Select Board Meeting ~ September 5, 2017

2017-09-05 · Select Board · 1:19:22 · watch on YouTube →

A regular select board meeting covering road safety, the coming public hearing on a retail marijuana moratorium, a proposal to start official town social media, the town office HVAC system, the fire department report, and the two church buildings the town owns. The fire chief used his report to give notice that he intends to retire effective February 28, 2018, and asked to take part in choosing his successor; his department report was presented by Captain Adam Salvi. The board agreed to put two intersections forward for study by the Greater Portland Council of Governments, to procure the HVAC work through a request for proposals rather than a sealed bid, and to send several questions about the Methodist church deed to the town's lawyer. Tammy, the new public information person, presented a plan for an official town Facebook page and was asked about meeting videos that had gone unposted during the staff transition. Much of the second half turned on the Union Church and the Methodist church: what the restricted funds can be spent on, who is responsible for the buildings, and the fire chief's argument that town buildings are protected against burglary but not against fire. The meeting closed with upcoming meeting dates and a move into executive session.

What was discussed

1. 0:02
   Call to order and amendment to the agenda

   The meeting started late after technical difficulty. The chair added an item under 5D, an update and discussion on the town office HVAC system and what the next step should be.

2. 0:02
   Public comment: a compliment form

   Nobody attended in person. A note left by Kevin Kendall was read into the record praising two town office staff, Pam and Sharon, for making his visits enjoyable over nine years. The board noted it was the first time the form had been used for a compliment rather than a complaint.

3. 0:02
   Consent agenda

   Nothing was pulled off for discussion and the consent agenda was moved, seconded and approved.

4. 0:02
   High crash locations in GPCOG rural communities

   The chair reported an email from Rich Harson (?) at the Greater Portland Council of Governments saying funds are periodically available to study high crash locations. Durham's Route 125 and Quaker Meeting House Road intersection and the stretch of 125 at Meadow Road had been analysed previously, and no Durham location appeared on this year's list, but GPCOG (?) asked whether the town wanted anything looked at.

5. 5:10
   MaineDOT work at Meadow Road and Route 125

   The department of transportation is in design on rebuilding the Meadow Road intersection with Route 125, slated for 2018. Whether that section of Meadow Road is closed off was left with the town and had not been acted on.

6. 5:10
   Sirois corner and Route 9 at Runaround Pond

   Members described Sirois corner, which they said the fire department also knows as Dead Man's Curve, as a place where sight lines force plow crews to work after dark so they can see headlights, and where accidents are frequent but usually minor. The board settled on putting that corner and Route 9 at Runaround Pond forward as its two locations.

7. 5:10
   Rules for the moratorium public hearing

   With a possibly contentious public hearing two weeks off, the board discussed whether to set rules. It decided against an outside moderator and against limits on speaking time or number of turns, wanting only that speakers stay on the topic at hand.

8. 10:19
   Public hearing format and scope of the moratorium

   The hearing would run 6:30 to 7:30 followed by the regular meeting, opening with a short explanation of why the moratorium is proposed and what it would and would not stop, then public comment. Members noted the moratorium would not apply to medical marijuana, only to retail, and would cover categories such as social clubs, manufacturing and cultivation; the state had not yet adopted rules.

9. 10:19
   Social media proposal

   Tammy, who had recently started and was already working on the website, proposed beginning a social media presence with a Facebook page and expanding from there. She said her research found almost every Maine town has one, that Windham's has about 4,500 followers, and that towns typically leave comments open with a disclaimer and monitor them.

10. 16:16
    Unofficial Facebook pages and official designation

    A board member raised a page carrying the town logo with almost no activity on it. Tammy (?) said Facebook grants an official designation after verifying by phone, and that unofficial pages can be reported. The board was clear it did not want the separate All Things Durham citizen page touched, describing it as a private community forum that has never held itself out as official.

11. 21:20
    Legal caution about a page that receives reports

    Calvin (?) relayed advice from an MMA lawyer at a public works supervisory class that a town wants a platform that puts information out rather than one that takes it in, because of time-sensitive reporting duties such as the window to fix a reported pothole, and that there is no case law on whether a Facebook comment counts as notice. The board's answer was a disclaimer on the page, a standard reply pointing people to the proper way to notify public works, and active monitoring by Tammy with one or two backup administrators.

12. 21:20
    Motion on an official town Facebook page

    After the discussion the board was reminded it needed to give permission, and a motion to start an official Town of Durham Facebook page was made and seconded.

13. 21:20
    Meeting videos missing from the website

    The chair raised a gap of roughly mid-April to the end of June, at least four meetings, where videos were never posted during the change of information technician and of platform. Tammy (?) said she is matching meetings against minutes and videos and will have the missing ones pulled and posted.

14. 26:44
    Posting turnaround and website feedback protocol

    Tammy (?) said video should be up within a day or two of a meeting and approved minutes within a day or two of approval, though minutes take a couple of weeks to be approved and drafts are not posted. Ruth (?) asked that board members and department heads email both her and Tammy with website feedback.

15. 26:44
    Town office HVAC: what the initial look found

    The chair explained that town meeting approved funds for HVAC work based on an informed guess rather than a technician's evaluation, and that the building has not been on a periodic maintenance program. Rich arranged for Jerry Welch's crew from Northeast Mechanical in Brunswick to look at the two attic air handlers and the two outdoor units, which appear to date from the building's construction. Rich (?) asked the board whether it wanted a system designed and put out to bid or the contractor's own recommendation.

16. 32:03
    Request for proposals rather than sealed bid

    The fire chief said the town's purchasing policy was rebuilt around requests for proposals precisely so there can be an exchange with vendors, as with the fire trucks and the ambulance, rather than the rigid specifications a bid requires. The board agreed an RFP setting out needs, expectations and timelines was the right route, noting a vendor might propose a solution nobody had thought of and that the board retains the right to reject any and all responses. Rich would work with Ruth to draft it and bring it back, hoped for the meeting on the 19th.

17. 32:03
    Interest in the roof RFP

    Asked whether the roof RFP had drawn interest, the answer was that at least three people had already been at the building measuring.

18. 37:30
    Fire chief gives notice of retirement

    The fire chief told the board he intends to retire effective February 28, 2018, and had begun the paperwork with Maine retirement and social security. He asked to take part in the replacement process, including sitting on an interview committee, and said he wanted internal candidates to have a chance to develop.

19. 37:30
    Hose testing brought in house

    Captain Adam Salvi (?) presented the department report, which he had prepared. The company that normally tests hose could not fit Durham in until May of 2018, and hose must be tested and recorded annually, so the department started testing its own; about half was done with the rest expected by the end of the month.

20. 43:00
    Rekeying the fire station and modular

    The locks have not been changed since the building went up in 2002, and per diem coverage needs graded access to the office, the equipment room and the station. Coded electronic access was priced and would have roughly doubled the cost, so the recommendation was to rekey first and add electronic locks later, perhaps one a year, using the money set aside for hose testing.

21. 43:00
    Alarm coverage at town buildings

    In answer to a question about knowing who enters a building, it emerged that the fire station has fire alarm but no security except in the modular, while the town office has security but no fire alarm, and that neither uses individual codes.

22. 48:18
    Whether to hold the rekeying for the well

    A member suggested waiting, since a well replacement could take around ten thousand dollars and the roughly three thousand for rekeying would go a long way toward that. The chief said the well had been bleached twice and a sample taken that day, that he would want to retest a couple of months later before declaring it clean, and that the timing would push a well into the 2018 budget in any case. Members said they were comfortable using the hose money for the rekeying.

23. 48:18
    Per diem staffing, training and apparatus

    One per diem member has been hired with three or four applications in progress; four to six more are needed to fill the weekend shifts, which have only now been opened because stipend coverage was being used until there were enough people. Twelve members, mainly officers and drivers, are taking an aerial operations course through SMCC on the department's own truck; pump tests were done and faults repaired, and ladder and aerial testing is due. The apparatus committee met on the 21st about the engine and the ambulance and will bring its specification list and vendor list to the board before anything goes out.

24. 53:27
    Union Church funds are restricted to the Union Church

    Ruth (?) reported that every warrant specified the Union Church, so the money collected can only be spent on that building and there is nothing available for the Methodist church. The board asked what its options were for the Methodist church; asking the town at next year's budget for enough to determine what it would cost to make the building usable, with some outreach on what residents would want it used for, was one.

25. 58:45
    The Methodist church deed and questions for the lawyer

    Ruth traced an 1818 deed conveying the property to members of the Methodist congregation with conditions about its use and availability for Methodist meetings, then transfers to the Durham Historical Society around 2002 and to the town in 2006, each recorded as being per that deed. The fire chief noted old deeds of that period often revert if the property stops being used for the stated purpose. Board members said the Methodist group has expressed interest in taking the building, and that the town should not pay for a full assessment of a building it does not want to keep.

26. 58:45
    Union Church steps

    The steps were described as close to needing to be taped off, with spongy boards. After discussion of whether a partial repair creates liability exposure for the town, the board was content for a member to replace the worst boards and put screws in the handrail and bill the town for materials.

27. 1:03:53
    Getting a formal assessment of the Union Church

    The board said the Union Church is a town building and it is the town's job, not the historical society's, to commission an assessment of what is wrong, what needs doing and roughly what it would cost, so the figure can be put to residents against everything else the town has to spend on. Members noted the historical society's use of the building has never been formalised, and that erosion and the foundation on the back side are the main worry. Ruth later said Chris Clauss had already inspected the building and provided recommendations without prices, along with a list of people to call, and would resend that document.

28. 1:03:53
    Fire alarms at town buildings

    The fire chief argued the town protects its buildings against burglary but not against fire: the Union Church has a security system and no monitored fire alarm, the fire station has no security on the main building, and the town office has neither smoke nor carbon monoxide detectors outside the back room. He said a monitored system is only an additional fee on top of the burglar alarm monitoring already paid for.

29. 1:09:02
    Spending the Union Church funds and a fire alarm

    Ruth (?) said she suspects the Union Church money can be spent now without waiting for town meeting, because the warrant already specified the building, and would confirm. The board agreed she should look into a fire alarm for the Union Church and also price one for the town office, which had recently called the fire department over a suspected propane smell.

30. 1:09:02
    Community center occupancy limit

    The fire chief explained the community center's occupancy is set at 45 because anything over 50 requires a monitored fire alarm and smoke detection system, which it does not have. With the building now heated, a monitored system could be installed and the occupant load could rise toward 75, which would make it more appealing for rentals and would matter if it were needed as a warming shelter.

31. 1:14:05
    Generator repair and periodic maintenance

    A public works employee, Carl, offered to pressure test the generator and repair what looks like a leaking hose; the appointment with the Brunswick lawn and garden dealer would be kept in case he cannot. The board discussed whether the old maintenance agreement still exists and whether the town needs a broader look at what equipment should be on a periodic maintenance schedule and where the gaps are.

32. 1:14:05
    Upcoming meetings and executive session

    The next meeting is two weeks from tonight at 6:30 at the Durham Community School cafeteria rather than the town office, with the first hour a public hearing on the proposed retail marijuana moratorium and the regular meeting after. The following regular meeting returns to the town office at 6:30; the planning board meets the next night at 7 and the comprehensive plan committee on Thursday at 6:30. The board then moved into executive session citing 1 MRSA 405(6)(F).

What was decided

• 0:02
  Approve the consent agenda as presented, with nothing pulled off for discussion.passed
• 5:10
  Put two locations forward to the Greater Portland Council of Governments for study: Sirois corner and Route 9 at Runaround Pond. Reached by discussion; no vote was called.outcome unclear
• 10:19
  Run the marijuana moratorium public hearing from 6:30 to 7:30 ahead of the regular meeting, open it with a short explanation of what the moratorium would and would not do, and impose no rule other than staying on topic: no outside moderator, no time limit and no cap on how often a person may speak. Reached by discussion; no vote was called.outcome unclear
• 21:20
  Motion to start an official Town of Durham Facebook page. It was moved and seconded and the chair called for those in favour and opposed, but no result is audible on the recording.outcome unclear
• 32:03
  Procure the town office HVAC work through a request for proposals setting out the town's needs and expectations, rather than a sealed bid on fixed specifications, with Rich working with Ruth to draft it and bring it back to the board. Reached by discussion; no vote was called.outcome unclear
• 48:18
  Let the fire department use the money budgeted for hose testing, now being done in house, to rekey the fire station and modular locks. The chief said it is a bottom-line budget so no transfer vote was needed; members said they had no problem with it, and no vote was called.outcome unclear
• 58:45
  Put questions to the town's lawyer about the Methodist church: whether the 1818 deed requires the building remain usable by the Methodist congregation, and whether the town can sell or transfer it, possibly with conditions attached. Reached by discussion; no vote was called.outcome unclear
• 58:45
  Have a board member replace the worst boards on the Union Church steps and put screws in the handrail, with the town paying for materials, rather than leave them as they are. Reached by discussion; no vote was called.outcome unclear
• 1:03:53
  Have Ruth arrange a formal assessment of the Union Church (what is wrong, what needs doing and a rough cost) to bring back to the board and then to the town, treating it as the town's responsibility rather than the historical society's. Reached by discussion; no vote was called.outcome unclear
• 1:09:02
  Have Ruth confirm whether the Union Church funds can be spent without a further town meeting vote, and look into a monitored fire alarm for the Union Church and pricing for one at the town office. Reached by discussion; no vote was called.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.

Motions the minutes record

The town's own written account of what was decided, taken from selectmins20170905.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 5-0

  Moved by Rob Pontau, seconded by Mark Blake

Worth knowing

• 5:10
  No Durham location appeared on this year's high crash list, but the board put Sirois corner and Route 9 at Runaround Pond forward for study. MaineDOT is already in design on rebuilding the Meadow Road intersection with Route 125, slated for 2018.
• 37:30
  The fire chief gave notice that he intends to retire effective February 28, 2018, and asked to sit on the committee that picks his replacement.
• 53:27
  Every warrant article that raised money for the Union Church named that building, so none of it can be spent on the Methodist church. The town has no money set aside for the Methodist church at all.
• 1:09:02
  The community center's occupancy is capped at 45 because anything over 50 needs a monitored fire alarm system, which it does not have. Installing one could raise the limit toward 75 and would matter for rentals and for using the building as a warming shelter.

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: 1 passage of motion language, against 10 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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