DRAFT MINUTES OF TOPSHAM SELECT BOARD MEETING
Monday, April 13, 2026 @ 7:00 pm
Present: James Bulger, Brad Calhoun, Tom Otterman, Jake Thompson (Select Board), Karen Walker (Clerk/Treasurer) Richard Sampson (Road Foreman) & Janice Emerson (Administrative Assistant) via Teams/telephone.
Absent: Carl Hildebrandt (Select Board)
Visitors: Jim Clark, Nancy Clark, Donna Otterman, David Vance, Rebecca Osborne, Nick Milburn, Bill Johnson, Becky Christianson, Susan Kulp, Joanne O’Meara & Pat Plaisted, Megan Clark & Michael (via Teams)
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM.
Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Tom Otterman to approve minutes from meeting of March 23, 2026. Passed unanimously.
Highway
Road Report: Richie Sampson reported on roads and equipment. They are working on filling in potholes and grading roads. The red Kenworth truck is not in operation and needs to go for repairs. We are still looking into possibilities of purchasing a used grader to replace the present one. Brad also reported that the town may be awarded a paving grant.
New Garage: Brad reported that everything is going well. A few projects still need to be done. The fuel tank needs to be installed and the roof for the salt shed needs to be put on. Both projects will be completed when the weather is better. Nancy Clark suggested it would be nice if the sign on the old garage was relocated to the new garage. Also, if the sign is moved and needs to be repaired/restored, she said the Friends of Topsham would like to help do that.
Annual Financial Plan approval: Motion was made by Brad Calhoun and seconded by Tom Otterman to sign the plan. Passed unanimously.
TRORC: Motion was made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Jake Thompson to sign the Better Roads Planning services for 2025. Passed unanimously.
Overweight Permits: Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Tom Otterman to approve permits for
Austin Construction, Chief Logging and Chipping, Chief Crushing and Excavating, Pike Industries, Consolidated Communications, QXO Inc, Camp Precast Concrete, Wind River Environmental, Thomson Fuels and Limlaw Chipping and Land Clearing. Passed unanimously.
General
Open Position: NEKWMD Alternate Representative. Anyone who may be interested, please call the Town Office at
802-439-5505 for more information.
West Topsham Community Hall: Tom Otterman presented two of the four bids that were solicited for the renovation of the main floor. E.F Wall and Lajeunesse Construction declined to bid.
H.P. Cummings:
Pre-construction fee-$14,000
General Conditions-$188,740
Construction Management fee-6.5% of the GMP
Change Order Fee-6.5% of the cost of the work. No fee credit for deductions.
Estes & Gallup, LLC
Pre-construction Phase Services-$2,500
Construction Phase Services (percentage)-7%
Construction Changes in the Work-7%
Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Brad Calhoun to accept the bid from Estes & Gallup, LLC.
Tom Otterman abstained. Passed unanimously.
Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Tom Otterman to approve the Liquor and Tobacco license for the Waits River Country Store. Passed unanimously.
Transfer Station: David Vance reported that a couple of residents have been bringing their trash after hours. It is being left beside or thrown into recycling bins. Letters will be sent to the residents involved letting them know it’s not allowed. Trash/recycling/metal can only be brought to transfer station on Saturday mornings. There was a discussion about solving the issue about people who are not residents or property owners of the Town of Topsham using our trash services. Brad Calhoun will have an official sign that states who can use it. Nancy Clark asked when the new dump passes are going to be available for distribution to help with the issue, also. Karen said she is still working with Glenda from Copies and More about getting them printed. Karen reported that the latest invoice she received from Casella had increased $500 from the previous invoice due to a new Energy and Environmental fee. She will contact them to ask whether this is a temporary or permanent monthly fee.
Jim Clark (Planning Commission Chair) noted that the approval of the Energy section of the Town Plan was supposed to be on the agenda. He asked if it could still be done. Some members stated they still needed to review it and decided not to approve it at this meeting. It will be on the agenda for the next meeting.
Correspondence
None
Financial
The Board reviewed and signed Order #2607 in the amounts of $15,355.21 for Accounts Payable and $8,632.29 for payroll.
Other
Karen asked for approval for the lease of a new Canon copier. It is a 60-month lease at $78.00 per month. Service is billed monthly (60 months) by the cost per copy (estimated 1,500 copies) for $11.55 per month. It includes everything except paper and staples. All toner, waste toner container, time, travel and parts are included. The present 2014 copier is owned by the Town and the maintenance agreement will be cancelled. It will be moved to the new town garage if Richie decides to use it. Motion was made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Jake Thompson to approve the lease of a new copier. Passed unanimously.
Executive Sesson: Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Tom Otterman to go into Executive Session to discuss a legal issue. Passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned to Executive Session from 8:09 pm to 8:22 pm. The Select Board decided to have Karen Walker call VLCT and ask about obtaining legal counsel through VLCT insurance.
Motion was made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Brad Calhoun to adjourn meeting. Passed unanimously.
Meeting adjourned at 8:24 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Otterman