City Council - Regular Meeting

Did they catch It was you don't see that every day the February 17th, 2026 6 Auburn City Council workshop will be called to order. The first item on uh the workshop agenda is an update on the reevaluation process. Uh Miss Scamman and Mr. St. Peter.

Okay. Good evening members of the council, Mayor Harmon. Um we are here. I'm Karen Scamman. I'm the city assessor. And I'm Joe St. Peter, the deputy assessor.

And we have other members of our assessing team here. Azie and Connor are in the audience as well. Um so we're just going to start with an overview for some of the newer counselors on what our responsibilities are in the assessing department. Very brief um just to lead us into the revaluation update for you. First off, um as you can see up here, our assessing team, we are all certified main assessors. Um, in addition to that, we do have all have appraisal backgrounds and we have three main licensed real estate appraisers on staff, which is very helpful in in situations. Um, we accomplish our tasks as a team. That's why I put the assessing team. We all work together on all of our projects. We share our responsibilities. Um we are always consulting with each other and getting input from each other, bouncing ideas or if we have an issue um make sure that we're discussing it so we come up to the very best resolution that is possible. Um and we have individual tasks that we are specialized in. Um however it's very important for all of us that we all know the assessing function in the office. This is um the assessor duties. It's also important to realize and some may not that assessors are agents of the state. We act under the direction of the state tax assessor and we adhere to the main constitution, state laws, case law. That's what governs everything we do. Um,

I'm not going to go through every one of these, but um, our main purpose, I guess I can say, is we need to inventory and assess all taxable and non-taxable property in the city and give it evaluation. That's the main reason that we have the assessor's office. Um, and it's very important that those taxes are assessed and aortioned equally and fairly. That's what we strive for. Um, this last sentence I put in here, the main constitution requires assessors to make a general valuation once at least once every 10 years. That's very confusing for some people. Some people believe that that means that we have to do a revaluation by state law every 10 years. That's not what that statement refers to. That statement is referring to the general valuation being we need to be tracking the market. We need to be tracking our ratios. We need to be tracking our valuations by class. And if market adjustments are necessary, we need to be making them. That's a general valuation. It's not a revaluation. We get a lot of questions on that. Um, this is a partial list and I do say a partial list. I couldn't fit it all on the paper but these are the, you know, very important ones I guess that we picked out. Again, I'm not going through these. The left side is real estate that we are responsible for and duties that we need to do. The right side is personal property. Uh, that's a big chunk of our responsibility is personal property. We have over uh 1100 accounts right now in personal property. It takes up a lot of our time. We also have to inventory the businesses. We have to do a lot of mailings um in with reference

to personal property. We have to track their values. Um, so all of this kind of leads up to our major our our what? Tax commitment. That's it. That's what we strive for for the entire year is to get to tax commitment. Um all of these things will give us um splits and merges and valuation and when we we have also in addition to this um all of the deadlines that we need to meet that are in state statute. Um but again everything we do is leading up to tax commitment. We have a schedule that we have to adhere to every year. It starts the day after tax commitment. And this is not just Auburn. This is municipalities across the state. Assessors have a schedule. You start the day after tax commitment. You work through all of your tasks all through the year and you reach that tax commitment and then when tax commitment is over, you start that schedule all over again. um extremely simplified tax commitment. You determine the budget. We determine the assessed value of all of the taxable property in the municipality and then through those two two things we determine a mill rate and the mill rate is the tax rate. That's very simplified. What we really have to do is go through this whole process. Um, we have to know all the valuation of everything. We have to know what the assessments are. County

tax bill, municipal appropriation, what do we need for our TIFF funding, all of that goes into our calculation. So when that's all done, and this is a required piece of paper that we have to return to the state every year. It's part of our municipal municipal valuation return. So we have to go through this. This is simplified but this is what stands behind it. This is these are the numbers that go into it and that's our calculation of the tax rate. Um so that being said I guess we will now move on to the revaluation that was I just wanted to give you a brief overview of what we do. So, for a revaluation update, um, one of the goals is to get our properties up to 100% market value in accordance with, uh, regulatory standards, state statute. Um, so to get it to 100% of market value, but it's also a full inventory of property, making sure that we have the physical features correct, that we've uh inventoried all assets in in the city, um, uh, buildings, uh, what have you, making sure that vacant parcels are still vacant, and, uh, what we deem improved parcels are no longer or improve still improved or no longer improved. Um the goal is to rebalance our property values, ensuring that all property owners meet their fair share of the tax burden. Another word for this is equalization, meaning that we are equalizing property classes. Um and and and again including that a correct inventory of the property. Um so the the article 9 section 8 of the main constitution says that we are going to assess property at just value. So the goal is to get to just value and just

value has been deemed to be market value again and again. Um so why are we doing why are we choosing now to do um a revaluation? Well, you'd have to be living under a rock not to know that property values have increased on certain classes of properties. And now's the time to make sure that we get those uh those those properties equalized so that again it's fair. Um, it's important because when our when we're not at 100% of market value, our certified ratio drops and when that happens, we have to adjust certain things like our exemptions and certain classes of properties in accordingly. And we can lose out on valuation and the property owner can lose out on valuable exemptions to them. So getting to 100% of market value is our goal. um when the valuation base drops unfortunately the mill rate will often increase to cover the budget costs and that can result in a tax increase. So when we do market adjustments as opposed to a revaluation um the adjustments across the board don't necessarily uh capture the nuances of things like neighborhood or changes to property condition or features. Uh this next graphic is what a finding of the state has for what our certified ratio should be. So in 2018 it's dropped steadily uh until 2025 to 66%. Now to be clear this is the state determined ratio not the city declared ratio. When it comes to the city declared ratio, we have a little bit of wiggle room because we can look back at the at the uh the sample period where these ratios were determined and say okay, we've made some adjustments therefore we can declare a

little bit higher. uh we've made adjustments so that we so that we we can justify that with the state and every June we have to file a form with the state of Maine that says okay this is what our certified ratio can be or needs to be and our rationale for that and often this means that we have to redo the entire sales ratio study which in in this market condition uh period of time we find ourselves doing that a lot in in recent years uh up until 2020 we had been declaring 100% of market value. Uh from 2021 to 24 we actually had dropped to 93% and this uh in 2025 we were at 85%. So those were different than what the state certified ratio was determined initially but we were able to go back and uh declare something else. So what have we done so far in the revaluation? Well, in 2024, we contracted um after a period of um you know, RFP uh KRT, they are our our our companion agency that is helping us in in the reval and they are out listing properties now. The actual inspections began in February of 2025 and they are ongoing. Um, so as part of the contract, uh, we've hired KRT to review 9,486, uh, parcels, including all all our residential, commercial, industrial, and vacant land. Um, they're going to look at our methods, they're going to look at our tables, our depreciation schedules. That's all part of the revaluation process. And, um, it said they begin residential inspections in in November 2024. I think I think the actual was February when we started. Um so in one of our goals is to make sure that everyone's informed about what's going on. Uh we've had some

public outreach. These are some notable uh public outreach events that we had. We've we've come to workshops, uh council meetings, we've had public meetings out and about and our goal is to be as transparent uh as possible. We also field a lot of calls uh from from taxpayers um and concerned citizens. Uh we have a reval hub on our website that out that details things that we've done, things we're doing, and things we plan to do. And it's an ongoing work that we have to continue to do. Um when you're when you are in a revaluation phase, that means your area has been selected for revaluations. One of the things you're going to get is a postcard. In fact, I just got mine last week. So, they're going to be coming to my neighborhood soon. But what's going to happen is the the target period is that within the next 60 days, someone's going to knock on your door. Uh they're going to introduce themselves, request an interior inspection of your property. Common question we get is, "Do I have to let them in?" The answer is no. uh you don't have to let them in, but with an inspection, you're ensuring the most accurate property valuation, you know, on record. And a lot of times, if we haven't been in your your property for a long time, we may have the the condition as good when really it's average. So, there's a benefit to allowing someone to inspect your property. But if you choose not to, they may ask you some questions uh about your your property, kind of a a quick on-site survey. you can decline that as well. Uh if you're not home, they will do their best to do exterior measurements, uh take photographs and and potentially uh a call back. Uh they'll take pictures and all property owners have the option to schedule an inspection or give information to the assessor as well. And we do that. That's something that we've

been actively doing. uh we'll get calls, they say, "Well, I don't want to let these people in, but I have a relationship with you with the city, so you can come in and do an inspection." And it's worked out pretty good that way. So, um and again, I think we live in a day and age where there's a lot of concern about who who these people are that are knocking on my door, and that's a warranted concern. uh we we we want to validate that for people. But the people that we have hired um they will have identification, they have credentials, they are main assessors, our certified main assessors. Um they have ID badges that are issued by the city. Uh again, they they have all the gear. Uh that's Dale from KRT. Um and he's all decked out with what they look like when they are out in the field. Um I I want to say that we also have really good collaboration with KRT. I'm pleased to say that we have weekly and sometimes daily uh meetings with the listers in the morning. They come in uh they ask us questions about where they're going. Uh we talk about whether we received any phone calls or if there are any places where we've already inspected um or maybe if there's any safety concerns for any any area. So so communication is is imperative and it's priority of ours to maintain it. Um on the Reval hub there's a map that shows the areas where the the active phases are. So um it's kind of a painting in broad strokes. So we call it completed. That doesn't necessarily mean we got into the properties. That just means that that phase is complete that we've been through there. Um, we have the ability to when the city goes in, let's say we're out of a particular phase, we we will mark it up to say that we've been there or we've had some kind of uh dealings with the property owner.

And that's brings us back to Karen.

Okay. We've had a lot of phone calls um like Joe said from taxpayers and they'll say, "I work all day. Um, I'm a snowbird. I'm going away for the winter or I'm taking a month-long vacation. I just got my postcard. What am I going to do? So, um, we do accommodate obviously if if the um Oh, Joe's already gone through this. I believe if the data collector comes to your door, that's if they're not there. So, KRT will in the contract, they will make a second attempt to um go and contact the property owner at their home. Um, if that doesn't work, then they're going to send a letter for all of the people for the inspections that they have not completed. They will send a letter to the property owner. The property owner then has the the opportunity to call KRT, schedule an appointment. KRT will go back out and do the inspection. So, there are several um opportunities that taxpayers will have at their own convenience to have either the assessing department staff or a member of KRT go back. Um we're going to make every attempt to do those inspections at the convenience of the homeowner. Um we already have taken several Joe touched on that as well. We are in excess of a hundred um appointments that we have already taken from taxpayers who have called the assessing office because it wasn't convenient when the data collector was there. So we have gone out and done those inspections and we will continue to do those throughout the whole um process of the reevaluation. It's very important also to note that if there are no trespassing signs um there will be no inspection. they the data

collectors will stay off the property. They will not enter the property. They don't knock on the door. Um a no trespassing sign means no trespassing and so they will not visit the property. Now everybody assumes that oh my goodness gracious it's a revaluation and my value is going up. Um, I can attest to the fact that I have done some reval inspections and the value has dropped for the reason that Joe already stated. We have not been in these properties for a very long time. Some of them um some of the condition has changed on them. Perhaps they have taken their basement finish out. Perhaps they've removed that pool. Um, if that if that has occurred, we are going to make those adjustments right away. We're not going to wait until the revaluation is complete, those adjustments will be made right away. On the flip side, if we find something, if they if somebody has put an extra bathroom in or they've added basement finish, that has to go on the property record card right away because we need to make sure that we are assessing everybody equally, fairly, and if that improvement is there, we need to adjust it and we need to assess it right away. Um, so your taxpayers value could go up, could go down either way. Um, the overall citywide adjustments to value for anything other than these few things that I've mentioned, those will all be done. The cost tables will be adjusted all at the same time. So the major valuation changes that people will see will be all together when the reval is complete.

Um this is just a a list of we had a meeting with KRT um and discussed we wanted to know exactly where we stood as of January of this year. So these this is the list of this is how many um residential parcels that we have that need to be inspected. This is just the the vacant and improved residential. This doesn't include the commercial industrial yet. Um and then KRT reported that to date which was again u January 14th was our meeting. So right up to that point, these are of the properties that have been visited, the vacant parcels, um it's we don't have a good percentage of entry. I can tell you that um we are down below 20%. I when we first started it was shooting for a minimum of 50%. I guess I was shooting for the stars. Um, but we are down around 20% of an entry rate. Again, this is our first goaround, though. This is when they're just knocking on doors and people aren't home. So, we're hoping that when we go through that second round and then that round of letters that we will increase that that interior entry rate. Um but those are the stata uh statistics that KRT provided us with as of January inspections. Um so in conclusion um again the revaluation contract says that we will have our values in as of April 1, 2027. April 1 is the statutory date when all valuations have to be set. So, it will

be April 1, 2027. We then have to get our final products, all of our supporting data and everything else. Um, the contract says we will have that by August 1st of 2027. In the meantime, when we get our values, the assessing department then has to proof all of those values. That's a very long process. We need to make sure those values are correct, the cost schedules have been done correctly, the neighborhood lines have been delineated correctly. Um, it's going to be months long probably that we will go through and proof, proof, proof, make sure before any valuation letters go out to our taxpayers that they're correct. Um, so that's going to take a while. We will then schedule uh meetings with the taxpayers. KRT will schedule meetings for any taxpayer who receives their valuation letter and says, "I don't think this is right. Something's wrong with this or you need to correct this." Okay, we will go out and do another inspection if that's necessary. If it's not necessary and we can determine it from those meetings, we will adjust the value. Um, and so with this whole process, we may get our values as of April 1, but with all the work that get has to go into it after we receive those values, unless we receive them earlier and they finish that reval sooner, we are anticipating it is very unlikely that the taxpayer will see the increases um attributed to the revaluation until the a uh um tax commitment 2028 tax year. So with that, we are happy to answer any

questions that you may have. Any questions from the council? Council PL.

Thank you. Um thank you for the presentation. Um I have a question and possibly a followup. Uh my question is a lot of what you've described in my understanding over the last two years of understanding the reval process um is that much of it is objective. We're talking about size, we're talking about materials, finishes, size of property, size of buildings. Can you talk about um are there any subjective measures that go into the value um i.e. geography, proximity to schools? Is is the reval simply a measure of insurable value or is it also a measure of market value? Um, so yes and no. I mean, what you're describing aren't subjective per se. They're measurable in terms of market sales. So when we're defining a neighborhood, we're looking at sales in a particular neighborhood that would that would indicate. So if there are properties close to a school and that has a different value than maybe something 10 miles away, we can measure that. And and and that's the goal of a reval. And there's a lot of analysis that goes in and we have to be cautious not to make inferences that are you know you know that there have fallacies. So so that's why we do a lot of proofing. We're going to look at the product of KRT and and their conclusions. Um we have a lot of neighborhood codes in the city of Auburn and that's certainly something we're looking at closely to determine, you know, does this neighborhood real truly different than this other neighborhood? Um, so, so it's it's all measurable and has to be supported by some kind of data. We can't just say, "Well, they're close to a school, so you know,

that that makes sense. So, it's not it's not just the value of my house, but it's also the sales of my neighbors over the last x number of years." That that makes sense. My followup is when this is all complete, will the council andor the public have access to um data? For example, things I'm interested to see is like what percentage of uh properties go down 10%, down 5%, up five, like what's the bell curve look like? Um, also geographically throughout the city, are there heat maps that we might see that says this area had 80% of home values go up because it's clearly a desirable area. You know, will we get to visually see those things when it's all said and done?

Um, yeah. I I mean what you will have access to what we have access to and I'm a geek for heat maps so I I would love to see some heat maps on on how neighborhoods have evolved or changed. Um I mean that's not a product we we have but there are certainly things that we want to graph and make available too. Yeah. And and all the manuals that they return to us that's all public information. Anybody can have access to all of that. So we'd have the data. It would be up to us to craft it into whatever or like Joe said he really does like doing that stuff. So,

well, yeah, you know, and and again, when I say we have a lot of neighborhood codes, um, one of our working theories is that we have too many neighborhood codes and that we can collapse some of those cuz the sales don't necessarily support all of those. Um, and same with industrial parcels. We have a lot of we're starting to think that maybe we need to rethink our neighborhood codes in the commercial sectors as well. Awesome. Thank you.

Yeah. Um just to follow up on uh council plat's point because I get the same question with some frequency too when it's not for an individual property. Is it fair to say it it it isn't traceable back to one or two elements. It's what the market value is because I have people that call me and say but this is down the street from me or I live next to this. Right?

It isn't that fine. Right? It's in that area. They may see something that's undesirable, but the market may not be responding in the same way that that particular individual sees their situation.

Absolutely. Um and and there it the the principle of contribution. There are things that affect value. So, if you have 20 bathrooms in your home, but the market only expects two, the there's no contributo value for that extra things. And it's the same with other features in in a property. Um, one of the things that we struggle with or we've it's been a long uh project for us is looking at the contributor value of solar panels, for instance, and and we're not currently assessing them because we don't believe it has contributo market value to real estate. Now, that's an assumption that we're challenging all the time. We're looking at it. We're looking at data. We're looking for matched sales that would say, "Okay, yes, it does sell for more or doesn't make a difference." Those are the kinds of analyses that we do, not just during a reval, but ongoing. It's it's something that we do all the time.

And to your point, um, we are doing this on a mass appraisal scale. And so each individual property owner may feel like you mentioned that something is bringing down their value. But because it's mass appraisal, we're looking at the entire neighborhood, the entire area, and all of the sales, and we're applying it to all of the properties within that neighborhood. Thank you. Other other questions by the council? No. Thank you very much. appreciate you coming in tonight and giving us an update.

Uh the next item on the agenda is uh the main waste to energy funding requirement. Mr. Manager,

thank you, Mayor, Council. In your packet was an information sheet that outlined uh where we're currently at related to main waste energy. Just for the public and for a reminder to all of you, um, Main Waste, I'm sorry, Mid, uh, Midmain Waste Action Corporation, which is Main Waste Energy, was incorporated back in, uh, 1986. We are, um, one of uh, 11 other um, participating municipal members that own uh, Main Waste Energy. um most um in the the history since since it's uh began um the revenue that comes in through tipping fees covers the cost for the operation of the plant. Uh the plant is, you know, hitting uh 40 40 years old and um there's been some major maintenance uh concerns uh with the plant which is uh has um depleted their cash reserve. And so the board um the uh board of directors on June 13th of 2025 did levy a million-doll assessment uh to the participating municipalities to address that funding deficiency. One of the requirements within the interlocal agreement is that there needs to be a revised FY26 uh budget uh that they're currently operating in to reflect that million-doll assessment. um that was approved at the February 11th, 2026 meeting. So now that they have uh adopted the revised FY26 budget, the million-doll assessment is now levied um to the municipal partners. What that means for the city of Auburn, we are um

percentage of the ownership of the plant is derived based on how much waste we've disposed since the beginning of the plant. It's calculated out annually and adjusted accordingly. So our current um proportionate share is 62.2% of the plant. So, of the milliondoll assessment, $620,152.13, it would then be allocated to the city of Auburn. The um one thing that we worked on through the revised FY26 budget was to ensure that all current um outstanding invoices costs that are known um were included in that FY26 budget which includes the outstanding debt that main waste energy has uh with the city of Auburn. Uh one thing within the interlocal agreement is that we have uh host fees that are um assigned to the plant. They budget for that annually. Those host fees are we have a line item in our budget uh for for the host fee. It's been determined what that rate is and then adjusted accordingly um over the years. And so currently uh Main Waste Energy has an outstanding uh debt with the city of Auburn of $367,5710. So we will make that adjustment within our payment so that the city of Auburn is reimbursed uh minus the last few months of this fiscal year because it is a monthly payment. But we we will bill out uh based on uh that amount anyway that uh can be contributed and then we will um pay main waste energy the difference. And so um and that was

confirmed at the board meeting that they have accounted for that outstanding debt within that FY26 revised budget. The uh recommendation and you'll see this in order later on tonight. The recommendation um by myself and discussions with the the finance director is that we um we obviously do not have this allocated in the budget. That wasn't something that we had been anticipating. So, we're recommending that we use um fund balance uh to um pay this invoice and um we will then credit our current revenue account for the host fees. that difference uh through uh through uh that process and then send the invoice to main waste to energy. The you know I believe we'll be fine for FY26 budget. I don't believe we'll see any additional assessed um an assessment or what's also allowed in the interlocal agreement is a um liability that's not paid. the participating municipalities must uh pay any outstanding liabilities after it's been sitting uh within the plant for 10 days is how it's allocated or written in the interlocal agreement. I believe we'll be able to move through FY26 uh without any additional fees. FY27, the board voted at the last meeting to raise the tipping fee to $89 $88 uh per ton. Um within the interlocal agreement, we can raise the tipping fee up to the amount um below the um the lowest non-member contracted fee. And the lowest non-member contracted fee is $89 uh per ton. Uh we had the board had originally planned on increasing the fee

uh to $70, but through the budget process for FY27, it was clear that that would not cover some of the outstanding cost and ultimately there would have needed to be another assessment levied. Um I'm still not convinced there won't be one. Um they will work through the FY27 budget to raise other fees. So there's numerous fee mechanisms for the plant. Uh that could be commercial waste, can be non-member contracts as they've uh become due, and then also um oversized bulky waste. So there are different fees that can come into the plant. We'll continue looking at those and working through that with the board. Um so right now in the as I'm preparing the FY27 budget, I have already uh moved the fee um up from the $54 per ton that was in the FY26 budget to the $88 per ton. And uh which is landing us just below 15% increase and what for our total um collect I'm sorry, not collection but disposal fees. Um, so, uh, I'll prepare that for you as we move through the city manager's budget, so you'll have that update, but certainly willing, uh, to answer any questions you might have.

So, before we get to questions, I think having worked on this with the city manager, I think we're in month 11 of this issue now. Um, a couple things the city manager mentioned that um, I think it's important for the council to understand. So, in the interlocal agreement, in the time frame that we're talking about of this fiscal year, there's the two methods that the manager mentioned that allow for adjustments. And one is this assessment which requires an adjustment to the budget. In other words, the board said, "Hey, we've got an FY26 budget. Whatever happened, we found out we don't have enough money. We're going to reset the the uh budget." And the liability for that falls only on the 12 member communities. So, it there's no sharing of those costs by the non-member communities or the commercial haulers. Um, the other method, um, is one of, I guess I would characterize it as more of an emergency nature where you run into a cash flow issue where your outstanding liabilities exceed your revenue and your ability to pay. Um um I I think the the method the board has chosen is the right one to try to rectify this year because it requires some thought into what it's going to take to get through the rest of the fiscal year instead of just saying hey we're we're in a cash flow crunch now they come to us they ask for money four months from now they're in the same thing again. So I think it's fair to say and that Mr. manager, you could jump in here, but I think it's fair to say that what the

board's trying to do now is fully understand what the cost and expenses are going to be in FY26. So, we're not in the situation they've been in for the last 3 years where the budget didn't accurately reflect what the ultimately the costs were and they were burning down reserve. There there's there's a very small amount of reserve. there's not enough reserve to cover overages at this point in operational expenses. I think the other thing that's really important to understand is that Auburn's position with the board has been um that they need to think through this approach over a multi-year period. That what we're doing here now to rectify the current situation and the current fiscal year should not occur in FY27 or FY28. and that they need to make the adjustments. They they need to have a better um uh a better estimate of the cost and expenses for FY27 and then make sure that they um have a full year of the capability to capture revenue through a variety of means so we're not in this situation again. So that going forward the burden of the extra cost to run the the plant both you know like all all of our budgets inflation but as the manager said they've had some extraordinary unexpected maintenance issues that that those cost are are spread across all of the users not just the 12 member communities. So that the non-member communities and the commercial haulers

that are utilizing the plan as well will have um have some um uh responsibility for uh making sure that uh the revenue is covering the expenses. So yeah,

I I would Yeah, I would just add to I mean we're talking about um many years of history here with Main Waste Energy and so when the um the debt service was paid for the plant since that period to now we've been able to experience really low tipping fees and the plant has been successful. It's it's had built a cash reserve all those things until probably within the last three three to four years when there's been a decline in the plant. So, in doing that, uh, setting those rates for us, we've had years of really savings for the city of Arbor, uh, because if we compare our tipping rate, uh, with, uh, Ecomain, which is probably the most comparable, uh, plant that we could, um, compare tipping fees for members, a member tipping fee at Main Waste, I'm sorry, at Ecomain is currently about $105 a ton. And so we're still below that, but that's part of us right sizing the tipping fees. And um and we are looking at the market when we're making those other adjustments that the mayor mentioned because we also need, you know, we need to know that a commercial hauler may run, they're going to run their numbers. Is it cheaper for them to go to ecomain or is it cheaper for them to stay? What's that tipping point? tipping point, but what's the what's that um what's that amount that keeps them local rather than taking their waste and hauling it somewhere else or creating a you know a space for trans for a transfer pad so that they could haul that and combine and so we have to look at the market at with this as well and we're having that conversation at the board board level currently and uh and so I think over the next couple years we'll be making adjustments to uh some of the non non-member contract fees um and then obviously the um the member tipping fees as well because we do not want to get into a situation where these assessments become a regular practice. It's

something that we don't budget for plan on um but we really need to have a plant assessment to to really look at what's the um what's the future uh maintenance for some of the corrections that need to take place. Currently, uh, one of the boilers has been down for about two weeks not operating. That has an impact. It's a it's an impact that affects what's coming in through the gate. What they're able to burn, but also then the added cost of hauling. We have to now transport that. So that's um added cost as well as um we receive energy credits uh for when we burn. That's energy that's coming back into the plant. So when that other boiler is not operational, those credits aren't coming in. And so that impacts another revenue source for us.

Questions from the council. Council Gary.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is sort of a questions, but not I'd like to get some need some extra information. I mean, I know it can't be provided for tonight. When the facility was first built, what was its capacity? How much could it hold? And how much did it get? And then how much is it now u on what is the cap capacity today? What is it like per day, per week and a month? And then has Auburn factored in the extra trash brought in from our new housing development and projects throughout the city because that's going to probably if they come to us and don't haul their trash elsewhere, that's going to add to the amount of our trash that we have to account for and that will have to we'll have to try it's going to cost us more in the budget to process what we need to do to take care of Auburn residents.

So, uh, those are really good questions. Um, we can get some more detailed information, but in a general sense, the capacity hasn't of of the incinerators themselves haven't changed. The capacity is driven by the air quality license. So DP licenses the facility for 70,000 tons per year and they allow some percentage variance of this uh you know a small amount so you can go over slightly. Um the manager or council Walker may remember the number, but I think that last year um they took in about um not including bulky waste about 125,000 tons and the differential there is um uh landfill hauled to landfill. So um the bulky waste uh is hauled off site. So, um I don't think there's a a direct relationship between the amount of trash from any community and um the ability to handle the waste at this point. They they're already receiving more than the 70,000 tons. It it is true to say that um as um the amount of tons that we bring in, if it goes up, our our uh tipping fees will be higher. Um I haven't looked way back, but this 62% uh 62.2 I think is what it is at this last year. That's been pretty consistent and council walk would know this around

60% for quite some time is my recollection. So, um, we can get some more detailed information, but in a general sense, um, they'll at this point accommodate the waste. I I suppose if the board was ever faced with a situation where the the waste was more than could be processed, they would have to make some adjustments. Um the of course the member communities have priority over the non-member communities and the commercial haulers. So I don't I don't see that there's any risk that there wouldn't be um the ability for Auburn waste to be disposed of there.

Thank you. Any other questions? Council PL. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um my question is in the revised 2026 budget. I guess this question is for the city manager. In the revised 2026 budget as well as forward looking to 2027, are there discussions of decreasing expenses or is it really about increasing revenue? I would imagine it's a light, you know, there's a few staff members. There's probably not a a lot of operational costs to to shave. So, but is that part of the discussion?

Yeah. Yeah. So, that is part of the discussion. I think the um so they they do have about 20 24 26 employees. Um so operationally it's ensuring that what's coming through the doors getting to the burner and getting as efficient as possible. I think the cost savings will come with um finding the solution for the major maintenance repairs and then reducing that. You know we can you know I think they're most of the revised we're up over you know, $3 million in major maintenance repairs. So, that's where that's where a lot of the funding is going. How can we control that is going to be uh the solution that we need to have.

So, in a nutshell, the strategy is to get back to 100% capacity with the same operational budget, but it becomes more efficient at that point. Yes. Yeah. Some changes within the administration structure I think will happen. Um, but you know, be some small minimal impacts, but really it's regarding that that major maintenance. Other questions from the council? Council Walker,

could you tell me in the in the $88 a ton, is some of that going to be in a reserve funding? Is that a plan? The um that's what's still being worked through. Um right now the FY20 most recent FY27 budget that was presented um I feel does not meet what I anticipate some of the uh costs coming in um to to create a reserve. The there is there is a desire to have that reserve account obviously um but I'm not sure if we're we're there yet. We'll know more. um they're looking at a partial shutdown in April to uh take a look at the plant. However, because we've been one of the boilers has been shut down now for 2 weeks, the crew has been in there doing some repairs. So, we may only need to do a partial shutdown in April. and um if that's the case and we'll have a better understanding whether or not we've if if they have corrected the situation. Um and if it if it does, Council Walker, I think the uh initial um proposal was that about 500,000 would be moved into a reserve account. Um the question is it we might just break even for FY27. I I I think you know, Council Walker has raised a very important point here. I don't think that um they've been making some progress, but they haven't solved the issue that's been causing the um degradation of the liner of the incinerators, but they haven't been making progress on that. I don't think the count should council should expect that if they solve that

and they reduce their annual maintenance cost that in the next few years that you'll see a decrease in the cost of the tipping fees because there is going to be a need for them to build back up some type of sufficient um reserve. Um and why at least from my perspective this is really important is everybody's sharing in that if if they don't do that and you have some unforeseen emergency we're going to be in the situation we are now where the ask is going to be to the 12 member communities because that's going to be the only vehicle to get near-term money for any thing. So, I agree with the manager. It's a little early to know, but um clearly um not only did they have operational challenges which are more expensive than had been anticipated in the last few years, but they also have this need to build the reserve back to to have a sound financial basis for the plan. Other other questions council count.

Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Can you give me a sense um what proportion of the the total revenue or tipping fee are non-member towns andor commercial vendor?

Yeah, I can I can provide that for you, but um you know rather than throw a number out at you, but I I can get that for you. It's broken down um based on um when you look at the member though uh one thing you'll have to keep in mind is that the the total tonnage that comes in is for the city of Auburn not necessarily the municipality of Auburn. So if there's commercial waste being brought in for the city of Auburn that's included in that breakdown but I I'll provide that for you so you'll have it.

Yeah. So so there's two things I think we can see there. One is the total tons per municipality, whatever municipality that was sourced from. And then um my recollection in the budget is there is a breakdown by type. So we can get that information that shows how much revenue comes in from non-member um uh communities, member communities, commercial haulers. Um that's all broken out to budget. So we can get that for you. you'll see that it's a minimal amount because there's no there's no uh you can't balance this budget off the member fees. It just there's no way to get there. We can we can cover some of the shortage right now. As the mayor said, the obligation really is on the members, but even changing out the um we would never be able to get to a point where we can balance some of these deficiencies on just the member rates. If I may a follow-up question to that, is there any possibility of expanding the members? Would there been any benefit? Is that even a doable thing?

You know, it's going to be important for, you know, I brought this up at the last board meeting. Um main um EcoMain does this. There's a buyin to be a member. There's a So there's two different rates um at Eco Main. Um it's something that we should probably explore. And uh um and then you have you can spread this to other members, right? If there's if there's an obligation, but um but Ecom did find a solution for that. And they do have um they have new members and it's a new member buyin rate. Other questions or comments on this item? Council Walker,

I think I would be awful careful when you're talking new member rates because when these towns all bought in, uh, there was millions of dollars that it cost the towns. How to figure that out and break that down. When these new these people that are using the facility now are paying anywhere from $125 to $133 a ton where we're still only going to be at $88. So trying to make them deals sometimes will come back and burn you when you're not forced into it.

Other questions or comment from the council? Not seeing any. We'll move on. The next two items are executive sessions. Um we'll try to get both of these done before the start of the council meeting. The first one is an executive session pursuant to one MRSA section 405 6D for labor negotiations with the police department patrol. Is there a motion? Motion to move. Council Walker's move to go into executive session. Seconded by councel plat. All those in favor we'll be in executive session.

The February 17th, 2026 Auburn City Council meeting will be called to order. Please join us in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. If we could have the counselors introduce themselves, starting with council Gary. Good evening. Belinda Gary, counselor at large. Good evening, Rachel Randall, Ward One. Good evening, Tim Cowan, city councelor for W 2. Good evening, Jeff Harmon, mayor. Good evening, Kelly Butler, city councelor for W 4. Good evening, Leroy Walker, council ward five. Good evening, Adam Platt, city councelor at large. Good evening, Brennan Edwards, student representative. Phil Croll, city manager.

The first item on the agenda tonight is the consent agenda. There are um five nominations put forth by the appointment committee, Peggy Walton uh for the homelessness committee, Kathy Shaw and Chelsea Eaton for the planning board, Ryan Walker for Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and Patrick De Phillip for the urban sewage district board of trustees, and there is also an asset forfeite item from the state of Maine criminal court. Is there a motion? So moved.

Moved by councelor Gary. Is there a second? Seconded by councelor Cowan. Vote will be by show of hands. All those in favor? Opposed. Six having voted in the affirmative and none in the negative. The motion is adopted. The next item is approval of the minutes of the February 2nd, 2026 regular city council meeting. Are there any errors or corrections? Councelor Randall. Um under um unfinished business uh number two ordinance for the lot rent u moratorum. I'd like to ask that um we add a remark that says see counselor Randall's remarks and add a link. I've given my written remarks to the to the clerk.

Thank you. Are there any other errors or correction? Is there a motion to accept the minutes as amended? Motion to accept. Moved by councelor Walk. I reserve a second.

Second. Seconded by councelor Cowan. Vote will be by show of hands. All those in favor opposed. Six having voted in the affirmative and none in the negative. The motion is adopted. We'll move on to communications presentations and recognition. Um we'd like to recognize Shannana Cox um from the Lewon Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Shanner, if you can come up in the front here. So many of you know Shana. Uh she's been a longtime serving president and CEO of the Lewon Auburn Chamber of Commerce. I've had a great pleasure of working with her over the last couple years and I know a number of the counselors and lots of the staff have worked with her all during her tenure. Um, you will not find a more positive, energetic person than Shannon. She always sees the bright side of everything. She's always looking every day to do what she can do and the Chamber of Commerce can do to improve um, Lewon and Auburn, not just the business community, but the lives for everybody that lives here. So, Shannon, we really appreciate what you've done and all your work. We'd like to present this key to the city to you. Um, and we wish you the best in your endeavors going forward. Thank you very much. Shana, you do not need to stay for the meeting.

There is a council meeting to attend. You're good. Thank you. Thanks for coming and thanks for everything you've done. Thank you. Um the next item is uh boards and committee vacancies and term expirations. Um, Clark Harrington.

Thank you, uh, mayor and counselors. I would like to um show you this evening at the request of the appointment committee um how citizens can find more information about our various boards and committees for the city. Um so on our new website, I know some things have moved around a little bit, but if you look under the government tab here at the top, you can see boards and committees. And if you click boards and committees, you can scroll down to read a little bit more about each committee. You can find information about current vacancies as well as the deadline to apply for any of these vacancies. Um, and I do invite everybody to take some time to learn more about your various committees here if you haven't. Um, especially anybody who is looking for a volunteer opportunity within the community. This is a great opportunity. Um, you'll find agendas and minutes posted for each of the committees on this page. And you can also find information about the terms for each of the committee members. Um, so there's all kinds of committees out here. Um, if you are interested, there's something for everybody. Um, and I would like to invite people to also click on this vacancies link. Um, you can really find very clear information here about the current vacancies on our various boards and committees and apply right online. Um, outside of the vacant seats, you can also scroll up to where it says expirations and you can click that. And these are appointments whose positions will be expiring soon. So everybody is welcome to apply to these as well. Um you can adjust the number here to see um if you're interested in a particular board or committee, you can find to see when that may be coming available. Um and really just take some information um off our website here to find um what what appeals to you, what's of interest, and um you can apply right online as well. questions from the council. Just a clarification, uh, for people that aren't online, they can still come

to the clerk's office and get a paper application. Yes, absolutely. We have those available in the lobby. Great. Thank you, Council Gary. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. City councilors can also recommend if they have a constituent that they know has an interest, they can direct them to the website so they can apply. It's not just exclusive for our appointments committee to do this. Any counselor can help us or help the city recruit people to the boards. Yes. Thank you. Other questions or comments from the council. Thank you very much. Appreciate the presentation.

We'll move on to the first open session of the evening. If there's any member of the public that would like to address the council on any item that's not on tonight's agenda, please approach the podium and provide your name and address. Not seeing any, the open session is closed. There's no unfinished business on tonight's agenda. We'll move on to new business. The first item is order 2302172026 amending the master fee schedule to include the 2026 EMS billing rates. Um, for clarification for the public, um, um, on an annual basis, we get a recommendation from the fire chief to update a master fee schedule with the EMS billing rates to ensure that we're able to maximize the reimbursement that we get both from publicly funded insurance such as Medicaid, Medicare, and also from the um, private insurance was driven off of um, a certain percentage in excess of the allowable rate. Is there a motion?

Motion to move. Moved by councelor Walker. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by councelor Cowan. Is there any member of the public who'd like to address the council on the EMS billing rates? Please approach the podium and provide your name and address. Not seeing any public comment is closed. Discussion by the council. Council plat. Um thank you. I'm just uh looking at the memo here and just doing the rough math. Is is this a 5% increase of each fee roughly? Um are are we maxing out the state allowed increase? Chief Chase is here. He he'll be able to answer any questions about the schedule. I I've looked at a few of them. It looks like 5%. I see a few are not going up. So just curious on that.

Yeah, thanks for the question. Um we use a medical billing company u medical reimbursement services that bills for us and scores of other departments. Um and they last year did a a comparison of costs. um across the industry to set appropriate rates. Um and so some of the ones that you see aren't increasing is because we were marginally above the u the market at the time. Uh and so this increase uh is based on their recommendation to get the optimized 5% but to keep us in that market window. So it's not just a flat 5% increase. It's based based on what's fair and normal.

Yeah, for most of them it is. Uh but he they also make a comparison of what uh the Medicare stipulated rates are. And like I said, we really did a good cost comparison last year on that and that's what adjusted them. And so any discrepancy about a true 5% this year is us still trying to normalize that market into Medicare. Yep. Thank you. That makes sense.

Other questions from the council. Is the council ready for the question? Vote will be by show of hands. All those in favor? Six having voted in the affirmative and none in the negative. The motion is adopted. Thank you, Chief. The next item is order 2402172026 granting a class A restaurant liquor license to El Tequila Mexican Restaurant of Auburn at 245 Center Street. This will be for a uh public hearing. Uh is there a motion? So moved. Second.

Moved by council cow. Seconded by councel Gary. Is there any member of the public who would like to address the council on this item? The public hearing is open. Please approach the podium and provide your name and address. Not seeing any. The public hearing is closed. Discussion by the council. Council Gary. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This isn't their first license, right? Uh all the departments that needs to go in to check for safety and everything else, they've all signed off on this. Um, I'll I'll I'll let the reason someone from staff can address this because it it's true to say that this was not their first license. All the requisite departments have reviewed this. There have been some issues with the lency and they my understanding from the packet is they're currently under a temporary license by the state awaiting action by the council. So, um the clerk or the manager may be able to provide more information about um the the findings from the the uh department.

Yes, you summed it up very well, mayor. Thank you. Um this is licenses before you this evening not because it's an initial license but because it has expired um and also due to uh violations that were found through main liquor um that have been corrected through a um consent agreement with the establishment um they have been awarded a temporary license hearing pending the decision of the council this evening.

Council Gary, do you have a followup to that? he uh without the owner here and without this background information. I mean I I want to make sure everything is up to code and safe for all patrons that go there. And if we grant this now, is it are they going to be able to do all the other stuff they're supposed to do in order to be in compliance to get a full license, a regular license?

Yes. Thank you, counselor. Um the staff who who inspect the place did not have any concerns locally. The concerns were um found with the police department particularly as a result of a um violation that had had occurred there. Um so the recommendation from the police department is that the license be granted with the understanding that any further violations um undergo the license revocation process outlined in chapter 14. Council PL

sorry thank you for that explanation. I I see in the memo here the police department's recommendation. My question is is um to abide by that recommendation. Is there an amendment required or passing it as presented includes that condition of is that condition a state condition that if they serve to a you know minor again that they have a revocation?

Yeah, I think you're they're operating on a consent decree from the state. So that their their requirement is really at the state level which is where really where we want this to be, right? It's uh the state has the enforcement arm regarding this. It may come as a result of a a criminal complaint that comes through our local PD, but then refer it to the state and let the state process this. So, if the state at any time during this granted license finds that they violated this consent, they can go ahead and revoke that license and notify us. Great. I just wanted to make sure that that condition was inherent to the states that's statute as opposed to us needing to inject that into this order or approval. That makes sense. Thank you,

Council Walker. Yes. Uh my question was uh the fraction or whatever we want to call it, was it given uh alcohol to miners? Yes, that is correct, councelor. Councelor Randall.

Okay. Thank you. Yeah. So, just just to clarify, um this isn't a conditional license. My reading of the police department's uh recommendation was that if there are future violations, which we have no way of knowing with any liquor license fee whether there'll be future violations or not, that they want the owner to understand that that would trigger a revocation process that it it wouldn't be automatic. they'd have to go through the process with the administrative hearing of the state to revoke the elections. Other questions or comments?

I I guess I'll just say I I'm going to I will vote for this. It seems like this is very clearly defined. The state has this under control. The conditions of Babau are very clear. It's our duty as a council to approve liquor licenses if uh folks pass the inspection. So, I'll support this. Council Walker.

Uh, I will not support it. I I think when he got his license the first time around, he knew what the laws were and uh and if he I don't know if he uh is blaming it on someone not knowing the laws that worked for him. But in any case, they should have known the laws. I was in this business for years and I made sure that I did not give alcohol to miners when they came through the door. So, I will not support it. Other comments by the council?

Yeah, ju just to clarify. So, um intent isn't an issue in this. The these are primapacia cases. You know, either the person's of age or they're not of age if they've got served. I I guess I would say that um there's not a documented long history of this and um Babau that that council platt um is a Bureau of Alcohol um liquor operations. They're the licensing agency. they have this consent decree and um I I think the understanding is that um they've taken the action to put the lency on notice and what corrective action they need to take. They're expecting they'll comply with that and if not I think everyone understands it'd be a revocation hearing. So um other other questions or comments by the council council ready for the question will be by show of hands. All those in favor? Opposed? Four having voted in the affirmative and two in the negative. The motion is adopted. The next item is order 25502172026 authorizing main waste to energy the midmain waste action corporation funding requirement. Um this was the subject of the earlier um uh workshop in which the manager uh provided an update on the situation and the funding request here is for $620,152.13 from the undesated fund balance. Uh this number is derived uh by the interlocal agreement where Auburn uh being the largest shareholder is responsible for 62.2% 2% of any assessment in the current budget year. Is there a motion?

So moved. Moved by council plat. Is there a second? Seconded by council count. There's any member of the public would like to address the council on this item. Please approach the podium and provide your name and address. Not seeing any public comment will be closed. Discussion by the council. Council PL.

Thank you. Uh just one comment. I my understanding is that you know we through interlocal agreement we have to we have to pay this amount of money and short of going back and revoting on our budget this is the path forward using the fund balance um I'll support it because it's something we have to do my question is could we get an update either via email or at the next meeting what our fund balance was our uh un uh not unallocated uh unexpended fund balance undesated fund balance as of 2024 and if Kelsey has her estimate for 2025. I'd just like to know what percentage of the fund balance this is affecting.

I won't be able to provide the FY25 um estimate at this point. Um the the audited FY24, we were at 13.95%. The policy of the city is that we are between the 10 and 14%. So we're we're right at the high end of what the uh percentage um cap would be for us for the undesated fund. Um, so and we're and we're assuming given what we've seen in the recent past, we'll be over the 14% when the next audit comes in. Correct.

Right. Um, other other questions or comments? Is the council ready for the question? Vote will be by show of hands. All those in favor? Opposed? Six having voted in the affirmative, none in the negative, the motion is adopted. The next item is a public hearing uh regarding the drafting of the um CDBG and home consortium action plan for program year 2026. So this is the opportunity for uh the public um to make known any thoughts that they have regarding the upcoming year's uh CDBG and home plan before staff starts drafting it. This is a followup to a citywide postcard for the community survey that went out. Um so certainly people still have the opportunity to respond to the survey and um if there's any member of the public that would like to address the council on this item, please approach the podium, provide your name and address. Uh seeing no uh member of the public coming forward, the public hearing will be closed. There's no action required by the council on this item this evening. So we will move on to reports. Um so a few items from the mayor's report. Um uh I had the opportunity perhaps Mr. Edwards has seen it. had an opportunity to be uh interviewed by Cameron Bradbury at Edward Little for the Edward Little Echo and I must say they do a very professional job with the video and the sound and the interview. So, uh it was a great opportunity and and the students did a really good job. Um update on the Casco Bay Trail. Um folks uh will remember uh the prior council uh had

made some recommendations on this and the legislature has designated uh section of um unused rail from um Portland to um Auburn uh for inim trail. So, um the uh Portland Council of Governments has been facilitating a process uh to gather all of the towns for which the trail passes through between Portland and Auburn uh to work on an interlocal agreement. Uh if anybody has reviewed the latest uh DOT3 a work plan that came out, there is um $600,000 allocated in that for the initial funding piece for the Portland to Yarmouth section. Uh but it requires some type of a uh joint effort by um at least the Portland to Yarmouth uh towns. But the idea here is for all the towns to participate. So Katie Boss from staff and I attended that meeting and we should be over the next month or so here having a draft interlocal agreement for the council to look at. Uh the Auburn Water District uh meeting is at 400 p.m. tomorrow night at uh the Auburn Water District headquarters. There um is a rate increase hearing, public hearing at 5:00 pm. Uh there's a proposed um 8% increase um in the water rates and um they water district has made a PUC filing and the public hearing for that will be tomorrow night. And then as a reminder uh the next comp plan meeting is on the 24th at 6:00 p.m. here in the council chambers. So with that, Council Gary,

nothing to really report because we just had our appointments committee updates and things and all I can say is we're work very hard on our committee. We try to be fair. We read everything and we try not to judge from any previous experience or anything that we hear. We judge it on facts and whom we think would be a better fit for the committee. Great. Thank you, Council Randall. Nothing to report tonight. Thank you. Thank you, Council Ken.

Uh we had the homelessness committee uh met this morning and just um keep people updated, the drop-in center is uh continues to be very active. Um in January of this year, they saw an average of 122 people per day per uh they're open Wednesdays and Saturdays. Uh compared to a year ago, January 25, they saw 76. So, it's being utilized very well and and fingers crossed the kitchen will be finalized any day now. So, Council Butler,

the Auburn Lewon Airport Committee met for a workshop this week and um discussed a bit about just a deeper dive into the budget overall. Um developed some additional understanding. Um, one of my takeaways from that meeting was um really seeing some collaborative effort um with the folks representing Lewon, with our Auburn folks um to digest the budget in a way that would be helpful across the uh bridge, so to speak. Great. Thank you, Council Walker.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just a report that on Valentine's Day, we uh Auburn age friendly served 120 meals. Uh we had Faith Baptist Church people come to uh help us out and everybody was very happy. We had a great day. They played bingo and uh or beino, whatever way we say it. And uh it was it was a great turnout and we had a uh wave of all red. It was it was really wonderful to be there with everyone and uh thank you to all the volunteers that helped us. Thank you, Council PL. I have nothing to report today. Thank you, Representative Edward.

Yeah. So, right now, um, winter sports are finishing up at Edward Little. Um, so boys basketball is going to their semi-finals on Wednesday and girls basketball are also going for their semi-finals. Um, girls hockey did lose um, in the tournament, but um, I think we have a chance with boys hockey. Um, and I know that ski, we don't we didn't have anyone win the either alpine or Nordic ski, but um, there's a lot happening at Edward Little and it's great to be back. So, great. Thank you, Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, Brennan, I would echo that. Unfortunately, not the girls hockey team making their way through, but uh, we did have a busy weekend at Norway Savings Bank Arena. We have uh the longest running hockey tournament uh in the country is held at Norway and that's the Lions tournament uh which brought out um a huge amount of um youth and participants across the state that come come for that tournament. So it was a great turnout plus the girls hockey championship uh game uh that was held there. So a busy weekend for the Norway Savings Bank Arena. Uh then the last thing I'd just say is that it's been all about budget discussions whether it's at the department level or uh joint budgets uh with our uh sister city in Lewon as well as uh the library. So we're in the initial uh process of reviewing that at your next council meeting is when we'll kick off the first uh FY27 budget discussions.

Great. Thank you very much. The uh next item is the second open session of the evening. If there is any member of the public that would like to address the council on items not on tonight's agenda, please approach the podium and provide your name and address. Not seeing any the open session will be closed. The uh council has a remaining executive session from the workshop uh for the public. No action is expected after this executive session. the council expects to adjourn at the conclusion of the executive session. Uh so this item will be an executive session pursuant to one MRSA section 405 sub6A for the city manager's quarterly evaluation. Is there a motion?

Motion to move. Move. Moved by councelor Walker. Second. Seconded by councelor Cowan. All those in favor the council will be in executive session.