SELECTMEN'S MEETING MINUTES
Woolwich Town Office
August 29, 2005


ATTENDANCE: David King, Todd McPhee, Phillip Skillin and Rita Sturtevant

PREVIOUS MEETINGS' MINUTES: Motion by Phillip, seconded by Rita, to accept the minutes of the meetings of August 15 & 18, 2005 as printed. The motion passed unanimously.

SELECTMEN'S COMMENTS: David displayed a Channel Eight News video of the unsafe Route 1 driving conditions in the Town of Woolwich. Todd spoke of his efforts to keep the Town Clock accurate. Phillip advised that the monthly meeting of the CPR Committee was postponed because of a conflict with the Gateway 1 Town Response Panel (TSP) meeting. Rita expressed doubts that the Gateway 1 Project would produce anything except more studies. David advised that CLT reported the near completion of the Assessing Manual. David also reported that CLT will be producing property cards for all parcels and would be turning over the finished product on September 8, 2005.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Jason Shaw agreed with Rita that the results of the Gateway 1 Project would be a long time coming.

ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT: Road Commissioner Jack Shaw advised that the landfill would be mowed on September 3, 2005. David said that he opposed discontinuance of the Old Town Road (near the intersection of the Nequasset Road and the George Wright Road) because of a need for an alternative access to the U-9, Lot 21 site and the Town Landing property in the event of a bridge failure. Jack said that he agreed with David as it would cost in excess of $100,000.00 to replace that bridge. Arthur Brawn and Jack suggested that the Town should pay to have the land surveyed. The Selectmen asked Lloyd to bring up the matter during the budget formulation next year. Ken Desmond said that it was not safe to drive a fire truck over the bridge. It was the consensus of the Selectmen to oppose discontinuance of the Old Town Road. Note: Nancy Carlton, who had requested that the discontinuance be considered, arrived later in the meeting and the Selectmen agreed to do a site walk on the road bed on Wednesday, August 31, 2005, at 3:30 p.m.

CEO/FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT: CEO/Fire Chief Ken Desmond reported that there had been two fire and eight rescue calls since the last Selectmen's Meeting. Ken said that the annual firefighters banquet took place on August 26, 2005. At that event, Roger Brawn and Brad Gallagher, two longtime firefighters, were honored with their lifetime membership reflecting 25 years of service apiece. Ken reported that a total of 79 Building Permits have been issued to date. He also noted that the Planning Board would be holding a public hearing tonight on a subdivision planned for the Sanders Road, a used car dealership on Route 1 and a new gym at Chop Point School. Lloyd advised that the automobile junkyard permit for Ken Geroux expires on October 1, 2005. Lloyd noted that a recent change to state law requires Mr. Geroux to demonstrate that he is operating a viable business. Lloyd also noted that a public hearing on the license renewal is optional with the Selectmen. Motion by Todd, seconded by Rita, to hold a public hearing on the matter. The motion passed unanimously.

HEALTH OFFICER'S REPORT: Jack Albis, Health Officer, reported that he is making arrangements with CHANS to hold a flu clinic this fall. Jack also reported that Maine Yankee will be storing railcars on a siding behind the Taste of Maine preparatory to taking them to Wiscasset for the low level waste cleanup. Jack further advised that he had inspected all eight of the Woolwich food vendors and found them to meet approval.

OLD BUSINESS:

a. Consideration of Assessing Agent's Contract: Motion by Todd, seconded by Phillip, to approve the attached contract renewal of the Assessing Agent. The motion passed unanimously.

b. Consideration of IRS Deposit Penalty: David noted that the IRS had rejected the Town's explanation for an untimely payroll payment and demanded payment of $668.40 in penalty. David also said that he had discussed the matter with Town payroll personnel to ensure non recurrence. Motion by Rita, seconded by Phillip, to pay the penalty of $668.40 from the Contingency Account. The motion passed unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

a. Approval of Accounts Payable and Payroll Warrants: Motion by Phillip, seconded by Rita, to approve the accounts payable warrant of August 26, 2005 and the payroll warrant of September 2, 2005. The motion passed unanimously.

b. Approval of Payroll Warrants: Motion by Phillip, seconded by Rita, to approve the payroll warrants of August 8 & 15, 2005. The motion passed unanimously.

c. Wiscasset Bypass Discussion: Amanda Russell, a resident of Edgecomb, asked the Selectmen to sign the attached letter dated August 29, 2005 in support of the Maine Department of Transportation letter of June 7, 2005 which outlined the planned Wiscasset Bypass process. She advised that her request resulted from the Town of Wiscasset recent attempts to promote a southern bypass route. David advised that he did not support a southern bypass route. By consensus, the Selectmen decided to consider the matter at their next meeting.

d. Consideration of Revised Town Administrator Job Description: Lloyd advised that the proposed Town his current responsibilities but presented them in a clearer and more comprehensive way. Further, Lloyd advised he would not be recommending any increase in salary for the position in next year's budget. Motion by Todd, seconded by Phillip, to approve the attached revised Town Administrator Job Description. The motion passed unanimously.

e. Consideration of Abatements and Supplements: Motion by Rita, seconded by Todd, to approve the following abatements and supplements:

Christopher & Nichole Bradford &endash; Abatement $588.00

Robert Rollins &endash; Supplement $557.76

Christopher & Nichole Bradford - Supplement $302.40

Allan & Katherine McKelvy &endash; Abatement $5,673.36

Michael Grassi & Ruth Baird &endash; Supplement $5,614.56

The motion passed unanimously.

f. Consideration of Tree Growth Applications: Motion by Rita, seconded by Todd, to approve the following Assessing Agent recommended Tree Growth Applications:

Account No. 1687 &endash; Curtis C. Hewitt andKaren L. Gray

Account No. 405 &endash; R. E. DeWick Family Trust

Account No. 406 &endash; R. E. DeWick Family Trust

The motion passed unanimously.

g. Consideration of Tree Growth Plan Removal: Motion by Todd, seconded by Phillip, that the change in the Tree Growth Plan of Martin Willebeek-Lemir be considered a removal and not an update. The motion passed unanimously.

h. Appointment to Town Response Panel: Motion by Phillip, seconded by Todd, to appoint Evan Holbrook to the Gateway 1 Town Response Panel. The motion passed unanimously.

i. Amendment to Road Maintenance Contract A: Lloyd advised that the Town Meeting vote on May 6, 2005 to accept MacKenzie Lane as a town road caused a need to amend Road Maintenance Contract A to add it to the snowplowing route. He said that the five year cost would be $15,750.00. Jack Shaw, the contractor for Road Maintenance Contract A, said that he would forego the first year's increase of $2,844.00. The Selectmen were very grateful of Jack's generous offer.

ADJOURNMENT: 7:20 p.m.

Lloyd Coombs

Approved: ________________

cc: Selectmen/Staff

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