Select Board Meeting ~ June 27, 2017

2017-06-27 · Select Board · 1:57:48 · watch on YouTube →

The first meeting of a largely new board, which began by electing Kevin Nadeau chairman and Mark Blake vice-chairman. Most of the evening was information rather than action: AA/TA Ruth Glaeser explained why the town could not commit taxes while the state budget was unresolved, presented a road-bond briefing with tax-impact figures, laid out what a senior property tax relief programme would involve, and ran a new-board orientation on structure, liability, right-to-know law and the budget calendar. Road Commissioner Calvin Beaumier gave a public works report covering paving, the new carved town sign, bridge engineering on Auburn Pownal Road and the gazebo. The board also took up reviving the conservation commission, closing off a parking spot at Runaround Pond where the Royal River Conservation Trust found drug paraphernalia, and the deteriorating town-owned Methodist church and old town hall. It ended by going into executive session on a personnel matter.

What was discussed

1. 0:03
   Call to order and election of officers

   The meeting opened with the pledge. A member nominated Kevin Nadeau for chairman and Mark Blake for vice-chairman on a single motion; it was seconded, nominations were closed and a vote was taken. Kevin Nadeau then took the chair, noting that four of the five members were new.

2. 0:03
   Amendments to the agenda and public comment

   An executive session on code enforcement was added at the end of the agenda. No members of the public were present for public comment.

3. 0:03
   Consent agenda

   The consent agenda was moved and seconded and carried; one member abstained on the grounds that he had not been on the board for the meetings and warrants it covered.

4. 0:03
   PIT job description

   Ruth Glaeser circulated a clean version of the revised job description. A member said the addition of desirable knowledge, skills and abilities, including proficiency with social media platforms, was an improvement. The post pays 15 to 18 dollars an hour, up from a previous 12 to 18, and had drawn no applicants.

5. 5:05
   New board orientation added to the agenda

   Ruth Glaeser reminded the board of a short orientation on town office business that had been discussed. It was added as agenda item 7G, before the department and committee reports.

6. 5:05
   Runaround Pond clean-up and the parking spot

   Ruth Glaeser and Richard George attended a Royal River Conservation Trust event at the Runaround Pond park. The trust had done a large clean-up and reported finding drug paraphernalia and other rubbish behind the rock, where cars can park out of sight, and suggested blocking vehicle access there while leaving the boat launch usable.

7. 5:05
   Reviving the conservation commission

   With a recent resignation the commission is down to effectively one member and is inactive, staying in existence mainly because town money for a youth club passes through it. Ruth Glaeser proposed reviving it and tasking it with upkeep of Runaround Pond and the river park: clearing and marking trails, and replacing rotted log crossings.

8. 10:08
   What the conservation commission is supposed to do

   Members could find no mission statement or documented mandate. They agreed to research the existing mandate and the old membership list, which showed only three names, before advertising for volunteers, so that any call for members carries a clear statement of what the committee is being asked to do. One member asked that it come back not at the next meeting but the one after, about a month out.

9. 15:09
   How to close the parking spot

   Rather than rocks, members preferred a large log or a telephone pole, noting a previous attempt with a fallen pine drew complaints. They also wanted a gap of about three feet left so people on foot, including anyone using a wheelchair, could still get through, and suggested public works pick up trash there in the meantime.

10. 15:09
    The dam at Runaround Pond

    The chair (?) said he had only become aware this year that the dams belong to the town, and raised whether they are being inspected. Members recalled the state rebuilt the dam when it did the bridge and guard rail, that the state owns the land but the town has to maintain it, and that nobody knew its condition since. They agreed to look into whether there is a recommended inspection interval, noting bridges are done every two years.

11. 15:09
    Why taxes have not been committed

    Ruth Glaeser said everyone she had consulted advised against committing taxes, except MMA's legal staff, who thought it might be possible because April 1st has passed. Her concern was that the legislature could still cut the homestead exemption from 20,000 to 15,000, and could still set the reimbursement rate to the town at 62.5 per cent or 50 per cent: a difference of about $44,000 for Durham. Once taxes are committed they cannot be revisited.

12. 20:18
    Timing, cash and the school payment

    Governor LePage had said he would not sign a budget unless it was the Republicans' version, so a veto held ten days would push matters to about July 10th, and Ruth Glaeser is away from July 8th to the 23rd. Taxes were due to be committed the previous week; there is no drop-dead date, but the town will not be able to afford its next RSU 5 school payment as things stand. She had a call in to the bank about a line of credit, and raised a tax anticipation note or asking residents to pay early as alternatives.

13. 25:20
    The plan agreed for commitment

    Members favoured talking to RSU 5 in advance about a short grace period, on the view that the town is waiting on a state decision rather than a state cheque, and putting a tax anticipation note in motion without necessarily drawing on it. They agreed to stay available and hold a short meeting the following Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. if the state acted in time.

14. 25:20
    Tax bill insert

    Ruth Glaeser said she had not been able to prepare the usual insert and asked whether it could be skipped this year. Members agreed, noting the tax rate is expected to be level.

15. 25:20
    Town-owned buildings

    The town owns the old Methodist church and the old town hall, and no work has been done on either in years. The historic society, which is not a town committee, has carried the burden and has asked about opening the church to the public to build interest. Calvin Beaumier said the buildings are falling apart rapidly, with plaster coming off unheated ceilings.

16. 31:17
    A visit to the buildings, and the Bowie Hill schoolhouse

    Members agreed to tour both buildings together with the historic society, with Ruth Glaeser to contact Rita (?), its chair, before the town decides how much if anything to invest. Calvin Beaumier separately described the old one-room schoolhouse on Bowie Hill Road as dangerous and beyond repair, with the second floor fallen into the first; it is privately owned, apparently by an out-of-state owner.

17. 36:32
    Borrowing limits and options

    Ruth Glaeser presented on road bonds. State statute caps borrowing at 7.5 per cent of the last full state valuation, excluding school debt, which for Durham works out at about $26 million; the town carries a little over $3 million of audited debt. Options were issuing bonds directly with a financial advisor, an RFP to local banks at roughly 3.5 per cent, or the Maine Municipal Bond Bank, through which the last road bond averaged 1.47 per cent over seven years.

18. 42:07
    What a road bond would cost taxpayers

    Her tables ran from $1 million to $5 million over seven to fifteen years at an assumed 2 per cent. On a $5 million bond over ten years a $200,000 house would pay about $320 a year extra for ten years, and total interest would run between about $362,000 and $791,000 depending on the term. She also laid the existing building, equipment and road bonds on a timeline out to 2030, with assumed $2 million road bonds in 2018 and 2020.

19. 42:07
    How much road work there is

    Calvin Beaumier said 12 miles of road are in the rebuild category, which at $100 a foot comes to $6.3 million; the last job was done at about $65 a foot but only because town crews did much of the work. He also said the town needs about $470,000 a year for shims and overlays on a ten-year cycle across 47 miles, against a paving budget that has risen from about $100,000 to something over $300,000.

20. 47:34
    All at once or a bit at a time

    Members debated bonding the whole job against staggering it. Points (?) raised were that no single contractor could absorb 12 miles in one season, that a large multi-year package might get a better price, and that maintenance money must not be raided for reconstruction. Against staggering, one member warned of bond fatigue: once most people's roads are done the last two or three never get approved.

21. 52:42
    The long-run arithmetic

    To catch up and stay caught up the town would need roughly $5 million now plus about $450,000 a year in maintenance plus a mile and a half of rebuilding a year, which members put at over a million a year. They compared Durham's 47 miles for its population unfavourably with neighbouring towns and traced part of it to the 300-foot road frontage requirement.

22. 58:05
    Figures for a smaller bond, and next steps

    A $2 million bond over ten years would cost about $120 a year on a $200,000 house. For comparison members cited the Runaround Pond and Rabbit Road job at 3.89 miles for a $1.1 million bond, and noted Davis Road still has 1.8 miles to do. Ruth Glaeser was to email the slides and no decision was taken; a member wanted several options costed and put to residents at public hearings.

23. 1:03:16
    Senior property tax relief: the question

    A member said he had read in the Forecaster that North Yarmouth gives a $1,000 credit to residents who are 70, have lived in town ten years and have been in their current home a year, and asked what such a programme would look like here and who would pay the difference. Ruth Glaeser said an assistance programme would have to be adopted by ordinance at town meeting, and that most of her research came from Cumberland's programme, which starts at age 67 after 62 proved too costly.

24. 1:08:58
    Senior property tax relief: the numbers

    In 2015 more than 20 per cent of Durham's population was 60 or over and more than 10 per cent was 65 or over, and the share of the 65-and-over population below the poverty line had risen from 6 per cent in 2011 to 6.4 per cent in 2015. Ruth Glaeser said a resident living on the mean social security income of $18,473 in a median-assessed home would pay over 16 per cent of income in property tax, against the 6 per cent threshold the state uses for its tax fairness credit.

25. 1:13:59
    Whether to means-test, and where it was left

    The board split between an age-only credit and a means-tested one, with some noting the town already has general assistance for people who genuinely cannot pay. On numbers, there are roughly 450 residents over 65, and even a $500 credit would cost about $180,000. A separate suggestion of a discount for paying the tax bill early was raised. Ruth Glaeser was to send the Cumberland ordinance and take direction after her vacation.

26. 1:19:11
    Orientation: how the town is structured

    Ruth Glaeser walked through an organisation chart: the voters, then the board of selectmen, then at the same level the code enforcement officer, the road commissioner, the fire chief and herself. Durham has no charter, so it runs under state statute; ordinances are adopted by voters at town meeting and cannot conflict with state law, and policies are set by the board on a simple majority.

27. 1:24:21
    Orientation: what individual members can and cannot do

    Members can call any staff member as residents, and should take operational questions to the department head, but the board acts as a whole and an individual member cannot direct town operations. Ruth Glaeser also covered the Maine Tort Claims Act, MMA coverage with a limit of $400,000 per occurrence, and conflicts of interest: disclosure and recusal where a member has a 10 per cent or greater financial interest, plus a softer expectation of avoiding the appearance of one.

28. 1:29:26
    Orientation: right to know

    New members must complete freedom of access training within 120 days of taking office. Three members discussing town business outside a meeting counts as a public meeting, including by email chain, so the safer route is to ask the office and have the information sent to everyone. Executive sessions need three of five votes, and anything written or electronic held by the town, including emails and texts, is a public record.

29. 1:34:45
    Orientation: the budget calendar

    The town runs on a calendar year, and Ruth Glaeser said she would be interested in looking into changing to a fiscal year although it is not simple. The previous warrant authorises spending up to a third of the prior year's budget before town meeting. The cycle runs from budget request letters in early November through the audit in January, board review, presentation to the budget committee in February, the warrant signed before March 1st, town meeting the first Saturday in April, commitment in mid to late June and bills out the first week of July.

30. 1:39:57
    Public works: the new town sign

    Calvin Beaumier had paid a 50 per cent deposit of $1,700 on a carved sign with the town seal and gold leaf lettering. Granite posts were ruled out because of the right of way, and a stone base could not be set back far enough because of ice coming off the ledge. He and the board discussed doing one sign a year on the other main approaches.

31. 1:39:57
    Public works: paving and culverts

    Paving was scheduled for July 10th to 12th on Cedar Pond and Stackpole roads, with culvert covers replaced. A trial of a rubber-tired excavator was going badly (it bounces and has no outriggers) and Calvin Beaumier said he would give it a couple more days before reporting a verdict. He had taken on a temporary employee to catch up while a crew member recovers from knee surgery.

32. 1:45:03
    Public works: trees, bulky waste and Bowie Hill Road

    Two large oak stumps on Stackpole are to be ground down rather than pulled; the wood from hazard trees cut in the right of way was delivered to the abutter who had complained. Bulky waste day was called a success. On the first section of Bowie Hill Road, Calvin Beaumier found that a shim and overlay would cost about $80,000, so for roughly $10,000 more he will grind it and lay two and a half inches of binder and put the surface course on next year.

33. 1:50:07
    Public works: Auburn Pownal Road crossings and the gazebo

    Test pits were set for July 5th for soil testing to size the footings on the two crossings, with the engineering by Hudson Engineering (?); quotes for the structures came back at $29,000 each against a budget figure of $48,000, about $40,000 less than expected, and a prefabricated option is being looked at. The gazebo still needs painting, its wooden shingles are warped and its floor was never primed; members also want the overgrown quince cut back so people can see the road during the parade.

34. 1:50:07
    Japanese knotweed

    A member said the plant everyone calls bamboo is Japanese knotweed, that his wife had emailed the board with links about it, and that several surrounding communities have eradication programmes. He warned that roadside mowing spreads it, and members complained that getting DOT to cut its own roadsides is a struggle: last year the town did it itself.

35. 1:56:00
    Upcoming meetings and executive session

    Regular meetings were set for Tuesday July 11th and Tuesday July 25th at 6:30 p.m. The board then moved into executive session on a personnel matter; the recording ends as the vote is called.

What was decided

• 0:03
  Elect Kevin Nadeau chairman and Mark Blake vice-chairman, on a single motion, seconded, with nominations closed.passed
• 0:03
  Amend the agenda to add an executive session on code enforcement at the end; later in the same discussion a new board orientation was added as item 7G.passed
• 0:03
  Approve the consent agenda as presented, moved by Mark Blake and seconded by Todd Beaulieu; one member abstained because he had not been on the board for the meetings and warrants covered. The minutes record it carried 4-0.passed
• 5:05
  Approve the revised PIT job description as presented and direct AA/TA Glaeser to advertise it in the usual manner, moved by Rob Pontau and seconded by Richard George. The minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 10:08
  Hold the conservation commission item over rather than advertise for members now: the board wanted the committee's existing mandate and its past membership researched first, and asked that it come back roughly a month later rather than at the next meeting. No motion was made.tabled
• 15:09
  Close the vehicle pull-in behind the rock at Runaround Pond using a large log or telephone pole rather than rocks, leaving a gap for people on foot. No motion was made and the discussion closed with members saying they would check it out, so it is not clear anything was formally directed.outcome unclear
• 25:20
  Agree by consensus, with no motion, to keep the following Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. free for a short meeting to commit taxes if the state budget is resolved in time, and to have AA/TA Glaeser approach RSU 5 about being late with the school payment and put a tax anticipation note in motion as a fallback.passed
• 25:20
  Agree by consensus, with no motion, not to produce a tax bill insert this year.passed
• 31:17
  Agree by consensus, with no motion, to tour the old Methodist church and the old town hall as a group with the historic society, with AA/TA Glaeser to contact its chair.passed
• 58:05
  No decision was taken on a road bond. AA/TA Glaeser was to email the figures and the board deferred next steps to a future meeting.tabled
• 1:19:11
  No decision was taken on a senior property tax relief programme. AA/TA Glaeser was to send the Cumberland ordinance and the board would give direction after her vacation.tabled
• 1:56:00
  Go into executive session under 1 M.R.S.A. section 405(6)(A), personnel, moved by Kevin Nadeau and seconded by Richard George. The recording ends as the vote is called; the minutes record it carried 5-0.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.

Motions the minutes record

The town's own written account of what was decided, taken from select_minutes_6.27.17.txt. It owes nothing to the recording or to a model: the clerk typed it, with the vote. Where the summary above claims a decision this list does not carry, the summary is the part to doubt.

• Approve the Consent Agenda as presentedcarried 4-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• Approve the PIT Job application as presented and directed AA/TA Glaeser to advertise in the usual mannercarried 5-0

  Moved by Rob Pontau, seconded by Richard George

• the Board into Executive Session pursuant to Title #1, M.R.S.A. ss. 405(6)(A) — Personnel — Fire Chief at 8:30 p.m., preceded by a brief recesscarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

Worth knowing

• 20:18
  Durham could not commit its taxes because the state budget was unresolved, and they were already a week overdue. AA/TA Glaeser said the town will not be able to afford its next RSU 5 school payment as things stand, and was looking at a bank line of credit or a tax anticipation note. What is at stake in the state decision is worth about $44,000 to Durham: whether the homestead exemption reimbursement comes back at 62.5 per cent or 50 per cent.
• 42:07
  The tax impact of a road bond, as presented: a $5 million bond over ten years would add about $320 a year to the bill on a $200,000 house for ten years, and a $2 million bond over ten years about $120 a year. Total interest on a $5 million bond at an assumed 2 per cent would run between about $362,000 and $791,000 depending on the term.
• 42:07
  Calvin Beaumier put 12 miles of Durham road in the rebuild category, about $6.3 million at $100 a foot, and said that on top of any rebuild the town needs roughly $470,000 a year in shims and overlays to hold 47 miles on a ten-year cycle: against a paving budget that has climbed from about $100,000 to something over $300,000.
• 1:08:58
  On senior tax relief, AA/TA Glaeser's figures showed a resident living on the mean social security income of $18,473 in a median-assessed Durham home paying over 16 per cent of income in property tax, where the state's tax fairness credit treats 6 per cent as the threshold. Roughly 450 residents are over 65, and even a $500 credit would cost about $180,000.

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: 3 passages of motion language, against 12 decisions summarised.

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