Any and all corrections to the following minutes will be made at the 04/05/00 Board of Selectmen's meeting and are considered unapproved until then. Corrections will be noted in the minutes of that meeting.

PRESENT:

Selectmen: Mike Rohan, Jesse Anderson, Fred Bacon, Lynn Bedell, and Richard Marek.

Also Present: Greg Record, Edward J. Druke, Sr., Beth Meachem of Baber Community Art Center, James Gray, Road Foreman, and Doris A. Knechtel, Administrative Assistant.

The organizational meeting was called to order by Michael Rohan at 7:01 p.m. The newly elected members of the Board were welcomed, Fred Bacon and Richard Marek.

CHAIRMAN - L. Bedell nominated M. Rohan as the Chairman of the Newfane Board of Selectmen. Nominations were closed. In favor of Michael Rohan as Chairman of the Newfane Board of Selectmen: J. Anderson, F. Bacon, L. Bedell, and R. Marek.

VICE-CHAIRMAN - J. Anderson nominated Lynn Bedell as Vice-Chairman of the Newfane Board of Selectmen. Nominations were closed. In favor of Lynn Bedell as Vice-Chairman of the Newfane Board of Selectmen: J. Anderson, F. Bacon, M. Rohan and R. Marek.

CLERK - J. Anderson nominated Administrative Assistant Doris A. Knechtel, as Clerk of the Newfane Board of Selectmen. Nominations were closed. In favor of Doris A. Knechtel to serve as Clerk of the Newfane Board of Selectmen. Unanimous.

Doris A. Knechtel elected as the Clerk of the Newfane Board of Selectmen.

Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by L. Bedell 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 and to meet as the Board of Health and Local Board of Liquor Control Commissioners, as needed on the first and third Thursday. Unanimous.

Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by M. Rohan that the notices and minutes be posted at the following locations: Town Clerk’s Office, Patsy’s County Seat Market, Newfane Store, Lessing’s Family General Store and the South Newfane General Store & Deli. The minutes are being posted on the web at www.newfanevt.com website. Unanimous.

Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by R. Marek to have the Brattleboro Reformer be the official newspaper for the posting of regular and special notices, legal notices and advertisements. Unanimous.

A. ROAD COMMISSIONER - Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by R. Marek to appoint Jesse W. Anderson as the Road Commissioner for the Town of Newfane. In favor: M. Rohan, F. Bacon, L. Bedell, and R. Marek. Abstaining: J. Anderson. Motion passes.

B. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE - Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by L. Bedell 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 M. Rohan and seconded by R. Marek 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 J. Anderson and seconded by F. Bacon 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 M. Rohan and seconded by F. Bacon to appoint the Windham County Humane Society to serve as the Poundkeeper for Newfane. Unanimous.

F. FENCE VIEWERS - Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by L. Bedell 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 L. Bedell and seconded by R. Marek 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 J. Anderson and seconded by F. Bacon to appoint Carleton Chaffee to serve as the Weigher of Coal for the Town of Newfane. Unanimous.

I. REPRESENTATIVE TO RESCUE, INC. - Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by R. Marek to appoint Patrice E. Amirault to serve as the Representative of Rescue, Inc. from the Town of Newfane. Unanimous.

J. TOWN ENERGY COORDINATOR - Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by L. Bedell to appoint Edward J. Druke, Sr. to serve as the Town Energy Coordinator for Newfane. Unanimous.

K. TOWN SERVICE OFFICER - Motion was made by R. Marek and seconded by F. Bacon to appoint Barbara Williams as the Town Service Officer for Newfane. Unanimous.

L. TREE WARDEN - Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by M. Rohan to appoint William C. Guenther as the Tree Warden for Newfane. Unanimous.

M. SEWAGE CONTROL OFFICER - Motion was made by F. Bacon and seconded by R. Marek 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 L. Bedell and seconded by J. Anderson to appoint Barbara Kinoy to serve as the representative from Newfane on the Council on Aging. Unanimous.

O. PLANNING COMMISSION - A new member is needed to serve as a member of the Newfane Planning Commission for a term to serve until the year 2005. Anyone interested should contact the Planning Commission or a member of the Board of Selectmen.

P. ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT - Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by R. Marek to appoint David M. Clarkson to serve as a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a four year term (2005). Unanimous. An additional ZBA member is also needed.

Q. WINDHAM SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT - Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by J. Anderson 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 J. Anderson and seconded by F. Bacon to appoint Laura Bacon and Johanna Gardner to serve as the Co-Chairman for Vermont Green-Up for Newfane. Unanimous.

S. CONSERVATION COMMISSION - Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by F. Bacon to appoint Bruce Hesselbach and Greg Record to the Newfane Conservation Commission to each serve four year terms until the year 2005. Unanimous.

T. WILLIAMSVILLE HALL COMMITTEE - No appointments were made.

U. VILLAGE ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE - No appointments were made.

Discussion - 6. T. & U. - Chairman M. Rohan brought up the question of whether the town wants to have standing committee that are appointed each year without a focus for the next calendar year. He used the example of the Cemetery Committee who was appointed by the Board, was assigned particular tasks, completed the tasks required by the Board and was disbanded. For both the Williamsville Hall Committee and the Village Enhancement Committee, all decisions, responsibility and liability lies with the Board of Selectmen. Recently, two events have been scheduled at the Williamsville Hall by the WH Committee without first being put on the hall schedule through the Administrative Assistant.. If there had been a problem the Board would have been liable.

The Board members would like to invite representatives of the Williamsville Hall Committee on April 5th and the Village Enhancement Committee on April 19th to discuss the focus of each committee for the coming year, define the committee’s governmental role, and to determine if their committee work for the town is approaching an end. The committee’s should not be self-perpetuating. L. Bedell also mentioned that each committee needs to remain of a manageable size in order to function. The committee’s will also be sent copies of the Open Meeting Law to remind them of the procedures to be followed for the warning of meetings and requirements for posting of notices and minutes.

Beth Meachem from the Baber Community Art Center in Jamaica was present to inform the Board of a project, Kids Art for Public Space. The pilot project is being worked in conjunction with the Windham regional Commission Route 30 Implementation Group, VTrans, area Planning Commissions and Jim Florschultz for use of public art for traffic calming. The students are from elementary school on up. There will be eight sessions beginning on the first Monday in April. They are looking to interest the students in the visual and historic aspects of the villages and surroundings. It is hoped that the students will be more open and will bring fresh ideas to the program. B. Meachem will be getting together with other Route 30 communities to inform them of the program.

J. Anderson asked if the group has addressed the concerns and challenges for location of art work within the highway right of way or on private property. Those matters will be considered.

The Board members thanked B. Meachem for bringing this type of project to the area and encouraged her efforts to bring arts to the Upper Route 30 valley.

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).

6. X. ELECTED OFFICIAL POSITIONS OPEN

(1) AUDITORS - No one was elected to fill the three vacant terms (2002, 2003 and 2004) of auditor at the recent election. One resident has agreed to serve as an Auditor until the next regular or special town meeting. Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by J. Anderson to appoint Neil H. Pelsue to serve as auditors for the Town of Newfane until the next regular or special town meeting. Unanimous. It will be posted that there are two additional Auditor positions open.

(2) LISTER - No one was elected to serve as a Lister for the Town of Newfane. A few names were suggested and those people will be contacted. The vacancy will also be posted.

(3) TOWN AGENT - No one was elected to serve as Town Agent during the recent elections. Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by J. Anderson to appoint John E. Pyatak to serve as the Town Agent for the Town of Newfane until the next regular or special town meeting. Unanimous.

(4) GRAND JUROR - No one was elected to serve a Grand Juror during the recent elections. Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by J. Anderson to appoint John E. Pyatak to serve as the Grand Juror for the Town of Newfane until the next regular or special town meeting. Unanimous.

8. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: UNSCHEDULED - None of the members of the public present had any matters to bring before the Board.

J. Anderson has been appointed as the Newfane Road Commissioner. He and J. Gray, the Road Foreman, will meet on Friday morning or some other agreeable schedule.

B. ROAD FOREMAN’S REPORT - (See attached report)

(1) Item #2 - J. Gray will be posting South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) on 03/16 for mud season. A Canadian log truck is causing damage to the road. Other roads will be posted for mud season if abused.

(2) Item #3 - CVPS will be removing the large dead pine by Merton Coleman’s on Timson Hill Road (TH#41) this next week. The road will need to be closed. When J. Gray is notified of the date and the time, a notice will be put on the radio and posted to alert the residents. J. Gray will also put up signs for Road Closed and Detour.

E. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS

(1) J. Anderson asked about preparation to help ward off possible flooding from the melting of snow. J. Gray indicated that the snow is being "winged back" along the town roads.

(2) F. Bacon informed J. Gray of the compliment that the Town Highway Crew received at Town Meeting for the great job that they have done during the July flood and the heavy winter snow season.

(3) J. Gray indicated that is trying another possible solution for the plow on the F-550. With the last repair the plow works on the black-top only. The Board may consider selling the plow and replacing it with a plow that function with all applications.

C. Municipal Excess Weight Limit Permits - Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by F. Bacon to approve the following Excess Weight Permits as proposed:

Anderson Excavating 2 axle @ 46,900# Okay Yes

3 axle @ 60,000# Okay

4 axle @ 69,000# Reduced to 60M#

Carroll Concrete Co. 3 axle @ 60,000# Okay Yes

4 axle @ 69,000# Reduced to 60M#

Lynde Well Drilling, Inc. 3 axle @ 55,000# Okay Yes

3 axle @ 61,700# Reduced to 60M#

4 axle @ 74,000# Denied

5 axle @ 80,000# Denied

Unanimous. The permit holders will be sent a copy of the Newfane Policy and Procedures for Excess Weight Permits and a Bridge Restriction List.

10. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT - (See attached report)

A. Item #4 - In the future, when there are events scheduled at the Williamsville Hall where a large crowd is anticipated, the organizers (Lessees) will be asked to provide traffic control and parking for cars in excess of on-street capacity provided. (#8 - Williamsville Hall Use Policy).

B. Item #5 - Motion was made L. Bedell and seconded by J. Anderson to have a letter written to the Bonneyvale Environmental Education Center for signature by Chairman M. Rohan, granting permission for the cutting of some trees and for the planting of willow trees on the town owned property adjacent to the "old" Williamsville dam. Unanimous.

C. Item #7 - A draft Request For Proposal for a Newfane town-wide reappraisal will be forthcoming for the Board to review before sending out.

D. Chris Madden of the USPS called to let the Board know that the proposed new Newfane Post Office facility has been postponed due to a funding shortage within the USPO. Between 700 - 800 post office projects across the nation have been suspended until further notice. 11. OTHER BUSINESS

A. M. Rohan spoke with C. Ballou regarding the pot holes on the Brookline/Newfane bridge (BR#19). Brookline will take care of the potholes this time. The individual towns responsibility for the repairs to the bridge are to be considered on a calendar year: Brookline on the even years and Newfane on the odd years.

B. Roger Whitcomb will be contacted about meeting with the Board to review the Williamsville Covered bridge plans. April 19th will be a suggested date.

14. CORRESPONDENCE

A. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Marek to have the Chairman, Michael N. Rohan, sign the Project Review Sign Off sheet for the Brookline-Newfane BHO 1442 (25) project to indicate that the town of Newfane has no comment on the content of the plans or on the constructability of the project as designed. Unanimous.

B. The trustees of the Incorporated Village of Newfane have asked the Newfane Selectmen to write a letter of support to be included with their grant application of the Newfane Village Sidewalk Restoration project. Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by J. Anderson to write a letter of support to be signed by Chairman Michael N. Rohan. Unanimous.

C. Correspondence has been received from Laura Bacon, Chair of the Newfane Conservation Commission, requesting that the Board of Selectmen request a permanent variance for a parking permit at the Town Garage for the Town Forest trails. DAK has spoken with the Zoning Administrator, Piet van Loon about the needed paper work.

Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by J. Anderson to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 15, 2001, as written. Unanimous. Other minutes will be forthcoming. (See report item #1.)

Chairman M. Rohan reviewed the process for the signing of the Pay Orders for the town with the newly elected members, F. Bacon and R. Marek.

Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by J. Anderson to approve the Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants for the following amounts:

03/03/01 Payroll $ 3,678.74

03/10/01 Payroll $ 4,874.84

03/15/01 Payroll $ 614.22

03/16/01 Acct’s Payable #21. $ 30,925.93 Unanimous.

IRS Electronic Federal Payroll Tax Payments

03/06/01 $ 1,340.55

03/14/01 $ 1,397.78

C. Goals & Objectives - The Board discussed various goals & objectives to be considered during this next year, such as a proposal for the siting of the "old" covered bridge, Zoning Bylaw, Reappraisal, Traffic Calming, role of the Sheriff’s Department - Constable - State Police, River Road improvements, and update of Personnel Policy. The Board will further discuss this matter at their meeting of April 5th. It is recommended that there be no more than 3 to 5 goals to be accomplished each year.

D. J. Anderson suggested that a new schedule be prepared for the bids that are to be sent out for this coming year. It serves as a good reminder. State contracts for various supplies will also be looked into.

E. Appointments - Route 30 Corridor Implementation Committee - Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by F. Bacon to appoint Hendrik "Piet" van Loon and Charles "Bud" Bergmann to serve as members from Newfane on the Route 30 Corridor Implementation committee. Unanimous.

F. The Board further discussed the Williamsville Hall and the funds that have been spent over the past few years. Improvements have been the septic, well, bathrooms, second means of egress, the lift, electrical upgrades, etcetera. There are still items that need to be addressed: front steps, inside railings and steps, painting inside and out. For this next fiscal year, the Board did not put any funds into the hall for capital improvements. A status report on the capital expenses to date at the hall will be compiled. In the discussions with the Williamsville Hall committee, the Board wants too steer their efforts in a constructive way and focus on the needs.

D. Urgent notice has been received from VTrans concerning snow removal form covered bridges after the unfortunate collapse of the Johnson Power House Bridge.

E. A copy of correspondence from WRC to Department of Housing and Community Affairs regarding WRC’s comments on the proposed Rules for State Matching Funds under the Federal Public Assistant Program.

F. Notification has been received from Rep. R.C. Pembroke of the House Transportation Committee regarding scheduled workshops sponsored by the Vermont Local Roads Program.

G. A copy of a Subdivision Permit for a one lot subdivision of 5.86 acres with more than 10 acres remaining off Upper Eager Road (TH#13) on property owned by Henry Pinckney.

H. A copy of a Water Supply/Wastewater Disposal Permit for Frederick Kauffeld for a project consisting of a failed septic system for Rick’s Tavern.

I. A letter has been received form Christine Eldred, Staff Assistant for Congressman Bernie Sanders with a copy of response from the USPS regarding the exemption of taxes for federal government property. The question concerned the South Newfane/Williamsville Post Office building and the rental of space to another entity.

J. The WRC March 2001 Newsbrief has been received.

K. The February 2001 VLCT News has been received.

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

Doris A. Knechtel

Administrative Assistant

Newfane Board of Selectmen