Select Board Meeting ~ August 25, 2026

2026-08-25 · Select Board · 2:10:05 · watch on YouTube →

A Select Board goal-setting workshop on August 25, 2026, the only item on the agenda, facilitated by Belinda Ray of the Greater Portland Council of Governments as part of the town's membership. The first half covered how the board communicates with itself, with the town manager and with staff; Jerry Douglas (?) said he does not get enough direction and largely assembles the agenda himself, and members discussed holding occasional workshops in addition to regular meetings. Belinda Ray then took the goals members had submitted, grouped 24 items into about 14, and ran a dot exercise to rank them. The board settled on a short list built around reviewing the committees and their structure, exploring ways to increase revenue to lower property tax, reviewing the facilities expansion report and deciding next steps, and strengthening the board's strategic leadership; the real property inventory item was folded into the revenue goal. External communications and public engagement drew extended argument but were not made a goal, traffic and speeding enforcement was moved to a regular agenda item, and a gravel pit and quarry ordinance will be referred to the planning board by a vote at a future meeting.

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. 0:29
   Call to order

   Joe Roy opened the meeting at 6:30 with a quorum and the pledge. There was one item on the agenda and no public comment. He explained that GPCOG facilitated goal setting is a service included in the town's membership dues and that the board has tried several formats in past years.

2. 0:29
   Facilitator introduction

   Belinda Ray (?) introduced herself as GPCOG's director of strategic initiatives, a former Portland city councillor of six years and a former high school English teacher. She does grant writing to bring funding into the region, takes on initiatives that do not fit an existing department, and runs facilitations.

3. 0:29
   Board introductions

   Members gave their names, time served and first job. John Talbot has been on the board 10 months, Debbie Oliver is in her third year, Josh Klein-Golden his fifth, Rebecca Pollster a year and change, and Joe Roy is beginning his fourth year on the board and third as chair. Jerry Douglas passed his fourth anniversary as town manager on August 22.

4. 11:03
   Ground rules

   Belinda Ray set ground rules including staying focused on issues rather than people, assuming good intent, and treating disagreement as productive. A member asked to add limiting assumption making and asking for clarification instead. Seating was rearranged so the audience, which included three Conservation Commission members and the fire chief, could see.

5. 11:03
   How board members communicate with each other

   Members said items go to Joe Roy by email, who takes them to Jerry Douglas and onto the agenda, and that members meet one-on-one but never in groups of three or more. Belinda Ray (?) confirmed that three members together constitutes a public meeting under the sunshine rules and that social media posts by elected officials are subject to public records requests.

6. 16:28
   Communication with the town manager

   Members said Jerry Douglas keeps an open door and that contact happens individually, with Joe Roy in touch daily and others every other week or less. Asked whether he was being overwhelmed, Jerry (?) said the opposite, that he does not get enough contact and feels alone, and that he would welcome regular check-ins.

7. 21:37
   Barriers to contacting the manager

   Members cited full-time jobs and coaching commitments, and a reluctance to interrupt a manager they know is busy. Joe Roy (?) said he worries that something he does as chair may make members feel they should not go directly to Jerry; members said they did not feel that way.

8. 21:37
   Direction for the agenda

   Jerry Douglas (?) said he often assembles the agenda himself without knowing what the board wants to discuss, that these are the board's meetings and he works on their behalf. A member said the gap is that past goal setting has not been followed by a strategic pathway with a timeline showing what should be done in each quarter, so topics roll from meeting to meeting and get lost.

9. 26:39
   Who the public thinks is in charge

   Joe Roy (?) said a large share of the town's roughly 4,500 residents would say the town manager runs the town, and some believe board members are full-time employees. He also said the infrequency of one-on-one contact concerns him because the board is taking on large items and he cannot tell whether there is a knowledge gap, since nothing substantive can be discussed by email between meetings.

10. 31:44
    Whether to hold workshops

    Members discussed setting aside separate evenings for workshops where no votes are taken and discussion is informal, with the public able to watch but no public comment. Concerns (?) raised were that giving up one of the two monthly meetings would add to the backlog, and that important topics currently surface late in long meetings when people are tired.

11. 31:44
    Policy development and the form of government

    Jerry Douglas (?) said workshops are where policy gets developed and that in four years few policies have been produced because the board gets caught in day-to-day matters that administration can handle. He said he can draft policies but does not want residents thinking he is driving the bus, since he does not pay taxes in the town. Members noted the town manager form of government was voted in 2021 and that the transition, complicated by COVID, is still being understood by the community.

12. 37:18
    Value of a recorded public discussion

    A member said holding policy discussion in a recorded public workshop matters because a short conversation followed by a vote leads some residents to assume decisions are made behind closed doors. He noted meetings draw a couple of hundred viewers and that the slowness of government is the cost of everyone being able to see and take part.

13. 42:22
    Communication with town staff

    Members said requests go to Jerry Douglas rather than to staff directly, because staff cannot have six bosses and workload has to be managed through the manager. Joe Roy gave the example of asking Jerry to have the website updated rather than copying the clerk or asking Calvin about salt and sand. Belinda Ray (?) said every board she has worked with struggles with this.

14. 48:02
    How the goals were organised

    Belinda Ray (?) said Joe Roy collected goals from members and she sorted 24 items into categories: one on governance, items two to six on committees, seven to nine on economic development, ten to fourteen on external communications and engagement, fifteen on facilities, sixteen to eighteen on land use, one on solid waste and two on strategic planning. Committees, communications, economic development and public safety were the areas where the most members had submitted something.

15. 48:02
    Adding a goal on what Durham should be

    A member asked to add a goal about the town's long-term identity, prompted by a conversation with Jerry Douglas about what Durham wants to be. Others noted this is what the comprehensive plan is for and that the current plan dates from 2018, and that terms such as protecting the rural nature of Durham do not mean the same thing to everyone. It was folded into the existing items on a community conversation about Durham's future and translating community priorities into long-term planning.

16. 53:39
    Reading through the list

    Belinda Ray (?) read each item so members could ask what was meant. The town meeting item was reworded to explore and determine whether the format should change, on the basis that the board has heard concerns about participation but has not decided anything. A member explained the code compliance item as a communication effort to make residents aware of permit requirements they may not know about, which could also raise revenue.

17. 53:39
    Strategic leadership explained

    Asked to explain strengthening the board's strategic leadership, Jerry Douglas (?) said the question is where the town is going and whether it wants to stay what he called the town of Mayberry. He said Durham sits among service centres that are dealing with housing and affordable housing while Durham is not, and that he cannot tell as manager what the community wants.

18. 58:52
    Combining the goals

    At John Talbot's suggestion the committee items were combined, as were the two economic development items, three communications items, the two long-term planning items, the gravel pit and quarry items, and the three traffic safety items. Real property inventory, facilities, housing policy and solid waste were kept separate. The list came down to about 14 options.

19. 1:04:18
    What the facilities item covers

    Belinda Ray (?) read the notes submitted with the facilities item: the town office, the Eureka Center, better use of the space between buildings, and the baseball field. Members agreed to keep it separate from the housing policy and real property items.

20. 1:09:43
    Dot voting

    Each member was given four dots, later a fifth, and asked to mark the items they thought should be addressed this year, with no stacking. Jerry Douglas declined dots, saying he would rather see where the select board wants to take the town. One item drew four, several drew three, and nobody put a dot on the gravel pit item.

21. 1:15:05
    Real property inventory and management

    Joe Roy defended keeping this separate from economic development, saying the town owns parcels of 5 to 20 acres that might suit recreation, a timber harvest, open space planning, or a hydrant near an aquifer for fire protection, so it is community development as much as revenue. John Talbot (?) said the town owns many parcels doing nobody any good and should get them back on the tax rolls.

22. 1:20:11
    The town meeting vote on selling property

    Members recalled that at this year's town meeting residents specifically asked that real estate be removed from the board's standing authority to dispose of town property, and that the board told the town any real estate sale would go through a robust public process. Joe Roy (?) read that as residents valuing the land; John Talbot (?) said it was a misunderstanding repeated at successive town meetings.

23. 1:25:17
    Argument over community involvement

    Jerry Douglas (?) said the board cannot do the strategic and long-term planning goals without community involvement. Josh Klein-Golden (?) said the town already puts every message out through seven to nine channels, including text alerts, a news blast, the website, the official Facebook page, monthly coffee with the town manager and a fortnightly video, and people still do not participate. He said the pay-as-you-throw rollout filled meetings with angry residents who stopped coming once it started, and that the board may have to do something unpopular to get people engaged.

24. 1:30:47
    Communications not made a goal

    Rebecca Pollster (?) and Debbie Oliver (?) said communications will keep coming back and that residents they speak to do not know about the text messages or email blasts. Jerry Douglas (?) said the town has lost its own narrative to a private Facebook page carrying misinformation. With only two dots on the item, Belinda Ray recorded that it will not be a standalone goal but said she would write up that it was a major topic of discussion, and members reallocated their dots.

25. 1:35:49
    Gravel pit and quarry ordinance

    Members agreed the gravel pit and quarry work belongs with the planning board and the town planner rather than the select board, and that the board's action is to tell them it has heard residents want an ordinance. Joe Roy (?) said this would be put on the agenda for a formal vote at the next meeting.

26. 1:35:49
    Housing policy and solid waste already in hand

    Members established that the housing policy and ordinance work is already under way, with a $10,000 state grant to update the ordinance, and that the solid waste committee is still drafting and meets again in September. A question was raised about how completed committee work gets back to the board with a target date, and whether that comes through the committee, the liaison or the town manager.

27. 1:41:20
    Committees and committee structure

    The committee items were consolidated into reviewing the committees and their structure and creating policy for them. Members noted committees currently write their own bylaws and present them, that reporting is inconsistent with some committees recorded and others taking handwritten notes, and that the exercise would establish what committees exist, what their charters are and who is on them. The budget committee was confirmed as included despite being elected.

28. 1:46:21
    Wording the revenue and facilities goals

    The economic development item was reworded as exploring ways to increase revenue to lower property tax, on the basis that the town is a one-trick pony dividing what it needs by valuation and that raising permit fees just moves money between pockets. Jerry Douglas (?) noted an $8,000 GPCOG grant already produced a facilities report that is sitting unused and which itself says not to lose momentum, so the goal became reviewing that report and determining next steps and how to proceed.

29. 1:51:34
    Public safety and traffic

    Joe Roy (?) said the board put public safety expansion to a straw poll at a November election and a majority said they did not want increased spending, so he questioned investing more time despite continued complaints from a smaller number of residents. Debbie Oliver (?) said the loop still has to be closed with a statement of the current position and where it is headed, even if that is only more radar signs.

30. 1:56:54
    Sheriff's report on the dump trucks

    Josh Klein-Golden (?) said he asked contacts in the sheriff's department to check the dump trucks and speeds, and a deputy patrolled the roads, saw a number of dump trucks and found they were not speeding, having also spoken to drivers. The deputy's view was that the trucks are simply bigger than what people are used to and that speeding is not the issue on those roads. The board agreed this becomes an agenda item at the next meeting rather than a goal for the year.

31. 2:02:00
    Real property folded into the revenue goal

    Members agreed the real property item would be carried inside the revenue goal, framed as developing a plan to determine the best use of each parcel rather than a sale. Joe Roy stressed the wording matters because parcels carry encumbrances, such as an agreement over the baseball field on Swamp Road and a wooded strip screening 13 houses from Route 125, and because residents react badly to any suggestion of a fire sale.

32. 2:07:22
    Feedback on the process

    Members said having the list on the wall to look at and combine worked well. Belinda Ray will type up the goals as agreed and send them to Jerry Douglas to circulate, and was asked to account for every submitted item, including those that did not rise to priorities and those already being handled by staff. She recommended running the exercise annually so the board can review what it accomplished.

33. 2:07:22
    Hearing from other boards

    A member asked whether it would help to hear from the other boards and committees first, as the board did last year. Joe Roy (?) said he had alerted committees to the process and asked for input by email, and that some of the submitted goals came out of those discussions. The meeting adjourned at 8:39.

What was decided

• 58:52
  Combine the 24 submitted goals into about 14 groupings before ranking them, including combining the committee items, the two economic development items, three communications items, the two long-term planning items, the gravel pit and quarry items, and the three traffic safety itemspassed
• 1:30:47
  Do not carry external communications and public awareness forward as a standalone goal for the year, while recording in the write-up that it was a major topic of discussion; two members argued against dropping itpassed
• 1:35:49
  Refer the gravel pit and quarry ordinance work to the planning board and the town planner, with a formal vote to be placed on the agenda of a coming select board meetingpassed
• 1:56:54
  Handle traffic speed and dump truck complaints as an agenda item at the next meeting rather than as a goal for the yearpassed
• 2:02:00
  Fold the real property inventory and management item into the goal on exploring ways to increase revenue, framed as determining the best use of each parcelpassed
• 2:07:22
  Adjourn at 8:39passed

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

• 16:28
  Jerry Douglas (?) said he is not contacted enough by board members and feels alone, and that he often assembles the meeting agenda without knowing what the board wants to discuss. Members cited full-time jobs and a reluctance to interrupt him; Joe Roy (?) said he was concerned the chair's role might be creating a perceived barrier.
• 1:25:17
  Josh Klein-Golden (?) said every town message already goes out through seven to nine channels and residents still do not participate, pointing to 50 to 80 people attending the June town meeting. He said the board may have to do something unpopular to draw people in, since the pay-as-you-throw rollout filled meetings until the change actually took effect.
• 1:46:21
  An $8,000 GPCOG grant has already produced a facilities report covering the town office, the Eureka Center and the space between buildings, which Jerry Douglas (?) said is sitting on the shelf and which itself advises the town not to lose momentum. The goal adopted is to review that report and determine next steps.
• 1:51:34
  Joe Roy (?) said a straw poll at a November election showed a majority against increased spending on public safety, which is why he questioned making it a goal. A sheriff's deputy who patrolled the roads reported the dump trucks were not speeding and that speeding is not the issue there.

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: 1 passage of motion language, against 6 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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