Vassalboro Select Board
Minutes of the Meeting
January 10, 2019

Members Present: Rob Browne, Lauchlin Titus, and John Melrose

Others Present: Mary Sabins, Dylan Dilloway (owner of 47 Daisies food farm), and School Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer.

1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Titus at 6:30 p.m.

2. Minutes – Town Manager Sabins offered that she had unknowingly misspelled the name of one of the meeting attendees. Don Pomelow’s name was misspelled as Pomerleau several times in the minutes of the meeting. On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the 12/20/18 meeting as corrected.

3. Other (taken out of agenda order) – Dylan Dilloway attended the meeting to speak with the Board about the possibility of presenting a Food Sovereignty Ordinance at Town Meeting for adoption. He presented a sample ordinance from the City of Rockland, Maine for discussion. Dylan feels the adoption of such an ordinance that provides exemption from State food production and licensing requirements would provide an economic boom in the community. He indicated that many communities in Maine have already adopted such ordinances, and he wants to put the topic on the table for discussion on a future agenda. Selectman Melrose inquired of Dylan what he could do with the ordinance that he cannot do today. Dylan responded that the ordinance would not change the way he does business on his farm, and that he would still continue to obtain certifications as he does now, but the ordinance would benefit others like food vendors at craft fairs. A licensed commercial kitchen is needed to produce food to sell, and there is no commercial kitchen for rent in town now. The ordinance would provide local food access to the consumer. The consumer must trust the producer. Chairman Titus stated that he believes in disagreeing without being disagreeable. In his agricultural business, his wife focuses on teaching food safety with his clients who are trying to do their best. Water testing is the biggest issue, with no potable water to wash their hands in while preparing food. Dylan completely agreed, and spoke the metaphor that one bad apple ruins the whole bunch, and remarked that if he sold something that made people sick, he wouldn’t be selling food very long. Further discussion ensued about altering food, such as husking corn, which is considered food preparation that affects the food producer’s ability to sell. Chairman Titus informed Dylan of the two methods by which this proposed ordinance could make it to town meeting for a vote: the Selectmen could voluntarily present it, or Dylan could circulate a petition to push it to a vote. The Board agreed to put the topic on the Selectmen’s January 24th meeting agenda to give the public notice of the further discussion.

4. Other – continued – Superintendent Al Pfeiffer stopped by the meeting to wish the Board a Happy New Year, and to express his pleasure in working with the town Public Works Director Gene Field each stormy morning to get the local road condition report to help him make a decision to close school or not. Al provided school newsletters to the Board to help them stay informed of what is going on at the school, and he also provided dates that the School Board will be able to meet with the Budget Committee to discuss the upcoming proposed budget. He also invited the Selectmen, the Manager, and the Budget Committee members to attend School Board meetings. Selectman Melrose asked about the possibility of combining the school financial audit with the town audit, to which the Superintendent indicated he and the School Board would prefer to hold off on that arrangement for now. Maybe another time. At Sabins’ earlier request, Mr. Pfeiffer had requested and received an audit filing deadline extension with the Department of Education (DOE) for submission of the town’s audit, which is not yet complete. Al has some concerns that the town audit has been filed late by the town’s auditor with the DOE for several consecutive years. Discussion was then given about the fund balance policy, and how the school’s accrued payroll liability and food service program debts are negatively affecting the surplus balance. Mr. Pfeiffer also asked the Board if they would consider adopting a sex offender policy to regulate where registered sex offenders can reside in town to restrict close proximity to the school. He stated that sample policies would likely be available from the cities of Rockland, Belfast, and Augusta. Obtaining security cameras at the school is something being worked on. Selectman Melrose suggested the school provide a proposal for a sex offender ordinance to be presented at town meeting.

5. Emergency Dispatch update – Sabins reported that she had emailed RCC Public Safety Director Cliff Wells to advise him that the Town was not ready to make their decision by his January 15th deadline. No response was received from him, and no further updates on this topic are available at this time.

6. Fund balance policy revisions – The Board reviewed the language in the current version of the policy, which was blended from two previous versions. Additional changes were made by the Board to the policy language, which Sabins will implement and bring the policy back for review again at the next meeting.

7. CMP LED streetlight conversion project update – CMP provided a GIS map of the location of existing streetlights. Sabins provided an enlarged version of the map to Chairman Titus, who previously volunteered to assess the effectiveness of each light after dark. The Board members asked Sabins to inquire of the public works director if he has any suggestions, or made any observations, about street lighting changes that need to be addressed.

8. Certificate of Deposit (CD) renewal options – After discussion, and on a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to split the value of the maturing CD and to invest one half of the funds into a 3-year CD at a rate of 2.32%, and one half of the funds into a five-year CD at a rate of 2.84% as offered at the Maine Savings Credit Union in Town.

9. Spirit of America Award – Potential candidates for the award were discussed, and the Board agreed by consensus on a particular individual. More research will be conducted before the decision will be finalized.

10. Reports – a. Road Report - On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. b. Police Report - On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. c. Financial Report - On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. d. Transfer Station Report - On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. Discussion ensued about continuing with the single stream recycling program and entering into a contract agreement with Coastal Resources of Maine (Fiberight) to accept our product. The Board agreed they want to continue to encourage recycling. Sabins indicated that the current hauling contract with Bolsters for household solid waste and recycling will expire on March 31st and needs to be put out to bid again. Sabins will prepare draft bid specifications and bring them back to the next meeting for discussion.

11. Other – 1. On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to sign a tax abatement for the 2016 taxes, interest, and costs for Kristy & Manual Gaspar on a mobile home that is no longer in town. 2. At the request of the Code Officer, the Selectmen discussed the fate of the now unlicensed but still functioning junkyard belonging to Olin Charette on Riverside Drive. After discussion, and on a motion made by R. Browne, seconded by J. Melrose, the Board voted unanimously to direct the Code Officer (Dick Dolby) to enforce the unlicensed junkyard. 3. Sabins informed the Board that 2016 tax lien maturity (foreclosure) notices went out today to about 40 accounts. Foreclosure day is February 22nd, 2019. All unpaid 2016 real estate tax accounts must be paid in full by the close of business on Thursday, February 21st, 2019 to avoid automatic foreclosure. 4. Pursuant to 1 MRSA, Section 405, subsection 6(A), on a motion made by R. Browne, seconded by J. Melrose, the Board entered into an executive session to discuss a personnel matter at 8:27 p.m. The Board returned to open session at 8:55 p.m. with no action taken as a result of the executive session.

12. Treasurer’s Warrants – This item was erroneously omitted from the agenda. On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #39 and #40.

13. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 1/24/19 with the following amendments: None.