Board of Selectmen June 28, 1999

TOWN OF CHARLOTTE

BOARD OF SELECTMEN

MINUTES

JUNE 28, 1999

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Acting Chairman Robert Mack, Jr.

John Rosenthal

James Sheldon-Dean

OTHERS: Nancy Sabin

Sandy Mayo

John Hammer

Hugh Lewis, Jr.

Stephen C. Brooks

Sylvia Sprigg

Liam Murphy

Charlie Prout

Judith Kelly

David Kelly

Wendy Schroeder

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Acting Chairman Mack called the meeting of the Board of

Selectman to order at 7:12 p.m. in the Charlotte Town Offices.

APPROVE MINUTES OF JUNE 14, 1999

Chairman Mack asked if the board wished to approve the minutes

of the Selectboard meeting of June 14, 1999.

Sheldon-Dean moved and the motion was seconded by

Rosenthal:

* "TO APPROVE THE MINUTES JUNE 14, 1999

SELECTBOARD MEETING."

Vote: All in favor.

PUBLIC DISCUSSION

Rosenthal asked whether the minutes were being sent to the

website and the minutetaker affirmed they were. Sandy Mayo said

she had suggested a motion on the Burns AGREEMENT at the

previous meeting that was not in the minutes and Mack clarified

for her that board members make motions only and no such motion

was made. Nancy Sabin said she felt that there should have been

more coverage in the minutes of the Capital Budget. Rosenthal

said he was, and felt the board was, happy with the coverage

they were getting in the minutes and noted that the Capital

Budget was a public document that any citizen could review.

Sandy Mayo said she would like to see the minutes capture the

"spirit" of the meeting. Wendy Schroeder outlined the legal

requirements meeting minutes have to fulfill and said the

minutes of a meeting should not be confused with reporting, as

Board of Selectman -2- June 28, 1999

in a newspaper article, and also suggested a financial statement

be included with the minutes of June 14. The three board

members present confirmed they were pleased with the quality and

coverage of the minutes they were receiving.

JUNIOR LEWIS - GREENBUSH ROAD - SPEED SIGNAGE

Mack said some of the dirt roads needed to be grated and Hugh

Lewis, Jr. acknowledged that was true, but said he hated to do

that as the roads are already so dry from weather conditions.

Schroeder asked about wetting the roads with a water truck.

Lewis said that was possible and although he didn't own a water

truck that there are some in town that could be hired.

Mack advised that the Selectboard had passed a motion to make

the speed limit for Greenbush Road north 40 m.p.h. and asked

Lewis to post the appropriate signs and leave the yellow safety

signs up.

Schroeder and Lewis discussed that there was $9,600. left in the

road budget for the fiscal year, but Lewis said he expected that

most of that money would be needed to pay a bill for gravel

which had yet to be received.

Mack discussed Lewis the paving that would be done on the town

offices driveway and asked Lewis to do brush cutting along

roadsides to improve visibility. Mack suggested that if there

was any money left over in the road budget that it be spent to

buy gravel.

Rosenthal asked for a two minute recess at 7:35 and board

members agreed.

SIGN EARL BURNS OPTION FOR JULY 1, 1999

Mack noted that the option to buy agreement on the Burns

property was in need of signing for the month of July payment.

Rosenthal moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "TO SIGN THE $5,000. BURNS OPTION."

Vote: All in favor.

Nancy Sabin asked how long the monthly payments would be

continue. Mack answered that it could go 8 more months and

Schroeder added that the town would vote on whether to buy the

property in September, but in the meantime the town needed to

keep the option alive. Mack noted that if the town did buy the

Burns property that the monthly payments would be deducted from

the final purchase price.

Board of Selectman -3- June 28, 1999

WIZN CONSULTANT

Schroeder said she had discussed the WIZN consultant approval

issue with town attorney, Steve Stitzel, and his advice was that

the board either approve or disapprove Dr. Meltz to do the

health study and it was up to WIZN to present consultants for

approval by the Selectboard.

Rosenthal moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "TO TAKE THE MOTION OF JUNE 14, 1999 REGARDING DR.

MELTZ OFF THE TABLE."

Vote: All in favor.

Sheldon-Dean said he was hesitant to approve Dr. Meltz as other

board members who could not be present at this meeting had some

strong opposition to Dr. Meltz.

Rosenthal moved and the motion was seconded by

Mack:

* "TO APPROVE DR. MELTZ AS A CONSULTANT FOR THE HEALTH

STUDY REGARDING NON-HEATING BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF

ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS."

Vote: 2 opposed, 1 in favor (Rosenthal).

There was a discussion on what the outcome of the last motion

would mean in terms of approving this and future candidates and

WIZN's attorney, Liam Murphy asked what he should advise his

client in recommending consultants for the study. Rosenthal

said he wanted to change his vote to opposed to send a clear

message from the board. Mack suggested to Mr. Murphy that his

client might want to look into an alternate consultant.

KELLY & PROUT

Mack said he had arrived in the middle of the discussion at the

last meeting on the Kelly's septic permit and had a couple of

questions. Mack asked how far the Kelly's sewage septic was

from the Charlie Prout's water source. Judith Kelly answered

the sewage septic was 25 feet from Prout's boundary and

approximately 100 feet from his drilled well. Judith Kelly added

that any water run-off goes into Prout's nursery and not in

direct line of his house or water system. Mack asked if and

Charlotte town official had looked at the test pits for the

septic system and Judith Kelly answered that Charlie Burnham,

the Zoning Administrator at the time, had looked at the pits and

Spencer Harris had looked at the pits at a later date.

Charlie Prout said that the Kelly's sewage/septic permit was

approved when it should have included an easement on his

property which should have been a condition of approval. Liam

Murphy, Prout's attorney, added that the water that comes from

Kelly's property amounts to an easement. Prout noted that there

seems to be some disagreement from the experts on exactly what

kind of soils are present in the area.

Board of Selectman -4- June 28, 1999

Judith Kelly there was no ill-intent on her part and she had

obtained a permit legally and asked what would happen next.

Mack answered that the board will have a decision on the issue

at the next meeting and the board would accept any additional

written information either parties wished to submit for the

board's review until Friday, (7/2/99).

Mack moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "TO CLOSE THE HEARING ON THE KELLY/PROUT ISSUE."

Vote: All in favor.

LETTER CHARLOTTE FIRE AND RESCUE

Mack noted a letter to the board from the Charlotte Fire &

Rescue stating there was no further soil contamination since

their tank has been replaced.

Mack acknowledged a letter from Green Mountain Power in response

to Larry Hamilton's letter on an easement.

Mack noted letters of interest in positions open on town boards:

Ed LeClair, Martha Perkins and Josie Leavitt were interested in

serving on the Planning Commission and Raven Davis and Sylvia

Sprigg were interested in being on the Charlotte Conservation

Commission. Mack said he wanted to schedule interviews with the

candidates for the next meeting and letters would go out to the

candidates.

Mack brought to the board's attention a letter from Marlene

Mansfield regarding a petition which 5% of the registered voters

had signed to change the zoning designation at Route 7 and

Thompson's Point Road. Mack asked Schroeder to call the town

attorney for guidance on what to do next.

SIGN OPEN SPACE AGREEMENT/ROADWAY AGREEMENT

Mack noted a letter to Zoning Administrator, Louis Cox, on the

Open Space and Roadway Agreements with the town for John and

Helen Sheehan.

Sheldon-Dean moved and the motion was seconded by

Rosenthal:

* "TO SIGN THE OPEN SPACE ROADWAY/AGREEMENT FOR

SHEEHAN GREEN."

Vote: All in favor.

REFUND CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY

Board members discussed the refund of a Certificate of Occupancy

for Fatima Al Fahd Al Sabah since the structure in question was

never built. Schroeder noted that there was a trailer on the

property that was not sold off the property as the owner had

previously agreed with the town to do. Sheldon-Dean suggested

that more information was needed before making a decision on the

issue.

Board of Selectman -5- June 28, 1999

BUDGET ITEMS

There was a discussion on the purchase of a new computer for the

Planning and Zoning office.

Schroeder said there was a positive influx in town revenues this

year and that all notes have been paid off.

Mack said he had spoken with Jackie Baker who said some of the

town Listers had incurred extra expenses in performing their

duties this year.

Mack moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "TO PAY ANY REASONABLE EXPENSES INCURRED BY THE

LISTERS IN PERFORMING THEIR DUTIES."

Vote: All in favor.

BILL SIGNING/DISCUSSION

Board members reviewed and signed bills.

Mack moved and the motion was seconded by

Sheldon-Dean:

* "TO ADJOURN THE MEETING."

Vote: All in favor.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 P.M.

Minutes submitted by:

Debby Flynn