| Joanne Cole |
Changing the location of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s substation in New Gloucester and considering the status of all town-owned properties, not just the Morse Road pit parcel, were among items at the Select Board’s November 20 meeting.
The board agreed to sign on to a regional climate resiliency partnership, an initiative that offers grant support and was spearheaded by the Environmental Resources Committee. At the same time, the board declined to apply for New Gloucester to be designated an Age-Friendly Community by AARP, which would also have opened doors to grants. Instead, the board tasked the Economic Development Committee with looking into age-friendly next steps.
In keeping with the season, there was considerable discussion concerning FY25 capital requests currently in the review pipeline. The board will test drive the technology for remote/hybrid meetings, and they set February 15 at the date for notice to go out for Quarry Road’s mud season closure.
Cumberland County Sheriff substation. Captain Kerry Joyce, who oversees the patrol division of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, came to the Meetinghouse to discuss moving their substation from the Community Building in the Town Hall Complex to a different location in town. The Public Works building and the Fire Rescue station are the leading possibilities.
The current location has been problematic for some time, Joyce explained to the board. The Sheriff’s Office needs better space for its work—witness interviews were one example—as well as for its staff, including a suitable lactation space for nursing mothers, as required by law. There are also safety concerns because kids and families share the area for Parks and Recreation programs.
Vice Chair Tammy Donovan thought residents would want to maintain the presence in town, no matter its specific location. She’s noticed more sheriff’s vehicles on town roads since the substation came to town. Donovan thought the manager should select the ultimate location, as a prior manager did initially. Other members appeared to want the decision in the board’s hands.
Before committing to any new location, Chair Paul Larrivee was concerned that Manager Bill Kerbin check whether the Town is complying with workplace standards for its own employees and can accommodate CCSO personnel. Kerbin will investigate, discuss with Public Works and Fire Rescue and return to the board. Joyce said he’s been talking about the issue for more than a year, and the time for a solution is growing short: “I’d like to move it along or else we’ll have to look at some other option.”
The board also wants to return to the topic promptly, so as not to lose a town-based police presence. Larrivee expressed appreciation for CCSO’s patrols, including traffic stops on the town’s back roads, a sentiment others shared.
Board to consider status of all town-owned properties, not just Morse Road. Complaints about target practice at a Town-owned property on Morse Road were discussed at the November 6 meeting and slated for fuller follow-up. At that time, board members considered whether to hold onto a parcel assessed at $400,000 in order to have a town-owned shooting range, and whether to convene a public hearing about possible sale of the parcel.
At this meeting, the board decided against taking up the Morse Road property in isolation. Instead, they’ll undertake review all town-owned parcels, first collecting details on location, access and potential Town needs, for example, to expand existing uses. Abutters would receive notice before any public hearings.
Member Stephen Hathorne estimated that more than 250 acres of Town property are potentially involved. “A bigger project,” Larrivee agreed, but the board will still need to act on the Morse Road complaints, he said. How proceeds from any property sale(s) might be used was also touched on in a preliminary way. Would the money be set aside for future land purchases? Used to reduce taxes? These and other questions await 2024.
Town joins Climate Resilience Partnership. After some tweaks to a draft resolution, the board formally signed off for the Town to join the Climate Resilience Partnership. The initiative, part of the State’s “Maine Won’t Wait” program, helps communities develop locally-focused climate-action projects aimed at increasing resiliency to extreme weather events and climate change.
The New Gloucester effort, led by the Environmental Resources Committee, makes the town eligible for technical assistance and grants of up to $50,000. The ERC will take the work forward with Manager Bill Kerbin as key contact.
This summer’s round of Resilience grant awards included $50,000 to Casco for a Complete Streets project, $18,000 for heat pumps and LED lighting for Abbot’s town facilities, $50,000 for stormwater management evaluation in Bridgton, $50,000 for rooftop solar in Ogunquit, and many more. Check out a map of Climate Resilience Partnership partners and projects statewide here.
Board declines to request ‘Age-friendly’ designation, taps EDC. Getting New Gloucester designated an AARP age-friendly, livable community is “low-hanging fruit,” Town Planner Kathy Tombarelli told the board. Requesting the designation costs nothing, she said, and would make the Town eligible for grants and other support, with no obligation on spending and no penalties for inaction.
The Town’s draft application notes that making New Gloucester a more “age-friendly place to live, work and play throughout the lifespan” is an explicit goal in the Comprehensive Plan approved by New Gloucester voters in 2021. The accompanying letter of commitment speaks of the Town coordinating and collaborating with the volunteer group BLING (Building Livability in New Gloucester) and other organizations and groups “toward the goal of improving the livability of New Gloucester for all residents.”
As Planner Tombarelli explained, the Town could even continue work already under way by town committees and have that ‘count’ toward age-friendly goals. She cited as an example ongoing Upper Village planning, because adding the sidewalks proposed there would make the area more age-friendly, she said.
BLING Chair Julie Fralich said that seeking designation as age-friendly is really a commitment to values and aspirations. “It is an opportunity for the Town to stand up and say, ‘This is what we believe in. This is who we are. This is what we think is important.’ And there are many different ways to get to this end.” Projects could be collaborative or complementary, some done by the Town, some by BLING or by the Food Pantry or the Scouts or whomever, she said, depending on the project. “This isn’t a single effort; it’s a team effort.”
After discussion – and expressions of appreciation for the work BLING has been doing – the board declined to apply for age-friendly designation. Principal concerns were that the BLING volunteer group is not a town committee and the collaboration might set a problematic precedent regarding “outside groups.” Fralich had noted that other Maine towns’ AARP age-friendly groups are independent rather than town committees, and that a request to be a town committee was denied by the Select Board.
Hearing the concerns and objections from fellow board members, Chair Paul Larrivee suggested that the Planning Department be the designated contact. He liked the prospect of eligibility for grants and thought the Town’s application to AARP could be vetted by staff or a town committee. “This isn’t a no,” he said. “This is a new phase now. Let’s get it right.”
Board members cast about for a possible committee to take on the task. They considered and discarded the Land Management Planning Committee, Parks & Rec, and Environmental Resources, landing finally on the Economic Development Committee. The EDC is a seven-seat committee that currently has three members and recently met for the first time in several months. A motion to have the EDC “look at age-friendly next steps” passed 3-2, with Donovan and Hathorne opposed.
Quarry Road mud season closure. After brief back-and-forth with Public Works Director Ted Shane over whether the Town has or has not plowed Quarry Road past winters—turns out, it has—the idea of a full winter season closure this year died a quick death. However, Quarry Road has been closed during mud season and will be again in 2024. No one can predict when the frost will go out, but closure notices will go up February 15, Shane and the board agreed.
Capital Improvement Program questions. Each year, the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) process for reviewing and ranking capital requests offers fresh pitfalls for the unwary – and even for the wary, sending veteran managers and department heads and novices alike back to the drawing board and the calculator. This year is no exception.
This time, Public Works’ vehicle requests included a lease-purchase option alongside traditional outright-purchase costs for a loader and a backhoe. (Outright purchases would more than exhaust the department’s capital reserves.) The lease-purchase alternative raised novel questions of how to characterize the lease costs and, ultimately, how to present it to voters: total cost with interest over the several years? the annual payment only? A multiyear lease fits imperfectly within the CIP review process, board members agreed, since the town doesn’t yet have a leasing policy.
Also on capital items, the board returned to Fire Rescue’s request for a UTV to access off-road emergencies. At their previous meeting, they had agreed that the CIP Committee should consider the UTV, but it was inadvertently left out. At this meeting, protracted discussion ensued over whether and how to correct what everyone agreed was an oversight.
Member Stephen Hathorne was adamant that the matter could not be re-opened, and Colleen Strickler was equally convinced it could and should be revisited so that voters, not the Select Board, would have the final say about a UTV. Robert’s Rules surfaced. Eventually the board decided the UTV request should be brought back at their December 4 meeting.
Workshop to demo remote/hybrid meeting technology. The Meetinghouse now has the equipment and software to conduct remote and hybrid meetings, according to the Cable TV Committee. The board will get a first-hand look at how it all works at a workshop with the committee after the holidays.
Remote Zoom-type meetings initially took off during Covid as a way to meet quorum and continue towns’ essential work. Hybrid meetings-—combining in-person and remote—were a short step from there. The hybrid model has persisted in many communities post-Covid, presumably because it improved accessibility and engagement, some offensive Zoom intruders notwithstanding.
New Gloucester went all-remote and then back to in-person only. A hybrid/remote policy had been drafted but hit headwinds from the then-board; it has languished while the town’s technology caught up. A trial run of the gear in January will help the board understand what the technology can and can’t do, board members agreed, which in turn could inform policy, come 2024.
Watch the video of the November 20, 2023, Select Board meeting at this link. Find Select Board information and links to agendas, documents and minutes at this link.
