Members Present: Rob Browne, Lauchlin Titus, and Phil Haines
Others Present: Mary Sabins, Mary Grow, Joan Pierce, Chuck O’Neal, George O’Connor, Jane Edwards, Linda Woods, Dave Barden, three or four unknown members of the public, an Erskine Student and his mother, a boy scout, Gene Field, Alan & Diane Corson, Lance Cloutier, Clough Toppan, and Mike Farrell (7:45).
1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Haines at 7:02 p.m.
2. Minutes – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the 4/12/12 meeting as written. Chairman Haines gave an overview of our town government functions for the Erskine Academy student in the room.
3. Linda Woods gave a power point presentation on the Sustain Mid-Maine Coalition Program. She named several area towns that are involved in the program, which consists of several different committees that provide community assistance with energy efficiencies, community gardens, composting, walking trails, and public transportation among other things. Linda invited the Town of Vassalboro to join the Coalition and encouraged all in the room who were interested in participating with the Coalition to register on a sign-up sheet. Selectman Titus asked resident and Energy Committee Chairman Clough Toppan if he would be interested in serving as Vassalboro’s named participant in the Coalition, and Clough agreed. He expressed an interest in working with the energy efficiency component of the Coalition. On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to have the Town of Vassalboro become active with the Sustain Mid-Maine Coalition and to appoint Clough Toppan to be the Vassalboro Representative until such time as he chooses not to participate.
4. George O’Connor requested to be appointed as the town Sealer of Weights and Measures. George explained that the Sealer will verify that gas pumps and scales are accurate, using weights and measures calibrated by the State. George gave his qualifications for the job, and displayed his set of weights that he will use to perform the job. After discussion and on a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to appoint George O’Connor as the Sealer of Weights and Measures. Appointment papers were signed with the term ending on June 30, 2013.
5. Gene Field stated that he had knowledge of the availability of a used generator with only 28 hours on it that would have been a good acquisition for his town garage, but he was hesitant to buy it without the Board’s permission. So Gene came tonight to seek permission, but he learned recently that the generator has been sold. Discussion was given as to how this lost opportunity could be avoided in the future. After discussion and on a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to authorize the Town Manager to conduct a straw poll of the Selectmen via email or other means to evaluate support for an equipment purchase and to authorize up to $500 as a down payment on the purchase of a piece of equipment until a vote of final approval can be obtained during a Selectmen’s meeting.
6. Tax acquired property (taken out of agenda order) – 1. JKP Properties – Coyote Ridge Subdivision landowners Alan & Diane Corson expressed their concern about the proposed consent agreement being drafted to sell the nine tax-acquired lots in the subdivision to the Coyote Ridge Road Association, and the requirement that the nine lots be designated as forever unbuildable. Mr. & Mrs. Corson feel that the agreement should state that two of the lots could be sold by the Association in the future to help the Association fund road repairs and maintenance. A majority of the other Association members prefer to keep the lots undeveloped as they are now. Selectman Browne stated that he wants a resolution completed on this matter sooner, rather than later, and that he wanted the landowners to come to an agreement on what the consent agreement should say. Chairman Haines stated that the town attorney, while drafting the agreement, asked the Board to consider a time limit on the development prohibition, stating that forever is a long time. Both the Town’s attorney and the Association’s attorney have been communicating about these and other issues, and the agreement is still a work in progress in draft form. No further action was taken. 2. Cushnoc Road property – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to put the property out to bid again and to lower the minimum bid price to $5,000 with a deposit of 10% of the bid price to accompany the bid. The bid deadline was set for 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23rd, and the Board will award the bid at their May 24th meeting. 3. Town Island property – Selectman Titus stated that he had received a phone call from Rick Jose and that Rick believes he owns the island. Sabins will talk with the assessor about it next week. 4. Tracy and Tim Phillips mobile home – The Board asked Sabins to talk with the landlord that owns the land under the trailer to see if he is interested in the trailer. If he is not interested, Sabins will call GEO & Sons in Belmont that helped dispose of the old trailer on Cushnoc Road. 5. Patrick Sullivan property – Selectman Titus stated that he had researched this parcel and found it to be a land-locked eight acre parcel of land on the China Town line. After discussion, the Board suggested that Sabins talk with the China Town Manager to see if the China half of this property was acquired by them, and if we could work together to dispose of the properties.
7. Quit claim – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously and without discussion to sign the quit claim deed for Eugene Shipley, Sr. and Eugene Shipley, Jr. to return their property to them after receipt of all back taxes for tax year 2009 to present within the 60-day post foreclosure timeframe requirement established by town meeting warrant article.
8. Town Meeting Warrant – The Board reviewed the articles on the warrant and made a few amendments and corrections. The corrected final version will be signed at the May 10th meeting.
9. Ordinance certifications – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to sign the ordinance certification forms that will be presented as part of the town meeting warrant.
10. Reports – a. Status Report – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. b. Road Report – Sabins reported that Shawn Bragg has been hired as the new PW employee and he started on Monday, April 23rd. On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented with thanks for the effort in hiring the new PW employee. c. Financial Report - On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented.
11. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #55 and #56.
12. Other – 1. The Board agreed to re-use the photo of the Select Board from last year’s town report in this year’s book. The photographer was unable to attend the meeting tonight. 2. Sabins listed the names of the candidates who had successfully completed the nomination paper process to run for elected office at the June 12th municipal election.
13. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:58 p.m.
/mss
These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 5/10/12 with the following amendments: Selectman Phil Haines requested the following grammatical change: On page two, section 7, a comma should be added between the words “present” and “within” in the last sentence of the paragraph.