Minutes
June 1, 2006
Present: Daniel BoyerHenry C. Cobb
C. Peter Cole
Norman John Arrison
Patricia Daniels
Others Present: Lisa Sargent, Recording Secretary
Larry Melen, Town Manager
Rick Butler
Joyce Sabd
Bill Kearns, SWCRPC
Barry Newton, Constable
Deborah Ostrom, SAPA
DeForest Bearse
Steve Hier
Peter Korbet
Tom Browe, VT Humane Federation
Sue Skaskiw, Administration VSNIP
1. Call to Order by Chairperson: Mr. Cobb called the meeting of the Weathersfield Select Board to order at 7:03 p.m. on Thursday June 1, 2006 at Martin Memorial Hall.
Mr. Cobb said there was an urgent matter he needed to discuss with the Board. The Veterans Memorial Committee had to send a letter of intent tomorrow if they wanted to apply for a grant for site improvement for the new memorial. Mr. Cobb said the letter of intent to the Vermont Manager of Transportation had to be submitted tomorrow and then if they want to proceed with the application they would submit that in August.
Mr. Arrison made the motion to have the Town Manager sign the letter of intent to Vermont Manager of Transportation Enhancement Program; Mr. Boyer seconded the motion. Mr. Boyer said he is concerned where the matching funds will come from, he doesn’t feel money for this should come from the taxpayers. Mr. Cobb said the Veterans Memorial committee has $3,000 in the bank right now and they would use that for the match. Motion carried 4-0, Mr. Cobb recused himself.
2. All hazard Mitigation Plan: Mr. Kearns said this was put together in June 2005. He said most Towns have already adopted the plan. He said this is not a response plan, it looks at the dangers and what we need to do in order to make the Town safer. He said the interstate is rated the highest danger and after a disaster funds are available from a grant process if this plan is in place. He mentioned there were a few things that need to be worked on and they were listed on page sixteen of the plan. Mr. Arrison asked what if these don’t get worked on. Mr. Kearns said that as long as we are making an effort to do some of the things we should be fine. Mr. Boyer asked if we adopt this tonight can it be an on going process and can changes be made, Mr. Kearns said yes. Mr. Cobb asked what the cycle of the plan was, Mr. Kearns said every five years. Mr. Cole made the motion to adopt the All Hazard Mitigation Plan; Mr. Boyer seconded the motion. Mr. Cobb asked Mr. Melen to forward a copy of the plan to all appropriate people in Town. Motion carried 5 – 0.
3. Comments from citizens: Mr. Butler said he has not seen a deed and the zoning permit was denied because he needs to be forty feet from the road and he is only thirty feet. He said he has handed in another permit for a portable garage to use as the barn and for a 12 X 12 shed. He said that if Stoughton Pond doesn’t get paved he is concerned the water may get contaminated with the Calcium Chloride that will be used. He said he has done some fencing on the other piece so he can move his horses but he wants the deed before he starts tearing down the barn.
Mr. Cobb asked where the deed was. Mr. Melen said there are variance issues and Mr. Butler has a problem with the lease hold language. Mr. Butler said that the language needs to be adjusted. Mr. Melen said we asked for a boundary line adjustment from the State but not from the Town. Mr. Cobb asked what needs to be done at this time. Mrs. Bearse said she could issue a permit for the portable building but we need a subdivision or boundary line adjustment. Mr. Cobb asked why the Town hadn’t already done a boundary line adjustment, Mr. Melen said he wasn’t aware of the permitting issue. Mrs. Bearse said she could do a boundary line adjustment in her office and would be able to do it tomorrow. It was decided Mr. Butler and Mr. Melen would meet as soon as possible to discuss the language that needs to be changed so a deed can be issued.
Mr. Newton asked if the Town would consider installing a rain gutter up on the recycling building at the landfill. Mr. Cobb asked Mr. Melen to have Mr. Hazeltine look into this.
Mr. Korbet said he is concerned about structures being place in an easement, he asked the Board to look at this closely.
Mr. Melen noted on July 20th at 10:00 am there would be a public auction for delinquent tax properties.
4. Review Minutes from Previous Meeting (s): Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve the minutes dated May 19, 2006, Mr. Arrison seconded the motion. Mrs. Daniels noted corrections. Motion carried 3 – 0, two abstentions.
5. Sign Bond for West Weathersfield Volunteer Fire Department Fire Apparatus: Mr. Hier had legal documents that required signatures from the Board. They included the Resolution and Certificate, the Tax Certificate, the Loan Agreement and the Bond. Mr. Boyer made the motion to execute the bond documents. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
Mr. Melen asked to move ahead to #6 c.
6. Highway:
C. Payment for Highway Pick-Up Truck: Mr. Hier said it was not the best accounting practice to pay for the truck in this fiscal year with the anticipation of paying back the funds in the next fiscal year. The consensus of the Board is to cut the check on July 6, 2006.
Mr. Melen asked to move ahead to #8.
8. Windsor County Anti-Cruelty Coalition: Mr. Browe gave copies of the Civil Ordinance that has been drafted by the League to the Board members to review. He said it would be in addition to the Towns Animal Ordinance. He said it does not affect agricultural practices, a portion of the fines would stay within in the Town and most complaints are minor and can be corrected by education. It was discussed we may already have this Ordinance in affect. Mr. Cobb asked Mr. Newton to review our Ordinance and compare it to this and bring recommendations back to the Board. Mr. Melen checked this and it was found that this was the ordinance drawn up by our Lynn Estey and her committee so we already have it in effect.
Ms. Skaskiw talked about the State wide spay/neuter incentive program and left information with the Board.
6. Highway:
A. Vermont Agency of Transportation Project: Mr. Melen said Mr. Rasmussen sent information to the Board via email.
B. Woodstock Highway Project Detour Impacts: Mr. Melen said there is no new information on the proposed alternative route.
Move ahead to #9.
9. Report on Zoning Bylaws: Mrs. Bearse said the Town has received a grant for $5,000 for Zoning Bylaw updates. She gave an update on the process of going through the plan. She said a lot of background work needs to be done and they have been looking at problems they have uncovered through the process. She said the Planning Commission meets two times a month with the second meeting being devoted to this. Mr. Cobb asked when the Planning Commission would be able to look at the Water and Sewer problem. Mrs. Bearse said no time soon as they are working on the bylaws now and then are going to look at the subdivision regulations.
6. Highway:
D. Review Town “Class IV Highway Policy”: Mr. Melen gave the Board members the Class IV road policy.
E. Stoughton Pond Road: Mr. Cobb questioned if we should patch the road, Mr. Melen said we would be patching on top of patching. Mr. Arrison said the other option is to leave this as a gravel road for another year. Mr. Melen said last week at the Agency of National Resources meeting it was said this might become a managed project so he has asked for a jurisdictional opinion.
Mrs. Daniels made the motion to notify Lane Construction that we will not be paving Stoughton Pond Road in Fiscal year 2007 due to lack of matching State funding. Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
Nicole and Todd Connolly and Cindy Fitzgibbons: Mrs. Daniels made the motion to deny both requests, Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Mr. Cobb questioned why the Select Board looks at these requests. It was discussed that the Board of Tax Abatement deals with it when it includes tax amounts, this is only for late fees. Motion carried 4 – 1.
Constable: Mr. Melen said he did not sign the contract with Springfield Humane Society, as there is language in it that is not legal.
Highway: Mr. Melen said the grader over heated today.
Land Use: Already discussed.
Police: Copy of written report in packet for Board.
11. Review Town Website Operations Policy: Mr. Melen shared a copy of the website policy with the Board, one correction was noted.
12. Personnel Rules and Regulations:
(a) Adopt Pay Plan: Mr. Melen noted a correction to the policy for employees working less than 40 hours per week.
(b) Adopt Holidays: Mr. Melen had changed some of the wording regarding the floating holiday but it was decided to leave as is for now.
Request for Proposals for Town-wide Revaluation: The consensus of the Board was ok to put this out for bid.
15. Sign Treasurer’s Warrants: Mr. Arrison made the motion to approve the Treasurer Warrants as follows:
General Fund Payroll $14,487.54
General Fund Operating Expense $11,546.11
Highway Fund Payroll $12,018.29
Highway Fund Operating Expense $ 4,890.50
Solid Waste Fund Payroll $ 1,445.95
Solid Waste Fund Operating Expense $ 319.03
Reserves $ 7,672.45
Motion carried 5 – 0.
16. Next Meeting’s Agenda Items: Tenney Hill, Stoughton Pond Road, website policy, personnel rules, correspondence from zoning, summer schedule.
17. Adjourn: Mr. Boyer made the motion to adjourn. Mr. Cole seconded the motion, which passed without dissent. The Weathersfield Select Board meeting was adjourned at 9:32 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Sargent
Approved by the Weathersfield Select Board June 15, 2006
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Daniel Boyer
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Henry C. Cobb
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C. Peter Cole
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Norman John Arrison
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Patricia Daniels