Meeting Minutes
Town of
Select board Meeting Minutes
Monday July 7, 2008
*Unapproved*
** See subsequent minutes for any changes
Members Present: Diane Benware, Tom Barker, Ron Fiske, Bob Oliver, Ken Young.
Others Present: John Hughes, Mary Hughes, Paul Kelly, Alice Kelly, Cecile Todd Arlan Pidgeon, Donna Pidgeon, Kylee Rochon,
Call to Order: Meeting called to Order at 6:35 p.m.; Followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Agenda Review: Diane went over the agenda: Ancient Road Grant, Election workshop on June 15, 2008.
Minutes of June 17th: Tom made a motion to approve the minutes. Bob seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Review and Sign orders for bill payments: Select board reviewed and signed all orders.
Reports from Town Officials: Kylee stated that she made a change and she will be in the office on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Kylee stated that she has a lot going on at the office right now and is going to make the training up at a later date. Kylee also stated that there is going to be one BCA hearing for a tax appeal, and two boards of abatement hearings on Wednesday July 16th at 7:00 pm at the town office.
Arlan stated that they have been working on
Mr. Kelly stated that he along with other neighbors feel that the ditch is a hazard right now and a liability issue. They all were wondering if the ditch could be filled with rocks to road level and some people thought that the water would still run through the rocks. Mr. Kelly talked with Arlan about this, Arlan felt that over time the silt from the rocks would prevent the water from running through the rocks and it may even over flow onto the road. That is what happened in
After much discussion Arlan is going to put the landscaping mats from the North end up to the septic system of Mr. Stacey’s. The Kelly’s are going to wait to put the stone landing up until further along in the process. Arlan is going to T the two culverts together. Arlan has not worked with this landscaping material before, but he is willing to do it. Mr. Kelly’s wants to make sure the paving is going to happen.
Cecile stated that the Listers have another state appeal on Thursday. Then they are not sure when they are going to have others.
New Business:
---Action: Ancient Roads. Donna applied for the Ancient Roads Grant and she was successful in getting the $5,000 dollar grant. Next week they need a status report and one signature is required from the board. Diane signed it.
---Action: Next Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm at the Ilsley Library in Middlebury there is an election workshop for anyone who would like to attend. Diane and Kylee are planning to attend.
---Action: The Leicester Little League is looking for more money next time. The board didn’t discuss it tonight because they will talk about it when it becomes that time.
---Action: Should we be looking for a new grader? There are problems again with the grader hydraulic system. Oil was running right out of one of the lift cylinders. Also when you put down pressure on the blade it won’t hold the pressure. Tom had stated this was a problem a few years ago when they wanted to go purchase it. It also wants to spin all the time. Tom is wondering if there might be a chain broke in one side of it. Arlan doesn’t think the chain broke. Last year we spent $8200.00 in repairs for the grader. Ron feels that if it is that worn and tired then it will probably continue. It takes a lot of room to turn it around because it wants to turn more one way than the other. Mr. Hughes asked for an estimate on how much it would cost to purchase a used grader, and how much a new one is? Tom and Arlan stated that a used one is probably $40,000. That means you are getting a used machine and at that price it may not be in the best shape. A new one was around $167,000 last year. Tom feels that if we bail out now we might get some of our money back in selling this grader verses waiting until it is broke down and can’t get anything for it. Ron feels the same way because we have already spent $8200.00 is one year in repairs and it still doesn’t run good. Bob says he knows a man with a grader that we could probably get for $75.00 an hour unless the guy has changed his mind. Bob stated it might be a little more now because of the diesel prices. Tom and Arlan stated that the problem with hiring someone from another town is we need our roads done when they need to be done and when the moisture is in the ground. Bob said he suggested that we do some shopping and find out where there is a grader. He stated we could borrow money to buy equipment on our own. Bob feels we should try to find a good working grader between $60,000 and $100,000 with a guarantee on it. Mr. Hughes stated he feels that the people that go to look at a grader should be mechanics or people that know about graders. Arlan is going to try packing the cylinder. The board made no decision on what to do about the grader. They just are in the discussion process. Ken said we should not rush into buying anything; he wants us to just keep our eyes and ears open.
---Action: Lister Secretary Pay. Tom stated that it was brought up to him that usually the select board hires secretary’s and sets the rate of pay. Tom asked Cecile if they had a meeting to have her as secretary. Tom also stated he was concerned about the pay for doing the secretary work. John stated that it is part of a listers duties to do this job. Cecile stated that Harry wanted her to be the secretary. Tom felt that it should have been in writing. Tom also felt that it should have been presented to the select board and then it would have been discussed. Tom made a motion for Cecile to continue to take minutes at her same rate of pay as needed for formal actions taken by the board of Listers. Ron seconded it. Motion passed unanimously. Cecile also stated that she has a book that she writes in that tells what is going on and what she has done for her job. Mr. Hughes stated that is a public record. Donna asked Cecile if the book is at the office. Cecile stated it is at her house and she is keeping it there. Cecile stated that if someone wants to see it they can call her and she will produce it. Tom also asked Cecile why she was charging the town for mileage and her time at the classes she is going to. Cecile and John Hughes stated that charging like this is normal. Mr. Hughes asked what happens if the Listers go over there budget. The work has to be done one way or another.
---Action: Mrs. Hughes brought in a paper that she had received from the Brandon Rescue Squad. The paper states that they are asking for a $40.00 membership fee per family for Ambulance services. The town already pays a lump sum to the Rescue squad. Mr. & Mrs. Hughes feels like the Brandon Rescue Squad might be trying to double dip.
---Action: Delinquent Taxes. Tom brought up the fact that there are many people that still owe a lot on taxes. The board agreed that Tom would talk to Beth Ripley about this issue.
---Action: The Town shed needs work done on it. Arlan is going to talk to Bob Munger to see if he can still do it and what he will charge now to do it. The bid was around $4,000. A while ago.
---Action: The Zoning Administrator. Diane called Andrew last week stating that a lawyers office had been trying to get hold of him because they where having a closing and they needed to know if they needed a letter of compliance. The lawyer’s office had called him 4 times and he had not returned any calls. Diane left him a message that he needed to call as soon as he got her message and he did call Diane back. The Zoning administrator has not been returning peoples phone calls and people have been complaining to the board and Kylee about this. Andrew states that sometimes he doesn’t get the message. Andrew sometimes doesn’t show up at the office at the time he has stated that he will be here. He is usually late. People will come to the office around 10:00 am on Thursdays and Andrew is not here. A few weeks ago a town resident waited for 1-½ hours for Andrew to come in. People tried to call him to see where he was, but no one could get hold of him. The board wants him to answer people’s requests in a timely manner. The board also said that they want him to do whatever he has to do to get the job done. Mr. Hughes asked if the board feels that Andrew can do all that needs to be done in the 3 hours that he posted to be here once a week. The board stated they don’t feel he can. Ron feels that 8 hours minimum a week might be enough. Ron stated that sometimes it might take even more hours than that. The board feels like he may have been trying to save the town money but he isn’t doing what needs to be done in that little amount of time. Tom has agreed that he will call and talk to Andrew and let him know that he needs to work whatever hours it takes to get his job done. Tom will let Andrew know if he has any concerns, he is more than welcome to come talk to the board. Ken also wants Andrew to know that he needs to honor the hours he has posted and be at the office during those times. If the hours that he has posted don’t work for him then he needs to change them and post them.
Old Business:
---Action: Zoning board Secretary. The Zoning board still has not found a secretary. Diane has posted an ad in the papers. In the meantime Heidi will make sure that minutes are taken. Diane called Jenna Trudeau's mom to get the tapes and recorder back that she had.
---Action: Arlan stated that someone dropped off about 50-60 tires and shingles on
Limited Public Comments: No public discussion.
Executive Session: No executive session.
Motion to adjourn: Tom made a motion to adjourn at 8:24 pm. Ken seconded it. Motion passed unanimously.
Next Meeting: Monday July 21, 2008 at 6:30pm