MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TOWN OF MOUNT DESERT, MAINE
Monday, October 20, 2008
A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held this date in the Meeting Room at the Somesville Fire Station, Mount Desert, Maine.
Those present included: Chairman Jeffrey Smith, Selectmen Jean Bonville, Chuck Bucklin, Rick Mooers, Patrick Smallidge; Town Manager Michael MacDonald; Public Works Director Tony Smith, Harbor Master Shawn Murphy, Recording Secretary Kathleen Miller, and members of the public.
I. Call to order.
Chairman Smith called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
II. Minutes
A. None.
III. Appointments and Communications
A. Confirm appointment of Heidi J. Smallidge as part-time temporary Planning Board Recording Secretary, effective October 21, 2008 at $13.50 per hour.
Selectman Smallidge recused himself from this vote.
Selectman Mooers moved to confirm the appointment noted above, seconded by Selectman Bonville. The vote was four in favor, none opposed, one abstention.
B. Approve appointment of Joelle Nolan as Warden for November 4, 2008 General Election.
Selectman Bonville moved to approve the above appointment, seconded by Selectman Mooers. The vote was unanimous in favor.
C. Acknowledge receipt of NEH Marina mooring rental income of $30,692.00 from Northeast Harbor Moorings.
No action required. It was noted that the receipts exceeded estimates.
D. Acknowledge receipt of monthly reports Town Clerk, Public Works, Harbor Fire.
Reports were acknowledged, no action required. It was suggested that the Town write a letter of thanks to A. C. Parson for the good work done around the Town office. There was also an agreement with the assessment of Public Works Director Smith over the concerns of the storm drain run off problems experienced in some parts of the town, particularly after recent heavy rains. Selectman Bucklin inquired about status of boiler at Town Office building and about use of aluminum ladders in saltwater as mentioned in Harbor report.
E. Acknowledge receipt of RedZone quarterly update.
The Town Manager reported that the Town has received quarterly income from RedZone for the first and second quarters of this year, but not yet for the third quarter.
F. Acknowledge receipt of Weekly construction Summary for SV WWTF upgrade, week of September 29 and October 6.
The report was acknowledged, no action required.
Public Hearing: 6:35 PM General Assistance Ordinance Maximums
Chairman Smith opened the public hearing at 6:37 p.m. He opened the floor for comments. There were none. He called the Public Hearing closed.
IV. Selectmen Reports
"text-align:left;">E. Approve Solid Waste Disposal Contract with Acadia Disposal District and Eastern Maine Recycling.
Public Works Director Smith introduced several members of the Acadia Disposal District committee who were in attendance. He noted that the previous contract with Eastern Maine Recycling expired in June of 2007, and that negotiations on a new contract have been underway. The committee was recommending that the Board of Selectmen approve the contract for all parts except Section 10, that outlines the rates to be charged. The committee felt the rates were too high, and that further negotiation was warranted.
At the request of Selectman Smallidge, Shawn Small, Partner with CES, Inc. engineering firm provided comparative numbers with historical rates to the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. Small addressed the Board on some of the improvements made in the new contract. He noted that: the previous contract offered no incentives for the Town to recycle, but the new contract does and can save money; the old contract included double fuel charges, but the new contract does not; the old contract had two measures for tonnage that caused confusion, but the new contract does not. He said the rate increases of 10-15% are too high and should be negotiated. He arrived at that conclusion by comparing costs with other towns of similar size. He also noted that the contract offers two options, with or without recycling. It was noted the contract is for five years and will be retroactive to July 1, 2008.
There was a discussion of the various options available regarding negotiations. Some of those options include seeking alternative vendors, negotiating lower rates for this contract, or accepting this contract and spending the next five years to develop the ADD’s own disposal site. Mount Desert is the first town in the ADD to consider this contract. The other towns will be taking it up in the next couple of weeks. The ADD, CES and the attorney did not want to renegotiate the entire contract, since they believe it is a good one. But they do want authority to negotiate the rates, contained in Section 10.
Selectman Mooers moved to approve the contract as presented with the exception of Section 10, and to instruct the ADD to enter into further negotiations on that section. Selectman Bonville seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous in favor. It was noted that the contract to approve was the version without recycling by EMR.
V. Old Business
A. Review terms and conditions of Tax Club Payment Plan Agreement and approval Termination letter.
Town Manager MacDonald said there were 200 participants in the new Tax Club as of the previous Friday. He said there was a need to identify those in arrears after November 10. Some people had sent in the forms with no checks or incomplete payments. He suggested that a letter or form be developed to notify people they can’t participate because of late or incomplete payments.
There was a discussion about the date of payments and the percentage of taxpayers who opted to participate (approximately 10%). There was also some discussion about the specifics of the proposed letter.
Selectman Smallidge move to approve the letter to taxpayers as written, seconded by Selectman Mooers. The vote was unanimous in favor.
B. Discussion of Winter Fuel Assistance program and funding.
Selectman Mooers said they are getting information about what other organizations or town in the area are doing to provide fuel assistance. He suggested that the Board of Selectmen might be over-thinking the problem. He noted that the Board had considered funding for the amounts above $2.79/gallon. With fuel prices going down, the need may not be as great as feared.
There was a discussion about which Town funds might be available to use for this purpose. They are the Selectmen’s Contingency Fund and the Surplus Fund. It was noted the Contingency Fund does have some money available. $5,000 was suggested as an amount to put aside for this use. It was noted that individuals should seek funds first from general assistance, but that most people who do so need more than the difference between $2.79 and the current price, they need the whole amount.
There was a suggestion of establishing a committee of trustees to oversee the use of the funds, rather than the Board of Selectmen. There was discussion about other third parties managing funds, such as the Maine Sea Coast Mission, with tax-deductible donations directed to a specific fund.
Selectman Smallidge moved to direct the Town Manager to contact the Maine Sea Coast Mission about the parameters and guidelines of establishing such a fund for the Town to see if they will administer it. Selectman Mooers seconded the motion. The parameters would be individuals age 60 years or older, not eligible for LIHEAP funds, and considered the working poor. The vote was unanimous in favor.
As part of an additional discussion, it was noted that this fund is expected to reach out to a new group of people who have fallen on hard times this year.
C. Discussion of Capital Improvement Reserve (Smallidge).
There was no discussion. Selectman Smallidge said that he would pursue the topic by other means, through the budget process.
VI. New Business
A. Review and approve Purchasing Policy.
Selectman Bonville made several suggestions on the Policy as presented:
• Page 1, third paragraph: strike “A written description of the anticipated expenditure shall be provided to the Town Manger by the Department Head. Upon approval from the Town Manager,” Change “authorization” to “the Department Head will be authorized”
• Page 2, first paragraph: strike “the Town Manager shall in turn make written recommendation to the Board of Selectmen. If approved by the Board of Selectmen,”
• Page 2, third paragraph: strike the last sentence.
• Page 2, Exemptions point 3., strike a section of the last sentence, “upon receiving prior approval from the Board of Selectmen”
• Page 3, sections 4 and 5, change “where” to “when”.
• Page 3, change “Approved this” to “Approved and effective this”.
Selectman Smallidge moved to approve the policy as amended, seconded by Selectman Mooers. The vote was unanimous in favor.
B. Approve and adopt General Assistance Ordinance Appendices A, B, and C.
Selectman Bonville moved to approve and adopt the above ordinance appendices, seconded by Selectman Mooers. The vote was unanimous in favor.
C. Approve release of $105,703.00 from WW Bond Reserve Account 20-24102-03, balance $1,691,252.81, to pay ANP portion of 2004 Sewer Bond.
There was a discussion about the Town Meeting vote to raise money for this specific expenditure, so that taking money from the reserve account was not necessary.
Selectman Bonville moved to table the discussion, seconded by Selectman Smallidge. The vote was unanimous in favor.
D. Town Manager recommends Board of Selectmen authorize Public Works Director to solicit bids for Wastewater Work Truck. (This request complies with Purchasing Policy.)
Selectman Bonville moved to authorize the Public Works Director to solicit bids as noted above, seconded by Selectman Mooers. The vote was unanimous in favor.
F. Town Manager recommends Board of Selectmen authorize award of winter sand bid to Dugas Construction, $7.00 per yard. (This request complies with Purchasing Policy.)
Selectman Mooers moved to authorize the award of the sand bid as noted above, seconded by Selectman Bonville. The vote was unanimous in favor.
VII. General Issues
n="left" style="text-align:left;">A. Approve Treasurer's Warrant #27 for $1,559,660.35.
Selectman Mooers moved to approve the warrant as presented, seconded by Selectman Bucklin. The vote was unanimous in favor.
X Executive Session
A. Pursuant to 1 M.R.S.A. §405.6.A (1), Personnel, Town Manager Annual Review.
Selectman Mooers moved to enter into Executive Session, seconded by Selectman Smallidge. The vote was unanimous in favor.
The Board of Selectmen went into Executive Session at 7:40 p.m.
Selectman Mooers moved to come out of Executive Session and return to Regular Session, seconded by Selectman Bucklin. The vote was unanimous in favor.
The Board of Selectmen returned to Regular Session at 9:15 PM.
Selectman Mooers moved adjourn the meeting, seconded by Selectman Bucklin. The vote was unanimous in favor, meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is Monday November 3, 2008 at 6:30 P.M. in the Town Office Meeting Room, Northeast Harbor.
Respectfully submitted,
Rick Mooers
Secretary
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