FINAL VERSION AS
AMENDED AND APPROVED ON March 24,
2003 . Attest: _________
Town of Charlotte
Board of Selectmen
Minutes
Monday, February 24, 2003
7:00 PM, Charlotte Town Hall
Eleanor Russell
Debbie Ramsdell
OTHERS: Daniel
Senecal-Albrecht (selectboard assistant)
Stephen C. Brooks
Martha Perkins
Marty Illick
Sylvia Sprigg
Jeff McDonald
Peter Coleman
Jocelyn Bolick (clerk)
The meeting was
called to order at 7:00pm.
The items on the agenda
were as follows;
Adjustments to agenda
/ Approve minutes of February 10th / Public Discussion / Greenwood
America – Mel Hawley Discussion of Floating Trail Easement / Appoint Francie
Caccavo and Larry Hamilton to Thompson’s Point Ag. Lease Subcommittee / Sign
Contract with Burnt Rock for update of Zoning By-Laws / Selectboard updates / Sign Bills and
Warrants / Appoint Representative to CCRPC Local Housing Supply Goal Committee
/ Adjournment
·
Eric Finley was a
name to be added to the Thompson’s Point Ag. Lease Subcommittee.
Eleanor
Russell made a motion, Debbie Ramsdell seconded:
“To approve
the selectboard meeting minutes with corrections for February 10th”
· Delete duplicate reference on page 1 under OTHERS – Elizabeth Howard was listed twice.
· Change reference on page 1 under OTHERS from “Johnson Fairbank” to “Jonathan Fairbank”.
· Change reference under “… items on the agenda …” from “Dottie Walker” to “Dottie Waller”.
· Corrected reference under approve minutes for January 13th concerning cemetery spending from “$3000/week for the summer” to “$3000 for the summer”.
· Change reference under Public Discussion from “Carol Hinsdale” to “Carol Aube-Hinsdale”.
· Change reference under CVU Budget – Dottie Waller from “… and they are planning on eliminating the auditorium for the time being” to “… and they are planning on not enlarging the auditorium for the time being”.
· Change reference under the Discussion of the Need for Voting Machines in the Town from “Charlotte is notorious for understaffing the voting” to “Sylvia Sprigg said Charlotte is notorious for understaffing the voting for the CVU ballots”.
· Change reference under the Discussion of the Need for Voting Machines in the Town from “Robert Mack stated that the vote counters need to be separated” to “Robert Mack stated that the vote tabulators need to be separated”.
· Appended the following paragraphs under the the Discussion of the Need for Voting Machines in the Town:
“Stephen Brooks wanted to know what was the big rush to get a voting machine? Debbie Ramsdell said the parties want to know as soon as possible who won, who will be in control of government. Newspapers want to know – everyone wants to know!
Rose Anne Lombard felt that the town of Charlotte is an entity unto itself – why should it be driven by what other parties want? Why does the town have to bow to other entities? Debbie Ramsdell said it matters to very few people.”
· Change reference under Appoint Driveway Access (Curb Cut) Policy from “They suggested calling it a policy for the time being instead of an ordinance” to “Ellie Russell suggested making it a policy for the time being instead of an ordinance. The lawyer suggested having it be an ordinance”.
· Change title “Appoint Selectboard member to attend CC Housing Task Force” to “Appoint town representative to attend CCRPC Local Housing Supply Goal Committee”.
· Change reference under Selectboard Updates from “Banker v. Charlotte (the jury draw) was postponed because they are consolidating it against Mr. Groton, the builder” to “Binkerd v. Charlotte (the jury draw) was postponed because charges are being consolidated”.
Vote: all in favor.
Stephen
Brooks was questioning if anyone has seen minutes of the Rec Commission, no one
had.
Stephen
Brooks was questioning the Conservation Commissions style of individuals making
written and/or oral statements and representing them as the official position
of the Conservation Commission. He
requested that the selectboard take a look at that precedent. Ellie Russell requested that they make a
clarification of their position. Martha
Perkins felt that members of the commission should explain whether or not they
were talking as individuals, or as members of the commission.
Peter
Coleman volunteered to take pictures that can be included in the web page for
the town of Charlotte.
Martha
Perkins wanted to know if there is a process in place with Burnt Rock. Ellie Russell said there were 3 proposals
received, and she felt Burnt Rock was the best proposal.
Eleanor
Russell said the letter for the town picnic on July 12th has gone
out, and the people who are participating should let the library know so they
could plan for it. E. Russell thought
it would be a good idea to have a selectboard booth so the selectboard can talk
to people and let them know what is going on in town. Stephen Brooks stated that the selectboard can use the lemonade
stand if they wanted to.
E.
Russell wanted to talk about getting organized since it is the beginning of the
year for the selectboard. The
selectboard should come up with programs that need the boards attention the
most, perhaps a timetable of when things should be done.
Charles Russell thought that town meeting would be a good time to survey people
about issues in town - where do people stand on various issues? He suggested putting together a list of 10
things that the board plans to work on, and have people prioritize them. Stephen Brooks suggested a bulk mailing
since it would be inexpensive, but the selectboard felt that responses to a
bulk mailing would be limited.
Stephen
Brooks feels the town should object to removing the floating trail
easement. These folks were not here 10
years ago – they just got a permit. Now
they want to make a private real estate deal and subdivide a piece of their
property. Lets look globally down the
road for a long period of years.
Charles
Russell said they have some money they can’t touch because of this
encumberance. They just want an answer
by the middle of the summer whether the town is really going to exercise this
easement or not. It’s a yes or no
question, it should not be an unreasonable thing to answer. This wasn’t an anticipated trail.
Sylvia
Sprigg said there was no real plan for a trail through the property, it was
always recognized as swampland. It was
inappropriate to put a trail easement, it was a total afterthought, it was not
a linkage to any other trail system.
Appoint Francie Caccavo and Larry Hamilton to Thompson’s Point Ag. Lease Subcommittee
Francie Caccavo – The
Pony Club
Eric Finley –
Thompson’s Point Association and caretaker
Larry Hamilton – Tree
Warden.
Jennifer Cole said a
meeting occurred today (February 24) and a lot of good ideas came up. Next meeting is March 19th at 8 PM.
Looking at several issues - better management of the land, clear leasing
policies, whether there needs to be leases, perhaps a point person for
information and someone to help solve issues.
Maybe an arrangement with one agricultural lease and one lease to the
Sportsmen’s Alliance. Almost all agreed
that there should be no pasturing of cows, since that area is getting smaller
and smaller.
Motion made by
Jennifer Cole, seconded by Eleanor Russell:
“To appoint Eric Finley, Larry Hamilton, and Francie Caccavo to the committee to discuss the agricultural leases on Thompson’s Point.”
Vote: all in favor.
Jeff McDonald, chair of the Planning Commission, talked about receiving 3 proposals from different companies for planning services for the town of Charlotte. Burnt Rock was the lowest price, and the town has worked favorably with Burnt Rock in the past. The goal is to have revised subdivision and zoning regulations in one document by town meeting of 2004.
Meetings will be completely open to people who want to participate, plan on twice a month. The affordable housing group has been very interested in how these issues are refined. The first meeting will be very important because it will flesh out the plan for the year. The date will be publicized in the Charlotte newspaper.
Martha Perkins said that it’s well known that zoning regulations get turned down with regularity the first time around. The planning commission cannot do it by themselves and open meeting will just not be enough. She feels that they should broaden the participation – get 5 people or so from town to help work on this. Eleanor Russell feels it should be orchestrated through the planning commission. Martha feels that the agreement with Burnt Rock should include a subcommittee to work with the Planning Commission.
Stephen Brooks disagreed with Martha. Feels it will load the “ship of the Planning Commission with ballast it does not need”. If the goal is to keep it in front of everyone’s mind, purchase an ad in a community newspaper and change the text often so that everyone knows what is going on with every meeting. He does not feel that the agreement for Planning Services document with Burnt Rock needs to be changed.
Sylvia Sprigg said that citizens came and worked with the Planning Commission during both drafts of the plan. Folks who are interested will come forth again.
Jennifer Cole had some questions from the Affordable Housing Committee for Burnt Rock. Some questions that were not answered: Describe your experience in developing methods of reducing the barriers to affordable housing, and also a question of an additional 40 hours to address affordable housing. Also, members of the committee felt that the candidates should talk of their experience before the committee. Jeff said they were aware of the questions, and the issues will come up as they work through the process. They gave a reference list of 40 towns. J. Cole asked if they would be likely to subcontract work to others. Eleanor Russell said the Business and Economics Committee should be involved also. J. Cole said the Affordable Housing Committee was concerned with not having a part in the process of choosing the company receiving the planning services contract, not necessarily the company chosen. Jeff McDonald said that involving people in the process would have cost another month or two of time.
Motion made by Eleanor Russell, seconded by Debbie Ramsdell:
“To approve signing the contract for Burnt Rock zoning by-laws,
contingent upon review by counsel, and authorize Charles Russell to sign on
behalf of the selectboard”.
Vote: all in favor.
Selectboard Updates
· Debbie Ramsdell stated they have the ceiling tiles up in the senior center, Gary Thibault did the work and they are very happy. They are planning on having a plumber come in and rework some pipes to deal with their water problem. Right now, the water goes to the sink first, then goes up and gets filtered and softened. They want to change it so it gets filtered and softened, then goes to the sink. Want a second line for geo-thermal heat. That was a source of some of the contamination since the well casing had 2 holes in it. Peter said the pitless adapter was replaced, and it was a possible source of contamination.
· Eleanor Russell and Charles met with the listers and appraiser regarding the Common Level of Appraisal (CLA). They are still waiting to hear if the properties that they were concerned with are being thrown out. Taking out the biggest sale makes a 7.2 cent difference in the tax rate. The town is going to argue to take out the small number of highly influential sales due to their undue influence on the CLA. If the top three are thrown out, it would be a 14 cent difference in the tax rate. Does the whole grand list line up with the sample they are using for the CLA?
· Jennifer Cole (speaking for the Affordable Housing Committee) – talked of a study done in 1991 to determine the need of affordable housing. The study has been revised, sale prices of housing today – for the year 2002, there were 43 sales, average price was $483,678. Under 6 acres, $513, 900. If you took out the 4 houses that sold for over $1,000,000, then the average price was $383,500, and with less than 6 acres, $404,000. Conclusion is that 14% of housing in Charlotte would be considered affordable. Back in 1991, 17% was considered affordable. Affordable is approximately $180,000. Since December, there have been no houses available under $200,000.
· Dan Senecal-Albrecht brought up the dredging at the Thompson’s Point Marina – do we want to set up a public meeting on the marina? They claim it would be a 2 hour meeting. Could be larger issues to the public: maybe water quality, traffic issues, etc. It was agreed that a public meeting will be requested.
· Eleanor Russell said she got a call from Clark Hinsdale, III. He wants to make sure that no chemical fertilizers, etc., are used at Phase 1 of the Trevor and Melissa Mack Trail since he’s planning on an organic farm adjacent to that site. Needs to be added into the bidding process.
· Thorp Barn – Dan met with Nancy Walsh. He’ll write something for the Charlotte News to tell people what’s going on. He’ll get the fund-raising going again, hasn’t heard back from Dick St. George yet.
Sign Bills and Warrants
Motion made by
Eleanor Russell, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
Vote: all in favor.
Motion made by
Eleanor Russell, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
Vote: all in favor.
Motion made by
Eleanor Russell, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
Vote: all in favor.
Mary Mead, town
clerk, requested the rug in the town hall get cleaned – the cost is $250.
Other bills signed as
appropriate.
Appoint Representative to CCRPC Local Housing Supply Goal
Committee
Marty Illick came to
talk about the CCRPC Local Housing Supply Goal Committee. A work task force has been setup whereby
representatives of each town are appointed by the selectboard and attend once
per month meeting for a year. The
results would be guidelines (number of units) for municipalities in the county
to try and strive for in their planning.
It is based on the census information - basically a 35 year
projection. There was projected to be
53,000 units in the county. The current
zoning guidelines filled the county, but it looked awful. It had excessive commercial square footage
countywide.
It had Charlotte with
a full build-out with 5-acre zoning.
The county is hugely degraded because of the zoning. The point is that the selectboard needs to
decide whether to appoint to someone to go to the regional task force meeting
and participate. Marty would recommend
that the selectboard appoint someone to go to these meetings. Also, to work locally to address the issues
that they are pointing out to Charlotte.
Stephen Brooks said
we could send a letter stating that we’re a rural town and don’t want to
participate. Or, if the selectboard
does send someone, what is the philosophy that you send them off with?
Jeff McDonald looked
at the report, said they were starting out with a 2,000 unit deficit in the
county. Where did that number come
from? He feels there are some real
problems with the report. Certain towns
don’t want to be the sole source of affordable housing in the county, they want
all towns to take their share of affordable housing. Perhaps Charlotte has a different view – not every hundred acres
should be turned into a subdivision. He
feels we should participate, but not necessarily by buying into the “quota
system” process which is in the background of this report.
Eleanor Russell said
we offer a rural farming community with a tourist attraction where people can
use hotels, restaurants, etc., in other communities.
Stephen Brooks said
this is a treacherous topic. Adding a
few units a year – play it out. How
large can Charlotte grow? We have a
vision of our community as a rural place and in maintaining it that way. We’re going to be the place people can come
to well into the future and say, “That’s what it was like!”. Stephen was concerned that Ted Montgomery
was not interviewed in public.
Charles Russell
talked to Ted Montgomery, who applied for a position on the Planning
Commission. He agreed to be the
representative for the committee. He’s
an architect, he is not “no growth”, he is “smart growth”. He is a little “outside the box”,
interested in ecologically conscious growth.
The selectboard will tell him what his position is.
Marty Illick said Ted
Montgomery is not familiar with several issues, he’ll have to do some reading
to catch up. He’s not a political person. He’s interested in energy conservation. Also, Peter Richardson is willing to go to
the meetings, too, but he does not want to be the lead person.
Motion made by Debbie
Ramsdell, seconded by Eleanor Russell:
“To appoint Ted Montgomery as representative of CCRPC Local Housing Supply Goal Committee.”
Vote: all in favor.
Adjournment
Next
meeting on Monday, March 10th, at 7 PM.
Meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM.