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MINUTES FREEPORT TOWN COUNCIL MEETING #01-15 FREEPORT TOWN HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2015 – 6:30 P.M. PRESENT ABSENT EXCUSED James Hendricks, 21 West Street x Kristina Egan, 5 Weston Point Road x Melanie Sachs, 84 Kelsey Ridge Road x Andrew Wellen, 83 Hunter Road x Scott Gleeson, 23 Park Street (will be late) Sarah Tracy, 75 Lower Flying Point Road x William Rixon, 66 Varney Road x Chair Sachs called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. and took the roll. She advised that Vice Chair Gleeson would be arriving later. FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS: Pledge of Allegiance Everyone stood and recited the Pledge. SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS: To waive the reading of the Minutes of Meeting #24-14 held on December 16, 2014 and to accept the Minutes as printed. MOVED AND SECONDED: To waive the reading of the Minutes of Meeting #24-14 held on December 16, 2014 and to accept the Minutes as printed. (Egan & Tracy) VOTE: (6 Ayes) (1 Excused-Gleeson) THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS: Announcements (15 minutes) Chair Sachs announced: Winter sand is available for residents’ personal use -Each residential dwelling is eligible for up to 10 gallons of sand per storm. No stock piling is allowed. Any resident assisting a fellow resident with sanding must provide the public works department with written confirmation prior to taking additional materials. Taking of pure rock salt is prohibited without approval from the public works Superintendent. The use of municipal sand for the sanding of private roads is prohibited. All Dog Owners please remember that dogs six months and older are required to be licensed by law. You may register at the Freeport Town Hall or online at: www.doglicensing.com. Please bring proof of the rabies vaccination and spay/neutering. The cost at town hall is $6 and $11, respectively. All dog licenses expire December 31st of each year. You must renew your dog license no later than January 31st of each year, or a late fee of $25.00 per dog will be charged. If you are wondering how to properly dispose of some of your waste or replaced electronic equipment from the holidays, the home page of the Town’s website has a full list of acceptable items, or you can call the transfer station at 865-3740 for more information. Check out the Freeport Community Library’s website www.freeportlibrary.com for a full listing of all their upcoming events. You can choose from three author talks in January, join the Library Book Group, view local artists’ work, and the family can participate in creative crafts or come to watch Juggler Jack Fields for a night full of juggling, laughs and a few surprises. A LEGO club is also planned to start in the late spring and the library is looking for LEGO donations! COUNCIL MEETING #01-15 JANUARY 6, 2015 AARP will once again be providing free Tax Preparation assistance for low-moderate income households, with special attention to those 60 years and older. Appointments will be made beginning the last week in January. Please call 865-4763 Extension 120 at the end of January to schedule an appointment. The Third Friday Free Lunch will not be taking place in January at Freeport Community Services. It starts up again in February. The next one will be held on February 20. FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS: Information Exchange Chair Sachs reminded Councilors to contact the last known chair of the committees they are assigned to and introduce themselves. Councilor Tracy mentioned a Portland Press Herald article announcing that Freeport USA received a $5,000 grant from the Maine Office of Tourism. The 2014 Tourism Enterprise Grant supports tourism marketing projects in 2015 and that $5,000 grant will go to the Flavors of Freeport which will take place February 20-22. The purpose is to promote visits to Freeport during the slow season. She noted that Freeport USA has clearly gone out and taken advantage of those resources and she wanted to acknowledge that they did a great job. Chair Sachs announced that she will not be leaving Freeport. She and her husband have decided to stay in Freeport. Her Board of Directors at Freeport Community Services have happily decided to not accept her resignation. She wanted to let her fellow Councilors know. She is so happy she will get to serve with them. FIFTH ORDER OF BUSINESS: Town Manager’s Report Mr. Joseph reported: The Public Works Department is happy to announce the successful installation of a new safety fence in Bow Street Park. The fence was recommended by the Train Safety Committee as a safety measure to create a buffer between the train tracks and the park. He thanked Vice Chair Gleeson for his help with this fence. Thanks also go out to Joshua Cushing, Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn who cooperated with the Town on the project. The project was jointly funded by the Town of Freeport and the Hilton Garden Inn. Due to the additional funding from the Hilton Garden Inn, the Town was able to install a more aesthetically pleasing traditional steel and granite fence, instead of a common chain link fence. Thanks to all involved on the project, which really adds to the character of the park. The skating rink adjacent to the Community Center is open for the season. The rink is now illuminated for use during night time hours, and the public is invited to come down and try out the ice. Town staff are investigating several different (low cost) methods for clearing snow and conditioning the ice. Stay tuned for future updates. As we enter the bulk of the winter season in Freeport, please remember that parking is prohibited on all Town streets from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. until April 15. Additional emergency parking bans are also regularly implemented for snow removal purposes during storms. Emergency parking bans are announced on local news networks in the same manner as school closures. If you have any questions as to whether there is an emergency parking ban in place, please call the Police Department business line at 865-4800. SIXTH ORDER OF BUSINESS: Public Comment Period – (Non-Agenda Items Only) 2 COUNCIL MEETING #01-15 JANUARY 6, 2015 There were no members of the public interested in speaking so the Council moved on. SEVENTH ORDER OF BUSINESS: To take action on the following items of business as read by the Council Chairperson: ITEM #02-15 To consider action relative to adopting the January 6, 2015 Consent Agenda. BE IT ORDERED: That the January 6, 2015 Consent Agenda be adopted. (Sachs & Hendricks) Chair Sachs reviewed the one item on the Consent Agenda for members of the public. ROLL CALL VOTE: (6 Ayes) (1 Excused-Gleeson) ITEM #02-15A To consider action relative to approving an amendment to Chapter 21: Zoning Ordinance Section 501, Temporary Activity, as proposed by the Freeport Planning Board. PUBLIC HEARING MOVED AND SECONDED: That the Public Hearing be opened. (Egan & Hendricks) Councilor Tracy recused herself on this matter for reasons she stated previously. VOTE: (6 Ayes) (1 Excused-Gleeson) Donna Larson, Town Planner and Fred Reeder, Codes Enforcement Officer provided background information on the amendment. Ms. Larson had some simple amendments that she suggested the Council consider and provided new information to the Council. MOVED AND SECONDED: That the Public Hearing be closed. (Hendricks & Egan) VOTE: (6 Ayes) (1 Recused-Tracy) BE IT ORDERED: That an amendment to Chapter 21: Zoning Ordinance Section 501, Temporary Activity, as proposed by the Freeport Planning Board be approved. (Hendricks & Egan) Councilor Wellen asked if there was a lot of feedback from the business community in general. Mr. Reeder indicated that he did not receive any feedback from businesses and Ms. Larson advised that she received input but not from business owners. Councilor Egan noted it is apparent that staff has thought this through and it makes sense to make the additions. MOVED AND SECONDED: To amend the motion to adopt the performance standards as revised by staff and handed out to the Council tonight. (Egan & Hendricks) ROLL CALL VOTE: (6 Ayes) (1 Recused-Tracy) ROLL CALL VOTE ON AMENDED ORDER: (6 Ayes) (1 Recused-Tracy) Chair Sachs thanked staff for making the clarifications. 3 COUNCIL MEETING #01-15 JANUARY 6, 2015 ITEM #03-15 To consider action relative to determining if contract zoning is appropriate for a 10,000 sq ft infill development at 56-58 Main Street. BE IT ORDERED: That a Public Hearing be scheduled for January 20, 2015 at 6:30 pm in the Council Chambers at Town Hall to discuss whether contract zoning is appropriate for a 10,000 sq ft infill development at 56-58 Main Street. BE IT FURTHER ORDERED: That copies be distributed equally between the Town Clerk’s Office, the Town Manager’s Office and the Freeport Community Library for inspection by citizens during normal business hours and the notice be placed on Freeport’s local cable channel 3 and the Town’s website. (Rixon & Egan) Mr. Joseph provided some background information on how this came to him. The question in front of the Council is the appropriateness of contract zoning, which is the very first step in the long contract zoning process. Before the process can start, the Council has to hold a public hearing and deliberate on whether or not it is an appropriate process to use. Donna Larson explained the long process for contract zoning. She does not see the utility in changing the height requirements in the entire district She mentioned the architects are here and can show the Council where they are at in terms of design, although it is not complete.

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