MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING - BOARD OF SELECTMEN
NOVEMBER 21st, 2002
NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE

PRESENT:
Selectmen: Piet van Loon, Jesse Anderson, Lynn Bedell, and Gary Katz.
Absent: Richard Marek
Also Present: Peter Rysz, John Long, Edward Druke, Sr., Trooper Todd Ambroz of the VSP, and Doris Knechtel as Administrative Assistant.

1. CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairman Piet van Loon at 6:33 p.m.

2. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
A. INTERVIEW WITH PETER RYSZ FOR PLANNING COMMISSION
The Board received a letter recently from Peter Rysz, resident of Baker Road in Williamsville, who expressed an interest in serving as a member of the Planning Commission. Questions were asked of Mr. Rysz regarding his background and what experience he could bring to the commission. The property on Baker Brook has been in the family for several years. He has retired and moved here in May of 2002 and wants to become involved in the community. He does not have a planning background, but he does have knowledge of zoning and common sense. Mr. Rysz would like to maintain the quality of life in the community as well as making improvements to attract certain types of businesses to improve the tax base within the community. Because of his past experience within the community with zoning matters, he expressed the importance of working with the applicants rather than against them.
P. van Loon indicated the role of the Planning Commission is to update the town plan every five years and to prepare Zoning Bylaws and amendments to follow up on the Town Plan. The Planning Commission is also involved with an impartial site plan review under criteria that is part of the statute within 24 VSA Chapter 117. A copy of the basic Roles and Responsibilities from the Handbook for Vermont Town Officers were given to Mr. Rysz. The Board thanked Mr. Rysz for his time and interest in coming before the Board to be interviewed for the vacant Planning Commission position.

B. FRED BACON - WILLIAMSVILLE HALL STEP RAILING
During the recent Pot Luck at the Williamsville Hall recently, there was discussion about the possibility of installing a railing in the center of the new steps to be replaced in front of the building. A design prepared by R. Gillis of Williamsville was presented. When Historic Preservation returns a call placed by D. Knechtel in reference to the grant for the replacement of the steps and walkway, the question will be asked about putting in the railing as far as Historic Preservation is concerned. There was also discussion about other items that need to be done at the hall; the fixing of the gutter and/or roof over the front steps and the roof over the handicap access door. It was suggested by P. van Loon that for the winter, if the concrete steps and walkway cannot be completed, that there be temporary wooden steps put over the existing concrete steps. The design for the roof over the handicap access and a potential contractor will be looked into.

3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
A. John Long, property owner on Wiswall Hill Road (TH#11), came to the meeting to express his concerns about an abutting property that may have a failed septic system in the vicinity of a wetland. He is concerned about the possible pollution of the wetlands. John Feifel, the Sewage Control Officer, is aware of the need for a replacement of the tank. When a new tank is installed J. Feifel will be there for the inspection of the new tank. J. Feifel will be appraised of J. Long’s concerns and will be asked to report to J. Long what he finds when the inspection takes place. It was also suggested that J. Long may want to contact Alan Quackenbush, ANR Wetlands supervisor about the matter.

2. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC - (cont.)
C. VERMONT STATE POLICE - CONTRACT
Trooper Todd Ambroz brought the contract from the VT Department of Public Safety for General Police Services to be reviewed and signed by the Board. Lt. Wm. Pettengill has signed the document. The contract is for the amount of $3,500 from 12/02/02 and ending on 06/30/03 at the rate of $37.17 for each hour worked to cover vehicle and other operating costs as well as dispatching services. There was discussion as to the wording under compensation. The part of the sentence “$ to a maximum of $3500.00 for each hour worked to” was deleted and initialed. Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by G. Katz to have Vice-Chairman Hendrik W. van Loon sign the contract with the Vermont State Police, as amended, on behalf of the town. Unanimous. It was noted that the town recently received $900.29 from the state for Fine Reimbursement on State Highways.

3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC - (cont.)
B. Edward Druke, Sr. spoke of a drainage problem on Newfane Hill Road (TH#20) in the vicinity of the Wells, Sterns and Spacek properties. He indicated that the flood mitigation is not working. There is not enough gravel on the road to allow the ditches to work properly. He will talk with J. Gray about the matter. E. Druke also urged the Board to put more money into the budget for road gravel.

5. OLD BUSINESS
A. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES - LIST
(1) L. Bedell has prepared a draft Personnel Policy for the town which is a result of meetings between F. Bacon, L. Bedell and D. Knechtel. Copies will be given to the Board members to review for the December 5th meeting. Also see item # 1 from the Administrative Assistant’s report regarding model Personnel Policy.
(2) G. Katz has asked the D. Knechtel to set up a time with the office employees to discuss the process for cleaning up and organizing the upstairs storage area.

B. OTHER OLD BUSINESS
(1) Roger Sparks has removed two more vehicles from his property, for a total of four, but it does not include the trailer that was also to be removed by October 31st. No ticket has been issued as yet. After much discussion, motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by J. Anderson to write a letter to R. Sparks recognizing the progress that has been made, but the agreement was for four vehicles and a trailer. The Board requests that R. Sparks establish a plan to complete the clean up of the junk Ordinance violations on his property by December 31st. If this request cannot be met then he is to work with the Board or penalties will be enforced. In favor: J. Anderson, L. Bedell and G. Katz. Opposed: P. van Loon. Motion passes. A ticket is to be issued for the LaFlamme/Van Dyke property on South Wardsboro Road (TH#1) for the Junk Ordinance violation.
(2) Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by J. Anderson to send a letter to Doug Brown to ask what arrangements he has made to continue the clean up of junk vehicles on property off of Browns Road. Unanimous.
(3) It is believed that the original plans for the Williamsville Hall included a roof over the handicap access entrance, but that portion of the project was not done. The town will look for the plans here in the office or contact D. Cotton, who may have the original sketch in his files. The Board would like to get that part of the project completed as the water is coming into the building and damaging the wall.

6. NEW BUSINESS
A. APPOINTMENTS
(2) ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT - 1 FOR 2005
A letter has been received from John Pyatak which indicates that he is willing to be appointed to the open seat on the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Board members did not feel the need to interview Mr. Pyatak as he has served on the ZBA in the past as a member and as Chairman of that Board. Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by L. Bedell to appoint John E. Pyatak to serve as a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment until March of 2005. Unanimous.
(3) PLANNING COMMISSION - 1 FOR 2006
After some discussion, the Board decided not to take any action on the appointment to fill the vacant position on the Planning Commission.
4. ROAD BUSINESS
4. A. ROAD COMMISSIONER’S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #1 - The final approval for the H. Pinckney access off of Upper Eager Trail has been looked at and approved by the Road Commissioner and the Road Foreman. When the original is located, it will be signed.
(2) Item #2 - The Orlando’s driveway continues to cause a sheet of ice on Depot Road (TH#2). The highway department will attempt to make some alterations to correct the situation. The alterations done by an abutting access by the property owner seem to be working.
(3) Item #3 - The invoice for the work that Daniels’ Construction did on the covered bridge was incorrect. A new invoice for a lesser amount will be forthcoming.
(4) Item #3 - J. Anderson spoke with R. Whitcomb of VTrans about the bridge by the general store in South Newfane. A boring of the pier indicates that the central pier is not on ledge. There may be a need to replace rather than rehabilitate the existing bridge. Further study is needed. (5) Item #4 - Various options were discussed as to how to move forward with a highway infrastructure inventory for Newfane. Vermont Local Roads has a program, J. Nugent of WRC is beginning to work with some communities on inventories and a letter has been received from R.J. Turner Company about collecting data for the inventory.
4. B. ROAD FOREMAN’S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #4 - The road closed signs have been put up on Newfane Hill Road (TH#20)for a portion of Steep Way Road (TH#21) and on a portion of New Road (TH#30).
(2) Item #6 - The deck on the Green Iron Bridge (BR#32) will not be repaired by the state until next spring.
4. C. EXCESS WEIGHT PERMITS
No excess weight limit permits were presented to the Board for action.
4. D. ACCESS/RIGHT OF WAY PERMITS
Access Permit Application #A02-14 - Arthur Cable - J. Anderson and J. Gray have reviewed the access permit submitted by Arthur Cable for an access onto South Wardsboro Road (TH#1). They want to talk with Mr. Cable to get some assurance that the access will be straight and level for 20' coming off of the main road before the permit is signed for Approved to Proceed.
4. E. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS
(1) A letter has been received from Henry Pinckney asking why the town does not plow to his access off of Upper Eager Trail even though it is a Class 4 road. He has asked that the town use the 30 feet to plow and use his right of way for a turnaround as there is already a large mound of show. The situation will be reviewed and measured.
(2) G. Katz mentioned that there had been a problem with the mailboxes on Wiswall Hill being plowed in and the mail was not delivered. Owners are supposed to shovel out their boxes.
(3) Crosswalks - VT Route 30 - Board members spoke about their thoughts regarding one or more crosswalks across VT Route 30 through the village. Even though there are street lights within the village, there are dark spots. It was then mentioned that there may be a need for a flashing yellow light at a cross walk. Any proposal would have to be engineered and approved by VTRANS. There is also the thought that sometimes a cross walk give a person a false sense of security. The Board will need to coordinate with the Village Trustees to discuss the matter.

6. B. FINANCIAL INFORMATION /PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FY 2004
The Board members were given a comparative spread sheet for the expenses with some items filled in for FY 2004 budget requests received to date. Board members will review the comparative expense sheet and fill in some proposed numbers for the meeting on December 5th. The Capital Budget will also need to be prepared for review at the December 5th meeting.

7. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT - (See attached report)
A. Item #3 - The employees and any interested Board members may wish to hear Kim from VLCT speak about the various BCBS plans and the changes and costs that have occurred with the JY plan on December 10th at 1:00 p.m. L. Bedell also suggested that Richards Insurance be contacted about a health plan that they have.
B. Item #5 - For the first time since the inception of Act 60 the town will be paying into the “pool” for a total amount for the year of $62,557.64. The school just paid $135,083.08 to the Education Fund.
C. Item #6 - Before the final requisition for the Williams property can be completed, there are some questions that need to be clarified with Marie Thomas of Vermont Emergency Management.
8. MINUTES
The minutes of 05/16/02, and 06/20/02 have not been completed for this meeting. Corrections to minutes of 11/07/02: Page #1, 2.B., last . Delete the sentence after Motion passes (The town will be committed to raise the other $1,000.) Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by L. Bedell to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of 11/07/02, as corrected. Unanimous.
Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by L. Bedell to approve the minutes of Special Meeting of 11/14/02, as written. Unanimous.

Minutes - Newfane Board of Selectmen’s Regular Meeting - 11/21/02 Page #5
9. PAY ORDERS
Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by J. Anderson to approve the Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants for the following amounts:
11/09/02 Payroll $ 3,397.71
11/16/02 Payroll $ 2,734.56
11/17/02 Payroll $ 457.26
11/22/02 Acct.’s Payable #11 $ 85,596.79 Unanimous.

IRS Electronic Federal Payroll Tax Payments
11/13/02 $ 1,795.70
11/20/02 $ 1,143.03

10. CORRESPONDENCE
A. A letter of request has been received from Rescue, Inc. for $3,780 for fiscal year 07/01/03 - 06/30/04 based on $2.25 per capita (1,680). The amount for FY 2003 was $3,360. Included for signature is a Letter of Operational Conduct. After discussion, the Board agreed to table the matter pending some questions about the obligation of the town in signing the letter if the community does not approve of the expenditure.
B. A copy of a letter written to the Listers has been received by the BOS for their information. No action is required of the Selectboard, as it is a matter for the Listers.
C. A letter was received from RJ Turner Company regarding suggestions for doing a town Infrastructure Inventory. (See RC report, item #4).
D. Received a note from Steve Ovenden of Windham Regional Commission regarding a potential meeting in the future to get final comments from Selectboard regarding the Route 30 Traffic Calming proposals as well as abutter input.
E. Received a copy of the Toolbox Safety Talk from Vermont Local Road. It was suggested that this can be used as a guide for discussing a different safety topic every week by the Road Foreman and the Road Crew.
F. Correspondence and a check have been received from Scott Ritter for the storage of his piano at the Williamsville Hall.
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION
No matters came before the Selectboard that required Executive Session.
12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by L. Bedell and seconded by G. Katz to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board at 10:12 p.m. Unanimous.