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

Others Present: Mary Sabins, Dick Dolby, Chris French, Marianne Stevens, Kim Lindlof & Elaine Theriault of Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce (5:45), Todd Overlock, Becky Goodrich, JoAnn Austin, Ginny Brackett, John Phillips, and Doug Phillips (6:05).

1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Titus at 5:30 p.m. Chairman Titus noted that the meeting agenda would be taken out of order, due to the publicized start time of 6:00 p.m. for the public hearing on the revised Building Permit Ordinance.

2. Minutes – On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the 2/15/18 meeting as written.

3. CEO Dick Dolby informed the Board that he has been working with Attorney Kristin Collins and together they have drafted two different consent agreements for land use violations in town (Taber Hill Road and Webber Pond Road). Each consent agreement contains a $200 legal fee and a $500 civil penalty. By consensus, the Board agreed that the civil penalty amounts in the consent agreements could range from $300 to $500, depending on the severity of the offense, and levied based on the recommendation of the attorney and the CEO. Chairman Titus also suggested that incremental payments could be included in the agreement if appropriate. After discussion, and on a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve of the action of consent agreements to settle these matters, and to authorize the Town Manager to work with, and to approve agreements arranged by, the Code Officer Dick Dolby with the landowner.

4. Chris French was introduced by Chairman Titus as he explained that Chris had called him recently to inquire about being appointed to the vacant seat on the Conservation Commission. Chris explained that he was born in Camden, and has been a volunteer on the Vassalboro First Responder team since inception, and works as a medic in an area EMS service. He wants to get more involved in the Community and thought the Conservation Commission would be a good place to start. It was also noted that Chris’ father is on the Camden Select Board and has served for over 25 years. After discussion, and on a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to appoint Chris French to a three-year term on the Conservation Commission. The Board then signed appointment papers.

5. Alewife Harvesting Contract proposals – The Board reviewed the three proposals received. Discussion ensued. Sabins stated that two of the bidders have no harvesting experience; the third bidder is our former harvester Ron Weeks, whose contract recently expired. Sabins indicated that she had contacted the former harvester to discuss his proposal, and that she has reason to believe Mr. Weeks would agree to contract provisions that would guarantee the town would receive an increase in profit as the market price for alewife increases, which is not currently part of his submitted proposal. After discussion, and on a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to reject all proposals and to direct the town manager to enter into negotiations with Ron Weeks for the five-year contract.

6. 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. First Responders Report – not available. c. Police Report - On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. d. Financial Report - On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented.

7. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #61 and #62.

8. Public Hearing – At exactly 6:00 p.m., Chairman Titus opened the public hearing on the proposed revisions to the Building Permit Ordinance. There being no public comment, the hearing was immediately closed. On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to present the proposed revised Building Permit Ordinance to the voters at town meeting. Brief questions from Planning Board members present in the room as to whether the proposed ordinance would be decided by vote on a ballot or at town meeting were clarified by the Board that the vote would be taken on the floor of town meeting.

9. Chamber of Commerce representatives Kim Lindlof and Elaine Theriault appeared at the meeting at the Selectmen’s invitation to explain the benefits of membership with the Chamber. The Town would be featured in the Chamber’s publications, which will encourage visitation by others and should benefit businesses. The representatives provided handouts to the Selectmen and the Manager on the programs and offerings of the Chamber. After discussion, and on a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to join the Chamber.

10. Tax Acquired Property – Todd Overlock appeared at the meeting to discuss his former Main Street property that the town acquired on February 23, 2018 by foreclosure on a 2015 tax lien. Todd asked for the opportunity to buy the property back again. Chairman Titus explained to Mr. Overlock that the Town does not want to take anyone’s property, but we must have taxes paid. The fact that Todd’s boss is willing to help Todd get his taxes paid was mentioned. Chairman Titus asked Todd if he could have the three years of back taxes paid in six months. Becky Goodrich, Treasurer of the Sanitary District was present for the discussion and stated that Todd owes the Sanitary District over $1,000 in sewer bills as well. Todd stated that he could pay the sewer bill this coming Monday. Chairman Titus again offered a time payment arrangement for town taxes over the next six months, which Todd agreed to. By consensus, the Selectmen also agreed to allow Todd to continue to collect rent payments from his tenants in the building to help pay the taxes during the length of the agreement. Sabins stated she would create an agreement for Todd to sign and reminded Todd that once signed, it would be a contract agreement that he could not breach, or the town would continue to own the property and would take possession of it and likely dispose of it. Todd indicated he understood and thanked the Board for the opportunity to redeem the property. Other tax acquired property discussed included a two-acre piece of land formerly assessed to Thomas Bouchard. Sabins indicated that foreclosure on this property cannot be considered complete until 120 days after Feb. 23rd, as there is an IRS Lien on the property, and the Law requires an additional 120 days for the Federal Government to respond to certified mailings already sent. We will revisit this property at the end of summer. The third parcel of tax acquired property is located on Main Street and is rental property that belongs to Craig Conary. On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to give Mr. Conary a deadline to pay all three years of back taxes on his former property by the close of business on April 17th.

11. Town Report dedication and theme – After brief discussion, the Board unanimously chose Phil Haines for the report dedication page. As for the theme, J. Melrose, suggested a story for the centerfold on water quality, with possibly photos of a waterfall on the front cover. It was suggested that Frank Richards may be willing to write the centerfold story, since he has much knowledge about the subject and has authored at least one book. All agreed to these ideas, which Sabins will begin to implement.

12. SOA recipient – R. Browne suggested Recreation Committee volunteer Steve Polley for the award this year. This idea was embraced and accepted by all members of the Board.

13. Other – 1. On behalf of the Transfer Station Manager, Sabins asked approval to close the Transfer Station on Sunday, April 1st to observe the Easter Holiday. On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve this request. 2. Sabins read a letter from the Maine Town and City Clerks Association announcing that our Deputy Clerk Debbie Johnston has received her Town Clerk Certification. This sought-after recognition is obtained only after years of training at sponsored classes and events, along with successful completion of a testing requirement. The Selectmen asked Sabins to write a letter of congratulations to her for the Board to sign at the next meeting. 3. Sabins asked the Board to approve expenses for floor waxing and carpet cleaning. She presented a list of itemized services and costs that need to be done; not all of which can be afforded at this time with the remaining budget. Sabins marked the specific floor cleaning-related items from the list that we should plan to do now. After discussion, and on a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to direct the Town Manager to contract with Advance 1 Cleaning for the bulleted items on the list of services; the cost of which cannot exceed the bottom line of the administration budget. 4. Sabins informed the Board that the application for the Stephen King Foundation Grant to improve the cemetery records has been denied again for the second year. 5. The evaluation forms that the Board will use to conduct the Town Manager’s evaluation was discussed. The Board chose the form sample from the Town of Mt. Desert. Sabins will edit the form to reflect the Town of Vassalboro and will distribute to the Board for completion before the April 4th review. 6. J. Melrose mentioned the AOS92 Dissolution issue and offered to write a letter to the School Committee requesting a joint meeting so the two Boards could talk about the future of the school administration and services that will be needed going forward. The other two Selectmen were amenable to this idea.

14. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 6:57 p.m.
/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 4/5/18 with the following amendments: None.