The dedicated team of Town Manager and Selectmen guide the daily operations and future of Guilford.

Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month. They are open to the public and they encourage interested citizens to come and get involved.

William Thompson, Kent Burdin, Michael Dexter, Rick Lander and Peter Martell
Town Manager ~Thomas Goulette
 

Town Manager Notes and Selectmen Meeting Minutes 
 

                           TOWN OF GUILFORD SELECTMEN’S MEETING

                                                     July 1, 2008

1. Meeting called to order by Chairman Bill Thompson at 7:22 PM. Present were selectmen Kent Burdin, Michael Dexter, Rick Lander, and Peter Martell. Guests present were Al Hunt, Laurel Hunt, Danielle Gioia , Dodie Curtis, Linda Packard, Joni Slamm, Carrie Fellows, Virginia Anderson, Roberta Thomas, Brian Wood worth, Seifert Schultz and Madeleine Shultz.

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

3. Balance sheets distributed.

4. Manager stated that notice had been served to appear in Superior Court regarding the abatement request by W.D.Ebbeling and the subsequent denials. Both the County and the Town received notice and a response has been filed by attorney Erik Stumpfel requesting a motion to stay.

5. The manager announced that the mil rate for 2008 has been set at .01280, or $12.80 per thousand of property valuation, and that the taxes have been committed.

6. Danille Gioia of the Guilford Memorial Library detailed some repair and maintenance issues needing attention, specifically, painting and gutter replacement along the west side. She stated that they had the paint, just needed to find the labor part. Linda Packard added that a recent energy audit showed some areas that needed attention and could provide some savings during the heating season. Burdin moved that the town undertake the project as the building is one of the town’s responsibilities, and get the work completed. Lander seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous..

7. Dodie Curtis introduced the Pink Tulip Project that the garden club is working on; a fundraiser and awareness effort for women’s cancer research. They plan to add special plantings to the existing gardens and create a display at the Guilford Medical building. The Library asked if they could support this with plant sale funds and it was agreed that would be within their discretion. Bulbs will also be available for personal purchase and use, and contributions can be made at the library or at www.pinktulipproject.org, and clicking on Guilford Community Garden.

8. Under assessors’ issues, it was voted to grant homestead exemptions to two overlooked accounts, to abate the personal property tax on the Black Forest Restaurant that had closed and sold its chattels prior to April first, and to supplement a new lot that had been created from a partial lot sale.

9. Under Other Business, Virginia Anderson asked what a selectman or selectwoman did as part of their duties; Seifert Shultz thanked those present for “getting back the Historical Society” and recounted the spirit of cooperation that achieved the War Memorial display; and Linda Packard thanked the Town of Guilford for its assistance with the financial administration for the Town of Willimantic. It was decided to have a August Selectmen’s meeting on the 19th the month to increase attendance.

10. Burdin moved the meeting be adjourned. After a second by Lander, the meeting was adjourned unanimously at 8:09 PM.

              TOWN OF GUILFORD SELECTMEN’S MEETING

                                               August 19, 2008

1. Meeting called to order by Chairman Bill Thompson at 7:22 PM. Present were selectmen Kent Burdin, Michael Dexter, Rick Lander, and Peter Martell. Guests present were Al Hunt, Laurel Hunt, Linda Packard, Seifert Schultz, David Inglehart of Tim’s Cove Property Owners’ Association, and Jackie Estrella.

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

3. Balance sheets distributed.

4. Manager gave brief update of Piscataquis River Festival held on July 26th. It was well attended, blessed by sunny weather, included another excellent parade, and generated $1200.00 from the Duck Race for the skate park program.

5. The manager provided an update on the school consolidation progress involving S.A.D. #4, and #41, Harmony and Willimantic. The required public hearing was held on August 4th and the planning committee had voted to send the plan to the school boards for their approval. A final vote on the matter will be held at the time of the November election, to determine if all towns included wish to proceed with the new School Administrative Unit prescribed by law. It was also noted that the petition to repeal said law was still generating interest.

6. Manager detailed road work that had been accomplished in recent weeks; namely the ditching of in-town streets and culvert replacements and the extensive ditching and repair work on the Sebec Shores Road in compliance with FEMA grant fund requirements.

7. Manager announced that an oil contract had been agreed upon with McKusick petroleum to supply heating oil for the 2008-2009 heating season at $3.639 per gallon.

Linda Packard was called upon and she requested that Guilford Memorial Library be allowed to donate $250.00 of funds raised from their recent book sale to the Swan’s Island Library that had just lost all their books. On a motion from Burdin with a second from Lander, it was agreed to approve the request. Linda stated that they had raised $464.72 at the sale, more than their usual intake.

Dave Inglehart was asked to present his request and he stated that he was exploring the possibility of working through the Town of Guilford to contract work on the Sebec Shores Road that the association wanted done, if they made a contribution to the town equal to the cost of the work requested. After discussion, it was decided to try to work with them for the benefit of all involved since it would be done at no additional costs to the town other than the road commissioner’s time and participation.

8. Al Hunt spoke on Guilford Historical Society’s plans for a Harvest Fair planned for the first Saturday in October. He stated that in the past, it had been a fundraiser for the society, but his year, they wished to hold the fair at their expense as a gift to the town. He invited anyone interested to attend the upcoming meeting on August 22nd at 6:00 pm and offer their ideas. They are planning a show-and-tell session and hoping to have an antique road show event as part of the Silver Anniversary of the Guilford Historical Society celebration.

9. Manager announced an invitation from the County for officials to attend a workshop on Freedom of Access training to be held sometime in September at the court house, cost to be borne by the County.

10. A letter from the Silver Star Families of America was read requesting the town to make a resolution declaring May 1st “Silver Star Banner Day” in honor of the sacrifices made by the men and women of our community wounded in military action. It was unanimously agreed to make the resolve following a motion by Dexter, seconded by Burdin.

11. By various motions, it was unanimously agreed to grant the following monetary requests to the respective non-profit organizations: Pine Tree Hospice, $600.00; American Red Cross, $1513.00; Womancare, $1500.00; Eastern Agency on Aging, $1500.00; Community Health and Counseling Services, $1200.00; and Piscataquis YMCA, $1500.00.

12. Manager explained some cemetery issues involving confusion over where bodies were buried, and expressed the need to update maps. A request for replacement of a marker damaged by mowing was denied following a motion from Lander and seconded by Dexter. It was discussed that a precedent should not be established that would assume unknown liabilities and that items placed in a cemetery are done so at the risk of the owners. However, manager was directed to investigate any possible insurance coverage before final determination.

13. An assessors’ meeting was held to discuss tree growth penalties, abatement requests, and the Voluntary Farm Support Program.

14. Burdin moved the meeting be adjourned. After a second by Lander, the meeting was adjourned unanimously at 9:42 PM.
 

TOWN OF GUILFORD SELECTMEN’S MEETING

September 2, 2008

1. Meeting called to order by Chairman Bill Thompson at 7:02 PM. Present were selectmen Kent Burdin, Michael Dexter, Rick Lander, and Peter Martell and guest Carrie Fellows.

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

3. Balance sheets distributed.

4. Manager announced that the County funded Freedom of Access training would be held on September 9th at the Superior Court House at 7:00 pm.

5. Thank you notes to the town for recent donations made to Pine Tree Hospice and Eastern Agency on Aging were read.

6. Manager gave update on an employee that may miss some time for an injury.

7. Manager detailed recent work by Barry Carleton at the medical building and comments were received on the great appearance following the paint job.

8. Carrie Fellows provided an update on Guilford Historical Society’s upcoming Harvest Fair scheduled for October 4th. Plans include free hot dogs, a free spaghetti dinner, an ice cream social and the burying of a time capsule among other events. This celebration of their silver anniversary and all the events will be published beforehand so all will know they are invited.

9. The Annual Leaf Peeper Tour for Guilford’s senior citizens has been scheduled for October 9th. The group will be making a trip to Pittston Farms via town sponsored chartered bus and attendees will be responsible for only the cost of their lunch at the farm. They will have a tour of the logging museum, the historic barn and the grounds.

10. Manager announced that a letter had been sent by the code enforcement officer to the property owner of a burned house that is becoming a health hazard stating that it must be cleaned up; 30 days were allowed for a response from the owner.

11. Manager spoke of plans for thirteen mailbox posts to be installed on the new sidewalk along the south side of Elm Street and mentioned that it would make it impossible to maintain the sidewalk during the winter months due to space limitations. He agreed to seek alternatives following approval from the board of selectmen.

12. On a motion from Martell, seconded by Dexter, it was unanimously voted to approve and sign an application for a subsurface waste system.

13. Manager detailed an additionally available insurance coverage for contamination by road salt to private wells and it was voted to take no action, following a motion by Lander with a Burdin second.

14. Under assessor’s business, it was voted to grant Marc Guay an abatement of $4600.00 on a shed and to grant Edward Snide a homestead exemption after a motion was made by Burdin and seconded by Dexter. It was also agreed to remove a parcel belonging to Anne Rojas from tree growth status by rule as the lot was non conforming, at no penalty to the owner.

15. Under other business, Carrie Fellows announced that the Kiwanis Club would not be spearheading the River Festival next year, but a group of volunteers wished to continue the event. A committee is already in place and they would require some seed money and hopefully, raise some funds as in the past for a town project. Kiwanis would still be involved as would the Guilford Historical Society and possibly other groups. The board appreciated the efforts, both past and future of the Kiwanis and the new committee and was glad to see this event continue. The board also discussed attendance issues on the planning board.

16. Burdin moved the meeting be adjourned. After a second by Lander, the meeting was adjourned unanimously at 8:47 PM.
 

TOWN OF GUILFORD SELECTMEN’S MEETING

October 7, 2008

1. Meeting called to order by Chairman Bill Thompson at 7:00 PM. Present were selectmen Kent Burdin, Michael Dexter, Rick Lander, and Peter Martell and guests Robert Peachey, Josh Hansen, Maged Shahin, Stephanie Gray, and Niki Fortier.

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

3. Balance sheets distributed and correspondence read.

4. Manager noted that most of the plantings and paving have been completed on Elm Street, the lights are scheduled to be placed on Thursday the 9th, and the project should be completed this week.

5. The Guilford Historical Society’s Silver Anniversary Harvest fair was a success by all accounts in spite of a very chilly day. A day long offering of food, games, vendor tables, band music, and a cemetery tour was well attended and enjoyed by all.

6. Manager regretfully informed the board that Interface, now True Textiles, has reneged on the former promise of Water Street land donation and that the Samuel’s have withdrawn from the project. Thanks to broken promises, the town loses out on a generous offer to build a million dollar community center. Dexter made a motion, seconded by Burdin, to make the Edes building safe, and advised getting bids for its demolition.

7. Manager announced a renewal of the winter parking ban on all streets and roads in Guilford. The ban is from November 1st through May 1st of 2009 and applies from 10:00 at night until 6:00 am.

8. Manager has requested pricing for tile replacement in the carpeted portion of the medical building and will have some electrical issues attended to.

9. The public hearing to consider adoption of the General Assistance Ordinance Appendices was held as posted which changes the maximums for food, shelter and other necessities on an annually adjusted basis. It was moved by Lander and seconded by Dexter to accept the DHHS recommendations and adopt as written. Unanimous.

10. An application from The Covered Bridge Restaurant for an Entertainment Permit to allow for Open Mic Night was read. It was moved and seconded by Lander and Dexter respectively to approve. So voted; unanimous

11. The Town’s ton truck is getting old and tired. Manager detailed some pricing and options on a replacement vehicle and was directed to spec and bid a ton truck with dump body and plow.

12. Under assessor’s issues, it was voted to deny William D Ebbeling’s abatement requests on both properties as submitted. Manager directed to explain that requester may reapply on the garage, as properties are now combined into one lot. Board agreed to set a date to visit the Bearce property before deciding on her abatement request. Manager asked to discuss Corey Littlefield’s request, as issue may already be resolved with no action necessary. Niles McBrierty abatement agreed to as equipment has been excised. Supplements for Neil Turner and Adam Bussell tabled for further information.

13. Under other business, Thompson stated that the P.C.H.S. Key Club would like to hold a Homeless Sleep-over at the athletic field on the 18th of October. Issues discussed included need for a burn permit, insurance, and bathroom facilities. Thompson will clear all of the above with the school club advisor. Also under other business, manager directed to order and install a Jake Brake sign on South Main Street. Guests as noted above were asked to express their concerns. They had come to voice complaints about lack of response and action regarding animal noise, loud partying into morning hours, swearing and screaming, squealing tires, trash all over the yards, riding lawnmowers on public roads, and other nuisance and hazard issues. Manager directed to contact Animal Control Officer, Code Enforcement Officer and Piscataquis Sheriff’s Office to request they step up patrol and control.

14. Burdin moved the meeting be adjourned. After a second by Lander, the meeting was adjourned unanimously at 9:02 PM.