SELECTMEN’S MEETING

August 2, 2016

5:00pm

1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Moved by Bill Shields, seconded by Elise Miller to accept the agenda as presented. The motion passed 3-0.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF LAST MEETING: Reviewing and approving the Minutes of the Meeting of July 26^th was tabled to the next meeting.

3. DEPARTMENT HEAD / COMMITTEE CHAIR UPDATES: None

4. OLD BUSINESS:

A. Library Repairs: Elise Miller reported that the contractor will review the repairs again the following day and determine a start date.

B. Fire/Rescue Building – Fairgrounds: Jennifer Roux noted that she spoke with the Fire Chief who agrees that as long as the building will be available for the Fire, Rescue and Security use during the Acton Fair, the building should be held by the Acton Fair Association. Consensus of the Board Members was to proceed with drafting an agreement to give the Acton Fairgrounds Association the building, which will include the stipulation that as long as the Fair is held, the Town will retain use of the building.

C. Salt Bid: Mrs. Roux reported that she is still waiting for the bid from Granite State; the bid from Southern Maine Regional has been received. This item was tabled to the next meeting.

D. Rec/Soccer: Mrs. Roux stated that she has been conversing with a couple that reside on Nason Road that is considering helping with organizing the Fall Soccer program. She also has two other people who have asked what the position would entail.

5. NEW BUSINESS:

A. Order of Municipal Officers: Mrs. Roux explained that this Order is voted on annually by the Board of Selectmen authorizing the Tax Collector and Treasurer to apply tax payments to the oldest tax bill. The Chairman read the Order:

“Order of Municipal Officers: Pursuant to MRSA 906, we the Municipal Officers of the Town of Acton upon request of the Tax Collector, Treasurer of the Town Acton, do hereby authorize and direct said Tax Collector / Treasurer pursuant to Title 36, Maine Revised Statutes, and noted Section 906, to apply any tax payment received from an individual as payment for any property tax against outstanding delinquent taxes due on said property in chronological order be applied to any tax for which the abatement application or appeal is pending or unless approved in writing by the taxpayer”

Moved by Elise Miller, seconded by Bill Shields, to adopt the Municipal Order MRSA 906 as read. The motion passed 3-0 and the document was signed by all three Selectmen.

B. Warrant & Finance Appointment: The Chairman read the Certificate of Appointment:

“Certificate of Appointment Title 30 MRSA 2253: - Selectmen’s Office of the Municipality of Acton, Maine, to James Driscoll: The Selectmen of the Municipality of Acton do in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of Maine hereby appoint you as Alternate Member of the Warrant and Finance Committee within and for the Municipality of Acton until June, 30, 2017, given under our hand this second day of August, 2016.”

Moved by Elise Miller, seconded by Bill Shields, to appoint James Driscoll to the Warrant and Finance Committee as an Alternate Member through June 30, 2017. The motion passed 3-0 and the Certificate of Appointment was signed by all three Selectmen.

C. Mary Grant Appointments: Mrs. Roux noted that two of the applicants are not residents of the Town of Acton but she has not been able to determine that the Committee structure must be residents only. The Chairman inquired if any Board Member has an issue with appointing nonresidents to the Committee; hearing none, he read the Certificate of Appointments:

“Certificate of Appointments Title 30 MRSA 2253: - Selectmen’s Office of the Municipality of Acton, Maine, to Linda Cote, Richard Neal and Mary Terrill: The Selectmen of the Municipality of Acton do in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of Maine hereby appoint you as Members of the Mary Grant Committee within and for the Municipality of Acton until June, 30, 2017, given under our hand this second day of August, 2016.”

Moved by Elise Miller, seconded by Bill Shields, to appoint Linda Cote, Richard Neal and Mary Terrill the Mary Grant Committee through June 30, 2017. The motion passed 3-0 and the Certificate of Appointments was signed by all three Selectmen.

D. Building Projects: Mrs. Roux reminded the Board Members that some building projects were approved by voters at the Annual Town Meeting and requested discussion and the approval to move forward on:

• Repairing the Fire Department roof: this estimate exceeds the threshold for bid requirement so the request for bid process should be started soon because roofing companies may be booked in advance.

• The Library siding: although this project was not funded at the Town Meeting, it will be difficult to fix the walkway and Library door without doing the siding as well, so the estimated cost of $4500 could be paid from the Building Maintenance Account using the Town’s staff to do the work as in the past.

Consensus of the Board was to request a bid / build for replacing the walkway into the Library.

• The fire escape stairs: this project was supported by Warrant and Finance and approved by voters at the Town Meeting so it will be necessary to decide if a Request for Bid should be done and when. Discussion was based on whether the stairs should be replaced with metal stairs.

E. Fire Department Claim: Mrs. Roux noted that there was an ongoing problem with a leak in one of the bathrooms. Maine Municipal Liability has been notified of the claim and contractors will be contacted for quotes.

F. Maintaining Veteran Graves in Acton/Conservation: Mrs. Roux distributed a breakdown of the budget and expected expenses related to this account noting that there is $2700 available which includes $700 for flags.

Lois Michaud spoke to the Board regarding the Cemetery Association; she has been visiting the Association in Milton Mills to review and learn from the process there. Mrs. Michaud provided a list of ten items to be considered. She stated that her goal is for the Town to eventually take responsibility for all the cemeteries and single graves in town making sure that the care is consistent and that it gets done. She noted that some of the problems include identifying sites, tree growth, broken stones, vandalism and even accessing private property. She is pleased that the Town is addressing the issue. She wondered if perhaps a subcommittee of the Conservation Committee should be established because of the magnitude of the project. Ed Walsh noted that Mrs. Michaud provided four pages of known sites which is an excellent resource and expressed appreciation for the information. Mrs. Roux asked Mrs. Michaud to help prioritize the deterioration of the headstones.

G. Application for Commercial Hauler: Mrs. Roux reported that Travis Penney is the only commercial hauler in town and that he has provided proof insurance, validation that his company is exempt from Workers’ Compensation and has paid all associated fees as required by the Ordinance.

Motion by Elise Miller, seconded by Bill Shields, to extend Mr. Penney’s Commercial Hauler permit for one year until June 30, 2017. The motion passed 3-0 and the permit was signed by all three Selectmen.

H. 2015-2016 Town Report: Mrs. Roux noted that the pre-audit has been completed and that the Board could now start working on a timeline for the Town Report. Consensus of the Board Members was to set a deadline of September 30, 2017 for Department Heads and Committee Chairmen to submit their reports for the 2015 / 2016 fiscal year and hopefully it will go to the printers in January. Mrs. Roux will distribute a notice to everyone.

7. PUBLIC COMMENT: Holly Mooney spoke about the August 13^th yard sale to be held at the Town Hall to benefit the Southern Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery. The drop off point for donated items will be at the Town Hall, hopefully, people will bring the items a day or two prior to the event instead of too far in advance.

8. ANNOUCEMENTS:

A. Paving Bid: the deadline is Tuesday, August 9^th at 4:00 p.m.;

B. Committee Openings: one opening is still available on the Road Committee;

C. Tax Acquired Property Sale: the final date to submit a sealed bid on the two properties is August 24^th at 4:00 p.m.;

D. Fire Chief Meet & Greet: Tuesday, August 9^th at approximately 6:00 p.m., at the conclusion of the Selectmen’s Meeting;

E. Flu Shots: September 23^rd from 10:00 to 1:00 p.m. at the Town Hall;

F. Town Hall Closed Aug 16^th for mandatory State training.

9. MEMBERS PRESENT: Ed Walsh, Bill Shields, Elise Miller

10. OTHERS PRESENT: Jennifer Roux, Holly Mooney, Lois Michaud, Paul Poyant