PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Prior to the beginning of the regular Selectmen's Meeting, the Town Administrator, Lloyd Coombs, led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country.

OATH OF OFFICE: Lloyd Coombs, Town Clerk, administered the Selectmen's, Assessors' and Overseers' of the Poor oaths of office to Rita A. Sturtevant and Todd W. McPhee.

ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN: Motion by Rita, seconded by Dale, to nominate David A. King, Sr. as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen. Motion by David, seconded by Rita, to nominate Dale E. Chadbourne as Vice Chairman of the Board of Selectmen. There were not any further nominations. The motions passed unanimously.

ADOPTION OF THE BYLAWS OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN: Motion by Phillip, seconded by Dale, to adopt the attached Bylaws of the Board of Selectmen for calendar year 2006. The motion passed unanimously.

PREVIOUS MEETING'S MINUTES: Motion by Dale seconded by Phillip, to accept the minutes of the meetings of December 19 and 22, 2005 as printed. The motion passed unanimously.

SELECTMEN'S COMMENTS: Todd reported that he and Lloyd had taken a set of baseline photographs of the breaching of the berm at the west end of the dike. David said that the periodic overflow at the east end of the dike was causing deterioration of the George Wright Road culvert.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: None

ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT: Road Commissioner Jack Shaw advised that replacement signs of the proper color had been installed on Route 127. Phillip reported that deep ruts were forming at the east end of the Hall Road. Jack advised that he would monitor the situation.

CEO/FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT: CEO/Fire Chief Ken Desmond reported that 105 building permits were issued in 2005 compared to 125 the previous year. Four building permits have been issued to date in 2006. Ken also reported that there were 122 fire calls in 2005 which was down from the previous year. Ken thanked Jack Shaw for responding with sand in support of the suppression efforts on December 31, 2005 at the house fire on Route 127. Dale said that any compensatory time for the CEO/Fire Chief needed to be approved in advance by the Selectmen to the extent possible.

OLD BUSINESS:

a. COMCAST/SUSCOM Consent Resolution: Roger Baffer reported on the meeting he attended in Harpswell. The attendees included representatives from the municipalities currently serviced by SUSCOM. The consensus of the meeting was that the towns should not sign the consent resolution as it was unenforceable. The representatives will be meeting on January 9, 2006 with an attorney to discuss the next step. Roger advised that any allocated legal expenses could be charged to the Cable TV Account.

b. TOWN ACCOUNTING PRACTICES DISCUSSION: Todd advised that under the present system checks with duplicate numbers could be issued by both the Town and the School Union. This matter has been corrected by assigning a series of numbers to the School Union that are 10,000 different than the Town's numbers. Also to correct another reconciliation problem, off line checks will no longer issued. Rather, any checks that need to be issued immediately will have a separate warrant. David asked Lloyd to set up a meeting with the Selectmen, Town Auditor and Town Staff to discuss these and other accounting practices.

NEW BUSINESS:

a. Approval of Accounts Payable Warrant: Motion by Phillip, seconded by Rita, to approve the accounts payable warrant of December 30, 2005. The motion passed unanimously.

b. Approval of Payroll Warrants: Motion by Phillip, seconded by Rita, to approve the payroll warrant of December 30, 2005. The motion passed unanimously.

c. Verizon Pole Location Application: Motion by Dale, seconded by Rita, to approve the application of Verizon to locate a pole on the Chopps Cross Road approximately 2664' westerly of Route 127. The motion passed unanimously.

d. 2006 Holiday Schedule: Motion by Todd, seconded by Phillip, to adopt the attached 2006 Holiday Schedule. The motion passed unanimously.

e. Lock Box Acquisition: The Selectmen discussed the advantages of having a secure lock box for deposit of tax and other payments during the time when the Town Office is not open. Phillip advised that he could supply one and would bring it to the next Selectmen's Meeting for inspection.

f. Ambulance Repairs: EMS Director Roger Brawn advised that he had obtained an estimate of $862.11 to accomplish universal joint, muffler and tailpipe repairs to the town ambulance. Motion by Phillip, seconded Rita, to authorize repairs up to $1,000.00 charged to the Fire Department Gift Account. The motion passed unanimously.

g. Compensatory Time Authorizations: The Selectmen clarified their policy on advance authorization of compensatory time to provide that any requests initiated by the Deputy Tax Collector/Treasurer will be routed to the Tax Collector/Treasurer and Town Administrator for concurrence prior to submission to the Selectmen. Requests initiated by the Tax Collector/Treasurer will be routed to the Town Administrator for concurrence prior to submission to the Selectmen.

ADJOURNMENT: 7:25 p.m.

Lloyd Coombs

Approved: /s/ Dale E. Chadbourne

cc: Selectmen/Staff

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