SELECT BOARD MARCH 10, 2015

SELECT BOARD MARCH 10, 2015 

The meeting was called to order at 7:31pm by Ray Tarbell as acting chair. Ted Crawford and Tim Martin were present. All stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

 1. Additions/Deletions to the Agenda: There were several additions to the agenda: ATV Discussion and three items under Other. The Selectman’s Oath of Office of Ted Crawford had been administered by Sue Covalla earlier in the day.

 2. Minutes:  The minutes of the regular meeting of February 10 were sent out before the meeting for review. There were no corrections or additions. Upon motion made and seconded it was VOTED: To approve the February 10 minutes. (3-0)

 3. Reorganization for 2015-2016 Upon motions made and seconded, the following were VOTED (all votes were 3-0) Selectboard Chair – Ted Crawford (at this point Ted took over as chair from Ray) Tree Warden – Ray Tarbell 911 Coordinator – Sue Covalla Town Service Officer – Becky Reichler Newspaper of Record – Rutland Herald Law Firm for Tax Sales – Sue Crawford (2-0, Ted Crawford abstained) Selectboard Clerk – Rhonda Rivers The Town Clerk appointed Barbara Ludwig and Joan McCallum as Assistant Town Clerks. The Town Treasurer appointed Diana Garrow as Assistant Town Treasurer. The date and time of the regular Selectboard meeting was set as the 2nd Tuesday at 7:30pm. The 2 public places for posting of the agenda are the Mount Holly Post Office and the Belmont Post Office. The 911 measuring will be done by the Selectboard Chair, Ted Crawford. On a weekly basis, the orders will be reviewed and signed by the Selectboard Chair, Ted Crawford.

 4. ATV Discussion The Board announced the results of the non-binding opinion survey. The surveys were voted by Sue Covalla and David Johnson and the results were 196 no, 157 yes. Sixteen of the no-votes had comments; eighteen of the yes-votes had comments. Ted had come down in the afternoon to review the comments. Upon motion made and seconded, it was VOTED: To hold a special Selectboard meeting on Tuesday, March 24th at 7:30pm to review the comments. (3-0) 

5. Highways  The Board reviewed and signed the Annual Financial Plan to be sent to VTrans (highway financial plan).  State Paving Grants application is due April 15. Jeff noted that he expects to continue on with the repaving of Hortonville Road.  Jeff expects to post the roads for spring conditions soon. 6. Report of Treasurer  David Johnson presented an income and expense statement dated February 28, 2015 showing cash balances of $2,069,088. Property taxes still outstanding are about $86,000, which is better than some years and worse than others. The money for the new truck is still in the Equipment Fund, where it is earning some interest. The cost was paid out of the General Fund, and the monies from the Equipment Fund will be moved when needed, probably in May. Solid Waste revenue (label sales) is slightly under budget. Solid Waste expense does not include the February Casella bill (not received yet). Under highway expenses, David noted that repairs remain under budget and there is still some room for salt deliveries in the materials budget.  6. Authorization for Orders: Upon motion made and seconded, it was VOTED: To authorize the Treasurer to put on the orders and pay certain items: payroll taxes and withholding payments, regular wages, postage, property tax refunds and school advances per the schedule reviewed annually. Upon motion made and seconded, it was VOTED: To authorize the Select Board Clerk to write orders and the Treasurer to pay said orders.

 7. Transfer Station  Spring and summer hours for the Transfer Station will begin on Wednesday, April 01. The last Sunday will be March 29.  Rutland County Solid Waste District representatives: Clinton Woolley will be the representative for the town, with Jeff Teter as alternate. 

8. Star Lake Dam Reconstruction Project.  Ron Unterman provided an update that the permit application for the dam is at the State. The 2nd permit for dredging spoils is with the Army Corp of Engineers; hopefully one or more of the spots being considered will be approved.  Fundraising is up to $52,000 of the estimated $80,000 needed. In addition to the Tarbell family donation last month, the family of Admiral Wilson has donated $5,000.  Ron also reviewed the Bid and Award schedule. This will be a full open bid process, bid posting in the Rutland Herald on March 13, deadline and opening of bids on April 09, and hopefully a discussion and vote on the award at the April 14 Selectboard meeting. (Dubois and King will review the bids between April 09 and 13 and make a recommendation to the Board.) The award could go to contract 15-45 days after that, depending on the funding. 

9. Cell Phone and Internet Access Ted Crawford asked why it is taking so long to get connections here in Mount Holly; where do things stand with the cell tower proposed several years ago. He noted that access is needed for business and safety reasons. He contacted Dennis Devereux and Alice Nitka to try and get some answers, but contacts provided by them at the State indicated that it has been turned over to the phone companies. Ted will follow up on this. It was noted that VTel is planning to use a pole-to-pole method rather than the tower method, but they are reported to have some issues with the technology. 

10. Other Business  Rabies Clinic: This will be held at the Town Office on Saturday, March 21st. Sue Covalla also noted that all dogs must be registered by April 1 and a valid rabies certificate is needed. 

 School mowing bids – will be advertised in the ChitChat as in previous years.  The Board received notice from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Vermont that some of their customers could be included in the Anthem BCBS data breach that has been in the news. Affected individuals will be contacted directly. 

 New England Clean Power Link Project: The Town received notice that two other regional planning commissions have filed a Motion to Intervene on the project, Chittenden County and Northwest. 

 Don Patch suggested that the Town consider contacting schools to have students get community service hours for helping with such tasks as folding flyers for the Rabies Clinic.

  The Board received notice that the State, at the direction of the Legislature, has proposed rules to govern the practice of property inspection. A public hearing will be held on March 17, 2015 in Montpelier. Anyone may comment on the proposed rules. 

 The Board reviewed and signed a Liquor License for the Belmont General Store. 

 The Board discussed the letter from the Rutland Town Selectboard which had been tabled last month. Ted Crawford noted that about 20 towns have signed on. During discussion, Peter Berger noted that the issue is to allow towns to be able to participate in the approval process as in Act 250 proceedings, rather than have the solar systems treated as utilities as is currently done. The Rutland Town Board is asking towns to approve a resolution. The process will be researched for next month. 

11. The Board reviewed and signed the February orders for payment. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by motion made, seconded and approved, at 8:17 pm.

 Respectfully submitted, Rhonda Rivers Minutes are DRAFT until approved at a Select Board meeting. Approved on: _____________