Penobscot County Commissioners' Minutes from July 30, 2019
For a downloadable copy click HERE
Penobscot County Commissioners’ Meeting Minutes July 30, 2019 2248 9:00 AM Commissioners Peter Baldacci, Andre Cushing & Laura Sanborn 78°
Snow Removal and Salt/Sanding of Penobscot County Property for Winter Seasons 2019-2022 Bids Opening -
Commissioner Baldacci opened up the Snow Removal and Salt/Sanding of Penobscot County Property for Winter Seasons 2019-2022 Bids Opening. The following four vendors submitted their bids by the deadline. (click HERE for Bids) Commissioner Sanborn made a motion to place these bids under advisement until more clarification was received from Bangor Lawn and Landscaping. Commissioner Cushing seconded the motion. Motion approved 3-0.
UT Update –
Barbara Veilleux reported on the limited partnership agreement between PERC and the County. Attorney Ed Bearor reviewed the information and has confirmed that there is no reason not to become a limited partner with PERC. Payments are to be paid by PERC, LP. A payment of the same amount of money the County received when the old partnership agreement ended ($7,812.97) will buy us back into the new agreement at the same percentage (0.132932%) we owned in the old agreement. Commissioner Sanborn moved to approve the PERC agreement as presented for Bill Collins signing on the Commissioners behalf. Commissioner Cushing seconded the motion. Motion approved 3-0. Signed.
Barbara presented the Fire/Ambulance contract which had already been approved previously for the Towns of Lincoln and East Millinocket for signature. Signed.
Barbara has sent out draft fire contracts with Springfield and Mattawamkeag. She is awaiting word back from each of them.
Barbara spoke to USDA about deeding Kingman Fire Station over to the County. Barb was told there would be no issue as long as the building continued to be used as a fire station. When Barb asked if it could be used as a public works facility, she was told as long as the building is used to benefit Kingman Township, it would be an approved use. Barbara spoke to Kingman Fire Treasurer, Rick Worster and he does not believe this will be an issue either. He will get back to Barb with a final decision.
George Buswell inspected K & C Quikstop & Service Center equipment and checked their references. George recommends the Grand Lake Road Snow Removal bid contract be awarded to this company. Commissioner Sanborn made the motion to approve K & C Quikstop & Service Center the award. Commissioner Cushing seconded the motion. Motion approved 3-0.
George reported on inspecting Joseph Reinzo equipment and references. George recommends the Argyle Snow Removal contract be awarded to his company. Commissioner Sanborn made the motion to approve Reinzo Excavation the Argyle Snow Removal bid. Commissioner Cushing seconded the motion. Motion approved 3-0. EMA Update –
Michelle Labree, Director provided an update on upcoming projects. They plan to work with some of the partners in preparation for the upcoming winter season.
o EMA will meet with Janet Sculley from Emera Maine at the end of the month to update processes, policies and to make sure our critical infrastructure list is up to date. o EMA has partnered with American Red Cross to participate in a Community Sheltering Class in Corinth and Lowell. EMA will review past challenges with storms and power outages and sheltering. The Red Cross will then teach what they need to do if they want their own community shelter. The Towns will be told what partnerships should be looked into for space requirement needs, equipment and supplies.
Brad Nuding presented EMA’s training and exercise program.
o This Friday, Brad will be in Waldo County as they are hosting a shelter exercise. Waldo will bring in citizens, put them through a feeding station and temporary shelter overnight to test their capabilities and capacities. o EMA is going to host a Volunteer and Donations Management’s Course. Two FEMA Region 1 instructors from Boston will come up to teach this course. In part, there will be a Natural Disasters and Volunteer Donations segment in which we will discuss what is going on at the Portland expo with asylum seekers. o In the middle of August, Brad is the lead instructor for a three day class on Incident Command that is being held at the Air Guard Base. o Brad invited Commissioner Cushing and John Hiatt to the Incident Command System 402 (ICS) training for senior executives. This will be held September 10th at 5:30. o EMA is helping support and plan an WMD exercise with the Civil Support Team (CST) which is the Army Component here to handle hazardous material and weapons of mass destructions. CST are required to test capabilities in the event of some explosion device that has hazardous materials. This will be a two part series at Mansfield Stadium and at the airport.
There was discussion on the evacuation routes that DOT has placed on the roads. Michelle will send the Commissioners the map for a better understanding. Finance Update –
Finance Director Judy Alexander presented for signature a representation letter to the county auditors, Chester Kearney to perform the County’s 2018 audit. Commissioner Cushing made a motion to approve this request. Commissioner Sanborn seconded the motion. Motion approved 3-0. Signed by Commission Chair Baldacci.
Judy provided a midyear report. All departments appear to be within Budget with exception of Soil Conservation. There was discussion regarding the high expenditure for Soil & Conservation. Judy said she thought it was due to a change in insurance coverage but said she would review.
Judy presented a Jail Revenues/Expenditures report from FY 2015 through FY 2019. It includes as part of the report “Cost of Boarding Prisoners”. She noted this better reflects how the jail overcrowding affects our budget.
Administration Update –
Bill reported that he received a call from Judy Harrison from Bangor Daily News requesting information in regards to a statement from former Sheriff, Glen Ross stating that our transportation estimate was $280 K. What needs to be included is the transportation costs as well as costs of officer’s time to get the prisoners to and from the boarding facility.
Bill stated that he spoken to the Sheriff Morton this morning and the following is reported:
o Of the Four new correction officers are attending training at the Academy one officer has resigned and another was injured. Status unknown. o Sheriff reports that we were five correction officers short over the weekend o Sheriff will be holding a meeting today to come up with ideas to manage the jails population when staffing is short o Sheriff would consider boarding out more inmates during a staffing crisis due to security and safety concerns. o DOC will be holding their annual review in August
Bill participated in the Opioid Crisis Conference Call Meeting held last week. They are tentatively meeting next Tuesday with the Attorney General to discuss if there is a settlement for the State of Maine, how those monies will be split. Penobscot County will be a participant at this meeting.
In preparation we need to:
o Identify what costs can be attributed to the Opioid crisis - for example in 2008 we spent about $250 K for all our medical costs, in 2019 we are over a million. o We also need to identify future costs as well o It was decided that Commissioner Baldacci, Bill Collins and the Sheriff Morton would represent Penobscot County at this meeting.
Bill presented paperwork received from Rob Frank of WBRC including prior work from SW Cole for Bowman Brothers at the former YMCA parcel and the City of Bangor (Police Station, Retaining Wall project). It was discussed that depending on the cost, to think about having additional borings in the lower parking lot too.
Commissioner Cushing made a motion in case there is no Commissioners meeting next Tuesday due to the possibility of attending the Meeting with the AG, that Bill open the bids for the paving Post Office paving project and take them under advisement. Commissioner Sanborn seconded the motion. Motion approved 3-0.
The compressor in NWDB’s office is broken. Cap has placed fans there until it can be fixed. There was discussion on whether or not a heat pump might be looked at there too. Commissioner Sanborn stated that Cap should check who did the heat pump at the BARN. There new Heat Pump made a big difference compared to last year’s event.
Cap is getting quotes on pricing for the heat pumps for the intake area in the jail.
Cap states the Thyssen Krupp will be here later today to fix the elevator.
Bill received an email from Thyssen Krupp and they will come before you next week.
Payroll Change Notices signed for: Beau Bowers and Shawn Levasseur – Resignation
Payroll Warrant to be approved for pay date: $229,837.82 Accounts Payable Warrant to be approved for pay date : $127,121.56 UT A/P Warrant to be approved for: None UT TIF Warrant to be approved for: None
Public Comment – None
Executive Session---Commissioner Sanborn made a motion to go into Executive Session at 10:05 a.m., under 1 M.R.S.A. § 405 (6) (A) Personnel Matter. Commissioner Cushing seconded the motion. Motion approve 3-0. Present were: Bill Collins, John Hiatt and Erika Honey. Session ended at 10:30 a.m. No votes taken.
Executive Session---Commissioner Sanborn made a motion to go into Executive Session at 10:31 a.m., under 1 M.R.S.A. § 405 (6) (A) Personnel Matter. Commissioner Cushing seconded the motion. Motion approve 3-0. Present were: Bill Collins and Erika Honey. Session ended at 10:42 a.m. No votes taken. Meeting Adjourned-
Commissioner Cushing moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:43 a.m. with no further business on the agenda. Commissioner Sanborn seconded the motion. Moved to approve passed 3-0.
Certified By:
Administrator, Bill Collins Peter K. Baldacci, Chairman Laura J. Sanborn, Commissioner
Andre E. Cushing, III, Commissioner
