Town of Buxton
Minutes for July 25, 2012 Selectmen’s Meeting
Prepared by: Beverly Gammon
Members Present: Dianne M. Senechal, Clifford L. Emery, Robert C. Libby, Jean C. Harmon, Penny J. Booker.
Others Present: Mike Grovo, Bernie Page, Jack Hanna, Dan Collomy, Olive Collomy.
Meeting Agenda
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
- Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes
Selectmen Meeting Minutes July 18, 2012. Approved 5-0.
- Discussion held between 5:00 & 7:00 p.m.
The Board spent time discussing ongoing projects and different things going on in the Selectmen’s Office.
Don Marean came in at 5:30 and discussed the proposed pedestrian bridge on the old bridge abutment over the Saco River close to Salmon Falls Bridge on Route 202.
The Selectmen celebrated birthdays for this month, and discussed the advertisement that is going on line for a position that is open in Public Works.
Selectman Emery asked Chief Grovo to talk later about the two patrol cars that are going to be put out for bid so that people are aware that is happening.
- Email from Jennifer Puser, Greater Portland Council of Governments – Re: Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds – Low Cost Financing for Energy Projects.
- Email from a resident who is a frequent visitor at Pleasant Point Park – Re Loose dogs running through the park.
The Town has been having some issues in that park. There is a sign at the Park and the Town has an Ordinance stating that all dogs must be on a leash. That applies to all parks including Pleasant Point Park. This has become more of a problem in the past couple of years.
There have been six fires in the park and the Board is concerned about that as well. There was a fire there this week that is believed to have started from a camp fire which is not permitted in the park. The Board is asking people to please obey the rules.
- The Board received a nice letter from the American Diabetes Association thanking the Town of Buxton for allowing the riders that were on the TourdeCure to ride through the town.
- Review of Projects and Issues
Selectman Libby has started to work on the 2012 Municipal Valuation Return that we have to fill out for the State each year. This is a ten page report with a lot of questions so it will take a while for him to finish that. In addition Mr. Libby has been handling a lot of Email and other correspondence that has been coming in.
Selectman Harmon walked in the Community Days parade and went to the park Saturday night to watch the fireworks display. She thanked Narragansett Number One Foundation for providing terrific fireworks for everyone.
Last week Selectman Harmon talked about the Maine Bond Bank and the possibility of refinancing the Bond that we have. She said our Treasurer looked into it and unfortunately we are unable to take advantage of lower interest rates at this time because our debt is not old enough.
Selectman Harmon has been working with our Accounts Payable Clerk to make sure all of the numbers entered for 2013 are correct. They have been able to iron out any glitches that have come up and everyone should be getting their 2013 reports tomorrow.
Selectman Harmon said she had a conversation with Michael Robinson in regards to putting an access road for emergency vehicles in Pleasant Point Park due to the number of fires that have occurred down there and their location. Deputy Chief Harmon said it is not feasible to put a truck down the ramp to pump water out of the river because with the weight of the truck and the water they could not get the truck back up the hill. She mentioned it to Fred Farnham and he is going to coordinate that with Mike Robinson.
Selectman Emery thanked Police, Fire & Rescue, Fire Police, Public Works and most importantly our Recreation Director, Tashia Pinkham, who ran the program for the town and put in a lot of hours. He said everyone did a fantastic job; it was well received, and he heard a lot of nice things. He thought the fireworks display was the best we have had since the year it started.
Selectman Booker attended the Newly Elected Officials Workshop last week. She has been reviewing policies and procedures for how to do things here in town and looking at job descriptions to get a better understanding of how things work She mentioned going to the Community Days parade and said there have been a lot of improvements since the last time she attended. She liked the way things were lined up and thought Tashia did a good job with it.
Selectman Senechal went to the Buxton Fire/Rescue vs Hollis Fire/Rescue softball game Friday night. She said it was a good game and Buxton won.
She reported that the walking path is now done at Town Farm Park.
The Transfer Station had issues with a fan and Selectman Senechal thanked a resident who loaned a bucket lift so it was fixed and the Town did not have to hire that out.
The Personnel Policy draft is ready to be printed as soon as the color printer comes in. The Board hopes to have it finalized and ready to send out to our attorney within the next month.
The Selectmen will start working on the Internal Control Document after they finish their work on the Personnel Manual.
None.
E.O.121307019 – An order to approve 40 hours vacation time for Michael Grovo.
Approved 5-0.
E.O.121307020 – An order to approve Michael Grovo’s attendance at a Police Fleet Expo.
Approved 5-0.
E.O.121307021 – An order to approve 8 hours vacation time for Thomas Kennie.
Approve d 5-0.
- Executive Orders by Initiative
None.
- Accounts Payable and Payroll Warrants
E.O.121307017 – An order approving expenditures as documented in Accounts Payable Warrant #121 and #8. Approved 5-0.
E.O.121307018 – An order approving expenditures as documented in Payroll Warrant #3. Approved 5-0.
- Next Meeting of the Board
Comprehensive Plan Meeting Thursday, July 26, 2012, at 7 PM.
Board of Selectmen Meeting Wednesday, August 1, 2012, at 7 PM
Buxton Town Hall Blood Drive Monday, July 30, 2012, 11 AM ~4 PM, at 185 Portland Road. Please call the American Red Cross @1-800-RED-CROSS for an appointment. Donors will receive a collectible Red Sox T-shirt.
Letters are going out to prospective bidders for Hot Bituminous Pavement.
There is an opening for a highway worker in our Public Works Department. The job will be posted on the Jobs in Maine website and an ad will be going in the Smart Shopper. This is a full time position with benefits.
- Public Comments and Questions
Chief Grovo went over statistics. A total of 225 total calls came in last week.
Two cruisers will be going out for bid. One is a 2001 and the other is a 2008. Chief Grovo said he will put together a letter to send to the Board along with a list of what each vehicle needs for work. He said the vehicles are purchased from the Capital Items Fund and money that comes in from the sale goes to the General Fund.
Adam Ricci will be at the Selectmen’s Meeting next week and the Chief said it is a good time for people to come in if they have questions for Adam.
Chief Grovo talked about Aubuchon Day that will be held August 4 from 9AM~3 PM. At least one of our Police Officers will be there. They will have a table with information for the public, stickers for children, DNA forms for children and they will take fingerprints for parents who want to have them to keep in a safe place. Chief Grovo challenged Cliff Emery to sit in the Dunk Tank for an hour to see which one of them can raise the most money for the Keep The Heat On Program.
Bernie Page spoke about Old Home Days and congratulated the Activities Department and all the helpers ad volunteers that made it such a great success. He said it was one of the better ones he has seen.
Dan Collomy had a discussion with the Selectmen about whether or not SAD #6 has a marching band with uniforms.
Olive Collomy thanked Pat Wales and Roland for being so gracious and for allowing them to use Pat’s convertible to ride in the Community Days parade and thanked the Board for putting Dan and her in the Town Report. She said the mowing that has been done on the sides of the road looks nice and she asked if it is okay to spray poison ivy.
The Selectmen thanked Olive for all the cookies she brings to the office.
None.
Motion made and seconded to adjourn the Meeting at 7:37 p.m. Approved 5-0.
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