Boards And Commissions Selectboard Select Board 4-17-08
| Select Board 4-17-08 |
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Weathersfield Select Board Minutes April 17, 2008
Present:                       Norman John Arrison                                    Daniel Boyer                                    Patricia Daniels                                    Glenn Fisher            Others Present: Larry Melen, Town Manager                                    Lisa Sargent, Recording Secretary                                    Edith Stillson                                    Emery Morse                                    Joanne Morse                                    Julia Lloyd Wright, Eagle Times                                    Deb Ostrum, SAPA                                    Wes Hazeltine, Road Superintendent                                    Lynn Esty, Town Constable
1. Call to Order by Chairperson: Mr. Arrison called the meeting of the Weathersfield Select Board to order at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday April 17, 2008.
2. Review Minutes from Previous Meeting(s): Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve the minutes dated March 22, 2008. Mr. Fisher seconded the motion which carried 3 – 1 with one abstention.            Mr. Fisher made the motion to approve the minutes dated April 3, 2008, Mr. Boyer seconded the motion. Corrections were noted. Motion carried 3 – 1 with one abstention.
3. Comments from Citizens: Mr. Boyer presented Mr. Melen with two checks that he received at the Fire Commission meeting to be put in the fund for Hazmat response fees.
4. National Incident Management System: Mr. Kearns was not present so this was tabled.
5. Board of Liquor Commissioners            Request for Outside Consumption Permit from JDS Hospitality, dba Inn at Weathersfield: Mr. Arrison convened as the Board of Liquor Commissioners. Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve the application from JDS Hospitality, dba Inn at Weathersfield for an Outside Consumption Permit; Mr. Fisher seconded the motion. Mr. Melen said there has not been a report of any problems. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Arrison adjourned the Board of Liquor Commissioners.
6. Town Wide Revaluation: Mr. Melen said Ms. Gray was unable to attend however; the software engineers will be here tomorrow to download the information into the Grand List. He said notices should be going out the beginning of May. Mr. Arrison asked Mr. Melen to give a copy of the Lister’s schedule to the Select Board before the May 1st meeting.Â
7. Highway            A. Petition to Reclassify Portion of Town Highway 54, Roberts Road: Mr. Melen said he needs information from the Public Hearing. Mr. Boyer will get with him to give him the information he needs.            B. Upper Falls Covered Bridge Reconstruction: Mr. Melen said the contractors are re-doing the facing now. He said they will do the insect, fire and rot proofing soon.            C. Sign Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Financial Plan, Vermont Agency of Transportation: Mr. Melen said this is the same plan we have to sign every year. Mr. Boyer made the motion to sign the annual financial plan for town highways for fiscal year 2009 for $873,914. Mr. Fisher seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.            D. Stoughton Pond Road Public Lands and Highway Application: Mr. Melen said this has already been submitted because it had to be in by last Friday. Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve the application for the Public Lands Highway Grant and to authorize the Town Manager to sign it. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion which passed without dissent.            E. Murray Flats Bridge: Mr. Melen said the grant has been filed and he has had conversations with Town Counsel but at this point there has not been a resolution. Mr. Arrison asked if we have had an engineer look at the bridge, Mr. Melen said VLCT’s group looked at it. Mr. Arrison asked if Mr. Melen knew when we would hear about the grant, Mr. Melen said it should be before July. Mr. Arrison noted that we never charged the company with an over weight violation so he has asked Mr. Melen to pursue that.            F. School House Road Reclamation and Paving: Mr. Melen said the bid documents are out for reclamation and paving and it is to be completed between July 1 and August 23rd. Mr. Melen said we have adopted a town standard for paved roads which reads the road must be 22 feet wide. Mr. Hazeltine said some of this road is 18 feet wide but down to the bottom it is wider than 22 feet. Mr. Arrison suggested making the road 22 feet wide. Mr. Melen said he will send letters to all abutting property owners. The consensus of the Board was to widen the road and send letters.            Mr. Melen said thank you to Lynn Houghton for giving him every deed recorded to that road.            Mr. Morse told the Board that the brook is getting close to the road across from his house on Tenny Hill Road. Mr. Hazeltine said he will look at that.Â
8. Solid Waste Management, Electronics: Mr. Fisher made the motion to adopt the electronic disposal fees that Mr. Hazeltine recommended for the transfer station. Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Moved ahead to #13
13. Appointments:            (1) Animal Control Officer: Mr. Fisher made the motion to nominate Shirley Parry as the Animal Control Officer, Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion.  Mrs. Esty said Shirley Parry has helped her with a dog previously. She said they met last week and she feels she would be a good person for the position. Mr. Melen asked for an executive session at the end of this meeting to discuss personnel. Motion carried unanimously.            (viii) Pound Keeper: Mrs. Esty said she has talked with Claremont Animal Hospital and they are pleased with their service for/with us. She said the same fees and conditions apply this year as last year. Mr. Fisher made the motion to approve the Claremont Animal Hospital as pound keeper for the Town, Mr. Boyer seconded the motion. Mrs. Daniels asked if we were happy with them. Mrs. Esty and Mr. Melen both said yes. Motion carried unanimously.            Mrs. Esty said thank you to the Ascutney Volunteer Fire Department for letting the spay and neuter clinic to be held there today, they did twenty-six animals.
Back to #9
9. Monthly Reports            General Fund: Mr. Melen said we are at 75.83%            Highway Fund: Mr. Melen said we are 10% over budget at the end of the quarter. He noted Jim Lossee has left after seven years and they have decided not to fill his position until at least July 1 to help improve the budget. Mr. Hazeltine noted the most expensive part of the budget is January, February and March and that some expensive truck repairs had to be made.            Solid Waste Fund: Mr. Melen said we are at 61% due to the new contract            Cash Comparison: Mr. Melen said we are still running ahead, we have about $280,000 in the bank on top of a fully funded reserve. Mr. Melen said under the terms of Title 16 the school district can demand, from the tax collector, their monies and they have done so. He said they made the demand of $100,000 so he has transferred the money.            Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District: Report was received. It was noted a year ago we talked about misc plastics and Mr. Hazeltine will follow up with her.
10. Old Business            A. Establish Procedure for Handling of Complaints and Citizen Inquires: Mrs. Daniels said she will do this before the next meeting.
11. Ordinances            Proposed Parking Ordinance: Mr. Melen said changes were made on Section 5. Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve the Town of Weathersfield Parking Ordinance. Mr. Fisher seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
12. New Business            A. Delinquent and Late Taxes: Mr. Melen said when doing the budget this year he based the information on last year and used $177,000. He said this year to date we have collected $197,000 in delinquent taxes and are starting to net out at this point. Mrs. Daniels asked if we were having a tax sale, Mr. Melen said yes but a lot of delinquent payers are on a payment schedule now.            B. Website Revisions: Mr. Melen said the new website is up, the old is still available. He said there will be a disclaimer added that the records on the website are not official, the official records are kept at the Town Office.            Mr. Fisher said he feels electronic records are official reports and disagreed with Mr. Melen about the retention of Public Records. He feels all information should be kept on the website, there should be plenty of storage room.            Mr. Arrison asked Mr. Melen and Mr. Fisher to work on the website policy. Mr. Melen said he thinks we need a personnel website policy and a general policy.            C. Public Safety, Telephone Concern: Mr. Melen said Mr. Grover contacted him about the new non emergency dispatch number being a toll call for some residents. Mr. Melen said we should consider getting an FX line for fire like we have for police. Mr. Arrison asked Mr. Melen to get a price on getting a 674 exchange for all residents to call.Â
13. Appointments:            (vi) Martin Memorial Hall Trustees: Mr. Boyer made the motion to appoint Edith Stillson, Nathalie T. Whitney and Gary B. Cross as Trustees for Martin Memorial Hall. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Mr. Melen gave a short history of Martin Memorial Hall. Mr. Arrison asked the Trustees, Mr. Melen and Mr. Hazeltine to act on the energy audit that was performed. Mr. Melen noted the Trustees have to meet to set the fees and they have to adopt a formal policy.            (xi) Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District – Alternate: Mr. Boyer made the motion to appoint Mr. Melen the alternate representative to the Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion which passed without dissent.Â
           Mrs. Daniels made the motion to appoint Mrs. deForest Bearse the Zoning Administrator Officer for the Town of Weathersfield for three years, Mr. Boyer seconded the motion. Mr. Fisher said he and some of his neighbors received letters from Mrs. Bearse and by the tone of the letter they felt threatened. He said the letter was misleading. He noted he sent a letter back to her and her reply didn’t address the questions he asked and again, it was misleading. There was discussion on the new bylaws that were adopted by the voters. It was noted that they are very strict and Mrs. Bearse is enforcing them. Motion carried 3 – 1.
14. Sign Treasurer Warrants: Mrs. Daniels made the motion to approve the Treasurer Warrants as follows:            General Fund Payroll                                                $15,764.90            General Fund Operating Expenses                                      $28,962.44            Highway Fund Payroll                                                           $14,575.18            Highway Fund Operating Expenses                         $30,757.72            Solid Waste Management Fund Payroll                              $ 2,044.74           Solid Waste Management Fund Operating Expense          $ 9,414.86            Agency Monies                                                                     $10,958.10            Reserves                                                                               $ 6,196.46            Library                                                                                   $    624.03 Mr. Boyer seconded the motion. Mr. Melen said the Library’s roof repair turned out to be paid for by filing an insurance claim. Mr. Boyer questioned the payment to Cersosimo; Mr. Melen said it was for 1 1/2 inch quarry stone. Mr. Boyer asked when we renew our contract with Golden Cross Ambulance Service, Mr. Melen said the three year contract was just renewed before town meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
15. Next Meeting’s Agenda Items: Murray Flats, Animal Control Officer, Executive Session for personnel, Website policy.
16. Executive Session: Mr. Boyer made the motion to go into executive session for personnel. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion which passed without dissent.
17. Adjourn: Mr. Boyer made the motion to adjourn. Mr. Fisher seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.  The Select Board meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
                                                                                               Respectfully Submitted,
Approved by the Weathersfield Select Board May 1, 2008
                                                                                               ___________________                                                                                                Norman John Arrison
                                                                                               ____________________                                                                                                Daniel Boyer
                                                                                              ____________________                                                                                                Patricia Daniels
                                                                                               _____________________                                                                                                Glenn Fisher                                   Â
Appendix
                       Name of chairpersons of various committees - Chip                        Website policy - Larry                        Ancient roads (continue working on) - deForest                        Posting sign policy - John                        Use of Weathersfield Elementary School - Chip                        Capital asset inventory – Chris Adams                        No Parking Signs by Thomas residence                        Review and increase of land use fees - deForest 03/08/07         Procedure for handling of complaints and citizen inquiries - Pat 05/03/07         Emergency communication - Dan 05/03/07         Radio Station designation for emergencies – Mike Thomas 08/16/07         large gathering permit - John 10/18/07         Economic depreciation factors from AMPTA - Pat 11/01/07         Designation of emergency shelter and power supply - Dan 03/20/08         Cascade Falls Road Parking Area (maintenance)
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