Meeting Minutes 02-06-2017
Town of LeicesterSelectboard Meeting MinutesMonday, February 6, 2017*Unapproved*** See subsequent minutes for any changes Members Present: Diane Benware, Tom Barker, Ron Fiske, John Rouse, Brad Lawes Others Present: Julie Delphia, Arlan Pidgeon, Angela Ouellette, Rep Unified Union Board, Richard Reed, Rep ACSW, Mr. & Mrs. Van Denton, Sandra Trombley, Secretary Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chair. Pledge of Allegiance: Review of Agenda: Added 2 weight permits and update on Leicester Unified Union information. OLD BUSINESS: Update on Unified Union Board: The Selectboard heard conflicting information about the future of Leicester School and wrote a letter to the Superintendent of Schools; who provided no information. Angela Ouellette, one of two representatives to the Unified Board for Leicester came to offer some information. Angela stated that in a meeting, it was talked about turning Leicester School into a Pre-K Center and Day Care Center. This conversation was too much too soon to talk about during the budget season; so it was tabled. Angela stated that as it stands right now, anything is possible, but the schools are safe for four years. There is no talk about turning the small schools back to the towns at this time. The conversations are just starting. Diane asked if the Unified Board were planning on being at Town Meeting. Angela stated that she will be at Town Meeting and would be willing to answer any questions that might come up, but there was no formal plan. The Annual Meeting for Otter Valley is March 1st. A Town Report should have already been sent out. Julie mentioned there is a meeting tomorrow and February 16th with a budget talk and a movie at the Town Hall. Angela stated they had talked about cutting the .6 math teacher in the budget, but she and Greg convinced them to put funds back in for a .2 position for 5th & 6th grade. Diane mentioned that the Board had authorized Julie to send the letter to the Superintendent; and they would like to reaffirm that the Board would like to know future information as soon as possible; that will impact the town. Angela said they would do their best, and stated they have their minutes and are on Peg TV. Implementing Act 148: Richard Reed and Van Denton were in attendance to discuss the implementation of Act 148. Richard stated that the staff is recommending providing the four gallon totes for households free of charge. Richard said it should be on the agenda for next week. The haulers will distribute a certain number of them and then others would be distributed through the Town Clerk’s Office. Act 48 goes into effect July 1st; so they will coordinate so that the totes will be available in plenty of time. Van stated he is really not sure how he is going to handle this at this moment. He is trying to figure out a way to do it. Van said this is a learning process and he is not sure what volume there will be. Richard stated that the law requires that food scraps be picked up weekly. The hauler can charge for picking up the food waste and can tack the cost onto the bag rate for trash. Van will call Foster Bros. to see what their current rate per ton is right now. Van mentioned if you charge by the bag, you are charging everybody even if they don’t have any food waste. Richard stated there are five locations in the State that have digesters. Some are not open to receiving any more waste. Some folks have been composting for many years. Brad asked if there was going to be any educational material or videos about composting. Richard said the Solid Waste District has provided that information for years. Diane had shared with Richard a recommendation of an informational flyer. Richard thought this flyer could go into invoices from the hauler and be handed out at the drop off and provided to the summer lake residents when they return. There was discussion about animals, odor in the summer, freezing in the winter, and what other items that might be thrown into the tote. Richard brought up discussion about some counties having six drop off locations throughout the county. Every town does it differently. Richard confirmed that you can have food waste in your curb-side service until 2020. Drop off facilities must accept food scraps, effective July 1, 2017. Van shared his concerns about the finances of this process. Brad mentioned that he had a power lift tailgate that Van could have. Brad also wondered if a vacuum truck could be used and not have to transport the totes. There are still a lot of unanswered questions at this point in time. Richard will let the Board know when he has more information for the Board. Van will do some homework and try to figure out a process and share numbers with Richard. Approval of January 16, 2017 minutes: Motion by Tom and second by Brad to approve minutes of January 16, 2017 as written. All in favor. So approved. Review/Authorization to Pay Bills: Motion by Tom and second by Brad authorizing Julie to pay bills. All in favor. So approved. Reports from Town Officials, Committees: Town Clerk/Treasurer: Motion by John and second by Tom to allow Julie to pay the federal and state fees as required. All in favor. So approved. Motion by Brad and second by Tom to increase the pay for the auditors from $12.00 to $13.00 an hour. All in favor. So approved. Motion by John and second by Ron to approve the rental rate of equipment. All in favor. So approved. Julie shared the Auditor’s Report. The letter from the auditor stated everything was good. DRB – Code of Ethics. Julie provided some reading material for the Board. The meeting public meeting for the Unified Bylaws is February 20th. Provided there are no changes, the next meeting of March 6th is when there will be a full Board and they could be adopted by the whole Board. Restructuring will be done at the March 6, 2017 meeting. BCA meeting is February 20, 2017 at 6:20 p.m.. Brad and Ron will bring ballots from the school on March 6th. Certificate of highway mileage was signed by Selectboard. Julie stated that delinquents are at $118,000+. Road Foreman: Arlan had no report. Cemetery Committee: Health Officer: Weight Permits: Lawes Ag and Newport Sand & Gravel, Newport, NH was approved. CORRESPONDENCE: NEW BUSINESS: Ron asked for a new representative for Addison County Planning Commission. He is no longer interested in attending the meetings. BUILDING NEEDS: HIGHWAY CONCERNS/NEEDS: Town Shed: Tom mentioned that the furnace has been ordered for the Town Shed. LIMITED PUBLIC OPINION: EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion by Tom and second by Ron to adjourn at 7:53 p.m. Next Meeting: Monday, February 20, 2017 Respectfully submitted, Sandra L. TrombleySelectboard Secretary