Androscoggin CountyMainePopulation 4,262Sourced from U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2013-2024
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Select Board Meeting ~ September 27, 2022

2022-09-27 · Select Board · 1:24:09 · watch on YouTube →

The Select Board met with the Assessor and no members of the public signed up to speak, so the board went straight into Assessors Session to clean up a set of tax bills issued for lots in a subdivision that had never been approved. Donna Hays walked the board through the abatements and supplemental warrants needed to move the assessments onto the correct owners, and the board signed the Municipal Valuation Return for Maine Revenue Services. After coming out of Assessors Session the town manager reported on ARPA-funded work in the town office and fire station, the delayed telephone changeover, and a proposal to buy eight replacement computers directly from Dell, which board members would not act on until they see an inventory, a replacement schedule and a long-term support plan. A long discussion followed about the Union Church, where a newly replaced roof was followed by the discovery that the sills around the building are gone, and the board agreed to start visiting town properties before regular meetings. The board approved the Spatial Alternatives GIS mapping contract at $12,500 and authorised the town manager to sign it, took up the consent agenda, and then went into executive session on a personnel matter, after which the chair stated no action was taken.

Who was there. The town's written minutes record these people present: Kevin Nadeau (Chair), Richard George (Vice-Chair), Todd Beaulieu, Joe Tomm, Josh Klein-Golden, Jerry Douglass (Town Manager), Donna Hays (Assessor). Names in this summary are checked against that list.

What was discussed

  1. 0:13
    Call to order and Assessors Session

    The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. The chair noted that board members, the town manager and the Assessor's agent were present and that nobody was there for public comment, so the board moved directly into Assessors Session.

  2. 0:13
    Assessor's account of the unapproved subdivision

    Donna Hays said a plan was presented to her by a code officer, she put on map and lot numbers, assessed the new lots and sent out tax bills, and only later realised the plan lacked the signature showing the subdivision had been approved. Two of the lots had actually been sold, one to Fortin Construction and one to Matthew Pass, and a house on one of the lots had been assessed to the wrong owner. The lots had been assessed under Curtis Pass, and the road was named on the recording as Holiday Drive.

  3. 0:13
    Abatement to Fortin Construction

    Kevin Nadeau moved an abatement of $1,078.47 to Fortin Construction, Map 4 Lot 32K, for the reasons the Assessor had described. A board member asked about a second figure on the paperwork; the Assessor (?) said abatements are written for the principal amount only and are back-dated to the original bill, so the interest the system had calculated does not apply.

  4. 5:49
    Supplemental tax warrant to Fortin Construction

    A supplemental tax warrant for $3,990.96 to Fortin Construction was read. The account number was first read as 2202-3 and corrected during the motion to account 2202.

  5. 5:49
    Abatements on the remaining lots

    A single motion covered abatements on the lots that had not sold, described as accounts 2199, 2200, 2202, 2203 and 2204. Amounts (?) read aloud included $1,136.43 on account 2199, $1,078.47 on account 2203 and $1,190.25 on account 2204; parts of the reading are garbled on the recording. Richard George asked why one figure matched the earlier Fortin abatement, and the Assessor (?) explained that lot carried the house, so it had to be abated from one owner and supplemented to the other.

  6. 11:07
    How the paperwork is keyed

    The Assessor said she keyed the documents to account numbers rather than map and lot because the map and lot numbers being abated are going away with the lots. Board members asked that map and lot numbers still be included on future documents, and she agreed.

  7. 11:07
    Supplemental tax warrant to Matthew Pass

    A supplemental tax warrant to Matthew Pass in the amount of $1,080.54 for account 2201 was read and moved.

  8. 11:07
    Certificate of abatement to Matthew Pass

    A certificate of abatement to Matthew Pass in the amount of $3,993.03 for account 2201, Map 4 Lot 32-03, was read as the counterpart to the supplemental warrant on the same lot.

  9. 11:07
    Municipal Valuation Return

    Donna Hays asked for signatures on the Municipal Valuation Return, a ten-page annual report to Maine Revenue Services covering valuations, exemptions and percentage of market value, which the state uses in setting exemption reimbursements. She said the town is at 80 percent of market value and asked the board to meet in February or March to discuss valuation and a strategy for the next few years.

  10. 16:16
    Close of Assessors Session

    The board moved out of Assessors Session and returned to the regular agenda.

  11. 16:16
    Fire chief and road commissioner reporting

    Neither the fire chief nor the road commissioner had a report. The town manager proposed that they file their monthly written reports and attend the second meeting of each month, rather than attending both meetings, with the understanding that they would still come in if something needed discussion. Board members said the practice of attending every meeting dated from before the town had a town manager.

  12. 16:16
    Eureka Center support posts

    An inspection found that some of the posts holding the beam below the Eureka Center were off the floor and some of the brick columns were eroding underneath. The area has been shored up temporarily because the building is still in use; the town manager wants a structural engineer to specify the repair so it is stamped, then get estimates.

  13. 16:16
    ARPA building work

    Heating and cooling in the town office is finished and working. Insulation crews were expected that day and did not show up. Work at the fire station was under way and expected to be finished by the end of the month.

  14. 16:16
    Telephone changeover delayed

    The new phones were to be installed on the 21st and 22nd, but Comcast could not get the existing numbers ported over from Consolidated in time.

  15. 21:58
    Phone and internet cutover set for October 6

    The install was rescheduled to October 6, with the alternative Wednesday slot pushing it to October 19. Internet is expected down 10 to 15 minutes and phones about half an hour, though the installers will be in the building for a few hours.

  16. 21:58
    Computer replacement and pricing

    The town has about 23 computers across its buildings, and the plan is to replace them roughly eight a year over three years rather than all at once. Devin priced the same specification through Dell and through the current vendor, Data Defined; buying the hardware from Dell with the vendor still doing installation comes to a little under $20,000, about $1,307 less, with four years of next-day support including accidental damage. Board members and the town manager compared buying with leasing and said leasing makes more sense for larger organisations; a copier lease was flagged as a separate item to come back to.

  17. 27:02
    First eight machines

    The first group is seven desktops and one laptop, chosen as the most-used machines at the town office, fire station and public works. The town clerk would receive an existing laptop for elections plus a desktop rather than a new laptop.

  18. 27:02
    Firewalls

    The new firewalls have arrived and are being configured. Installation will take the internet down for up to half an hour and will be scheduled around office hours.

  19. 27:02
    Eureka Center technology scoping

    Devin (?) said he is in an exploratory phase on what equipment the Eureka Center would need and what it would cost, with pricing being sought from Panasonic for cameras and microphones and Ubiquiti for networking. Rather than running conduit from the town office, he is also asking Comcast about separate service at the building.

  20. 27:02
    Whether buying direct raises service charges

    A board member asked whether the vendor would add cost elsewhere if the town supplies its own hardware, comparing it to a contractor charging more when the customer buys the shingles. Devin (?) said he had been told it was fine; others said professional services often adjust, and put the per-machine difference at roughly $120.

  21. 32:46
    Board asks for an inventory and schedule

    Board members said they want a written list of the computers, their age, purchase date and who uses them, together with which eight are being replaced this year and next, before the purchase goes ahead. One noted that residents at a town meeting would ask why the town needs 23 computers.

  22. 32:46
    Support model and software licences

    A board member questioned the drift toward an in-house IT role, noting Devin is still in school and may leave for better-paying work, and asked what the long-term support model is. Another (?) asked for a list of software and licences by machine. Several said they want one party responsible for both hardware and software so that a fault does not turn into vendor finger-pointing.

  23. 38:00
    Ask the current vendor for a support price

    The suggestion was to go back to Data Defined and ask what support would cost if the town buys the machines itself, and to weigh the consequences before switching. Board members noted confusion between the vendor's old and new names.

  24. 38:00
    Union Church roof and sills

    The Union Church roof replacement is complete, but the sills around the whole building were then found to be gone, after the town spent about $16,000 on the roof. There is no plan for the building. A Union Church or town buildings committee had been asked for under the previous town manager but was never formed, and the chair said he had been holding off interested residents until after budget season. A past town meeting vote made the Historical Society a rent-free tenant, but the town owns the building and the society has no responsibility for it.

  25. 43:42
    What the building could be used for

    Board members said that even in good condition the building has no parking, no water and no heat, and that previous fire chiefs had said crews would not enter it if it caught fire. Options (?) raised included continuing to maintain it, putting utilities in and using it, or buying land near the fire station and moving the building there. Members also noted the amount of town history stored in the building and the events the Historical Society held there before the pandemic.

  26. 48:43
    Whether to put a question to residents

    The chair suggested a multiple-choice question on what residents want done with the building, possibly alongside the November election. Others said they could not answer such a question without cost information, and it was noted that November may not be good timing for a survey.

  27. 48:43
    Board visits to town properties

    Board members revived the practice of the board walking the town's properties, saying newer members and residents' questions make it worthwhile. The suggestion was to gather at 5:30 or 6 before regular meetings and take one or two buildings at a time, including the Old Town Hall, the Eureka Center, public works and the fire station, with someone from the Historical Society present for the church.

  28. 54:19
    Swamp Road land

    Town-owned land on Swamp Road, described as about six acres though the acreage was not confirmed, was raised as somewhere with room for parking and a septic system if a building were relocated or a public use developed.

  29. 54:19
    Buildings and grounds responsibility

    The town manager said the town has no buildings and grounds position and that questions about who is responsible for a given building often have no answer. He has asked Calvin, who has taken it on by default over the years, to act as the keeper of buildings and grounds, and said he would work with him.

  30. 54:19
    Planning board vacancy

    A voting seat on the planning board is open and advertising it has produced no responses. One alternate has expressed interest but has not stepped up. Board members said the expectation should be made clear that an alternate appointed to the board moves into a voting seat when one opens.

  31. 54:19
    Budget committee size

    The chair said the budget committee could meet with seven members and suggested an article at the next town meeting to reduce it from nine to seven, noting that seats are often filled by write-in with very few votes. He asked members to think about it rather than discuss it that night.

  32. 59:33
    Election infrastructure security assessment

    The packet included a critical infrastructure security assessment concerning elections, arranged after the town clerk received an email; the assessor named on the recording is Thomas Swenson. The visit would cover the town buildings and the school, is free and voluntary, and the town was the tenth of ten in this round. Board members said a documented deficiency could force the town to act, one objected on principle to inviting federal involvement, and it was noted the RSU would need to be involved for the school.

  33. 1:04:41
    ARPA input meeting and capital lists

    The board wants to remind residents that public input on capital projects using ARPA funds is on the next meeting's agenda, and asked for a list of capital improvement projects raised by department heads so residents have something to react to. The road commissioner's list was in hand and the fire chief's was due at a Monday meeting with the town manager. The CIP committee is down to two members and needs recruiting; Brian Pike had served, and Michelle Rollo was still considering returning.

  34. 1:04:41
    GIS mapping contract

    The town manager sought authorisation to sign the GIS mapping contract with Spatial Alternatives. The $16,000 figure from the previous meeting was explained as the contract amount of $12,500 plus an allowance for map updates over two years, which the vendor could not price exactly.

  35. 1:09:44
    Contract breakdown

    The $12,500 covers setup and digitising, leaving about $3,500 of the approved amount for updates over two years, with a $500 annual software cost and a $750 update charge that members understood does not apply in the first year. Updates include yearly parcel uploads, quarterly checks and quarterly mailing-address updates; the board discussed doing map updates once a year and where the cost sits in the ARPA and regular budgets. Printed maps are included as a deliverable, and members debated whether printed copies are still useful.

  36. 1:14:47
    Contract start date, approval and signing

    Members noted the agreement text is dated July 29, 2022 and that the vendor signed on August 5, and agreed the effective date is when the town signs and that the update year should start when the maps launch, which could take four or five months. The board then moved approval of the Master Services agreement and, separately, authorisation for the town manager to sign it.

  37. 1:14:47
    Consent agenda and certificate of recommitment

    A member asked what a certificate of recommitment is. The explanation given was that it recommits outstanding unpaid taxes going back years to the person recently sworn in as tax collector so the bills carry the current name. Nothing was pulled from the consent agenda.

  38. 1:14:47
    Upcoming meetings and the property visit

    Select Board meetings were announced for October 11 and October 25 at 6:30 at the Town Hall, with the ARPA input discussion on the 11th, and a planning board meeting on October 12 at the fire station including a public hearing on proposed ordinance changes, mainly affordable housing. The board settled on gathering at six before the next meeting and visiting the Old Town Hall only, since the building has limited light and daylight will run out.

  39. 1:20:15
    Executive session and adjournment

    The board went into executive session on a personnel matter, with the statute cited on the recording as MRSA 405 6A, to follow up on a matter from the previous meeting. On returning, the chair stated no action was taken by the board, and the meeting was adjourned.

What was decided

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 bos92722minutes.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.

Worth knowing

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 14 decisions summarised.

Show the 1 passages

Elsewhere

← 2022-09-13 Select Board2022-10-11 Select Board →All meetings

Source & method

Town of Durham meeting recordings, YouTube auto-captions, and the town's written minutes
Captions cleaned into timestamped transcripts; topics and motions found by pattern matching; summaries written by a language model and required to cite the second each item begins. Every name attached to speech is checked against the attendance list in the minutes, and marked (?) where no record confirms it
https://www.youtube.com/@durhammaine/videos
Summary written by claude-opus-5. Attendance from bos92722minutes.txt.
Data as of 25 August 2026 (the date of the newest recorded meeting in the index); retrieved 2 September 2026.