Select Board Meeting ~ May 17, 2016

2016-05-17 · Select Board · 2:15:15 · watch on YouTube →

A regular Select Board meeting with four of the five selectmen present. Two residents used public comment at length: the owner of a Meadow Road property laid out an eleven-year timeline of the foundation at the centre of a stop work order and filed an appeal to protect his rights while asking that it be stayed so the two engineers involved could reach a compromise; and a resident objected to the ditching and stone the road crew had left in front of his house. In its own business the board awarded its tax anticipation and bond anticipation notes to Androscoggin Bank and passed the vote authorising a note of up to $400,000, set the schedule for a request for proposals on two foreclosed properties, dealt with discovery in the county budget litigation, and appointed the applicants to the comprehensive plan committee. The fire chief's security camera quote and the road commissioner's paving, culvert, flagging and tree work filled the second half. Two matters were left open: the tax commitment date, to be settled on 14 June, and the town's telephone contract, which the administrator found had actually lapsed in the autumn of 2015. No written minutes were supplied with this recording, so speaker names below are marked where they are inferred.

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. 0:04
   Before the meeting: an unsigned liquor licence on the consent agenda

   The board discussed a liquor licence application on the consent agenda that the licensee had not actually signed. Options (?) raised were to hold the signed copy until the applicant returned it, or to pull the item and approve it conditionally. It was for a private catered wedding, and the view was that the caterer needs the licence for liability rather than the hosts.

2. 0:04
   Quitclaim deed on a foreclosed property

   A quitclaim deed was on the agenda for a property whose owner had come in and paid all the foreclosed back taxes. The surnames given in the recording are garbled and are not reproduced here.

3. 0:04
   Call to order and agenda amendment

   The meeting was called to order with four of the five selectmen present, giving a quorum, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Item G was added under action and discussion items, described as information on Sean Bennett and a request; it is not reached again on the recording.

4. 5:19
   Public comment: the Meadow Road stop work order

   The owner of a Meadow Road property, addressed as Jeff (?), handed out a package and walked the board through a timeline. He bought the property in 2005 with an existing foundation showing a roughly three-inch inward bow measured with a string, capped the foundation in 2006 under a permit from former code officer Dan Feny, and left it exposed to the weather until 2014, when he hired a structural engineer ahead of marketing the property.

5. 5:19
   How the building permit was obtained

   In 2015 the current code enforcement officer, Paul Baines (?), told him he could not issue a permit because there was nothing in the town files showing the existing foundation had been inspected. The owner referred to an earlier selectmen's meeting where Wanda Finch (?) had the same problem, after which the suggestion was to get an affidavit from the former code officer. He obtained a sworn affidavit from Dan Feny on 19 January and a building permit on 25 January; no engineer's report was asked for at that time.

6. 10:31
   How the stop work order came about

   The owner said the code officer inspected framing, trenching, septic, electrical and plumbing between February and April 2016 with full access to the foundation and never raised its condition. In April his customer produced her own engineer's report and said the code officer had told her he would not issue a certificate of occupancy. The order to stop work was issued on 19 April and the code officer declined to rescind it because of the conflicting reports.

7. 10:31
   The owner's disagreement with the engineering conclusion

   He said the code officer now wants to hire a third engineer and excavate the foundation, which his own engineer advises against because of the extra stress it would put on the wall. He argued there is no evidence of frost-thaw movement: the same roughly three-inch bow was measured in 2005, 2006 and 2015, and the cracks have not changed in appearance in eleven years.

8. 15:45
   Dennis Dyer and the appeal filing

   Dennis Dyer, who owns half the property and helped cap the foundation, confirmed the bow was about the same in 2006 and 2015. The owner then filed a request for appeal, saying he was doing so only because his 30 days were nearly up, and asked that the appeal be stayed while the two engineers work out a solution.

9. 15:45
   Whether the select board is the right body

   Board members questioned whether they had any authority to extend an appeal period or to stay the code officer's actions, and disagreed among themselves about what the land use ordinance allows. One member said he did not believe the board had that authority.

10. 21:00
    Filing with the board of appeals

    The board advised that the appeal belongs with the board of appeals rather than the select board, and suggested a cover letter setting out the intent to stay the proceedings. Leaving the original at the town office and paying the fee was accepted as filing it; the chair of the board of appeals was named as Schneider (?), and the owner agreed to correct the date on the document and get his timeline and exhibit list to the code officer.

11. 21:00
    Public comment: ditching in front of a resident's house

    A resident, addressed as Doug (?), said he was very unhappy with what the road crew did to his front yard. He had been told the crew would ditch 12 to 18 inches away from his driveway skirt but it ended up around six inches, and that no work was needed on the Route 136 side of the driveway because there was already natural runoff.

12. 26:09
    Tree roots, stone and the town right of way

    The resident said both telephone poles were damaged, that CMP had to move a high tension wire that had burned into a tree, and that the crew cut roots and then piled stone to hold the bank, which he called an eyesore. The board explained that the right of way often runs well beyond the ditch and that the crew works only on town property, and that ditching had not been done for fifteen or twenty years so these conflicts keep arising.

13. 31:10
    What to do about the tree and the rocks

    The road commissioner, Calvin, said the large rocks were a temporary measure and that smaller riprap was to go on top this spring to shape it around the tree, and that he had told the resident last autumn they would look at it again this year. The resident said he wants both the tree and the stone gone. A board member suggested terracing and ground cover, which the resident would have to do himself, and the board said it would have no objection to that.

14. 36:24
    Getting a price on the tree

    Calvin (?) said that if the tree comes out he can slope the bank back without riprap and without going into the resident's lawn, and offered to piggyback the cutting onto other tree work. A figure of four to six hundred dollars was floated as a guess. The board asked him to get prices and a timeframe and to call the resident.

15. 36:24
    Consent agenda and assessors' session

    The consent agenda was accepted as presented, without the liquor licence item being pulled, and the board then voted to go into assessors' session.

16. 41:45
    Declaration of certified ratio

    A declaration from the assessors' agent, Donna Hayes, put the town's certified ratio at 93 percent, which for state purposes is treated as 100 percent. It supports the state's reimbursement for the homestead exemption and uses the 2015 rate because the 2016 tax commitment is not final.

17. 41:45
    Discussion of the commitment date

    The board cannot commit before the 14 June election because the budget has to be voted first, and the printers want the material by 27 June to mail by 5 July so collection can start and the tax anticipation note be paid down sooner. The options were a special meeting on 21 June or committing at the 28 June meeting and mailing a few days later; the July date was described as fairly arbitrary.

18. 47:04
    Bids on the tax and bond anticipation notes

    Three bids were received, from Camden National Bank, Androscoggin Bank and Bath Savings Institution. Bath Savings bid 1.04 percent for both notes; the other rates read out were 0.81 percent on the tax anticipation note and 0.89 percent on the bond anticipation note, with Camden National at 0.89 percent for each. The administrator said the low short-term rates would not be matched on a longer bond and were in line with the bond bank.

19. 47:04
    Vote authorising the tax anticipation note

    The full authorising vote was read into the record under Title 30-A section 5771 of the Maine Revised Statutes, covering a note of up to $400,000 in anticipation of 2016 taxes, dated on or around 31 May 2016 and maturing on or before 31 December 2016, signed by the treasurer and countersigned by the chairman.

20. 47:04
    Request for proposals on two foreclosed properties

    The schedule read out was: letters to the previous owners approved and mailed 17 May; advertisement in the Tri-Town on 8 June; 22 June deadline for previous owners to pay the minimum bid; advertisement in the Sun Journal on 29 June; bids due 8 July at 2 p.m.; award on 12 July. The minimum bid prices, the two letters and the advertisements were all in the packet.

21. 52:50
    Discovery in the county budget litigation

    The town's attorney reported that the court denied a motion to stay discovery pending mediation, so the town has to produce material: any board discussion or correspondence about who has authority over benefits and salaries, about the role of the budget committee and the commissioners' authority to set the county budget, minutes and videos where the litigation was discussed or voted on, and communications with elected or appointed officials. Selectmen were asked to search their own emails and forward anything relevant to the town administrator.

22. 52:50
    Interrogatories to review

    A roughly 30-page set of interrogatories already completed by the attorneys arrived that day and needs each selectman to read it and flag anything they disagree with. A notarised signature is required at the end; no deadline was visible on the covering email.

23. 58:02
    Telephone contract

    The administrator reported that the town is not actually under a BCN contract: the last one signed was a 12-month agreement that expired in the autumn of 2015. She wanted more time to price alternatives and said voice over internet may be the eventual answer, but every provider she called said the town's numbers could not be ported. The old town hall line has no voice over internet option and one number is required for the security system, which cancels out the apparent savings.

24. 58:02
    Workers compensation audit

    The 2015 audit found the payroll had been significantly underestimated, producing an additional charge of $9,620. The administrator had gone back and corrected departmental figures where the insurer's numbers were too high.

25. 1:03:11
    Effect on departments and the 2016 outlook

    Most of the charge falls on public works, with roughly $8,500 in that department and close to $1,000 elsewhere. The administrator had checked the 2016 estimates against 2015, applied the town's experience modifier of 1.49, and expects a credit of about $1,800 next year if payroll stays at the same level. Department heads were asked to watch their budgets and come back if absorbing the charge looks like a problem.

26. 1:08:16
    Comprehensive plan committee applications

    Twelve applications were before the board. The selectman asked to be liaison was unsure he could commit the time, particularly as the workload grows in later years, and said he would try to attend the early meetings anyway. A question was raised about several applicants living in the same household; the view was that people should not be disqualified for that, and that a bigger committee absorbs attrition, though beyond nine it can bog down without subcommittees.

27. 1:08:16
    Whether to wait before appointing

    The board first agreed to bring the appointments back at the next meeting to hear the view of Paul (?), who is leading the work, then established that he had already reviewed all the applications, and a motion to appoint was made and the names read out.

28. 1:13:29
    Donation towards a GoFundMe for the former road commissioner

    The board was told the former road commissioner has health issues and a GoFundMe account has been set up for expenses. The question was whether this is an appropriate use of the selectmen's discretionary funds, which have usually gone to flowers, with the usual donation being $50.

29. 1:13:29
    Selectmen and department heads

    A board member asked for it to be noted that selectmen should not be doing department heads' research for them behind their backs. If the board wants more information it should ask the department head to get it, whether that is the fire chief, the road commissioner or the administrative assistant, otherwise work gets dropped between them.

30. 1:20:13
    Fire chief's report format and security camera quotes

    The chief asked whether the board wanted to keep receiving the synopsis he writes for the fire corporation meeting; members said they found it useful. He then presented two security camera quotes $14 apart: an eight-head system from a local supplier who has done most of the wiring and phones in the town buildings, and a five-head system he thinks is better equipment. He recommended keeping the business local.

31. 1:25:32
    Camera specifications and cost against budget

    The systems were described as 2.1 megapixel bullet and dome cameras at 1920 by 1080, one set at 75 degrees and the other at 90, both motion activated with phone alerts, and both expandable to cover the modular building later. At least one camera would go on the back of the building where past problems have occurred. The quoted price was $3,390.99 against $3,391 in the telecommunications line.

32. 1:25:32
    Request for proposals for trim and painting at the station

    The chief circulated a short request for proposals for exterior trim work and painting, with the interior painting separated out as options in case the numbers come in high. Bids are due 31 May; it will be advertised on the town channel and the department and town websites but will miss this issue of the Tri-Town. The floor and concrete work is being handled separately so painting is not done before a floor is broken up.

33. 1:30:33
    Emergency management training

    The chief asked whether he should register board members for the 402 training on the 26th or whether they would register themselves. He gave directions to the Lewiston central fire station on College Street and advice on the parking garage across the street, and explained that some of the related courses are online through FEMA while this one is not. He also described the waiver for anyone who chooses not to take the classes.

34. 1:35:47
    Station cleanup, recruitment and call volume

    About 15 members turned out for the cleanup, and the gardens and interior walls were done. Recruitment is not going well: one person came to the advertised session and did so to look at the ladder truck and the Model A. The chief said the department was at run number 152 or 153 for the year, and that approaching 365 means one a day averaged out. Grades 5 through 8 were visiting during EMS week.

35. 1:41:01
    Paving plan

    The plan is a three-quarter inch shim with an inch and a half overlay, except for the last 600 feet of one road which is too far gone and will be ground up and reclaimed. That completes the stretch from Stackpole to the Pownal town line. With the rebuilds the year comes to roughly seven or eight miles, against a target of about four miles of paving.

36. 1:41:01
    Davis Road

    The one-mile section of newer pavement on Davis Road is breaking apart and has to be redone. It was paved around 2009 with further work in 2011 or 2012 and a lot of money spent. The road commissioner attributed the failure to several things, including the specification changing from a 20-foot to a 22-foot road partway through, which made the ditches steeper than intended, and said it was a transition year with a new road commissioner and considerable selectman involvement on site.

37. 1:41:01
    Vacation schedule and bulky waste day preparation

    The summer vacation schedule was circulated, with only 4 August having two people out. The crew would spend the following days setting up the garage for bulky waste day rather than working in the field.

38. 1:47:03
    Bulky waste day layout

    The crew drew up a diagram to run the site better after last year, when the queue along Route 136 caused traffic problems and could reach 50 to 75 cars. Someone from the crew will be assigned to move people through rather than let vehicles sit.

39. 1:47:03
    Culvert: lining versus dig and replace

    Two approaches were quoted for a 12-inch culvert. Lining is about $2,600 more, which the road commissioner reduced to about $1,600 once the cost of buying a replacement culvert is counted, and avoids digging up and closing the road and the settlement that follows. The product is a soft cured-in-place material set with an ultraviolet light, which he said gives 127 percent of the current flow because it removes the ribs.

40. 1:52:10
    No recommendation yet on the culvert

    The road commissioner said he was still checking the flow figures before recommending either option, and noted that removing the ribs can speed the water enough to need extra stone at the discharge. Asked about life expectancy, he said the supplier claims it lasts indefinitely and is being installed widely.

41. 1:52:10
    Flaggers

    After most companies did not return calls and the one that did quoted $25 an hour, the road commissioner found a Lewiston company at $18 an hour and started them on the Monday on a day-to-day basis. He had already spoken to the owner about a flagger who appeared to be nodding off. The company carries its own insurance and has provided a W-9, which should reduce the town's workers compensation exposure.

42. 1:57:10
    Shoulders, seed and tree work

    Shoulders on phase one of Sand Hill had been missed and were done because the pavement edges were breaking off. Twenty bags of grass seed were bought jointly with another town from Allen Sterling and Lothrop at about half the usual price. Tree work by Barry Baldwin (?) at $1,600 for Rabbit Road was authorised on the spot as necessary, with better prices offered if he also does Lawrence Road and a third road.

43. 1:57:10
    Two marked trees on Rabbit Road

    The road commissioner said he would like about $10,000 available for tree work because more trees turn up once ditching starts. He reported two trees on Rabbit Road carrying fluorescent save-my-tree banners with phone numbers on them, standing in the ditch line in front of dense woods rather than a lawn. He had told the owner he would ditch around them until the board discussed it.

44. 2:02:26
    New truck, roof RFP and preferred bidder lists

    The new truck is ordered. The road commissioner is still working on the roof request for proposals and had spoken to New Gloucester, which has done one and keeps a preferred bidder list, prequalifying contractors to speed the process. Board members were uneasy about shortlisting and expected the job simply to go out to bid, with specs held at the town office.

45. 2:02:26
    Tire changer and balancer for the shop

    The road commissioner asked to spend about $3,900 of the roughly $6,393 left on the bond on a tire changer and balancer so the crew can swap winter and summer tires on the one-tons and pickups themselves, covering three vehicles. He said sending vehicles out costs a good part of a day each time because two vehicles and two people have to go. He also wanted the transmission jack already bought, at four or five hundred dollars, charged to the same money.

46. 2:07:44
    Coordinating with the paving contractor

    The crew has to be ahead of the paving contractor on ditching and cross culverts. The plan is to switch to replacing cross culverts and then ditch off the new base, pulling material up to the new road height so the inslope work does not have to be done twice. Two metal pipes off Route 136 will need a coffer dam because the water has to be dammed and diverted while they are replaced.

47. 2:07:44
    Crew directing residents to selectmen

    The road commissioner raised a complaint that a member of the crew, asked by a resident when his culvert would be replaced, told him to go and ask a selectman by name. A board member confirmed the resident had come to him. The point made was that the public should be referred to the road commissioner or the foreman, not to individual selectmen.

48. 2:12:55
    Announcements

    Meetings at the town office on 31 May and 14 June at 6:30 p.m.; Bulky Waste Day at Durham Public Works on Saturday 21 May from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with waste to be separated beforehand; the RSU 5 budget meeting at the Durham Community School on 25 May, announced first as 6 p.m. and then as 6:30 p.m. without the discrepancy being settled on the recording, with people asked to arrive early to sign in for a vote card; the Memorial Day parade on 30 May at 10 a.m. with the AMVETS 5K at 8 a.m.; and a joint meeting with Pownal on 7 June at 6 p.m. at the Durham town office.

What was decided

• 36:24
  The road commissioner will get prices and a timeframe for taking down the maple in the town right of way and removing the stone in front of the resident's property, piggybacking the cutting onto other tree work, and will call the resident. Agreed in discussion; no motion was made.passed
• 36:24
  Accept the consent agenda as presented. The liquor licence application that the licensee had not signed was discussed beforehand but was not pulled out.passed
• 41:45
  Accept the state reimbursement application and the certified ratio declaration as presented, at a certified ratio of 93 percent.passed
• 41:45
  No date was set for the tax commitment. The board decided to wait until its 14 June meeting, once members know their schedules, before choosing between a special meeting on 21 June and committing at the 28 June meeting.tabled
• 47:04
  Award both the tax anticipation note and the bond anticipation note to Androscoggin Bank.passed
• 47:04
  Adopt the vote authorising issuance of a tax anticipation note of up to $400,000 principal for the 2016 fiscal year, dated on or around 31 May 2016, maturing on or before 31 December 2016, signed by the treasurer and countersigned by the chairman, payable at Androscoggin Bank, sold and awarded to that bank, and designated a qualified tax-exempt obligation for 2016.passed
• 47:04
  Go forward with the request for proposals on the two foreclosed properties using the schedule read out, approving the minimum bid prices, the two letters to the previous owners, the advertisements and the foreclosure notice.passed
• 52:50
  Authorise the town administrator to sign the interrogatories and return them to the attorneys, after hearing from all selectmen on anything they disagree with. A member who sits on the budget committee was thought better placed not to sign.passed
• 58:02
  No decision was taken on the telephone contract. The administrator will come back at the next meeting with comparison figures, including what the town currently pays for internet and television at public works, before the board chooses between switching and signing a new BCN contract.tabled
• 1:08:16
  Appoint the applicants listed to the comprehensive plan committee. The names were read out, but the recording garbles most of the surnames and they are not reproduced here; one selectman was added and then volunteered as liaison, describing himself as an ex officio member.passed
• 1:13:29
  Make a donation from the selectmen's discretionary funds towards the GoFundMe set up for the former road commissioner's medical expenses. The opening of the motion, including the amount, is not audible; the board said its usual donation for flowers and the like has been $50.passed
• 1:25:32
  Go with the fire chief's recommendation on the security camera system, the local supplier's eight-head quote at $3,390.99 against $3,391 budgeted under telecommunications.passed
• 1:25:32
  The board raised no objection to the fire chief advertising the request for proposals for trim work and painting at the station, with interior painting priced as options and bids due 31 May. Agreed without a motion.passed
• 2:02:26
  The board indicated it was content for the tree work, including the combined price for the additional roads, to go ahead out of the existing 1.1 appropriation without a separate vote, on the basis that spending at that level is within the road commissioner's and administrator's authority. Agreed in discussion; no motion was made.passed
• 2:02:26
  Spending about $3,900 of the remaining bond money on a tire changer and balancer, and charging the transmission jack already bought to the same money, was discussed favourably but no motion was made and no vote was taken; only individual members expressed assent.outcome unclear
• 2:12:55
  Adjourn.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

• 10:31
  The Meadow Road stop work order turns on two engineers disagreeing. The owner says a string on the wall showed the same roughly three-inch bow in 2005, 2006 and 2015, while the code officer relied on the customer's engineer and now wants a third engineer and the foundation excavated, which the owner's engineer advises against.
• 58:02
  The 2015 workers compensation audit found the town had significantly underestimated its payroll, producing an additional charge of $9,620, most of it against public works. The town's experience modifier was given as 1.49.
• 1:35:47
  The fire department was at run number 152 or 153 by mid-May, which the chief noted is heading towards one call a day, while the advertised recruitment session produced a single visitor who came to look at the ladder truck.
• 1:41:01
  The one-mile section of Davis Road paved around 2009, with more money spent in 2011 or 2012, is breaking apart and has to be redone. The road commissioner put it down partly to the specification changing from a 20-foot to a 22-foot road partway through the job and to selectmen directing work on site that year.

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: 7 passages of motion language, against 16 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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