NEWFANE SELECTBOARD MINUTES

OCTOBER 1, 2009

NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE

PRESENT: Selectboard: Gary Katz, Jeff Gouger, Todd Lawley, Christopher Williams, Dennis WiswallAlso Present: Richard Perra, Esq.

1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Gary Katz, Chair.

2. MINUTES A motion was made by Christopher Williams and seconded by Dennis Wiswall to approve the minutes of September 17, 2009 as presented. The motion carried with three in favor. Todd Lawley abstained as he was not present at the meeting.

3. ROAD BUSINESS Road Foreman/Road Commissioner’s Report: See attached report. Christopher Williams noted that Chris Lowe did a great job with the roadside mowing. He’ll be back to finish the job after he puts the mower back on his tractor. Upper River Road: After a short discussion of closing the road, Todd suggested putting a berm up along the side of the road to keep the truck from sliding down the bank. Flattening the road and putting a berm up to keep people on the road. The board was okay with it. The board will continue to look at this situation over the next several months. Excess Weight Permit: Christopher Williams made a motion to approve the Excess Weight Permit application with a maximum of 69,000 pounds for each vehicle. The motion was seconded by Dennis Wiswall. The motion was approved unanimously.

5. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC Rich Perra was present to discuss the South Wardsboro Junk Ordinance Violation with the board. He noted he’d not done any work on the file to date, except to review the case. The board noted that they were wondering how to go about getting paid for what’s already owed. Rich noted that as long as the court judgments were recorded in the land records, that the board can foreclose, just like you’d foreclose on a property for an unpaid mortgage. The other option, he noted is to let the liens sit until the property is sold. He noted that the liens are good for seven years, and that every seven years, the town will need to renew the judgments. Shannon will check the land records and make sure they’ve been recorded. Gary questioned whether they’d be able to foreclose on what’s owed, or the whole property, noting that the property is worth significantly more than what the town is owed. Rich noted that the property would go up for a “judicial sale” and would get auctioned off. Any mortgages would be paid off before the town would get paid. He also noted that only 2% of attorney fees can be recovered in the process, and that the town doesn’t have that much in attorney fees.

After discussion, the board felt it impractical to incur more legal fees in a foreclosure proceeding that wouldn’t be recovered. Rich noted that the town could petition the court to give back more than 2%, but it’s not a guarantee. To leave it in the land records and renew it every seven years, it gains 12% interest annually. That will have to be paid if the homeowner ever sells or refinances. It will be up to the town to renew the liens every seven years. Gary suggested putting that on the agenda for each Organizational Meeting in March of every year. A motion was made by Dennis Wiswall to file for the $1850 in Small Claims Court, and get a judgment and record it; and to let the current liens stay in place. The motion was seconded by Todd Lawley. The motion passed unanimously. A motion was made by Christopher Williams to authorize Shannon Meckle to represent the board in the small claims action that the board has decided to pursue. The motion was seconded by Dennis Wiswall. The motion carried unanimously.

5. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC There were no Unscheduled Members of the Public.

6. NEW BUSINESS Dennis Wiswall reported on the DRB/Planning Commission/Selectboard meeting that he attended. Dennis noted that Richard felt that it was time to redo the plan. Dennis voiced that it wasn’t the consensus of the board that this should be done. The other DRB members and PC members present seemed to feel that it would be best to wait until the Town Plan is up for renewal in two years. Now would be the time to look at the shortcomings in the plan, but not to take any action. Dennis went over some of the shortcomings that were outlined. No action was taken. Zoning: Gary noted that he’d received calls regarding two separate apparent zoning violations. The first being apparent work being done on River Road on Mercedes property; the second being an apparent rental at the Rysz garage. The question is whether zoning permits were acquired on these properties or whether they need to be acquired at this point. The board asked Shannon to follow up with Richard on these two properties.

Purchase Orders: Maureen has pointed out that there are still problems with the absence of purchase orders when the Williamsville Hall Committee picks up items at W.W. Building Supply. Discussion ensued, and the board chose to give the committee a chance to work on the problem, and then after that if it can’t be done correctly, the authority to purchase will be pulled back. The board asked Shannon to contact Steve Levine.

Door open at Williamsville Hall: It was reported to Gary Katz that the downstairs door on the Williamsville Hall has been left open and that kids have been in there using the downstairs as a game room. At the same time as the purchase order discussion, we should discuss the door being left open.

Fire Department: Todd asked permission to use the building during the weekend for the people doing the coin drop to go inside. A motion was made by Christopher Williams and seconded by Jeff Gouger to allow the building to be used by the Fire Department. The motion carried with four in favor and Todd Lawley abstaining.

7. OLD BUSINESS Special Town Meeting: Gary noted that the Town Clerk wasn’t notified that there would be a special town meeting and asked Shannon to help remind the board of these things. The board had a short discussion regarding the differing views between organizations around the state on the engine brake matter. No action was taken.

8. EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion to enter Executive Session was made by Jeff Gouger and seconded by Dennis Wiswall. After a unanimous vote, the board entered Executive Session at 8:10 p.m. Shannon Meckle was invited to attend. A motion to come out of Executive Session was made by Jeff Gouger and seconded by Dennis Wiswall. After a unanimous vote, the board came out of Executive Session at 8:30 p.m. Jeff Gouger made a motion to invite the Zoning Administrator to the next meeting to discuss a personnel matter in Executive Session. The motion was seconded by Todd Lawley. The motion carried unanimously.

9. CORRESPONDENCE: Letter received regarding the paving of Route 30, which will affect a portion of Route 30 in Newfane. No action was taken. Memo received from Jim Matteau of Windham Regional Commission regarding ARRA funds received. More information will follow. No action was taken. One Communications bill received as an FYI from the Treasurer. The board asked Shannon to look into what’s happening on the matter. Letter received from Adele Graham regarding the ongoing situation with the sidewalk on Cross Street. No action was taken. Letter from Village of Newfane received, regarding the ongoing situation with the sidewalk on Cross Street. No action was taken.

10. PAY ORDERS A motion was made by Jeff Gouger and seconded by Dennis Wiswall to approve the pay orders as follows:

Pay Orders: 10/02/09 - $533,176.97

Pay Roll:

10/02/09 - $ 3,400.16

09/22/09 - $2,646.20

09/30/09 - $ 3,931.19

09/23/09 - $ 3,598.33

EFTPS:

09/30/09 - $ 1,051.80

10/07/09 - $ 1,177.69

10/07/09 - $ 609.07

The motion passed with four in favor, and Todd Lawley abstaining as to payroll.

11. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Todd Lawley and seconded by Dennis Wiswall to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m. The motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,Shannon Meckle Posted: Town Clerk's Office, Newfane Store, W.W. Building Supply, Williamsville Hall, S. Newfane/Williamsville Post Office and the South Newfane General Store & Deli. www.newfanevt.com (after approval)

NEWFANE SELECTBOARD MINUTES

OCTOBER 1, 2009

NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE

PRESENT: Selectboard: Gary Katz, Jeff Gouger, Todd Lawley, Christopher Williams, Dennis WiswallAlso Present: Richard Perra, Esq.

1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Gary Katz, Chair.

2. MINUTES A motion was made by Christopher Williams and seconded by Dennis Wiswall to approve the minutes of September 17, 2009 as presented. The motion carried with three in favor. Todd Lawley abstained as he was not present at the meeting.

3. ROAD BUSINESS Road Foreman/Road Commissioner’s Report: See attached report. Christopher Williams noted that Chris Lowe did a great job with the roadside mowing. He’ll be back to finish the job after he puts the mower back on his tractor. Upper River Road: After a short discussion of closing the road, Todd suggested putting a berm up along the side of the road to keep the truck from sliding down the bank. Flattening the road and putting a berm up to keep people on the road. The board was okay with it. The board will continue to look at this situation over the next several months. Excess Weight Permit: Christopher Williams made a motion to approve the Excess Weight Permit application with a maximum of 69,000 pounds for each vehicle. The motion was seconded by Dennis Wiswall. The motion was approved unanimously.

5. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC Rich Perra was present to discuss the South Wardsboro Junk Ordinance Violation with the board. He noted he’d not done any work on the file to date, except to review the case. The board noted that they were wondering how to go about getting paid for what’s already owed. Rich noted that as long as the court judgments were recorded in the land records, that the board can foreclose, just like you’d foreclose on a property for an unpaid mortgage. The other option, he noted is to let the liens sit until the property is sold. He noted that the liens are good for seven years, and that every seven years, the town will need to renew the judgments. Shannon will check the land records and make sure they’ve been recorded. Gary questioned whether they’d be able to foreclose on what’s owed, or the whole property, noting that the property is worth significantly more than what the town is owed. Rich noted that the property would go up for a “judicial sale” and would get auctioned off. Any mortgages would be paid off before the town would get paid. He also noted that only 2% of attorney fees can be recovered in the process, and that the town doesn’t have that much in attorney fees.

After discussion, the board felt it impractical to incur more legal fees in a foreclosure proceeding that wouldn’t be recovered. Rich noted that the town could petition the court to give back more than 2%, but it’s not a guarantee. To leave it in the land records and renew it every seven years, it gains 12% interest annually. That will have to be paid if the homeowner ever sells or refinances. It will be up to the town to renew the liens every seven years. Gary suggested putting that on the agenda for each Organizational Meeting in March of every year. A motion was made by Dennis Wiswall to file for the $1850 in Small Claims Court, and get a judgment and record it; and to let the current liens stay in place. The motion was seconded by Todd Lawley. The motion passed unanimously. A motion was made by Christopher Williams to authorize Shannon Meckle to represent the board in the small claims action that the board has decided to pursue. The motion was seconded by Dennis Wiswall. The motion carried unanimously.

5. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC There were no Unscheduled Members of the Public.

6. NEW BUSINESS Dennis Wiswall reported on the DRB/Planning Commission/Selectboard meeting that he attended. Dennis noted that Richard felt that it was time to redo the plan. Dennis voiced that it wasn’t the consensus of the board that this should be done. The other DRB members and PC members present seemed to feel that it would be best to wait until the Town Plan is up for renewal in two years. Now would be the time to look at the shortcomings in the plan, but not to take any action. Dennis went over some of the shortcomings that were outlined. No action was taken. Zoning: Gary noted that he’d received calls regarding two separate apparent zoning violations. The first being apparent work being done on River Road on Mercedes property; the second being an apparent rental at the Rysz garage. The question is whether zoning permits were acquired on these properties or whether they need to be acquired at this point. The board asked Shannon to follow up with Richard on these two properties.

Purchase Orders: Maureen has pointed out that there are still problems with the absence of purchase orders when the Williamsville Hall Committee picks up items at W.W. Building Supply. Discussion ensued, and the board chose to give the committee a chance to work on the problem, and then after that if it can’t be done correctly, the authority to purchase will be pulled back. The board asked Shannon to contact Steve Levine.

Door open at Williamsville Hall: It was reported to Gary Katz that the downstairs door on the Williamsville Hall has been left open and that kids have been in there using the downstairs as a game room. At the same time as the purchase order discussion, we should discuss the door being left open.

Fire Department: Todd asked permission to use the building during the weekend for the people doing the coin drop to go inside. A motion was made by Christopher Williams and seconded by Jeff Gouger to allow the building to be used by the Fire Department. The motion carried with four in favor and Todd Lawley abstaining.

7. OLD BUSINESS Special Town Meeting: Gary noted that the Town Clerk wasn’t notified that there would be a special town meeting and asked Shannon to help remind the board of these things. The board had a short discussion regarding the differing views between organizations around the state on the engine brake matter. No action was taken.

8. EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion to enter Executive Session was made by Jeff Gouger and seconded by Dennis Wiswall. After a unanimous vote, the board entered Executive Session at 8:10 p.m. Shannon Meckle was invited to attend. A motion to come out of Executive Session was made by Jeff Gouger and seconded by Dennis Wiswall. After a unanimous vote, the board came out of Executive Session at 8:30 p.m. Jeff Gouger made a motion to invite the Zoning Administrator to the next meeting to discuss a personnel matter in Executive Session. The motion was seconded by Todd Lawley. The motion carried unanimously.

9. CORRESPONDENCE: Letter received regarding the paving of Route 30, which will affect a portion of Route 30 in Newfane. No action was taken. Memo received from Jim Matteau of Windham Regional Commission regarding ARRA funds received. More information will follow. No action was taken. One Communications bill received as an FYI from the Treasurer. The board asked Shannon to look into what’s happening on the matter. Letter received from Adele Graham regarding the ongoing situation with the sidewalk on Cross Street. No action was taken. Letter from Village of Newfane received, regarding the ongoing situation with the sidewalk on Cross Street. No action was taken.

10. PAY ORDERS A motion was made by Jeff Gouger and seconded by Dennis Wiswall to approve the pay orders as follows:

Pay Orders: 10/02/09 - $533,176.97

Pay Roll:

10/02/09 - $ 3,400.16

09/22/09 - $2,646.20

09/30/09 - $ 3,931.19

09/23/09 - $ 3,598.33

EFTPS:

09/30/09 - $ 1,051.80

10/07/09 - $ 1,177.69

10/07/09 - $ 609.07

The motion passed with four in favor, and Todd Lawley abstaining as to payroll.

11. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Todd Lawley and seconded by Dennis Wiswall to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m. The motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,Shannon Meckle Posted: Town Clerk's Office, Newfane Store, W.W. Building Supply, Williamsville Hall, S. Newfane/Williamsville Post Office and the South Newfane General Store & Deli. www.newfanevt.com (after approval)