PRESENT: Councilor Hathaway, Councilor Cheney and Councilor Hogan, Town Manager B. Reed, Public Works Superintendent Butch Free, CEO Allan Thomas and Assistant Clerk K. Humphrey, State Senate Candidate Elizabeth M. Schneider, Wayne Reilly’s journalism class from the University of Maine. Chairman Friedman and Councilor Kelly were absent and excused.
ITEM 1. The January 26, 2004 Veazie Town Council was called to order at 7:00 PM.
ITEM 2. Consideration of minutes: Motion: Councilor Cheney—to accept January 12, 2004 minutes as written. Seconded: Councilor Hogan, Voted 3-0 in favor.
ITEM 3. Consideration of the Agenda: There were no additions to the agenda.
ITEM 4a. Spring Clean-up Discussion
Superintendent Butch Free stated that he contacted other towns in the area to find out what items they pick up for commodities. The City of Old Town picks up everything, however, they have a large transfer station where everything can be processed. Superintendent Free outlined that they too are looking for alternatives. They have estimated that 10% of what they process has come from other communities.
Other towns were as follows:
Holden – collects only yard waste
Bangor – collects white goods only at curb
Levant – collects brush and leaves & twice a year they have two large dumpsters that residents can bring their items to.
Eddington – no collection
Hermon – collects brush and leaves
Glenburn – collects brush and leaves
Superintendent Free stated that there were no towns that collected propane tanks. He outlined that disposal prices are still the same but are subject to change. It costs the Town $80 per ton of debris, $2 per tire, $7.50 per mattress and $15 per Freon item.
Superintendent Free stated that Bangor has their annual hazardous waste collection where residents are allowed to bring one computer, one television and one monitor. The Town of Veazie does participate in the collection.
Superintendent Free stated that it cost $1,200 to dispose of the televisions and computers. He pointed out that he has to manually take apart console televisions because they cannot be disposed of as a whole.
Councilor Cheney inquired on where the funds came from to pay for the disposal of spring clean-up items. Superintendent Free stated that it is paid out of the Town’s solid waste account.
Councilor Hogan asked if the department tags items that cannot be collected. Superintendent Free stated that if they come across any items that they do not collect that they will place a tag on the item stating that the item is not collectible.
Councilor Hathaway suggested having a “roll off” where residents could bring items to dispose and the Town could charge a fee. Manager Reed stated that the Town would have to license an area for that purpose. Currently the Town has a “roll off” behind the municipal building for in-house use, however if it became a continuous operation the Town would need to obtain a license for waste collectors or a transfer station.
Councilor Hogan recommended getting together a list of places where each item collected during spring clean-up could be disposed of by the resident. Councilor Cheney mentioned that some individuals, the elderly for example, will not be able to dispose of it themselves. It was mentioned that the Town could provide a list of businesses or people who could transport the items for residents who were unable to.
Superintendent Free stated he will prepare a list of everything he collects and where it could be taken if it wasn’t collected during spring clean-up.
Member of the public Chris Cronan asked if the Town was keeping track of how many residents recycle. Manager Reed stated that participation has stayed constant, out of 800 stops there are 300 to 400 collection stops on average.
ITEM 4b. Planning Board Update
Planning Board Chair Chris Cronan stated that hopefully by July 2004 the board will have wrapped up the master planning process. Master Planner Terrance Dewan is currently working with the Planning Board and significant land owners in Veazie.
In the Planning Board’s first meeting with Terrance Dewan they expressed their vision for the Town and their priorities which came from the Comprehensive Plan.
Planning Board Chair Chris Cronan stated that in December Terrance Dewan worked with the James W. Sewall Company on possible build-up scenarios.
He added that the Town needs to come up with a mechanism to maintain easements over the years and most likely it would have to be a non-profit organization.
Councilor Hathaway outlined that something needs to be done to prevent the creation of more dead end streets. Planning Board Chair Chris Cronan stated that they will also be trying to avoid straight aways as well.
ITEM 4c. State Senate Candidate
Elizabeth Schneider was present to introduce herself to the Town Council. She is running for Mary Cathcart’s seat. She outlined that she has been very active in Orono including serving on the Orono Town Council. She outlined that Manager Reed has her contact information and she would be happy to talk to anyone regarding any issues they may have.
ITEM 5a. Website Update
Communications Coordinator Karen Humphrey gave the Council a visual update on the Town’s website. She outlined that the new website contains a lot of new information and should benefit the Town’s residents. There is also a new feature that allows anyone to subscribe to the website to receive announcements and agendas in their personal email. Additions to the website include more elaborate web pages for each department, a Town Clerk page, a photo gallery, a list of boards and their members and downloadable forms from each department. The new site will be deployed in February.
ITEM 6. Public Comments: There were no comments from the public.
ITEM 7. Manager’s Report:
a. The Council reviewed a copy of a letter to Stephen Mooers regarding the proposed additional rent of the community room in the Graham School Senior Housing Facility.
b. The Council reviewed a copy of a letter regarding the Caribou Bog project.
c. The Council reviewed a copy of a letter from Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine regarding the Town Forest lot.
ITEM 8. Requests for Information/Council Comments:
Councilor Cheney asked if the Budget Committee was full because she was approached by someone who was interested in serving on it. Manager Reed stated that the person should submit a letter of interest. Currently the committee has five members but can have up to seven members.
ITEM 9. Warrants: Town Warrant 15, Town Payroll Warrant 15, School Warrant 15, School Payroll Warrant 15 and School Lunch Warrant 15 were circulated and signed.
ITEM 10. Adjournment: Motion: Councilor Cheney—to adjourn the January 26, 2004 Town Council Meeting. Seconded: Councilor Hogan—there was no further discussion. Voted 4-0 Meeting adjourned at 8:30p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Humphrey
Assistant Clerk
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