03.16.22 7pm
Select Board Meeting Minutes, 3/16/2022 at 7:00 PM
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM with Mary Hoffman and Jack Rogala in attendance. Dave McCubrey is absent.
Old Business:
1. Reminder about speeding on the roads. Hoffman said that probably everyone is guilty of speeding at one time or another, myself included. But individuals need to be careful and try to maintain their speed at the speed limit posted. It is a problem because we do not have a local police force so we really have no control over speeders.
Rogala reviewed with individuals that the MSP (Maine State Police) are talking about not covering towns for anything but highway and criminal activities. The Town of Hollis would be stuck in limbo. The MSP had a total of 1,447 calls last year. We eventually grow, we need to think about how we would get good coverage for our town. We would be better off having our own police force. We could advertise nationwide and possibly get someone trained that could come in go over our basic training and be ready to go. That this is something that we will need to address in the future.
2. Reminder about the conditions on the roads. Hoffman said with the roads posted and the thawing and refreezing, roads are hazardous. There are many potholes and slick conditions on the dirt roads because of this. That individuals should call to report potholes on town roads. Rogala said that there is really not much we can do with the State Roads but call them. They are not going to drop and run to address the problem. But they did finally address the condition of the road on the corner by the intersection of 35 and Saco. That many roads can be flat one day and because of the thawing and refreezing suddenly heave and become dangerous. The bottom line is that individuals need to be aware that this can happen at any time and that they should slow down and be cautious.
3. Reminder about dogs on Town Property. Hoffman reminded individuals that if dog owners bring their dogs on Town Property that they need to clean up their waste. That all Town properties have children that play on them and do recreational activities on the Town Hall and Sports Complex properties. That according to the Animal Control Ordinance, individuals can be fined for not cleaning up their animal waste. Let’s protect our children.
New Business:
1. Appointments were made on the following individuals:
a. Tammy Munson for the following appointments: Code Enforcement Officer (reappointment); Plumbing Inspection; Electrical Inspection; Building Inspection; and E911 Addressing Officer. Appointment expires on April 1, 2023.
b. Peter Gordon for the following appointments: Deputy Code Enforcement Officer; Deputy Building Inspection Officer; and Deputy Plumbing Inspection Officer. Appointment expires on April 1, 2023.
c. Both town election and ballot clerks were appointed;
1). Democratic Election Clerks- Rochelle Prince, Edward Dyson, Kathleen Dyson, Vida Fasulo, Stephen Fasulo, Elizabeth Stover, Margaret Harrison, Cynthia Strout, Heather Sullivan, Bonnie Wickham, Carol Deschambault, Carla Turner and Martha Turner.
2). Republican Election Clerks- Terry Walters, August Salevsky, Alecia Freeman, Dan Freeman, Danielle Smith, Kari Heatley, Paul Mattor, Donna Lovell, Peter Lovell, Pat Stover, Margaret Holmes, Eileen Curtis and David Goodwin.
3). Unenrolled- Kelly Harris, Carol Goodwin, Pam Alexander, Bennet Flinner and Max Salevsky.
d. The election warden who is Lila Wilkins was appointed.
Congratulations to all the new appointees.
2. Payroll and Warrant Totals:
Payroll for last week (2/28-3/6): $31,997.69
Payroll for this week (3/7-3/13): $13,304.02
Warrant for last week (2/28-3/13): $467.015.57
Warrant for this week (3/7-3/13): $ 19,959.43
3. Purchase Orders: We had none to review.
4. Correspondence: None
Other Business:
1. Martha Huff, Town Clerk presented the following information:
a. Review with the Ballot and Election clerks that they don’t need to serve. That anyone that would like to serve should come in and let us know. That they can be appointed at a later date. That the election staff is generally sworn in the day of the election.
b. Other individuals will need to come in to get oaths or affirmations which can be given by the Town Clerk, Deputy Town Clerk, a Notary Public, or Dedimus Justice.
c. Nomination Paper are available for the following positions:
1). One (1) Select Board Member/Overseer of the Poor for a three (3) year term.
2). One (1) Town Clerk for a one (1) year term.
3). One (1) Tax Collector for a three (3) year term.
4). One (1) Road commissioner for two (2) year term.
Nomination papers are due back to the Town Clerk no later than 4 PM on the 15th of April. Anyone interested should come in and get papers and get them signed before the due date.
MSAD-6 has positions for School Department at Large positions. Every town has positions. A reminder that when you come to vote for those positions, you can vote for all positions in all the towns.
c. License your dogs. There is now a late fee that applies to dogs that should have been licensed by December 31st at well as the usual fee of $6 for neutered dogs and $11 for unneutered dogs. You should bring your current rabies certificate in when you license your dog. Puppies and dogs 6 months old need to be licensed.
Upcoming Committee and Board Meetings (all meetings are held in the Community Building):
Finance Committee (Televised and Zoom) Meeting: 22 March 2022 at 6 PM
Planning Board Public Hearing and Meeting (Televised and Zoom): 23 March 2022 at 6 PM. The Public Hearing will be on Zoning Changes for the warrant.
Select Board Public Hearing and Meeting (Televised and Zoom): 30 March 2022 at 7 PM. The Public Hearing will be on the review of the proposed warrant.
Safety Committee for the month of March to be announced.
Community Day Committee will be held in the Community Building on April 5th at 7 PM.
Public Comment: (This is a synopsis of the points that were presented)
Mary Hoffman reminded individuals that we are looking for 1 member for the Finance Committee and that we are looking for volunteers to donate a little time during the day of the event and for an occasional meeting to help with the Community Day event. That we need people to help us make the event a great day for everyone.
Madison Moody (Chairman of the Conservation Commission) presented to the Select Board that the Conservation Commission was against getting rid of Cluster Housing. That the cluster housing ordinance probably needs to be updated for the betterment of the town. That he has spoken to the Select Board and other individuals and that the Conservation Commission does not want to get rid of cluster housing.
Jack Rogala reviewed that Madison and himself had had a discussion with a small group and he heard what they had to say. He is not saying one way or the other but leaving it up to the people. He can see both sides of it. He is not saying that he wants individuals to get rid of it. He is just asking for the voters to come forward and vote on whether we should continue cluster housing and then it would come back to see if they want to get rid of it. He would like to get it on the warrant to see what the opinion of the people is. Let people come forward and vote. A lot of people come to us and try to throw it onto us. Some people just don’t like it. He is not trying to not let people build. With cluster housing you have blocks here and there. He wants to know which way we are going with subdivisions and cluster housing.
Madison stated that he had heard there was going to be another article that was going to make the subdivision and lot size the same.
Jack said that he and Madison have talked. Cluster housing has a common area that is just for the folks in the cluster housing to use. Who is to say that down the road, something changes and someone wants to make those buildable lots? Changing of the guards, you never know.one will want to make those into buildable lots?
Some towns have four acre lots with 5 (five) five acre lots. Individuals would use 1 acre to build the house and lawn with 4 acres left. So that would leave you 20 acres that would be idle.
Madison asked that they might be idle, but they are not protected. What if they decide to clearcut the land? In cluster housing you have that land that is protected.
Jack asked why anyone would do that.
Madison said that he didn’t know why but that the open space if protected. He is not saying that the town residents need to be able to use it, but is in favor of updating the ordinance and having the open space permanently protected. It is good for the wildlife, environment, and the future of the town.
Jack said could see both sides but that he is trying to be transparent and let the residents decide whether or not they want to continue with cluster housing. Let the town decide if they want to continue it or not.
Madison said that the Conservation Committee wants to make it clear that they do not want to get rid of it, they feel that it can be updated, and they want to become more involved with the Planning Board when they are doing approvals of building sites. That if there are two cluster housing developments together could extend the open space. But that there needs to be some permanence to the protection. So that in the future it can still be there.
Doris Luther (member of the Conservation Commission) said that it is not accurate that the public won’t have access to the common area. That in Maine, unless it is posted, individuals can go on the open space areas.
Jack said that he thought that you had to knock on every door and get permission.
Doris continued to list the benefits of cluster housing because it creates wildlife corridors, is good for hunters to have open space with wildlife corridors, good for hunters, movement of prey and a common area for the whole town.
Jack will clarify whether you have to knock on all the doors of the cluster to obtain permission to access the property.
Doris continued that she really didn’t like to see so much development in the town, but that part of the reason that individuals didn’t care for cluster housing was that they didn’t know about it. Cluster housing is easier to do, is cheaper, has less site work and less maintenance and maintains the rural landscape of the community.
Jack said that everyone has their own opinion and he appreciates her comments very much. But that we have to get it out there. More people need to understand what it means. If it goes before the people for a vote it has to be a majority of the voters.
Mary Hoffman reviewed with individuals present that if the consideration was placed on the warrant that it would be to let the residents vote on whether to continue cluster housing. That without the Planning Board approval of the article being on the ballot which we do not feel is possible, instead of only needing 1 more vote over 50%, the percentage would need to be 66 and 2/3rd of the residents approving not continuing cluster housing.
Martha Huff inquired about where did the 66 % come from. That she thought that our elections were by plurality.
Mary and Jack stated that we had received the advice from the lawyers and that he had a copy on his desk. That if the person who wrote the ordinance did not recommend the change, then the vote had to be the 66%.
Martha continued that then that meant that we were going to circumvent the Planning Board. That we had appointed individuals to the planning board and we were not going to take their recommendations.
Jack said that we can circumvent the Planning Board but that means that the percentage that you have has to be more than for something that was approved by both the Planning Board and the Select Board.
Jack said that if we are wrong about the % we will admit it.
Martha continued that she had never heard that before.
Madison said that the Conservation Commission is very interested in working with the Planning Board to rewrite the section concerning clusters and make the open space more permanent. That they have talked about it in their meetings but have not yet started reviewing them.
Martha inquired if they received notices and Madison reviewed that they were aware and were just starting to work on an open space plan. They have a meeting tomorrow with a speaker about open space.
Martha reviewed with everyone present that at a Public Hearing, everybody is welcome. You don’t have to be an abutter to have a right to voice your opinions.
Catherine Hewitt reviewed what Lee had sent members of the Conservation Commission about how Westbrook did open space. That money was put in a fund by the developer to be used for the Conservation Commission to purchase open space land that would be preserved in the future.
Executive Session: None
Adjournment: Before making a motion to adjourn, both Hoffman and Rogala thanked the individuals who had come before the Select Board to voice their opinions of Cluster Housing and the open space that was available. Jack Rogala said that he was not for or against cluster housing. With the concerns of the individuals who have spoken to him, he wants to leave it up to the people. He would like to preserve as much of this town as possible. That where he came from in Massachusetts, that the open space has disappeared and been taken up by buildings. That what we need is some small businesses- economic development to bring in some revenue. Building houses does not lead to a huge increase in revenue.
Jack Rogala made a motion to adjourn. Mary Hoffman seconded the motion and we both were in favor. Passed 2-0-1 (McCubrey absent). Meeting adjourned at 7:40 PM.
MINUTES SUBMITTED BY MARY HOFFMAN