Board of Selectmen Meeting
MINUTES
SEBAGO BOARD OF SELECTMEN’S MEETING/WORKSHOP
6:00 PM
TOWN OFFICE
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018
ALL REGULAR BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETINGS
ARE HELD THE 1ST AND 3RD TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chairman, Tim Mayberry, at 6:00 pm.
ROLL CALL
Present: Selectmen; Edythe Harnden, Phil Lowe, Tim Mayberry and Chris Parker, Town Manager, Michele Bukoveckas, Town Clerk and Recorder, Maureen Scanlon.
Guests present: Carla Parker, Jerry Holt, Jane MacDonald, Jim Libby, Tim Economides, Bill Gill, Chris Harrington, Jason Schoolcraft, Karen Moore, Maurice Davies, Nicole Prescott, Jean Grant, Norma Sicotte, John “Jock” MacGregor, Claudia Lowe, Code Enforcement Officer, Brandon Woolley, Betsy Cook, Marcia Christensen, James MacDonald.
II. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA
Item added: Consent Agenda Item B. – Approval of the October 2, 2018 Board of Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes.
III. CONSENT AGENDA
Approval of the September 4, 2018 Board of Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Chris Parker made a motion to approve the September 4, 2018 minutes as presented. It was seconded by Phil Lowe. Motion carried with all in favor.
Approval of the October 2, 2018 Board of Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Phil Lowe made a motion to approve the October 2, 2018 minutes as presented. It was seconded by Tim Mayberry. Motion carried with three in favor and Edie Harnden abstaining from the vote.
IV. OLD BUSINESS
RECORDER’S NOTE: At the start of the Old Business portion of this meeting, Town Manager, Michele Bukoveckas, read aloud a letter that will be sent out next week to all of the Public Easement Road property owners that were recently sent letters advising them of road repairs that needed to be completed in order for their roads to be plowed during the winter. This letter explains that their roads will continue to be plowed this winter and the matter of the necessary repairs will be addressed much earlier in the season next year.
Tiger Hill Land Letter of Support
Town Manager, Michele Bukoveckas, explained that this is the 1,417-acre Tiger Hill property that is being acquired with the intent of making it a community forest. At the last meeting, Jerry Holt, and especially Betsy Cook from the Maine Trust for Public Land, explained this project in detail. Betsy gave a recap of what was discussed at that meeting and stated this requested letter of support is for a State funding source that they are seeking. They are not asking the town for any funding for this project. This is just to show that the town is in support of the project.
Tim Mayberry made a motion to sign the Letter of Support. It was seconded by Phil Lowe. Motion carried with all in favor. The Board proceeded to sign off on the Letter of Support.
Approve the 2018 General Assistance Ordinance and Maximum Levels of Assistance
Michele Bukoveckas, reviewed the State mandated changes that have been made to the General Assistance ordinance and the Maximum Levels of Assistance. She explained that unlike other ordinances, this ordinance does not require approval by the legislative body. A Public Hearing was recently held on the matter. Approval / adoption by the Board of Selectmen is sufficient in order to implement this revised ordinance.
Tim Mayberry made a motion to approve / adopt the 2018 General Assistance Ordinance and Maximum Levels of Assistance as presented. It was seconded by Phil Lowe. Motion carried with all in favor. The Board proceeded to sign off on the required approval documentation.
Approve the Cable Television Ordinance / Franchise Agreement Negotiations
Again, this is one of those ordinances that can be approved / adopted by the Board of Selectmen. Michele Bukoveckas explained that most of the changes made to the Cable Television ordinance were to make it more in line with the town’s Franchise Agreement with Spectrum Enterprises. She reviewed some of those changes that were previously presented at the recent Public Hearing.
Tim Mayberry made a motion to approve / adopt the Cable Television Ordinance and to authorize the Town Manager to move forward with the Franchise Negotiations. It was seconded by Phil Lowe. Motion carried with all in favor.
C.I.P Discussion Items
Michele Bukoveckas explained that she has one item that needs to be moved to the CIP (Capital Investment Program) this year. The bridge on Dyke Mountain Road, near Robinson Hill Road, needs costly repairs, estimated at approximately $25,000.00. It was noted that if these repairs are not completed within the next couple of years the bridge may be closed by the State which would mean that this important portion of the road would be closed for public use.
Tim Mayberry made a motion to move the bridge on Dyke Mountain Road to the CIP. It was seconded by Phil Lowe. It was noted that the CIP Committee will probably rename the existing Folly Road Bridge line item to Bridges in order to not only address future repairs to the Folly Road Bridge but also include other bridges that may need future repairs. Motion carried with all in favor.
Discussion to Establish Special Revenue Funds for Soccer and Basketball Donations
Michele Bukoveckas explained that this is similar to the special fund that was set up for raising additional funds for providing fuel assistance to residents that do not qualify for General Assistance but meet the set guidelines for receiving assistance from this fund. This will allow these funds that were raised separately to be specifically used for this purpose without being rolled over into the Undesignated Fund at the end of the fiscal year.
Edie Harnden made a motion to have the Town Manager establish special revenue funds for Soccer and Basketball donations that will roll over from year to year. It was seconded by Chris Parker. Motion carried with all in favor.
V. NEW BUSINESS
There was no New Business.
VI. REPORTS FROM TOWN OFFICALS
Town Manager
Ernie Poulos in the Public Works department has resigned, I will be advertising for a plow truck driver.
A power surge caused some major computer issues. I am working with the insurance company to see if there is any compensation available.
The new Freightliner has sustained damage ($8k) due to a foreign substance in the fuel. It appears only one vehicle has been affected. The fuel is being tested to determine what the substance was. I have filed a claim with the insurance company, and the codes at the Public Works garage have been changed.
Met with Tim Cusick (MDOT), Brandon Woolley, Wayne Allen and Sam Minervino (Long Beach Marina) to discuss drainage issues on Intervale St. MDOT will be relocating some of the catch basins from Intervale St. and will do some ditching. In addition, MDOT will have their environmental engineer assess the culvert that comes out onto the beach and see if some mitigation can be done. Tim Cusick of MDOT hopes to have the ditching and catch basins done within a few weeks.
I have received comments regarding “Comments from the Public” sometimes taking precedence over agenda items. There were times where this created long discussions causing agenda items to be shortened in discussion. Therefore, I recommend that “Comments from the Public” be placed at the end of the agenda out of respect for those on the agenda, and that people limit their comments to no more than 5 minutes. I also would recommend that no action take place on those comments, but if needed, it would be placed on a future agenda for further discussions.
Our first “live” taped meeting will be the first meeting in December. I hopefully will be able to get them posted on the website as well, but need to check with Virtual Town Hall (our software company).
The Sebago Volunteer Association would like to donate $150.00 to purchase new trash barrels for the Town Hall.
Tim Mayberry made a motion to accept the gift of $150.00 from the Sebago Volunteer Association for the purchase of new trash barrels for the Town Hall. It was seconded by Phil Lowe. Motion carried with all in favor.
Upcoming meetings:
October 17, 2018 – Noon – Town Manager’s Lunch, Windham
October 18, 2018 – 2:00 pm – GPCOG in Windham – RE: CDBG Grants
November 6. 2018 – 6:00 pm – Board of Selectmen (due to the Election, we need to move the location)
November 7, 2018 – 6:30 pm – CIP
B. Selectmen
Phil Lowe stated that the matter of Public Easement roads may require addressing the issues in a future workshop.
Edie Harnden had nothing to report.
Tim Mayberry had nothing to report.
Chris Parker had nothing to report.
Committees
Nothing reported
VII. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC
Tim Economides thanked the Town Manager for the letter that she read at the start of the meeting regarding the matter of plowing the Public Easement Roads this winter. He stated that he agrees with Phil Lowe that a workshop to address this matter in the future would be a good idea.
James MacDonald, who lives on Safe Harbor Road, asked about the status of the letters that were sent out regarding the winter plowing of his road. He explained that he was previously told that his road is a town road and now he is being told that it is a Public Easement road. He asked why this is not considered a town road. Brandon Woolley explained the research that he and the Town Manager did in verifying the correctness of what the town considers as town roads versus public easement roads. Michele Bukoveckas explained to Mr. MacDonald, who arrived late to this meeting and did not hear her read aloud the letter that will be mailed out next week addressing this matter, that his road will be plowed this winter. Maurice Davies stated that he spent a lot of time researching the status of Safe Harbor road and he believes it is a town road. There was quite a bit of discussion on this matter which will be further researched, and addressed in the future. Mr. Davies agreed to share the documentation that he referenced at this meeting which is apparently not included in the town’s records.
The Board agreed to hold a workshop on Public Easement roads after the regular Board meeting on December 4, 2018.
Marcia Christensen, who lives on Northwest River Road, which is a public easement road, and a dirt road, added a positive comment regarding the town’s cooperation in working with the residents on her road to keep it in good condition. She added that she has lived there for a long time and the town has always been very good at plowing the road for them.
Tim Economides thanked the town for their support of the new Sebago School; his kids love it.
Claudia Lowe stated that there is a celebration scheduled for Saturday, November 3, 2018 at 10:00 am at the school. It will start inside with a little recap of how we got there, and then we will be going outside for the unveiling of the new sign. She invited all to attend.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
Tim Mayberry made a motion to close the regular meeting at 6:53 pm. and proceed with the Public Safety Building workshop. It was seconded by Chris Parker. Motion carried with all in favor.
PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING WORKSHOP
After a short break the Public Safety Building workshop commenced at 7:00 pm.
At this time the following guests joined the Public Safety Building workshop portion of this meeting: Fire Chief Ken Littlefield, Captain Phil Strike, Captain Carl Dolloff, Rescue Deputy Chief Jason Schoolcraft. The following guests were still present from the regular Selectmen’s meeting: Karen Moore, Carla Parker, Code Enforcement Officer Brandon Woolley, John “Jock” MacGregor, Norma Sicotte, Chris Harrington, Jim Libby, Jerry Holt, Jean Grant, Marcia Christensen.
Phil Strike presented a revised design plan for this proposed building. He explained that it is essentially the same design that Brandon Woolley had previously submitted, just turned in a different direction. The changes from the original design were reviewed in detail. It was noted that this new design will not include several of the cost savings measures that were incorporated in the original design.
Funding for the Bunk Rooms portion of the project is the first priority. The Bunk Rooms and the additional areas associated with them are to be constructed in the 36’ x 24’ section and will be left rough at this time. The finish work will be completed at a later date. The was discussion on the financing needs for the overall project. Funding options will be discussed at the next regular Board of Selectmen’s meeting on November 6th. Due to the upcoming election being held on that date, the location of this next meeting will be at Fire Station 1.
DOCKS WORKSHOP
The following guests were still present from the regular Selectmen’s meeting and Public Safety Building workshop: Carla Parker, Code Enforcement Officer Brandon Woolley, John “Jock” MacGregor, Norma Sicotte, Jim Libby, Jean Grant, Marcia Christensen.
Brandon Woolley gave a recap about the matter of docks being located at the end of roadways.
Phil Lowe stated that we need to identify what needs to be addressed and a unified set of rules needs to be developed. He would like to explore a limited ordinance that applies to the town owned properties.
It was noted that there is currently no dock policy in place and that there seems to be an uneven enforcement of what is allowed at this time.
Brandon Woolley was asked to work on developing a proposed dock ordinance which will be on the agenda for an open discussion at the January 15, 2019 Selectman’s meeting. It was noted that the first Tuesday of the month in January 2019 is the New Year’s Day holiday, therefore there will be no meeting on that date.
The workshop closed at 8:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen F. Scanlon
Town Clerk