Vassalboro Select Board
Minutes of the Meeting
June 10, 2010

 

Members Present: Rob Browne, Lauchlin Titus, and Phil Haines

Others Present: Mary Sabins, Mary Grow, Paul Mitnik, Earle Kenney, George Gould, Vanessa Mehuren and friend Tammy, Matt Evans, Tom Hineman, and Cathy St. Pierre.

  1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Rob Browne at 7:00 p.m. Rob stated that this first Selectmen’s meeting after the town meeting elections was the appropriate time for the Selectmen to reorganize and to elect a new Chairman. Rob then nominated Lauchlin Titus as the new Chairman. The motion was seconded by P. Haines. Lauchlin Titus was duly voted as the new Chairman and he then proceeded to preside over the remainder of the meeting.

  2. Minutes – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the 5/27/10 meeting as written.


  3. New Business (taken out of agenda order)

    a. Consent agreement – CEO Paul Mitnik explained that the home located at 12 Weeks Road was built too large for the permit that was issued a number of years ago before Mitnik’s tenure as the CEO. The home has four bedrooms and is only permitted for two bedrooms. The septic system is also too small. The property is presently owned by a bank in Texas, represented tonight by Realtor Earle Kenney, who gained possession through a foreclosure procedure, and a potential buyer (Tom Hineman) has been found. Before the sale of the property can occur, the Selectmen are being asked to enter into a consent agreement to allow the non-compliant structure to continue to exist without threat of legal action by the town in the future. The agreement will also require the bank to correct the septic system non-compliance by choosing one of the methods prescribed in the agreement. After discussion, and on a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept and sign the consent agreement as presented. There are also two cottages on the property which have an illegal cesspool. The cesspool will need to be replaced with a proper holding tank. The plumbing inspector presented an agreement to be signed by the Selectmen requiring the placement of a holding tank. The Board signed this holding tank agreement on a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, and a unanimous vote of the Board.

    b. Consent agreement – CEO Mitnik explained that Vanessa Mehuren purchased land and put a doublewide trailer on the property. When it came time for the financing of the trailer, the bank stated they could not finance the property because the title company discovered the land should have gone through the subdivision process. Mitnik stated that he interpreted the ordinance differently than the title company and did not require the subdivision permitting process, possibly in error. The consent agreement between Vanessa and the Town is required to allow Vanessa’s parcel to continue to exist without further retribution from the town. After discussion, and on a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve and sign the consent agreement as presented.

    c .Mark Paine has requested that the Selectmen write off his interest and lien costs on his China Lake Associates properties, but he was not present at the meeting for the discussion. Selectman Browne abstained from the discussion and action taken on this item because his business is a neighbor to the China Lake Associates properties. At first, the remaining Selectmen discussed taking no action on this item; later, Selectman Haines motioned to take a “no” stance on Mr. Paine’s request. The motion was seconded by L. Titus, and the vote revealed two in favor, and one abstention.

  4. Reports – a. Status report – Sabins updated the Board on each of the items on the report. No action taken by the Board. b. Road Report – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as written. c. Police Report – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented.

  5. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrant #77.

  6. Other – 1. Sabins distributed a list of annual appointments that need to be made before June 30th. 2. On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to appoint Mary Sabins to the offices of Town Manager, Town Treasurer, Tax Collector, and General Assistance Administrator until June 30, 2011. 3. On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to vote for Ralph Farnham as their choice for the office of MMA’s Legislative Policy Committee. 4. Sabins advised that the administration budget will overdraft by fiscal year end due to the extreme legal expenses that the town has incurred this year. We will need to call the budget committee members to come to the next Selectmen’s meeting to approve a transfer of funds from another department expense account to the administration line to cover the overdraft.

  7. Executive session – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously at 8:12 p.m. to enter into an executive session pursuant to 1 MRSA, section 405, subsection 6(A) to discuss a personnel matter. The Board returned to open session at 8:40 p.m. No action taken.

  8. General discussion was given about cell phone towers.

  9. Adjourn - There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:43 p.m.

/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 6/22/10 with the following amendments: None.