SELECTMEN’S MEETING
September 2, 2020

6:00pm

Moment of Silence and Words for Deborah Anderson

1.         CALL MEETING TO ORDER / PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

2. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR WEEKLY UPDATE

· The Town Hall and the Transfer Station will be closed Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2020.

· The Elementary School Secretary and Superintendent have confirmed that they have sent a notice out regarding openings in the Recreation Department.

· A liaison for the Mary Grant Committee needs to be appointed; Selectmen David Winchell stepped forward to take on that role.

· The deadline for the Town Report submissions was September 1, 2020 – Thank you to all who worked hard and met the submittal deadline. For those who have not, please get your reports in as soon as possible. Going to go to print soon.

·     Absentee ballots are not yet available; however they can be requested and mailed out when they arrive. The State generally issues them 30 – 45 days prior to elections.

· The Treasurer and Road Commissioner will be added to next Wednesday’s agenda to review some small changes related to payroll.

· The Wakefield bridge presentation will be on next week’s agenda.

· Work is being done with driver’s insurance company to cover the guardrail damage costs incurred from vehicle accident.

· The Fire Chief indicated that as of October 1, 2020, the old Tanker will be removed from service; working on specifications and advertisement to sell. A back up plan will be presented to fill in the gap until new Tanker is received.

· Asked Selectmen Ed Walsh to adjust the on/off times for the Town’s outside lighting.

· Provided an update on the generator. When the power goes out, the generator does what it is supposed to do, however, the following week when it goes into testing mode, it does not restart. The generator activity will be monitored for 1 more week and if the issue continues, the generator company will be notified.

· The Board’s reviews of policies were suspended during the use of Zoom meetings and will be brought back on to the agenda next week.

3.         WARRANTS/BILLS

4.         APPROVAL OF AGENDA

A motion was made by Selectmen Ed Walsh to approve the agenda as written; seconded by Selectmen David Winchell.  No discussion. All in favor.

5.        MINUTES OF LAST MEETING

A motion was made by Selectmen Ed Walsh to approve the minutes of August 19, 2020 as written; seconded by Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn.  No discussion. All in favor. Selectmen David Winchell abstained from vote as he was not present.

A motion was made by Selectmen Ed Walsh to approve the minutes of August 24, 2020 as written; seconded by Selectmen David Winchell.  No discussion. All in favor.

A motion was made by Selectmen David Winchell to approve the minutes of August 26, 2020 as written; seconded by Selectmen Ed Walsh.  No discussion. All in favor.

Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn abstained from vote as she was not present.

6.         DEPARTMENT HEAD / COMMITTEE CHAIR UPDATES

District 1 Road Commissioner, David Langley updated the Board on projects currently being worked on with regards to the H Road and ditching, tomorrow the road will be all set for paving. Mr. Langley further noted he would be meeting with Pike Industries at the end of the week to schedule a project date.

Mr. Langley asked the Board for an update on the RSMS as he is currently documenting all necessary information on paper and will be ready to input into the system when available. The Town Administrator indicated emails and voice mails were sent to Peter Coughlin and Tammy Chamberlain and she is still awaiting a response.  Mr. Langley confirmed he will continue to record information on paper until ready. If there is no response by the end of the week, the liaison, Selectmen David Winchell will be asked to reach out.

7.         OLD BUSINESS

A. Article 43 Applications

Mrs. Leslie Berlan approached the Board to point out Lakeside Drive was 2019 as it was one of the old applications. She then cited that the Road Committee met on September 1, 2020, reviewed the Article 43 applications for Langley Shore Drive and Lakeside Drive and the committee recommended that all 3 applications be approved to receive funds asked for.

Selectmen David Winchell was present at the Road Committee meeting and updated the Board that he observed that the applications were not reviewed during the meeting. Mrs. Berlan was asked how the committee did their review? Mrs. Berlan confirmed that the Town Administrator emailed copies of all three applications (hard copies to those who do not do emails) and the committee reviewed prior to meeting attendance and then proceeded to vote at the meeting as questions were asked and answered.

Selectmen David Winchell noted that on page 2, section 3 of each application there was a need to add a line indicating the amount of funds being requested by the Road Association. Assumptions can be made based on the attached paperwork, however, if the project was to be done in phases, the Board wanted to make sure they knew which portion of the costs were being requested for each portion of the project work so that the same work was not paid out the next year.

The line needs to state specifically what is being requested.

The Board reviewed each application to make sure the auditor’s request for attachments was met.

1. Langley Shore (19/20) – all was in order. W-9 to be provided.

A motion was made by Selectmen David Winchell to accept the Langley Shore Drive Article 43 application (19/20) for $1202.50; seconded by Selectmen Ed Walsh.  No discussion. All in favor.

2. Lakeside Drive (20/21) - all was in order.

A motion was made by Selectmen David Winchell to accept the Lakeside Shore Drive Article 43 application (20/21) for $2960.00; seconded by Selectmen Ed Walsh.  No discussion. All in favor.

3. Langley Shore (20/21) – all was in order. W-9 to be provided. Multiphase project. Selectmen Winchell recommended applications be for 1 project at a time versus multi phases.

A motion was made by Selectmen David Winchell to approve $3,000 to Langley Shore Drive Article 43 application (20/21) for $3000.00; seconded by Selectmen Ed Walsh. No discussion. All in favor.

B. Tanker Truck Bids
The Fire Chief is currently reviewing the Tanker Truck bids and hopes to have a recommendation to present next week.

C. RFP Loan
The item is pending until the Tanker bid amount is confirmed.

8. NEW BUSINESS

A. Boy Scouts Request

Acton/Shapleigh Boy Scout Troop 320 asked the Board’s permission to place a bottle recycling receptacle at the Town Hall to assist them in raising funds to benefit the Troop members to go to camp. There are both boy and girls from Acton involved in this Troop. The Troop will be responsible for the receptacle upkeep. The Board agreed.

B. Appointments

1. Planning Board 2 Year Alternate Member

A motion was made by Selectmen Ed Walsh pursuant of Title 30A MRSA 2602 to appoint James Driscoll as Planning Board Alternate Members effective until 06/30/2022; seconded by Selectmen Dave Winchell.  No discussion. All in favor.

2. Recreation Committee Members

The Town Administrator had 4 names of people to present as Recreation Committee members but wanted to let the Board know that the fourth candidate was not a resident of Acton but had family in town and was very interested in helping out. This has happened on other committees and it was up to the Board on whether to accept or not. The Board agreed it was not an issue.

A motion was made by Selectmen Ed Walsh pursuant of Title 30A MRSA 2602 to appoint Jenny Norwald, Dan Norwald, Lauren Stevenson and Lori Clarke as Recreation Committee Members effective until 06/30/2021; seconded by Selectmen Dave Winchell.  No discussion. All in favor.

There is 1 more alternate position open on the Planning Board and 3 positions on the Recreation Committee.

3. Support Letter for Hansen Pond Road Restoration

Three Rivers asked for a letter of support regarding Hansen Pond. Mr. Carl Davis spoke to the Board regarding the restoration work being done at Hansen Pond to restore the flow between the wetlands. DEP is involved in the project. The Army Corp is the one looking for a letter of support. New walking and snow mobile trails will be done this fall. The Board is happy to provide letter. The Town Administrator will draft and present to the Board to sign.

4. Iron Tail’s Email
Emails were received and passed onto Code Enforcement.  The Town Administrator responded that issues are being looked at; waiting for a formal complaint to be issued and the right parties are working on requirements to be met.

9. PUBLIC COMMENT: 
Dennis Long approached the Board on several items:

· Wanted to bring to the Boards attention that according to the Auditor’s notes. there was a difference between “Approved” versus “Accepted” for Article 43s. The Board duly noted.

· Town Hall opening and cleaning procedures.
Mr. Long asked the Board now that the town is opened back up to meetings,what is the best practices for cleaning the town hall. CDC provides guidelines, are they being followed. Residents around the community have concerns. The Town Administrator responded that there is a cleaning service that comes in once a week. But when there is a meeting that goes on, she herself has come in the next morning and disinfected the meeting hall with Lysol (an approved disinfectant by CDC). Wipes and Lysol products have been left for Committee Chairs to use, emails have been sent out to notify everyone supplies are available to use before and after meetings. This Lysol wiping is done at the end of every day at the close of business. We are cleaning and disinfecting between meetings as best as we can.

Mr. Long continued that people come into the Town Hall constantly and so having a cleaning service once a week doesn’t really satisfy the needs of the people of the Town and it surely doesn’t meet CDC’s requirements for cleaning. An example would be those things you are using now, have they all been sanitized before the meeting. Town Administrator: Yes, personally by myself this morning. Mr. Long: The cloths? Town Administrator: It was her understanding that the APAT Director takes them out and washes them. Mr. Long: Alright, but there are people that are just concerned. How many times during the day are the bathrooms cleaned? Town Administrator: It’s not during the day. Mr. Long: Is it done every day? Town Administrator: No. Mr. Long: This is what I am saying is my concern, this is no different than any other public building. When you have people coming in it, you have certain stipulations. I mean you guys have been very clear for the last six months about stuff the Governor and the CDC which I appreciate, but now we are moving forward there’s certain guidelines that need to be followed to keep it safe for everybody that comes into the Town Hall and the bottom line is if it costs more money it costs more, but it’s up to the Selectmen to make sure that everything is safe for everybody. These cloth chairs, how are those kept germ free, virus free. Town Administrator: They are sprayed with Lysol and wiped down with bleach.

The Town Administrator recapped the bathrooms probably need to have more attention and we will figure something out. It will drain the building maintenance account but he’s got a point that it should be washed every day. The two areas where the public coming into, as far as the clerk’s office or code enforcement, we’ve done it in case so that it forces one person in and out so that we’re not having more than one person in. The idea between every customer we are certainly taking protocols and I trust they are downstairs as well as that when one customer leaves the area is wiped down, it’s bleached down, the pen is wiped, we’re washing the railing down, we are doing everything that we can. The bathroom would be a concern. No one comes into the Town Hall except to exit. All doors are propped open to eliminate contact.

Mr. Long indicated you can only do that as long as the weather holds. Town Administrator: I appreciate it, I don’t want to get sick like anyone else; we are the ones on the front line. Mr. Long: This is a senior community, there is a lot of people that this affects and that has been a concern for at least six months. The Town Administrator encouraged anyone who had concerns to reach out to the Board directly so they can be addressed. We have accommodated anyone who has asked us to come out to them instead of them coming in. Mr. Long: Well I am a senior citizen and I am asking the Board of Selectmen to change your cleaning protocol and to make it safe for people like myself.

Selectmen Kimberly Stacey –Horn: Do you thing we should hire somebody in like…Whatever you need to do…the whole country has to…down to the school they have had to change responsibilities to the people who work at the school. Town Administrator: And, we have changed a lot of things.

Mr. Long insisted he wasn’t giving anybody a hard time, it just something that people around the community has talked about. 

Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn went over thoughts being stated on the need to have a cleaner to come in and clean up after meetings and not leave it to the Town’s volunteers.

Town Administrator: Those who have rented the hall have been told that it is their responsibility to clean up after their event. They are not certified cleaners, but they are required (when they are done) to wipe everything down and sanitize (which the Town provides).

Discussion ensued amongst the Board regarding options while having functions in the town hall, styles of cleaning and the costs. It’s an impossible task but supplies have been provided. We are doing just as much as other retail facilities are doing. If you feel like you are going to be infected here then contact us.

Mr. Long: There is a certain way to clean, there are CDC guidelines to follow, has the person who cleans been trained?

Discussion ensued. The Town Administrator recommended a round table discussion regarding how to handle the bathrooms and getting them cleaned after each public event.  Considerations would include fees or a fee increase and the schedule of cleaning person to accommodate functions to be cleaned before the next day, etc. Currently there are 2 commitments in September, maybe they should be concluded and then not open the hall to any other public functions after that. Less is best as far as people coming in.

Mr. Long asked what about our Town meetings? The Town Administrator indicated those are town business and a person can be brought in to clean after each meeting because those meetings run on a schedule. Mr. Long: That has been trained? Town Administrator: Yes. There is a checklist that is followed per CDC guidelines. This checklist has been gone through with Cheryl and she is well aware of what needs to be done and the chemicals to do it with.

Mr. Long: I’m sure it is going to cost more money but, it is really not fair to ask people who are volunteering a lot of time to the Town Hall already to clean the place before they leave either. Even with good intentions, it doesn’t always work out that way.

Town Administrator: Before anyone comes up, what do you want to do differently? Discussion ensued regarding classes and the upcoming DEP class to use the hall. When request was originally presented, a list was received of who was coming for the class and from where (noting they were coming from states permitted to be in Maine without quarantining). However, when permission was given to the person conducting the class, he attached an application form and asked her to advertise it. Not sure the class is full after all. The class is on September 15, 2020.

The hall will be cleaned after the September 6, 2020 event on September 7^th when the hall is cleaned.

Table cloths will be removed.

Discussion ensued on cleaning the bathrooms and whether the bathrooms should be cleaned every day or protocols to keep the bathrooms safe.

Mr. Mike Perdue, running for District 34 State Representative, approached the Board to introduce himself present his background, goals and inspirations for representing Acton.  He is open to all questions.

Rollin Waterhouse approached the Board to ask for clarification on the Personnel policy relating to time off for employees. Mr. Waterhouse stated the Board’s decision to not pay is a violation of the Town’s Personnel policy. If the Town closes the Town Hall the day after Thanksgiving, and it is a normal work day for staff, then they are entitled to be paid for the day. If it is closed beyond her control (example a snow storm) they are entitled to get paid. Policy doesn’t say emergency, it says circumstances beyond the individual’s control.

Next Mr. Waterhouse wanted to bring to the Board’s attention that milk coming out of the Town Hall is a violation of Town’s Personnel policy. It needs to stop if it hasn’t already. If it has, great, it is a moot point. Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn commented that it has already been taken care of.

The Town Administrator spoke up that if it has already been taken care of, she was not aware and asked if we could have that conversation? Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn stated it was discussed a couple of weeks ago. Mrs. Roux continued nu stating that Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn told her a couple of weeks ago that Mr. Long complained, but…the three Selectmen have never spoken to her, and actually told her they had no concerns with it.

Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn agreed that it was never spoken of, just mentioned

Selectmen Ed Walsh spoke up to indicate that he personally doesn’t see an issue with it. If someone wants to come in here and pick a gallon of milk up because you happen to own a dairy and its convenient for someone, why is it a big deal. Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn asked what is said in the personnel policy.  Rollin Waterhouse spoke from the audience to state look up Chapter 5 Section C. Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn, so that is the issue, we have something in place. The Town Administrator suggested the policy be pulled up. Selectmen David Winchell told Mr. Waterhouse if he had something further to say he should approach the podium.

Selectmen David Winchell commented that he had heard about this issue and did not think it was a big deal. If you want to look back at the policy, we had two Town employees who come in and grab it at will and it doesn’t affect the job of our Town Administrator when they just come in and grab it out of the cooler and leave.

Town Administrator read the portion of policy that states, no employee shall engage in any business other than the regular assigned duties during work hours.

Selectmen David Winchell commented, I guess if you feel good about yourself, that is great, but I mean really nobody ever complained about it and we’ll make sure we address it.

Mrs. Roux wanted to state for clarity on camera that never advertised her son’s dairy at the window. I have two residents that buy milk regularly and I bring it in on Thursdays, it sits in that refrigerator, they grab it and they leave, some weeks I don't even see these two people. Jennifer also wanted to say, to the Acton residents watching this, never have I taken advantage in any way of this Town and never interpreted the policy as it was being presented.  I apologize to the Town of Acton if I have overstepped by letting 2 employees get milk here. Mrs. Roux stated she was sorry that Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. Long feel like she doesn’t give enough to the Town and that this has to be a big deal at this point.

Dennis Long commented that he too had commented on this item and when rules are made everybody has to follow them. If the Board wants to change them, then that is the Board’s right. He stated he has gone through a lot with this Board on what you can do and cannot do according to ordinance and policy and as Chairman of the Warrant & Finance Committee.

10. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
* Planning Board meets the 1^st and 3^rd weeks of the month.

* District 2 Road Commissioner position has been posted. There have been a few interested parties to stop in for it. The Town Administrator read posting aloud; deadline for submittal is September 9, 2020 at 3 pm.

11. MEMBERS PRESENT

Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn, Selectmen Ed Walsh, Selectmen David Winchell and Town Administrator Jennifer Roux.

12. ATTENDANCE (screen names as designated on Zoom)

Dennis Long, Robin Ham, Leslie Berlan, Rollin Waterhouse, Will Langley, Steve Geranium, Lady, Rich Hart, Mike Perdue and Cheryl Drisko

A motion was made by Selectmen Ed Walsh to adjourn at 6:45 pm; seconded by Selectmen David Winchell. All in favor.