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Town of New Haven Selectboard Orientation Night

7:00 pm Town Offices

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Present: Burt Allen, Keith Hall, Pam Marsh, Pat Paquette, Lowell Nottingham, Claire Van Buren, Barb Torian, Pam Kingman

Others: Al Karnatz

Town Clerk, Claire Van Buren swore in Lowell Nottingham for his one year term, Patrick Paquette for his two year term and Pamela Marsh for her three year term on the Selectboard. 

Pam Marsh made a motion to appoint Keith Hall as Selectboard Chair, seconded by Pat Paquette. All agreed.

Burt Allen made a motion to appoint Pam Kingman as the Selectboard Clerk, seconded by Pam Marsh. All agreed.

Pam Marsh made a motion to have Burt Allen and Pat Paquette work together as Co-Road Commissioners. In the event that one of them is unavailable, the other can make a decision on their own. Motion seconded by Lowell Nottingham. All agreed.

Pam Marsh said she would like to learn more about the roads, maybe take some field trips to see trouble spots.

Pat Paquette talked about some software he has for his business that helps keep track of  vehicles and the amount of usage it gets, what it’s being used for, the amount of gas it uses, etc. This will be a great asset to the road crew and the Selectboard in maintaining the vehicles.   

Appointments as follows:

Fence Viewers: Pat Paquette made a motion to reappoint Earl Bessette, Donald Hallock and Charles Smith, seconded by Burt Allen. All agreed.

Inspector Lumber, Shingles & Wood: Burt Allen made a motion to reappoint Richard Higbee, seconded by Pat Paquette. All agreed.

Weighers of Coal: Pam Marsh made a motion to consolidate the Weighers of Coal in with Inspector Lumber, Shingles & Wood, seconded by Lowell Nottingham. All agreed.

Tree Warden: Pat Paquette made a motion to reappoint Allen Noble as the Tree Warden, seconded by Burt Allen. All agreed.

Barb Torian – Just wanted to let the Selectboard know that there are duties that go along with being a Tree Warden. This includes where and when the road crew can remove trees alongside the roads. Keith Hall said he would be happy to speak with Mr. Noble about the Tree Warden duties.

Planning Commission Chair, Al Karnatz dropped off a grant application for a training ssession for the Development Review Board. The total grant amount is for $800. Pam Marsh made a motion to submit the grant for DRB training, seconded by Burt Allen. All agreed.

Treasurer, Barb Torian: With the new Selectboard, she is looking to see how they would like to sign pay orders. She does payroll once a week, paychecks are handed out on Thursdays. The orders need to be signed prior to this. Keith Hall made a motion to allow any three Selectboard members to come in and sign the pay orders, seconded by Pat Paquette. All agreed.

Treaurer, Barb Torian: Treasurer’s Report – Asked if each member like a copy of these at the first meeting of each month; each member said yes.

Barb Torian - Asked the Selectboard if they still wanted her to assist the Selectboard with the calculations for tax rates, print out the tax bills and mail them. Pam Marsh said yes, she feels it is best to leave it in the Treasurer’s hands. The rest of the Selectboard agreed with Pam Mash.

Personnel Policy: Keith Hall and Burt Allen stressed to the new Selectboard members the importance of updating this policy. It has not been updated since1999.

Purchasing Policy: Barb Torian explained that the employees in the office usually order supplies as needed, large items would need to be approved by the Selectboard.

Keith Hall: Will try to get Architect, Peter Morris to come in and update the Selectboard on the plans for the new Town Offices and Library.

Keith Hall made a motion to move into Executive Session at 8:02 pm to discuss legal matters, seconded by Lowell Nottingham. All agreed.

Pam Marsh made a motion to come out of Executive Session at 8:10 pm, seconded by Lowell Nottingham. All agreed.

No action taken.

Regular Meeting dates: Burt Allen made a motion to continue meeting on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, unless otherwise warned, seconded by Pat Paquette. All agreed.

Burt Allen suggested having Pam Kingman buy a timer to keep track of “talk time” during the meetings, seconded by Keith Hall. All agreed.

Pam Kingman asked each member if they would like to receive a copy of the draft minutes by email. This would save money on mailing them each a copy. Each member was in favor, and email address, phone numbers etc. were exchanged.

Adjourn: 8:15 pm

Respectfully Submitted

Pam Kingman