Meeting Minutes
Town of LeicesterSelectboard Meeting MinutesMonday, August 5, 2013*Unapproved*** See subsequent minutes for any changes Members Present: Diane Benware, Tom Barker, Ron Fiske, Brad Lawes Absent: Ken Young Others Present: Julie Delphia, Arlan Pidgeon, Kate Briggs, Sandra Trombley, Secretary Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chair, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Review of Agenda: Approval of July 15, 2013 Minutes: Motion by Brad and second by Tom to approve minutes of July 15, 2013 as written. All in favor. So approved. Review/Authorization to pay bills: Bills making their rounds for signatures. Reports from Town Officials, Committees: Town Clerk/Treasurer: Paving has been done and Julie has asked to have a line moved. Water sits under first space in the Park & Ride. Most of Julie’s business will be discussed under new business. Town Foreman: Arlan fixed the end of the Bullock Road and did some spraying. They did some mowing down by cemetery and bridge. Some grading will be done. Kate stated that the grant for the lake access cannot be used for paving. They wrote into grant for stone lining the ditch on the side and to stabilize the shoreline with a pre-cast shoreline. There is a Lake Wise Program that is voluntary to participate and Leicester is going to participate. Zoning Administrator: Diane and Kate submitted the grant application in regard to the lake access and haven’t heard anything. Kate reported a visit from the State Enforcement Officer. The lake access is one of the sites he looked at. It is clearly in violation and there is a lot of storm runoff. He won’t do anything until we ask him to. Tom reported that there is grant money from the State available for roadways that lead to state facilities. Tom will find out more information and report back. Kate talked about her concerns with storm runoff, noise, litter, etc. Kate and Diane will contact Mr. May. Kate talked about her role as Zoning Administrator and enforcement of our zoning by-laws. She has more and more conflict and violations of our regulations all the time. She is becoming worn out with it all. She doesn’t know how much longer she cares to do the job. Kate will revise the job description. Kate asked for suggestions for replacing her in her position. NEW BUSINESS: Tax Bill Insert: Julie made a very nice 3-fold insert to put into the tax bills. The insert provides information about mosquitoes, late homestead filer information, 2013 tax rates, Front Porch Forum, Town Official information, and an update form for contact information. Julie will add information about applying for permits for any construction or land development per Kate’s request. Lister Errors and Omissions Document: After the tax rate was set, Julie found a property that was omitted. The Lister Errors and Omission document is the form that allows them to correct it. Board signed the Lister Errors and Omissions Certificate. Penalty Waiver for Late Filers: The Board has the authority to waive the penalty for late filers for the homestead. If you file after April 15th, you get charged 3%. Julie encouraged the Board to waive the penalty for this year. Some of our neighboring towns do waive the penalty and some do not. The majority of towns this year are waiving the penalty because the State changed the requirements. Julie explained all the reasons that she would be required to send out revised tax bills. It would be a very bad year. Motion by Ron and second by Brad to waive the penalties for late filers for 2013. All in favor. So approved. Hooker Road Culvert and Utility Poles: Julie received a phone call and Mr. Kinney came in about his culvert being full of stuff on Hooker Road. Arlan went and looked at it and Arlan will dig out the end of it. The Sweeney’s called several times and stopped in because there is a culvert that is apparently putting sediment into the lake. Mrs. Sweeney’s husband has an environmental job in California. They want someone to come look at it; and if we need help, they can tell us how to fix it. Julie explained that we need to respond to her somehow. Julie has her phone number, and her husband’s phone number, and they advised that they are only up here the rest of this week. Arlan has already looked at it; and he said they had the State engineer look at it and approved it before he put the culvert in. Brad offered to talk to them. Charlie Makovec called about the 12 poles installed that have no wires connected to them. He called Fairpoint and Green Mtn Power and they didn’t give him any information about them. There are 12 poles that have been there for about 18 months. Brad stated that the power comes from Hooker Road and comes down to the corner of Rodgers Road and at some point they will bring power from the north versus coming from the south. When that happens, the old poles will be removed. Julie will let Charlie know. Cal Loven: Triangle Cleanup and Hedge: Calvin thinks the triangles and clean up should be done more often. He is willing to do it every 3-4 weeks. Diane worked on the hedge. The part of the hedge on the west side was too big for Diane’s clippers to do. Arlan or Tom will bring their pole saw. Tom asked about the roadside mowing. Lem has started mowing. Part of D & F Paving invoice is for the school. Julie will bill the school for their portion of materials, labor and equipment rental. Motion by Tom and second by Brad to approve the bills. All in favor. So approved. Julie is transferring paving money to the general fund. Julie had to borrow about $40,000 more to cover the bills. Web-site: Julie received an email from the people that do the web-site. The format that she has right now is becoming obsolete. They would like the town to pick something else. Julie needs to decide because it’s going to change by August 15th. Julie would like to use our own pictures. Julie will call and ask what it would cost. OLD BUSINESS Health Officer: Ron reported that he talked with Jim Russo. Jim told Ron that he liked doing the job, but the reason he can’t do it is because he is traveling so much now and sometimes he doesn’t get home until 9:00 – 10:00 p.m. He did resign and he will drop a letter and things off to Julie. Jim didn’t like the comment that Mort made and stated that the Health Officer does not monitor mosquitoes. Ron was wondering if there was any way to combine some positions to make a more attractive position. Diane will put something out to the public that we are seeking a Health Officer. Julie commented that once we have the resignation, the responsibilities fall onto the Selectboard. Kate mentioned they received an email with a letter with a new requirement that whenever anyone applies for a building permit of any kind, there is a responsibility that we give them a manual, VT Residential Building Energy Code. Pete Fjeld was at a statewide meeting of contractors; not one person in the room had ever filed this required document. Julie got some of the books for free. The public has to pay for them, but municipalities do not. Ron asked if we sent a check to Whiting for washing the bridge. Ron doesn’t want it to run out too long. Julie needs a bill to pay. The contract with the Brandon Fire Department runs out this year. Planning Commission meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month. LIMITED PUBLIC OPINION: None Motion by Tom and second by Brad to go into Executive Session to discuss a legal issue and a personnel matter at 7:50 p.m. All in favor. So approved. Motion by Tom and second by Brad to come out of Executive Session at 8:40, having reviewed the CDL driver record check, no action to be taken. Motion by Tom and second by Brad to adjourn at 8:40 p.m. Next meeting August 19, 2013.
Respectfully submitted, Sandra L. Trombley, Secretary
Respectfully submitted, Sandra L. Trombley, Secretary