[1:14] And you never know when an emergency
situation will happen. That's why
[1:17] [music] the Fairfield Area Community
Emergency Response Team or CERT C is
[1:22] here. Cert is made up of trained
volunteers ready to take care of
[1:26] themselves, their families, and their
neighbors when disaster strikes. Through
[1:30] 20 hours of hands-on training led by
local emergency [music] management,
[1:34] members learn vital skills like disaster
preparedness, fire safety, medical
[1:39] operations, and search and rescue. Join
[music] C today and be ready to make a
[1:45] difference when it matters most. New
members training will be on Saturday,
[1:48] January 10th [music] and 17th, 2026.
Both training days will run from 8:00
[1:54] a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at [music] the
Fairfield Community Center, 61 Water
[1:58] Street, Fairfield, Maine. The [music]
class is limited to 20 participants and
[2:02] registration is required. To register,
email info at fairfield-me.gov [music]
[2:07] or call to 074537911.
[2:12] [music]
[5:21] To the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it
[5:26] stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
[5:33] for all.
[5:42] Good evening everyone. Wish you an early
merry Christmas and happy holidays.
[5:46] » Thank you.
>> Quick reminder to please silence your
[5:50] cell phones.
[5:53] First order of business, public
announcements. Details may be found at
[5:57] www.fairfield-me.gov.
[6:01] All non-emergency town offices will
close at noon on December 24th and will
[6:05] be closed December 25th and the 26th for
the Christmas holiday. All non-emergency
[6:11] town offices will be closed on Monday,
January January 1st for the New Year's
[6:16] holiday. I don't think it's Monday.
>> It's not Monday.
[6:20] » Wednesday.
>> Wednesday.
[6:21] » What's holiday?
>> Wednesday. January 1st.
[6:25] » In December, council begins reviewing
appointment applications for
[6:29] » Thursday. Thursday, January. [laughter]
Like, it's not Wednesday either.
[6:33] » Yeah, Wednesday's New Year's.
>> We'll get there.
[6:36] » Thursday.
>> In December, council begins reviewing
[6:40] appointment applications for upcoming
volunteer positions on local boards and
[6:44] committees, including the following:
budget committee, planning board, land
[6:48] use board of appeals, board of
assessment review, and voter
[6:52] registration board of appeals. If you
are interested in serving your
[6:55] community, please complete an
appointment application form available
[6:59] online or at the town office.
Appointments are made at the town
[7:03] council's January annual organizational
meeting, which I believe is January
[7:07] 14th. Am I correct?
>> Yeah.
[7:10] » Yeah.
>> Dog licenses are due. Any dogs
[7:14] registered after January 31st, 2026 will
receive a $25 late fee per dog. Proof of
[7:21] current rabies vaccination is required.
There is still time to sign up for the
[7:26] cert training. Please email info@f
fairfield-me.gov
[7:31] to reserve your spot.
Uh that search training is two Saturdays
[7:36] right in January.
>> Second and third Saturday
[7:38] » 10 hours each hours each day 8 to 6.
>> And and I know we've had some very good
[7:45] » Yep. I'll talk
>> anticipation started already. Yeah.
[7:48] » All right.
>> Cops Care for Kids will be Friday,
[7:52] December 19th from 400 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
at the Fairfield Community Center.
[7:57] Please sign your children up at the
fairfield copscare.com.
[8:01] And when you walk in, the place is
beautiful. We just did a quick walk
[8:06] through and I think kids will be very,
very happy to see what the cops have
[8:12] done for them this year.
The town office is hosting a diaper
[8:16] drive. Diapers and/or wipes of all sizes
and brands can be dropped off at the
[8:20] town office or food pantry. The deadline
is February 1st, 2026.
[8:25] Lawrence Public Library
[8:30] Library holiday party Thursday, December
18th at 3:30 p.m. New programs,
[8:36] community conversations on Tuesday
mornings at 10:30 a.m. and Baby and Me
[8:41] playgroup on Friday mornings at 10:30
a.m.
[8:45] Second order of business, public
hearings. We have none. The order third
[8:49] order of business, public comments.
These comments will be limited to three
[8:53] minutes. Members of the public may speak
to the council or request an opportunity
[8:57] to speak on a specific item that's on
the agenda or may email comments for
[9:02] council to info@fairfield-me.gov
by 4 p.m. day of meeting. Submitted
[9:08] content may be read aloud at this time.
Do we have anybody who would like to
[9:11] make a comment or reserve time to speak
on an item of the
[9:14] » question Max for for item 81?
>> But he's part of the committee. So
[9:22] » what's that? he would be part of the
committee that would give the
[9:25] » presentation. I want to present anyways.
[clears throat]
[9:31] » Bob, how are you?
>> I am well, thank you. Um, this is this
[9:35] comment will be directly
directed to Stephanie with the cert
[9:41] training
and your first aid portion. If you're
[9:46] looking for a injured person to maybe
carry up and downstairs or twoman carry
[9:54] outside, whatever, I'd be willing to
volunteer. I wanted to partake in a sort
[10:00] of training, but I just can't. So, I
feel this is just another small way of
[10:06] me help [snorts]
towards the town.
[10:10] » Thank you very much, Bob. Um, I will let
Sarah know about this and I um if I need
[10:18] to get in touch with you to let you know
of your services,
[10:22] I will call.
>> Thank you so much, Bob.
[10:30] Anybody else?
Okay, seeing none, we'll move on. Fourth
[10:34] order business, town manager and
committee reports. Town manager report.
[10:38] All right. So, on November 25th, the
code enforcement officer and I met with
[10:43] KB Cog staff to discuss a housing needs
assessment that they are working on for
[10:47] the town of Fairfield. This assessment
is funded through a housing opportunity
[10:51] program grant through the state. So, it
is of complete free of charge to the
[10:55] municipality. Um, and it will give us a
lot of things that we need. Some of it
[11:00] is some GIS mapping of some of our
infrastructure as well as some good
[11:04] mapping for layouts of the community.
So, we're excited about this project.
[11:08] um it's not anything that they've ever
done before. They're using Fairfield as
[11:12] a guinea pig um to work out the process
and then hopefully KV Cog hopes to be
[11:16] able to um make this process available
to other communities that are members of
[11:20] of KV COB's um catchment area. So, we're
we're excited about this process getting
[11:25] that started. November 27th and 28th,
all non-emergency services were closed
[11:29] for the Thanksgiving holiday. December
2nd, the library was closed due to the
[11:34] weather. They were closed completely.
The town office did close at 11:00 and
[11:37] all committee meetings on the 2nd were
also canceled due to the storm. The
[11:41] December 4th I attended the ice arena
steering committee meeting and the 16th
[11:46] of December I attended the building
committee meeting. Just a couple of
[11:49] project updates for you. Budget prep
continues at this point. Um we're
[11:54] waiting on some data from outside
sources such as mainstate retirement,
[11:59] those sort of things that are big
components within your budget that we do
[12:02] not have what those numbers are yet. We
also are working on our meetings with
[12:06] our union contract renewals. So the hope
is right now that we'll get those union
[12:10] meetings out of the way the first part
of January. You'll have your budget and
[12:14] they will schedule the meeting
tenatively for council being that is it
[12:19] the it's a fourth or the third weekend
in January. It's the cert teams
[12:24] it's the third Saturday in January I
think cert teams snow date. If they
[12:28] don't need that then we'll bump it to if
they do need it we'll bump it to the
[12:30] 31st. Uh that's the tenant plan right
now, but you'll have the budget by the
[12:34] end of January. Um and then also, uh the
contract was signed for KRG First Park's
[12:40] new executive director this week. Um
that press release was handed out to you
[12:44] tonight, so you have a copy of that.
We're really excited about her getting
[12:47] started. Uh she was the uh director down
at the Brunswick Landing, so we're
[12:51] really hoping her expertise is going to
bring a lot more businesses to this
[12:54] region. So that's it for me.
>> All right. Thank you.
[13:00] uh thank our department heads. We we
have our monthly uh report. It's very
[13:05] in-depth. Thank you again. I'm just
going to bring up a quick uh the
[13:11] reval is going on and I I just want to
report that they have mentioned a little
[13:16] over 1.3 million in new um assessed
value that they've done. So that will
[13:22] help our town revenue when we get in the
budget process. So again, all
[13:26] departments, thank you.
Yes. And that's value that will hit
[13:30] immediately, not not value that has to
wait for the for bail to be complete.
[13:34] So, yep.
>> Okay. Committee reports. We'll start
[13:39] with economic development.
>> Well, as you heard Michelle say, we
[13:43] didn't meet on December 2nd because of
the storm. And so, our next meeting is
[13:48] going to be January 6th at 3:30 here in
council chambers. Um, just so you all
[13:55] know, we have seven more openings for
the CERT C training. The CERT C training
[14:00] is on the second and third Saturdays in
January with a snow date of the 4th if
[14:06] we need it. Um, it they are 10-hour
days. People are asked to bring their
[14:12] lunch. Uh, it's open not just for
Fairfield citizens, but for people in
[14:17] our surrounding area, um, from age from
high school seniors on up. So, um,
[14:25] again, there are seven positions that
are still vacant and we would love to
[14:29] have them all filled
>> and that's it.
[14:33] » Dr. Towns and PFA,
>> we had a probably a very uh robust
[14:38] meeting scheduled for uh December 2nd,
but that one got snowed out. Uh, so we
[14:43] are rescheduling at this point to
January 12th um for us. So, that was
[14:47] again meeting with the legislators and
kind of going over the situation than
[14:51] our reports. So, January 12th, I think
about six o'clock at that point. So,
[14:55] that'll be a uh that is a trying to look
real quick.
[14:59] » Monday.
>> That is a Monday. Yep.
[15:01] » Okay. I'm going to uh I'll do Ice Arena
first since um building's going to be a
[15:06] little bit longer. Um so, Ice Arena, we
met in in December. I totally forgot all
[15:11] my notes on my desk. Um,
we met with Sheridan and we went over
[15:18] some of the plans that the prior group
from Central Main um, youth hockey and
[15:23] the Alphon Center had. Um, they had a
number of different plans, different
[15:29] price ranges, different sizes. What we
have decided to do um, was see how much
[15:36] accessible land we have um, how much of
it is going to be waste land that we
[15:41] can't use. what do we do with the PFA
land like building a mound for maybe a
[15:46] sledding hill or whatever. Uh but we're
going to take a backwards approach to
[15:50] come into this with what kind of size
building can we have first of all
[15:54] depending on the amount of parking
spaces that will be available. So our
[15:58] next next meeting will be in January and
hopefully we'll have some more
[16:02] information at that time uh to bring
back. So kind of a backwards approach
[16:06] but we would like to see you know what's
our maximum footprint before we can do
[16:10] anything else. Dr. T am I leaving
anything else?
[16:12] » No, those are big ones. I think backing
into it and kind of looking what we can
[16:16] do.
>> Yep.
[16:17] » Yeah.
>> Um, next meeting is in January.
[16:20] Michelle, the other date cuz again I
left my my notes. [snorts]
[16:28] » 22nd is what I had.
>> 22nd at the wrong month. That's why
[16:32] » should be a Thursday I believe again.
>> Oh,
[16:34] » yep.
>> I don't Okay,
[16:36] » sure. [snorts] So tenatively January
22nd 6 p.m. right here council changes.
[16:41] » Okay. Um Peter building committee.
>> Oh the building committee met last night
[16:46] at 5:00.
Um
[16:50] we only had three members there and we
discussed about the building RFP
[16:57] and
I'm going to introduce Max who is going
[17:01] to brief that from a billing committee.
we want
[17:07] » when we get to that item. It's it's an
item on the agenda.
[17:10] » Okay. So, we'll wait till the last one.
>> Yeah.
[17:13] » Okay. So, Max, we're going to put you
off.
[17:19] [clears throat]
>> Okay. That's it for the for committees
[17:21] for now. Fifth order business, the
consent agenda. These items are
[17:25] considered routine or standard business
and therefore will be enacted by one
[17:29] motion. There will be no separate
discussion of these items unless a
[17:32] council member so requests private
consideration of this portion of the
[17:36] agenda in which event the item will be
removed from the consent agenda and
[17:40] considered next on the agenda.
Seeing none, item 25-124
[17:46] ordered that the Fairfield Town Council
hereby waves the reading of and accepts
[17:50] the minutes for meeting 2025-20
held on November 19th, 2025.
[17:57] » So moved. Second.
>> No, we got two more.
[18:01] » That's That's fine. We'll read them all.
Item 25-125.
[18:06] Order that the town council hereby
approves the treasures warrant number 91
[18:10] in the amount of 1,45,86822
[18:16] include but not limited to motor vehicle
fees, MSAD 49 December allocation, main
[18:23] municipal employee health and OKConor
GMC. Item 25-126
[18:29] order. The town council hereby approves
and signs the sewer certificate of
[18:34] commitment in the amount of $164,92.50
[18:39] for the fourth quarter fiscal year sewer
billing for the period of 10125 through
[18:45] 123125.
How about now?
[18:48] » Now make a motion. Second.
>> So I have a motion by council towns and
[18:52] second by councelor Tibido. Any
questions?
[18:57] Seeing none, all those in favor. It's
unanimous. 5-0.
[19:03] Six. Order of business. Discuss the
traffic concerns raised by residents at
[19:08] 11:119 meeting. So this will be on the
intersection,
[19:13] I believe, Norwalk Road and it
>> was No, no, it was 10 lots, Davis Road,
[19:19] Martin Street, and Six Rod. The
>> the four-way intersection on Davis Road.
[19:24] Yep.
And you received a memo from Chief Gold.
[19:28] » Y
[19:40] pros and cons it looks like at this
point.
[19:44] » Yeah. What do you What do you think, Dr.
T? I mean, you look at it and just what
[19:47] he's saying, you do have the stops and
maybe you'll have fewer uh t-bone type
[19:53] uh accidents, but you worry about the
ones of people going straight on through
[19:57] because they're used to it not being a
stop. You're worrying about the backup
[20:00] of traffic and the rear ending. So, I'm
not sure which one's better or worse,
[20:04] but I definitely see it when it's out
there and people that live out there uh
[20:08] can understand it.
[20:12] Yes, we added reflectors several years
ago to help draw more attention to that
[20:16] area. The issue we had with like so if
you did like blinking flashing lights,
[20:20] there's no there's no power supply and
there's not enough we don't believe
[20:26] enough u visibility for solar generated
lights in that area. So,
[20:32] » so basically that intersection where
where six rod Martin stream connect
[20:38] there are no stop signs. There's stop
both ways on Davis Road and 10 lots
[20:43] road. I think the I live on that road as
well. So I think the problem that we're
[20:48] dealing with is this time of year
particularly with sundown. I think
[20:53] you're going to see more of the
accidents early morning when sun's
[20:56] coming up going down the six rod road
from Martin Stream and accidents going
[21:01] through the four-way at night at
twilight or or 4 to 5:00 um where the
[21:07] sun is is blinding in those areas
I would say
[21:13] you know the blinking the blinking
lights on the stop signs
[21:17] to to me would make sense because it's
not really in either view of the done.
[21:23] Uh so if we were going to pursue it any
further, I would look at that where
[21:26] those are really the only two stops.
People are just blowing through those.
[21:31] They've been a stop sign for 70 years,
as long as a road's been there. Um Six
[21:37] Rod Martin has never it's never been a
four-way stop sign. So unlike what
[21:41] they've changed on uh Fairfield Street,
Oakland Road, Gagnen Road, and County
[21:46] Road, um those are now a complete
four-way stop. That was another bad
[21:51] intersection. Had a lot of accidents. Um
>> well, the chief does say that there's
[21:56] only been three accidents since January
1st of 2023.
[22:01] Um there were eight crashes from 2020 to
2022.
[22:08] So in a period of 5 years has been total
of 11.
[22:12] » Yeah.
So
[22:17] » I I honestly think it's something we
just we make note of it, keep it on our
[22:21] radar. It is a 35 mph zone through
there. So six rod does change over from
[22:27] 45 to 35 about 9/10 of a mile going up
right after you get by myself and
[22:31] Tommy's place. Um
people people fly no different than any
[22:37] other road. So, um, I think we just make
it a concern and and keep it on the
[22:42] radar. If it becomes more of a problem,
then we readress it with maybe the
[22:45] blinking stop signs.
>> Are there thoughts on like is is there
[22:52] really the situation they don't think
that is enough power with the solar?
[22:57] » I mean, so I mean, you can always we
could look at removing trees and and
[23:01] that kind of stuff, but um, that was the
feedback that I received. I didn't
[23:06] actually drive out there and, you know,
do a lookie around. Um, those units do
[23:10] cost anywhere between $1,000 to $3,000 a
piece. And then there's battery
[23:15] maintenance and battery maintenance
doesn't work real well in main winters.
[23:18] That's the other part of that. So, you
create an expectation that there's going
[23:21] to be a light flashing and then that
light goes away. Do you then in turn
[23:24] create a different hazard? So, that's
why the chief also mentioned, you know,
[23:28] we would want to potentially look, you
would potentially look at engineering
[23:31] study done in that area. Um, and because
it's not a state road, you'd actually
[23:35] have to pay for that piece, whereas
usually we when it's on a state road, we
[23:38] ask them to do it and they fit us in
their schedule. Um, so I mean there are
[23:43] things that you could do,
will they work? Um, so the reflector
[23:48] piece that was done, so he is stating,
you know, that public works place stop
[23:52] signs on both sides at the end of 10
lots and Davis Road and added reflectors
[23:56] several years past. a clear downward
trend. Eight crashes from 20 to 22 with
[24:02] only three since 1123 which supports the
conclusion that the corrections reduced
[24:06] crashes. Next logical step would then in
the process would be to change the
[24:11] intersection to four-way or add solar
flashing stop and warning signs. So it'd
[24:14] be up to the council as to what you want
to do.
[24:17] » I know that in the roads I don't believe
it there it says stop ahead in the road.
[24:22] Would that make a big difference? Does
does it Tom?
[24:25] » Okay. Well, I believe both Davis and 10
lots, right, Tom?
[24:28] » Yep.
>> Y we've done a lot over the years to to
[24:32] prevent what's been happening. We've
added stop ahead signs on both sides of
[24:37] the roads as you approach it. Then you
got two stop signs instead of just one.
[24:41] You have reflective. Sorry, [laughter]
>> he's new. Forgive him.
[24:45] » You also have the reflective strips that
we added and we cleared the ditches of
[24:50] brush and everything else. So, it's
quite a I mean, you I don't know if
[24:54] you're familiar with the Davis Road, but
as you round that corner, just before
[24:58] you round the corner, there's two stop
ahead signs right there. You have to be
[25:01] able to see them. And then as soon as
you round the corner, you can see both
[25:04] stop signs instead of just one stop
sign, which you normally have. So, we've
[25:08] done a lot over the past years to try to
prevent this. And my opinion, I think
[25:13] it's just driver and attention and
speed. Yeah.
[25:17] » Speed. Speed and attention. Absolutely.
[25:23] Thank you.
Any other discussion on that for now? Do
[25:28] you ask for just a department of
engineer uh department of
[25:31] transportation,
you know, review and on their on their
[25:35] schedule?
>> We can find out how much one would cost
[25:38] us.
>> That'd be great.
[25:39] » Yep. [clears throat]
[25:43] » Okay. Thank you. We'll move on. Uh item
two,
[25:48] » there was one more piece to that. It was
the other letter that you also got from
[25:51] the Department of Transportation that
was dated back in March. It was just a
[25:54] followup because there was a
conversation about the rumble strip that
[25:57] was on the Norwalk Road.
>> So, and in this letter, we had
[26:01] previously asked that rumble strips be
put in and we were denied
[26:05] » um but in um 2025, we did we had asked
for it again because they had done a
[26:11] 2019 review um and did not show any
deficiencies in the highway signs or
[26:16] striping. The review did show the 50th
percentile speed of drivers was 57 miles
[26:21] per hour and 85th percentile speed was
62 miles per hour. As a result of that
[26:25] review, we also determined that this
segment of highway did not meet the
[26:29] threshold for installation of rumble
strips at that time. Since then, our
[26:33] threshold for the installation of rumble
strips has changed and promoted and
[26:36] prompted by your letter. I have worked
with our folks overseeing rumble strips
[26:40] and reached an agreement with the
installation of rumble strips that will
[26:43] be programmed in the Norwalk Road
anywhere the speed limit is 45 mph or
[26:47] greater from town line to town line in
those areas where the pavement
[26:51] conditions is sufficient to support
these effective safety features. So,
[26:57] it it may be that
the rumble strips that are there are not
[27:01] meeting folks expectations, but we were
lucky to get what we got because they
[27:05] had previously determined we weren't
even going to get those.
[27:09] So, I just wanted to follow up. I knew
we had gotten something and and I wanted
[27:13] to give this to you so that you had
that.
[27:14] » Those are in place. I drove out last
night. So, I I think that will make a
[27:18] difference. Again, it's more the
intersection where the old Melly Ranch
[27:22] is
>> um by by Pirate Lane just after that. I
[27:26] think that's where we're seeing all
these accidents. But again, it's
[27:31] » the road work has been done. Um the stop
ahead is is already on the ground. It's
[27:37] there. It's just driver in attention and
speed. They're blowing through a stop
[27:41] sign at the Melody Ranch. You're going
on another road. I I don't know what
[27:45] we're going to do to deter or stop that.
I saw a tractor trailer just missed a
[27:49] car about 20 ft the other morning. It
was just like just she pulled the person
[27:54] pulled right out. Uh yeah, just driving
her attention like oh my gosh. But yeah,
[27:59] it happens.
>> I mean it's odd that we see it at that
[28:01] intersection, but you've got a place on
the Culver Road. You know, Norwalk meets
[28:05] Kula Road the exact same way
>> and we don't see that at that
[28:10] intersection. So I think just people
coming off the back road from Scow
[28:13] Heaggan are not paying attention. and
they're just blowing through that stop.
[28:17] So,
>> was the original request though that we
[28:19] heard um I think I forget who it was
requested rumble strips going across the
[28:26] road. This letter is referring to center
line rumble strips.
[28:29] » Yeah. And they won't do those,
>> right?
[28:32] » They won't do those skeleagan on 2011.
They got straight in the middle of the
[28:36] road,
>> right? I effectively still using north
[28:40] as group one cranking.
>> They don't make a difference. Rumble
[28:44] strips don't make a difference.
>> I just I just wanted for for clarity to
[28:48] for closure that the request was that we
look into rumble strips going across the
[28:53] road and we know that's not going to
happen. I think they only use those for
[28:56] the approaching a stop.
>> They typically they use them like they
[29:00] have them at the approaches for the toll
booths and that kind of stuff to slow
[29:03] people down, but they won't they I don't
think that they will ever ever give you
[29:07] one for
>> No. in the back road. a 45 mph road. So,
[29:10] it's not going to meet their description
of of putting in rumble strips anyway,
[29:15] other than an actual stop light, which
still isn't going to stop them if
[29:18] they're not paying attention.
>> If you're on your cell phone and not
[29:21] paying attention,
whether you're watching a Tik Tok or
[29:24] talking to somebody or screaming at your
kid in the back seat, it it it has an
[29:28] impact on on everybody else around you.
So,
[29:31] » it happens.
I I'm happy we got the the median rumble
[29:35] strips and you know at least they're
paying attention. Not going to hit a
[29:39] semi coming at him at 60 mph in the
opposite direction.
[29:45] Okay. Well, thank you for those reports.
Um item two, the fire chief's truck has
[29:51] been leed by Davis Vinyl. I think we've
seen the pictures. Looks like
[29:54] » I actually saw it last night out there
and touched it. We actually had a tour
[29:59] of this truck last night.
Chief, are you happy with that?
[30:04] » Yep.
>> Abs. Absolutely.
[30:06] » Any other discussion?
>> Remove that.
[30:12] » Can we remove that off old business?
>> Yeah.
[30:16] » Uh item three, committee meeting
recordings.
[30:19] » Really haven't had any
>> no meeting
[30:21] » committees to record. It's okay.
>> We'll keep that for for next meeting.
[30:27] Seventh order of business to take action
on the following items of business. Item
[30:32] 25-127.
Order that the town council hereby
[30:36] authorizes the town clerk to issue a
letter of approval to the Grover
[30:40] Hinckley American Legion Post 14 located
at 86 Main Street to operate Bingo Bino
[30:47] Games of Chance and Cribage for the
period of January 1st, 2026 to December
[30:52] 31st, 2026.
>> So move
[30:54] » second. Motion by councel Lawrence,
second by councelor Tibido. Any
[30:58] discussion?
Seeing none. All those in favor?
[31:02] Unanimous. 5-0.
Item 25-128.
[31:08] Order that the Fairfield Town Council
hereby authorizes the town clerk to
[31:11] issue a letter of approval to the
Fairfield VFW Memorial Post 6924
[31:16] located at 246 Main Street to operate
Bingo Bino Games of Chance and Cribage
[31:22] for the period of January 1st, 2026 to
December 31st, 2026. So move
[31:28] » second.
>> Motion by council Lawrence, second by
[31:31] Council Tibido. Any discussion?
Seeing none, all those in favor?
[31:36] Unanimous. 50.
Item 25-129.
[31:42] Order that the town council hereby
adopts the animal housing contract for
[31:46] January 1st, 2026 through December 31st,
2027.
[31:58] » Second
>> motion by councelor Townson, second by
[32:01] council Lawrence.
discussion.
[32:06] » Michelle, did they go up on their costs?
The fee is exactly the same.
[32:10] » Yeah, the same.
[32:14] » Good question.
>> Any other discussion?
[32:19] » And we did, just so you're aware, just
for price comparison, did reach out to
[32:22] the Waterville Animal Shelter. Uh the
chief has reached out to them a couple
[32:26] of times and has received no response
from them. So,
[32:30] Any
[32:34] other comments or discussion? Seeing
none, all those in favor?
[32:39] Unanimous. 5-0.
[clears throat]
[32:43] Eighth order business. Council workshop
and other business discuss the RFP from
[32:48] the building committee.
Max Kenny, you have the four, please.
[32:57] » Michelle, did the council get the most
updated version? Yes, they did this
[33:00] afternoon.
>> Um, I jotted some notes down just so I
[33:04] make sure I hit all the points that I
wanted to. So, I'll read that. Um, and
[33:07] then at the end, we can certainly go
through the RFP in more detail if
[33:09] there's any questions from the council.
Uh, good evening, counselors. My name is
[33:13] Max Kenny. I'm the secretary of the
current Fairfield Building Committee and
[33:17] was nominated by the committee to
provide an overview to the council of
[33:20] the work completed to date and the
proposed request for proposals RFP and
[33:26] what work we hope to accomplish in 2026.
In the spring of 2024, the town's ad hoc
[33:32] building advisory committee completed
their work with a report that identified
[33:36] major deficiencies with the existing
police station, Lawrence Savire Station,
[33:40] and town office buildings. The committee
recommended the town employer service to
[33:45] evaluate upgrades to the existing
facilities or a potential new municipal
[33:49] complex.
In the in the summer of this year, the
[33:53] current building committee organized and
we toured the existing police station,
[33:56] the fire station, and town office
buildings. There was a number of new
[33:59] committee members, including myself,
that weren't on the prior building
[34:02] committee. So, we thought it was
important that we got to see um the
[34:05] items firsthand.
Um our findings were pretty eye opening
[34:10] and as one member put it, honestly,
pretty embarrassing.
[34:13] Uh common deficiencies identified by the
committee included lack of sec secure
[34:18] document storage space, outdated and
broken kitchen and bathroom facilities,
[34:22] insufficient parking, inefficient and
poor quality mechanical systems, sinking
[34:27] foundations, cracked walls, limited
space for current and future department
[34:31] operations, and what we found most
alarming was a complete lack of modern
[34:35] safety features in all of the buildings.
um especially for operations that are
[34:41] public facing like the all of our
departments are.
[34:45] Um believing that upgrades and/or
replacement of the existing buildings is
[34:49] necessary, the committee visited newly
constructed Scow Heaggan and Newport
[34:53] public safety facilities to review those
spaces and get some lessons learned. Um
[34:57] these tours were helpful and gave us an
idea of what is possible for Fairfield.
[35:01] Today we are asking the council for
support to issue an RFP entitled space
[35:06] needs assessment and feasibility study
for a new municipal complex. The
[35:10] committee members recognize that we are
not qualified building professionals and
[35:13] recommend the town hire a qualified
engineering consultant to perform the
[35:17] work outlined in the RFP. The RFP
includes details on the existing town
[35:21] office, Lawrence Sav fire station and
police station. We have also included
[35:25] design goals which are really a wish
list of facility components identified
[35:29] by the department staff as priorities
for upgraded or new facilities. The
[35:34] committee and staff are very aware that
not all of these design goals will come
[35:39] to fruition, but our objective as part
of this RFP is to identify costs and
[35:43] make cuts based upon the funding that we
achieve.
[35:46] The work required in this RFP is broken
down into seven strategic tasks that
[35:50] build on the work from each prior task.
Task one is an independent space needs
[35:55] assessment for the town office, police
and fire departments independent from
[35:58] their existing as well as proposed
facilities. We want to know how much
[36:02] space is actually needed for the current
and future operations of these
[36:05] departments.
Phase two is a phys physical assessment
[36:09] of the existing buildings and
determination if they can be upgraded to
[36:12] meet the current and future needs of the
departments. If they could be upgraded,
[36:16] how much is that going to cost? Task
three. The committee reviewed potential
[36:21] locations for a new municipal complex
and we all agreed that one industrial
[36:25] drive next to the public works
department is the most advantageous site
[36:28] within our community. Task three seeks a
site evaluation to determine the
[36:33] feasibility of housing a new municipal
complex at that one industrial drive uh
[36:37] location.
Task four is to develop a conceptual
[36:41] design or to develop conceptual design
alternatives for a new municipal
[36:45] complex. We are requesting design
alternatives that include one combined
[36:49] building of all three departments as
well as separate buildings um to house
[36:52] each or to house each each department
individually. This task also includes
[36:57] cost estimates for the various
alternatives.
[37:00] Task five is an ana is an alternatives
analysis to compare the options
[37:04] including rehab of the existing
buildings, a new combined building or
[37:08] new separate buildings. This step will
include a recommendation from the
[37:11] consultant on the best option for the
town to pursue based upon cost and
[37:15] non-cost factors. Task six is determine
a funding strategy for the town to fund
[37:20] the recommended approach. The committee
knows that grants will be key to
[37:23] completing any proposed project. We want
to know from professionals who have
[37:27] experience obtain or supporting
communities in obtaining these grants
[37:31] what are the best grants to go for and
how best to position our community. Task
[37:36] seven is the last task is to determine
next steps and evaluate project delivery
[37:40] strategies such as design build. With
the council's support, we hope to issue
[37:44] this RFP to interested engineering and
architecture firms in early January with
[37:48] proposals due in midFebruary.
Issuing this RFP and receiving proposals
[37:53] does not tie the town to contracting
with any consultant and the proposal is
[37:57] written in a way to allow the town to
contract all work or complete the work
[38:01] task by task. Based upon the town of
Fryberg's similar RFP issued in the
[38:06] spring of 2023, we anticipate that the
cost of this work will be around $75,000
[38:10] and have several interested consultants
submit proposals.
[38:14] Once proposals are received, we will
review them as a committee and make a
[38:18] recommendation to the council on what
tasks to complete and with which
[38:21] consultant. We anticipate that all of
the work outlined in the RFP, if
[38:25] awarded, would be completed by the end
of 2026. and I would welcome any
[38:29] questions that you have on the
committee's work to date or the RFP
[38:32] itself.
>> Thank you, Madam Council T.
[38:38] » Um,
in the RFP, will the air exchange or the
[38:44] HVAC be addressed as well because that
was one of the discussion topics for the
[38:49] old fire department was the air exchange
and making sure that that it's vented
[38:54] properly.
>> It certainly will be. We have uh we're
[38:58] asking a consultant to review the
existing buildings and determine what
[39:03] would be required to upgrade them to
meet current code and if as well as what
[39:07] it would look like to build a new
complex and that certainly would have to
[39:10] meet those new codes.
>> Okay. And also the counseling room that
[39:14] was mentioned in the RFP is that a
shared counseling room between the fire
[39:20] and police department or will there be
separate counseling rooms? In the design
[39:25] goals, we had indicated that we would
like to have one large meeting room in
[39:29] this new facility um which would act as
a training room for any department
[39:34] within the town as well as it could host
council meetings in the future.
[39:40] » Um
I know that the police have um
[39:46] um Steve Donu that's there to help out
with counsel.
[39:52] » Yeah, thank you. chaplain.
And I was just wondering if there should
[39:57] be a separate location where you could
have a private conversation
[40:02] um and not feel like you're
[clears throat] in a big room or
[40:06] invading other
>> Yeah, absolutely. In the design goals um
[40:10] for the police department, there is a a
goal um not to say it will happen, but a
[40:15] goal to have a small conference room for
up to six people.
[40:17] » Okay. That's right. I did read. Um, and
just so you're aware, the chaplain
[40:21] currently actually has hours that he
holds here in the small room at the
[40:25] community center. Okay.
>> Um, he already has space that he does
[40:27] currently use and it's here. So, it's
not just it's not tied to any one
[40:32] particular department. So, staff from
all departments will feel comfortable
[40:35] being able to visit [clears throat] with
him and not necessarily know that anyone
[40:38] particular department knows who's going
and who's not. So, it's done for privacy
[40:42] reasons. And [clears throat] then just
for one more piece, um the the
[40:47] department heads and the town department
staff that created these bulleted wish
[40:51] list pieces knew very much that they
were wish lists and knew very much that
[40:55] as Max had mentioned that while we asked
each department wants a small conference
[41:01] room, they understand that that may mean
that there's one small conference room
[41:04] that that's these were all pieces of
shoot for the sky and see where it
[41:08] lands.
>> Right. It really revolves around what
[41:11] sort of funding the town can receive.
>> Definitely. So, as I was reading the the
[41:16] the draft, it dawned on me that there's
no holding cell for the police
[41:21] department. I know currently if you they
arrest somebody and they have to take
[41:26] them up to Madison to the sheriff's
department. Um, but is that something
[41:32] other police departments might have is
like a holding cell?
[41:36] I don't believe we saw a holding cell at
on either scouting.
[41:40] » They have they have intake rooms.
>> Um and usually either [clears throat]
[41:45] there's there's an intake room where
they're processed.
[41:48] » Um and then they know whether if they're
going to be bailed, they get bailed from
[41:52] here or whether they go from here
straight to the jail.
[41:55] » And those are noted in the RFP as two
booking rooms. That's what those were
[41:58] called.
>> Okay. Um, and is the plan for
[42:05] a multiple uh floors or a single floor
situation? What's the want?
[42:11] » There are no plans right now. Um, we're
going to be looking for recommendations
[42:15] from an architect or engineering company
to help us with what's the most cost
[42:19] advantageous for the community.
>> All right, that that's all I have. Thank
[42:24] you.
>> Mhm. Council Kitchen.
[42:27] [clears throat] First, I want to say
thanks to the committee for putting this
[42:30] together. I thought it was very well
written. I do have a couple questions
[42:33] though. Uh first and foremost, uh I
didn't get time to fully review the
[42:38] final proposed draft uh RFP that we got.
>> It's very similar to what was presented.
[42:43] » Is there any any changes in them
>> worthy of mention time frame? It was
[42:47] just the time frame.
>> Okay. the time frame that we rolled out
[42:50] and then there were in the the original
draft uh that council received um there
[42:55] were pieces such as number of employees
in each department that needed to be
[42:59] refined because um one things that
municipalities do well is we don't have
[43:05] a tendency to reinvent a wheel. So this
proposal is very similar to the one that
[43:10] Fryberg had. So those pieces were left
in as a placeholder for their discussion
[43:15] at their meeting last night with the
department heads to ensure we had those
[43:18] detailed pieces correct. Um there were
some minor spelling changes. There were
[43:23] some requests in the original piece um
draft that you received that fell under
[43:30] one department um that actually got
moved out and were put into the general
[43:34] overall building description because
they found that it was while the fire
[43:38] department wanted it and the police
department wanted it just better fit for
[43:41] just an overall building piece
>> such as the wash bay for vehicles.
[43:44] » Yeah. The wash bay, right? Because all
of our vehicles need to be washed. So
[43:49] like the the PD side of garages wouldn't
necessarily need a wash bay for their
[43:53] vehicles and the fire department
wouldn't necessarily need a separate
[43:56] wash bay and code enforcement also
washes their car. So we moved washbay
[44:01] into the general building section as
opposed to an individual department.
[44:05] Okay.
>> Um and then the timeline was completely
[44:08] changed. Um [clears throat] originally
the projection was much further out.
[44:12] This puts it back into being in January.
Um it does require uh folks to
[44:18] pre-register for the mandatory
presubmission meeting. Um and the reason
[44:23] for the registration quite frankly is so
that because it is the winter months if
[44:28] something was to happen or there was an
emergency we have the ability to contact
[44:32] people who are planning to attend that
mandatory meeting with the rescheduling
[44:35] piece. Um and then
>> we also added the a link to the building
[44:41] committee's website.
>> Yes. which would have the prior building
[44:45] committee's report as well as some
technical documents such as the geotech
[44:49] for the police station and then
>> the dear go the deargo reports and the
[44:55] summit geotechnical engineering reports
for the police department and the fire
[44:59] department that we had done in 24 um and
also the building committee's prior
[45:03] report lives on that site so we added
that link to that portion of our website
[45:08] so that they have access to all of that
data without having to put it all in the
[45:12] RFP because it just makes it too large.
>> I think that's about it.
[45:16] » And we we apologize for not getting a
more complete draft sooner, but our
[45:19] meeting was last night. [laughter]
>> A couple other things, questions I have.
[45:23] I didn't notice anything about and maybe
it was just in the language. Uh
[45:28] homeowner assessment of I think we have
two or three residences right out in
[45:32] front of that along Western A. How how
that would
[45:35] » Well, that would be part of the site
assessment that would be completed. It
[45:38] would look at environmental conditions,
neighborhood conditions, traffic flow,
[45:43] all of that.
>> Okay. Um, and I noticed in the in the
[45:49] meat of it, in the design goals
[cough and clears throat]
[45:52] for the complex, uh, in one spot you put
town council meetings, and another spot
[45:58] you put committee meetings intended to
get citizen input. Um, in design goals
[46:04] for the town office department, would it
be prudent to put uh at the end uh
[46:11] council chambers or something similar to
that to accommodate the language of
[46:16] council meetings, committee meetings,
etc. as mentioned later in the report?
[46:20] » Absolutely. We talked about having
council meeting, committee meetings with
[46:23] the consultant that would be hired as
sort of milestone check-ins and
[46:28] presentations of their report. Um, as
far as actual physical space in the
[46:34] overall
um, kind of building goals, we do have
[46:40] uh, somewhere in here.
[46:46] » It's like one of the last
>> it just says a small meeting room under
[46:49] design goals.
>> There's another town office,
[46:52] » right? So that was specific to the town
office like daily functions that
[46:56] section.
>> Okay. for the larger kind of gathering,
[47:00] emergency command center, police
department, training room, potential
[47:05] count, town council location. That was
that was separate. That was a that we
[47:10] envisioned as a larger room that could
house several [snorts] more people than
[47:14] a small department meeting, which would
be in the smaller sixperson conference.
[47:18] » Um, this may be split in hairs, but
police department. Uh let me start with
[47:24] fire uh design goals for fire department
uh bathroom shower space dedicated to
[47:30] fire department and the police
department male and female locker rooms.
[47:33] Do we specify male and female uh
bathroom shower space for the fire
[47:38] department?
>> We had anticipated that any
[47:40] bathrooms/shower
space would be genderneutral
[47:44] » would be what?
>> Gender neutral individual spaces.
[47:49] I only found one misspelling
[clears throat] under design goals for
[47:53] the police department. Two interview
rooms for the I'm assuming detective's
[47:57] office.
>> Oh, thank you.
[48:01] There were more than that. [laughter]
>> I only got to get that.
[48:06] » But we but we missed that one.
>> Yeah,
[48:08] » you get a gold.
>> We'll fix that.
[48:11] Uh,
[48:15] and then
property information should be centrally
[48:19] located to Fairfield and Benton. Uh, I
would just I know that we're going to be
[48:25] discussing EMS. Uh,
if Benton ever decides not to go, is
[48:31] this primarily based upon uh Benton
remaining with with Fairfield Fire?
[48:37] » It certainly is. Um, but we also
recognize that a a substantial
[48:42] percentage of our community is here in
the denser part of the community. Uh, so
[48:46] we feel as though even if Benton were to
were to pull out sometime in the future,
[48:50] having that kind of mindset of still
being closer to the town center makes
[48:54] sense.
[48:58] And
>> that's something that certainly a
[49:00] consultant would help us help advise us
um and do some studies on response time
[49:07] to the outskirts of Benton and the
outskirts of Fairfield based upon this
[49:11] proposed location.
>> Uh and again lastly, uh I think you guys
[49:16] did a great job writing this. Uh I read
through the draft. I did notice like the
[49:20] days from March to February changed some
things like that. I'm very confident
[49:24] with this and I would say that uh I
applaud you guys for even asking them to
[49:29] consider upgrades to the existing
building spite uh sites so that our
[49:33] taxpayers know that we're not just
looking you know to spend frivolously if
[49:39] you know out of our pocket. We're asking
for the whole meal deal.
[49:42] » Yeah, we certainly uh took that into
consideration and we we're aware that
[49:46] sometimes retrofitting existing
buildings can be just as expensive as
[49:49] building from scratch. Um so but we
think it's important data to have. We
[49:53] anticipate that some buildings may not
be even suitable for retrofit. I mean
[49:56] the police station is experiencing
significant uh settling of their
[50:01] foundation. So it's very very likely
that the police station will be
[50:05] identified as a building that cannot be
retrofitted uh and that a new building
[50:09] is required.
>> Thank you. I think you guys did a great
[50:12] job with this. That's all I have. Tim,
>> just cuz I finally found the space. Um,
[50:18] section 4, complex structure. First
paragraph, last sentence says, "The
[50:23] committee desires the facility to have a
centrally located meeting room of
[50:27] sufficient size for staff meetings, town
council meetings, and capabilities to
[50:30] act as an emergency operations center."
>> Okay. Yeah, I missed that word.
[50:35] » Complex, I knew it's in there somewhere.
>> Overall,
[50:39] » there's a lot of information in here.
So, it's it's a it's a they're looking
[50:43] for a lot. Now, we did put out prior
RFPs for our existing buildings before,
[50:48] if I remember
>> for the repair of the existing
[50:52] buildings, and we got no bids.
>> No bits. I just wanted to reiterate.
[50:55] » I asked that question last night, too.
>> This is a a very different request than
[50:59] what we put out previously. We
anticipate that there'll be several
[51:02] firms very interested in working with
us.
[51:05] » Is there a cost factor at this point for
the town with the RFPs? There's no cost
[51:11] of putting out the RFP other than a
minimal cost for paying for its
[51:16] advertisement in a newspaper of general
circulation. We typically use the town
[51:21] line. Um, and it's it's minimal. It's
usually between $100 to $200 if that is
[51:27] that. Um, and the reason why we are
definitely going to make sure we
[51:31] advertise it that way is that oftentimes
with grant processes, um, a advert, uh,
[51:37] RFP needs to be advertised in a public
newspaper in order to count. Um, our
[51:43] main goal actually is to ensure that it
gets on not just our website, but there
[51:48] is an RFP section for a municipal
association's website, which is where
[51:52] the majority of the firms go to look for
these types of jobs, as well as we have
[51:56] contract uh contacts with the
construction magazines. Um, and they
[52:01] typically will pick those up and put
those out for us as well at no cost. So,
[52:05] that's our biggest goal.
>> Thank you.
[52:09] » I just want to say I think it's a great
report. I think it's a good first step.
[52:12] It's going to get uh us keep the ball
rolling. I do like the aggressive
[52:16] timeline.
So,
[52:18] » yeah, we would hope that by the end of
2026, we have a recommended approach, a
[52:23] funding strategy, and then 2027, we
could really look at trying to acquire
[52:27] funding
>> and I do like the three-pronged approach
[52:30] of looking at all options, whether it's,
you know, retrofitting, whether it's a
[52:34] campus with several buildings or one
single building. So, again, I appreciate
[52:37] you and the hard work of the the
building committee.
[52:42] I'm going to reiterate everybody just
said. You guys did a fantastic job. This
[52:46] is well written, well done, well
thought. Council questions were
[52:49] fantastic. I think other than the the
one grammatical error that Kevin found
[52:54] um with the timeline that we're looking
at. I know it's a discussion item. I'd
[52:59] like to see us do an action right now.
If somebody wants to make a motion.
[53:03] » I'll make a motion to accept
the space needs assessment and
[53:07] feasibility study for a new Fairfield
MUN municipal complex RFP.
[53:14] » Second.
>> I have a motion by council Tibido,
[53:16] second by councelor Kitchen. Any other
discussion?
[53:21] Seeing none, all those in favor?
>> Am I allowed to vote?
[53:24] » Yes, absolutely.
>> 5-0.
[53:28] » Thank you all.
>> Thank you, Max.
[53:29] » Thanks, Max. Get this.
>> Council Lawrence is on that committee.
[53:32] That's why he asked if he's allowed to
vote
[53:35] » actually. Yep.
>> Okay. Item two, discuss amending the
[53:40] road openings ordinances submitted by
interim public work director
[53:46] Tom. Come on up.
[53:53] So, counselors, you have a memo in front
of you. Uh the current fee structure for
[53:58] openings made within the rightway is
currently at $50 and we've got a request
[54:03] to raise that to $75. Probably still
doesn't cover Tom's cost, but I think
[54:10] it's a a reasonable request.
Any questions for
[54:16] our interim public works director?
>> I do.
[54:22] » Okay. [laughter]
Um you mentioned the costs um for the
[54:26] paved surface, concrete surface and and
other surfaces,
[54:31] » a curb replacement, driveway entrance.
It's it's all here. When was the last
[54:36] time those were adjusted?
[54:41] » That's a great question.
>> I don't have an answer for that.
[54:44] » Um
>> because we're asking for um a
[54:46] non-refundable fee of $75 dollar
payable.
[54:51] » Yeah. Right. Right. Now, you get a
non-refundable fee of $50. The other the
[54:55] other costs that are listed that gets
returned to the contractor
[54:59] » after the work's been performed after
after so many days, it's it's in the um
[55:04] » 90 days and then year.
>> So, all you really keep in the end is
[55:08] the $50
>> or soon to be 75.
[55:12] » Yeah.
>> Yes.
[55:13] » All right.
>> Are you asking why it's not more?
[55:17] » Well, I'm asking it. It seems like
you're a concrete surface. I don't know
[55:22] how this all works. So, but that's $75
per square yard, but this is a
[55:28] contractor's
guideline of what you have to pay and
[55:32] then it's reimbursed to
>> Yeah. What what happens is is I I have
[55:36] to go out and inspect the site and see
what they're digging up, take
[55:39] measurements. Uh I have to figure out
what the cost to replace it is going to
[55:43] be. I have to do the paperwork, fill it
out, and then they come in, they pay
[55:47] this this fee that I come up with. And
then after that, you have to inspect
[55:52] their work that they're doing. Make sure
it's compacted properly. And then for
[55:56] the next 3 years, you have to monitor
the work to make sure there's no
[56:00] separation of the pavement or sinkage in
the road.
[56:04] » Wow. $75 doesn't seem to be enough money
if you ask me.
[56:08] » No, but I wouldn't mind seeing $100,
especially if you've got to go back for
[56:13] 3 years to check.
>> Yeah. You got to monitor the site three.
[56:16] I mean, we've all driven across sites
that have been cut in the pavement and
[56:20] you get that dip or whatever and you get
potholes. So, you have to keep an eye on
[56:24] it. Make sure the pavement doesn't
separate and make sure it doesn't
[56:26] settle.
>> I'm with you.
[56:31] I
>> you got three years for the contractor
[56:32] to have to re repair the work. So,
>> no, I I think it should be $100. So that
[56:38] fee schedule is more us recouping the
public works director's time that he has
[56:43] to go out monitor measure.
>> And to me it it would you should be more
[56:47] than what you're charging for concrete
surface at $75 per square yard.
[56:53] » Michelle go ahead.
>> Okay. So uh those fees were last done
[56:56] when you updated this ordinance in 2011.
Th those fees that you asked about for
[57:01] the various different pieces. The
biggest reason this exists and when we
[57:05] put in I think in 2011 is actually when
we adopted this period um was its
[57:09] initial adoption. It's mostly to keep it
so that the municipality is not on the
[57:14] hook for the work that has to be done by
a contractor to get into the road. It's
[57:18] also not designed to be so expensive
that it's cost prohibitive and
[57:22] interferes with the development. We're
not doing it to add additional cost. Um
[57:28] what we're doing is trying to make sure
we protect the municipality's interest
[57:31] which is why the funds get reimbursed
back to the contractor when the job is
[57:35] satisfactorily done and completed and
over time it's fine but they are
[57:39] required to care we they are required to
honor it for the course of the three
[57:43] years. So this fee is strictly for um at
time the the public works director wrote
[57:49] commissioner's work to do the
preliminary investigation the tally
[57:53] sheets for the costs associated and the
inspections afterwards which is why yes
[57:58] 50 was not enough and going to 75 we can
easily put that to 100. The other thing
[58:03] we could do, because this is subject to
a public hearing anyway, so it's not a
[58:07] decision you would make tonight. Um, and
chances are a public hearing for this
[58:11] isn't going to come to you until
probably the end of January, beginning
[58:14] of February. We have some other pieces.
This is just one that was done early and
[58:18] relatively simple. We got it in front of
you tonight. If you wanted us to go
[58:21] forward, we can take a look at those
other pieces and see how far outside
[58:26] they are of the current cost because
costs have gone up considerably since
[58:30] 2011. and the amounts that are here may
not actually be protecting the
[58:34] municipality's interest. And we can look
at those other things too at the same
[58:37] » I think that would be very advantageous.
Yeah.
[58:39] » And I would part of our fee schedule.
>> Yes. The rest.
[58:42] » Yes. And that's the other piece too is
we want to pull this out and make it
[58:44] part of your fee schedule.
>> Yeah. Cuz right now estates
[58:48] review the ordinance. There's no actual
fee schedule
[58:52] » on the fee schedule. I guess
>> I mean it's been 15 years since it's
[58:55] been reviewed. It's it's time. It's
time.
[58:58] » I I'd like to see you.
>> 2011 can't be the last time we did this.
[59:02] I wasn't here in 2011 and we redid this
since I've been.
[59:04] » It was adopted in 2011, but the only
thing that changed was 2016 and that was
[59:09] the driveway entrance. It was up to $35.
We'll have to look at that.
[59:15] » But they get all that back, don't they?
>> Yeah. Yeah.
[59:19] » Yeah.
>> Yeah.
[59:20] » So, as I understand, the way I read it,
there's two different things here. He's
[59:25] he's asking to change the non-refundable
deposit from $50 to $75. That's the only
[59:30] fee. What we're asking is are the other
charges per square yard adequate to go
[59:37] along with that.
>> So that will come up in our fee schedule
[59:40] when we discuss our fee schedules. No
different than [clears throat] parking
[59:43] tickets and so on.
We just need to suggest that we make a a
[59:48] view a review that these paved surface
concrete that you know the price per
[59:53] square yard is actually where it should
be and will have to give us that
[59:58] information before we can make that
judgment.
[1:00:00] » Your fee schedule you usually go over
and readopt during your first
[1:00:04] organizational meeting. This will come
with a public hearing afterwards with a
[1:00:08] stipulation when you do the ordinance
amendment that the fees be moved to your
[1:00:12] fee schedule and and we'll be able to do
that. They won't be part of your initial
[1:00:16] review cuz they're not in there yet. But
yeah, we can do that easy.
[1:00:19] » Okay. So, we're we're talking about
potentially moving this fee schedule out
[1:00:24] of this ordinance onto the fee schedule.
>> Yes.
[1:00:27] » Okay, that makes sense to me.
>> I think it we're going to review whether
[1:00:31] these fees that are in here for these
types of surfaces are current enough to
[1:00:35] cover associated costs.
Because basically if a contractor comes
[1:00:41] in and rips up the road and doesn't put
it back, we have to,
[1:00:44] » right?
>> So we need to know we have the money on
[1:00:46] hand to cover that cost.
>> And and it's a just a deposit. So when
[1:00:51] the work's done, we reimburse to them.
>> So
[1:00:54] » no different. Yeah.
>> So uh are we in agreement to amend that
[1:00:58] to $100 all a non-refundable fee?
>> I I agree to it.
[1:01:02] » All right.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[1:01:04] » Adjustment as well.
[1:01:09] Hey, item three, discuss Fairfield
Benton emergency transport. So, I asked
[1:01:14] to put this on as a discussion item. Um,
council also
[1:01:20] got an email Sunday the 14th from Delta
again. Um,
[1:01:26] nothing new really from
what Delta has been talking about four
[1:01:31] or five times already this year.
Um, but I I would like I I'd asked to
[1:01:38] get a cost to see what it would cost
for us to license as a transport
[1:01:44] service. Not to say we're going to do
transport, just to get the process
[1:01:49] started, much like China has done. So,
Travis, do you have an update on the
[1:01:54] cost for
>> getting a transport license?
[1:01:57] » So, um, to to actually get the license
itself, the cost is is minimal. There's
[1:02:02] a service license fee of $100 through
the state of Maine and then a vehicle
[1:02:06] license fee of $60 uh per vehicle that's
licensed. Um the where the other cost
[1:02:12] would come in would be um the equipment.
Um you know, if we're going to do
[1:02:17] full-time transport, the cost of the
second ambulance would need to be
[1:02:20] included. The cost of that equipment um
um and then you have to get into the
[1:02:26] billing process. So cost to start a
billing contract with the service. um
[1:02:30] those initial startup fees. Um those are
the the kind of the you know the unknown
[1:02:36] costs at this point basically. Um
without sitting down and figuring out
[1:02:40] what we're going to get for a second
vehicle. Uh we would have to you know do
[1:02:44] either an RFP for billing services or
research area business you know uh
[1:02:49] billing services to get a idea of what
their percentage rates are right now. um
[1:02:54] typically it's 6% of your billables um
or your return but um that could
[1:02:59] fluctuate you know a couple percentages
here or there. So, so overall um to do a
[1:03:07] uh like a China based uh temporary
license um whereas we would transport in
[1:03:12] the event that Delta is not available um
uh that wouldn't um basically would just
[1:03:19] the cost of the license upgrade and the
service license. Um, we have the
[1:03:23] equipment. Um, obviously doing on a
temporary basis, we wouldn't need the
[1:03:27] second ambulance because it would, you
know, we're just doing it on an as
[1:03:31] needed basis if Delta's not available.
>> How often does that happen? Now, not to
[1:03:35] cut you off.
>> No,
[1:03:36] » but how often does that happen
currently?
[1:03:39] » Um, I I I'd have to go through Delta's
reports, but I would say they um it's
[1:03:44] it's probably less than half a dozen
times um when they do a quarterly
[1:03:50] report. So, so it's it's it wouldn't be
a ton. Um,
[1:03:54] » half a dozen quarterly.
>> Yeah, half a dozen quarterly. That seems
[1:03:57] to be their average going back through
their their quarterly reports of how
[1:04:01] many times they have to call mutual aid.
So, um I I would say at this point um
[1:04:06] you know
>> maybe maybe on the high end 30 a year
[1:04:10] maybe. Um um
>> but we but without looking at the
[1:04:14] numbers
>> or we could ask you to get a temporary
[1:04:16] license in the event of those cases.
>> Yeah, sure. Yep. Yep. that's something
[1:04:20] that we can pursue. Um, again, you know,
it it it's time consuming. The
[1:04:24] time-consuming part comes with with the
billing, getting a billing contract set
[1:04:28] up, um, getting validated with [cough]
Medicare, main care, that would all be
[1:04:32] helped through the billing process. Um,
so there's a lot of steps that would
[1:04:36] have to be taken. Um, and it's just time
consuming cuz you're relying on, you
[1:04:40] know, you have to go through through
Medicaid, you have to um, so it's kind
[1:04:44] of you're out there at liberty at that
point. Um, but but to get the license
[1:04:48] itself, cost is minimal. Like I said, to
do it full-time, there would be
[1:04:52] additional cost of the extra the extra
vehicles, the staff, uh the equipment,
[1:04:57] that type of stuff. Does that answer?
>> Yeah. No, absolutely.
[1:05:00] » You're going through.
>> So, for for council, um [clears throat]
[1:05:05] I've given you an extra a note sheet
that I did from we've met with Delta
[1:05:10] several times and last meeting we had
Dr. Pay do a report that Travis asked
[1:05:15] for years ago, am I?
>> Yeah, a couple years ago. a couple years
[1:05:19] ago. Okay. And they finally
>> came in. So in se we've had Delta in
[1:05:24] here at least a couple times.
>> They had meetings in September. We've
[1:05:28] only been on council for 12 months now.
So this is an issue that it's at their
[1:05:33] foresight and they keep bringing this up
and they keep sending it. Um, yes, I I
[1:05:39] think we need to do our due diligence
and be prepared for what's in the best
[1:05:43] interest of our taxpayers and our
citizens. When we put out um a second
[1:05:48] war article asking for additional fire,
it was overwhelmingly this is a service
[1:05:53] that our that our people want. So, I
made some notes for you just to go
[1:05:57] through and then I also included some of
the paperwork from the KVMS report. So
[1:06:05] um from what Delta has given us with
with the September meeting notes that we
[1:06:10] were held in in this packet along with
our prior email for for this meeting. Um
[1:06:17] Fairfield and Benton make up 22.1% of
the population of Del Delta service
[1:06:21] area. That's on page 22 of the KV EMS
report. And you'll you'll see um the
[1:06:28] actual population of Delta. They're
showing 41,769.
[1:06:33] Fairfield and Benton are 9,234.
I believe that's on 2020 census is where
[1:06:39] they get those numbers derived from. Um,
so that's that's where I'm getting the
[1:06:43] 22.1%
of Delta's servicing area. Now,
[1:06:48] Fairfield Benton is 32.1% of Delta's
insurance revenue and 28.2% of their
[1:06:55] total revenue. also on page 22 of that
KVMS report. So you can see that the
[1:07:02] reason we keep getting all these letters
and and concern is we drive a very big
[1:07:08] portion of Delta's revenue.
>> Now Delta charges us a per capita fee
[1:07:13] not only for Fairfield but also Benton.
We're a combined service. They like to
[1:07:17] separate it. We bill Benton for their
percentage of calls as far as our our
[1:07:22] combined fire department um contract.
So I always want to combine Fairfield
[1:07:29] Benton because we are one EMS service
and we would hope to do if we move
[1:07:34] forward to do this with Benton. So again
th those are your numbers. Um Fairfield
[1:07:40] Benton according [clears throat] to the
again the EMS report had 1453 EMS calls
[1:07:47] in 2024.
um that is on page 10 of that EVS report
[1:07:53] and that generated a 13% or they
estimate a 13% lap in coverage over
[1:08:00] calls which
um Chief Larry actually just reiterated
[1:08:04] it's going to probably be about 10 to
13%. We we estimate 30 calls that they
[1:08:10] can't get to. I have a concern with that
where we have a contracted service with
[1:08:16] a monopoly private entity that charges
us a per capita. It's not an RFP. It's
[1:08:21] not something we can put out for request
to bid. It's basically a no bid contract
[1:08:26] that we have no say over. So in in 2022,
we were paying zero for the service just
[1:08:33] like we were for the past 40, 50 years,
whatever Delta's been in in business
[1:08:37] for. 2023 we incurred our first 15% a
$15 per capita fee that [clears throat]
[1:08:45] went up to $25 in 2024. This year 2526
has moved to 35. The September meeting
[1:08:53] that Michelle and Peter attended it was
mentioned 55 to 65. So again, these are
[1:08:59] costs that we cannot control. And now
they may be telling 48 it who knows who
[1:09:07] knows what it's going to be. The reports
showing an average of $30 and that's
[1:09:12] because
we use our fiscal period of July 1st. So
[1:09:16] what our contract is July 1st through
June 30th and it's at 35 per capita. So
[1:09:22] that's where I'm getting those numbers
from. Um, Fairfield Benton
[1:09:28] according to the EMS report in 24 on
page 11 had 363
[1:09:33] requiring calls of a paramedic.
So again, Travis, correct me if I'm
[1:09:39] wrong. We go to an EMS call. We have
paramedics on staff already. They're
[1:09:46] already servicing people until Delta
shows up to transport. We just simply
[1:09:50] don't do the transport.
>> Am I correct?
[1:09:53] » Yeah. No, correct.
>> Okay. Yeah.
[1:09:55] » So, Delta sent a letter in September of
25 this year and it said in that letter
[1:10:02] um on page two of that September letter
that we have that Fairfield Benton
[1:10:08] averages 40 paramedic calls per month or
492 calls per year. Yet, the report from
[1:10:14] the EFS shows 363 calls or an average of
30 per month.
[1:10:21] So, if we average 30 per per month that
require a paramedic and we're getting 25
[1:10:28] or so calls for no show on a contract
that we're paying to show up for every
[1:10:33] call, I have a problem with that.
[clears throat] Delta's per capita cost
[1:10:40] of Fairfield Benton. We went through it
already. Um, so my interesting notes
[1:10:44] when I was looking on Delta's website is
their service area for Waterville. Their
[1:10:50] their Waterville office covers Albian,
Belgrade, Benton, China, Fairfield,
[1:10:54] Oakland, Rome, Sydney, Smithfield,
Basselboro. Approximate population of
[1:10:59] those towns is 363.
Delta also covers an Augusta. They have
[1:11:04] an Augusta uh office and service as well
that covers the towns of Augusta on a
[1:11:10] special call basis. Belgrade, China,
Rome, Sydney, Smithfield, Somerville,
[1:11:15] Vasserboro, Whitefield, Windsor.
Approximate population is 24,500.
[1:11:22] With those two servicing areas, they
overlap coverage for certain towns,
[1:11:28] Belgrade, China, Rome, Sydney,
Smithfield, Bassboro. Populations
[1:11:32] roughly 18,900.
But there are towns that only are
[1:11:37] serviced by either one garage or the
other which include Albian, Benton,
[1:11:42] Fairfield, Oakland, Somerville,
Whitefield, and Winslow. So my question
[1:11:46] would be, do those towns get a
discounted price where they don't have
[1:11:50] overlapping coverage? Is that why we're
not having 25 to 30 of our calls not not
[1:11:56] being covered? Because we're paying the
same per capita cost that all these
[1:12:00] other towns are paying.
So
[1:12:05] everything we get from Delta is
conflicting information. EMS report
[1:12:11] shows different than the letters that we
receive. The numbers change all the
[1:12:15] time. What we do know now is Delta
revenue for insurance billing is 620,000
[1:12:23] through March of 2025.
not not through 25 which is a 10.1%
[1:12:29] increase over 2024. So again Fairfield
Benton are 22% of Delta's calls of their
[1:12:36] population based where over 30% of their
revenue and our per capita costs are
[1:12:43] going to go up again this July. I would
like us to be in a position where we
[1:12:49] have set numbers. We're getting into
budget budget season that we can give
[1:12:54] chief some direction on on asking what's
it going to cost for the service. Yes,
[1:12:59] we know if we go to it, we need a second
ambulance. That's an expensive cost. We
[1:13:04] know that we need an additional 2.25
people cuz we currently employ 10. We
[1:13:09] need to get to 12. If we get to 12, that
covers what we need for the audit for
[1:13:14] the fire department, which is the four
in four out rule. So when they show up
[1:13:18] for a fire call, we're fully staffed. We
currently have three and four on Monday
[1:13:23] through Friday with a 40-hour position.
So we could we could easily get to 12 by
[1:13:30] adding 2.25 personnel, a little over
300, $350,000.
[1:13:36] We go to a full transport service, and
I'm not saying right now, but if we go
[1:13:41] to a full transport service, as Travis
just said, he needs time to figure out
[1:13:46] billing. uh mutual aid
from the other towns which which we
[1:13:52] already do for fire, but they need to be
set up and and done. The letters that
[1:13:56] we've received for Delta, they there's
some that
[1:13:59] » will say, "Well, if you do a mutual
partner with us, and we don't send a
[1:14:03] paramedic, we're going to pay you $300
per call and we'll use your paramedics."
[1:14:09] Why would they ever send a paramedic if
we have one?
[1:14:13] They're going to pay us 150 grand on an
estimated amount of calls that doesn't
[1:14:18] exist because we know the actual calls
are 363 that require a paramedic.
[1:14:24] I I'm just tired of of dealing every
month or every other month with a new
[1:14:29] number, a new proposal.
Um
[1:14:33] they're a private entity. It's not up to
me to worry about how their business
[1:14:38] runs or how it operates. But they charge
us a set fee per capita. They charge us
[1:14:42] a service that our citizens rely on
heavily. We want we want paramedic
[1:14:48] service. We want rescue service. We need
transport service.
[1:14:52] We have so many numbers in front of us
they become convoluted. But in the end,
[1:14:56] what we can look at is we're going to
pay X amount per capita at roughly
[1:15:02] 10,000 people. At 55 bucks ahead, it's
going to be somewhere around $500,000 a
[1:15:07] year. We're around 9,200 people combined
with Benton and the revenue that they
[1:15:12] generate is roughly $620,000.
There will be some fees to go along with
[1:15:18] that 6% billing whatever whatever gets
worked out. We need to get those
[1:15:23] finalized numbers, but in the end it's
generating or costing about $1.1 to $1.2
[1:15:30] million to transport
Fairfield Benton residents. we can do it
[1:15:36] for that or less. So, I would like
council
[1:15:41] to allow Travis to get the uh temporary
license for transport to start the
[1:15:47] process. Doesn't mean that we'll that we
will transport. Does it mean that in
[1:15:52] June or July, whatever comes around that
we're going to push this? But it puts us
[1:15:57] in a position where if Delta comes in
and says your per capita is 75 or 80 or
[1:16:02] 100, and we have no say and no control,
it gives us the opportunity to say,
[1:16:08] "Okay, we we buy another ambulance at
185, we hire two more staff at 300, we
[1:16:14] invest another four or $500,000,
and we save 1.2 2 million
[1:16:20] » in a couple of years,
>> maybe 6 months, maybe a year. I don't I
[1:16:26] don't know. It's all It doesn't It's
going to take time.
[1:16:30] » You know, maybe if we decide we do it
this year, we still have to contract
[1:16:34] with Delta for 6 months. I don't know
what the transition period will may be.
[1:16:38] Chief Larry will tell us that and we'll
trust him on that. Um, but I would like
[1:16:42] us to at least get that temporary
transport license if it's minimal, if
[1:16:47] it's really only a couple hundred
dollars.
[1:16:49] and allows us to not worry about those
30 people that aren't going to get
[1:16:54] transported this year.
>> Well, I I did a pros and cons list after
[1:17:00] I saw this on the agenda.
>> Um for an intermittent transport permit,
[1:17:08] uh for the pros available, um we'd be
available to assist with mutual aid.
[1:17:14] We'd be able to transport our own
residents.
[1:17:18] We'd utilize the vehicle to its full
potential.
[1:17:22] Um, paramedics would be used for what
they were trained for. The cons,
[1:17:29] and I'm sure there's more. I I This is
>> No, it's a good
[1:17:32] » I did. It's only one ambulance. So, when
in use,
[1:17:37] it's not able to go to another
emergency.
[1:17:40] » So, but then that's happening now
anyways. Correct.
[1:17:44] » Yeah.
>> Yeah. and then you have mutual aid. Um
[1:17:49] there would be more wear and tear on the
vehicle.
[1:17:53] The paramedic would not be available to
do another call. Um yeah, I think that
[1:17:58] happens sometimes now because a
paramedic has to go to with Delta to the
[1:18:03] hospital. So it's it's time consuming.
Um there would be an increased expense
[1:18:09] for supplies because of more usage. Uh I
and again
[1:18:15] » hold on on that one. Would there be an
increase in supplies or are already
[1:18:18] using our supplies?
>> If we did start doing some transporting,
[1:18:22] we would utilize probably a little bit
more supplies. Um I don't think it would
[1:18:26] be a substantial cost, but um but you
know, trans, you know, if especially if
[1:18:31] we say we transport to Augusta, we may
use extra supplies that we wouldn't have
[1:18:35] used if we were just, you know,
non-transporting that call. Um if that
[1:18:39] makes sense. But but I don't think it
would be a large call. But it's minimal
[1:18:43] » full-time transport, you know, doing the
full-time transport, then yes, our our
[1:18:47] medical supply budget would probably
triple.
[1:18:50] » So, and again, if we are going to be
doing transporting, who's going to do
[1:18:55] the billing,
>> right? Yeah.
[1:18:57] » You know, that needs to be worked out.
And of course, we'd need to have more
[1:19:00] staff.
>> Um, I think it's a good idea to go and
[1:19:05] get the intermittent um trans. Is it
intermittent or tren?
[1:19:10] » So I so I've been doing a lot of
research on main and mass and they don't
[1:19:14] really define it. Um so I'm still
waiting on some clarification but in
[1:19:18] essence there's a couple different
models. Um Albian fire for example does
[1:19:23] uh they have an agreement with Delta
that if there's a rescue call in Albian
[1:19:27] um Albian does some PDM coverage now
Monday, Wednesday, Friday I believe.
[1:19:31] Don't quote me on that. Um so if if
Albian gets a call and they have two
[1:19:36] people available um it's an agreement
with Delta that they will cancel Delta
[1:19:40] at that point and they will do the call
and transport
[1:19:43] » and we could have
>> but Delta still gets dispatched every
[1:19:46] single call
>> really.
[1:19:47] » Um so in our case I you know I think we
would start with if Delta's unavailable
[1:19:53] in essence we would be Delta's first
mutual aid choice instead of them
[1:19:57] calling Waterville Winslow Clinton
>> for our town.
[1:20:00] » Yeah. for our town, then they would call
us, you know, say, "Hey, we're
[1:20:03] unavailable. You guys are going to have
to transport this call." And if we have
[1:20:06] the staff and the resources available,
we would we would do that. Um I I I
[1:20:12] don't know. Um I'd have to get
clarification on whether or not we could
[1:20:16] go mutual aid and transport. This may be
limited to Fairfield and Benton, but I I
[1:20:21] have to clarify that.
>> All right.
[1:20:23] » So, it to me it's a step in the right
direction. We're being proactive by
[1:20:29] getting that intermittent transport
permit. It in case an emergency, we're
[1:20:35] covered.
>> Sure.
[1:20:37] » I think it's a good idea and it will
give us some time to iron out some more
[1:20:42] details. I know that there's been talk
about the paramedic intercept program.
[1:20:47] » Um, from what Delta has supplied us for
information, I like the basic idea of
[1:20:53] it. Um, I think it's worthwhile,
especially if we take a look at mutual
[1:20:57] aid in all of our areas. Um, we'd be
functioning more as a a district. And I
[1:21:04] really like that idea. So, I'm in favor
of the chief going for um the
[1:21:10] intermittent transport permit. And and
like I said, this will be a
[1:21:13] [clears throat] this will be a rather
lengthy process, but at least if we can
[1:21:16] start in that direction and and start
those, you know, start rolling in that
[1:21:20] direction and and we can narrow things
down and gather up gather up the
[1:21:24] information. Yes.
>> Yep.
[1:21:26] » So, when you say lengthy process, what
does that mean?
[1:21:29] » I don't know to be honest with you.
Again, we're at the mercy of um we have
[1:21:33] to do we have to find a billing service.
Um we'd have to enter into a contract
[1:21:37] with them. I would assume there'll be a
startup cost to that. Um so so you know
[1:21:43] we're going to essentially have a
startup cost with no revenue coming in
[1:21:47] to offset that. Um so that's going to
have to be whether or not we have the
[1:21:51] budget for that. Um that's going to have
to be looked at. Um, and then we're at
[1:21:55] we have to get validated through
Medicare, main care, and with the state
[1:22:00] of the federal government right now.
That could that could take months,
[1:22:05] » but that's with a different kind of
permit, right? That is
[1:22:08] » it's just so you have to be you have to
be um set up in the Medicare system to
[1:22:13] to bill a Medicare patient and receive
that funds back to get reimbursed. Um
[1:22:18] you can't just you can't just bill a
patient um and they cut you a check.
[1:22:22] that there's a there's a whole process
that has to be done with and and the
[1:22:25] billing company would assist us with
that and setting all that stuff up.
[1:22:28] » Would you have to do that with the
intermittent transport permit?
[1:22:31] » Yeah, cuz if we if we transport then we
have to bill for those services. So
[1:22:35] what's the difference between having an
intermittent
[1:22:39] whatever the verbiage is and a regular?
>> So so there it's a different process. Um
[1:22:45] if we were going to take over
essentially uh Fairfield and Benton for
[1:22:49] transport um Delta currently is the
primary transport for Fairfield and
[1:22:55] Benton. So in essence, you have to apply
for that and you have to make your case
[1:22:59] and appeal to the state of Maine that
that um Fairfield Benton Fire Department
[1:23:05] can enhance that service by taking that
over. Um so they look at you have to you
[1:23:12] have to go through your response times.
Um there's a whole host.
[1:23:15] » So this would be the first step in
proving that data.
[1:23:18] » Yeah. Absolutely. Yep. Yep. So,
initially
[1:23:22] to the council, I mean,
initially hearing this, I I would say
[1:23:28] no. Um, only because I have so many
questions going. I haven't read this
[1:23:34] yet. I haven't had time to take this. I
don't know what questions to ask. I
[1:23:38] don't know. Um, okay, we get that we
that comes back. What is the what is the
[1:23:43] swap process on that? How do we get here
from there? who says, "Okay, the license
[1:23:50] came in the mail today. We're going to
start doing it tomorrow." What is that?
[1:23:53] What's that process look for like for us
as a council to say, "Okay, yeah, go. It
[1:23:58] might take a couple months. It might
come back quicker or longer." What do we
[1:24:01] do in the meantime? Just let them do
that. Or we say, "Yeah, go ahead. You
[1:24:04] get your license, start transporting." I
feel uncomfortable with that because of
[1:24:08] all the different
>> That's not what I'm asking for. I'm
[1:24:11] asking to get that intermittent license
started so we can get the pieces in
[1:24:16] place. What's the billing going to cost?
What's the training? What's what's the
[1:24:20] time period? So that when we do come
down to having to make that decision to
[1:24:25] actually transport, we can make the
right inform.
[1:24:29] » So we need that data before we make that
decision.
[1:24:32] » I think it's going to force it. Yeah.
>> Michelle,
[1:24:35] » so I think you have to think about this
as being the first step in a very long
[1:24:39] process and continued conversation,
although you kind of took that first
[1:24:43] step a long time ago. Um these are all
pieces in which would not happen in a
[1:24:48] vacuum and they would have to be happen
with council, right? So a contract for
[1:24:52] billing services more than likely is
going to require council approval. Um
[1:24:58] but what the chief is trying to explain
to you is that this is not a process in
[1:25:04] which so so Delta right now has to by
contract give us 30 days notice that
[1:25:10] they're no longer coming. Mhm.
>> We would never ever be ready to take
[1:25:14] this on in 30 days.
>> I understand.
[1:25:16] » Okay. So, but what we're not going to do
because of the work that is involved in
[1:25:21] all of this is just go randomly doing it
without the council saying that that's
[1:25:25] what we should be spending our time on
because there are too many steps and it
[1:25:29] is time inensive
>> and that's and that's where I'm unclear
[1:25:33] is what are those steps. So there's the
licensing piece, but in order to even
[1:25:38] apply for the license, the billing piece
needs to be set up. The billing to set
[1:25:44] up the billing piece, we have to set up
our pieces with Medicare and Medicaid
[1:25:49] reimbursement pieces. So ambulance
billing is just like medical insurance
[1:25:54] billing. It's it's you know, so if you
go to, you know, just like if you were
[1:25:57] at a doctor's office, we have to set up
all of those parameters in order to have
[1:26:01] the ability to do that. we would shop
for the best company to provide that
[1:26:06] service which that is a service right
now that Delta Ambulance actually does
[1:26:10] you know provide to to other
organizations and there are
[1:26:16] we don't know if there are setup costs
because we haven't shopped it and asked
[1:26:21] so that's a step in a process that we
would do there's enough municipalities
[1:26:25] out there that do bill for ambulance
billing that we would be able to contact
[1:26:30] all of them and be a you know Travis
would be able to find out what their
[1:26:34] services are and have those
conversations with them.
[1:26:36] » Normally the way those work is that
their fees are taken from what they
[1:26:41] collect. They get a portion of that,
right? That incentivizes them to do
[1:26:44] their work. Um, so but we have to set
all those pieces up before you even send
[1:26:50] a copy of that license, which is five
pages, six pages.
[1:26:54] » And that's what I'm asking. What's that?
>> That all has to be done before we can
[1:26:56] even mail that into the state. So that's
the pieces that
[1:27:00] » you are already chief of Clinton as well
who did transport service who did
[1:27:05] billing.
>> So these are things that you already
[1:27:08] have knowledge of.
>> Yes. Yeah.
[1:27:10] » So I I understand it may be timeconuming
paperwork consuming but you do have the
[1:27:15] knowledge. This isn't something that's
>> going to be unique and you know who
[1:27:20] Clinton used for billing. You knew the
process. I mean I'm an insurance guy. I
[1:27:25] know how it it's not that hard to get
set up for for assurance.
[1:27:29] » No, you're just you're just at the mercy
of how fast.
[1:27:31] » So I all I'm trying to do, Kevin, is get
the process rolling. I don't think
[1:27:37] » I just I'm trying to understand. That's
why
[1:27:39] » that portion's not going to be as long
drawn out. Um and I'm not saying we
[1:27:43] don't be a good partner with Delta. I'm
not saying we're we're going to move
[1:27:46] away from Delta. Maybe Delta does
Clinton's billing. I don't know.
[1:27:50] » Yeah, they do actually.
>> Okay. So if they do, maybe that's an
[1:27:53] option. this this is what we're looking
at,
[1:27:56] » you know, do you want to do the
>> That's why I said my initial take when
[1:27:59] you threw that out there was no. I was
like I instantly went defensive. No, I
[1:28:03] don't even know what's going on. Yeah.
>> Hearing this process and what it take
[1:28:07] what is going to transpire.
>> I think our community needed to hear
[1:28:12] this conversation on what is entailed in
this process. It's not just, hey, you're
[1:28:17] going to apply for a license. It comes
in the mail. Next thing you know, it's
[1:28:20] trans we're transporting. Oh, we're
already doing it. We might as well do it
[1:28:24] anyway. That case. So, what the process
is and then what our role is as a
[1:28:30] council through that process once we
say, yeah, go ahead with the license.
[1:28:35] » Yeah. And and that could be just, you
know, like like uh Chairman Martin said,
[1:28:39] that could be just as simple as okay,
we'll just do it on a an emergency
[1:28:43] basis. If Delta's unavailable, that's
what we're going to do, you know. Um, so
[1:28:46] that there's different but we in order
for me to get that process rolling on
[1:28:51] researching the the the billing services
and starting that whole process. I need
[1:28:55] that direction from me.
>> A question I asked the doctor
[1:28:59] [clears throat] at the last meeting was
in in that report in the KV EMS report
[1:29:05] uh all the data was based on still
transporting to Waterville. Yeah.
[1:29:08] » Uh and he didn't have that data. What is
what are you seeing throughout your
[1:29:12] community on what is the transport times
out of pocket once you decide to
[1:29:18] transport a patient from Fairfield,
Clinton, Benton to Augusta and back? And
[1:29:24] then how would that hurt our our fire
force?
[1:29:27] » Sure. And that's something that we'll
have to we'll have to gather some data
[1:29:30] on and uh Waterville has has been really
focused on that data for the last well
[1:29:36] since inland closed essentially. So, I
will be able to get that data from
[1:29:40] Waterville and and I can we can uh they
break down how many times they've gone,
[1:29:44] you know, this year versus when Inland
was open. Um what their transport times
[1:29:48] are and then we can kind of gear that
towards Fairfield, right? If if we come
[1:29:52] from, you know, if we transport somebody
from uh the back road, you know, we
[1:29:56] should be able to guesstimate, you know,
okay, it's going to take us,
[1:30:00] » you know, 35 minutes to get to Augusta.
We're going to be there for 20 minutes.
[1:30:04] It's going to take us x amount of time
to get back. We should be able to lay
[1:30:07] all those out with with that data. So,
and come back to you with that
[1:30:11] information.
>> I think that would that would be good
[1:30:13] information.
>> So, not to make it more convoluted, but
[1:30:16] [clears throat] let's say we have a call
for Fairfield or Benton.
[1:30:20] » Mhm.
>> And they're on a transport already to
[1:30:23] Augusta. Delta's on a transport. We have
a contract service with Delta. They get
[1:30:28] a call to Vasboro. And then they get a
call Fairfield. What are we going to do?
[1:30:33] » Yeah. Ex. So that and that was my
question.
[1:30:37] » Well, that already exists for us because
Delta's not using
[1:30:40] » well two ambulances either.
>> Well, I would have to get to to two
[1:30:44] ambulances before we got to a to a
transport service. Obviously, it's going
[1:30:48] to be a cost. But everything that we're
asking, all the questions we're asking,
[1:30:53] those same exact problems already exists
with Delta.
[1:30:57] » But they couldn't give me that. They
nobody could give me that answer when I
[1:31:00] asked them at that last meeting.
>> They don't want to. They know the
[1:31:03] answer. It's and and I don't know the
answer, but it is the exact same time
[1:31:08] and the exact same problem that we will
have. The only difference is we have
[1:31:13] control over our personnel,
>> right?
[1:31:15] » And and our mutual aid contracts. It may
be with Delta.
[1:31:19] » Sometimes they get three calls and two
LMS is
[1:31:23] » got one out. So
>> So it was kind of interesting. Last
[1:31:26] night went to discussion with Dr. Pay uh
and and Kevin was there too. So there
[1:31:32] were only the two of us. There weren't
three. So, it's all good. Uh, no special
[1:31:35] meeting, but it was really interesting
because he actually did call out uh and
[1:31:39] mentioned Fairfield and Benton and the
fact that he actually showed some
[1:31:43] sympathy for our situation, which was a
little different from our meeting. He
[1:31:46] said, "We have a responsibility. We're
looking at a fire department that we're
[1:31:50] trying to staff appropriately to for the
safety of our citizens. And to do that,
[1:31:55] we're looking at because fire is not a
service that is compensated for, right?
[1:31:59] Ambulance EMS is a service that can be
compensated for. So we can receive
[1:32:04] funding that way. That is one way to
staff your fire department to this
[1:32:08] proper funding level staffing levels
doing that you know. So he actually said
[1:32:14] I can understand where they are. I have
you know he he was saying I have my hat
[1:32:18] talking about
>> why we are having this conversation.
[1:32:21] » Yeah. But but we're having this
conversation in a totally different, you
[1:32:24] know, he realizes what we are doing and
what we have to our first and foremost
[1:32:28] concern is making sure that our citizens
are taken care of and they're safe and
[1:32:34] that we do it the best possible price
for the taxpayer and that's what we're
[1:32:38] trying to look at and I think that's
what's important in this situation. I
[1:32:41] know do I think regionalization is
actually a really good option. I'd love
[1:32:45] to see that to make for more
efficiencies but that's not not going to
[1:32:49] happen in the next 6 months. It's not
going to happen by the next how many
[1:32:52] years? But I think it's happening
hopefully. I'm sure chief would would
[1:32:55] tend to like to have that.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
[1:32:58] » And you see what we have with mutual aid
on the on the fire end making sure we
[1:33:01] have that on EMS. Um but I I think we
have to do our due diligence and have to
[1:33:05] be prepared because we don't know what's
going to come in 6 months. And and I
[1:33:10] think that was you know that's been
China's direction as well that um they
[1:33:15] they wanted to start that process and do
it on an interimm basis or as an as
[1:33:19] needed basis in the event that if that
30-day window does ever come to fruition
[1:33:26] when Delta says, "Hey, unfortunately
we're not going to be coming in 31
[1:33:30] days." Now they have that in place. Um,
and that's essentially what we're trying
[1:33:34] to do here to get to that point where in
case something happens um um then we're
[1:33:40] not behind the eightball and 8 months
down the road we can start transporting.
[1:33:44] » The the basis of my question
[clears throat]
[1:33:48] to me simply was what is the
out-ofpocket time now that we have to
[1:33:54] transport only to Augusta and will that
hurt our current fire department if they
[1:33:59] are out of pocket for that long?
>> Sure. Yeah. I mean it's going to yeah
[1:34:03] it's going to deplete us our personnel
availability for sure. Um uh but we we
[1:34:08] do still transport to the um so there I
think last time I talked to Chief Ross
[1:34:14] in Waterville they had seen a pretty
substantial like I'm just using throwing
[1:34:18] out numbers. Say they went to say they
went to uh AC and Augusta um 30 times in
[1:34:24] a month that that went up by 20 25 calls
when Inland closed. You know just I'm
[1:34:30] just using rough numbers. Kevin, in that
report, in that in that EMS report
[1:34:34] » with that 13% overlapping calls, they
actually added an hour for transport
[1:34:39] service
to to develop that 13% overlapping call.
[1:34:44] So that hour would cover trip to Augusta
and back. That is in that report Dr. Pay
[1:34:50] gave us in in our last meeting. That's
why I came up with that 13%.
[1:34:54] » All right. Because I missed that cuz
that's why I asked him the report showed
[1:34:57] transport. I could throw out so many
numbers. It'll make everybody's
[1:35:01] [clears throat] head spin. I'm just
trying to keep it easy. The num the like
[1:35:05] I said, Travis asked for that report
years ago and now all of a sudden we're
[1:35:09] getting it. Okay. I didn't ask for Delta
to send a letter. I didn't ask for Del
[1:35:14] Delta. We don't want to deal with Delta,
but we keep getting it. We we keep
[1:35:18] getting different information, different
numbers. Yeah. I mean, we we've been
[1:35:22] asking, you know, what's the billing,
what's what's the collectibles, what's
[1:35:26] this, what's that, what's the calls.
Well, we know the calls because Travis
[1:35:30] the Q&A, the Q&A. Travis does these
reports and and we, you know, we pointed
[1:35:36] that out to Dr. Pay in the last meeting
where he's like, "Well, you have to do
[1:35:39] this and you have to do that." No, we
already do that.
[1:35:41] » Mhm.
>> Oh, okay. A lot of the services they
[1:35:45] deal with are volunteer or part-time
departments and they they don't run like
[1:35:49] us. Oakland went full-time. Fairfield's
full-time. Clinton's probably full-time,
[1:35:55] but they're on their own now. So, I
don't know if they have any other
[1:35:58] full-time
>> apartments or towns that they service
[1:36:02] other than Fairfield, Benton, and
Oakland. And I and again, I could be
[1:36:05] wrong. I don't know Smithfield,
Belgrade, Rome. I don't know how their
[1:36:08] process works. I just know that the
numbers we receive from Delta are not
[1:36:15] the numbers that we receive from the EMS
report are not the numbers that we
[1:36:19] receive that we know are factual that
Travis presents us in our in our monthly
[1:36:25] reports. That's what I'm trying to go
by. Again, I don't want to throw out all
[1:36:29] these numbers. Well, they said this and
they said that.
[1:36:33] » All I can go by is the actual factual
knowledge that we know, right? that
[1:36:38] » and it changes because you've got a
private entity that has a monopoly and
[1:36:42] we're at their mercy and they provide a
good service and they provide a service
[1:36:46] that our citizens want and a and a
service that we need but we're getting
[1:36:50] to a point where it's unaffordable and I
don't know if they're going to be there
[1:36:54] tomorrow cuz I don't know if Oakland's
pulling out or Belgrade. We know China
[1:36:58] has already moved to go to that
intermittent license whether they act on
[1:37:02] it or not. So that's all I'm asking our
council right now. Let's get the process
[1:37:07] rolling with the intermittent license.
>> So, I just want to I just want to be
[1:37:11] clear. I like I said from the very
beginning, I'm a data driven person. I
[1:37:15] like the data. I'm concern my primary
concern right now is the human factor
[1:37:20] side of the Manning and what it would
take when it gets there. And I through
[1:37:24] this conversation, I understand that
there is a process for that other than
[1:37:29] just saying, "Yeah, go get your
license." So, I feel comfortable. Thank
[1:37:33] you for the conversation. I believe in
the data. It's just what data we get.
[1:37:38] Um, and
>> so, so even with that, even with that
[1:37:41] data, what I just told you 13% adding
that hour transport, they they Dr. Pay
[1:37:47] told us 13% is going to be our overlap
coverage. That's where the the mutual
[1:37:52] agreements have to come in. We've got to
give Travis the ability to say, "Okay,
[1:37:54] Waterville, Winslow, China, Albian,
whoever's local, we need to set up these
[1:37:59] agreements. what's it going to cost if
we if we have that second call and
[1:38:03] Winslow has to come and they're going to
charge, you know, $300 for for a
[1:38:07] paramedic fee. That will all be decided
once we give Travis some direction and
[1:38:12] we'll know. Um I I was just wondering
what's the license fee. I already know
[1:38:16] we need more staff, right? And Dr.
Townsen just said that. And we know what
[1:38:20] it's going to cost. You know, we know we
need 2.25 people because we have a a
[1:38:26] 40-hour position that we can convert to
full-time. So, we know the exact cost of
[1:38:30] what our manpower will cost. It's chief,
what's what's a second ambulance going
[1:38:36] to cost? Not necessarily that we're
going to use the second ambulance, but
[1:38:41] what's the lasting years if we do decide
to do full transport? Luckily for us, he
[1:38:46] knows cuz he's run those types of
services. And and then when we do get to
[1:38:51] that point, because we're data driven,
we have to factor in how often are you
[1:38:56] replacing this equipment? How much more
are the supplies? What are the added
[1:39:00] expenses? And make sure we budget that
so that when the ambulance is is up for
[1:39:07] service or needs to be replaced, those
funds are there. Just like we're dealing
[1:39:12] with building at this point, you know,
every politician seems to kick the can
[1:39:16] down the road. And nobody wants to deal
with saving for tomorrow. But when
[1:39:21] something becomes 50, 60, 70 years old
and [cough] it's no more functioning,
[1:39:26] it's the problem of the people sitting
in the chairs now and it [snorts] hurts.
[1:39:30] But we have to be more practical, do our
due diligence, not be put in a position
[1:39:35] where Delta says, "Well, I'm sorry, in
31 days we're not coming." Not that
[1:39:39] that's going to happen, but we don't
know. It's a private entity. We have no
[1:39:44] idea what what their fiscals are. They
could be making millions. They could be
[1:39:48] losing millions. hospitals lose millions
and we just had one fold. I don't want
[1:39:52] us I don't want our citizens to be in a
position where well you guys been
[1:39:56] talking about this for two years and you
haven't done anything about it. How long
[1:40:00] are you going to keep talking about it?
And that's what we hear and and again I
[1:40:04] I just don't want to throw out too many
numbers like we have been doing when we
[1:40:09] met with Benton. There's too many
whatifs. So if we can give Chief Larry
[1:40:13] and say okay let's let's apply for this
intermittent license. What's it going to
[1:40:18] take to get billing on board to get
contracted with Medicare and Blue Cross
[1:40:23] and Medicaid and and whoever? And then
what are additional costs if we had to
[1:40:29] go full-time service?
Maybe we want to when we know what those
[1:40:34] costs look like. my own opinion, I think
we will pay it will never be a money
[1:40:40] maker, but it will pay for your supplies
and it will pay for your personnel,
[1:40:44] which right now we have no revenue
source to offset those costs. That's
[1:40:49] down the road. Right now, I just I'm
asking council, let's start the process.
[1:40:54] Let's get this intermittent license
started. Let's give Travis the ability
[1:40:57] to find out the exact questions that you
and Council Tibido have asked. get those
[1:41:02] numbers so we can move forward and have
something prepared when we get into our
[1:41:06] budget season.
>> Fair.
[1:41:10] » And I'm sorry to make it so again
convoluted. It's it's there's a lot of
[1:41:14] numbers and it is data driven, but I
think I just wanted clarity in the
[1:41:19] process.
>> It's hard it's hard to keep it simple
[1:41:21] because there's there's too many moving
pieces.
[1:41:23] » Yeah.
>> Very complex. But but to make it as
[1:41:26] simple as possible, we need to start the
process.
[1:41:29] And if it's a minimal fee of a couple
hundred, I I want us to please do it.
[1:41:36] » Do we need a motion and or what that
motion will include?
[1:41:41] » Make a motion we start um the process of
intermittent um um transport.
[1:41:48] We'll
>> second that.
[1:41:50] So, I have a motion by council Lawrence,
second by Council Townsen. Do we have
[1:41:55] any other discussion? It's It's a very
vague motion, but I think that's kind of
[1:41:58] where it needs to be, right?
>> I would just add to old council business
[1:42:01] so we can get updates on the process.
>> Absolutely right.
[1:42:04] » You just may very well end up with weeks
though that it's going to say we have
[1:42:08] nothing new for you. Just be aware.
>> That's nothing new.
[1:42:11] » Yeah.
>> On the radar.
[1:42:13] » Yep.
>> Very good. That's all I have.
[1:42:18] Any other discussion? Do we have a
motion and a second? All those in favor?
[1:42:23] Unanimous. 5-0. Thank you. Sorry for
being l lengthy. And um Travis, I know
[1:42:28] we discussed this heard it last night.
Um ambulance is what? Coming in
[1:42:32] tomorrow.
>> Yes. Yeah. Uh the new ambulance will be
[1:42:35] delivered tomorrow.
>> Okay.
[1:42:37] » Um so I don't know what time yet. I'm
still waiting from Kyle to get an actual
[1:42:41] time.
>> And um I know you have to do training,
[1:42:43] too.
>> Yes. Yeah. So, so once we get the
[1:42:46] vehicle, um we'll do a final inspection,
make sure everything's the way it's
[1:42:49] supposed to be. Um and then we'll start
our training process. So, each each
[1:42:53] employee will be required to put um uh
you know, several miles of of road time
[1:42:58] on it. Um and then we'll start the
process of stocking the vehicle. So,
[1:43:03] it'll be it will be several weeks, if
not a month or two before we actually
[1:43:08] utilize chance to do the training, then
apply for the in
[1:43:12] » and then it's there cuz it's a different
vehicle, right? And we like we like all
[1:43:15] our people to be comfortable with
driving it, especially winter time. You
[1:43:18] know, it handles different than the
pickup wheel. And um so we want
[1:43:21] everybody to be comfortable.
>> Just one more question. I know we've
[1:43:24] already voted on it and moved on, but we
still have Med One.
[1:43:28] » Yes. Yeah.
>> So if we if we do finally get to that
[1:43:31] process and we're set up and ready to go
and our ambulance goes, we could still
[1:43:35] serve
>> with Med One. We just transport.
[1:43:38] » Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And and that's
this new vehicle will be just that. It
[1:43:43] will be a first response vehicle. Um, it
will have some pros though. You know, if
[1:43:46] we're at a motor vehicle accident in the
middle of February, we can get that
[1:43:49] patient inside while we wait instead of
waiting outside, you know. So, so
[1:43:53] there'll be a lot of benefits to it. Um,
or we can simply scoop the patient, get
[1:43:57] them in the back of the truck where all
of our equipment is and treat that
[1:44:00] patient better because all of our
equipment's right there, you know. So,
[1:44:03] and then when Delta arrives, we can
simply take them off our stretcher and
[1:44:06] put them on Deltas and and they can go.
So there'll be a lot of pros to having
[1:44:10] this this vehicle for sure without even
transporting.
[1:44:15] » Fantastic. Thank you. Thank you council
as well. Great discussion.
[1:44:21] » Okay. Discuss annual organization
meeting, elected officials, municipal
[1:44:25] and state protocols, annual reminders.
So we have all our normal protocols. I'm
[1:44:30] going to just go through them all. Code
of conduct, executive session, freedom
[1:44:35] of information act, records,
disposition, vacancies of boards and
[1:44:39] committees, town council administrative
policy, and then we'll get into the memo
[1:44:44] from the town clerk. Do we have any
questions on the
[1:44:48] code of conduct, all our forms?
You would Michelle, did you want to add
[1:44:54] anything to that before we get to the
memo from town?
[1:44:57] » Um, just that it's all standard
business. Usually you just start your
[1:45:00] review process now so that when we get
to your organizational meeting um you
[1:45:04] can either you know we have time to make
changes now and then you just adopt
[1:45:09] everything at your next meeting or you
can make changes at your next meeting
[1:45:13] and and go forward. But it just gets you
really talking about it and thinking
[1:45:16] about it. Um normally it's a much larger
process when we have new counselors
[1:45:20] coming in uh because all of you have
been here before. It's all kind of going
[1:45:24] to be routine for you but it is part of
our process every year. Um, and we just
[1:45:29] like to keep things consistent. It's
always good to review.
[1:45:36] » Any questions from council? If we could,
please go over those before our
[1:45:41] organizational meeting if you want any
changes made before that. [snorts]
[1:45:45] » Yep. Any feedback you have, whatever
>> your code of conduct and they're all in
[1:45:49] there and get those signed and into
Britney as well.
[1:45:54] » Okay. Memo from the town clerk. So, we
all have a memo. I think it's just some
[1:46:00] um clean up, some wording. You want to
present that, Britney?
[1:46:04] » Sure. So, the
in the town council administrative
[1:46:10] policy, there's a section in there um
about um absentee voting hours and voter
[1:46:16] registration vot um hours.
In the current verbiage, it states that
[1:46:20] the week prior to any election shall
include extended hours on Monday from
[1:46:25] 4:30 to 6:30 to allow for voter
registration.
[1:46:30] That is not what the statute says. Um
the statute is very specific as far as
[1:46:39] um towns with populations of more than
2500 shall accept voter registrations on
[1:46:45] the last five business days that the
clerk's office is open before any
[1:46:48] election day. And it has to be from the
hours um of 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
[1:46:56] The old language stated it's for um
absentee voting. It's not for absentee
[1:47:02] voting. It's strictly just for voter
registration for the last two hours that
[1:47:07] we remain open for those extended sorry
the extended hours. Um so I'm just
[1:47:12] cleaning that up to be more specific on
what the statute actually states.
[1:47:18] » Okay. So absentee voting those that last
word we're going to strike
[1:47:22] » to to get current with state ordinance I
believe state statute.
[1:47:26] » Yep.
>> So we need to amend [clears throat] our
[1:47:28] administrative policy. And then on the
last line on the voter registration
[1:47:32] hours is where that uh in the evening
from 5 to 9
[1:47:37] » on the back of that page. We need to add
that. Yep.
[1:47:45] » Yep. So it's really just cleaning up
some different changes and I think one
[1:47:48] of these was a recent
change too to the law for clarification
[1:47:53] purposes. So, and this has always lived
in council administrative policy
[1:47:58] governing election processes. And this
is just to make sure we stay in
[1:48:01] compliance with the law the way it's
currently written.
[1:48:05] » So, and those will be you're not even
expected to do that tonight. That'll be
[1:48:09] part of the administrative [snorts]
policy when you do that review. We just
[1:48:13] really wanted to bring this attention to
you beforehand. We think
[1:48:16] » as of right now, I think this is
probably the biggest thing that we have
[1:48:19] coming for administrative policy because
we did that review not that long ago,
[1:48:22] too. Um, but this will be a change
that's coming and we just wanted you to
[1:48:25] have the opportunity to review it and
ask any questions beforehand.
[1:48:28] » So, this just cleans up our language and
administrative policy to match state
[1:48:32] statute. Any questions for Britney? I
think they're pretty straightforward.
[1:48:36] [clears throat]
>> Just to be clear. So, in the
[1:48:38] administrative policy,
uh, section 108, you're looking at
[1:48:42] changing paragraph three to read what
this now says.
[1:48:48] » Yes. So this whole paragraph here will
change to this.
[1:49:02] Any other questions?
[1:49:08] » Okay, I think we're good on that one.
Discuss other council business. Council
[1:49:12] Kitchen. Uh, I really have nothing other
than I walked through uh the community
[1:49:18] center and saw what the police
department's doing for our youth coming
[1:49:22] up on Friday. Uh, don't forget to sign
up your children for that and I'm sure
[1:49:27] I'll echo everybody else. Have a happy
holidays and we'll see everybody back in
[1:49:32] January.
[1:49:36] » Well, I last weekend I attended the
history houses uh Christmas open house.
[1:49:42] They did a wonderful job. I'm very proud
of these dedicated volunteers that have
[1:49:50] um brought Mrs. Smith's house back to
life. Um they work hard. They they do a
[1:49:57] wonderful job and I just want to thank
them uh for what they are doing. Um I
[1:50:03] also are you going to talk about the
sheltering workshop, Peter? So, and like
[1:50:09] um Council Kitchen, I'm very much
impressed with what the police
[1:50:14] department is doing with our youth. Um
they've been doing the
[1:50:20] fixing up the community center here for
several years now and this year they've
[1:50:24] really outdone themselves and we're very
fortunate to have such dedicated people
[1:50:31] uh in our departments that will do this
for the benefit of others.
[1:50:36] That's it.
>> Towns
[1:50:39] » pretty much the same. It was a great
walk through there. It is uh kind of
[1:50:42] brings out the uh child in you to walk
through. Uh so hopefully maybe it's open
[1:50:46] from uh 4 to 7:30 on Friday, December
19th and go to Fairfield's Fairfield
[1:50:53] copscare.com. But it's really really fun
in there. Um and I just want yeah wish
[1:50:58] happy winter solstice. That means the
days are going to get longer. So it's
[1:51:02] it's coming. It's coming coming. Merry
Christmas. Happy Hanukkah and uh peace
[1:51:06] and joy. So,
>> thank you, Council Lawrence.
[1:51:10] » Okay, I got um several um this Friday um
at the Graange is a senior lunchon from
[1:51:16] 11 to 2. That's um December 19th.
And don't forget on December 22nd,
[1:51:24] the New Lawrence um elementary school is
going to have a ribb cutting ceremony.
[1:51:29] So,
>> 27th.
[1:51:30] » 27th.
>> 27th.
[1:51:31] » That's at 1:00.
>> Yep.
[1:51:34] And on December 11th, I attended uh the
cooling and warming center and disaster
[1:51:41] emergency shelter training here um at
the community center. [clears throat] We
[1:51:47] had 14 individuals attend this event.
One was on Zoom, but actually 13 live
[1:51:54] here. So, a two-hour training. We had
two counselors, myself and um councelor
[1:51:59] um Tibido. Five town employees
attended this and seven um Grange
[1:52:07] members attended and 14 and all total um
um residents attended that training
[1:52:15] and also too I I took a tour of the
community center last night but I saw
[1:52:19] more tonight and police has done a
fantastic job for our kids. Don't forget
[1:52:25] to attend that. And I like to wish all
the residents a merry Christmas and a
[1:52:29] happy new year and see you in January.
>> Okay. I [snorts] want to thank all our
[1:52:34] committees um building committee.
Fantastic job. Thank you. That's a lot
[1:52:41] of work and and a long drawn out
process. Uh our interim
[1:52:46] public works director, Tommy, thank you
for tonight. You made it through. I hope
[1:52:50] we make it a full-time position. I'd
love to see that happen. and he's a
[1:52:53] longtime employee. Um, wish your staff a
lot of safety. It's snow season. Uh,
[1:53:01] please be aware. Um, a lot of questions
usually we see online about salt and
[1:53:06] sand. There is a a sand pile down by
public works. Is it limited to two
[1:53:11] buckets? Am I
>> two buckets? Yes. For a storm.
[1:53:14] » So, two buckets for a storm. You just
heard
[1:53:16] » main I forgot to say Main Street does
look good, too.
[1:53:19] » What was that? Yeah,
>> Main Street does look good.
[1:53:21] » Main Oh, M. Yeah, absolutely. So, again,
I want to thank our department heads.
[1:53:26] Again, all the counselors have said this
place looks absolutely fantastic. If you
[1:53:30] can be around, um, come check it out, do
a walk through. That's Friday 4:00 right
[1:53:36] here at the community center. Um, I want
to wish all the staff, employees,
[1:53:40] citizens, council members a very merry
Christmas and happy holidays. Please be
[1:53:45] safe. Um, it's it's a lot of tragedies
lately. Too many that we see. um just
[1:53:53] keep everybody in your best interest and
be on your best behavior and please be
[1:53:58] safe. So that's all I have. It's been a
fantastic year and thank you all for
[1:54:03] your support.
So with that, our next regular meeting
[1:54:10] of the Fairfield Town Council will be on
Wednesday, January 14th, 2026 to be held
[1:54:15] as a hybrid meeting in council chambers
and via Zoom at 6:30 p.m.
[1:54:20] At this time, council will recess, sign
all documents that require the
[1:54:24] signature. Council members, make a
motion to go recess. Second.
[1:54:30] [laughter]