| Any
and all corrections to the following minutes will be made at the 01/08/04
Board of Selectmen's Meeting and are considered unapproved until then. Corrections
will be noted in the minutes of that meeting.
MINUTES -
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
DECEMBER 10th, 2003
NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE
PRESENT:
Selectmen: Piet van Loon, Gorty Baldwin, and Gary Katz
Absent: Priscilla Cotton and Christopher Williams
Also Present: Kendall Gifford, Bea MacFarland and Doris Knechtel, Administrative
Assistant.
1. CALL TO
ORDER
The Special Meeting was called to order at 6:33 p.m. Chairman Piet van
Loon.
3. TO TRANSACT ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT MAY LEGALLY COME BEFORE
THE NEWFANE SELECTBOARD
A. Newfane Sidewalk Restoration- Kendall Gifford and Bea MacFarland were
asked to meet with the Board members to answer some questions relating
to the final conceptual plans for the rebuilding of the sidewalks within
Newfane Village. One of the main questions related to the width of the
travel lane. The highway department has asked for at least a 10' travel
lane. The former plans show a 10' travel lane with a one foot shoulder.
The final plans show a 9' travel lane with a two foot shoulder. VTrans
requires a two foot shoulder to curbing. The actual distance is the same.
On alternate sides of the street, there are parking spaces provided which
are 7' wide. The parking is precisely defined. At the crosswalk areas
there are Abulb outs@ which also serve to calm traffic. There are green
strips, which vary in width, provided on the plans between the granite
curbing and the 4' sidewalk. There used to be green strips according to
B. MacFarland. Court Street (TH#1) will remain a 2-way street. The northwest
corner of Court Street will have a 15' turning radius. It will be tight
for large trucks. The town may want reconfigure the intersection of West
Street (TH#1) with VT Route 30. The note on the plans regarding the one-half
a roundabout at the intersection of Cross Street (TH#14 ) and West Street
(TH#1) indicates that it is to be constructed by others. VTrans has indicated
that at this time it considers this area to be Aoutside@ of the construction
limits. There may be a possibility that this area could become a part
of the project. The curbing will be a significant change for the highway
maintenance crew. Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by G. Baldwin
to approve the Conceptual Plans, dated 10/06/03, for the Newfane Sidewalk
Restoration project, as reviewed and approved by VTrans and their standards.
Unanimous. K. Gifford and B. MacFarland were thanked for their attendance
and willingness to respond to the town's concerns.
B. According to P. van Loon the Veich/O'Dell trailer, which is within
the Hunter Brook Road (TH# 32) right of way, is to be sold. There is a
zoning violation that will go with the sale of the property. The buyer
is aware of the violation. P. van Loon has spoken with the attorney for
the buyer. They would like an extension of the time for the violation
to be cleared. Motion was made by G. Baldwin and seconded by G. Katz to
have the Zoning Administrator notify the attorney for the buyer of the
Veich/O'Dell trailer that they have 30 days to remove the trailer from
the town highway right of way. Unanimous.
C. P. van Loon spoke with Attorney Ray Perra regarding the situation with
the "little" brown church and the potential town's interest.
If the town does not have a strong interest, he advised that the town
may not want to get involved. The question was raised, that if the town
does have an interest in the future of the "little" brown church,
then there should be an article presented at Town Meeting to raise the
issue. Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by G. Baldwin to notify
John E. Pyatak, Esquire, attorney for a prospective buyer of the "little"
brown church, that the town is not in a position to relinquish its interest
in the "little" brown church property by virtue of Deed 44/427,
without a vote at Town Meeting. Unanimous. P. van Loon has also has been
in contact with the Secretary of State's office to ask about the matter.
D. Act 250 - The Original Flea Market - An amendment was received recently
for the Original Flea Market. There is an outside possibility the hearing
may be put off until later. P van Loon attended the WRC workshop on Act
250. EW Morse was also there. WRC will attend the Act 250 hearing on 12/16
for the Flea Market and may assist the town if need be. The Planning Commission
will be having a special meeting on Monday, 12/15 to prepare for the Act
250 hearing on the Flea Market storage buildings for rental.
2. WORK
ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2005 BUDGET
A. EXPENSES
G. Katz spoke of what he feels should be the Board's guiding principles
for budget considerations should be to level fund with some modest increases
and with potential cost of living increases for wages.
P. van Loon would like Board members to think about all of the ideas and
wishes needed or desired for town improvements.
Board members present went through the expense items line by line. Some
items will need to be reconsidered and other items will need to be looked
into with department and committee personnel. At this juncture, the Board
is trying to get a feel for the overall budget. There were questions raised
about what items make up the various categories and whether there should
be a shift in the allocations. There was a suggestion to add a line item
to the highway department for professional development. The Board ended
the discussion at the end of page 5 and will resume the budget process
at a special meeting of 12/16/03 beginning at 6:30 p.m.
4. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by G. Katz and seconded by G. Baldwin to adjourn the Special
Meeting at 10:45 p.m. Unanimous.
Doris A. Knechtel
Administrative Assistant
Newfane Board of Selectmen
Posted: Newfane Town
Office, Newfane Store, Williamsville General Store, Williamsville Hall
and South Newfane General Store & Deli.
www.newfanevt.com |
