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Any and
all corrections to the following minutes will be made at the 10/17/02
Board of Selectmen's meeting and are considered unapproved until then.
Corrections will be noted in the minutes of that meeting.
MINUTES -
REGULAR MEETING - BOARD OF SELECTMEN
OCTOBER 3rd, 2002
NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE
PRESENT:
Selectmen: Richard Marek, Jesse Anderson, Gary Katz and Piet van Loon.
Absent: Lynn Bedell
Also Present: Roger Whitcomb of VT AOT Structures Section, Chris Ballou,
Joyce Meehl and Nelson Fontaine - Brookline Selectboard, Nicholas Mercede,
Attorney Timothy O'Connor, James Gray as Road Foreman and Doris Knechtel
as Administrative Assistant.
1. CALL
TO ORDER
The regular meeting was called to order by Chairman Richard Marek at 7:03
p.m.
2. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
A. BROOKLINE BRIDGE (BR#19) - ROGER WHITCOMB OF VTRANS
AND NICHOLAS MERCEDE - TEMPORARY EASEMENT
Roger Whitcomb, Project Manager from VTrans indicated that the funds for
the reconstruction of the Brookline/Newfane bridge (BR#19) are available.
However, there seems to currently be a stalemate with N. Mercede relating
to the intersection of Radway Hill Road (TH#4) and River Road (TH#15).
The plans for the temporary bridge location were reviewed. Most of the
easements for land to be used for the temporary bridge have been agreed
upon as well as the replanting of trees at the site. Discussion followed
regarding the alignment of the intersection of TH#15 with TH#4. It was
suggested that this may be a good time to have the state assist in the
design and engineering of a new intersection. R. Whitcomb indicated that
it is outside of the scope of work for this project. If it were to be
considered, there would have to be archeological studies done and that
would delay the project for months. N. Mercede also suggested a location
for fill and gravel for the project. R. Whitcomb suggested that might
best be left to the discussions with the contractor. Those present discussed
some of the problems with the proposed current configuration of the new
intersection as it was designed by previous engineers. The town and N.
Mercede have been discussing this matter for several years. The most recent
plans prepared by Matt Beck, P.E., called for the cutting of trees on
the Hersch property to obtain the proper sight distances. It was suggested
by R. Whitcomb that a yellow warning sign for a 25 mph speed limit be
put up before the curve coming into the bridge on the Newfane side. The
sight distance would then be reduced from 385' for 35 mph to 275' for
25 mph. A copy of the M. Beck plans will be sent to Mr. Whitcomb by N.
Mercede. R. Whitcomb indicated that he is willing to possibly offer some
assistance to the town to see that a properly designed intersection is
created.
N. Mercede had some questions about the documents from the state dealing
with permanent easement and access to maintain the abutments of the bridge.
R. Whitcomb, N. Mercede and Attorney T. O'Connor adjourned to the other
room to discuss those issues which do not concern the town.
It is anticipated that the repair of Bridge #19 may begin during the 2003
construction season.
3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
No additional members of the public had any matters to bring before the
Board.
4. ROAD BUSINESS
4. A. ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #2 - Board members would like to have another letter written
to Ray Withington of Verizon regarding the extra 69 poles need to be removed
along Depot and Dover Road (TH#2). (2) Item # 5 - Motion was made by R.
Marek to put out a bid for guardrails in areas that are safety sensitive
for a cost between $5,000 to $6,000. Motion died for lack of a second.
After discussion regarding available funds the Board may pass over the
installation of guard rail for this fiscal year.
(3) Item #2 - J. Anderson expressed concern about the policy of Vermont
Electric Corporation to cut a 50' swath for new lines in particular over
brooks. P. van Loon if there would trigger an Act 249 review for them
for the amount of trimming and cutting that they do. He will look into
it.
4. B. ROAD FOREMAN'S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #3 - Motion was made by P. van Loon and seconded by R. Marek
to accept the bid for the purchase and delivery of 2,500 cubic yards of
winter sand for the amount of $6.98 per CY from Zaluzny Construction.
Unanimous.
(2) Item #4 - J. Anderson received a letter from John Spicer regarding
the condition of the deck on Bridge #49 (Green Iron Bridge). He will notify
J. Spicer that VAOT District #2 is going to repair the deck.
4. C. EXCESS WEIGHT PERMITS
No Excess Weight Permits were received that required the approval of the
Board.
4. D. ACCESS/RIGHT OF WAY PERMITS
No Access/Right of Way Permits were submitted that required any action
by the Board.
4. E. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS
(1) J. Gray would like to purchase a new wing for the '90 Mack as the
other one is beyond repair. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded
by R. Marek to authorize the purchase of a 12' wing for the '90 Mack for
the estimated amount of $1,650. Unanimous. This is to be a Capital expense.
(2) The work has been completed on the demolition of the building and
other items required by FEMA on the P. Kauffeld Williams property acquired
by the town through the hazard mitigation program. The final paper work
can be completed for sending a final requisition request to the state
when all of the invoices have been received.
(3) There needs to be some action taken to protect the town bridges and
roads from overweight vehicles. Information has to be completed and sent
to the state by February 10th to comply with the state overweight program
to have enforcement from the Department of Motor Vehicles. J. Anderson
will speak to one of the loggers that does not have an overweight permit
for the use of Newfane's roads and bridges.
(4) Daniels Construction will be looking at the Covered Bridge to determine
how to repair the loose boards on the deck.
(5) Letters have been received from property owners on Sears Road requesting
that the road be closed to thru traffic. J. Gray suggested that there
be a traffic counter and speed monitor set up through WRC. Motion was
made by R. Marek and seconded by G. Katz to have a special meeting on
November 14th beginning at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the matter. Unanimous.
All interested parties will be notified.
5. B. OTHER OLD BUSINESS
(1) P. van Loon brought up the matter of the traffic calming measures
that had been discussed for South Newfane/Williamsville. Nothing has been
done to date. The thinking has been to wait for the Route 30 Corridor
study and conform to some of their designs. It looks like that project
will not be completed for a while. It was suggested that something be
done, either the painting of the white lines for the village areas, crosswalks
or entrance signs for the South Newfane and Williamsville villages. G.
Katz mentioned a yellow "Village Entrance Ahead" sign that he
saw, like a highway sign, that an impact on him when entering a village
area. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Marek to have
Board members bring suggested Village Entrance signs to the next meeting
on October 17th. Unanimous.
(2) Board members were given copies of the Dog Ordinance as revised by
R. Marek along with background information on the changes and a copy of
the Windham County Humane Society Contract. The reclamation process language,
vaccination for 16-week-old dogs, and notification clause tie in with
the WCHS contract. A suggestion was made to have it be considered as an
Animal Control Ordinance. The Board will review and discuss the proposed
changes at the meeting of October 17th.
(3) Junk & Junk Vehicles - The Board discussed the status of the three
property owners that received letters regareing violations of the Junk
Ordinance. A letter will be written to E. Van Dyke about the "unsightly"
trailer on South Wardsboro Road. D. Brown will be contacted about his
status. And a letter will be sent out to R. Sparks to outline the Board's
expectations for removal of a significant amount of Junk by October 31st.
There was some discussion regarding the fines and a fine schedule. P.
van Loon will review the ordinance.
6. NEW BUSINESS
A. APPOINTMENTS
(3) PLANNING COMMISSION - 1 FOR 2005 TERM
A letter has been received from Charles "Bud" Bergmann indicating
that he is resigning from the Planning Commission. A letter will be written
to Joan Weir, who also recently resigned from the Planning Commision,
and to Bud Bergmann to thank them for years of service on the commission.
A notice for the vacant positions for the Planning Coimmission, Auditor,
Zoning Board of Adjustment and Secretary for the ZBA has been prepared
and will be advertised.
C. OTHER NEW BUSINESS
(1) A letter was received by the Zoning Administrator from Earle "Billy"
Morse, Jr., to indicate that he believes his permit for proposed storage
buildings is granted due to the lack of a response from the Planning Commission
within the required time. P. van Loon responded that he disageed with
Mr. Morses's assessment of the situation. Mr. Morse may need an Act 250
or other state permits for his proposal.
(2) The NewBrook Fire Department is in the process of purchasing a new
rescue truck for the department. The bank has requested a Memorandum of
Agreement from the towns that the department serves in order for them
to borrow funds for the vehicle. Brookline has signed an agreement. Motion
was made by J. Anderson and seconded by G. Katz to have the Newfane Board
of Selectmen sign the Memorandum of Agreement between NewBrook Volunteer
Fire Association and the Town of Newfane. In favor: J. Anderson, G. Katz,
and P. Van Loon. R. Marek recrused himself from the vote due to his association
with the NewBrook Fire Department. Motion passes. (3) A letter has been
written to P. Veach O'Dell regarding a violation of the Newfane Zoning
Bylaws as the mobile home in question has not been placed on the property
as permited, is within the town highway right of way and does not meet
the required set-backs. There is also a question about litter and junk
on the property.
7. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT'S REPORT - (See attached
report)
A. Item #5 - After some discussion, the Board will withdraw their previous
request for a small project audit by FEMA for the July 2000 flood.
B. Item #6 - The Board would like to have an RFP sent out for the water
monitoring to be done as required in October and May of each year for
the closed Landfill with RFP's to be due on October 19th at 7:00 p.m.
C. The section in the statute (23 V.S.A. § 1056) regarding highway
solicitations was discussed. In particular, section (b) referring that
any non-profit group should have in effect a policy of liability insurance
providing adequate coverage for the municipality.
8. MINUTES
The minutes of 05/02/02, 05/16/02, and 06/20/02 have not been completed
for this meeting. Motion was made by P. van Loon and seconded by R. Marekto
approve the minutes of 09/19/02, as written. Unanimous. The notes of the
meetings with FEMA of 09/30/02 and 10/02/02 were reviewed.
9. PAY ORDERS
Motion was made by P. van Loon and seconded by G. Katz to approve the
Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants for the following amounts:
09/21/02 Payroll $ 2,953.55
09/28/02 Payroll $ 2,956.56
10/01/02 Payroll $ 2,752.02
10/04/02 Acct's Payable #8 $ 22,476.65 Unanimous.
IRS Electronic Federal Payroll Tax Payments
09/25/02 $ 1,148.23
10/02/02 $ 926.95
10. CORRESPONDENCE
A. Reports for August 18 to 31 and for September 1 to 14 have been received
from the Windham County Sheriff's Department.
B. Announcement has been received for a new Brownfields Grant.
C. The September 2002 WRC News Briefs have been received
D. The September 2002 VLCT News has been received.
12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by P. van Loon and seconded by G. Katz to adjourn the
Regular Meeting of the Board at 10:45 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 10/03/02
1. PERMITS
- None pending.
2. COMPLAINTS
No new ones. The road crew is planning to do some regrading and replace
a broken tile drain on River Road by Eileen Greber's. Reverend Powers
is planning to have Mark Powling cut the stumps on Baker Brook Road by
Silvermine Trail flush to the road (new power line clearing related).
VT Electric Coops 50' line clearing policy is still in plce. The board
should send letters to VT Electric and our elected officials to see if
this policy can be changed. Especially along streams where the policy
conflict with environmental protection laws. The Phone company has still
not removed all of the double poles long Depot Road and Dover Road . The
Road crew is planning on installing a stop sign on River Road at the Radway
Hill intersection (lower branch). There is still a dead tree with a large
branch overhanging the road on Grimes Hill Road.
3. BRIDGES
Daniels will be working on the bridge over Baker Brook on Parish Hill
Road as well as the wooden railing on the Stratton Hill Bridge per the
contract.
Floyd Roberts
and Paul Gould mentioned that they had received a copy of our letter to
the AOT about the green iron bridge (BR#49) in South Newfane and they
have looked at the bridge. They are arranging to have the blacktop and
membrane removed after they receive a sample anaylsis of what the mixture
of asphalt is. They want to be sure they can dispose of it. The deck will
be left as a wooden deck. The existing membrane is not intact and the
asphalt is lumpy and getting worse. Some sand might need to be applied
to absorb the tar that is sure to be left.
The boards
on the deck of the covered bridge are still rattling with every vehicle
that crosses. The last round or refastening didn't hold up. A creative
solution would be welcome.
4. YELLOW
LINE PAINTING
No word from the district on when this will happen.
5. GUARDRAILS
The bids for guardrails should be sent out when the final scope is decided
upon. There was some discussion last time of trimming projects from this
years work.
6. NEWFANE
VILLAGE STORM DRAINS
The catch basins for the storm drains should be cleaned out by the road
crew. They are full of debris and dirt according to the replacement sidewalk
designer.
7. OVERWEIGHT VEHICLES
The February 10, 2003 deadline for submitting the Newfane restricted bridge
list and other information for the State should not be forgotten. This
is so that we can request overweight enforcement from the DMV next year.
For this
year, when the Sheriff is next scheduled to meet with us, we should exxxplore
what could be done against gross violators without the DMV.
8. EQUIPMENT
The delivery date (and payment date) for the new truck is getting closer.
9. FLOOD
AUDIT
See minutes from the 9/30/2002 meeting. This was an excellent meeting
and the Flood Audit is moving quickly forward.
Jesse Anderson,
Road Commissioner
ROAD
FOREMAN'S REPORT 10/03/02
TOWN OF NEWFANE HIGHWAY
1. The following
roads were worked on since the last BOS meeting: Sunset Lake Road (TH#42),
Steep Way Road (TH#21), Jail Street (TH#56), South Wardsboro Road (TH#1),
and Parish Hill Road (TH#26) from Beetlestone Hill Road (TH#47) to the
Green Iron Bridge (BR#49).
2. NewBrook
fire truck cleaned a plugged culvert at Alan Dean's driveway on Steep
Way Road (TH#21)..
3. Zaluzny
sand was checked along with other bidders. I recommend Zaluzny sand for
winter maintenance.
4. The Green
Iron Bridge (BR#49) is to be repaired by District #2 VT Sate Highway.
5. The town
office walk was prepared for stone work by the Highway Department.
6. The former
Donny Williams property was seeded and mulched.
7. The new
International truck body and wing have been completed by VT Municipal.
Delurey to pick up truck and ready it for delivery shortly.
8. Equipment:
A. The F-550 dump body has been sanded down and painted by Todd. B. All
other equipment is operational.
Respectfully
submitted,
James O. Gray, Road Foreman
To:
Newfane Selectmen MEMORANDUM
From: Doris A. Knechtel
Subject: Administrative Assistant's Report
Date: October 3, 2002
1. The Historic
Village RFP's have gone out to five potential bidders with responses to
be received by October 17th. One response has been received so far. Paula
Sagerman reviewed the RFP that I prepared and made only a few changes.
2. The RFP
for the Williamsville Hall steps still has to be completed and sent out
to potential bidders.
3. After
two meetings and several phone calls back and forth, the South Wardsboro
Road (TH#1) Flood Audit has been nearly completed this week. All that
is left to be sent in is the recent bill from Southern Vermont Engineering
(in tonight's pay orders) and a letter from J. Anderson regarding the
Phase II bids process. This will be taken care of tomorrow. Fred Costello
of FEMA and I agree to the penny on the numbers.
4. The funds
have been received from FEMA for the final payment for Steep Way Road
(TH#21). $22,394.66
5. Does the
Board want to have a small flood project audit done? The question is still
pending with FEMA. The difference between what was over spent on projects
(minus $12,646.27) and what was under spent (plus $7,405.78) is a negative
$5,240.49 of over spending. Gary Schelley of FEMA did indicate that with
a small project audit, the town may have to return the amount of $7,405.78.
6. The contract
for the ANR required sampling at the Landfill in October and May of each
year has expired with Fuss & O'Neil. I spoke with them about a price
to do the sampling as required for this fiscal year and they indicated
that it would be $3,100 for the two samplings. (Information in your materials)
The cost over the past few years has been $2,800. They have always been
much lower than other companies responding. I don't know if there is time
to get a new RFP out and get the sampling done for October. What is your
pleasure?
7. The Class
2 center line painting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 9th.
8. I am still
remiss on getting the "old" minutes done for this meeting. Between
the meetings this week on the Flood Audit, helping Ted for a few hours
at Kenolie Village, and going to the Town Fair, the time to get things
done was shortened. I will make an all out effort to complete them all
for the meeting of October 17th.
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