MINUTES
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
STANDISH, MAINE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2007
STANDISH MUNICIPAL CENTER 7:00 PM
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chair Stack and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
ROLL CALL
The roll was called by the secretary. Councilors Biegel and Pomerleau were excused; all other Councilors were present.
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING (S)
The minutes from the July 10 meeting were accepted as presented by unanimous consent.
PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS
There no petitions or communications at this meeting.
REPORT OF THE TOWN MANAGER
Mr. Billington announced that on August 25 Standish would hold a Household Hazardous Waste Day at the transfer Station from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. Fliers are available describing what items can be brought. In addition, he highlighted the items that cannot be brought on this day.
He noted that the Public Safety Department has recently conducted in house a training program to upgrade Firefighter I personnel to the Firefighter II level. He explained that we only had two Firefighter II’s previous to this training. The funding for this training was provided by a grant. Other fire departments were eligible to take this training. A total of 19 firefighters graduated from the program; of that number 8 were from Standish.
He explained that the Town has been notified that we are being recognized by the company that builds the Jaws of Life equipment for rescue saves using their equipment. We will receive their Gold Seal Award because the Jaws of Live equipment have been used several times in life saving situations. He went on to explain that we are upgrading this equipment under a two year capital plan.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
65-07 Amendment to Standish Town Code, Chapter 181, Land Use, Historic
Resources [Stack]
William Orr requested that the 181-131A which describes the voluntary commitment of putting property in historical designation be placed at the beginning of the ordinance which he believed would make it much clearer for people. He suggested that a disclaimer is included that people contact their attorney prior to making this commitment.
Councilor Burgess asked about Mr. Orr’s points.
Chair Stack explained that anyone can approach an owner of historic property and talk to them in regards to dedication of their property. He said that before the property is dedicated they have to come to the Commission and follow the procedures. He said that the Commission is responsible for making sure that the owner gives written consent for any designation of property. The Committee that drafted this ordinance decided where each section would be placed. He re-iterated that this is a voluntary process. He said that section could have been placed elsewhere in the ordinance but that is where the process and procedures section starts.
Councilor Newbegin asked if there is an opt-out clause in the ordinance once someone has placed their property on the list.
Chair Stack said that there is not an opt-out clause. He explained that if there were easements they would be recorded at the Registry of Deeds and would become part of the deed document.
After a Public Hearing with out additional Council or public discussion the Council voted on the above titled amendment and the hearing was closed.
Vote: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
91-07A Application Submitted by Kelly Lockman and Robyn Boardley for a Combined Massage Establishment/Therapist License at Inner Connections located at 70 Ossipee Trail East [Stack]
After a Public Hearing out additional Council or public discussion the Council voted on the above titled application and the hearing was closed.
Vote: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Councilor Christy said that he has made contact with Bill Lunt, Chairman of the Board of Director for Portland Water District. He explained that they will meet tomorrow 12 0’clock to go over the agenda for the first Steering Committee meeting which will be held in September.
Councilor Spencer explained that the Recycling Committee had not met yet. She said that the Community Building Committee is waiting for the Army Corps of Engineers report. She stated that reports from other agencies have come in favorably.
Chair Stack said the Finance Committee will present an order tonight to change over the collections procedure for EMS. In addition, the Finance Committee has recommended carry forwards order for this year.
Councilor Newbegin explained that the Ordinance Committee met and decided that two additional meetings a month will be held on Monday afternoons at 2:00 pm to review the Code Book. He said that they will have the regularly scheduled meeting on the third Tuesday to deal with any priorities.
Council Burgess said that the next meeting of the Economic Development Committee will be August 20.
CONSENT CALENDAR
There were no consent items at this meeting.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
82-07 Amend Town Council Rule’s of Procedure [Pomerleau]
Chair Stack said that this was brought forward by Councilor Pomerleau who asked that Chair Stack speak to this on his behalf. The order has to do with Councilor Pomerleau’s recommendation to eliminate the Economic Development Committee. Chair Stack said that he saluted him for brining this forward because it has energized and generated a lot of activity regarding the Committee.
Councilor Newbegin said that he had met with a member of Windham’s Economic Development Committee and came away with some good information.
VOTE: 0 Yeas – 5 Nays, Burgess, Christy, Newbegin, Spencer and Stack
85-07 Amendment to Standish Town Code, Chapter 263, Vehicles and Traffic, Section 263-3 Weight Restrictions (First Reading) [Christy]
Councilor Christy said that this came forward through the Roadway Committee.
Isabel Higgins questioned the reason behind this change.
Councilor Christy said that this will open the road to truck traffic to help ease the congestion at the intersection of Routes 25 and 35.
Moved Seconded and Voted to move this item to Public Hearing at the September meeting. (Unanimous)
92-07 Resolution of Appreciation to Senator Diamond and Representative Marean of Northeast Road Repairs [Stack]
Chair Stack said that this order speaks for itself.
Councilor Christy asked if a resolution will be sent to each of them.
Chair Stack said that a copy will be sent to each of them. He went on to say that work will be done to the shoulders to improved the drop-off.
Councilor Christy asked about future improvements such as a bike or walking lane.
Chair Stack said that this is a pavement job only. He said that we’re hoping that at some point in time the road will be re-built. The state has a six year plan and we are not on that schedule yet.
VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
93-07 Town Council Appointments to Historic Preservation Commission [Spencer]
Councilor Spencer said that interviews were held last night she would like to present the following appointments:
Donald Essman a Regular Member through June 2008, Richard Poore as a Regular Member through June 2009, Dorothy Payne as a Regular Member through June 2010 and Burns Cameron a Regular Member through June 2010. She explained that there is one regular seat and two alternate member seats available. She said that they have one more person to interview.
Moved by Spencer Seconded by Christy and Voted to amend to add the names as shown above. (Unanimous)
VOTE ON ORDER AS AMENDED: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
At this time the secretary listed the various opening on town boards.
94-07 Authorize Letter to MaineDOT for change to Speed Limit on Route 35 in the Vicinity of Johnson Field [Stack]
Chair Stack said that this speaks for itself. He went on to say that the speed limit in that area just doesn’t make sense.
Isabel Higgins said that this is a good idea, but would like them to consider improving the ability to get in and out of the Water District Parking area near the bridge.
Gordon Billington said that it is a state road and the parking area is Water District land that it park at your own risk. Mr. Billington suggested that Mr. Christy could discuss that at the meeting with Mr. Lunt.
Cara Childs asked where the limit would change.
Chair Stack said that they would like to see the signs be moved to the area of the bridge. Then it will be a matter of enforcement.
Councilor Newbegin concurred that it was difficult trying to get out of that parking area.
Councilor Christy said that he applauded them for trying to get this corrected. He said that he would bring this issue to the Water Districts attention.
VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
95-07 Disposition of 2005 and Prior Personal Property Taxes [Stack]
Chair Stack said that this came out of the Finance Committee from a recommendation of the Finance Director to facilitate the collection of personal property taxes.
VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
96-07 Town of Standish Orders of Town Council Authorizing Issue of $574,250 Principal Amount of Bonds [Stack]
Moved by Christy Seconded by Spencer and Voted to dispense with the Clerks reading of the order. (Unanimous)
Chair Stack said that this is for the issuance of bond to cover the purchase of items that passed at referendum in June.
VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
97-07 Carry Forward Certain Accounts [Stack]
Chair Stack said that he roughly total this to $390,598.55. This was recommended from the Finance Committee as presented by the departments.
VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
98-07 Authorization to Outsource EMS Billing [Stack]
Chair Stack said that in the past we have had an outside billing service do the billing for us. He went on to say that about four years ago we went to an in house process of collecting the EMS revenues. He said that process has shown to not be what we thought it would be and we are proposing to put this effort out to a private billing agency. He noted this is the same company that did the billing for us previously and provides the service to many other towns.
Mr. Billington said that they do sixteen towns in Cumberland County; 30 municipalities in all from as far away as Old Town. They have been doing this for approximately 16 years.
Chair Stack said that their fee is 7% of the revenues. He explained that the position that we have now will be abolished in the next budget cycle. The salary in this year’s budget will be used to pay the 7% fee.
Councilor Christy said that when this first came about we has a billing agency and then that wasn’t working. Then, we went in house and that was touted on being successful and now it has failed. He asked the reason why.
Mr. Billington said that when we brought the function in house we were receiving an 83% recovery from the billing company. The Fire Chief at that time was accustomed to in house billing and believed that we could get the recover over 90%. At that time we were paying the company approximately $15,000 a year. The last year with the medical reimbursement company they collected $210,000. We started in house with a part-time employee initially at roughly the same amount of money and the returns started to go up. We had to invest in software and get certified. At this time we are only getting a 50% return, and at this time we feel it is best to outsource the billing.
Councilor Christy said just that quickly.
Mr. Billington said that the Finance Committee has looked into this.
VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
99-07 Waive Bid Process and Authorize Contract for Purchase of Jaws of Life Equipment [Pomerleau]
Councilor Christy asked Brent Libby to explain the equipment purchase and its use.
Brent Libby explained that the Jaws of Life has now been used 18 times. He noted that the first phase was the actual purchase of the Jaws. The second phase is replacing air bags which are used to stabilize a vehicle or to separate pieces of machinery to help remove an entrapment.
Councilor Christy said that he recently saw the Jaws of Life being used at an accident. He said that all you need is one life that is saved from using this equipment and it is worth the cost.
Councilor Newbegin asked if Fire Tech and Safety wads the only place to get the matching equipment.
Councilor Christy said that was correct.
Councilor Burgess asked where Fire Tech and Safety is located.
Brent Libby said that they are in Winthrop and have been very accessible to the department.
Councilor Burgess said that that he was concerned about bypassing the bid process. He asked if this was the only company that sells this particular piece of equipment.
Brent Libby said that the brand that we use is AMKUS and they are the company that is the distributor of that brand in this area.
Councilor Burgess questioned if when purchasing a piece of equipment like this, do you look for a local company that can provide service it.
Brent Libby said that they did.
VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
100-07 Waive Bid Process and Authorize Contract for Purchase of Defibrillators [Pomerleau]
Councilor Christy questioned availability of specialty equipment for the Fire Department.
Brent Libby said that as far as the equipment that we are purchasing, this will allow us to upgrade one of our cardiac monitors and the ones that are on the ambulances. In order to insure all the equipment is compatible we go with the vendor that can provide that service.
Councilor Burgess asked that when an item is purchased does the department have a sense of a price of that equipment
Brent Libby said that they do.
VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
101-07 Amendment to Standish Town Code, Chapter 252, Streets and Sidewalks, §252-27 Development of Roadway Plan and Access management Standards (Introduction) [Newbegin]
Councilor Newbegin said that this did come from the Roadway Planning Committee. It is to develop a plan for road ways for the Planning Board so the town can control development in town; so it is not driven by the developer.
Cara Childs questioned the Town Council’s role in this ordinance.
Chair Stack said that is explaining that the Gorrill-Palmer plan was adopted by the Town Council. This will give the Planning Board a notional concept of where the town wants roads to be.
Moved Seconded and Voted this to First Reading. (Unanimous)
102-07 Authorize Improvements to the Blake and Emery Road Intersection [Newbegin]
Councilor Newbegin said that this was a safety issue more than anything else. This was brought about from the Gorrill-Palmer Study that was reviewed by the Roadway Planning Committee. He said that by removing the stop signs on Blake Road at Emery Road there would be no back up onto Route 25. Right now if you had a bunch of vehicles making a right-hand turn onto Blake Road you run into a stop sign and only have room for two cars. By removing the signs you will create a through street. That section of Emery Road would be blocked off or filled in.
Cara Childs asked if this will come before the Council again because she didn’t think that a lot of money should be spent on this.
Mr. Billington said that the work would be done in house.
Alan Brown said that this is a good idea.
Isabel Higgins said that she uses that short cut and will miss it but she realizes it is a safety issue.
Jim Pepper said that long wheel based vehicles may have difficulty turning right onto Route 25.
VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
103-07 Cast Ballot for Maine Municipal Association Slate of Candidates for the Executive Committee
and Officers [Stack]
VOTE: 5 Yeas – 0 Nays
PUBLIC ITEMS
William Orr questioned what actions will be taken on the carry forwards now that you’ve passed close to $400,000 worth of carry forwards.
Chair Stack said that a number of items have been done but are being carried forward for payment. Some items have not been encumbered but they do foresee the work being done. He said that he takes Mr. Orr’s comments seriously in regards to the use of these funds.
Thomas Childs said that he was representing himself and some of his neighbors. He said that they would like to request a public hearing regarding code 187-19 (f) regarding a revocation of a Special Amusement License for Memory Lane Music Hall. He said that it was their opinion that facility has violated the ordinance in various ways. He asked if anyone in town government is in charge of checking up on this.
Mr. Billington said that law enforcement has responded 26 times to the establishment and found no chargeable offences.
Mr. Childs said that the Sheriff’s Department has been called during a nine month period ending June 10th -- 27 times. He went on to say that the litter has increased on the road, low frequency noise from bands being heard a half mile away, loud motorcycles coming and going frequently burning the hides off their tires. He asked every Councilor to take a ride down Blake Road to see the rubber that has been left in the parking lot and in the vicinity. He said that doesn’t happen without a lot of noise. He said that the Council has enabled the circumstances that have brought them here tonight. He went on to say that is now time for the Council to act in accordance with the Code.
Chair Stack said that Councilor Christy worked on this quite a bit last year. He went on to say that this should be workshop item.
Councilor Christy said that he thought that it was beyond that. He said that there are two sides to this issue and there needs to be a public hearing on this.
Chair Stack questioned if Mr. Childs had a petition to present.
Mr. Childs said they would present a petition if that was the right thing to do.
Councilor Christy said that he thought a public hearing is necessary.
Mr. Billington said they would come in with a petition which would be presented to legal counsel for review.
Cara Childs said that there are bikes there every Thursday. She said that her son had come to her one night last week because he couldn’t sleep because of the noise. She said that the town has a decibel regulation but the Sheriffs Department doesn’t have a decibel meter to monitor the sound.
Councilor Christy said that the owner of the faculty has a decibel meter. When there is a call to the facility the owner goes to the boundary of the facility with the Sheriffs Department to check the decibels.
Chair Stack noted that the renewal of this license will be at the September meeting.
Jim Pepper said that he echoed Mr. Childs’ comments on Memory Lane. He said that Councilor Christy said that the Police reports were unfounded.
Councilor Christy called for a point of order. He said that someone else made that statement.
Jim Pepper said that one of the problems is that the motorcycles are peeling out as they leave by the time the police get there they are gone. The only way around that is to post a police officer all night. He said that Officer Cote of the Sheriff’s Department told him that the owner has a scanner there so he knew whenever the police were coming. He said after he heard that he purchased a scanner. He called the police and they broadcast his name, address and phone number over the air for everyone to hear. He said that he had photos of the site for those who are unable to go to the site.
Alan Brown said that he has come here a couple of times and documented 20 times that he has called Cumberland County about this and they have only come to his home 2 times. He said that there was no reason that he would spend all this time complaining if it wasn’t happening. He said does someone have to threaten them; to limit the unnecessary noise or is something going to be done about this.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Several upcoming meetings were announced
Councilor Newbegin noted that the Ordinance Committee has a meeting on Monday the 20th at 2:00 pm.
Councilor Burgess inquired that the School Board meeting be added to our calendar.
Mr. Billington said that it would be difficult to add their meetings to our calendar because we wouldn’t have any control over the accuracy.
Chair Stack said that we have been contacted by the model town people. They want to meet on August 24 for a Special Workshop for a meet and greet with the ORTON group of Vermont. They will provide a demonstration on what assets they have to contribute to the model town project.
Chair Stack said that he hoped that at the Workshop on August 28 that members of the School Board of Directors can meet and discuss the process with the state effort to consolidate schools. He said that at either of the Workshops he hoped that there would be a discussion regarding the MOU for the model town project.
Chair Stack noted that forms are available for the circuit breaker program this years filing deadline is June 3, 2008.
EXECUTIVE SESSION (S)
An executive session was not needed at this meeting.
ADJOURN
Moved by Christy Seconded by Spencer and Voted to Adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm by unanimous consent.
Submitted by: _________________________
Clerk/Secretary
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