Town of Standish, ME - Town Council Meeting Minutes 12/13/2005

DRAFT –MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL

UNTIL APPROVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL --DRAFT

TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2005 – MUNICIPAL CENTER 7:00 PM

Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Councilors present: Christy, Hopkins, Pomerleau, Russell and Simpson.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING (S)

The minutes from November 8^th, 17^th and 29^th meetings were accepted as presented by unanimous consent.

PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS

There were not any petitions or communications at this meeting.

REPORT OF THE TOWN MANAGER

Managers update included the following:

Our public safety committee acquired child’s car safety seats which are booster seats for children to 80 pounds. The seats have been given out during the annual safety fair, some are still left and we need to donate them by the end of the year. Anyone interested can pick up a free child’s car safety booster seat for free in the public safety lobby.

Boat launch site. As I mentioned last month, the lower court ruled favorably for the Water District that the public could not acquire prescriptive easement rights for the lands adjacent to the Northeast Road extension leading to the boat launching site even though those lands have been used and maintained by the public for more than 40 years for parking land because the District is a quasi-municipal corporation. We filed an appeal to the Maine Supreme Court. Subsequent to our appeal, we have received a letter from the District to “cease and desist” all activity outside the 99 foot right of way and to relocate the travel lane into the right of way no late then February 1, 2006. We have in-turn petitioned the lower court to stay execution of their court order pending our appeal to maintain the status quo. We are concerned over loss of the access point for ice fisherman and associated parking this winter. The District will have until the 28^th to file a response to our request. In the mean time, we will no longer plow Northeast Road extension beyond the paved portion where it leaves the right of way.

We will be closed for training at noon on the Wednesday, the 19^th of January, for annual training for all employees.

We have received a $10,000 donation from St. Joseph’s College to be placed in a dedicated reserve account for the future replacement of Engine 4 which serves the Whites Bridge section of Standish.

In the mid nineties St. Joseph’s College developed a ten year Strategic Plan with a vision for the future. Since that time the College has invested in a continuous improvement capital investment plan to reach that vision. As a result, the school now has a completely different look to include new entrance, roads with granite curbing, new dormitories, the Alfond Center Field House and pool, the 50,000 sq ft academic building -- Alfond Hall, an indoor mall for students, a new quadrangle in the center of the campus and other improvements. Student population is now approximately 950. The School is now in the process revisiting their Strategic Plan with a desired outcome of growing gradually to a student population of 1,300 to 1,400 in another ten years. They plan to keep the public informed as they update their Strategic Plan.

The Town Hall will close for training of employees on January 19 at noon. This annual training is required.

Chair Hopkins asked about the fire that destroyed a family’s home today. She said that she heard the EMS donated $500 and the Town donated $1,000 to the family. She asked if we had any type of a fund or do we know where donations can be sent.

Mr. Billington explained that $500 was donated from the Ladies Fire Auxiliary and the $1,000 was donated to the Town for a worthy cause by Allied Real Estate. He explained we thought that this was the most worthy family. He said that any donations that people want to make can be sent to the Standish Fire Department by calling Dispatch.

Chair Hopkins asked that information be posted on the web site.

Mr. Billington said that the Fire Department arrived at the scene within approximately 5 minutes of the call. He said that it is thought that an over loaded circuit is the cause of the fire. The Fire Department has initiated automatic response program from adjoining towns and the second truck on the scene was from Buxton. They were able to save jewelry boxes and photo albums and other things of that nature.

Department Head Presentation – Roger Mosley – Public Works Department included the following:

In March a three year contract was negotiated with RWS effective July 1 of this year for the disposal of the MSW or household waste collected at the Transfer Station. The new tip fee or disposal fee is $93.60 per ton compared to $158.00 per ton. The contract also made the tip fee effective for the last four months of FY05. This netted the Town approximately a $70,000 savings in FY05.

On July 1 R.W. Herrick of Standish took over as our waste hauling vendor for both the household waste and roll-off containers. The transition was extremely smooth and they continue to do an excellent job.

In 2006, by State law, the Town will be required to sort and dispose of CRT’s which are televisions and computer monitors, separate from any other waste. In the mid part of 2004 we started sorting and storing in a make shift container and in August of this year we bought a used storage trailer and have it all set up and in service for the CRT storage.

Household waste tonnage YTD for FY06 are equal to last year at this time but the Town’s recycling is down by about 15 tons from last year at this time.

During Maine Recycles Week in November, Missi Labbe, Recycling Coordinator for RWS and he visited the three elementary schools and did recycling programs for all of the students. We also started the calendar poster contest from which we received over 700 entries. The posters have been judged by the Recycling Committee and the calendars are being put together at this time.

Major work projects done this year: The final pavement on the Boundary Road and Cape Road projects. Oak Ridge Drive was also paved. The remaining gravel section on Milt Brown Road was worked on in preparation for paving in the spring of 2006. New culverts were installed and 8 to 10” of gravel was placed onto the existing roadbed. After the completion of the spring paving the entire road will be asphalt. On the Moody Road, 3100’ of the road was worked on. About 1800 feet of underdrain was installed to help drain the water in the subbase gravels and new culverts were also installed. The road was then ground and 3400 yards of gravel was hauled in and compacted. After final grading the road received base pavement and the surface pavement will be done in the spring. At the Steep Falls Ball field gravel was hauled in to upgrade the parking lot and new entrances were built and paved.

Administratively, six new roads were accepted by the Town Council adding 2 miles to the Town’s year round maintenance responsibilities.

The winter snow season is now upon us. The Public Works Department‘s goal is to remove ice and snow from the roads as rapidly and efficiently as possible with safety being foremost. Each storm is different due to such things as temperature, time of day, traffic conditions and the rate and type of precipitation. These factors present challenges that can be difficult to handle and takes numerous hours and dedication from the drivers. A couple of reminders to assist us with our winter maintenance services: No vehicle is to park so as to interfere with or hinder snow removal. It is illegal to plow or blow snow across the roadway. This makes an extremely dangerous situation for both the motorists and the equipment that may hit frozen patches that are not cleaned.

State of Maine law views mailboxes as an encroachment in the public right of way and put there at the owner’s risk. Check out the Town Code on our web site for more information on the Town‘s criteria for mailboxes.

Winter sand is in the sand shed on Moody Road next to the Transfer Station. Sand is available for residential use and can be picked up at any time.

Check out the Town web site for disposal recommendations, recycling, composting and other waste disposal links as well as further information regarding the Public Works Department.

Mr. Billington explained that the winter sand is mixed with salt and can be picked up in five-gallon buckets.

176-05 Amendment to Standish Town Code – General Assistance Ordinance [Hopkins]

Chair Hopkins explained that this was passed by Emergency Ordinance in October and this is the Public Hearing on this tonight.

After a Public Hearing without additional Council or public discussion the above noted ordinance was voted on and the hearing was closed.

A copy of this ordinance is on file at the Town Clerk’s Office.

VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

196-05 Application Submitted by Dawn Anderson for Renewal of a Combined

Establishment/Massage Therapist License at the Center for Soul Enrichment located at 80 Phinney Road [Hopkins]

Chair Hopkins asked if the application was in order.

The secretary said that it was.

After a Public Hearing without additional Council or public discussion the above noted application voted on and the hearing was closed.

VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

197-05 Application Submitted by Bryan and Donna Kenison for Renewal of a Massage Establishment License at A Head Above located at 30 Northeast Road [Hopkins]

Chair Hopkins asked if the application was in order.

The secretary said that it was.

After a Public Hearing without additional Council or public discussion the above noted application voted on and the hearing was closed.

VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

198-05 Application Submitted by Erika Walker for Renewal of a Massage Therapist License for Employment at A Head Above located at 30 Northeast Road [Hopkins]

Chair Hopkins asked if the application was in order.

The secretary said that it was.

After a Public Hearing without additional Council or public discussion the above noted application voted on and the hearing was closed.

VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

199-05 Accept Funds for Route 113 Corridor Economic Development Grant and Appoint Committee Membership [Christy]

Councilor Christy said that we are aware that this is the meeting where we have to appoint the membership of the committee. He said that you might notice that the Town of Brownfield does not have representation. He noted that Caroline Paras of Greater Portland Council of Governments is here this evening to present information regarding the grant.

Caroline Paras thanked the Council for the opportunity to speak before them tonight. She explained that on February 22 the Council authorized the submission of this application to the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development for a $10,000 grant to conduct a study of opportunities along the Route 113 corridor. She said that the grant was funded, and they were very pleased. She said that the purpose of tonight’s meeting is threefold, to solicit public comment, to seek federally required assurances and certifications, and to formally accept the funds. She said as a little bit of background town officials from Standish, Baldwin, Hiram, Brownfield, and Fryeburg have been meeting over the last eighteen months to discuss areas of common interest. She said that they are grateful for the leadership and participation of several of the Councilors including Phil Pomerleau, Terry Christy, Dolores, and former Councilor Gene Nesbitt. She said that they were grateful also to have Gordy’s leadership in this endeavor. She went on to say that the region is rich in assets from the Saco River to the Mountain Division to the scenic road. She said that it is an area rich in natural resource based industries, farming and forestry. The region has supplied white pine and apples to global markets. She said that now there are a variety of niche industries emerging with businesses creating items such as: apple cider syrup, organic granola and potato vodka. She said that there was a lot of creativity in the region unfortunately it’s been under served. She explained that it area is part of two counties, two labor markets, and three regional planning commission districts, far from where business assistance services are located. She said that they hope that through this plan that it takes stock of its assets, creates an identity and puts the region on the map, and tries to bring some money to the region. Whether its more business assistance or capital improvement dollars for a scenic byway or something concrete to really bring some attention to this region and put it on the map as was said at a meeting a couple of weeks ago. She said that the three areas of focus are value added manufacturing, entrepreneurship and tourism. She noted that those things are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan that’s being developed. She went onto say that the committee will consist of one or two representatives from each of the four towns. The committee will be rounded out by other residents of the region that represent state and regional interests. She said that these might include utilities companies, major businesses along the corridor and state policy makers. She said the group just met two weeks ago with a great turnout. She said that they are planning to meet again on January 4 to carve out specifics and identify what product we want to have eighteen months from now. The committee will be staffed with planners from the Southern Maine Region Planning Commission and the Greater Portland Council of Governments; they will work together on mapping inventory and product development. The required matches have already been provided by the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission. She said that the goal tonight is to seek public comment, formally accept the funds and approve the required certifications which would have been done back in 1993 when the Town accepted a grant on behalf of Tower Publishing.

Katherine Rhoda of Hiram said that she was here to try to find out what is going on. She said that it seems like there is huge lapse in the process. She said that this public hearing was noted in a local paper and it was apparent that something of importance to the residents to her community and others was going on. Yet, a phone call to her own town office yielded absolutely no information and the people there didn’t even know what was going on. She said that it feels that there is real gap in the process. She said that it alarms her that there is a public hearing and the public is not adequately informed at what’s at stake. She said that she didn’t know if she should be pro or con. She said that she had serious concerns about preserving the rural character of her community and of the region. She said that she was here with more questions than comments but she wanted to make the observation that the public information part of the process seem to have fallen down flat on it’s face, at least in her town.

Councilor Christy said Barbara Kollander who is from Hiram has been the representative. He said as far as notification, we have been upfront as far as this Council is concerned and that we have kept everybody well informed. He said that he can’t speak for Hiram

Caroline Paras said only to add that this is not the first public hearing for this process. The first hearing was held back in February. She said that the Town of Hiram took this up at a Board of Selectman meeting in February where they would have given notice to residents. She said that there were two other opportunities to learn more about this. She said that there will be one more required public hearing during the process. She said that this is the planning study and it is certainly the goal of the study to preserve and enhance the rural character. She said that they are not talking about chasing smoke stacks or attracting businesses from away but rather growing the assets that we have here. She said that this may address the concerns in the room. Caroline noted that the Hiram Selectman is on the committee and can be a conduit for those concerns.

Chair Hopkins said to follow up it was her understanding that every town had a vote by their council or selectman or a referendum on joining onto this.

Tom Foote of Hiram said that he saw the public notice in the paper. He said that as he understood it, it was soliciting comment or input from the public. He said the minutes of the meetings are public but there are none on file at the Hiram Town Office so he said that he wasn’t able to read up on this unless he came to Standish. He said that what he understood from the ad was that Baldwin is not a member in this process. He said the towns listed in the ad were Standish, Hiram Brownfield and Fryeburg. He said that it skips over Baldwin. He said that he didn’t know why that is and he would like to hear why that town is not listed. He said that Route 113 corridor goes through Baldwin. Also, he wanted to know if Caroline’s reference to four towns meant that Baldwin is not part of it. He said that Hiram is equally a rural town to Baldwin and has very few of the services that would be required to support commercial development. He said as he sees this process it’s a top down process geared to promote taxable base or improving the tax base of the towns. He said that he didn’t see it improving their services. He said that services of a small town such as Hiram which are relatively discrete. He said admittedly people travel to work but they travel in every direction of the compass not just to Portland. He said that is probably one of the problems we would like to see fixed is a public transportation system of some sort developed, so numbered state highways have a bus traveling on them on some point of everyday. He said that is what he would like to see tax dollars spent on – not promoting the big vision, but starting from the grassroots and building a vision. He said that we don’t have much in longer; in terms of twenty to thirty years out before we see the price of fuel escalate beyond most people’s ability to commute long distances to work. He said that was a political position that he takes but he said that he sees it very clearly that with the price of fuel escalating dramatically with each little episode of weather or world events. He said that we are seeing the beginning of the end of cheap oil. He said that with that there will be major transportation changes. He said that he would love to see if this process goes forward he would like to see a bigger vision than just promoting development.

Councilor Pomerleau explained that the Baldwin Business Association is represented. He said that at the last meeting it was attended by four members of the Association there to include Bob Jewett, Jeff Doyle, Larry Seidl, and himself. He said that Baldwin is well represented in the process. He said that there have been meetings in Standish, Baldwin, Fryeburg and Brownfield. He said that Hiram is where the next meeting will be held. He said that they are trying to meet in each town and let them know that we want to explain what we are doing. He said that is why he is on the committee; he would like to see local businesses stay local. He would like to see local craftsman and tradesman be able to live in the State of Maine and do their wares and not have to move out of town to do this. He said that they will look at Pinetree zones where we can encourage local business people to work out of their homes. He said that it would be great to save small jobs in small towns. He said that they are not looking for the big box stores. He said that what he liked about the committee is that it allows the member towns to learn what is happening in the other towns. He said that we have gotten a group of towns together and are discussing economic development, tourism information and things like that which has never happen in the past. He said you can’t lock the gate at Gorham or Standish line so traffic will continue to flow up through the Route 113 corridor. He said that what this group is trying to do is tag the properties, know what is available and try to work together.

Chair Hopkins said that she notes that on the list the Town of Baldwin is represented, but the Town of Baldwin voted this down. Brownfield voted to participate but are not on this committee. She said that she was a little confused by this.

Councilor Pomerleau said that Brownfield is extremely supportive of the corridor commission. It is because of scheduling and different things going on through the summer, the meetings were discontinued through the summer. He said that in Baldwin turned down at Town Meeting because it was unclear to them about the details of the grant.

Chair Hopkins said that she was concerned that the Town of Baldwin did not pass to support this grant. She said that town voted it down but we have a member on the committee from Baldwin.

Gordon Billington said that we became aware that Baldwin turned that down; we then turned down the grant also. We decided unless we had buy-in from all municipalities we would not go forward with the process. That decision was reconsidered at our next meeting based upon comments from the grant approval authority. They said that if there is support from the town’s people then they would not require buy-in from each municipality. The Department of Economic Development said that they would offer the grant even if though Baldwin voted in opposition to it, and allow us to proceed with the group. He said that the State was pleased that there were representatives from Baldwin in some capacity.

Chair Hopkins said that her recollection was that we voted for it the second time because State initially said that all towns had to be involved but then decided that it was such a good idea that they would approve it. She said that the Town said that they would accept it. She said that nobody has answered her question that she had asked.

Caroline Paras said that she could answer two of the items. She said that the State did not require any minimum participation in term of number of towns. Standish could have done this without an interposal agreement -- just on a cooperative basis. The group set the standard, meaning the committee set the standard really high. Standish said that they would sponsor this if all of the towns come on-board otherwise what the point of doing it. She said that the bar was set high by residents here not by the State. She said that when Baldwin voted not to participate we had to stand on what was said, that we would not do it unless we get every town on-board. She explained that we talked to the State to see if that was okay with them, is this important enough to do with or without them, what if we have representation from them but their not representing the town. How can we deal with this? She said that it was decided that it was important enough to do whether or not the Town of Hiram officially supported it. That’s when Standish voted to re-submit the application. She said that the State has no interest in the number of towns that participate. That was a decision made by the group and adopted by the Council. She said as far as who is on the committee there is two minimum requirements. One is that the committee be appointed by the fiscal agent and the second is that it includes a minimum representation from beneficiaries of the project which would be the business community or workers in the community since this is an economic development study. Ultimately those are the folks that would benefit. She said that the group decided that we would have at least one or two representatives from each town. She went on to explain that decision was made two weeks ago. She said that those folks would be rounded-out by other people including representatives of the three chambers in the region; business leaders-Norway Savings Bank, Florida Power and Light, Poland Springs, the Airport Authority in Fryeburg, the Saco River Corridor Commission, Maine Department of Transportation; those are the groups yet to be invited. She said that right now they want to adopt the slate, but it may need to be amended when we invite other people to be part of the group. She said that the folks from Brownfield did not confirm, she had not specifically heard from them to say yes they would be on the committee. She said that they have been attending the meetings but she needed to get the phone call that said specifically confirmed this person and this person. She said that she just didn’t get that call, but they have been participating. She said that she hoped that answered both the questions.

Councilor Pomerleau said that 15 members of the Business Association signed that letter saying that they supported the committee at one of their meetings. He said at the meeting in Fryeburg there were four people from Baldwin. The Baldwin Business Association is very much aware of the Route 113 corridor and the traffic, keeping good jobs and not sending their children out of state to get a job because they can’t stay within the family business because the business isn’t growing fast enough. He said even though Baldwin has turned it down as a town there is a tremendous amount support.

Councilor Simpson said that he has been uneasy with this thing from the day it ever came before us. He said that we were asked to be the host of this thing because they needed one town to apply for the grant. He said from the word go we have said that we were willing to participate if all five towns were involved. He said that at first when Baldwin didn’t join and the State said no and it came back to us again. He said that at time we said that we would apply for it but would only support it if all five towns were involved. He said that he agreed that the Baldwin businessmen showed up here that night and the got organized up there on this thing. He said what bothered him the most is that when the businessman got organized and it was turned down at town meeting and that was the people. He said that right now as much as those businessmen would like to see this thing go and he supports them he didn’t know how we can go along without the town supporting it. He said that he thought that we were going contrary to the way we said that we would get into this.

Chair Hopkins said that she did recollect that they did make a concession the second time around. She said that she knew that we voted for it even though Baldwin turned it down.

Councilor Pomerleau said that not only did we vote for it but we re-applied for the grant knowing that Baldwin did not support this project. We approved the grant with the idea as Baldwin as a town had voted it down. He said that everything has been up on the table from day one. He said that we went back to the State and explained that Baldwin turned it down at town meeting but there was support from people in Baldwin.

Caroline Paras said that the State did not turn down the application. The Town of Standish withdrew the application before the awards were announced. She said that she was told that the application scored high enough to be funded, so Standish had not withdrawn before it was announced it would have been funded anyway.

Councilor Christy said that it is important for our guests from Hiram to realize as a member of the community he was very interested in Standish, it was his opinion that Standish was still very rural. He said that many sections of Fryeburg are still rural and that whole route for Standish to Fryeburg is rural. He said that many members want to save that character and maintain it. He said that the important part of the study that he liked is that they are taking an inventory and a study of the assets. He said that economic development may be the label that is on there but we are looking at everything. He noted the little sign that directed people to the antique shop is that something that we can help. He said little things like that are what they are looking at and that is what he is there for and very interested in. They want to help people with an outlet--whether its brochure to advertise their goods online or some other way with technical help. That’s what this study will do, there is nothing definite now, it is taking stock of our inventory of what we have along Route 113. He said that anything like this has to be funded to get an idea of what is there. He said scenic byway, we might go that way, the dam might be the spot, and we might have a park here someday. He said as far as the communications is concerned he didn’t know how it operated there. He said that we have newsletters and the web. He suggested that they might contact the Barbara and see what she has for information and find out what Hiram is thinking about. He said that they did vote on it at a selectman’s meeting. He said that they did approve the study and only a study nothing definite has been approved at this time. He said that any recommendations have to go back to each of the separate towns for approval.

Chair Hopkins questioned if would appropriate if we know that there will be at least one representative from Brownfield to amend this order to add a Brownfield representative to be determined at a later time so we don’t have to come back and amend this.

Caroline Paras said that we have two people but haven’t confirmed with them yet.

Katherine Rhoda wanted clarification regarding the process. She said that she did she understand that whenever the next step is taken that will be made by the board of selectman or the town meeting. She asked if that was a decision that would be made in each community. She said so that process not dictated in any road map in the process itself.

Councilor Christy said that it can be referendum or selectman.

Councilor Pomerleau said that the meetings are open to the public. He said that there is January 4 in Fryeburg. He said that they are welcome to attend roundtable discussions.

Councilor Christy said that many people from Fryeburg attend the meeting but are not the representatives, but they do have a voice.

Councilor Simpson said that as a Council we are appointing this committee. He said as a Councilor he has faith in Terry and Phil. He said that Caroline had mentioned that the committee may be expanded. Will we have to keep amending this thing at our meetings to appoint this committee, how will the other people get on there?

Chair Hopkins said that if we are appointing the committee they are actually going to be members of the committee. She went on to say that there may be a core committee and then liaisons. She said that she would hate to think that we will have this before us again.

Councilor Christy said that he sees this as a core committee that makes the decisions the rest will be technical support called in when necessary, much like we operate as a Council here. He said for an example the Roadway Committee often calls in experts for additional needs.

Tom Foote said that the follow up to the word ‘caboose’ that had caused him to rethink Caroline’s presentation. He said that some of the folks interested in joining are a group of folks working on the railroad. He said that he was assuming that they were a driver of this process. He said that getting as much political support to open up that line is probably part of somebody’s agenda and getting public monies to study that is an important building block before buying Gilford out. He said more power to it if it is an open process.

Moved by Christy Seconded by Simpson and Voted to amend the order by allowing names of members from the Town of Baldwin to be added at a later date once they are determined. (Unanimous)

VOTE ON ORDER AS AMENDED: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

Chair Hopkins said as a follow-up she hoped that a communications plans be developed for all the towns.

Councilor Christy said that he and Phil would bring it up.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Councilor Simpson said that Roger Mosley gave the Recycling Committee report. He went on to explain that the Finance Committee reports that the town is in good shape. He noted that cash flow is still good but it is not as good as it was last year. He said that excise tax is a little above projections but its going to be close. He said that the property tax collection were excellent we are at 48.5%.

Councilor Simpson said that the Community Center Study Committee met and established the priorities of what they would like to see in a building. He said that the hope was to bring somebody on line to help determine the square footage that we will need and so forth so we can start to develop a plan. We are looking at a June referendum and building a timeframe backwards. We’ll be setting up times that we will be meeting to meet certain deadlines.

Chair Hopkins asked if it would be appropriate for that committee to come before the Council in a workshop to update the Council and the public on what the plans are.

Councilor Simpson said that once there is something concrete that would be good but we are just starting to build it now.

Chair Hopkins said that once the timeline, actions, and a few things done you have the invitation to present that to the Council.

Councilor Pomerleau said that on the recycling information, a few years ago we sent out a town wide notice that described what can be recycled. Have we done that again or could we.

Councilor Simpson said that we don’t have the money the budget to do that. The educational portion of the budget is tied up in the school programs.

Councilor Pomerleau said that was great information and we should find some money from Council Contingency for a mailing.

Chair Hopkins that that she liked that sheet that was sent out to be placed on the refrigerator. It was a nice reminder.

Roger Mosley said that the news letter was done by the Recycling Committee with the funding coming from the budget. He said that he would check with RWS about the handout. He said that they had discussed making new ones because they are going to two stream in the ‘silver bullets’ so new handouts will be coming out. He said that it should be at minimal or no funding from the town.

Councilor Pomerleau said that his granddaughter explained to him the plastic recycling number on the bottom of containers. He said that money needs to be spent on the handouts.

Councilor Christy said that the Senior Housing Committee will make a presentation to the Ordinance Committee next Tuesday. The Ordinance Committee will also talk about sidewalks and other items that the Planning Board will be bringing forward.

Councilor Christy said that the Portland Water District Committee met. They will present information at the Council Workshop in January. He said that the Water District issues will not be an item of action while we are working on a Community Center Building.

Councilor Christy said that the Economic Development Committee and employment opportunities will be discussed at the Council Workshop; food panty discussion will be rescheduled.

Gordon Billington said that the food pantry meeting will be held at St. Joseph’s, the date and time will be determined at a later date.

Councilor Christy said that Councilors are welcome to attend.

Chair Hopkins asked Councilor Christy if he was going to bring forward an order for the Roadway Committee in January.

Councilor Christy said that he would be and the committee members are all lined up.

Chair Hopkins said that the Senior Citizens Group will be meeting at 6:30 pm tomorrow night. She explained that the priority was to come up with a definition of senior housing for the Ordinance Committee. She said that the meeting with the Ordinance Committee will be next Tuesday. In addition to the definition of senior housing they will be discussing the population density in various zones.

Chair Hopkins said that the Personnel Committee will meet on Monday the 19 at 3:00 pm with employees.

Mr. Billington said that is at 3:00 pm with the employees followed by a Personnel Committee meeting which are executive sessions.

Councilor Simpson said that Don Talbot the Towns Auditor will be at the workshop this month.

Chair Hopkins said that the workshop will include a number of items that will be orders on the January meeting. She asked if December 27 would be a problem with attendance for anyone due to the holiday.

CONSENT CALENDAR

There were no consent items at this meeting.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

92-05 Amendment to Standish Town Code, Chapter 181, Land Use, Zoning Regulations § 181-73, Definitions, § 181-8 Business and Commercial Districts and § 181-10 Industrial Districts (First Reading) (Moved to Committee on 7/12/05) [Christy]

This item remained on the table.

181-05 Acceptance of Street Names (Tabled at the 11/8/05 Meeting) [Hopkins]

Moved by Christy Seconded by Russell to take this item off the table. (Unanimous)

Chair Hopkins said that this was tabled due to the thought that there was an existing road named Hemlock Road.

Mr. Billington said that there is not a conflict in the name of the road.

VOTE: 5 Yeas – Nays

186-05 Amendment to Standish Town Code, Chapter 123, Dogs and Other Animals (First Reading) [Christy]

Moved by Christy Seconded by Russell to dispense with the Clerk’s reading of the ordinance. (Unanimous)

This item moved on to public hearing at the January meeting of the Council. (Unanimous)

188-05 Amendments to Standish, Chapter 252, Streets and Sidewalks (First Reading) [Christy]

Moved by Christy Seconded by Russell to dispense with the Clerk’s reading of the ordinance. (Unanimous)

This item moved on to public hearing at the January meeting of the Council. (Unanimous)

Mr. Billington explained that he received a call from the press today regarding his reaction to Frye Island suing the State of Maine. He said that they faxed a copy of the lawsuit but he was unable to read the fax.

200-05 Abate Real Property Taxes –Nadeau- Map 75 Lot 102 [Simpson]

Moved by Simpson Seconded by Christy and Voted to dispense with the Clerk’s reading of the order.

Councilor Simpson explained that this mobile home was in poor condition and was actually removed by the park.

VOTE: 5 Yeas - 0 Nays

201-05 Amendment to Town of Standish Fee Schedule – Private Way Approval Application Fee [Simpson]

Councilor Simpson said that when the ordinance was amended the fee was not established. The noted that $300 is a reasonable amount in fact it may be less than most towns are charging.

VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

202-05 Authorize Contract with Animal Refuge League [Simpson]

Councilor Simpson said that this is the renewal of our contract. He noted that we were taking animals to a shelter in Hollis which didn’t work out. The Animal Refuge League comes well recommended by the Animal Control Office and Public Safety Director.

Mr. Billington noted that there is not an increase in the fee that they charge due to the professional way that our Animal Officer conducts the duties of his job.

VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

203-05 Utility Location Permit-Standish Telephone Company-Harmon’s Beach Road [Hopkins]

Councilor Christy questioned the revised right-of-way mentioned in the paperwork.

Roger Mosley said that the pole line is bring changed in the right-of-way.

VOTE: 5 yeas- 0 Nays

204-05 Reduce Performance Guaranty-Gilbert Homes-Sunrise Street [Hopkins]

Moved by Christy Seconded by Simpson and Voted to amend the order by adding the amount of $84,351.40. (Unanimous)

VOTE ON ORDER AS AMENDED: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

205-05 Reduce Performance Guaranty-Chase Custom Homes –River’s Edge

Subdivision [Hopkins]

Moved by Simpson Seconded by Pomerleau and Voted to amend the order by adding the amount of $12,850. (Unanimous)

VOTE ON ORDER AS AMENDED: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

206-05 Amendment to Standish Town Code, Chapter 263, Vehicles and Traffic, §263-1 Prohibited Parking (Introduction) [Pomerleau]

Councilor Pomerleau explained that Planning Board recently was looking at this area for a no-parking zone. He said that he was in the middle because he is leasing a piece of property up there. He said that he asked about no-parking on Route 25 in that area. He noted that on the other side of the intersection towards Dunkin Donuts there is a no-parking area. He told the Planning Board that he would bring this forward.

Chair Hopkins said that this was a stipulation of approval of Mr. Pomerleau’s site plan that this be forwarded to the Council. She said that she thought that it was a great idea but would like to see it tabled to the Ordinance Committee. She said that she would like to see it in a bigger picture approach than just one site.

Moved by Simpson Seconded by Christy and Voted to refer this to Committee.

Councilor Pomerleau asked to be allowed to abstain from voting on this issue.

Moved by Simpson Seconded by Russell and Voted to allow Councilor Pomerleau to abstain from voting on this issue. (Unanimous)

This was referred to committee by unanimous consent.

207-05 Resolution Congratulating the Bonny Eagle Football Team for their 2005 Championship Season [Hopkins]

VOTE 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

208-05 Congratulate the Bonny Eagle Field Hockey Team for their 2005 Season [Hopkins]

VOTE 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

Moved by Simpson Seconded by Russell and Voted to add order 209-05 to the addenda. (Unanimous)

209-05 Town Council Appointments to Historic Preservation Commission [Hopkins]

Chair Hopkins explained that Burns Cameron is being reappointed to the committee. Dana Edgecomb is a new appointee with a great background in Standish’s History.

VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays

There were no public items at this meeting

Chair Hopkins wished everybody a happy and safe holiday.

Several upcoming meetings were announced.

EXECUTIVE SESSION (S)

An Executive session was not needed at this meeting.

Moved by Christy Seconded by Simpson and Voted to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm by unanimous consent.

Submitted by: _____________________