SELECTMEN’S MEETING

APRIL 17, 2006

PRESENT:  Dee Reid, Ed Moran, Denise Lindahl, Bill Magruder, and Barbara O’Leary

Road Commissioner:

Bill Magruder stated he would not be able to stay but asked permission to fill in more potholes.  Permission was granted to fill the holes.

Dee Reid asked if Bill had received any calls from Jim Nealey asking the culvert at Eagle Drive be repaired.  Bill stated this has been an ongoing problem for the past few years.  The culvert is just before the salt and sand pile and when it rains, the runoff clogs the culvert.  Bill said moving the salt and sand to the Nebraska Road would be a big help with the runoff.  A new shed should be built.  He guessed $200,000 would cover the cost of putting up a new building.

Ed agreed a new building would help with loss of materials and fix the culvert problem; however, he felt with the budget as tight as it is, putting up a new building is not feasible this year.  Ed asked if cleaning out the culvert would fix the problem for now.  Denise agreed saying it would be better to address the culvert issue this year and address covering the salt and sand at a later time.  It was suggested to contact MMA and see if there are any grants or financial help for Towns with their salt and sand.  Denise also recommended calling Eric Gallant.

Ed also mentioned he met with David Crofoot and Bill Cressey of the Village, to discuss the maintenance of roads in the Village. Ed explained to Bill it was agreed to have the Town maintain Broadway, Bluff and Shore Roads.  The Town and the Village will share cleaning the catch basins.    The Village had asked the Town to take on Cobe Road , but the Town cannot do this since it is a private road. 

Bill mentioned the material at the shed is spread out over the yard and should be cleaned up.  He felt the Town was losing material by not keeping this cleaned up and the plow contractors should keep this better piled up.  Dee asked if Bill had spoken with the plowing contractor, but Bill has not.  She suggested, as Road Commissioner, this falls in his jurisdiction and he should let the Morses know the materials should be cleaned up. 

DOGS

Merriam Newman was present for an update on the court date on the dog issue since she has been out of town.  Barbara stated it was in the newspaper Elaine Carnahan was cited and fined $50 for two summonses for dog at large.  Ms Newman stated when she got home her neighbor told her dogs had been in her yard on 4-11-2006.  Denise said this is a court issue of enforcement and she needs to contact Raymond Tucker and start the process again.

Candidate’s Night

Candidate’s night is Monday, April 24, 2006 from 6:00-7:30pm at the Fire Department.  Coffee and cookies will be provided.  Barbara is putting an ad in the paper for the Candidate’s Night, Town Elections, Town Meeting and the School Referendum.

Barbara also mentioned Howard Gallagher called the office wanting tapes from the ZBA meetings regarding his zoning issue from last year.  She referred Mr. Gallagher to John Dkystra, Chairman of the ZBA.  Barbara also mentioned to Mr. Gallagher he would not be able to take the tapes from the office and would have to arrange with Mr. Dkystra to listen to them.

School

The public hearing will be Tuesday April 18, 2006 at the Drinkwater School and the second referendum will be May 2, 2006.

The potential increase in the school budget of $4-5million dollars was discussed.  Ed gave the following breakdown for the mill rate:

2005                                                                                                                                                               2006

County Budget              1.5mils                                     County Budget             1.75mils

School Budget              6.8mils                                     School Budget           10.70mils*

Town Budget                 3.3mils                                     Town Budget                3.30mils

                                      11.6mils                                                                       15.75 mils

*Based on a budget of $25million.

Transfer Station

Tim Patten reported the End of Life Company that picks up TV’s, monitors; etc has gone out of business.  Denise will contact Bill Butler of the DEP to see if there are other companies we can contact to remove these items.  Tim was authorized to contact Nation’s Rent regarding renting a grinder for the brush pile.

The hours of operation at the transfer station were discussed.  Presently the TS is open Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday 9-4pm and after Memorial Day open Fridays 3-5pm.  It was agreed to keep Friday 3-5pm and ask Tim to monitor how many people use the TS on Fridays during the summer and keep a log.

Warrant

Barbara presented the official Warrant to be posted for Town Meeting.  It differs from the one in the Town Report since the report had to be at the printers before the final warrant was ready.  The Warrant was approved, signed and ready to post.

Denise has contacted Bill Kelly about attending the Town Meeting on May 1^st.  She will also check and see if Joe Mosher is available to be Moderator.

CEO

Denise had spoken with Bruce Brierly of Searsmont regarding the pay and benefits of Frank Therio.  Mr. Brierly was not sure Frank got full payment of LPI fees.  In Searsmont, Frank gets nine paid vacation days a year.  It was AGREED the job description, LPI fees, building fees and vacation days for the Code Officer would be addressed after Town Meeting.

Moore ’s Septic Contract

Barbara spoke with Moore’s Septic who said the $3500 is for a two year contract and gives Northport residents a $20 discount when they use Moore’s to pump their septic systems.  This is for residential only. They also said they pump the Village tanks twice a year.  Barbara was asked to see if the Village pays separately for pumping and if they have their own contract.  Denise will contact David Crofoot and discuss this with him.

High Speed Internet

Ed contacted Tay Vaughan of Mesh Air regarding high speed Internet for Northport.  Discussion was on Northport providing service to the residents once the dishes were in place.  Mr. Vaughan said Northport might be able to tie into the equipment with Isleboro.  This works by placing small transmitters around town on various homes.  A signal is then bounced from home to home.  Mr. Vaughan estimated the cost for this high speed Internet would be around $20.  The Town would buy and install the equipment and then set the rate for access.  The cost of the transmitters is about $250 each, with perhaps ten being purchased and installed.  Ed noted Mid Coast Internet also bounces its signal from Isleboro.  Ed will speak with Mr. Vaughan again about this possibility for high-speed Internet service.  Denise will mention this in her speech at Town Meeting.

Barbara noted questions were coming into the office regarding the cell tower on Caswell Hill.  Neighbors on Caswell Hill want to know if there are any ordinances regarding cell towers.  Denise stated the tower is a structure and may need a building permit, but there are no ordinance pertaining to cell towers.

EMA

Dee, Barbara and Robin Coombs will be attending a workshop on NIMS training.  All municipal officials must have training by the fall of 2006.

Minutes

Barbara mentioned Dan Webster has requested receiving minutes from the Select Board meetings to post on the Bayside website.  After discussion it was agreed to have Barbara email approved minutes to Dan Webster.  This will begin after elections and the first meeting of the new Select Board in May.

The minutes of 4-3-2006 were reviewed with grammatical changes and APPROVED.  Dee asked that a revised copy be sent to her.

Planning Board Meeting

Dee Reid reviewed the last Planning Board meeting regarding the new subdivision of Dale Nealey.  Jim Nealey, Dale’s brother, did recuse himself as Chairman of the PB and Ashley Landry acted as Chairman.  Dee noted Mr. Landry was not elected temporary Chairman by the Board, but seemed to have been appointed by Jim Nealey prior to the meeting.  John Burgess noted this was not proper but was not allowed to speak by Mr. Landry.  Mr. Landry also had a letter from Town Attorney, Bill Kelly, which indicated he conversed with Kelly on several issues.  Dee was uncomfortable with Jim and Ashley using the Town Attorney’s billed hours to defend the subdivision Jim and Ashley are affiliated with.  Jim is representing his brother Dale in dealing with the Planning Board and will be a possible real estate agent listing the housing.  Ashley is the primary abutter to the subdivision.  Denise and Ed agreed this should not be done without the approval of the Select Board.  Denise said she would contact Mr. Kelly regarding this matter and the Select Board established a policy on contact with the Town Attorney restricted to the Select Board and the CEO.

Ed made the following motion:

MOVED:  Any questions from Northport residents, town committees, or Town boards  on Town matters, must be submitted to the Board of Selectmen for review prior to submitting to Bill Kelly, Town Attorney.  This process would exclude the Code Enforcement Officer.  2^nd by Denise Lindahl, APPROVED 3-0.

Dee suggested using the proposed office help to take minutes at the various board meetings as requested.  She will also draft a letter to the various Town Boards regarding the appointment process.

Denise Lindahl moved to enter EXECUTIVE SESSION to discuss a legal matter.  2^nd by Dee and AGREED 3-0.

Out of Executive Session and Denise made the following motion:

MOVED:  To deny the submitted property tax abatement since the resident did not follow through with the requested information of 4-3-2006 and did not attend the Select Board meeting of 4-17-2006 as also requested.  2^nd by Dee Reid and approved 3-0.

Fund Balance

Denise made the following motion:

MOVED:  To move $250,000.00 from fund balance to off set the Tax Commitment of 2006 and ease the school tax increase for the residents.  2^nd by Ed and approved 3-0.

Contingency Fund

Discussion followed on the contingency fund being too low.  Ed stated LD1 allows the Selectmen to increase the budget by $24,000.  If this is not used, it will go into the calculation for next year’s budget.  In an effort to keep the budget the same as last year, it was AGREED not to increase the contingency fund for this year.

It was also agreed to present a handout at Town Meeting on the budget increase based on the school budget for 2006. 

The second referendum is May 2, 2006.  Voting will be at Town Office from 8-8:00pm.  At the Town Meeting, the Selectmen will recommend a NO vote.

ADJ

Barbara O’Leary

Town Clerk