| Joanne Cole |
At their May 20 meeting, the Select Board gave a green light to mold remediation work at Town Hall and approved bid documents for a new Public Works dump truck, a new loader and the sand and gravel to fill it. They also approved a paving and chip seal plan for the coming year.
Before taking up the agenda, board members and Manager Bill Kerbin marked the recent passing of Michael Fralich, paying tribute to his service and engagement in the community, including his years on the Parks & Recreation Committee.
Mold remediation in Town Hall. Manager Bill Kerbin said that mold was recently found in the Town Hall’s supply closet, boiler room and crawl space. ServiceMaster of Auburn, which handled mold remediation in the Library, quoted $15,876 for the Town Hall work.
With mold a health issue for staff and visitors, the board voted to go forward promptly without soliciting bids. Funds in the Contingency account will cover the cost, Kerbin said. Dehumidifiers and other preventative measures will likely be taken up later.
Paving/chip seal plan for FY25 approved. Voters approved $700,000 at Town Meeting in May for the coming year’s paving and chip seal work. Now Public Works Director Ted Shane was ready with proposed bid documents, estimated quantities and the list of roads next in line for attention.
Assuming prices allow, the planned roads are Chandler Mill Road, Colbath Road, Morse Road from Chestnut Common to the river bridge, and Gloucester Hill Road. No gravel roads are slated for paving.
After discussion with Shane, the board decided to have Gloucester Hill Road completed with chip seal rather than asphalt as originally planned. The anticipated savings might allow Cobble Hill Road to be added to the to-do list, according to Shane.
The concern was whether chip seal stands up to high volume and heavy loads over time as well as traditional asphalt does. Shane had initially proposed that Gloucester Hill Road be paved, along with Morse Road, and all others chip sealed. But the town’s several years’ experience with chip seal on truck-heavy Bennett Road reassured him that chip seal would fare equally well on Gloucester Hill, if the board wanted to go that route.
The board did, on a 3-1 vote (Donovan opposed; Larrivee absent). The board also directed staff to look for studies of chip seal’s long-term performance and durability.
Dump truck cab and chassis; dump body, sand spreader, and plow gear. This spring, voters approved $340,000 for a Public Works dump truck with plow and sanding gear. At this meeting, the board approved specs for the cab and chassis, and separately, specs for the plow and sanding gear. The cab and chassis alone may take up to a year, Shane told the board, unless a bidder happens to have one ready to go.
The board also approved an RFP for a 3.2 cubic-yard wheel loader for Public Works as well as the FY25 sand and gravel bid documents. The various vehicle and other bids are due June 17.
Training for boards and committees. The board decided that a training workshop is in order for Town board and committee members, including themselves. Topics would include Robert’s Rules of Order, the Freedom of Access Act and other essentials.
With no training currently offered to those serving, practices across committees have been inconsistent, occasionally resulting in practical and procedural issues. In public comment at this meeting, resident Don Libby questioned whether the Select Board had followed Robert’s Rules in bringing back a matter for reconsideration and resident Linda Chase took issue with a policy requiring approval before committees can spend their (modest) budgets – both topics ripe for the proposed workshop, board members thought.
The town attorney would lead the training session, which will be held sometime after July 1, so that new committee members will be seated and chairs and vice-chairs chosen. The workshop would be taped for the benefit of future committee and board members.
Kerbin nominated for MMA Legislative Policy Committee; Kerbin and Ward to GPCOG. The board voted to nominate Manager Bill Kerbin for election to the Maine Municipal Association’s Legislative Policy Committee. The 70-member committee—two municipal representatives per Senate district–shapes the positions taken by MMA lobbyists on the many, many bills affecting towns and cities each legislative session.
The board also voted that Kerbin and member Dustin Ward continue as delegates to the Greater Portland Council of Governments’ general assembly.
Brickyard Hollow liquor license renewed. With only a few clarifying questions and no concerns or objections, Brickyard Hollow’s liquor license was renewed – just in time for thirsty summer evenings.
Watch the video of the May 20, 2024 Select Board meeting at this link. Find contact information for Select Board members and links to meeting agendas, minutes and related documents at this link.
