Town Council Minutes

TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES MEETING MINUTES MONDAY APRIL 13, 2015

7:00 PM

A meeting of the Fort Kent Town Council convened at 7:01 pm. Present were Councilors John Bouchard, Priscilla Staples, Jacob Robichaud, and Peter Saucier. Members of the staff and public were Donald Guimond, Steve Pelletier, Dennis Cyr, Craig Morneault, Robert Desjardins, Colette Plourde, Jeffrey Plourde, Melinda Boucher, Brien Boucher, Hannah L’Italien, Larry Nadeau, Gloria Caron, Roger Caron, Paul Ouellette, Traci Place, and Jessica Potila.

1. PUBLIC HEARING – DETERMINATION OF PRESUMPTION OF ABANDONMENT OF AYOTTE ROAD:

A Public Hearing was conducted to review the status of Ayotte Road. This section of roadway has not been maintained by the Town in excess of thirty years.

After completion of the Public Hearing a motion was made by Councilor Staples and seconded by Councilor Saucier to approve the Determination of Presumption of Abandonment of Ayotte Road (See Appendix A).

The Presumption of Abandonment maintains the public easement over the existing road.

2. PUBLIC HEARING – CDBG ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:

A Public Hearing concerning the possible submission of two grant applications to the CDBG Economic Development Program on behalf of Pelletier’s Florist and G B & D Farms was conducted.

After completion of the Public Hearing a motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Staples to approve the submission of two Economic Development grant applications on behalf of Pelletier’s Florist and G B & D Farms. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

3. PUBLIC HEARING – CDBG DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION:

A Public Hearing concerning the possible submission of a grant application to the CDBG Downtown Revitalization Program was conducted. TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES APRIL 13, 2015 PAGE 2

After completion of the Public Hearing a motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Staples to approve the submission of a Downtown Revitalization grant application. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

4. MEETING MINUTES – 03-09-15 03-23-15 04-01-15 04-06-15:

A motion was made by Councilor Staples and seconded by Councilor Saucier to approve the Meeting Minutes of March 09, and April 01, 2015 as submitted and March 23, 2015 as corrected. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

A motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Staples to approve the Meeting Minutes of April 06, 2015 as corrected. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

5. WARRANTS – 03-12-15 03-19-15 03-26-15 04-02-15 04-09-15:

A motion was made by Councilor Staples and seconded by Councilor Robichaud to approve the Warrants of March 12, 19, 26, April 02, and 09, 2015 as submitted. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

6. RESOLUTION – DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION:

A motion was made by Councilor Robichaud and seconded by Councilor Staples to approve the Resolution as it pertains to the Downtown Revitalization project (See Appendix B). Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

7. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS – RESIGNATION:

A motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Robichaud to accept the Resignation of Daniel Marquis from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Motion carried, vote was unanimous. TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES APRIL 13, 2015 PAGE 3

8. CERTIFICATE OF COMMITMENT – SEWER USER RATES $44,302.74:

A motion was made by Councilor Staples and seconded by Councilor Robichaud to approve the Certificate of Commitment of Sewer User Rates in the amount of $44,302.74 for the period ending March 31, 2015. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

9. GENERAL ASSISTANCE – REVIEW MARCH REPORT:

There were no approved General Assistance cases for the month of March.

10. YEAR TO DATE FINANCIAL REPORTS - REVIEW:

The Council reviewed the partial Year to Date Financial Reports with no action taken. Now that the budget has been approved by the voters a complete set of financials for the period ending March 31, 2015 will be available for review at the next Council meeting.

11. NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING – WINTER ROAD CLOSURE RECONSIDERATION:

A motion was made by Councilor Staples and seconded by Councilor Saucier to hold a Public Hearing for the purpose of Reconsidering the Winter Road Closure of a portion of Charette Hill Road on June 8, 2015. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

12. NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING – CDBG HOUSING:

A motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Robichaud to hold a Public Hearing for the purpose of considering a CDBG Housing Grant application on April 27, 2015. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

13. TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE BIDS – REVIEW/AWARD:

The following proposals were received concerning a Tax Anticipation Loan:

TD Bank 1.25% Katahdin Trust 1.36% TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES APRIL 13, 2015 PAGE 4

A motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Staples to award the bid for a $1,000,000 Tax Anticipation Loan to TD Bank for a rate of 1.25%. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

14. CONTRACT RATIFICATION – WATER AND WASTEWATER PUBLIC WORKS POLICE:

A motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Staples to approve the Water and Wastewater bargaining unit contract as negotiated. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

A motion was made by Councilor Robichaud and seconded by Councilor Staples to approve the Public Works bargaining unit contract as negotiated. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

A motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Robichaud to approve the Police bargaining unit contract as negotiated. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

15. ROOF PROJECTS – FUNDING DISCUSSION:

After reviewing the project costs concerning the Roof Projects at the Municipal Building and Fire Station a motion was made by Councilor Robichaud and seconded by Councilor Staples to allocate $14,869.00 from the Administration Capital/Equipment Reserve account and to secure a $20,000.00 loan for the balance of the project costs. Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

A motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Staples to allocate $20,852.00 from the Fire Department Capital/Equipment Reserve account to pay for the project. Motion carried, with Councilors Staples, Robichaud, and Saucier in favor and Councilor Bouchard opposed.

16. FORT KENT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION – APPOINTMENTS:

A motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Robichaud to reappoint the existing members and officers of the Fort Kent Development Corporation, subject to concurrence of the appointees. Motion carried, vote was unanimous. TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES APRIL 13, 2015 PAGE 5

17. FEMA – LEVEE ACCREDITATION DISCUSSION:

FEMA has notified the town that there are two remaining issues as it pertains to Accreditation of the Levee. The issues revolve around freeboard requirements and engineer certification of the data that has been submitted. Clarification from FEMA as to exactly what the requirements are has not yet been received.

A motion was made by Councilor Robichaud and seconded by Councilor Staples to approve the resolution as it pertains to funding commitments for improvements to the levee system (See Appendix C). Motion carried, vote was unanimous.

18. REVOLVING LOAN FUND – STATUS REPORT [1 MRSA § 405 (6) (C)]:

A motion was made by Councilor Staples and seconded by Councilor Robichaud to enter executive session to receive a Status Report of the Revolving Loan Fund as per 1 MRSA § 405 (6) (C). Motion carried, vote was unanimous. Entered executive session at 8:48 pm.

A motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Robichaud to exit executive session. Motion carried, vote was unanimous. Exited executive session at 9:16 pm.

Post executive session action. No action taken.

A motion was made by Councilor Saucier and seconded by Councilor Staples to adjourn. Motion carried, vote was unanimous. The Council meeting adjourned at 9:29 pm.

FORT KENT TOWN COUNCIL

______Donald Guimond, Town Manager Dr John Bouchard, Chairman

______Dr Priscilla Staples

______Jacob Robichaud

______Peter Saucier ______Daniel Marquis