1. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG: Chairman Angelo Terreri called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm and the Pledge of Allegiance was said. Those present were Mrs. Jody Goodwin, Mr. Richard Keene, Mr. Lawrence House, Town Manager Eva Leavitt, Sheriff Guy Desjardins, several members of the Budget Committee, Planning Board Chairman Jeff Timberlake, Assistant Rescue Chief Ross Gagne and Dennis Richardson.

2. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA: Mrs. Leavitt referenced a raft of a letter following the most recent Tri-Town Selectmen's meeting to the County Commissioners regarding the Androscoggin County Dispatch Committee. The Board agreed to discuss the letter with the Town Manager's Business.

3. EXECUTIVE SESSION: TITLE 1 M. R. S. A. - PERSONNEL MATTER (405) (6) (A): Mrs. Goodwin made a motion to enter executive session regarding the title referenced at 6:32 pm, Mr. Keene seconded the motion; and the vote was unanimous. Mrs. Goodwin made a motion to come out of executive session at 7:07, Mr. Keene seconded; and the vote was unanimous. Mrs. Goodwin then made a motion to sign the new two-year contract as negotiated with Town Manager Eva Leavitt, Mr. Keene seconded; and the vote was unanimous.

4. COUNTY SHERIFF GUY DESJARDINS - DISCUSSION: Sheriff Desjardins noted to the Board that he toured the space on the second floor at the Leavitt Institute Building with Chairman Ralph Caldwell and Town Manager Eva Leavitt approximately six weeks ago as possible rental space for the Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Desjardins noted that after touring and inspection of the space, he is of the opinion that the space available at the Institute Building could suit the needs of the Sheriff's Patrol unit. Sheriff Desjardins noted that no conceptual design has been done and the idea has not been presented to the County Commissioners for consideration. Mr. Terreri noted that he has personally and informally spoken with two of the three County Commissioners and got positive feed back. Mrs. Leavitt indicated she heard there was a possibility of a location in Lisbon, however, Sheriff Desjardins noted that discussion was for dispatch services and not for a possible location for a patrol unit.

Sheriff Desjardins further noted that Turner is a central location for a unit to be based and, after inspection of the available space the Sheriff contacted Dr. Knapp at the Central Maine Community College to inquire if his engineering class might be interested in renovating the space as a project/learning tool for perhaps the next semester. Additional discussion included noting that the Leavitt Institute Board of Directors and the MSAD 52 Board of Directors must also give approval. Sheriff Desjardins will be back in touch after presenting the concept to the County Commissioners. No action at this time.

5. COUNTY TAX ASSESSMENT - APPROVAL: Mrs. Leavitt noted that the tax assessment as presented reflects an increase of just under $20,000 and Turner's portion is $450, 157.58, which will become part of the tax commitment. Mrs. Goodwin made a motion to approve the County Tax Assessment, Mr. Keene seconded the motion; and the vote was unanimous

6. REVIEW & RECOMMENDATIONS - WARRANT ARTICLES: The Board began a review of the warrant articles as drafted by Town Manager Eva Leavitt. Articles 1 and 2 are required for election purposes and there was no action necessary. Article 3 seeks acceptance of a new road to be know as Bluff Drive. Article 4 sought permission for the Municipal Officers to close roads during the winter months and this article prompted discussion from the Board and audience members. Mrs. Leavitt noted for those present that closing any roads to maintenance requires a public hearing, which provides an opportunity for public discussion. This article was placed on the warrant as a request from Highway Foreman Charles Poland, as the road was accepted at last year's town meeting in a subdivision that has no homes constructed to date. The developer approached Town Manager Leavitt regarding plowing the road, considering the town did accept the road at town meeting last year.

Discussion included many points regarding whether or not any road should be accepted by the Town before homes have been built. Mr. Youland gave an example that if he personally purchased a house lot in a subdivision on a town road and he wanted to access his lot during the winter months to begin cutting trees, it would be upsetting to not have access to a lot that he is paying taxes on. Further discussion included noting that road construction and presentation for acceptance is an issue that can and perhaps should be addressed at the Planning Board level during the review and approval process. Planning Board Chairman Jeff Timberlake noted for those present that the Planning Board doesn't recommend any roads for acceptance unless they are built to the specifications as set forth in the Street Construction Ordinance.

Budget Committee Chairman Rodney Shaw recommended that the article be removed from the warrant to avoid raising any red flags and allow the Planning Board to address road issues through ordinances. It was noted by Mrs. Leavitt that allowing the article to remain on the warrant simply provides the Board of Selectmen some flexibility. Following the discussion Mr. Keene made a motion to remove the article, Mr. Youland seconded the motion; and the vote was unanimous. ARTICLE 5: To see if the Citizens of Turner will vote to clarify the Board of Selectmen's practice in regards to making appointments under the vote of March 10, 1990 adopting the Town Manager Plan form of Government. (Document attached). Town Manager Leavitt explained that this article attempts to clarify certain annual appointments as done by the Board of Selectmen presently and noted there are certain positions under law that are required to be appointed by the Selectmen and others by the Town Manager. Mrs. Leavitt further noted this is an attempt to adopt a clear path of supervision between management, selectmen and certain positions. Discussion followed noting that the format of the Town Manager Plan as adopted in 1990 leaves multiple annual appointments to be done by the Board of Selectmen and whether or not there has been any issues as a result of who does which appointments. It was noted that the process as adopted has worked since 1990 and, that if it does work, it should be left as is even if it may appear to be vague. Mr. Youland made a motion to remove article 5 from the warrant, Mrs. Goodwin seconded the motion; and the vote was unanimous.

ARTICLE 6: To See if the Citizens of Turner will change the Code Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector, Plumbing Inspector position from full time to part time and allow the Town Manager to make the appointment, establish work hours, and the Board of Selectmen set wages. It was noted immediately that with the elimination of Article 5 the article, if remaining should end at the words part time. Mr. Ralph Caldwell began by noting that recently there was some discussion regarding a possible assistant for the CEO and now talk about changing the position from full time to part time doesn't't make sense. Mrs. Leavitt noted for those present that when the position of Code Enforcement Officer was adopted it was done so at a Town Meeting as a full time position and, in order to change how the position functions requires a vote at town meeting. Discussion involved noting that revenue is down in many areas and this is a way to save some money. Mr. Dennis Richardson noted that if the position were cut in half and then the economy picks up the Town would be stuck with only a part time CEO if so voted, and would then require either a Special Town Meeting or the next annual town meeting to change it again.

Budget Committee Member Bob Levesque noted that during the budget process he was personally under the impression that the CEO position would remain as full time with additional duties assigned to stay busy when needed, and the Budget Committee supported continued funding as a full time position. Mrs. Goodwin noted that not all members of the Board of Selectmen were in agreement with how to fund the Code Enforcement position, and noted that Management's proposal was for only 2 days per week, other members agreed that assigning additional duties for that position as a full time position was a good option. Mrs. Goodwin further noted it was determined that the voters should be allowed to make their own decision. Chairman of the Budget Committee Rodney Shaw noted that he wasn't personally comfortable having the voters determine the status of this position, and firm decision in mind by the Selectmen or at least a consensus by town meeting is a better approach. Chairman of the Planning Board Jeff Timberlake noted that the Planning Board supports retaining the position as a full time position and further noted that some of the proposed ordinance amendments directly provide some additional duties for the Code Enforcement Officer. Mrs. Leavitt noted that finding additional duties for the Code Enforcement position to remain as full time has presented a dilemma when other employees may also be in need of additional duties to fill time. Mrs. Leavitt further stated her concern at having people doing work that may require quite extensive training.

Mr. Caldwell inquired whether or not Turner has contacted any neighboring communities to see if our Code Enforcement Officer could do any duties for them and Mrs. Leavitt noted that the Town has done that and the Town of Leeds has used our CEO for a specific project. Budget Committee Member Ron Harris inquired why the Town would consider loosing a CEO who has worked at and is certified in his field over perhaps an office staff person. Mr. House noted his concern regarding the possibility of loosing an office staff person over the CEO when the initial funding for the CEO position indicated it would be obtained from the fees charged for the various permits and not cost the taxpayers money. Discussion resulted in rewording the article so it wouldn't simply change from full time to part time, but to give the Selectmen authority to adjust the hours according to need.

ARTICLE 7: To see if the Citizens of Turner will vote to authorize the distribution of the Annual Town Report to change from a bulk mailing to making copies of the Town Report for general distribution purposes available at the town hall or a convenient place of business at least 3 days before the annual town meeting. Mrs. Leavitt offered a comparison on the potential cost increase to mail the report from last year to this year and noted that the cost could be $3100 to produce the reports and an additional $700 for the postage which only covers the 04282 zip code. Other residents receive their mail through the North Turner Post Office and they wouldn't receive the town report by using only the 04282 zip code. Additional discussion resulted in a motion made by Mrs. Goodwin to remove Article 7, Mr. Keene seconded the motion; and the vote was unanimous.

Mrs. Leavitt noted her own request to change the amount requested in article 8 from $385,079 to $376,379 based on action taken earlier in the evening. It was noted that the amounts requested by the various department heads would remain as requested and that the recommended amounts be reflected as agreed upon by the Budget Committee and the Board of Selectmen. The Board reviewed each article with the most members of the Budget Committee present and it was noted that both the Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee were in agreement for the recommended amounts, (see attached copy for individual article motions). The Budget Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday February 18, 2009 to finalize the budget. Planning Board Chairman Jeff Timberlake noted for those present that one proposed ordinance amendment pertaining to the Shoreland area that the State of Maine is recommending be placed in Resource Protection opposed to Shoreland should be discussed. Mr. Timberlake referenced the Zoning Map that reflects the affected areas for those present to review and noted that the Planning Board does not recommend approval of the change as worded in Option 2, however the Planning Board does support Option 1 as stated.

7. TOWN MANAGER'S BUSINESS: Q & A WEEKLY MEMO: Mrs. Goodwin extended congratulations to EMA Director Ross Gagne for the grant obtained for the radios and she inquired on the situation regarding the furnace at the Institute Building. Mr. Caldwell noted there were some issues with the furnace recently without serious expense and it resulted in soot accumulating on the side of the building, which will be washed off with a power washer when it gets warmer. Mrs. Goodwin noted that the snow is being piled against the walls of the cattle pound again. 7-2 CONTINGENCY: Mrs. Leavitt noted that the training account had a posting error, which should have been charged to contingency, which was the Managers' Conference she attended in the fall. 7-3 TRI-TOWN SELECTMEN MEETING: Mrs. Leavitt noted that the letter to the County Commissioners the Selectmen agreed to sign to dismiss the County 911 Dispatch Committee wouldn't be mailed until a majority of the communities involved also have letters to send.

8. CONSIDERATION OF OLD BUSINESS: Mrs. Leavitt provided an update for collection on the foreclosed tax accounts by noting there are only 6 accounts remaining at this time.

9. CONSENT AGENDA: Mrs. Goodwin reviewed the disbursement warrants and recommended their approval. Mr. House will review for 3/2/09. Mrs. Goodwin noted one correction on the minutes from 2/2/09 regarding a date. There were no Veteran's Exemptions, abatements or supplements to consider. Mr. Keene then made a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented, Mrs. Goodwin seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

10. EXECUTIVE SESSION: TITLE 1 M. R. S. A. - LABOR NEGOTIATIONS (405) (6) (D): Item not addressed

11. ADJOURNMENT: Mrs. Goodwin made a motion to adjourn at 9:36 pm, Mr. Terreri seconded the motion; and the vote was unanimous.

Respectfully submitted:

Sandra L Philipon

Assessing/Office Assistant