Board of Selectmen June 17, 2002

TOWN OF CHARLOTTE

BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

JUNE 17, 2002

MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Charles Russell

Debbie Ramsdell

Ellie Russell

Jennifer Steele Cole

OTHERS: Stephen C. Brooks

Carrie Spear

Pat Cover

Meryl Smith

Lisa Rattner

Bill Rattner

Thomas Schnopp

Jim Donovan

Didier Murat

Linda Hamilton

Alan Hughes

Larry Hamilton

Raven Davis

Ed Everts

Susan Crockenberg

Gordon Troy

John Mack

David Mack

Martha Perkins

Shawn Bedard

Nancy Goodwin

Marion Bausch

Bob Sanders

Carol Moses

Brad Moses

Richard Hong

George Darling

Rene Ball

Bill Bly

Andrea Grayson

Norman Groleau

Claire Groleau

Paula Joslin

Peter Joslin

Deb Christie

Susan Zahn

John Zahn

Bill Byrne

Laurie Byrne

Maj Eisinger

James Hebert

Dan Jackson

Emily Stetson

Jack Galt

Debra Jones

Gerry Leckerling

Bill Leckerling

Bob Gormsby

Bill Whitby

Board of Selectmen -2- June 17, 2002

Nancy Martin

Allen Martin

Eddie Krasnow

Lynn Nurczynski

Chris Cichoski Kelly

Eileen Cichoski Kelly

Hugh Lewis, Sr.

Sylvia Knight

Doug Weaver

William Geiger

Nancy Goodrich

Jane Ann Kantor

Steve Kantor

John Quinney

Cindy Burns

Michael Krasnow

Rick Tenney

Frank Tenney

Edd Merritt

Robert Mack, Jr.

Note: These are unapproved minutes only. For corrections and

approval of minutes, look to future meeting minutes.

________________________________________________________________

Chairman Russell called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the

Charlotte Town Offices.

ADJUSTMENTS TO AGENDA

No adjustments were made to the agenda.

APPROVE MINUTES OF JUNE 10TH MEETING

E. Russell Corrected that the town's Emergency Plan require that

the Health Officer be involved with it. Chairman Russell

corrected that on page 6, Arthaud was talking with the Road

Commissioner about a bike lane marker. E. Russell said she had

voted against the appointment of the auditor, but noted she had

not done so very audibly. Chairman Russell qualified the new

manure pit for the Hinsdales' Large Farm would be 500' x 200' x

16.' Chairman Russell also corrected that the Hinsdale's farm

would be the 30th to 40th largest in the state after Phase I of

their expansion and when all Phases were built, they would be in

the top 10 in the state. Stephen Brooks claimed he'd counted

100 or so people in the attendance at that meeting and felt his

recollection should be noted.

E. Russell moved and the motion was seconded by

Ramsdell:

* "TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JUNE 10, 2002 AS

CORRECTED."

Vote: All in favor.

Board of Selectmen -3- June 17, 2002

SIGN WARRANT AND BILLS

Board members signed warrants and bills.

PUBLIC DISCUSSION

Constable Hugh Lewis, Sr. asked if he could have help with

parking for the Town Party in July. Chairman Russell noted the

Library usually takes care of the arrangements and Cole said she

would talk with the Library Trustees about it.

Carrie Spear said the parking lot is too dark because light

fixture have not been attended to. Ramsdell said she would look

into who is responsible for the maintenance of light fixtures.

Cole asked when roadside mowing would take place and Fran Tenney

said he seen the road crew mowing that day.

Stephen Brooks noted the Democratic Committee would be having a

cookout on the Town Green on Saturday and suggested it set a bad

precedence and the town could be held liable as the green is

town property. E. Russell said the board would look into the

matter.

Chairman Russell asked board members about an invoice to the

town from the Dock Doctor for $900.00.

Ramsdell said she wanted to thank the Road Commissioner for

removing graffiti from the Holmes covered bridge.

LARRY JOHNSON - CLT SITE VISIT SCHEDULE

Chairman Russell said Larry Johnson has land he wants to put in

conservation and discussed scheduling a site visit and he and

the board decided to wait until Arthaud was back and the visit

could be done as a full board.

TENNEY UPDATE

E. Russell moved and the motion was seconded by

Ramsdell:

* "TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THE TENNEY

SITUATION."

Vote: All in favor.

Executive Session ran from 7:25 to 7:34 p.m.

E. Russell moved and the motion was seconded by

Ramsdell:

* "TO COME OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION."

Vote: All in favor.

Rick Tenney asked if the board had heard anything on the Tenney

case in the last 2 weeks and Chairman Russell said the board had

not discussed the matter with the town attorney yet.

Board of Selectmen -4- June 17, 2002

AUBE-HINSDALE UPDATE

Ramsdell moved and the motion was seconded by

E. Russell:

* "TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THE

AUBE-HINSDALE CASE."

Vote: All in favor.

Executive Session ran from 7:36 to 7:43 p.m.

Ramsdell moved and the motion was seconded by

Russell:

* "TO COME OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION."

Vote: All in favor.

COMMITTEE/COMMISSION SELECTBOARD LIAISONS

E. Russell said the board has discussed improving communications

with town boards and commissions by having designated

Selectboard liaisons to town boards and commissions. E. Russell

reviewed the following Selectboard liaisons: Cole to the

Recreation Commission; E. Russell to the Conservation Commission

and the Planning Commission; Ramsdell to the Senior Center and

the Library and Arthaud to the Fire and Rescue Department.

SELECTBOARD WORK PLAN

E. Russell said she had sent copies of the Selectboard Work Plan

to each of the board members by e-mail and asked them to review

the plan for later discussion.

RECREATION COMMISSION - 9TH MEMBER

Stephen Brooks asked if everyone agreed with his previous

assertion that there was a ninth and open spot on the Recreation

Commission. Chairman Russell said he had checked with Debbie

Markowitz's office and the Selectboard is empowered to change

the number of seats on the Commission if it chooses. E. Russell

suggested discussing the matter with the Recreation Commission.

LARRY HAMILTON - REIMBURSEMENT LETTER

Tree Warden, Larry Hamilton, said the level of work for his

position has increased, particularly at Thompson's Point and the

local power company has been putting in more lines with new

housing being built. Hamilton asked if he could receive

reimbursement for his expenses for travel, etc. E. Russell

advised it was a legitimate town expense and he should be

reimbursed for his expenses and instructed him to do so.

Hamilton noted that if the Selectboard or a town official allows

tree cutting in town, that as Tree Warden he should be informed.

Board of Selectmen -5- June 17, 2002

Ramsdell thanked Hamilton for his work as Tree Warden.

THOMPSON'S POINT AG LEASES

Cole reviewed her recent meeting with Paul Arthaud, Skip

Sheldon, Frances Foster and Woody Anderson on the Thompson's

Point Agricultural leases and reviewed a map of the area with

the board. Cole said the purpose of the meeting was to make

sure all parties knew which lands they had leases to and to make

sure they were properly insured. Cole said Arthaud would be

taking the leases to the town attorney for his review. Cole

said she wanted the new leases to be more clearly outlined than

the current ones, which are to expire in a few months. Tree

Warden, Larry Hamilton noted when the leases are renewed that

livestock should be excluded from the wooded section of

Thompson's Point.

BURNS/WEST VILLAGE PLANNING PROCESS

E. Russell said she had drafted a document, "West Village

Panning Process," for the board to read. E. Russell reviewed

the highlights of the document with the board, advising the

introduction outlines the Agreement with the Vermont Land Trust

and Vermont Preservation Trust.

E. Russell said the goal was to have the West Village Plan and

the Burns planning document ready for approval at Town Meeting.

Jim Donovan, a Planning Commission member agrred with E.

Russell's plans. Gordon Troy, another PC member, said the

Commission has not taken official action on the West Village or

Burns planning process, but has designated Donovan to work on

it. Chairman Russell asked that E. Russell's document be sent

along to the VLT and the VPT.

HINSDALE LARGE FARM PERMIT

Chairman Russell said the board would take new concerns only

from the public regarding the Hinsdales' Large Farm Permit that

was outlined at the meeting the previous week.

Chairman Russell reviewed a handout outlining concerns brought

to the board to date and read the first draft of the letter from

the Selectboard to the Commissioner of Agriculture on the town's

position on the Hinsdales' permit.

Linda Hamilton read the draft of the letter from the

Conservation Commission also to the Commissioner of Agriculture

on the permit.

Tom Schnopp said he was concerned with the Hinsdale's current

practices with the manure pit that is next to his property and

has greater concerns with the proposed larger pit.

Board of Selectmen -6- June 17, 2002

Planning Commissioner, Jim Donovan said many of the points the

PC was concerned with have been covered by the Large Farm Permit

law, and the Commissioner of Agriculture has 45 days to review

the permit, allowing some time for discussion of the

matter.Donovan noted the Hinsdales' farm lies on one of the most

scenic views outlined in the Town Plan.

There was a discussion as to whether the Hinsdales' application

was complete and Chairman Russell indicated the Hinsdales

believe their application is complete.

Sylvia Knight read her statement to the Selectboard, urging them

to remain neutral and outlining her concerns about water, flies,

pesticide use and manure run-off. Knight described the effects

of insecticides, herbicides and drifting chemicals.

Alan Hughes said he has been around cows all of his life and

that agriculture has to be viable like any other business, the

small farm with today's economy is a myth and he didn't consider

having 600 cows a big farm and the Selectboard should back the

Hinsdales. Hughes also offered that if he would be reincarnated

in the next life as a cow, he would want to live at the

Hinsdales' new farm as it would have pleasant conditions for

him.

Peter Joslin said he thought the matter was about co-existing

and not farming and about scale and he thought that 100 cows on

the current site was very different than the 2500 in the

long-term plan.

Doug Weaver said he also thought that the issue was scale

offering that Charlotte has the Old Brick store to buy groceries

and not Hannafords (a supermarket chain). Weaver said was

concerned about the economic and environmental impacts to the

town.

Bill Leckerling said he wanted to commend the Selectboard for

listening to the townspeople twice on this issue and asked the

board not to make any quick conclusions and noted the

Commissioner of Agriculture has 45 days to make a decision.

Leckerling said he was presenting a petition to the board asking

for more time for citizens to assess the project to be sure it

is done right.

Richard Hong discussed his concerns with the use of herbicides

and run-off and its affects on people and fish, and it would

only take one mistake for pollution to happen.

William Geiger said as a chemist he was concerned that water and

health quality could be very negatively affected by the

Hinsdales' project.

Martha Perkins said the Town Plan clearly outlines that the

townspeople want agriculture in this town, but she was hearing

that the people want something else and this is an issue.

Board of Selectmen -7- June 17, 2002

Susan Crockenberg said she thought that no one had a mega-farm

in mind when we said we want agriculture and we should interpret

what was originally meant in the Plan, just like you interpret

the U.S. Constitution.

Nancy Goodrich said when the Hinsdales purchased the property on

Guinea Road they put in a development too and maybe we should

find a way to help farmers stay in business rather than

industrializing farming.

Steve Kantor questioned whether the town had enough information

and whether later on they would find they made a mistake and it

was too late. Kantor asked how the town could know the farm was

safe and added that the town needed more time to review this.

Jim Hebert said the meeting scheduled the next day to review the

permit should be informative only and advised the townspeople

that they have 5 days to submit comments to the Commissioner of

Agriculture.

Jack Galt said the statute on Large Farm Permits seems flawed,

as the people most affected by the farm don't have input, he was

shocked by the lack of support from the state and was counting

on his town to help him.

John Quinney offered that there hasn't been enough time to make

an assessment of the permit application.

Michael Krasnow asked if you subtracted Clark Hinsdale from the

picture would the town consider this? Nancy Goodrich added that

a large farm conglomerate could buy the Hinsdales out and the

town would be stuck with the farm.

Chairman Russell said the townspeople had made some strong

points and the board would try to get more time at assess the

health and safety issues. E. Russell said the letter from the

Selectboard was a first draft and final comments from the

Selectboard would be submitted later and offered this was not a

hearing, but an informative meeting.

Having no further business, Chairman Russell

moved:

* "TO ADJOURN."

Vote: All in favor.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:37 p.m.

Minutes submitted by:

Debby Flynn