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Any and all corrections to the following minutes will be made at the 02/15/01 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

FEBRUARY 1st, 2001

NEWFANE TOWN OFFICE

PRESENT:

Selectmen: Jesse Anderson, Lynn Bedell, and Richard Dowley

Absent: Michael Rohan and Carter Van Iderstine.

Also Present: Jonathan Julian, Edward Druke, James O. Gray, Road Foreman, and Doris Knechtel, Administrative Assistant.

1. CALL TO ORDER

Vice Chairman L. Bedell called the Regular Meeting of the Board to order at 7:05 p.m.

2. SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC - No one was scheduled.

3. UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

A. Jonathan Julian was present to ask the Board about having an affordable meal, to be put on by the Williamsville Hall Committee, after the Town Meeting at about noon. The money raised will be used to purchase more tables, flatware and other needed items. The Senior Meal on January 25th was very successful and is planned as an ongoing event. J. Julian asked about an area back off of the road to be able to have his bar-b-que set up on Town Meeting Day. He will contact J. Gray about an area to park the "rig" so as not to take up valuable parking space. The meal will be advertised ahead of time and announced at the meeting to encourage more residents to participate.

B. Edward Druke reported that the WCSD got back in touch with him about a break-in on Timson Hill Road (TH#41). E. Druke would like to see more money put into the budget for the WCSD. $1,500 was added to the WCSD budget for FY 2002. The Selectboard has approved the budget for FY 2002 to be discussed at the upcoming town meeting. The Board was reluctant to add any additional funds for law enforcement until the matter is discussed as a Goal & Objective during the next year. The Board will be looking into what the town currently receives for services from the WCSD and will also investigate other possible ways for law enforcement services, such as upgrading the Constable duties and/or using the VT State Police more often.

C. E. Druke feels that if more funds were put into speed enforcement by the WCSD, the "traffic calming" suggestions being proposed by the Village Enhancement Committee would not be needed. On Wednesday, February 21st beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Williamsville Hall, the Planning Commission will be holding a hearing to discuss the "traffic calming" measures being proposed for the villages of Williamsville and South Newfane.

D. E. Druke is concerned that the Village Enhancement Committee is not following the proper procedures for the "open meeting law" by warning their meetings properly. He indicated that the mission of the committee was to plant trees. The committee was not "mandated" by the Selectmen to implement the Dover Road Study of 1995. He also raised the question about the committee operating sometimes by formal votes and sometimes by consensus. DAK supplied the Board with information regarding the two options of how to run a meeting and make decisions. 1. Parliamentary Procedure and 2. Consensus Decision-Making. A letter will be written to VEC to remind them of the Open Meeting Law requirements.

7. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT - (See attached report)

A. Item #3 - DAK will be attending the meeting in Dover regrading Town manager form of government, as well as some of the Board members.

B. Item #6 - and Agenda item 6.B. A list of types of real estate sales to eliminate from sales ratio study was supplied from T. Schreyer. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Dowley to have the Board members present sign the letter to William Johnson, Director of Property Valuation & Review, to petition PV&R for a redetermination of the Common Level of Appraisal and Coefficient of Dispersion for Newfane as contained in the report received from the state on 01/02/01. Unanimous.

5. C. OTHER OLD BUSINESS

A letter, prepared by the Zoning Administrator, Piet van Loon, to John Sullivan, Real estate Specialist for the USPS, regarding local regulations of the changes that have been occurring at the Williamsville/South Newfane Post Office, has been signed by Joan Weir, on behalf of the Planning Commission. Motion was made by R. Dowley and seconded by J. Anderson to have Lynn Bedell sign as Vice Chairman for Chairman Michael Rohan on behalf of the town of Newfane. Unanimous.

13. LOCAL BOARD OF LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSIONERS

Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by L. Bedell the recess the Board of Selectmen’s meeting and convene as the Local Board of Liquor Control Commissioners. Unanimous.

Motion was made by R. Dowley and seconded by J. Anderson to approve the Outside Consumption Permit submitted for Chestnut Valley Inn, Inc. for the porch area on the northeast side of the building. Unanimous. The permit is to be signed by the Town Clerk to indicate that the Local Control Commissioners have approved the permit.

Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by L. Bedell to adjourn the meeting of the Local Board of Liquor Control Commissioners and reconvene the meeting of the Newfane Board of Selectmen. Unanimous.

6. A. TOWN MEETING INFORMATION

The information for town meeting has not yet been compiled. There will be two meetings, February 15th and March 1 st, of the Selectmen before the Town Meeting on March 6th.

5. B. REAPPRAISAL - RFP

There will be a draft Request for Proposal prepared by DAK for a town wide reappraisal with assistance and input from the Listers, Terry Knight from Property Valuation and Review, and others. T. Knight has sent sample RFP’s to be considered. DAK will work with T. Schreyer to get the specifics of what the Listers would like and to get the process started for a proposal to be sent out after the BOS meeting of March 15th. T. Schreyer may want to meet with the BOS at the meeting of 02/15 or 03/01 to discuss the town wide reappraisal.

5. C. OTHER OLD BUSINESS

(1) The invoice from Fitzpatrick Excavating in the amount of $5,120.50 for 1,463 yards of rip rap at $3.50 per CY from Mercedes land for the River Road job has not yet been paid by the town. The Board members thought that the stone was to be available for nothing. Minutes from the meetings of 05/04/00 and 05/09/00 did not indicate a specific cost for the rip rap. M. Fitzpatrick will be contacted about attending the meeting of the Board (02/15/01) to discuss the matter. J. Gray indicated that he anticipated a cost for the rip rap and he felt that the cost would have been much more from another source.

4. ROAD BUSINESS

A. ROAD COMMISSIONER’S REPORT - (No report was submitted)

B. ROAD FOREMAN’S REPORT - (See attached report)

None of the items listed required any action by the Board.

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 by the Board.

4. E. STATUS - COVERED BRIDGE DECK REPAIRS (CB#17)

The repairs to the deck on the covered bridge has been completed by Daniels Construction. The pushed up nails were removed.

4. F. OTHER ROAD BUSINESS

(1) Before approving of the Verizon Petition and Order #946981 on River Road (TH#15) the Road Commissioner and the Road Foreman will review the project one more time. As a condition of the permit the Board may ask for the "old" poles to be removed from the site as well as removing the "old" poles from the Depot Road (TH#2) project of a few years ago. There are also dead trees that the town has asked to be removed and the work has not yet been done.

(2) J. Anderson would like to find out before the annual meeting in April with District #2 Technician, Wm. Noyes, about the statement in the two letters received from VTrans regarding repair of the Arch Bridge (BR#12) and Wiswall Hill Bridge (BR#43). The statement indicates that if the town does not repair the bridges, federal funding will be withheld from the town, and J. Anderson is interested in how much time the town would be allowed before the repairs have to be completed.

8. MINUTES

The minutes of the Regular Meeting of 01/04/01 and the Special Meeting of 01/11/01 will be considered for approval at the next meeting of 02/15/01.

9. PAY ORDERS

A. Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by L. Bedell to approve the Newfane Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants, as signed, for the following:

01/20/01 Payroll $ 2,990.95

01/27/01 Payroll $ 3,043.84

02/01/01 Payroll $ 1,533.80

02/02/01 Acct’s Payable #17 $ 347,280.95 Unanimous

B. IRS Electronic Federal Payroll Tax Payments

01/23/00 $ 1,043.56

01/31/01 $ 1,062.93

10. CORRESPONDENCE

A. A letter has been received from Joan Weir to Michael Rohan requesting FEMA public assistance for Williamsville School Preservation Society property. According to her letter the project has been approved for inclusion with the town FEMA projects. J. Weir will be notified that the town has not yet received the reimbursement from the state as of this date.

B. A note has been received from Ann Landenberger to indicate that no petition was circulated for the Warning to pay for the application to have the Village of Williamsville included in the National Register of Historic Places. A petition to consider, Williamsville, South Newfane and Brookside will be circulated for next year.

C. A copy of the Act 250 Application has been received for the reclamation of the gravel pit off of Auger Hole Road in Marlboro. The property abuts the boundary of Newfane.

. Bound copies of the Newfane Financial Statements for the year ended June 30, 2000 have been received from Mudgett, Jennett & Krogh-Wisner, P.C., Certified Public Accountants.

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION - An Executive Session was not required.

12. ADJOURNMENT

Motion was made by J. Anderson and seconded by R. Dowley to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Newfane Board of Selectmen at 9:20 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 02/01/01

TOWN OF NEWFANE HIGHWAY

1. A major ice storm of 01/26/01 & 01/27/01 caused the back roads to become very slippery due to the continuing freezing rain. Roads iced over within minutes of sanding.

2. Winter sand will have to be replenished.

3. Equipment: A. All equipment is operational. B. The SnowKing snowplow is much improved.

4. Dead trees and brush are being cut.

5. Frost heaves are very bad this winter. Blacktop roads are cracking in many places.

6. Mud season is coming soon. Robins are here.

7. The repairs to the covered bridge (CB#17) deck will be completed today (02/01/01) by Daniels Construction.

Respectfully submitted,

James O. Gray



To:

Newfane Board of Selectmen

 

From:

Doris A. Knechtel

 

Subject:

Administrative Assistant’s Report

 

Date:

February 1, 2001

 

1. Much of my time has been spent on trying to get the Town report together and to the printers. I have not yet succeeded. Currently my HP printer is at the Dr’s (HP Laser Precision) in Brattleboro. A label has stuck causing the paper to jam occasionally. (Cost $55.00 per hour).

2. Don’t forget next week, the Leland & Gray Annual Meeting on Tuesday, February 6th beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the school gymnasium and the meeting on Wednesday, February 7th at the Dover Town Hall on the Dover Common beginning at 7:00 p.m. for a discussion with VLCT and others on the pros and cons of the Town manager form of government.

3. David Ewing, Selectman in Dover, called me on Saturday to invite me to the meeting in Dover on February 7th as several months ago, he asked if I would assist Dover in their discussions on the Town Manager versus Administrative Assistant/Town Administrator forms of government because of my experience in both Dover and Newfane. He also extended an invitation to the Newfane Board to attend the meeting.

4. Jonathan Julian will be at the meeting this evening to ask about serving lunch at the Williamsville Hall after the Town Meeting.

5. I spoke with Angela Magara of Vermont Emergency Management and all of the paper work appears to be in for the Williams’ property. I also relayed the information given to be by D. Williams that the bank may be foreclosing on the property in question. Ed von Turkovich will discuss the matter with the mortgage company.

6. A letter has been prepared for the Board to sign to petition the property Valuation and Review for a redetermination of the Common Level of Appraisal an Coefficient of Dispersion for the Town of Newfane. What will happen is, Teri Gildersleeve will meet wit the town Listers to review the sales that were used to determine the CLA and COD to see if some of the sales should be eliminated from the sales ratio study.





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