At their November 3, 2025 meeting, the Select Board is slated to set a date for the follow-up ballot vote on the Pineland Athletic Facility lease, consider additional FY27 capital requests for review by the Capital Improvement Program Committee, and consider
Also on the agenda: discussion of a first draft of the Administrative Code that the town charter requires be prepared and published. Municipal codes compile a town’s charter, ordinances and policies into an organized, logical, searchable format. The board will also take up a draft remote and hybrid meetings policy, deferred at a recent meeting.
The board will also consider amending the town’s Bylaws for Boards and Committee to officially adopt Robert’s Rules of Order procedures for small boards, will review a draft ad for a permanent town manager (p. 38), and discuss the (apparently problematic) Park and Ride lot on Sabbathday Road, among other matters.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Meetinghouse and will be live-streamed at this link. Find the full agenda packet at this link.
Setting a date for special election on Pineland Athletic Facility lease. Voters at the October 27 Special Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved accepting donations from Planson International and entering into a two-year lease of the Pineland Athletic Facility. Under the town charter, a follow-up ballot vote is required for leases and must be held within 75 days, town attorney Kristin Collins told town meeting voters. A public hearing is also required before the ballot vote.
Additional capital requests for FY27. Following up on discussion at the last meeting, several departments submitted additional capital requests. They include $30,000 to replace the Meetinghouse roof; $50,000 to study the Town Hall and Municipal Complex and their suitability for future expansion and a further $50,000 into capital reserves to fund actual future work there.
Also requested: $75,000 toward Upper Village improvement initiatives, including a traffic planning study with MDOT for possible future road improvements and redesign; and $25,000 for Parks and Recreation future needs. Read the full requests at pp. 7-13.
A new request, not previously discussed, is $15,475 for an electronic voting system for Town Meetings. At check-in, voters would be given a keypad that transmits their vote when a warrant article is ready for a vote. The tally is projected on-screen when the voting period is done. The $15,475 request would supply 300 clickers, training and troubleshooting support (p. 10).
Revised remote and hybrid meetings policy. Chris Daggett, New Gloucester’s Cable TV station manager, has revised a draft policy, long in the works, that would allow hybrid in-person/remote and fully remote board and committee meetings. Under the proposed policy, committee members and the public would be able to participate without traveling to the Meetinghouse. Read the revised policy at pp. 14-25.
Robert’s Rules of Order. Following up on a recent conversation with the town attorney that touched on meeting procedures, the board will consider clarifying its own and other town committees’ ground rules. On the table is whether to revise the Bylaws for Boards and Committees to formally adopt Robert’s Rules for small boards, more flexible than ‘regular’ Robert’s with its comprehensive daunting rigor. Find the details at pp. 26-37.
Would a board member’s motion to adopt Robert’s small board rules need to be seconded? Could Chair Colleen Strickler make the initial motion? Armchair parliamentarians can tune in on November 3 to find out.
Public comments may be submitted by email before 10 a.m. on Monday, November 3, to townmanager@newgloucester.com and smyers@newgloucester.com. If you want your written comment read aloud, please indicate that in the subject line.
Find contact information for Select Board members and links to meeting agendas, minutes and related documents at this link.
— Joanne Cole
