ATTENDANCE: Dale Chadbourne, David King, Todd McPhee,

Phillip Skillin and Rita Sturtevant

POVERTY HEARING: Motion by Phillip, seconded by Rita, to enter into an Executive Session 1 M.R.S.A.§405(6)(F) to hold a poverty hearing. The motion passed unanimously. The applicant failed to appear. Motion by Phillip, seconded by Rita, to come out of the Executive Session. The motion passed unanimously. Motion by Todd, seconded by Dale, to abate the property taxes for the applicant for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 because of poverty. The motion failed on three 0-5 votes.

POVERTY HEARING REVISITED: The applicant appeared and said that there had been a mix up over the time for the Poverty Hearing. Motion by Phillip, seconded by Rita, to re-enter the Executive Session to hold a poverty hearing. The motion passed unanimously. Motion by Phillip, seconded by Rita, to come out of the Executive Session. The motion passed unanimously. Motion by Todd, seconded by Dale, to rescind the earlier vote. The motion passed unanimously. Motion by Todd, seconded by Rita, to abate the property taxes for the applicant for 2004 because of poverty. The motion passed on a 4-1 vote. Motion by Todd, seconded by Rita, to abate the property taxes for the applicant for 2005 because of poverty. The motion passed unanimously. Motion by Todd, seconded by Rita, to abate the property taxes for the applicant for 2006 because of poverty. The motion passed unanimously. In addition, the applicant was advised to apply for a homestead exemption and other state programs to lessen the property tax burden.

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.

MUNICIPAL BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING: David said that the municipal budget was up approximately 4.5% over last year. He said that the unprecedented abatements this year would have a negative effect on the mill rate because the abatements would reduce the Unappropriated Surplus Account which is used to offset the commitment. David also said that the county budget could cause an increase of 2-3 mills. There were not any comments from the public.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS' MINUTES: Motion by Todd, seconded by Phillip, to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's Meeting of March 27, 2006 as printed. The motion passed unanimously.

SELECTMEN'S COMMENTS: Todd reported that he has continued to take part in several county and school budget meetings since the last Selectmen's Meeting. Todd also advised that he had re-erected a street sign.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Diane Longley said that many of the homes in Woolwich did not have their road numbers properly displayed. She said that Arlene Whitney and her were willing to survey the town at no charge except for gasoline mileage. David said that the Selectmen would take the matter under advisement. Arlene briefed the Selectmen on her effort to initiate a "Good Morning Caller" program in Woolwich.

ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT: Commissioner Jack Shaw advised that the turnaround at the end of the Milt Carlton Road would be unchanged from the previous location. As a result, the turnaround planned for the Robey-Hall property will not be necessary. Jack also advised that he would be installing 15 MPH advisory signs on MacKenzie Lane.

CEO/FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT: CEO/Fire Chief Ken Desmond advised that seven building permits have been issued since the last Selectmen's Meeting. Also, there have been two fire calls. Ken said that he has made arrangements procuring gasoline and diesel fuel from the City of Bath at a savings of approximately fifty cents per gallon. He also said that he has applied for a $245,000.00 grant to purchase a tanker/pumper to replace Engine 1. If successful, it would require a 5% match by the town.

OLD BUSINESS:

a. Woolwich Wheelers Clean Up Date Update: Paul Grover provided a brief explanation of the road side clean up by the Woolwich Wheelers planned for April 22, 2006. They will not be picking up large items &endash; only small roadside items. The cost of the rental of the disposal container will be underwritten by the Solid Waste Committee.

NEW BUSINESS:

a. Approval of Accounts Payable Warrants: Motion by

Phillip, seconded by Dale, to approve the accounts

payable warrants of March 23, 27, 30 & 31, 2006. The

motion passed unanimously.

b. Approval of Payroll Warrants: Motion by Phillip,

seconded by Dale, to approve the payroll warrants

of March 31 & April 7, 2006. The motion passed

unanimously.

c. Consideration of Abatement Applications:

(1) Motion by Todd, seconded by Dale, to approve a

$232,300.00 abatement for the property located

at Map R-04, Lot 061, owned by Hazel and

Herbert McIntire. The motion passed

unanimously.

(2) Motion by Todd, seconded by Dale, to approve

a $180,000.00 abatement caused by a CLT input

error for the property located at Map R-04, Lot

053, owned by The Chewonki Foundation. The

motion passed unanimously.

d. Abatement Funding: David noted that there was a

deficit of $42,208.46 in the Abatement Account and that it was likely to be higher before the end of the fiscal year. He recommended that an article for an increase up to the amount of $60,000.00 for the Abatement Account be put in the warrant for the May 3, 2006 Special Town Meeting Warrant. Motion by Rita, seconded by Dale, to put the recommended article in the warrant. The motion passed unanimously.

e. Approval of Alewives Contract: Motion by Todd,

seconded by Phillip, to approve the attached Alewives Contract. The motion passed unanimously.

f. Woolwich Lane Stripping Pilot Project: J. Collins, a

member of the Gateway 1 Town Response Panel,

presented an MDOT plan that would designate both

north and southbound right lanes of Route 1 between

the Sagadahoc Bridge and George Wright Road as "Right

Turn Only". The left lanes would be designated for

through traffic. The proposal brought varied

comments from those present. The Selectmen asked Mr.

Collins to set up a meeting at the Town Office with

MDOT representatives to provide a more complete

explanation.

g. Cleaning Services Contract Award: Motion by Rita, seconded by Dale, to award the attached Cleaning Services Contract to Jeanne Bernard d/b/a Daisy Maid Cleaning Services. The motion passed on a 4-1 vote.

h. Imposition of Disciplinary Action: Motion by Rita,

seconded by Dale, to place a town employee on

probation for six months because of inappropriate

conduct with a customer in the Town Office during

business hours as discussed in an Executive Session

on March 2, 2006. The motion passed on a 3-2 vote.

i. Mowing Contract: The Selectmen agreed by consensus

that no changes were needed in the 2006 Mowing

Contract Specifications.

j. Office Responsibilities: Motion by Todd, seconded by

Dale, to appoint Martha Hayward as a part-time Tax

Collector, Treasurer and Clerk. The motion passed

unanimously.

k. Office Procedures: The Selectmen noted that certain

documents and recommendations had recently been sent

to them by Staff without the proper routing. The

Selectmen requested Lloyd to draft a memo to Staff

reminding them of the proper routing procedure.

l. Plan "B": The Selectmen reviewed the Town

Administrator's memorandum of April 7, 2006

concerning the necessity for an LD 1 Levy Limit

Override vote at the May 3, 2006 Special (Budget)

Town Meeting. The Selectmen noted that, as proposed,

the municipal budget would exceed the Levy Limit by

approximately 41,978.00. They decided to compile a

list of recommended cuts in the event that the vote

fails. As a minimum, the list would include all

increases except for utilities and contracts. David

and Lloyd will refine the list.

m. Shellfish Licenses: Lloyd reported that the Shellfish

Committee planned to recommend to DMR that the number

of residential shellfish licenses be reduced from 12 to

10.

n. Salary Adjustment: The Selectmen noted that they had

received a request from Jeanne Bernard for a salary

adjustment in the next fiscal year. By consensus, they

restated their previous decision to give a 2% increase

to all Staff members. ue

ADJOURNMENT: 8:55 p.m.

Lloyd Coombs

Approved: /s/ David A. King, Sr.

cc: Selectmen/Staff

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