Any
and all corrections to the following minutes will be made at the 12/16/04
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
DECEMBER 2nd, 2004
NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE
PRESENT:
Selectmen: Piet van Loon, Carleton Chaffee, Priscilla Cotton, Gary Katz
and Chris Williams.
Also Present: Steve Putnam of Bart Truck Equipment Co., Inc., Edward Druke,
Sr., Kurt Bostrom as Road Foreman, and Doris Knechtel as Administrative
Assistant.
1. CALL TO
ORDER
The regular meeting was called to order by Chairman P. van Loon at 6:30
p.m.
2. ROAD BUSINESS
A. ROAD COMMISSIONER'S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Item #1 - Board members discussed the situation of the John Spence
Access Permit #4-06 which was issued on October 7th, with conditions relating
to the drainage and the improvements to Glebe Road (Private) and the affect
of the additional drainage onto Baker Brook Road (TH#19). The Board feels
that an 18" culvert across Baker Brook Road is required and is to
be paid for by Mr. Spence. Motion was made by C. Chaffee and seconded
by P. Cotton to have Chairman van Loon write a letter to J. Spence to
indicate that a culvert is to be installed by May 30th, 2005 at J. Spence's
expense across Baker Brook Road (TH#19). Unanimous. The letter is to be
sent certified mail.
(2) Item #2 - K. Bostrom presented his 2005 project list by road for mostly
replacing culverts and taking care of some ditching throughout town. He
will concentrate on road maintenance for the upcoming year.
2. B. ROAD FOREMAN'S REPORT - (See attached report)
(1) Board members reviewed the report. No items required any action.
(2) Item # 3 - On Thanksgiving Day, downed trees and limbs had to be removed
from some of the roads, due to heavy winds.
2. C. EXCESS WEIGHT PERMITS - No action taken.
2. D. ACCESS/RIGHT OF WAY PERMITS
No action taken other than the J. Spence Access Permit - See 2. A. (1)
above.
2. E. UPDATE - CULHANE CORNER (TH#2) PROJECT
A letter has been sent to Brud Sanderson of Stevens & Associates to
let him know that the Board has opted for the sheet pile approach to the
Culhane Corner project. The Board will discuss this option with the interested
members of the public on December 16th.
2. F. RADWAY HILL (TH#4)/RIVER ROAD (TH#15) INTERSECTION
No response has been received from the letter that was sent to N. Mercede
regarding the TH#4 and TH#15 intersection.
2. G. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS
(1) There was discussion about road signs that are marked incorrectly,
either by road number or by stating they are private roads when they are
town roads. K. Bostrom indicated that he checked the order and it appears
that the mistakes were made at the manufacturers. The sings should be
returned for correction.
(2) The new Caterpillar 924 Loader should be arriving at the garage this
next week.
3. SCHEDULED
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
A. OPENING OF BIDS
(1) NEW FORD F-350 ONE-TON CAB & CHASSIS OR EQUIVALENT
The following bids were received for the purchase of a new F-350 to replace
the 1984 Chevrolet 4 X 4.
One-Ton chassis Warranty TOTAL
Heritage Automotive Group, Inc. $26,006.90 $2,855 (6 yr. 75,000 mi.) $28,862
Rountree Motors, Inc. $26,830.90 $2,255 (6 yr. 75,000 mi.) $29,086 OR
$1,800 (power train only) $28,631
Gateway Motor's, Inc. $26,730.90 Included $26,731
Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by G. Katz to take the bids
under advisement and to act on the bids at the next regular meeting. Unanimous.
(2) LO-PRO UTILITY BODY OR EQUIVALENT
The following bids were received for the purchase of a Lo-Pro Utility
Body for the new F-350
Lo-Pro Utility Body TOTAL
Heritage Automotive Group, Inc. $12,996.00 $12,996.00
Bart Truck Equipment Co., Inc. $14,130.00
$14,130.00
Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by P. Cotton to take the bids
received under advisement and to act on the bids at the next regular meeting.
Unanimous.
4. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
Ed Druke was present to comment on the recent article about the Cross
Town Talks meeting in Townshend. One of the topics of discussion revolved
around speed enforcement and the Windham County Sheriff's Department.
Enforcement is the most effective way to control speeding. 5. OLD BUSINESS
A. NEWFANE TRAFFIC ORDINANCE - No action
5. B. PERSONNEL
POLICY - No action
5. C. OTHER OLD BUSINESS
(1) There was some discussion at the WRC Cross Town Talks that the WCSD
had gone over budget in many communities and that there were possible
overcharges. Windham Regional Commission is working on a future meeting
with area communities regarding law enforcement with concerns to be passed
on to the VT Legislators.
(2) The new Zoning Administrator, Richard Sullivan, has begun his duties.
To start with his hours will be Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00
a.m. to 12:00 noon or by appointment.
(3) P. van Loon reported that he has seen vertical reflective messages
on sign posts in the Massachusetts area. This may be an idea for the town
to use for traffic warnings.
6. NEW BUSINESS
A. APPOINTMENTS
(1) DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD
There are some members of the ZBA and the PC that have agreed to serve
as either a regular or an alternate member of the DRB. Additional members
are needed. There needs to be more recruiting done. It was suggested that
it be put on the WEB site.
(2) LELAND & GRAY NEWFANE REPRESENTATIVE
Win Clark has sent a letter of resignation as a Leland & Gray Representative
from Newfane.
A new representative will need to be appointed to serve until March 1,
2005.
(3) REPRESENTATIVE - RESCUE, INC.
Brian Copperthite will be resigning his position as the Representative
from Newfane on Rescue, Inc. Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded
by C. Williams appoint Gary Katz to serve as the Representative from Newfane
on Rescue, Inc. until March 2005. In favor: P van Loon, C. Chaffee, and
C. Williams. Abstaining: G. Katz. Motion passes.
6. B. SCHEDULE MEETINGS WITH BOARDS, TOWNS AND AGENCIES
After the Development Review Board is appointed, there should be a meeting
of the Planning Commission, Development Review Board and the Conservation
Commission.
After the hearing for the grant proposal for the Southeastern Vermont
Home Rehab Revolving Loan Fund is held sometime in January, the Newfane
and Dummerston Selectboards should meet soon to discuss the current Housing
Rehab Program and its possible relationship to the proposal for Southeastern
Vermont Home Rehab Revolving Loan Fund.
6. D. OTHER NEW BUSINESS
(1) Recently there have been advertisements in the paper that offer free
removal of junk cars from your property. Motion was made by G. Katz and
seconded by P. Cotton to have the Chairman P. van Loon compile a letter
to be sent to landowners who are in violation of the town's Junk Vehicle
Ordinance suggesting that they contact the numbers supplied to remove
junk vehicles and come into compliance with the ordinance. Unanimous.
Board members will suggest names for the letter to be sent to.
(2) It was suggested that Board members let the new Zoning Administrator,
Rick Sullivan, know of any activity that may be happening or ideas that
may help him to become acclimated with the community.
7. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT'S REPORT - (See
attached report)
(1) The items on the report were reviewed by the Board. None of the items
required any action y the Selectboard.
(2) The furnace at the Williamsville Hall, which was installed by A.R.
Sandri is not working properly. The company is going to be correcting
the problem.
(3) The town has received fine reimbursements on State Highways in the
amount of $674.26 from the for law enforcement expenditures.
8. MINUTES
Minutes - 11/18/04 - Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by C. Chaffee
to approve the minutes of 11/18/04, as written. Unanimous.
9. CORRESPONDENCE
A. The Selectboard received a letter from Otis Health Care Center regarding
the status of the Grace Cottage Hospital Ambulance Service. They want
to be able to continue serve the communities. The proposal to join with
Rescue, Inc. was not accepted by the Trustees of Grace Cottage Hospital.
They (GCH) will be requesting that each of the five towns (Brookline,
Jamaica, Newfane, Townshend, Wardsboro), to warn an article for discussion
and approval at the 2005 Town Meeting. The amount per capita will be available
by December 10th, 2004. Other alternatives have been discussed, but no
decisions have been made. Rescue, Inc. currently serves half of Newfane.
The per capita cost for Rescue, inc has not yet been received.
B. The 11/07/04 - 11/20/04 report for the Windham County Sheriff's Department
has been received.
C. The December 2004 issue of Opinions has been received from the Vermont
Secretary of State's Office.
D. There will be a budget hearing for the Windham Solid Waste Management
District on 12/09/04 at 6:30 p.m. Newfane's assessment for FY 2006 is
$12,293, $318 less than FY 2005.
10. PAY ORDERS
Motion was made by P. Cotton and seconded by C. Chaffee to approve the
Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants for the following amounts:
11/20/04 Payroll $ 3,165.42
12/01/04 Payroll $ 3,261.79
12/03/04 Payroll $ 2,110.63
12/03/04 Acct.'s Payable #11 $ 33,149.85 Unanimous.
IRS Electronic Federal
Payroll Tax Payments
11/24/04 $ 1,030.02
12/01/04 $ 975.39
11. EXECUTIVE
SESSION - IF NEEDED
No matters came before the Selectboard that required the need of an Executive
Session.
12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by C. Chaffee and seconded by P. Cotton to adjourn the
Regular Meeting of the Board at 8:53 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 - 12/02/04
1. John Spence Access
Permit
Kurt and I met with John Spence on Tuesday, November 30 to discuss his
access to Baker Brook Road (TH#19) from Glebe Road (a private road).
Mr. Spence believes
that there is no likelihood of water from his property or from Glebe Road
affecting Baker Brook Road (TH#19). He further believes that since Glebe
Road is a private road that he should not have to do anything more in
the way of drainage than he has already done.
Both Kurt and I emphasized
the Town's concerns about drainage and our responsibility to the community
as a whole to assure that Baker Brook Road (TH#19) is not compromised
by water coming from this property or from Glebe Road because of the work
he has done on Glebe.
We discussed two options
that would allow us to recommend approval of Mr. Spence's access permit.
Our preferred option is for Mr. Szpence to put in a culvert across Baker
Brook Road (TH#19) at his expense. The other option is for Mr. Spence
to do the necessary ditching to direct any water from the property and
Glebe Road to the existing culvert on Baker Brook Road (TH#19). This would
be a less expensive option for Mr. Spence, but would also require him
to get permission from the owners of the adjacent Angell/Leonard property
for some ditching on their land in the Town right-of-way.
We told Mr. Spence
that we could recommend to the Board approval of his access permit with
the conditions that he do the ditching noted above and that is that does
not wind up working to the Town's satisfaction then he would need to install
the culvert. All work would be done at his expense. We also indicated
that if the culvert proves necessary and he has difficulty finding a contractor
to do the work that he could reimburse the Town and have the Road Crew
do the work. In addition we explained that once a culvert is in, it would
be maintained by the Town. Mr. Spence is seeking advice on our suggestion
and will get back to us. He understands that he has no legal access to
Baker Brook Road (TH#19) without an approved permit and that the access
permit is more costly when sought after work has begun.
I am emailing a copy of this report to Mr. Spence.
2. Road Budget
Kurt and I discussed the preparation of the Road budget. He plans to highlight
for the Board in priority order any major projects that he would propose
in the budget and explain any significant changes he might propose for
any of the budget line items in both the annual and capital budgets. I
suggested that he might want to join us at the budget meeting on 12/7.
Gary Katz, Road Commissioner
ROAD
FOREMAN'S REPORT - 12/02/04
1. ROADS
A. Baker Brook Road (TH#19), Eddy Road (TH#71), Vic Benjamin Road (TH#64),
Lower Steep Way (TH#21), Sunset Lake Road (TH#42), River Road (TH#15)
have all been graded or spot graded.
B. Eddy Road (TH#71) and Vic Benjamin Road (TH#61) have had some work
done on the super elevation to make it better for plowing this winter.
C. Culverts and run off are being cleaned often because of the leaves
and the rain we have had in the past week.
2. DRIVEWAY PERMITS
A. Gary and myself met with John Spence to talk about his culvert problem.
Not wanting the road dug up this time of year I felt that we came up with
a solution. Gary has a full report.
3. THANKSGIVING DAY WEEKEND
On Thursday afternoon I was called for a tree blow down on Stratton Hill
Road (TH#35). Richard Hickey and I opened the road up and removed the
trees. On Friday we came in to check all the roads and made sure we were
all clear for the weekend.
4. EQUIPMENT
A. The 4900 is at the truck body shop right now getting the sander put
on.
B. The L 9000 is being fixed in our shop. Friday we should be putting
the body on for the winter, and we will have the whole fleet in good shape
for the shape it's in.
Kurt P. Bostrom, Road
Foreman
To:
Newfane Selectboard MEMORANDUM
From: Doris A. Knechtel
Subject: Administrative Assistant's Report
Date: December 2, 2004
1. To date no response
has been received from the recent correspondence sent to N. Mercede regarding
River Road (TH#15) and its intersection with Radway Hill Road (TH#4).
2. I spoke with Roger
Whitcomb of VTrans regarding Bridge #14. He expects to receive the findings
of the recent test borings within a few weeks and after he has reviewed
the information he will contact the Selectboard in January. He also hopes
to have some updates on the Covered Bridge (CB#17) at that time.
3. John Mudgett, CPA,
will be here on Tuesday to work with Maureen and me on the FY 2004 audit
information.
4. In your folders,
you have received a report of the revenues for the first quarter which
are at about 29%. Also, included is a copy of the first quarter status
of the Capital Reserve Fund and Reappraisal Fund.
5. For budget purposes,
I have put together a draft Capital plan for the next five years. The
numbers for the anticipated expenses may be changed around in any way
that the Board feels would be appropriate. Please bring the Capital Plan
and the budget spread sheets with you for the special budget meeting on
Tuesday, December 7th. |
