SELECT BOARD MEETING
Town of Brooklin

Brooklin Select Board Minutes for
Feb. 24th, Mar. 3rd and Mar. 10th, 2009

Approved Minutes -------February 24, 2009
(Approved 3-17-09)

Present: Gray & Grant
Neil Allen, Jim Cummins, Chris Pitman, Sam Friend

No minutes were read.

Neil Allen, road commissioner, discussed the Old County Road work with Jerry Gray. Neil will be out of town the first of March for a week or so and wanted the Board to be aware of this.

Grant called the BKS to ask about the $10,000 donated to the Town from the Edmund Williams account to be used for the Town Vault. Clair Sullivan is out of town and will be discussed when she returns. The Vault does have heat and lights working now. The only job left to complete is the air conditioning portion of the climate control unit. This will be done in the summer or early spring. Also, some touch up work on the outside once the snow has completely gone.

Albert Smith will be out of town for two weeks, returning to the office on March 10th.

Jim Cummins reviewed the budget figures the board has been working on. Jerry explained each line and how the board arrived at the suggested dollar amounts. Jim has been wonderful to work with, asking important questions, and also suggesting improvements to our accounting system.

Meeting adjourned at 6 PM
Warrant #34: $46,324.48
Receipts: $56,079.68

Approved Minutes -------March 3, 2009
(Approved March 17, 2009)

Present: Gray & Grant
Sam Friend

No minutes were read.

Hendrik Gideonse brought in a letter to the Board expressing his interest and the interest of other tax payers from the Old County Road as to the work being done on this road. He requested this concern be added to our next agenda meeting so an open discussion can be held.

Jerry Poole came in to discuss the boundary lines of his property. Jerry Gray recommended he talk with the CEO when she is in Brooklin on Thursdays.

30 Day Notices for Tax Liens have been mailed out certified mail with return receipt requested. The cost of mailing these notices is over $960.00.

A petition was presented to the Select Board from Sharon Freethey to place an article in the town warrant changing the term of office from 1 year to 3 years for the Tax Collector, Treasurer and Clerk. The petition has 66 signatures of registered voters.

Meeting adjourned at 6 PM
Warrant #35: $204,856.81
Receipts: $40,919.58

Approved Minutes -------March 10, 2009
(Approved on March 17, 2009)

Present: Gray, Grant and Smith
David & Susan Rielley, Hendrik Gideonse, Richard Freethey,
Rich & Cherly Boulet, Keith & Amee Claybaugh,
Virginia Budish, Tim Gott, Sam Friend

Sam Friend, Fire Chief, came in to discuss creating a Policy and Procedure Manual for Tuition Reimbursement and Loan Program for members of the Fire Dept. who wish to be trained as a Basic Emergency Medical Tech or First Responder. Sam also explained the Fire Dept. has established an “Executive Board” with the following members: Tom Morris, Chairman, Paul Gallo, Rob Shillady, Peter Gray, Mike Schneider, & Ed Holden. This board will meet the 1st Monday of each month. Sam has certainly put some time into our Fire Department, making improvements, documenting and meeting standards that are required for volunteer fire departments.

Polling hours were voted on by the select board for the upcoming town meeting. Voting will be at the Fire Station from 2 pm to 8 pm. Voted in favor 3-0. Voting for elective officers will be on Friday, April 3rd.

The Tax Collector and Town Clerk requested copies of the auditor’s comments after he had completed the auditing of the town records. Each received a copy along with the Treasurer.

Moose Permits Applications will be available with the town clerk this year. The state will not be mailing them out to save some costs.

Reconstruction on Old County Road was discussed by the board and residents on this road. Hendrik Gideonse commented that the “road was great” compared to a week ago. All his concerns in a letter to the board ( 4 major concerns) had been fixed. The ditching had been done, culverts were in, and materials used for making improvements to this section of road was very good material. These improvements are no expense to the town. The expense is being paid for by the company installing the cell tower on the Old County Road on land owner by Eric Allen, Tim Gott, the road contractor, explained what had been done so far to make this improvements and what the end results would be to finish up the road improvements when his job is done. The residents were not unhappy with the construction of this road. They were unhappy not to have been notified of the road improvements that were going to take place, of the extra traffic on the road, was the road going to be opened all the way to High Street, and they did not want the Old Country Road to be a thruway. The Planning Board granted permission for the cell tower construction and the select board had been notified of its’ construction. NO ONE gave a thought of notifying the residents. An error created by both boards. The board certainly appreciated the residents on Old County Road bringing their concerns and questions to the board. We are not always aware of an issue if no one brings it to our attention. Thank you very much.

It was also discussed on improvements to the first section of the Old County Road to prevent mud holes and large ice spots in the future. The school bus got stuck this winter and could there be some crushed rock laid on the road to mix with the gravel to make a stronger base for the road. This will be discussed with the road commissioner.

It was voted by the board (3-0) to proclaim May 1st, 2009 as the Town of Brooklin Silver Star Banner Day. Silver Star families of America want to honor our wounded military veterans by showing appreciation for their sacrifices. Over the last couple of years, this was done on a small scale as a day remembering the wounded and ill of our Armed Forces. The not for profit 501c3 organization supports and recognized the wounded and ill veterans. Following May 1st, the proclamations will be donated to the Stars and Stripes Museum where the original Silver Star Flag is on display for all to see. A copy of this proclamation is on file at the town office signed by the three select board.

The select board voted to approve and signed the town warrant at 2:30 pm and given to the town clerk to attest. The clerk returned the warrant to Grant as she walked by her desk explaining there were a couple of questions marked in red and were the select board members aware this warrant had to have public notice of signing the warrant. The clerk did not attest the warrant.

The Tax Collector wanted to know where the dollar amount collected from Auto Excise came from on a report the State of Maine was questioning. Gray asked the tax collector to get better information from the State so we could investigate this problem.

Meeting adjourned at 6 PM
Warrant #36: $6,482.89
Receipts: $46,497.65