Town of Buxton
Minutes for January 21, 2015 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: Dave Harmon, Michael Grovo
Selectmen’s Meeting Agenda
The meeting was called to order at 7:02 PM.
Chairman Emery led the recital.
- Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes
Selectmen Meeting Minutes January 14, 2015
Approved 5-0
- Discussion held between 5:00 & 7:00 p.m.
The Selectmen had a lengthy discussion about the budget.
The Police Chief came in and the Board talked with him about an issue some residents have with speeding vehicles on their road. Selectman Emery said it is a concern that is being dealt with but sometimes it takes a while to catch the ones who are doing it. He encouraged people to call in. He said the Board cares a lot and they will look into it. Selectman Emery said speeding is an issue everywhere and the police are working very hard on this one particular issue.
The Board met with the Budget Committee and went over preliminary items. The Committee is planning to have their first meeting on February 3 and hopes to have enough budgets to be able to continue to meet on a weekly basis.
The Selectmen met briefly with the Fire-Rescue Chief and talked about some possible capital expenses in the upcoming budget.
- Legislative Bulletin No. 1 from Maine Municipal Association
- Email from Maine CDC – Re: Influenza Update
- Review of Projects and Issues
Selectman Burns was in last week and attended the Board’s Workshop this week. He has been working on some budget issues, and reading Legislative information from Maine Municipal regarding the Governor’s proposed budget. He talked about some of the proposed changes and said it is going to be interesting to see what happens with it.
Selectman Booker went to the SAD 6 Budget Advisory Committee Meeting last week. She said they did see some preliminary numbers for this coming year. She also attended the Board Workshop last night and mentioned that they went over some Budget items.
Selectman Santolucito also attended the SAD 6 Budget Advisory Committee Meeting and said they did not get into any of the capital projects. He talked about funding challenges and said he thinks the school is using their dollars efficiently and doing the best they can with difficult budget decisions.
Selectman Harmon reported that she attended a Stackpole Creek Bridge Meeting in Saco last week. Last year the voters in Saco approved a bond for $990,000 to move forward with either some rehab or a complete re-build of the bridge. She went to the meeting as a representative from Buxton. The plan is to put it out to bid and take the best bids; one for rehabilitation, and one for a complete re-build to vote on. She said the Public Works Director in Saco asked her to pass on to our PW crew their appreciation for all that our Public Works crew has been doing to plow the road and keep it open.
Selectman Harmon talked about the Workshop and said one of the reasons the Selectmen met was to discuss what they were going to do for employee salaries in the next fiscal year. She reported that the Board is going to let the Departments Heads know what they decided. She mentioned that they also talked about a lot of capital items they have to look forward to over the next 3-4 years.
Selectman Emery said he was not in much last week because he was working out of town. He did attend the Workshop and reiterated that the Selectmen will let Department Heads know before the week is over what their plan is.
Selectman Emery went on to talk at length about the proposed state budget and the negative impact that many of the changes will have on Buxton taxpayers. He said the Board will have to be very proactive in talking with Legislators, taking trips to Augusta, and doing all they can to let our Representatives know that the proposed changes are not going to be beneficial for this community.
Selectman Harmon talked about the issue of taxing some tax-exempt entities, and the impact the loss of Municipal Revenue Sharing will have on taxpayers. She said although Revenue Sharing does not bring millions of dollars to the Town of Buxton, the money that does come in has an impact and if we do not receive it, that has to be passed on to taxpayers. She went on to talk briefly about proposed changes to the Homestead Exemption and shared some thoughts on that.
Selectman Emery said the Board has tried to keep the budget honed down as much as possible in an effort to maintain the services that we currently provide but he said the only thing the town can do when revenue changes is to look at cutting some of those services.
None
None
E.O. 141501013 – An order to approve 40 hours of vacation time for Charisse Keach
Approved 5-0
E.O. 141501014 – An order to approve Tashia Pinkham’s attendance at a Maine Recreation & Parks Association Annual Conference
Approved 5-0
E.O. 141501015 – An order to appoint Patrick J. Hanna to the position of a Member of the Board of Appeals to be effective until December 31, 2017
Approved 5-0
E.O. 141501016 – An order to appoint Nathan Schools to the position of Emergency Management Agency Director to be effective until December 31, 2017
Approved 5-0
E.O. 141501017 – An order to appoint William Roberts, Jr., to the position of Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director to be effective until December 31, 2017
Approved 5-0
- Executive Orders by Initiative
None
- Accounts Payable and Payroll Warrants
E.O. 141501011 – An order approving expenditures as documented in the Accounts Payable Warrant #066 that totals $58,972.19
Approved 5-0
E.O. 141501012 – An order approving expenditures as documented in Payroll Warrant #065 that totals $49,850.99
Approved 5-0
- Next Meeting of the Board
Planning Board Meeting Monday, January 26 at 7:00 PM
Board of Selectmen Meeting Wednesday, January 28 at 7:00 PM
SAD 6 Budget Advisory Committee Meeting Thursday, January 29 at 6:30 PM at Central Office
The Buxton Planning Board and the Buxton Board of Selectmen will hold a Public Hearing Monday, February 9 at 7:00 PM at Buxton Town Hall
Selectman Harmon mentioned that there is a vacancy on the School Board and said if anyone is interested in serving on the MSAD 6 Board of Directors, serving Buxton, the Selectmen would like to hear from you.
- Public Comments and Questions
Police Chief, Mike Grovo updated the people on a scam he told us about a couple weeks ago regarding a man who was selling wood on Craig’s List. Chief Grovo said the man has been arrested and charged with numerous counts including one in Buxton that he has owned up to. The Chief said charges are pending against him and he should be out of business for quite a while.
Chief Grovo reported that the Department had over 530 calls last week. He provided statistics for those calls and said they (Police) were very busy last week.
None
Motion made and seconded to adjourn the Meeting at 7:27 PM
Approved 5-0
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