Select Board Meeting & Workshop ~ May 7, 2024

2024-05-07 · Select Board · 2:41:42 · watch on YouTube →

A short Select Board meeting on May 7, 2024, followed by a workshop bringing the town's boards and committees together to state their goals for the year. Three residents used public comment to object to the resource protection rezoning that took effect after the 2023 town meeting, disputing the evidence for a Blanding's turtle population in Durham. The board approved a request for proposals for legal services after the town attorney told the town manager the firm would stop providing services after May 31, and firms that submit are expected at the May 28 meeting. The board also added the AP warrant, the payroll warrant and the April 23 minutes to the consent agenda, accepted the consent agenda, and adjourned at 6:40pm. In the workshop the Conservation Commission, Historic District Commission, Planning Board and Solid Waste Committee each presented priorities, select board members gave their own, and the board said it will set policy objectives for each group at its next meeting.

What was discussed

1. 0:22
   Call to order

   Joe Roy called the meeting to order at 6:03pm on May 7, noting a late start caused by technical difficulties with the video feed. No amendments to the agenda were offered at that point.

2. 0:22
   Public comment: John Benedict on resource protection

   John Benedict, of Runaround Pond Road at the corner of Route 9, said most of his property was rezoned into resource protection after last year's town meeting and that the process relied on inaccurate data about the Blanding's turtle. He said no trapping survey or research was done to verify the turtle's presence, and that his land is now treated as a town nature preserve with no tax reduction or compensation.

3. 6:04
   Public comment: Jeffrey DeWitt

   Jeffrey DeWitt, of 96 Runaround Pond Road, said landowners want the town to stay rural but feel their questions at the earlier meetings were shut down. He said neighbours have spent their own money on work they could have done had they not been placed in resource protection.

4. 6:04
   Public comment: Lois Kilby-Chesley on turtle records

   Lois Kilby-Chesley, of Runaround Pond Road, said she filed a freedom of access request with Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and was told there is no sustainable Blanding's turtle population in Durham. She described a single turtle identified from a photograph in the early 2000s and nothing since.

5. 11:08
   New business: RFP for legal services

   Jerry Douglass said the town attorney telephoned to say the firm is closing and will provide no services after May 31, so the town must go out for new counsel. He circulated a draft RFP adapted from ones used by other Maine towns, with a requirement that any firm submitting a proposal attend the May 28 meeting to answer questions.

6. 16:29
   RFP timing and board review

   Jerry Douglass said he would put the RFP out this week for a two-week response period, and confirmed the board would see the proposals before the firms appear on May 28. Josh Klein-Golden said the town should not be without an attorney for any period of time.

7. 16:29
   Manager report: legal records and paving

   Jerry Douglass said he collected the town's legal documents from the current attorney's office and will pass the box to whichever firm is appointed. He also said paving of Auburn Pownal Road should be pulled because a Central Maine Power project will haul heavy equipment over it, and recommended carrying the paving money to next year rather than returning it to undesignated fund balance.

8. 21:34
   CMP project, road bond and paving alternatives

   The board asked whether another road could be paved instead this year; Jerry Douglass said the contractor bid on a straight 2.4-mile stretch and remobilising elsewhere would change the price. He said CMP is posting a million dollar bond, the road will be filmed before and after, and the project could take up to a year depending on permitting.

9. 21:34
   Parking at Rabbit Road, Runaround Pond Road and Route 9

   Jerry Douglass reported that the code enforcement officer reached the property owner and told her the parking must stop, with a violation to follow, because the access is unpermitted and the intersection is a safety hazard. He said the animal control officer had also informed the state.

10. 21:34
    GPCOG delegates and town office trees

    GPCOG has asked the town to name three delegates for the year; Jerry Douglass asked the board to decide and it was put on next week's agenda. He also reported a quote of $3,500 to cut down the ten pine trees in front of the town office, some of which are dead or hollow, with wires running between two of them.

11. 27:09
    Proposed change of website vendor

    Jerry Douglass proposed moving the town website to a Maine company, saying the town pays about $2,700 a year now and the new arrangement would be three years for $5,000, with staff able to edit content directly and agendas assembled automatically. Because it binds the town to a contract, the board asked that it go on next week's agenda so members could look at the example sites.

12. 32:31
    Agenda amendment, consent agenda and adjournment

    The board retroactively amended the agenda to add the AP warrant, the payroll warrant and the April 23 minutes to the consent agenda, then accepted the consent agenda and adjourned. It was also announced that the Solid Waste Committee will meet May 13 at 6:30 at the fire station.

13. 38:55
    Workshop opening and introductions

    Joe Roy opened the workshop as a round table, explaining that each board and committee would state its policy objectives for the year, the select board would ask clarifying questions and then give its own priorities, and the select board would set objectives for each group at the following meeting. Those present introduced themselves and the body they represent.

14. 44:13
    Conservation Commission goals

    The Conservation Commission said it will learn the following week whether it has been awarded the Maine Won't Wait climate action grant, which would fund a consultant to develop an open space plan identifying areas vulnerable to flooding and other events, priority conservation areas and a land conservation goal. Other priorities are a second phase of the solar ordinance with a siting map and possible mitigation fees, supporting updates to the resource protection zoning, and a joint research session with the Planning Board on battery storage.

15. 49:40
    Conservation mechanisms and clarification on resource protection

    The commission described voluntary mechanisms: the open space current use tax program, which it said only three people in town use, easements through the Royal River and Androscoggin land trusts, and mitigation fees from solar development redirected to conservation. Heather Roy asked that it be said plainly in public that the grant is separate from resource protection and is not a route to convert land into open space.

16. 54:54
    Status of an agricultural commission

    An agricultural commission is not yet formed. Heather Roy said a group came to the last board meeting with proposed bylaws and a charter, that the 2018 comprehensive plan recommends such a body, and that in her view its formation should be initiated by the select board as with the other commissions.

17. 54:54
    Historic District Commission goals

    Lois Kilby-Chesley, chair of the Durham Historic District Commission, distributed the five goals the commission set for 2024, drawn from the land use ordinances and the comprehensive plan: protecting historic resources, communicating more often with the community, working with other interested organisations, continuing work on the Union Church, and building a working relationship with town officials. She noted the town will not own the Union Church once the deed is drawn up, and that the commission is distinct from the Durham Historical Society.

18. 1:00:50
    Ordinance edits and a proposed name change

    The commission has been editing articles 5.14, 12 and 19 of the land use ordinance for two years and has held the work until 2025 so town staff can give input. A name change to reduce confusion with the Historical Society would require an article at town meeting; suggestions raised included Durham Heritage Preservation Commission and Durham Preservation Commission.

19. 1:06:33
    Proposal to consolidate historic district permit review

    Joe Tomm said the ordinance should be cleaned up so the Planning Board is responsible for approvals within the historic district and the commission acts in an advisory role, rather than an applicant needing to stop at two boards. Joe Roy held the discussion until after every group had presented.

20. 1:11:40
    Historic building survey and select board attendance

    Lois Kilby-Chesley said the Maine Historic Preservation Commission charge includes a survey of buildings over 100 years old; an informal photographic survey was done roughly a decade ago and would need redoing, at a cost she could not yet estimate. She also asked that a select board member attend commission meetings, saying the commission had been told at one point that no one from the board should attend.

21. 1:17:01
    Planning Board priorities

    The Planning Board chair said the board reviewed the town planner's list and, after a joint call with Conservation Commission members, set two high priorities: battery energy storage, which the town has no rules for and where developers have already made enquiries, and refinement of resource protection. Cell towers were deprioritised again, road standards were judged too complicated for this year, and the board flagged digital codification and a GPCOG study of the village area as work that will occupy the town planner.

22. 1:22:40
    What battery storage means

    Board members explained battery storage as large facilities holding electricity for periods of peak demand, with concerns about fire risk, visual impact, sound and the absence of an industrial zone in Durham. Figures given for one project were inconsistent, described both as five acres and as 156 forty-foot trailer-sized units.

23. 1:22:40
    Solid Waste Committee direction

    The committee chair said the committee has not met yet and its first job is to lay out a direction among the options: keeping the status quo under the existing five-year contract, a transfer facility, partnering with a neighbouring town such as Pownal, town collection through Public Works, ending roadside service, or reducing tonnage through recycling and composting. He said an unlicensed facility can only hold material for 30 days, and that he expects to bring a list back to the board with unrealistic options removed.

24. 1:28:21
    What the board wants from the solid waste review

    Board members said they want a cost benefit analysis of each option, with Heather Roy citing the Union Church committee's 200-page report as the model for a data-driven recommendation. Joe Roy said the town received only one response to its last RFP and wants to know the long-term options before committing to another five years.

25. 1:38:54
    Law enforcement coverage

    A participant asked how a new committee gets formed, citing a presentation by the Lisbon police chief about Durham having no law enforcement. Jerry Douglass said he has spoken with the sheriff's department, that two police chiefs from other communities live in town, and that he wants a separate meeting on what the town needs before costs are discussed, with a view to bringing it to the next town meeting.

26. 1:44:33
    Select board comments on Conservation Commission priorities

    Josh Klein-Golden said the grant should be the priority if awarded, and that the resource protection updates would address concerns raised in public comment. Heather Roy asked about the status of the earlier resiliency work with other towns and about support for residents during storms.

27. 1:49:56
    Storm resiliency and warming centres

    The Conservation Commission said warming centres and emergency flood response are beyond its capacity and charter, and the board agreed to place resiliency and public safety alongside law enforcement as needs without a home. Lois Kilby-Chesley said that when she asked about warming centres over a year ago she was directed to the fire chief as the public safety officer.

28. 1:55:08
    Resource protection mapping as the board's first priority

    Joe Roy said his number one objective for the Conservation Commission is addressing the changed resource protection mapping, since a state biologist has since done additional survey work producing data that was not available in 2018. He said that if new data shows a property was included in error he would support even a special town meeting to correct it.

29. 2:00:32
    Communication and outreach

    The board discussed the gap between the notices, mailings and public hearings that were held and residents saying they did not know they were affected. Figures given for responses to the commission's online survey conflicted, cited first as about 100 and then as 200, described either way as more than attended town meeting.

30. 2:05:41
    Minutes and agendas not being posted

    Lois Kilby-Chesley said she posts her commission's minutes and agendas but that other committees' are not on the website. Jerry Douglass said the new website would let staff post directly, and it was noted that some committees have expected the town office to type up their minutes.

31. 2:05:41
    Select board comments on the Historic District Commission

    Heather Roy named the name change as a priority and said the commission should stay involved in reviewing permits on historic property, citing the Parker Schoolhouse being permitted for demolition without the commission being informed. Josh Klein-Golden supported holding the ordinance changes for staff review before they come to the board.

32. 2:16:40
    Select board comments on the Planning Board

    Heather Roy asked that applicants who arrive unprepared be charged for the additional meeting, that infrastructure and trail systems be settled before subdivision approvals move forward, and raised applicants with multiple years of back taxes receiving permits. Joe Roy repeated that resource protection is the priority, saying the town's credibility depends on decisions following the data.

33. 2:22:11
    Moratorium question and state law

    Heather Roy asked whether a moratorium on permitting would let the town catch up. The town planner said Maine law requires a moratorium to address a specific identified problem, runs six months and can be extended, and cannot be a general pause; he also noted a declared moratorium forces that item to the top of the work list. A moratorium would go to the town to vote, possibly at a special town meeting.

34. 2:27:34
    Workload, burnout and the comprehensive plan

    Joe Roy said a list of priorities has to come down to two or three items and that boards risk burnout when applications take precedence over ordinance work. Heather Roy said the comprehensive plan dates from 2018, that the town has changed since, and that an update should be considered.

35. 2:27:34
    Select board comments on solid waste

    Heather Roy said her priority is composting and reduced tonnage in the interim before the five-year contract ends, with a stated reduction target such as 25 percent. Joe Roy said he wants the no-cost options explored first and raised the idea of a network connecting compost producers with people who would take it.

36. 2:32:51
    Roadside dumping and storm brush

    The committee chair said residents are asking what happens to trash dumped on roadsides, including a truckload left on Route 9. Jerry Douglass said Public Works should pick it up rather than wait on the state where it is within Durham. Residents are also asking whether the town will collect storm brush piles, and no answer was given.

37. 2:38:45
    Town planner on capacity and consultants

    The town planner said the annual town meeting format limits how quickly ordinance work can move, that public input during the process will require changes of direction, and that the state is now verifying resource protection data on a townwide basis rather than leaving the burden on individual landowners. He suggested hiring consultants to work with committees on discrete projects, noting communities he works for spend around $100,000 a year on planning projects.

What was decided

• 16:29
  Approve the RFP for legal services as written (moved by Joe Roy, seconded by Heather Roy)passed
• 27:09
  Place the town office tree removal, the GPCOG delegate appointments and the website contract on next week's agenda rather than deciding them tonighttabled
• 32:31
  Add the AP Warrant 5-06-24 and the meeting minutes from 4-23-24 to the consent agenda (moved by Joe Roy, seconded by Heather Roy)passed
• 32:31
  Accept the consent agenda as presented (moved by Josh Klein-Golden, seconded by Joe Tomm)passed
• 32:31
  Adjourn the meeting at 6:40pm (moved by Heather Roy, seconded by Joe Tomm)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 sb_meeting_minutes_5_07_24.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 RFP as writtencarried 5-0

  Moved by Joe Roy, seconded by Heather Roy

• add the AP Warrant 5-06-24 and the meeting minutes from 4-23-24 to the consent agendacarried 5-0

  Moved by Joe Roy, seconded by Heather Roy

• accept the consent agenda as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Josh Klein-Golden, seconded by Joe Tomm

• adjourn the meeting at 6:40pmcarried 5-0

  Moved by Heather Roy, seconded by Joe Tomm

Worth knowing

• 6:04
  Three residents of Runaround Pond Road (?) told the board the resource protection rezoning rested on unverified Blanding's turtle data. Lois Kilby-Chesley said a freedom of access request to Inland Fisheries and Wildlife returned the answer that there is no sustainable population of the turtle in Durham.
• 11:08
  The town attorney's firm stops providing services after May 31. The RFP goes out for a two-week response period and firms that submit are expected at the May 28 select board meeting.
• 21:34
  Paving of Auburn Pownal Road is being pulled because a CMP project will haul heavy equipment over it. CMP is posting a million dollar bond, the road will be filmed before and after, and the project could run up to a year depending on permitting.
• 27:09
  The proposed website change would cost $5,000 for three years against about $2,700 a year now. Separately, a quote of $3,500 was given to remove all ten pine trees in front of the town office.

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

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