Town of Otisfield
Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes
October 4, 2017
1. CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. Chairman; Hal Ferguson & Rick Micklon present. (Absent - Lenny Adler)
2. FLAG SALUTE: Audience and Board members saluted the flag and had a moment of silence for the victims of Las Vegas.
3. ACTION ON MINUTES:
A. Meeting Minutes from September 20, 2017. *Motion to accept minutes. RM/HF – Unanimous.
B. Meeting Minutes from September 27, 2017. *Motion to accept minutes. HF/RM – Unanimous.
4. SPECIAL EVENTS
A. General Assistance Appendices Hearing: *Motion to open the public hearing at 7:01 P.M. for the 2017/2018 General Assistance Appendices. HF/RM – Unanimous. AP: This is for the new maximums for food/heating/housing/personal care and electric for the period of October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. RM: For clarification, the Town pays for this and the State refunds the Town 50% of what was paid out. BOS reviewed the appendices for the current year. *Motion to accept the 2017/2018 State of Maine General Assistance Guidelines. HF/RM – Unanimous. *Motion to close the public hearing at 7:04 P.M. RM/HF – Unanimous.
B. Charter / Spectrum Cable TV Ordinance Hearing: *Motion to open the public hearing at 7:05 PM. HF: Gave an overview and background information from past meetings on this. RM: Spectrum said during last visit that 1,100 houses in town would be covered by upgrade and that’s almost every home in Otisfield. They will be sending an electronic copy of what areas will be covered and when that is received, TT will post on website. Public comment: We don’t have DSL and we live on Bolsters Mills Road. There are (4) other homes on that road that do not have it either. BOS: Hopefully this will change that and bring everyone up to speed. *Motion to close the public hearing at 7:20PM. RM/HF – Unanimous. *Motion to remove this previously voted on Ordinance that was signed in September. RM/HF – Unanimous. *Motion to accept and sign the new Spectrum Cable TV Ordinance in front of board tonight. RM/HF – Unanimous. AP will send to TT to post on website.
5. BOARD & COMMITTEE REPORTS:
A. Finance Committee: Chair - Quen Henderson: Just a reminder there is a meeting scheduled for October 19th. Quen: Is it true that we are buying a Grader? HF: Yes, we are looking at a potential Grader for the Town. The funds are there to purchase it, if it’s deemed necessary by the Road Commissioner. The cost is about $204,000 versus a new one at over $350,000. QH: Why wasn’t this put in front of the Finance Committee? HF: The townspeople approved the funds and the Selectmen made the decision. The Road Commissioner told Lenny Adler that we needed a grader before we needed a truck, so that’s what we purchased. RM: Quent, we weren’t trying to bypass the committee. The BOS believe we followed protocol because historically the Selectmen and Road Commissioner have decided what to buy and the
Selectmen make the purchase. If the committee had a different opinion, we would have still followed the Road Commissioner’s recommendation. QH: I still think the committee should have been involved. We were formed and tasked by the townspeople to address this kind of purchase and I’m asking for better communications between our committee and the BOS. Thank you.
B. Pleasant Lake Parker Pond Dam Committee: HF: We had a meeting last week. The Dam is still leaking, and we have a leak on the gate as well. A closure system is being put together. Last payment still on hold and will be made when everything is done and satisfactory. Thompson Lake Dam update: Town of Oxford has a new Town Manager and we are meeting with them on October 19th to discuss the dam.
C. Employee Handbook Committee to meet with BOS. *Tabled until LA is in attendance to check with his availability.
6. DEPARTMENT HEADS:
A. Town Sexton, Dan Peaco: Asking RM if he has spoken to Mike Morse, from DEP regarding the Saturday Pond Dam needing brush and growth removal at the waters edge. RM: No, he has been out of the office, but we will keep trying him.
7. QUESTIONS/COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC:
A. Public: New residents on Scribner Hill Road:
1) Thanked BOS for their work and for fixing the top of their road. Is it going to be paved? RM: Yes, but they are a bit behind schedule. The town is trying to keep the road watered down and ready for their arrival. HF: We should expect them in the next week.
2) Transfer station: When we took our trash over to the transfer station, they said they are no longer accepting glass? Why? RM: There is no money in it, the glass gets crushed & landfilled. It does not get recycled. Eventually no one is going to be recycling glass, it’s all going to be crushed. Last year we had a ton in Otisfield & it was worth 95.00. This year it’s not worth anything. Why can’t we recycle all #2 plastics and not just some? RM: I’ve wondered the same and I’ll find out and come back with that answer.
8. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ITEMS:
A. Boston Post Cane- This year it is being awarded to Betty Goss. She will come to the October 18th BOS meeting for a small presentation when LA is in attendance.
B. Junkyard: HF: Received a request to look into a potential junkyard on Oak Hill Road. CEO looked into it and by definition it is a junkyard. A letter has been sent. As of tonight, no word back from the resident. *Tabled until an upcoming meeting.
C. Performance Appraisals: HF: Annie Pastore, Administrative Assistant and Richard St John, CEO scheduled for October 25th @ 7:00 PM.
9. ADJUSTMENTS TO AGENDA
A. None.
10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. Saturday Pond Dam easement.
11. SELECTMEN’S ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED & VOTED ON
A. Town Warrant: *Motion to sign Warrants #7, #8, & #9, to pay the town bills. RM/HF - Unanimous.
B. Heniger Park Lease Reassignment Correction – Lot 17 *Motion to reassign Heniger Park, Lot 17, from Jahakabi, LLC to Karen Macgregor of 55 Wiley Road. HF/RM – Unanimous.
C. Silvaqua Easement: HF: *Tabled until an upcoming meeting when LA is in attendance.
D. Harvest Dance - *Motion to sign the permit for Kyle Jordan to have a liquor license at the Community Hall for their event on October 7th. HF/RM – Unanimous.
E. Snow Plow Contracts for 2017. *Motion that we sign the (3) Snowplowing Contracts for 2017 for; Richard Bean, Jr., Glenn Pastore and Garry Dyer. RM/HF – Unanimous. Plowing will begin after all the paper work; including Workers Compensation Insurance is submitted. RM/HF – Unanimous. Discussion: Quen asked if this goes out to bid? RM: This is an ongoing service and does not go out to bid. They just update their contracts yearly.
12. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD
A. Buildings and Grounds: RM is going to put a material list together for repairs to the Transfer Station roof and support system
B. Pleasant Lake Parker Pond Dam Committee: See 5B above.
C. American Flags: HF: All flags are down. Some need replacing and suggesting we purchase (5) more this year. AP will place order. HF also suggesting we have one placed outside at the Town Garage. All agree.
D. Website Update: RM: Have we heard anything new on when the upgrade will take place? AP: We are waiting to hear from them but I’ll have an update for next BOS meeting.
E. Transfer Station Incident: HF: This weekend we had (3) written reports regarding an alleged altercation between (1) individual and (2) Town Employees. People felt threatened and the town has an obligation to keep their workers safe. BOS agreed to turn this information over to the Town Attorney and request that he send a letter of warning to the individual. HF will contact Bernstein Shur’s Phil Saucier.
13. EXECUTIVE SESSION:
A. Motion to enter into executive session pursuant to MSRS. *Motion to close executive session by___ 2nd___, All Y-N. Discussion: *There was no executive session held at this mtg.
14. ADJOURNMENT. *Motion to adjourn at 8:15 PM. RM/HF -Unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
Tanya Taft, Secretary
Approved by:
Hal Ferguson, Chairman
Rick Micklon
Lenny Adler
Approved on October 18, 2017
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