Town of Buxton
Minutes for June 18, 2014 Selectmen’s Meeting
Prepared by: Beverly Gammon
Members Present: Clifford L. Emery, Jean C. Harmon, Penny J. Booker, Peter E. W. Burns
Dennis P. Santolucito.
Others Present:
Selectmen’s Meeting Agenda
The meeting was called to order at 7:08 PM.
Chairman Clifford L. Emery led the pledge.
Selectman Emery introduced and welcomed the newest member of the Board of Selectmen, Dennis Santolucito.
The next order of business for the Board was to elect a Chairman for the coming year. A motion was made and seconded to nominate Clifford L. Emery as the Chairman of the Board. Approved 4-1-0
Jean C. Harmon was nominated for the position of Vice Chair of the Board.
Approved 4-1-0
- Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes
Selectmen Meeting Minutes June 11, 2014
Approved 4-1-1
- Discussion held between 5:00 & 7:00 p.m.
Robert and Sharon Elwell were in to talk about a bridge that is being taken down between Saco & Biddeford on Saco Island. They wanted to know if the town may have some use for it as a walking bridge at Salmon Falls. The bridge that is being taken down is about one hundred and thirty feet long and will be taken out in three pieces to transport. Robert Elwell is going to get more information and the Board is going to look into it.
The Selectmen talked about the new school assessment. Starting July 1, 2014 Buxton will be paying an increase of more than $23,000 a month over the $504,000 that we have been paying for a total of more than $527,000 each month.
Selectman Emery said there is a house in town that the Board has issues with and a road over in the Chicopee area that they have talked about. The Selectmen are going to gather all the information together and meet face-to-face with our attorney to get these things straightened out in a more timely manner. The Board is going to start taking a more direct approach and instead of handling issues by phone, they will go in to Portland and meet with the attorney.
The Board discussed the old Town Garage and how they want to word the request for bids. They are going to take some time to think about how they word that because there may be a unique situation in how they are going to dismantle it and they want to explain the process clearly so there will not be any confusion.
The Selectmen also talked about re-doing some signs including the sign at the one-room school house at Buxton Center. They talked with the gentleman who did the sign that is there and he is going to give the Board an estimate on the cost to re-do that sign.
- Email from Jenn Curtis, Mapping Coordinator, Maine Floodplain Management Program, Dept. of Agriculture – Re: FEMA Map Updating Process
- Notice from Greg Heffernan, Manager of Buxton Transfer Station – Re: Free fill delivered to your home. Please call the Transfer Station at 929-3913 or email buxtonts@sacoriver.net for availability. All of the materials are legal to put out.
- Review of Projects and Issues
Selectman Burns came in last Thursday and Friday to get ready for Town Meeting and was in Saturday for Town Meeting. He thought the meeting went well although voter turnout was low.
Selectman Booker said last week was pretty much filled with going over the Warrant and the numbers. She went over those numbers with Selectman Burns one day and she and Selectman Harmon did a little more on the Tax Levy Limit form another day. She mentioned that Steve Heroux, a member of the School Board, was in last week asking what the Board is planning to do about the vacancy on the Board.
Selectman Booker met with the appraiser for the bridge project. She explained that it is his job to look at the properties along the area where the bridge is to be replaced and there may be some setbacks along the sides of that may take a little bit of land from those people. They may want to use some staging area on Depot Street where they will be building the bridge. She asked D.O.T. to send the plans so we can see where that would be. They have said that they know they would have to come to the Board to ask about that before they do the staging.
Selectman Booker also mentioned Marilyn, our Accounts Payable Clerk noticed a few weeks ago that one of our light bills had tax on it. She contacted CMP and they helped her get some of that back. We have now received $80.00 back and there may be a little more that we will receive.
Selectman Dennis Santolucito said he is happy to be on the Board. He attended his eleventh Town Meeting last Saturday. He said the doors are always open here and anyone can come in. He said he came in this evening and found a stack of papers on his desk and he is looking forward to working with the Board.
Selectman Harmon reported that she was at the Town Meeting along with the rest of the Board, and she took some time to welcome Dennis Santolucito to the Board. She has been in every day this week to follow up on articles that we had at Town Meeting. She met with Charisse, our Treasurer, in regards to the fire truck lease/purchase that was approved at Town Meeting to make sure she gets together with the Fire Chief to find out where we will be financing that and getting the best rate. Selectman Harmon has also been following up with Marilyn our Accounts Payable clerk and she will start working on the Expense Report as of July so she can start entering those numbers into the system and hopefully have a smooth transition into the next fiscal year.
Selectman Emery thanked the rest of the Board for the work they did over the last few weeks gathering information and getting ready for Town Meeting. He had to work out of town and said he really appreciates what they do all year long.
Selectman Emery was in Monday and got the Quit Claim Deed going for the land that the old Town Hall sat on that the Town voted to sell to the Baptist Church at Buxton Center. He also mentioned that although there were only 37 people at Town Meeting it was a good group of people, a lot of good questions were asked, and the meeting went along fairly smoothly. The Department Heads, the Board, and the Budget Committee worked well this year putting these budgets where they need to be and there are no extra frills in the budgets any more. The Board sends Department Heads back to the drawing board more than once and Selectman Emery said they do an excellent job. He said the budget they put forward to the people meets the needs of each of the departments so they can provide services
that people of the community are used to receiving but there are no frills in this budget.
Selectman Emery said the Board rarely gets a complaint and when they do it is usually something that the person has thought long and hard about, and the Board tries to get an answer to them as soon as they can. He encouraged people to call, write, fax, or come in to see the Selectmen if there are questions or concerns and he said the Board will put their efforts toward getting information back to the person as soon as they can.
Selectman Emery mentioned that there is an opening on the School Board where one gentleman resigned. One person sent information and has shown interest in being on the School Board but the Town Charter requires that the Board post this position for at least 7 days. By next week if there is anyone who is interested in that position the person should come forward and call or come into the office and talk to Beverly so she can pass the information along to the Board.
- Davis Road in Chicopee. The Selectmen are going to put all the information they have together and meet with our attorney to see how they can resolve this issue.
- Demolition of the old Town Garage
- New Business
- Executive Orders
E.O. 131406012 – An order to approve 40 hours of vacation time for Tashia Pinkham
Approved 5-0-1
E.O. 131406013 – An order to approve 16 hours of vacation time for Beverly Gammon
Approved 5-0-1
E.O. 131406014 – An order to approve 48 hours of vacation time for John Myers
Approved 5-0-1
- Executive Orders by Initiative
None
- Accounts Payable and Payroll Warrants
E. O. 131406010 – An order approving expenditures as documented in the Accounts Payable Warrant #111
Approved 5-0-1
E. O. 131406011 – An order approving expenditures as documented in Payroll Warrant #110
Approved 5-0-1
- Next Meeting of the Board
Planning Board Meeting Monday, June 23, 2014 at 7:00 PM
Board of Selectmen Meeting Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 7:00 PM
None
- Public Comments and Questions
None
None
Motion made and seconded to adjourn the Meeting at 7:33 PM
Approved 5-0-1
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