Select Board Meeting ~ November 15, 2016

2016-11-15 · Select Board · 1:07:33 · watch on YouTube →

A regular select board meeting with all five selectmen present. The main item was the request for proposals for a new town website: two finalists were presented with costs laid out over four years, but the board held the decision to its November 29 meeting so that the staff member who reviewed the proposals could attend and answer questions about video streaming. The board recognised Joe Donovick for roughly ten years on the historic district commission, approved the holiday office closures, and amended the animal control officer's job description with the change from stipend-plus-mileage to a straight stipend delayed to January 1, 2017. A long discussion followed on marijuana legalisation: the codes official advised against rushing into a special town meeting for a moratorium, explaining that a moratorium can only be enacted by town meeting, and the board agreed to ask the town attorney for an opinion first. Department reports covered fire station site work, winter readiness, and a Route 136 catch basin that DOT has repeatedly failed to fix. The recording ends as the board moves to go into executive session on personnel matters.

What was discussed

1. 0:02
   Before the gavel

   The recording starts several minutes before the meeting is called to order, with informal conversation. Members discussed someone who had argued Durham should move to a town council, which would require altering the charter and would itself have to be approved at town meeting; the view around the table was that residents would not go for it and that a council makes government more reactive. The talk then turned to waterfront revaluation pushing fishing families off the shore and the working waterfront tax exemption created to protect them.

2. 5:50
   Call to order and consent agenda

   Jeffrey Wakeman called the meeting to order with a quorum and all five selectmen present, followed by the pledge of allegiance. There was no public comment, and the consent agenda was moved, seconded and carried without discussion.

3. 5:50
   Website RFP: the two finalists

   Presenting for Shannon, who could not attend, Ruth Glaeser said the proposals had been narrowed by setting aside everything above $10,000 and then choosing two of the three remaining: Virtual Towns and Schools and CivicLive. Virtual Towns and Schools charges a one-time implementation fee of $6,000; CivicLive charges $9,300. Both include a free redesign after four years.

4. 5:50
   Example sites and what the new site would do

   Falmouth and Kennebunkport were shown as Virtual Towns and Schools sites, with department drop-down menus, a news feed, a calendar and topic pages; Orono and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department were shown for CivicLive. Members discussed letting residents submit complaints or inquiries through the site so they route automatically to the right person, while agreeing the site should not become a public soundboard.

5. 11:23
   Annual costs and the fire department site

   Virtual Towns and Schools charges $1,750 a year for hosting, user support, maintenance and upgrades, payable from when the site goes live. CivicLive charges nothing in the first year and $1,600 a year for the following three. Redesigning and folding in the fire department site would cost $1,500 with Virtual Towns and Schools and $2,000 with CivicLive.

6. 11:23
   Video streaming

   The town currently pays $3,688 a year for video streaming. Virtual Towns and Schools would stream for $3,000 a year with unlimited storage for five years, while CivicLive was less forthcoming and appeared to be offering only a link to YouTube or Vimeo rather than streaming itself. Over four years the totals come to $14,500 for Virtual Towns and Schools against $16,100 for CivicLive, and Shannon (?) recommended Virtual Towns and Schools, partly on the strength of the response she got when she called.

7. 16:29
   Compatibility and current costs

   Members asked whether the new system would work with the town's existing recording equipment, the concern being the video file format and the time lost if files have to be converted. Ruth Glaeser said the streaming and archive work much like Earth Channel and would allow live streaming as well as viewing afterwards, and was asked to find the TH Creations invoices so the current cost could be compared. She reported later in the meeting that the town pays $350 for hosting now, and confirmed the website work would be paid out of the franchise fees.

8. 16:29
   Timing of the website decision

   Asked whether a decision was wanted that night, Ruth Glaeser said soon, so some of the cost could be absorbed this year, but that little would happen in the next two weeks with Thanksgiving in between. The board asked for links or examples to look at in the meantime and for Shannon to attend the next meeting to answer the video questions.

9. 21:33
   Recognition for Joe Donovick

   Joe Donovick is leaving the historic district commission after roughly ten years, having been a founding member when it was set up in 2007. He kept the records of every meeting the commission held and turned them over to the chairperson, which the board noted is the only reason any historical record of the commission exists.

10. 21:33
    Holiday office closures

    The office is closed the 24th and 25th for Thanksgiving. Because Christmas falls on a Sunday, the request was to close the 26th in lieu, rather than the preceding day the policy gives when Christmas falls Tuesday through Saturday. The request also covered closing at noon on December 30 to close the books, and January 2.

11. 21:33
    Animal control officer's job description

    Ruth Glaeser proposed changing the pay range from a stipend plus mileage to a stipend alone, as some other towns do, because mileage has to be tracked and submitted. She also proposed adding quarterly reports and attendance at select board meetings as required, without fixing how often. Members noted the officer had not submitted mileage since last year and were wary of removing something he agreed to when hired, so they wanted the pay change delayed until a budget had been approved.

12. 26:39
    Mileage policy

    The discussion turned to whether the town's mileage policy was ever adopted and what it says. It was checked during the meeting and confirmed: mileage must be submitted monthly, and everything must be submitted by the last warrant of the year. Two people at the table admitted they had not known that, and the point was made that the burden of documenting mileage falls on the employee and that anything paid above the IRS rate has to be claimed.

13. 26:39
    Town office reconfiguration

    Ruth Glaeser said she had received no feedback on the plans she circulated for reconfiguring the town offices and asked board members to look at them and tell her how they want her to proceed.

14. 26:39
    Comprehensive plan committee

    The citizen survey went out with the comprehensive plan committee at the election and feedback has been decent. The committee met Nicole Brienne, Bowdoinham's town planner, to help work out the next step, and a meeting facilitator, Craig (?), whom they would like to bring on. The budget set aside for this year is limited and little can be spent until after town meeting.

15. 31:44
    Comprehensive plan timeline

    The process is expected to take another couple of years. The next piece of work is a vision statement, with the facilitator brought in to help; Kevin, the committee chair, has the final say. Once written, the vision statement would come to the select board for review and approval, and the committee would spend the spring building outreach tools so it can start as soon as town meeting settles its funding. Paul Baines (?) and John Simino (?) planned to lay the early stages out in a flowchart for the board to see.

16. 31:44
    Planning board ordinance work

    The planning board is wrapping up this year's ordinance work, with a further discussion at its meeting on the first Wednesday in December, aiming to have it ready for spring town meeting.

17. 31:44
    Marijuana legalisation and moratoriums

    Paul Baines reported that several towns, including New Gloucester, are calling special town meetings to impose moratoriums. He said rulemaking will take the legislature a long time, and that Durham's existing ordinance already requires state and other outside licensing to be in place before the town issues a permit, which gives a mechanism for the early phase. A board member said Freeport and Pownal officials at a meeting the previous week had suggested looking into a moratorium so nobody could slip an application in early and claim to be grandfathered.

18. 37:16
    Risk of an early application

    Paul Baines said his office has had inquiries about opening head shops and a bring-your-own bar. He warned that if the planning board denies a conditional use application, the denial has to be crafted carefully: since the town routinely issues permits conditional on state licensing being obtained, a denial resting only on the absence of a state licence would not stand, whereas one resting on not yet knowing the structure of the licensing process probably would. He added that an applicant who is denied cannot revive the same application later and would have to start over under the rules then in force.

19. 42:42
    A moratorium can only come from town meeting

    The board established that it cannot enact a moratorium itself, because it is an ordinance and only the legislative body can adopt one. A temporary measure can stand for about six months with the opportunity to re-enact it, but it still has to be voted at a special or regular town meeting, which the codes official described as expensive, time-consuming and potentially contentious.

20. 42:42
    Getting an opinion before deciding

    Members leaned towards waiting for the regular town meeting rather than calling a special one, while acknowledging they wanted advice first. Paul Baines recommended contacting Paul, New Gloucester's town manager, and other towns both doing and not doing this, to understand why. He also cited an article by Gary Wood in the Maine Townsman on municipalities giving ordinances retroactive effect, which he would circulate, and said he would be seeing Gary Wood on Tuesday night.

21. 48:01
    Historic district inventory

    The historic district commission meets Thursday night to solidify its inventory of historic structures. Paul Baines said almost no house construction happened in Durham between roughly 1860 and 1940 because the railroad missed the town, so the architecture reads as a timeline; neighbouring towns filled with balloon frame housing in that period. He noted the fire risk differs, since the older timber frame houses do not burn the way balloon frame structures do.

22. 48:01
    Building codes and the board of appeals

    Adoption of the 2015 code cycle is hoped for before January 1 and the plumbing code has already been enacted. Training has been done and copies of the International Code Council's essentials volume obtained; most builders working in town have bought copies to keep on their job sites. The board of appeals meets the following Tuesday at seven on the Babcock Allen case and a setback variance for Durham Leisure Campground.

23. 48:01
    Fire station site work

    Chief William St. Michel reported the station work complete apart from KB Masonry, which owes a grate and is due to bring it down that week; the check is being held until the grate cover is in place. He had asked Crooker, who did the road-side work for the town, to quote for filling around the edges of the new paving.

24. 53:35
    Backfilling around the new paving

    Crooker quoted $3,200 to put reclaim about two and a half feet wide around the edges and taper it, including tapering the driveway up to the modular rather than leaving a drop-off. Two areas drop about six inches and the rest an inch or two, and the chief said pavement will be lost if nothing is done. Members said public works could do it in a couple of hours.

25. 53:35
    Station concrete and Rabbit Road hydrant

    The moisture problem under the floor turned out to be an old floor drain that was never capped properly, letting water between the levelling compound and the old concrete. A new slab has been poured, flooring can go in within a couple of weeks, and the project should be finished by the middle of December. The Rabbit Road hydrant still has to be raised, which Calvin Beaumier expected to do the middle of the following week.

26. 53:35
    Engine 22 and certifications

    Updated price requests, on the same specifications as last year, went back out to the vendors who bid previously. The chief has completed his fire inspector certification through NFPA and turned the certificate in to the town, and explained that Pro Board accreditation reviews the testing process so that a certification is nationally accepted rather than only state or vendor recognised.

27. 59:08
    Fleet and station maintenance

    One vehicle needs an inspection sticker after temporary repairs last year, requiring general maintenance, brakes and exhaust. The station generator has been serviced and the septic tank was pumped during the paving. Truck 24 has a tentative date of the 28th to the 30th to have its wiring harness done.

28. 59:08
    Employee handbook and membership

    A printed copy of the new employee handbook was left for the town office. Distribution started at last month's meeting and about two-thirds of the membership have copies. The department has 40 members, of whom roughly 22 to 25 are firefighters. The SafetyWorks inspection is November 28.

29. 59:08
    Road commissioner's report

    Calvin Beaumier reported erosion control work on Rabbit Road and Runaround Pond Road, with the crew then pulled off road work indefinitely to get trucks ready for stickers and winter. Stop-ahead stencils were painted on Runaround and Rabbit; the stencils themselves cost $500, more than he had been quoted, and will be reused at intersections with Routes 136, 9 and 125. All gravel roads have been graded and the first salt delivery is in.

30. 59:08
    Route 136 catch basin

    A catch basin on Route 136 by the S-curves, coming from Auburn along the river, does not collect water because the pavement sits higher than the ground around it. Water bleeds out of DOT's riprap and freezes, and Calvin Beaumier said he gets calls at all hours from the sheriff's department about cars going off the road there. Earlier requests to DOT, including his own last year, produced nothing; this time he reached someone with more authority and will meet on site, with the fix being either milling the pavement down or lowering the basin's bricks. He told them it has to be done this year.

31. 1:04:23
    Paving, grants and hiring

    A base layer of pavement was finished on Brown Road, which Calvin Beaumier said residents can now drive without damaging their cars for the first time in years. Work continues on the Stream Smart stream crossing grant due in January. Advertisements for the truck driver and labourer position were published the previous Thursday, along with part-time plow drivers, which the town has had little luck filling; he had an application to discuss with the board later in the evening.

32. 1:04:23
    Upcoming meetings and executive session

    The next meetings are Tuesday, November 29 at 6:30 p.m. and Tuesday, December 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the town office, and the office will be closed Thursday and Friday of the following week for Thanksgiving. The board then set the order for executive session, taking the reviews first and the public works hiring afterwards. The recording ends as the motion to go into executive session is being made; the written minutes record that the board accepted the reviews, authorised the road commissioner to make a job offer, and adjourned at 8:57 p.m.

What was decided

• 5:50
  Approve the consent agenda as presented. Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake; carried 5-0.passed
• 16:29
  No choice was made between the two website vendors. The board agreed to take the two weeks to the November 29 meeting to consider it, with links and examples to be sent round and Shannon (?) asked to attend so she can answer the video streaming questions.tabled
• 21:33
  Recognise Joe Donovick for his service to the historic district commission and invite him to the next meeting. Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby; carried 5-0.passed
• 21:33
  Approve the town administrator's holiday requests as proposed: closed November 24 and 25, closed December 26 in lieu of Christmas, closing at noon on December 30 to close the books, and closed January 2. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Michael Stewart; carried 5-0.passed
• 26:39
  Add the proposed changes to the animal control officer's job description, including quarterly reports and attendance at select board meetings as required, with the stipulation that the pay range change to a stipend takes effect January 1, 2017 rather than immediately. Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby; carried 5-0.passed
• 42:42
  Agreed not to move immediately on a marijuana moratorium and instead to ask the town attorney, Jack Conway, for his opinion, with Ruth Glaeser to make the contact, and to sound out neighbouring towns about why they are or are not calling special town meetings. No motion was taken.passed
• 53:35
  Agreed that the public works crew would put the reclaim in around the edges of the new paving at the fire station rather than accept Crooker's $3,200 quote, with the work to be done before Thanksgiving.passed
• 1:04:23
  Motion to go into executive session on personnel matters pursuant to 1 M.R.S.A. section 405(6)(A), moved by Jeffrey Wakeman. The recording cuts off in the middle of the motion, so no vote is audible on the tape.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.

Motions the minutes record

The town's own written account of what was decided, taken from select_board_minutes_11-15-20161.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 presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake

• recognize Joe Donovick for his service to the Historic District Commission and invite him to the next meetingcarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Approve AA/TA Glaeser's requests as proposedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Michael Stewart

• add the suggested changes to the Animal Control Officer's job description with the stipulation the pay range goes to Stipend only effective January 1st 2017carried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby

• the Board into Executive Session pursuant to Title #1, M.R.S.A., ss 405(6)(A) -Personnel Matters – Discussion of Administrative Department Reviews preceded by a brief recess at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _________…

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, no seconder recorded; no outcome recorded

• accept reviewscarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Michael Stewart

• authorize the Road Commission to make a job offercarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Mark Blake

• Adjourn at 8:57 p.mcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart

Worth knowing

• 11:23
  Over four years a new town website would cost $14,500 with Virtual Towns and Schools or $16,100 with CivicLive, paid from the cable franchise fees. The town currently pays $3,688 a year for video streaming and $350 a year for hosting; the recommended vendor would stream for $3,000 a year with five years of unlimited archive storage.
• 31:44
  With marijuana legalisation passing at referendum, other towns including New Gloucester are calling special town meetings to impose moratoriums. Durham's codes official advised against rushing, noting a moratorium can only be enacted by town meeting and that the town's ordinance already requires state licensing to be in place before a permit issues.
• 26:39
  The animal control officer's pay changes from a stipend plus mileage to a stipend alone, but not until January 1, 2017, so the change falls after a budget is approved. The town's mileage policy requires monthly submission and everything in by the last warrant of the year, which the meeting discovered nobody had been following.
• 59:08
  Water freezes on Route 136 by the S-curves because a DOT catch basin sits below the pavement and never fills, and the road commissioner says the sheriff's department calls him at all hours about cars going off the road there. Requests to DOT over at least two years produced nothing; he has now reached someone with more authority and told them it has to be fixed this year.

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: 3 passages of motion language, against 8 decisions summarised.

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