| Joanne Cole |
A new select board convened and settled down to work Monday night in a near-capacity Meetinghouse. The audience included contractors on hand for scheduled bid openings, a few department heads and committee chairs, some residents hoping to be appointed to town boards and committees, but also, it seemed, citizens who simply wanted to gather in person and witness newly elected members Steve Hathorne, Paul Larrivee, and Dustin Ward join continuing members Peter Bragdon and Tammy Donovan together get under way.
The first order of business for the June 21 meeting was electing a chair. Sole nominee Peter Bragdon was promptly voted in, 3-1-1 (Donovan opposed, Bragdon abstaining). Bragdon switched seats and took the gavel. Next, electing a vice-chair. Three nominees—Donovan, Larrivee, and Hathorne—failed to garner the three votes needed, leading Bragdon to quip, “The first agenda item’s not easy.” Laughter followed and the room relaxed. On a second round of voting, Paul Larrivee was elected vice-chair, 4-0-1.
Later, members took turns acknowledging the moment and committing to work together. That vision would be tested later, when board members disagreed over appointments to boards and committees.
Juneteenth added as town holiday. Among other action items, the board voted unanimously to add Juneteenth as a paid holiday for town employees, starting next year. Member Tammy Donovan wanted to be sure that transfer station employees would benefit equally, as holidays and have sometimes conflicted with transfer station operations. Town Manager Christine Landes reassured the board on that point. New member Dustin Ward expressed the hope that, going forward, the town would see Juneteenth not simply as a paid holiday, but as an opportunity to “commemorate and learn more” about a moment with particular historic and current significance to people of color.
Charter Commission appointments revisited. Months, if not years, of controversy precede the charter commission’s reappearance on this night’s agenda. The short-ish version is that, in April, the previous select board voted 2-1-1 to appoint Don Libby, Steve Libby, and then-member Linda Chase to the nascent charter commission. That triggered a fresh challenge on whether the vote, with only two members in favor of the slate and Chase abstaining, was legally effective. Apparently not.
A subsequent May 17 re-vote on the same slate prevailed 3-1, this time with Chase voting for herself. That vote prompted further questions about the legitimacy of the appointments. Now Steve Hathorne had asked that the matter be put before the new board. Bragdon later noted that citizens had also asked him about reviewing the matter.
Several residents came to the Meetinghouse ready to share their thoughts during public comment. The consensus: leave the existing appointments and move on. Diana Thurston said she believes the appointed and elected commissioners “are open-minded and will do what’s right for the town.” George Colby said the appointments were legal and made clear that he wanted members Bragdon and Hathorne in particular to move on.
Linda Chase also spoke, saying that fairness to her fellow appointees underlay her May vote for them and herself and that “it was the right vote.” Looking ahead, she said, “I am not anti-charter” and commented that having a charter commission with multiple perspectives may help its success. “You need buy-in from all the citizens of the town,” Chase said, not just certain groups.
When it was their turn, the new board declined to overturn the appointments. Hathorne reviewed in detail provisions from state law, town policies, and other sources that, in his view, cast doubt on the legality and ethics of the vote. Dustin Ward thanked Hathorne for his extensive work and research but said this is “a season where we’re trying to move forward” and urged that the charter process proceed. Tammy Donovan said, “We’re trying to heal… Let them work together.”
Paul Larrivee commented that he’s learned over the years not to make his own interpretations of the law, so he wanted confirmation that the prior board’s appointments vote was legal. He was told it was. Later, in response to a related question from Steve Hathorne, manager Christine Landes said the town attorney had the town ethics policy and the appointment statute and there was “no perceived conflict of interest as far as he was concerned.” Hathorne accepted the consensus of the board. They moved on.
Appointments to boards and committees. Having put to rest a possible charter controversy, the board turned to appointments to boards and committees, normally a routine matter as terms expire on June 30. Appointments turned out to be complicated this time. With more applicants than openings for the budget committee and the planning board, select board members disagreed about how to proceed and split on the votes.
For the budget committee, four seats were available, and the board had four applications in their agenda packets [click here for the packet, applications start at p.135 ]. Three applications were from current members seeking reappointment and one from a new applicant. But the board had also agreed earlier to accept a late application from former selectperson Karen Gilles, making them now one seat short.
Chair Peter Bragdon proposed notifying and inviting all candidates for contested seats to a next meeting so the board could meet them and ask questions. Dustin Ward also wanted to discuss what criteria the board would use to choose among multiple applicants. Bragdon thought if the board heard directly from the candidates it would help them in choosing one over another.
Donovan suggested a solution. Current member Jean Couturier did not attend any budget meetings this year, despite repeated attempts to reach out to him, she said, and the board can remove a committee member for nonattendance. Might health or technology issues have been a factor, Bragdon wondered. In the end, the abundance of current applicants carried the day. Couturier was removed and, now with an additional opening, the board appointed all five applicants: Jen Bragdon, Penny Hilton, Jean Libby, Nick Planson, and Karen Gilles, 4-0-1 (Bragdon abstaining).
A similar situation with the library trustee appointments was narrowly averted because applicant Noreen Williams stepped aside and Linda Chase, in the room, graciously withdrew her own application. CeCe Rohrbach and Robert Cotiaux were reappointed to three-year terms.
Planning board appointments proved more difficult. After some initial uncertainty, it was determined that there were four openings—three full members and one alternate—and seven applicants: three seeking reappointment—Don Libby, Doug McAtee, and Jean Libby—and four new applicants: Dan Ellingson, Charles Gauvin, Susan Percy, and Gina Sawin.
Donovan nominated Jean Libby to be reappointed as alternate, citing her long and distinguished service. “She knows her stuff,” Donovan said. A vote followed: 3-1-1 (Ward opposed, Larrivee abstaining).
Donovan then moved to reappoint Don Libby, current planning board chair. Bragdon noted that Libby also serves on the board of appeals. He commended Libby’s knowledge and long experience but questioned whether serving on both committees is appropriate since the board of appeals hears planning issues and errors.
For his part, Dustin Ward acknowledged the value of prior service but said, “If we keep using who’s been on it longest, we’ll never have new voices and new individuals in, and we’ve got four who really want to step into this.”
Arguing for continuity, Donovan pointed to “big projects coming up and big projects currently happening”–unidentified but perhaps the Intervale ballfields project and Morrison Center expansion. She said it’s “a really bad time” to bring in new people. Ward responded, “By that same logic, then I shouldn’t be here.” He said he felt he represented the town just as well as those who have been on the board longer.
Ward repeated Bragdon’s earlier suggestion: bring the candidates in. Steve Hathorne said he didn’t know all the candidates and agreed that without a better way to judge among them, it would be helpful to hear them make their case directly.
Based on the applications, Ward noted, the board actually has more information about the new applicants than from those seeking reappointment. Larrivee acknowledged the virtues of both experience and ‘new blood’ and wanted to bring the candidates in.
The planning board’s next meeting in early July became a question. Bragdon thought the select board could extend the terms of the current members, if need be, and wanted to hold off on an immediate vote. He suggested the select board reconvene in a week. “You can’t come back next week,” Donovan said, “let’s just do it.” They did. The ensuing vote was 4-1 to reappoint Don Libby (Ward opposed). Donovan next nominated Doug McAtee for reappointment. He was approved 3-2 (Ward and Hathorne opposed).
That left one final planning board opening for a newcomer. Donovan nominated Dan Ellingson. Bragdon read from Ellingson’s application that he is an architect familiar with the planning process and has worked with many planning boards in the region, among other qualifications. Other applicants’ materials or qualifications were not discussed. Bragdon asked again how they should go about determining whether Ellingson is a better choice than the other applicants. Hathorne and Larrivee expressed unease with the process but proceeded to a vote. Ellingson was appointed 3-1-1 (Hathorne opposed and Bragdon abstaining, saying he didn’t know enough about the other candidates to vote).
Bids for paving and for sand and gravel. Less controversially, Swamp Road, Megquier Road, Chestnut Common, and Town Farm Road appear set to be paved this year. Six bids for the paving projects were opened and read aloud by Bragdon. Public works director Ted Shane later told NGX that five bids were within the $360,000 budget approved by voters and three were low enough to be under review for the next select board meeting. Six bids for sand and gravel were very close, Shane said. He’ll bring his recommendations to the next meeting.
Insurance for Community Fair participants. The Community Fair is set for August 21 and rapidly taking shape. On this occasion, the board wrestled with whether to require all official participants to have liability insurance or instead request a signed waiver protecting the town. The concern is the cost of insurance for smaller vendors. Large commercial participants—think food trucks—will be all set, Bragdon explained. But a homecrafts vendor anticipating modest sales could find the $70 premium for temporary, one-day insurance prohibitive. With an assist from parks and recreation director Sarah Rodriguez, on the planning team for the fair, the board discussed options and current practices. They’ll revisit the topic.
Town manager update. Manager Christine Landes shared that the town of Lisbon is no longer interested in taking the old Upper Village salt and sand shed off New Gloucester’s hands. Others may be interested; stay tuned. In other news, the town has hired a new code enforcement officer, Richard Haas, who will start July 6, and a new animal control officer, Richard Brzozowski. Some 70 liens are in the works for unpaid property taxes, Landes said. Cumberland County has received a first installment of federal funds, some $29 million, that municipal leaders and the public will have a chance to weigh in on, Landes said.
Work on Rowe Station Road fields. Parks and recreation director Sarah Rodriguez gave the board an update about work on the town fields at Rowe Station Road. Rodriguez thanked a host of generous collaborators who made the improvements possible, among them Paul Larrivee, Jeff Hamilton, Nate Stone of GNG Little League, public works director Ted Shane, Michael Fralich, Kathleen Potter, Charlie Burnham, and Scott Doyle.
Following a divvying up of which board members would serve as liaisons to which boards and committees, and attention to some administrative tasks, the board adjourned beyond the three-hour mark, concluding a long and eventful first meeting.
To view video of the select board’s June 21 meeting, click here. For select board agenda packets and meeting minutes, click here.
