January 26, 2021 ~ Select Board Meeting

2021-01-26 · Select Board · 1:52:38 · watch on YouTube →

The Select Board met remotely on January 26, 2021 with all five members present, and spent most of the evening voting the April town meeting warrant article by article. Before that it questioned David from the town's IT vendor BEK about moving the town's email to either Microsoft 365 or Google, and leaned toward Microsoft on the grounds that office staff already use Word and Excel; a written proposal with costs is to come back for a vote at the next meeting. Town planner George Thebarge answered questions on four land use ordinance articles covering road classifications, home-based businesses, the appeals process and miscellaneous cleanup; the board put all four on the warrant by 3-2, and a subsequent motion to remove the home-based business article failed, so it stays on. The board dropped the article that would have discontinued the recreation fund, changed its general assistance recommendation from $1,000 to $600 to match the budget committee, and rejected one buildings article as presented before approving a revised version that draws $2,754 from undesignated rather than raising money twice for a back door. It also settled on Tuesday April 6 for the election rather than the Friday or Saturday before, and asked road commissioner Calvin to bring a written proposal on posting additional roads.

What was discussed

1. 0:04
   Roll call and agenda

   Kevin Nadeau called the meeting to order in remote Zoom format and took a roll call, confirming all five board members present. He noted George Thebarge would join for the warrant discussion because several land use ordinance questions are proposed, so some articles might be taken out of order. Rob Pontau asked about road postings, which were folded into Calvin's report rather than added as a separate item since no decision could be made without a public hearing process.

2. 0:04
   Public comment

   The chair invited public comment, waited, and closed it for the remainder of the meeting with no one speaking.

3. 0:04
   Email changeover: the choice of platform

   David from BEK, the town's IT vendor, joined for an open question and answer session. Ruth (?) said the town has applied for the durhammaine.gov domain but has not chosen between Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. David (?) said BEK recommends Microsoft on reliability and security, citing Microsoft's 17 data centres against Google's six or seven and Google's practice of not reacting to outages until at least five percent of its base is affected.

4. 5:12
   The case for Google

   Rob Pontau said he chose Google eleven years ago for the Brunswick Sewer District and has had one outage in ten years lasting about eighteen minutes. He put Google's basic plan at around $6 per user per month for 30 gigabytes and the next tier at $12, and said Google was far easier to set up without IT support, though it has grown more complex as it moved to enterprise management.

5. 10:32
   Costs and the Office applications

   David put Microsoft business class email, with 50-gigabyte mailboxes, web mail and shared calendars and contacts, at $4 per user per month, and a subscription including the Office applications at somewhere between $12 and $20. Rob Pontau noted that anyone continuing to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint saves money on Microsoft 365 rather than buying desktop versions, and that at his own workplace only a few staff have both accounts.

6. 10:32
   Retention and spam filtering

   Asked about email retention, David (?) said the $4 base plan includes no retention, no anti-spam and no anti-malware, and that BEK layers on a Barracuda product providing those plus encryption and ten days of recovery for deleted mail, which he priced per mailbox and said brings the total close to Google's $6 starter tier. Members noted Google includes spam filtering and some security and management controls.

7. 15:50
   Where the board leaned

   Ruth (?) said office staff use Microsoft products and none of the people she works with use Google. Marc Farrin and Kevin Nadeau said that if the email itself is roughly a wash, staff comfort points to Microsoft, and Nadeau added that Microsoft looks the more stable company over the next few years. Members noted the address will end in .gov either way, so recipients will not see which platform is behind it.

8. 15:50
   The .gov domain and migration

   The .gov application was submitted about two weeks ago against an expected two-week turnaround; Ruth agreed to call and chase it, since a long wait might force a rethink. David (?) explained the migration copies all existing mail to the new platform over a window of one to three weeks before the switch is made, with forwarders set up so mail to old addresses reaches the new ones, and no mail continuing to hit the old server.

9. 21:12
   Next step on email

   The chair asked Ruth to prepare a one-page proposal with costs for the next meeting, at which the board would vote to approve it and start the transition, ideally with the domain settled by then. David (?) said BEK's October quote had expired and that Elizabeth would send a refreshed copy, though he saw nothing in it that would change materially.

10. 21:12
    Date of the election

    Elections are normally held the Friday before a Saturday town meeting, and Becky had suggested holding the election on the Saturday. Members raised that every other town vote falls on a Tuesday and asked what would produce the best turnout. Becky (?) said a Tuesday would have to be April 6 and would give more time with absentee ballots, which arrive at the beginning of March.

11. 26:13
    Settling on Tuesday April 6

    Members noted the April weekend would be one of the best ski weekends of the year and that Saturday April 3 falls on Easter weekend, and agreed Tuesday April 6 was the better date. Becky (?) said she would call Ralph on Thursday to confirm the Amvets hall is free on a Tuesday, since they have activities on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and the board agreed to hold a short meeting to change the date if it is not available.

12. 26:13
    Land use articles: road classifications

    George Thebarge (?) explained that replacing the public and private road standards with minor local, local and sub-collector classifications is not the big policy change, since the town is not accepting roads and the first two categories are close to what exists. Widths were given as 20 feet for minor local, 22 for local and 24 for sub-collector, based on a survey of surrounding towns.

13. 31:24
    Back lots and private roads

    The substantive change is to back lots. At present someone with enough land can create multiple back lots served by a private road, which the planning board sees as unapproved subdivisions producing the same impacts without the review; the proposal is that anyone putting in a private road serving multiple lots goes through subdivision review. In exchange, a single back lot serving one dwelling could be reached by a 16-foot driveway rather than a 20-foot road, which Thebarge (?) said the fire chief is comfortable with. He noted the package was ready last February before COVID cancelled town meeting.

14. 31:24
    Driveway standards

    Todd Beaulieu said there are no driveway standards at all and that a 600-foot private driveway serving a single lot presents the same access problems for fire trucks as a back lot. Thebarge agreed it is an issue many towns have tried to address and that it is intensive to monitor, and said the planning board was not ready to go beyond back lot access this time.

15. 31:24
    Fire department concerns on back lot access

    Thebarge (?) said the fire department's concerns, informed by John Simino's (?) experience, were width, clearance and how many vehicles would use a drive running at least 300 feet back, and that the town has had bad experiences reaching such places. Those standards have been added to the back lot access provisions. The chief's worry was that a 16-foot driveway would end up serving five lots, which the proposal addresses by requiring an upgrade and subdivision review if further lots are added.

16. 37:04
    Gift lots and private ways

    Thebarge (?) explained state subdivision law exempts gift lots to relatives where the land has been owned five years, but that Durham's private road standards and approval process do not deal effectively with the road and drainage issues, and there is no public process for reviewing them. He said the town could add provisions for private roads outside subdivision, as Falmouth does with notice to abutters, but the planning board doubts the town has the staff capacity and the ordinance lacks the standards.

17. 37:04
    Home-based businesses

    Richard George raised the home-based daycare case that generated confusion, and Thebarge (?) said the planning board's conclusion after a year was that a home-based business must not change the character of the residential property, with strict limits on floor area, employees, outside storage and vehicle parking. Within those limits the code officer can approve it without a hearing; anything beyond them goes to the planning board like any other business.

18. 42:09
    Objection to the floor area limit

    Richard George said allowing up to 50 percent or 1,500 square feet of the residence or other structures seems a lot for a home-based business, and that it invites people to build a garage out back to house a daycare. Thebarge (?) said a public hearing is scheduled for February 8 and the board could weigh in there, since the planning board can still make changes.

19. 42:09
    What the board is actually voting on

    The chair explained the warrant article refers to a draft ordinance held as an exhibit rather than reproducing its text, so the planning board can still amend the wording after the public hearing without invalidating the article. Ruth (?) said the text must be finalised in time for people to review it and certainly before absentee ballots go out, and members put that at around 30 days.

20. 47:11
    Whether hearings come before or after

    Richard George asked why public hearings are not held and finished before an ordinance is drafted. He was told the planning board held public discussion at its meetings during drafting, and that a noticed public hearing is required once a warrant article exists, which is scheduled for February 8. Thebarge (?) said an early February hearing for an April vote gives the public reasonable time, and members noted everything is pushed up about 30 days this year because of the ballot town meeting format.

21. 47:11
    The board's role on these articles

    Thebarge (?) said the board's question is not whether it agrees with the planning board's policy but whether this is the right time to put the change to voters, comparing it with the marijuana question. The chair agreed, saying the board's role is to judge whether the planning board has done its homework and the proposal is on sound footing.

22. 52:50
    Appeals process amendments

    The change clarifies that the board of appeals may uphold, overturn or remand a decision but may not substitute its own judgment for the planning board's or a code officer's. Thebarge (?) said it is unusual for a board of appeals to hear appeals from virtually every board, possibly including the select board, and that the appeals board's job is to check that the ordinance was followed and the decision was based on the record.

23. 52:50
    Miscellaneous ordinance changes

    The fourth article gathers administrative changes identified during the planning board's year of work with the land use ordinance, including requiring digital submissions so documents can be posted on the website. It also carries the one small shoreland zoning change the DEP required, which brings the town fully into compliance with state law.

24. 58:03
    Motion to remove the home-based business article

    After the four articles were placed on the warrant, Richard George said the definitions add ambiguity by extending a home-based business from the principal structure to any structure, and that a single case in town was being turned into a law. Todd Beaulieu agreed. Richard George then moved to remove article 9, on home-based businesses, from the warrant, and Todd Beaulieu seconded.

25. 58:03
    Articles 1 through 4

    Ruth (?) explained that article 3 elects a moderator to preside during the election, which is a legal requirement even without a floor meeting, the warden Gary having served as moderator last time. Article 3 also moves from undesignated fund balance the amount the solid waste budget went over in 2020, and article 4 is the fail-safe allowing the town to fall back to the 2020 municipal budget for any article not approved.

26. 58:03
    Capital improvement articles

    Articles 5, 6 and 7 cover a transfer of $60,000 from the capital fund to buy replacement self-contained breathing apparatus air packs, $30,000 to the fire department capital fund and $30,000 to the public works fund. The select board and budget committee agreed on all three.

27. 1:03:26
    Fund warrant articles

    A group of fund articles removed from last year's warrant were put back at the board's request. Article 12 closes the old home days fund, which holds $59 that would lapse into undesignated. Article 14 consolidates the municipal building account, title searches account, town office reserve fund and revaluation into a new municipal capital fund usable for any municipal building, infrastructure, equipment or vehicle capital expense.

28. 1:03:26
    The recreation fund article

    Article 13 would have discontinued the recreation fund, which since the loss of state park fees holds only snowmobile fees and boat excise, with the balance lapsing into undesignated while the revenue could still only be spent on recreation. Kevin Nadeau said he was on the fence and worried residents seeing $6,300 move into the general fund would think the town was no longer funding recreation. Ruth (?) noted the snowmobile funds must legally go to the snowmobile club if there is one.

29. 1:09:22
    Discontinuing automatic transfers

    Articles 15 and 17 would end the practice of sweeping unspent fire department and public works operating funds into their capital funds, so that money lapses to undesignated and the CIP process decides what goes into capital. Article 16 would end the automatic transfer of EMT rescue receipts into the fire and rescue capital fund, so that revenue could be appropriated to the fire operating budget as well. Article 18 would discontinue the bridge account, carried for over ten years, and move its balance into the public works capital fund.

30. 1:14:28
    Dropping article 13

    Returning to the fund articles, members said discontinuing the recreation fund would create more headaches than it solves. The chair asked whether any member wanted to argue for keeping article 13 on the warrant and none did, so the motion that followed covered article 12 and articles 14 through 18 only.

31. 1:14:28
    Fire and rescue budget

    The select board and budget committee recommendations differ on article 19. The budget committee's position, described from notes circulated by Milt Simon (?), was to keep labour flat with what was approved in 2020, while the board's recommendation funds training coming back fully after COVID. Jill (?) clarified for the committee that the intent was to hold to the 2020 approved figure, which was $30,000 more than was actually spent, and that this should cover increased training.

32. 1:19:59
    Articles 20 to 23

    On article 20, article 21 covering administration, article 22 and article 23 covering debt payments on the town's bonds, the select board and budget committee recommendations were in alignment, and each was moved and voted in turn by roll call.

33. 1:25:10
    General assistance

    The board and budget committee were not aligned on article 24. The chair explained the town typically raises $1,000 and rarely spends it, and that any overspending for someone in need can be taken from undesignated without a special town meeting. The budget committee proposed $600, matching recent actual spending, and the chair said that reasoning was perfectly sound.

34. 1:25:10
    Article 25 and the back door

    The budget committee recommended taking $2,264 from undesignated because that money was raised last year to fix or replace a door and the work was never done, and it did not want to raise the money twice. Rob Pontau asked whether the money had been meant for anything else; Ruth (?) said the back door has been an ongoing problem, out of alignment and needing to be squared up. Members doubted $2,200 would buy a six-foot commercial door, and Todd Beaulieu said he had avoided doing much because he believes the footing under the door is poor and the foundation moves.

35. 1:30:17
    Telecommunications

    The budget committee recommended a lower figure for article 26 because the town has been spending from the franchise fee account faster than fees come in for roughly three years, and because the committee doubts franchise fees will survive the next contract. The chair noted there is no tax impact this year since the whole appropriation is a transfer of franchise fees, but the committee did not want to draw the account down as far as proposed.

36. 1:35:42
    Article 27 and the tax levy question

    On article 27 the budget committee recommended a 2 percent increase over last year on the grounds that it did not have enough information about what the project money was for. Article 28 is the legally required question that appears when the anticipated tax levy is above a set threshold, which the town did not need last year because so much was cut from the budget for COVID.

37. 1:35:42
    Business articles

    Articles 29 through 39 are the same group as in past years, the only changes being percentages. The interest rate on delinquent taxes drops from 8 percent last year to 6 percent, which Ruth (?) said is the highest figure the law allows this year against a permitted range of four to six, and interest on overpayment of abated taxes is set at 2 percent.

38. 1:35:42
    Fire chief's report

    The chief reported continuing COVID-19 response and multiple-call days, and singled out the crews who responded to the mutual aid fire in Lisbon that weekend, seven hours of what he called the worst of New England winter firefighting, along with those who stayed and covered the town. The department is reallocating within its current budget to give every member a working radio, work led by firefighter EMT Chris Higgins, and Captain Salv (?) is rebuilding the town's water and rope rescue capability, which had slipped.

39. 1:41:05
    Training, grants and the SCBA purchase

    The station is hosting the Tri County Firefighter 1 and 2 program with pandemic controls the chief is monitoring, and the fire service review RFP went out last week. The chief will bring a fire act grant application, a 5 percent match toward a replacement turnout gear washer and improved dryer, to the next meeting. He asked to send the SCBA RFP out ahead of the budget vote because manufacturers are running behind, and members agreed after confirming the document is worded to hinge on budget approval in April.

40. 1:41:05
    Road commissioner's report

    Calvin (?) reported the budget and presentation finalised, and paving specification documents for the 2021 to 2023 paving bid in final draft with the engineer, ready for the board next meeting. Diagnostic software for heavy equipment and trucks is being updated with a mechanic going to Freightliner of Maine in Bangor for a day's training, safety data sheet books and policies are being updated, and the new 2021 Wheeler is going out on its first run that night in the snow.

41. 1:46:11
    Posting roads to trucks

    Calvin (?) confirmed the board can post roads by its own action under an ordinance already in place, and pointed to the statute cited in the 2012 correspondence with the town's then attorney. Rob Pontau said he can see stress cracks on Rabbit Road from trucking since Dugas opened his pit and named Rabbit Road and Plummer Mill Road (?) as the clearest candidates, noting trucks can stay on Route 9 and 136; he acknowledged he lives on Rabbit Road and that it is personal for him. He also floated the section of Davis Road from Runaround Pond to Bowie Hill Road, with trucks routed via Auburn Pownal Road (?), while saying that might be too much.

42. 1:46:11
    Process for the road postings

    Members agreed some form of public comment is needed but not a separate standalone hearing, and that it could be taken at a regular meeting as with junkyard permits. Calvin was asked to bring a short written proposal citing the ordinance and statute, listing the roads he proposes to add and also the roads already posted for reference, so residents can see the whole picture. Public comment would be taken at the following meeting and the vote after that.

43. 1:46:11
    Consent agenda

    The chair moved to accept the consent agenda as presented, Richard George seconded, and it was carried on a roll call.

44. 1:51:17
    Upcoming meetings and executive session

    The next regular meetings were set for Tuesday February 9 and Tuesday February 23, both at 6:30 p.m., with the planning board's public hearing on the proposed ordinance changes on February 8 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom, the link available on the town website. The board then moved into executive session under 1 M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(A) on personnel matters.

What was decided

• 21:12
  No decision was made on the email platform. Ruth was asked to bring a one-page proposal with costs to the next meeting for the board to vote on, and BEK is to refresh its expired October quote. The board's stated leaning was toward Microsoft 365 because office staff already use Microsoft products.tabled
• 26:13
  Board agreed, without a formal vote, to hold the election on Tuesday April 6 rather than Friday April 2 or Saturday April 3, on the grounds that other town votes fall on Tuesdays, that the Saturday is Easter weekend and a strong ski weekend, and that a Tuesday allows more time with absentee ballots. Becky is to confirm the Amvets hall is free on a Tuesday, and the board would meet briefly to change the date if it is not.passed
• 52:50
  Motion to approve articles 8, 9, 10 and 11, the land use ordinance amendments on roads, home-based businesses, appeals and miscellaneous changes, as presented for inclusion on the warrant; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau. On the roll call Todd Beaulieu voted no and Rob Pontau, Marc Farrin and Kevin Nadeau voted yes; the minutes record it carried 3-2.passed
• 58:03
  Motion by Richard George, seconded by Todd Beaulieu, to REMOVE article 9, the home-based business ordinance amendment, FROM the warrant. The chair explained that a yes vote meant removing it and a no vote meant leaving it on. Todd Beaulieu and Richard George voted yes; Rob Pontau, Marc Farrin and Kevin Nadeau voted no. The motion to remove FAILED, so article 9 stays on the warrant.failed
• 58:03
  Motion to approve articles 1, 2, 3 and 4 as presented for inclusion on the warrant; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Marc Farrin. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:03:26
  Motion to approve articles 5, 6 and 7, the capital improvement articles, as presented for inclusion on the warrant; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:14:28
  Article 13, which would have discontinued the recreation fund, was left off the warrant. Members said the accounting made sense but that residents would read the $6,300 moving to the general fund as the town abandoning recreation funding; the chair asked whether anyone wished to argue for keeping it and nobody did, so it was not included in any motion.failed
• 1:14:28
  Motion to approve article 12 and articles 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 as presented for inclusion on the warrant, article 13 having been left out; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:14:28
  Motion to approve article 19, the fire and rescue budget, as presented, keeping the select board's recommendation rather than adopting the budget committee's lower figure; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Marc Farrin. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:19:59
  Motion to approve article 20 as presented for inclusion on the warrant, the board and budget committee being in alignment; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:19:59
  Motion to approve article 21, administration, as presented for inclusion on the warrant; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:19:59
  Motion to approve article 22 as presented for inclusion on the warrant; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:19:59
  Motion to approve article 23, debt payments on the town's bonds, as presented for inclusion on the warrant; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:25:10
  Motion that the select board change its recommendation for general assistance from $1,000 to $600, with $420 still to be transferred, matching the budget committee; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Marc Farrin. Todd Beaulieu, Marc Farrin, Rob Pontau and Kevin Nadeau voted yes and Richard George voted no, carrying it 4-1.passed
• 1:25:10
  Motion to approve article 24 as presented for inclusion on the warrant, the board now being in alignment with the budget committee; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:30:17
  Motion to approve article 25 as presented, keeping the select board's recommendation rather than the budget committee's. Rob Pontau voted yes; Todd Beaulieu, Richard George, Marc Farrin and Kevin Nadeau voted no. The motion FAILED 4-1.failed
• 1:30:17
  Substitute motion to change the transfer amount on article 25 from $490 to $2,754, leaving the total appropriation at $6,813, and to approve the article for inclusion on the warrant; seconded by Todd Beaulieu. All five members voted yes on the roll call, putting the board in alignment with the budget committee.passed
• 1:30:17
  Motion to approve article 26, telecommunications, as presented, keeping the select board's figure rather than the budget committee's lower one. Todd Beaulieu, Richard George, Rob Pontau and Kevin Nadeau voted yes and Marc Farrin voted no, carrying it 4-1.passed
• 1:35:42
  Motion to approve article 27 as presented for inclusion on the warrant. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:35:42
  Motion to approve article 28, the question required by law when the anticipated tax levy exceeds a set threshold, as presented; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George. All members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:35:42
  Motion to approve articles 29 through 39, the business articles, as presented for inclusion on the town warrant; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George. The roll call was taken with members answering yes.passed
• 1:41:05
  Board agreed, without a formal vote, that the fire chief should send out the SCBA request for proposals now rather than waiting, after confirming the document is worded so that it depends on the budget being approved in April. Ruth was to get it out that week.passed
• 1:46:11
  Board agreed on a process for posting additional roads rather than acting now. Calvin is to bring a short written proposal citing the ordinance and the statute, listing the roads proposed for posting alongside those already posted; public comment would be taken at the following meeting and the vote at the one after that.tabled
• 1:46:11
  Motion to accept the consent agenda as presented; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George. All five members voted yes on the roll call.passed
• 1:51:17
  Motion to enter executive session under 1 M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(A) for discussion of personnel matters; moved by Kevin Nadeau. All five members voted yes on the roll call.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_1-26-21.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 Articles 8, 9, 10, 11 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 3-2

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau

• remove Article 9 from the warrantfailed 3-2

  Moved by Richard George, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• approve Articles 1, 2, 3, 4 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Marc Farrin

• approve Articles 5, 6, 7 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• approve Article 12 and Articles 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

• approve Article 19 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Marc Farrin

• approve Article 20 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

• approve Article 21 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau

• approve Article 22 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau

• approve Article 23 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau

• approve Article 24 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau

• change the funding for General Assistance from $1,000 to $600, with $420 to be transferredcarried 4-1

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Marc Farrin

• approve Article 25 as presented for inclusion on the warrantfailed 4-1

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau

• approve Article 26 as written for inclusion on the warrantcarried 4-1

  Moved by Rob Pontau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• approve Article 27 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Richard George, seconded by Kevin Nadeau

• approve Article 28 as presented for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

• approve Articles 29-39 for inclusion on the warrantcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

• accept the Consent Agenda as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

• go into Executive Session at 8:30 p.mcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

Worth knowing

• 58:03
  The home-based business ordinance amendment divided the board. Richard George objected that allowing up to 50 percent or 1,500 square feet of the residence or other structures goes well beyond what a home-based business normally means and invites building a garage to house a daycare, and that a single case in town was being turned into a law. His motion to remove that article from the warrant failed, with Todd Beaulieu joining him and the other three voting to leave it on. A public hearing on the draft is set for February 8.
• 1:30:17
  The board rejected article 25 as presented by 4-1 and replaced it, raising the transfer from undesignated funds from $490 to $2,754 so that money already raised last year for a back door that was never fixed is not raised a second time. Members doubted $2,200 would buy a six-foot commercial door, and one said the foundation under the door moves, which is why little has been done to it.
• 1:30:17
  The budget committee wanted less spent from the telecommunications account because the town has been drawing it down faster than franchise fees come in for about three years, and because the committee doubts franchise fees will continue under the next contract. The board kept its own higher figure 4-1, noting there is no tax impact this year since the whole appropriation is a transfer of franchise fees.
• 1:46:11
  Rob Pontau said he can see stress cracks on Rabbit Road from truck traffic since Dugas opened his pit, and proposed posting Rabbit Road and Plummer Mill Road (?) against trucks, noting the trucks can use Route 9 and Route 136 instead. He disclosed that he lives on Rabbit Road and that the matter is personal for him. The board can post roads by its own vote under an existing ordinance without going to town meeting.

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: 6 passages of motion language, against 25 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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