Town of Otisfield
Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes
October 2, 2013
1. CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. Hal Ferguson – Chairman, Rick Micklon &Lenny Adler present.
2. FLAG SALUTE: Audience and Board members saluted the flag.
3. ACTION ON MINUTES:
A. Meeting minutes from September 18, 2013. *Motion to accept minutes. LA/RM – Unanimous.
B. Heniger Park Reassessment Committee minutes from September 26, 2013. *Motion to accept minutes. LA/HF – Unanimous.
4. SPECIAL EVENTS
A. None.
5. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
A. Conservation Committee, Chair - Jeff Stern: Major rain events have caused Cobb Hill Road to wash out since we did the DEP 319 Grant work. 2012 and this past August caused a lot of erosion. Road patches are expensive and they wash down to Thompson Lake creating a pollution problem. Cobb Hill Road is now in need of major maintenance and even updated engineering. Jeff feels and Maine DEP and the design engineer agree that berms are a major problem; where some disagree. Rick addressed this saying that Jeff is referring to him and that while he acknowledges that berms can be a problem, his professional opinion is that the berms on Cobb Hill Road were far from the major reason that this particular road, during these particular rain events, washed out. Jeff is proposing the OCC convene a sub-committee to discuss
everything that can be done to improve the situation. Lenny stated that this issue is not to be done under the umbrella of the OCC. This work is not what this committee was formed for or assigned to do by the Selectmen and it’s not the first time the OCC has gotten off course. If the OCC wants to assist in the education part, that’s fine, but they are not to be forming sub-committees and addressing issues not under their charge. HF: It’s a complicated issue when it involves private property owners and the water crossing their property before hitting at full force on a town gravel road. The road crew has installed two additional culverts this fall and hopefully that will help. RM: Agrees that the town needs to maintain what the town approved to put money towards, but agrees that this can be done on their own and not necessarily through this committee. The Road Commissioner is elected and does not report to the BOS therefore it’s not something they
can make him do, even with a report showing the necessity. The recommendations would have no teeth if they can’t be enacted. BOS all agree. Jean Hankins: Discouraged by the attitude that there is nothing we can do, because she feels there is a lot that can be done. She suggests not plowing the middle of the road in the winter may help with Spring erosion. LA: We didn’t plow the road before anyone lived on it, but now we may have home owners who would not be happy about that. Bob Tracey: Concerned about a brook that is having an erosion issue on that road. He feels that a 15 foot fall could be a liability to the town, and suggests a guard rail be placed on the east side of the road, for the protection of the town. RM: Richard Bean said the way the road width is currently, there’s no way to get a guard rail in there. BOS agree that Road Commissioner should be the one to address this issue, not the BOS.
B. Ordinance Policy Review Committee – Upcoming meeting, Thursday, October 10th @ 7:00 PM.
C. Heniger Park Reassessment Committee – Upcoming meeting, Thursday, November 21st @ 7:00 PM.
6. DEPARTMENT HEADS:
A. None.
7. QUESTIONS/COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC.
A. None.
8. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ITEMS *MIM not in attendance
A. None.
9. SELECTMEN’S ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED & VOTED ON
A. Town Warrant: *Motion to sign Warrant #6 to pay the town bills. LA/HF - Unanimous.
B. Harvest Dance/Community Hall Application: Licensing & Inspection Division for the Harvest Dance. They will be putting in an application with the State because of the BYOB. There will not be an officer this year, as there have been no problems in the past. Last year the BOS made a Motion not to mandate that they have a Police Officer, unless it was required by Insurance. *Motion to sign the application for the Harvest Dance at the Community Hall. HF/LA – Unanimous.
C. Tax Acquired Property- U11/028 Baribeau 0.9 Assessed at $32,250 – Vacant land. HF discussed with MIM and it was placed in the paper & on web site. *Bids to be opened October 16th BOS Mtg @ 7:00 PM.
D. Junkyard hearing will be scheduled for next meeting October 16th.
10. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD
A. Potential Community Forest in Otisfield: LA has had people come to him and they haven’t been speaking in favor of this project. Not sure Town can give them tax forgiveness. RM: Once we know the details regarding the tax basis (if any) this would be up to the voters at Town Meeting. BOS agree.
B. Performance Appraisals: BOS working on reviewing all evaluations and requiring all town employees to come in and meet w/ BOS one on one in Executive Session.
C. Town email: A list of all the email accounts that are associated w/ the Town have been updated and posted on Website. FD email was last to be set up and is now up and running
D. Renovation Project: 32,500.00 left in Capital Improvement money. If tax acquired property sells it can replace what is used. RM: This job will create (2) offices and (1) meeting room upstairs. RM contacted contractors and has told them to move forward. Anticipated costs of under $25k plus furnishings & equipment.
11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. Municipal Garage update: Discussion: RM has been told that they have a nice tool chest, but no tools. He wants to be sure that the Town Garage has all they need for tools and equipment and if anything is needed they should order it now while the funds have been appropriated and voted on at Town Meeting. LA will ask Richard if there is anything else he needs down there. He felt that all of the tools on the list were purchased. *Tabled until an upcoming meeting.
B. Town Garage: Inspection for the Department of Labor sign off. *Tabled until an upcoming meeting. LA did all the checks on the fire extinguishers and garage looks good.
C. Credit Card Update: Trio updated the software with the interface for receiving credit card transactions. Machine was scheduled for July but it got bumped. *Tabled until an upcoming meeting.
D. Great Falls Security System: Needs to be completed for Spurrs Corner Fire Dept. LA will contact them. *Tabled until an upcoming meeting.
12. ADJOURNMENT. *Motion to adjourn at 8:09 PM. HF/RM-Unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
Tanya Taft, Secretary
Approved by:
Hal Ferguson, Chairman
Rick Micklon
Lenny Adler
Approved on October 16, 2013
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