Town of Howland
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
6pm
Selectmen Present: Tom Hunter, Michael Harris, John Neel and Andrew LeBlanc
Others Present: David Wilson, Town Manager, Kimberly Soucier Recording Secretary and attendees.
Selectmen’s Meeting
Call to Order: The Selectmen’s Meeting was called to order by Chairman Hunter at 6:00pm.
Accept the Minutes of December 19, 2016: A motion was made by Mr. Neel seconded by Mr. Harris to accept the minutes from the last meeting as printed and place them on file; motion carried.
Public Comments: Michael Sereyko wanted to thank the Highway for doing a great job on plowing and keeping the roads clear.
Any changes to the agenda- Town Manager/Board of Selectmen: No changes
Update on American Tower Easement Agreement: Town Manager asked the Board if they had any issues with the language in the final draft of the easement agreement. There were two minor adjustments made which was attached to the pages of the original document. The Legal Departments on both sides had no problem with the easement. The documents will be on the Board’s desk for signatures. Once they have been signed the copies will be sent back to American Tower and the check should be forthcoming.
Town Manager’s Signature Required on Engineering Agreement: Town Manager informed the Board that he received copies of the Engineering agreement from A. E. Hodsdon for the Town’s SRF Water Main Installation and Replacement Project for 2017 which requires the Town Manager’s signature. The engineering agreement will be placed on the Board’s desk to review. If the Board has no problem with the agreement the Town Manager will sign and send back to A. E. Hodsdon for them to get started with the design.
Board’s Recommendations/Appointments to Budget Committee: Town Manager asked the Selectmen on who they would like to see on the Budget Committee. Mr. Neel has expressed interest on being the liaison between Board and Budget Committee. Mike Harris chose Mary Arrants, John Neel chose William Gardner and Andy Leblanc chose Eric St. Cyr. Tom Hunter has two in mind just waiting for an answer. A motion was made by Mr. Neel seconded by Mr. LeBlanc to accept Mary Arrants, William Gardner and Eric St. Cyr as part of the Budget Committee and to accept Mr. Hunter’s appointee as part of the committee; motion carried. The Board agreed to have Mr. Neel to act as the liaison.
Mr. Hunter came in later in the week with his appointee, Gail Garron.
Joint Meeting: Economic Development Committee/Board of Selectmen- Chairman Brawn of the EDC and several committee members were present at the meeting to discuss the two items on the agenda.
A. Discussion of Gazebo/Additions to Riverfront Trail System & Bypass- There was discussion on the idea of having a band stand
with a gazebo on top at the River Front and wanted to know if the Board had any issues having it raised in order to store lights, B-B-Que fixtures and other items that will be required to be locked up. The band stand will be handicap accessible. Andy Goode has stated that the funding that the Town is eligible for will pay for the Engineering Design. After some discussion a motion was made by Mr. LeBlanc seconded by Mr. Neel to move forward with the engineering design plans with the band stand and gazebo along with power sources for the upcoming projects; motion carried. The Board discussed with the committee on having more lights on the trail ending at the Piscataquis Bridge and possibly extending the picnic tables and benches along the trail side. The Board agreed to explore the idea and see if there is any funding of fencing in and placing a gate across the bridge at the dam area of the Bypass to make the area safer. A motion was made by Mr. LeBlanc seconded by Mr. Neel to have the Economic Development Committee move forward on extending the lights on the walking trail and provide more picnic tables and benches; motion carried.
B. Extending Recreational Vehicle Trail System through Howland- There was a joint meeting with the EDC, Snowmobile and ATV Club members and Enfield representatives discussing the idea of bringing the trails in to connect Howland and Enfield. The snowmobile club will approach residents and school districts to get permission to travel on the properties and recreational fields and to get DOT approval to cross the Penobscot Bridge with the Piscataquis Bridge already been approved. The committee is in hopes to pull the ITS trails from Seboeis and Maxfield into the Howland and Enfield area. There is a strip of land between the storage units and Town Property for the snowmobile trails to cross onto Bridge Street to the recreational park and to cross back over onto the Penobscot Bridge. Once over into West Enfield the recreational vehicles can access any trails that they want to ride. Once the proposals are approved by the Board and is accepted by the taxpayers at a public hearing signs will be placed up by the club on speed limits. The EDC is in hopes that this will bring a lot of businesses to the local stores in Howland and Enfield. Both Howland and Enfield Board are in agreement and want the EDC to move forward with the concept plans connecting the recreation vehicle trails.
Executive Session- Title #1, MRSA §405 (6) (A): A motion was made by Mr. Neel seconded by Mr. Harris to go into executive session on a Personnel issue: motion carried and the Board went in session at 6:54pm. A motion was made by Mr. LeBlanc seconded by Mr. Neel to return to regular session; motion carried ant the Board reconvened the meeting at 7:23pm. A motion was made by Mr. Neel seconded by Mr. Harris to pay a stipend of $150.00 per week to Darin Wallace for the remainder of the probation period; motion carried.
Town Manager: On December 21st Eaton Peabody filed a 30 day notice to Penobscot Registry of Deeds on the 105 Water Street Property to begin their responsibility on cleaning up the property which was declared as a Dangerous Building. Notices have been sent out to Mr. Von Der Hyde and Mr. Buck. Highway- The Board was informed between snow storms in the past week the chains on both plow trucks that run the sanding equipment broke and had to be replaced. Town Manager stated even thou the chains were worn out the Highway employees found several rocks within the winter sand. The sand that was purchased from S.O.B. wasn’t adequately screened. The Town Manager and Darin Wallace will do a curtsey visit to S.O.B. to see what can be done. Mike Harris suggested that the Fire Department have a couple buckets of sand placed at the Fire Station to prevent what happened a few weeks ago with a Fireman falling in the yard hitting his head. Fire Department- Chief McNally has been involved with the hiring process with his senior staff. The subcommittee command/structure report will be available for the Board in their packet by the next Board Meeting. There was some discussion having the Fire Department look into having a boiler mate for hot water during the winter season and in the summer months have an on demand with propane. Possibility of placing an addition on back of Fire Station for sleeping quarters, looking at one of the portable class rooms or having a bunk room built within the station. All options will be looked at and will be brought to the Board for discussion. Police Proposal- Town Manager is still waiting Enfield’s decision. The fact sheet will be available at the January 24th Election to get feedback from the public on what they want us to do regarding the police protection. Flood Mapping: Kleinschmidt is still waiting on FEMA’s approval on the proposed changes to the flood maps. Once this is approved Kleinschmidt will set the date for the Public Hearing with the Board and Public. Looks like the hearing will probably be sometime in February, 2017.
Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the meeting a motion was made by Mr. Neel seconded by Mr. Harris to adjourn; motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 7:37pm.