Select Board Meeting
Minutes
Present: Henry C. Cobb
Patricia Daniels
Daniel Boyer
John Arrison
Others Present: Larry Melen, Town Manager
Lisa Sargent, Recording Secretary
Julia Lloyd Wright, Eagle Times
Chris Callahan, Town Counsel
Peter Korbet
DeForest Bearse, Zoning Administrator
Edith Stillson
Raymond Bushey, E-One
Larry Dingee, Dingee Machine Co.
Ellen Fraczek, Getaway Mtn. Campground
Mark Knight, WW Fire
1. Call to Order by Chairperson: In the absence of Mr. Cole, Mr. Cobb called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. at the West Weathersfield Fire Station.
2. Comments from citizens: Mr. Melen said the tax bills were mailed today and they included stickers to put on calendars as a reminder of the date the taxes are due.
Mr. Korbet asked if the Sewer/Water Committee had met yet. Mr. Melen said no. Mr. Cobb asked Mr. Melen to put this on the agenda for the next time.
Mr. Kobert asked if there was a response regarding the cross walks. Mr. Melen said no response had been received on this or the Route 5 speed limit alterations. Mr. Cobb asked Mr. Melen to put this on the agenda for next time.
Mr. Korbet asked if there was a response to the speed reduction in the Amsden area. Mr. Melen said no, this will take longer since it goes to a traffic committee. Mr. Cobb asked Mr. Melen to follow up on this and send another letter if needed.
3. Review minutes from Previous Meetings:Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve the minutes dated June 16, 2005, Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion. Mrs. Daniels noted corrections. Motion passed 3 – 1, one abstention.
Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve the minutes dated July 7, 2005; Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion. Mrs. Daniels noted corrections. Motion carried unanimously.
A. Request for Application for Large Gathering Permit: Mr. Melen said Ellen Fraczek was present for this and is asking for a large gathering permit for a wedding reception. Mr. Boyer made the motion to grant a large gathering permit to Getaway Mountain Campground, Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion. Mr. Melen asked Mrs. Fraczek to explain the attendance. Mrs. Fraczek said there will be about 100 people attending and the majority of the people would be people that camp there. Mr. Arrison asked if she was making a profit from this. Mrs. Fraczek said no. Mr. Arrison asked if this was for a family member. Mrs. Fraczek said no; it was a camping guest. Mr. Arrison asked Mrs. Bearse to explain for the record the conditional use permit regarding noise. Motion carried 3 – 1, one abstention.
B. Request for Application for Entertainment Permit: Mr. Boyer made the motion to grant the permit to Getaway Mountain Campground for entertainment, Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion. Mr. Melen said this permit was requested because under the Town entertainment ordinance this function requires one to be submitted. Mrs. Fraczek said there will be music for the wedding and reception and they will set up near the swing set at the south side of the driveway. Mr. Arrison asked if there was screening there, Mrs. Fraczek said there are some trees. Mr. Arrison asked if there would be a DJ or band, Mrs. Fraczek said DJ. There was discussion about the conditional use permit for the Campground and there not being any public address or music system. Mr. Boyer amended his motion to grant the Entertainment permit within the guidelines of the conditional use permit. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion which passed 3 – 1, one abstention.
5. Monthly Reports: Mr. Melen said the Auditors began today. The General Fund, Highway Fund and Library Fund finished in the black. The Solid Waste Fund is in the red because of the disposal of C&D debris. Mr. Melen said we are in good financial shape.
Mr. Korbet asked if improvements at the transfer station were being passed on to other Towns. Mr. Melen said yes, this is paid out of the tipping fee.
Mr. Boyer said he wanted to add under the Monthly Reports that the fire dry hydrant signs the Fire Commission worked on are being put up throughout Town.
6. Policies:
A. Draft Alcohol and Drug Testing Policy: Mr. Melen said this is ready for the first reading. Mr. Boyer made the motion to schedule the Alcohol and Drug Testing Policy for the first reading at the next meeting. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
7. Old Business:
A. Tenney Hill: Mr. Melen said he has called and sent another copy of our letter to Vermont Parks and Forest but has not received a response back yet. He suggested putting this on the next agenda.
B. Thrasher Road Reconstruction: There was previous discussion as to if we could tie this in with Stoughton Pond Road. After discussion it was the consensus of the Board to go forward with Thrasher Road. Mr. Cobb reminded Mr. Melen to send the residents of Thrasher Road a letter telling them of the construction dates.
C. West Weathersfield Volunteer Fire Department Truck Acquisition: Mr. Cobb explained the work that the Fire Commission, Fire Department and Town has put into this over the last few months in order to obtain a Request For Proposal. Mr. Melen said because this was a Request For Proposal the price was not made public at the opening. He said there were four bids received and the review committee disqualified Desorcie’s. Dingee bid $75,765 for the chassis, $145,154 for the truck body for a total of $220,826. They bid $780 for Alternate #1, no charge for Alternate #2 and no bid for Alternate #3. Option #1 was no charge, Option #2 was $125 and Option #3 was a credit of $1,000. Valley did not bid a chassis, their truck body bid was $165,350, and they did not bid on Alternate #1-3 or Option-#1–3. Mr. Melen said the Board had been given the score sheets, in alphabetical order Dingee scored 741 and Valley scored 739.
Mr. Boyer explained the Desorcie bids were disqualified because they bid an aluminum body. He said that after the scoring process the Fire Commission decided to let the Fire Department decide which truck they would prefer. The Fire Department recommended awarding the bid to Valley therefore, the Fire Commission recommends the Select Board award the bid to Valley.
Mr. Arrison asked if there was any discussion as to why there was not a letter of Non Collusion included with the Valley bid. Mr. Boyer said no. Mr. Arrison said he felt it was important to note this for the record.
There was discussion about the Fire Department being willing to make up the difference in money, approximately $20,000 which was also discussed before the RFP’s were sent out.
Mr. Boyer said West Weathersfield Volunteer Fire Department had good experience with Valley, their truck body was finished off better, the inside compartments were painted, the corners were rounded and the quality and workmanship was better.
Mr. Arrison asked if either of the Fire Chiefs had complaints regarding service from Dingee. Chief Spaulding said no, Chief Grover said he didn’t know.
Mr. Cobb asked why the E-One bids were disqualified and they weren’t just given a low score on the specs that they didn’t meet. Mr. Melen said the review committee considered this a non-correctable issue. Mr. Cobb said they should have given them the lowest score and scored the rest and let them come out on bottom. Mr. Boyer said they discussed this and felt it wasn’t worth wasting their time on something that didn’t meet spec’s so they disqualified the bid. Mr. Boyer also mentioned the mileage didn’t meet as the mileage he was given by Mr. Melen said 140 miles.
Mr. Raymond Bushey said he was not at this meeting as an opponent but to give representation. He said the Town of Weathersfield currently has two E-One trucks. He said they have a service facility in St. Albans and also they do service in stations for over 250 trucks they have delivered since 1988. He said he did not bid the ladder compartments because the ladder information he received would not let the ladders fit in the body.
Mr. Cobb said he feels the problem here is with the process, not the bids.
Mrs. Daniels asked how there was a total for the Valley bid when the sheet doesn’t list a chassis price. Mr. Melen said the Town could acquire a chassis by themselves. He had included information from J & B regarding a chassis that could be acquired through them at the price the State buys for.
Mr. Arrison said that if we award the bid to Valley we have changed the rules. Valley chose not to send in a letter of Non Collusion.
Mr. Boyer said the Fire Commission and Fire Department are bringing forward their recommendation. Mr. Arrison asked if the Fire Commission took a vote, Mr. Boyer said yes it was a unanimous vote.
Mr. Cobb said this is a legal issue, there is an opportunity for protest here because we didn’t follow the process. Town Counsel needs to review to see if a company was properly eliminated or included.
Mr. Melen said at the request of the Board, Attorney Chris Callahan is present and he may want to consider the question. Attorney Callahan said he would review the information and put together his legal opinion.
Mr. Arrison made the motion to refer the bid process to Town Counsel for comment; Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion. Mr. Boyer said he did not want to see this dragged on, this needs to be done as soon as possible. Motion carried unanimously. It was decided to hold a special meeting on Wednesday July 27, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the Martin Memorial Hall to review the legal opinion provided by Town Counsel.
Per Mr. Korbet’s request, Mr. Melen explained what Options 1-3 and Alternates 1-3 were.
Chief Grover said he was upset with the evaluation process, the way information was kept secret and the way they weren’t given information in a timely manner to review.
Mr. Stapleton said there was in depth discussion about acquiring the new truck and a recommendation has been made.
Mr. Bushey said he would formally with draw his bid, Mr. Melen said he would have to review the bid because there is a clause in there for withdrawal. Mr. Bushey said there would not be a protest from him, Desorcie or E-One.
Mr. Boyer made the motion for a five-minute recess. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
8. New Business:
A. Sign agreement for Computer Appraisal Services: Mr. Arrison made the motion to direct the Chair to sign the agreement for Computer Appraisal services. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
B. Appoint Delegate for Vermont League of Cities and Towns’ Annual Business Meeting: Mr. Arrison made the motion to appoint Mr. Melen as the delegate for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns’ Annual Business Meeting. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
C. Ascutney Fire District: Mr. Melen said he and the Town Clerk found there is a Fire District and has been since the 1970’s. It goes from the Interstate to the Connecticut River and from the Windsor town line to Wilgus State Park. It has not met since the early 70’s nor has it been dissolved. Mr. Korbet asked since it went to Wilgus State Park if Tenney Hill would be included. Mr. Melen said yes. It was decided more information would need to be found out about the Fire District that is in place, Mr. Melen said Mr. Neil Daniels was the only active living member.
D. Police department 1997 GMC Jimmy: Mr. Melen said the transmission went in the Jimmy last week. Mr. Hazeltine has looked at this and confirmed it is gone and it didn’t make sense to repair it. Chief Brown said that even though it has been approved to purchase a new cruiser, he doesn’t know how to go about obtaining one. After discussion it was the consensus of the Board that Chief Brown could look for a replacement vehicle and bring the information to Mr. Melen and they would make the decision on the purchase. There is $4,000 in the Police Department reserve fund that could be used if needed but the Board would like the total purchase, including the light bar, to be within the $15,000 that was approved if possible.
E. Personnel Resignation: Mr. Melen said the Town mechanic has left, the Town Accountant has left and the Assistant Town Clerk is leaving this fall. Mr. Cobb asked what was being done about replacements. Mr. Melen said he has advertised but no one has been hired yet.
Treasurer warrants as follows:
General Fund Payroll $12,800.42
General Fund Operating Expense $64,214.47
Highway Fund Payroll $11,340.09
Highway Fund Operating Expense $17,860.86
Solid Waste Management Fund Payroll $ 1,945.88
Solid Waste Management Fund Operating Expense $17,860.86
Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
11. Next Meeting Agenda Items: Fire district, Amsden speed limit, cross walk status, stop signs, Butterfield Hill.
12. Executive Session Acquisition or Disposal of Town-owned Real Estate: Mr. Melen said this is not needed to have tonight.
Mr. Arrison made the motion to adjourn. Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which passed without dissent. The Weathersfield Select Board meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Sargent
Approved by the Weathersfield Select Board on August 4, 2005
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Henry C. Cobb
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Patricia Daniels
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Daniel Boyer
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John Arrison