Town of Sabattus

Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes

October 16, 2007

 

Roll Call of Board of Selectmen:

 Absent:  Bill Henshaw, Chairman

 Present: Mark R. Duquette, Vice-Chair

 Present: Guy P. Desjardins, Selectman

 Present  Gino R. Camardese, Selectman

 Present: Paul W. Loesberg, Selectman

 

In Attendance:                                                               

Gregory Gill, Town Manager                                             Donald Therrien, Fire Department

Suzanne Adams, Town Clerk                                             Amy Therrien

John Hyde, Road Foreman                                               Steve Wood

Robert Scott, Fire Chief                                                      Mike Yohe

Don Fournier Jr. EMA Director                                          Paul Gagne

Dan Guerrette, Lake Dam Commission                            Anita Gagne

Chris Morin, Fire Department                                           Glenn Connell

 

Motion to accept the Meeting Minutes of October 2, 2007 made by Selectman Gino Camardese and seconded by Selectman Paul Loesberg.

All in Favor.

                       

Department Heads:

 

Thomas Fales Sr., Police Chief- not present but the Board is informed by Town Manager, Gregory Gill that a maintenance schedule has been set up for the cruisers with Public Works.

 

 

           Gregory Gill, Town Manager

  1.   Review Delinquent Taxes- Delinquent taxes outstanding as of Friday October 12, 2007 is   

        $136,227.49 consisting of 126 accounts. Delinquent taxes collected from Friday September 28 through  

        Friday October 12, 2007 was $ 1,761.27. 

 

           Motion to accept the Treasurer’s report as read made by Selectman Paul Loesberg and seconded by      

           Selectman Gino Camardese

           All in Favor.

 

              2. Check Reconciliations-Both the Town and the School accounts reconciled to zero.

 

John Hyde, Road Foreman- The Board was informed that road patching was started today. They were also informed that Public Works is hoping to hold an open house by next year.

 

Jerry Sabins, Transfer Station Manager-Not present but Gregory Gill requests the Board to pick a date for the Sabattus Recycling Appreciation Day.  Selectman Paul Loesberg suggests that it be held on November 3rd. The rest of the Board agrees. Donuts and coffee will be served and there will be some free give-a-ways.

 

Selectman Guy Desjardins remarks that P.R. Russell Inc. has done a great job of clearing out the brush at the station and with no cost to the Town.

 

Robert Scott, Fire Chief

1.      Informs the Board that Engine 2 needs a new speedometer. It will not pass State inspection without one.                 

        The total cost for parts and labor could be $636.44 depending on the hours of labor.

 

Motion to allow Robert Scott to fix the speedometer not to exceed $650.00 made by Selectman Paul Loesberg and seconded by Selectman Gino Camardese.

All in Favor.

 

 

  2.     Volunteer Insurance-Since we now have volunteer insurance, he asks the Board if the Fire

          Department can now start cleaning chimneys again.  This brings in revenue for the Fire Association      

          and provides a service that the Town needs.  There are no set fees but donations are accepted. The 

          Board okays their doing so.

 

Don Fournier Jr., EMA Director-Tells the Board that he handed some paperwork to the Town Clerk to copy and then she will pass them out to the Board concerning the Animal Shelter during a disaster. He will then review it with the Selectmen at a later date.

 

Comments from the Floor:

 

Mike Yohe, Mixers Owner-Informs the Board that he is planning on holding another Harley’s Night for Halloween. 583 people attended the last one. He will be checking with the Town Manager and the Police Chief concerning the next one. 

 

Robert Scott, Fire Chief-Informs the Board that last week was Fire Prevention Week. Classes were given to the Primary School, Oak Hill High School, several day cares and to some home schooled students.

 

Unfinished Business:

1.     Wales Registrations- The Town Office is currently processing Wale’s registrations as the Wales Town Office is temporarily closed due to illness. A separate account has been set up in our system to keep the excise tax separate.

 

New Business:

 

1.     Appointment papers for Glenn Connell & James Cyr- The Board signs the paperwork  to appoint 

Glenn Connell and James Cyr for the Update to the Comprehensive Plan Committee.

 

2.     Appointment papers for Holly (Bubier) Latlippe-The Board signs the paperwork to appoint Holly            

Latlippe to the Solid Waste & Recycling Committee.

 

3.     Municipal Warrant- The Board signs the warrant for the November Local Election.

 

4.     Registrar’s Hours-The Registrar asks the Board’s permission to stay open one hour later on October 30th for Absentee ballots and voter registration. The Board grants permission.

 

5.     Time Warner Cable-Our current contract expires on July 11, 2009. The contract allows us to charge a franchise fee from one to five percent.  This fee would allow us to be assigned a PEG channel where local meetings and school events could be televised. The Board feels that this is worth looking into.  Town Manager, Gregory Gill will get in contact with Michael Edgecomb, the Government Relations Manager for Time Warner Cable to set up a workshop.

 

6.     Lucille Laliberte, Resident on Setting Sun Drive-Resides on the waterfront and has lost up to three feet of subsoil due to erosion. She requests that the water level be dropped at least five feet so that she may do repairs. Dan Guerrette, Secretary to the Sabattus Dam Commission, explains that the gates were partly opened on Sunday, will be opened a little more on Wednesday, and by Saturday should be completely opened.  This should drop the water level by five feet.  If the water level is not sufficient, Vice-Chair Mark Duquette who is also a member of the Sabattus Lake Committee will call the other members of the Committee to hold an emergency meeting to take care of the situation. In the meantime, Ms Laliberte will be calling DEP to acquire any necessary permits needed to fix her shore land property. She also offers to give the Selectmen a tour of the erosion problems along the shore.

 

7.     Agreement for the Management of Septic Tank Waste and Holding Tank Waste Disposal-This is an agreement between Sabattus and the Lewiston-Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority. This agreement allows Sabattus to dispose of their domestic septic tank waste and domestic holding tank waste for an annual fee of $250.00.

 

Motion to sign the Agreement with the Lewiston- Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority and to authorize the Town Manager to sign the agreement made by Selectman Guy Desjardins and seconded by Selectman Paul Loesberg.

All in Favor.

8.     Maine Municipal Return-The Board signs the return.

 

Motion to approve the 2007/2008 Maine Municipal Return made by Selectman Paul Loesberg and seconded by Selectman Gino Camardese.

All in Favor.

 

9.     School Consolidation-Selectmen Guy Desjardins, Mark Duquette and Paul Loesberg,

      Town Manager Gregory Gill along with members of the School Board were invited to attend a meeting    

       with the  Department of Education in Augusta, Monday night.  This is due to our not submitting a plan              

       to consolidate that met with the Department’s approval. We are having a problem finding a district to 

       join with due to the fact that  our School ( Litchfield, Sabattus & Wales) is 2.4 million  dollars over EPS.

       Representative Scott Lansley offered to do a workshop with the Board to explain the EPS process and

         to try to reduce the excess. 

 

Motion to adjourn at 7:45 made by Selectman Gino Camardese and seconded by Selectman Paul Loesberg.

All in Favor.

 

Selectman Meeting Minutes of October 16, 2007, Accepted On__ ___    , 2007.

 

______________________________                                                 

Bill Henshaw, Chair

 

______________________________

Mark Duquette, Vice Chair

 

______________________________

Gino R. Camardese, Selectman

 

______________________________

Guy Desjardins, Selectman

 

________________________

Paul Loesberg, Selectman

 

               MEETING MINUTES COMPILED BY SUZANNE ADAMS, TOWN CLERK