September 02 2021 minutes

Vassalboro Board of Selectmen
Minutes of the Meeting
September 2, 2021

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

Others Present: Mary Sabins, Mary Grow, Mike Poulin, and abatement applicant (case #21-01).

1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Rob Browne at 6:30 pm.

2. Minutes – On a motion made by C. French, seconded by B. Redmond, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the 8/12/21 meeting as written.

3. Executive Session – On a motion made by B. Redmond, seconded by C. French, the Board voted unanimously at 6:31 pm to enter into an executive session pursuant to 36 MRSA, Section 841 to discuss an abatement request. The Board returned to open session at 6:57 pm. B. Redmond moved to revisit the application in January 2022. The motion was seconded by C. French and voted unanimously by the Board.

4. Mass Gathering Ordinance review – The Board reviewed the comments made by the town attorney on the proposed ordinance and made a few minor adjustments to the language as recommended by the attorney. After discussion and on a motion made by B. Redmond, seconded by C. French, the Board voted unanimously to approve the ordinance language with changes agreed upon tonight. The Board then signed the Ordinance Certification form that will be presented to the Town Clerk in preparation for the November 2, 2021 referendum election. The Special Town Meeting Warrant calling for the Nov. 2nd Special Referendum Election was also discussed. On a motion made by C. French, seconded by B. Redmond, the Board voted unanimously to sign the warrant calling for the Special Referendum Election on November 2, 2021 to vote on the enactment of the proposed Mass Gathering Ordinance. Polling hours will be from 8 am to 8 pm.

5. America Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) fund usage – The Board reviewed the submitted list of projects the Vassalboro Sanitary District (VSD) could use the ARPA funds for, totaling over $2.2 million dollars. C. French stated that originally there was no discussion about the VSD needs, but more about the use of the federal ARPA funds for broadband infrastructure investment. C. French indicated he is also interested in having the town make a donation to Delta Ambulance to provide hazard pay to their employees who are enduring the pandemic on a daily basis. He is concerned Delta may lose employees due to the vaccine mandate for all healthcare workers dictated by the State. C. French stated he is interested in using the ARPA funds for Broadband improvement and a contribution to Delta. Delta relies heavily on billable calls that have dwindled since Waterville and Winslow have recently begun ambulance transport services. Vassalboro relies on Delta to transport our residents who are in need of medical assistance. B. Redmond offered that she felt the State would take the lead on Broadband expansion. No decision on how to spend our ARPA funds was made this evening; the topic will be discussed again at a future meeting.

6. Transfer Station Compactor – Chairman Browne stated that the Board needed to make a decision on this topic and he encouraged input from all Board Members. C. French described in detail the research he has performed on the requirements to power the compactors. After discussion, the Board favored the proposal from Tom McGuire and asked Sabins to invite Tom to attend the 9/16 Board Meeting to discuss his proposal further. C. French will call Central Maine Power to get a price from them to extend 3-phase power to the transfer station.

7. Appointments – On a motion made by B. Redmond, seconded by C. French, the Board voted unanimously to appoint Paul Oxley to the Trail Committee and Joseph Henry to the Recreation Committee, both for one year terms.

8. MainePERS retirement plan – After brief discussion and on a motion made by B. Redmond, seconded by C. French, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the provisions of 5 M.R.S. Section 18252-C (PL 2021, Chapter 286) as allowed by MainePERS Rule Chapter 803. The approved article is as follows:

The Town of Vassalboro agrees:

1) To adopt the provisions of 5 M.R.S. section 18252-C as enacted by PL 2021, Chapter 286 as allowed by MainePERS Rule Chapter 803 for its non-participating employees with optional membership who previously declined to participate in MainePERS (“eligible employees”) and to comply with the following requirements:

a. To offer by November 1, 2021 the opportunity to join MainePERS prospectively to all its eligible employees who have been employed for 5 years or more, to advise these employees that this will be their only opportunity to join, and to provide MainePERS with documentation of each eligible employee’s election; and

b. Beginning in 2022, to annually offer eligible employees who have been employed for less than 5 years, and in 2022 eligible employees who had reached 5 years of employment between November 1, 2021 and November 1, 2022, the opportunity to join MainePERS on a prospective basis during an open enrollment period from September 1st through November 1st and to provide MainePERS with documentation of each election made by eligible employees under this provision; and

c. To withhold employee contributions for employees who join under this provision after all taxes have been withheld, and to remit them to MainePERS as after-tax contributions.

2) To authorize the Vassalboro Town Manager to sign the Amended Agreement between the Employer and the Maine Public Employees Retirement System.

9. Pen Name grant writing proposal – The Board discussed the grant writing proposal submitted from Elaine Theriault-Currier (a/k/a Pen Name) to research and write grants for funding to develop the streamside park. The possibility of having a grant writer available for other grant needs was discussed. No decision was made and no action taken.

10. Reports – On a motion made by B. Redmond, seconded by C. French, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Road and Police Reports as presented. On a motion made by B. Redmond, seconded by C. French, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Transfer Station and First Responder Reports as presented.

11. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by B. Redmond, seconded by C. French, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #13, #14 and #15.

12. Other – 1. The Board authorized Mary Sabins as the town voting delegate at the annual MMA Business Meeting to be held on September 30th and signed related paperwork. 2. The Board approved a liquor license permit for an applicant named Sunny Tschornobia for a wedding reception to be held at St. Bridget Center on Sept. 25th.

13. Executive Session – On a motion made by B. Redmond, seconded by C. French, the Board voted unanimously at 8:50 pm to enter into an executive session pursuant to 1 MRSA, Section 405, subsection 6(A) to discuss a personnel matter. The Board returned to open session at 9:45 pm.

14. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m.

/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Board of Selectmen on 9/16/21 with the following amendments:

Select Board Member Chris French stated that in section 5, the sentence near the bottom of page one concerning Delta ambulance needs to be revised to say: “Delta relies heavily on billable calls that have dwindled since Winslow has recently begun ambulance transport services.”