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Minutes of NVC Meeting of September 16, 2001 The
Board of Overseers convened at 10:01 AM on September 16, 2001, in the Bayside
Community Hall. Members present were Overseers Trenholm, Rohweder, Smith,
Doucette, Whitten, Lightner, and officers President Vlodek, Treasurer Handler,
and Clerk Lagner. Also attending were V.A. Paige, Superintendent John Fancy for
the Water/Wastewater Committee, and several village residents including Stan
Nitzberg and Todd Park Merolla. To
open the meeting President Vlodek asked for a moment of silence and prayer for
our country and those suffering from the recent terrorist attacks in New York
and Washington, as well as for Bill Thorndike and Genevieve Sheffield who have
died since the last meeting. The
minutes for the August 12 Board of Overseers' meeting were approved. The
minutes for the Annual Meeting of August 14, 2001, were approved as amended. The
minutes of the September 2, 2001, were accepted as amended. During the review of
these minutes, Ken asked that the first draft of the minutes be labeled as such,
so that they would not be mistaken for the final minutes. He also asked that the
minutes be sent out twice, first a draft for initial review, then a copy of the
final, amended minutes, which could be handed out at the next meeting. In
addition to the Board, final minutes should also be sent to the Northport Town
officers Clerk Jim Cummings, and Selectpersons Kevin Hall, Denise Lindahl, and
John Burgess. The following non-Board members also will receive copies of the
final minutes: Attorney Judy Metcalf, Village Agent Bill Paige, Village
Accountant Madeline Tomlin, Parks Committee Chairperson Jane Phillips,
Water/Wastewater Committee Chairman Beverly Crofoot, and Superintendent of the
water/wastewater committee John Fancy. The
Treasurer's report opened with a distribution of the warrants for Overseers'
signatures. There was some concern that the $30,000 bond payment for the Water
Company did not show up on the bill; in fact, there were several payments
missing if this represented an entire month's bills. Treasurer Handler explained
that mail has not reached him dependably; some bills go directly to Madeline
Tomlin, and some are arriving at the mailbox on Bluff Road, while others are
still addressed to Bob Stein, the former treasurer. In the confusion, bills are
temporarily misplaced, and payment is delayed. Russ requested that all mail be
sent to the Village's Belfast post office box; Madeline would see that the mail
was picked up and distributed correctly, keeping the original on file in the
Tomlin office. Madeline would be given the authority to sign for and open
registered letters addressed to the Northport Village Corporation. However, if
an individual is developing a project which requests answers, he or she could
enclose a pre-addressed envelope with the preferred address. A
letter will be sent to Madeline seeking her approval for this new method of
handling Village mail. Russ said he has already spoken with Madeline, and she is
agreeable to this plan. It
was VOTED that all parties be
notified of the change of address to Post Office Box 586 in Belfast, and a
forward immediately take place to that box. Russ
also requested that a letter and copy of the minutes be sent to the bank
changing the address of all the accounts (Sewer, Water, and General) to the
Belfast post office box (P.O. Box 586) in care of Madeline Tomlin, and to inform
the bank that the treasurer is now Russell Handler, so the former treasurer's
name should be removed from the account.
Northport Village Corporation (9/12/01 balances)
Checking Account
$4,564.16
Community Hall Savings
188.55
Money Market Account
42,047.22
Total Balance
$46,799.93 ***Note:
previous balances not available from Bob Stein.
Water Department (9/03/01)
Last statement
This statement
Checking Account
$63,242.77
$61,368.87
Wastewater Treatment Dept. (9/03/01)
Checking Account
$51,599.47
$49,408.35
C.D.
19,010.56 Russ
Handler has some concerns that the South Shore properties have been re-assessed.
He wants to know if this is universal or applies only to some owners. Village
Resident Concerns 1.
Todd Park Merolla: Mussel Farm
When
the permit was brought before the selectmen, Mike Brown thought this raft would
be much closer to shore, and therefore not such a hazard to marine traffic.
According to the coordinates, it is located as described, but it does not agree
to the mapped location. Todd stated that if five or more people voice concerns,
a hearing will be held when the permit comes up for renewal. Ken
Vlodek went to the meeting last winter when this issue was discussed, and he
said that no one could come up with any valid reason to object, except for the
lack of night lighting, which has since been added. Dan
Doucette questioned if the Board has any power to change things now, with the
new harbor ordinance in place. It
was suggested that their bonding might not be adequate to pay the damages if the
raft broke loose and cleaned out the moorings at Bayside. The
Board requested that Todd Merolla join Board members in attending the Northport
Selectmen's meeting on Thursday to discuss this issue. 2.
Eldridge: Garbage collection on North Shore. Judy
Metcalf has drafted a letter asking the North Shore residents to sign a letter
which would indemnify the village from anything happening to the collector while
driving on their extremely long driveways. Without this agreement, the Village
is taking a risk in case of accidents. In previous discussions, there has been
little progress toward a solution. These people have had garbage pick-up at
their dooryard for fifty years, and wrestling these barrels out to the end of
the driveway would be very difficult for them, many of whom are quite elderly.
On the other hand, the issue of liability has not been solved. If
the Village agrees to continue present practice, then anyone else in the
community could also ask for this service. It
was suggested that Judy draft a simple ordinance on solid waste collection for
the village; this ordinance could be voted on, and would replace the informal
policy we now have which has never been a Board decision. In order to ensure the
support of the entire village, it would be better to enact this ordinance at the
annual meeting next summer. Steve
Trenholm suggested we offer a compromise: we would pick up their garbage as now
for three seasons (spring, summer, fall) when danger to the collector is
negligible, but would not endanger the safety of the collector during the winter
months by sending him down those long driveways. It was the opinion of the Board
that we could not take that liability chance. It
was decided to ask Judy to submit the previously drafted letter for adoption at
the next Overseers' meeting. 3.
Polly Hyde brought to the Board's attention that Park Row is seriously washed
out. Bill says damaged roads will be attended to soon, in the next few weeks. Brief
update of Resident concerns: a.
Wescott-Duggan: Everyone has a copy of the letter sent to Wescott from Attorney
Judy Metcalf. b.
Oberg: will come this winter. c.
Shaver-Webster: Everyone has copy of the letter from Attorney Judy Metcalf to
Nancy Shaver, with a copy to the Websters. d.
Crowley: Supposed to be changing her sewer line this fall. e.
Williams: In town hands because it is in the shoreland zone. Village
Agent Concerns a.
Garbage pick-up: Collection of items to be recycled will take place only on
Mondays from October 1 to June 15. b.
Ramps: Steve T. suggested that we place non-stick pads between the treads on the
ramp decks so people won't slip. Also, there is a dangerous gap at the end of
the ramp where it attaches to the wharf. Ken suggested that we ask the builder
for ways to correct this before the ramps are removed. We also need to re-build
the frame used to support the ramps during seasonal mounting and removal. c.
Plowing: We now have a second person interested. Ken requested that Bill and
John write a bid specification to expedite the preparation of bids. He would
also like a bid specification written for the parks. Plowing
was adequate last year, but sanding was a problem. d.
Park maintenance: Parks were mowed the last week of August, but we have not
received a bill for that mowing. e.
Fall schedule: Summer water will be turned off October 15. The boats to be
stored in the park will be pulled early this year due to the tide (prior to Oct.
1). However, the boat float should not be pulled before the Columbus Day
weekend. e.
Duggans-Lagner: John Fancy says that is basically a private property issue, and
not an issue of the Board. Lagner will write a letter to that effect. f.
Nitzburg: Drainage water on North Street pools at the bottom of the hill. This
is a problem not included in the Phase I plan, but needs to be addressed. It was
asked that Dirago give us an estimate of the cost so it can be included in the
Phase I sewer plan. Wharfmaster The
dinghies at the boat float have not caused a serious problem this season,
although there was some lack of compliance to the new rules. We still have some
dinghies left at the dock, even though the owners are gone for more than two
weeks. Steve requested that the old grab rails be replaced on the boat float,
and the numbers are irrelevant now. Water/Wastewater a.
We are still in line for funding, if it should be available. b.
Dirago crews are finishing up the design; construction to begin in the spring. c.
DEP requested a presentation of the plans for reconstruction of the Phase I, II,
and III. The DEP is unhappy with the treatment facility. d.
The flowmeter shows that we are treating about 5,000 gallons of water a day, and
we are receiving 25,000 gallons a day from Belfast. Where is this water going?
John feels it is leaching into the ground. e.
Fire hydrants: We do not have adequate fire protection in the village, nor does
the town of Northport. We do not have adequate water supplies as our hydrants
are fed from the reservoir. Rental for hydrants is $1,600 per year per hydrant.
If the town of Northport has some interest in sharing the cost of developing
better coverage, we could then add more hydrants. f.
Birchcrest: The residents are willing to pay a surcharge over a period of time
to cover the cost of connecting to our water. g.
South Shore: Tests have shown arsenic in some South Shore wells, and residents
have asked to be added to the year-round water system. This was originally
designed into the Phase II plan, and would involve replacing existing water
lines as well as extending lines. Since they are already paying a water bill, we
would not receive any more income. A
concerned citizen spoke about the drainage problems on the South Shore. The road
should be re-graded. It could be done with next spring's Phase I work. Possibly
we could approach the town for help on this. Finance Madeline
Tomlin requests that she receive the minutes of the meetings. She
also asks for permission to order pre-stamped envelopes from the postal service.
The Board agreed. Reminder:
Money approved in the budget passed a month ago will not be available until the
fall of next year. Information The
Committee could use copy for the newsletter. The next letter should be coming
out before Thanksgiving. Bulletin
boards will have sections set aside designated just for village business.
Possibly Dick Tardif will work on this. Ellie
is asked to E-mail the approved minutes to Dan Webster for the website. Recreation There
are three new members of the committee: Cindy Bravo, Wendy Huntoon, and Steve
Trenholm. Steve has lined up the Lincolnville Band for $400 on July 7, Sunday,
about 2 PM. Possibly the Yacht Club could contribute towards this cost, and we
will pass the hat. Other ideas included a water carnival, face painting, a
scavenger hunt, a bonfire, soda and popcorn furnished by the Village (July 4th
weekend), and possibly something for the kids to do once a week during the
summer months. Cindy will be asked to contact other mothers who are here for the
summer to ask them to become involved. A wharf dance was also suggested. Ken
would like to see an exciting activity planned to bring the whole community
together on the weekend before the annual meeting. Possibly the Yacht Club could
schedule some activities on that weekend, as did the Historical Society with the
post card show. The
committee would like for the Yacht Club, the Recreation Committee for the
Village Corporation, and the Historical Society to put together one calendar.
Members will plan to attend the winter meeting of the Yacht Club to work out the
calendar of events together. Safety Sal
is interested in coming back as policeman. The
Village needs to search for a new lifeguard, but it is difficult to find
lifeguards with an "open water certificate." We might offer to pick up
the cost for the "Open Water" course. The lifeguard might consider
teaching swimming lessons to earn more money, although this would involve
another certificate. Zoning
Ordinance The
permit form is finalized. New
Business Election
of Chairperson of the Board of Overseers: John Lightner was nominated. So VOTED. Meeting
Schedule: The
next meeting of the Board of Overseers will be October 14 at the Drinkwater
School, and the November meeting will be the 18th at 10:00 AM. There is no
meeting scheduled in December. The
bylaws may need to be reviewed. Overseers are asked to please look at them
before the next meeting. The
meeting was adjourned at 1:10 P.M. Respectfully
submitted, Eleanor
Lagner, Clerk |
