contains no changes; it is what was in the ordinance as of the April town meeting, except for escrows which were updated in 2019.

43. 2:19:18
    Clarifying the abutter notice charge

    The board of appeals fee is listed as about $70 plus advertising costs, and the meaning of advertising was the source of the recent dispute. The board agreed advertising means the legal notice, that abutter notification at 7.35 cents per notice is a separate cost, and that the schedule should say so rather than reduce it to a single number, since the number of abutters varies.

44. 2:24:31
    Tax anticipation note

    The town spends an average of over $500,000 a month including a $455,000 school payment, holds about $1.5 million today, and has roughly two to three weeks of operating cash left because the budget is approved in April but no tax revenue arrives until July or August. The interim town manager wants to approach Androscoggin and other banks now rather than at the last minute. Board members again raised moving to a fiscal year, but not this year.

45. 2:29:53
    Upcoming meetings and the cyclists

    Town manager interviews are set for Thursday at 6:30 and June 30 at 6:30 in executive session, with the full board joining the hiring committee for both at the committee's request. The chair reminded motorists that state law requires at least three feet when passing a cyclist, noted each Trek Across Maine rider raised at least $500 for the American Lung Association, and asked drivers to use headlights that day.

What was decided

• 0:17
  The May 24 minutes were removed from the consent agenda because board members had not received them, to be taken up at the next meeting.passed
• 17:20
  No decision was taken on the Swamp Road and Quaker Meeting House Road stream crossings. The board directed that the town attorney be asked whether a single warrant article covering two crossings allows all the money to be spent on one, and that the granting authority be asked whether the award can be increased to match the new design requirements.tabled
• 29:05
  Forming a committee for the Union Church building is deferred until the new town manager is hired and up to speed, which puts it into FY24 budget development. A short-term patch of the roof leak proceeds under the town manager's spending authority.tabled
• 1:13:25
  Motion to approve the forced $3,800 increase on the public works truck already ordered, seconded by Todd Beaulieu. The board confirmed no funding source needs to be designated because the money will not be spent this fiscal year. Vote (?) reported as five to zero and recorded as unanimous.passed
• 1:23:43
  The board agreed not to act on the heating and cooling quotes already gathered, and instead to prepare a scope of work covering both the town office and the fire station and put it out for proposals under the purchasing policy.passed
• 2:02:35
  Motion by Joe Tomm, seconded by Josh Klein-Golden, to approve the AmVets applications for the game of chance licence and for the barbecue competition and brewfest. Vote (?) reported as five to zero.passed
• 2:24:31
  Motion by Josh Klein-Golden to affirm and post the existing land use fee schedule with the addition of an explanation that advertising costs cover legal notices and abutter notification. A vote was called; the recording does not state the result.outcome unclear
• 2:24:31
  Motion by Josh Klein-Golden, seconded by Todd Beaulieu, to approve applying for a tax anticipation note not to exceed $1.5 million, to be repaid by December 31, 2022. Vote (?) reported as five to zero.passed
• 2:24:31
  Consent agenda approved with item A, the May 24 minutes, removed because they were not available, and item C removed because the board had already acted on it; item B was approved on a motion by Josh Klein-Golden.passed

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Worth knowing

• 5:50
  The Quaker Meeting House Road stream crossing will not be built this year. New Army Corps criteria push the structure past 20 feet, which makes it a bridge, brings MaineDOT into the approval, and leaves no time to finish it within the grant.
• 17:20
  The $3,800 increase on the plow truck could not be refused. The dealer said the manufacturer would take the build slot back and wipe it out rather than let it be resold, and the town would rejoin a two-year queue.
• 1:18:33
  Replacing the heating systems at the town office and fire station comes to about $54,000, and roughly $75,000 once the air conditioning units are included. ARPA money, of which $200,000 has arrived out of about $400,000, was raised as the source, which would require a town meeting article.
• 2:24:31
  The town has roughly two to three weeks of operating cash left, against average monthly spending of over $500,000 including a $455,000 school payment, which is why the $1.5 million tax anticipation note was sought now.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 4 passages of motion language, against 9 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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