MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING - BOARD OF SELECTMEN
JULY 18th, 2002
NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE

PRESENT:
Selectmen: Richard Marek, Jesse Anderson, Lynn Bedell, and Piet van Loon.
Absent: Gary Katz.
Also Present: Emily Long of Leland and Gray School Board, Martha Webber, Clay Coyle, James Gray as Road Foreman and Doris A. Knechtel, Administrative Assistant.

1. CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting was called to order by Chairman Richard Marek at 7:10 p.m.

2. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
No members of the public were scheduled.

3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
A. Emily Long - Leland and Gray School Board - E. Long, a Newfane representative on the Leland and Gray School Board, came to the Selectboard to let them know where the process is for a Bond Vote for the restoration of Dutton Gym and an addition to the main building. The Dutton Gym will be restored to its original function as a gym for use by physical education classes, athletic teams and community groups. The plan is to also extend the main building for an auditorium/theater, two adequate art rooms, an adequate woodworking classroom, a music area off the auditorium/theater and a scene shop and a costume shop adjacent to the auditorium/theater. The project will cost a total of $4.5 Million. $1.15 million or 24% is to come from the Department of Education funding, $1.80 million or 40% from private fundraising efforts, grants and the like, and $1.55 million of 36% from the public bond. The bond vote is scheduled for election day on November 5th. Each town within the school district will vote on the bond. E. Long indicated that the Act 250 process is on track. They have also heard a favorable response from the Agency of Natural Resources. Information was also provided from the VT Department of Education School Finance Team along with information on Capital Construction, State Bonding and the Finance of School Construction. The Board thanked E. Long for bringing this matter to them.
B. Clay Coyle and Martha Webber - Verizon Line Maintenance
C. Coyle and M. Webber were present to discuss with the Board the recent maintenance cutting under the phone lines performed by Verizon crews. The lines run through their property. The area that they are most concerned about is the severe cutting over Smith Brook. Some of the trees were 30 years old. The banks of the brook have been denuded which may cause further erosion. It appears that a wider swath was cut that was required. M. Webber indicated that she just completed a video on water quality and one of the things that should not be done is the cutting of trees along a stream bank. Verizon did notify the Road Foreman that cutting was going to occur. The property owners were not notified. Bill Guenther has since been contacted to look into the cutting that has happened. Motion was made by P. van Loon and seconded by L. Bedell to have the Board write a letter to Verizon to recommend that they contact the property owner before the line trimming and to also recommend that they plant trees along the stream bank in consultation with the landowner and the tree warden. Unanimous.

4. C. OTHER OLD BUSINESS
(1) George Parquette , property owner on Station Road (TH#66) spoke with L. Bedell regarding his problems with the legal trail off of Station Road that many people use during the summer months to access the brook for swimming. He may want to come to a meeting. He will be contacted about the dates and times of the regular meetings of the Board in August. (1st and 15th) (2) The Board discussed the duplicate utility poles that have not yet been removed along Depot Road (TH#2) after a project that took place several years and along Dover Road (TH#2) through the village of Williamsville for a more recent project. It appears that the duplicate poles on private property have been removed, but not the poles within the town highway right of way. Some of the lines in the village area are still on the poles. The original drawings that the Selectboard approved indicated that the "short" poles would be removed. This matter of removal of the poles had been discussed with a few months ago with Ray Withington of Verizon. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by P. van Loon to write a letter to Verizon to request that the short poles be removed as originally agreed to by the Selectboard, within 60 days. Unanimous.

5. ROAD BUSINESS
A. ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #3 - J. Anderson expressed his concern about the fact that Gurney Brothers has not repaired the wing wall on Bridge #43 on Wiswall Hill Road (TH#11) that was not done correctly when he did the bridge project in 1998. Federal funds for the town could be put in jeopardy if the bridge is not repaired. Bill Noyes has spoken with Gurney about the repair that should not be a cost to the town. Motion was made by P. van Loon and seconded by R. Marek to write a letter to
Gurney Brothers and ask that he respond within 7 days to the Board as to the status of the repairs to be completed on the wingwall. Unanimous. A copy of the letter will also be sent to W. Noyes. (2) Item # 8 - J. Anderson and J. Gray looked at possible roads to be discontinued, and they determined that Pikes Road (TH#60) and Penner Road (TH#31) along with Carrol Trail (TH#33). It was decided to just move forward with Carrol Trail at this time if Dover is also going to discontinue the Dover side of the trail.
(3) Item # 3 - Richard Tetrault of VTrans will be contacted about the status of the FEMA assessment of the Bruce Brook Bridge (BR#32) replacement design by Bazin Brothers Construction.
(4) Item #11 - R. St. Pierre has been issued a warning by the Sheriff's Department for working on the road with his equipment. He could be fined for his actions.
(5) Item #3 - Bridge # 41, on Parish Hill Road (TH#26) needs to be looked at for repairs. Maybe Wm. Noyes can look at it and make a recommendation of contractors and a certified welder.

5. G. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS
(1) Hunter Brook Bridge (BR#47) is deficient. The bridge support put in by Ralph Paradis either needs to be redone or it should be taken out. The agreement between the town and Ralph Paradis needs to be reviewed.

5. B. ROAD FOREMAN'S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #2 - The paving project on Dover Road (TH#2) has been completed except for the side dressing which will be done this next week.
(2) Item #3 - The western end of the covered bridge deck (CB#17) has been screwed down again.

5. G. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS - (cont.)
(2) The railing on Bridge #42 on Stratton Hill Road (TH#35) needs to be replaced.
(3) Questions were raised about an access installed by Henry Pickney without a permit. The access is for his right of way across lands of Gloria Cristelli.
(4) J. Gray spoke of the situation discussed in item 3. B. Regarding the line maintenance work done by Verizon. The cutting was supposed to be only 5 feet on each side an it appears to be more than that. Most of the damage resulting from the cutting is off of the town highway right of way and on private property. Steve Atkins, Verizon Maintenance supervisor was told by J. Gray that William Guenther, Newfane Tree Warden should be contacted.
(5) J. Anderson spoke with William Guenther about the proposed installation of 8 poles to cover 1,500 feet along Silver Mine Trail. No plans have been received as yet.
(6) 2002 State Bridge Reports - Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by P. van Loon to have the Board members sign the documentation from the state to indicate that the Newfane Board has received and reviewed the 2002 State Bridge Inspection Reports. Unanimous.

5. C. EXCESS WEIGHT PERMITS
No Excess Weight Permits were received that required the approval of the Board.

5. D. ACCESS/RIGHT OF WAY PERMITS
(1) Access Permit #A02-07- Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Marek to sign the Approval to Proceed for Access Permit #A02-07 submitted by Paul Leavitt for the installation of a 15" culvert at the end of his driveway (Penny Lane) with the intersection with Sunset Lake Road (TH#42). Unanimous.
(2) Access Permit #A02-08 - Robert Powers submitted a permit for the installation of utility poles and tree cutting along Silver Mine Trail. No permit is required from the landowner in this case. A permit needs to be submitted by Verizon.

5. G. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS - (cont.)
(7) Bridge #49, the Green Iron Bridge needs to be looked at. The deck is in very poor condition. The bridge belongs to the Historic Bridge division. The town has the responsibility to do annual maintenance tasks only. Motion was made by R. Marek and seconded by L. Bedell to have the Road Commissioner write a letter regarding the situation of the Bridge #49 deck. Unanimous. J. Anderson was given a copy of the agreement between the Historic Bridge Program and the town. 7.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT'S REPORT
A. Item #3 - David Cotton submitted drawings for the replacement of the concrete steps and walkway at the Williamsville Hall. The plans do not include the roof over the handicap access door or the roof repairs to the front porch of the hall. D. Cotton will be contacted about and engineer who would be best to have review the plans before preparation of an RFP.
B. The Finance and Maintenance Agreement for the Covered Bridge (CB#17) replacement project has been received from the state. The document will be reviewed by the Board for consideration of signing at the Meeting of August 1st.
C. There has been an application received for the correction to the Grand List for the removal of a trailer from the John J. Nappi, Jr. property (PID#00C025.1) on Adams Hill Road. The amount to be corrected from $10,300 to $8,900. Motion was made by P. van Loon and seconded by J. Anderson to approve the correction to the 2002 Grand List as stated above. Unanimous. Taxes for that will need to be adjusted by the Board of Abatement.
D. Also for the Board of Abatement will be the consideration of the taxes for the Patricia Kauffeld Williams property recently acquired by the town.

8. MINUTES
The minutes of 05/02/02, 05/16/02, 06/20/02 an 07/11/02 were not completed for this meeting. D. Knechtel is hoping to catch up now that the Grand List has been filed.

9. PAY ORDERS
Motion was made by P. van Loon and seconded by J. Anderson to approve the Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants for the following amounts:
07/13/02 Payroll $ 2,976.25
07/15/02 Payroll $ 1,708.52
07/19/02 Acct's Payable #2 $ 8,269.48 Unanimous.
IRS Electronic Federal Payroll Tax Payments
07/17/02 $ 2,156.34

10. CORRESPONDENCE
A. Copies of a series of letters between the Zoning Administrator and Charles Bergmann have been received that pertains to activity on property owned by Mr. Bergmann.

12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by R. Marek and seconded by P. van Loon to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board at 9:16 p.m. Unanimous.

Doris A. Knechtel
Administrative Assistant
Newfane Board of Selectmen

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

ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT 07/18/02

1. PERMITS
Access permits for Sunset Lake Road (TH#42) and Jenness Lane (TH#80) were reviewed. Both should be approved. The Sunset Lake access is preexisting and the addition of a culvert will help them out. The Jenness Lane access is at the end of a dead end lane and is perpendicular and level.

2. POWER POLES
Vermont Electric wants to put in about 10 poles at the intersection of Hobby Hill and Baker Brook Road (TH#19) where the lower end of Silver Mine Trail starts. The pole locations are marked with stakes. Bill Guenther needs to be notified and we should expect VT Electric to submit easement requests and ROW permits.

3. BRIDGES
The bridge at the intersection of Baker Brook Road (TH#19) and Parish Hill Road (TH#26) was looked at. The ends of the I-Beams that sit on the Baker Brook Road abutment are rusted and they are crushing down. There is noticeable buckling and compressing of the beams ends.

The Wiswall Hill bridge still has a void under the wing wall. Gurney has not responded to tell the Board when the warrantee work will be done. We need to get a written commitment from Gurney or else go with the alternative solution of placing rip-rap at the base of the wing wall. This problem must be repaired to maintain eligibility for Federal funds in the future.

Still no word from FEMA on the acceptability of the Bazin Brothers bid on the Bruce Brook bridge replacement (flood damage, alternative project).

A bridge on Stratton Hill has a damaged wooded railing system. The same contractor who did the Bruce Brook bridge was going to be approached about doing this project too. This has been delayed. This problem must b repaired to maintain eligibility for Federal funds in the future?! (don't recall).

4. ROAD PROJECT
Bill Noyes has not yet been contacted about straightening the curve on Upper River Road (TH#15). This project may become conditional on whether or not we need money to fix the above mentioned bridges.

5. TELEPHONE POLES
No response from the phone company on removing the duplicate poles along Depot/Dover Road (TH#2).

6. FLOOD AUDIT
No small project audit will take place unless the board requests one. We stand to recover about $5,000 of Town expenses IF all overruns are allowed. During the large project audit many items were disallowed because they were not in the project sheets. No change on the one remaining large project audit status.

7. PAVING
The blacktop is down. The town and Bazin will work together to complete the side dressing. Bill Noyes has been verbally notified that we need center line painting performed by the State.

8. DISCONTINUED ROADS
Two of the best candidates for be discontinued are the road that serves as Irving Pike's driveway and Penner Road. These are two very short road segments that serve a single residence. This would be in addition to any trails that we should want to discontinue.

9. NEWFANE SIDEWALKS

The latest conceptual plan from the architect is available for review. It was presented at a meeting held by the village.

10. EQUIPMENT
Jim has scheduled the grader to be repaired on 7/29.

11. PROBLEMS
Robert St. Pierre has an ongoing complaint with the town over road height. He has taken matters into his own hands by regrading the road in front of his house. The Sheriff's Department has issued a warning to stop altering the road. Last year I checked the slope of the road and depth of the road base. It cannot be lowered without reducing it below the design depth. It already slopes away from his house.

Jesse Anderson
Road Commissioner

ROAD FOREMAN'S REPORT 07/18/02
TOWN OF NEWFANE HIGHWAY

1. The following roads were graded, raked and chlorided since the last Board of Selectmen's meeting: Sunset Lake Road (TH#42) where washboard was, Timson Hill Road (TH#41) from Fawcetts to Newfane Hill Road (TH#20), and New Road (TH#30). An eighteen inch plastic culvert was put in on Bensch Road (TH#13) by Bill Guenther's drive to replace a rotted out culvert.

2. Bazin Brothers Construction paved Dover Road (TH#2) section from Stratton Hill Road (TH#35) to Bridge #15 (Monroe Bridge).

3. Bridges: A. The covered bridge (CB#17) deck at the west end was screwed down. B. Bridge #41 [Parish Hill Road (TH#26) /Baker Brook Road (TH#19) intersection] was checked for needed repairs. Bill Noyes was called in regarding repairs. C. Bridge #49 (Green truss bridge) report was made out after washing last week.

4. Equipment: A. The 140G Grader should go to Southworth-Milton for repairs the week of 07/29/02. B. All other equipment is operational.

5. Vic Benjamin Road (TH#64) sign was stolen last week.

6. No word on FEMA audit or Bridge #32 plans.

7. Bandrail grass is being trimmed.

Respectfully submitted,
James O. Gray, Road Foreman

To: Newfane Selectboard MEMORANDUM
From: Doris A. Knechtel
Subject: Administrative Assistant's Report
Date: July 18, 2002

1. If George Parquette, a property owner on Station Road (TH#66) attends the meeting tonight, I have made a list of the official town highway maps that indicates the appearance of the legal trail connecting Station Road (TH#66) to Duke Road (TH#66). There was a period of time that no legal trails were indicated on the town highway maps. The maps that I have on file show the legal trail in question since 1974. Any change in mileage, either adding, subtracting or changing the classification of a road is done on a yearly basis through a Certificate of Mileage signed by the Selectboard in early February of each year and filed with the state.

2. Emily Long will be attending the meeting this evening as a representative of the Leland and Gray School Board.

3. David Cotton has submitted some drawings for the Williamsville Hall steps. How does the Board wish to proceed with the RFP?

4. No liquor license has appeared as of 5:30 p.m. Someone was in to say that he has a purchase and sales agreement for the purchase of Rick's Tavern and may be bringing in a First Class Liquor License for the Board to consider this evening.

5. The Town Treasurer was not able to have the most recent monthly financial information available for me to do the summary reports. I believe that we need both May 2002 and June 2002. There have been many questions regarding the recent tax bills.

6. I called VLCT regarding the updated Personnel Policy. It should be available within two to three weeks. Towns will be notified when it is ready.

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