| Joanne Cole |
The Select Board officially welcomed new Town Manager Bill Kerbin at their meeting last week, with appreciation for his commitment to the town and apologies for the to-do list that awaits him. “We’re sorry!” said Vice Chair Paul Larrivee about the long task list, prompting laughter all around.
Member Stephen Hathorne praised Kerbin and commended fellow board members’ diligence during the manager search. Hathorne cited Kerbin’s relocation from Vermont and the board’s tender of a five-year contract as signs of mutual commitment. Said Hathorne, “I think he’s what this town needs.”
At the December 5 meeting, the board identified several priorities for Kerbin, some to continue work undertaken by departing Interim Manager Brad Plante, who served for four months. The Library’s leaking roof, upgrades to the Town website, a hybrid meeting policy and IT specialist, and securing a chief for Fire Rescue are among the priority items for the new manager.
Library’s current schedule to continue. Library Director Jay Campbell reported that the new library hours have proven successful, with increased visits under the Sunday-to-Thursday schedule. When the board established the trial period for the new scheduled, members wondered whether being open on Sundays instead of Saturdays would be problematic. Positive feedback in surveys and from patrons, along with comparative counts of visitors, put that issue to rest.
The library’s schedule dovetails with that of the Gray Library and gives residents of both community access to an open library seven days a week. Campbell said Gray’s library director welcomes the reciprocity. Board members commended and thanked Campbell and Assistant Librarian Emily Martin for their work, saying they were doing “a superb job.”
Public hearing ahead on beer and wine license for Intervale Pizza. The board decided to hold a public hearing on Erik Desjarlais’s request to serve beer and wine at Intervale Pizza and Village Market (formerly The Village Store) in the Lower Village. Members had questions about possible noise, whether the building’s deck area will be in-bounds for service, and whether the property owner is on board with the license request. No date was set for the hearing.
Auburn-Portland rail corridor update. Town Planner Natalie Thomsen updated the board on recent discussions of the Rail Use Advisory Council. The regional council is evaluating the unused St. Lawrence & Atlantic rail line between Auburn (specifically, Danville Junction) and Portland that passes through New Gloucester. Prior Town Manager Christine Landes served on the council, and with her departure, Thomsen took the spot. Thomsen left an RUAC public session in order to brief the board at the December 5 meeting.
Possibilities for the state-owned 27-mile corridor, unused since 2015, include doing nothing beyond current minimal maintenance, investment and improvement for working rail, use as a trail or as “trail-until-rail,” or as rail-with-trail within the corridor right of way. Thomsen told the board that impacts on wetlands and constraints of bridges make rail-alongside-trail unlikely in her view. The rail-until-trail would involve removing the rail infrastructure and laying down a stone dust/gravel or asphalt surface, Thomsen explained. Projects seldom subsequently revert to rail because of the costs involved, she said.
Most municipalities along the corridor’s route have favored the trail-until-rail idea, Thomsen said. New Gloucester has taken no position to date. It was Landes’s view, Thomsen told the board, to keep residents informed but await the state’s investigation and analysis. The council’s forthcoming draft report will not make recommendations, Thomsen said, but instead be informational.
The board took no official position or action but wondered about costs, funding sources and possible maintenance responsibilities for the towns along any possible trail. As to project costs, an RUAC consultants’ study estimates between $47 to 55 million for a trail-until-rail plan, depending on whether gravel or asphalt is used. Upgrading for passenger rail would cost $274 million, not including the cost of building stations and platforms, according to the study. Find documents on RUAC’s work, including cost estimates, at this link
Board accepts DEI Committee report. The board heard from members of the Ad Hoc Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, which was submitting a report. Their charge was to “review all town policies to make sure they are fair and equitable to all. Also to develop a draft DEI statement for the town. After 6 months, recommendations on the Statement and Policy changes will be made to the Municipal Officers.”
Divisions within the committee emerged early in their proceedings and continued, including divisions over the scope of their work and the content of their report, as the board heard firsthand at this meeting. The report was approved by only four of seven committee members.
As submitted, the report is a list in table form of brief notes, without explanation, on 18 town policies, along with a draft DEI statement. There is no overview, discussion of inclusion, equity or diversity, or mention of points of disagreement. [Find the report at pp. 6-21 this link.] Many of the recommendations, perhaps most, appear to suggest practical edits (e.g., add a heading, spell out the acronyms, clarify who is included in “immediate family,” update the mileage reimbursement), rather than DEI-specific concerns.
In a letter read at the meeting, Greta Atchinson, who voted against the report, asked the board to consider whether what was being presented to them—“a list of the motions that passed”—”reflects the DEI work you sought to have the committee complete.” There is no analysis, discussion, depth or accountability in the report, Atchinson said, and motions that didn’t pass are not included – for example, to eliminate gendered language from policies. She said the committee made little attempt to address “questions at the root of DEI,” and meetings saw personal attacks, denial that systemic racism exists, and “harmful and misleading views on gender identity.” The committee and report did not further diversity, equity and inclusion in New Gloucester, Atchinson concluded.
Committee Chair Julie Tajonera read a statement that said the committee had “a few fundamental differences that at times were difficult to overcome.” Those differences, she said, included how to define diversity, equity and inclusion and terms like “gender” and “justice,” and how DEI “fits with our laws and Constitutions.” Tajonera emphasized points of agreement, such as members’ collaborative approach to the draft DEI statement and their unanimity on 131 of 169 motions voted. Noting the vote count on motions, Vice Chair Adam Lee, who also read a statement, called the votes against the report “theatrical.” Lee said, “Most of those people who were promoting a DEI agenda really don’t want true diversity. They can’t accept anything other than a hundred percent conformity to their ideology.” Lee warned against “submitting to a totalitarian thought.”
Board members thanked the committee for their efforts. Dustin Ward commented that DEI work is “hard and uncomfortable” and said he had witnessed the divisions within the committee. Discriminatory and dehumanizing language showed a need for additional education, Ward thought, along with more understanding of what diversity, equity and inclusion mean. He commended the committee for “taking a step that was difficult for all of us” and wanted to “push forward” and have the board discuss where to go from here.
Others weren’t inclined to consider next steps just yet. Chair Peter Bragdon, liaison to the committee, suggested this was just “a step” and had noted earlier that the DEI statement is only a draft. He spoke of conversations to come with the new manager about policies, training and the roles of the town, board and community. The committee’s work was the “beginning of a much larger topic,” Tammy Donovan said, thanking them. Board Vice Chair Paul Larrivee also acknowledged the work as a start. “We had nothing prior to this,” he said.
Member Stephen Hathorne commented that the board vote would be accepting the work done, not making any commitments about it. In the end, the board voted unanimously to accept the report – a step – and made no decisions about next steps.
No brownfields assessment for old town dump site. Planner Natalie Thomsen and Parks and Recreation Director Sarah Rodriguez wanted permission to seek a DEP brownfields assessment of the town’s five-acre former transfer station site (dump, really) across from the Fairgrounds on Bald Hill Road.
An assessment would evaluate the site for possible contaminants and pollutants and help determine its suitability for particular uses or development. A dog park has been suggested for the site, and Rodriguez has wondered about locating a structure for Parks and Rec there.
The conversation led board members to wonder about the status of a brownfields investigation already under way on the old Public Works site in the Upper Village and its possible eligibility for remediation grants. Looking into the status of that should come first, they decided, and took no formal action regarding the site across from the Fairgrounds.
To view the December 5, 2022, Select Board meeting video, click here. For board meeting agendas and supporting documents, click here.
