MINUTES - ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING - BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MARCH 6th, 2003
NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE

PRESENT:
Selectmen: Gorty Baldwin, Priscilla Cotton, Gary Katz, Chris Williams, and Hendrik W. Piet van Loon.
Also Present: Greg Record, Edward Druke, Sr., and Doris A. Knechtel, Administrative Assistant.

1. CALL TO ORDER
The organizational meeting was called to order by Piet van Loon 7:00 p.m. All members of the Board were recently elected to serve the following terms: Gary Katz (2006), Gorty Baldwin (2005), Priscilla Cotton (2004), Chris Williams (2004) and Piet van Loon (2004).

2. ELECT: CHAIRMAN AND CLERK
CHAIRMAN - G. Katz nominated Hendrik W. “Piet” van Loon as the Chairman of the Newfane Board of Selectmen. Nominations were closed. In favor of Hendrik W. “Piet” van Loon as Chairman of the Newfane Board of Selectmen: G. Baldwin, P. Cotton, G. Katz and C. Williams.
CLERK - G. Katz nominated Administrative Assistant Doris A. Knechtel, as Clerk of the Newfane Board of Selectmen. Nominations were closed. Chairman P. Van Loon asked that the clerk cast one ballot in favor of Doris A. Knechtel to serve as Clerk of the Newfane Board of Selectmen. Unanimous.
Hendrik W. Piet van Loon elected as Chairman of the Newfane Board of Selectmen.
Doris A. Knechtel elected as the Clerk of the Newfane Board of Selectmen.

3. MEETING SCHEDULE
Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to have the regular meetings of the Newfane Board of Selectmen on the first and third Thursday of each month beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Newfane Town Office. Unanimous.
Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Katz to meet as the Board of Health and Local Board of Liquor Control Commissioners, as needed on the first and third Thursday. Unanimous.

4. LOCATION FOR POSTING OF NOTICES & MINUTES
Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Katz that the notices and minutes be posted at the following locations: Town Clerk’s Office, Newfane Store, Williamsville General Store, The South Newfane General Store & Deli. Unanimous. The minutes and notices as also posted on the www.newfanevt.com website.

5. OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR POSTING OF NOTICES & ADVERTISEMENTS
Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Katz to have the Brattleboro Reformer be the official newspaper for the posting of regular and special notices, legal notices and advertisements. Unanimous.

6. APPOINTMENTS
A. ROAD COMMISSIONER - The appointment of the Road Commissioner will be discussed later in the meeting.
Chairman P. van Loon, at this time, suggested that each Board member give a brief description of their background. He also has some ideas about the possibility of having a board member keep an eye on the buildings that the town owns.
B. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by G. Baldwin to appoint Edward J. Druke, Sr., Todd Lawley, Steve D. Jones, Jay Wilson and Greg Record to serve as members of the Emergency Management Committee. Unanimous.
C. DELEGATES TO WINDHAM REGIONAL COMMISSION - Motion was made by G. Baldwin and seconded by G. Katz to appoint Hendrik W. van Loon and George B. Weir to serve as the Delegates to Windham Regional Commission from Newfane. Unanimous.
D. ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER(S) - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by C. Williams to appoint the Windham County Sheriff’s Department to serve as the Animal Control Officer(s) for the Town of Newfane. Unanimous.
E. POUNDKEEPER - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to appoint the Windham County Humane Society to serve as the Poundkeeper for Newfane. Unanimous.
F. FENCE VIEWERS - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by C. Williams to appoint Larry C. Robinson, Gregory L. Record and Theodor E. Schreyer to serve as the Fence Viewers for the Town of Newfane. Unanimous.
G. INSPECTOR OF LUMBER, SHINGLES, & WOOD - Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Baldwin to appoint Carleton Chaffee to serve as the Inspector of Lumber, Shingles & Wood for the Town of Newfane. Unanimous.
H. WEIGHER OF COAL - Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Baldwin to appoint Carleton Chaffee to serve as the Weigher of Coal for Newfane. Unanimous.
I. REPRESENTATIVE TO RESCUE, INC. - Patrice E. Amirault has indicated that she is not interested in serving the Representative of Rescue, Inc. from the Town of Newfane. The Board will advertise for the vacancy.
J. TOWN ENERGY COORDINATOR - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to appoint Edward J. Druke, Sr. to serve as the Town Energy Coordinator for Newfane. Unanimous.
K. TOWN SERVICE OFFICER - Motion was made by C. Williams and seconded by P. Cotton to appoint Barbara Williams as the Town Service Officer for Newfane. Unanimous.
L. TREE WARDEN - Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Baldwin to appoint William C. Guenther as the Tree Warden for Newfane. Unanimous.
M. SEWAGE CONTROL OFFICER - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by C. Williams to appoint John J. Feifel, Sr. to serve as the Sewage Control Officer for the Town of Newfane. Unanimous.
N. COUNCIL ON AGING REPRESENTATIVE - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to appoint Thanice “Nissa” Petrak to serve as the representative from Newfane on the Council on Aging. Unanimous.
O. PLANNING COMMISSION - Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Baldwin to appoint Carolyn Katz to serve as a member of the Newfane Planning Commission for a term of four years to expire in March 2007. Unanimous.
P. ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT - P. Van Loon indicated that Jeff Boyd is not interested in being reappointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. J. Boyd has been a steady, influential, long serving member of the ZBA. A letter of thanks will be sent to him. Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Katz to appoint Richard P. Cronce to serve as a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a term to expire in 2007. Unanimous.
Q. WINDHAM SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to appoint Doris Knechtel as the Supervisor and Paul Van Gelder as the Alternate Supervisor from Newfane on the WSWMD Board. Unanimous.
R. VERMONT GREEN-UP - Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Katz to appoint Laura Bacon and Johanna Gardner to serve as the Co-Chairmen for Vermont Green-Up for Newfane. Unanimous.
S. CONSERVATION COMMISSION - Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by C. Williams to appoint William C. Guenther and Thomas D. Bedell to the Newfane Conservation Commission to each serve four year terms until the year 2007. Unanimous. One other four-year term needs to be filled as Paula Sagerman is not interested in being reappointed. The Conservation Commission will be meeting on March 13th and they may have a recommendation.
T. WILLIAMSVILLE HALL COMMITTEE - No members were appointed. The committee has not been very active. There was some discussion about the group’s responsibilities. P. Cotton will look into the matter.
U. VILLAGE ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE - Motion was made by C. Williams and seconded by P. Cotton to appoint Charles A. Bergmann, Edward J. Druke, Sr., Chris Petrak, Thanice Petrak, John T. Spicer and Margaret Spicer to serve as members of the Village Enhancement Committee until March 2004. Unanimous.
Each of the people appointed to the above positions will be sent a letter asking if they accept their individual appointments.
V. ASSISTANT TOWN CLERK - Town Clerk, Janice Litchfield, will appoint her Assistant Town Clerk(s).
W. ASSISTANT TREASURER - Town Treasurer, Shelbajean Hescock, will appoint her Assistant Treasurer(s).
X. ELECTED OFFICIAL POSITIONS OPEN
(1) TOWN AGENT & GRAND JUROR - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by C. Williams to appoint John E. Pyatak as the Town Agent and the Grand Juror for the Town of Newfane to serve until the March 2nd, 2004 Town Meeting. Unanimous. All other elected positions were filled during the recent elections.

Board members discussed the role of the Road Commissioner for the town of Newfane. The person should have knowledge of the roads and equipment and be “a people person”. The person does not have to be a Selectman. The commissioner should meet with the Road Foreman on a weekly basis to coordinate between the Highway Department and the Selectboard. On some issues the RC and the RF will agree and others they will not. Both G. Record and E. Druke, who have served in the capacity of Road Commissioner spoke of their experience. G. Katz indicated that he is willing to serve in that capacity. Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to appoint Gary M. Katz to serve as the Road Commissioner for the Town of Newfane. Unanimous.

7. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
A. No one was scheduled.

8. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC -
A. E. Druke thanked the Board for allowing the Disasters Do Happen questionnaire to be distributed within the Town Report mailing. The Emergency Management Committee may consider asking to include the same document in the tax bill mailing, as it will reach more people.

9. ROAD BUSINESS - A. ROAD FOREMAN’S REPORT
Chairman P. van Loon spoke with the Road Foreman before the meeting and he will not be in attendance this evening due to continued winter road maintenance conditions. J. Gray reported to P. van Loon that:
(1) All equipment is serviceable.
(2) T. Lawley is back working for two-hours per day for this week. Next week the time will increase to 4-hours per day.
(3) Snowmobiles continue to use some of the town roads, in particular, New Road (TH#30) and Penner Road (TH#31).

9. D. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS
(1) The March 20th meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with Roger Whitcomb and Mike Tuttle from VTrans being present to discuss the replacement of rehabilitation of Bridge #14 by the South Newfane Store. There has been a question about the erosion of the pier that supports the bridge. It does not appear to be on a solid foundation.
(2) A letter has been received from Ron Borland of VTrans asking what class 2 roads in Newfane are scheduled for repair and/or retreatment during 2003 as they want to schedule their centerline marking work. Some roads are assigned a route number and are scheduled to be done annually, along with the high traffic volume roads. All other class 2 roads in District #2 are being done on the even years.
(3) A Petition and Order for Pole and Wire Locations has been received from Verizon New England Inc. for permission to replace Pole 132 along Dover Road in the vicinity of Hunter Brook Road (TH#32) and William Mundell Road (TH#53). The Board will not act on the petition this evening. Verizon will be contacted regarding the removal of the “extra” poles along Depot Road and Dover Road (TH#2) to the Green Iron Bridge (BR#49). The town has made several requests, both written and through phone calls over the past few years about the pole removal.
(4) The Planning Commission will be conducting a site visit (3:00 p.m. on 03/18) and a site plan hearing at 6:30 p.m. on 03/18 for the Eagle River Mining Soapstone application. For the PC the issues are adequacy of traffic access, circulation and parking, landscaping and screening and protection of renewable energy resources. The access to the site is White Birch Lane and Silver Mine Trail, both legal trails, off of So. Wardsboro Road (TH#1). Glenn Bowman of Eagle River Mining, has been to both the Selectboard and the PC to review his plans. A former Soapstone company received an Act 250 permit 20 years ago which expires June 8th of 2003. No updated application has been submitted to the District #2 Environmental Commission. A copy of the PC submission will be given to the Board members.
(5) The reports are that there will be a temporary bridge installed on the downstream side of the Brookline/Newfane Bridge #19 in July to allow for the current bridge to be rehabilitated by the state. Under the state historic program, the bridge belongs to the state. Newfane and Brookline share the responsibility of the deck maintenance of the bridge.
(6) The membrane on Bridge #49, Green Iron Bridge in South Newfane, is to be removed and replaced with some other decking method by VTrans District #2 as the state is responsible for the repairs to the bridge. The town takes care of the washing of the bridge.
(7) The town will be applying for highway planning project grants to replace the substandard metal railing on Monroe Bridge (BR#15) and repair of the retaining wall opposite the Green Iron Bridge on Culhane’s corner. The applications will be ready for the Board at the March 20th meeting.
(8) The Board also discussed the Covered Bridge (CB#17) and a previous letter to the state to indicate the concerns for placing anything under the bridge that would decrease the stream channel. There was also discussion about contacting our representatives about receiving more funding from the state for repair and replacement of bridges on a more proportionate level as Newfane has one of the highest number of bridges in the state.

14. CORRESPONDENCE
A. A letter has been received from Corporal Ladd Wilber of the Windham County Sheriff’s Department regarding the suggestion to include a section in the towns traffic ordinance to allow for the ability to collect funds from the state generated traffic ticket revenue (VT Route 30). A copy of the Stockbridge ordinance was included. P. van Loon will respond to let Corporal Wilber know that there is a similar statement in the current Newfane Traffic Ordinance.
B. A copy of a letter sent by Chris Wagner of ANR to N. Mercede and M. Fitzpatrick regarding the certification of the Categorical Disposal facility located at the Maple Row Farm has been received. There are conditions on the permit which is good for a period of five years. P van Loon called ANR and suggested that the town be notified in the future in the event that there may be a need for a local permit as well.
C. Reports have been received from the Windham County Sheriff’s Department.

9. C. ACCESS/RIGHT OF WAY PERMITS
A letter has been written and received by Charles “Bud” Bergmann regarding the drainage concerns by the Inn at South Newfane and the logging road. C. Williams indicated that it is always wet there as there are springs that drain from off of the hill.

10. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT
A. Item #1 - P. van Loon has discussed the moisture problems with the Williamsville Hall lift with David Cotton.
B. Item #2 - The bids are due at the March 20th meeting for the replacement of the steps and walkway at the Williamsville Hall. No bids have been received to date.
C. Item #3 - The request for bids for the painting of the outside of the Williamsville Hall have been advertised and are due on April 3rd. There is $20,000 in the Capital Budget for FY 2004 for the Williamsville Hall which will cover the cost of painting and other items to improve the hall.
D. There will be a Town Officers Conference on April 24th in Springfield, VT. Anyone wishing to attend should complete the information by the April 3rd meeting so that a check may be processed. P. van Loon indicated that WRC may be getting a bus together to transport attendees to the seminar. For a few years, the conference has been held at Mount Snow.

12. MINUTES
A. Minutes of 02/06/03 - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by G. Baldwin to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of 02/06/3, as written. Unanimous.
B. Special Minutes of 02/13/03 - CORRECTIONS - Page #1 3.B. last sentence of motion to read - “...and will (proceed to make) consider the change, (when the) if after the sidewalk is done, it appears to be needed.” Page #2, 2., last sentence to read, “L. Bedell will make the (necessary) proposed changes to the (proposed) Personnel Handbook and will E-mail it to Selectboard members when (it has) they have been completed.” Page #2, 3.F. last sentence, “The Newfane Board will not be (making) taking a stand on this matter at this time....” Motion was made by G. Baldwin and seconded by G. Katz to approve the minutes of the special minutes of 02/13/03 as corrected. Unanimous.
C. Minutes of 02/20/03 -CORRECTIONS - Page #1, 4.A. Motion to be corrected “...to write a letter to Bud Bergmann which indicates that the board has given the (his) change of access permit preliminary consideration...” Page #2, 10.E. spelling - Southwestern. Motion was made by G. Baldwin and seconded by G. Katz to approve the minutes of 02/20/03 as corrected. Unanimous.

13. PAY ORDERS
Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to approve the Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants for the following amounts:
02/22/03 Payroll $ 3,719.84
03/01/03 Payroll $ 3,131.87
03/03/03 Payroll $ 2,355.17
03/07/03 Acct’s Payable #19 $ 22,237.63 Unanimous.

IRS Electronic Federal Payroll Tax Payments
02/26/03 $ 997.01
03/04/03 $ 1,377.21

11. OTHER BUSINESS
A. P. van Loon spoke of his philosophy of moving the meeting along to take care of the business at hand. He asked Board members to slow him down if he is moving along too fast.
B. The Board discussed the possibility of having a person to serve as a liaison to the Board to oversee the town buildings and their upkeep, in particular, the Town Office and the Williamsville Hall. That person could also be a Board member.
C. The Board also discussed the possibility of forming a Finance Committee. Such a committee may help with more timely reporting and to help restructure the Capital Budget and plan for more clarity.
D. There has been a request at Town Meeting to change the order of the warning to include the special petitioned articles to appear at the end of the meeting.
E. The matter of the Sears Road (TH#44) discontinuance road hearing is still open. The abutting property owners need to get back to the Board with some agreement about the right of way for the Johnson’s and who will be responsible for the costs. There also needs to be a site visit to finish the legal process.
F. Copies of the proposed Personnel Handbook will be given to the new Board members for their review. A meeting to further discuss the handbook will be held scheduled at some time in the future.
G. The Board will review a draft Goals and Objectives list at a future meeting to determine where we stand on some matters and to add new items if need be.
H. The meeting between the Chairman and the Administrative Assistant for the evaluation will take place in the near future and will include comments from previous Board members.
15. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to adjourn the Organizational Meeting of the Board at 9:40 p.m. Unanimous.

Doris A. Knechtel
Administrative Assistant
Newfane Board of Selectmen

Posted: Town Clerk's Office, Newfane Store, Williamsville General Store and the South Newfane General Store & Deli.
www.newfanevt.com

1. The lift at the Williamsville Hall needs to be looked at by Weber Accessibility as, unless someone is on the outside to push on the door, a connection is not made properly. The lift works from the inside. I have received suggestions from some of the residents that a handle should be installed on the inside of the outer door to help pull it closed from the inside. I imagine that moisture and building settlement during the winter months may have something to do with the problem. It is against the law for anyone other than a certified lift operator to work on the equipment. (Liability issue.)

2. The bids are due at the March 20th meeting for the replacement of the steps and the walkway at Williamsville Hall.

3. The bids for the painting of the outside of the Williamsville Hall building has been advertised and will be sent out to perspective contractors. Bids are due on April 3rd. The monies for the project are in the FY 2004 Capital Budget.

4. A bid needs to be prepared and set out for an auditing firm to prepare to audit for the FY 2003. In the past, the town has contacted for three years with a firm. The current auditing firm’s contract expired with FY 2002.

5. The meeting of the Board to be held on March 20th will begin at 6:30 p.m. Roger Whitcomb and Mike Tuttle from the Agency of Transportation will be here to discuss Bridge #14 by the South Newfane store.

6. A s a reminder, the highway grant applications for Newfane road or bridge projects will need to be submitted soon after the March 20th meeting.

7. Congratulations on your recent election and welcome to the new Board, Priscilla, Chris, Gorty, Gary and Piet. Nice to have all of you here. Any time you have questions or need assistance, just let me know.

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