Vassalboro Select Board
Minutes of the Meeting
June 15, 2017

Members Present: Lauchlin Titus and Phil Haines

Members Absent: Rob Browne

Others Present: Mary Sabins, Mary Grow, Jan Clowes, and Gene Field

1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Lauchlin Titus at 7:01 p.m. This being the first meeting after the municipal election, a motion was in order to nominate a new Chairman to serve for the upcoming year. After discussion that Selectman Rob Browne had made it clear that he was not interested in being the new Chairman, Selectman Lauchlin Titus then nominated Phil Haines to be the Chairman, Phil Haines was willing to accept the nomination so he seconded the motion. The vote was taken to elect P. Haines as Chairman, and Phil then chaired the remainder of the meeting.

2. Minutes – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the 6/15/17 meeting as written.

3. Jan Clowes, President of the Historical Society, asked about the mowing services the historical society is being charged for by the town. The Historical Society has an expired lease to lease the old red school building next to the China Lake boat launch. Jan said the Society doesn’t use the lawn, and she doesn’t know why they should bear the expense for mowing. Chairman Haines stated that when the Society leased the school house, they got the lawn along with it. Jan asked about the town recreation department that was mentioned in the original lease that was supposed to share the property and the expenses. P. Haines explained that the recreation department was going to use the building for storage only, but now they have storage at the ball fields. L. Titus suggested the mowing services could be reduced to two or three times a year, but concerns were expressed about grass fires from the undersides of hot vehicles that park there as overflow parking from the boat launch may present a problem. L. Titus then suggested it might be time to look at re-writing the lease agreement. Jan agreed, and all decided to work on it over the next few months. The billing for mowing services will continue as past practices until a new written agreement can be prepared. Jan then gave an update on the USDA grant the Society received and the open house recently conducted to announce the grant over the last weekend.

4. Paving bids – Public Works Director Gene Field distributed a handout containing the paving bid summary of seven bids received. The low bid was from B&B Paving at $52/ton. Gene stated that he had checked the references of this company, with favorable report. The paving mix will come from the Pike plant. On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to accept Gene’s recommendation and to award the paving bid to B&B Paving. Gene also asked the Board to consider signing the roadside mowing contract as presented by the mowing contractor who has performed this work in town for the last three years. On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to sign the roadside mowing contract with Aggressive Cuts for $2,363.50.

5. Assessing contract – Without discussion and on a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to sign the contract with RJD Appraisal for 50 days of assessing work at a price of $26,800; and for $12,000 for the third quarter of quarterly assessment reviews.

6. China Lake Boat Launch contract – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to sign the contract prepared by the Bureau of Parks and Lands to enter into an agreement with them to make improvements to the boat ramp at China Lake. The total project costs are estimated to be between $75K and $80K dollars; of which, the town will contribute $28,700 and the state will reimburse the town the remaining costs. The project is anticipated to be underway in late summer or early fall of 2017.

7. MRC Put Option – Sabins prepared and presented a letter addressed to the Executive Director of the Municipal Review Committee to advise them that the Town of Vassalboro voted on June 5, 2017 to exercise the Put Option to receive payment from PERC for our share of the PERC limited partnership interest being sold back to PERC at a closing to occur on or before April 18, 2018. On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to sign the necessary paperwork as authorized by the voters at the annual town meeting.

8. Disbursement policy for state fee payments – Without discussion and on a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to renew and sign the disbursement policy for state fee payments.

9. Annual appointments - After discussion and much consideration, and on motions made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board unanimously to make and approve the following list of appointments:

Manager's Appointments:

Catherine Coyne Town Clerk 1 yr term 2018
Peter A. Nerber Animal Control Officer 1 yr term 2018
Peter E. Nerber Animal Control Officer 1 yr term 2018
Eric Rowe Fire Chief 1 yr term 2018
Eugene Field Road Commissioner 1 yr term 2018
Jean Poulin Bookkeeper 1 yr term 2018
Richard Dolby Code Enforcement Officer 1 yr term 2018
Paul Mitnik Alternate Code Enforcement Officer 1 yr term 2018
Richard Dolby Local Plumbing Inspector 1 yr term 2018
Paul Mitnik Alternate Local Plumbing Inspector 1 yr term 2018
Richard Dolby Building Inspector 1 yr term 2018
Paul Mitnik Alternate Building Inspector 1 yr term 2018
Richard Dolby E911 Addressing Officer 1 yr term 2018
Mark Brown Police Chief 1 yr term 2018
Dan Ouellette Recreation Director 1 yr term 2018
Eric Rowe Town Emergency Mgmt Director 1 yr term 2018
Dan Mayotte Director of First Responder Service 1 yr term 2018
Peter Allen Assistant Director of First Res. Ser. 1 yr term 2018
Morgan Titus Rau Health Officer 1 yr term 2018

Tax Collector's Appointments:

Catherine Coyne Dep Tax Collector 1 yr term 2018
Deborah Johnston Dep Tax Collector 1 yr term 2018
Jean Poulin Dep Tax Collector 1 yr term 2018

Town Clerk's Appointments:

Deborah Johnston Dep Town Clerk 1 yr term 2018
Jean Poulin Dep Town Clerk 1 yr term 2018

Treasurer's Appointments:

Catherine Coyne Dep Town Treasurer 1 yr term 2018
Deborah Johnston Dep Town Treasurer 1 yr term 2018
Jean Poulin Dep Town Treasurer 1 yr term 2018

General Assistance Administrator's Appointments:

Catherine Coyne Dep. GA Administrator 1 yr term 2018

10. Reports – a. Road Report - On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. b. First Responders’ report - On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. c. Police Report - On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. c. Financial Report - On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. Discussion was also given about the anticipated overdraft of approximately $200 in the public safety department budget by fiscal year end. On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to invite the Budget Committee to attend the Selectmen’s meeting on June 29th to discuss the overdraft and approve a transfer of funds from the Administration budget to cover it. The Board also unanimously approved acceptance of the First Advisor’s report.

11. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #70 and #71.

12. Other – 1. Receipt of a thank you note from Behavioral Health was noted. 2. Sabins updated the Board on her recent discussion with Hair Builders owner Bethany Morse. Bethany has indicated to Sabins that she is not interested in TIF fund assistance to replace the front door to her business and to move the handicap ramp to face west rather than east, which would have provided a place for a handicap parking space alongside her building, rather in the driving lane of the Oak Grove Road. 3. The Board read a letter from Code Enforcement Officer Dick Dolby concerning the need for some ordinance amendments and an inquiry as to who would be given the task to draft the changes needed. The Selectmen suggested the CEO could draft the changes needed and bring them to the Selectmen, who could then ask the Planning Board if they wanted to comment. The possibility of hiring a third party, such as former code officer Paul Mitnik, to draft the changes if the current code officer does not have time for ordinance re-writes was also discussed. 4. The Board read and reviewed the June 13, 2017 election results.

13. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:17 p.m.
/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 6/29/17 with the following amendments: None.