June 8, 2011
Those Present: David Sirois, Eugene Moreau, Rickey McKenna, William Rogers, Joyce Grondin
Scott Hess, Gary Hamilton, Frances Casey
1. The Board reviewed the minutes from the June 1, 2011 Selectmen's meeting and Rickey made a motion to accept the minutes as written and Eugene seconded the motion.
The vote was unanimous.
2. Rickey reminded everyone that Cousin's Drive reconstruction needs to be completed by July 1, 2011 per the agreement made with George Tomberlin. It was noted that Crockett Contractors is working on the construction of the road.
3. Rickey and Bill plan to install the Welcome to Farmingdale sign on the Litchfield Road on Friday.
4. Eugene received an email from CMP informing him that 95% of the Town has had smart meter installed and there are about 50 customers that have opted out of the program.
5. Eugene noted a follow up letter should be forwarded to the new owner of 198 Northern Ave. informing him any outstanding sewer charges should have been taken care of at the time of closing by the title company or the attorney. Based on the circumstances surrounding the abatement request in the amount of $187.06 the Board elected to deny the request. A letter will be sent to Mr. Linton.
6. Eugene will also draft a letter to Janice Whynot of 13 Wedgewood Dr. referencing her request to have a culvert repaired. It was determined the culvert is on her property not on town property therefore it would be her responsibility to have it repaired.
7. E. C. Barry & Son had also submitted a request to have some culverts repaired/replaced and to have ditching done on Northern Ave. Bill said he and Andy Hendrickson had looked at some of the work but not all of it. Rickey and Bill plan on reviewing the requested work on Friday.
8. Eugene had crafted a letter to Lucas Striping for his company to proceed with the 2011 pavement marking in town.
9. There will be a Rail Trail meeting on Tuesday, July 14 to discuss extending the trail from Gardiner to Topsham.
10. David noted the Rail Trail will only be requesting $2,000 from the Town and not the expected $4,000 for this year.
11. The Board announced the Town will not be pursuing the purchase of the Somes property on Maine Ave.
12. The Road Commissioner reported the street sweeping and catch basin cleaning was done for the 2011 season. The work was completed on time and satisfactorily.
13. David made a motion to recess the meeting until 7 P.M. when Scott Hess and Gary Hamilton were scheduled to heard and Rickey seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
14. The Board reconvened the meeting at 6:55 P.M. and Scott Hess (attorney for Gary Hamilton) addressed the Board on Gary's behalf concerning the sewer line that runs to Gary's business. Gary needs a pump in order to take advantage of the sewer service and he would like the Town to provide the pump or abandon that portion of the sewer line. The sewer material needs to be pumped up hill. Scott Hess offered two solutions that were agreeable to Gary, one was for the Town to suspend all assessments on sewer to Gary's business and perhaps refund Gary for what he has paid and/or abate any outstanding sewer charges he owes and the second was to make the sewer line to Gary's operable. Eugene said in his opinion, the Town is not interested in spending more money on that sewer line. He said it might be more appropriate to abandon it.. Rickey agreed and said they may consider abating the sewer fees but would need to discuss all options with the sewer committee who is meeting a week from Thursday. The new sewer ordinance was discussed and Scott asked if the changes in the ordinance were there because of Gary's situation. Eugene assured them the ordinance changes were not directed at Gary or any one individual they were simply made to clarify intent. The Board assured them they would be in touch with them with an answer following the next sewer meeting.
15. David made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting at 7:20 P.M. and go into a town report workshop and Rickey seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
June 15, 2011
Those Present: David Sirois, Eugene Moreau, William Rogers, Michael LaPlante, Joyce Grondin
1. The Board reviewed the minutes from the June 8, 2011 Selectmen's meeting and David made a motion to accept the minutes as written and Eugene seconded the motion.
The vote was unanimous. Rickey was out of state for this meeting.
2. It was noted the striping agreement with Lucas Striping had been signed and returned to Mr. Lucas. The striping may take place next week.
3. The Board received a letter from M.D.O.T. in response to an inspection of the Litchfield Road which was requested by the Board. (See attached)
4. MMA had sent a renewal notice for coverage of Volunteer Firefighters. Eugene made a motion to proceed with the renewal and David seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
5. Eugene noted becuase there are so many meetings scheduled for Tuesday's, those involved should make sure the meeting space is available before scheduling a meeting.
6. The Board of Appeals is talking about purchasing a good tape recorder. Eugene said
he does not want any committee making any major purchases without the review of the Selectmen.
7. The Board signed a letter to Dan Alexander referencing his request for a tax abatement.
8. Bids were opened for the Park St. Culvert job. The bids were as follows: Ellis Construction $1,474.00 and Dale Choate $1,524.00. Eugene made a motion to accept the low bidder, Ellis Construction and David seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
9. Michael LaPlante informed the Board that most of the fire fighting equipment including the trucks are under insured. Michael has met with MMA and presently the Town insures its fire equipment at a level of depreciated value and not based on an agreed value. The additional cost to insure the trucks based on an agreed value would be $355.00 per year. The major equipment items would cost an additional $1,441.00 per year based on an agreed value. Michael will break down all the information for the Selectmen to review. Michael also suggested inviting a representative from MMA to come in for a discussion.
10. The Road Commissioner informed the Board that Cousins Lane has been completed.
11. David made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 P.M. and Eugene seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
June 22, 2011
Those Present: David Sirois, Eugene Moreau, Rickey McKenna, Frances Casey, Gary Hamilton, Scott Hess, William Rogers, Eliot Thayer, Bradley Hendrickson, Angenette Ellis, Joyce Grondin
1. The Board reviewed the minutes from the June 15, 2011 Selectmen's meeting and David made a motion to accept the minutes as written and Eugene seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
2. Rickey noted last weeks meeting referenced the Appeals Board and Planning Board purchasing a digital tape recorder. Rickey asked where the digital tapes would be stored and who would down load them. Rickey also asked why they couldn't use the tape recorder the town uses. Eugene said the current tape recorder doesn't record very well but he feels the Selectmen should be consulted before anyone purchases a tape recorder.
3. Rickey also questioned the recent decision of the Appeals Board hearing for George Gray. It was Rickey's understanding George was originally asking for a 30' variance and he only got a 25' variance. Eugene explained that George already had a 25' right of way therefore a 25' variance was adequate.
4. Scott Hess was in representing Gary Hamilton concerning his sewer issues. He wanted to know what recommendations the sewer committee had made to the Board as a result of Thursday nights sewer meeting and what action will be taken. The Sewer Committee recommended temporarily abandoning the line and abating the sewer charges.
Rickey said he wants in writing from the Town's attorney that the Town has the option of refunding these landowners. One of the landowners in question also owes the Town several years back taxes. Eugene made a motion to temporarily abandon the line and Rickey said he would second the motion if an amendment could be added stating that no future sewer billing quarters would be assessed against the property owners as long as the line was abandoned. Eugene agreed to this and the motion with the amendment was a unanimous vote.
5. Eugene suggested tabling the recommendation by the Sewer Committee to hire a consultant to determine the need and costs for 3 the services on the north end of Maine Ave.. Eugene thinks it is important to review and carefully establish just what you expect an engineer to do. Rickey agreed and said he would like to discuss it with the Sewer Committee.
6. Eugene said the Sewer Inspector responded to a plugged sewer line on Caron Drive and found rags were the cause of the problem. Eugene feels the Sewer Committee and the Selectmen should consider charging homeowners if a rag is found to be the cause of the plug.
7. Eliot Thayer and Bradley Hendrickson were in to discuss the condition of a Town catch basin on property owned by Gos-Hen Development. During the last two big rain storms the basin could not take care of the flow of water due to the grate openings being too small. There is a tremendous amount of water which flows down through there from the Heights. Eliot recommends putting in a new basin, frame and grate. Bradley has had DEP down and they also agree the catch basin is not adequate. Bradley is requesting the Town do something about the grate. Eliot said he would look at possible options and get back to the Town and David said he would look into what funds are available in the highway account. Rickey said a drainage easement would be needed prior to doing any work.
8. Angenette Ellis was in to sign the Lawn and Ground Maintenance Contract and the revised duties of the Sexton. The pay schedule of the Sexton Contract was changed and signed noting revisions. It was decided the new grave digging duties document needed more fine tuning.
9. Angenette Ellis has been approached by a woman who would like 1 more lot in the Maine Ave. Cemetery but she no longer lives in Town, however her niece does. It was suggested the niece purchase the lot.
10. Eugene noted C.M.P. is marking for pole locations in their project.
11. Eugene also noted the state has conducted a General Assistance audit and everything was found to be in order.
12. Eugene emailed the Fire Department expressing concerns about the flags along Maine Ave. and the fact that many are faded and/or torn. He also noted that several were just thrown in a corner in the fire room and some were thrown on the floor. Eugene feels the flags should not be flown in the condition that some of them are in. Michael LaPlante pointed out the Town does not own the flags or have anything to say about them it is the Firemen's Association. Eugene stated that the Association will take care of the flags or the Board will. Michael said he would make the Association aware of the issue.
13. Rickey made a motion to increase the coverage on the fire trucks to an agreed value and Eugene seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
14. The Road Commissioner reported to the Selectmen that Cousins Lane meets the requirements the Town had set forth in the consent agreement and the road seems solid and wide enough. Eugene feels another 6" of cover should be applied to the whole road but David said the road looks good and there is currently 6" of cover overall and the turn around is 20' wide. Eugene stated there should be a written document stating the road is okay. Rickey reminded Eugene the road is a private road not a town road. The Road Commissioner will write a document stating the road is satisfactory.
15. The Road Commissioner said there is a culvert problem on Northern Ave. by the David Ellis residence. It is believed the problem will be resolved when the Town does ditching and the fire department may also be asked to flush the culvert.
16. This was Eugene's last Selectmen's meeting as his term is up as of June 25, 2011 and he is not seeking re-election. David thanked Eugene for his years of dedication and hard work and echoed everyone's sentiment that he will truly be missed.
17. David made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:45 P.M. and go into a workshop and Rickey seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.