-- Approved --
BRUNSWICK TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES
August 15, 2005
6:30 p.m.
Municipal Meeting Facility
6:30 P.M. Chair Lowe called the meeting to order.
Councilors Present: Chair Forrest Lowe, W. David Watson, Jacqueline A. Sartoris, Robert A. Galloupe, Douglas A. Rice, Louise V. Ansari, Barbara A. Desmarais, and Joanne T. King.
Councilors Absent: None.
Town Staff Present: Patricia Harrington, Assistant Town Manager; Fran Smith, Town Clerk; Clark Labbe, Fire Chief; Mathew Eddy, Director of Economic Development; John Foster, Public Works Director; John Eldridge, Finance Director; Craig Worth, Deputy Public Works Director; Geoffrey Hole, Town Attorney; and the TV video crew.
Executive Session: To discuss the town’s rights in the BRAC process.
Chair Lowe moved, Councilor Desmarais seconded, to go into executive session, under Title 1 Section 405 (6)(e), with the Town Attorney, to discuss the town’s rights and duties regarding the BRAC process. The motion carried with eight (8) yeas.
MEETING CONTINUES AT 7:15 p.m.
Chair Lowe asked for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Minutes of Previous Meetings: July 18, 2005
Hearing no objections from the Council, Chair Lowe declared the minutes of July 18, 2005, accepted as written.
Public Comment: None.
Correspondence: None.
Manager’s Report:
a) BRAC Update
Patricia Harrington, Assistant Town Manager, said the BRAC Commission held a public hearing last Thursday. The town is trying to set up a process for the public to see the Commission’s vote, which will occur on either August 23, 24, or 25.
Stan Gerzofsky, State Representative - District 66, said Representative Richardson and he went to the public hearing and it went well. The Brunswick Naval Air Station is a strong asset to the country and the northeast. The delegation walked away feeling more encouraged than in the past.
Chair Lowe thanked the Governor and legislative delegation for their work on this issue.
b) Schedule Council Workshop regarding recycling
Craig Worth, Deputy Public Works Director, said the Recycling Committee would like to have a workshop to discuss some proposals to extend the landfill’s life. This extension is in the best interest of the public. Once the landfill is closed, it will take a great deal of money to deal with trash removal.
Ryan Ewing, Vice Chair of the Recycling Committee, said they would like to have a workshop as soon as possible to discuss their ideas. He said they would be willing to put together the meeting’s agenda.
Adjustments to Agenda:
To add Item 148 relative to a quitclaim deed.
The Town Council will hear public comments on establishing the Brunswick Publishing Company Tax Increment Financing District, and will take any appropriate action.
Mat Eddy, Director of Economic Development, said the TIF documents are still being finalized. He would like to hold the public hearing and suggested approving the TIF with the general understanding it is in order. They are still getting the final costs for the building and some other information. Most of the necessary changes are technical in nature, such as projections of the tax shift information; however, the basic principle will be the same.
(A copy of Mr. Eddy’s memo will be attached to the official minutes.)
John Eldridge, Finance Director, said his preference is to finalize the documents and then have the public hearing and the approval moved to another time.
Chair Lowe said he wanted to hold the public hearing tonight and then hold a special meeting to establish the TIF.
Councilor Desmarais expressed a concern about holding a public hearing without having the final documents.
After a brief discussion, the Council decided to continue this item, along with taking additional public comment, on August 22, 2005, at 5:30 p.m. so the final approval could be given prior to the deadline of September 1, 2005, for the completed and approved TIF.
Chair Lowe opened the public hearing; no comments were made but the hearing will be continued for additional comments.
Councilor Rice moved, Councilor Watson seconded, to continue the public hearing and agenda item on the TIF until August 22, 2005, at 5:30 pm. The motion carried with eight (8) yeas.
The Town Council will hear public comments on traffic safety improvements at the intersection of Pleasant Hill, Church and Casco Roads, and will take any appropriate action.
John Foster, Public Works Director, reviewed the proposed change to make Pleasant Hill Road a through street and have a stop sign at Church and Casco Roads. This is based on a traffic study done there in preparation for improvements to Pleasant Hill Road. He stated there had only been three accidents over the last three years at that intersection. He read from an e-mail written by Suzan Wilson who wanted to either have a four way stop there or make Pleasant Hill Road the stop. Mr. Foster continued, saying the volume of traffic was not enough to make the intersection a four way stop. Pleasant Hill Road has a slightly heavier volume of traffic, and trucks have a better sight distance if Church Road and Casco Road have a stop sign. It may take longer than the thirty days (the time for an ordinance to go into effect) to get it all implemented, with the installation of the necessary signage and advance warning lights. He hopes to get it done this fall before the snow flies.
Chair Lowe opened the public hearing.
Carolyn Foster, 164 Casco Road, said Pleasant Hill Road has more traffic. She added there have been two fatalities at the intersection of Woodside Road, which has a stop sign, and Pleasant Hill Road. She did not support putting a stop sign at Church Road and Casco Road.
Chair Lowe closed the public hearing.
Councilor Galloupe said he has a view of this intersection from his home. There have been many minor accidents or close calls. One of the biggest problems is that the roads do not meet at a 90 degree angle and the drivers of large vehicles cannot see very well. His preference would be to realign the intersection, but that would be too expensive. Realignment notwithstanding, he would support a stop sign on Casco and Church Roads. The drawback is that people have gone through that intersection for years with no stops, so it will take signage and lights to let people know about the new stop.
Councilor King said she is concerned with traffic turning quickly onto Pleasant Hill Road from Church Road.
Councilor Rice said he will support this proposed change. There will need to be some lights and “stop ahead” signs to alert people.
Councilor Sartoris said Ms. Wilson’s concerns included speed, and the town needs a way to make sure people slow down at that intersection.
Councilor Galloupe suggested changing signs while the road work is being done.
Councilor King said the speed issues on this and other rural roads can be addressed by enforcement.
Councilor Rice moved, Councilor Desmarais seconded, to adopt amendments to the Traffic and Vehicles ordinance to make Pleasant Hill Road a through street, with its implementation at the discretion of the Public Works Director. The motion carried with eight (8) yeas.
(A copy of the public hearing notice and adopted language will be attached to the official minutes.)
The Town Council will consider approving a contract with AFSCME Local 2011, Council #93/Municipal Employees, and will take any appropriate action.
Ms. Harrington said the AFSCME two-year contract is ready for signing. The major changes in this contract are a two percent increase for the first year, a three percent increase for the second year, new health insurance buyout provisions, and an increase in longevity pay. The Finance Director has prepared the fiscal note for this item.
Councilor Sartoris moved, Councilor Desmarais seconded, to approve the AFSCME Local 2011, Council #93/Municipal Employees contract. The motion carried with eight (8) yeas.
(A copy of the union contract and fiscal note will be attached to the official minutes.)
The Town Council will consider setting a public hearing on proposed amendments to the Town Charter, and will take any appropriate action.
Councilor Sartoris introduced this item. The primary change would make the Council and School Board members’ terms three years. The School Board discussed this proposal and found no objection to changing to three-year terms.
Fran Smith, Town Clerk, explained the changes, in addition to terms of office that are being proposed. The process is to set a public hearing and if the Council chooses, put the questions on the November ballot for voters to decide.
(A copy of Ms. Smith’s memo will be attached to the official minutes.)
Mr. Eldridge, Finance Director, explained his two proposed changes. One is to increase to $1,000,000 the amount before an ordinance is required for a capital expenditure. The second one creates a process to amend the budget throughout the fiscal year. Responding to Councilor Galloupe’s question about money from unappropriated funds, Mr. Eldridge said the money is for operational costs, not large capital items, so funds should be available.
Councilor Sartoris said the research done by the Clerk’s Office supports the three-year terms; many communities already have them and have had very few issues such as problem with resignations. Since she is proposing this change, she has offered to put her district up as the one that has the one-year term so there would not be a quicker gain for her seat than others.
Ms. Smith said, responding to Councilor Watson’s question asking if the state legislature has a role in approving any changes, the Brunswick voters will decide the outcome of the charter amendments, and, unlike the Sewer District Charter, the state does not have a role in any municipal charter amendments.
Ms. Smith said, responding to Councilor Ansari’s question, she will be putting information regarding the amendments on the website, and closer to the election in the newspaper. She is willing to answer questions citizens may have on the proposed changes.
Councilor Sartoris moved, Councilor Galloupe seconded, set a public hearing for September 6, 2005, on the proposed amendments to the Town Charter. The motion carried with eight (8) yeas.
The Town Council will discuss recommendations from the Planning Board and consider setting a public hearing regarding proposed zoning amendments intended to promote and stimulate the creation of affordable housing units, and will take any appropriate action.
Theo Holtwijk, Director of Planning and Development, said, based on Council comments staff researched extending the years required for affordability under the proposed ordinance that as a result of this research and after consulting with others involved in developing the proposed language, staff is recommending the affordability period requirement to be as follows:
“The period of affordability shall be individually determined by the town based upon the amount of subsidy or density bonus, but shall be at least 20 years for ownership units and 30 years for rental units. These minimums shall increase up to 50 years according to the amount of subsidy or density bonus obtained from the Town.”
(A copy of Mr. Holtwijk’s memo will be attached to the official minutes.)
Councilor Rice moved, Councilor Sartoris seconded, to set a public hearing for September 19, 2005, regarding the proposed zoning amendments intended to promote and stimulate the creation of affordable housing, including the amendments recommended by staff. The motion carried with eight (8) yeas.
Councilor Ansari left the meeting at 8:56 p.m.
The Town Council will hear a presentation regarding the Brunswick Economic Development Corporation’s annual report, and will take any appropriate action.
Marty Wilk, representing the Brunswick Economic Development Corporation, provided this report. The corporation was formed in 2003 by the Council and since then the board has met 22 times. He reviewed the membership of the board and provided highlights of the 2004-2005 year, including the following areas:
Development of a strategic plan
Development and circulation of a business survey throughout the community
Working with thirty-six new and existing businesses, and assisting in the sale of an additional lot in the business park to Harbor Technologies.
Mr. Wilks added that none of this would have been done without the assistance of Mat Eddy.
(A copy of a section of the report will be attached to the official minutes.)
Chair Lowe said this is a strong group making good progress with laying the foundation for economic development.
Councilor Sartoris said, under the critical success factors section, the report gave “stop the decline in manufacturing jobs” as a goal. The issue is there are manufacturing losses throughout the state and she is not sure if this is the best goal to pursue. There was also the point of trying to decrease the percentage of businesses that rank the zoning ordinance and other regulations as being poor or fair. She feels most businesses are not supportive of regulations and that the group should look outside of Brunswick to see how other businesses in other communities view regulations. They probably would have similar views on their towns’ ordinances.
Mr. Wilk said, as far as manufacturing jobs, he felt it was worthwhile to have it as an action item so they do not lose focus on the importance of this type of job to the area. The general feeling is that the town is unfriendly toward business and they heard that enough so they felt they needed to pay attention to it. The ordinance is complex, with too many zones, and it has inconsistencies that work against it. This action was included as a way to address concerns and monitor what happens so they do not lose focus of the concerns.
Councilor Sartoris continued that the assumption presented is that Brunswick is business unfriendly and the BEDC needs to look outside to see if other southern Maine communities have similar concerns. She does not want to take this out of context when there has been no fact checking with other communities. This perception may be harmful to the town if brought out.
Mr. Wilks said they heard this complaint from businesses that do business in other communities and maybe even in other states. Benchmarking should be on both the business and regulatory sides.
Councilor King said she would be interested in looking at why Topsham has attracted more businesses than Brunswick.
Councilor Rice moved, Councilor Desmarais seconded, to accept BEDC’s annual report and to continue to work with the group to see if anything can be done to resolve concerns brought forward in the report and in the Council’s discussion. The motion carried with seven (7) yeas.
The Town Council will hear a report regarding replacing the Fire Department’s 1977 ladder truck, and will take any appropriate action.
Chief Labbe summarized the recent events with the town’s ladder truck, which is out of service. Topsham has been covering for the town. The cost to repair the truck would be $70,000 and the insurance company has totaled it out at $20,000. He wants to dispose of the truck and begin discussion on its replacement.
(A copy of Chief Labbe’s memo will be attached to the official minutes.)
Chief Labbe said, responding to Chair Lowe’s question about this being an opportunity to utilize regionalization, for insurance ratings the town needs to have a ladder truck to respond. Topsham is not responding to automatic alarms. It does not have a full-time staff to respond to all calls, and Brunswick does not have enough personnel to respond to all of Topsham’s calls. From a practical standpoint one ladder could work, but when there are large fires, there are three to five ladder trucks responding, with Brunswick receiving back-up from other communities. He added that Brunswick and Topsham are in a good planning cycle with each other since Topsham’s ladder truck is a 1988 and will not be scheduled for replacement until sometime in the future. He supports regionalization, but Brunswick needs a ladder truck of its own. Responding to Councilor Rice’s question, Chief Labbe said the old truck will not be sold as fire apparatus and may even go for parts.
Mr. Eldridge said, as far as financing goes, the truck was in the 2006-2007 CIP and if purchased in spring 2006, the town could work the financing to have it begin in fall 2006.
Councilor Rice moved, Councilor Watson seconded, to allow for the disposal of the town’s ladder truck and to have a presentation from town staff as to the process for purchasing a new ladder truck. The motion carried with seven (7) yeas.
The Town Council will discuss the Times Record Building/Municipal Facilities proposals, and will take any appropriate action.
Councilor Galloupe summarized the Council workshop on this subject and said staff will be providing some answers to questions proposed at that meeting.
Craig Worth, Deputy Public Works Director, reviewed costs related to renovating existing buildings and building a new municipal building. The cost to renovate the Times Record building, and town hall with a new addition added, is estimated at $9,913,900. The cost of a combined facility for police and municipal offices to be built new is estimated at $7,495,400, which includes the sale of The Time Record and 28 Federal Street buildings. Mr. Worth showed a picture of Bowdoin College’s McLellan Building citing it as a building that is close in size to a possible new combined municipal/police building. With the new building, there are 250 parking spots proposed.
(A copy of the monetary estimates will be attached to the official minutes.)
Councilor Rice asked if the town could find out from Bowdoin how much that building cost, to use as a comparison. Councilor Desmarais added that the McLellan building does not have a basement, which would reduce its cost compared to one with a basement.
Councilor Sartoris said the number of parking spots seems high at 250.
Councilor Galloupe said the Times Record Committee will be meeting on August 30 to review the figures presented tonight, but they are interested in comments from non-committee members.
Councilor Rice said he would like to know what it would take to put a question on the November ballot relative to the status of the old high school and if it should be saved or torn down.
Ms. Smith indicated if there was to be a question placed on the ballot it would need to be decided upon by the Council by their September 6 meeting. If the Council wanted to do something more informal, such as a questionnaire at the polls that was not part of the ballot, the Council would have more time to come up with the question(s).
Councilor Sartoris said she is concerned about a question in November, without having public input and not having solid information on what costs are associated with keeping the old high school, or tearing it down. This should not be done at the last minute.
Councilor Rice said he had asked in prior years how much it would cost to do certain things to save the building, such as putting on a roof, but did not get that information. He is not trying to block the town hall and/or police facility(ies), but he feels the Council needs to see if people want to tear down or save the original high school building. Information would have to be included on costs associated with renovating the building so citizen’s can vote based on those numbers.
Councilor King said she liked the idea of more questions in November under the method the Clerk had suggested. The Council needs to know what people want done with this building.
Chair Lowe said they have two public hearings on September 6, 2005, and there is a need to get a cost associated with saving the building. This will require more time. He suggested that Councilors Rice and King work on the project and have this item come back with more information at the meeting on September 19, 2005.
Councilor Watson suggested that Councilor Rice work on the wording for the questions for the public to decide upon. Councilor Rice agreed to do this.
Councilor Sartoris said they need to have some cost estimates on the building, because she does not want votes to be based on emotional responses.
Councilor King asked to have the architect from the group trying to save the building provide her costs and thoughts. The group is willing to pay her to come back to the Council.
Councilor Galloupe said there is going to be a need for the old high school for the Council Chambers and Cable TV until the end of 2006. There is not time enough to prepare questions for this November’s ballot and any ballot questions should wait until November 2006.
Councilor Rice said that without more maintenance the building will fall apart. He wants to protect the building until a decision is made as to what to do with it.
Councilor Watson asked that a status report on the roof be included in the information for the Council meeting on September 19, 2005.
The Town Council will consider authorizing the prepayment of bonds and take any appropriate action.
Mr. Eldridge explained that this order is for the prepayment of bonds.
Councilor Watson moved, Councilor Galloupe seconded, to adopt the Order Regarding the Call of the Town’s 1995 General Obligation/TIF Bonds. The motion carried with seven (7) yeas.
(A copy of the order will be attached to the official minutes.)
The Town Council will discuss instituting a town-wide high school competition for a town logo, and will take any appropriate action.
John Briel, Economic Development Office, explained the entry form and reviewed the competition’s rules.
(A copy of the entry form will be attached to the official minutes.)
Councilor Watson said this is good for the community and he is excited about the competition.
Chair Lowe said the entry form should have verbiage added that the town has the right to reject any application.
Councilor Watson moved, Councilor Desmarais seconded, to approve instituting a town-wide high school competition for a town logo. The motion carried with seven (7) yeas.
(ADDED) The Town Council will consider conveying town tax acquired property to Royal River Development Company, and take any appropriate action.
Mr. Eldridge explained that the company had paid their past property taxes and the quit claim deed will give the property back to them.
Councilor Watson moved, Councilor Desmarais seconded, to convey property and release tax liens by a municipal quitclaim deed from the Town of Brunswick to Royal River Development Company. The motion carried with seven (7) yeas.
The meeting adjourned at 10:28 p.m.
PLEASE NOTE: THESE MINUTES ARE NOT VERBATIM. A VIDEO RECORDING OF THE MEETING IS AVAILABLE AT THE TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS.
Frances M. Smith
Town Clerk
August 22, 2005
September 6, 2005
_________________________
Date of Approval
__________________________________
Council Chair