Fairfax Selectboard Minutes of 03/03/08

Selectboard Members present: Bill Ormerod, Judy Cleary, Jeff Blake, Charlie Swanson, and Randy DeVine. Staff Members present: Don Pigeon, Road Foreman, Erin McSweeney, Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard. Public Present: Peter King, Peg Stewart, Joan Wotherspoon, and Betty Poulin.

1.Call to Order

Bill Ormerod, Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 7:00PM.

2. Minutes

Charlie motioned to accept the minutes from the meeting on February 18, 2008, as written. Randy seconded. 4 board members voted in favor of accepting the minutes as written. One board member abstained.

3. Items on the Agenda

A. Don Pigeon - Don started drawing sand from Reggie Smith. He will need to mix the sand from Reggie with sand from another vendor in Johnson to make the sand mixture more coarse. Next winter, Don would like to secure more than one supplier of salt in case it is in short supply.

B. Randy DeVine - Randy has not had a chance to thoroughly review the reports that were completed by Amy. He will review these for accuracy and the board will discuss these next week. Randy did review the Water Usage Summary for January 2008, and for February 2008, along with the VT Monthly Operations Report for March 2008. Randy also gave the board a Summary of Activities for the weeks of February 18th, and February 25th, including, but not limited to, replacing a cracked chlorination line, locating all of the water and sewer lines for the Bridge #10 project, completing the classified ad for the Back-up Operator, and restoring the lagoons to normal operation. He informed the board that he has received the results of the 2nd set of composite samples for January. He met with Wayne Graham of the VT Rural Water Association to work on the Spill Prevention Plan that is required by the State; he has also scheduled a follow-up meeting with Wayne to review a draft of the plan.

4. Other Business

A. The board reviewed a memo from Katrina Antonovich, the Parks and Recreation Department Director, requesting that the Town waive the fees associated with a land transfer between the Town and Bernard Keefe. By consensus, the board agreed to waive the fees associated with the land transfer.

B. The board reviewed an e-mail from Skip Taylor regarding mapping software for the Zoning office. One option that Skip offered is to work with Northwest Regional Planning to update Town maps provided by the Listers. There is no fee for this service. The board would like to request that the Listers provide an updated Autocad map annually to Northwest Regional Planning.

C. The board reviewed the Job Description for a Constable from VLCT. Randy, a former Town Constable, would like to add the following duty to the Job Description: the Constable will assist contracted law enforcement or the Town Highway Crew when necessary. Randy cited traffic control as an instance in which a Constable would assist law enforcement or the Highway Crew. The board would like to remove the duty of serving criminal process. Jeff noted that the Constable's primary function in the Town is animal control.

D. Jeff's term for the position of Town Health Officer expires on March 31, 2008. He indicated he will not be seeking the appointment again. The board reviewed a letter of interest submitted by Peter King for the position.

E. The board signed a renewal application for a Liquor License from Adams's Quick Stop.

5. Public Input

A. Peg Stewart informed the board that the School Board has been in contact with the School's attorney regarding the White House. Peg indicated that the board would receive written correspondence from the School board regarding the options for the building.

B. Joan Wotherspoon asked the board for clarification on the change in the Employee Policy regarding health insurance for employees' spouses. Bill clarified that the change is going to take effect January 1, 2009. Bill also indicated that the Employee Policy is reviewed annually in the month of December. Joan also asked about the agreement between Fairfax and Fletcher regarding the Fire Department. Bill informed her that Fletcher does pay a retainer of $5,000 per year, and if the service exceeds $5,000, they do pay for the additional service. Joan asked if Fletcher's contribution could be increased to offset the expenses for the Fire Department. She suggested holding fundraisers to defray some of the Fire Department's costs, such as utilities for the building, and fuel.

C. Betty Poulin asked if the Sheriff will still be patrolling in Town. Bill informed her that the Sheriff will still be patrolling in Town, and that the cost of this, which is the same as last year, is included as a line item in the budget. Peter King suggested that the Sheriff's Department should adjust their schedule so that more speed enforcement can be done on Route 104 south of Nan's Mobil.

6. Executive Session

A. Judy motioned to enter Executive Session at 8:15PM. Jeff seconded. All board members voted in favor.

B. Judy motioned to come out of Executive Session at 8:24PM. Jeff seconded. All board members voted in favor. The board returned to public session at 8:24PM.

6. Adjournment

Judy motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:25PM. Randy seconded. All board members voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25PM.

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Erin McSweeney, Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard