September 22, 2020 ~ Select Board Meeting

2020-09-22 · Select Board · 42:49 · watch on YouTube →

A Zoom meeting of the Durham Select Board held on September 22, 2020, chaired by Kevin Neto with four of five members present. The bulk of the meeting was a public hearing on annual junkyard permit renewals, where code enforcement officer Bob Forest (?) reported on which yards had come into compliance after roughly two years of town pressure; two permits were issued outright and a third was issued conditionally, subject to a compliance letter by September 30. Town clerk Becky (?) reported that Durham had been awarded the maximum $5,000 election grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life and that the state had permanently assigned the town a second ballot tabulator, and the board voted to close the town office on Election Day so staff could work the polls. Road commissioner Calvin gave a short paving report. The board then sat as assessors and approved four abatement and supplemental assessment items prepared by the town's assessors' agent, most of them corrections of ownership errors with no net effect on town revenue.

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. 0:06
   Call to order and roll call

   Kevin Neto opened the meeting and called the roll: Rob Panto, Todd Buller, Mark Farren and Neto present, Rich George excused. The fire chief was excused for a previous engagement and the town administrator for a family birthday. No amendments to the agenda and no one came forward for public comment.

2. 0:06
   Public hearing opened on annual junkyard permits

   The chair explained that junkyard permits must be renewed each year and that the town has spent the last couple of years working with several junkyard owners to bring them into compliance. Code enforcement officer Bob Forest was asked to report on which yards were ready for a permit.

3. 0:06
   Permit for Troy and Lisa Peterson, 1266 Hallowell Road

   Forest (?) reported the Petersons in compliance with all the regulations. The chair moved the annual junkyard permit and it was granted on a roll call.

4. 0:06
   Kenneth Carl, 1205 Royalsborough Road, reported not in compliance

   Forest (?) said two items remained outstanding: consolidating the material at the bottom of the hill and fencing that area, and providing him with a log showing the operation is a viable business, with titles and sales records. He said he had spoken to the owners that afternoon, that they were willing to finish by the 30th, and that their existing permit expires September 30.

5. 5:14
   What happens if a junkyard permit lapses

   Forest (?) said state law means a permit that expires forces the owner to start the application over. Because the board's next meeting was not until October 13, the yard would have been unpermitted for two weeks, which led the board toward a conditional approval instead.

6. 5:14
   Conditions attached to the Carl permit

   The chair said a conditional licence needs its list of conditions stated, and Forest set them out: consolidate everything at the bottom of the hill, fence the consolidated portion, and supply a log establishing a viable business. The motion as framed made the permit subject to a letter from the code enforcement officer on or before September 30, 2020 confirming full compliance with state and local codes.

7. 10:17
   Resident asks whether the law allows a compliance extension

   Mr. Dennison, joining by phone, said he recalled reading that a 30-day extension to come into compliance was available. Forest (?) said it did not ring a bell, and the chair said this was a two-year-old conversation with multiple extensions already given and that he was done with extensions, while agreeing to look at the provision if Dennison found it.

8. 10:17
   Permit for Mr. Dennison, 184 Auburn Pownal Road

   Forest (?) reported this yard in compliance and ready for a permit. The chair moved the annual junkyard permit and it was granted on a roll call, with no public comment.

9. 10:17
   Consent agreement for the Emerson junkyard

   Forest (?) said the owner no longer wants the junkyard and would rather enter a consent agreement than take a permit to clean it up. He had spoken to town attorney Jack, who is drafting one, and asked the board for guidance on how long to allow.

10. 15:18
    Timeframe for the consent agreement

    The attorney did not favour a tiered agreement with different deadlines for different parts of the yard, on enforceability grounds. The board's guidance was a single completion date of May 1, 2021, with members saying they wanted the vehicles out of the shoreland zone as early as possible; Forest (?) said the owner could crush vehicles over the winter. No vote was taken, as a draft agreement will come back to the board.

11. 15:18
    Parts vehicles at an auto repair business

    The chair questioned whether an auto repair business may keep non-running vehicles for parts, saying that in his reading of the statute that is an automobile graveyard rather than repair work. Forest (?) said there is a stipulation covering it and that he would look further and watch the property closely.

12. 15:18
    Junkyard public hearing closed

    The chair closed the public hearing, and board members thanked Forest for the work, describing it as a balance of working with property owners while holding firm.

13. 15:18
    Election grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life

    Becky (?) said the grant is specifically to offset the cost of running an election during a pandemic, covering a ballot dropbox, voter education, personal protective equipment, poll worker recruitment, hazard pay, training, cleaning the polling place, temporary staffing and absentee ballot processing. Durham was awarded the maximum amount of $5,000, payable within two to four business days of a vote to accept, and she noted absentee ballots are running at about 900 with the ballots still ten days from arriving.

14. 20:53
    Closing the town office on Election Day

    Town office staff asked that the office close on November 3 so all staff could be at the polls for what was expected to be a very large turnout. Becky (?) said the extra hands help maintain the required party balance among election clerks, and that the code enforcement officer had also offered to help at the polls.

15. 20:53
    Absentee voting deadline changed for November

    Asked how absentee ballots would be handled with the office closed, Becky (?) said in-person absentee voting for November 3 ends on the Friday before, a change by the governor from the arrangement used for the July primary. Ballots can be requested electronically until midnight on the Thursday before.

16. 20:53
    Second ballot tabulator assigned to Durham

    Becky (?) reported a call from the state that Durham has been given a second DS200 machine permanently, so every election will now be run with two. She noted November carries both a municipal and a state ballot, and that Brunswick had lent Durham a machine in July.

17. 26:06
    Polling place capacity and masks

    The clerk said the governor has set a maximum of 50 people in the voting area at one time, including workers. Masks will be expected and spares provided, but a voter who declines one cannot be turned away; the state is expected to supply protective equipment as it did for July 14.

18. 26:06
    Permits and other documents awaiting signature

    Forest (?) said three junkyard permits were in the chair's mailbox and need the signature of every board member, notarized. The chair asked that the warrant, the abatements, the land use ordinance letter and the new election clerk appointments be gathered into one pile at the town office for members to sign from Thursday.

19. 26:06
    Road commissioner's report

    Calvin (?) reported work continuing in the Deerville and Rangdale (?) neighbourhoods and hoping to wrap up that week, with the paving contractor expecting to get in around the second week of October, and stumps ground on Day Road with wood chips still to clean up. He was finishing updates to the capital improvement and paving plans for the town administrator to circulate, and said the last two roads on the bond were due to be paved the following Monday to Wednesday, with the fire station paving to follow the next week.

20. 26:06
    Fire chief and town administrator reports

    Both were excused from the meeting. The chair said their written reports would be included with the minutes when posted on the town website.

21. 31:07
    Board goes into assessors' session

    The board moved into assessors' session to take up several abatements and supplemental assessments prepared by Donna Hayes, the town's assessors' agent.

22. 31:07
    Abatement and supplemental billing, map 9 lots 32 and 32B

    A parcel owned by Jeffrey Weir was transferred in error, so an abatement goes to Christopher Tilton Jr. and a supplemental bill to Jeffrey Weir; the lot that should have been transferred, owned by Frederick Weir, produces an abatement to Frederick Weir and a supplemental bill to Christopher Tilton. Both lots carried the same valuation and the chair said the net impact on the town is nil.

23. 31:07
    Abatement and supplemental assessment, map 11 lot 37B

    The tax bill had been sent to a husband and wife who were in fact divorced, and should have gone to the wife alone. The correction changes only the name billed, again with no net impact on the town.

24. 37:32
    Supplemental assessment, map 12 lot 36

    The property owner has taken two acres out of tree growth classification, which had carried a reduced tax rate, so additional tax is owed on that land.

25. 37:32
    Abatement, map 1 lot 57

    The assessors' agent wrote that a parcel split from a larger one had previously been given a reduction for access, and that when the lot's value and ownership were corrected she did not reapply the reduction. The abatement restores it.

26. 37:32
    Consent agenda

    No member asked for anything to be pulled from the consent agenda, and it was approved as presented.

27. 37:32
    Upcoming meetings and referendum hearings

    The next regular select board meetings were announced for Tuesday, October 13 and Tuesday, October 27, both at 6:30 p.m. and both on Zoom. Two public hearings were also scheduled, September 23 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 3 at 9:00 a.m., for presentations and public questions on the municipal questions on the November 3 special town meeting referendum.

What was decided

• 0:06
  Issue the annual junkyard permit to Troy and Lisa Peterson at 1266 Hallowell Road. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 10:17
  Issue the junkyard licence to Kenneth Carl at the 1205 Royalsborough Road property, contingent on receiving a letter from the town code enforcement officer on or before September 30, 2020 that the junkyard is fully in compliance with state and local codes. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 10:17
  Issue the annual junkyard permit to Mr. Dennison at the 184 Auburn Pownal Road property. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 20:53
  Accept the $5,000 grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life for election costs. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 20:53
  Close the town office to normal business on Tuesday, November 3. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 31:07
  Go into assessors' session. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 31:07
  Approve the abatements and supplemental tax assessments on map 9 lot 32 and map 9 lot 32B as presented by Donna Hayes, the town's assessors' agent. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 31:07
  Approve the abatement and supplemental assessment on map 11 lot 37B as presented by the assessors' agent. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 37:32
  Approve the supplemental assessment for map 12 lot 36 as presented by the assessors' agent. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 37:32
  Approve the abatement for map 1 lot 57 as presented by the assessors' agent. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 37:32
  Come out of assessors' session. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 37:32
  Approve the consent agenda as presented. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair yes.passed
• 37:32
  Adjourn. Roll call: Panto yes, Buller yes, Farren yes, chair 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

• 5:14
  A junkyard permit that lapses cannot simply be renewed. Forest (?) said state law requires the owner to begin the application again, which is why the board issued a conditional permit rather than let the 1205 Royalsborough Road permit expire on September 30 with the next meeting three weeks away.
• 15:18
  The Emerson junkyard on Old Brunswick Road is to be cleared under a consent agreement with a single completion date of May 1, 2021. The town attorney advised against staged deadlines for different parts of the yard because of doubts about enforceability, though board members wanted the vehicles out of the shoreland zone sooner.
• 15:18
  Durham was awarded the maximum $5,000 grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life toward pandemic election costs, with about 900 absentee ballots expected for November 3.
• 26:06
  The governor limited the voting area to 50 people at a time, including poll workers. Masks will be provided, but the clerk said a voter who refuses one cannot be turned away because it is their right to vote.

Elsewhere

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