Select Board Meeting ~ December 26, 2023

2023-12-26 · Select Board · 39:09 · watch on YouTube →

The Select Board met on December 26, 2023 with three members present; Richard George and Joe Roy were excused, and the budget discussion was pulled from the agenda until the full board could attend. Most of the meeting was taken up by reports from the road commissioner and the fire chief on the December storm and flooding, covering damage assessment, the closure of Route 136, and the failure of communications and power at town buildings. The board heard that only one bid, from Casella, was received for solid waste collection, and discussed giving the solid waste committee direction on a longer-term plan. It appointed two members to the Durham Historic District Commission. The town manager reported that the Union Church transfer is still with the town's lawyer and that the town will outsource payroll after its accountant's firm lost the staff member who handled Durham's books.

What was discussed

1. 2:58
   Call to order and agenda amendment

   Joe Tomm called the meeting to order and noted a quorum, with Richard George and Joe Roy excused. A board member asked that the budget discussion be taken off the agenda until a full board was present.

2. 2:58
   Road commissioner's report on the storm and town buildings

   Calvin, the road commissioner, said the flooding was worse than forecast and that crews were still assessing damage, clearing brush and repairing shoulders, working with the fire department, the town manager, the Department of Transportation and the schools to get school buses through. He also reported repairs at the modular building behind the fire station and said an inspection of the Eureka Center foundation found the stone wall below the granite slabs pushing inward, which he was told will worsen each year with frost.

3. 8:00
   Fire chief's report on the December storm

   The fire chief reported 25 calls for service over the two-day storm, 21 of them on the first day, a full department recall by 9:10 am Monday and activation of the emergency operations centre at the fire station. Route 136 was closed from Davis to Stackpole on Tuesday at noon in conjunction with the Department of Transportation and reopened Thursday morning, and the Eureka Center was open as a charging and warming centre from 9 to 4 with no visitors.

4. 13:54
   Communications, the warming centre and the town office generator

   The fire chief said Central Maine Power gave the town no information on outages despite calls through emergency management and dispatch, and reminded residents that Facebook is not an official channel and that 911 is the way to report emergencies. A board member asked whether colder temperatures would have brought more people to the warming centre and suggested Roberta and the resiliency group could help reach residents without social media. The town office generator was described as dead, running only 20 to 30 seconds before stopping, with a grant applied for to replace it.

5. 19:20
   Solid waste collection bid

   Jerry Douglass reported that Casella submitted the only bid for curbside collection, on a five-year contract rising 5 percent a year or by CPI. In year two or three the company would supply and manage barcoded carts tied to each address, at an added start-up cost.

6. 24:33
   Solid waste committee direction

   A board member asked whether the solid waste committee had made progress on a long-term plan. Jerry Douglass said the committee's bylaws set out membership but give no direction, and offered to bring Curtis in so the board could tell the committee what to look at, such as a transfer station site or a compost facility. The board also discussed how a five-year contract fits with the annual town meeting appropriation.

7. 24:33
   Historic District Commission appointments

   Two applicants endorsed by the commission were brought to the board for appointment, David McClellan as a full voting member and Sandra Hilton as an alternate.

8. 29:51
   Town manager's report

   Jerry Douglass said the town's lawyer has advised that the Union Church could be transferred to the historical society by quitclaim deed but that any money must be approved at town meeting, and that a full discussion will come back once warrant language is drafted. He also reported that Mark, who handles the town's accounting, is leaving his firm in March, so payroll will be outsourced and accounts payable brought back in house.

9. 35:26
   Board member reports

   A board member said the board is working on its own bylaws, that drafts have been circulated for edits, and that they will appear on a future agenda for discussion and a vote.

10. 35:26
    Consent agenda and adjournment

    The board accepted the consent agenda, which included select board and planning board minutes, and adjourned. The next meeting was expected to be given over almost entirely to the budget presentation.

What was decided

• 2:58
  Amend the agenda to remove the budget discussion until a full board is presentoutcome unclear
• 24:33
  Bring Curtis in to a future meeting so the board can give the solid waste committee direction on a long-term planoutcome unclear
• 24:33
  Appoint David McClellan as a full member and Sandra Hilton as an alternate member of the Durham Historic District Commission, moved by Heather Roy and seconded by Josh Klein-Goldenpassed
• 35:26
  Accept the consent agenda as presented, moved by Joe Tomm and seconded by Josh Klein-Goldenpassed
• 35:26
  Adjourn the meeting at 7:09 pm, moved by Josh Klein-Golden and seconded by Heather Roypassed

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 sb_meeting_minutes_12_26_23.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.

• appoint David McClellan as a full member and Sandra Hilton as an alternate member of the Durham Historic District Commission. Joshcarried 3-0

  Moved by Heather Roy, seconded by Josh Klein-Golden

• accept the consent agenda as presentedcarried 3-0

  Moved by Joe Tomm, seconded by Josh Klein-Golden

• adjourn the meeting at 7:09 pmcarried 3-0

  Moved by Josh Klein-Golden, seconded by Heather Roy

Worth knowing

• 8:00
  The fire department took 25 calls for service over the two-day storm, 21 on the first day. The fire chief said the Androscoggin River reached 20.2 feet, moderate flood stage, against 22 feet for major flooding, and that Central Maine Power reported over 40,000 customers without power in the county.
• 13:54
  The fire chief said Central Maine Power told the town nothing about when or why power was lost, including when the fire station, the emergency operations centre, the warming centre and the county communications tower were all without power. The town office generator does not run and a grant application for a replacement is pending.
• 19:20
  Casella was the only bidder for curbside trash collection. The five-year contract rises 5 percent a year or by CPI, and the added cost of starting the cart programme was given as both 80,000 and 880,000 in the same exchange, and as both an annual and a one-off charge.
• 29:51
  Mark, who does the town's municipal accounting, is leaving his firm in March. Payroll will be outsourced and accounts payable brought back in house. He will still present the budget on the 9th.

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: 2 passages of motion language, against 5 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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