Meeting Minutes
Town of LeicesterSelectboard Meeting MinutesMonday July 20, 2015*Unapproved*** See subsequent minutes for any changes Members Present: Diane Benware, Tom Barker, Ron Fiske, Ken Young, Brad Lawes Others Present: Julie Delphia, Arlan Pidgeon, Mary Anne Sullivan, Sandra Trombley, Secretary Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 6:28 p.m. by Chair. Pledge of Allegiance: Review of Agenda: New Business: Add: Error & Omissions DocumentDelete: Setting Tax RateOld Business: Zoning By-law Revision TopicBuilding Needs: Put on August 3rd Agenda – Meeting House: Handicap Entrance, Front Door Security, Air Conditioning Needs Approval of June 15, 2015 & July 6, 2015 minutes: Motion by Tom and second by Brad to approve minutes of June 15, 2015 as written. 1 Abstention 4 in favor. So approved. Motion by Tom and second by Diane to approve minutes of July 6, 2015 as written. 2 Abstentions 3 in favor. So approved. Reports from Town Officials, Committees: Town Clerk/Treasurer: Julie reported that delinquents are at $88,783. Julie gave the heat gun/temperature gauge to Animal Control Officer. Julie reported they were not setting the tax rate today because the grand list had some issues when they went to set the tax rate and the current use had some problems. Nemric came down on Thursday and the Assessor came down today and all got fixed. The Errors & Omissions document is the document to sign to fix the current use and to fix the classification. Julie reported a dog issue on Jenna Lane. Julie warned the resident about the rabies case in town. Everything turned out ok and the dog calmed down after having food and water. Julie called our Animal Control Officer and several other towns and could not get one person to take the dog to the Addison County Humane Society. Julie received information from the Rutland County Humane Society. Julie sent Don Watters to the Addison County Humane Society with the dog. They knew exactly who it was. The dog had been adopted two weeks ago. Julie is going to call Addison County Humane Society and explain that municipalities need to have a number to be able to reach them.Road Foreman: Arlan reported he has been drawing winter sand. Brad asked why so much sand. Arlan wanted to get the sand when it was available in case they couldn’t get salt. Ken thought there should be some discussion on that amount before the purchase. Arlan reported that they are still within budget, but just got it earlier than last year. Arlan talked with Brian Moore about his driveway. Brian is going to get a culvert and Arlan is going to put it in. There needs to be some ditching work done there to put it in right. Tom asked about the gravel on the corner where you come off the Creek Road that needs to be swept. Tom reported that someone ran into and bent the Swinington Hill/Leicester Whiting Road sign. Ken asked about the status of the culvert issue on Fern Lake Road. He is worried about the amount of traffic on the road and an extremely dangerous spot. Diane will ask Josh about a traffic study. Julie will contact Brian Sanderson to share our concerns to see if they could get his assistance with the culvert problem. Tom reported that the State was going to be doing some ditching on Route 7 starting tomorrow Zoning Administrator: Mary Anne reported that she has been investigating supposed violations. 1. On Partridge Trail, there is a piece of property so narrow that no one can build on it, but the owner has put a camper and a motor home. Two are abandoned on the property line of Lucinda Flint. She would like them removed. They have been there for two or more years. The Board believes this would fall under the Junk Ordinance. Motion by Tom and second by Brad to send a written notice of violation from the Selectboard. All in favor. So approved. 2. There is a standing complaint about the water skiing business. He is back in business, but has no signs. There was no one around today. Mary Anne expects there will be more complaints. She could not find anything in the file or what she saw today that would be a violation. 3. Mary Anne has had some problems with the permit application form. She provided revised forms for the Board’s review. She thinks there should be a paper trail. Mary Anne would like to talk with the ZBA and Sandy about coordinating forms, decisions and minutes to have a legal permit form with all State requirements. It would be helpful to have an official paper trail. She recommends these forms as a packet. Selectboard approved Mary Anne proceeding to the Planning Commission with the forms. Health Officer: Diane reported the stray cat on Cram Road tested positive for rabies. The lady that took the cat to the vet was bitten and needed to proceed with the series of shots. Diane wrote a press release for the paper and she went up and down Cram Road talking to people and leaving notices. She also put the information on Front Porch Forum. There may be more than one cat out there; orange and yellow. Julie confirmed the dogs on that road have had their shots. Tomorrow night Diane will attend a Town Health Officer Workshop in Brandon having to do with lead poisoning prevention, Lyme disease and Avian Flu. The whole issue of mosquitoes will come up again; as last year. Diane mentioned a property near Brad that had burned that has plastic that has fallen in and is holding water. This pooling of water is a prime breeding ground for mosquitoes. Diane and Mort are going to look at it. Brad thinks this is an easy fix and should be taken care of immediately. Diane talked about an incident that happened where a spraying truck was forced off the road and the police were called. Some residents want to be sprayed and some do not. Listers: None Cemetery Committee: None Weight Permits: None Review/Authorization to pay bills: Motion by Tom and second by Brad to approve the bills. All in favor. So approved. CORRESPONDENCE: R.J. Adler of Gildrien Farm will be hosting a Sun Common Array meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 from 6:30 – 8:00 in the White Building. Anyone interested is invited.NEW BUSINESS: Errors & Omissions Certificate: Selectboard signed the current Errors & Omissions Certificate that updates the current use and updates the classification. OLD BUSINESS: Zoning: Ron talked about major changes being made to the zoning regulations and encouraged others to attend who want input. Ron stated that he thinks a lot of it is unnecessary. Diane explained that Jim Carroll stated that the Planning Commission is charged with the work and it’s important that the Selectboard work with them; and it’s the PC’s work. It was their choice to use the current template to proceed. Julie cleaned up the redundancy and made sure it reflected what the PC actually wanted. Julie cleaned up the referencing that needed correcting and typos and grammar. Ron felt that taking another town’s plan that does not fit Leicester and trying to rewrite it to fit Leicester is a mistake. Tom felt the work should have been around our old regulations and bring them up to date. Ken asked what the issues are in our current regulations. Ron and Diane explained things like docks on the lake, slopes, lack of clear definitions and unclear standards. Mary Anne commented that she found the new document hard to navigate and time consuming. The next joint Planning Commission and Selectboard meeting is Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. Julie asked on behalf of the Zoning Board if the Board had any issues with continuing our practice of warning all of their meetings in the paper. It has been their standard practice. The Selectboard would like to continue the current practice of warning all applications coming before the ZBA. BUILDING NEEDS: At the next meeting, August 3rd, the agenda will include the Meeting House’s handicap entrance, front door security and air conditioning for the Town Clerk’s Office meeting area. HIGHWAY CONCERNS/NEEDS: Brad hadn’t heard from Bud Carpenter about the Town Shed. He will contact Bud again. Julie will talk with John Chandler about the quote he was going to get from Naylor & Breen for repairs at the Town Shed. Public Opinion: None Motion by Ron and second by Tom to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel at 8:05 p.m. Motion by Tom and second by Ron to come out of Executive Session at 9:30 p.m. No action taken. Motion by Ken and second by Tom to adjourn at 9:30 p.m. Next Meeting: August 3, 2015 Respectfully submitted, Sandra L. Trombley
Selectboard Secretary