Fairfax Selectboard Minutes of 03/24/08

Selectboard Members present: Bill Ormerod, Judy Cleary, Charlie Swanson, Randy DeVine, and Bob Horr. Staff Members present: Don Pigeon, Road Foreman, and Erin McSweeney, Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard. Public Present: Carolyn Branagan, Gary Gilbert, Bob Perry, and Laurinna Balog.

1.Call to Order

Judy Cleary, Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 7:03PM.

2. Minutes

Bill motioned to accept the minutes from the meeting on March 17, 2008, as written. Randy seconded. Bob offered one amendment, to remove Charlie's name from the "members present" section. 4 members voted in favor, and 1 board member abstained.

3. Items on the Agenda

A. Laurinna Balog - Laurinna attended tonight's meeting to ask Don about the maintenance schedule for paving Goose Pond Road. She expressed concern regarding the condition of the road, as there are many potholes. Don informed Laurinna that the Road Crew does monitor the potholes on Town roads frequently. Don informed her that he will be prepping the next 2/10 of a mile this spring to be paved next year. Laurinna asked Don if larger portions of the road could be paved. He informed her that if a large paving project was proposed, many permits would have to be obtained.

B. Don Pigeon - Don will follow up with Merriam Graves regarding the invoice for $16.20 to determine if the invoice is for the Highway Department.

C. Randy DeVine - Over the course of last week, Randy continued to investigate the source of a water leak. He has checked various locations in Town, including on Fletcher Road and Wheezy Way. He has contacted the Vermont Rural Water Association for assistance. He would like Pat Pigeon of the Town Highway Department to assist him with digging to locate the source of the leak. Randy met with Jim Meunier to discuss preliminary sewer allocations for the elderly housing units on Hunt Street; he also delivered disconnect notices and collected some payments for the Utility Department. He is working on the letter of certification for the Stage II Disinfection By-Product.

Randy distributed a summary of the billing structure for Rene Boissoneault's property.

Randy indicated that he has spoken with Glenn McNall regarding managing the field where sludge will be spread this spring. Randy informed Glenn and David that Pat Pigeon is interested in managing the crop this year. Glenn and David indicated to Randy that Pat could manage the crop this year.

Charlie asked Randy if he could research how much it would cost to put a meter on the well on Wheezy Way to keep track of the water level.

D. Bob Perry, All-Cycle, Inc. - Bob attended tonight's meeting to touch base with the board regarding trash collection in Town. He informed the board that he would like to compile phone numbers of the members of the community so he can create a notification system for inclement weather or other changes to the pick-up schedule. Bob is working on obtaining recycle bins, as he does not have any right now. All Cycle will send out an informational mailing to all residents per the current contract with the Town. The mailing will contain information on what items can be recycled. Bob informed the board that the Compliance Department at All-Cycle can assist with working on the Solid Waste Implementation Plan that is required by the State. He also offered some suggestions for Household Hazardous Waste Day.

4. Other Business

A. The board reviewed the Correspondence Worksheet. Bob informed the board that he was not notified by the Town Clerk or Assistant Town Clerk that he had been elected to the Selectboard. He indicated that he is aware of people in Town who did not know they had been elected to various positions.

B. The board reviewed a letter from Peg Stewart on behalf of the school board, offering a long-term lease to the Town for the "White House." The letter does not indicate what the annual cost of the lease is. Bill noted that the letter indicates that the "district is not responsible or liable for any structural or legal issues associated with this lease." Bill would like the letter to indicate that the Town is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the building. As the landlord, the school is responsible for liability. Bob asked whether it should be documented that the Town pays the insurance on the building. The building is listed in the VLCT PACIF policy.

C. The board reviewed a memo from Skip Taylor regarding a proposed subdivision on Maple Hill Road. Skip is asking for permission to contact the Town's attorney regarding the proposed subdivision. Jeff Lovell, the developer, is requesting a time extension to blacktop the road.

Bill motioned to approve Skip's request to contact the Town's attorney for permission to alter the stipulation per Mr. Lovell's request. Charlie seconded. Bob indicated that he does not believe the board should alter the stipulation; it will take a couple of years to determine if the base that Mr. Lovell puts down is adequate.

Bill indicated that he would be in favor of granting the time extension for paving for one year, but he has reservations about granting additional uses on the road until the road is up to A-76 standards.

Bob indicated that he would like to see where the proposed 2nd building will be located, as there is currently one house on the road. The board would like to review the site plan for the project. Erin will ask Skip for this.

Bob motioned to table Bill's motion pending review of the site plan at the next Selectboard meeting on March 31, 2008. Randy seconded. All board members voted in favor.

D. The board has reviewed the Sewer Use ordinance. This ordinance will remain in place, and be revised at a later date. Bob suggested incorporating language regarding multi-unit buildings in both the Sewer Use ordinance and the Sewer Allocation and Connection ordinance.

E. The board signed a liquor license for Steeple Market.

F. Randy distributed a memo regarding Erin's presence in Executive Session at last week's meeting. Erin will not be attending any more Executive Sessions.

G. In light of last week's discussion regarding negotiating the lawsuits the Town is currently involved in without involving the lawyers. Bob motioned to nominate Bill to take the opportunity to mediate, if possible, with Mr. Handy, regarding the lawsuits. Charlie questioned whether that is possible. Judy indicated that this would be ex-parte communication and it would not be covered under the Errors and Omissions coverage through VLCT. Charlie indicated that Bill can not mediate, as he has been involved in the lawsuit. The mediation would have to be done by a third party.

H. Bill informed the board that he has a Community Advisory Board meeting this week with the State Police. Charlie indicated that there is a hazardous section of Route 104 past Nan's Mobil heading out of Town where there is water that collects at the base of 2 hills. Bill will ask the State Police if there is information regarding how many accidents have occurred there.

I. Bill informed the board that Amanda Lafferty of Stitzel, Page & Fletcher will be sending an e-mail to Kelly Kindestin of VLCT discussing which issues regarding the Town's litigation with Mr. Handy will be handled by Stitzel, Page & Fletcher, and which issues will be handled by the VLCT PACIF attorneys.

J. Household Hazardous Waste Day is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 3rd. Erin will contact Amy Page of APT Environmental regarding the event.

5. Public Input

A. Carolyn Branagan gave the board an update on the Legislature's activities, including a proposed Transportation funding bill and grant opportunities for broadband internet. Bob asked Carolyn if the state is taking action against Pike Industries; blacktop that was sold by Pike 2 years ago was substandard, as the mix was different than was previously used. Municipalities and the state purchased blacktop from Pike. Carolyn will find out what steps are being taken by the state and follow up with the board.

B. Gary Gilbert informed the board that there is currently a bill pending about riparian buffers. Bill informed him that riparian buffers are currently addressed in the Flood Hazard Area Regulation Ordinance, which was adopted by the Town in the fall of 2006.

6. Adjournment

Charlie motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:28PM. Randy seconded. All board members voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 9:28PM.

________________________________
Erin McSweeney, Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard