Minutes of NVC Meeting of April 22, 2001  

The board of Overseers of the Northport Village Corporation met on Sunday, April 22, 2001 at 10:00 a.m. at the Drinkwater Elementary School.  Overseers present were Allen, Block, Handler, Lightner, Rohweder, Whitten, President Vlodek, Treasurer Stein, Clerk Tardif, Village Agent Bill Paige, Atty. Judy Metcalf.  Dick Tardif for the Community Hall, John Fancy for the Utilities Committee and 4 Village residents.

The minutes of the March 11, 2001 meeting were accepted as written.

A Treasurer’s report was given by Treasurer Stein.

A letter from Betty Hawkins was read by President Vlodek regarding the property on the corner of George and Griffin Street.  Mosquitoes are a major concern as the area is swampy and a good breeding area.  There are also several dead trees, which need to be cut down.  The Board felt this is not a Village problem since this is private property.  Village Agent Paige will try to contact Dean Wood, the owner of the property.

Regarding Von Bergen, everything is on hold as his lawyer has not replied to Atty. Metcalf’s correspondence.

Village Agent Paige explained some of the problems of rock location at Shaver/White.  This will be checked out by the Board.

Overseer Handler reports there is a possibility of a problem with waste disposal after the sale of Peter Rackliff’s business.  We will keep a watch on this.

The board thanked Overseer John Lightner for taking the minutes of the meetings held over the winter in the absence of Clerk Tardif.

Village Agent Paige feels Monday garbage pick up can begin again.  It was decided to wait after the Northport Town Meeting before setting a start date.  Bill felt recycling pick up could be done on Thursdays.

Bill reported that the floats should be ready to go in the water by Memorial Day weekend.  Both new ramps should be done by the second week of May.  The culvert at the base of Ruggles Park will be fixed when the floats are put in the water.  More chain will be needed for the new ramps.  Paige noted that the house on the dock needs to be repainted.  This will be done by Dick Tardif.

Also reported by Paige is summer water lines are beginning to be turned on.  Road work needs to be done on Park Row and the Cobe Road.  Fill is needed at the dock end of the causeway and the board at the end of the dock has been taken care of.

Village Agent Paige suggested a full estimate for completion of the Village Office Building along with an estimate for plowing and sanding the roads for the winter are needed for the year 2002 budget.

It was decided by the Board to have V.A. Paige keep his pager with only members of the Board of Overseers having his number.

Finally, Paige reported there is a need for a guest/storm mooring which could be used to move a float from the dock if needed during a bad storm.  A motion was made by Overseer Handler, seconded and SO VOTED to obtain a mooring.

The problem of dinghies hitched to the boat float was discussed.  The Yacht Club has been contacted regarding this situation.  It was suggested we suspend the dinghy permits for one year to see how that works.  The Yacht Club will be asked to notify their members to use common sense with the use of the boat float.  Wharf Master Al Keith is no longer able to monitor the activity in this area.

John Fancy reports a letter has been sent to the Northport Fire Department regarding use of the hydrant at the Drinkwater School.  He also reports the Utility Committee had a quarterly meeting recently.  Water use by the Village is down at this time.  The Committee approved new procedures for new customers going on our water lines.  Applications will be sent to prospective new members.  Some people living in Birch Crest have expressed interest in connecting to our water line.

The Water and Wastewater reports were reviewed by John and the Board.

Fancy requested the Overseers to authorize money be taken out of one C.D. from the Wastewater Account to pay back the General Fund and other expenses.  This was SO VOTED.  Fancy also reported on his meeting with the Belfast Water District.  The District’s Board is very supportive of the Village’s plans to have better fire protection by installing several more hydrants in the future.  It was suggested the Town of Northport should be contacted regarding the need.

It was VOTED to hold a Special Meeting at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 20, 2001 to hear University of Maine Professors speaking on the arsenic situation in the water.

Reporting for the Parks Committee, President Vlodek said Basil Littlefield will be doing the mowing and trimming of the parks again this year at the same price as last year.  Raking at an hourly rate should be started immediately to clean up the leaves and branches.

Overseer John Lightner reported the Newsletter should be mailed to residents the second week of May.

Overseer Diane Whitten reported for the recreation committee.

Overseer Ben Block says he plans to begin again working on the archives since he was unable to do so because of so much snow he was unable to get into the Community Hall.

Bob Stein reported the Library will be opening the Memorial Day weekend.

Dick Tardif, Chairman of the Community Hall committee, was informed that the hall is underinsured.  Tardif will follow up on this by contacting Maine Municipal Association who insures the hall.  Dick reported three shingles are missing from the hall roof.  These will be replaced.  He told the board that there are no leaks into the hall.

Attorney Judy Metcalf explained to the Board the suit which has been filed by the Town of Northport against the Village regarding the CEO.  A motion was made, seconded and SO VOTED to have Judy and the law firm of Eaton, Peabody, Bradford and Veague represent the village.  The Board also VOTED to authorize $10,000 for attorney’s fees for initial work.  Conversations will be continued to try to work things out between the Town and the Village.

At 12:40 p.m. the Board of Overseers went into Executive Session.

Coming out of Executive Session at 1:15 p.m. a motion was made, seconded and SO VOTED to go forth and have the bookkeeper and the treasurer sign all checks after the Warrants are approved by the Board.  All disbursement functions of the treasurer will be delegated to the bookkeeping service.  All Village accounts, including C.D.s, will have two signatures required, namely the treasurer and the bookkeeper.

A motion was made, seconded and SO VOTED to have all duties relating to collection of back taxes and liens currently handled by the treasurer be turned over to the Village Tax Collector.

The need of a quarterly budget was expressed as well as the need to possibly raise taxes in the near future.

Overseer Judy Rohweder reporting for the Safety Committee said the policeman will be returning again this year at a salary of $10.50 per hour.  He will be hired as Chief of Police of the Village.  The Village will pay for calibration of his radar device.  Judy also reported interviews are still in process for a lifeguard for the summer.  Hopefully the fellow who had the job last year will return.

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