TOWN OF FAIRFAX

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2012
7:00 PM

Selectboard Members Present: Bob Horr, Chair, Randy DeVine, Tom Fontaine and David Shea. Chris Santee was absent.

Public Present: Nick Hibbard, Trevor Russell, Paddy Shea and Cathy Larsson. See agenda below.

Call to Order: Bob called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Deviation from Agenda:

Steve Bessette, Emergency Management Coordinator

Steve stopped in this evening to talk to the board about a couple of purchase orders. Steve stated that he still has approximately $2,000 left in his budget, with no large items to purchase prior to the end of the year. The Board by consensus approved the purchase orders.

Agenda:

Amy Sears, Utility Department – Employee Evaluation

7:03 PM – Executive Session

*Dave made the motion to enter into executive session to conduct an employee evaluation (without the administrative assistant and the w/s superintendent present); Tom seconded the motion. The motion carried with a vote of 3-0-1.

7:45 PM – Exit Executive Session

*Dave made the motion to exit executive session; seconded by Tom. The motion carried with a vote of 3-0.

Amy questioned the Board as to what department is responsible for payment of a warning placed in the St. Albans Messenger for a utility line easement to the new rescue building. The Board will get back to Amy with a response.

She asked the Board to remove a lien on HW0037B as they paid their account in full and the check has cleared the bank. The Board by consensus agreed to release the lien and signed a letter reflecting this action. Customer OA0052B has a sewer bill of $1,025.69. Amy asked the Board if we can include our utility bill in a tax sale, which they agreed to. OA0051A is also delinquent. Amy will find out what an attorney would charge to collect the delinquency.

W/S Ordinance: Tenant agreement - wording of the ordinance was discussed regarding billing the tenant vs. billing the property owner. Amy will check with Attorney Monaghan and will come with the outcome.

Deb Woodward, Town Clerk & Treasurer - NEMRC Proposal

Deb handed out a Profit & Loss statement, dated 11/12/12. The Board discussed with her where the money will be taken out of in the budget for the new accounting program. Deb talked to Ernie today to get the particulars of what would be needed for equipment.

*Dave made a motion to sign the NEMRC proposal; seconded by Tom.

(Software General Ledger module $1,795.00; Accounts Payable module, $1,795.00; Cash Receipts module $1,795.00; Payroll module $1,795.00; Training/Consulting/Conversion (Estimate 30-50 hours @ $98/hr.) $4,900.00 for a total of $12,080.00 as well as a printer $300.00).

The motion carried with a vote of 3-0-1.

Bob asked Deb for a breakdown of the Road Department’s budget to date. Bob will get with Stacy on which line items the Board is interested in reviewing. The Board would like to know where we stand with our payroll budget for town employees and what, if any, anticipated expenditures are for the rest of the year.

Peter King, Constable and Health Officer

Peter handed out “Town Health Officer” and “Constable Proposed Budget – Fiscal Year 2013”. A discussion ensued on a proposed budget of $4,535.00. Peter stated that some of these funds would be recuperated. Dave asked Peter if he could establish a billing rate for services. Peter will include that as part of his budget proposal. He also expressed a request to purchase a radio, which the Town would maintain.

Katrina Antonovich, Parks and Recreation Director

Katrina returns this evening for a continued discussion on her budget. The Rec. Dept. is out of money for the rest of the year. She handed out an accounting of the past three years 2010, 2011 and 2012, which the Board had reviewed. Field maintenance cost will be addressed at a later date as well as the pavilion and its impact on the community. Dave asked her about grant writing and incentives. She is asking the Board for $1,750.00 to defray paying salaries for the remainder of the year.

*Dave made a motion to allocate $1,750.00 from the Payroll Expense Account – Fire Department. The motion was seconded by Tom. The motion carried with a vote of 3-0-1.

Minutes:

November 3rd: Public Meeting with the Town Office Committee and SB.

*Randy made the motion to accept the minutes as written; seconded by Tom. The motion carried with a vote of 3-0. (Dave was absent from the meeting.)

Minutes – November 5th:

*Tom made the motion to approve the minutes as written; randy seconded. The motion carried with a vote of 3-0. (Dave was absent from the meeting.)

Other Business:

1. Sewer Allocation for MA1166 discussed. It was suggested a meeting with the SB, PC and DRB.

2. Monaghan, Safar and Dwight invoices reviewed.

*Tom made a motion to pay the invoices presented; Randy seconded the motion. The motion carried with a vote of 3-0-1.

3. A letter from a resident on Snowcrest Road, dated November 7, 2012, discussed. Plan of action is: The resident will continue to monitor actions and impact and reevaluate in the spring. The Road Foreman has been made aware of the action taken.

4. A letter from a resident on Nichols Road, dated November 8, 2012, discussed. Plan of action is to address this with the Road Foreman and notify the resident of his recommendations.

10:30 P.M. - Adjourn:

Randy made the motion to adjourn; seconded by Tom.

The motion carried with a vote of 4-0.

The next Selectboard meeting will be held on Monday, November 26, 2012 at 7 p.m.

Respectfully, submitted by Stacy Wells

Adm. Asst. to the SelectBoard.

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Robert A. Horr, Chair

RAH/sw