Select Board Meeting ~ May 3, 2016

2016-05-03 · Select Board · 1:25:40 · watch on YouTube →

A regular Select Board meeting with all five selectmen present. The board objected to a first-ever RSU 5 charge of about $161 for janitorial services at town meeting and agreed to write to the school board; signed on to the Historic District Commission's letter for a pilot architectural survey; and authorised the purchase of a Freightliner plow truck with HP Fairfield gear at $204,543 less an $11,000 trade-in. Appointments went through for an animal control officer, a deputy election warden and a planning board alternate, and the board voted to accept donations toward an Eagle Scout project at the War Memorial Park. Paul Baines and Fire Chief William St. Michel together asked the board to consider turning the town's half of the modular building next door into planning and public safety offices, and were told to come back with costs. Most of the second half went to Calvin Baumier, who was authorised to contract with Crooker Construction for the Runaround Pond Road and Rabbit Road work but was pressed hard on whether a crew of four or five can also do the ditching and culverts the town told taxpayers the $1.1 million would cover. The recording ends with the motion to go into executive session on a fire chief personnel matter.

What was discussed

1. 0:09
   Before the gavel, then call to order

   Open microphone chatter about whether the town has finished paying for winter salt, a returned bucket of joint compound, and a town office computer that crashes and will not open more than one Excel file at a time. Jeffrey Wakeman then called the meeting to order with a quorum of all five selectmen and led the pledge of allegiance.

2. 0:09
   Additions to the agenda

   Two items were added to action and discussion: the RSU 5 bill together with the district's written response, and a vote to accept donations raised by Hunter Howe for his Eagle Scout project. No public comment was offered.

3. 0:09
   Consent agenda

   The consent agenda included the warrant and a temporary activities permit for the Durham Warriors challenge event, which needed approval but no signature.

4. 5:17
   RSU 5 janitorial charge

   The district billed the town about $161 for janitorial services during town meeting, the first such charge the town has received. Shannon Pullard (?) wrote asking for an explanation and the district's facilities officer, named in the recording as David Watts (?), pointed to RSU policy requiring the charge.

5. 5:17
   Response to the district

   Mark Blake said the town has never paid this and should not, noting the town sends the district a large monthly payment, given first as $393 and then corrected to $393,000 a month. Members agreed to write to the school board, with Ruth Glaeser drafting and Mark Blake editing, and asked that it make the point without being nasty.

6. 5:17
   Historic District Commission survey

   Candice Decsipkes presented a letter seeking the board's support for an architectural survey. Money for training was approved at town meeting and the commission is working with Maine Preservation; the work will be done by volunteers from the commission and elsewhere in town.

7. 10:20
   Survey method and publicity

   Volunteers photograph the oldest structures, mostly from the road, then complete a state form describing the period and features of each building; photograph and form go into the state cultural database and copies stay in town. The eventual aim is everything 50 years and older, but this is a pilot on the oldest buildings only. Photographs are best taken before the trees leaf out, so an insert will go in the Tri-Town with notice on the Durham channel and the news blast, and volunteers will carry the signed letter to show anyone who asks.

8. 10:20
   Plow truck bid

   Calvin Baumier presented a spreadsheet of the bids from lowest to highest. He recommended Freightliner because the town already runs Freightliners and would otherwise need a second software package, and because he wanted one contract covering truck and body rather than the two separate contracts used last time.

9. 16:01
   Why the lowest bid was not the lowest price

   The $2,700 gap in favour of Viking Gear disappeared on inspection: the spreader control offered was about $800 cheaper and not the Rexroth type the town already runs, the specified stainless steel hydraulic enclosure was worth about $1,000 and Viking would have supplied plain steel, and the plow came without jacks. The truck itself is close to identical to one the town already owns, with a heated windshield and snow door added, and Skip Skehan of Freightliner of Maine was present to answer questions.

10. 16:01
    Foreclosed property

    Ruth Glaeser described three foreclosed parcels with a written description of each, recommending two of them be put out to bid. She also brought a quitclaim deed for an owner who has redeemed, and reported that the second open space parcel in Hunter Hill phase 2, on which foreclosure was waived in December, has been paid in full.

11. 21:03
    Minimum bids and first refusal

    A personal letter goes to each former owner before bids are advertised, and the former owner may redeem by paying the minimum bid at any point up to the bid opening. The minimum bid covers back taxes and advertising costs; the board asked for those figures at the next meeting and for the owners to be told first.

12. 21:03
    The river parcel

    One parcel is roughly 150 feet long by 20 or 30 feet wide, with no road access, sitting in the high activity range along the river. Members doubted anyone would take on the taxes for it, and Glaeser suggested approaching a land trust, named in the recording only as a garbled river or valley land trust.

13. 21:03
    BCN contract renewal

    The telephone vendor wrote that the contract is due for renewal with no increase in rates, offering 12, 24 and 36 month terms. Glaeser said she did not think the town could do better but offered to look.

14. 26:39
    Shopping the phone contract

    Members asked her to check a couple of other providers, AT&T and FairPoint being named, before signing anything longer. No vote was taken.

15. 26:39
    Planning board alternate and oaths

    Juliet Caplinger of Royalsborough Road applied to serve as an alternate on the planning board. Oaths were also on hand for Patrick Johnson as animal control officer and for Anne Nieman as a new deputy election warden to help at elections, although the accompanying paperwork was missing from the packet.

16. 26:39
    Eagle Scout donations

    Hunter Howe has begun collecting donations for the War Memorial Park project he brought to the board previously. The board needed only to vote to accept whatever comes in so it can be applied to this year's expenses.

17. 26:39
    NIMS training requirements

    Fire Chief William St. Michel explained the IS-402 training the county is offering on 24 May during the day and 26 May in the evening. It runs about two hours and only one of the two sessions need be attended.

18. 31:54
    Waivers, federal grants and session details

    The chief said the requirement chart has changed substantially, with some items now applying only to departments above a full-time staffing threshold. Most NIMS courses are online but 402 is not, so he offered to bring waivers for anyone who cannot attend; NIMS compliance is a condition written into federal grant paperwork. The evening class runs 6 to 8 p.m. on 26 May at the county EMA office beneath the Lewiston Central Station off Oak Street, with free parking across the street after 6 p.m. Several members said they would go that night.

19. 31:54
    Fire department NIMS list

    The chief has updated the department roster, adding new members and removing former ones, and sent it on for the files to be checked. He expects six or seven people still need to be brought up to date.

20. 31:54
    Retirement

    Daryl (?) retires effective that Friday, with a gathering on Thursday 5 May from 3 to 6 p.m. and presentations at 5 p.m. The chief is presenting on behalf of the New England Division, of which the retiree is a past president, and said he would wear a coat and tie.

21. 38:18
    Chief's other business

    The chief met a security camera installer that day and is chasing an updated quote from another, expecting to bring a recommendation to the next meeting. An apparatus cleanup day is set for Sunday morning, 15 May, at the station, followed by a barbecue and doubling as a membership drive.

22. 38:18
    Runaround Pond project bidding

    Paul Baines reported that state bid packages are going out. He passed three local contractors' names to the state contact, given in the recording as Tom Linskott (?); none of the three is currently state certified but they will be sent what they need to qualify.

23. 38:18
    Parker Schoolhouse Lane addressing

    The addressing work is complete and the road name sign has been installed and changed. One complaint came in months ago and nothing since.

24. 38:18
    Permit volume

    As of 1 May permits were running better than 100 percent ahead of the same point last year, a sizable number of them new homes, with no sign of slowing. Inspection mileage is triple last year's, which Baines said justified the added hours the board approved.

25. 38:18
    Stop work order

    Baines issued a stop work order on a project on a road the recording garbles as 'the metal road'. He said he did not expect to pursue a violation and was not asking the board to authorise fines.

26. 43:21
    Engineering disagreement

    The project owner had raised concerns about the codes officer at an earlier meeting, and the work has since gone wrong. Baines described competing engineers and hoped for a mutual consent on how to get the job back on track.

27. 43:21
    Comprehensive plan committee

    About 11 applications are in hand, with a couple more wanted, and appointments will come to the board at the next meeting. The committee will then adopt bylaws, elect officers and take training, with homework over the summer and the real work starting in the fall. Baines said the aim was broad representation across the town: business people, developers, farmers and conservation interests.

28. 43:21
    Ordinance review

    The planning board meets the following night and will start setting up ordinance groups for next year's changes. The appeals provisions, the back lot ordinance and some subdivision provisions were flagged; Todd Booer (?) has taken the back lot work. Little change is expected to the land use ordinance.

29. 43:21
    Certificate of appropriateness not required

    Baines determined that the War Memorial Park is not a contributing property under the new historic district ordinance and wrote to Hunter Howe that day saying no certificate of appropriateness is needed. He said the change made to that ordinance is working as intended. A long aside followed on sonotubes and footings.

30. 48:42
    Use of the modular building

    Baines asked the board to start thinking about the town's half of the modular next door as space for codes and planning, with the fire department side becoming a public safety office, since this building has no room for those functions to expand. He said no new construction is needed: a bathroom could be shared or added, and part of the space would still be storage once broken furniture and dead office equipment are cleared out. Members said the idea sounded reasonable but wanted numbers, particularly on heating.

31. 54:23
    Fire department view of the modular

    Chief St. Michel said office use was always part of the plan when the modular was set up: heat is already in each section, and sleeves for water and a drain line through the concrete were put in at the time. Bathroom facilities and the septic and water work already sit in the capital improvement plan. The building is currently held at 40 to 45 degrees over the winter.

32. 54:23
    Bunk space, grants and current codes space

    Moving fire department offices out would free rooms for bunks, which the chief said changes the department's category in grant reviews; he has tried for about five years to win a grant for a station exhaust removal system, held back partly because the department has no sleeping quarters. Smaller Walmart grants and a Home Depot community programme were mentioned as possible sources for partitions. Baines said he currently works from a corner of an office belonging to someone who is in the building twice a month, with nowhere to meet applicants or hold house plans.

33. 54:23
    Tax and bond anticipation notes

    Ruth Glaeser reported the RFPs for the tax anticipation note and the bond anticipation note have gone out. The opening is at noon on 17 May, she will bring the responses to the board that evening, and the money should be in hand by the end of May for paving and bills, with refinancing in the fall.

34. 54:23
    Solid waste RFP

    Work on a solid waste RFP needs to start around the beginning of June so something can be presented at the next town meeting. The current arrangement runs July to July and expires this year.

35. 1:00:01
    Season paving prices

    Calvin Baumier handed over Crooker's price sheet covering all of Durham and Pownal's paving for the season, dated 11 April. He had asked for a quote on the one road and received the seasonal sheet instead, then had Crooker build a project bid from those numbers.

36. 1:00:01
    Comparing the bids

    Items, quantities and estimating methods differed between bidders, so Baumier built one spreadsheet with common quantities and each bidder's unit prices, giving comparable totals at the foot of each column. He checked the prices against Freeport's recent paving bid and found the same figures.

37. 1:00:01
    Mix design and reclaim

    Baumier asked for mix designs rather than just prices. Pike's carries 20 percent recycled asphalt product, which can include roofing shingles and cold mix; Crooker's is zero, all virgin asphalt, as Freeport required in its bid. He said the state allows up to 20 percent and Crooker's own maximum is about 12, and blamed heavy recycled content for the break-up seen on Davis Road. One bidder also priced gravel where the others priced reclaim, which Baumier wants because it grinds in to give a stronger base.

38. 1:05:23
    Shoulder gravel

    Shoulder material was quoted at $33 a yard. Baumier recalculated the quantity as 1,627 cubic yards and applied that figure to every bidder, but left it out of the comparison totals because the bidders were not all offering the same product.

39. 1:05:23
    Sequence of work

    Culverts first, about six weeks of work, then the contractor lays the base, then the crew ditches off that base. The base can be left to sit until the following season before the surface coat if necessary, and the contractor would not bill for the surface coat until it goes down.

40. 1:05:23
    Other roads

    Baumier hoped to add about half a mile on two further roads whose names the recording garbles, saying they will be lost if not done this year. A separate overlay of about $225,000, also referred to as a quarter of a million, has not yet been assigned to a road.

41. 1:05:23
    Manpower

    A selectman said he could not see a crew of four or five getting the culverts, the ditching, the unfinished Quaker Meetinghouse Road work and routine maintenance done in one season, and asked for a plan. Baumier said a ditching price had come in that day and he had prices from other vendors, but had not decided.

42. 1:10:34
    Spending the money where it was promised

    Michael Stewart said the town told residents the $1.1 million would go to Runaround Pond Road and Rabbit Road, ditching included, and that coming back afterwards for another $50,000 to finish the job would not be right. He urged putting the town crew on the separate overlay road and hiring out the ditching if necessary. Baumier answered that the town has gone many years without doing this work and will not catch up in a season, and another member cautioned that residents will question why the town keeps a crew if much of the work is hired out.

43. 1:10:34
    Seasonal help

    Baumier and Glaeser had looked at a seasonal driver and a flagger. The only flagging rate he found was $25 an hour per flagger, which members thought would add up fast for two flaggers a day; the cost would be built into the project rather than taken from the operating budget.

44. 1:15:36
    Bid opening practice

    Members discussed announcing an opening date and opening all bids together so nobody suspects favouritism. Baumier said that is what he does when work goes out to bid, and that informal estimates are held in a folder and presented together.

45. 1:15:36
    Crooker contract and scheduling

    Baumier asked the board for authorisation to enter into a contract with Crooker Construction for the project, and Joshua Libby moved it. Members urged getting on the contractor's schedule early, noting that state work starts in July and the asphalt plant can only produce so much mix a day; Baumier agreed to bring a plan to the next meeting, including the option of picking a road that needs grinding and reclaiming so less ditching is needed.

46. 1:15:36
    Crew vacation scheduling

    Baumier's request that crew vacations be booked by mid-month met resistance because it is not in Pownal's policy and has never been done there. He asked for time to let the crew check with their families; the board said it would look at policy changes if there is no progress by the next meeting.

47. 1:20:47
    Upcoming meetings

    Regular selectmen's meetings at the town office on Tuesday 17 May and Tuesday 31 May at 6:30 p.m., and a special joint meeting of the Pownal and Durham selectmen on Tuesday 7 June 2016 at 6 p.m. at the Durham town office to discuss the shared road commissioner arrangement.

48. 1:20:47
    Waste collection notices

    Bulky waste day is Saturday 21 May 2016 at Durham Public Works, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with residents asked to separate their waste into piles. Roadside pickup is under way: clear trash bags are available at the town office and Pine Tree Waste collects them over the first three weeks of May, with no tags needed.

49. 1:20:47
    RSU 5 budget meeting and turnout flyer

    The budget meeting is at the Durham Community School on Wednesday 25 May 2016 at 6 p.m. Members stressed it is a town meeting style session where articles can be voted down, and the one occasion it is held in Durham. They proposed a flyer through the Tri-Town urging residents to attend, funded from advertising, with an informal ceiling of about $500, the purchasing policy threshold; a mailing was thought to cost more.

50. 1:20:47
    Executive session

    Jeffrey Wakeman moved to go into executive session under 1 M.R.S.A. section 405(6)(A), personnel matters, fire chief. The recording ends at that point.

What was decided

• 5:17
  Accept the consent agenda, including the temporary activities permit for the Durham Warriors challenge event and the warrant. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby.passed
• 5:17
  Send a letter to the RSU 5 school board objecting to the janitorial charge, drafted by Ruth Glaeser and edited by Mark Blake. This was settled by consensus after the chair asked whether everyone was in favour of a letter; no motion was made and no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 10:20
  Authorise the Historic District Commission's request as presented, so that the survey letter carries the chairman's signature alongside the commission's. Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake.passed
• 16:01
  Authorise the road commissioner to buy the Freightliner truck with HP Fairfield gear from Freightliner of Maine for $204,543 less an $11,000 trade-in, a net $193,543. Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Michael Stewart. The mover's spoken figure was garbled and was restated for the record.passed
• 21:03
  Hold the first foreclosed parcel until the written agreement with the owner is settled, and bring minimum bids for the other two parcels to the next meeting, notifying the former owners first. Settled in discussion; no motion was made and no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 21:03
  Sign the quitclaim deed for the owner who has redeemed his property, along with the rest of the packet.outcome unclear
• 26:39
  Have the administrator price other providers before renewing the BCN contract, with a longer term considered once the comparison is in. Settled in discussion; no motion was made and no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 26:39
  Approve the application of Juliet Caplinger for the position of alternate to the planning board as presented. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby.passed
• 26:39
  Accept donations raised by Hunter Howe for his Eagle Scout project. Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Joshua Libby.passed
• 26:39
  Appoint Patrick Johnson as animal control officer and administer the oath. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Michael Stewart.passed
• 26:39
  Appoint Anne Nieman as deputy election warden and administer the oath. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby.passed
• 31:54
  Members to attend the evening NIMS 402 session on 26 May, with the fire chief telling the county to expect three or four from Durham, and waivers brought to a later meeting for anyone who cannot attend. Settled in discussion; no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 48:42
  Have the codes officer develop costs for converting the town's half of the modular building into codes and planning offices, with the fire department side as a public safety office, and report back. Settled in discussion; no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 54:23
  Start work on a solid waste RFP around the beginning of June so a proposal is ready for the next town meeting. Settled in discussion; no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 1:15:36
  Authorise the road commissioner to enter into a contract with Crooker Construction for the Runaround Pond Road and Rabbit Road project. Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake.passed
• 1:15:36
  Road commissioner to bring a written plan for the season's paving, ditching and culvert work to the next meeting. Settled in discussion; no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 1:20:47
  Place a flyer in the Tri-Town encouraging residents to vote at the RSU 5 budget meeting, at a cost of up to about $500. Settled in discussion; no motion was made and no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 1:20:47
  Go into executive session under 1 M.R.S.A. section 405(6)(A), personnel matters, fire chief. Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby.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_5-3-20161.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 Amendedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Authorize the Road Commissioner to buy the Freightliner truck from Freightliner of Maine for $204,543.00 less a trade-in of $11,000.00 for a total cost of no more than $193,543.00carried 5-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Authorize the Historic District Commission's request as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake

• approve the Application of Juliet Caplinger for the position as an Alternate to the Planning Board as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Appoint Patrick Johnson as ACO and that the Oath be administeredcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Appoint Anne Nieman as Deputy Election Warden and that the Oath be administeredcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• the Town accept donations from Hunter Howe for his Eagle Scout Projectcarried 5-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Authorize the Road Commissioner to enter into a contract with Crooker Construction for the Runaround Pond Road and Rabbit Road Construction Projectcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake

• the Board into Executive Session pursuant to Title #1, M.R.S.A., ss. 405 (6)(A) – Personnel – Personnel Matters – Fire Chief at 7:55 p.m., preceded by a brief recess at 7:55 p.mcarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby

• set Chief St. Michel's effective hire date as January 1st 1997, recognizing that his actual full time date was in 2002, but was part-time Chief since 1993carried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Adjourn at 8:09 p.mcarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake

Worth knowing

• 5:17
  The RSU 5 bill of about $161 for janitorial services during town meeting was the first the town has ever received for that. Mark Blake objected on the ground that the town already sends the district a large monthly payment, quoted as $393,000 a month after he first said $393.
• 16:01
  The apparently cheapest truck bid was not cheapest once the specification was checked: the spreader control was about $800 less and not the Rexroth type the town runs, the specified stainless steel hydraulic enclosure worth about $1,000 would have been supplied in plain steel, and the plow came without jacks.
• 38:18
  Building permits as of 1 May were running better than 100 percent ahead of the same point the previous year, a sizable share of them new homes, and the codes officer's inspection mileage was triple last year's.
• 1:10:34
  The $1.1 million for Runaround Pond Road and Rabbit Road was presented to residents as covering ditching and culverts as well as pavement. A selectman warned repeatedly against spending it all on pavement and then having to find perhaps another $50,000 to finish the job.

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 18 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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