Select Board Meeting ~ April 5, 2016

2016-04-05 · Select Board · 1:10:56 · watch on YouTube →

The Select Board's first meeting after the 2016 town meeting, held on 5 April with all five selectmen present. It began with the annual election of chair and vice chair and ended with the annual reappointment of every town committee and town officer, each voted separately. The substantive business was making the codes official's post full time, which drew extended public comment: builder Jeffrey DeWitt questioned whether now was the right moment and raised disagreements he had had with Paul Baines, while the vice commander of the AMVETS post came to say the post supports Baines and that a request to file a complaint against him had been made without the post's authority. The board voted to make the position 32 hours over four days, adding Friday with public hours from 1 to 4, effective the next full work week. The board also agreed to advertise for volunteers for a comprehensive plan committee, heard the road commissioner set out what maintaining Durham's paved roads would actually cost against what the town spends, and went into executive session on wage raises.

What was discussed

1. 0:01
   Pre-meeting discussion of how to read the appointments

   Before the gavel, members discussed whether to move the committee appointments as a single list or take them committee by committee, and settled on the chair reading each committee out. The rest of this stretch is unrelated conversation about old telephone exchanges and party lines.

2. 0:01
   Call to order and election of chair and vice chair

   The chair confirmed a quorum with all five selectmen present. As the first meeting after town meeting, the board elected its chair and vice chair: Jeffrey Wakeman was nominated for chair and Sarah Hall for vice chair, with no other nominations.

3. 0:01
   Agenda amendments

   Two items were added to the consent agenda under correspondence: a citizen complaint and a letter from Xfinity. There was no public comment at this point in the meeting.

4. 5:15
   Codes official hours and title

   With the administration budget passed at town meeting, the board took up how to make the codes official full time. Paul Baines had suggested adding the hours on Friday, the other day the town office is open, with published public hours of 1 to 4 and the morning left for work he cannot do while the public is coming in.

5. 5:15
   Whether to change the title

   The board had discussed a town planner style title, particularly with the comprehensive plan about to start. It decided to keep the existing title for now, on the basis that more can always be added to it.

6. 5:15
   Public comment: a builder's concerns

   Jeffrey DeWitt introduced himself as a nearly 30-year resident, second or third generation, who has built houses in Cumberland, Yarmouth and Durham. He said he had had disagreements with Paul Baines over grey areas not covered by the code, that he can handle confrontation but others may be intimidated by it, and that he wanted respect on both sides.

7. 10:17
   Whether other complaints have been made

   Asked whether the board had received other complaints, members said there had been a few and that people had come to them unhappy that things are now followed to the letter. Members said they had told those people to write their complaints down and bring them to the board, and that nobody had done so.

8. 10:17
   Revenue from new construction

   DeWitt argued that new homes bring both economic activity and tax base, and that most of Durham's tax base comes from residences. He noted a business that had been a property tax revenue stream is gone and is now on the other side of the ledger.

9. 10:17
   Whether now is the right time for a full-time post

   DeWitt said Durham had had 30 or 40 years of part-time code enforcement, that there is a glut of lots and land available with nothing moving, and that he was not against a full-time position but questioned the timing. His suggestion was to go through this building cycle first and make it full time if things work out.

10. 10:17
    AMVETS post states its position

    The vice commander of the AMVETS post said his commander had been approached by an individual in town asking the post to file a complaint against Paul Baines over an incident earlier in the year. He said a member had spoken recklessly and without authority for the post, that the post stands behind Baines, and that the public perception that the post has a problem with him is wrong.

11. 10:17
    Code enforcement at the post

    He said the previous code enforcement officer had not held the post to the code. A group of younger veterans is trying to change the culture there, and Baines is working with them while holding their feet to the fire.

12. 15:36
    Adoption of MUBEC

    Sarah Hall said the town's adoption of MUBEC coincided with the change of officer, so people assume Baines is applying a stricter standard when the town was obliged by state law to adopt the code. She said her father and husband are builders who roll their eyes at parts of it but work to it.

13. 15:36
    What happens if permits dry up

    A member recalled the question being raised at town meeting and in a budget meeting: what to do next year if the town is only issuing two or three permits. The answer given was that if the job does not warrant the hours the board would have to reevaluate, though the post covers more than building work, including boxes of incomplete documentation Baines has inherited and has to fix.

14. 15:36
    State fire marshal's assessment

    Ken Doughty (?), also a member of the AMVETS post, described meeting the state fire marshal's office over the post's rebuild, since the building must meet state and federal code as a public meeting place. He said the inspector stated Durham is 12 years behind on code from where it should be, and that she had statistics for all towns, not just Durham.

15. 15:36
    Fairness of making the post full time then reversing

    DeWitt said he would not think it fair to bring Paul on full time and then later take it away, and would not want to do that to somebody. He reiterated that he has no problem following the code and wants unity.

16. 21:00
    Full-time hours and the comprehensive plan

    The board explained the full-time hours were also about breadth: the comprehensive plan has to be updated under state law, and the board hopes Baines will spearhead part of it.

17. 21:00
    The nature of an enforcement job

    A speaker who said he is a code enforcement officer himself observed that any job with the word enforcement in it will generate complaints, because it makes people toe a line that costs them money. He added that if a town has had no appeal in ten years, someone is not doing their job.

18. 21:00
    Motion on the codes official's hours

    The motion was made to make the position full time at 32 hours over four days, with the additional hours on Friday and published public hours of 1 to 4. It was made effective from the next full work week, given as Friday the 8th.

19. 21:00
    Paul Baines responds

    Baines thanked builders and homeowners for adjusting to how he runs the office and said publicly that any builder or homeowner who feels asked to do something outside the ordinance or code is free to challenge him. He said he is happy to sit down over the code, is open to alternatives that meet the same intent, and acknowledged getting on his high horse after 30 years in the building industry.

20. 26:11
    Getting the comprehensive plan started

    There is little money for the comprehensive plan this year, but the committee can be formed, a required survey can be done at little or no cost, and research can proceed while better funding is sought next year. Baines had started a Gantt chart and flowchart, noting a comp plan often takes as much as two years.

21. 26:11
    Early work for the committee

    Baines and Ruth Glaeser had been sharing ideas and wanted to bring a plan to the board. The early work he described needs little money: team building, learning to work as a committee, and taking the existing plan apart to see which sections still apply.

22. 26:11
    Size and make-up of the committee

    A member worried that too large a committee becomes unwieldy; Baines said that in eight years in the public realm he had never seen one that was too big, and that starting large helps because people who lack time now may have it later. Another member said seven to nine has worked on other committees, and all agreed broad representation of the town's differing views mattered most.

23. 31:20
    Recruiting the committee

    The board agreed to put out a call for volunteers without yet defining the committee, look at applications around early May, and formally sanction the committee when it is seated. It would be advertised on the town website, the town TV channel, the Tri-Town paper and posted locally, and some applications may already be on file.

24. 31:20
    Representation from other boards

    Baines said it would be advantageous to have a member of each town board on the committee, since ordinances have to follow the comprehensive plan. He undertook to approach the planning board the following night and the historic district commission on Thursday, passing word through Ruth Glaeser if family matters prevented him attending.

25. 31:20
    Annual reappointment of town committees begins

    The board went through the appointment list committee by committee, with a motion and vote on each. The Conservation Commission and Historic District Commission were taken first; the member names come from the recording and several spellings are uncertain.

26. 31:20
    Whether appointees still want to serve

    A member asked whether the board knows these people are all still interested before appointing them. The answer was that the list is as good as they can make it and that anyone who no longer wants to serve would have to send a letter of resignation.

27. 36:35
    Remaining committee and officer appointments

    The board worked through the Durham Scholarship Committee, the election clerks with Jill Toher as warden, and then the individual town officer appointments, each moved and voted separately. It was noted that one former Memorial Day parade committee member had never signed her form or attended a meeting, and that one name appeared twice on the election clerk list.

28. 41:38
    Fire chief's written report

    The chief had to leave and left a written report: two price quotes obtained for work on the meeting room floor, to be reviewed; he passed his fire inspector one class and exam and has inspections to complete and turn in. He also noted the new EMS coverage seems to be working well.

29. 41:38
    New ordinances posted

    Baines reported that the land use ordinance and the historic district commission ordinance passed at town meeting are now online for anyone wanting to review the changes. A question about whether the fee schedule was included was answered yes.

30. 41:38
    Ordinance review group

    Baines wanted to continue the ordinance review group started the previous year, with interest in tuning up the back lot ordinance and in reworking the appeal section after law court decisions on boards of appeals. He described the current bifurcated path, where a variance must be obtained from the appeals board before a conditional use application goes to the planning board, so a challenge at either stage can leave the process convoluted and expensive for the town.

31. 41:38
    How far to go before the comp plan

    Asked how sweeping the ordinance work should be before a comprehensive plan is in place, Baines said there are only a couple of places where substantive work can be done now, the appeal section and back lots, with subdivision a possibility. He said getting the comp plan going matters precisely so the ordinances can be brought back in step with it.

32. 41:38
    Growth ordinance and permit volume

    Baines said the growth ordinance has to be reviewed by the state every three years and carries a heavy record-keeping burden. Contrary to the impression that little was being built, he reported 12 of the last 15 permits since mid-December were for new homes, roughly twice as many as in all of the previous year, and that the threshold in the growth ordinance may become an issue this year.

33. 41:38
    Runaround Pond before the planning board

    The Runaround Pond project was going before the planning board the following night on the question of whether review is required. Baines did not believe the planning board needs to review it; if the board agrees, the information goes to the state and Durham gets on a schedule, otherwise it lands on next month's docket.

34. 46:52
    MainePERS

    Baines reported that there are no choices for town employees on MainePERS, describing it as all in or nothing. He mentioned a 30-year threshold under which someone who has paid into Social Security for 30 years faces no penalty, and said he would double check it. He then asked to be excused from the rest of the meeting.

35. 46:52
    First quarter budget and the office supply line

    Ruth Glaeser reported nothing extraordinary in the first quarter figures. Asked why the office supply line was almost 42 percent spent a quarter of the way through the year, she explained an unexplained volume of copies in December worth about $500 that the office had recounted repeatedly, with March an outlier at almost $900.

36. 46:52
    Administrator's absence and the budget committee

    Ruth Glaeser said she would be away for the next meeting and would prepare the agenda before leaving on Friday, with Pam attending if willing. The quarterly figures would go to the budget committee, whose joint meeting with the board had already been set for the second Tuesday in June, though members were briefly unsure whether it was June or July.

37. 46:52
    Test borings on Runaround Pond

    Calvin Beaumier said All States would do test borings on the Runaround Pond route the next morning, and addressed a rumour that the town was paying for testing twice. The contractor wants its own testing to set the mix formula and is paying for it; the town is providing traffic control and gravel to fill the holes.

38. 46:52
    Road commissioner's other work

    Tree cutting along Runaround Pond Road has started, and all town roads were unposted the previous Friday. Beaumier had been working on Pownal's capital road plan and attending its CIP meetings, and had a draft of Durham's capital plan for the board that still needed ground truthing.

39. 52:55
    What road maintenance actually costs

    Beaumier gave per-mile figures: $24,800 for shimming alone with no shoulder work, $66,173 for a one and a quarter inch overlay, $78,573 for an inch and a half overlay, and $29,943 for a single chip seal. These assume paving at the current $70 a ton, which he expected to come in at the low to mid sixties this year.

40. 52:55
    Ten-year and seven-year plans against the budget

    With 47.2 miles of paved town roads, a ten-year cycle means 4.72 miles a year, costing about $438,000 a year for a half inch shim and inch and a quarter overlay or about $552,000 for the heavier option. A seven-year chip seal cycle means 6.74 miles a year at about $378,000 or $461,000. The town currently spends about $225,000 a year.

41. 52:55
    Looking for cheaper options

    Beaumier said the roads are in a 25-year slump and that at a mile a year it would be 50 years before returning to the same road. He was pricing other options, including crumb rubber at around $4 a square yard, to get the number to something palatable, and noted these figures cover only maintaining what exists.

42. 52:55
    Crew training

    The crew attended a roadway fundamentals class in Augusta that day and were there until 3:30.

43. 58:19
    Switching the crew to four ten-hour days

    Beaumier said he was playing the switch by ear because the weather has not settled, with crews still treating roads, and was aiming for the 15th. In summer the crew works four ten-hour days and in winter four nines and a four, so trucks are available to treat roads in the morning for school buses and commuters.

44. 58:19
    Truck specifications

    Beaumier was meeting Skip from Freightliner the next day to revise the truck specifications, tightening some items that had been over-specified last time and strengthening others. There are only four or five vendors to send it to, including Kenworth, Western Star and International, and the town already owns the Freightliner diagnostic software.

45. 58:19
    How to bid Runaround Pond and Rabbit Road

    Paving has been done under the same Crooker contract for three or four years, but a project of this size needs a packet so others such as Pike or Story Brothers can bid. The plan discussed was to keep Crooker for the paving and put the earthwork out, with members noting residents expect the board to shop around on this amount of money.

46. 1:03:26
    The Crooker contract and regional timing

    The Crooker arrangement is multi-year at the bid price with an escalator that in current conditions would reduce the price as asphalt falls. Members also raised timing Durham's paving alongside Pownal and Freeport for economies of scale, noting Freeport's package had included Pownal Elementary and Freeport's schools and roads.

47. 1:03:26
    Adding the fire station parking lot

    A member suggested putting the fire department parking lot into whatever package goes out, since it would qualify for the town's discount. The fire chief's written report mentions it.

48. 1:03:26
    Engineering not yet done

    The engineering could not start until town meeting approved the money. Some engineering appears to exist from the park to the Pownal town line, the worst part of the road, and Beaumier planned to call the engineer rather than reinvent the wheel, while noting contractors book up their year early.

49. 1:03:26
    How the road work gets paid for

    The tax commitment does not go out until July, so the money is not there until late in the paving season. The bond bank's spring season has closed and banks have historically given the town better prices, so a bank loan looked likely; there was uncertainty about whether a bond anticipation note needs bond bank approval, which would push things to September, and the town's bond counsel was to be consulted.

50. 1:08:43
    A ditching plan

    Beaumier said the town has 560,000 feet of ditch line and that he is working on a ditching plan alongside the road plan, since there is no point spending on roads and leaving them underwater. He said the instructor at that day's class asked how many present had a ditching plan and few hands went up.

51. 1:08:43
    Confirmation that the budget passed

    The board confirmed the budget was approved at the levels presented, so engineering can proceed and work on financing can begin. The plans for that part would be discussed at the next meeting.

52. 1:08:43
    Upcoming meetings and executive session

    Regular selectmen's meetings were set for Tuesday 19 April and Tuesday 3 May at 6:30 p.m. at the town office. The board then moved into executive session on personnel matters and wage raises.

What was decided

• 0:01
  Elect Jeffrey Wakeman as chair of the Select Board. Nominated and seconded with no other nominations; he presided for the rest of the meeting and the written minutes list him as Chairman.passed
• 0:01
  Elect Sarah Hall as vice chair of the Select Board. Nominated and seconded with no other nominations; the written minutes list her as Vice Chairman.passed
• 0:01
  Approve the consent agenda as amended, with two additions under correspondence, a citizen complaint and a letter from Xfinity. The minutes record the motion by Sarah Hall, seconded by Mark Blake, carried 5-0.passed
• 21:00
  Make the codes official's position a full time, 32-hour, four-day-a-week position, adding Friday hours with published public hours from 1 to 4 and the rest of the day for work outside the normal flow, effective the next full work week. The minutes record the motion by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Michael Stewart, carried 5-0.passed
• 31:20
  Put out a call for volunteers for a comprehensive plan committee without yet defining its size or structure, with applications reviewed around early May and the committee formally sanctioned by the board when it is seated. Agreed by general consensus; the chair said explicitly that no vote was needed at this stage.passed
• 31:20
  Approve the appointments to the Conservation Commission as presented. The minutes record the motion by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby, carried 5-0.passed
• 31:20
  Approve the appointments to the Historic District Commission as presented, including alternates. The minutes record the motion by Joshua Libby, seconded by Sarah Hall, carried 5-0.passed
• 31:20
  Approve the appointments to the Cemetery Committee as presented. The minutes record the motion by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby, carried 5-0.passed
• 31:20
  Approve the appointments to the Eureka Community Center Committee as presented. The minutes record the motion by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart, carried 5-0.passed
• 31:20
  Approve the appointments to the Telecommunications Committee as presented. The minutes record the motion by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby, carried 5-0.passed
• 31:20
  Approve the appointments to the Memorial Day Parade Committee as presented. The minutes record the motion by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart, carried 5-0.passed
• 36:35
  Approve the appointments to the Durham Scholarship Committee as presented. Moved, seconded and carried on a voice vote in the recording; this motion does not appear in the list of motions from the written minutes.passed
• 36:35
  Approve the appointments of the election clerks as presented and appoint Jill Toher as warden. The minutes record the motion by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby, carried 5-0.passed
• 36:35
  Appoint William St. Michel as Forest Warden, Fire Rescue Chief and EMA Director. The minutes record the motion by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake, carried 5-0.passed
• 36:35
  Appoint Shannon Plourde as Town Clerk, Registrar, Deputy Tax Collector and Deputy Treasurer. The minutes record the motion by Sarah Hall, seconded by Michael Stewart, carried 5-0.passed
• 36:35
  Appoint Paul Baines as Codes Official and Building, Plumbing and Electrical Inspector. The minutes record the motion by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart, carried 5-0.passed
• 36:35
  Appoint the town office deputies: Pam Kluchi (?) as Deputy Clerk, Treasurer, Tax Collector and Deputy General Assistance Administrator, and Ruth Glaeser as General Assistance Administrator, Treasurer, Tax Collector, Administrative Assistant, Town Administrator and Deputy Clerk. Each was moved, seconded and carried separately on a voice vote.passed
• 36:35
  Appoint the emergency services deputies: William Dong (?) as Assistant EMA Director, Lisa Groves as Deputy EMS Chief and Keith Russell as Deputy Fire Chief. Each was moved, seconded and carried separately on a voice vote.passed
• 1:08:43
  Go into executive session pursuant to 1 M.R.S.A. section 405(6)(A), personnel matters, wage raises. Moved, seconded, and the chair stated the motion carries.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.

Motions the minutes record

The town's own written account of what was decided, taken from select_board_minutes_4-5-20161.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 Amendedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Mark Blake

• make the Codes Official's position a full time, thirty-two hour, four days a week position adding Friday hours from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for the public and the rest of the time for office workcarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Approve the Appointments for the Conservation Commission as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Approve the Appointments for the Historic District Commission as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Sarah Hall

• Approve the Appointments for the Cemetery Committee as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Approve the Appointments for the Eureka Community Center as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Approve the Appointments to the Telecommunications Committee as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Approve the Appointments to the Memorial Day Parade Committee as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Approve the Appointments for Election Clerks as presented and Approve the Appointment of Jill Toher as Wardencarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Approve the Appointment of William St. Michel as Forest Warden, Fire Rescue Chief and EMA Director as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake

• Approve the Appointment of Shannon Plourde as Town Clerk, Registrar, Deputy Tax Collector and Deputy Treasurer as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Approve the Appointment of Paul Baines as Codes Official, Building/Plumbing and Electric Inspector as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Approve the Appointment of Pamela Cloutier as Deputy Clerk, Deputy Treasurer/Deputy Tax Collector and Deputy G.A. Administrator as presented. Motioncarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, no seconder recorded

• Approve the Appointment of Ruth Glaeser as G.A. Administrator, Treasurer/Tax Collector, Administrative Assistant (Town Administrator) and Deputy Clerk as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Approve the Appointment of William DeLong as Assistant EMA Director as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Michael Stewart, seconded by Sarah Hall

• Approve the Appointment of Lisa Groves as Deputy EMS Chief as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake

• Approve the Appointment of Keith Russell as Deputy Fire Chief as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Michael Stewart, seconded by Joshua Libby

• the Board into Executive Session pursuant to Title #1, M.R.S.A., ss. 405 (6)(A) – Personnel – Personnel Matters – Wage Raises at 7:37 p.m., preceded by a brief recesscarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby

• grant raises as discussedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Adjourn at 8:15 p.mcarried 4-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart

Worth knowing

• 41:38
  Against the argument that building had stalled, the codes official reported that 12 of the last 15 permits since mid-December were for new homes, roughly twice as many as in all of the previous year. He warned the growth ordinance threshold may become an issue this year.
• 15:36
  A state fire marshal's inspector who came to review the AMVETS post's rebuild told those present that Durham is 12 years behind on code from where it should be, and said she had comparable statistics for other towns.
• 52:55
  The road commissioner laid out the arithmetic: keeping Durham's 47.2 miles of paved road on a ten-year cycle costs roughly $438,000 to $552,000 a year, and a seven-year chip seal cycle $378,000 to $461,000, against the roughly $225,000 a year the town actually spends. He described the roads as in a 25-year slump.
• 1:08:43
  The new public works truck passed at town meeting by a single vote, and members noted people are watching what the town does with it.

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 19 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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