Minutes - 04-20-2020
Town of LeicesterSelectboard Meeting MinutesMonday, April 20, 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: Meeting called to order at 6:30 p.m. with roll call. Pledge of Allegiance: Review of Agenda: Approval of March 16, 2020 minutes: Motion by Tom, second by John, to approve minutes of March 16, 2020, as written. All in favor. So, approved. Review/Authorization to Pay Bills: Motion by Brad, and second by John, authorizing Julie to pay Diane Harvey and Nancy Jakiela during Covid quarantine. All in favor. So, approved. Motion by John, second by Tom, authorizing Julie to pay the bills. All in favor. So, approved. Delinquent Tax Action: Motion by Tom, and second by John, with no action taken at this time and review again in June. All in favor. So, approved. Dog License Action: Motion by Tom, and second by John to waive late fees for dog licensing until July 1st. All in favor. So, approved. Reports from Town Officials, Committees: Road Foreman: Arlan mentioned that before they start paving, they need to change a culvert on the Leicester/Whiting Road right at Jenna Lane. Arlan would need to purchase the culvert. Board agreed there is $2,600 in the budget for culverts. Town Clerk/Treasurer: Julie brought up the subject of the copier which she has not been happy with and the people that are servicing it. She has been going back and forth with them for months and she just received a ridiculously high invoice. She called them and they were not nice, so Julie called the State Contract Buyer and Julie said she has had enough. They are now rolling over to help her. She may have a new copier at no additional expense and a fixed invoice. Health Officer: Animal Control Officer: Cemetery Committee: Tom reported he met down at the cemetery today with a representative from Brower & Son in regard to head stone maintenance and cleaning. He got a tentative price. Tom would like to have a budget of at least $4,500 to get a good portion of the stones done. They can start right away. Motion by John, and second by Brad, to authorize the expenditure of up to $5,500 allocated for head stone maintenance and cleaning. All in favor. So, approved. CORRESPONDENCE: NEW BUSINESS: Local Emergency Management Plan (LEMP) for signing: Board reviewed the LEMP. It has a May 1st deadline. Motion by Brad, and second by Tom, to approve the LEMP. All in favor. So, approved. Paving Grant: The deadline for the grant has been pushed back to May 15th. Arlan got figures from D&F. The plan is to start at the Whiting town line and proceed east toward Route 7. At Town Meeting $50,000 was approved and $50,000 was in the budget for a total of $100,000. Tom recommended they ask for the maximum amount of $175,000 for the grant. Arlan will get the figures to Julie. Highway Annual Report: Motion by Diane, and second by Brad, to approve the Annual Highway Report. All in favor. So, approved. Julie will put the document out on the bulletin board for signatures. Road & Bridge Standards: Motion by Tom, and second by John, to approve the Road & Bridge Standards. All in favor. So, approved. Julie will put the document out on the bulletin board for signatures. OLD BUSINESS: Senior Center Exterior Work: Julie explained that the Covid-19 guidelines on Friday allows construction workers to work if they can meet the guidelines. Tom recommends they proceed with the work because he feels if they get off the list, they might not get back on. Tom will contact contractor to see if he can meet the current guidelines and then Tom will let Julie know if we move forward to contact Peck Electric and David Crane and make sure they could work under current guidelines. Covid-19 Discussion: Julie expressed that there is a lot going on. The office is going to continue to be closed to the public. Julie explained the office is too small to meet the current criteria and maintain the distance with a researcher. Julie sent a list of questions to the Agency of Commerce. They have a webinar on Wednesday and they said they would address Julie’s questions at that time. One of Julie’s questions was about liability for cleaning. Julie is trying to figure out how to get Diane and Nancy back working. Diane is less of an issue than Nancy. The Board supports Julie to decide when to bring them back and when to open the office to the public. The Board approved Julie to get a plexiglas barrier for office. John mentioned that Desabrais did the installation of plexiglas at G. Stone’s for their reopening. Julie brought up the reappraisal and that we are not going to be trying to do this during the next week. We have to take advantage of the extension that PVR is offering. In order to do that, we just have to notify them. There is a form for Diane to sign. Motion by Brad, and second by John, to request an extension of time to complete work related to the grand list. All in favor. So, approved. Julie reported 816 people tested positive for Covid-19, 12,981 tests done and 38 deaths. Julie mentioned that in the bills today she added a receipt for hand sanitizers and bleach. Brad mentioned that he has a chemical representative who is sending gallons of antibiotic and disinfectant. He offered to bring up some for the office. BUILDING NEEDS: HIGHWAY CONCERNS/NEEDS: Road Crew: Julie reported that they keep changing the guidance on road crews. She continues to keep Arlan informed. Currently the guideline is:
- Only 2 people at a site at a time
- Only 2 people in a truck; 6 feet apart
- Wear masks if you are around each other
- Clean everything
- Don’t interact with people