The Rangeley Board of Selectmen held their Annual Organization Meeting on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 at 6:00pm.  Selectman Ethan Shaffer made a motion to elect Steve Philbrick as Chairman but that motion failed.  Selectperson  Shelly Lowell motioned to elect Cynthia Egan as Chairman and that motion passed with three yes votes and two no votes.  Shelly Lowell was nominated Vice-Chairman and that motion passed with four yes votes and one no vote.
The Selectmen opted to continue having their meetings on the first and third Mondays of each month at 6:00pm and to adopt Roberts Rules of Order as their rules of procedure.
Newly elected Selectperson Ethna Thompson has been officially sworn in and was in attendance for her first meeting as a Selectperson.  The Rangeley Board of Selectmen have three women serving on the Board at the same time for the first time ever.
Town Manager Joe Roach provided the Selectmen with a copy of the Town of Rangeley Code of Ethics and Conduct Policy which they are required to read and sign.  Joe also provided copies of other policies including Harassment, Media, Contacting Legal, Fund Balance, Grant Acceptance and Investment.  Opportunities for Maine’s Freedom of Access Act training and Elected Official training were also provided to the Selectmen.
The Selectmen voted to confirm the Town Manager’s appointments of Traci Lavoie as Assistant Town Manager and Michael Bacon as Fire Chief.  Appointments were also made for Lindsey Savage as Health Officer, Michael Bacon as Emergency Management Director, Martha Belt as Registrar of Voters and Joe Roach as Airport Manager.
There was an issue with Article B2 on the 2021 Rangeley Town Warrant.  The interest rate on delinquent taxes in the Article was 7% but the State Treasurers Office’s maximum allowable rate for this year is 6%.  To resolve this the tax bills will have the corrected interest rate printed on them when they get mailed out.
The Town Manager was authorized by the Selectmen to sign an updated three year North Star Ambulance Base Lease for the ambulance service use of the Rangeley Public Safety Building.
An expenditure of up to $1,800.00 was approved for the design of a Main Street crosswalk to be located in the vicinity of Rangeley Lakes Builders Supply.  This expenditure was conditional upon the State Engineer’s determination of a suitable location.
The “State of Emergency” that was declared to help confront pandemic induced challenges ended on June 30, 2021.  This means that the allowance for remote public board meetings (Zoom) is scheduled to terminate at the end of July.  Governor Mills recently signed a piece of legislation, LD32, which is now in effect, that will allow municipalities a method to continue remote board member participation.  Towns will now need to adopt a remote meeting policy. A public hearing is required as a means of providing information about a remote meeting policy and the Selectmen have scheduled one to be held on July 19, 2021 at 6:00pm at the Rangeley Town Office.
Voters in the Plantations of Dallas, Rangeley and Sandy River and the Town of Rangeley have approved their Warrant Articles that allowed for the creation of an Interlocal Agreement to facilitate improved regional broadband service.  The Broadband Delegates met on June 30th to discuss the next steps moving forward and their timing. The Delegates voted to allow Consolidated Communications to apply for a grant on their behalf that could substantially reduce the users’ cost of the project.  They also agreed to discuss the best format for their inter-local organization and to compile information to help their constituents understand the process.  The Delegates will meet again on July 14, 2021.

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