Weathersfield Select Board
Minutes
Present: C. Peter Cole
Dan BoyerHenry C. Cobb
John Arrison
Patricia Daniels
Others Present: Larry Melen, Town Manager
Lisa Sargent, Recording Secretary
Emery Morse
Joanne Morse
Betty Adams
Julia Lloyd Wright, Eagle Times
deForest Bearse
Wes Hazeltine
Steve Hier
1. Call to Order by Chairperson: Mr. Cole called the meeting of the Select Board to order at 7:05 p.m. at the Martin Memorial Hall.
2. Comments from citizens: None
3. Review minutes from Previous Meetings (s):Mrs. Daniels made the motion to approve the minutes dated June 7, 2005 as printed. Mr. Cobb seconded the motion; motion carried 4 – 1 (one abstention).
4. Citizen Complaint: Betty Brooks on Delinquent Taxes. Mrs. Daniels said Betty Brooks called her and she was called out of Town for a family funeral so she is not able to attend the meeting tonight.
Mr. Arrison said he feels uncomfortable accusing someone of lying and asked who Theresa was. Mr. Melen said there is not a Theresa, Mrs. Daniels said she may have meant Patrice.
Mr. Melen said there has been three instances in the last six years. The wrong account number was put on one so it was applied to the wrong account and the other two were lost payments. Mr. Melen said he sent the minutes to Mrs. Brooks, he is not sure why she didn’t receive them.
Mrs. Daniels said she has talked to Betty three times and told her what the results of the first meeting were. She told her to write a letter to the Select Board. Mrs. Daniels said she feels she needs to be allowed to have the amount of the interest removed, she has paid the late fee.
Mr. Arrison asked what the interest charge is. Mr. Melen looked up her account and said her account is paid in full.
Mrs. Daniels said that a letter needs to be sent to her stating she is paid in full as a result of our discussion tonight. Mr. Arrison asked Mr. Melen to include an apology for the inconvenience.
Mr. Cobb asked if Shirley gave him telephone messages. Mr. Melen said no, that all calls are put into his voice mail so he has a record of calls. He said this system has been used for several months now (since the new phone system was installed).
The question was raised as to if this should go to the Board of Abatement? Mr. Melen said there is a provision in the Statute that allows this Board to negotiate tax settlement.
It was discussed the letter would be mailed tomorrow afternoon and Mr. Cole would sign the letter too.
5. Monthly Reports:
Constable: Mr. Melen said there are 167 dogs that have not been licensed. Mrs. Daniels made the motion to send the unlicensed dog warrant to the constable, Barry Newton for follow up. Mr. Arrison seconded the motion. Mr. Cobb asked to read the warrant language. Motion carried unanimously.
Highway: Butterfield Hill: Mr. Melen said he received the easement back from the Simones with two paragraphs hand written in. He sent this to Town Legal Counsel to review and it was decided the language is ok if it is re-typed and signed again so there is no hand written language.
Mr. Hazeltine said they’d be starting at the foot of the hill doing culvert work within in two weeks. They’ll be working on Wellwood and Reservoir Road too.
Thrasher Road: Mr. Melen said he has the invitation to bid ready to go. Mr. Arrison asked if we would be doing this in conjunction with Reservoir Road. Mr. Hazeltine said we should be and he would show both roads at once. Mr. Melen said VTrans needed more information for Reservoir Road and that is being sent to them. Mr. Arrison asked if we should hold off on bidding for Thrasher Road to do both at once. The consensus of the Board is to wait and bid both together.
Drumlin Road: Mr. Melen said we could start the process of laying out Drumlin Road as a Town Highway. It was decided the Board would do a site visit in August or September, when a Board meeting is held at that side of Town.
Tarbell Hill: Mr. Melen said the traffic count is in the Boards packet. He recommends scheduling a hearing to start the process of reclassification. We should re-class this to a Class 2 road; it is now a Class 3. The consensus of the Board is to go ahead with the process.
Calcium Chloride Contract: Mr. Melen said sealed bids were opened on June 22, 2005 at 12 noon. One bid was received from Gorman Brothers at .73 per gallon with an on site storage tank provided. Mr. Arrison asked the difference of liquid. Mr.Hazeltine said it is instant dust control. Mr. Cobb asked how we would distribute it. Mr. Hazeltine said we would make or buy something to distribute it. Mr. Cobb asked how many gallons we would need. Mr. Hazeltine said they would deliver 4000 gallons at a time, it is estimated we would use 14,000 gallons a year. Mr. Arrison asked if this fit within the budget. Mr. Hazeltine said yes. Mr. Cole asked if any was available at a State price. Mr. Melen said this is the same person who has the State bid. Mr. Arrison made the motion to award Gorman Brothers the Calcium Chloride bid for .73 per gallon, Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion. Mr. Cobb asked what the budget was for chloride. Mr. Melen said $9,500. Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Melen asked to go into executive session at this time so Mr. Hazeltine could leave after this discussion. Mr. Arrison made the motion to go into executive session for the acquisition or disposal of Town owned Real Estate; Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion. Mrs. Adams asked why this was an executive session and not open to the public. Mr. Melen explained for negotiation purposes, it is harder to negotiate once the information is made public. He said that once a decision is made it is posted for 30 days for the public’s review. Julia Lloyd Wright asked if there was an advocate on the
Board for Parks & Recreation in case this is land that they would be interested in. Mr. Cole said that is why there is a 30-day posting period. Motion carried unanimously.
Planning and Zoning: Mrs. Bearse said that the Interim Zoning Bylaw changes would go into effect on September 1. The State will prevail if we are not in compliance. On August 18th she hopes to have a Public Hearing for interim bylaws. Also, we need to have two Public Hearings to amend the Town Plan. Mr. Melen suggested having the first Public Hearing for the Town Plan on August 18th and the second on September 15th. Mr. Arrison asked what if we miss the September 1 deadline. Mrs. Bearse said State law will prevail, she’ll have to refer to a different book. Mrs. Daniels asked other than the Board, if there was any public participation. Mrs. Bearse said no. Mr. Cobb asked if this was advertised on the web site. Mrs. Bearse said yes as well as the Post Office and Town Hall. Mr. Boyer made the motion to officially accept the proposed Town Plan and warn the first Public Hearing for August 18, 2005. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Town Accountant: Mr. Melen said the fiscal year is closed, we finished in the black for the General Fund and Highway Fund. The Solid Waste Management fund was in the red for approximately $6700.
6. Town Treasurer Truck Note Refunding: Mr. Hier asked the Board to renew the Capitol Equipment note for $22,770. Mr. Arrison made the motion to renew the Capitol Equipment note for $22,770; Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion. Mr. Cobb asked if the interest rate is the same. Mr. Hier said it was 2.4% and is now 3%. Mr. Arrison confirmed with Mr. Hier that there is not an early payment penalty. Motion carried unanimously.
7. Old Business:
Tenney Hill: Mr. Melen said we have received no further communication. We are waiting for them to respond from our last meeting. Mr. Arrison mentioned he was surprised Parks & Rec was in favor of this. Mr. Boyer said he thinks it’s partly because they’ll do a study to manage our land.
Mr. Morse asked what would the State do if it were privately owned land and the owner said no. They would have to get access from a different area. Mr. Melen said this was discussed and it is not feasible or safe to access this from Route 5.
Mr. Morse said the road is posted for 24,000 lbs and a loaded tri-axle must be over weight for the road. Mr. Cole said the Select Board would issue an overweight permit.
Mr. Cobb said the access on Route 5 is right in front of Wilgus State Park and it is near a sharp corner with a steep drop off. He doesn’t think it is feasible to haul logs out on Wilgus State Park side. He said he is still looking for a study to say it won’t damage the pond. Also, interested in hearing from the Public. He also mentioned he wants to be sure it doesn’t become an attractive nuisance and it doesn’t destroy the road. He said we need to carefully manage the process.
Mr. Morse asked what small trees would need to be cut. Mr. Cole said they are around the pond, not on Tenney Hill Road.
Mr. Arrison asked how they’d do reclamation because of the lack of topsoil in the area. Mr. Boyer said that maybe they’d use hydro mulch.
Mr. Morse asked the Board to look at the spot in Tenney Hill Road by the culvert where there was a wash out last November and rock has been put there but he feels this is not safe if a school bus should meet one of these log trucks right there. Mr. Melen said we could add to the conditions not to haul during school bus hours.
Mr. Melen said he has not been able to talk to the new District Transportation Manager about the fence by the pond. He has asked Mr. Hazeltine to stitch it up again. Mr. Cole asked Mr. Melen to continue pushing the State to do something about the fence.
Tax Reminder Notices: Mr. Melen said right now a reminder notice goes on SAPA and is posted in The Message. He said a reminder is mailed to people who have messed up the first two payments. Mr. Cobb suggested trying the calendar reminder stickers for one year and also putting a notice on the board on the front lawn two weeks before taxes were due. He has talked to Shirley and she indicated 20 – 30 people are late in the first week and they are different people each quarter. Mr. Arrison suggested putting a notice at the transfer station too. The consensus of the Board is to get the calendar stickers and try them for one year to see if it helps. Also, to put notices on the boards throughout Town to help remind people.
Order to Reappraise: Mr. Melen said this would be the fiscal year of 2007. Mr. Cobb questioned a few dates, some of the layout and some language in the draft. Mr. Melen explained and changes were made as appropriate. Mrs. Daniels also noted corrections (mostly typos). There was discussion/recommendations from the Board on wording and several changes were made.
A. Fiscal Year 2006 Tax Rates: Mr. Melen noted we do not have any control over the State Education Tax. The Homestead rate is 2.0496; the Non Homestead rate is 2.0511. Mr. Cobb asked what they were last year, Mr. Melen said 1.74 and 1.91.
Mr. Arrison made the motion to set the Local Agreement Education Tax at .003. Mr. Cobb seconded the motion, which passed without dissent. Mr. Melen noted we are one of 5 Towns that are in compliant.
Mr. Arrison made the motion to set the General Fund tax rate at .28. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
Mr. Arrison made the motion to set the Appropriation Tax rate at .048. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
Mr. Arrison made the motion to set the Uncollected Tax Rate at .074. Mr. Cobb seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
Mrs. Daniels made the motion to set the Highway Fund Tax Rate at .43. Mr. Arrison seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
Mr. Cobb made the motion to set the County Tax Rate at .0150. Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
It was noted the Town tax is up less than one penny.
Mr. Melen recommended setting the tax due dates for August 24, 2005, November 16, 2005, February 15, 2006 and May 10, 2006. Mr. Arrison made the motion to set the tax due dates for August 24, 2005, November 16, 2005, February 15, 2006 and May 10, 2006. Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
B. Fiscal Year 2006 Per-Parcel Payments: Mr. Melen recommended taking $14,000 to put into the re-appraisal fund.
C. Draft Alcohol and Drug Testing Policy: Mr. Melen said our CDL holders submit to random testing. He has taken the League information and put together a draft for the Boards review. He will schedule this to discuss at the next meeting.
D. Emergency Power Requirements for Town Buildings: Mr. Arrison estimates $6200 for the Town Office to be equipped with a generator. The Highway garage already has a generator so the expense is minimal. There was discussion as to size and use of the generator if one is to be installed. Mr. Cobb questioned if there was Grant money available. Mr. Melen said he has asked in the past, he’ll keep asking. The consensus of the Board was to look at and consider it for the budget. Mr. Cobb asked if in our emergency plan is the Town Hall headquarters. Mr. Melen said yes.
10. Sign Treasurer’s Warrants:
Fiscal Year 2005. Mr. Cobb made the motion to approve the General Fund Payroll of $12,550.67, the Highway Payroll of $11,439.24, the Solid Waste Management payroll $1,649.25 for fiscal year 2005. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent. Mr. Cobb made the motion to approve combined funds in the amount of $97,678.67 for operating expenses for fiscal year 2005. Mr. Arrison seconded the motion. Mr. Arrison questioned the Home Depot expense, Mr. Melen explained it was for misc. items. Mr. Boyer questioned the Dingee expense. Mr. Melen said it was for labor for Ascutney Rescue. Mrs. Daniels said she would like the Town employees and departments to use local business people instead of Home Depot unless the price is a big difference. Motion carried unanimously.
Fiscal Year 2006: Mr. Cobb made the motion to approve the following:
General Fund Payroll: $ 9,219.29
General Fund Operating Expense: $ 5,627.53
Highway Fund Payroll: $ 7,504.09
Highway Fund Operating Expense: $27,037.20
Solid Waste Management Fund Payroll: $ 903.36
Solid Waste Management Fund Operating Expense: $ 5,953.49
Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion. Mr. Boyer questioned the expense to Carroll Concrete. Mr. Melen said it was for the concrete floors at the Solid Waste Facility. Mr. Boyer questioned the Power Plan expense. Mr. Melen said it was blades from Nortrax Equipment. Motion carried unanimously.
11. Next Meeting’s Agenda Items: Mr. Melen said the next meeting is at the West Weathersfield Fire Department to open proposals for the new Fire Truck. Ten people have picked up proposal packets.
12. Executive Session: Mr. Arrison made the motion to go into executive session for contractual negotiations and personnel. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Sargent
Approved by the Weathersfield Select Board on Thursday July 21,2005
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Henry C. Cobb
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Daniel Boyer
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John Arrison
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Patricia Daniels