SELECTMEN’S MEETING

January 23, 2018

1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Kim Stacey-Horn made a motion to approve the agenda. All in favor, motion carried.

2. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING: Kim Stacey- Horn made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 16, 2018 BOS meeting. All in favor, motion carried.

3. DEPARTMENT HEAD / COMMITTEE CHAIR UPDATES:

A. Emergency Management

William Catanesye introduced the County Director, Art Cleaves, to talk about the emergency phone system proposed for the Town. Mr. Cleaves started by announcing that the formal declaration for the October wind storm was received, Acton put in for about $13,000 in storm cleanup. Mr. Cleaves is currently working on the request for public assistance from FEMA. Mr. Cleaves began by saying that the Emergency Alert System was purchased at the County level so there is no cost for the Town. He explained it's a County wide alert system, so any 911 listed telephone is automatically in the system. He said there is an opt in/out feature for cell phones, and citizens are able to do that themselves. Mr. Cleaves said that if there's a significant alert to go out, this system would be used. The alert system can also be used for Town wide non-emergencies, such as town meetings. Some unique features that Mr. Cleaves talked about were that it can interface with social media, register elderly and special needs individuals, alert for severe weather and hazmat, and the Administrator has the ability to define target audiences for the alerts they send out. Mr. Cleaves said that nothing is expected from the Board in order to set up the Alert System, he explained that the Assistant County Director will come to the Town to help get everyone set up and familiar.

4. OLD BUSINESS:

A. Old Patrol Car

The Town Administrator contacted the Sheriff's Department and received confirmation on the 17th that Sheriff King approved purchasing the old patrol car for $1000. Sheriff King said that he would get both Acton and Shapleigh a check.

B. Job Description

The Town Administrator made a few changes to the Deputy Code Enforcement Officer Job Description that was talked about at the January 16 BOS meeting. She asked the Board to review the changes and accept it. Kim Stacey- Horn made a motion to adopt the Job Description for the Deputy Code Enforcement Officer. All in favor, motion passed.

C. Deputy CEO/Land Use Secretary

After reviewing the applicants and interviews for the Deputy CEO position, it was decided that the department would restructure and the current Land Use Secretary would move into the Deputy CEO position. The Town would then hire a part-time Office Assistant to replace the current Land Use Secretary. The Town Administrator read the job description for the Office Assistant and gave copies to the Board for review. The job description will be added to the next BOS meeting agenda after the Board has a chance to review it. The Town Administrator also talked about wages for both the part-time Office Assistant as well as the new Deputy CEO position, she said there is enough in the current budget for the proposed wages.

D. Marriage Policy

The Town Administrator gave a copy of the updated Marriage Policy to the Board to review, she explained the one change that was talked about at the last BOS meeting. Elise Miller made a motion to adopt the policy. All in favor, motion carried.

E. Hebo Hybo Road

The Town Administrator spoke in regards to the Hebo Hybo Rd. and a possible conflict of interest with Lois Michaud that was brought up at the last meeting. She contacted the Town Attorney to discuss this, Mr. Lenkowski reviewed the tapes from the meeting where this was brought up and said there was an incident with a dog bite about 15 years ago, but doesn't believe there is any conflict of interest. Ms. Michaud was not present to respond Elise mentioned if she had something further to discuss regarding this issue she can do so on a Thursday night with the BOS.

F. Flat Ground Road

The Town Administrator called the Town Attorney to discuss Flat Ground Road and the information that Carol Komezubumwe brought to the Board at the last meeting. The Town Administrator said one of the points brought by Ms. Komezubumwe, that the Town needed to make a record that it was a private road with the Registry of Deeds or notify the residents, was very important. The Town Attorney looked to the registry and verified that in 1960 it was not recorded at the registry. The Town Administrator asked Ms. Komezubumwe if she knew of any residents from Flat Ground Road that were alive in 1960 and would be able to say whether or not they were notified of the road closing. Ms. Komezubumwe said the only resident she knew of was her father, Dennis Long. Mr. Long was present so stood and spoke to the Board. He said 58 years ago is a long time, he argued that if there is no documentation of the Town notifying residents or recording the decision to close the road with the registry, then the Town should do it the right way now. The Town Administrator said that she is just following the direction of the Town Attorney and checking to see if any residents may have been notified in 1960. Ms. Komezubumwe made a suggestion to check the records of the other roads that may have been closed around the same time frame, to see if there is any documentation that those roads were closed correctly. The Town Administrator suggested to Mr. Long and Ms. Komezubumwe to seek a second opinion or to set up a workshop with the Town Attorney to show the documents that they have and discuss further. Ms. Komezubumwe thanked the Board for taking the time to listen and working on the issue with Flat Ground Road. Elise Miller asked the Town Administrator to schedule a meeting with the Town Attorney and to look into any other roads that may have been discontinued around the same time to see what process they used.

 

5. NEW BUSINESS:

A. Arnold Murray - Warrant Article

Arnold Murray of Langley Shores Drive represented Acton Private Roads. He presented some information that his committee has collected regarding the private roads of Acton, including how many homes are on private roads, the number of Acton residents residing on private roads and the percentage of tax revenue that is collected from properties on private roads. Mr. Murray explained that he was proposing a Warrant Article of $150,000 that reverts to state law Title 23 section 3106 which states that Town needs to spend money on private roads to prevent storm run off from reaching and polluting lakes and rivers. He stated that on his road, Langley Shores Drive, about $7-8 thousand is spent by property owners annually to maintain the road and preserve the quality of the water. He stated the residents are not looking for the full cost of maintaining the road, but they are looking for some help. The Town Administrator suggested the Board look over the law, present it to Town Attorney, and then come up with a list of questions to discuss at the next BOS meeting.

6. PUBLIC COMMENT:

Chuck Gregory questioned if it would be possible to find another cable company, other than Metrocast/ Atlantic Broadband that would be able to come to town. The Town Administrator explained that she had looked into seeing if Spectrum would be able to come into Acton, the response that she received from Spectrum was that they were not interested in coming into a rural town like Acton where another cable company currently serves. She went on to say that if Mr. Gregory could find a cable company that would be willing to come to Acton to please let her know. Mr. Gregory said that the talk about Emergency Alert System made him wonder if we have any kind of bracelet program for elderly residents who may have Alzheimer's or Dementia, which would make it easier to locate these individuals if they should ever wander off. The Town Administrator said she would look into this type of program. Mr. Gregory stated that he feels there is a lot of issues with road maintenance and was wondering how the relationship was between the BOS and Road Commissioners. Elise Miller asked Mr. Gregory to clarify what he was asking. He then asked if the Road Commissioners reported to the BOS. The Town Administrator stated that the Road Commissioners, according to Maine Municipal, have the same authority for most things as the BOS. She added that the Road Commissioners are elected by the taxpayers and that is who they answer to. Mr. Gregory asked if Statutory Requirements were available to the public, the Town Administrator says yes and she would have them available at the next meeting.

Dennis Long stated that he was hoping for some answers to questions from last weeks meeting. Elise explained that the Board has not been able to meet all together to discuss yet. Mr. Long brought up the Road Ordinance; he mentioned that he spoke with the CEO to ask how it would affect them. He also stated that he has a meeting with the CEO scheduled for the next day to discuss if they can get on the agenda for the Planning Board, and will look for some discussion at next weeks meeting.

Ken Winn stated that in 2000 the Town was plowing and grading Tattle St., a private road, and for what ever reason the Town discontinued maintenance on the road which made pollution become a big problem. Mr. Winn confirmed that the DEP came and agreed there was a problem. He also stated it would be nice for additional money to help ease the burden of the taxpayers on private roads.

Joe Diorio stated that up until the beginning of this year, the Town did the snowplowing on Buzzell Rd, and that he heard the reason for the Town to discontinue plowing that road was because they didn't have a turnaround. Now the residents have to get the road plowed, which is actually illegal due to liability. Mr. Diorio asked why the Town stopped plowing all of Buzzell Rd. Elise Miller replied that it had nothing to do with turnarounds and the decision came from not being able to read the deed to know where the town road stopped. Mr. Diorio wondered why up until a few years ago there was a sign that stated where the end of the Town Road was, and why was it taken down? The Town Administrator replied that it was a decision by the Board, and that was how they instructed the Road Commissioners. She suggested he speak to the Road Commissioners. Elise and Kim both said they would take a ride down Buzzell Road to take a look at it.

7. ANNOUNCEMENTS:

01/30/2018 - Planning Board Alternate

02/01/2018 - Planning Board Public Hearing

02/02/2018 - Office Assistant

02/02/2018 - Budget Deadline

02/04/2018 - Souper Sledding

02/13/2018 - Ambulance Bid

 

8. UPCOMING MEETINGS:

01/25/2018 Cemetery 5pm

01/29/2018 Budget Workshop 4pm

01/30/2018 BOS 5pm

9. MEMBERS PRESENT: Kim Stacey-Horn, Elise Miller

10. OTHERS PRESENT: Jennifer Roux, Joe Diorio, Dennis Long, Chuck Gregory, Carol Komezubumwe, Arnold Murray, William Catanesye, Art Cleaves