Town of Lamoine, Maine
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	Lamoine Board of Selectmen
		Jo Cooper	Gary McFarland	Bob Christie	Kathleen Rybarz	Nathan Mason
Minutes - February 4, 2021

Chair Kathleen Rybarz called the meeting to order.

This meeting was held both at the town hall and via Zoom Meetings on line.

Present at the town hall were Selectman Nathan Mason and Administrative Assistant Stu Marckoon

Present via Zoom Meetings were Selectmen Robert Christie, Kathleen Rybarz, Gary McFarland, and S. Josephine Cooper.

Agenda Review – Kathleen noted there was just one item on the addendum, the checking account reconciliation.

Minutes – January 21, 2021 – Jo moved to approve the minutes as printed.  Gary 2^nd.  Rollcall Vote in favor was 5-0.

Expenditure Warrant 19 – Stu reported the warrant totals $99,406.62.  He said the school department bills were approximately $79,000 of the total, and several property tax refunds were on the warrant.  Gary moved to approve the warrant, Nathan 2^nd.  Rollcall Vote in favor was 5-0.

Cash & Budget Reports – Stu reported no issues at this time.  Jo noted that the expenditures are very close to the amount of the year that has passed as a percentage.

Tax Liens – Stu reported that all of the 2018/19 tax liens were paid in full, so the town did not foreclose on any property.  He said the last payments were received at about 11:45 on Tuesday, the deadline day.

Checking Account Reconciliation Review – Nathan moved to approve the review of the January bank statement reconciliation which was e-mailed to the board prior to the meeting.  Jo 2^nd.  Rollcall vote in favor was 5-0.

Dog licensing late fees – Stu reported that he’d thought the board might have to take action in regard to possibly waiving the $25.00 late fee that starts on February 1^st.  He said Governor Mills, instead, issued an executive order halting late fees earlier in the week.

Appointments – Bob moved to appoint Robert LaChance to the Technology Committee, term expiring June 30, 2024.  Gary 2^nd.  Rollcall vote in favor was 5-0.

Stu reported that Robert Hamblen has offered to volunteer to fill in on an emergency basis at the transfer station, but could not take payment.  Nathan asked if he would be covered if he were injured.  Jo noted the town has volunteer insurance.  The board requested that a clear understanding with Mr. Hamblen be drafted.  Stu noted that Brandon Robitaille is the normal backup, and use of Mr. Hamblen would be limited.  He said he would draft up some sort of understanding for review.  No action was taken.

Town Meeting Warrant – Bob moved to approve the town meeting warrant for March 9 and 17, 2021 as drafted.  Nathan 2^nd.  Kathleen asked if the language from the petitioned question is the same as what was on the petitions submitted.  Stu said it is. 

Stu said the six ordinance amendment questions are on a separate document to be signed by the board.  Nathan asked if the signed ordinance amendments happen prior to the public hearing.  Stu said that was correct.  Kathleen noted that the current indoor gathering limit is 50-people and wondered if that might change in March.  Stu said if the limits stand, the town meeting could be recessed similar to 2020.

Rollcall Vote in favor was 5-0.

Building & Land Use Ordinance Amendments – Jo moved to approve the amendments as suggested by the Planning Board and present them to the town meeting.  Gary 2^nd.  Rollcall Vote in favor was 5-0.

Site Plan Review Ordinance Amendments – Jo moved to approve the amendments as suggested by the Planning Board and present them to the town meeting.  Bob 2^nd.  Rollcall Vote in favor was 5-0.

Ballot – Jo noted that the written words on the Selectmen’s race state “Vote for One (2)”.  Stu said that would be corrected immediately.  He said only one absentee ballot has gone out. 

Moderator – Stu reported Harvey Kelley is on board to moderate again.  A brief discussion followed regarding masks.

Town Report – Gary noted that in the memory section, Mima Grindle had not been included.  Stu said the criteria he uses is whether the person has served the town government in some capacity, and he was not aware that Ms. Grindle had.  Selectmen asked that it be clarified.

Stu said he’s still waiting for the Superintendent of Schools report and the audit. He said the audit should be ready next week.

Request from Bar Harbor Town Council regarding Sustainability Coordinator – Jo moved to refer this request to the Conservation Commission.  Nathan 2^nd.  Rollcall vote in favor was 5-0.

Lamoine 150! – Jo reported the committee has not met since the last Selectmen’s meeting, so there is nothing new to report.

Communication from Alan Moldawer – Stu reported that Mr. Moldawer e-mailed a letter just as he was leaving for the day. Jo said she’d like to have a chance to read it.  Kathleen asked if Code Enforcement Officer Rebecca Albright had seen it.  Stu said she was here when it came in and he gave her a printed copy.  Selectmen asked for the matter to be on the next agenda.

Hancock County Jail/Substance Abuse Counseling Services – Bob said he’d requested this be discussed at the Selectboard level as the agenda was being prepared.  He said he’s known Sheriff Scott Kane for a long time and has a good relationship with him.  He said the sheriff has a good record of performance.  He said the County Commissioner have reviewed this matter and the decision has been made to resume services.  He said it was a bit misguided to characterize the Black Lives Matter movement as a terrorist organization.  He said he was prepared to question the County Commissioners, but in the meantime the matter has been addressed. 

Jo said this might be an ongoing issue on the county level.  She said she attended the Commissioners’ zoom meeting this week and it was a pretty reasonable discussion.  She said she was concerned by the amount of time that the county had not had the services available to inmates.  She said she was impressed by the way the commissioners ran the meeting. 

Kathleen said opioid issues are big in Hancock County.

Other – Stu said the fire department made a very good save of a residence on Shore Road on Monday.

Kathleen asked about vaccinations.  Stu said some (including himself) had received their first COVID-19 vaccination last week, some yesterday, and more are scheduled for Saturday.  He said the Bar Harbor Fire Department has done a good job at scheduling shots for first responders.  Bob noted that he’d received an appointment for a shot and there was a brief discussion about the side effects of the shots. 

Kathleen asked that the public hearing scheduled for February 18, 2021 at 6:30 PM be publicized.  Stu said the first legal notice was in today’s Ellsworth American, he would post the zoom link on the agenda and the town’s website, where the notice is also posted, e-mail it to the town meeting list, and post it on the town’s Facebook page.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:47 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Stu Marckoon, Adm. Asst. to the Selectmen