Newfane, Vermont - Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes

Board of Selectmen Meeting Minutes

Any and all corrections to the following minutes will be made at the 10/19/00 Board of Selectmen's Meeting and are considered unapproved until then. Corrections will be noted in the minutes of that meeting.

OCTOBER 5th, 2000 NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE

PRESENT:

Selectmen: Michael Rohan, Jesse Anderson, Lynn Bedell, and Richard Dowley.
Absent: Carter Van Iderstine.
Also Present: Greg Record, Civil Defense Committee/NBFD, Marty Grimes, Robert Cable, David Clarkson, Edward Druke, and Doris Knechtel, Administrative Assistant.
1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman M. Rohan called the Road Name Hearing and Regular Meeting of the Board to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC A. ROAD NAME HEARING M. Rohan indicated that the purpose of the Road Name Hearing is to name a legal trail, rename a section of another legal trail and to name a private road. The suggested names for the roads in question are for town legal trail, Silver Mine Trail off of South Wardsboro Road (TH#1); change a portion of Pound Road (legal trail) to Upper Pound Road off of Upper Spring Hill Road (TH#23); and for a private road off of Blueberry Circle, Blueberry Circle Extension. Robert Cable indicated that the proposed Silver Mine Trail is named as White Birch Lane on some of the deeds and should be named as such. It was noted that the trail is named as Silver Mine Trail on some maps from South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) and from Hobby Hill Road (TH#19). D. Clarkson also feels that the trail should be named as White Birch Lane. There is a White Pine Road (TH#82) which should not be confused with White Birch Lane. Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by R. Dowley to name the town trail off of South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) as White Birch Lane (LT). Unanimous.

The Mesnick's who live on the section of Pound Road (LT) off of Upper Spring Road (TH#23) have requested that their section of the trail be named Upper Pound Road, because if an emergency response team were to answer a call at their residence and were to enter Pound Road from the Timson Hill Road (TH#41) side, they would not be able to get through. Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by R. Dowley to rename the upper portion of Pound Road off of Upper Spring Hill Road (TH#23) as Upper Pound Road (LT). Unanimous.

More development and a subdivision has occurred off of Blueberry Circle (PVT). Locate able E-911 addresses are needed. Motion was made by R. Dowley and seconded by L. Bedell to name the spur off of Blueberry Circle (PVT) as Blueberry Circle Extension (PVT). Unanimous.

New signs will need to be ordered and residents will need to be given road numbers addresses.
B. OPENING OF BIDS - WINTER SAND
The following bids were received for the purchase of 2,000 CY of winter sand:

A.S. Clark & Sons From Thrower pit	$ 6.25/CY
Bazin Brothers Trucking	$ 6.95/CY
Cersosimo Industries	$ 7.75/CY
Zaluzny Excavating	$ 6.60/CY

Inspection of the sand is to be conducted by the Road Foreman and the Road Commissioner before the bid is awarded. Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by J. Anderson to award the bid to A.S. Clark provided that the winter sand is the quality that the Road Foreman and the Road Commissioner require. Unanimous.

C. RAPID RESPONSE PLAN
The Civil Defense Committee met to review the Rapid Response Plan for Newfane and suggestions presented by J. Gray. The committee has made the changes they felt were appropriate. The Board reviewed the written changes as proposed. Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by R. Dowley to approve the changes to the Rapid Response Plan for Newfane and to have Chairman M. Rohan sign the document when it is received in its final form. Unanimous.
3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC A. Greg Record was present to ask if the NBFD will be able to join the Centrex contract for two additional phone lines at the cost of $20.56 per line. It became apparent during the time of the flood disaster, that during the time of an emergency, additional lines are needed. G. Record had called the phone service to inquire about adding one line and the commercial rate is $41.00. By being on the Centrex contract with the town and the school, will be more economical for the NBFD.

Wiring is already in the firehouse from the time Windham Superior Court used the building. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Dowley to authorize the Administrative Assistant to contact Bob Drake of Centrex to add two more phone lines to the contract to serve the NBFD. Unanimous. When the Verizon bill arrives, the amounts due from the town school and now the NBFD are calculated for each to pay their portion.
4. ROAD BUSINESS A. ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT - (No written report was submitted)

B. ROAD FOREMAN'S REPORT - (See attached report) No items required any action by the Board. J. Gray did not attend the meeting.
(1) Item #2 - Before writing another letter to Fred Jenness regarding drainage, J. Gray should talk to him first about the problem.
C. EXCESS WEIGHT PERMITS
No Excess Weight Permits were presented for action.

D. ACCESS/RIGHT OF WAY PERMITS
No Access/Right of Way permits were presented for action.

E. DISCUSSION OF STATUS OF FLOOD PROJECTS - FEMA & USDA M. Rohan spoke with Wm. Noyes about the crushed gravel question on Phase I of the South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) that was raised at the previous meeting. W. Noyes agreed that there should be crushed gravel applied over the bank-run gravel. There was a meeting on 10/05 with contractors for Phase II of the project. Only Fitzpatrick and Farnsworth were present. They are currently working together on Phase I of the project. Bids are due for Phase II at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 10.
Board members present agreed to meet at 5:30 p.m. on that date to review the bid recommendation from Wm. Noyes.
Also on 10/10 at 1:00 p.m., Wm. Noyes will review the flood projects for Steep Way (TH#21), Newfane Hill Road (TH#20), Upper Spring Hill Road (TH#23) and Sawmill Road (TH#77). Bill would like to know if the Board will accept a quotation rather than going out for bid. Sometimes, contractors do not even show up for the meeting to review the project.
The Board members present agreed that due to the timeliness and the emergency situation, a quotation will be acceptable. Other flood work is being done by the town highway crew. The USDA flood projects were discussed under Item #4 of the Administrative Assistant's Report.
F. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS ((1) J. Anderson expressed his concerns about the paving projects that are to be done by Lane Construction this year; a section of Depot Road (TH#2) and a section of South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) beyond the flood damaged area. J. Gray may be waiting to get a better idea of when Phase II of the TH#1 project will begin.
5. OLD BUSINESS (1) Williamsville Hall - M. Rohan has not hear back from those contractors he has contacted for replacing the front steps to the Williamsville Hall building. Many of the contractors are busy with work to be completed before the winter season. Another name was mentioned for contacting for the work. The project may have to wait until the spring before it is done.

(2) Correction to the Grand List - An application, dated 08/16/00 has been received from the Listers for a correction of the Grand List for the United States Postal Service as the federal government is exempt from taxes. The USPS purchased the Williamsville Post Office property from the Druke's. The BCA has completed the process to abate the taxes. Motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by J. Anderson to have the Board sign the application to make a correction of the Grand List in the amount of $117,971. Unanimous. The Board would like a draft letter to be written to the USPS regarding a payment to the town in lieu of taxes as a portion of the property is being used as a rental property.

(3) M. Rohan indicated that maybe the town should be looking to do the town wide reappraisal for the following year, as the response has been that some firms are contracted for this next year. More money would also be applied toward the reappraisal if there if the town waits another year. Terry Knight of Property Valuation and Review will be contacted for additional names of firms to be considered. Several of the inquiries sent out came back undeliverable. The Listers and the Board members also need to get together to work as a team on the town wide reappraisal.

(4) There was a mis-communication as to who was to contact R. Clark to look into repairing the leak by the lift outside door, installing self-closing door hardware on the bathroom doors and to have him take care of the additional Department of Labor and Industry requirements at the Williamsville Hall. Another name was also mentioned for a possible contact. M. Rohan will take care of the contacting.
7. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT'S REPORT - (See attached report) A. Item #2 - R. Harrington will be contacted when he returns from vacation to get an idea about the time and the cost to prepare required plans for the change to the intersection of river Road (TH#15) with Radway Hill Road (TH#4) so that the town may proceed with the Act 250 hearing. The District #2 Act 250 commission will also be contacted to let them know the status of the towns plans. L. Bedell mentioned that the town should be thinking of a "fall-back position" for completing the road process if negotiations do not work as planned.

B. Item #1 - Jeffers will be contacted about changing the water filter at the Williamsville Hall more often.

C. Item #4 - J. Gray will be asked if the town could do the work required by the USDA program for the flood work project at the D. Ballantine residence.

D. Item #5 - After some discussion, motion was made by M. Rohan and seconded by L. Bedell to first do an inventory to determine if there is a need for more than one ten -drawer plan file. If there is a need, then purchase the three with a stand for $1,250 from A.J. Howard of Greenfield. Unanimous. Piet van Loon may be able to negotiate a lower price.
8. MINUTES The minutes of the Regular Meetings of 09/07/00 and 09/21/00 were reviewed by the Board. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Dowley to add to the minutes of 09/14/00, as written. Unanimous. The minutes of Regular Meeting of 09/07/00 will be reviewed on 10/05/00.
9. PAY ORDERS A. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Dowley to approve the Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants, as signed, for the following amounts: 09/23/00 Payroll $ 2,728.27
09/30/00 Payroll $ 2,893.71
10/05/00 Payroll $ 1,871.05
10/06/00 Acct's Payable #7 $ 65,333.14 Unanimous
B. IRS Electronic Federal Payroll Tax Payments 09/20/00 $ 931.39
09/27/00 $ 936.95
10. CORRESPONDENCE A. A letter has been received from Susan E. Scribner of the Historic Bridge Program to remind the town to complete the required annual maintenance task form for Bridge No. 49, the Green Iron Bridge.

B. A copy of a letter sent to Chris Ballou from Susan E. Scribner of the Historic Bridge Program indicating that thanking Brookline for completing the annual maintenance tasks for Bridge #19. The Town of Newfane is to do the maintenance on the bridge in 2001.

C. A signed copy of the Memorandum of Understanding for the Public Assistance Program for FEMA program has been received from the state. The agreement is between the town and the state of Vermont.

D. A letter from Mark Ljungvall, VTrans Traffic Operation Engineer, indicating that the state will be conducting a traffic engineering study on the request from the town to reduce the speed limit to 40 mph on VT Route 30 prior to the Mercedes gravel extraction area access.

E. Subdivision and Water Supply/Wastewater Disposal permits have been received from the applicable state agencies for the Sterling McMurrin/Karen LaGotta property on Grimes Hill Road (TH#5).

F. A Water Supply/Wastewater Disposal Permit for the Roy Westbye/Cynthia Cutting property on Springhill Road (TH#23) has been received from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

G. The Activity Reports have been received from the Windham County Sheriff's Department for the period from 06/25/00 through 07/22/00. There have been some delays in receiving the reports as they have converted over to the State System.
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION - An Executive Session was not required.

12. ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by M. Rohan to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Newfane Board of Selectmen at 8:35 p.m. Unanimous.
Doris A. Knechtel
Administrative Assistant
Newfane Board of Selectmen

Posted: Town Clerk's Office, Newfane Store, Patsy's County Seat Market, Lessing's Family General Store and South Newfane General Store & Deli. www.newfanevt.com

ROAD FOREMAN'S REPORT 10/05/00
TOWN OF NEWFANE HIGHWAY

1. The following roads were worked on since the last B.O.S. regular meeting: New Road (TH#30), Jail Road (TH#56), River Road (TH#15), Timson Hill Road (TH#41) from Fawcett's to Newfane Hill Road (TH#20), Deer Hill Road (TH#37), Brown's Road (TH#45), White Pine Road (TH#82), Steep Way (TH#21) by Alan Bill's, Sunset Lake Road (TH#42), South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) from Roydon's to town line, Grout Road (TH#19), Sir Isaac Newton Road (TH#7), Stratton Hill Road (TH#35), Parish Hill Road (TH#26), Wheeler Hill Road (TH#26), Wiswall Hill Road (TH#11), and Upper River Road (TH#15). Jones Hill Road (TH#52) was graded and raked.

2. Rutha Drive (Private Road) is being widened. A letter was sent some time ago to correct an 18" culvert that was buried. The driveway culvert at present is not functional and covered with several feet of fill. This drive serves three lots. Drainage problems will result from this work.

3. Phase One on South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) has been completed on the flood damage site. Culverts and drainage to be put in next.

4. Equipment: A. The sanders and equipment are being readied for winter maintenance. B. The Snow King snowplow should be delivered next week. C. All other equipment is operational.

5. Vacation time is now being taken

Respectfully submitted,
James O. Gray

_ To: Newfane Board of Selectmen
Memorandum From: Doris A. Knechtel
Subject: Administrative Assistant's Report
Date: October 5, 2000

1. Williamsville Hall - The Draft Detective is working on the windows and has most of the windows repaired in the kitchen and dining areas. The water filter was plugged and the urinal on the kitchen level was running continuously. Jeffers has changed the filter and fixed the urinal. The drainage problem for the kitchen sink has also been repaired. Also the gas stove has been hitched up after some problems with gas leakage, noticed by the Draft Detective. The lock to the front door of the hall has been changed and a key has been given to J. Gray and Nancy Riege. Other keys are available for rental and contractors.

2. I saw Robert Harrington at the VLCT Town Fair and asked him about doing the work on the River Road (TH#15) access onto Radway Hill Road (TH#4). He has not heard from N. Mercede. R. Harrington is currently on vacation for a couple of weeks and will be willing to come up with a cost estimate for the town when he returns from vacation, if the town is interested.

3. Marc Gray indicated that there are cemetery stones that need to be repaired.. He will supply a list for consideration in the spring when cemeteries are cleaned up and mowed before Memorial Day.

4. Rob Allen from USDA has not sent the additional information for the Board to sign to sponsor the USDA grant for Darlene Ballantine. I did find out from the state that they will pay the sponsors 25% share. He also would like to know if the town would be willing to do the work required at the site. The total estimated cost of the project is $1,700 at this point. I did not get an answer from him as to the possibility of the Williams being able to appeal the decision of the USDA to fund their project if indeed they are not going to participate in the Vermont Emergency Management buy-out program.

5. Piet van Loon spoke with M. Rohan and I about obtaining one or three ten-drawer plans files from A.J. Howard of Greenfield for a maximum cost of $425 each or three for $1,250 including the base and top. A sketch is provided.

Town Offices:
Route 30, P.O. Box 36, Newfane VT 05345, Tel. (802) 365-7772

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