Town of LeicesterSelectboard Meeting MinutesMonday, January 20, 2014*Unapproved*** See subsequent minutes for any changes Members Present: Diane Benware, Ron Fiske, Tom Barker, Brad Lawes Members Absent: Ken Young Others Present: Julie Delphia, Arlan Pidgeon, Sandra Trombley, Secretary Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 6:34 p.m. by Chair, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Review of Agenda:Approval of January 13, 2014 Minutes:Motion by Tom and second by Ron to approve minutes of January 13, 2014 as written. All in favor. So approved.Diane mentioned an update to the minutes. After talking with Van on Saturday, they are putting off the agreed upon change of hours from February 1, to March 1. Diane will do another notice.Review/Authorization to pay bills:Bills making their rounds for signatures. Reports from Town Officials, Committees:Road Foreman:Arlan hauled sand last Monday. He put up the Jersey barrier on the Bullock Road. Brad asked about the new sander and what year its cost was coming out of. Julie explained the new sander was purchased in 2014; paid out of the equipment restricted fund. Sander parts to fix the old sander in the amount of $1,474.83 came out of the 2013 budget. Motion by Tom and second by Brad to authorize Treasurer to pay bills. All in favor. So approved.Town Clerk/Treasurer:Julie has been working on Town Report. She showed the Board a sample of the photo for the cover. Listers: NoneCemetery Committee: None Zoning Administrator: NoneNEW BUSINESSBudget 2014 Final Draft:Julie provided draft copies of the budget and gave explanations and thoughts on pages within the report. Julie explained the budget goes up $25, 251 or a 5% increase overall for the budget. The bulk of the increase is:
12,000 fire
2,000 audit
5,000 cemetery
2,224 insurance
2,000 highway
Julie cannot tell what the increase in the tax rate will be exactly because the grand list is not done. If it were to stay about the same, it would be about $14.60 per 100,000. That doesn’t include the extra $20,000 for paving and the Foxcroft appropriation. If both pass, then it would be about $29 per 100,000. Julie’s recommendation is that the Board write the article for the Addison Independent. Julie would be happy to help. Auditors were in today. There was discussion of law enforcement expense. There was discussion about emergency purchases and in the event of need for an emergency purchase of equipment. What are the options? Brad asked that even though they don’t have anything in mind, would this be the time to put it in front of the voters. There was discussion of the pros and cons. Tom spoke to low interest loan programs through the State of Vermont. The highway restricted fund was discussed. In order to keep your roads and schools open, you would have to get the equipment needed in case of an emergency. It was recommended that perhaps in the Selectboard’s report there could be an explanation of the possible future need of equipment purchases. All agreed that they need to get the delinquent tax numbers down. Brad asked if the $5,000 in the cemetery could be explained better. $5,000 has been budgeted for the north side of the cemetery to identify, repair/removal of existing fence to improve appearance of the cemetery.Motion by Tom and second by Ron to sign the warning. All in favor. So approved.CORRESPONDENCECertificate of Compliance-AOT:The Board signed the Certificate of Compliance for the Town Road and Bridge Standards to send to Tom Roberts. Diane reported on last week’s TAC meeting at Regional Planning about the State’s asphalt leveling plan. Next month they are to get the list from the State of the next paving projects.OLD BUSINESSSenior Center Building Needs: No UpdateLIMITED PUBLIC OPINION: None Motion by Tom and second by Brad to adjourn at 7:44 p.m. All in favor. So approved.Next Meeting February 3, 2014. Respectfully submitted, Sandra L. Trombley, Secretary
