Board of Selectmen March 13, 2000

TOWN OF CHARLOTTE

BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

MARCH 13, 2000

MEMBERS PRESENT: Robert Mack, Jr.

John Rosenthal

James Sheldon-Dean

Clark Hinsdale, III

Charles Russell

OTHERS: Jim Dickerson

Louis Cox

Hugh Lewis, Sr.

Nancy Waller

Helen Philippe

Moe Harvey

Mary Mead

Mary Beth Freeman

Martha Perkins

Laurie Stavrand

Richard LeBoeuf

Sandy Mayo

Stephen C. Brooks

Spin Richardson

Didier Morat

Paul Bruhn

Sylvia Sprigg

John Hammer

Edward Melby

Bob Heilferty

Gil Livingston

Peter J. Coleman

L. L. Murphy

Mary Ann Gatos

L. Patton

Alice Lawrence

Beth Merritt

Edd Merritt

Paul Arthaud

Yvan Plouffe

Hugh Lewis, Jr.

Patricia R. Lavalette

George M. Lavalette

Nancy P. Sabin

Al Moraska

Michael Clapp

Wendy Schroeder

________________________________________________________________

John Rosenthal called the meeting of the Board of Selectmen to

order at 7:05 p.m. in the Charlotte Town Offices. Rosenthal

welcome the new board member, Charles Russell.

Board of Selectmen -2- March 13, 2000

ELECT CHAIRMAN

Rosenthal opened the floor to nominations for the new board

Chairman.

Sheldon-Dean moved:

* "TO NOMINATE ROBERT MACK, JR. AS CHAIRMAN."

Vote: All in favor.

APPROVE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 28TH MEETING

Chairman Mack asked board members if they wished to approve the

minutes of February 28, 2000. Rosenthal wished to clarify in

the waiver of fees for the Little League fields that the

property is privately held, but would not be used for profit.

Rosenthal asked to clarify the motion on page 4 to read "TO

INSTRUCT COX TO MOVE FORWARD ON THE INVESTIGATION OF MORE FACTS

WITH REGARD TO THE OPEN SPACE AGREEMENT ON JEFF HUTCHIN'S

PROPERTY," and on page 5 to change the reference to a mill to

"wind turbine."

Nancy Sabin discussed a Burlington Free Press article dated

February 23, 2000 in reference to the Lavalette property asking

where the figures came from. Mack stated the figures were

incorrect and offered that misquotations in the Burlington Free

Press were not uncommon.

Sandy Mayo wished to clarify in reference to the A. Johnson

property that approval for the purchase by the Selectboard came

in November of 1997.

Rosenthal moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 28, 2000 AS

AMENDED."

Vote: 3 in favor, 2 abstained (Hinsdale, Russell).

PUBLIC DISCUSSION

Sandy Mayo discussed her perception of conflicts of interest in

Selectboard dealings and claimed Mack had Stephen Brooks living

on his property and personal relationships with Brooks and Jeff

Hutchins. Mayo stated she thought Mack should recuse himself

from cases regarding personal interests or she would file a

complaint. Martha Perkins added that board members should state

their relationships with cases when there is even an appearance

of a conflict of interest. Mack responded he has had contract

business dealings with Jeff Hutchins but has no business

interests with Hutchins and denied Brooks was staying on his

property and noted he does all of his business in town and has

never been asked a favor in relation to his position on the

board.

Hinsdale noted an article in the newsletter from Secretary of

State Markowitz's office on appearances of conflicts of

interest, disclosure of interests and the relation to decisions

by board members.

Board of Selectmen -3- March 13, 2000

GENERAL APPOINTMENTS

Sheldon-Dean stated he has been on the Technical Advisory

Committee with the MPO for a year and a half and recommended

that Wendy Schroeder be appointed to the committee.

Sheldon-Dean moved and the motion was seconded by

Rosenthal:

* "TO APPOINT WENDY SCHROEDER TO THE TECHNICAL

ADVISORY COMMITTEE."

Vote: All in favor.

Hinsdale suggested putting a notice in The Charlotte News

listing openings on town boards and Town Clerk, Mary Mead, also

suggested sending a letter to current board members whose terms

are coming up asking them if they want to serve another term.

Mack asked when the board wanted to schedule interviews and

Hinsdale responded he would like to see appointments done by the

second Selectboard meeting in April.

BURNS LAND

Hinsdale said he was working to get the Burns land deal closed

by the next deadline on the payment option, April 1. Hinsdale

noted the offer of help that came in the form of a letter from

Paul Bruhn of the Preservation Trust of Vermont and Gil

Livingston of the Vermont Land Trust to work with interested

parties to bring the Burns deal to fruition. Bruhn and

Livingston were in attendance and Livingston stated the Burns

property is in the interest of the goals of both organizations

with respect to preserving culture, heritage and open land.

Hinsdale read the letter from Bruhn and Livingston and Martha

Perkins added Bruhn and Livingston have expertise in this area

and much needed objectivity.

Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "WE WELCOME AND ACCEPT THE OFFER OF THESE TWO

ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAS BEEN MADE TO US."

Vote: All in favor.

DEAN BLOCH (TOWN PLAN)

Chairman Mack noted a schedule and strategy needed to be set for

approval of the new Town Plan. Town Planner, Dean Bloch, stated

the Planning Commission has done the revisions to the Town Plan

in 1999 and the current Town Plan was passed at Town Meeting Day

and the new Plan will be voted on in the fall. Bloch noted new

additions to the Town Plan included an updated study on the

effects of Act 60, district zones and establishing an economic

development committee. Board members discussed a timetable for

meetings on the Town Plan and Mack suggested having a completed

draft before summer with a 4-5 meeting schedule. Rosenthal and

Hinsdale offered to work with Bloch on the Plan and Hinsdale

suggested acting on the comments made by the public at previous

meetings.

Board of Selectmen -4- March 13, 2000

Sylvia Sprigg said the earlier draft had little input from the

school board and Marty Illick stated she had spoken with School

Board members and they were willing to provide information and

Mack added it would be a good idea to get more public

information for the Plan before school gets out for the summer.

Martha Perkins said Deb Brighton could help with school

information for the Plan and suggested talking with Planning

Commission members to get their rationale for making the changes

they chose to the Plan.

ZONING ADMINISTRATION

FOURNIER

Chairman Mack asked Zoning Administrator Louis Cox what the

status of the Fournier case was and Cox responded there was a

denial of a septic permit in the case last fall and the

Fourniers submitted another application which he denied for a

second time, stating the basis for his denial was noncompliance

with EPA rules.

Mack asked how far apart the parties were to a resolution and

Liam Murphy, attorney for the Fourniers, stated he and his

clients didn't know why they were there, stating their

understanding was the denial issued December 8, 1999 was

"pending soil test certification," noting the Sewage officer was

not present at the test pits and stating his clients only want

to extend their leach field by 9 feet and has been trying to get

a permit since September of 1998. Murphy outlined the 3

conditions that needed to be met by January, 2000: a letter from

the consulting Engineer stating the soil types at the site, a

pump station and utility lines to be buried, the latter two of

which could only be performed after a permit was approved.

Cox stated the second letter on soil types present at the site

does not meet the requirements the EPA standards as stated in

the engineer's letter and Hinsdale added the doctrine was based

on records documenting the soils in town records 10 years ago.

Hinsdale added the board should be dealing with one issue and

that is the septic system design, which was approved. Hinsdale

suggested closing the public hearing and having the town

attorney review the case and make a recommendation.

Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE CASE OF LANCE

AND KELLY FOURNIER."

Vote: All in favor.

BROOKS

Mack reviewed a letter from the Town of Charlotte on zoning

violations at by Stephen Brook's business at 100 Ethan Allen

Highway in reference to signs advertising the sale of bark mulch

and sawdust.

Board of Selectmen -5- March 13, 2000

Michael Clapp, the attorney representing Brooks, stated Brooks

had appealed the ruling of the Charlotte Zoning Board of

Adjustment to Environmental Court and when Judge Meredith Wright

ruled in the Brooks case, she granted a stay of enforcement

while Brooks appeals his case to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Clapp was asking the Selectboard to negate and withdraw the

notices of violation Zoning Administrator, Louis Cox, had issued

since Judge Wright had issued a stay, since Cox was banned from

enforcement proceedings at the time and the Selectboard had

directed Cox not to proceed further in the Brooks case.

Cox stated his contention that the stay applies to the sawmill

only and not to any additional activities that are violations

aside from the sawmill. Cox claimed the signs advertising bark

mulch and sawdust went up after the stay was granted and the

sawdust and mulch were brought to the site and were not

byproducts of the sawmill.

Hinsdale stated the issue to be considered is whether the bark

mulch and sawdust are in or out of the scope of the stay. Mack

said he thought the issue came down to the definition of

forestry and stated he personally felt the issue was in the

scope of the stay. Sheldon-Dean said he would like to hear from

the town attorney on his opinion on the case and Hinsdale

agreed.

Stephen Brooks stated the signs advertising the mulch and

sawdust have been up for 2 years and invited board members to

inspect the site.

Clapp outlined the history of zoning violation notices issued to

Brooks and asked the board to withdraw the last 2 violation

notices, as they were not in the directive of the Selectboard.

Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE REQUEST FOR A

STAY OF ENFORCEMENT."

Vote: All in favor.

ROAD COMMISSIONER - HUGH LEWIS, JR.

Mack noted recent vandalism around town and Road Commissioner,

Hugh Lewis Jr., stated there had been vandalism to a covered

bridge and some signs. Mack said the town's insurance would pay

for the damage and to have costs prepared for the next meeting

and Lewis agreed.

Hinsdale asked Lewis how the road budget was doing and Lewis

responded "great."

Nancy Sabin discussed the lack of a ditch down by the railroad

tracks at Prindle brook and Mack stated that was not in the

town's right-of-way.

Board of Selectmen -6- March 13, 2000

Lewis stated he wanted an hourly raise for truck usage of $2.50

to cover the recent rise in gasoline prices and submitted a

written request. Mack said he was fine with raising the rate

for dump trucks and Hinsdale added he thought it would be a good

idea to approve the rate for trucks and wait on the rest of the

equipment prices until after July 1, 2000.

Rosenthal moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "TO INCREASE THE HOURLY RATE FOR TRUCKS BY $2.50 PER

HOUR."

Vote: All in favor.

AGRICULTURAL LEASE - CHARLOTTE PARK

Mack recused himself from the discussion and any votes on this

agenda item.

Hinsdale discussed a decision by the Demeter Committee in which

the town will pay for the cost of baseline soil testing at the

site as the committee felt it was in the town's best interest to

do so. Hinsdale said the committee has suggested a cap of

$250.00, and having UVM students do some of the work if hiring a

professional firm was too expensive. Mack said the best price

he had been quoted was $800.00

Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "TO APPROVE PRETESTING TO AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED

$800.00 AND TO APPROVE THE LEASE WITH THAT CHANGE."

Vote: All in favor.

BILL SIGNING - DISCUSSION

Board members reviewed and signed bills.

Mack reviewed a memo from Town Clerk, Mary Mead on the legal

requirements of retaining tapes of public meetings for 6 months

after the minutes have been transcribed. Charles Russell said

he thought tapes should be retained longer than 6 months and

Wendy Schroeder said the town offices are swamped with paper

records and tapes.

Russell moved:

* "THAT THE SELECTBOARD HAVE A POLICY THAT RECORDED

MEETING TAPES BE RETAINED BY THE SELECTBOARD FRO 18

MONTHS."

The motion failed for lack of a second.

Mack suggested that Russell go talk with Mead as the matter is

in her domain. Sheldon-Dean noted the written minutes are the

legal record and are adopted by the board. Rosenthal suggested

the role of the tapes was to assist the minutetaker in

preparation of minutes and if the tapes were so important that

the town should invest in a better quality tape recorder.

Board of Selectmen -7- March 13, 2000

Chairman Mack reviewed letters received by the board including

one on 55 annual town officers and one on designating a Green Up

Day coordinator. John Hammer stated he has been a designated

coordinator.

Russell moved and the motion was seconded by

Hinsdale:

"THAT JOHN HAMMER BE THE DESIGNATED GREEN UP DAY

COORDINATOR FOR THE YEAR 2000."

Vote: All in favor.

Mack reviewed a letter on the Lavalette property, as George and

Patricia Lavalette sold land and development rights and the

property will be sold.

John Hammer spoke as a representative of the Shelburne and

Charlotte Rotary of the Rotary's wish to add their logo and the

Lions club logo to the bottom of the "Welcome to Charlotte"

signs on Route 7. Hammer said he had approval from the Grange

and was looking for approval of the sign designs from the

Selectboard and the Charlotte Land Trust. Rosenthal said he was

grateful for the offer, but liked the current signs and if the

board granted the clubs' request that other organizations might

want to add their logo.

Rosenthal moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

"TO APPROVE THE NEW SIGNS."

Vote: 2 in favor, 2 opposed (Sheldon-Dean,

Rosenthal), 1 abstained (Hinsdale)

Mack discussed Hammer's reappointment to the Chittenden Solid

Waste Committee and Hammer agreed to be the primary

representative.

Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

"TO ADJOURN."

Vote: All in favor.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m.

Minutes submitted by:

Debby Flynn