Town Council Meeting
June 24, 2009
Open Town Meeting: Councilor Strout opened the Town
Council Meeting at 6:34 p.m., Town Council present included, Sally Strout,
Lillian Coulter, Audrey Wilcox, Fred Gifford and Oscar Emerson. Office staff present was Town Mana=
ger
Melissa Doane.
Review of Minutes: Councilor Gifford made a motion=
to
accept the June 11, 2009 minutes as presented, Councilor Coulter seconded, =
no
discussion vote 4/0, Councilor Strout abstained as she was not present. .
Citizens Request: None
Manager’s Report:
Manager Doane reported that she=
and
Chief Gifford have completed the application for the fire station grant. Ro=
bert
Fenney is completing the construction budget and Eastern Maine Development =
will
review the entire application before it is submitted. It is Eastern Maine
Development Corporation that the Town of Bradley offers to contribute 50% to
the project. The grant requir=
es
that the fire station have an exhaust system to meet NFPA building
requirements. Eric received a=
quote
of 51,427 to have one installed, bringing the cost of the project up to
$1,016,733, if the Town offers to contribute 50% the amount necessary to bo=
rrow
would be $508,366.50. Manager=
Doane
has also spoken with Robert Fenney and he agrees with EMDC. Councilor Emerson made a moti=
on to
enter into the grant process using EMDC recommendation of 50% and to include
the additional cost for the exhaust system, Councilor Gifford seconded, vote
5/0. Manager Doane mentioned =
to
Town Council that the narrative she had prepared was placed in the boxes and
she would appreciate them reviewing and providing feedback.
Manager Doane has directed them=
to
wait until funding is secure.
Manager Doane spoke with Brent Folster of Merrill Merchant Bank. They are willing to offer the town=
a
rate of 3.5% to 4.0% if a depository relationship is established. She has a meeting with Merrill Mer=
chant
Bank on June 30 to see what services they offer and how much different they
would be from Bangor Savings Bank.
Manager Doane has concerned about Bangor Savings Bank moving from the
downtown area of Old Town because of the lack of convenience. Mr. Folster stated that supplies w=
ould
be given to the town free, which we currently pay an average of $200 to $250
per year. Manager Doane state=
d that
Mr. Folster stated that the loan would be for a 20 year term and would be an
advance loan in which the Town would borrow up to an amount, therefore there
would be no short term financing needs or costs associated with the
project. Manager Doane has mo=
ved
forward with the USDA application however due to the added necessary of
paperwork, Robert Fenney has stated there will be additional fees associated
with the architect and engineering fees.&n=
bsp;
Also if funding is received through USDA there will be fees associat=
ed
with short term financing. Co=
uncil
was in favor of discussing the proposal with Merrill Merchant Bank and woul=
d be
in favor of working with a local bank.&nbs=
p;
Manager Doane stated she felt if they could agree on terms etc, the
project financing in the end would be much easier and cost less.
Manager Doane reported that she=
has
received the signed agreement from the Town of Clifton and the Town’s=
of Eddington, the dumpster is slated to be placed on the =
site
by July 1. Manager Doane purc=
hased
chain and a lock to help secure the dumpster for Chemo Pond Bradley
residents. She will be meetin=
g with
Chemo Pond North Association on Saturday July 27, 2009.
Manager Doane meet with Cathy <=
span
class=3DSpellE>Gosslin of the Maine Forest and Logging Museum on Jun=
e 17,
2009 regarding the parcel of land located off of School Street. In May the museum was approached b=
y an
individual in town to purchase the land; Manager Doane informed the museum =
that
she would hope that they would give the Town first refusal. Ms.Gosslin
stated the museum would like to do something constructive with the land.
Manager Doane has spoken with DH
Construction regarding the winter snow removal. They will do the contract for the =
same
amount as last year which was 40,800.
They will charge 14.00 per yard of sand which includes mixing. The amount
anticipated for snow removal was 43,000 therefore there will some
additional money available. D=
an
Grover has moved from ICU and is in room 394 at EMMC; Manager Doane had flo=
wers
sent to him.
Manager Doane has placed her co=
ntract
and the janitorial contract in Town Council’s boxes for Council
review. It will be necessary =
to
enter into Executive Session next Council meeting if there are any changes =
in
Manager Doane’s contract.
The Regional School Unit Budget=
was
voted on yesterday, the vote was 20 yes 5 no. The Regional School Unit budget pa=
ssed
in all three communities. Manager Doane further explain=
ed
that in tonight’s warrant is a check in the amount of $106,875 in whi=
ch
represents her calculation of the school fund balance. It is her recommendation that this
entire amount be used towards the 2009-2010 RSU assessment. She further explained that there c=
ould
be additional fund balance available once the current year audit is complet=
e in
which the Town could use those funds towards next year. Mr. Walker has stated to Manager D=
oane,
that the RSU assessment to Bradley will be lower because this year the
assessment was figured according to the amount the Town of over EPS, which =
was
22%. Manager Doane explained =
that
EPS explained shortly is the amount that the State allows to educate k-8
anything over that amount is charged locally. According to the RSU plan next
year’s assessment will be figured by using 50% population and 50%
valuation. Councilor Gifford =
made a
motion to use the $106,875 towards the 2009-2010 RSU assessment, seconded by
Councilor Emerson, no discussion vote 5/0.
Councilor Wilcox asked how this=
was
going to affect the taxes. Ma=
nager
Doane stated she had received some early numbers from Mark Gibson tonight a=
nd
started working on the calculation.
It is her estimate that the mill rate will be around 11.00 to 11.20 =
per thousand, however she stressed that this a very rough
estimate, as the numbers are not firm.&nbs=
p;
She also stated she is going to be doing some research on the
anticipated bond payment regarding the fire station. She explained that if construction
started later in this year or the first of next year a full bond payment wo=
uld
not be necessary because the Town would not be borrowing the total amount in
this next year’s tax commitment.&nbs=
p;
She did state she had tested accounts and the amount of the tax bills
will be increasing. She furth=
er
explained that this is due to the fact the municipal budget was asking for =
an
additional 68,000, not due to increase in expenditures but a loss in revenue
and the school assessment is 182,606 higher than last year. These two amoun=
ts
represent a mill to a mill and half. In order to keep the taxes bi=
ll
amounts around the same as last year, it would be necessary to have a mill =
rate
of 9.00 per thousand.
New Business:
Unfinished Business: Councilor Wilcox asked if there=
had
been any contact from the residents that received land use violation
notices. Manager Doane stated=
that
Mr. Beal had made contact with her and the code enforcement officer. Mr. Roy also was in last week and =
left a
message for Charles to call him regarding the letter. Manager Doane stated she will be s=
ending
out reminder letters to all property owners she feels have not complied the
first week of July.
Municipal Warrants: Councilor Coulter made a motion=
to
accept municipal warrant # 96 in the amount of 6312.78, warrant #97 in the
amount 125770.22, Councilor Emerson seconded, no discussion, vote 5/0.
Next Meeting: Next meeting was set for July 7=
, 2009
at 6:30 p.m. Councilor Wilcox
expressed her appreciation to Councilor Strout and stated she hoped she wou=
ld consider
running for another term in the future.&nb=
sp;
Adjourn: