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Town of New Haven Selectmen’s Meeting
11:00 am town Clerks Office
Monday, March 12, 2007
Present: Burt Allen, Keith Hall, Paul Audy, Claire Van Buren, Barb Torian, Pam Kingman
Others: Phil Busier, Katie Reilley, Roger Boise, Tim Bouton, Warren Whitcomb, Cris Messerle, Nina Bacon
Paul Audy to chair the selectboard
Pam Kingman was confirmed as the selectboad clerk
Roads
Results:
Conveyor: to be used for moving sand in the shed, questions had been raised about the possibility of cutting a hole in the north side of the marshmallow to use the conveyor, and why aren’t we using loaders to move sand instead of buying a conveyor. Phil Busier said that would not be possible to cut a hole in the marshmallow because it would weaken the structure, and the use of a loader is getting to be too dangerous, because the sand pile is so large. OSHA fines towns for using loaders in unsafe conditions. Phil Busier wanted to thank the town for the “marshmallow” it has made a huge difference.
Cones, Barricades and signs: okay to order
Trailer: okay to buy, will be used for transporting culverts
Grader repair: no word on the status
Paving: Munger St. – waiting for estimate from Pikes
Mailboxes: Heavy snow knocked some boxes off their posts. The selectboard feels mailboxes and fences are personal property, and the homeowner is responsible for the maintenance.
Road Foreman’s meeting: Phil Busier and Katie Reilley both attended the meeting in Monkton. The main topic of discussion was the Valentines Day blizzard. There was concern that the Emergency Management process was not understood. Most of the area road crews all worked over 30 hours during the storm. They discussed the need to prioritize which roads would stay open for emergencies. Phil Busier told the selectboard he would submit a prioritized list of roads for them to approve. Tim Bouton added the need to prioritize in advance; it will be a great help to the road crew as well as residents. It allows those people living on the secondary roads time to plan ahead.
LeDuc Rd.: Trees in the town right of way need to be taken care of, they are a hazard. Keith Hall asked Phil Busier to send a letter to the homeowner requesting a meeting with them and the Tree Warden to discuss tree removal.
River Rd.: rip-rap about 300 ft. along the river where the guardrails where hit this winter. Will look into permits and talk to the State.
Cove Rd.: rip-rap along the river; will talk to the State
Plank Rd. Bridge: steel is rusting, getting holes along the deck, having to repair with tar. Will call Pam Thurber from District #5; she is in charge of bridges in the State. The road crew would like to put a whole new top on the bridge, possibly using prefabricated panels.
Radios for Loader or grader: Handheld radios aren’t strong enough. Price to install $580.00 programmed with a 64 channel unit by Motorolla. Possibly cut it down to 8-9 channels to talk with just local guys in case there is an emergency.
Sumner Rd.: Is considered a town road; we maintain / plow it up to the gate by the Messengers.
Chloride Tank: Burt Allen has spoken to Gorman Bros. who would furnish and fill the 4,500 gallon tank with liquid chloride at $.80 per gallon. He feels this is expensive considering the amount of dirt roads there are in town. The selectboard all agree it would be more cost effective to buy pallets of dry chloride and mix it ourselves. Warren Whitcomb wondered if we could spread dry chloride. Burt Allen explained that when it’s applied dry it doesn’t activate well. Mr. Whitcomb expressed continued concerns about us sharing work with other towns, or plowing private driveways; he feels the town should be charging the people whose driveway we plow. There was discussion about the road equipment and maintenance to the equipment.
New Business
Visitors Business:
Tim Bouton – Zoning Board of Adjustment (alternates) – ZBA struggling with members not showing up for the meetings, would like the selectboard to appoint three alternates. Tim Bouton recommended Roger Boise and Jim Gallott, the selectboard agreed. Roger Boise was present, he accepted the position. Claire Van Buren will contact Jim Gallott. There is still one position to fill. Tim Bouton stressed the need for members to attend every ZBA meeting, if there is a two month event and you miss one meeting; it’s very hard to vote on the issues.
Suzy Roorda – Parks Maintenance contract / bid proposal – Suzy home sick, Pam Kingman presented both to the Selectboard, all agree bid could go in the newspaper. All okay with the contract. The bid / contract are to include the following Town owned properties: Village Green, War Memorial Park, West Cemetery and River Road Park. Warren Whitcomb questioned who was responsible for what at the River Road Cemetery and wondered how many people had been buried there recently? Barb Torian responded, Betty Bell was the Sexton of the cemetery and Sandy Kemp does the lawn maintenance. She said there have been around three to four people buried there recently.
Regular Business:
Keith Hall – King House – He handed out a written continuation of the proposal / warning for the King House that includes stipulations. He would like to meet with the Town attorney regarding the wording in the proposal. Keith Hall has met with the Fortiers again in regards to moving the King House and the ell to their property. There was discussion on setting a time limit for moving the house as well as how often it would be open to the public. Barb Torian talked about how much stuff is stored over at the King House due to the lack of space in the town office, and the need for a storage container when the King House is moved.
Cris Messerle – FYI – The ZBA has dismissed the violations against Phoenix Feeds; this is their final decision. The town voted for a change in zoning along Rt. 7. There is a process to follow and the Dunbars will need another hearing with the Planning Commission. He wants to make sure the selectboard was aware of the process.
Money was authorized at Town Meeting by the voters to network the computers in the Town office. Barb Torian has been hired for $ 20.00 per hour to help, as she is the one who is most familiar with the information on the computers.
Paul Audy motion to sign pay orders, second by Keith Hall
Sign overweight permits
Sign liquor license
Sign grant from VTrans
Starting in April the Selectboard meetings will be moved to the first and third Tuesday’s of each month @ 7:00 pm. April 3rd & April 17. The next meeting will be March 20th @ 7:00 pm.
Adjourn: 12:50 pm
Respectfully Submitted
Pam Kingman