01/18 -


MINUTES - to be approved at the 1/22/08 TC Meeting
FREEPORT TOWN COUNCIL MEETING #01-08
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
January 8, 2008

CHAIRPERSON’S CALL TO ORDER PRESENT ABSENT EXCUSED

Genie Beaulieu, P.O. Box 74 x
Charlotte Bishop, Maquoit Drive x
James Cassida, 5 Timber Ridge Road x
Rich DeGrandpre, Timber Ridge Road x
Joe Migliaccio, 2 Vinmar Lane x
Bill Muldoon, 2 Roos Hill Drive x
Frederick White, 45 Pleasant Hill Road x

Chair DeGrandpre called the meeting to order and took roll call.

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS: To waive the reading of the Minutes of Meeting #19-07 held on December 18, 2007 and accept the Minutes as printed

MOVED AND SECONDED: To waive the reading of the Minutes of Meeting #19-07 held on December 18, 2007 and accept the Minutes as printed. (Beaulieu & White) VOTE: (7 Ayes)


SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS: Announcements

Chair DeGrandpre thanked everyone for his or her participation in the Comprehensive Plan survey. 28% returned their surveys.

Chair DeGrandpre pointed out that anyone interested in serving on a Town Board or Committee can sign up on the Town’s website or may pick up an application at the Town Hall.


THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS: Public Comment Period – 30 Minutes
(Non-Agenda Items Only)

MOVED AND SECONDED: To open the Public Comment Period on non-agenda items. (White & Bishop) VOTE: (7 Ayes)

There were no public comments.

MOVED AND SECONDED: To close the Public Comment Period. (White & Beaulieu) VOTE: (7 Ayes)

FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS: To take action on the following items of business as read by the Council Chairperson.


ITEM #1-08 To consider action relative to a proposed amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Ordinance concerning the collection of commercial waste. (Chapter 28).
PUBLIC HEARING

MOVED AND SECONDED: That the Public Hearing be opened. (Muldoon & Bishop) VOTE: (7 Ayes)

Charles Fischman of 195 Main Street spoke in favor of the amendment. He urged the Council to
approve it.

Chair DeGrandpre read the proposed amendment into the public record.

MOVED AND SECONDED: That the Public Hearing be closed. (Cassida & Bishop) VOTE: (7 Ayes)

BE IT ORDERED: That the proposed amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Ordinance be approved. (Muldoon & Bishop)

Mr. Olmstead explained that written notice will be sent to licensed haulers and he will make sure the Police Department is aware of it. Councilor Migliaccio urged members of the public to provide feedback if delivery trucks loading and unloading becomes a problem. Chair DeGrandpre is confident that the Project Review Board will address these types of issues.

ROLL CALL VOTE: (7 Ayes)

ITEM #2-08 To consider action relative to a proposed amendment to the Traffic and Parking Ordinance concerning prohibited parking times. (Chapter 48). PUBLIC HEARING

Chair DeGrandpre read the amendment into the public record.

MOVED AND SECONDED: That the Public Hearing be opened. (Beaulieu & White) VOTE: (7 Ayes)

MOVED AND SECONDED: That the Public Hearing be closed (Beaulieu & Cassida) VOTE: (7 Ayes)


BE IT ORDERED: That the proposed amendment to the Traffic and Parking Ordinance be approved. (Beaulieu & Bishop) ROLL CALL VOTE: (7 Ayes)



ITEM #3-08 To consider action relative to accepting a donation to the Police Department.

BE IT ORDERED: That a donation in the amount of $250.00 from Mr. and Mrs. Roy Morejon be accepted. (Migliaccio & Beaulieu)

Chair DeGrandpre read a note that accompanied the donation.

ROLL CALL VOTE: (7 Ayes)


ITEM #04-08 To consider action relative to authorizing an expenditure from the Fiscal Year 2008 Miscellaneous and Contingency account to provide for labor to install noise panels in the Freeport Community Center Meeting room.

BE IT ORDERED: That $1,165.82 be expended from the Fiscal Year 2008 Miscellaneous Account to provide for the cost of installing noise panels in the Freeport Community Center Meeting Room. (Cassida & Migliaccio)

Councilor Cassida explained that the installation exceeded the labor donated by Warren
Construction. It was over and above what was budgeted. He explained why it is on the agenda.
The Council needs to authorize spending the money.

ROLL CALL VOTE: (7 Ayes)



ITEM #5-08 To consider action relative to an expenditure from School Capital Reserve Funds to temporarily resolve a mold problem at the Middle School.

BE IT ORDERED: That up to $35,000.00 be expended from the School Capital Reserve Fund to provide a temporary fix to a mold problem at the Middle School. (Superintendent of Schools)

NOTE: The School Capital Reserve Fund stands at $178,722.00. The other option is the Fiscal Year 2008 Miscellaneous and Contingency account, which has a balance of $42,666.00. (White & Migliaccio)

Superintendent Tomaszewski and Dennis Ouellette provided an explanation on the
moisture/mold problem. The revised estimate is $17,175.00 for a temporary fix to get the
students and teachers back in their classrooms. It will get them into the summer months.
Consultants Mel Cole and Gary Bates explained that they found a combination of things that
have happened over the years. Things such as no overhang, grade changes and flashing were
found to be the cause for water infiltration into the south wall and in some areas of the north
wall of the original building, which was built in 1985. They did not have any estimates tonight
for remediation that they could provide to the Council. Discussion followed. Superintendent
Tomaszewski noted that they have applied for a Revolving Renovation Fund from the State but
do not expect to hear until Spring if they qualify.

Councilor Beaulieu advised that she would take this money from the School Capital Reserve Fund. She noted that depending upon the cost of the permanent fix, voter approval might be necessary if the figure is large enough. The Council will need the figures soon in order to get it on a June ballot. Mr. Ouellette advised that he would have the numbers before January 18 to apply for the Revolving Renovation Fund.

MOVED AND SECONDED: To amend the BE IT ORDERED to read that up to $17,175.00 be expended from the School Capital Reserve Fund to provide a temporary fix to a mold problem at the Middle School. (White & Beaulieu)
VOTE: (7 Ayes)

ROLL CALL VOTE ON AMENDED ORDER: (7 Ayes)



OTHER BUSINESS:

1. State Legislative update.
Senator Edmonds and Representative Webster provided a Legislative update to the Council. They explained where school consolidation stands at this time and answered questions for Councilors. Discussion followed. Senator Edmonds is still hopeful about the Down Easter.

Representative Webster pointed out that four pieces of legislation concerning shellfish are now going up. A report will be coming back on the 14th if anyone is interested in attending at 1:30 p.m. DMR and Industry have been invited to add their comments. Chair DeGrandpre asked for a copy of the information and noted that Rod Regier will be attending the meeting.

Representative Webster mentioned that the budget covering items such as Visiting Homemakers, etc. would likely be pushed down in cuts. He has to wait for the revenue projections to come in.

Councilor Beaulieu brought up jail consolidation and noted that she would like to discuss it with Senator Edmonds at some point as a Freeport resident.

Chair DeGrandpre asked Senator Edmonds and Representative Webster to keep their eyes on L.D. 14.13 concerning tax-exempt properties. He is not sure where this will go. Senator Edmonds mentioned that the more Freeport can get involved in the Service Center Coalition, the better.

Senator Edmonds and Representative Webster offered to come back to the Council at the first meeting in February. Chair DeGrandpre thanked them for coming in this evening.

__________________________________________________________________________
2. Nims 700 Training for Town Councilors.

Chief Fournier was not in attendance so Mr. Olmstead suggested putting this item off to the next agenda.
___________________________________________________________________________

3. South Freeport Parking Committee’s Long Term Recommendations.

Suanne Williams-Lindgren, Project Leader, explained that a relatively problem-free summer was experienced. She referred to their recommendations in the Final Report on Page 9. They are not recommending providing a shuttle bus going forward.

Chair DeGrandpre asked Superintendent Tomaszewski if the School Department could be depended upon to provide a school bus should a large group need transportation for a particular event on Bustins. Superintendent Tomaszewski indicated that the answer is “yes” as long as advance notice is given.

Ms. Williams-Lindgren answered questions for Councilors. Discussion followed on user groups. Mr. Olmstead suggested that the Council accept the report and thank the committee for their hard work.

Chair DeGrandpre thanked the committee as did Councilors Migliaccio and White

MOVED AND SECONDED: That the Town Council accept the South Freeport Traffic and Parking Committee’s final report of December 31, 2007. (Migliaccio & White) ROLL CALL VOTE: (7 Ayes)
______________________________________________________________________________

4. School Consolidation update.
Councilor White explained that they will be meeting tomorrow night in Freeport and they will
be discussing choice and cost sharing. The Subcommittee’s recommendation is that choice
should be phased out over a period of time. Choice is an emotional issue in Pownal and Durham
and they would have to formally vote to amend, adapt or change their choice options based on
this recommendation. The piece that still needs to be discussed is the private school option. He
will report out on what happens tomorrow night at the next Council meeting.

Superintendent Tomaszewski explained her understanding of the budgeting process but noted
there have been several variations on the process. Discussion followed. Chris Leighton noted that
when he is thinking about education ten years from now, he thinks of being one community of
14,000 and the high school may not be Freeport High School.
_____________________________________________________________________________



5. Discussion on fireworks display ordinance.

Councilor Cassida explained that while he did not find any fireworks ordinances in Maine, he
did find one, which he thought, was good. It required public notice by the person or
company to people within 1,000 feet of the proposed display. It limits private displays to no
more than three in a calendar year. The permitting authority was at the discretion of the Fire
Chief. The cost of the permit is $100. A $100 deposit is made to the Fire Department that is
returned if they do not have to put out any fires. Discussion followed. There was consensus
that this is something to keep in mind but there is no hurry to put in an ordinance at this time
and Jim’s language should be kept in Mr. Olmstead’s fireworks file.

Councilor White mentioned his image concerns for Freeport and that there could be fireworks on Saturday nights all summer to entice traffic here. Chair DeGrandpre offered to check with L.L. Bean to see what their plans are for fireworks this year.

6. Discussion on winter parking regulations for Main Street in South Freeport.

Councilor White brought up the fact that he experienced problems plowing snow in South
Freeport because of vehicles parked on the street. He called Mr. Olmstead and he had Chief
Fournier check to see if a fire or rescue vehicle could have gotten through. Councilor White
suggested that the Council send this to Traffic and Parking. He recommends during the winter
months that parking only be allowed on one side from Middle Street to the harbor.

7. Dispatch Consolidation update.
Mr. Olmstead explained the dispatch options being considered by our neighboring communities.
He provided a copy of a Forecaster article to Councilors. He pointed out that County is applying
for a Homeland Security Grant to build a microwave ring around Cumberland County. If they
are successful, Freeport could reach up and connect to the ring. Most towns have agreed to be
co-sponsors. They will know by the middle of March if they are successful. It could
dramatically reduce our capital costs. It will take more time but he will bring back information
during the budget process. Councilor White would need to see justification for retaining staff if
County is successful.

8. Information Exchange

Councilor Migliaccio referred to the survey update provided earlier this evening and noted that
he would like to see some preliminary results before the Route One South changes are discussed.
Mr. Olmstead advised that the Ordinance Committee is working on the Route One South
changes and the information will be brought to the Council. The survey information will be
available on January 23.

Councilor Migliaccio pointed out that the meeting with Economic Development has been moved
to the 16th. Mr. Olmstead noted it will be a separate workshop and the Planning Board is considering the same.


Mr. Olmstead pointed out all the meetings that are scheduled from now until the end of April and
advised Councilors that they should plan to pick up their packets or look for them in the mail.

Chair DeGrandpre noted that on January 30 a third meeting of the PACTS Alternative
Transportation group will be discussing the 295 corridor. It will be in the State of Maine Room
on the second floor of Portland’s City Hall.

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MOVED AND SECONDED: To adjourn at 9:35 p.m. (Cassida & Beaulieu)
VOTE: (7 Ayes)


Respectfully Submitted,



Sharon Coffin
Council Secretary