Minutes Board of Selectpersons of Sweden, ME

December 1, 2009

Present were Warren Noble, John Clifford, Jane Gibbons, DJ Curtis, John P. Smith, William Jones and Alberta Ridlon. The Pledge of Allegiance was said at 6:00 p.m. There was no warrant this week.

Roads: Mr. Drew has fixed wash out on Lee Grey Road. Wash out on Fern Drive had sand put in, but needs material that can be compacted. Mr. Drew is to have logs from blow downs on Plummer School Road and Hardscrabble road cleared out. Quotes have come in from Pike. More quotes will be coming in for ditching and for paving on Hardscrabble Road and Ridlonville Road. Mr. Drew will be doing patching on various roads including, but not limited to Perry Hill Road, Plummer School Road and Marr Road.

Fire Department: The state sales tax exemption does not make the town Highway tax exempt. This refers to charges from Dead River fuel. There will be changes in the dispatching. Sweden will be divided into zones. Ms Gibbons was asked to make CD of the latest street addresses and owner's names.

Finances: DJ Curtis gave out revisions of the articles for 2010. This revision does include the Fire Chief's stipend under Salaries. Ms. Curtis is to find information about bonding for Hardscrabble and Ridlonville roads. The fire department has submitted a budget showing a 27% increase over last year.

Other: Office Hours: Due to the illness of Treasurer/Tax Collector Frances Flint, it was decided to close the office on Wednesday evenings. Ms. Gibbons will add Monday evening to her office hours and also the additional Saturday morning hours. The office will be closed Dec. 19-25th. The public will be notified in the Newspaper and on the door of the office. Sweden residents may register vehicles at the Lovell Town office during their business hours and they will pay the Town of Sweden the excise taxes during this emergency. The clerk-tax collectors in Lovell have given their home phone numbers so that Jane has assistance with vehicle transfers during evening hours. DJ will need to put in extra hours to reconcile taxes paid accounts. This is usually her busiest time of the year when end-of-the-year reports are completed. Mr. Jones suggested that Ms. Gibbons did not need to take minutes at the Select board meetings during December as she is giving extra hours during the emergency. The office will be open, Monday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 8 and Saturday mornings from 9 to 12 and Tuesdays from 10 to 3. The office will be closed Dec. 19-25. Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were corrected to show Alberta Ridlon, Mrs. Ridlon and to say that Mr. Kiesman had said that the post for signs were in the Salt Shed. The minutes were approved as corrected. John P. Smith raised the question of extra compensation for DJ Curtis during this emergency. No action was taken. The rule on salary for someone during illness is that the person has 3 months, uncompensated, for recovery. They do not lose their job during that time.

Jane Gibbons, Clerk