DRAFT
Town of Charlotte
Board of Selectmen
Minutes
Monday, March 8, 2004
7:00 PM, Charlotte Town Hall
Jennifer Steele Cole
Eleanor Russell
Ed Stone
Francis Thornton
OTHERS: Dean
Bloch (Selectboard Assistant)
Gary
Franklin
John
Hammer
Cowboy
Lewis
Robert
Perry
Nancy
Sabin
Jocelyn
Bolick (clerk)
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
The items on the agenda were as follows:
Organization: Elect
Chair, Use of Robert’s Rules, Meeting Schedule / Adjustment to Agenda / Approve
Minutes for February 23rd and March 2nd / Public
Discussion / Thomas and Valerie Esnes: Access Permit Hearing / Gary Franklin:
Trails Committee Update / Appointment of Officials: Fence Viewers (3), Tree
Warden (1) / Committee Appointments: discussion of reappointment policy /
Discussion of employee performance appraisal process / Selectboard update:
Route 7 upgrade; QueVT; bill re:discontinued roads, use of Quinlan (lower)
Bridge; bids; letter to VLT in support of Conservation Fund Project (LaBerge
Farm), CCRPC pressing needs / Selectboard work program: review list of
issues/projects; (Prioritization, benchmarks, assignments, consideration of
process, i.e. “what works” and “what doesn’t work” to occur at 3/22 meeting) /
Bills and Warrants / Adjournment
Organization
Motion
made by Ed Stone, seconded by Francis Thornton:
“To elect Charles Russell as
Chairman and Ellie Russell as Vice Chairman for the next year”.
Vote:
all in favor.
Motion
made by Ellie Russell, seconded by Francis Thornton:
“To continue our meetings on the
2nd and 4th Mondays of each month at 7 PM, with extra
meetings as needed”.
Vote:
all in favor.
Adjustment to Agenda
Talk about VELCO in
executive session; liquor control board; health coverage for Marlene (her
husband is turning 65), request to paint crosswalk across the road.
Approve Minutes for February 23rd and March 2nd
Motion made by
Eleanor Russell, seconded by Jennie Cole:
“To approve
the selectboard meeting minutes with corrections for February 23rd,
2004”.
Vote: 3 in favor,
Frank and Ed abstain.
On page 2, under Chris McGee, change “Charlie said they want
to …” to “Charlie said the process recommended through the memo of
understanding is meant to …”.
On page 4, under Affordable Housing Committee, change “John
Owens” to “John Owen”.
On page 4, under Affordable Housing Committee, change “there
are no houses on the market for $200,000” to there are not houses on the market
for $200,000 or less”.
On page 5, under H-684, change “Charlie asked if a letter
supporting the bill …” to “Charlie asked if a letter opposing this bill …”.
On page 5, under H-684, change “George McNeal and Bill Hugh”
to “George McNeil and Bill Meub”.
On page 5, under Selectboard update/Senior Center
Coordinator, change “quarterly newsletter” to “quarterly program schedule”.
On page 6, under Selectboard update/Town Meeting, change
“The budget went up 4.99%” to “The discretionary part of the budget went up
4.99%”.
Motion made by
Eleanor Russell, seconded by Jennie Cole:
“To approve
the town meeting minutes with corrections for March 2nd, 2004”.
Vote: 3 in favor,
Frank and Ed abstain.
On page 1, under Article 1 (concerning VELCO consultants),
change “with a total of around $30,000” to “with an anticipated total of around
$30,000”.
On page 2, under Article 1 (concerning Carrie Spear), change
“transfer of town funds into special funds” to “transfer of town funds into
Fire & Rescue special funds”.
On page 3, under Article 3, change “increase in land prices”
to “increase in property prices”.
On page 3, under Article 3, change “Nancy Wood was confused
about the capital funds” to “Nancy Wood was confused about the Fire &
Rescue and Conservation funds”.
On page 3, under Article 3, change “Lee Wanston” to “Lee
Weisman”.
On page 3, under Article 3, change “Berry Farm fields are
actually 2 fields” to “Berry Farm fields are actually 3 fields”.
On page 5, under Article 3, change “two or three cents as
the actual budget” to “two or three cents as the actual expenditure“.
On page 6, under Article 3, change “spent on the Public
Service Board” to “spent on the VELCO/Public Service Board litigation”.
On page 7, under Vote on Article 3, change “anticipated revenues which includes $110,000 for gravel
road maintenance plus …” to “anticipated revenues, which includes $110,000 for gravel road maintenance, plus …”
On page 8, under Article 5, change “This article does not
put any money into this year” to “This article does not put any money into the
fund this year”.
On page 8, under Article 5, add “Allan Jordan made the
amendment: To have the Selectboard list the town assets”.
On page 8, under Article 5, change “…the town reserve fund
voted on in paper ballot” to “… the town reserve fund voted on in Australian
ballot”.
On page 10, under Article 7, change “Bob Aldrich” to “Bob
Ulrich”.
On page 12, under Article 8, change “Bill Person asked if
there is more use of the money …” to “Bill Person asked if there is more need
for use of the money …”.
Public Discussion
John Hammer said it
is good to see Ed Stone back. Ellie
said it’s good to see Frank Thornton back too!
Thomas and Valerie Esnes: Access Permit Hearing
Bob Perry is
representing the Esnes. The Planning
Commission approved a building permit for a shed and a house with a curb cut on
Spear Street. There is only going to be
one house on 150 acres.
Motion made by
Eleanor Russell, seconded by Frank Thornton:
“To approve this access permit
hearing for Thomas and Valerie Esnes on Spear Street”.
Vote: all in favor.
John Hammer asked if
these people live in Vermont – he finds it intolerable that people don’t come
to the selectboard to ask for permits themselves. Bob Perry said they live in New York City.
Gary Franklin: Trails Committee Update
Gary wanted to come
to talk about the Trails Committee.
They have been meeting regularly since the fall; they have a regular
monthly meeting on the second Wednesday of every month. They want to assist the town in developing
an integrated network of trails. Their
attendance is from a core group, though they have had a couple of people
resign. Currently, they have 8 voting
members. They are thinking that 9
voting members would be good, so perhaps they need to go about getting another
member appointed.
Charlie said they
have had problems with other committees:
attendance is poor, quorums aren’t obtained, etc. Perhaps 7 voting members are better?
Gary said they would
like to bring in as many people as possible, but perhaps not in a voting
capacity. At the moment they would like
to get to 9 voting members.
Ellie said perhaps
someone from the selectboard would like to be a liaison to the Trails
Committee. Gary said having someone
like that would be useful to the committee.
They are currently in
an information gathering stage.
Greenwood America development and the Lake Champlain Bike Path issue
have come to their attention. Ed Stone
asked about Greenwood America – Gary said they walked the property and agreed
to keep it as a floating easement.
Gary said they sent a
copy of a landowner permission form to the town attorney. He would like the selectboard to give it
their blessing too. It doesn’t give
away any rights or create any liabilities, and the landowners can pull the plug
on it anytime they want. This would
create a certain restriction on the overall trail system. The reality is there’s an awful lot of
property with just the rights owned by the town. They would like to verify what the town owns. Frank Thornton’s book shows a host of
property rights that are owned by the town.
Gary said they don’t
know what information they can rely on when they’re looking at these potential
property rights. If the town owns the
rights to the property, it gives them a lot more leeway. Ed Stone asked about the John Padineau
property – there was a trail right over the top, but is it a done deal? When you go up through Demeter, you can get
on that trail heading north. That’s a
big piece with a great view. Gary
doesn’t believe that it is something that has been captured in their inventory.
Francis said trails
are just designated for passage. You
can’t use horses on those paths. Gary
said he’s not sure how to verify some of the information they have. He does not know how much he can rely on the
information that other people have done.
If you have to cross private property and convince land owners, it might
be fairly well restricted.
Ellie said the goal
would be to get a feel for all of the possibilities, then come up with a proposal
for the most reasonable network of trails.
We need a master plan of the ideal thing to do – where would you like
the trails to go? Gary said they’re
hesitant to create a map going through people’s properties when people haven’t
been approached yet. It may be awhile
before they have that kind of map, but they are at the stage where they can get
meaningful input.
Jennie asked about
town land. Gary said having town land
is an advantage – you can look at the parcel and attempt to use it as a
destination. Jennie said there was some
discussion about a trail near the LaPlatte River. Gary said they’re trying not to look at town property and ask if
they should build a trail there.
They’re hoping to create something more integrated - perhaps a trail
around one property with an offshoot towards another?
Francis said you
really have to walk the property; there are brooks and streams, etc.
Ed asked if they have
a budget. Charlie said they put money
in the budget, mainly for mapping.
Ed asked about the beach
– you need to cross the railroad track, but the people who own the railroad
track won’t let you cross it – so how do you get to the beach? Gary said he doesn’t know – Charlie said to
cross at the railroad signal.
Charlie asked if they
should put in an ad in the Charlotte paper for new members. The board suggested keeping a dialog going
with the Trails Committee. Gary said
they’d be happy to have people come to their meetings, and they will continue
to email Dean when needed. We need to
be cognizant of open meeting laws when emailing back and forth – it can be too
exclusive.
Appointment of Officials: Fence Viewers (3), Tree Warden (1)
Motion
made by Ellie Russell, seconded by Ed Stone:
“To appoint Andy Mansfield, Charles Russell and Harvey Sharrow as
Fence Viewers”.
Vote:
all in favor.
Motion
made by Ellie Russell, seconded by Ed Stone:
“To appoint Larry Hamilton as Tree
Warden”.
Vote:
all in favor.
Committee Appointments: discussion of reappointment policy
Charlie asked if we
want to solicit more people if the people that are currently in the position
want to be reappointed. Ed said you
should check with the current members first.
Ellie said we should check with the chair and make sure the people are
serving in their capacity. Nancy asked
if there was a law – if you miss 5 meetings, then you’re out. Francis said it has to be a unanimous vote
of the board for the Planning Commission.
Charlie said we could
have a policy where you miss “x” amount of meetings, and then you’re
removed. Ellie suggested a guideline
that if you miss X% of meetings, then you are off. Charlie said we need to think about it and decide if this is the
way to go.
Discussion of employee performance appraisal process
Ellie suggested doing
the same thing as last year – they gave a form to each employee as a
self-appraisal. Then there is a board
consisting of 2 members of the selectboard and the person that the employee
directly reported to. They talk about
goals and new goals for the next year.
Ellie said they had good feedback from the employees, and thinks it
should be repeated again this year.
Ellie and Charlie would be interested in doing it again.
Nancy doesn’t
understand why the evaluation isn’t hitched to pay raises. Ellie said one reason is that performance
appraisals are subjective. It’s hard
unless you have defined objectives of performance that you can actually grade
against.
Selectboard update
Francis
said the center line for the current road is not the center line of the
original road. So, if they want width
in the road, they will have to take peoples property.
They
are now promising the underpass for 2008.
Dean
says it has been used by school buses, but he’s not sure if it is rated for
school buses. Charlie said Junior
brings sand trucks through there. John
Hammer said it is 27000 pounds for a school bus. This bridge is rated for school buses, but he’s not sure what the
rating is. There is a problem making
sure that the bridge is rated. School
buses use that bridge. Charlie said it
would be nice to check that the rating the bridge got in 1993 still
stands. Dean said the written
inspection just came to the selectboard, but it doesn’t really give a
recommendation – it just describes various issues.
Dean
said the farm was for sale, and it was very susceptible to being bought and
developed, so they brought up the idea of conserving a portion of it. They subdivided a piece with the farmhouse
and 13 acres. They are trying to
preserve the farmland; if they don’t get this application then they will try
and sell it as an estate. Typically VLT
gets the development rights and sells the parcel itself to the farmer.
Nancy
Sabin asked if we were talking about the Shirley LaBerge property. She thought it was a done deal? That was Merck Pharmaceuticals. They just bought the property, but hadn’t
conserved it. They are trying to sell
the development rights. Now they are
trying to protect that land from being developed and keep it as a farm. Nancy said they can only build one house on
the 13 acres. All the other acreage can
only have one house. That’s what was
promised at Planning and Zoning meetings.
Frank said that is not true.
Dean said it was promised, but that’s not how it turned out.
Dean
said there’s no permanent restriction.
Motion
made by Ellie Russell, seconded by Ed Stone:
“To support the Vermont Land
Trust application to the VHCB to preserve the development rights on the Laberge
Farm”.
Vote: 4 in favor, one opposed
(Francis).
Francis
feels the town needs a plan, there are parcels scattered everywhere without
rhyme or reason. If it doesn’t fit in
your overall plan, then let the opportunity pass you by. Ellie said they do have focus, with the
Route 7 corridor. They want to keep the
scenery on that road. Francis feels you
need to utilize the land, these are great ideas that we are going at
haphazardly. And what happens when we
run out of money to buy land? Nancy
said if you put in the town plan what it would cost the taxpayer for this, you
would have a different result. She’s
upset about the Shirley LaBerge property, with the Palmer property across the
road.
Ed
said he would hate to see this turn into another Clark Farm fiasco. He doesn’t see any harm in a letter, but if
it needs to go further the Planning Commission and the Selectboard need to take
a closer look. We want to make sure
that this is what we want. Ed thought
Merck bought the Shirley Laberge property, he thought it was a done deal.
Selectboard work program: review list of issues/projects
Charlie
said we need to decide if we want to go out to bid for land maintenance. Charlie and Dean will put that together, so
take it off the priority list.
Jennie
asked about the Thompson’s Point leases.
Charlie said it has to happen, as does the Senior Center coordinator, so
don’t put them on the list.
The
selectboard went through the list and added or deleted items as necessary.
Ellie
said the workload has to be shared.
Some members of the selectboard are already involved in some of the
items.
Ellie – currently doing Library, Planning and Zoning, and Fire &
Rescue.
Charlie – Burns Committee, Demeter.
Frank – Senior Center.
Jennie – Thompson’s Point, VELCO, Recreation Commission, Affordable
Housing.
Ed is interested in doing Fire & Rescue. Charlie said there’s nothing wrong with 2
people doing Fire & Rescue. Jennie
said she has a difficult time making the Recreation Commission meetings because
of the times that they are held (same night as selectboard meetings). Charlie suggested that they talk to the
Recreation Commission to see if they can switch their meetings so someone from
the selectboard can be there. There is
an opening for the Conservation Committee.
Ed suggested that Francis handle the Trails Committee. Ellie said Business and Economics is
defunct, but they need to finish up – they have to write a report. They don’t recommend any changes. Charlie suggested thinking about the rest of
the assignments and come back with ideas at the next meeting.
Motion
made by Ellie Russell, seconded by Jennie Cole:
“To go into executive session to
talk about pending litigation with VELCO”.
Vote:
all in favor.
Motion
made by Ellie Russell, seconded by Francis Thornton:
“To come out of executive
session”.
Vote:
all in favor.
No
action was taken in executive session.
The next public hearing is March 18th. The Public Service Board is holding a public
hearing at the multi-purpose room at 7 PM.
It sounds like they will be talking about more than just the reroutes. Jim Donovan and Torbin Aabo were supposed to
testify last week, but they were rescheduled, but we’re not sure when they were
rescheduled.
Motion
made by Ed Stone, seconded by Jennie Cole:
“To adjourn as
the selectboard and reconvene as the liquor board”.
Vote:
all in favor.
Motion
made by Ed Stone, seconded by Francis Thornton:
“To approve
the liquor license for the Old Brick Store”.
Vote:
all in favor.
Motion
made by Ellie Russell, seconded by Francis Thornton:
“To adjourn as
the liquor board and reconvene as the selectboard”.
Vote:
all in favor.
Motion
made by Ellie Russell, seconded by Francis Thornton:
“To approve Plan #105861 from Green Mountain
Power”.
Vote: 4 in favor, Ed abstained.
Motion
made by Francis Thornton, seconded by Jennie Cole:
“To appoint Lucia Plant as the town service officer”.
Vote:
all in favor.
Bills and Warrants
Signed as
appropriate.
Adjournment
Next
selectboard meeting: Monday,
March 22nd at 7 PM.
Motion
made by Eleanor Russell, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
“To adjourn the selectboard meeting”.
Vote: all in favor. Meeting adjourned at 10:30 PM.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Jocelyn Bolick.