Hollis Select Board Transparency Archive

Hi Danielle,

My fingers are a bit sore but please find my long winded answers under each of your questions below.

Do not hesitate to call if you have followups or want to clarify this or other things further, I am not bad at emails they just me a bit longer than a conservation.

Thanks, Dan

On 2026-06-19 00:09, [email protected] wrote: > Good evening, sorry for the second email. I wanted to clarify I was > only looking for Dan to look into these questions so no need for anyone > else to respond. And Dan theres no rush on these either! I think we > can talk about it more at another meeting in the future! Thanks! > > Danielle > > > On 2026-06-18 22:55, [email protected] wrote: >> Hi Dan (and everyone), I wanted to just address some >> questions/concerns regarding the bike path/course. I first want to say >> I know you’ve put a lot of thought and effort into it so I really >> appreciate that because it’s a nice idea for kids and adults to get >> out in the town. I have a few concerns myself though.. >>

> 1- Pertaining to terry Walter’s comment about the land having multiple > uses. I would like to see it be made clear that even with a bike > course/path that we could still use the land to log if needed per > forestry experts.

A1. I looked into this and also reached out directly to Nicole Lazure, Deputy Director of the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation, who looped in Adam Fisher from the Maine Trails Program — the people who actually administer this grant. Here's what we learned:

Accepting this grant does not lock the town out of logging the land permanently. The only restriction is that the funded trail area must remain in serviceable condition for a minimum of seven years. The rest of the parcel is unaffected — the restriction applies only to the footprint of the project itself, not the broader property. And given that the stand of pine isn't due for harvest for another seven or eight years anyway, the timing lines up well. This concern, while completely reasonable to raise, appears to be a non-issue in practice. Please let me know if you want me to forward you those emails.

> 2- Do you have a total amount that this project would cost ? Including > the contribution from the town along with the grant matching funds?

A2. I'm still waiting on a final estimate from Stu Johnson at Maine Trail Builders. The grant caps projects at $250,000, but this year the state said they are only awarding two grants in the $150k–$250k non-motorized range, they said so they can fund a greater number of smaller sub 150k projects. To play better odds Stu has instructions to keep it that.

Like any grant, the process works by submitting an estimate upfront. If awarded, you then collect three competitive bids to determine who actually does the work. Its an up to amount, if it comes in under budget, the remaining funds go back into the pool for other communities the following year.

What makes this grant especially worth pursuing is the 90% match. For a $150,000 project, the town's share would be just $15,000 to unlock $135,000 in funding. And the towns share can be donated materials and volunteer labor. So a combination of the loam piles left from the field clearing decades ago, volunteers from Greater Portland NEMBA, and a whatever funds can be raised. The exact combination still needs to be worked out, but I am trying to minimize the cash side of things. I'll come back to the sports complex funding below.

> 3- I am weary to make this a select board only vote as it’s very > similar idea to the pickleball courts that were just voted down by the > residents this month. If we were to “pass” anything I think it would > be my suggestion we push this to the voters. I’m not sure if the grant > runs that long but I feel since we just got a nay vote for the > pickleball which was similar in fashion that it wouldn’t be right by > the voters to appropriate the funds for a bike course without > approval. Even with the sports complex saving money for said park.

A3 I think that came down to a few things: the dollar amount, how far down the warrant it appeared (by that point in a long meeting, everyone's patience for new spending tends to wear thin), just how many out of towners are regulars of the group, and the fact that it was only a 50% match. This grant is 90% — that's a far different ask of the taxpayers, and I think it deserves to be treated as such. I did not request a warrant article for this match due to the bulk source of the match coming from the materials, volunteers, and the hope of using some of these tax payer raised but not yet spent complex funds.

> 4- Piggybacking off of #3 if the sports complex has a surplus I feel > for us to do right by the town citizens we should be reevaluating the > rec dept. budget. If there is a some sort of surplus maybe there is a > possibility to lower the town budget/spending in this department.

A4: A few things right off, The sports complex budget and the rec department budget are two separate things — the rec budget funds programs and staffing, while the sports complex budget is dedicated solely to maintaining and improving the physical facility. We evaluate these budgets every year and I welcome this discussion next time around.

This "surplus" is actually unspent capital improvement money that residents have already voted to approve for this purpose. Every year every department in town holds these capital funds on purpose every year until the end of the budget cycle (July 1–June 30) for a simple reason: there is no emergency fund to fall back on if something brakes.

The sports complex hold off in spending all their funding incase there are major repairs needed when opening the aging irrigation system in the spring, or incase the snack shack stove breaks, or incase the field gets cooked / doughnut ted, that reserve is all there is. This year, thankfully, nothing major came up, so the planned improvements are practical ones: a few more benches so each field gets a pair, a replacement springy frog because the springy airplane broke, an irrigation expansion to gardens around the snack shack, and a long overdue sign letting people know what the name of the place is.

While the committee was discussing these projects a question was raised if the committee could request a portion of the unspent funds could go towards the town match for this project. Money which has been voted on by residents and is intended for community recreational capital improvements which is exactly what this is. The committee indicated this would be a good expansion of the facility but because it is outside of the designated 9 acres selectboard was sought to spend funds outside of the 9 acres even if just a few steps.

To tap into this years funds this would have had to happen before the last week June (tomorrow) when Diane closes books for the year. Because the motion did not move forward last week, the opportunity to use funds from the current fiscal year has now passed due to that accounting deadline. That doesn't prevent us from exploring funding options in the future, but it does mean any future approach would need to work within next year's budget cycle. Its just not as simple this time not knowing how much can go not knowing what will break between July 1 and this time next year, there was a short window last week but that closed I don’t think I explained that too well last week.

> 5- I had a couple of residents reach out to me after the meeting that > were also wondering liability issues. Like if someone is injured on > the course could the town be opening itself up to a lawsuit? I’m > unsure how that piece works but I figured I would mention it since a > few residents were concerned.

A5 The same state statutes that protect landowners allow snowmobile trails from liability apply here. It's the same that protects the town from the uses already happening there every day, from kids colliding on the soccer field or flying off a swing, or just people walking their dog around the waking path we are covered by state law. This is well established legal ground. Please let me know if you would like me to find those statues if they are still concerned.

> 6- Another resident also reached out to me today concerned about who > would be making sure no ATV's, electric bikes, or dirtbikes are on > said tracks. The concern would be damaging the track from the > motorized vehicles vs the pump bikes.

A6 It's a fair concern. ATVs, dirt bikes, and even e-bikes can wear down berms and trail features much faster than a regular bike, which builds speed through momentum rather than a motor, meaning more maintenance. The practical solution would be clear signage and a game camera or two to monitor use. If motorized vehicles become a problem the Maine Warden Service would be brought in to help.

> Again thank you for devoting so much time and effort into this because > I think it is a nice idea for kids and adults even to get outside. I > just don't think this should only be a select board decision as I > stated above. If anyone else has any thoughts please feel free to add > ! > > Danielle

-- Dan Yarumian Town of Hollis Select Board [email protected]