Vassalboro Select Board
Minutes of the Meeting
October 13, 2011

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

Others Present: Mary Sabins, Mary Grow, James & Martha Wentworth, Ken Farrell, Howard Antworth, Cathy St. Pierre, Jean Poulin, Nikki Wasilewski, Lance Cloutier, Tom O’Rourke, George Hamar (7:20), Gene Field (7:25), and Jim Schad (7:45).

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

2. Minutes – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the 9/29/11 meeting as written.

3. Public Hearing on General Assistance Ordinance Appendices – Chairman Haines opened the public hearing at 7:01 p.m. Brief discussion was given about the proposed minor dollar amount changes made by the State to the appendices. There was no public discussion. Chairman Haines declared the hearing closed at 7:02 p.m. On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board unanimously approved the adoption of appendices A through C as presented.

4. Recreation Department by-laws – Recreation Director Nicole Wasilewski distributed a newly revised version of the by-laws that included corrected numbering of the sections in the by-laws. Discussion was given about changes made from an earlier draft that were discussed at the last meeting. It was noted that the words “of recreation facilities” had been omitted in number ten of Article Five. After discussion of the document and encouragement by the Committee Members to adopt the policy tonight, a motion was made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, and voted unanimously by the Board to accept the Recreation Committee By-Laws with the inclusion of the minor change in number 10 of Article Five, and with the understanding that amendments will be made to the By-Laws in the future concerning the Program Revenues and Expenditures section that is not yet complete pending receipt of the comments from the Auditor. Director Wasilewski also requested to be placed on the next agenda to discuss the grant application for the drainage project at the recreation fields.

5. Swap Shed Program (taken out of agenda order) – Transfer Station Manager George Hamar described how the swap shed program causes traffic flow problems at the transfer station with many repeat “shoppers” throughout each work day, and many of the items left in the swap shed are inappropriate. Other concerns are about possible infestations of bed bugs in clothing and furniture left in the shed. Since the swap shed has been closed during the recycling building construction, George has noticed the traffic at the transfer station has been greatly reduced. George would prefer to eliminate or greatly reduce the swap shed program. A resident in Town recently sent an email to many town representatives listed on the town website seeking to keep the swap shed open, but the resident did not appear at the meeting this evening, even after invitation. Selectman Titus took credit for the original idea of the swap shed program because he had seen it function well in another town and suggested the idea during a budget committee meeting a number of years ago when he served on that committee. L. Titus stated he was not yet ready to give up on the program and wanted to try implementing a new set of rules for operation of the swap shed first to see if the program could be better controlled. Selectman Browne suggested the swap shed could be open one day a month, for example. The Board members asked George and his co-worker Tom O’Rourke to brainstorm ideas to find a solution to the problem and bring the matter back for discussion.

6. Personnel Handbook – Many of the town staff members were in attendance again at the meeting to review the changes made to the language in the Personnel Handbook as a result of the last Selectmen’s meeting. The staff had received a copy of the latest revision on October 4th. A page-by-page review was again conducted and a few more minor changes were made. One of the larger items of concern that remained unresolved was the matter of the proposed unpaid mealtimes for all staff members, which was a change for the Public Works and Transfer Station Staff. The office staff already has unpaid lunches. It is preferred to have all department staff members be treated the same. The public works and transfer station staff members were reluctant to lose the paid lunch that they have been receiving for many years. After discussion, the Board considered and approved a proposal made by Sabins to pay the office staff for lunches and to reduce the town office hours to reduce the work schedule of the office staff members to 40 hours per week so no additional monetary funds will be required to make up for paid office staff lunches. The Town Office will now close one hour earlier at 4:00 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday. The staff will be required to stay until 4:30 p.m. on those days to cash up and close down the town office. The Thursday and Friday hours will remain the same at 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. to noon respectively. Once all parties seemed satisfied with the language in the proposed handbook, a motion was made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, and voted unanimously by the Board to accept the Personnel Handbook as amended pending the Attorney’s review and approval.

7. Reports – a. Status Report – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. b. Road Report - On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented. c. Police Report - On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the report as presented.

8. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #17 and #18.

9. Other – 1. Sabins inquired if the Board had any interest in discussing creating rules concerning the use or sale of fireworks in town, since they will become legal in the State of Maine at the start of the New Year. After discussion, the Board felt no action was needed at this time. 2. The Board gave approval by consensus for Central Maine Power to put in a CMP pole and primary service inside the Transfer Station in conjunction with the new recycling building construction project. 3. Brief discussion was given about the level of work completed on the energy grant implementation and the remaining work to be done.

10. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:27 p.m.

/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 10/27/11 with the following amendments: None.