Select Board Meeting ~ August 26, 2025

2025-08-26 · Select Board · 1:17:53 · watch on YouTube →

The Select Board met on August 26, 2025, and voted at the start to take new business before old business so the fire chief could present first. The fire department asked to spend up to $30,000 from its own capital reserve on an off-road utility vehicle for woods rescues and fires; the board tabled the request and asked the chief to come back with quotes for a larger two-row machine as well. The board then finished setting its goals and objectives, settling on three: economic development, codifying the budget committee process, and board communications, with workshops scheduled for September 23, October 14 and October 28. The town manager reported on an Androscoggin County bond proposal that would add 5.3% to the county budget, on road signs being cut down and stolen, on two unfilled positions, and on a $4,800 dividend from MMA. The board approved the minutes and the consent agenda and moved into executive session on personnel matters at 7:43.

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. 4:13
   Call to order and agenda amendment

   The chair called the meeting to order at 6:30 and moved to take new business ahead of old business so the fire chief would not have to wait. The motion was seconded and there was no opposition.

2. 4:13
   Public comment on an economic development committee

   A resident said the town's 2018 comprehensive plan lists appointing an economic development committee as a short-term goal, and asked the board to make that a priority for the coming year. The resident referred to the July 22 discussion of economic development and a grant being pursued through GPCOG with George, the town planner.

3. 4:13
   Fire department request for an off-road rescue vehicle

   The fire chief asked permission to spend fire department capital on a UTV. The chief described a hunter with a medical emergency on Granite Hill Farm Road, a rescue toboggan with no way to tow it, a truck fire on Granite Hill Farm that extended into the woods, and fires on Rabbit Road where crews hiked in half a mile, and said five separate mutual aid requests for off-road vehicles were made in two days.

4. 9:48
   Cost and funding source

   The chief put the request at up to $30,000: about $22,000 for the machine, $6,000 to $8,000 for the slide-in pump and water insert, and more for lights. The chief said the fire department capital reserve stands at about $592,000 and that adding $3,000 a year to the ten-year plan would restore it, and reported that no grant stream is available since the battery energy storage project is on hold.

5. 15:25
   Two seats or two rows

   Joe (?), who said he responded to the Granite Hill Farm fire himself, argued for a four-door machine and said it is not acceptable that a private citizen brought his own four-wheeler and trailer to a fire. The chief said the quotes were all for two-door machines and a four-door is usually a couple thousand more, but that the weight of the 80-gallon tank and reel would have to be confirmed.

6. 20:53
   Quotes reviewed

   Board members went through the quotes: a Polaris government-spec build at about $42,000, John Deere at about $33,000 to $36,000 before accessories, and machines from two local vendors, Thompson and Central Maine Powersports in Lewiston, at around $17,000 to $21,000 for the machine alone. Members said they would rather buy the right machine once than come back for a second one.

7. 26:04
   Request tabled

   The board tabled the capital request and asked the chief to return at the next meeting with a side-by-side comparison including a larger machine. The chief agreed to convene a committee of fire department and town staff and gather three quotes.

8. 26:04
   Approval of minutes

   Josh (?) moved to approve the meeting minutes. The motion was seconded and there was no opposition.

9. 26:04
   Goals and objectives: economic development

   The chair said the committees are already moving, with the conservation commission requesting an October date for the open space plan, the ad committee having met with Jerry and George on the grant opportunity, and the planning board preparing a first section of land use ordinance edits. Members said economic development should be the first objective because the budget rose 3% overall while the school and municipal budgets rose closer to 9%, and there is little further savings to find.

10. 32:03
    Goals and objectives: budget committee process

    The chair proposed addressing the budget committee process as the second objective, saying nothing in the town's documents or state statute defines what the committee is charged with or what the select board must provide it. Deb (?) said the committee was formed in the 1930s and that the tension in the last budget process shows a review is warranted.

11. 37:13
    Goals and objectives: communications

    The board named communication from the board to residents as the third objective. Members praised the weekly news blast and the website, and the chair described a GPCOG option in which several towns split the cost of a municipal communications person for five to ten hours a week, which would carry a fiscal note.

12. 42:19
    Workshop scheduling

    The board set workshops on the three objectives: economic development on September 23, including drafting the bylaws and charge for a committee that residents could then apply to, the budget process on October 14, and communications on October 28. The September 9 meeting is reserved for the employee handbook follow-up.

13. 47:31
    Junkyard public hearing

    The board confirmed a public hearing on junkyards for the September 9 meeting, described as an annual requirement. Members said only two junkyards are registered and overseen by the code officer, and discussed whether other properties in town would meet the legal definition.

14. 52:47
    Speeding complaints

    A member raised resident complaints about speeding and asked whether safety should be a goal, referring to the vote a year ago on a police force and to requests for electronic speed signs. Jerry (?) said he speaks with the deputy sheriff regularly, that residents should report specific roads so complaints can be passed on, and members named Route 9, 136, 125 and Swamp Road; the board concluded it is doing what it can without additional resources and did not add it as an objective.

15. 57:56
    Town manager's report: Androscoggin County bond

    Jerry (?) presented a spreadsheet received late the previous week showing the county's proposed bond, which would add 5.3% to the county budget, with Durham responsible for about 5.3% of the cost and the figure discussed at $29 million. He said he told commissioner Brian Ames he would encourage a no vote, that the commissioners meet the following night, and that county voters would decide at the November 2026 election.

16. 1:03:10
    Discussion of a board position on the bond

    Members asked how the town-by-town percentages are calculated and one member said she is abstaining, describing mold and unsafe conditions in the courthouse building and possible long-term savings. Rather than send a letter before the commissioners' vote, members agreed to invite Brian Ames to a meeting to present and take questions.

17. 1:08:27
    Town manager's report: signs, vacancies, events, dividend

    Jerry (?) reported Wi-Fi is now working at the Eureka Center, that street, stop and other signs are being cut off and taken, leaving the town about $2,200 in the hole, and that Calvin (?) has notified the sheriff. He also reported two positions still unfilled with an advertisement going out with Betsy (?) and no applicants so far, that the Dempsey Challenge on September 20 has changed its route to stop at Runaround Pond, and that MMA sent a $4,800 dividend for risk management and loss control with no accidents or safety violations.

18. 1:13:46
    Board member reports and upcoming meetings

    The chair reported posting an explanation of the 18-month budget process on social media, answering resident questions in a personal capacity and not on the board's behalf, and said the response was more positive than negative. The board approved the consent agenda and listed upcoming meetings: planning board and ad committee on September 3, solid waste committee on September 8, and select board on September 9.

What was decided

• 4:13
  Motion to amend the agenda to take new business before old business so the fire chief could present firstpassed
• 26:04
  Motion to table the fire department's off-road vehicle capital request until the chief returns with additional quotes, including for a larger machine; seconded by Joshtabled
• 26:04
  Motion by Josh to approve the meeting minutespassed
• 57:56
  Board settled on three objectives for the year: economic development, the budget committee process, and communications. The chair said no motion was needed and none was taken.outcome unclear
• 1:03:10
  Whether to send a letter or take a board vote opposing the county bond before the commissioners meet. The transcript does not state a vote; members instead agreed to invite Brian Ames to a future meeting, and one member said she is abstaining.outcome unclear
• 1:13:46
  Motion to approve the consent agendapassed
• 1:13:46
  Motion by Deb to move into executive session for personnel matters; the board entered executive session at 7:43passed

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

• 9:48
  The fire chief said the fire department's capital reserve holds about $592,000, separate from town capital, and asked for up to $30,000 of it; the board later discussed up to $32,000 for a larger machine.
• 32:03
  Members said the total budget rose 3% while the school and municipal budgets rose closer to 9%, with the school at about 72% of expenses, and that residents are seeing roughly $9 to $20 a month more.
• 1:08:27
  Street, stop and other road signs have been cut off and taken almost daily for a couple of weeks, putting the town about $2,200 in the hole. The sheriff has been notified and scrap metal buyers are being watched.
• 57:56
  The proposed Androscoggin County bond would add 5.3% to the county budget on top of regular operating costs, with the figure discussed at $29 million, and would go to county voters at the November 2026 election.

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 7 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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