Members Present: Barbara Redmond, Chris French, and Rob Browne

Others Present: Mary Sabins, Mary Grow, Mike Poulin, Don Robbins, Marshall Crandall, Tom Richards, Ray Breton, George Hamar, Ray Bates, Melissa Olson, Dan Bradstreet, and a few other unknown members of the public.

1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Board Member Barbara Redmond at 6:30 pm and she welcomed new Board Member Rick Denico.

2. Elect Chair – On a Motion made by C. French, seconded by R. Denico, Barbara Redmond was nominated to serve as Chair of the Board. The vote was two in favor, one abstained (B. Redmond).

3. Minutes – On a motion made by C. French, seconded by B. Redmond the Board voted two in favor, one abstained (R. Denico as he was not a board member at that meeting) to accept the minutes of the 6/9/22 meeting as written.

4. Other (taken out of agenda order) – Resident Marshall Crandall was present to speak with the Board about water in town. He made multiple water-related comments including no swimming allowed in China Lake (a rule he thinks should be changed), water being drawn out of China Lake and hauled out of town by the tanker loads, reports of PFAS chemical spread on land in town possibly contaminating the water in town, difficulty paying water bills from East Vassalboro Water Company and the quality of their water. He spoke about rate increases and his desire to drill his own well to get off public water supply, but a drilled well was cost-prohibitive. He stated we need more control over the water in town and he wants the Select Board to create a Board to control the water district. Chair B. Redmond stated that this issue is not an issue for the Select Board as the East Vassalboro Water Company is privately owned. Water Company owner Don Robbins spoke up and explained that his business partner passed away suddenly in December and that Don had since contracted with ME Rural Water Association to run the business for him. Part of that contract agreement includes disconnections when water bills are not paid in a timely manner, which has impacted Mr. Crandall. Don and Marshall conversed in the meeting about the billing process. Rural Water Association employee Ray Bates introduced himself as the one who was assisting Don. Don informed the audience that his water company was for sale and he described the complex process to accomplish the purchase of a utility district. Chair Redmond thanked the parties for coming and encouraged further discussion among them to resolve the issues.

5. Trash compactor covering – With approximately $31K remaining in the compactor replacement account, C. French asked Transfer Station Manager George Hamar to sketch out ideas for what he wants for a covering over the compactors. R. Denico suggested a backing to prevent blow-back in the face is needed. George agreed to sketch out his ideas and to provide them at the next meeting on July 14th.

6. Dangerous building demolition update – Sabins informed the public that the demolition will commence on Wednesday, July 13th and that property owner Chad Caron had been properly served notice that the demolition will take place. Abutters to the dangerous building property that were in the audience asked questions and made suggestions that precautions be taken for worker safety due to alleged drug paraphernalia that is on scene. It was also suggested that Central Maine Power be notified.

7. Annual appointments – Sabins read the list of appointments needed by the Select Board, one of which was a vacancy in the alternate position on the Planning Board. R. Denico stated he was interested in interviewing the three candidates that had expressed an interest in the volunteer position. Chair Redmond stated she did not want to intimidate the candidates with an interview. After discussion, it was decided to have Sabins create a Statement of Interest Form and mail it out to the three applicants. Once received, ask the Planning Board to review the statements and possibly interview the applicants to select a candidate. Dan Bradstreet was in the audience and introduced himself as an interested candidate to fill the vacancy. The Board had a brief chat with him about his interest. As for the other Board appointments on the list, on a motion made by C. French, seconded by B. Redmond, the Board voted unanimously to approve the list of proposed appointments as prepared by the Manager minus Charlie Plourde and Christian Robinson who are no longer interested in serving on the Recreation Committee, and minus Mike Poulin who declined being appointed to the Trail Committee, and to add Ryan Reed who is interested in serving on the Recreation Committee. As for the Town Manager’s appointments, on a motion made by C. French, seconded by B. Redmond, the Board voted unanimously to approve the list of Manager’s appointments with the following change: Remove Paul Begin and add Josie Haskell as the Assistant Chief of the First Responders.

8. Carry forward amounts – Sabins read the prepared spreadsheet containing the proposed list of carry forward amounts into FY2023, mostly for projects not yet completed. On a motion made by R. Denico, seconded by B. Redmond, the Board voted unanimously to accept and approve the list as prepared by Sabins.

9. Use of Contingency Fund – After discussion and on a motion made by R. Denico, seconded by C. French, the Board voted unanimously to authorize the use of any portion needed of the $15K contingency article voted annually at town meeting to cover any overdraft in the Administration Budget for fiscal year 2021-22.

10. Reports – On a motion made by C. French, seconded by R. Denico, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Road and Financial Reports as presented.

11. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by C. French, seconded by R. Denico, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #73, #74 and #75.

12. Other – 1. Sabins referred to a letter the Select Board received from the Vassalboro Sanitary District concerning another dangerous building in town, this one located at 641 Oak Grove Road that the District wants the town to take action on. After discussion and on a motion made by C. French, seconded by R. Denico, the Board voted unanimously to wait for a report from the Code Officer on this building. 2. Sabins reported that the trash hauling contracts with two separate vendors expires August 15th. She questioned if the Board desired to put the work out to bid at this time of high diesel prices, or to just renegotiate a one-year contract extension. The Board agreed by consensus to negotiate a contract extension with both vendors. 3. C. French stated that he would like the Select Board Members to have town email accounts. 4. R. Denico stated he would like to have an event calendar added to the town website. 5. C. French stated he wants to improve communication with residents. 6. B. Redmond stated we need to work on preparing a solar ordinance and suggested a work session just for that purpose. She will begin the work of preparing a draft ordinance and bring it back for discussion at the July meeting.

13. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Board of Selectmen on 7/14/22 with the following amendments: None.