BOS Minutes 8/14/17

MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 14, 2017 BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING

MEMBER’S PRESENT:  Board Members Bruno Federico, Joe Lovejoy and Town Administrator Paul Deschaine.  Board Member Michael Houghton was absent.

At 7:33 PM Chairman Federico opened the general meeting of the Board of Selectmen.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

Town Treasurer Deb Bronson indicated that the current General Fund balance was $8,686,557.77.

MINUTES:

Mr. Lovejoy moved to approve the 8/7/17 minutes as amended.  Mr. Federico seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS

Brian Orlandi requesting a road closure for a block party.  Mr. Lovejoy motioned to close Christie Lane on September 30, 2017 from 2:00 pm until evening for the block party.  Mr. Federico seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

FIRE DEPT.

Fire Chief Matt Larrabee stated that the Fire Dept. Facebook page has not been created, nor is maintained, by the Fire Dept.

Chief Larrabee said that State Inspections are coming up in September for all the emergency vehicles.  He reported some vehicle maintenance issues. 

Chief Larrabee reported 488 calls for the year.  Last night, they assisted Eliot, ME from 7:00 pm to 3:00 am. 

Mr. Deschaine questioned Chief Larrabee on who was managing the EMS billing.  The Aging report shows a total of $67,000 over 120 days overdue, some going back to Oct 2012.  Mr. Larrabee suggested reaching out to the EMS Lieutenant in charge of billing and to Comstar to determine who the correct person to manage this would be.  Mr. Lovejoy asked for a status report next month. 

POLICE DEPT.

Police Chief John Scippa reported two successful bike rodeos.  The Police Dept. has been working with the Parks & Recreation Dept. on these community outreach programs.

Chief Scippa will continue to do proactive traffic studies into the fall.

Chief Scippa said they hope to have a Police Expo in September, which would be a great community event.  He will keep the Board updated when they have more plans set in place.

Chief Scippa notified the Board that one of the officers had an incident with the motorcycle which resulted in $2,048.65 worth of damage.  The insurance company has been notified.  Mr. Deschaine said he would follow up with them.    

Chief Scippa discussed the carbon monoxide issue that Ford Motor cars have been having.  Stratham has one of these vehicles.  They had the vehicles tested and are taking steps to ensure the officer’s safety. 

At Mr. Deschaine’s request, Chief Scippa presented to the Board a job description for Lieutenant.

Mr. Federico asked if the Police Station sign was lighted.  Chief Scippa said it was at one time and he has talked with Public Works Director Colin Laverty regarding that issue.  Mr. Laverty said after looking into the matter, he was shocked at the cost to fix it.  He discussed the details and options.  It was agreed to wait until September to see how the Municipal Center sign will look. 

Mr. Federico asked about the Citizen Police Academy.  Chief Scippa said that the Police Expo was meant to replace the Academy.  In May he had discussed with his staff holding various community events.  Although the Citizen Police Academy is an excellent event, it doesn’t reach as many people as he would like.  He’s thinking of something similar to an open house, where they could invite the entire community.  They would be using the same number of resources but would be able to reach a greater number of people.

NEW BUSINESS:

Mr. Deschaine asked Mr. Laverty if he had received any bids on the sale of the Ford F-350.  He did not.  Mr. Deschaine presented the offer he received from Prime Ford of Saco, Maine for $25,100.  Mr. Lovejoy motioned to sell the Ford F-350 to Prime Ford of Saco, Maine for $25,100.  Mr. Federico seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Library Director Lesley Kimball presented the Strategic Plan for the Library.  Ms. Kimball said that she and the Library Trustees based the Plan on overarching values they want the Library to embody.  They wanted to develop goals that would support those values and carry them through the next five years.  By asking questions and listening to the community, they developed a mission statement.  Their mission statement, to inspire readers, enrich lives, and create community, supports the values they want the Library to exemplify.  They want to ensure that every project the Library undertakes would support their objective.  They also wanted to be able to measure their success at achieving the goals they’ve set.  Ms. Kimball detailed how they would do that.  She went on to explain that because they are a service organization, the staff is incredibly important.  People value the personal service, welcoming atmosphere and easy access to information that the Library offers.  Ms. Kimball concluded by saying that the Library wants to align their mission and goals with the Town and they hope to be of service for many years.  Mr. Lovejoy stated that he was very impressed with the Plan.  Ms. Kimball said that the Plan helps them focus and direct their resources toward the things they’ve set out as their main priorities.  Mr. Deschaine said that he believes the collaboration we have between the Library and other departments in the municipal center is unique to our Town and is a great strength and benefit.  However, Mr. Deschaine finds there is a lack of communication between the public and the Town Offices.  A discussion about various ways in which to get information out and to communicate with the public ensued.  Ms. Kimball proposed the Library be an information aggregate.     

MEETINGS

Mr. Federico reviewed the meetings of the past week and the coming week.  Mr. Deschaine gave an update of the Heritage Commission meeting which involved options for the Bartlett-Cushman House.  He also attended and gave a brief update on the Energy Commission, the Storm Water Coalition and the Conservation Commission meeting. 

ADMINISTRATION

In preparation for Wednesday’s meeting with the Department of Labor regarding the issue of our contractual relationship with Paul Wolf, Mr. Deschaine discovered minutes of a non-public session.  He requested the Board’s permission to unseal the minutes.  Mr. Lovejoy motioned to unseal a portion of the minutes of the May 23, 2011 Board of Selectman meeting*.  Mr. Federico seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Mr. Deschaine brought forth a request from Parks & Recreation Director Seth Hickey for approval of an expenditure of over $3,000 for test excavation specialty work at Stratham Hill Park.  Mr. Lovejoy motioned to allow Mr. Hickey to expend $3,000 for Pitkin Construction to do work at the Park.  Mr. Federico seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Mr. Deschaine said that the deadline for Park Ranger applicants was today.  He reviewed the hiring process.  There was discussion as to who should be on the rating committee. 

At 9:22 pm Mr. Federico moved to adjourn.  Mr. Lovejoy seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Karen Richard
Recording Secretary 

*5/23/11 unsealed minutes in attachment