August 17, 2020 ~ Select Board Meeting

2020-08-17 · Select Board · 1:33:00 · watch on YouTube →

A Select Board meeting held on Zoom, opening with the reorganisation that follows an election and closing in executive session. Two residents used public comment: a cannabis business owner asking the town to put opt-in questions to a vote, and a resident of the Rabbit Road and Route 136 corner describing years of speeding and accidents at that intersection. The board issued a no action letter on a 2004 setback violation at 759 Royalsborough Road over one member's objection that it sets a precedent, signed the 2020 municipal valuation, authorised a Keep Maine Healthy grant contract, and adopted a COVID-19 return to work policy with the symptom-free period set at 48 hours. It did not decide whether to put the questions deferred from town meeting onto the November ballot, agreeing instead to circulate the draft language and settle it at the August 25 meeting, when the deadline falls. Reports covered fire calls running 36 ahead of last year, four options for controlling Japanese knotweed, and the first data from the town's new electronic speed sign.

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. 0:02
   Roll call and reorganisation

   All five members answered the roll on Zoom. The board elects a chair and vice chair after every election, though the chair noted no new members were actually elected this time. Both were filled by roll call vote, with the chair declining to vote on his own nomination.

2. 0:02
   Code enforcement officer's Thursday hours

   Bob Force (?) asked to work a regular 8:30 to 4:30 day on Thursdays instead of the extended evening schedule, because losing the morning hours makes it hard to meet contractors and almost nobody has ever come in during the evening hours. The board raised no objection and agreed to let him adjust the schedule.

3. 0:02
   Select board member on the CIP committee

   The Capital Improvement Program committee had asked for a select board member, and Marc Farrin (?) volunteered. The board appointed him by roll call so he would sit as a voting member.

4. 5:17
   Public comment: cannabis opt-in

   David Stevenson of 176 Cushing Road, owner of Hazy Hill Farm and High Peak Cannabis Company, said his business employs about 20 people and is doing well. He owns 150 acres in Durham, holds conditional state licences for a couple of grows, and wants to expand here, including looking at a solar farm to bring power to greenhouses where infrastructure is thin. He asked the board to put opt-in questions back before the town.

5. 10:18
   Which activities he wants opted into

   His main goal is cultivation, followed by processing, which he said is a broad term covering everything from trimming to butane extraction; he does non-solvent extraction using ice and water and subcontracts the rest. He thought Durham is not an ideal retail location but that a farm people could visit might sell on site, as breweries do. The chair noted that if the town opts into manufacturing, its own ordinance could still be written to allow only non-solvent extraction.

6. 10:18
   Why the questions came off the warrant

   The questions were teed up for town meeting and pulled when COVID hit. A September special town meeting is unrealistic because large gatherings will still not be possible, which leaves the November referendum ballot or next April's town meeting. Because absentee ballots have to be ready well ahead, the board has to decide by the end of the month.

7. 10:18
   How the opt-in process works

   The chair explained the earlier vote was a non-binding straw poll that passed by within about a percentage point. The questions this time ask whether to opt in at all; only if the answer is yes does the town spend money on consultants and ordinance drafting, and those ordinances then go back for a separate vote. Asked directly, the chair agreed a year before anything could happen is a safe bet.

8. 16:09
   Public comment: Rabbit Road and Route 136

   Nicoline (?) of 11 Rabbit Road (?) said she has lived at the corner for nine years, has been first on the scene at about six accidents, and her children have a protocol of waiting on the porch while she calls 911. She described drivers doing donuts in the intersection at night and said very few observe the 35 mile per hour limit on Rabbit Road, to the point she has considered moving. She asked about a four-way stop, speed bumps on Rabbit Road and Quaker Meeting House Road, and about a change in policing she had heard about.

9. 21:34
   The change in policing

   The chair explained the town did not initiate it: Androscoggin County and the Maine State Police had alternated months covering the town, and the state police recently told the sheriff they would not renew that arrangement. The sheriff's office now has twelve month responsibility for coverage of Durham.

10. 21:34
    What the town can and cannot do about speed

    MaineDOT discourages speed bumps outside densely populated village centres, on the basis that once one goes in every road would want one. A four-way stop was examined last year and DOT declined because the volumes on the two roads are too dissimilar, with Rabbit Road at around 857 vehicles a day. DOT put up advance warning signs on Route 136 and there had been talk of a light before COVID interrupted it; Calvin agreed to go back to the traffic engineer.

11. 21:34
    Speed data and enforcement

    The town has an electronic speed sign that has been collecting data on Rabbit Road, which will be handed to the sheriff's department so patrols can be aimed at the worst times of day. The resident said the sheriff's suggestion to her had been to buy a game camera, which she was reluctant to fund and monitor herself.

12. 26:46
    The cost of dedicated coverage

    The board has looked into a dedicated sheriff's deputy for the town, at around $300,000 a year for a car and a couple of full-time officers. A far smaller request, about $1,500 to hire occasional special details for speed enforcement, was voted down by the town a couple of years ago. The resident also noted the new farm stand at the intersection adds cars slowing to turn in.

13. 26:46
    No action letter for 759 Royalsborough Road

    This is the second setback case in consecutive meetings, after one on Passbook Road. From the mortgage survey the garage appears to be about 10 feet from the line where 20 is required, and members noted it is not only the garage: the house itself is out of the setback as well. The permit was pulled in 2004.

14. 32:06
    Concern about setting a precedent

    Rob Panto (?) objected that the board should not waive setback violations as a matter of course without an appeals process where neighbours can be heard, and described going through it himself: he was denied a variance and paid $4,000 for 2,500 square feet of a neighbour's lot to bring his garage into compliance. Members agreed the code officer is a guide rather than the party responsible for a building's placement, and noted that the current officer measures against the setbacks when the foundation goes in.

15. 32:06
    What a no action letter actually does

    Members recalled advice from Maine Municipal Association that a no action letter records this board's intent and does not bind a future board. Some past letters have been recorded at the registry, with the minutes showing the property owners filing them themselves. A member questioned whether a bank would accept something that impermanent, since a future sale means another mortgage survey and the same problem.

16. 37:09
    2020 municipal valuation

    The valuation prepared by the town assessor needed board signatures before going to the state. The certified ratio came down to 87 percent. The mill rate had already been set at an earlier meeting.

17. 37:09
    Questions deferred from town meeting

    The town manager ordinance changes, the land use articles and the marijuana questions were taken off the warrant to streamline the recent election. To put them on the November ballot, the board would have to vote on final language at its meeting at the end of August.

18. 42:54
    The election timeline and cost

    Becky set out the schedule: final draft to the ballot vendor 60 days before the election, which is September 3, so the ballots can be printed and coded for machine counting; drafting over the next two weeks, a board vote on the 25th, and absentee ballots 30 days out. Printing and coding come to about $1,675, or $1,850 with a colour strip.

19. 42:54
    The second ballot machine

    The town borrowed a second DS200 machine last time and has been told it will not be available in November. Durham is on the state's list for one of the machines the state has secured, but with no date for an answer. With only one machine, ballots might have to be fed the following day, at significant extra cost in election workers. Members recalled that the single machine, not the booths, was the bottleneck at the last presidential election.

20. 48:20
    Whether to go in November

    One member argued for biting the bullet because nobody knows what April will look like. Another was uneasy about the time available to settle the wording and about adding 22 questions to what will already be a heavy turnout, and offered to hold a separate meeting to do it properly. Members agreed the November turnout gives a truer reading of the town than a couple of hundred people at a town meeting, particularly on marijuana.

21. 48:20
    How many questions and what else is needed

    Roughly a dozen questions were left off: about four land use, eight marijuana and one on the town manager. A public hearing is required about 30 days before the vote, and George may have further ordinance questions ready that were not ready in April. Members said a mailer, public hearings and material on the website would be needed to explain them, along the lines of what staff produced for the referendum town meeting.

22. 53:26
    Shoreland zoning compliance

    Asked whether anything is required by the state, the chair said the shoreland zoning ordinance is not in compliance with state regulation. There is no fixed deadline, but the gap creates ambiguity for planning board and code enforcement decisions, so the sooner it is fixed the better.

23. 53:26
    Town office HVAC and air quality

    With winter coming and the building on a recirculating air system, Ruth (?) raised what other towns are considering: an ionizer or UV light in the ducts. A company that came to look at the system, which needs cleaning, identified two ducts that would need UV lights, and a bid from a Windham company had been circulated.

24. 58:29
    Evaluate before buying

    The chair said getting bids first is the cart before the horse and that the town should have somebody evaluate the system who is not selling equipment, since for all anyone knows the technology could be hocus pocus. He offered to ask a resident who works in safety protocols rather than sales to advise and to speak with Ruth.

25. 58:29
    Keep Maine Healthy grant

    The town successfully applied for a grant of a little over $9,000 for COVID-related expenses, and the contract required a signature. The board authorised the town administrator to sign it.

26. 1:04:07
    COVID-19 return to work policy

    Ruth drafted the policy from CDC guidance at state and federal level, as the board had asked at the previous meeting. Two points were debated: whether a doctor's note can be required, on which members had heard conflicting advice, and how long an employee must be symptom and fever free, with 24, 48 and 72 hours all in circulation. The policy also has employees report to their direct supervisor, with department heads reporting to their board liaison.

27. 1:09:17
    Old Brunswick Road speed

    The board had a letter complaining about speed on the road and a letter from the sheriff's department relaying the same complaint and asking about signage. Calvin (?) said there are three speed limit signs now, that he has marked out dig safe for four more at strategic points going in that week, and that the radar sign has been set up there, so the sheriff should have adequate signage to enforce.

28. 1:09:17
    Fire department report

    The department continues to operate within COVID restrictions and will let people into the station to do business provided they wear a mask. Call volume is running 36 calls ahead of last year with several multi-call days. A juvenile fire setter issue was handled with the fire marshal's office, and the department is working out what it can provide the school for fire prevention week given the state of the coming school year.

29. 1:09:17
    Japanese knotweed: what other agencies do

    Calvin (?) spoke to Nancy Olmstead, the new biologist at the Maine Natural Areas Program, who thought the practice the town used on the power line project sounded like good containment. Brunswick does not spray and simply cuts repeatedly, and it keeps coming back. MaineDOT's vegetation management director described a three-herbicide mixture developed over 40 years that he considers effective; abutting landowners can opt out and only about 1 percent statewide do, and the state will help owners treat a short distance onto their own land.

30. 1:14:30
    Four options and a map first

    The options are to carry on as now, to cut aggressively several times a year for what could be ten years or more, to lay and maintain construction fabric over the stands, or to spray. Calvin (?) recommended first GPS locating every known patch and putting it on a map, so the town knows the extent of the problem and can tell whether it is spreading. DOT (?) confirmed the town cannot piggyback its applicator contract because that mechanism covers goods rather than services, so Durham would have to contract directly on a time and materials basis.

31. 1:14:30
    Storm damage and paving

    Bowie Hill and Apple Ridge were paved with Crooker. The tropical storm the week before had crews out clearing trees until midnight and left the public works shop without power for several days after a line came down out front, with enough current to fuse the roadside gravel into a block of glass.

32. 1:19:52
    First speed sign report

    Over 15 days on Rabbit Road the unit counted 12,688 vehicles, an average of 845.9 a day, with an average speed of 37.29 miles per hour, a maximum of 65 and a minimum of 20. The sign was recorded as effective in slowing traffic 73.2 percent of the time. The worst period is the morning commute between roughly 6 and 8 a.m., which Calvin summed up as people being in a hurry to get to work but not to get home.

33. 1:19:52
    How the unit is set

    The sign displays speeds from 35 up to 45 and then stops displaying and strobes instead, so drivers are not encouraged to see how high they can push the number. Calvin still has questions for the manufacturer about the report, including a legend showing three colours against four on the graph, which DOT could not answer.

34. 1:25:19
    Data accuracy to be checked

    The sign has now moved to Old Brunswick Road. Calvin is not yet confident in the sensitivity settings, having seen a speed light up when there was no traffic in that lane, possibly picking up vehicles on Route 136 or in the opposite direction. He will work that out before the next meeting rather than pass on data that may be skewed.

35. 1:25:19
    Private road signs and fees

    Public works is installing a good number of signs for shared driveways, back lots and private ways at its own cost, and Calvin (?) asked whether a fee could be charged and collected by the code officer. Members wanted to see the actual ordinance language on the board's authority to set fees, noting most fees are set by the planning board. There is also the question of who pays to replace signs that keep going missing on private roads sitting within the town right of way.

36. 1:25:19
    Financial report

    The budget through July showed nothing troubling. Elections will run a couple of thousand dollars over budget even without a municipal ballot, and about $4,000 to $5,000 over if the November questions are added. Excise tax has recovered to within 9 percent of last year's collections at the end of July.

37. 1:25:19
    Town office operations

    The office is back to normal hours and busy with tax collections and registrations. Residents in a high-risk category can call for an appointment, during which the door is locked and others wait outside.

38. 1:31:03
    Consent agenda and upcoming meetings

    The consent agenda was approved. The next meetings are Tuesday August 25 and Tuesday September 8, both at 6:30 and both expected to stay on Zoom. The board then entered executive session on a personnel matter.

What was decided

• 0:02
  Nomination and roll call vote to continue the sitting chair in the role of chair. Every member who voted said yes; the chair did not vote on his own nomination.passed
• 0:02
  Nomination and roll call vote for vice chair, with every member voting yes.passed
• 0:02
  Without objection, the code enforcement officer may adjust his Thursday hours from the extended evening schedule to a regular working day.passed
• 0:02
  Motion to appoint Marc Farrin as a voting member of the Capital Improvement Program committee, seconded by Rob Panto. Roll call with every member voting yes.passed
• 32:06
  Motion by Richard George to take no action on setback violations at 759 Royalsborough Road, issuing the no action letter as drafted by the town administrator. Roll call recorded as four to one, with Rob Panto voting no on the ground that it sets a precedent for waiving setbacks without an appeals process.passed
• 37:09
  Motion to sign the 2020 municipal valuation document prepared by the town assessor as presented, so it can be sent to the state. Roll call with every member voting yes.passed
• 53:26
  No decision was taken on putting the deferred questions on the November ballot. Ruth will circulate the April draft questions by the end of the week and ask the town planner whether anything should be added or changed, and members will decide between themselves whether an extra meeting is needed before final language is voted on August 25.tabled
• 58:29
  No bids are to be sought yet for an ionizer or UV light in the town office HVAC system. The chair will ask a resident who works in safety protocols, rather than equipment sales, to assess whether there is a risk worth mitigating, and the item returns to the August 25 agenda.tabled
• 58:29
  Motion to authorise the town administrator to sign the contract for the Keep Maine Healthy grant, a little over $9,000 for COVID-related expenses. Roll call with every member voting yes.passed
• 1:04:07
  Motion to adopt the town of Durham COVID-19 return to work policy as presented, amended so that a symptomatic person must be symptom free for at least 48 hours rather than 24. Four members recorded as voting yes; Richard George's audio had failed and he gave a thumbs up.passed
• 1:14:30
  No decision on how to treat Japanese knotweed. Calvin will GPS locate every known patch and produce a map so the board can judge the extent and monitor spread, after which the item returns to the agenda and abutting owners identified by the map can be sent information.tabled
• 1:25:19
  No decision on charging a fee for private road signs. The board asked to see the ordinance language establishing whether setting such a fee is the select board's to do rather than the planning board's.tabled
• 1:31:03
  Motion to accept the consent agenda as presented. Roll call recorded as four to zero, with Richard George off the call.passed
• 1:31:03
  Motion to enter executive session under 1 MRSA section 405(6)(A) to discuss a personnel matter. Roll call with every member present voting yes.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.

Worth knowing

• 26:46
  A dedicated sheriff's deputy for Durham would cost in the region of $300,000 a year for a car and a couple of full-time officers. A far smaller request of about $1,500, enough to hire special speed enforcement details a few times a year, was voted down by the town a couple of years ago.
• 21:34
  The Maine State Police declined to renew the arrangement under which they and Androscoggin County alternated months covering Durham, so the sheriff's office now has twelve month responsibility. MaineDOT has already rejected a four-way stop at Rabbit Road and Route 136 because the volumes on the two roads are too dissimilar, and does not favour speed bumps on rural roads.
• 1:19:52
  Fifteen days of speed data from Rabbit Road: 12,688 vehicles, averaging 845.9 a day, an average speed of 37.29 miles per hour against a 35 limit, and a maximum recorded speed of 65. The worst period is the morning commute between about 6 and 8 a.m., and the sign itself slowed traffic 73.2 percent of the time.
• 42:54
  Putting the deferred marijuana, land use and town manager questions on the November ballot means fixing the final wording by the August 25 meeting, at a printing and coding cost of about $1,675. The town has also been told it cannot borrow a second ballot machine this November, and without one, counting could run into the following day.

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 14 decisions summarised.

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