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Monday March 6, 2006
Moderator Lanny Smith opened the meeting at 4:00 pm with introductions of the Town Clerk, Barbara Torian and the Selectmen, Paul Audy, Larry Buck and Amos Roleau III.
The Town portion will go from 4-6 pm at which time there will be a break for dinner. The School meeting will start at 7:00 pm and then the Town meeting will continue after the School Meeting if necessary.
The warning was read: With each article being read prior to discussion.
Town Meeting Warning
244th Annual Town Meeting of New Haven, Vermont
The legal voters of the Town of New Haven are hereby warned and notified to meet at the Town Hall in New Haven, Vermont on Monday March 6th 2006, at 4:00 pm to act on Articles 1through 6; and on Tuesday, March 7th from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM to vote by Australian Ballot on Articles 7 through 35.
A DISCUSSION PERIOD FOR THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT ARTICLES WILL BEGIN immediately following Town Meeting and will continue after the School Meeting if necessary.
ARTICLE 1. Shall the voters of New Haven elect the seven member Planning Commission to a term of four years for each Planning Commission Member?
Moved by Sue Ford and George Jaeger. Sue Ford: Recommended that people vote against this article. The members are appointed by the Selectboard. They appoint a good cross section of people. It is difficult to get people to run for any position.
Al Karnatz: Chair of the planning Commission, he also recommends voting against this article. He believes there is a good cross section of people. It could be difficult to get seven people to run.
Bill Shafer: He petitioned this article and there were 63 people who he visited with and who signed the petition. In the past there have been names submitted to the Selectboard. Would be good to have candidates do a beat on the street and get direction from the people. If the positions are not filled then the Selectboard could appoint.
Dean Gilmore: What does the Selectboard think?
Amos Roleau: It can be difficult to get a quorum now. Believes it will be harder to do if they are elected. Some people have been dissatisfied with some of the people on the commission. They try to get a cross section of people who are interested in town and who will not be combative. With the hope that they will look at the job that needs to be done.
Eldon Sherwin: What is the term? Current term is 3 years. This article would create a 4 year term.
Tim Bouton: Works for the Regional Planning Commission. There are two towns that have elected Planning Commissions and there are conflicts between the Commission and the Selectboard, which cause difficulties in getting things done.
Kathy Barrett: Do the members have to be a resident of town? No.
Larry Maier: What happens if we vote for this article and there is an empty spot? Would we be voting seven members to four year terms every four years?
John Peters: The current system where the Selectboard appoints then the Selectboard could also remove a person. If elected there would be no way to remove a member. Recommends that people vote against this article.
Andy Dykstra: It would not be good to have all new members every four years. It takes a few years to figure out how things work.
Bill Shafer: Spoke with Secretary of States Office. Attrition would be the same as it is now with a member being voted on when a term is finished. Not all at once.
John Madden: Diversity on the board is good. Believes might loose that diversity if elected.
More discussion about how it would work.
Discussion of whether members need to live in town. All do live in town but do not have to live in town. Reasons for having someone who does not live in town would be to have someone with more knowledge and to eliminate someone trying to be nice to their neighbor.
Dean Gilmore and Jim Ford called the question.
Defeated
ARTICLE 2. Shall the Town of New Haven vote to adopt the general fund
budget, the road budget and all other monetary items by Voice Vote at Town
Meeting. While continuing Australian Ballot for requests from various outside
agencies; thereby continuing the tradition of Town Meeting.
Sue Ford and Pam Marsh moved the question.
Sue Ford: Hope this passes.
Pam Marsh: Glad to see this article on the warning. Town Meeting is an important institution in Vermont. This is direct felling of government. Town Meeting is a valuable part of the voting process. Concerned about what will happen if all votes are by Australian Ballot. Can’t make changes to Australian Ballot items. You can make changes at Town meeting.
Ethan Mitchell: Would like to speak in favor of this article.
John Pratt: Would like to see article pass. There are errors in the paper and this is the way to be able to make changes and know what is going on.
Bill Shafer: How was this article generated? By the Selectboard or by petition? There was a request.
Larry Buck: Spoke of wishing more people would come to the Selectboard meetings. So that the board would know what people want. Would like to see article pass. Can get the correct information at Town meeting.
The Selectboard did not have a petition for this article. They felt it was a good idea, so they put it on. They will act on a request if they feel it is in the best interest of the Town.
Janet Fancher: The number of people voting on an item is small at Town Meeting. Maybe Australian Ballot would be better so more people can express their opinion. Instead of 120 people making a decision.
Al Karnatz: Australian Ballot takes away from the process.
Jerry Smiley: It takes 5% to ask for another vote, he is convinced we will be voting on this again.
John Madden: Important process.
Bill Shafer: Australian Ballot does not take away the ability to debate a topic.
Jerry Smile: Would rather get the info then hear the debate of people who think they are informed.
Discussion of how to change monetary items. Any one can amend a monetary amount to go down. Can also amend to change a dollar amount up if the moderator thinks it is a reasonable amount to increase a budget.
More discussion on being able to debate articles and what difference it would make as to whether you will be able to make a decision that night or not.
The point is to get all the sides together and hash it out.
Ann Watson: In favor of article, it doesn’t make sense to not be able to change an article.
John Freidin: It would be a different debate if you can’t change things. There would be no option to make changes. Should we cut off the leg or not vs. should we cut out a small portion or make some other change. Why wouldn’t you want the choice.
Question called by Susannah McCandless and Jim Ford.
Passed.
ARTICLE 3. Shall the Town of New Haven vote to pay real estate taxes to the
Town Treasurer on October 2, 2006; delinquent taxes will be subject
to interest charges of one percent per month and an eight percent
penalty charged against them from October 2, 2006?
John Freidin and John Peters moved the question.
Both said it is tradition.
Pam Marsh: Spoke about switching to a fiscal year and wondered how much the town borrows. Also wondered about making more than one payment.
Barb Torian: There have been several discussions about switching to more than one payment and the town has always come back to one payment. Have thought about switching to a fiscal year; there are pros and cons both ways. The town usually has a surplus at the end of the year which gets it through until May or June. They then borrow if needed anywhere from nothing to $350,000.00. Usually pay a few thousand dollars in interest.
Discussion of costs involved in dividing up payments. Discussion of discounts for early payments.
ARTICLE 4. To accept the Auditor’s Report for the year 2005.
Pam Marsh thanked the auditors for their hard work. Thinks they did a great job.
ARTICLE 5. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven instruct our State Representatives and Senators to oppose:
Kim Callahan and Larry Maier moved the question.
Kim Callahan: Please support – Schools are getting squeezed from many directions; it is important to keep the money in the educational fund.
Jerry Smiley: Is this retribution for all the years that the transportation fund was robbed.
Bill Shafer: Is this binding?
Lanny Smith: This is a recommendation to the legislature.
Phil Buchwald: If they do this it would be a double hit.
Pam Marsh: This would be a direct effect on property taxes. Does not want to see State funds reduced. A gas tax might be a better option.
Discussion of fiscal responsibility and raiding funds.
Al Karnatz: Motion to amend the article to not raid any fund. Many seconds.
Phil Buchwald: Would like to see the amendment as an add on, and keep the article in tact. Would like to make sure there are some restraints on the educational fund.
John Peters: Although he likes the simplicity of the amended article, he thinks the article should be as stated.
Mike Dennison: The reason they are thinking of doing this is to get some matching funds. 25 million dollar grant in Washington DC which is a matching grant. They are trying to get the money from the Feds.
Harvey Smith (Representative to the house): This is a difficult topic. At this point they are not being fiscally responsible. Having the property tax change to State wide has created an incredible resource for raising money. The Education Fund should stay. He has tried to get the legislature to reduce the educational tax rate, so that the surplus could go back to the towns, but has not been successful. Would support the original but not the amendment.
Eldon Sherwin: The amendment is simple and clear.
John Freidin: The history is that having a fund makes people feel good in the short term. Control by the State is more complicated. It is foolish to say no fund should be raided. There may be special circumstances when they may need to use funds from whatever source they can. Don’t take property taxes and use them for anything else. Stick to original article.
More discussion on amendment.
Amendment Defeated.
No more discussion
Article passed as written.
ARTICLE 6. To transact, vote and act upon any further non-binding business which may legally come before this meeting.
Andy Dykstra: Dairy farmer – Problem with having the meeting at 4pm. Town Meeting is a great thing and the dairy farmers should be able to come.
John Pratt: You were able to make it. So can others if they choose to.
Amos Roleau: It is not much of a sacrifice to make to come once a year. 4pm is better than staying late and not being awake. This seems to be a good compromise.
Fred Napoleon: His wife and kids were unable to attend, due to 4pm time.
Rick Shappy: With a voice vote you will always have people trying to stack the vote. The important thing is to try and get as many people as possible here. Should do whatever it takes to get people to the meeting. There is never a good time.
Discussion of different times and days.
Mary Pratt: Attendance is related to what is on the agenda and whether they will be able to affect it. People will come because they can make a difference.
Bill Shafer: Attendance is still minimal compared to those who vote by Australian Ballot. Many can’t sit through a meeting, sometimes articles are voted on late in the evening. Why not try starting with the big items first.
Marc LaPete: Would like to see the Town and School switch back and forth between going first.
More discussion on Town Meeting day being a State holiday.
Amos Roleau: Can’t understand why people can’t make the small sacrifice to have a say in their future. Does not understand why people are not here.
Does not matter when the meeting is held some people will not be able to make it.
Motion to recess until after the school meeting. 5:55. Many seconds.
Meeting reconvened at 9:22pm
ARTICLE 7. To elect the following Town Officers by Australian Ballot:
Auditor 3 years
Beeman School Director 3 years
Delinquent Tax Collector 1 year
Grand Jurors (2) 1 year
Library Trustee 5 years
Lister 3 years
Moderator 1 year
Mt. Abe School Director 3 years
Selectman 3 years
Town Agent 1 year
Trustee of Public Funds 1 year
No one running for Auditor, Beeman School director and Mt. Abe School director. The following people have said they will run as a write in candidate for the following positions: Lowell Nottingham – Beeman School Director, Joanna Cimino – Mt. Abe School Director, Iva Menard – Auditor.
ARTICLE 8. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven vote to appropriate $7,000.00 for the purpose of purchasing replacement playground equipment for the community. By Australian Ballot. Kirsten Pitts: Please support. There have been several pieces of equipment removed from the playground. Not much left. Have already raised $9,000.00. Will be buying much needed equipment. Which is used by everyone.
Pat Minor: The wood structure was built 20 years ago and must come down. Not a lot of money for the long term. Good idea.
Rick Shappy: Will this be Town equipment on School property? Yes.
ARTICLE 9. Shall the voters of New Haven vote to approve the Town Plan as
adopted by the Planning Commission and Selectboard?
By Australian Ballot.
Al Karnatz – Encouraged people to vote for. (and would like to start by going through the document page by page) (much laughter).
Larry Buck: The Town is not eligible for planning money from the state without a Town Plan in place. Please support.
John Madden: This is a temporary plan those funds would be available again once the plan has been fully reviewed.
ARTICLE 10. Shall the Town vote to appropriate $ 25,000.00 to be added to the Truck Replacement Fund for the Fire Department?
By Australian Ballot.
Dave Heisler: Purchased a utility truck using money from the fund. Will be looking at replacing a vehicle about every 5 years. Would like to continue to put money aside so it is available when ready to purchase another truck. Currently has about $32,000.00 in fund.
ARTICLE 11. Shall the Town vote to appropriate up to $14,000.00 for the purchase of a generator, fencing and electrical work related to installation. To be used for emergency purposes. By Australian Ballot.
Kathy Barrett: What is this for?
Bill Brim: Emergency Management director: The community currently has a large generator at the Town Shed; which can be brought to the Town Hall and plugged in if needed. Can also be unhooked and moved to any location if needed. Would like to hook up a permanent generator at the Fire Station.
ARTICLE 12. Shall the Voters of the Town of New Haven vote to spend up to
$ 120,000.00 from the Equipment Fund for the purpose of purchasing a Loader? By Australian Ballot.
Amos Roleau: Please support.
Jeff Everest: Why is the money for the Equipment Fund a line item. Has been for several years.
Randy Boise: Would this be a replacement or in addition to?
Amos Roleau: The old one is not worth much, but can still be used at the gravel pit. We will keep it so we won’t have to rent one.
ARTICLE 13. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven adopt the proposed Road Fund Budget in the amount of $ 782,843.66 a portion thereof in the amount of
$ 575,823.75 to be raised by taxes, for the purpose of maintaining town roads for the year 2006? By Australian Ballot.
Discussion of road plan.
Marc LaPete: Where is the money for the East Street change coming from?
Amos Roleau: State project that the town will get paid to do.
Marc LaPete: If the Town is so busy why isn’t the State doing the project. The location of the stakes is not the best spot for the road to come out.
Randy Boise: Not a good spot. Can the project be changed.
Larry Buck: The selectboard asks that people come forward and make their issues known. They are willing to listen. They need input from the town. They have been working on this for 9 months. Trying to correct a dangerous intersection.
Marc LaPete: The site line is worse from the other direction. Thinks this change will make things worse.
Select board: The State came to the Town with the proposal. Please come to the Selectboard meetings to voice your input.
Discussion of the way the money was put into the budget. Worried about double entry.
Amos Roleau: If there is a surplus it will come off of next year.
More discussion of the road crew being to busy too take on the project. Road crew likes to have control over what happens in Town.
ARTICLE 14. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven vote to adopt the proposed General Fund Budget in the amount of $ 479,555.03 a portion thereof in the amount of $ 260,952.13 to be raised by taxes. This amount to be increased by any additional monies voted affirmatively by other articles of this Annual Meeting or voted affirmatively by Australian ballot on March 7, 2006. Tax rate to be determined by the Selectboard. By Australian Ballot.
Dean Gilmore: Where does the money from the Sheriff’s dept. show as income?
Amos Roleau: General Fund. As well as the expense.
Gary Sundstrom: What about the $32,210.00 for the Library.
Pam Marsh, Library Trustee, Chair: There was money voted on for relocation last year that was not needed to move. Some of that money was used for last year’s budget. So it was artificially low. They would also like to increase the librarians wage up to around $14/ hour.
Polly Darnell, Treasurer: The Library’s financial year starts in October. It is often hard to make projections so far in advance.
ARTICLE 15. Shall the bonds of the Town of New Haven in an amount not to exceed $1,300,000.00 be issued for the purpose of constructing town offices and a community center? Including a new vault, library/meeting room, new entry way; added to the renovation of the house located at 116 North Street (King House), construction of a new parking lot and moving of the ball fields. Allowing the Selectboard to utilize monies from the Reserve Facilities Fund?
By Australian Ballot.
John Madden: What does the last sentence mean?
Larry Buck: Funds from the Reserve Facilities Fund (currently $127,000.) would be used to pay off the bond. The current allocation is $80,000.00 per year the proposal would be to use $65,000.00 of that allocation to offset the bond.
Nick Clifford: This is the culmination of a lot of hard work. He is impressed by the work that has been done and the solutions it will provide. Hopes every one has had a chance to read the information that was handed out.
Andy Dykstra: Was involved when the house was bought. Has anyone gone through and figured out the cost to build new and what the maintenance costs will be. Why not a single story low maintenance building.
Kathy Barrett: What will the cost be next year.
Larry Buck: The increase is a 3 cent average plus the $65,000.00.
Kathy Barrett: Would be better to budget the other way.
Lanny Smith: Could be packaged many different ways.
Kathy Barrett: What is the real cost in the highest year? Mt. Abe was more in different years. How much will the second year cost?
Jeff Everest: 3 cents per hundred and $65,000.00 ear marked for the project then it would be 7 cents. Then it will be more later? Your not stopping to think.
Amos Roleau: You’re already paying for it. The $65,000.00 is built into the budget. We need a library and I was in the office the other day and there were 7 people working with no space to work. You are going to have to do something. The committee has been working on this for 4 years. Trying to do the best we can with what we’ve been told the town wants. Don’t know what else to do.
Marc LaPete: What will happen if this is defeated tomorrow.
Amos Roleau: You will still have the same problems. The Town voted several times to keep the house. We are trying to do what the town wants.
John Madden: The feeling in town is not good about the way this was handled. It is a lot of money and it feels like we have been sold a bill of goods.
Larry Buck: The information has been given out in many ways. The longer you wait the more it will cost. Look at the surrounding towns there all doing the same thing. This is a project with heart and soul and we would like to preserve it. The renovation of the old house is a small part of the project 2/3 of the project is new.
Amos Roleau: This is a large project. Not just the building it includes the parking and the ball field. Will have to do something.
Polly Darnell: The prices for new and old construction are comparable. There is no historic money. So there are no restrictions on what can be done.
Amos Roleau: We have been acting on the surveys and recommendations the research and development has been done.
Susie Leonard: She has only been in town for eight years. She does not have a lot of money; however she does not want to see a steel building. She moved to New Haven and would like to see the town preserve some of its history and one way to do that is to keep the building as part of the legacy for future generations.
Nina Bacon: Spoke of the one third old and two thirds new construction and the belief in the need for new space. We need more community space.
John Madden: Towns people think this is a Cadillac when a Chevy would work.
There was no discussion on the following articles:
ARTICLE 16. Shall the Town appropriate $1,700.00 for the Addison County Community Action Group? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 17. Shall the Town appropriate $1,753.25 for the Addison County Home Health and Hospice, Inc.? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 18. Shall the Town appropriate $1,800.00 for the Addison County Parent/Child Center? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 19. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven vote to appropriate $1900 for Addison County Transit Resources to be taken from Town funds for the purpose of maintaining and improving transportation services for elders, persons with disabilities and the general public? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 20. Will the Town of New Haven, Vermont appropriate $ 350.00 for the Addison Otters Swim Team to be used to help pay annual operating expenses?
By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 21. Shall the Town appropriate $ 500.00 for the Bristol Family Center? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 22. Will the Town of New Haven vote $1,500.00 to be paid to the Bristol Recreation Department for support of its programs, including the Pottery Studio, The Hub/Youth Center, the Skate Park, and Ice Skating Rink? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 23. Shall the Town appropriate $ 2,000.00 for the Bristol Rescue Squad? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 24. Shall the Town of New Haven appropriate $ 700.00 for the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 25. Shall the Town appropriate $ 1,750.00 for the Counseling Service of Addison County? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 26. Shall the Town appropriate $ 700.00 for the Elderly Services Inc.? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 27. Shall the Town appropriate $ 400.00 for the Hospice Volunteer Services? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 28. Shall the Town appropriate $1,075.00 for the John W. Graham Emergency Shelter Services, Inc.? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 29. Shall the Town appropriate $ 887.00 for the Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Association Inc.? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 30. Shall the Town appropriate $ 500.00 for the Open Door Clinic?
By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 31. Shall the Town appropriate $ 390.00 for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 32. Shall the Town appropriate $ 300.00 for the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad, Inc? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 33. Shall the Town appropriate $ 525.00 for Vermont Adult Learning?
By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 34. Shall the Town appropriate $ 215.00 for the Vermont Center for Independent Living? By Australian Ballot.
ARTICLE 35. Will the Town of New Haven appropriate the sum of $ 600.00 to WomanSafe, Inc. to support their mission to: work toward the elimination of physical, sexual and emotional violence against woman and their children through direct service, education and social change? Said sum to come from General Funds. By Australian Ballot.
Adjourn 10:30 pm