Select Board Meeting ~ January 28, 2025

2025-01-28 · Select Board · 2:32:21 · watch on YouTube →

The Select Board met on Tuesday January 28, 2025, with the town attorney present for a draft rewrite of the town's historic preservation ordinance and with the 18-month budget still under review. The board went through the draft section by section and voted to send it to the planning board with its notes and scrivener's edits, ahead of the planning board's February 5 meeting and the April 1 town meeting. It then moved to reject the Durham Historic District Commission's request for $10,000 for an architectural survey, on the view that the 2027 revaluation will collect the same field data. On the budget the board voted 4 to 1 to move money out of the Telecommunications Reserve to bring the Emergency Reserve to $70,000, moved to add a warrant article distributing money to Durham youth baseball and the snowmobile club from the recreation reserve, and moved to approve the budget as amended for delivery to the budget committee. It also sat as the board of assessors for a single abatement, took up an animal control service agreement, and heard the manager's report and board member reports. The meeting was called to order at 6:31 pm and adjourned at 8:56 pm.

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. 5:41
   Call to order and agenda changes

   The chair opened the meeting at 6:31 pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. The historic district ordinance discussion was held until the town attorney arrived. No one was present for public comment.

2. 5:41
   Historic district architectural survey request

   The board took up the Durham Historic District Commission's request for $10,000 for an architectural survey, with the written scope of work in the agenda packet. The chair said the revaluation, due in 2027, will collect most or all of the same data, and that the $10,000 was largely for a consultant to recruit and train volunteers to do the field work. The number of pre-1965 buildings was quoted but is garbled in the transcript, somewhere in the range of 340 to 360.

3. 11:02
   Historic district ordinance amendments

   With the town attorney, Kristen, now present, the board turned to the draft ordinance. She explained that two provisions deal with historic resources today: section 5.14, which lists types of historic buildings but sets out no process for reviewing work on them, and article 12, which establishes the Southwest Bend historic district and the historic district commission.

4. 16:49
   Whether to keep the historic district

   Kristen (?) said that because the current ordinance applies review only to historic properties inside the district and exempts everything else, the district is not functioning as a district. The 2018 comprehensive plan moves away from districts where the 2002 plan supported creating one, and members noted a zoning ordinance that does not comport with the comprehensive plan can be challenged. One member said the area still has historical value as the old town center, but agreed that is not what the ordinance currently protects.

5. 22:41
   The 1,500-foot radius around historic properties

   Kristen (?) said the 1,500-foot radius drawn around historic properties creates its own mini districts that the comprehensive plan did not call for and that were not adopted through the process required to create a zoning district. The radius was described as three-quarters of a mile in diameter. The draft removes it.

6. 28:06
   Proposed review process for historic properties

   Under the draft, section A lists the triggers: a structure over 100 years old, a cemetery or grave marker, a church or school more than 100 years old, or a property listed or eligible for listing on the historic register. The code enforcement officer must refer such an application to the historic commission, which applies the article 12 standards and makes a recommendation to the permitting authority. Kristen (?) said the referral is mandatory, unlike the optional referral to the conservation commission, but the recommendation is advisory.

7. 34:05
   What happens if the commission and the permitting authority disagree

   Kristen walked through a building permit example: the commission recommends a condition, the code enforcement officer may accept it or decline it, and a neighbor who objects can appeal to the board of appeals. She said no process for handling a disagreement is written into the draft and one could be added.

8. 40:02
   Standards, commission renaming, and requests for changes

   The standards in the draft are taken from the existing article 12 and cover visual compatibility such as height and roof shape, with special handling for demolition or relocation, including posting the building. The draft renames the historic district commission to the historic commission because there would no longer be a district. Heather (?) asked that a disagreement process be written in and asked where the buffering standards are.

9. 45:54
   Notifying owners of historic properties

   A member asked whether owners of qualifying buildings would be notified, citing a case a few meetings ago where a homeowner replaced windows without knowing. The board said there are fewer than 10 registered places, roughly five listed and three more eligible, and that the survey would be the mechanism for notice. Members noted the town's permit page currently suggests owners must check with the historic commission even where no permit is required.

10. 51:13
    Whether all exterior changes should require review

    Article 12 today requires a certificate of appropriateness for any change in exterior appearance within the district; the draft only triggers review where a permit is already required. One member argued that for the eight qualifying properties any change, including a window, should go through the process. Another (?) said extending permit requirements to siding and windows would change what owners may legally do with their property and would require notifications and public hearings.

11. 56:43
    Commission membership and training

    Josh (?) noted two standards are both titled roof shapes and one can come out, asked that the first five members have staggered terms, and argued the ordinance should require training because the town has not been able to find members with specialized expertise. A suggestion to require certification through the organization Dave (?) described was raised, with members flagging a possible cost to the town. Kristen (?) offered language allowing the select board to require training as a condition of appointment.

12. 1:02:16
    Motion to table, and the buffering exchange

    A member moved to table the discussion until the training criteria could be pinned down; no second or vote follows in the transcript and the discussion continued. Heather then raised buffering and screening, giving the example of the church and multi-unit housing on the way to Auburn. Another member said it was not a concern of his, and a third asked that Heather be allowed to finish.

13. 1:07:50
    Buffering, subdivision standards, and the town meeting timetable

    Heather (?) said that once the district and the 1,500-foot radius are gone they cannot be brought back, and gave the example of a gas station across from the Bliss Farm or the Methodist Church. Members established that outside subdivision review the ordinance imposes no special requirement on a building across the road from a historic property, so the radius produces no protection in practice. A member raised the schedule: the warrant language hearing must fall no sooner than two weeks and no later than four weeks before the April 1 town meeting, and Kristen advised the more conservative reading of the statute on holding a second public hearing.

14. 1:13:31
    Motion to send the draft ordinance to the planning board

    The board moved to send the draft to the planning board with the attached notes and scrivener's edits, including a comma correction in 5.14 A4. The chair said the draft would go to George to forward, and that the planning board will take public input on contract zoning and historic preservation at its February 5 meeting.

15. 1:18:50
    Vote on the $10,000 architectural survey request

    Members said the commission had missed a deadline for more information, that the $10,000 was a round number based on one conversation with nothing in writing, and that the revaluation company will collect the field data in 2027 so the town would be paying twice. A member noted the commission's concern that it could not ask again until 2026 because of the 18-month budget. A motion was made to reject the request.

16. 1:23:55
    Budget review resumed: reserves and community services

    The board picked up the 18-month budget where it stopped, at the reserve accounts, and explained that figures have been annualized because some expenses occur twice in 18 months and some once. Jerry (?) said he put $1,000 in for general assistance and nothing for the outside requests, since Durham youth baseball's $2,500 and the snowmobile club's $1,100 could come from the recreation reserve. The outside organization line of $16,100 drops to zero in the 2026 budget.

17. 1:29:11
    Gazebo and the municipal building capital reserve

    The board treated the gazebo or bandstand as a town building covered by the municipal public building capital reserve on line 77, page 19. The balance was quoted inconsistently in the discussion, first as $90,000, then corrected toward $70,000 and $77,886. Members discussed asking voters at town meeting whether to restore or rebuild it, and asked to have Calvin explain what is actually original, since only part of the roof is understood to be.

18. 1:34:19
    Telecommunications reserve

    The Telecommunications Reserve on line 73 holds about $88,527, fed each year by franchise fee revenue, with nothing slated to be spent from it. The chair proposed removing the line and reallocating the money to other reserves, noting this does not change the cost of the budget. Joe (?) said the server, $5,295, still has to be paid from it, and recommended leaving $6,000 to $10,000 in the account.

19. 1:39:36
    Where to move the money

    Options discussed were the emergency reserve, the recreation reserve, and the Eureka Center capital reserve. Members noted the recreation reserve already holds about $23,000 against roughly $3,600 a year in requests, and that the Eureka Center building needs work before its meeting space can be used. One member argued for leaving the balance in telecommunications until the need is known; others said a more flexible account was better.

20. 1:44:37
    Keeping the Eureka Center reserve separate

    The board discussed combining the Eureka Center capital reserve into the municipal buildings reserve. Heather (?) said voters had specifically approved putting money into the Eureka reserve last year and consolidating it could see that money spent on another building. No motion to combine was made, so the accounts stay as they are.

21. 1:49:58
    Motion on the emergency reserve

    Joe (?) moved to increase the emergency reserve account to $70,000 by transferring from the Telecommunications Reserve. The transfer amount is given twice in the transcript, once as $53,047 and once as $53,486, leaving a stated balance of about $35,480 in telecommunications. The transfer requires a warrant article for voters.

22. 1:55:19
    Warrant article for youth baseball and the snowmobile club

    Josh (?) moved to add a warrant article distributing $2,500 to Durham youth baseball and $1,100 to the snowmobile club from the recreation reserve, seconded by Joe. Members noted the board could disburse from the reserve without a special vote but wanted it in front of an audience at town meeting.

23. 2:00:28
    Whether to rename the emergency reserve

    The chair raised matching the account name to the statutory credit reserve account under title 30-A, chapter 223, which caps annual appropriations at 5 percent of the current tax commitment. Members noted the statute requires the municipal legislative body to determine that a financial emergency exists, which could mean a special town meeting, and that the town's account is meant for unbudgeted emergencies rather than continuing normal operations. No change was made.

24. 2:05:32
    Committee funding, and the budget committee process

    A board member asked where money would come from if a committee such as the conservation commission or solid waste committee brought a request; the answer was the relevant existing reserve accounts. The budget sheet will be emailed to the budget committee Thursday as a PDF with printed copies, and not as Excel, because a spreadsheet handed over previously was altered with someone's own calculations. The budget committee reviews it Tuesday February 4 and again the following Monday.

25. 2:11:25
    Vote on the budget as amended

    With the emergency reserve change already moved, the board moved to approve the budget as edited. Members thanked Jerry and his staff for the presentation, the visuals and the annualisation work, and noted the HR capacity was added at a fraction of the cost by using a consultant.

26. 2:11:25
    Board of assessors: abatement

    The board moved into the board of assessors for one abatement of $47.90 on map 5, lot 79, arising from an acreage error. The map number was first read out as map 7 and corrected to map 5. The board then moved back out of the board of assessors.

27. 2:11:25
    Animal control service agreement

    The board moved to approve the animal control service agreement, which Jerry (?) described as a carryover with the Town of Lisbon. Members worked out the signature page, which names the inhabitants of Lisbon and the inhabitants of Durham on separate lines.

28. 2:16:37
    Town manager report

    The town office generator is installed, at $9,937 with $3,000 back from MMA, and members asked for it to go in the newsletter and on the Facebook page. The Eureka Center doors are being installed; the sill under one door was rotted out and had to be cut back and treated, and the floor inside drops about four inches, with water coming through the stone foundation into the dirt floor when it rains. On federal grants, Jerry (?) said he was not aware of anything outstanding the town would lose, with arpa already spent down, but the board flagged uncertainty around education funding.

29. 2:21:54
    Board member reports

    The chair reported the agriculture committee is up and running, has approved its charter, and has an application in for an alternate member. Josh (?) praised the downtown meeting run by George with Christina facilitating, and noted $15,000 more coming toward the downtown envisioning process through GPCOG. Jerry's plain-language explainer of the 18-month budget will be mailed to every household and the board asked for it in the weekly Durham news blast, on the town website and Facebook page, and in printed copies at the store. The town meeting date was set to line up with the RSU 5 school budget vote, with the municipal officer election within 14 days of town meeting.

30. 2:27:01
    Deb's report, solid waste scheduling, and FOAA training

    Deb (?) reported on the community event about the Eureka Center space and on the chief's report, including an inspection that moved the town onto a four-year cycle. The solid waste committee's February meeting, always the second Monday, falls on the same night as the budget committee and may move to the Eureka Center. The chair said the budget committee told them they will not do FOAA training until instructed by the select board while also saying they do not need instruction from the select board, and that he will simply send them the training as a requirement of state law.

31. 2:27:01
    Consent agenda, upcoming meetings and adjournment

    The board moved the consent agenda. Upcoming: budget committee February 4 and February 10, planning board February 5 at the fire station with public comment on contract zoning and the historic district changes, select board February 11 and 25, and the historic district committee February 13 at the Eureka Center. No executive session was needed and the meeting adjourned at 8:56 pm.

What was decided

• 1:02:16
  Motion to table the discussion of a training requirement for historic commission members. No second or vote follows in the transcript and the discussion continued.outcome unclear
• 1:13:31
  Send the draft historic preservation ordinance to the planning board with the board's notes and scrivener's edits.passed
• 1:18:50
  Motion to reject the Durham Historic District Commission's request for $10,000 for an architectural survey. The transcript cuts off after "any opposition, seeing", so the outcome is not stated plainly, though the discussion that follows is about how to notify the commission.outcome unclear
• 1:55:19
  Increase the emergency reserve account to $70,000 by transferring from the Telecommunications Reserve. The amount is given as $53,047 in one place and $53,486 in another.passed
• 1:55:19
  Add a warrant article distributing $2,500 to Durham youth baseball and $1,100 to the snowmobile club from the recreation reserve.outcome unclear
• 2:11:25
  Approve the 18-month budget as amended, for delivery to the budget committee.outcome unclear
• 2:11:25
  Approve an abatement of $47.90 on map 5, lot 79, sitting as the board of assessors. The chair says "we're good, I'll sign it" rather than stating a vote result.outcome unclear
• 2:11:25
  Approve the animal control service agreement with the Town of Lisbon as presented.outcome unclear
• 2:27:01
  Approve the consent agenda.outcome unclear

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

• 1:18:50
  The board moved to reject the historic district commission's $10,000 architectural survey request. Members said the figure was a round number from a single conversation with nothing in writing, that the commission had missed a deadline for more information, and that the 2027 revaluation will collect the same field data, so paying now would mean paying twice.
• 1:07:50
  The ordinance is on a tight timetable: the planning board takes public input February 5, and the hearing on the warrant language must fall no sooner than two weeks and no later than four weeks before the April 1 town meeting. Kristen (?) said a substantive change coming back from the planning board would likely require a second public hearing.
• 1:55:19
  The transfer from the Telecommunications Reserve to the emergency reserve was the only split vote recorded in the transcript, 4 to 1. The Telecommunications Reserve holds about $88,527 built up from franchise fees with nothing planned for it beyond a $5,295 server.
• 2:27:01
  The chair said the budget committee told the board it will not do FOAA training until explicitly instructed by the select board, while also saying it does not need the select board's permission or instruction. He said he will send them the training as a state law requirement for budget committee members.

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 9 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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