MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TOWN OF MOUNT DESERT, MAINE
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
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 James Bright, Ernest Coombs, Rick Savage, Jerry Suminsby, Emily Damon Pascal; Town Manager Michael MacDonald; Public Works Director Tony Smith; and members of the public.
Call to order.
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Bright at 6:30 p.m.
Minutes
A. Approval of minutes of Regular Meeting of February 3, 2003.
MOTION: Selectman Coombs moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 3, 2003 as presented, seconded by Selectman Savage. The vote was unanimous in favor.
III. Appointments and Communications
A. Approve appointment of Phillip Frost as Wastewater Treatment Plant Laborer effective February 19, 2003, with a rate of $10.74 per hour.
MOTION: Selectman Damon Pascal moved to approve above appointment, seconded by Selectman Suminsby. The vote was unanimous in favor.
B. Approve appointment of Troy Cleaves as part-time Public Safety Dispatcher at $11.00 per hour.
There was some discussion about this appointment, with questions from the public about the necessity for periodic drug testing for this position for the safety reasons, and comments on the role of a supervisor to monitor the competency of staff. It was noted that Police Chief Doyle recommended this appointment, the applicant was selected from several candidates as the most qualified, has no record of poor behavior in his previous work for the Town, and other personnel from Dispatch and the Fire Chief all supported the appointment.
There was further discussion about the need for increased training for dispatchers to improve safety, relay critical information to emergency personnel, and reduce turnover in the position.
MOTION: Selectman Savage moved to approve the above appointment, seconded by Selectman Damon Pascal. The vote was unanimous in favor.
C. Approve appointment of Jason Lovejoy as Shellfish Warden.
MOTION: Selectman Suminsby moved to approve the above appointment, seconded by Selectman Coombs. The vote was unanimous in favor.
D. Acknowledge letter from Acadia Corporation providing usage data for Jordan Pond House and “bunkhouse.”
There was a discussion about the current and historic status of the Jordan Pond House, owned by the government, not contributing to the operating or capital costs of the sewer system, their status as the largest single user, and the facility rental arrangements by Acadia Corporation. Selectman Savage suggested their letter be made public to better inform the Town about the current arrangements; said Acadia National Park should be responsible for their portion of expenses, and that it was insulting to the Town that they have never paid for the use or capital costs of the sewer system. He noted that Acadia Corp. pays $100,000 annual rental to the Park, that Blackwoods Campground does pay into the Town, and that the Jordan Pond House uses 2.4 million gallons of water annually.
Patrick Smallidge asked about Blackwoods campground contributing to the expense of rebuilding the Seal Harbor plant. Mr. MacDonald said that is the Town’s hope, but realized the Park funding is going down, noting interim Park Superintendent Bobinchock’s mention of an upcoming funding shortage. Ted Brommage said that Jordan Pond House did pay for other bills, but had not ever received one for sewer, and that Acadia Corp. was responsible for such bills. He also said their contract specifies maintenance of sewer pipes from a certain point. Mr. MacDonald said with the information provided by Acadia Corp. he can calculate what their sewer user fee would be, and request a payment in lieu of taxes for this year. When Mr. MacDonald asked the Board if he should calculate such an annual charge and send a bill to the
Park, the Board responded yes.
E. Acknowledge letter from Adelphia advising of new subscriber rates to take effect with April billing.
Mr. MacDonald said the rates from Adelphia will be increasing as allowed, and the Town only has control over the basic package of channels. When asked about adding Red Sox games to the basic package, he said he had asked about that and if there were fiber optic lines running through Somesville, but was awaiting an answer. He said the 15 year contract with them has just expired, and recommended that if there was ever an opportunity the Town should join a consortium of towns using their service for greater bargaining power. Currently the Town can’t join because we don’t have a fiber cable or a franchise fee. The consortium is funded by the franchise fee.
There was some discussion of why Pretty Marsh residents didn’t have access to cable. Selectman Savage said Adelphia said they wouldn’t do it because the houses were too few to make it financially possible. Mr. MacDonald said they needed 26 houses per mile to make it economically feasible. Selectman Suminsby said the technology committee was also looking at it, and said Adelphia considered this a summer community as well, so fewer users, which may not be true, thinking summer residents might also hook up if available. Mr. MacDonald said the technology committee wanted to look at broad band internet services, which might not be available through Adelphia because of their bankruptcy status. He also said Adelphia is now paying $300 per month for electric power, but not paying for space rental. It was suggested
that that rate was two years old and should be reviewed. There was a discussion about putting a meter in place to measure electric usage.
The Adelphia rate change will be increasing from $35.02 to $37.25.
Public Hearing - an Automobile Graveyard and/or Junkyard Permit for Dana Haynes, DBA Haynes Garage
MOTION: Selectman Suminsby moved to adjourn for a Public Hearing on above permit, seconded by Selectman Coombs. The vote was unanimous in favor.
Chairman Bright asked for any comments by the public on the permit for Haynes Garage. There were no comments.
MOTION: Selectman Coombs moved to come out of public hearing and return to the regular meeting, seconded by Selectman Savage. The vote was unanimous in favor.
MOTION: Selectman Savage moved to approve the Junkyard Permit for Haynes Garage, seconded by Selectman Suminsby. The vote was unanimous in favor.
IV. Consent Agenda
A. Approve Liquor License for Lighthouse Inn & Restaurant, Seal Harbor.
B. Approve Automobile Graveyard and/or Junkyard Permit for Dana Haynes, DBA Haynes Garage.
C. Sign Municipal Officers Certification of Official Text of a Proposed Ordinance, ”Sewer Ordinance.”
D. Sign Municipal Officers Certification of Official Text of a Proposed Ordinance, “Marine Management Ordinance.”
MOTION: Selectman Suminsby moved to approve the Consent Agenda, seconded by Selectman Coombs. The vote was unanimous in favor.
V. Selectmen Reports
Selectman Suminsby reported that 750 surveys have been received so far from the Town, and 300 entered into a database. He also said there had been a higher level of response from seasonal rather than year-round residents.
Selectman Bright commended Tony Smith and the Public Works crew for their work on snow removal this winter.
VI. Old Business
There was a question from the public about the age limit for drivers on the Town plow or trucks, since fire vehicles and school busses have an age requirement of 21 years. Tony Smith said all the drivers were legal, with the appropriate licenses.
VII. New Business
A. Set date time and place for BOS organizational meeting (Charter required meeting within 48 hours of close of Annual Meeting). Suggest Thursday, March 6, 2003 at 6:30 PM.
Mr. MacDonald suggested that historically the Board has met immediately after the Annual Town Meeting to hold the election of the Chair and the Secretary. Selectman Savage supported that suggestion, and it was agreed to hold the organizational meeting at that time.
B. Approve Shellfish License allocations.
The suggested allocations are for unlimited number of residential licenses at $20 each, non-resident licenses limited to 10% of the residential number, at a cost of $40 each. The season would be November 1-April 30.
MOTION: Selectman Suminsby moved to approve the allocations as presented, seconded by Selectman Damon Pascal. The vote was unanimous in favor.
C. Authorize new position of Director of Finance and Administration, (replaces formerly elected position of Tax Collector and Treasurer).~ Create a position titled ‘Director of Finance and Administration’ and appoint Director of Finance and Administration as Tax Collector and Treasurer. Responsibilities and duties, which may be amended from time to time, of the Director of Finance and Administration are as outlined in Town of Mount Desert job description dated February 18, 2003, which are made part of this record”
Mr. MacDonald said this follows the Charter change for the position from an elected to an appointed position. Now the job must be created, posted and appointed. He hopes on March 10 to have a name to recommend as Director. The job description has been reviewed by Town attorneys at Eaton Peabody, and approved as an exempt position from the Fair Labor Act, so not subject to overtime compensation. The position has been elevated for educational and training background to allow more planning, budgetary and capital planning work, with less clerical work, to justify the salary. Some of that clerical work should be absorbed by current office staff, or perhaps create a new clerical position, in conjunction with a billing clerk for sewer user fees. In the new arrangement, the individual will be reporting to the Town Manager and
following his direction, rather than the current situation of an elected official making decisions on their own duties and responsibilities. Mrs. Bonville has unofficially said she plans to retire as of January 2004.
Selectman Suminsby asked about hiring a new person as soon as March 10, if Mrs. Bonville was staying throughout the year. Mr. MacDonald said once the job was created it would be posted internally, the incumbent may apply and would be appointed to start March 10. Since positions can’t be appointed for multiple years for many positions per the Charter, and this position must be appointed within 30 days of the Annual Meeting, March 10 would be a good time for making that appointment. Mrs. Bonville’s replacement would be hired sometime in the fall, and money has been budgeted to allow for that overlap.
MITION: Selectman Savage moved to authorize the creation of the new position of Director of Finance and Administration as presented, seconded by Selectman Suminsby. The vote was unanimous in favor.
Mr. MacDonald requested the motion include the whole of the agenda item C. above, including the underlined portion of the text.
MITION: Selectman Savage moved to adopt Agenda item VII C. as presented above, seconded by Selectman Suminsby. The vote was unanimous in favor.
D. Approve agreement with Virtual Town Hall LLC to set up and host a Town of Mount Desert web site as recommended by the Technology Committee.
Mr. MacDonald said the Technology Committee has been working toward the creation of a Town web site, have been to workshops, and now would like to recommend to the Board Virtual Town Hall LLC of Portland, Me. to set up and host the Town’s web site. The benefits of this option included individual web pages for each department with their own list of email addresses to notify for that department’s activities. Mr. MacDonald said some policy decisions should be made by the Board on how much information to include regarding the specifics of tax records, etc. The Technology Committee includes Brent Hamor, Town CEO, Dwight Lanpher, and Greg Fish.
A question was asked about what information might be of concern to post on the site, since it was public information anyway. Mr. MacDonald responded that private addresses for seasonal residents was one example, and he wanted Board recommendations for those decisions. Selectman Suminsby said most such sites have basic information, such as the owner of record, lot and property value, tax to the town, but not the address of owner. He also said the benefit to the town would be in not answering such questions on the phone or in person, as is currently the case. Mr. MacDonald said each time a property transfers, the same questions are asked by several people. He hopes the web site will more efficiently answer those questions and free up staff time for other duties.
MOTION: Selectman Suminsby moved to approve an agreement with Virtual Town Hall LLC as presented for a Town web site, seconded by Selectman Savage. The vote was unanimous in favor.
IX. General Issues
Public Works Director Tony Smith presented information on the sewer treatment project to close the Otter Creek plant and pump to an improved Seal Harbor plant, the history of the project and the current status. He had printed information for the public, including an Historical Timeline, a list of 16 previously stated concerns and answers to those concerns, and a Cost Opinion Summary for July 2001 and July 2003.
Questions from the public and the Board arose about freezing problems in any of the plants, the return of land in Otter Creek to Acadia National Park and their plans for that land, money paid by the Town for work done on Route 3, the use of chlorine in effluent treatment, the proposed location of sewer pipes across the bridge, and the possible addition of a bike lane along Route 3. There was some discussion of bike lanes, the authority to decide on such belonging to either the Park or State DOT, and a vote by the Town in the past not to have the Town portion of Route 3 be designated part of a scenic route, which might have provided bike lanes.
There were further questions of the size of pipes and measures to deal with too great a flow, the possibility of Blackwoods Campground building their own plant and Otter Creek joining that, the possibility of subsurface disposal and inadequate soils, DEP investigations into levels of cadmium and other minerals, future reductions of electric bills with the proposed plan, future savings on personnel for maintenance, the need to cut through ledge for laying the pipe, possible future users and capacity plans for growth. Mr. MacDonald said the proposed ordinance dealing with the sewer system will give the Town increased authority to limit the kind of materials and flow that could be added to the system, addressing some of the growth concerns.
When asked about other examples of towns that pump such volumes for such distances the examples of Poland Spring Bottling Co., Town of Mount Desert, EMMC hospital in Bangor were given. There were further questions about the connection point from pumped material to gravity flow systems at Day Mountain, the possibility of trucking rather than pumping, sludge removal, the Park’s position as an industrial user, the use of sand filters, the regular billing for use by the Park rather than annual fluctuations.
There was a discussion about the amount of funds the Town might expect from Acadia National Park for the construction project. They are responsible for 37% of the upgrade costs, which may be over $500,000. It may take five years to get that money, which can be used to make yearly payments to offset principal and interest payments, which is preferable to getting a lump sum payment. It was suggested that the Park would have a better arrangement paying for regular bills than providing funds for capital expenses. Mr. MacDonald said he expects the annual bills for Blackwoods Campground to be about $26,000, and for Jordan Pond House to be about $30,000.
There was some discussion about potential savings on manpower if Seal Harbor were closed and that material pumped to Northeast Harbor. That idea had been looked at, but rejected because of the much higher cost for construction. There was discussion of the location of the outflow pipe in Seal Harbor after the extension, about 50 feet into the mooring field, 10 feet under water. Finally, there was a question about licenses for the size of the plant.
X. Treasurer’s Warrants
Approve Treasurer’s warrants, #9 for 309,041.80, #14 for 13,490.07, and #16 for $177,309.17
XI. Other Business
None.
The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ernest S. Coombs
Recording Secretary
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