TOWN OF GUILFORD SELECTMEN’S MEETING

March 1, 2011

1. Meeting called to order by Chairman Bill Thompson at 7:00 PM. Present were selectmen Michael Dexter, Kent Burdin, Rick Lander and Peter Martell, and guests Carrie Fellows and Bill Pearson from the Piscataquis Observer.

2. Motion made by Lander, seconded by Burdin to approve minutes of the prior meeting. Unanimous.

3. Balance sheets distributed and accepted.

4. Letter from Maine Service Center Coalition read, requesting we join their group as they advocate for all towns that serve larger areas outside their own borders. Lander moved and Burdin seconded that we pass over the request. Unanimous.

5. A letter of introduction was read from Highland Assessing offering consulting, maintenance or assessing services. Thompson inquired if contact had been made and Burdin suggested getting some pricing for various phases of the process. Manager agreed to do so before next meeting.

6. The Memorandum of Agreement regarding Guilford’s police patrol that has been bandied about these past several months between the town and the county was presented to the board, signed by two of three County Commissioners with the third writing “NO- Opposed” on his signature line. It had also been signed by Sheriff Goggin. Following brief discussion, the board agreed to sign as previously stated and did so.

7. Manager related details of the February 16th CDBG Housing Assistance Grant hearing. The board unanimously endorsed the application as a display of support on a Burdin motion seconded by Martell.

8. The Board was reminded that Guilford lacked a representative on the HAD#4 Board and was asked to be discussing participation with potential nominees. 

9. Manager reported that he had attended the kick-off meeting at the Emergency Management Office last week and that now, representatives of the Department of Homeland Security had met in the town office to discuss possible FEMA reimbursement for expenses due from the December storms. Possible projects include extra fire department flood prevention duties and road repairs necessitated from the high water and extreme runoff. Some work has been done and some must wait until summer.

10. It was announced that a tax workshop dealing with Current Use property tax law and discussing issues such as Tree Growth, Open Space and Farmland would be held in Dover-Foxcroft on March 16th from 6 to 8:00 pm at the UMaine Extension Office.

11. Manager informed board he would be attending the Maine Town and City Managers Association Interchange in Orono all day Friday, March 4th.

12. The five year update plan on the County Emergency Management hazard Mitigation plan is now due and Fred Mueller of EMA will be meeting with the town EMA director to complete this on March 3rd. No action required.

13.   Under assessors’ issues, an abatement request was denied; the State Valuation for 2012 was reviewed; the assessing books were not distributed to the board members as they determined to wait until the April meeting, and a tree growth application was approved and signed

14. Under Other Business, no topics were presented.

15. Following a motion from Burdin and a Lander second, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM.