Brandon Select Board Meeting
January 28, 2008
NOTE: These are
unapproved minutes, subject to amendment and/or approval at the subsequent board
meeting.
In Attendance:
Richard Baker, Mitch Pearl, Bill Hatch, Bruce Brown, Kellie Patten
1. Call to order
a) Agenda Adoption
- Motion by Kellie Patten/Mitch Pearl to adopt the agenda as written.
The motion passed unanimously - 4 to zero.
2. Consent Agenda
a) Approval of
Minutes
- January 7, 2008
- Select Board Meeting
- December 10,
2007 - Select Board Meeting
- December 10,
2007 - VCDP Public Hearing
Motion by Bruce Brown/Richard
Baker to approve the Select Board meeting minutes of January 7, 2008 and
December 10, 2007 and the VCDP Public Hearing of December 10, 2007.
The motion passed unanimously - 4 to zero.
b) Consider Town
Highway Mileage Certificate
Motion
by Richard Baker/Bruce Brown to approve the Town Highway Mileage certificate.
The motion passed unanimously - 4 to zero.
Richard Baker noted the
board is ahead of where they were last year with this item; however, they are
not where they want to be. There are some items the public works director is
working on and further work will be done in this area for next year.
3. Fiscal
a) Warrants -
January 28, 2008 - $35,495.81
Motion
by Mitch Pearl/Kellie Patten to approve the warrants of January 28, 2008 in the
amount of $35,495.81. The motion passed unanimously - 4 to zero.
4. Town Manager's Report
Keith Arlund advised he spoke with Lisa Ryan of the VCDP concerning the VT Tubbs
application. They are reviewing the business analysis and expect to have a reply
by early February, at which time VT Tubbs and the town will review and submit a
response.
Mr.
Arlund noted he had applied for, and received on behalf of the town, an
$8,000.00 grant from Vermont Emergency Management for installation of the
emergency generator at Neshobe School. He also advised the town has received
the FEMA check for $21, 482.00 for damages from the April storm.
5. Education Report
Kellie Patten reported the
next PTO meeting will be held on Monday, February 4th, in the Neshobe
Library. Basketball for grades 3 through 6 has begun and Ms. Patten expressed
thanks to the coaches who volunteer their time for the program. Ms. Patten
noted the week of February 18th is school vacation and the students
will not be returning to school until February 26th, as the following
Monday is an in-service day.
6. Citizens' Public
Forum
There was no discussion
held.
7. Consider Take-over
of Rydon Acres Road
This item was deferred to
the next regularly scheduled select board meeting. .
8. Public Works Report
Tom Schmelzenbach stated
he met with people from the Heritage Family Credit Union and representatives
from the Friends of the Town Hall to come up with an approach on drainage
between the town hall and the bank building. Details will be worked out, with
the intent to do whatever is needed to be done underground when they do their
construction, to avoid disturbing the paving that will be done.
Mr. Schmelzenbach reported
there is a pre-proposal meeting scheduled for firms interested in bidding on the
sewer collection project for the proposed Neshobe Farm development. He noted
this information will be used for other purposes as well.
Mr. Schmelzenbach stated
he is working on an amendment to the cooperative agreement for the Route 7
project. This will be for increases in allocation for preliminary engineering
work for storm water issues that took more time than anticipated; for some
utility relocation issues and for some retaining structures near Aubuchons and
Briggs Lane. This additional work is required for the Act 250 application.
Richard Baker questioned
the status of the skid equipment previously authorized by the select board.
Keith Arlund stated he received two lease proposals, however, when he inquired
about the availability of the equipment; he was advised the equipment would not
be available until March, which would require a second quote. Richard Baker
stated the rates were cut and there is rumor they may go down again. Mr. Arlund
stated he is uncertain how that would translate to municipal lease rates.
9. Committee Reports
and Announcements
Richard Baker reported the
monthly meeting of the Rutland Regional Transportation Council was held last
Thursday. Mel Adams, Director of Policy and Planning at VTrans, provided a
synopsis of the Transportation program. He noted the outlook for funding in
Vermont for transportation is not good. Mr. Baker stated the council made it
clear that they will continue to advocate the timely reconstruction of Route 7;
however, it is felt it could take longer than had anticipated.
Richard Baker stated this
weekend the town was fairly lively, as the Artist Guild hosted “Art in the Snow”
on Saturday and Sunday. He noted there will be an encore of this event in late
February and March as well. He noted this was good for the town, and hopefully
was successful for the artists.
Mr. Baker reported there
is a planning commission meeting scheduled for this Thursday at the Brandon
Senior Center beginning at 6:30PM concerning the town plan. He noted he had
received his questionnaire relative to this subject. Bruce Brown also noted for
those who did not wish to attend the meeting, there is a link from the town's
web page to respond to the questions regarding this subject. It is hoped to
obtain public opinion on this matter. It was also noted there will be other
meetings held for the public to provide input on the town plan. Mr. Baker stated
it is ultimately the select board's responsibility to approve the town plan,
based on the recommendations of the planning commission.
Bruce Brown reported the
Friends of the Town Hall have now raised enough money for the installation of
the fire suppression system.
Bruce Brown reported the
Tree Committee met. There will be another tree sale this spring and information
will be provided to the public within the next month. He noted the committee is
also working on replacing the trees damaged from the storm.
Bruce Brown stated there
has been a survey received by some citizens from the Moosalamoo Experiential
class. He wished to clarify this is not connected with the Moosalamoo area, but
is a class at OV.
Richard Baker stated
Cattail's Restaurant will be hosting another Feral Cat Day on February 7th.
A portion of the proceeds for all lunches and dinners sold that day will be
donated to the Feral Cat Committee.
10. Old/Other Business
Mitch Pearl questioned if the grant will cover
all of the costs for the installation of the emergency generator at Neshobe
School. Keith Arlund stated the grant does require a 50% match, however, certain
activities should take place during a certain time frame and he is uncertain if
the cost of the generator can be used towards the match. Mr. Arlund is trying to
find an engineer who is willing to work on this project at a more reasonable
rate than he has found to date.
Richard Baker stated through a glitch in the
agenda, the warning on the budget has become Old and Other Business.
Motion
by Richard Baker/Kellie Patten to adopt the
warning for the town meeting, except for Item 2 on the front page.
Richard Baker reviewed the articles for the
warning, noting they were similar to the ones provided in the board packet.
Article 1 and 2 are boilerplates. Article 3 has been included for years. Article
4 is relative to increasing the tax exemption for disabled veterans from
$20,000.00 to $40,000.00, which is based on an enabling legislation. Mr. Baker
noted if the increase is approved by the voters, there are cost implications, as
the education property taxes would need to be raised based on Act 60 and Act 68
and assuming the same number are awarded, there would be an increase of
$9,000.00. This would be an increase to municipal taxes by 1/2 penny.
Mr. Baker stated the next article had been
discussed. By an act of the most recent legislators, a voter approval is
requested for the number of voters required to sign a petition. This item can be
increased from 5% to 20% and Mr. Baker is recommending the warning be at the 20%
level. If the voters choose to make a change, it could be changed downward with
a vote on the floor. This item has been prompted by a significant number of
votes for reconsideration and the idea is to present a reasonable barrier to
some of the cycles of voting and re-voting.
Mr. Baker stated the next two items are the
appropriate language for the voters to consider exempting the Stephen A. Douglas
birthplace, which was originally exempt for the previous owners, the Lake
Dunmore Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. With the transfer
of the property, the exemption does not go with the land, so it has to go to
vote. Based on research, all of the property belonging to the Brandon Fire
District is exempt from both municipal and education taxes and the board
believes this is the right way to go.
The next article refers to the role of the
sewer commissioners. Currently there is a 4% one-time penalty for sewer payments
that are overdue. Several years ago voter approval was sought to assess a late
fee on property taxes. Bill Hatch questioned if the penalty is 1% per month on
the property taxes. Richard Baker stated currently for each month missed, a 1%
simple interest is assessed until May 15th. On May 16th,
a one-time 8% penalty is assessed and for the next 3 months a 1% interest is
charged and thereafter, a 1-1/2% interest is charged.
The 9th article that was discussed
at the budget session relates to the development of a sinking fund that would
accumulate funds to do capital improvements that are not otherwise covered by
the utilities. Mr. Baker noted article 10 is self-explanatory. He noted the
other articles were all as petitioned.
There was one article petitioned, but not
included, relating to the appropriation of $1,500.00 for the Brandon Town
Players, Inc. Mitch Pearl expressed concern, as he has a hard time seeing the
difference between the Town Players, the Historical Society or the Parade
Committee. Richard Baker stated consistent with the earlier decisions of the
board, we have been liberal with social service agency, if whatever the group
was doing is available to the public and whether it is available to all of the
public. There is a feeling, though a worthy organization, the Brandon Players
would be charging admission. Mr. Pearl stated given the advice from the
Secretary of State's office, he agrees to remove this item, but he again noted
it is hard to draw the line. Bruce Brown stated he is in agreement with Mitch
Pearl.
Kellie Patten stated there needs to be a
signature correction, removing Steven Carr and adding Mitch Pearl.
The motion passed unanimously.
Motion
by Richard Baker/Bruce Brown to approve Article 2 to see if the voters will
appropriate $2,713,300.00 for the FY 2008-2009 budget, of which the sum of
$2,005,000.00 is to be raised by property taxes.
Bruce Brown stated an explanation of the impact
to the tax payers should be done. Richard Baker stated the board has had several
discussions, and for those who are watching and for the minutes, we take a
slightly different approach to budgeting and we have relied heavily upon a
hardworking management team. He stated we are a policy board and leave the
execution of the policy to the town manager and his staff. This board believes
we are at the red line and this budget only allows growth by an amount equal to
a best estimate on how much new construction there is on the grand list. There
will be a nominal increase of about 1-1/2% and if we hold the same grand list, we
could increase the budget by 1-1/2%. The other item different between this year's
budget and the proposed budget is the pay-off of the transfer station debt. Over
a period of years, the select board has been levying a tax for the transfer
station and effective 10/1/06; the transfer station was leased to a 3rd party.
The board has chosen to put the money back into the general fund to accommodate
growth in salaries and insurance. It will free up $33,000.00, which can be used
in the general fund budget. Mr. Baker stated to further complicate matters, due
to the town-wide reappraisal, we are assuming whatever the aggregate changes
are, will be comparable to the build up. The principle change between the
current and the proposed budget is the board has authorized the recruitment and
hiring of a full-time patrol officer. This would take place at a date to be
determined, once there is a full understating of the revenues for FY 09. He
noted the outside audit firm is 3 months delinquent; therefore, the board is
using its best judgment utilizing the audit results of last year and the outlook
for 2008. There have been some assumptions made. Mr. Baker stated over the last
3 to 4 years, we have been working aggressively to build an effective police
department for the level of need. It is anticipated with the addition of this
officer, the police chief will be able to schedule a true 24-hour coverage in
the town. If and when the additional officer is brought on board, it will have
implications on call outs and overtime.
The motion passed unanimously.
Richard Baker stated he wished to thank Anna
Scheck for her help in developing the budget and the departments for providing
their information for the budget building process.
A motion was made by Bruce Brown/Richard Baker
to enter into executive session at 8:00PM to discuss a personnel issue. The
session is to include the town manager and chief of police. The motion passed
unanimously - 4 to zero.
11. Possible Executive Session
The board came out of executive session at
8:30PM. There were no actions required.
12. Adjournment
Motion
by Richard Baker/Bruce Brown to adjourn the Select Board meeting at 8:32PM.
The motion passed unanimously - 4 to zero.
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