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MINUTES OF THE SHAFTSBURY SELECT BOARD

JULY 17, 2006

COLE HALL     

SHAFTSBURY, VERMONT

 

Board Present: Wynn Metcalfe, Chairman, Karen Mellinger, Cinda Morse, Bill Pennebaker,

Jim Mead

 

Others Present:  State Representative Alice Miller, Dave Newell (Wills Insurance), Aaron Chrostowsky, Susan Swasta

 

1.         Call Meeting to Order:  

 

Chairman Wynn Metcalfe called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. He announced that the Historical Society will present a bus tour of Shaftsbury’s past on July 23 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Ruth Levine and Tyler Resch will be tour guides. For reservations please call the Historical Society.

 

There will be a meeting of those interested in working on the upcoming street dance at Chairman Metcalfe’s house this Thursday at 7:00 PM. Anyone interested may call him or Aaron Chrostowsky for more information.

 

Chairman Metcalfe asked if any Board member needed to recuse himself or herself from discussion of any agenda topic scheduled for tonight. None did.

 

2.         Minutes:

           

July 1, 2006 Minutes (emergency meeting):

 

Cinda Morse made motion to approve July 1, 2006 minutes. Karen Mellinger seconded. Motion carried 5-0-0.

 

July 10, 2006 Minutes:

 

Ms. Morse made motion to approve July 10, 2006 minutes. Jim Mead seconded.

 

Two correction to the minutes were requested:

 

On page 1, section two (corrections to Minutes}, “SCPG” is changed to “SCRG.”

 

On page 3, section six (Rutheiser Presentation), in the first sentence “Boudreau” is changed to “Bourdeau”.

 

July 10, 2006 minutes were approved as amended 5-0-0.

 

3.         Warrants:

 

The following warrants were presented for approval:

 

·  AP #2  -                                     $ 73,958.48 (Wills Insurance)

·   Retirement Warrant #1R  -        $    2,806.52

 

Ms. Morse made motion to pay warrants. Mr. Mead seconded. Motion carried 5-0-0.

 

4.         Public Comments:

 

There were no public comments.

 

5.         Insurance Renewal:

 

Dave Newell of Wills Insurance presented information on the town’s insurance renewal. He distributed a handout to Board members and explained differences in the premium between this year and last year. The increase was based on the town’s purchase of new vehicles and on increased expenditures, which reflect an increase in activities and a corresponding increase in liability. Mr. Newell answered questions from Board members on specific aspects of coverage. The Board thanked him for his presentation.

 

Ms. Morse asked Mr. Chrostowsky if the Wills Insurance bill had already been paid, and he replied that it had. She asked if it had been put out to bid this year, and was told that it had not, and that it is not standard practice to put insurance out to bid every year. The premium amount is what had been budgeted by the town for insurance.

 

6.         Landfill Closure Contract:

 

Chairman Metcalfe stated that town attorney Rob Woolmington had been unable to get back to the Board today on the contract, so it cannot be signed tonight. Mr. Chrostowsky noted that Mr. Woolmington had liked the contract even before changes were made to it.

 

Ms. Morse asked if this draft includes changes and was told that it does. There was a discussion of these changes, which deal with provision of earth materials by landfill owners and labor and services with regard to earth materials by the contractor. Another change lays out specifics regarding screening of materials.

 

Chairman Metcalfe asked the Board to approve the contract with the provision that Mr. Woolmington approves it. Ms. Mellinger asked if there should also be a contingency concerning approval of voters for borrowing funds. Chairman Metcalfe replied that there should not be a contingency, because in this case the funds would have to come out of the town budget.

Ms. Morse made motion to accept the Rifenburg landfill closure contract subject to approval of the contract by Rob Woolmington. Ms. Mellinger seconded. Motion carried 5-0-0.

 

Ms. Mellinger asked if the $110,000 state landfill closure grant has been received. Mr. Chrostowsky stated that the agreement has been signed, and that the funds will be released as a reimbursement after proof of how the money was spent is submitted.

 

Rep. Alice Miller noted that this money is from the 2006 budget, while the $40,000 grant from the Agency of Natural Resources is from the 2007 solid waste fund. The application for the $40,000 should be submitted right away. An additional $180,000 to be awarded by Buildings and General Services (BGS) is also in the 2007 budget. Rep. Miller stated that the town should send a letter to BGS this week in order to get the funding August 1.

 

Ms. Mellinger stressed the need for all funding paperwork to be submitted as soon as possible so that the Board can go to the July 31 special town meeting with everything set up.

 

7.         Employee Benefits:

 

Ms. Morse referred Board members to a memo and two spreadsheets they had received on employee benefits, asking them to review this information for the next meeting. She reminded them that one thing they had worked on last year was to make costs predictable. Health insurance has been changed in order to be predictable, and other areas are also being addressed.

 

8.         Other Business:

 

Ms. Morse announced an Economic Development Committee meeting for Tuesday, July 25 at 7:00 PM at Cole Hall.

 

Chairman Metcalfe reminded the Board of Whitman’s open house, to be attended by the governor, this Friday at 5:00 PM.

 

Chairman Metcalfe asked how the Board should plan for the upcoming special town meeting. Mr. Chrostowsky replied that there has been an article in the newspaper. The meeting will also be warned in the paper, and the warning has been posted around town. He would like to do a press release for radio and for CAT-TV. An announcement also appears on the town Web site.

 

Ms. Mellinger asked if there should be a letter to the editor, noting that Bill Pennebaker has written one. Board members agreed that this is a good idea.

 

Chairman Metcalfe stated that the Board needs to set the meeting agenda so that it gets the information to people. There was discussion of preparing a Power Point presentation for the meeting. Ms. Morse stated that this would be an effective way to get the information across and would give people something to hold in their hands and take out of the meeting. She said that if a few people are willing to get together, she will put the presentation together.

 

Mr. Chrostowsky asked if Board members have comments on the earth materials addition to the landfill closure contract. Chairman Metcalfe replied that they will comment after Mr. Woolmington has looked at it.

 

Mr. Pennebaker asked if there needs to be a determination of the line between the landfill and the Harrington property. The Board agreed that this is necessary and will have surveyor Larry Parks determine the line.

 

Chairman Metcalfe noted that once landfill closure begins it will be necessary to have a designated contact person, since it may not always be possible to get a majority of the Board together if a decision needs to be made.

 

Ms. Mellinger stated that a town resident had commented on brush clearing on the Airport Road S-curve, in connection with the work being done on the road by Trevor Mance. She asked if there is a provision for traffic control when equipment is in the road. It was determined that the town is responsible for traffic control. Board members felt that traffic control is needed even if the work takes place off the road. They decided that Mr. Mance should develop a work plan that takes place during normal work hours, so that the town does not have to pay overtime, and that takes as few hours as possible.

 

Mr. Mead made motion to adjourn at 8:10 PM. Ms. Mellinger seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

 

Meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Susan M. Swasta

 

 

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