Town of Lamoine, Maine
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	Lamoine Board of Selectmen
		Jo Cooper	Gary McFarland	Bob Christie	Kathleen Rybarz	Nathan Mason
Minutes - September 8, 2016

Chairman Gary McFarland called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

Present were: Selectmen S. Josephine Cooper, Gary McFarland, Robert Christie, Kathleen Rybarz, Nathan Mason; Administrative Assistant Stu Marckoon, Lamoine 150 members Gordon and Cynthia Donaldson, Carol Duffy, and Board of Assessors chair Jane Fowler.

Agenda Review – The Board agreed to move the meeting with the Lamoine 150 committee higher on the agenda.

Minutes – August 18, 2016 – Bob moved to approve the minutes as presented.  Nathan 2^nd.  Vote in favor was 4-0 (Rybarz abstained).

Lamoine 150 – Jo reported that she and Cynthia Donaldson have agreed to co-chair the committee.  She reported the meeting discussed recruiting other board members, and encouraging participation from young folks and families.  She said the committee will meet next on October 12, 2016 at 5PM.  She said they intend to have an article for the next Lamoine Quarterly, and ask the town for ideas on how to appropriately mark the town’s 150^th birthday in 2020.   She said the committee discussed having a positive purpose, fun events that fall before the actual anniversary, involving different town groups, maybe an original dramatic production, an old-timers baseball game, and lots of other ideas.  Ms. Duffy said they discussed having a part of the celebration that could continue for years afterwards.  Jo said they plan to involve a lot of groups.   She said instead of the Sesquicentennial Committee, they would like to call it “Lamoine 150”.

Expenditure Warrant 4 – Selectmen signed the warrant in the amount of $838,965.71.  Stu reported most of that was to transfer money from the checking account into the various investment accounts, as well as the County Tax payment, and the first load of winter salt.  He said reimbursement to the fire department for the pump repair bill on Engine 401 was on the warrant as well. 

Bob asked about overpayments.  Stu explained that often times folks will overpay their property taxes, especially when there has been a transfer of ownership or a bank escrow is involved.  He said the town refunds the money when that happens.

Cash & Budget Report – Stu said it’s the first time he can recall that the town has had $2-million dollars in the bank.

Checking Account Reconciliation – Selectmen signed the form indicating satisfaction with their review of the checking account reconciliation which was e-mailed prior to the meeting.

Audit – Stu reported the auditors would be in next Monday to finish up their field work.

Town Meeting Warrant – Bob moved to sign the town meeting warrant for a special town meeting on Thursday, October 13, 2016.  Gary 2^nd.  Vote in favor was 4-0 (Rybarz abstained).  Selectmen signed several copies of the warrant.

General Assistance Ordinance Hearing – Gary opened the public hearing on the proposed amendments to the General Assistance (GA) Ordinance at 7:30 PM.  Nathan asked if the figures were set by the state.  Stu said the Department of Health and Human Services comes up with the figures which are incorporated into the ordinance.  There being no further comment, Gary closed the hearing at 7:21 PM.  Jo moved to approve the ordinance amendments.  Nathan 2^nd.  Vote in favor was 5-0.

Conservation Commission Alternate – Stu reported Michael Jordan was the only person to contact him to express interest in filling the vacant alternate’s position on the commission.  Jo moved to appoint Mr. Jordan to that post.  Bob 2^nd.  Vote in favor was 4-0 (Rybarz abstained).  Kathleen noted it Mr. Jordan is serving on four committees.

Little Free Pantry – Gary said someone has offered to build what’s called a Little Free Pantry to place at the town hall.  Stu said that was correct, but he’s not so sure the town hall would be the best location, because it’s not exactly discreet.  There was a discussion of possible locations.  Kathleen suggested placing an article in the next Lamoine Quarterly to seek a host location.   Stu said he would get back to the folks who anonymously offered to build the facility.

Request – Board of Assessors to utilize town attorney – Jane Fowler said they would like to use Ed Bearor to represent the town in an abatement hearing that is going before the County Commissioners.  She said she feared the town’s position would be compromised by having to wait 2-3 weeks to get authorization.  Jo said if it’s an urgent thing, the Assessors could always request a special meeting from the Selectmen.  A brief discussion followed. 

Jo asked about the timing of the case.  Mrs. Fowler said the hearing is coming up on Tuesday, and the assessors were not prepared to make a presentation.  Jo moved to approve the request, Nathan 2^nd.  Vote in favor was 5-0.

Meeting Dates -  After a thorough discussion about meeting dates and times, the board agreed to meet on the following dates:

• September 22, 2016
• October 13, 2016 (after special town meeting)
• October 20, 2016
• November 3, 2016
• November 17, 2016

Goals Workshop – The board continued discussion on some of the goals identified at the previous meeting.  Jo said she plans to attend an “age friendly” conference.   The board agreed to explore possible uses for the land the town owns around the former landfill and transfer station area.   And, the board expressed a desire to get together soon with the chairs of each committee to talk about town operations and various other matters.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:12 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Stu Marckoon, Administrative Assistant