Members Present: Rob Browne, Lauchlin Titus, and John Melrose
Others Present: Mary Sabins, Mary Grow, Garvan Donegan, Danielle Sullivan and another recreation department volunteer, Mike Poulin, and Elaine Theriault.
1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Titus at 6:30 p.m.
2. Minutes – On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the 8/15/19 meeting as written.
3. Recreation Director Danielle Sullivan explained to the Board that participation is low in the town recreation basketball program and she is considering a unisex basketball team. Inquiries are up however for a cheering program and she is requesting permission to begin the program. She stated she has found a cheering coach, and uniforms will be paid for from user fees. After discussion and on a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve the proposal from Danielle Sullivan to add a cheering program to the recreation department’s offerings. J. Melrose inquired about mowing the opening of the recreation trail at the recreation fields so it would be more visible to the public. Danielle stated she will ask mower Darrell Gagnon if he will do that next time he mows the fields.
4. Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC) - Representative Garvan Donegan explained the work and clientele of the CMGC and named some of the large growth projects they have accomplished for the four municipal governments who are members of the Council. Garvan explained that he has experience in TIF and Solar projects that may be helpful to Vassalboro for future planning. If Vassalboro were to join CMGC, the membership fee would be just over $14K, but services could alternately be purchased from Garvan and CMGC on an hourly basis if CMGC can determine that a strong return on investment would be achieved. They only take on projects that make sense for both parties. J. Melrose stated that the Town would have a prior agreement for an hourly price and estimated time to complete a project, and the Board would approve the arrangement in advance. Chairman Titus stated he likes what the CMGC is doing, but Vassalboro is a bedroom community. Garvan noted that in five years, the CMGC could bring tax revenue to the town to help pay for CMGC services. Discussion ensued regarding potential services that CMGC could offer, and R. Browne expressed concern how much attention and services the small town of Vassalboro would receive from CMGC, given the needs and demands of the larger dues-paying municipalities around us. Chairman Titus stated that he likes the idea but doesn’t want to take any action tonight. Selectman Melrose said he wanted to introduce CMGC to the Board to get an idea of the services we could benefit from. The Board then thanked Mr. Donegan for coming.
5. Transfer Station facility layout – This item was revisited again at Selectman Melrose’s request. Prior to the meeting, J. Melrose had prepared a list of four transfer station issues that he deemed needed to be addressed and resolved as follows: 1. Do we approve the relocating of the access drive to improve safety? 2. Do we favor improving internal traffic management? 3. Do we favor staying with the current use of containers and compactors? 4. Do we favor infrastructure improvements? After discussion and analysis, the Board made the following plans of action for each numbered item: 1. R. Browne stated he is not in favor of relocating the road access to the transfer station and that it is not a priority of his. He wants to use the reserve funds to replace the aging compactor. After more discussion, the Board agreed to have Sabins ask PW Director Gene Field to prepare an estimate of costs including time and materials to move the entrance to the location over the glass landfill area. 2. J. Melrose would like to complete item #1 and then revisit this item #2. Item #3: The Board agreed to stay with the current use of containers and compactors. Item #4: Sabins is working on obtaining a price for compactor replacement with the vendor who installed the compactor we have now and will report back.
6. Solar Project Committee Appointment – On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to appoint Jessica Clark to the Solar Project Committee.
7. Reports – On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R Browne, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Road and Police Reports as presented.
8. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve warrants #13 and #14.
9. Other – 1. The Board agreed by consensus to have Town Manager Sabins, on behalf of the Board, complete and return the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors ballot for all seven candidates as presented. 2. J. Melrose stated that he will be unable to attend the September 19th meeting. Other Board members stated they will be able to attend so we will have a quorum. 3. Because Sabins will be in Bangor at the MMA Convention during the day, the Board chose to cancel their October 3rd meeting. 4. On a motion made by L. Titus, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to appoint Mary Sabins as the town’s voting delegate at the MMA Annual Business Meeting on October 2nd.
10. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
/mss
These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 9/26/19 with the following amendments: None.