Board of Selectmen September 13, 1999

TOWN OF CHARLOTTE
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 13, 1999

MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Marty Illick
John Rosenthal
James Sheldon-Dean
Clark Hinsdale, III

OTHERS: Sandy Mayo
Nancy P. Sabin
Stephen C. Brooks
Linda Radimer
Charles Russell
John Hammer
John Calcagni
Nancy Calcagni
Sylvia Sprigg
Hugh Lewis, Jr.
Karen Whitby
Linda S. Hamilton
Chris Cichoski
Alison Lockwood
Don Brush
Wendy Schroeder


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Chairman Illick called the meeting of the Board of Selectman to
order at 6:10 p.m. in the Charlotte Town Offices.

APPROVE MINUTES OF AUGUST 23, 1999

Chairman Illick asked if the board members had any changes to
the agenda and Sheldon-Dean said he wanted to update the board
on his progress with town employees and the Y2K issues and
Illick noted she wanted to update the board on Chittenden Solid
Waste issues.

Chairman Illick asked if the board wished to approve the minutes
of the Selectboard meeting of August 23, 1999. Illick noted a
letter from Larry Hamilton, the Tree Warden, requesting the
following changes to his report on page 4: to note that this
exercise was part of an existing mandate in the Town Plan and
that he was asking the board to "receive" the map and not
"accept" it and to add "e.g.; utilities " in the same line for
examples of how the map may be used. No other board members had
changes.

Sheldon-Dean moved and the motion was seconded by
Rosenthal:
* "TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AUGUST 23, 1999
SELECTBOARD MEETING WITH THE NOTED CHANGES."
Vote: All in favor.




Board of Selectman -2- September 13, 1999

PUBLIC DISCUSSION

Nancy Sabin said in reference to the Burns property acquisition
proposal that she felt that the Article to be voted on was
non-specific and vague about the exact location of the site the
town was interested in purchasing. Wendy Schroeder affirmed
that it was the town attorney had prepared the Article and
Illick said that normally Articles are written quite generally.

Sandy Mayo asked where the $150,000.00 that was approved by the
town for the Lavalette property was and Hinsdale responded it
was still in the pockets of the voters as the money approved was
never appropriated.


PUBLIC HEARING - PAVE ONE MILE ROAD - ROAD ALTERATION

Rosenthal moved and the motion was seconded by
Sheldon-Dean:
* "TO OPEN A PUBLIC HEARING TO DISCUSS PAVING ONE MILE
ROAD."
Vote: All in favor.

Nancy Walsh noted there were 8 or 9 houses on One Mile Road and
other parties had signed the petition to pave the road who did
not actually reside on the road. Karen Whitby responded that
she felt One Mile Road had become an access road for other roads
and discussed problems from dust on the road. Nancy Calcagni
said there was no place on the road for children to ride bikes
and that dust and a washboard effect on the road were problems.
Calcagni added she would like to see a vehicle counter on the
road to see how many people were actually using the road as
opposed to how many people actually lived on it.

John Calcagni said he felt that traffic traveled too fast on the
road and the washboard conditions made the road unsafe and
suggested using speed bumps or dips in the road to control
speed. Illick asked how many people had signed the petition and
Nancy Calcagni responded 28 people, and added that those opposed
to the paving thought that paving the road would cause drivers
to go faster. Chris Cichoski-Kelly said he and his wife were
opposed to paving the road because of increased speed on the
road and had chosen to live on a dirt road. Linda Radimer said
she thought that paving does cause drivers to go faster and that
paving can't be removed easily if the town changed its mind.
Alison Lockwood added her agreement that drivers tend to drive
faster on paved roads.

Sylvia Sprigg suggested that the town look at a long-range plan
in paving and maintenance and not be reactionary because the
town has experienced a dry summer and subsequent dust. Nancy
Walsh noted that One Mile Road feeds into Guinea Road and
discussed the environmental impact on the area if the road was
paved.



Board of Selectman -3- August 23, 1999

Don Brush said he thought the town should look at whether the
road should be paved or maintained as a dirt road. Linda
Hamilton said she felt that Sylvia Sprigg's comments had best
articulated her feelings and suggested the town get a better
picture of what's happening on the road before making a
decision.

Road Commissioner, Hugh Lewis, Jr., said he hasn't been able to
scrape the dirt road because the weather has been so dry and
putting down chloride to contain dust only works when the road
is already wet and acknowledged that the road needs gravel.

Hinsdale suggested putting vehicle counters on One Mile Road,
Guinea Road and Bingham Brook Road and see how the traffic
flows. Charlie Russell suggested adding shale and fixing One
Mile Road for the time being and Lewis said there was not enough
money in the budget for materials. Sheldon-Dean asked if
building up the road would have to happen if the road was to be
paved and Lewis responded yes. Rosenthal asked how the town
normal prioritizes road for paving and Lewis responded it was by
road usage.

Sheldon-Dean suggested that the town get a plan into place, get
money in the budget and start working on improving road
conditions on One Mile Road and discuss the matter on Town
Meeting Day and Hinsdale added to start getting traffic counts
on the dirt roads.

Hinsdale suggested as the town goes ahead with the Town Plan
that the town look at the farm and businesses on One Mile Road
and their appropriateness. Sheldon-Dean suggested prioritizing
with NPO, looking at the impacts on various roads and
understanding needs and levels of service. Illick said she
would talk with NPO on One Mile Road, Guinea Road and Bingham
Brook Road and consider costs in the road budget.

Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by
Sheldon-Dean:
* "TO CLOSE THE HEARING ON PAVING ONE MILE ROAD."
Vote: All in favor.


ROAD COMMISSIONER - HUGH LEWIS, JR.

Illick noted a letter from Sharon Mount requesting 2 safety
signs by her property and driveway on Lake Road: a "Hidden
Drive" sign on the west side of the house and a "Slow, Children
Playing" on the east side. Sheldon-Dean said he had no
objection to signs as long as the resident was willing to pay
for them.

Sheldon-Dean moved and the motion was seconded by
Hinsdale:
* "TO ALLOW THE ROAD COMMISSIONER TO PUT UP A HIDDEN
DRIVE SIGN BY THE MOUNT DRIVEWAY JUST EASTBOUND OF
ORCHARD ROAD AT THE EXPENSE OF SHARON MOUNT."
Vote: All in favor.


Board of Selectman -4- September 13, 1999

Sheldon-Dean suggested that board members drive by the Mount
property and look at the area where Mount wanted a "Children at
Play" sign before making a decision and board members agreed.

Lewis discussed a cement block wall that was starting to
collapse at Barbara Glade's place on Thompson's Point. Illick
asked if the wall was in a right-of-way and Lewis said yes.
Illick said that the wall should be repaired. Lewis said he
would work on the wall after the campers had left.

Lewis said he had been scraping the roads and would do more
scraping when more rain came.


CONSERVATION COMMISSION - 6 MONTH UPDATE

Linda Radimer provided board members with a hand-out from the
Conservation Commission and discussed keeping regular contact
with the Selectboard.

Nancy Walsh outlined how the covered bridges in town are seeing
much more wear and recently the Holmes bridge was damaged by a
truck. Walsh stressed that when town residents witness damage
to a bridge that they should first notify the Road Commissioner
and then the Selectboard and finally the Conservation
Commission. Walsh added that the Holmes bridge is now having
structural problems with its knee braces. Walsh said the
Commission would like to keep a historical repair file on each
bridge and deal with one reputable person for repairs.

There was a discussion on deterrents to vehicles that are to
heavy or tall to cross the bridges and wind up damaging them
instead, but there was no final decision made. Alison Lockwood
suggested that the Commission get in touch with Vermont
Historical Preservation for advice.

Walsh reviewed the vacuuming of the covered bridges by members
of the Conservation Commission to remove silt, leaves, etc.
Radimer added that now that the bridges are clean of debris that
the Commission will be able to monitor new dirt and look into
how to keep it out of the bridges.

There was a discussion on exploring outside monies for the
Commission's work on the covered bridges and Illick suggested
Walsh talk with NPO, Radimer suggested looking at Federal monies
and Sheldon-Dean suggested trying for grant money. Stephen
Brooks offered lumber to the Commission for bridge repair at no
cost.











Board of Selectman -5- September 13, 1999

ACCEPT NEW ROAD NAME - MURPHY AT SHEEHAN GREEN

Chairman Illick read the Amendment to the Street Name Ordinance
for 911 emergency response.

Sheldon-Dean moved and the motion was seconded by
Hinsdale:
* "TO AMEND THE ORDINANCE REGARDING STREET NAMING AND
ADDRESSING TO ADD TO EXHIBIT A OF THE ORDINANCE THE
NAME MURPHY ROAD AT SHEEHAN GREEN."
Vote: All in favor.


Y2K UPDATE

Sheldon-Dean outlined the deal he had been working with Panurgy
on a lease agreement for the town offices for computers.
Sheldon-Dean said the $10,000.00 the board had approved each
year for 3 years at the August 23, 1999 meeting wasn't going to
work and that the deal he was recommending was paying $13,800
each year for 2 years and then have the opportunity to buy the
equipment at fair market value. Hinsdale said he preferred
leasing to buying because he feels that leased equipment is
serviced better.

Hinsdale-Dean moved and the motion was seconded by
Rosenthal:
* "TO ACCEPT THE FINANCIAL TERMS OF THE TWO YEAR LEASE
PROPOSAL."
Vote: All in favor.


SENIOR CENTER UPDATE

Rosenthal said he has received one written proposal from Jim
Boylan of Mad River Research and one proposal over the phone
from Debbie Bergh. Rosenthal suggested putting the issue on the
agenda for the next meeting.

Nancy Sabin suggested Rosenthal get in touch with Jeannie
McDonald of UVM Rural Studies and Sandy Mayo suggested that the
town look at senior centers currently operating around Vermont.
Alison Lockwood offered what she thought was lacking was
detailed information to pull this together and suggested moving
forward to hire someone to pull this together.

Hinsdale said his feeling was that multi-generational centers
work best next to recreational areas and pondered whether there
was an opportunity putting the Senior Center in conjunction with
the Burns property acquisition the town was already interested
in for recreation.








Board of Selectman -6- September 13, 1999

Hinsdale moved and the motion was seconded by
Rosenthal:
* "TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THE BURNS
PROPERTY DEAL."
Vote: All in favor.

Executive Session began at 9:59 p.m. and ended at 10:23 p.m.

Sheldon-Dean moved and the motion was seconded by
Hinsdale:
* "TO COME OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION."
Vote: All in favor.


BILL SIGNING/DISCUSSION

Board members reviewed and signed bills.

Illick asked John Hammer to be the point person on cleaning
bridges for Chittenden Solid Waste District.

Illick noted that the Filming dates for the movie "What Lies
Beneath" had been changes to September 29th and 30th and a deal
would be put together the next day for $1,500.00 the first day
and $750.00 for the next half day for a total of $2,250.00 paid
into the town's general fund.

Illick noted that Gary Tebo would be cutting grass at Charlotte
Park at no cost to the town.

Sheldon-Dean moved and the motion was seconded by
Rosenthal:
* "TO ADJOURN."
Vote: All in favor.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m.
Minutes submitted by:
Debby Flynn