SELECT BOARD AUGUST 11, 2015 Minutes

SELECT BOARD AUGUST 11, 2015

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm by Ted Crawford, chair. Ray Tarbell 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: 

 The Fire Dept. needs to renew its radio license and the Selectboard must write a letter in support for the renewal. Upon motion made and seconded, it was VOTED: To approve and sign a letter in support of the radio license renewal. (3-0) 

 Received a phone call that the dispatching for emergency services will be done thru the Rockingham PSAP center. Don Patch will be notified. 

   Local Hazard Mitigation Plan – RRPC has completed updating our plan, which will now be sent to and reviewed by FEMA. Once FEMA approves it, the plan will come back to the local committee (the group worked on it back in 2014) and also approved by RRPC. 

 RRPC also sent out guidelines for municipal and commercial solar and wind siting. This would be part of the town plan. The Board felt that there would need to be a meeting for the town to talk about this. There is no action being taken at this time, but the board agreed that is important and will be brought to the public at a future time. 

2. Minutes:  The minutes of the regular meeting of July 14 were sent out before the meeting for review. Upon motions made and seconded it was VOTED: To approve the July 14 minutes. (3-0)

 3. Star Lake Dam Reconstruction Project – Ron Unterman 

 Dam Permit came in and construction has begun on building the access. The coffer dam will be built 

 Fire Hydrants: This will be coordinated with Keith Hawkins, as the current ones may be out of service for a while and the new locations must be coordinated with Fire as well

 Dredging permits for beach and hydrants are still in the works. 

 Dam Inspection Report – needed to be done, in case we didn’t get the permit. Same report has last year; everything of the concern in the report will be taken care of with the reconstruction. 

 Dam Diversion Plan is available in the town office. 

 Lake Ninevah Dam Inspection Report (not part of Star Lake project) – there were some small concerns regarding brush and vegetation, which have already been taken care of by the Ninevah Foundation.

 4. Highways  VTrans provided a hazard mitigation plan for the bridge work being done on Bridge 12 Route 155 for removing deteriorated paint from the structural steel. (NOTE: In typing up the minutes, I discovered that there were two plans; there is also a plan for Bridge 42 on Route 103. Both are available in the town office. rer) 

 Winter Salt bids. Only one bid has been received, from Cargill. Jeff Teter was on vacation. J Upon motion made and seconded, it was VOTED: To go with Cargill, Option 2 (slightly lower pricing with no fuel surcharge and tons not guaranteed). (3-0) 

5. Report of Treasurer 

 David Johnson presented an income and expense statement dated July 31, 2015 showing cash balances of $602,905. David noted that we are only one month into the fiscal year, so there is not much to report. The Town has received about $56,955 in property taxes, versus the $986,980 billed (municipal amount only). The income page does not yet include the education portion (not yet received from the state). The winter sand is coming in now, when the truckers have time. David noted that the total property taxes billed were $4,790,000 ($145,000 more than last year), most of which is for the education taxes. 

 Advance to Mount Holly School and U39 – The Town usually makes an advance to the schools to cover summer expenses until taxes come in. Upon motion made and seconded it was VOTED: To approve making advances to the schools as needed. (3-0)  External Auditor: David noted that Jeff Bradley has already started the accounting for the garage project, and David recommended staying with him. Upon motion made and seconded it was VOTED: To approve hiring Jeff Bradley as the external auditor for another year. (3-0)

 6. Transfer Station – No items this month. 

7. Emergency Management Coordinator 

 Ted Crawford read a letter of interest from Josh Griffin, noting his experience with emergency preparedness during his US Navy service. Ted Crawford met with him prior to this meeting and felt he would be a good candidate. Upon motion made and seconded it was VOTED: To appoint Josh Griffin as the Emergency Management Coordinator. (3-0) 

8. Planning Commission 

 RRPC/RRTC – No report, as there were no meetings this month. 

 Municipal Planning Grants: Ted noted that there are grant monies available, with up to $8,000 available without requiring any matching funds from the Town. The Planning Commission has requested that the Selectboard support and sign the grant application. Bill McGrath noted that our plan is not due until 2018, and that RRPC expects the time between updates to be extended to 8 or 10 years, rather than the current 5 years. He also noted that there are some guidelines from RRPC that our planning commission does not agree with, but that will be worked out with RRPC. Upon motion made and seconded it was VOTED: To support and sign the application for a Municipal Planning Grant to update the Town Plan. (3-0) 

9. Cell Phone and Internet Access  Ted Crawford noted that the Roger Hill plan is moving forward. Still no quarantees that it will be completed, but it is looking good 

10. Other Business - None 11. The Board reviewed and signed the July orders for payment. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by motion made, seconded and approved, at 7: pm. Respectfully submitted, Rhonda Rivers Minutes are DRAFT until approved at a Select Board meeting. Approved on: ________