Town of Otisfield
Planning Board Meeting Minutes
July 17, 2012
1. Call to Order: The regular meeting was called to order at 7:02 PM.
2. Attendance: Members present were, Chair- Stan Brett, Vice Chair - Dan Peaco, Recording Secretary - Karen Turino, Herb Olsen, Beth Damon, Alternate - Rick Jackson & Alternate - David McVety.
Richard St. John – Code Enforcement Officer
Tanya Taft – Secretary
Selectmen: Hal Ferguson & Rick Micklon
3. Announcement of Quorum: Board had a quorum
4. Approve Secretary’s Report:
A. Regular Meeting Minutes from June 19, 2012 *Motion to accept minutes. DP/KT – Unanimous.
5. Discussion & Comments from public:
A. None.
6. Residence - Based Business Applications:
A. None.
7. Shoreland Zoning Applications:
A. None.
8. Site Plan Applications:
A. None.
9. Subdivision Application:
A. None.
10. Miscellaneous:
A. None.
11. Upcoming Dates:
A. Planning Board Workshop July 25, 2012 @ 7:00 PM.
B. Planning Board Meeting August 7, 2012 at 7:00 PM.
12. Discussion & comments from Code Enforcement Officer:
A. US Cellular: Map R2, Lot 8A - KJK Wireless / US Cellular. Because of the denial of the Administrative Appeal – The “Friends of Scribner Hill” hired an Attorney – David Lourie out of Cape Elizabeth and Portland to represent them and took the Town to Superior Court. The Town’s attorney Philip Saucier, from Bernstein Shur out of Portland, went to court on July 9, 2012 to represent the Town.
UPDATE: A letter of decision was received on July 17th, 2012 from Superior Court and Robert W. Clifford, Active Retired Justice. There was an “Order on Remand” stating the Planning Board must make a Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in the above matter. The letter stated the Planning Board should not open the record for more details, unless it determines in its sole discretion that it should consider additional evidence. (Court document - submitted into public record) Planning Board requesting Town Attorney be present at any upcoming meetings regarding this issue while court proceedings are still going on.
B. Stan Brett renewed his term on the Planning Board, but asked BOS to reappoint him as an alternate to allow an alternate the chance to move up. BOS reappointed Stan as an alternate and asked that the next alternate in the position having the most tenure, be moved into the voting position.
Discussion regarding an alternate being elected as Chair / Vice Chair. DP: Chair normally breaks a tie vote, so an alternate serving as Chair may not be able to vote if there is a tie. HO: How would he vote if there is a tie? KT: if someone is absent, he would be moved up, but as a chair he may not vote? DP: Chair is not supposed to vote, unless there’s a tie. HO: if it’s a tie and the chair says I’m going to vote to break a tie, it could get sticky. SB: I’m ok w/ not being chair, just throwing the idea out there. KT: this has to do w/ an alternate as a chair, not the individual. All PB members agree, they do not feel an alternate should be a chair or vice chair. SB reiterated he is ok w/ being an alternate. David McVety is now being moved up as a regular voting member from this meeting on. By-laws
should be work-shopped to reflect the feelings of the current board. *No alternate member should become a Chair – or Vice Chair will be added, all agree that an alternate may be a Secretary if the skills are there. All agree to drop the word “Recording” from Recording Secretary to read “Secretary” only.
C. Election of Officer’s:
Chair – *Motion for Dan Peaco. KT/DM – Unanimous.
Vice Chair - *Motion for David McVety. DP/HO – Unanimous.
Secretary - *Motion for Karen Turino. SB/DP – Unanimous.
14. Pending Applications:
A. None.
15. Adjournment: With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:25 PM. HO/DP – Unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
Tanya Taft
Recording Secretary
Approved by: Dan Peaco, Chair
Otisfield Planning Board
Approved on: August 7, 2012
| 
