DONATIONS of School Supplies Have Begun to Pour In!!!

 

THE BINS ARE IN!!!

and starting to collect school supplies

 

 

HELP THE TOWN OFFICE EMPLOYEES

make a difference!

 

DONATE SCHOOL and ART SUPPLIES

Bins are located in the foyer

at the Lebanon Town Office

corner of

Upper Guinea and Center Road

Lebanon Maine

 

All supplies are distributed

on an as needed basis

to the students of

Lebanon Elementary School

and
Lebanon's Hanson School

Lebanon Fire and EMS Department Calls on Milton for Mutual Aid in First Missed Call for Newly Combined Department.

Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control.
That seems to be the case for a staffed EMT and her staffed driver in the botched response to a West Lebanon call for a seizure patient on Thursday, August 17, 2015.
The Lebanon EMT and her Certified Driver, were in the middle of their scheduled shift at the Lebanon Fire and EMS Station, when Lebanon's Deputy Chief told the pair to leave their shift and take the station's trash to the Lebanon Transfer Station.
Even though the pair are paid to stay put at the station, the Deputy Chief's decision was made to send them away from their post, all the way to the other side of town, to dispose of the trash.
While the two paid Department members on duty were unloading station trash at the Transfer Station, a call came in for an address in West Lebanon for a seizure patient. Hearing the call and knowing she was further from the station than could warrant a proper response, the EMT on duty made the correct decision and called in to dispatch and had them reroute the call to our Mutual Aid responders in Milton, NH.
Milton responded immediately to the call and rendered medical aid to the patient. Lebanon's responders did also respond to the call, however, Milton had the patient loaded into the ambulance and ready to roll as transport to Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NH.
In a written response from Lebanon Fire and EMS Chief Daniel Meehan, he stated that this call was one of the growth and change events that will serve to better shape the Lebanon Fire and EMS Department, and that in the future, staffed responders will not be asked to leave the station for any reason. He took a moment to thank Chief Marique of Milton, NH for his department's speedy answer to Lebanon's Mutual Aid call.  Meehan was also sure to add that this call was not the fault of EMT or Driver, and that he's viewing this call as a learning and teaching experience for the newly combined department.

VOLUNTEERS WANTED to PROTECT AND CARE for VETERANS CEMETERIES in Lebanon.

The Lebanon Maine Truth Seekers have been petitioning the Lebanon Maine Selectmen for months regarding caring for the many Veteran's Cemeteries and "Ancient Burial Grounds" within the Town of Lebanon.
As of yesterday, August 17, 2015, the Board has stated that they are willing to begin creating a Town Committee to care for and begin watching over the town's many small cemeteries.
As we know, the Prospect Hill Cemetery, one of the town's largest, has been being cared for by the Town of Milton, NH for many years and plans are in the works for turning over care of that cemetery back to the Town of Lebanon.
Several people have offered their services in volunteering to help watch over and keep up with the town's cemeteries, however, when they have been approached about being seated on an actual Committee, they have shied away from the responsibility.
Our past is our heritage, our pride and our history. It is our family and our friends. These cemeteries need repair, upkeep and recognition in our town on their own merit, and it is mandated by Maine State Law that the Town be responsible for it's Veteran's and "Ancient Burial Grounds".
Our goal is to create a Committee of varied people. We'd like to include people who are interested in the town's history, people who have family buried here, and people who are interested in honoring our Veterans and our Founding Fathers.
At this time we have four people who are interested in sitting on this brand new Committee. We would like to have 10-12. We would also like to have people of many age groups and with a variety of talents. We need organizers, people who love gardening, people who can do light maintenance work. We need people with pickup trucks and people who are interested in categorizing and recording the many graves in town through photos and files.
This Committee will require a 1 year commitment. We will be working together over the Winter months of 2015-2016 to create an agenda which will include work on all the cemeteries in town and putting together a budget for their care to be put forth to the voters on the June 2016 Town Ballot.
Junior volunteers aged 16 and over will also be considered for Community Service hours toward Noble High School Graduation requirements.
This Committee is anticipating meetings once a month and volunteer hours twice a month, however once the committee is formed, we will work with all new members to create a schedule that is workable for all.
IF you are interested in becoming a part of this Lebanon Cemetery Care Committee, please contact Deborah Dorey Wilson or Sandy Adams via e mail at lebanonmainetruthseekers@Hotmail.com .

VIEW the Maine State Law requiring Towns and Municipalities to care for Veteran's Graves and Ancient Burial Grounds HERE
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_126th/billtexts/SP010701.asp

A Telephone Interview With Lebanon Transfer Station Manager Ronal Patch.

Photo from Google Images

 

For those of us who care to know how two seated Selectmen are continually found together at the Lebanon Transfer Station, or for those of us who get angered by the mixing around of town employees that seem to suit one group of people's desires, the mystery is finally unearthed.

I gave a call to Transfer Station Manager Ronal Patch this morning.

Since I could not seem to get any answers from the elected by the people Select Duo of Nadeau and Heath, I took a moment to call Mr. Patch and get the TRUTH of the situation right from the horse's mouth.

Patch, who along with wife Lorraine and brother Robert all work at the Transfer Station had been out of state on Saturday 8/8/15 when the questioned events took place, but he provided more answers than the two seated Selectmen have given. I appreciate his honesty, and although the answers still need to be addressed, Patch was honest and forthcoming with the answers, and anyone can appreciate that.

Apparently, it had been discussed, outside of the Board of Selectmen, with Mr. Nadeau that the Patch family would be out of state on Saturday 8/8/15, enjoying some family time. In hopes that the Transfer Station, with its 2 newly hired personnel, would be able to stay up and running smoothly, Selectman Nadeau had told Mr. Patch he would "stop by and check on things" during the day to ensure that residents needs were being met. Patch stated that he heard that the Transfer Station was running smoothly all day on Saturday, and he is happy with the work ethic of new employee Roger Nault, and Patch's Grandson Jordan. When I asked Mr. Patch why Selectman Nadeau had stayed there 4 1/2 hours if things were running smoothly, he had no answer except for to state that it had not been planned, and that Selectman Nadeau received no payment for being there, saying that the Selectman was there for the day for at no charge to the town. He didn't seem to see a problem with that.

I explained to Mr. Patch that the problem came when no one had come to the Board to work this all out in advance, and that BOTH Selectman Nadeau AND Selectman Heath had put in hours TOGETHER at the Transfer Station that day. Mr. Patch stated that the two had not been there together that day, that they had come at different times, each being there about 4 1/2 hours of the 9 hour day of the Transfer Station operations. However, when I told Mr. Patch that Selectman Heath had indeed had been there during the time that Selectman Nadeau had been there and had been seen by several residents who reported this, Mr. Patch was surprised, but added that he didn't understand why the two friends being together at the Transfer Station would be such a big concern.

I had a long talk with Mr. Patch, discussing the different ways that this could have been handled and why what Selectmen Nadeau and Heath were doing was ILLEGAL and therefore WAS a concern. I gave an example of how a single phone call to Select Board Chairman Ben Thompson stating that the Transfer Station was without management on a Saturday and relating that Nadeau and Heath had offered to come in for the day, would have given Thompson notice, and it could have been discussed further. I related to Mr. Patch that the secrecy of the pair and then their failure even to disclose they had been there together during Monday 8/10's meeting, and their subsequent failure to explain why they were there, or somehow explain how the situation had occurred, despite residents questions, had left uneasy feelings as to the honesty and good intentions of the duo. A simple phone call to the Board Chairman, or prior mention during a Selectmen's Meeting, could have alleviated the situation and not led to three meeting's worth of "no comment" and non-answers. I also reminded Mr. Patch that had anyone been injured during the day, there would have been a lot of questions as to how a non-Transfer Station employee had been injured while WORKING off the clock. Or how a Road Crew member had been injured while working on his clock. Mr. Patch stated that he had assumed they would be covered as Selectmen and town employee, by the town's insurance had they been injured. He also added that he believed the two Selectmen were there under "good intentions", which struck a chord with me as those were exactly the words used by Selectman Heath when the indiscretion was first revealed.

The second question on residents' minds, was regarding the hours given to Road Crew Employee Mike Foisey on Saturday, August 8th. Mr. Patch told that his Grandson, Jordan, who is a per diem employee of the Transfer Station, also works per diem hours with the town's brand new hire, (Foisey), under Road Commissioner, Tom Torno. Jordan had been asked to come in to the Transfer Station for the day, and suggested to his Grandfather that his friend, Road Crew Member, Mike Foisey, be called to see if he could help out as well. Additional new Transfer Station hire, and long time family friend Jen Griffin could not work that Saturday, according to Mr. Patch, as her children are active in sports.

According to the Transfer Station Manager, who is also a former Town of Lebanon Selectman, he saw no problem with asking Foisey to come in for the day because Foisey is already on the town's payroll. This method of filling in needed employees, according to both Patch and Nadeau has been acceptable in the past.

I asked Ronnie if he had checked with the Road Commissioner to okay the use of a Road Crew employee and to check on the amount of hours he had already accrued that week, and he admitted that he hadn't. He just called Mr. Foisey and asked if he would like to come in and work for the day, knowing he was already a town employee and just assuming that it would be okay as it had always been in the past. When I related to the Transfer Station Manager that Mr. Foisey had already worked 30 hours for the Road Commissioner that week, and the additional hours would have placed him at 39 hours on a town payroll that requires employees work less than 35 hours per week, he admitted that he thought the hours for separate departments were counted separately, but that he had not checked with anyone to confirm that fact prior to calling Mr. Foisey.

In short, the "sinister" aspect of this entire Saturday at the Lebanon Transfer Station, has been revealed in TRUTH to have the possibility of being not quite so sinister on Mr. Patch's side of things, however, what the two Selectmen did, needs to be addressed time and time again as it IS ILLEGAL for the two of them to be together, especially if it is questionable as to whether or not they are trustworthy to not be discussing and deciding on actions that will concern the town's policies and finances.

Due to the "surprise" rapid fire motions, seconds and votes that have altered several larger town business transactions in the past 2 months since Selectman Nadeau's election, it is easily questionable as to whether the two, together in any venue, constitute a quorum of the Board of Lebanon Selectmen.

Under Title 1, General Provisions, Chapter 13 Public Records and Proceedings, Subchapter 1 Freedom of Access, whenever a quorum of the Board (meetings of two in the case of Lebanon's Board of three Selectmen) takes place, the public must be notified, the meeting must be open for examination and recording, and the third member of the Board must also be notified. It is then up to the public and the third Board Member whether or not they would like to attend said meeting.

It is not up to Mr. Patch to police this action as the Manager of the town's Transfer Station, but it is up to the pair of Selectmen to operate under Maine State Law and curb their actions and stop trying so hard to hide their get togethers.

Maine State law provides that any citizen can initiate a legal action in civil court if such clandestine meetings are taking place in their town. For every willful violation of this subchapter, the state government agency or local government entity whose officer or employee committed the violation shall be liable for a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not more than $500 may be adjudged.

I would think that catching the pair repeatedly and warning them of this $500 fine to the Town for each and every infraction, would curb their activity, however, the pair were heard on the video tape of the 8/17/15 meeting, just prior to Nadeau's leaving the building, discussing that they were meeting this morning, Tuesday, August 18th. When Select Board Chairman Ben Thompson questioned the pair as to whether or not they would be out doing some assessing work during their Tuesday time together, the only answer he was given was, "No, this is something else."

Perhaps Thursday's Select Board Meeting will result in yet another surprise out of pocket motion resulting from the "something else" happening with our two Board Members today.........

Stay tuned!!

 

Selectman Paul Nadeau (photo from Google Images)

 

Selectman Royce Heath (photo from Google Images)

 

 

 

 

Lebanon Maine Board of Selectmen's Meeting 8/17/15 Video.

 

LEBANON MAINE

BOARD OF SELECTMEN

Meeting of 8/17/15

 

 

 

The first person on the agenda for the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Monday evening 8/17/15 was Road Commissioner Tom Torno. The Board has had Mr. Torno on their agenda several times in the past few weeks without him actually coming in, so we were glad to see him come in!!

Torno discusses with the Board some upcoming bids he will be putting out for supply of sand and supply of salt, he presents his Road Plowing Contract (for use with Independent Plowing Contractors) for the upcoming Winter ( 2015-2016) and explains a few changes that have been made.

Road Commissioner Torno says that Mrs. Abbott approached him and has a tow behind street sweeping unit that she would like to donate to the town for their use. 

There are a few dead tree branches hanging precariously over the back roads of Lebanon and Tom says that he is going to call and have them removed. Selectman Heath also identifies a utility pole that is in need of some attention. Torno says that he has had a problem getting CMP to respond to his calls regarding this issue, but he will continue to call. There have also been multiple calls made trying to get some stone for finishing a few projects in town. It seems everyone is busy this season!

Ditching has been completed on Center Road down near the Henderson's.

Lebanon Maine Truth Seekers Deborah Wilson asks Mr. Torno if he's had the time to go over his 2014-2015 budget and figure out where the discrepancy is. Torno had previously claimed that there is about a $9,000 difference in what he thought was there and what year end budget reports claim was there. At Monday evening's meeting, he stated that he had been too busy and hadn't had time yet to go over the numbers.

Ms. Wilson also asked Mr. Torno about his newly hired Road Crew member working at the Lebanon Transfer Station on Saturday, August 8, 2015. Mr. Torno stated that he had nothing to do with that and has no idea how that happened. When questioned as to why his worker would have needed more hours in the week and why he would have hired someone if he didn't have the hours to keep them busy, Road Commissioner Torno stated that he had given his new employee 30 hours already that week, anything at the Town Transfer Station was in addition to his already full time card. Mr. Torno stated that he had "No Clue" as to who had called his employee, how they knew his number, or how they could just call his man to the Transfer Station.

At this time, Mr. Nadeau spoke up and said "We're changing that," continuing on to say that the policy of calling random workers into the Transfer Station was how the Department had acquired Royce Heath as an employee. Nadeau also stated that it would not happen again.

 

SEE PART 1 of the 8/17/15 

LEBANON MAINE SELECTMEN's VIDEO HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkXOYYyEypw

 

The second part of the 8/17/15 Meeting video may get a little stale for the average viewer, but for those of us trying to understand the scope of work needed in assessing a town's property tax values, this section is helpful. Selectmen's Assistant, Sue Collins, comes in to speak with the Board on their assessment of mobile homes on Saturday, 8/15. It's interesting that there are several changes on properties that don't seem to be on the last assessment but that don't seem to have had building permits, however, over the years, Code Enforcement seems to have been spotty at best.

Lebanon Maine Truth Seekers Deborah Wilson asks the Board for help with a question she received from 2 residents of Evergreen Trailer Park on Rt. 202. The question is in regards to a resident there who is building a large closed in addition to his mobile home without building permits. The Board advises Wilson to ask Code Enforcement Officer Mike Beaulieu to have a look.

 

SEE The SECOND part of the Monday 8/17/15 Lebanon Maine Selectmen's Meeting Video HERE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNyBbGRsEZY

 

The third part of the Selectmen's Meeting Video, Lebanon Code Enforcement Officer comes in for a brief chat with Selectmen regarding a tenant vs landlord complaint in town. The Board and CEO are both questioning how much involvement he can have in ending the dispute. Code violations may be at play here, but they're not sure until Beaulieu goes out and has a look. Selectman Thompson explains that this may be a civil issue that needs to be acted upon by the courts rather than the Board.

There is discussion on a course Mr. Beaulieu would like to take which includes solutions on just this type of issue. The Board is taking that course under advisement.

 

WATCH part 3 of the 8/17/15 Selectmen's Meeting Video HERE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k57O3a1xHY

 

A brief session with Town Treasurer Jeanette Lemay regarding the Board's closing on the TAN (tax anticipated note) for $1 Million dollars which is scheduled to take place Tuesday 8/18/15.

Representative from F.R. Carroll company, Tim Benton, arrives to observe the Bid Opening for Bituminous Paving products scheduled for 5 pm.

Town Clerk Mandy Grenier arrives carrying the sealed bids for Bituminous Paving and for IT Services. She states that the Town received no bids for their Sanding and Painting bid request, and none for their Electrical Services bid request.

 

Part four of the 8/17/15 Lebanon Board of Selectmen's Meeting HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2AlrtApBxk

 

Part 5 of Monday evening, 8/17/15 Selectmen's Meeting Video shows Select Board Chairman Ben Thompson as he opens the bids received for the town's Bituminous Paving bid request and the IT Service bid Request.

Mr. Tim Benton of F.R. Carroll, Inc of Limerick, Maine is present for the opening. His company bid for $62.45 per ton supply of machine applied hot mix asphalt and $100 per ton for labor. 

Also submitting bids without representatives present were:

Pike Industries, from Belmont NH who submitted several prices including $91.00 per ton hot mix asphalt, machine applied.... $10 per ton hot mix asphalt hand placed....and $2.65 per ton Reclaimed and fine grade.

R.D. Torno & Sons Paving from Lebanon Maine rounded out the trio of bidders with a bid price of $71.80 per ton for machine applied hot mix asphalt and $135 per ton labor.

 

The second bid opening was for that of IT Services to the Town. It has been identified that Lebanon is in huge need of upgrades in technology, security and storage capability. It was confusing, at best to watch these bids being opened due to the fact that none of the 5 companies bidding seemed to be bidding on the same thing.

Companies bidding for IT Services to the town of Lebanon were:

207 Technology of Mars Hill, ME

Tri State Computers of Dover, NH

Tek-EEZ of Lebanon Maine

Systems Engineering, from Portland, ME

and WG Technologies, from Westbrook, ME

 

No decisions were made and no contracts awarded on Monday evening. Bid awards are expected on Thursday, 8/20/15 at 5 pm during the Board of Selectmen's Meeting at the Town Office.

 

The Board goes into Executive Session with Town Clerk Mandy Grenier to interview 3 people being considered for the Collector / Deputy Clerk position open at the Town Office.

 

SEE Bid Openings for Bituminous Paving and IT Services in Part 5 of the Lebanon Board of Selectmen's Meeting Video HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8fZuR6omek

 

The sixth and final section of the Board of Selectmen's Video shows the Board discussion their meeting on Thursday with a resident asking the Board, as assessors, to take a second look at his home as the Real Estate valuation was lower than the assessed value by about $50,000. The Board has been to look at the home.

The Board talks briefly about the 8/18/15 closing on the TAN through Kennebunk Savings Bank. Thompson reveals that after paying AP on 8/17/15, the town still has $714,469.31 in their account, which Thompson says he is pleased with that amount.

Although the Board can not adjourn the meeting due to remaining work, Selectman Nadeau leaves for the evening before the meeting is adjourned.

Lebanon Maine Truth Seekers requests that she have time for questions. Selectman Heath does not want to answer any questions, and Wilson says she will wait for her chance after he is finished for the evening.

Selectmen Heath and Thompson give Wilson 3 minutes.

Wilson is questioning how the Road Crew member wound up working at the Transfer Station on Saturday, 8/ 8/15. Thompson says he would also like to know, but Selectman Heath does not disappoint with his "NO COMMENT" answer.

Selectman Thompson says that he would like to know, but cannot go outside the scope of the Board. He could personally ask Transfer Station Manager Ronal Patch, however that would not be an "on the record" conversation.

Wilson assured Select Board Chairman Thompson that she will call Mr. Patch in the morning and see what happened that caused 2 Selectmen and a Road Crew member to be working at the Transfer Station on Saturday 8/8/15 while Manager Patch and his family were all out of town.

Selectman Thompson says that Nadeau has stated "It won't happen again," but that if it does, it will become a problem.

The Board continued processing Accounts Payable for quite a while before adjourning for the evening.

 

SEE the sixth and FINAL portion of the Lebanon Maine Board of Selectmen's Meeting of 8/17/15 HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgEQRE_MLTc