REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
FEBRUARY 21st, 2002

PRESENT:
Selectmen: Mike Rohan, Jesse Anderson, Fred Bacon, Lynn Bedell and Richard Marek.
Also Present: David Clarkson, Andrew Johnson, Art Monette, Henry Pickney, Aaron Diamondstone, Verne Carey, John Spicer, Carolyn Katz, Gary Katz, Ellen Darrow, Fred Lawrence, Myra Fassler, Ed Druke, Laura Bacon of Conservation Commission, H.W. Piet van Loon as Zoning Administrator, Guenther Garbe of Planning Commission, and Doris A. Knechtel, Administrative Assistant.

1. CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting was called to order by Chairman Mike Rohan at 7:03 p.m.

2. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

A. PUBLIC HEARING - ORDINANCE REGULATING OUTDOOR STORAGE OF JUNK AND JUNK VEHICLES

Chairman M. Rohan indicated that the purpose of this hearing is to hear further comments and to answer questions from the public regarding the ordinance passed by the Board on January 3rd and amended on January 17th. The ordinance has been on the agenda and discussed by the Board at various meetings over the past few months. The ordinance takes effect 60 days from the date of passage unless within 45 days after the ordinance has been passed by the Board, citizens submit a petition with 5% of the registered voters (64 - 65 people) asking for a special meeting to discuss and vote on the ordinance. 45 days from the date the amended ordinance will be March 3rd. There are regulations within the state statutes regarding junk vehicles, but without a budget to enforce the laws. Board members felt that with a town ordinance, any junk and junk vehicle problems can be resolved at the local level.

Questions were raised from the members of the public present asking how the process would work. Complaints would be received, possible neighbors, and would be investigated by an enforcement officer (constable or law enforcement officer) who would deem if it is a real offense. The Select board would then send a letter to the owner of any junk or junk vehicles and request that the items be removed or screened from view of the traveled way of the highway or town road, or from view of an abutting landowner. If the owner of the junk does not remove or screen the items from view within 30 days from the date of mailing of the written notice then the Select board will take action to have the items removed at the owners expense and issue a ticket.

The definitions were discussed and reviewed regarding the meaning of junk, junkyard, and junk motor vehicle. It is not to say that property owners may not have these items, but they must be screened from the abutting property owners. If a person has a junkyard business, then they need to have a junk yard license from the state. With this ordinance there is a balancing of rights, the right to own the "junk" and the right of the abutting property owner to have the items screened. It was also brought up that having the "junk" in full view could impact on a neighboring business as well as impacting on property values.

2. A. JUNK AND JUNK VEHICLES ORDINANCE HEARING - (cont.)
Another area of impact could be the concern for the environmental pollutants from the motor vehicle fluids (gas, oil, etcetera) leaking into the ground and reaching, possibly damaging someone's water supply or a stream.

Board members indicated that they will try to work with property owners to encourage them to clean up any offenses. It could be costly for some to remove any debris.

The process for submitting a petition was reviewed for those present. The members of the public were thanked for coming to the hearing.

B. CELL TOWER ORDINANCE
The review and comments of the Cell Tower Ordinance have been received from Jon Groveman, Esq. of the VLCT Law Center. Piet van Loon also attended a meeting on Telecommunication Towers sponsored by VLCT and he also spoke with J. Groveman about the proposed ordinance.

One the main questions to be decided upon by the Board will be whether the regulation will be passed as an ordinance or a bylaw. The ordinance language is designed for communities without zoning. There could be an amendment to the current zoning bylaw or the regulation could be passed as an interim bylaw in which case there would be one hearing by the Board of Selectmen, with a warning time of 15 days. The amendment option would necessitate at least two hearings, one for the Planning Commission and one by the Board of Selectmen, and would be a longer process. An interim bylaw would be effective for two years and could be extended. With a bylaw, rather than an ordinance, the Planning Commission would be involved in the permitting process, whereas the ordinance involves the Selectmen. There are other issues involving zoning to be considered; Would two acres be required?, Is it a business?, Does a tower need to be on a paved road?

If passed as an ordinance, it would remain as an ordinance and could not be rescinded. An interim bylaw could be incorporated into the current bylaw.

The recommendations from Jon Groveman of VLCT will be incorporated into a draft Cell Tower document for the Board to discuss and review at the March 7th organizational meeting. 3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

A. D. Clarkson questioned, if a petition is received for the Board to have a special meeting to vote on the Ordinance Regulating Outdoor Storage of Junk and Junk Vehicles would the vote be a floor vote or would it be by Australian Ballot? No conclusions were reached during a discussion of the matter. A clarification will be made with the Secretary of State's office.

4. ROAD BUSINESS
4. A. ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #3 - J. Anderson will contact Wm. Noyes about having him look at the damage that was done to the covered bridge (CB#17) when it was hit by a truck and other items that should be reviewed, like the Arch Bridge (BR#12).

(2) Item #6 - Both the RC and the RF (Item #5) have mentioned in their reports that the "old poles" on Depot Road (TH#2) and Dover Road (TH#2) should be removed when the changing of the wires has been complete. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Marek to send a letter to the telephone company requesting that the "old poles" be removed now that the wires have been moved to the "new poles". Chairman M. Rohan will sign the letter. Unanimous.

(3) Item #9 - (RF - Item #4) - The evaluation of the 140G Grader has been completed by Southworth-Milton. The transmission needs extra monitoring. Two years ago there about $7000 Minutes was spent on repairs for the grader. The replacement of the grader is scheduled for FY 2007 in the capital budget.

(4) Item #7 - (RF - Item #3) - Some of the log trucks operating on South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) to not have overweight permits from the town. The truck traffic also causes a problem during mud season. J. Gray can post the roads. There have also been reports of the trucks not yielding to oncoming traffic, making for a dangerous situation. R. Marek has a call into Sergeant Wilson of the Sheriff's Department to discuss the problems.

4. B. ROAD FOREMAN'S REPORT - (See attached report)
See items mentioned above in the RC's report.

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.

5. B. OTHER OLD BUSINESS
(1) The town has received notification that Williamsville Hall has been awarded a Historic Preservation Grant for the year 2002 in the amount of $2,500 for the concrete steps and walk repairs. Motion was made by R. Marek and seconded by J. Anderson to have Chairman Michael Rohan sign the 2002 Historic Preservation Grant Acknowledgement form to accept the offer of a matching grant in the amount of $2,500 from the State of Vermont. Unanimous. A Request for Proposal will need to be put together to be sent out after the original grant agreement with the Division is signed and returned.

(2) The original grant agreement has not been received from the Department of Housing & Community Affairs for the proposed Historic Districts of Brookside, South Newfane and Williamsville. The amount requested for the original Historic District grant was for $10,000. That amount received was for $7,500. The budget figures in the grant have to be adjusted to reflect the change in the grant amount. Joan Weir is working on revised budget numbers with WRC. When the RFP is sent out, the Board would like to have the entire project completed, not just part of it. (3) R. Marek asked if there has been any response for the redesign of the intersection of Radway Hill Road (TH#4) and River Road (TH#15). Nothing has been received. T. O'Connor will be contacted for a status report.

(4) The Board wrote a letter to the Government Operations Committee expressing their strong opposition to the proposed redistricting plan of Windham-5 consisting of Newfane, Dover, Stratton and Wardsboro. Depending on what the outcome of the vote in the House, the Board will next address the VT Senate to protect the interest of Newfane in the proposed reapportionment.

7. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT'S REPORT - (See attached report)

A. Item #1 - A draft Highway Access Policy will be developed for review by the Board to be considered.

B. Item #5 - Motion was made by R. Marek and seconded by F. Bacon to authorize the expenditure of $216.00 for 12 months of service through SoVerNet, Inc. Unanimous. The amount will be added to Accounts Payable Warrant #20.

C. L. Bedell, F. Bacon and DAK met to work on revisions of the current Newfane personnel policy. They will continue to meet to prepare a full draft document to the Board and the town employees.

8. MINUTES
The minutes of the Regular Meeting of 02/07/02 were reviewed by the Board.
CORRECTIONS: Page #3, 5.B. (2) second sentence: "The list was received from P. Sagerman who indicated she can supply more names if desired." Page #3, 5.B. (3) first sentence: " F. Bacon (has spoken with) received an E-mail from Bahman Mahdavi regarding additional..." Motion was made by R. Marek and seconded by F. Bacon to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of 02/07/02, as corrected. Unanimous.

6. NEW BUSINESS
A. INFORMATION FOR TOWN MEETING
The Board reviewed the packet of information for the articles for Town Meeting and discussed some of the various budget items, in particular the additional amounts for traffic control for the Sheriff's Department and the Vermont State Police. M. Rohan will stop in to review the capital budget information, in particular, and other information in general with DAK. Some of the articles are to be covered by those who presented petitions for the articles.

9. PAY ORDERS
Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by R. Marek to approve the Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants for the following amounts:
02/09/02 Payroll $ 2,717.33
02/16/02 Payroll $ 3,304.62
02/20/02 Payroll $ 760.45
02/14/02 Acct's Payable #19 $ 454.02
02/22/02 Acct's Payable #20 $ 14,478.23
Unanimous.

IRS Electronic Federal Payroll Tax Payments
02/13/02 $ 1,740.28
02/20/02 $ 831.68

3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC - (cont.)
B. David Clarkson thanked Michael Rohan for his years of service to the community. He indicated that M. Rohan has done a championship job and has had to make many sacrifices. D. Clarkson stated that he has the greatest respect for M. Rohan.

M. Rohan has served on the Board of Selectmen since his appointment in December of 1994. Before that he served as a member of the Planning Commission for several years. He is not seeking reelection as a select board member.

10. CORRESPONDENCE
A. A copy of a letter to Angela Magara, State Hazard Mitigation Officer, from Attorney Jane Krochmalny regarding a proposed deed for the proposed acquisition of Patricia Williams' property on Steep Way (TH#21) through the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Program, has been received.

B. A letter has been received from Representative Dan Darrow with a copy of a bill to be debated in the House involving redistricting. He also included a copy of a letter he sent to Governor Dean regarding the matter. The proposed Windham-5 district has Newfane, Dover, Wardsboro and Stratton together.

C. A copy of a letter was received from the Townshend Board of Civil Authority regarding Vermont's redistricting proposal. Townshend objects to Windham-6 district which includes Athens, Brookline, Grafton, Rockingham, Townshend and Windham.

D. A letter of thanks was received from the Historical Society of Windham county for the appropriation from the town of $250 for FY 2002.

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

12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by J. Anderson to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board at 9:35 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 - 02/21/02

1. No Permits required review.

2. A call was received complaining about the conditions on a previously approved access permit. Jim and I have reviewed the situation and do not see any way that we would recommend waiving the requirement for a culvert to the board if the application were filed again with a request to amend it.

3. Open issues that need resolution are, the flood work audit paperwork and repair of the covered bridge where it was hit by a truck and the corner raised up.

4. Lower priority items that need attention are to spec out the truck that we will be purchasing and to perform an infrastructure inventory.

5. I reviewed sidewalk engineering proposals and attended a meeting at the WRC in Brattleboro to select an Engineering firm. This project (engineering of the sidewalks, permitting, reaching agreements with property owners), will be ongoing throughout the upcoming year. The Village and the WRC would like the Road Commissioner to continue to be involved.

6. The electric line upgrade through the village of Williamsville is complete and the short duplicate poles can now be removed by the phone company. The phone company has been waiting on the Depot Road (TH#2) poles until the work in the village was done so that they could remove all of the duplicate poles at once. The board should send a letter requesting that the poles be removed as soon as possible.

7. According to Jim (I don't drive up So. Wardsboro Road very often) there are still log trucks from out of the area that are using the Roads without permits. This is a difficult enforcement issue since the Board has already asked the Sheriff's Department to make speeding a priority. Another problem is locating he company that runs the logging operations for the trucking of the logs in order to talk to them about complying with the permit process.

8. There has been a lot of illness this year and unfortunately the Road Crew has not escaped.

9. Jim tells me that the evaluation of the Grader has pinpointed the transmission as a cause for concern and extra monitoring.

ROAD FOREMAN'S REPORT 02/21/02
TOWN OF NEWFANE HIGHWAY

1. Ice storm on 2/10/02 required sanding of roads several times and salting of blacktop. Snowstorm on 2/17/02 required plowing off and sanding or salting of all roads.

2. Pot holes in blacktop are being filled with coldpatch. South Newfane store bridge (BR#14) and Brookline bridge (BR#19) are in constant need of patching.

3. The posting of roads for mud season will have to be done soon to prevent damage. South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) has many heavy log trucks due to the stockpiling of logs in Wardsboro.

4. Equipment: A. The evaluation of the 140G Grader has been received from Southworth-Milton. Repairs have been recommended. B. All other equipment is operational.

5. Twenty six utility poles remain on Depot Road (TH#2) in addition to the new utility poles. Many years have passed since the new three-phase power lines were put in.
Respectfully submitted,
James O. Gray
Road Foreman

To: Newfane Board of Selectmen
Memorandum From: Doris A. Knechtel
Subject: Administrative Assistant's Report
Date: February 21, 2002

1. I spoke with M. Rohan about developing a Highway Access Policy to go along with the towns access/right of way forms. It may help to clarify for the applicant what is expected and would give more "teeth" to the form. I have a Model Ordinance from Vermont Local Roads Program to serve as a guideline.

2. To the best of my knowledge, Attorney Jane Krochmalny has not heard back from Angela Margara pertaining to Patricia Williams' property. I have left a message with her to let the Board know when she hears of something.

3. I spoke with Joan Weir regarding the grant from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs for the Historic Districts. Additional information is to be sent to DH&CA before the paper work is sent to the town. J. Weir is working with WRC, who assisted in the grant proposal, to get the required information to DH&CA in the near future so that the town can then get the RFP's out to potential bidders.

4. The grant for the Williamsville Hall steps has been received from the Division of Historic Preservation and the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in the amount of $2,500, thanks to Fred Bacon. A form needs to be signed by M. Rohan to acknowledge receipt of the grant.

5. I have faxed the Service Agreement to SoVerNet. I do not believe that the town qualifies for nonprofit status. It will be advantage for the town to pay for a year of service for $216, ($18.00 per month). The amount of $216 should be added to the pay order is the Board agrees.

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