Board of Selectmen October 4, 1999
TOWN OF CHARLOTTE
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MINUTES
OCTOBER 4, 1999
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Marty Illick
John Rosenthal
James Sheldon-Dean
Clark Hinsdale, III
Robert Mack, Jr.
OTHERS: Mary Lighthall
Sylvia Sprigg
Dan Cole
Hugh Lewis, Jr.
Richard LeBoeuf
Sandy Mayo
Wallace R. Smith
Shirley W. Allen
Steve Moore
Jack Clemmons
D. Fischer
Rick Pollack
Chris Davis
Ed Melby
Al Moraska
Spin Richardson
Nancy P. Sabin
Wendy Schroeder
________________________________________________________________
Chairman Illick called the meeting of the Board of Selectmen to
order at 7:05 p.m. in the Charlotte Town Offices. Illick
announced that the Executive Session on WIZN issues was canceled
as counsels were not ready to meet.
APPROVE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 7, 13 & 27, 1999; ADJUSTMENTS TO
AGENDA
Chairman Illick asked if board members had any adjustments to
the agenda and Rosenthal noted a letter he had just received
from Art Ridge on the proposed senior center that he wanted to
review and Hinsdale suggested a Deliberative Session at the end
of the meeting to discuss issues of the Board of Health.
Chairman Illick asked board members if they wished to approve
the minutes of September 7 and 13, 1999. Illick said she had no
problem with the minutes of September 7. Wendy Schroeder noted
in the fourth paragraph of page 5 there is a reference to a
Sharon Gates, which should be Joan Gates and Sandy Mayo said she
had a problem with the way her comments were written up in the
third paragraph of page 5 and it was decided to delete "on
studies" in that paragraph in the interest of clarity.
Board of Selectman -2- October 4, 1999
Rosenthal moved and the motion was seconded by
Hinsdale:
* "TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 7, 1999 AS
AMENDED."
Vote: 4 in favor, 1 abstained (Sheldon-Dean, as he
was absent from that meeting).
Chairman Illick said she had the following corrections for the
minutes of September 13, 1999: that all page heading have the
correct date; on pages 3 and 4 the references to "NPO" be
changed to MPO; and on page 6 the reference to Gary Tebo be
changes to Gary Thibault.
Rosenthal moved and the motion was seconded by
Hinsdale:
* "TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 7, 1999 AS
AMENDED."
Vote: All in favor.
Illick suggested approving the minutes of September 27, 1999 be
on the agenda for the next meeting as board members had not had
ample time to review them.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION
Sandy Mayo said she had some concerns on the Burns property
acquisition that she would like to discuss when the Burns
property discussion was slated later in the agenda.
Rosenthal noted a preliminary plan from Art Ridge and wanted to
discuss options on a feasibility study for the proposed senior
center. Nancy Sabin suggested putting the issue on the agenda
for the next meeting and requested it be slated early in the
meeting so that seniors could more easily attend and board
members agreed to putting the issue on the agenda for 7:30 p.m.
Sandy Mayo noted that a Senior Center Steering Committee had
been assembled recently.
TOWN ROADS - HUGH LEWIS, JR.
Chairman Illick asked if the "Hidden Drive" sign had been put up
yet by Sharon Mount's property on Lake Road as was discussed at
the last meeting and Lewis advised it had.
Illick discussed a letter from Louis Cox concerning Cox's
recommendations for replacing faded signs at the intersection of
Mt. Philo and Hinesburg Roads. Sheldon-Dean suggested
considering replacement of signs town-wide at the next budget
hearing.
Shirley Allen discussed a no trucks sign by the bridge at the
beach that hinders visibility and Lewis said it could be moved.
There was a discussion of seasonal speed bumps at the beach and
when they should be installed and removed.
Illick asked if Lewis had received a letter from Dick Hoskings
from the state and Lewis said no and Illick gave the letter to
Lewis.
Board of Selectman -3- October 4, 1999
Lewis said he was waiting to hear back on prices to fix the wall
at Thompson's Point that was discussed at the previous meeting.
Sylvia Sprigg discussed the Thorpe Barn, saying the side of the
barn facing Route 7 has water flowing into it. Sprigg said she
had donated a pipe for drainage and was looking for Lewis to do
a drainage ditch.
Illick asked if there had been any progress on dirt roads
planning and Lewis said no. Illick said she had asked John
Hammer to help in the project.
Illick discussed the motion to set the speed limit on Greenbush
Road at 40 m.p.h. that had been made recently and a speed study
that had been done a while ago in relation to the Demeter
project that recommended the speed limit in the center of the
village should be 25 m.p.h. Illick asked that residents please
not exceed the current speed limits. Sheldon-Dean said he was
looking into having "no parking" signs put in on Route 7 by
Charlotte Park as he would have to see what the state
recommended.
JACK CLEMMONS - DISCUSSION OF SUBDIVISION FEES
Jack Clemmons gave board members copies of a report and
recommendations from the Planning Commission on his request to
apply a previously paid a 2-lot subdivision fee to his current
applications. Clemmons reviewed the circumstances that led to
the delay in his subdivision plans, because of inclimate weather
and personnel changes in the Planning and Zoning office.
Hinsdale asked if this was a "discussion" as was slated in the
agenda or an appeal of fees? Clemmons said he was requesting a
waiver of having to repay application fees.
Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by
Sheldon-Dean:
* "WE CONSIDER THE 7:45 P.M. MEETING ITEM TO BE
ADEQUATELY WARNED AND WE WILL TAKE TESTIMONY."
Vote: All in favor.
Rosenthal moved:
* "WE WAIVE THE FEES."
The motion failed for lack of a second.
Clemmons showed board members maps outlining the original and
his updated sketch plans and explained to the board why what he
had provided the Planning Commission with was adequate as a
completed survey and that he felt that the cause of the delays
in a boundary adjustment were not his fault.
Illick asked Wally Smith why a variance had been refused and
Smith replied that the variance was refused because Clemmons
didn't need it.
Board of Selectman -4- October 4, 1999
Hinsdale suggested that since Clemmons had changed his original
sketch plan, he should pay $100.00 for the fee to have his
sketch plan reviewed, but Clemmons clearly never got the warned
hearing on his application he paid for.
Mack moved and the motion was seconded by
Hinsdale:
* "TO ALLOW MR. CLEMMONS TO REUSE HIS $900.00 FEE FROM
1998."
Vote: All in favor.
BURNS PROPERTY - UPDATE
Hinsdale said he had spoken with Bob Eastman on the status of
the town's option on the Burns property and it was agreed that
the option could be extended until August 31, 2000 and the town
would be able to get approval for the purchase from the
taxpayers through Town Meeting Day.
Illick reviewed what she interpreted from the community in why
the vote on the Burns property had failed; town members wanted
more details, options and possible land uses. Illick reviewed a
purpose and scope she had prepared as an outline for how to
proceed from here.
Shirley Allen said exact costs and figures were not provided and
she felt that put many taxpayers ill at ease.
Nancy Sabin asked why the town was still paying on the option
when the town had voted it down. Illick said the message she
got from the townspeople was to be more conservative.
Hinsdale said that many people told him they voted no because
they felt the town should buy the whole property instead of just
the 55 acres. Schroeder added that the board also consider the
fact that the vote had such a poor turnout.
Sprigg reviewed what other towns in similar situations; having
an option to buy a piece of land that is pivotal to the town
center, had done and how they had presented these deals to the
town.
Sandy Mayo questioned whether the town had a valid agreement
since she couldn't find regular payments to pay on the option in
the Selectboard minutes. Mayo suggested that Hinsdale had a
conflict of interest in negotiating the Burns option agreement
since he owns property in the proximity of the Burns land and
asked Hinsdale to excuse himself from any possible conflicts in
land development. Hinsdale responded that he didn't know what
development Mayo was talking about that is near the Burns
property offered his property was more than a mile from the site
in question. Hinsdale suggested Mayo put any concerns she had
of such a nature in writing.
Steve Moore said he felt the town was "on the right track" but
the presentation was "miserable." Moore suggested addressing
with taxpayer what all the options for municipal septic are.
Board of Selectman -5- October 4, 1999
Spin Richardson said he and some other members of the private
sector wanted to make a presentation to the board on the Burns
property on Monday October 11, 1999. Illick said she was
interested in their presentation and board members scheduled a
meeting for 6:30 p.m., October 11, 1999.
CHARLOTTE PARK UPDATE - BUDGET & RECOMMENDATION FOR OVERSIGHT
COMMITTEE
Illick said she had attended an Advisory Committee meeting for
Charlotte Park on September 29th, which covered uses of the
park, the need to correct security measures from the Route 7
access, locking the gate at night and enforcing the no dog
policy. Wally Smith asked if there were signs posted on the no
dog policy and Illick said not yet, but they will be going up.
Illick said the (Advisory) Oversight Committee had suggested the
following new members: Norm Pellet; Debbie Fischer, Moe Harvey,
Linda Radimer, Moe Harvey, Mary Mead, Clark Hinsdale and herself
and a vote to approve members would happen in November.
Sylvia Sprigg discussed the Thorpe Barn and showed photographs
of the barn. Sprigg said Hurricane Floyd had caused some damage
to the barn and asked that the insurance policy be reviewed.
Sprigg discussed drainage for the barn. Illick and Sprigg
discussed fundraising and costs of stabilization and maintenance
of the barn. Debbie Fischer asked how much money was in the
budget and Mack answered $7,000.00 and $881.00 had been spent to
date.
FIRE DEPARTMENT - BUILDING UPDATE - CHRIS DAVIS, KURT FISCHER &
RICK POLLACK
Chris Davis and Rick Pollack updated the board on the planned
renovations on the Fire/Rescue building. Davis said the
department had bids from seven contractors in all cases the
bids, if the contractors would accept the work, was way over
($100,000.00) the amount planned and budgeted. Rick Pollack
said that because of the good economy that there is plenty of
work for contractors and the costs on materials has doubled and
are in short supply. Davis reviewed what he had learned from
the bidding process; that the original plan steel frame from
1974 would not be cost effective or structurally a good idea and
that the building should be taken down and rebuilt. Davis said
the department was reporting to the board and considering their
options and would be going out to bid again in the spring. Mack
suggested they try going to bid in November or December and they
might get a better price. Pollack said the department was now
in the process of buttoning up for winter.
Board of Selectman -6- October 4, 1999
BILL SIGNING/DISCUSSION
Illick advised that the town would be compensated $1,500.00 for
a half day of filming "What Lies Beneath" on Church Hill Road.
Illick said assigning a permanent replacement for the open
Lister position would be scheduled for the meeting on October
18th.
Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by
Rosenthal:
* "TO GO INTO DELIBERATIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THE
FOURNIER HEARING."
Vote: All in favor.
Deliberative Session began at 9:15 p.m. and ended at 9:45 p.m.
Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by
Rosenthal:
* "TO COME OUT OF DELIBERATIVE SESSION."
Vote: All in favor.
Board members reviewed and signed bills.
Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by
Rosenthal:
* "TO ADJOURN."
Vote: All in favor.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m.
Minutes submitted by:
Debby Flynn