PRESENT: Chairman Hathaway, Councilor Cheney, Councilor Michaels, Councilor Friedman and Councilor Kelly, also present were Town Manager Reed, Deputy Clerk Reed, Supt. Free, and G. Hammond from Public Works. Auditor Charemon Willey, Tom Lewis of Penquis Community Action Team, Dave Merritt, Pete Toole and the Electrical Engineer.
ITEM 1. The February 12, 2001 Veazie Town Council was called to order at 7:00PM.
ITEM 2. Consideration of minutes: Motion: Councilor Friedman--to accept January 29, 2001 minutes as written. Seconded: Councilor Kelly,
Vote 5-0 in favor.
ITEM 3. Consideration of the Agenda: There were no additional items added to the agenda.
ITEM 4a. Public Comments: No comments from the Public
ITEM 5a. Audit Report follow-up: C. Willey passed out a summary sheet outlining the financial reporting procedures recorded by the school and the Town. The outline showed a tremendous amount of duplication. The following are four possible options the Auditor believed the Town has:
1. Maintain the current system in place.
2. Duplicate detail records of school department at the Town Office.
3. Buy software for the school department and install it at the Superintendent’s office.
4. Move operations to Veazie Community School and Town office.
The council expressed that the current system (1) and the duplication of records (2) is very inefficient and the process should be changed. The council discussed costs of implementing the software that the Town currently uses to coincide with the Superintendent’s office. They also discussed hiring a consultant to help transition new processes. There was a consensus that there should be a time-line made up to transition new methods and that funds should be put into the next budget to start the process. Manager Reed outlined that he would set up a meeting with Superintendent Perry, the Auditor and himself.
ITEM 5b. Dave Merritt-Municipal Building Up-date: D. Merritt passed out Schematic Cost Estimations for renovations to the municipal building. The overall projected costs were estimated at approximately $400,000. He had sketch maps available to show the options available for a proposed additional Public Works area. Also available were sketch plans for a new public entryway to the building and remodeling plans for the Town Office portion of the building. The mechanical engineer outlined what will be necessary to install a ventilation system, as well as, an air-conditioning system for the building as a whole. Merritt will be at the next council meeting with a final plan.
ITEM 5c. Developer Presentation—Penquis Community Action Program: The Senior Housing project will need funds to bridge the gap in order to renovate the space in the old John R. Graham School to a Senior Center. It is estimated that it will take about $400,000 to complete that portion of the project. In order to help Penquis CAP in their application process through the Maine State Housing Authority, they asked the Town of Veazie for funds to make the application more desirable. Motion: Councilor Friedman—to designate $75,000 of the community investment fund for the next 166 days for the demolition cost associated with the redevelopment of the former blighted facility, J. R. Graham School, so that the facility will be transformed into Affordable Senior
Housing by the designated developer Penquis CAP under any terms and conditions that the Veazie Town Council may deem necessary and appropriate. Seconded: Councilor Cheney, Vote 5-0 in favor.
The consensus of the Town Council was for the manager to continue to work on the project item detailed within his report.
ITEM 5d. Kennett Property Discussion: The Conservation Commission inspected the land owned by the Kennett estate and made a recommendation to purchase the development rights to the property. The property was looked at from a conservation easement standpoint rather than using the income approach. Manager Reed mailed a letter and the Conservation Commission’s recommendations to Tammy Kennett Cormier. He had not heard from her but did speak with the Kennett representative Bill MacDermott and hopes to speak with Ms. Cormier later in the week. There was much discussion whether this issue should be added to the Town Warrant to be voted upon by the people. Councilor Friedman expressed that there should be a Public Hearing held to see
what the people think of this issue. Councilor Cheney would also like to know how the people feel about this issue. There was no further discussion on the issue. Manager Reed will speak with the representatives in the coming week.
ITEM 6a. George “Butch” Free presented the council with a research report for the proposal for the replacement of the 1990 International. Free outlined the prices from the various venders and made the recommendation to purchase another International because the current one has worked well for the department. He recommended that the Town purchase the truck and equipment from Codwell Diesel. Motion: Councilor Friedman—to purchase an International 4900 series from Codwell Diesel and the equipment from Maine Municipal Supplies for a total cost of $68,809. Seconded: Councilor Cheney, Vote 5-0 in favor.
ITEM 6b. General Assistance Ordinance Signatures: The 2000-2001 GA Ordinance was circulated and signed.
ITEM 7. Manager’s Report:
The following items were included in the Manager’s Report:
a. Copy of the Fire Department’s report with details pertaining to the fire at Maine Independence Station. Additionally, Chief G. Martin was available to discuss the details about the fire at Independence Station. He praised the firefighters for doing an outstanding job. The manager of the plant, Tom Broad, has scheduled a tour of the plant for the firefighters.
b. The Press Releases issued from Tom Broad of Independence Station about the fire.
c. The letter Allan Thomas wrote to Tom Broad in reference to the lighting at Maine Independence Station.
d. Agenda and Minutes from the School Committee meeting.
e. The Minutes from the Orono-Veazie Water District Meeting
f. A follow-up memo from Sgt. Mark Leonard in regards to speed concerns.
g. A memo from the Police Department in regards to the gun safety locks that have been issued by the department.
ITEM 8. Request for information: Councilor Cheney mentioned that she had the opportunity to speak with some of the teenage children from Veazie. She said the children did not have much to say until the subject of the Veazie Police Department came up and then they were very talkative. They stated that they were being picked on by the Veazie Police Department. She thought Chief O’Halloran should attend a future meeting so that he can hear the youths’ concerns.
ITEM 9. Warrants: Town Warrant 17, Town Payroll Warrant 17, School Warrant 17, School Payroll Warrant 17, and School Lunch Warrant 17, were circulated and signed.
ITEM 10. Adjournment: Motion: Councilor Friedman--to adjourn February 12, 2001 Town Council Meeting. Seconded: Councilor Kelly, there was no further discussion. Voted 5-0. Meeting adjourned 10:12 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Julie D. S. Reed
Deputy Town Clerk
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