Veterans Memorial Committee 12-1-09

Weathersfield Veterans Memorial Committee Meeting December 1, 2009 Meeting Minutes Members Present:    Chip Cobb    Aaron Fitzherbert    Fred Mellish Edith Stillson     deForest Bearse    Guest:        Julia Lloyd Wright    1.    Minutes of October 27, 2009 Edith Stillson motioned to accept the minutes of October 27, 2009 as presented.  Aaron Fitzherbert seconded the motion and all were in favor. 2.    Stone Removal - Thank you to Dan Barbour The stones for the monument have been successfully moved from the McDerment quarry on Mt.  Ascutney to the McDerment orchard pasture on Thrasher Road where they will await transport to Barre for initial cutting.  Chip shared photographs of the earlier phase of the three-day removal project.  All hats are off to Dan Barbour for his extraordinary skill and for his incredibly generous donation.  Dan suffered some equipment damage during the project - broken cable ($50-$75) and chains ($100) - and used a full tank of diesel fuel ($45).  The committee was unanimous in deciding to reimburse him for these expenses.  Edith Stillson made a motion to reimburse Dan Barbour (from the Veterans Memorial account) up to $300 (not to exceed that amount) for replacement of the broken cable and chains and for the diesel fuel expended during the project.  Fred Mellish seconded the motion and all were in favor.  Aaron said he would get a requisition slip from Dan that will be submitted to the Town.  deForest will see to it that the bill is paid. The committee agreed to think of appropriate ways of thanking Dan Barbour and all of the other people who have (or will in the near future) donated generously of their time, energy, and resources to the memorial project.  It will be discussed at a future meeting. Chip also suggested that Aaron submit written appraisals of the value of the stones, Dan Barbour’s time, and Aaron’s time and expenses to the Town so that the Town can provide appropriate documentation for tax deductions to the various parties for the donations. 3.    Temporary Marker at Perkinsville The engraving of the temporary marker stone is complete.  The stone is in the parking lot at Aaron’s place of business in Ascutney for anyone wishing to see it before it is moved to the green in Perkinsville.  Chip has re-checked the language of the easement to ensure that placement of the stone will be legal under the terms of the easement and felt that it was.  He has contacted the Perkinsville Church Trustees to let them know the stone will be placed soon.  Julia suggested contacting the Perkinsville Village Trustees as a courtesy, which Chip agreed to do.  Aaron said he was planning to move the stone either Wednesday (Dec.  2nd), Friday (Dec.  4th) , or Saturday (Dec.  5th), depending on the weather.  Any damage to the green incurred during the placement of the stone will have to be repaired immediately. 4.     Funds Release There is still no word regarding release of the grant money form Senator Sanders despite repeated attempts by Chip to find out.  Chip will continue to communicate with the Town Manager, Joe Aja (project manager) and Senator Sanders’ office. 5.     Other Business Aaron submitted a dimensioned sketch of the re-designed monument (Attachment A). Aaron suggested using the “skin cuts” (those pieces of stone that will result from the initial cutting in Barre; one side of each piece will be smooth, the other will be the outer, weathered surface of the stone) as surfaces on which to carve the names of the veterans being honored, and as benches to be donated to the Perkinsville Church as a “thank you” for use of the green for the memorial.  The benches would be placed on the green.  The “name plates” would be set flush in the ground around the monument.  There are perhaps 250± names at this point in time.  While there was much discussion of these ideas, no decision was made and it was agreed to continue the discussion at a future meeting. Aaron will get a written estimate of the cost for the initial cutting of the stones from the same stone cutter who has maintained an interest in doing the project since Aaron first approached him several years ago.  The cutter has since sold his business, but continues to work for the person who purchased it.  The business has all of the equipment necessary to do the job.  Aaron maintains that this company is the best for what needs to be done. Chip has completed the annual report for the Town Report.  Fred Mellish motioned to accept the report as presented (Attachment B).  Edith Stillson seconded the motion and all were in favor.  Chip will send a copy of the report with photographs of the stone removal project to Senator Sanders’ office as well.  Chip will also have some of the pictures posted on the Town website along with a short narrative about them.  Julia is writing a piece about the stone removal for the Compass and will submit photos to the paper as well. 6.    Adjournment Edith Stillson motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:46 PM.  Aaron Fitzherbert seconded the motion and all were in favor. The next meeting will be on December 29, 2009 at 7:00 PM at the Town Office in Ascutney. Respectfully submitted, deForest Bearse