BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING MINUTES

 

MONDAY JUNE 7, 2010

 

1. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG: Chairman Angelo Terreri called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and the Pledge of Allegiance was said. Those present were Mr. Dennis Richardson, Mr. Richard Keene, Mr. Lawrence House, Town Manager Eva Leavitt, Code Enforcement Officer Roger Williams, resident Gregory Spear, and other residents with interest. Selectman Jeffrey Timberlake was absent.

 

2. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA: Mr. Terreri requested an Executive Session Title 1 M. R. S. A. 405 (6)(A) be added and the board agreed. Mr. Williams requested that the violation for Mr. Gregory Spear be moved to item 2A of the agenda, and the Board agreed to move this item. Mrs. Leavitt requested an item be added to the Town Managers' Business regarding the Sale of Real Estate and the Board agreed to add item 8-6 under the Town Managers' Business.

 

2A. VIOLATION - GREG SPEAR: Mr. Williams noted to the Board that he did a final inspection of Mr. Spears property on June 7th and noted (2) vehicles at the back of the property. Mr. Williams then shared updated photos with the Board of Selectmen, which reflect the clean up efforts made by Mr. Spear. Mr. Keene noted he travels that road frequently and the change is noticeable difference. Mr. Williams noted that Mr. Spear is now in compliance. Mrs. Leavitt suggested that the Board request a letter sent to the Town Attorney noting that no further legal action will be necessary. No further action

 

3. TURNER TIMBERLAND ATV CLUB: Turner Timberland ATV Club President Matthew Jordan was present and provided the Board with some requests as follows:

 

1. Permission to store 10 telephone poles the club received to assist with building a bridge. Mr. Jordan noted to the Board the club received approximately 10 telephone poles they will use to construct a bridge and requested permission to store them at the Town Pit. Discussion included a question from Mr. Keene regarding whether or not Highway Foreman Charlie Poland is ok with storing the poles on site and Mr. Jordan acknowledged yes, it was ok. Mr. Richardson made a motion to allow the Turner Timberland ATV Club to store telephone poles at the Town Pit, Mr. Keene seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. 2. The ATV Club is looking to develop a larger trail system that may involve a loop around the gravel pit area. Discussion included noting that additional signs would be necessary to keep people on the marked trails. Mrs. Leavitt inquired if the club has contacted any of the abutters to date and Mr. Jordan noted they had not. Mr. Richardson suggested that this request could be re-addressed after the abutting landowners have been contacted. 3. Mr. Jordan asked if the Club could have up to 10 12-yard loads of reclaimed pavement the town currently has at the Town Pit. Mr. Terreri asked how labor intensive the material is to get it to a point where it may be usable by the Town and Mrs. Leavitt noted that the material would need to be screened then crushed and the ATV Club wants the larger material to use to help stabilize a hill. Mrs. Leavitt clarified the amount of material being requested to be up to 10 12-yard loads, which Mr. Jordan confirmed.

 

The hill in question is on land owed by Gard Twitchell and Mr. Richardson requested something in writing from Mr.Twitchell, which grants permission for this material to be used on his property. Discussion also included a question regarding whether or not the ATV Club has equipment to move such material and Mr. Jordan assured the Board yes. Mr. Richardson then made a motion to allow the ATV Club to remove up to 10 12-yard loads of reclaimed material from the Town Pit, Mr. House seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. 4. The 4th request was for permission from the Town to allow ATVs to travel a further distance than allowed by State Law on town roads. The first site is near the Maine DOT facility on Fern Street to Route 4 and the second location is the length of Potato Road. Mr. Jordan noted the Club has contacted Maine DOT regarding authorization to use Route 4. Mrs. Leavitt outlined the procedure by noting the Selectmen must first give permission, then the club must notify all abutting landowners and then a public hearing must be held. It was noted by Mr. Richardson that he is of the opinion that the abutting landowners on Potato Road may not give their approval for such activity and that the Club must talk to all landowners before any other action can be taken. No further action on this request.

 

5. CLEAR CUT PROPOSAL - TOWN PIT: Mrs. Leavitt noted for the Board that following their last meeting she did put the request for proposal out to bid to clear cut 2 - 3 acres of hardwood at the Town Pit. The bid requests resulted in no additional bids and the two received were:

 

1. GARD C TWITCHELL $28/cord and $4/ton for chips

 

2. GLEN LUCE: $25/cord and $2.5/ton for chips

 

Mr. Keene made a motion to award the bid to Gard C Twitchell for $28/cord and $4/ton for chips, Mr. Richardson seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

 

6. PUBLIC COMMENTS TOWN PROJECTS HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN: Mrs. Leavitt noted to the Board that the time for public comments on proposed road work to be done and it was noted also that most roads as mentioned have been on the State list for a few years. Mrs. Leavitt read the list of roads as proposed for work and Mr. Gagne commented that the Young Road needs some work done as it washes out frequently. Also noted was the East Hebron Road near Sable Drive in need of some repair. Mrs. Leavitt will pass the comments along.

 

7. AVCOG REPRESENTATIVES - GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Mrs. Leavitt noted that presently she and Mr. Keene are the two representatives from Turner and inquired if the Board wanted any changes made. Mr. Terreri made a motion to keep the same two representing Turner, Mr. Richardson seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

 

8. TOWN MANAGERS' BUSINESS 8-1: Q & A WEEKLY MEMO: Mr. Keene noted the mention of one Air Pack failing during the required testing and it was noted it has been taken out of service and will be repaired after 7/1. 8-2 DEVELOP 15 - 17 PSAP PLAN UPDATE: It was noted there is a meeting scheduled for 6/17/2010 to be held in Lisbon, hosted by Androscoggin County, and the town would like input at that meeting. Mr. Gagne noted that a study has been done by the PUC and it was suggested that a lower number of PSAP locations could do the same work.

 

Mr. Gagne noted that the Town presently pays approximately $5,000/year for the service and it may increase up to $140,000 annually if the overall number of PSAP locations is cut back. It was noted that Fire Chief Michael Arsenault would attend the meeting. 8-3 BRIDGE INSPECTION REPORT: Mrs. Leavitt read some of the comments made regarding the bridge inspections done recently in Turner and it was noted that the Schoolhouse Hill Road Bridge is currently ok, however, the Tidswell Road Bridge is still not very good and could cost possibly $150,000 to repair. Mrs. Leavitt noted she was only making the Board aware of the most recent inspection. Discussion included a question regarding how dangerous the Tidswell Road Bridge is currently, which Mrs. Leavitt noted is difficult to say. Discussion included noting that the road/bridge could be posted against heavy traffic as it was noted many heavy trucks travel that road, however the consensus at this time is to monitor the situation. No action to take. 8-4 FISH STREET MITIGATION GRANT ISSUE: Mrs. Leavitt noted she had a conference call together with FEMA and MEMA regarding the Fish Street project and, although the bid has been awarded, it was suggested that the Town have an engineer review the project one more time to perhaps show support for the re-location of the road. Mrs. Leavitt noted that the representatives from FEMA and MEMA are looking for a 20-year projection of what work may be most productive. It was noted that the embankment continues to fail and Mrs. Leavitt indicated that the grant application process involves a proposal as an amendment to the existing application. The Town has already spent approximately $8,000 on test bores to date, and Mrs. Leavitt was asked to re-contact Summit Engineering who did the initial work. It was suggested also that Mrs. Leavitt see if Mr. Kurt Youland can inspect the site again and perhaps attend the next meeting to discuss the project. Further discussion included a note that perhaps the immediate abutters should be present either at an on-site meeting or the Selectmen's meeting. 8-5 FINANCE REPORT PERIOD ENDING 5/31/2010: The Board had no questions based on the newest report, the same accounts will overdraw and the Board will address them at the last meeting in June, with a more accurate figure for the amount needed to cover the overdrafts. 8-6 SALE OF REAL ESTATE: Mrs. Leavitt referenced a request from the Swan family whose property abuts the Town Property recently purchased and have expressed a desire to purchase the property from the Town. Limited discussion regarding the Town's purchase of the property resulted in a motion from Mr. Keene to deny the request to purchase the Village Green, Mr. Richardson seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

 

9. CONSIDERATION OF ANY OLD BUSINESS: VIOLATION - GREG SPEAR previously discussed. 9-2 ANNUAL REVIEW OF FEES: Mrs. Leavitt referenced the copy provided which indicate the fees currently being charged and some increases pending generated by the State. Upon review of the proposed fees Mr. Richardson made a motion to approve the list as presented, Mr. Keene seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Further discussion of fees included some recommendations by the Planning Board for fees charged for various projects, however the Board was not favorable for any other increases. The Board discussed some proposed wording changes to the Fire Department Billing Ordinance, which better identifies which, if any, services will be billed. Mr. Gagne explained that the amount of time any fire department equipment is at an accident scene is what may generate a bill. Following this discussion, the Board approved the changes recommended in the wording for the Fire Department Billing Ordinance.

 

9-3 PERSONNEL POLICY REVIEW: Mrs. Leavitt referenced the notes provided by the Town's Attorney regarding the proposed changes to the Personnel Policy and, upon review of each individual area, the Board agreed with the suggestions made by the Town's attorney. A final draft will be prepared for the June 21st meeting. The Board briefly discussed the buy-out amount and Mrs. Leavitt noted she spoke with each individual affected and all have opted to take the full buy out at the end of June.

 

10. CONSENT AGENDA: The minutes from 5/17/2010 were deemed to be in order. Mr. Terreri reviewed the disbursement warrants and recommended their approval. Mr. House will review for 6/21/2010. There were no abatements or supplements to consider. Ms. Philipon did present two additional Veterans' Exemptions for the next tax year. Mr. Forest Hammond and Mr. Gerald Hume, both of which are now eligible for their exemption. Mr. Keene made a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented, Mr. Richardson seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

 

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION 1 M.R.S.A. 405(6)(A): Mr. Terreri made a motion to enter executive session at 9:30 pm, Mr. Keene seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Mr. Richardson made a motion to come out of executive session at 9:52 pm, Mr. Keene seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. No action was taken.

 

12. ADJOURNMENT: The Board adjourned by mutual consent at 9:55 pm

 

Respectfully submitted:

 

Sandra L Philipon

 

Assessing/Office Assistant