Minutes - 06-01-2020
Town of LeicesterSelectboard Meeting MinutesMonday, June 1, 2020*Unapproved*** See subsequent minutes for any changes Members Present: Diane Benware, Brad Lawes, John Rouse, Tom Barker, Ron FiskeOthers Present: Julie Delphia, Arlan Pidgeon, Sandra Trombley, Secretary Call to Order: Virtual Meeting, per Covid-19 pandemic response called to order at 6:36 p.m. with roll call. Pledge of Allegiance: Review of Agenda: Under Correspondence: added letter from Sheriff’s Office, Lem’s message about mowing, AOT letter about painting center lines, copy of letter about Mr. Neary, Suki Frederick’s letter about insecticides. Approval of May 18, 2020 Minutes: Motion by John, second by Brad to approve minutes of May 18, 2020. 1 Abstention (Brad) and 4 yes. So, approved. Review/Authorization to Pay Bills: Motion by Tom, second by John to approve bills. All in favor. So, approved. Reports from Town Officials, Committees: Road Foreman: Arlan mentioned that he completed one culvert and has another to do up above it. Diane mentioned on Leicester Whiting Road she saw an item that needed to be picked up. Arlan was aware and working on it. Town Clerk/Treasurer: Julie reported that current Covid numbers are 983 cases. 880 people recovered, 55 deaths and 0 in the hospital. Town Office is open by appointment only due to the 6’ distancing guideline. They have to do as much as they can remotely and can’t have anyone in unless they can meet the 6’ distancing. A person can come in and come to the counter. A person can call from the parking lot and be let in. Researchers can schedule on Thursdays. Diane and Nancy are back and Julie needs to reconfigure some things so that Beth has a computer to use. There can’t be any shared equipment. There is a lot of conversation about the August election and mail in voting. Secretary of State will send post cards telling people to vote absentee. They usually have less than 50 voters so she’s not sure what will happen with that. In November, they are talking about doing a full mail out. Julie reported they got the extension for the grand list. They will be lodging the grand list sometime this month. Hearings will be the middle of July. Julie stated they should be looking at doing BCA things at the end of July first part of August. Julie reported the new copier is coming on Tuesday. Julie talked with Rick about the White Building. He will be here tomorrow by noon. Julie talked with David Crane. He will come tomorrow to cap the vent. David said the vent cannot be extended out, but he can change the angle so the condensation goes into the inside drain. She spoke to Peck Electric and they are able to come and do the electrical disconnect whenever they need that and she talked with Fyles about moving the tanks and they will coordinate with Peck Electric. Julie stated that when Rick starts, he needs half of the contract amount. She didn’t have that in the bills. Motion by John and second by Diane to approve Julie to take $14,042 out of the Building Repair Fund to pay Mr. Brunet. All in favor. So, approved. Julie mentioned the ramp is not in good shape. Tom stated he knew and recommended they put cement blocks under the problem cross beam for now until siding is done. Tom will get cement blocks and take care of it. Animal Control Officer: Cemetery Committee: CORRESPONDENCE: The letter from the Sheriff’s Office indicated they have not been patrolling; therefore, not bringing in the income they expected. They are trying to balance things out, so their hours may be short for the month. He indicated that as of July 2020, their fee was $31 an hour, plus mileage, July 2021, $34 an hour, plus mileage and July 2022, $37 an hour, plus mileage. Board will revisit this issue in a couple months. Lem did the picking up for Green Up Day. Not as much as last year. ACSW is accepting Green Up trash all week. Lem left a message asking when Board wanted him to start mowing. Board agreed Lem can start mowing the 2nd week of June. Diane will call him. AOT letter was about painting the center lines. AOT will have to wait to paint the Leicester Whiting Road until it is paved. The letter to Mr. Neary was an FYI to the Board. No action required. Suki Fredericks understood there was no plan to spray. She is just asking to be notified if we are going to spray. NEW BUSINESS:Resignation of ZA: Diane reported the letter of resignation from Kris Perlee effective today, June 1st. Everyone was surprised because there was no conversation or correspondence that perhaps he was feeling overwhelmed or overworked. Julie has been very busy fielding calls. It has been incredibly busy and Julie doesn’t know what to do. Julie will contact Kris to sort out what’s outstanding. She will check with VLCT; as well. Board thinks Peter would be responsible for the application process without a ZA. Tom recommended putting the position in the paper again. Diane and Julie will work out an ad for paper. Diane will contact Keith Arlund to see if he might still be interested. Request from Brandon Reporter: Lee Kars, Editor Brandon Reporter has a new business plan to expand the paper to 8 pages a week. She is reaching out to communities for support; asking for a monthly stipend. Rather than selling ads, she is hoping small communities would be willing to make a monthly stipend to support local news, student news, photos. Tom and John would like more details first. Brad would like a proposal of what she offers for the stipend and for how long. One question would be about paying for ads or would they be free. Need clarification. Diane will get more information and report back at next meeting. Board will table request until next meeting. OLD BUSINESS: Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Policy: Julie asks the Board to go through the Bold/Italics Guidance Section and markup/make remarks and drop off or email to Julie as soon as possible so she can prepare for the next meeting. Policy needs to be done very soon in order to give Jim Carroll time to look it over before July. Green Up Debrief: above BUILDING NEEDS: Update Senior Center: above HIGHWAY CONCERNS/NEEDS: Motion by Tom to adjourn at 7:27 p.m. Next Regular Meeting: June 15, 2020 Respectfully submitted, Sandra L. TrombleySelectboard Secretary