Fairfax Selectboard Minutes of 04/14/08

Selectboard Members present: Bill Ormerod, Judy Cleary, Charlie Swanson, Randy DeVine, and Bob Horr. Staff Members present: Don Pigeon, Road Foreman, Donna Meunier, Town Clerk, and Erin McSweeney, Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard. Public Present: Sam Hudson, Carl Jones, David Shea, Betty Poulin and Tim Smith.

1.Call to Order

Judy Cleary, Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 7:00PM.

2. Minutes

Charlie motioned to accept the minutes from the meeting on April 7, 2008, as written. Randy seconded. All board members voted in favor.

3. Items on the Agenda

A. Don Pigeon - Don has received bids from the following companies for paving: S.T. Paving, who submitted a price of $62.60 per ton, Pike, who submitted a price of $65.05 per ton, FW Whitcomb, who submitted a price of $71.45 per ton, and United Paving, who submitted a price of $70.00 per ton.

Charlie motioned to accept S.T. Paving's bid for paving. Randy seconded. All board members voted in favor.

Don anticipates paving portions of the following Town roads: River Road, Toof Road, Hunt Street, Huntville Road, Rood Mill Road, Carroll Hill Road, Buck Hollow Road, Bessette Road and Nichols Road. Don informed the board that the 2004 tandem dump truck is being serviced at J&B International; he hopes to have it back on Tuesday.
Don would like to order the jackhammer for the backhoe. Funds have been allocated in the 2008 budget to purchase this. Don informed the board that the Road Crew is having a difficult time repairing the mud holes as a result of the freeze / thaw cycles this winter. Don reviewed an e-mail from Ted Beebe regarding the beaver pond at the end of Meade Road. Don cleaned the pond out on Monday afternoon. Don, Judy, and Sam Hudson will meet next Tuesday morning to visit the Town Forest in North Fairfax.

David Shea attended tonight's meeting to express appreciation for the work the Road Crew has done on Sam Webb Road. David asked the board for the status on the discussion regarding employee benefits. Judy indicated that the board will be discussing this issue at a meeting in the future, perhaps in June. David stated that the Town employees are a good group of people, and they are worth investing in.

B. Donna Meunier - Donna attended tonight's meeting to discuss possible options for trash service in the Town. The current contract with All-Cycle will expire in August. Donna informed the board that $97,000 has been spent on trash removal since January 1st; last month's bill was $32,451. The budgeted amount of $410,000 for trash service is based on a 2% increase at the time of contract renewal. Donna believes that 2% may not be enough due to the rising cost of fuel.

Donna offered a couple of options for the board's consideration. One option is to set up a transfer station. Donna indicated that a transfer station would allow the Town to better adhere to the Solid Waste Implementation Plan that is required by the State. The Town's current SWIP is awaiting approval. A transfer station would encourage recycling; according to the State, the current system that is in place for trash collection does not encourage recycling.

Donna indicated that people who use the transfer station would pay for the items that they drop off, including household trash. Recyclable material would also be able to be dropped off at no charge.

For people who live on Town roads who do not want to use the transfer station, curbside pickup would be available. Donna proposed a system where people could purchase a sticker for an estimated annual cost of $300.00 that would cover the cost of curbside pickup for one year.

C. Randy DeVine - Randy reviewed the following reports for March 2008: Sewer Discharge, Permit Monitoring Report, and the Phosphorus Monitoring Report. Randy gave a summary of his activities for last week; he did some composite sampling and water sampling. He also took an inventory of the parts he has on hand, and placed orders for parts he needs, and summerized the snowblower. He has reviewed Amy's calculations for Rene Boissoneault's property. Randy indicated that his calculations are based on 2,000 cubic feet of usage, while Amy's calculations are based on the actual usage for the property.

Randy has obtained a quotation of $5,225.00 from Champlin Associates for a static meter for the Town water well. Randy expressed concern that the board sends him on time-consuming research missions that are never followed up on and do not materialize. One such project that Randy gathered information for was replacing the ¼" water line on Buck Hollow Road. Randy indicated that he had obtained pricing for materials for this project, and the project has not been done.

Bill stated that he would like the static meter for the Town water well be installed. Bob indicated that he would like to obtain more than one price for the static meter. Bob also indicated that he was a proponent of the Buck Hollow project, and that the water line is the next line to be replaced. Bob would like to look at the finances of the Water and Sewer Department to determine if both of these projects can be completed. Randy indicated that he has a list of all the materials needed for the project, as he did the take-off when the project was originally proposed.

Bill would like to obtain information from Amy Sears regarding the income and liability of the Utility Department for the purpose of creating a budget for the department.

D. Tim Smith, Executive Director of Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation - Tim attended tonight's meeting to give an overview of the economy in Franklin County. The mission of the FCIDC is to create an environment that entices job creation and capital investment. He cited companies in Franklin County, such as Mylan Technologies and PBM Nutritionals, who are having trouble filling job openings. FCIDC is currently working with the Workforce Investment Board to provide training at the multi-tenant building in Swanton in a variety of vocations. He indicated that a recent job fair held at Collins Perley in St. Albans drew 84 businesses and about 675 people.

4. Other Business

A. The board reviewed a letter from Gabe Handy regarding the existing municipal water allocation for 15 Maple Street; Gabe would like to tear down the existing single family home, and construct a duplex. One side of the duplex would be serviced by the existing municipal water allocation, and the other side would be serviced by a drilled well. Bill indicated that the proposed project is not a change in use, as the current structure is a residential unit, and the proposed duplex is also a residential unit. By consensus, the board agreed to allow Mr. Handy to retain the current municipal water allocation presently used by the 4 bedroom residence at 15 Maple Street for one three-bedroom side of his proposed duplex. The water for the other side of the duplex will be supplied by a drilled well. Both sides of the duplex will have municipal sewer.

B. The board reviewed two letters of interest for the Back-Up Operator. Erin will schedule a time for both applicants to meet with the board.

C. Randy reviewed the Sewer Status Report. Randy referred to the top part of the Sewer Status Report, which includes residences that have connected to the sewer system. He recommended that no one should be removed from this part of the list until they have had a Certificate of Occupancy for a year. The data in the Sewer Status Report is based on the average amount of sewer discharge for the previous 12 months; Randy suggested that the board should consider the average amount of discharge for the 24 previous months, as one year could be dry and the next could be wet.

Randy reviewed the applications that have been submitted for sewer allocations. He indicated where each proposed project will be located. Randy discussed changes in use. He gave the following example: A three bedroom home has water allocated to it for 3 bedrooms, and has a sewer allocation of 210. He indicated that if there is a change in use that will not require more water and sewer than what was originally allocated to the structure, the change in use should be allowed. Bill indicated that he would like to propose that change when the Water Use and Sewer Allocation and Connection Ordinances are revised. Randy showed the board an application that was approved for a change in use for the building that currently houses Fairfax Physical Therapy. Bill stated that the current ordinances require an application for a change in use.

Randy would like to review the Water Status Report at a future board meeting, as it has not been reviewed since 2003.

Erin will contact Bernard Keefe, Tom Wyckoff, Jeffrey & Kelly Crawford, Bill Superneau, and Elisabeth Kirkpatrick to verify that the information on the applications they have submitted for sewer allocations is still accurate.

D. The board reviewed a grant application for a Municipal Education Grant from Skip Taylor. The grant would fund workshops for the DRB. The board would like Skip to encourage as many DRB and Planning Commission members to attend as possible.

E. The board reviewed the information from VLCT about the TULIP program. Erin will contact Ken Canning at VLCT to find out if a rider is available for the FBPA for the fireworks. Erin will pass the information along to Katrina Antonovich, Parks and Recreation Director.

F. Judy informed the board that there is a Library Trustees meeting tomorrow night. Bill asked Judy if the Library Trustees have been contacted about Fairfax Community Day.

G. The board reviewed the revised stipulation for Maple Hill Road.

H. Bob motioned to authorize Amanda Lafferty of Stitzel, Page, and Fletcher to collect the full balance, including legal fees, on the outstanding delinquent sewer account if payment is not received by the close of business on April 15th. Randy seconded. All board members voted in favor.

5. Public Input

A. Colleen Steen discussed today's meeting in Montpelier with the State Traffic Committee as well as Tom Tremblay, the Commissioner of Public Safety, and Bonnie Rutledge, the Commissioner of the DMV. Members of the community, the Selectboard, the Transportation Advisory Committee of the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, and State Representatives Branagan and Gilbert attended the meeting to support the speed limit reduction request that was submitted to VTrans by the Selectboard, and subsequently denied. The State Traffic Committee looked at pictures that were taken by Bill, Bob and Colleen of various points along Route 104.
As suggested by the State Traffic Committee, the Selectboard will send a letter to the State Police and the Sheriff's Department requesting that more speed enforcement be conducted along Route 104 during the day.

The Selectboard requested that the speed limit through the village on Route 104 be reduced from 35 MPH to 25 MPH. Ultimately, the State Traffic Committee did reduce the speed limit to 30 MPH. Colleen will contact Amy Bell of VTrans to find out what the process is to change the speed limit and what the lead time will be.

Betty Poulin asked the board what difference increasing the Sheriff's Department's coverage from 20 hours to 40 hours a week has made. Bill indicated that the number of home invasions in Town has dropped.

B. Carl Jones requested that the Town refrain from using the word "selectmen" in any report, warned article, ordinance, rule, or regulation, as it is in violation of state law. He stated that Vermont became a gender neutral state years ago.

Betty Poulin agreed with Carl. She expressed concern regarding the meter reading cards that are sent out by the Utility Department every quarter. Betty stated that the cards cost $1.00, and a total of $300.00 per quarter.

Bill informed Carl that the board is reviewing all of the Town's ordinances and will keep this change in mind.

6. Adjournment

Randy motioned to adjourn the meeting at 10:00PM. Bill seconded. All board members voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 10:00PM.

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Erin McSweeney, Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard