SELECTMEN'S MEETING MINUTES
Woolwich Town Office

May 8, 2006


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

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.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS' MINUTES: Motion by Dale, seconded by Todd, to approve the minutes of the Selectmen's Meetings of April 24 & 26, 2006 as printed. The motion passed unanimously.

SHERIFF'S COMMENTS: Sheriff Mark Westrum provided data concerning law enforcement in the Town of Woolwich. In 2005 24.7% of all county calls came from Woolwich. 31.5% of all county traffic accidents took place in Woolwich. 29.5% of all traffic citations were in Woolwich. 16.5% of all arrests were in Woolwich. Mark spoke of his concern for slowing the speeding traffic in Woolwich. He agreed to take the lead in coordinating the outfitting of the Woolwich owned 1994 Ford Crown Victoria as a speeding deterrent.

SELECTMEN'S COMMENTS: Todd reported that he took part in an alewife harvest on April 28, 2006 where 20 bushels were caught. He also attended a county budget public hearing in Bowdoinham. Phillip said that the Selectmen were invited to a jail tour tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: None

ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT: Road Commissioner Jack Shaw reported that the culvert at Dana Mill had been cleaned out. Jack also said that the Road Committee had met this afternoon to get on the same wavelength concerning the use of the George Wright Road for northbound Route 1 traffic in 2008 while the Route 1 Nequasset Bridge is under repair.

CEO/FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT: CEO/Fire Chief Ken Desmond reported that four building permits had been issued since the last Selectmen's meeting. During that same period the Fire Department made seven runs. One of those runs was for the major fire at Stinson's Cannery in Bath. The Woolwich Department was assigned the responsibility of protecting nearby homes from the intense heat. Ken said that his department performed superbly. Captain Glenn Kirkpatrick spoke of the need to have a fire vehicle that could carry personnel and equipment into the woods. It would be an ATV type vehicle and would cost $10,000-12,000. He said that the Fire Department was trying to raise funds to help pay for it. Glenn suggested that the remaining funds could come from the Vehicle Replacement Account. Todd said that the matter should have been brought up at Town Meeting. David said he also felt that the Town should vote on the matter. He asked Glenn to provide facts and figures on the proposed vehicle and said that a Special Town Meeting would be scheduled to vote on the matter. Lloyd suggested it could be held on Monday, June 19, 2006 when the Selectmen make their annual visit to the Old Town House.

OLD BUSINESS:

a. Revaluation Issues: Juanita said that, notwithstanding CLT's contention, she was not aware of the $3M discrepancy in the CMP assesstment until November 17, 2005. David asked for her to provide any documentation that would support her position. The Selectmen, by consensus, agreed to allow David to negotiate the matter with CLT.

b. Town Meeting Recap: David said that he felt the Budget Town Meeting went very smoothly and that it was due in a large part to providing the voters with accurate, up to date, information. Motion by Todd, seconded by Phillip, to base the Staff's pay for 2006-2007 on the amounts approved at the Budget Town Meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

a. Special Town Meeting Warrant for School Renovations Referendum: Motion by Todd, seconded by Rita, to approved the attached Special Town Meeting Warrant for the School Renovations Referendum. The motion passed unanimously.

b. Public Hearing for the School Renovations Referendum: Motion by Todd, seconded by Rita, to schedule the public hearing for the School Renovations Referendum on Monday, May 22, 2006, at 5:00 p.m. at the Town Office. The motion passed unanimously.

c. Committee Appointments: Motion by Phillip, seconded by Rita, to make the following appointments:

(1)Patrice Hennin, Conservation Commission 5/1/08

(2)Kyle Beeton, Conservation Commission Alt. 5/1/09

(3)Allison Hepler, Planning Board 5/1/08

(4)Alan King, Shellfish Committee 5/1/09

The motion passed unanimously.

d. Public Hearing and Liquor License Approval: Motion by Todd, seconded by Phillip, to waive the public hearing and approve the liquor license for the Taste of Maine restaurant. The motion passed unanimously.

e. Consideration of Abatement Applications:

(1) Motion by Dale, seconded by Todd, to grant an abatement in the amount of $32,800.00 to Hazel McIntire for the property located at Map R-05, Lot 039. The motion passed unanimously.

(2) Motion by Dale, seconded by Todd, to grant an abatement in the amount of $53,600.00 to Kenneth Chamberland for the property located at Map R-05, Lot 043. The motion passed unanimously.

(3) Motion by Dale, seconded by Todd, to grant an abatement in the amount of $51,400.00 to Joyce and Ralph Knowles for the property located at Map R-05, Lot 038. The motion passed unanimously.

(4) Motion by Todd, seconded by Rita, to grant an abatement in the amount of $100,000.00 to Robert L. Dale and Jean M. Parker for the property located at Map R-02, Lot 003. The motion passed unanimously.

(5) Motion by Rita, seconded by Phillip, to grant an abatement in the amount of $4,400.00 to the State of Maine for the property located at Map R-03, Lot 005. The motion passed unanimously.

f. Voluntary Tree Growth Removal: Motion by Todd, seconded by Rita, to approve a Supplemental Tax Warrant in the amount of $12,120.00 to R. Rosalee Gilmore as a penalty for the voluntary removal from tree growth of the property located at Map R-03, Lot 010. The motion passed unanimously.

g. Memorial Day Flag Schedule: Lloyd advised that the following individuals will be placing flags for Memorial Day:

(1) Thwing's Point Cemetery &endash; Lloyd Coombs

(2) Murphy's Corner Cemetery et al &endash; Todd McPhee

(3) Nequasset Cemetery &endash; Lloyd Coombs

(4) Grover Cemetery &endash; Lloyd Coombs

(5) Partridge4 Cemetery et al &endash; Hayden Temple

(6) Riverside Cemetery &endash; Greg Doak

(7) Laurel Grove Cemetery &endash; Todd Stilphe

h. Tax Collector Health Benefits: By consensus, the Selectmen agreed to offer single health benefit coverage to Lynette Eastman.

i. Shellfish Licensing: Steve Goodenow, Chairman of the Shellfish Committee recommended that the number of Commercial, Residential Shellfish Licenses be reduced from 12 to 10 for conservation reasons. Motion by Todd, seconded by Phillip, to reduce the Commercial, Residential Shellfish Licenses to 10. The motion passed unanimously.

j. Registrar of Voter Hours: Motion by Todd, seconded by Phillip, to have the Registrar of Voters hours coincide with the Town Clerk's hours for the registration of voters for the June 13, 2006 primary election. The motion passed unanimously.

k. Establishment of Mil Rate: Todd requested that an invitation be extended to the Superintendent of School Union #47 and the Chairman of the Woolwich School Committee to be present in September when the mil rate is set.

ADJOURNMENT: 8:20 p.m.

Lloyd Coombs

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

cc: Selectmen/Staff

 

Back to Selectmen's Minutes Page

BACK TO THE WOOLWICH HOME PAGE