PRESENT:
Selectmen: Piet van Loon, Gorty Baldwin, Priscilla Cotton, Gary Katz and Chris Williams.
Also Present: Andy McPhail, James Borta, Edward Druke, Sr., David Clarkson, James O. Gray as Road Foreman and Doris Knechtel as Administrative Assistant.

1. CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting was called to order by Chairman Piet van Loon at 6:32 p.m.

2. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
A. ANDY McPHAIL - PAINTING WILLIAMSVILLE HALL
Andy McPhail was invited by the Board to review some of the issues for the painting of the Williamsville Hall. A. McPhail indicated that he has worked for sometime with Toby Mo as a subcontractor. He has found out that there is lead paint. It was reported that the building was painted in the ‘70's by Jonathan Julian. A manual from the Department of Health, obtained by P. van Loon was given to A. McPhail regarding proper procedures to be followed where lead paint is involved. A. McPhail will review the manual and take the precautions necessary for dealing with the lead paint. If there is any problem he is to get back to the Board.

B. OPENING OF BIDS - HEATING FUEL
The following bids were received for the purchase of #2 heating fuel for the town buildings and for the NewBrook and South Newfane/Williamsville Fire Departments.

Cota & Cota will be contacted about the Wall Street Journal pricing means. The fire departments will be contacted to let them know what the bids prices per gallon are.

3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
A. Jim Borta of the Newfane Store was present to talk with the Board regarding his concerns about the traffic on VT Route 30. A copy of the letter from the state was given to him which indicates that the speed limit is to be lowered to 30 mph. J. Borta indicated that he would like to see three to four crosswalks painted in at the Town Office/Post Office area, Jail Street/West Street, Jail Street/Court Street and Cemetery Hill Road to the Bank. He has heard about traffic calming measures, such as islands and does not see anything happening. He also suggested a solar powered flashing light and signs for pedestrian crossings.
P van Loon indicated that there is quite a background on the matter of traffic calming as it Minutes - Newfane Board of Selectmen’s Regular Meeting - 09/04/03 Page #2

3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC - (cont.)
relates to the Village of Newfane. It was suggested that the Village Trustees be invited to the next meeting to discuss the various proposals made and to develop a single letter to the state on the matter.

B. E. Druke has some concerns regarding Newfane Hill Road (TH#20) & Upper Spring Hill Road (TH#23) that can wait until J. Gray arrives at the meeting.
C. D. Clarkson spoke of the report received and recommendations made by the Traffic Calming Committee. One of the major suggestions was for increased speed enforcement by the Vermont State Police and the Windham County Sheriff’s Department. One of the members of the committee feels that there should be 24/7 coverage. That scenario would be cost prohibitive at this time with current budgets. The VSP and the WCSD will be invited to a Selectboard meeting in the near future. Comparative costs and revenue for law enforcement will be reviewed.

D. D. Clarkson also discussed the recent traffic count that was done on South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) by Windham Regional Commission. P. van Loon gave the Board members a copy of the summary results of the survey. The speed limit range near the Clarkson/Kafka site was 36 to 41 mph going in an easterly direction and 31 to 38 mph in a westerly direction. At the Eddy Road site, the speed limit range was 31 - 35 mph in each direction. Currently the speed limit on TH#1 is 30 mph to 35 mph depending on the location. Some felt that changing the speed limit is not the answer, enforcement is.

4. ROAD BUSINESS
4. A. ROAD COMMISSIONER’S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #6.D. - It has been suggested that TH#31 (Penner Road) be discontinued. A list of other roads will be considered for discontinuance.
(2) Item #5 - Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to approve the Verizon Petition and Order (#9AAHE1)for Pole and Wire Locations off Dover Road (TH#2) onto Penner Road (TH#31). Unanimous.

4. B. ROAD FOREMAN’S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #2 - Paving has begun on Dover Road (TH#2) and should be completed by Friday weather permitting. The side dressing will occur at a later date.

4. D. ACCESS/RIGHT OF WAY PERMITS
No Access/Right of Way Permits were presented to the Board for action.
4. F. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS
(1) Bridge #49, the South Newfane Green Iron Bridge is to be paved up to the drain.
(2) The pre-construction meeting was held here at the Town Office on September 3rd for the Brookline/Newfane bridge (BR#19) with representatives from the state, Brookline and Newfane Selectmen and the contractor, Renaud Bros., Inc. The temporary bridge is to be in by November. There will be some work on the bridge during the winter months.
(3) The surveyor for the South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) project will be contacting to set up a meeting with G. Katz and J. Gray to review the project.
(4) C. Williams suggested that the Board should be putting funds away to replace a narrow 9' bridge (BR#37) with no railings with a wider bridge on upper Adams Hill Road (TH#27).
(5) It was suggested that J. Gray be asked about coming to the meeting earlier, 7:30 p.m. so that road matters are discussed at one time, without having to repeat information. The other alternative would be to wait until 8:00 p.m. before any road business is discussed.

5. OLD BUSINESS
A. PERSONNEL POLICY
Copies of the proposed Personnel Policy are to be given to the three new Board members for their review and comments. The Board will meet with the employees affected by the policy.
B. TRAFFIC ORDINANCE REVIEW - No discussion
C. DOG ORDINANCE REVIEW
The Board members discussed reviewing current Dog Ordinance with the thought of amending it to mirror the Vermont Statutes more closely. Other ideas discussed included changing the name to Animal Control Ordinance, looking at what other towns do and including wolf-hybrids. It was noted that wolf-hybrids is already mentioned in the current ordinance. The Town Constable, Kevin Behan will be included in any proposed amendment discussions.
D. ACCESS/RIGHT OF WAY POLICY DISCUSSION
The Board discussed various aspects of having a stand alone document or if it should be incorporated with the Traffic Ordinance. The town has an application without any policy or ordinance to back it up. There is not a fee for the permit nor is there any penalty for those who construct an access or place something with the town highway right of way without a permit. Those who install a temporary logging access are usually the ones do not obtain a permit. Education is the key to letting residents know what permits are needed. By and large the current access procedure is working okay except for those few who do not get a permit, and there is currently no mechanism for a penalty. P. van Loon will look over the sample ordinance from Grafton and present something to the Board.
E. OTHER OLD BUSINESS
(1) Phoenix Roofing needs to be contacted to remind them that they were to look at both the Town Office and Williamsville Hall for slate repairs.

6. NEW BUSINESS
A. APPOINTMENTS
(1) REPRESENTATIVE TO RESCUE, INC.
Merle Tessier is not interested at this time in serving as the Newfane Rescue, Inc. representative. The town will need to get the word out through the minutes, the website and the Butterfly publication.
B. SCHEDULE MEETINGS WITH BOARDS, TOWNS AND AGENCIES
The Village Trustees will be invited to a meeting to discuss VT Route 30 Traffic Calming and other matters on September 16th. The WCSD and the VSP are to be invited to discuss Law Enforcement. The Board will contact representatives of the Leland & Gray Board and the Elementary School Board to discuss unfunded mandates and other concerns of the school and town for Thursday, October 16th.
C. DOG HEARING REPORT
Board members reviewed the report of the findings and decision of the dog hearing. The minutes of the hearing, Exhibit #9, have not yet been completed. Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by G. Baldwin to approve the Vicious Dog Hearing findings and decision as prepared. Unanimous. There will be a section added for signatures. The Board agreed to have a special meeting on Tuesday, September 9th beginning at 6:30 p.m. to consider the minutes of the dog hearing.

7. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT - (See attached report)
A. Item #4 - Motion was made by G. Baldwin and seconded by G. Katz to grant permission to close Church Street (TH#55) and a portion of West Street (TH#1) on Saturday, October 11th and Sunday, October 12th between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Unanimous.
B. Item #3 - The problem with the Garland range is that one of the ovens “went out” after operating for a while. Those running the Senior Meal at the time took quick action to use the ovens at the South Newfane/Williamsville Fire Station.

8. MINUTES
The Board reviewed the minutes of the Regular Meeting of 08/21/03. Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by C. Williams to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of 08/21/03, as written. Unanimous. Minutes of 07/01/03 and 07/17/03 are incomplete at this time. There was some discussion about trying to reduce the content of the minutes to be able to get them done on a more timely manner.

9. PAY ORDERS
Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by C. Williams to approve the Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants for the following amounts:
08/23/03 Payroll $ 2,949.27
08/30/03 Payroll $ 2,835.00
09/01/03 Payroll $ 2,629.51
09/05/03 Acct.’s Payable #6 $ 341,286.70 Unanimous.
IRS Electronic Federal Payroll Tax Payments
08/27/03 $ 1,126.82
09/03/03 $ 889.19

10. CORRESPONDENCE
A. The Selectboard received a letter of thanks from Bruce Hesselbach, Chairman of the Newfane Conservation Commission regarding the handling of the payment in advance for the grant monies for work done on the town trails. The state has since reimbursed the town.
B. The Selectboard has received an extensive letter from Bruce Hesselbach , Chairman of the Newfane Conservation Commission, regarding the location of the parking area at the town garage site for the hiking trails. The temporary variance for the existing parking expires in October of 2003. The letter explains the reasons that the CC favors keeping the parking area where it is currently located as it serves the purpose. The area is behind a stone wall with angle parking for about 5 vehicles with an entrance and an exit. The area does not meet the Zoning setback requirements. It was agreed that a new application and request for a variance for the existing parking should be filed with the ZA and the ZBA.
C. The letter from Lucy Hudock involving a road matter will be reviewed by the Road Commissioner and the Road Foreman.
D. Notification has been received that there will be an Act 250 hearing for Eagle River Mining on Wednesday, October 8, 2003 with a site visit at 8:30 a.m. with the hearing to follow at the Newfane Town Office.
E. A copy of the Pre-Filed Testimony for West River Acres, Inc. As filed with the VT State Environmental Board has been received from Attorney Timothy O’Connor.

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Katz to enter into Executive Session at 9:23 p.m. to discuss a matter of pending litigation. Unanimous.
Motion was made by G. Baldwin and seconded by P. Cotton to come out of Executive Session at 9:31 p.m. Unanimous. No action was recommended to be taken during the session.

4. F. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS - (cont.)
(6) G. Katz indicated that he spoke with some of the members of the highway crew regarding a morale issue. The Board members discussed the matter. The Board indicated that they feel that the highway crew is doing a good job and if the employees would like, the Board will sit down to discuss the crews concerns either separately or together at a Special Meeting. It was also suggested that the crew be sent to some of the workshops that occur from time to time for road issues. As per the current Personnel Policy, workshop is paid for by the town, mileage to the workshop is reimbursable and the employee is paid for the day at the regular rate.

12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board at 10:26 p.m. Unanimous.