FINAL VERSION
AS AMENDED AND APPROVED ON May 12, 2003. Attest: ______
Town of Charlotte
Board of Selectmen
Minutes
Monday, April 28, 2003
6:00 PM, Charlotte Town Hall
Paul Arthaud
Eleanor Russell
OTHERS: Woody
Anderson
Trina Bianchi
Stephen C. Brooks
Jim Fitzpatrick
Nell Fraser
Rob Fraser
Eunice Froeliger
John
Hammer
Sylvia
Knight
Hugh Lewis, Sr.
Dale Knowles
David Machanic
Robert Mack
Martha Perkins
Robin Pierce
Ellen Russell
Susan Smith
Carrie Spear
Frank Tenney
Eric Van Vlandren
Jocelyn Bolick (clerk)
The meeting was
called to order at 6:00 pm.
The items on the
agenda were as follows;
Interviews with some
candidates for town committees & commissions / Adjustments to Agenda /
Approve minutes of April 14th / Public Discussion / Expenditure from
Conservation Fund, purchase of easement on Larry Johnson Property /
Recommendations on Thompson’s Point, Agricultural Lease, pasturing of bovines?
/ Nell Fraser, Cons. Commission: grant application for erosion at Whiskey Bay /
Discussion of need for more comprehensive committee to manage town lands &
assets / Selectboard Updates / Sign Bills and Warrants / Adjournment
Interviews with some candidates for town committees &
commissions
·
Carrie Spear
(interview for Planning Commission position).
Why do you want to be on the Planning Commission? Carrie loves this community and has just
started tapping in to what is in the community. She would take the position seriously and would have a lot to
learn. She feels she would have 9 to 12
hours per month to devote to the committee.
Carrie says she's open-minded, can often see both sides of the
story. She plans on being at her store
for probably 15 years. Carrie feels
it’s an honor to think that you can help plan within a community.
What’s
one of the most important things driving a town plan? Carrie feels the town needs to be more organized, the west
village needs to get settled. The
existing farmland needs to be helped so the farmers can stay in the community.
If
you had a plot of land with hayfields and forest, where would you put the
houses? Carrie felt that houses nestled
together in the far corner would be appropriate. It would be good for the town because a small amount of
controlled growth is good for the town.
Hard to say if houses should be near the road, she would have to look at
it more closely.
Do
you see an east village? Carrie feels
that she does, but not for 3 or more years – because you have to deal with
septic and water issues, the trailer park, the outline of East Charlotte
village - it all has to be looked at carefully. Paul asked where would you put a new substation for CVFRS, for
example? Carrie said ideally she would
put it on Mr. Hinsdale’s property, on the northwest corner, not where the barn
is situated. But she feels that it’s
not time yet. Maybe there’s a way to
co-operatively deal with the sewage over there. Carrie would like to come back with plans about a 3rd
class wetlands that is small right now, it’s a good time to take care of that
situation. That would be a 2 or 3 year
project in itself.
What
do you think about growth in Charlotte?
Carrie feels it should be a slow, comfortable growth. But growth should be allowed. Carrie brought up the issue of Habitat for
Humanity houses. If there was one Habitat
for Humanity house in the community, there should be more than one. One Habitat for Humanity house would be by
definition its own community within Charlotte, you would need to have more than
one to give them a true sense of community.
Any
thoughts on what needed to be worked on in the zoning by-laws? Carrie does not have any real thoughts on it
right now because she’s not that familiar with them. Carrie feels the east side develops beautifully over time. Right now, she feels zoning works quite well
over there. Perhaps someday someone
would like to put in a bed and breakfast.
How can the current buildings over there be used? On the west side, it needs to be beautified
– more flowers, etc.
·
Frank Tenney
(interview for Zoning or Planning Commission position). Why are you interested in being a part of
one of these boards? Frank says his
main thing is he would like to help design our town. He feels the current boards have done a good job but new views
should always be welcome. Frank doesn’t
have any set ideas of what should go where.
We have to try and emphasize the village areas. He feels the East Charlotte side is fine,
it’s not that busy.
What
do you think about growth in Charlotte?
As for growth, Frank likes the town the way it is. He wouldn’t mind controlled growth, since
it’s not feasible to stop growth. With
the new sewage law going in at the state level, it will be harder for Charlotte
to control the growth.
Is
it a good idea for towns to have more restrictive septic laws than the
state? Frank feels that septic can be
used to restrict growth if the town wants to restrict growth. Frank feels that septic is already being
used to control growth. You can’t say
it’s more restrictive or less restrictive if you don’t know the boundary line
the state is operating at.
Should
other mechanisms other than septic be used to control growth? Frank feels they are already with lot sizes,
setbacks, and the appeal process. The
worst thing about zoning by-laws now is that it doesn’t cost anything to
complain about a violation. It costs
the person who obtains the permit $300 to appeal because someone complained or
someone brought up a situation to the zoning administrator (when talking about
a violation).
If
you had a plot of land with hayfields and forest, where would you put the
houses? Frank feels it should not be in
the center of the meadow, and you wouldn’t want to cut down all the trees to
put it in the woods. The best place
would be off to one side (without considering what the landowner wants) near
the hedgerow. You would want a curved
driveway off to the side.
What
are the red flags in the zoning by-laws for you right now? Frank feels there’s not a lot wrong with
them, there are a lot of good ideas for the setbacks and the road cuts. But, there has been a lot of talk about
needing a building permit for a doghouse, since there was no minimum size for a
building. That jumps out at you. And people are putting up little buildings
so their kids can stand in them and wait for the bus – they need to set back
100 feet - that’s ridiculous. They
shouldn’t need a building permit for that and it shouldn’t be required to set
back 100 feet in a rural district.
·
Robin Pierce
(interview for Planning Commission position).
Why are you interested in being a part of the Planning Commission? Robin says he feels it’s a good thing to
participate where you live, and he’s interested in having Vermont not look like
New Jersey. He was a planner in
Ireland, mostly for developers. He also
did some work in Philadelphia, exclusively historic renovation. He has a landscape design background.
What
are the most important elements in the town plan? Robin’s not that familiar with it, but the lot size is important
to lead to amenities for people so that everyone can walk to the doctors’
office, bookstore, etc.
Do
you have a minimum lot size in mind?
Robin said there should be a smaller lot size in town, and try to save
the open farmland. He felt that when he
first came here, the barns looked better than the landscape with some of the
houses! He feels that a house does not
necessarily harm the landscape, it can help it. How the houses relate to each other within the landscape is most
important. He feels there’s something
to be said for a design guide.
How
do you feel about growth in Charlotte?
Robin feels growth is inevitable, we should proceed with controlled
growth. The residents of the town can
benefit from it. Septic is a big
issue. Growth should be encouraged in
certain areas, rather than trying to control it. Hamlets (clustered housing) in landscaping are inward looking,
not built so that one house has a great view.
How
long have you been in Charlotte? Since
March 17, 1999.
If
you had a plot of land with hayfields and forest, where would you put the
houses? Robin feels it’s a value
judgement. The house should be in the
center of the lot at the tree line.
Do
you feel there’s a need to find a way to make housing less expensive in
town? Robin works for an affordable
housing organization for the last 3 years.
If you design a situation where, for example, you put in 5 houses, but
you’re driving down the road and it looks like one house, you’re designing a
village farm. It’s much nicer on the
landscape than driving down the road and seeing 5 houses one right after
another.
·
Erich Finley
(interview for Conservation Commission position). Why are you interested in the Conservation Commission? Erich feels he has a lot to learn from the
people that are there already but he feels he has a lot to offer with a true
commitment and some experience with the projects that he has worked on in the
last 1 ½ years.
Any
particular skills to bring to the Conservation Commission? Erich’s background in college was landscape
architecture. However, he went off into
technology and small business after college.
Any
particular interest in Conservation?
Erich feels that sitting on the previous committee made him realize that
having a managed focus for town properties would be quite useful.
We’re
trying to work out a path easement through Nordic Farms. Would you rather have no path or cross McKay
Brook ( a Class 2 wetlands) if the state would let you? The purpose is for recreation. Erich feels he wouldn’t cross. However, if we’re moving the path away from
cutting across farmland by following the farm boundary – Erich feels that if
there’s a natural boundary there already, then that’s okay.
Should
cows be in the woods at Thompson’s Point?
Erich feels absolutely!
Agriculture is a big part of this town and should remain that way.
·
Robert Mack (interview for Conservation
Commission position). Why are you
interested in the Conservation Commission?
Last summer, when the debates started, he went to some of the
conservation meetings and felt there was a lack of knowledge about the
subject. He felt the document that was
presented to the selectboard about the meeting was slanted. Robert felt that sometimes there needs to be
an alternative plan to a total ban of chemicals. He can’t sustain his farmland without chemicals. He would bring the interest of the farming
community to the Conservation Commission.
What
is the most important thing the Conservation Commission does? Robert feels other towns have commissions
that are more of a proponent of conservation.
He feels that the Charlotte Conservation Commission does a good job in
education and discussion of certain subjects, but they don’t take a lead on
conserving a parcel of land.
How
would you handle the publics view of a possible conflict of interest with the
Conservation Commissions’ money since your wife is the chair of the Rec
Committee? Since there are 3
individuals charged with money from the fund?
Could this be a perceived conflict of interest? Robert feels he has no desire to be the
chair of the Conservation Commission, there should be no perceived conflict of
interest.
We’re
trying to work out a path easement through Nordic Farms. Would you rather have no path or cross McCabe
Brook ( a Class 2 wetlands) if the state would let you? Robert would work with the historical land
use that was already in existence. He
would try to hug property lines and fence lines, and look at what the layout
would be in the future.
Should
cows be in the woods at Thompson’s Point?
Robert feels it’s a bad point in life if cows can’t go in the
woods. They’ve always been allowed in
the woods, should remain that way.
If
you had a plot of land with hayfields and forest, where would you put the
houses? Along the edge, along with the
driveway.
Robert
feels that certain parcels in town should be conserved. There are parts of town, some services, that
are integral to the well-being of Charlotte.
But there are some parcels that are no-brainers that should have
conservation easements placed on them.
What Robert’s found is that even if the landowner doesn’t like the idea,
by the time he sits down with all the people involved (surveyors, engineers,
and lawyers) and he finds out the bottom line for himself, it’s best if it’s
conserved. This is especially true if
it’s a high value with a good tax break.
What
do you think of conservation of the L. Johnson property? Robert feels that’s a property that you
should build from – it’s a block. A.
Johnson was a building block, L.Johnson is a fragmented property that you add
to your building block. Since A.Johnson
conserved that track along the river, it makes Larry Johnson’s conservation
more valuable.
What
do you think about a committee to manage town lands? Robert feels that you can’t have a plan that changes every 2
years. If you’re going to have a
committee, its’ recommendations need to be consistent over a long period of
time. The selectboard needs to define
what the goals are for the town so the committee can understand the goals.
·
Ellen Russell (interview for Recreation
Committee position). Why are you
interested in the Recreation Committee?
Ellen has lived in town for 4 years now with her husband, David
Santos. About a year ago she was
looking for a way to participate in the town and give back to the town. Since she’s very active and enjoys the
outdoors, she feels the Recreation Committee is a good fit for her. Ellen feels she can bring two things to the
committee – an absolute commitment to attend and participate in the meetings,
and (since she’s an event planner) she would feel comfortable planning events,
coordinating programs, etc.
What
do you think the recreation committee ought to be addressing? Ellen does not have a master agenda. She said they talked about a town
recreational program at the last meeting.
Ellen feels it was an interesting initiative to offer more intramural
sports. She feels the fee-based idea is
smart – having a small fee to offset some of the costs. That way more can be offered to more people.
Adjustments to Agenda
·
Dan Senecal-Albrecht
would like us to talk about Saving the Transportation Enhancement Program
(Selectboard Updates).
·
Add workplan
priorities to agenda if there’s time.
There’s a whiteboard in the selectboard office, selectboard should feel
free to add items to it and the public can view it also.
Motion made by Debbie
Ramsdell, seconded by Eleanor Russell:
“To approve
the selectboard meeting minutes with corrections for April 14th”
Vote: 4 in favor, Paul Arthaud abstained (absent
from April 14th meeting).
Correct name on page
1 from “Erica Finley” to “Erich Finley”.
Correct reference on
page 4 from “concern for the liability of the transmission system” to “concern
for the reliability of the transmission system”.
Correct reference on
page 5 from “build a 345 line” to ‘build a “345” line’.
Correct reference on
page 5 from “addresses the liability problem” to “addresses the reliability
problem”.
Correct two
references on page 7 from “$4,000” to “approximately $4,000”.
Correct reference on
page 7 from “density issue and remove the fixtures” to “density issue or remove
the fixtures”.
Correct reference on
page 7 from “put a timeframe on removing the fixtures” to “put a timeframe on
removing the fixtures, pending the resolution of the density issue”.
Correct reference on
page 9 from “As the Sportsmen’s Alliance” to “Ask the Sportsmen’s Alliance”.
Correct reference on
page 12 from “maximize the water and maximize the manpower” to “minimize the
water and minimize the manpower”.
Correct reference on
page 14 from “Not going with the Brown Silo” to “Nextel is not going to put an
antenna on the Brown Silo”.
Correct reference on
page 14 from “Nobes and Devos” to “Knowles and Devos”.
Correct reference on
page 14 from “weight commissioner” to “road commissioner”.
·
Trina Bianchi and
Eunice Froeliger wanted to talk about the article in the Charlotte News on the
recreational trail system. Does the
selectboard have an idea of who would use the trails? Charles Russell said that’s what the committee would work
on. Some trails may have different uses
than others, no legal reasons to keep certain groups off the trails. But some uses are not compatible with
others, so some trails may not be used by certain groups.
·
Stephen Brooks wanted
to know if there were any other appointments tonight other than Dale? Yes, tree warden, town service agent, MPO-TAC
alternate, and we will probably discuss candidates that were interviewed
earlier. Stephen wanted to know if
CVFRS has shared with the selectboard its contract with management
consultants? No one on the selectboard
has been provided a copy of the entire agreement. Stephen wanted to know what the status of Plouffe Farm Road is? It’s on the backburner right now, not a high
priority. Charles feels that the answer
received from the lawyer was not complete, but the selectboard is not
interested in spending a lot more in legal fees right now.
·
Sylvia Knight wanted
to know the status of the flea market this summer. Charles said Larry Lavalette has signed the lease - that’s all
the selectboard knows about it.
·
Debbie Ramsdell
wanted to put it in the record that Shelburne Athletic Club (as they did last
year) is giving $500 to the Recreation Commission for being allowed to hold
their race in Charlotte.
Expenditure from Conservation Fund, purchase of easement on Larry Johnson Property
This is the property
over on Lewis Creek Road near the A.Johnson property that has been conserved
with funds from the Charlotte Conservation Fund. Outstanding issues are what sort of legal arrangement the town
wants to have relative to this property.
The Charlotte Land Trust is looking for language from the selectboard on
how the agreement should be arranged.
Charles Russell feels that the town should have the ability to enter the
property to make sure they are conforming to the restrictive covenants, similar
to the language of the Lavalette easement.
Francis Foster was comfortable with either the Lavelette language or the
Pierce language, so a combination of the 2 should be fine.
Motion made by
Eleanor Russell, Debbie Ramsdell seconded:
“To approve the $32,500 out of the Conservation fund for the preservation of the Larry Johnson property subject to the legal review of language that would allow the town to enter the property to make sure the covenants are enforced and executory interests similar to the Pierce property subject to review by the towns’ attorneys.”.
Vote: all in favor.
Martha Perkins asked
about stewardship of the property. The
Land Trust is going to do the stewardship, but the town would have the right to
enter the property to ensure the covenants are being enforced.
Jennifer Cole asked
how much is in the Conservation fund?
There’s a lot. Somewhere around
$170,000+. This property is a priority
for the conservation committee, they’re financially capable of doing this.
Recommendations were
that there should be no pasturing, fences should be removed, and area should be
maintained by brush hogging. Does the
selectboard agree with those recommendations or do we want to go with something
else?
Erich Finley said the
committee was made to make up recommendations and flush out what the lease
needed to be based on. It was not to
say yes or no to cows, it was to come to a baseline agreement on what the
issues were. They were looking for
feedback on what is or is not pastureable land.
Jennifer Cole felt
there was a stronger recommendation against pasturing on the north side by the
woods. People with wells on the
roadside were worried about contamination, and there’s a little bit of a shift
towards more public access of the property by more than one individual.
The selectboard needs
to decide whether to have cattle there or not.
If so, where could they graze?
What conditions would you put on the cattle? Paul Arthaud wanted to know if this is a short term arrangement,
are we buying ourselves another year?
The committee came up with giving Skip Sheldon a 5 year lease and to
continue to have agriculture on the rest of it other than the wooded areas that
have not been leased – and the Sportsmen’s Alliance were going to take care of
that. Woody Anderson said it was $3700
eight years ago to brush hog it – and that was only the north side of the road. Should cattle be allowed to graze on the
property? Jennifer Cole said it should
be considered, but several people made the recommendation of taking the pasture
out of the woods and that should be looked at more closely.
Charles Russell
suggested taking the Country Club lot and separating it out so that it does not
mesh with the rest of the property.
Charles felt that Woody Anderson has put a lot of time putting fences in
on the property, and he is owed an answer soon – and we’re not going to do it
without a lease. If we decide to brush
hog this, it’s going to have to go in with the brush hog bid for the town.
Conditions that are
envisioned: no subleasing, agriculture
use only, no posting, restored to a certain state at the end of the lease, no
cutting of trees without the tree wardens’ approval, it should be mowed, brush
hogged or grazed, maintain fencing, no grazing within so many feet of the wells
or the mounds, storage of equipment, and no digging ponds.
Woody Anderson
questioned the No Posting condition. Charles said the posting is not an issue
because Skip Sheldon could not post it based on the analysis of the Sportsmen’s
Alliance lawyer because they did not have exclusive rights to hunt and fish
down there. Woody feels there are a lot of moms walking around down there, the
property should be posted. Jennifer
Cole said someone could lease the land, post it, but still use it for their
hunting purposes. It wasn’t fair to
allow someone to have that much control over the property for $1/year.
The selectboard is okay with the concept of cattle. We need to talk about where grazing or other agricultural endeavors would go and its’ conditions. Do we want to put it out to bid or give it to Woody for the year? Eleanor Russell felt that we should continue with the present leasees, but if any of them in the future do not wish to lease it, then put it out to bid. Charles Russell said there are some aesthetic issues down at the point that need to be cleared up. Giving Woody a lease for a year would make sure that some of the equipment is cleaned up. If we give Woody an official lease, we can talk about where he can put his equipment instead of leaving it next to the Country Club.
Woody said he has some property available on Shellhouse Mountain where he can graze his animals for free. He spends about $5000 in mowing – that’s not including taking care of the fences. If he mows next to the fence, that leaves a grass strip, so he mows there too to make it look nice. The selectboard appreciates the effort that Woody has put into it.
Paul Arthaud said parking was becoming an issue for recreation purposes down there.
Woody asked why the selectboard was considering a one year lease for him while Skip Sheldon got a 5 year lease. Jennifer Cole said the 5 year lease was on the hayfield on the side of the road, and the use of the pasture for 1 year was the recommendation of the committee. The Pony Club is not interested in continuing down there - they have a better spot, so they plan on keeping their lease for only one more year and cleaning up down there.
Sylvia Knight suggested generically stating livestock instead of cattle – someone else might be interested in sheep or some other livestock in the future.
Stephen. Brooks asked if there was public notice of the opportunity to lease for Skip Sheldon’s lease. Charles Russell said no, there was not. Stephen asked if the Sheldon lease is a fait accompli. It is done, it is resolved, and there was no public notice process, no opportunity to bid.
Paul Arthaud said he was under the impression that the selectboard was going to honor the leases for another year since if it were to go out to bid, the bidding would have taken place last fall. Charles said the selectboard caved last meeting and went for 5 years. Paul feels we have to go back to setting a precedent that is correct. Right now it is a grace period that would end in the fall. Martha Perkins said she believed that the farmer plants it, re-seeds it, etc., and now he has to do that in one year? Charles said he doesn’t seed it. Paul said that’s not the issue – the issue is public process. He would just grant the year for now, he’s not in favor of a 5-year lease. However, when it goes out to bid, he’d be happy to see Woody take it for 5 years. But the bidding process needs to take place. Jennifer would agree with a one year lease also – it would give the committee looking at town land some time to figure out the best way to do it.
Woody said if new fencing needs to go up (to avoid wells and mounds) – he’ll spend 20 minutes per post taking out the old wire. There’s a couple hundred posts – that’s a lot of time. He has already put the time and labor in to fix up the original fence and replace the wire bit by bit so the cows don’t get out. Charles wanted to make sure that in the winter, they are away from the wells yet still getting shelter in the trees.
Eleanor Russell said we should check the fencing, make sure they’re not too close to the wells, and leave the fence be. A site visit will occur before the next meeting, and we should assure Woody that he can lease for at least another year. A site visit will be attempted Monday, May 5, 2003. Rob Fraser asked if there was any evidence that there is contamination in the wells since the cows have started grazing there? Woody said the cows have been there for 7 years, but the wells are new wells. To eliminate the possibility of any future problems, the idea was to eliminate grazing down there. Sylvia Knight suggested bringing the tree warden on the site visit also.
Motion made by Eleanor Russell, seconded by Paul Arthaud:
“To lease land to Woody Anderson for one year subject to conditions yet
to be defined”.
Vote: all in favor.
Woody said he needs a power source on the south side of the road. He did it for the previous 7 years while Foster was there. There is a pole, but it costs $1800 to have them dig a trench and $1500 to have them hook up power. Woody would like to have an outlet down there. Erich Finley said he let Woody plug it into his house the last 1 ½ years, there might be something down at the sewage plant. Erich said it’s a favor to Woody because he’s a great presence to have at the point.
Nell Fraser, Conservation Commission: grant application for erosion at Whiskey Bay
Nell Fraser is representing the Conservation Commission. She is here initially to get the selectboard support on a grant that they were going to submit to Champlain Basin Program this Friday to deal with some issues of storm water eroding of a bank that is an access point to Whiskey Bay. They can’t get the recreation committee support until they have their next meeting 2 weeks from now, so it doesn’t look like the grant is actually going to get submitted. However, Nell would still like to familiarize the selectboard with the issue.
There is a large
drainage area that is on the agriculture land and there is a culvert that runs
underneath the road 20 to 25 feet north of the actual access path. It cannot handle the flows that it is
receiving. It’s all washed out because
of the flows that are going through there – it’s not a well designed
system. When there are so many uses
going on there (swimming, boat access, ice fishing), it’s a big source of
nutrients and sediments entering the lake.
It’s a mess down there – down to bare soil.
The grant was for
money to hire an engineering firm – they don’t think there’s a quick fix to
this problem, they need more than a band-aid solution. The fix lies with hydrology and storm water
management. The grant was to get a
sense of what is needed to make it stable, shore up the bank and deal with
storm water issues. The first step was
to ID what the problems are and perhaps go and try and fix the problem with
natural materials. Eleanor Russell
asked if the water has been tested and do we know there is a water
contamination problem? Nell said the
water hasn’t been tested but there’s a lot of bare soil, so the sediment is
going somewhere.
Paul Arthaud wanted
to know if the Conservation Committee has spent money before on this sort of
thing. Nell said that she spoke to
engineering firms and they can’t give her estimates because they need to go
down there and see it, and that costs money.
But roughly, given the dimensions that she’s mentioned, she’s hearing
around $3,000-$5,000 for a site design.
Paul wanted to know if she had any idea how much it would cost to fix
the problem. She didn’t – that’s what
these people would tell us. Charles
asked if someone from the state can come down and help us. Paul said that the state just started storm
water management – Charlotte could be on the leading edge! Nell would like to partner with the
Recreation Committee since this is a recreation site and they have funds for
capital projects. Perhaps that can be
the next phase of this.
Woody Anderson
mentioned owning a camp for 7 years on Lanes Lane. The amount of water that flows out between the town access and
Bodens’ is far greater than anything that comes out of Whiskey Bay. Charles Russell said that it’s not
necessarily bare land when you have the filtering effects of the sod. They both might be a problem.
Stephen Brooks asked
if there’s any reason we couldn’t give them $1250 and a letter of support so
they can submit the grant by Friday.
Nell Fraser said the $1250 does not necessarily need to be cold hard
cash. But she doesn’t have time in the
next 4 days to find $1250 in matching funds.
Woody mentioned that
he could put some bales of hay and some fabric across the road. Sue Smith wondered where the barrier would
be. Woody said in the dogwoods. There are no cows near that culvert.
Motion made by Debbie
Ramsdell, seconded by Eleanor Russell:
“To write a letter in support of
a grant to solve the erosion problem at Whiskey Bay.”
Vote: all in favor.
Discussion of need for more comprehensive committee to manage town lands & assets
Paul Arthaud said that he
is producing a chart that shows a new organizational chart under Parks &
Recreation. It would encompass the
parks, trails, Conservation Commission, Rec Commission, etc. Charles Russell did not feel that the
Conservation Commission belonged under Parks & Recreation. Paul sees a need to expand the scope – to
group them under an umbrella for more control, more cost savings, more
communication. What would the
selectboard like to see in this chart?
Charles said one problem
is the same as with a planning and zoning administrator rolled into one job –
and the planning would always be put off to take care of the day-to-day zoning
issues. He would be concerned about a
committee that had planning as well as administrative duties.
Paul feels he can see a paid director for
grant writing, the overseeing of duties that we went through with the Melissa
and Trevor Mack trails, overseeing of the town lands, Thompson’s Point. How that new agency for the town is set up
and who is going to run it – it needs to come to the selectboard and make the
decisions with all moneys expended with the recommendation from the different
agencies. Right now there are too many
committees spending their budget without communicating with anyone, even the
selectboard. It’s important to harness
that and bring that back.
Paul is talking about a
department that is run by a director that incorporates all the committees that
we already have. Let’s create a
department that encompasses all of these factors – then we can justify paying
this person. What are the problems that
we’re trying to solve? Communication –
even within the committees themselves, they often do not know what is going
on. Paul feels there is a much better
way to do this than the way it is currently being done. Charles Russell suggested coming up with an
org chart – the way it was, the way it could be, the pros and cons.
John Hammer said when you
exceed 3500 people, you start requiring more needs and infrastructure than can
be resolved with a volunteer group of people.
Perhaps you need to hire a full time person to ride roughshod on all
these committees. If you hire a director,
the director feels that he would have to make a bigger world to control. Unless you control that position, the minute
you have a manager they will start looking for a police department, a road
department, a rec department, a full-time animal control officer, etc. But what Paul says is right – we need a
manager – all this stuff is going on in the town where no one has control over
the whole thing.
Eleanor Russell said Paul
is right - we could save money by organizing our bidding process and managing
our land as a whole. Being on the
selectboard is a time-consuming job, and not everyone has the time to commit to
it.
Charles Russell said he’s
not sure of the 3500 people in a town rule – Brandon is around 3500 people and
it’s much more like a city than Charlotte.
John Hammer said every town has a different mix – some towns have an
enormous infrastructure with a population of 3500. The real problem lies in where the volunteer effort is able to
achieve. We’re starting to have more
town land than privately owned land!
Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but all these things have to be done and
there’s not enough time.
Paul said this person is
going to have to have some pretty good skills because they are going to be
working side-by-side with Steven Rockefellers’ group for grant writing, working
with a lot of state, federal, and local agencies. It will really have to be a special individual to pull this off.
Charles asked if we’re
talking about an individual or a committee?
Paul feels we have enough committees.
Charles thought the idea was to reduce the number of committees because
of trouble staffing them, because of overlap in the workload, etc.
Paul said there’s so much
more to this though. It’s a lot of
work. The Melissa and Trevor Mack
Trail, for example, was 3 years long and a lot of hours per week. We’ll be seeing more of that in the
future. This committee can be loosely
formed and molded as things happen.
Martha Perkins agrees
with Paul. She feels that you need to
tell the story of why you need that person in great detail. The more people that you can depend on to come
in with credible recommendations, the more sustainable this community will
be.
Erich Finley said he saw
it as a matrix – organization, economy of scale. With the Conservation Commission, he had asked for a roadmap on
how the position would interact with the selectboard, but that wasn’t defined.
Paul would like to
propose the next step - he can talk to the heads of all the commissions and
brainstorm with them and report back in a month.
·
Dale Knowles asked if
the ticket process is up-to-date. He’s
got some people that are unhappy about dogs.
If it’s a first offense, Margaret makes sure it’s registered. If the dog shows up again, the fee is $25,
and every time the same dog gets taken again the fee keeps going up. That’s what Shelburne is doing, Charlotte
might as well do it too. Right now, the
town has already collected $100 on two dogs.
Paul Arthaud asked if we have been through the proper legal process to assess a fine. Charles said it’s in the ordinance, we just don’t have a form to fill out. Dan Senecal-Albrecht is working on it, ask him and he’ll get it done.
Stephen Brooks asked when the dog warden starts ticketing for unlicensed dogs. Dale will get a list of unregistered dogs and contact the owners. They will have 30 days to register their dogs. It will probably be June 1st this year when they will start fining unregistered dogs.
Motion
made by Eleanor Russell, seconded by Paul Arthaud:
“To appoint Dale Knowles
as animal control officer for a year.”.
Vote: all in favor.
Dale asked about the beach – can he be second constable? He was paid last year to go down to the beach. Charles Russell said he has to research where the money is coming from to pay Dale. Dale asked if he can be constable? Charles said not for 2 years – next town meeting they can do an Australian ballot, and it will take one more year for it to take affect. Eleanor Russell found a line item under recreation for beach security.
· Eric Van Vlandren of CVFRS said they are planning an open house on Saturday, May 24th. Also, they will start at Charlotte Town Hall on the 20th of May at 7 PM for a public hearing, and possibly head over to the Fire Department to answer any questions about the building, the bond, or how things work in the fire department, etc. They’ll also have a mailing with enhanced information they have learned over time.
Eleanor Russell asked if there were any exact prices on the additional equipment. Eric said that the selectboard has all the information that CVFRS has. Eric said one company has developed a rough specification for CVFRS, and CVFRS has used this spec to bounce off of other companies for quotes.
Charles Russell asked how you can know you won’t go over $450,000. Eric said they won’t have more than $450,000 so they can’t go over it! The ballpark for the pumper is approximately $360,000 to $370,000. The added equipment (including the thermal imaging camera) will bring it to nearly $450,000.
Eric said he doesn’t have anything more about the inheritance report. He heard from Tom Heilmann. They had been proposing a lump sum payment, but they are not as interested in that anymore, it’s not their main focus. Their biggest concern now (as CVFRS has pressed for full disclosure of the will) is that they’ve asked CVFRS to sign some confidentiality agreement. Eric does not know what the issue is for the need for confidentiality, but it is their right.
The by-laws are going to be torn apart and re-done at the executive committee meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, April 29th). The next round after the executive committee will be the selectboard, then on to the membership at large.
The contract with the human resources people will start up within three weeks or so.
Paul Arthaud has a concern with the PR image of CVFRS given the confidentiality agreement. Eric says if he can get information out of them without signing the papers, they will. But if they have to take them to court and start spending money, they have had enough of that. Anything they can do to limit that would be great. It will definitely be after the bond vote.
·
Eleanor Russell said
Dan Senecal-Albrecht would like us to talk about saving the Transportation
Enhancement Program. Dan
Senecal-Albrecht received an email stating that this program is scheduled to be
put on moratorium through the legislature.
Charlotte is grand-fathered because programs are already in place, but a
letter to the legislature requesting that the program not be put on moratorium
should be sent.
Motion
made by Eleanor Russell, seconded by Paul Arthaud:
“To write a letter to legislative representatives to support the
transportation enhancement program and save it from being put on moratorium”
Vote: all in favor.
Paul Arthaud said Phase I is getting ready to go to bid. The overall plan of the trails network is supposed to end where Phase II begins. Phase I is a trail to nowhere right now. Then the underpass will get built. Need to find a beginning, middle, and end for this next project.
· Eleanor Russell will put together a new list of what our priorities will be, and then selectboard will talk about it and either agree or disagree with it.
· Motion made by Eleanor Russell, seconded by Paul Arthaud:
“To appoint
Animal Control Officer (Dale Knowles), Tree Warden (Lawrence Hamilton), Town
Service Agent ( Lucia Plante), and Municipal Planning Org., Technical Advisory
Committee, Alternate (Hugh Lewis, Jr.)”
Vote: all in favor.
·
Motion made by
Eleanor Russell, seconded by Paul Arthaud:
“To go into
executive session to discuss appointments to planning, recreation and
conservation committees”
Vote: all in favor.
·
Motion made by Debbie
Ramsdell, seconded by Eleanor Russell:
“To come out
of executive session”
Vote: all in favor.
Motion made by Eleanor Russell, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
“To appoint Jeff McDonald and Linda Radimer to 4 year terms on the
Planning Commission, and Robin Pierce to fill the rest of David Browns term on
the Planning Commission”
Vote: all in favor.
Motion made by Paul Arthaud, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
“To appoint Richard Bernstein and Ellen Russell to the Recreation
Commission for 3 year terms.”.
Vote: all in favor.
Motion made by Jennifer Cole, Paul Arthaud seconded:
“To appoint Linda Hamilton and Erich Finley to the Conservation
Commission for 4 year terms.”.
Vote: 4 in favor, 1 against (Eleanor Russell).
Motion made by Paul Arthaud, seconded by Eleanor Russell:
“To appoint Brady Toensing for a 3 year term to the Zoning Board.”.
Vote: all in favor.
Eleanor Russell will talk to all the people who were interested in the Planning Commission.
Jennifer Cole will talk to all the people who were interested in the Rec Commission.
Paul Arthaud will talk to all the people who were interested in the Zoning Board.
Charlie Russell will talk to all the people who were interested in the Conservation Commission.
· Charles Russell met with Davis Cherington and Doug Horne to talk about the park. They wanted to talk about the long-term plan for the Demeter Park, more specifically about the Varney Farm. They were wondering if the town is interested in that property in any way. The park really needs more trails. It would provide access to the Thorpe Barn activities. It’s approximately 11 acres. Charles planned on meeting with Davis on Tuesday, April 29th, to talk about it further.
· Debbie Ramsdell had a call about paving One Mile Road. She would like to put it on the next meetings’ agenda.
· Emergency Management Plan. Debbie wanted to know if the selectboard signed the emergency management ordinance? Who has the final copy? Yes it has been approved. An Emergency Management Meeting will be on Thursday, May 22nd at 7 PM at the Charlotte Town Hall.
· Warn site visit at Thompson’s Point next meeting. Monday, May 5th at 10 AM, meet at Charlotte Town Hall.
Sign Bills and Warrants
None.