Vassalboro Select Board
Minutes of the Meeting
June 18, 2009

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

Others Present: Mary Sabins, Paula Pooler, Eric Haley, David Jenney, Paul Mitnik, Mary Grow, Jean Poulin, and Richard Phippen (8:35).

  1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Selectman Rob Browne at 7:00 p.m. A welcome was extended to new Board Member Phil Haines.
  2. Elect new Chairman – On a nomination made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines the Board voted to elect Rob Browne as the Board Chairman for the ensuing year. New Chairman Browne then proceeded to preside over the remainder of the meeting.
  3. Minutes – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the 6/3/09 meeting as written.
  4. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrant #74.
  5. School funding – Chairman Browne requested that this item be taken out of order in the agenda so as to not keep the Superintendent and the Finance Director too long at the meeting. Sabins explained that Superintendent Eric Haley and Finance Director Paula Pooler had come to her office last week to request that effective July 1, 2009, the town provide 1/12th of the local appropriation for the upcoming school budget in monthly payments to the superintendent’s office for deposit into a new school checking account that the Superintendent’s office will manage. Sabins explained that making the monthly payment from July through September will present a cash flow problem until the first quarterly tax payments come in at the end of September since the Town will no longer handle any of the school revenue either. Much discussion was given about how to make the proposed procedural change work. After discussion, the Board agreed to support the concept of the new funding procedure and to allow the Superintendent and his Central Office Staff to work out the financial details with Sabins so as to not create a cash flow problem for the Town.
  6. Reports – a. Status report – Sabins reviewed the items on the report to update the Board on the developments of ongoing issues. b. Road report – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to accept the road report as presented. Brief discussion was given about when roadside mowing will be done. c. Financial Report - On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by L. Titus, the Board voted unanimously to accept the financial report as presented.
  7. New Business – (taken out of agenda order)
    a. Fees for the new ordinances – CEO Paul Mitnik proposed adoption of the amounts of $100 for the permit fee and $150 for the processing fees to be set for the Adult-Only Businesses Ordinance. On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by L. Titus, the Board voted unanimously to accept the proposed amounts presented by the Code Officer. The CEO then proposed a $100 processing fee for the Enforcement and Appeals Ordinance. Discussion was given as to setting a fee to cover attorney fees, but no action was taken. On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to accept the proposed amount of $100 for a processing fee as presented by P. Mitnik.
    b. Boat Launch grant agreement – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by P. Haines, the Board voted unanimously to sign the Dept. of Conservation Grant Agreement for the work to be done under their direction at the Webber Pond Boat Launch and Parking Lot.
    c. July meeting date – The Board members agreed that moving the next meeting date to Thursday, July 16th was an acceptable date for all members.
    d. Appointments – Sabins presented a list of current officials that need appointment renewals. Discussion was given as to whether it is more appropriate for the fire chief to be appointed as the EMA Director, rather than the Town Manager. Sabins will check with Chief Rowe to see if he is willing to accept the appointment. On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by L. Titus, the Board voted unanimously to appoint those persons listed as Selectmen’s appointments on the list with the exception of the EMA Director position, and to approve those appointments to be made by the Town Manager as outlined on the list. The Board then signed multiple appointment papers.
  8. Other – 1. Sabins explained the need to carry forward money from the current year’s budget to the upcoming budget and distributed a list of those amounts for specific purposes. On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by L. Titus, the Board voted unanimously to approve the carry forward amounts.
  9. Executive Session – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by L. Titus, the Board voted unanimously at 8:55 p.m. to enter into an executive session to discuss a personnel matter pursuant to 1 MRSA, Section 405, subsection 6(A). The Board returned to open session at 9:30 p.m. and a motion was made by P. Haines to fill in the negotiated number on the Manager’s contract and to sign the agreement. The motion was seconded by L. Titus and approved unanimously by the Board.
  10. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 7/16/09 with the following amendments: None.