Board of Selectmen Meeting, April 4, 2005
MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TOWN OF MOUNT DESERT, MAINE
Monday, April, 4, 2005
A meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held this date in the Meeting Room at the Town Office, Northeast Harbor, Maine.
Those present included: Chairman Rick Savage, Selectmen Kathy Branch, Ernest Coombs, Patrick Smallidge, Jeffrey Smith; Town Manager Michael MacDonald; Public Works Director Tony Smith; Police Chief James Willis, Assessor John Brushwein, Harbor Master Shawn Murphy, Finance Director Brent Hamor, Fire Chief Chris Farley, Code Enforcement Officer Kimberly Keene, Recording Secretary Ellen Kappes and members of the public.
Call to order.
Chairman Savage called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
Minutes
A. Approval of minutes of Regular Meeting of March 21, 2005.
MOTION: Selectman Smith moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 21, 2005 as presented, seconded by Selectman Coombs. The vote was unanimous in favor.
III. Appointments and Communications
A.~~~~~~Approve appointment of Robert Liebow to Marine Management Committee.
MOTION: Selectman Smith moved to approve the above appointment, seconded by Selectman Smallidge. The vote was unanimous in favor.
B.~~~~~~Approve appointment of Jim Willis and Tony Smith as voting members of Traffic Committee.
MOTION: Selectman Coombs moved to approve the above appointments, seconded by Selectman Smallidge. The vote was unanimous in favor.
C.~~~~~~Confirm appointment of Marie Barnes as Dispatcher, effective April 5, 2005 at hourly rate of $11.75, increasing to $12.34 per hour after successful conclusion of six-month probationary period.
MOTION: Selectman Coombs moved to approve the above appointments, seconded by Selectman Smallidge. The vote was unanimous in favor.
D.~~~~~~Acknowledge receipt of Acadia Disposal District meeting minutes of January 20, 2005 and February 17, 2005 No action required.
E. Acknowledge receipt of Olver Associates Weekly Construction Summary for Seal Harbor WWTP Upgrade for week of March 18, 2005 and March 25, 2005.
Public Works Director Smith said the structures are all functional although not complete and shiny. He hopes to have the pump station on line for the first week in May.
IV. Selectmen Reports
1. Selectman Coombs said a citizen asked him about handicapped parking in front of the Post Office. Police Chief Willis said he had been spoken to and that a space is being planned.
2. Selectman Smallidge said a citizen asked him about liability to the residents as a result of the wash out on Sandy Hill. Public Works Director Smith had already contacted the State Garage.
George Peckham urged consideration for changing the Town’s fiscal year to June 30/July 1. There would be no need to borrow money from January to Town Meeting time. If the Town Meeting were changed from March to May, attendance might be greater because the weather would be better and the snow birds would have returned from Florida. The School Board now has to prepare budgets long before school ends in June. This would also change the February budget meeting at the High School to a warmer month. The change would put all the Island towns on the same fiscal year. He thought this would also be a convenient time to send out tax notices on a 6 month basis rather than one year.
Chairman Savage suspected the Town Charter says when Town Meeting should be. A change would probably need a Town vote. He thanked Mr. Peckham for providing food for thought.
V. Old Business
Fire Chief Farley asked about the status of the American Legion’s request to use space in the Seal Harbor Fire Station. Town Manager MacDonald said Mr. Carr had told him the required liability insurance for exclusive use of the space would be beyond their means. They have not pursued it any further. Todd Holbrook was upset that, because of funding, veterans could not use the building which is underused. Chairman Savage said the cost was not an extraordinary amount. He said Selectmen have not withdrawn their offer.
Public Hearing: 6:45 P.M.~~~~~Liquor License Application – 151 Main Street Inc. d/b/a 151 Main Street
At 6:45 pm, Chairman Savage adjourned the regular session and opened the public hearing on the above application. After no comments were made, Chairman Savage closed the public hearing and reconvened the regular session.
VI. New Business
A.~~~~~~Approve $60.00 fee for first time liquor license applications.
Town Manager MacDonald suggested that applicants pay the above fee to cover administrative costs and advertising fees for the public hearings.
MOTION: Selectman Smallidge moved to approve the above fee, seconded by Selectman Coombs. The vote was unanimous in favor.
B.~~~~~~Approve Liquor License for 151 Main Street Inc. d/b/a 151 Main Street.
MOTION: Selectman Smith moved to approve the above liquor license, seconded by Selectman Coombs. The vote was unanimous in favor.
C. Respond to request to permit temporary placement, of up to six-months, of mobile home on lot under development at Ober Mills subdivision.
Town Manager MacDonald noted that such requests have been permitted in the past. Assessor Brushwein said they were allowed under the Land Use Zoning Ordinance but the Board is only authorized to allow a permit for up to 30 days. Chairman Savage suggested that permission could be given for 30 days at a time. Applicant Alan Sprague said the dwelling probably would be a camper not a mobile home and that the request was for contingency conditions.
MOTION: Selectman Smallidge moved to grant the above request for up to 30 days, seconded by Selectman Smith. The vote was unanimous in favor.
VII. General Issues
A.~~~~~~Approve Traffic Committee recommendation to distribute a Jake Brake noise letter to area businesses.
Public Works Director Smith, Police Chief Willis and Selectman Coombs noted that compliance to the request to refrain from Jake brake use within Town limits would be voluntary. A letter would be sent to businesses. Jim Robinson thought letters should also be given to truckers from out of town businesses when they show up.
MOTION: Selectman Smith moved to send the above mentioned letter asking for prudence, seconded by Selectman Coombs. The vote was unanimous in favor.
B.~~~~~~Respond to citizen request to investigate sewer usage.
Jim Robinson said he did not want to investigate sewer user fees; he wanted the Board’s cooperation for a privately funded private study of water use within the community. He was looking for people who want to volunteer their homes, allowing them to be used to as models. Every time user fees have been studied, no statistical data has been available about what families actually use and what they input into the waste system. He wanted the Board to allow him to use Town information about the sewer system and the inflow into each plant.
Chairman Savage said he could have access to public records. Selectman Coombs was concerned that he would start hearing conjectures on the street. Mr. Robinson said that was what he did not want to have happen. He would just try to provide data for the next group.
Chairman Savage thought that if Selectmen took a formal stand, it could be misconstrued. He did not call for a vote but said the Board would welcome any information it could get.
VII. Other Business
A.~~~~~~Town Clerk grievance
Town Manager MacDonald said the Town Clerk had asked that her grievance be heard in public. Reading from the personnel manual, Chairman Savage said the Board could elect to let a town manager’s decision stand or to hear the appeal.
MOTION: Selectman Coombs moved to hear the appeal, seconded by Selectman Smith. The vote was unanimous in favor.
Chairman Savage said he would accept no comments from anyone in the audience other than the Town Clerk. Kim Parady spoke about discrepancies in the personnel policy. The practices do not always follow what is written. The bad weather policy states that when the office is closed for bad weather, employees shall be paid for the day. Several employees have been allowed to change the use of their time for one reason or another. Interpretation of the policy changes from one employee to another. Her supervisor questioned and then approved her timesheet when she presented it to him for payroll. She asked that she not be discriminated against.
Town Manager MacDonald agreed with Ms. Parady about personnel practices. Actually two policies exist but one was never accepted by the Board. In a number of instances, practices inconsistent with the approved policies were followed. He said that if a person takes a day off and something happens that changes the situation at work, the Town is not financially responsible. When he noticed that Ms. Parady’s card showed three or four hours during a bad weather closing time when she had taken the day off, he changed it to comp time.
Selectman Coombs said, in a small close knit organization like this, he thought the supervisor could use good judgment to help out an employee.
Selectman Smallidge discussed use of the different policies with Town Manager MacDonald.
Town Manager MacDonald said he and department heads were a third of the way through a review of the personnel policy and would bring it before the Board when it is finished.
Ms. Parady agreed with Chairman Savage’s interpretation that employees do not know which regulations to follow. She disagreed with some of Town Manager MacDonald’s interpretations. She said that the day in question was a snow day for the school. She called at 7:30am and was told the Town office was open. She used her comp time for the time when the office was open.
Chairman Savage said the Board was not ready to make a decision. Selectman Smith wanted to postpone the Board’s decision until its next regular meeting.
B.~~~~~~Dispatcher grievance
MOTION: Selectman Coombs moved to hear the grievance, seconded by Selectman Smallidge. The vote was 3 for the motion, 2 against it. Selectmen Coombs, Branch and Smallidge voted for the motion; Selectmen Savage and Smith voted against it. The motion carried.
Sharon Gilley said the problems happened over a period of time. One morning Police Chief Willis said he was meeting with Town Manager MacDonald and asked her if she wanted to take his place. She said no because if she had to go up there, she’d gouge his eyes out. That was nothing more than words. She had never hurt anyone, she said. When she learned Police Chief Willis had reported her words to Town Manager MacDonald, she apologized through an email to him for what she termed her poor choice of childish words. She did not think he communicated well. She did not learn of that night’s meeting until the previous Friday at 3:30pm when Police Chief Willis pointed it out to her as she was leaving for vacation. She had received a 2 ½ page reprimand. She wanted Selectmen
to read her written records of what had happened.
Town Manager MacDonald explained changes made to the written reprimand after she appealed it to him. Only the last part of it would become a public record.
Selectman Smallidge said no one was judging her as a person; they were judging an action. He was concerned about her threat. Chairman Savage said this is a reprimand that doesn’t stay in her record permanently. It is a reflection of a spontaneous action on her part. Perhaps it might be an eye opener that we are all responsible for things we say. We don’t know how anyone will take them. A person in Ms. Gilley’s position requires strong judgment.
Ms. Gilley thought Police Chief Willis had baited her.
Selectman Coombs noted there had been an oral reprimand. He did not know what some of the papers he had referred to.
Selectman Smith referred to papers they had just been given but hadn’t had a chance to read. He had not wanted to hear the grievance based on what had been presented to him.
Town Manager MacDonald reviewed some of the background.
Chairman Savage said no decision would be made then. He instructed the Board to read the documents before the next meeting. Ms. Gilley wanted more of a chance to share her information with the Board. She was concerned that Selectmen had a memo that was not correct.
Police Chief Willis affirmed there is no judgment on Ms. Gilley’s personality at all, that it is clearly on her actions. He had taken previous steps to curtail this type of behavior.
Selectman Smith thought he could make a more informed judgment after looking at the more detailed correspondence.
Chairman Savage closed the hearing at 7:48pm, saying there would be a public vote at the next meeting.
IX. Treasurer’s Warrants
Approve Treasurer’s Warrant #31 for $354,587.09 and #33 for $107,984.02
Signed as presented.
X Executive Session
Executive Session – Pursuant to 1 M.S.R.A. §405.6.D, meet with Negotiator / Consultant Michael Wing, to prepare for Teamsters Contract negotiations.
MOTION: At 7:52 pm, Selectman Smith moved to go into Executive Session as stated above, seconded by Selectman Coombs. The vote was unanimous in favor.
MOTION: At 9:22 pm, Selectman Coombs moved to adjourn the Executive Session, seconded by Selectman Smallidge. The vote was unanimous in favor.
At 9:22 pm Selectman Smith moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Selectman Smallidge. The vote was unanimous in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeffrey Smith, Secretary
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