Town of Lamoine, Maine
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	Administrative Assistant to the Board of Selectmen				Stu Marckoon
	Report for Meeting of December 3, 2020

I hope everyone had as good a Thanksgiving as possible given the global pandemic situation.   I’m composing this the day before Thanksgiving.  Business has slowed significantly at the town hall since the election, which is giving us a chance to catch our breath, and catch up on some filing, cleaning, and other projects.  

The town seems to be plugging right along.  We’ve not heard anything about COVID-19 outbreaks in town yet, and I’m in hopes that our townspeople will remain responsible and take the necessary precautions to prevent infection.  People coming into the office have been extremely good about wearing face coverings. 

Your meeting is going to start half an hour earlier than normal.  You’ve had a request to meet in executive session on a personnel matter.  I’ll arrange the meeting so that the public portion begins at 7:00 PM. That will mean moderating the Zoom portion and the TV portion to not air that part.  The person who requested will be here to meet with you.

Minutes – November 19, 2020 – Please look over the minutes.  I really appreciate written corrections as needed.

Warrant 14 – The firefighters are due to receive their annual expense allowance, and that will likely be on here.  The school expenses are around $92,000.  The November plowing bill is also on here.  This will mean moving about $30,000 from investments into the checking account to cover the payments.  We are still in a fantastic cash position going into the last month of the calendar year, typically one of our slowest revenue months.

Cash & Budget Reports – As referenced just above, this typically is our slowest revenue time of the year, and as such, we’ll be moving some big chunks of money from investment management to the checking account to cover the payments.   I’ll update the report on the website periodically and have a printed report for meeting night. 

2018/19 Tax Liens – Foreclosure Time – Between December 19, 2020 and January 3, 2021, I will be sending out the required notice of impending automatic foreclosure.  I’ve printed the list of 2018/19 tax liens that remain outstanding as of today.  Most of those on the list appear annually and pay when notified.  I am in hopes that we don’t acquire any property this year.

Communication from Ken Ogden – Mr. Ogden owns property at the end of Meadow Point and called this morning asking to address your meeting.  I asked if he can attend via Zoom, and he does not have that capability.  I have asked that he put his concerns in writing to present to you, and he said he would drop something off.

Meet with CEO – Rebecca plans to attend the meeting, probably in person.  You had wanted to follow up with her on the issues discussed on 10/15/20 as well as the Appeals Board ruling. 

In regard to the Appeals Board ruling, I have reached out to Rudman and Winchell and they did call back last Friday and have the information they need to see if they’ll take on advising us.  I had asked Dan Pileggi for suggestions for alternate town attorneys for this matter.  I’ll let you know what I hear. 

Transfer Station Design – We have a bill from CES, so Chip Reeves has been working on the design.  I’m in hopes that he might have something to report.

Land Donation – Aaron Dority of Frenchman Bay Conservancy tells me he’s sending along the cash donation that came with the property.  One of the requests from the Whitcomb sisters was that a sign be placed on the land.  I’m not sure what they want on the sign so I’ve asked for their input (the Board was copied on this). 

Monday, a gentleman who lives in town who is a sign maker by trade asked if it might be possible to work off his property taxes (which are in arrears) by making a sign for the town.  This might be just the project for him.  I can explain further at the meeting.    Funny how things seem to fall into place sometimes.

Technology Committee Follow Up – As you know, we won a $5,000 grant from the Island Institute for Broadband Expansion Planning.  The Tech Committee met on November 24^th and hopes to meet with Brian Lippold soon to figure out what the next steps are for the town’s efforts to increase broadband service.

The committee thanks the Board for authorizing moving forward with the meeting room monitor project.  My hope is to head to Wal-Mart today to pick up a monitor and mounting bracket and to order the other accoutrements to make this happen relatively soon.  

Gordon Donaldson asked about the Lamoine 150! Committee and the Tech Committee splitting the cost of the appropriate equipment to make good quality recordings for radio theater productions.  IT Director Bill Butler and our ex-officio committee member Bayley Baldridge will be getting together with Gordon and Fred Stocking to figure out what exactly will be appropriate.  This should not cost all that much money.

Household Hazardous Waste Cleanup Participation – I’ve put a flyer from the Hancock County Planning Commission in your packets.  Before they went dormant for a couple of years, they annually held a hazardous waste collection.  We have, for many years (20+) participated in the Acadia Disposal District cleanup at MDI High.  It was quite expensive this year and I have voiced my displeasure to the organization about that.  It’s my recommendation that we only participate in one, and since our dues to the League of Towns help pay for the MDI High collection, I would recommend we stick with that, but the decision is yours.

Municipal Election – Nomination papers will be available starting Friday the 27^th for the elected town offices.  The Selectmen whose terms expire at the town meeting in March are Jo and Gary.  Assessor Brian Thomas will have his term expire on 6/30/21 and School Committee Member Michael Brann’s term expires in March. 

Other Matters – As you are all well aware, the COVID-19 situation is not getting any better in Maine.  A few town offices have closed after staff was either exposed or diagnosed.  We talked a bit about that at the League of Towns meeting Tuesday.  Perhaps we should discuss what should happen to town hall operations should our staff become infected.  It’s not a prospect that I am anxious to see happen, but if we have an idea in place ahead of time, we could quickly transition should it be necessary.

See you on the 3^rd.

sm