Select Board Meeting ~ June 24, 2025

2025-06-24 · Select Board · 1:01:19 · watch on YouTube →

Select Board meeting of June 24, 2025, called to order at 6:30 pm. No members of the public came forward and the agenda was amended so the consent agenda was taken first and the goal-setting discussion last. The town manager, Jerry, reported on a resident's proposal to approach the Cabin Masters about the gazebo, on nomination papers for the vacant Select Board seat, on the unused cooling centre, and on two open public works positions. Board members then each set out their priorities for the year: committee rules and consolidation, community communication, bulky waste day, broadening the tax base, the budget committee's lack of any legal standing, an inventory of town-owned land, economic development, gravel pit policy, and downtown visioning. The board agreed to add a standing 'future meeting topics' item to its agenda and to collect the same priorities from other boards and committees at a workshop on July 22. No executive session was held and the board adjourned.

No written minutes could be matched to this meeting. The transcript records that the speaker changed but never who was speaking, so any name attached to a statement below is inferred from context and is marked (?).

What was discussed

1. 2:17
   Call to order, public comment and minutes

   The chair called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm on June 24. There was no public comment. A motion to approve the previous meeting's minutes was made by Josh.

2. 2:17
   Amendment to the agenda

   The board moved the goal-setting discussion to the end of the meeting, after the consent agenda and the manager's report, on the reasoning that the goal-setting item would run long. Josh (?) moved the amendment.

3. 2:17
   Consent agenda

   Josh (?) moved to approve the consent agenda and it was seconded.

4. 2:17
   Manager's report: Cabin Masters proposal for the gazebo

   Jerry (?) reported that a resident, Deborah Lar (?), had come into the office wanting to approach the Cabin Masters about redoing the gazebo. He said the property must be town-owned and that she would take the lead by writing a letter as part of their application process.

5. 7:21
   Discussion of the Cabin Masters letter

   Members suggested including the Eureka Center in the request and asked to see the letter before it goes out on town letterhead. One member offered to look into who at the programme to contact and how to draw attention to the application.

6. 7:21
   Nomination papers for the vacant Select Board seat

   Jerry (?) said nomination papers to fill the Select Board seat would be available on July 24 and due at the close of business. He gave the closing date first as September 5 and then as September 4.

7. 7:21
   Tax commitment date and new software

   Jerry (?) said the tax commitment would be on August 12 and would be the first meeting in August going forward. The office begins using new software on July 1 and staff have had training.

8. 7:21
   Cooling centre

   Jerry (?) reported the fire chief staffed the cooling centre with three people on four-hour shifts and that nobody came. The centre was to stay open until 8 am.

9. 7:21
   Public works vacancies

   Jerry (?) reported that one of the newly hired public works employees is no longer with the town, so two positions are posted: a mechanic-labourer and a full-time driver. He said the greater concern is difficulty filling them before winter.

10. 7:21
    Board member reports: Planning Board resignation

    The chair (?) reported that Mark Dur (?) had submitted his resignation from the Planning Board the previous day to the chair and John Talbot, saying the meeting day no longer fits his professional and personal commitments. He is staying on the budget committee, and the Planning Board vacancy will be advertised.

11. 13:07
    Cooling centre text alert

    A member said the text alert sent out for the cooling centre was worth doing even though the centre went unused, and that getting the message out directly mattered. Another (?) said she saw it on Facebook first and then received the text.

12. 13:07
    Select Board goal setting: purpose and process

    The chair explained he had emailed all board and committee chairs asking them to set two or three priorities at their June or July meeting and bring them to a workshop with the Select Board on July 22. The aim for this meeting was for each Select Board member to put their own priorities on the record without going into detail, building on a process begun last year.

13. 18:22
    Rebecca's priorities: committee rules and consolidation

    Rebecca (?) proposed reviewing all of the town's committees, creating a set of rules or a charter for each, and looking at consolidation, given how hard the seats are to fill. Another member added standard training for committee chairs, standard minutes templates and consistent communication across committees. Examples (?) raised included whether one person may sit on multiple committees and whether spouses may sit on the same one.

14. 18:22
    Rebecca's priorities: engaging the community

    Rebecca (?) proposed finding ways for residents to get town information directly rather than second-hand from community Facebook pages. Members discussed that not everyone is on Facebook, that a sign outside the town office would only reach people who drive that way, and that a mix of mailers, emails and posts might be needed.

15. 23:44
    Rebecca's priorities: bulky waste day

    Rebecca (?) proposed a more efficient bulky waste day with checks that users are residents, and raised whether to charge given the cost to the town. She also suggested using it as a community event.

16. 23:44
    Broadening the tax base and grants

    A member said nearly all of the town's tax burden falls on residential property and that bringing in commercial ratepayers, as with the solar farms, would take some of it off residents. He also proposed building a list of grant opportunities through GPCOG or MMA rather than relying on the fire chief pursuing them.

17. 23:44
    Communication plan, HR policies and downtown visioning

    Another member listed expanding revenue sources, attracting new business, exploring grants and seasonal community events. She added a proactive communication plan for the tax reassessment and automated trash pickup, and completing the HR policy work with the consultant so all town policies are formatted, numbered and online with no gaps. She also named downtown visioning and open spaces as a next step from the GPCOG study.

18. 29:12
    The chair's priorities: budget process and the budget committee

    The chair said his first priority is the budget process between the Select Board and the budget committee. He said the budget committee is not recognised in any town ordinance and the town has no charter, so the committee has no authority from the voters and operates on a self-given annual charge from a process created about a hundred years ago at town floor and never codified.

19. 29:12
    Inventory of town-owned land

    The chair proposed an inventory of land the town owns, including repossessed parcels, none of which is on the tax rolls. He suggested the inventory would show whether there are opportunities for commercial forestry, for selling parcels, for underground water supply for firefighting, or for putting land out to request for proposal.

20. 34:26
    Economic development

    The chair said the town relies on property tax and vehicle registrations and has to decide whether to pay a premium to stay rural without development or find a balance.

21. 34:26
    Gravel pits

    The chair said he has not gone a year on the board without public feedback about gravel pits. He raised that extraction renders land largely unusable for other purposes and reduces its taxable value, that expansion or new pits put heavy truck traffic on back roads not built for it, and that many trucks come from outside Durham. He said he did not want the town to be unfriendly to business but that the impact is high relative to the permitting.

22. 39:40
    Trails, recreation and downtown visioning

    Members discussed a walking and biking path, possibly along Route 136 from the boat launch, a bike park on inactive land, outdoor exercise equipment of the kind in Lewiston and on Portland's Back Cove, and disc golf. The chair tied this to downtown visioning and to bringing activity and events back to the town centre.

23. 44:56
    Organising and publishing the goals

    The chair said he would send his written notes to Jessica ahead of the July 22 workshop, and members suggested grouping the priorities into a chart by category so they can be articulated and prioritised. Members proposed posting the goals on the town website and splitting them into immediate, one-to-three year and five-plus year goals, noting that downtown visioning is a multi-year plan and that residents will need time to adjust to the revaluation.

24. 44:56
    Employee handbook

    Jerry (?) said the draft employee handbook is done and was reviewed with the consultant on Thursday. It goes to staff for comment, and the consultant is expected at the August 12 meeting. Jerry (?) confirmed he would send the handbook to the board in advance.

25. 51:00
    Adding future meeting topics to the agenda

    The board agreed to add a standing item after the board member reports listing planned future meeting topics and the next several meeting dates, so that what the board says it wants to discuss is captured in the minutes rather than only in the manager's notes. The chair and Jerry currently work from informal notes when building the agenda.

26. 51:00
    Upcoming meetings

    July 8 is a Greater Portland Council of Governments presentation on the roles and responsibilities of the town manager, Select Board, committees and staff, with nothing else scheduled that night. July 22 is the workshop with boards and committees. August 12 carries the tax commitment and the HR consultant with the employee handbook, and the following meeting is August 26. There was extended confusion about which Tuesdays these fall on.

27. 56:28
    Publicising the GPCOG presentation

    Members agreed to put the July 8 GPCOG presentation in the town news flash so residents interested in how local government works can attend. The presentation is offered free.

28. 56:28
    Adjournment

    No executive session was needed and the chair took a motion to adjourn.

What was decided

• 2:17
  Motion by Josh to approve the minutes of the last meeting. The transcript is garbled at the point of the second and no result is audible.outcome unclear
• 2:17
  Motion by Josh, seconded, to amend the agenda so that new business is taken after the consent agenda. The chair called for ayes and opposition; no result is audible, though the board then took the consent agenda first.outcome unclear
• 2:17
  Motion by Josh, seconded, to approve the consent agenda. The chair called for ayes and opposition; no result is audible, though the board moved straight on to the next item.outcome unclear
• 7:21
  The board agreed that the resident could go ahead with a letter to the Cabin Masters about the gazebo on town letterhead, on condition that the board sees the letter before it is sent, and that the Eureka Center be included in the request. No vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 51:00
  The board agreed to add a standing 'future meeting topics' item to its agenda template, listing planned topics and the next few meeting dates so they are captured in the minutes. Agreed in discussion; no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 56:28
  Motion to adjourn, seconded. The chair called for ayes and opposition; no result is audible and the recording ends shortly afterwards.outcome unclear

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

• 7:21
  Nomination papers to fill the vacant Select Board seat become available July 24 and are due at the close of business. The manager gave the closing date twice, once as September 5 and once as September 4.
• 7:21
  One of the recently hired public works employees has already left, leaving two posted vacancies, a mechanic-labourer and a full-time driver. The manager said the real difficulty will be filling them before winter.
• 23:44
  A member said close to all of the town's tax burden, put at 99.9 percent, falls on residential property, and that attracting commercial ratepayers is the way to take some of it off residents.
• 34:26
  The chair said the town's annual fee for a gravel pit is about $50, against heavy truck traffic on roads not built for it and land whose taxable value falls once it is quarried. He said he has had public complaints about gravel pits every year he has been on the board.

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 6 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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