Vassalboro Select Board
Minutes of the Meeting
May 8, 2014

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

Others Present: Mary Sabins, Mary Grow, Shana Mueller, Ginny Brackett, Gwen Hilton, Doug Phillips, Bob Folsom, Marianne Hubert, Betsy Poulin, and Bill Branch.

1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Titus at 7:00 p.m.

2. Minutes – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the 4/24/14 and 4/29/14 meetings as written.

3. TIF District informational meeting – TIF Attorney Shana Mueller from the Portland, Maine law firm of Bernstein Shur, opened the discussion by distributing copies of the proposed Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) District Development Plan to the Selectmen and interested members of the public in attendance. She explained the purpose of designating this TIF district is to “shelter” the new increased town value resulting from the installation of the Summit Natural Gas Pipeline alongside Rt. #201 in Town. Reported increases in town valuation to the State will affect the amount of education subsidy and municipal revenue sharing that the town will receive in the future, as well as the amount of County tax the town will pay in the future, based on funding formulas used by those agencies that include the overall value of the town. Shana explained that all tax revenues received from Summit for the next 30 years will be put into a Revolving loan/grant fund that will be used for economic development projects in town. The funds will be distributed through an application process, to be awarded by the Select Board after notice and public hearing. Other potential uses for the TIF Revenues include a possible China Lake water quality improvement project, and new public sewer lines. The Plan draft was reviewed critically for grammatical errors and suggestions were made for amendments. The official (required) public hearing on this TIF District Development Plan will be conducted at the June 2, 2014 town meeting, just prior to the vote on the TIF articles.

4. Public Hearing on proposed Subdivision Ordinance – Chairman Titus opened the public hearing at 7:45 p.m. Land Use Planner Gwen Hilton introduced herself and indicated that she has been helping the Planning Board write the proposed ordinance for the last year or so. Gwen gave a history of the existing ordinance and stated that the new ordinance is a complete rewrite, as the original ordinance is outdated. Discussion centered on the sections pertaining to performance guarantee requirements in case the developer becomes insolvent. Code Officer Bob Folsom also raised questions about the number of lots that constitute a subdivision, and exclusions that exist by law. As a result of the questions and discussion, no changes in the ordinance language will be made prior to the June 10, 2014 secret ballot vote. The public hearing was closed at 8:35 p.m.

5. Explosive Targets Ordinance – no information yet available. Subject not discussed.

6. Town Meeting Warrant – The Board reviewed two different versions of the town meeting warrant: one with the sidewalk grant article, the other without. The Board discussed the warrant articles and whether to put the sidewalk grant funding article back on the warrant. Two differing legal opinions were gathered; one from the town attorney, the other from MMA legal staff. The Town attorney advised the Selectmen that the original grant article approved by the voters in 2011 was not clear on the amounts authorized from surplus and he recommended that the article be re-voted. On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to sign the version of the warrant that contains the sidewalk article.

7. Subdivision Ordinance Certification – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to sign the Subdivision Ordinance Certification that certifies the contents of the ordinance as the original document and instructs the town clerk to make copies available to the public as necessary.

8. Reports – a. Road Report - On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. b. Police Report - On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented.

9. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #57 and #58.

10. Other – 1. Chairman Titus provided an update on two $500 scholarships that the Vassalboro Business Association has decided to award to graduating seniors this year.

11. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 5/22/14 with the following amendments: None.