Vassalboro Select Board
Minutes of the Meeting
May 26, 2011
Members Present: Rob Browne, Lauchlin Titus, and Phil Haines
Others Present: Mary Sabins, George Gould, Rick Denico, Tom O’Rourke, Constance Neville, David Jenney, Mary Grow, George Hamar, Gene Field, and an Erskine Student
1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Titus at 7:01 p.m.
2. Minutes – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the 5/12/11 meeting as written.
Chairman Titus welcomed the Erskine Student to the meeting and explained the functions of the Board and town government in general.
3.New Business – A1) Rick Denico explained to the Board that the Legislative Document (LD) that he had asked a Legislator to sponsor has failed that would have amended the current state statute requiring annual policy renewal by the Selectmen to allow the school finance committee and the superintendent to authorize payment of school expenses without Selectmen’s signatures. The amendment would have provided continuous authorization until revoked by the Selectmen and would have eliminated the need for annual renewal. R. Denico stated that the House and Senate approved the LD, but Governor LaPage vetoed it and would not sign the amendment, stating that the Selectmen needed to do their jobs. A2) R. Denico asked the Selectmen to consider conducting a straw poll at the Annual Town Meeting on June 6th that would put a limit on an amount that can be borrowed without voter approval to avoid future problems like the $750,000 energy conservation and improvements lease agreement that was entered into by the School Committee and Superintendent a few years ago. P. Haines stated he was not interested in having a straw poll at town meeting. R. Browne suggested that Rick could force the article on next year’s town meeting warrant by circulating a petition. R. Denico stated he was not willing to do that. No further action taken. b) Recycling grant – The Board acknowledged receipt of a $22,525 recycling grant award to build a recycling building at the Transfer Station. Discussion was given whether to put additional town funds with the grant money to add a small office and bathroom space on one end of the building. Sabins distributed a worksheet with projected funding and expenses for the proposed project. After discussion, the Board members voiced support to proceed with adding an office space to the project if funding is sufficient to support it. Public Works Director Gene Field suggested that possibly the existing swap shed is in the wrong location and may need to be moved or eliminated. The Board members suggested that Sabins and the staff create a plan for the layout of the transfer station with the new building and bring it back to the Board for discussion. c) Spirit of America Award – After brief discussion, the Board agreed to award this year’s Spirit of America Award to Tom Richards at the Annual Town Meeting to be held on June 6th at the school. d) Summer meeting dates – P. Haines stated that an evening meeting on June 9th posed a scheduling problem for him. The Board agreed to change the meeting time to 9:00 a.m. for the June 9th meeting. The schedule for the remainder of the summer 7:00 p.m. meetings was set as follows: Wednesday, June 22nd; Thursday, July 21st; and Thursday, August 18th. The Board typically only meets once per month in the months of July and August.
4. Reports – a. Status Report - On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to authorize Sabins to pursue Maine Savings Bank cautiously through the town’s attorney to convince the bank that the clean up of the Carl’s Quick Stop (McCaslin) property is the bank’s responsibility. A motion was then made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, and voted unanimously by the Board to accept the status report as presented. The McCaslin property will be added to the status report for regular follow-up. b. Road Report – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the road report as presented. c. Financial report – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the financial report as presented.
5.Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by P. Haines, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #67 and #68.
6. Other – 1. Sabins distributed a handout she had prepared to make available at town meeting explaining the budget and the proposed mil rate. The Board approved the distribution of the handout at town meeting. 2. L. Titus suggested the new fence at the Rt. #3 boat launch area might be reused behind the historical society building to replace the old fence taken down recently for the dam gate repair project. Sabins will look into it. 3. L. Titus asked about the mowing conditions for Greg Seamans at the China Lake boat landing. Sabins stated that PW Director Gene Field had been working with Greg to resolve the terrain and/or the mowing equipment issues.
7.Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m.
/mss
These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 6/9/11 with the following amendments: None.