PRESENT: Chairman Friedman, Councilor King, Councilor Parker, Councilor Hathaway, Councilor Perkins, Manager W. Reed, Deputy Clerk K. Humphrey, Police Chief M. Leonard, Town Auditor Charemon Davis, Waste Management Manager Peter Dionne.
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ITEM 1. The October 27, 2008 Veazie Town Council meeting was called to order at 7:00PM.
ITEM 2. Consideration of the Minutes
Motion By: Councilor King—to accept the September 15, 2008 meeting minutes as written. Seconded: Councilor Parker, Voted 5-0 in favor.
Motion By: Councilor Perkins—to accept the September 29, 2008 meeting minutes as written. Seconded: Councilor Parker, Voted 3-0-2. Chairman Friedman and Councilor King abstained due to their absence.
ITEM 3. Consideration of the Agenda
Councilor Hathaway wanted to discuss Town investments in this financial crisis the market is experiencing. This was added as item 5b.
Chief Martin stated he would like to give an update on the Fire Department. This will be discussed under the Manager’s Report.
ITEM 4a. Waste Management Update
Chairman Friedman voiced his dismay with changes in the pickup route and the pickup times.
Manager Reed outlined that he had spoken with Peter Dionne at Waste Management regarding the possibility of the town switching to single stream recycling. He invited Mr. Dionne here to answer any questions the Council may have.
Mr. Dionne stated that in southern Maine single stream recycling is very successful. It allows residents to throw all of their recyclables into one bin without sorting them.
Manager Reed outlined that currently the Town receives a recycling credit and how that will be affected by switching to this new process would need to be addressed. The Town collects about 2% of the $150,000 it spends on solid waste in recycling credits.
There was discussion on the current collection schedule. Mr. Dionne outlined that the company has switched to a new environmentally friendly truck and it is not as fast and not as big. They have also gone to only one person on a truck rather than two.
Chairman Friedman noted that garbage has blown over to his property from the trailer park on the Chase Road and he was told by the truck drivers that it was his problem not theirs.
It was recommended to compare them to other trash companies and compare their statistics.
Councilor Parker outlined that he thought Waste Management did a lot better job in Veazie then the trash companies in Bangor and Old Town.
It was the consensus to continue dialogue on single stream recycling with Waste Management.
ITEM 5a. Audit Report Update
Town Auditor Charemon Davis was present. She outlined that it appears the Town has ended another year on a good note. She can come back at a future meeting with the completed audit to go over in details. She added that a big issue they will want to talk about is what will happen if the Town does not vote to accept the RSU.
Councilor Hathaway stated he would like to have a special workshop with Charemon present to discuss the RSU and how certain aspects will work. It was also discussed to have Mrs. Davis’ audit firm do some fact finding on the two town’s that Veazie will be joining with in the RSU.
Manager Reed stated that the Fire Department had an encumbrance transfer that was overlooked back in April.
Motion By: Councilor Hathaway—to transfer $7,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the Fire Department Capital Account. Seconded: Councilor King, Voted 5-0 in favor.
Charemon Davis stated she would be back in two weeks to go over the Audit and then set some dates to discuss the RSU. A copy of the RSU plan will be provided to Mrs. Davis for her to look over.
ITEM 5b. Investment Financial crisis
The Town’s investment position was discussed. Manager Reed stated that the Town had moved to federal agency accounts a while back. Manager Reed added that he is very pleased with the Town’s current position.
Councilor Hathaway recommended freezing any non-existential spending over the winter until the Town knows more and there is more stability in the market. Chairman Friedman stated he would like to see a freeze on hiring as well as implementing a policy of keeping vehicles off when not in use to save on fuel.
Chairman Friedman stated that a building on School Street has a lot of garbage and unregistered vehicles sitting by it. He would like that looked into as well as a place on Main Street.
ITEM 6. Comments From The Public
There were no comments from the public.
ITEM 7. Manager’s Report
a. The Town Council reviewed a copy of a revised budget for the proposed infrastructure improvement projects.
b. The Town Council reviewed a copy of the Town’s investment report.
Manager Reed outlined that Mr. Dang contacted Allan Thomas about the possibility of the Town being interested in purchasing the property located 1413 State Street. Manager Reed outlined that even if the Town purchased the parcel it would more than likely not be able to even put a parking lot there due to the MDOT and railroad right of ways.
Chief Martin stated that the radio issue has been resolved. Orono has moved a repeater to the Kelly Road and it has improved the transmission. He also stated that after a lot of research and discussion with Old Town, Orono and Bangor, it would not be feasible to burn the building at the old Jackson Boat location on State Street. The building is too big and the heat would be substantial from the burn and a great deal of water would be required.
ITEM 8. Requests for Information and Town Council Comments
Councilor Perkins inquired if the Police Department had received its new cruiser. Manager Reed stated that the department had not yet.
ITEM 9. Warrants: Town Warrant 9 & 9A, Town Payroll Warrant 9, School Lunch Warrant 9 & 9A, School Warrant 9 and School Payroll Warrant 9 were circulated and signed.
ITEM 10. Adjournment: Motion: Councilor King —to adjourn the October 27, 2008 Town Council Meeting. Seconded: Councilor Perkins—there was no further discussion. Voted 5-0. Meeting adjourned 8:44 pm.
A true record, Attest:
Karen Humphrey
Deputy Clerk
Town of Veazie
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