Select Board Meeting ~ October 14, 2025

2025-10-14 · Select Board · 1:31:32 · watch on YouTube →

Select Board meeting of October 14, 2025 at the fire station. The chair restated on camera the town manager's five-year contract agreed after the previous meeting's executive session. The board settled the Durham Youth Baseball batting cage question by voting up to $8,000 from the recreation fund rather than paying the whole cost, sat as the board of assessors on three abatements and the municipal valuation return, held an unattended public hearing on the state general assistance maximums, and appointed Rebecca to an RSU 5 early childhood task force. Most of the meeting was a working discussion of the 2026 budget calendar and of the budget committee's undefined role, which the board agreed to take up again on December 9 with a view to putting language before town meeting. The board also cancelled its November 11 meeting and moved the November 25 meeting to November 18, and discussed repeated resident complaints about speeding.

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. 0:47
   Call to order and minutes

   The meeting began at 6:30 at the fire station with a quorum. There was no public comment, and a motion was taken on the minutes of September 23, 2025.

2. 6:18
   Town manager's contract restated on camera

   The chair said that after the previous meeting's executive session the board had returned to public session, with the camera off, and moved a five-year contract for the town manager. The terms given were a first-year salary of $125,000, a 3 percent change for the remaining years, stated in the recording as a decrease, and five weeks of vacation a year; the chair said it was seconded by Rebecca and approved unanimously, and is recorded in the minutes.

3. 6:18
   Batting cage proposal from Durham Youth Baseball

   Jerry (?) confirmed the town's liability policy would cover injuries at a batting cage, the same policy that covers the rest of the field and other town property. The board then debated how much of the cost to fund, with the recreation fund balance given first as about $13,000 and then as $22,000.

4. 6:18
   Disagreement over how much to contribute

   Deb (?) said she favoured about half the cost, paid once the group had raised the rest, and later proposed $8,000. The chair said he had come to favour paying in full up to $15,000, arguing that because the structure sits on town property the town would own it and anyone could use it when the team is not there.

5. 11:40
   Whether the whole town should fund it

   Josh (?) said $22,000 is a lot at a time when taxes have changed sharply and the money could be spent on parks more people would use, estimating around 110 children play baseball. The chair countered that the field is leased to Durham Youth Baseball for $1 a year and is open to anyone when not in use, and members agreed the cage would be treated as an extension of the leased field.

6. 17:00
   Board of assessors: abatements and valuation return

   Sitting as the board of assessors, the board approved three abatements as a slate for map 3 lot 35S, map 5 lot 561 and map 5 lot 56.5. It also signed the municipal valuation return, which Donna needs for the state; the 2025 certified ratio was given as 53 percent, affecting the homestead exemption until the next revaluation.

7. 22:13
   Public hearing on general assistance maximums

   The board opened and closed a public hearing on the State of Maine general assistance maximums. Nobody attended and nothing was received in writing; the town follows the state maximums.

8. 22:13
   RSU 5 early childhood transition task force

   The board read the school district's request for members, which asks each town for a parent or community member, a private care provider for children aged three to four, a select board or council member, an RSU 5 director and three RSU staff. Rebecca (?) volunteered and was appointed as the select board's representative for what was described as four meetings.

9. 22:13
   Budget calendar for 2026

   Jerry walked the board through a draft schedule: capital work from January 5, department heads submitting budgets in early March, first budget presentation March 10, the budget finalised at the April 14 meeting, documents to the budget committee April 16, and budget committee recommendations by May 7. The chair noted this is the first year under the later town meeting date, and that next year's budget covers twelve months rather than the eighteen covered last time.

10. 27:31
    Warrant language and the budget committee

    The board revisited last year's sticking point, when the budget committee would not vote on its recommendations until it had seen the warrant language rather than just the budget numbers, then held a two-minute meeting to approve it. Members discussed moving the draft review of warrant articles to the April 28 meeting so the committee has the language earlier.

11. 38:24
    The budget committee's authority

    The chair said the committee operates under bylaws signed in 2015 that were never approved by the town's legislative body, that state statute only requires including a budget committee's recommendation if one exists, and that several duties in those bylaws, such as reviewing the audit, are not carried out. Members agreed a defined process is needed.

12. 43:26
    Workshop with the budget committee

    Rather than attending the committee's meetings only when invited and answering only the questions asked, the board agreed to invite the budget committee to a workshop, set for May 5, 2026, before recommendations come back on May 7. The chair said past committee meetings had involved yelling and insults, which he wanted to avoid repeating.

13. 54:11
    Bringing the budget committee's role to town meeting

    The chair said the committee dates from 1933 and has been operating on a self-given charge without a town-approved document, unlike the planning board or appeals board, which are covered by the land use ordinance. The board agreed to use the December 9 meeting to work towards warrant language, possibly an ordinance, defining the committee's role, with examples from other towns or MMA.

14. 1:05:10
    November meeting schedule

    The board discussed cancelling the November 11 meeting, a state holiday when staff are off, and avoiding a meeting in Thanksgiving week. It settled on a single November meeting on the 18th, noting a fifth board member will have been elected by then and that a notice should go in the newsletter.

15. 1:05:10
    Town manager's report: taxes and cash position

    Jerry (?) said the next day is the last day to pay taxes without interest accruing and that a report on the percentage collected would come to a later meeting. The town had been down to about $400,000 in the bank against an $800,000 payment due to the county; the county agreed to wait, so the borrowing arrangement the town had set up will not be needed.

16. 1:10:13
    Bat removal, hiring and other manager items

    Jerry (?) said the bats are believed to be out, with vacuuming, disinfecting and permanent sealing to follow, and that bats were seen the next morning trying to get into the public works building. The town hired Dale, a CDL driver who came from another municipality and started that day, with one public works position still open; a certified letter requesting an abatement of a potential fee was confirmed delivered.

17. 1:10:13
    Chair's report

    The chair noted the turnout at the fire department open house and said several Durham volunteer firefighters attended the York County Chiefs Association training workshop, gaining apparatus driver and low angle rescue training on their own time.

18. 1:15:30
    Board member reports and thanks to the town manager

    Josh and Deb both spoke in support of the town manager's five-year contract, citing stability and continuity. Josh also mentioned the low board turnout at bulky waste day.

19. 1:15:30
    Speeding complaints

    Deb (?) reported a resident's complaint about speeding on Pinkham Brook Road (?) between the bridge and Shiloh Road, a 35 mph stretch where the sign is far back at the bridge, and said the resident had contacted the sheriff's department a year earlier with no change. She asked the board to take up speed limit signage and standalone digital speed signs.

20. 1:20:42
    Sheriff coverage and speed feedback signs

    A board member recounted a deputy saying the town had its opportunity and voted it down. The board discussed that it owns two speed feedback signs which Calvin moves to whichever road complains, heard that DOT generally only places speed limit signs at zone boundaries and intersections, and agreed to move an electronic sign to Route 125 and to gather the year's complaints for a future agenda.

21. 1:25:59
    Agricultural community potluck

    Rebecca flagged the agricultural committee's community potluck on Friday October 24, 6:00 to 7:30 at the Eureka Center, which she cannot attend because she is working.

22. 1:25:59
    Consent agenda and upcoming meetings

    The consent agenda was approved. The chair flagged the November 4 election, including a select board vacancy with two candidates, and the October 28 meeting with the conservation commission's open space plan update and a discussion on select board communications. No executive session was needed and the meeting adjourned.

What was decided

• 0:47
  Approve the minutes of the September 23, 2025 meetingoutcome unclear
• 17:00
  Contribute up to $8,000 from the recreation fund towards a batting cage for Durham Youth Baseball, paid at the start of installationpassed
• 17:00
  Approve the abatements as a slate for map 3 lot 35S, map 5 lot 561 and map 5 lot 56.5passed
• 17:00
  Sign the municipal valuation returnpassed
• 22:13
  Open and close the public hearing on the State of Maine general assistance maximums, with no testimony offeredpassed
• 22:13
  Appoint Rebecca as the select board's representative to the RSU 5 early childhood transition task forcepassed
• 54:11
  Agreed by consensus, without a vote, to amend the draft budget calendar: draft review of budget and warrant articles on April 28, 2026, a workshop with the budget committee on May 5, 2026, and a December 9 board discussion on the budget committee's future rolepassed
• 1:05:10
  Cancel the November 11 meeting and move the November 25 meeting to November 18passed
• 1:25:59
  Approve the consent agendapassed
• 1:25:59
  Adjournpassed

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

• 6:18
  The town manager's five-year contract sets a first-year salary of $125,000, five weeks of vacation, and a 3 percent annual change that the recording states as a decrease. The chair said the board approved it unanimously after executive session at the previous meeting and restated it on camera because that vote was not recorded.
• 11:40
  The board split over the batting cage. The chair wanted the town to pay in full up to $15,000 so ownership stays clear; Josh (?) objected to spending the recreation fund on about 110 baseball families; the vote was up to $8,000 with the organization raising the rest.
• 1:05:10
  The town was down to roughly $400,000 in the bank with an $800,000 payment due to the county. The county agreed to wait, so the borrowing the town had arranged will not be used. The last day to pay taxes without interest was October 15.
• 1:20:42
  On speeding, a board member reported a deputy's response that the town had its opportunity for coverage and voted it down. The town has two speed feedback signs that Calvin moves between complaining roads; complaints named Swamp Road, Davis Road, Route 125, Route 136 and Route 9.

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: 10 passages of motion language, against 10 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

← 2025-09-23 Select Board2025-10-28 Select Board →All meetings