TOWN OF FRYEBURG MAINE
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
THURSDAY, MAY 12 2005

Call to Order:

Mr. Wilkey, Chair of the Board of Selectmen, called the meeting to order at 5 P.M.. This was followed by the approval of the meeting minutes of the April 28, 2005. The board unanimously approved the minutes as submitted.

Surplus Property Policy Revisited

Mr. Covelli submitted the changes as made to the Surplus Property Policy. In particular, he added changes to section (b) in the last paragraph. In this paragraph, the town deems acceptable when and how it can sell surplus property. Mr. Dutton moved to amend the policy, which was seconded by Mr. Knapp. The Board passed the motion unanimously.

After the passage of this motion, Mr. Covelli asked whether this includes the dump truck body trade with the Town of Lovell. According to the policy, the board would have to reintroduce the issue, as the trade with Lovell includes two thousand dollars worth of gravel. Mr. Knapp made a motion for the Town Manager to manage the trade—which was seconded by Mr. Dutton. The Board passed the motion unanimously.

Municipal Vehicle Use Policy Revisited

Mr. Covelli presented changes made by him and Mr. Knapp to the Municipal Vehicle Use Policy. Mr. Knapp made a motion to bring this matter before the Board; this was seconded by Mr. Dutton and passed unanimously.

According to Mr. Knapp, the only remaining potential amendment appears on page four, under section 1(b), - the identification of 24 hour per day users. He questioned whether this would be something that the Board would like to review and authorize on a regular annual basis.

Mr. Knapp said that he would propose to amend section 1(b) with the phrase “to be reviewed annually”, and another potential amendment would be to revise the vehicle allowance policy. Mr. Wilkey stressed that the latter should be addressed separately. Mr. Dutton also commented that it should be clarified with its own policy. Mr. Covelli said that there already is a record-keeping system in place; he already has a supervisor’s accident report, employee driving, vehicle condition reports, and maintenance logs for distribution.

Mr. Knapp moved to adopt municipal vehicle use property with the amendment “to be reviewed annually”, which was seconded—the motion passed unanimously.

Valley Vision Update

Mr. Knapp presented this update. He went to the Valley Vision Board of Directors’ Meeting and met with the Chair and Station Manager. At the meeting, they discussed production costs and block scheduling, to ensure that the town receives good scheduling time. Valley Vision also prepared a memo in which they gave the town a fee schedule, as well a potential filming rate for $100 per meeting, which would be shown multiple times—as long as the filming was completed by a Fryeburg volunteer. Mr. Wilkey questioned whether the town would know the show times ahead of time, Mr. Knapp responded with the comment that they have usually been at decent times and that Valley Vision is amenable to letting the town know in advance of the show times.

Mr. Knapp also presented another issue that is that other towns have raised funds by charging a higher fee per subscriber than is currently charged in Fryeburg. For example, Conway receives approximately $19 annually per subscriber, which is assessed on any services Adelphia supplies. By utilizing a similar approach, Fryeburg could raise the fees per Subscriber to approximately $1.30 per month and would raise an additional $17K in revenue. This larger issue is both an opportunity to use the relationship with Valley Vision as well as to gain revenue for the town. In addition, the town needs to meet with Conway to determine when they are scheduling programming blocks as well so as to avoid any potential blackouts. In response to a question from Mr. Covelli, this generation of revenue would buy the town at least three times more airtime. Currently, the town needs to notify Valley Vision a list of what the town wants aired.

Mr. Dutton asked whether Valley Vision has brought up anything regarding the coverage of parades. According to Mr. Knapp, if a parade is filmed, it goes into community access and it is not charged. For example, Conway has a specific account for the Conway Community television. The same could be similar for Fryeburg; however, some research should be done on this matter.

Mr. Knapp said that he has already given copies of the coverage proposals to Mr. Ken Turley, Fryeburg’s representative on the Valley Vision Board of Directors.

Mr. Covelli also asked whether there was currently anything on the list for service extensions. Mr. Wilkey advised this is part of the cable committee’s job. The committee has already proposed extensions from Fish Street to the town line, and takes a particular portion of the community at a time.

Mr. Knapp proposed that Mr. Covelli make contact with Adelphia to discuss franchise fees. Mr. Covelli said that he would contact Mr. Rodney King, and the town will need to find a volunteer videographer before the $100 rate can begin. The board then agreed to invite Valley Vision to tape the meetings until such is found.

Transfer Station Swap Shop

Don Davidson, Transfer Station Manager, stressed that a lot of people would like the Swap Shop to be reinstated. Formal use policies, such as no clothing and required prior approval for dropping off items was proposed. The problem last time was the people did not honor and follow the required policies. Mr. Dutton asked whether it would be difficult to enforce, and stressed that this time the town should put its foot down. Mr. Wilkey agreed and said that if it is being abused, the shop should be closed. In addition, the rules should be put in the newspaper, and potentially the recycling committee could help with reorganization of the operation. Mr. Knapp also suggested that Mr. Davidson give a list of what is acceptable and unacceptable, and to publish a list of those items.

It was suggested that the shop should only be open when individuals, either employees or volunteers are around to supervise.

Mr. Davidson also commented on the practice of certain people putting hypodermic needles in the trash. He requested than any needles disposed should be encapsulated in some sort of impenetrable container for safety.

According to Mr. Knapp, Cumberland County uses inmates in work details in various communities. Mr. Covelli mentioned that the clean-up day this year for Oxford County was cancelled due to the lack of personnel to supervise the inmates. Mr. Knapp advised that he would draft a letter to the County Commissioners regarding the potential use of inmate labor in town. Mr. Davidson also mentioned that members of the community could use their required community service hours to clean up as well. Mr. Knapp and Mr. Wilkey then discussed the potential means of letting such individuals know that they can use their required community service hours. One potential solution was to contact the Police Chief, who would know of such individuals. Mr. Covelli then suggested going to the Department of Probation with these suggestions as well.

Mr. Knapp proposed that Mr. Covelli work with Mr. Davidson on the recycling shed reopening. In addition, he suggested that the recycling flyer that is currently posted at the transfer station should be updated, and perhaps be mass mailed to residents on the town’s bulk rate mail permit. He also suggested a possible contest for the name of the shed as well.

Discussion Future of Legion Property

Mr. Covelli noted that it seemed that this property is becoming less and less useful as a town recreational resource, particularly due to the poor condition of the baseball field, and suggested that a vision of what is going to happen to the property in the long term needs to be determined. Currently, the Academy is using portions of the parking lot, and the Recreation Department uses the bottom floor of the Legion Building itself.

Mr. Wilkey suggested that if it eventually becomes the town’s sole responsibility to repair the field, a joint agreement for future maintenance with the Academy and other users should be devised. Mr. Dutton suggested either selling the land or to entering into an agreement to share the costs of the upkeep of the land. Mr. Knapp advised that after reviewing the existing deed it is clear that the Town cannot sell the land, unless legal modifications to the deed are made. Tommy Hutchins advised that the Legion Committee as cited in the deed administers the property. Mr. Covelli suggested that it may be possible for the town to convey the property back to the Legion and the Legion could subsequently convey it to the academy with similar stipulations. Currently, the Academy is responsible for the upkeep of the upper parking lot that it uses. Mr. Wilkey questioned whether the administrators could enter in an agreement with the Academy in the use and upkeep of the field; and if the Legion is able to enter into a formal agreement with the academy with the legion over the parking lot.

Mr. Hutchins advised that over the years approximately $150K has been invested in improvements at the complex and none of the funds have been from the town or raised through taxes. The Academy minimally maintains the field, but the conditions of the field are such that the men’s league plays at the recreational field. Mr. Wilkey commented that this issue needs to be resolved because it appears that teams are using fields that are good, and then moving on once they become poor. He suggested that perhaps those who use the fields should “chip in” to maintain them.

In regards to the potential benefit for the town as being the owner of the property (as brought forth by Mr. Knapp), Mr. Covelli has said that the only thing that the town has an inherit interest in is the building on the property for use as a meeting space and to house the Recreation Department. He suggested that it would be easier to sell off the whole lot, or parcel it, and give provision in the deed for the use of the building and public use. However, he noted it is specified in the deed that the property should be used for perpetually for recreational purposes.

Mr. Wilkey suggested that Legion committee members, the selectmen, and representatives from the academy should meet to draft an agreement for use and upkeep of the property. Mr. Dutton agreed.

Mr. Hutchins also reported that the committee was entertaining a proposal from the Academy to rebuild their maintenance buildings to an area adjacent to the current Nissen Building. He reported that the committee is agreeable to the concept depending on the type of building and the long-term lease agreement.

Mr. Knapp suggested that perhaps the perpetual use for recreational purposes, as stated in the 1988 deed, is no longer viable. Other facilities now supercede what the original intent was for the land. Currently, Nissen has a long-term lease that ends in April 2006. Again, Mr. Wilkey suggested getting all interested parties together to determine the potential uses of the property before proceeding further.

Tennis Court Reconstruction

According to Mr. Covelli, he currently has all the contract amendments that are required under federal law. With regards to the technical specifications he displayed an example of similar specs from a high school in Illinois, which consisted of 32 pages. He suggested that it would be worthwhile to spend money to hire someone to do it that knows what they are doing—the current proposal for such is in the neighborhood of $500.

Mr. Krasker suggested that the potential consultant, Fred Farrell, is qualified and he has done this for over 35 years. Mr. Dutton made a motion to hire him as project overseer. Mr. Wilkey suggested waiting for a proposed contract. Mr. Dutton made a motion for the Town Manager, to determine what the cost would be per written contract, which was seconded by Mr. Knapp. The motion passed unanimously. The board agreed that the estimates to reconstruct the courts could come in more than $50k, which is more the reason to begin the process soon.

Portland Public Market Certification

As stated by Mr. Covelli, a local grower known by some as the Tomato King, needs certification signed that his produce is grown locally before being sold in the Portland Public Market. The board agreed to sign the papers.

Other Business:

It was brought to the attention of the board that the recertified assessment ratios on new homes are going to be processed this next year; and it is estimated that that they will go up a certain percentage.

The final MSAD 72 annual budget will be proposed on May 19 th, and on May 24 th it will go to the polls.

Next Tuesday, a representative from Susan Collins’ office will be available to address federal concerns.

Mr. Wilkey will be gone May 18 th-May 23 rd. The next meeting will be May 26 th.

The meeting adjourned at 6:50.

Respectfully Submitted,

Lindsay Straw Recording Secretary