Select Board 11-06-08

Weathersfield Select Board Minutes November 6, 2008 Present:        Norman John Arrison `        Patricia Daniels Henry C. Cobb Glenn Fisher Daniel Boyer Others Present:    Larry Melen, Town Manager Lisa Sargent, Recording Secretary Edith Stillson Lynn Esty, Constable Wes Hazeltine, Road Superintendent Julia Lloyd Wright, Eagle Times Darre Moore Deb Ostrum, SAPA 1.  Call to Order by Chairperson: Mr. Arrison called the meeting of the Weathersfield Select Board to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Martin Memorial Hall.  2.  Comments from Citizens: Ms. Lloyd Wright asked for an update on the weatherization of Martin Memorial Hall and the town garage.  Mr. Melen said the town garage is all done and Martin Memorial Hall is on the agenda for tonight.  3.  Review Minutes from Previous Meeting(s): Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve the minutes dated October 9, 2008.  Mr. Cobb seconded the motion which passed 3  - 0 with two abstentions.  Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve the minutes dated October 16, 2008; Mr. Cobb seconded the motion.  Corrections were noted.  Motion carried 4 – 0 with one abstention.  4.  Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District – Recycling Program: Skipped over because Mary O’Brien was not present.  5.  Monthly Reports: A. Constable: 1.  Budget: Mr. Melen said the issue is on keeping the next budget flat since Mrs. Esty is working on a budget when we didn’t have a constable.  Mr. Cobb said he thinks it is premature to discuss the budget without looking at any numbers.  Mr. Melen said she is at 1000% for the first quarter.  There was discussion on the number of animals Mrs. Esty has taken in herself to care for – approximately fifteen cats/kittens – and what we can do with all of them.  After discussion, Mr. Cobb made a motion to have Mrs. Esty obligate up to $500 of Town money to an organization to take the cats/kittens and to resolve the issue.  Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.  2.  Stray/Kenneled Animal, Heather Brown: Mr. Melen noted a copy of the agenda was mailed to Heather Brown at both known addresses.  Mrs. Daniels said that Heather Brown did not tell us the truth when she came to us asking us to waive the additional fees and she would like the Board to reconsider the motion and bill her the amount she did not pay.  Mr. Arrison said only three of us were at that meeting and he is not prepared to go backwards at this point.  Mr. Melen said the dog is registered out of Town and has been vaccinated but the dog is still living in Town.  Mr. Arrison asked if she got the dog the day after our meeting, Mr. Melen said no.  Mrs. Esty gave the Board her information and the time frame of what occurred.  She said she had a payment agreement with installment payments all made out for Heather Brown and she never came to the Town Office to follow through.  Mrs. Esty said she knows she is still living up in the trailer park with her mother and the dog and her children attend school here. Mr. Fisher asked if there was an invoice presented.  Mrs. Esty said she only spoke with her on the phone about the fees.  Mr. Melen said he has the original impoundment notice with all the fees on it.  Mrs. Daniels made the motion to reconsider the original motion of October 9, 2008 and send Heather Brown a bill for the balance due to the Town of Weathersfield for kenneling fees at Claremont Animal Hospital; Mr. Boyer seconded the motion.  Mr. Arrison asked if the motion passes where the bill would be mailed.  Mr. Melen said he would mail it to both known addresses.  Mr. Arrison asked that we keep Lynn’s information on file.  Motion passed 3 – 0 with two abstentions.  B. Highway 1.  Town Highway No. 8, Bridge #60, Murray Flats Bridge: Mr. Melen said that the job is done and the bridge is open so we need to post a weight limit.  Mr. Hazeltine said all roads are posted 24,000 lbs. by the State. It was the consensus of the Board to post the bridge weight limit for 24,000 lbs. and Mr. Melen would draw up a resolution for the next meeting.  2.  Butterfield Hill Road, Approve Engineering Agreement: Mr. Melen said we have a revised contract which includes up to 24 hours instead of up to 40 hours and it is dated October 31, 2008.  Mr. Boyer made the motion for the Town Manager to sign the contract with Dufrense & Associates for the Butterfield Hill improvements; Mr. Fisher seconded the motion.  Mr. Cobb asked when this project is done, is the Town finished with resolving the litigation, Mr. Melen said yes for now.  Motion carried 5 – 0.  3.  Roadside Mowing, Equipment Lease: Mr. Boyer made the motion to sign the contract with Tenco New England Inc for the rental of an Alamo roadside mower for August 3, 2009 – August 30, 2009 for $6,400, Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion.  Mr. Cobb asked the status of our sickle bar.  Mr. Hazeltine said the part to repair it is $800 and the rest of the mower is very worn.  Mr. Cobb asked what the tractor is used for now, Mr. Hazeltine said they use it occasionally to pull the rake.  There was discussion road side mowing should be done annually and Mr. Cobb asked Mr. Hazeltine to keep his eye open for a used tractor.  Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Hazeltine told the Board that the Perkinsville dry hydrant needed a new motor and the cost was approximately $2,000.  Mr. Boyer said the Fire Commission discussed this last night and they feel we need to put the new motor on the new pump that we already have.  Mr. Hazeltine said he disagrees with that, he said that we need to solve the problem of silt and sand getting in there before replacing the pump.  Mr. Arrison asked where money would come from.  Mr. Melen said the dry hydrant line item in the budget.  Mr. Boyer made the motion to purchase a new motor to go in the pump for the Perkinsville dry hydrant for a purchase price of $1,920.20.  Mr. Fisher seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.  C. Land Use – No report given Skipped to #8 a 8.  Old Business A.  Tenney Hill Property, Citizen Complaint: Mr. Cobb said a citizen sent an email complaining of ATV and other traffic around Tenney Hill Pond and she mentioned she understood the entrance would be chained.  Mr. Melen said a person called in with a complaint too.  He noted Officer Logan responded and has spoken with the family regarding not going down there.  Mr. Arrison said we did discuss a gate in the past. Mr. Hazeltine said there is a used gate at the garage and he will put it up.  Mr. Arrison asked that it be put up as soon as possible and both fire departments have a key. Mr. Cobb said he looked around the area and doesn’t think a fire truck can get to the hydrant at this point and also noted there is damage on the far side of the pond – it looks like ATV’s are coming up from Wilgus Park area.  Back to #6 6.  Ordinances/Policies A.  Animal Control Ordinance: Mr. Melen said the draft date is November 5, 2008 and noted Mrs. Esty made two small changes regarding ferrets and also changed the sanitation clause on page 4.  Mr. Cobb made the motion to move the Animal Control Ordinance to the second reading with the changes annotated.  Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.  B.  Objectionable Noise Ordinance: Mr. Melen noted no changes to this.  Mr. Cobb said the wrong chart is included.  Mr. Cobb made the motion to move the Objectionable Noise Ordinance to the third reading with the corrected chart.  Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.  C.  Sign Child Safety Ordinance: Mr. Melen said he doesn’t have this but will print it to sign at the end of this meeting.   7.  Weathersfield Fire Commission: A.  Emergency Shelter, Vermont Emergency Management: Mr. Melen said there is not any funding available at this time.  Mr. Boyer said Mrs. Thomas questioned what to do for a shelter since the Perkinsville School has been closed up.  Mr. Arrison asked Mr. Melen to inquire about mutual aid shelters since we don’t have a place to house people over night.  B.  Fire Department Memorandum of Agreement: Mr. Melen said service area has been defined and also Services specifically excludes Medical Services.  Mr. Arrison said department should be plural, Mr. Melen said each department would have their own contract.  Mr. Arrison said that we need to follow through on a joint meeting.  Mr. Boyer said the Fire Commission looked at it last night and they would like to see what the Town side would furnish.  Mr. Arrison said some times shall should be changed to may and also said that if either department folds we should get all assets back so the dissolution clause needs to be discussed.  9.  New Business A. Personnel: Mr. Melen said the Librarian has submitted a resignation letter and the Board of Trustees is over seeing advertising for her replacement.  He also said Alec Longtin has been transferred from the transfer station to the highway department and Michael Barrup is a temp at the transfer station.  Lastly, he noted that Michelle would be leaving on maternity leave in December.  B.  Martin Memorial Hall Insulation Proposal: Mr. Melen said Dayco is the only company that responded with a bid for the insulation proposal.  He said their bid is for $2,672.  Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve retaining Dayco Insulation and Roofing Inc of Sharon, VT for $2,672.  Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.  10.  Appointments:  None to be discussed.  Ms. Lloyd Wright noted that there should only be two openings for the Parks and Rec Committee. 11.  Sign Treasurer Warrants: Mr. Cobb made the motion to approve the Treasurer Warrants as follows: General Fund Payroll                    $  27,398.25 General Fund Operating Expense                $  64,916.56 Highway Fund Payroll                    $  21,456.07 Highway Fund Operating Expense                $135,182.60 Solid Waste Management Fund Payroll            $    4,210.90    Solid Waste Management Fund Operating Expense    $    3,580.01 Agency Monies                        $      267.74 Library                            $      314.90 Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent. 12.  Next Meeting’s Agenda Items: parking at Cascade Falls Road, additional 8 hrs holiday pay, VIBRS, Murray Flats Bridge, draft budget, George Murray Mr. Cobb mentioned the collection of hats, mittens and scarf’s for the Afghan children.  Mr. Melen noted a lot of food shelf donations were received on voting day.  13. Adjourn: Mr. Boyer made the motion to adjourn.  Mr. Cobb seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.  Respectfully Submitted, Lisa Sargent Approved by the Weathersfield Select Board November 20, 2008 ________________ Daniel Boyer _________________ Henry C. Cobb _________________ Patricia Daniels _________________ Glenn Fisher __________________ Norman John Arrison Appendix Website policy - Larry Ancient roads (continue working on) - deForest Posting sign policy - John Use of Weathersfield Elementary School - Chip Capital asset inventory – Chris Adams No Parking Signs by Thomas residence Review and increase of land use fees - deForest 03/08/07    Procedure for handling of complaints and citizen inquiries - Pat 05/03/07    Emergency communication - Dan 05/03/07    Radio Station designation for emergencies – Mike Thomas 08/16/07    large gathering permit - John 10/18/07    Economic depreciation factors from AMPTA - Pat 11/01/07    Designation of emergency shelter and power supply - Dan 03/20/08    Cascade Falls Road Parking Area (maintenance) 06/19/08    Tenney Hill Pond 06/19/08    Noise Ordinance 07/10/08    Community Garden 07/10/08    Energy Audit at Town Garage & Martin Memorial Hall