REGULARL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
JANUARY 3rd, 2001

PRESENT:
Selectmen: Mike Rohan, Jesse Anderson, Fred Bacon, Lynn Bedell and Richard Marek.
Also Present: Ted Schreyer, Newfane Lister, Sargent Edward Wilson, Windham County Sheriff's Department, James O. Gray, Newfane Road Foreman and Doris A. Knechtel, Administrative Assistant.

1. CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting was called to order by Chairman Mike Rohan at 6:35 p.m. He indicated that Sgt. Wilson would not be here until 7:00 p.m. He would also like to move the meeting along to get to working on the budget.

7. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT'S REPORT (see enclosed)
A. Item #3 - The Board will look into the recommendation to sand down the floor on the outside entrance to keep the water from coming in and to have a roof put over the doorway on the outside lift entrance, which is in keeping with the buildings architectural design.

B. Item #4 - Motion was made by F. Bacon and seconded by R. Marek to have Jeffers & Sons Plumbing install a 40-gallon electric water heater at the Williamsville Hall. Unanimous.

C. Item #5 - The Board will defer this matter until near the end of the budget discussion. The $10,000 for the Newfane Village sidewalks may be in-kind services through the highway budget or may be considered as a separate Article or capital item.

D. Item #6 - Motion was made by R. Marek and seconded by F. Bacon to hire Wayne Wells to work with the Administrative Assistant to set up the computer for E-mail an the transferring of programs and information to the newer computer. Unanimous. Mr. Wells charges $30.00 for troubleshooting and $20.00 for training.

2. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
B. LISTERS - T. SCHREYER - CAMP TRAILER ASSESSMENTS
Ted Schreyer came to speak with the Board regarding the assessment of trailer coaches. The statute indicates that a trailer coach shall be taxed as real property if it is located on the same trailer site or camp site for more than 180 days during the 365 days prior to April 1. This has been discussed by the Listers for several years in reference to Kenolie Village. With the town in the process of a town wide reappraisal, T. Schreyer indicated that it would be a good time to get this done. There will be a cost above the agreed upon reappraisal cost as this was not part of the contract. It is estimated that there are about 100 trailers involved. The property owner is currently assessed for the property, trailer pad, electricity and water hookups. The trailer owners will be assessed for the value of their individual trailer. The addition to the grand list is anticipated to be between $5,000 to $8,000 per trailer. The Listers have the unanimous support of the Selectboard on this matter. It is a good time to have the outside appraiser add these trailers to the grand list, it is required in the statute and it is in fairness to all other property owners and taxpayers within the community.

A. SPEED ENFORCEMENT - SGT. WILSON - WCSD
M. Rohan has been in communication with Sgt. Wilson of the Windham County Sheriff's Department regarding speed enforcement. Sgt. Wilson explained that before the 9-11 events he had a schedule set up for three days a week at various times, mostly during rush hour, on Dover Road (TH#2) and West Street/South Wardsboro Road (TH#1). The events of 9-11 changed that. The WCSD has committed 6 deputies for 24/day coverage at the nuclear power plant. More deputies are in the process of being hired and trained. Sgt. Wilson expects to be back on track with the 6 hours per week of speed enforcement for Newfane. The Board wants the WCSD to deal with the speed enforcement problem on a firm but consistent manner. The Board is not promoting a zero tolerance policy, as reported in the Brattleboro Reformer. Zero tolerance sends a negative message. Sgt. Wilson indicated that they have to test the calibration of their radar equipment at least every day. The equipment may be one degree off. Sgt. Wilson also indicated that he will be able to supply the Board with better reporting now that a new computer system is in place at the WCSD office. A copy of the WRC speed information study will be given to Sgt. Wilson.

3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
No unscheduled members of the public were present.

4. ROAD BUSINESS
4. A. ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT (See attached report)
(1) Item #3 - J. Anderson reported that the covered bridge has been damaged by a vehicle hitting it. He would like to have Bill Noyes look at the damage. J. Anderson considers it to be an emergency repair.

4. B. ROAD FOREMAN'S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #7 - Bill Noyes will be looking at Bridge #19 (Brookline/Newfane Bridge) and BR#49 (Green Iron Bridge) as both are in need of major deck repair and the bridges belong to the state through the Historic Truss Bridge Program.

4. C. EXCESS WEIGHT PERMITS
No Excess Weight Permits were submitted that would require any action by the Board.

4. D. ACCESS/RIGHT OF WAY PERMITS
No Access/Right of Way Permits were submitted that required action by the Board.

4. G. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS
(1) Roger Whitcomb will be contacted about the status of BR#19, Brookline/Newfane bridge, BR#12, by South Newfane General Store, and CB#17, Williamsville-covered Bridge as they relate to the state bridge program.

(2) Certificate of Highway Mileage - Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Marek to sign the annual Certificate of Highway Mileage for the town of Newfane. Unanimous. No changes in mileage have occurred during the past year.

(3) A draft letter has been written to the Windham County Legislators asking that they restore the town highway funds in the Fiscal Year 2002 budget. The reduction for Newfane was $6,013. After a minor change, the letter was signed by Chairman Michael Rohan.

4. B. ROAD FOREMAN - (cont.) (2) J. Gray expressed his opinion that the plan for South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) widening should have a plan for the right of way with reference points for the centerline and an agreement with the property owners. There was some question among the Board members as to where the area to be cut back was to begin. There will need to be another site visit. It was also recommended that Bill Noyes look at the site. J. Gray will contact M. Rohan if Mr. Noyes can meet possibly on Wed. January 16th. M. Rohan will contact the other Board members. The project should be lined up and ready to go as soon as road conditions permit.

(3) F. Bacon inquired as to the J. Gray's rationale regarding the proposed 5% increase in highway wages. J. Gray stated that the health cost keep increasing more than the 3% wages increase that the employees have received over the past several years.

5. D. DISCUSSION PRELIMINARY BUDGET AND REVIEW
The Board reviewed pages 3 through 7 of the proposed budget for FY 2003. Amounts were inserted into individual line items. The Board did include $10,000 for the village sidewalk for now but may consider another approach for consideration of the request for the funds. The WCSD amount was increased to $18,000 and $2,000 was added for consideration for the VT State Police. The amount requested by the Deputy Health Officer/Sewage Control Officer was reduced. The Board would like to see a report of the number of cases covered by these positions.

Board members reviewed the line items with Road Foreman, J. Gray. It was noted by DAK that the amount for the Bruce Brook Road (TH#21) bridge (BR#32) was corrected from $22,500 to $15,000, or 20% of the total $75,000. The bottom line is just under the current year's budget. F. Bacon will do an analysis of the highway wages and benefits as compared with other surrounding communities for the meeting of January 17th. Consideration in the budget was given for both the South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) and the Parish Hill Road (TH#26) improvements.

Additional amounts to be included in the budget will be looked into for consideration of the final budget discussion for the January 17th meeting, such as general insurance, Windham County Tax, appropriations, etcetera.

8. MINUTES
The minutes if the regular meeting of 12/20/01. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by M. Rohan to approve the minutes of the special meeting of 12/20/01 as written. Unanimous.

5. E. OTHER OLD BUSINESS
(1) F. Bacon brought up the need to move on putting out an RFP to Historic Preservationists, now that the town has been awarded the grant in the amount of $7,500 to have the villages of Williamsville, South Newfane and Brookside placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

(2) M. Rohan received a call from Eric Gilbertson of Historic Preservation with a few questions regarding the Williamsville Hall grant to replace the steps and the walkway.

9. PAY ORDERS
Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Marek to approve the Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants for the following amounts:
12/22/01 Payroll $ 3,041.47
12/29/01 Payroll $ 2,970.20
01/04/02 Payroll $ 2,545.29
01/04/02 Acct's Payable #15 $ 22,069.26
Unanimous.
IRS Electronic Federal Payroll Tax Payments
12/24/01 $ 1,149.88
12/31/01 $ 1,092.09

5. B. REVIEW AND ADOPTION - JUNK YARD ORDINANCE
A list of clarification was compiled for the Board to discuss and decide upon, among them being the number of vehicles to be considered as a "junkyard" (three or more) and the enforcement officers (town constable, law enforcement officer, and zoning administrator). There were other typographical corrections to be made. Motion was made by R. Marek and seconded by L. Bedell to adopt the Ordinance Regulating Outdoor Storage of Junk and Junk Vehicles as corrected. Unanimous. The ordinance will be filed with the Town Clerk and a Legal Notice will be posted and advertised in the Brattleboro Reformer.

10. CORRESPONDENCE
A. A letter has been received from Sheriff William Graham regarding a section that should have been included in the Town Contract indicating that the Sheriff, as administrator of the contract shall be entitled to compensation at the rate not to exceed 5% of the total contract.

B. The town has received a letter from William E. Johnson, Director of Property Valuation and Review which indicates that to results of the 2001 equalization study has the Newfane's Coefficient of Dispersion at 20.60% with the Common Level of Appraisal at 75.76%.

C. A copy of a new Act 250 application package for telecommunication facilities has been received through Rep. D. Darrow. Copies have been circulated to the PC, ZA, CC and Board.

D. Copies of Water Supply/Wastewater Disposal Permits have been received from the Department of Environmental Conservation for the following: West River Acres, South Newfane Baptist Church, Charles & Hermine Bergmann and Marian W. Fickett. Copies have been circulated to the Planning Commission, Zoning Administrator, and Deputy Health Officer.

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION
No matters pertaining to Executive Session topics came before the Selectboard for discussion.

12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by J. Anderson to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board at 9:45 p.m. Unanimous.

Doris A. Knechtel
Administrative Assistant
Newfane Board of Selectmen

Posted:
Newfane Town Office, Newfane Store, Lessing's Family General Store and South Newfane General Store & Deli. www.newfanevt.com

ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT - 01/03/02

1. FLOOD WORK
* Mulching (last remaining item) was done by Fitzpatrick today. Bill Noyes will need detailed billing information to complete the project audit so payment of the final milestone should be contingent on receipt of a detailed bill and final inspection of the work by Bill Noyes. The work itself has been done in stages over the last several weeks and Jim and I have had multiple opportunities to review it. The work is very satisfactory. The roads are in much better shape than before the flood and will handle all but the most severe flooding.

2. GUARDRAIL
* Some (non-flood related) still to be done, probably next year.

3. COVERED BRIDGE
* The Williamsville end of the bridge was damaged by a large vehicle. A truck that rolled into the bridge and bent its muffler (after stopping and in the process of turning around) is not suspected of doing the damage. The vehicle that did do the damage is not known, there are beams that go across at the top of the truss and connect the trusses together. The first beam has been lifted about two inches on one side. The damage is very obvious because the siding also separated two inches on that side. The weight carrying ability or stability of the bridge does not appear to be harmed. The likely method of repair would be to use some type of very large clamp or strap/cable to draw the beam and the top of the truss back together.

4. PERMITS
* None.

5. EQUIPMENT
* The evaluation of the grader was performed but we don't have the results yet. This is unfortunate because it would be helpful in doing the capital budgeting. The replacement cycle was changed to 15 years.

6. PARISH HILL ROAD 'DIP'
* The blind/narrow section of Parish Hill Road by the four corners was reviewed in response to the recently received petition. The road width was measured. A normal section of road measures anywhere from 18 to 20 feet (usually closer to 18). The problem section is 16 to 17 feet wide. This is a problem because the narrow spot is at the crest of a rise and has shortened sight distances. The combination of steep slope on both sides of the rise and narrow width is what makes this area different. If the high spot is lowered then the driveway to the house that is at the top of it will be made more steep. A simple improvement would be to widen the road. There is no real obstacles to doing this. One utility pole might have to be relocated.

7. SOUTH WARDSBORO ROAD NARROW SECTION
* The narrow section in front of the former Lynn August residence (where the utility poles have recently been relocated) was reviewed. The road widths are the normal 18 to 20 feet above and below this residence. The road width in front of the house is 16 feet. This is where the road should be widened. Unfortunately this is also where the hillside meets the road most steeply. If the Grimes Hill Road project is used as an example then an Engineer would develop the grade lines for the altered section of road. A contractor would then perform the work. The up hill property owners (who have been very helpful) will need to give formal approval at some point. Since a disturbed bank will need a gentler slope than the existing slope, there will be minimal gains in road width even after extensively cutting back the bank.
Road Commissioner, Jesse Anderson

ROAD FOREMAN'S REPORT 01/03/02
TOWN OF NEWFANE HIGHWAY

1. Ice storm on 12/24/01 formed ice on all gravel roads causing the sanding of many sections of roads daily.

2. A large dead pine on Dover Road (TH#2) above Rutha Drive near the highway and power lines is to be cut down by CVPS according to Terry Redfield.

3. The flood work was completed today by Fitzpatrick Construction. Bill Noyes, VT Highway Department was notified.

4. Highway signs are being put up at various locations where vandals either took the signs or destroyed them. VT Buckle Up signs to be put up on School Road (TH#70) as provided by Windham County Sheriff's Department.

5. Mark Powling/Horace Sikes have not as of this date applied for a road access permit for log landing on New Road (TH#30).

6. Equipment: A. The 140G Grader is being evaluated by Southworth Milton. Results should be available soon. B. The Housatonic Plow should be here at the garage next week for the F-550 Ford truck. C. All other equipment is operational.

7. Bill Noyes to look at BR#19 - Brookline/Newfane bridge and BR#49 - Green Iron Bridge on Parish Hill Road (TH#26).
Respectfully submitted,
James O. Gray
Road Foreman

Newfane Board of Selectmen Page _ To: Newfane Board of Selectmen
Memorandum From: Doris A. Knechtel
Subject: Administrative Assistant's Report
Date: January 3, 2002

1. You have been given a copy of the Ordinance Regulating Outdoor Storage of Junk and Junk Vehicles. I included the items within the document as suggested by Dick Marek. There are some other items within the document that need to be decided by the Board that are listed on a separate memo.

2. I spoke with Judy Mirro of the ANR Environmental Assistance Division regarding the junk vehicles off of Browns Road. She gave me the name of the main enforcement officer, Herb Conly, and I left a message with him about having an enforcement official look at the site for violations pertaining to water quality. Violations of salvage or junkyards is under the jurisdiction of the Agency of Transportation. Judy also faxed me a copy of the new Marshfield Ordinance Regarding Unused Vehicle Requirements which has been included for your information. She wanted a copy of the VLCT Model Ordinance, which I faxed to her.

3. The lift at the Williamsville Hall has been repaired by Webber Accessibility as of last Wednesday. He recommends that the floor on the outside entrance be sanded down and he also suggested that some protection (roof) be put over the outside entrance door to the lift.

4. Tim Jeffers spoke with J. Gray, and Jeffers would not recommend a gas on demand water heater for the hall. It would need to be ventilated and would end up costing more for the tank and the installation. He recommends an electric 40 gallon water heater for approximately $400 which includes the installation.

5. There is a letter from Bea MacFarland included with your information asking for $10,000 to be included in the budget for the village sidewalks. Ideas: In-kind services by the Road Crew? or An Article on the Warning at Town meeting?

6. I spoke with Wayne Wells of Wilmington about assisting me with setting up my computer for E-mail and for transferring information and programs from the "old" machine. He charges $30.00 for troubleshooting and $20.00 for training. The Town Clerk in Dover, Mary Lou Raymo recommended him to me. I first will be setting up an e-mail account with sover.net which takes 2 to 3 days.

Please send all comments, suggestions and questions to info@newfanevt.com