Fairfax Selectboard Minutes of 04/28/08

Selectboard Members present: Judy Cleary, Bill Ormerod, Charlie Swanson, Randy DeVine, and Bob Horr. Staff Members present: Erin McSweeney, Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard. Public Present: Chris Santee, Jeff Hamel, Betty Poulin, Paul Langelier, Todd Blaisdell, and John Hathaway.

1.Call to Order

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

2. Minutes

Charlie motioned to accept the minutes from the meeting on April 28, 2008, as written. Bob seconded. 4 board members voted in favor, and one abstained.

3. Items on the Agenda

A. Jim Ellsworth - Jim attended tonight's meeting to discuss Comette Road. The intersection of Comette Road and Fletcher Road was re-aligned in 2004 due to safety concerns. As a result, the Town and the Ellsworth family swapped land to allow for access to Fletcher Road from the newly re-aligned portion of the road. Quit Claim Deeds were drafted by Janet Franklin and signed by members of the Ellsworth family and representatives from the Town. Jim learned recently that the land swap was not warned properly in 2004. Bill motioned to have Janet Franklin draft the appropriate documents between the Ellsworth family and the Town of Fairfax for the right-of-way for the previous and current intersection of Comette Road. Bob seconded. 4 board members voted in favor, and one abstained. Erin will follow up with Janet Franklin.

B.Randy DeVine - Randy has re-evaluated the Water Booster Station on Buck Hollow Road that was hit by a Stevens Gas Truck. He would like Erin to send a letter informing them that there is no significant damage to the Booster Station.

Randy summarized his activities for the week, which included, but is not limited to: he worked on the lawnmower, raked and cut brush in front of the lagoons and mowed the front lawn.

Randy informed the board that his Wastewater Certification is up for renewal; it expires on July 1st. The cost to renew is $110.00.

Randy and Maurice would like to attend the upcoming Vermont Rural Water Tradeshow. The cost to attend is $65.00 each. Charlie motioned to approve Randy's request for he and Maurice to attend the tradeshow at a cost of $65.00 each. Bill seconded. 4 board members voted in favor, and one abstained.

Bill motioned to renew Randy's Wastewater Certification at a cost of $110.00. Bob seconded. 4 board members voted in favor, and one abstained.

Judy thanked Randy for the signs he made for Household Hazardous Waste Day.

Bill asked if Randy could get some information about cleaning out the tanks when he is at the tradeshow. Randy indicated that he has received letters from companies offering the service. Randy would like to contact NE Tank, since they installed the tanks.

Erin will ask Amy Sears for financial reports for the Water and Sewer Departments.

C. Chris Santee - Chris attended tonight's meeting on behalf of the Fairfax Businessperson's Association to discuss plans for fireworks. He has contacted a couple insurance companies to inquire about the price of an insurance rider for the event; he indicated that a rider is expensive. Chris indicated that he has contacted Mike Boisjoli of Milton, who puts on the fireworks in Milton, Burlington, Winooski and Sugarbush. Mike obtains all permits and carries his own insurance. Chris suggested that Mike could put on a show on Saturday, July 5th. Mike will visit a proposed site on Ron and Deanne Morin's property to determine if it is suitable.

4. Other Business

A. Bill motioned to offer the position of Back-Up Water/Wastewater Operator to Paul Langelier, at a starting rate of $12.00 per hour; training is to begin on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. Paul will be working toward certification for Grade 1 DM and Class III Water System Operator in as timely a manner as possible. Charlie seconded. All board members voted in favor.

Erin will send letters to Todd Blaisdell and John Hathaway. The board would like to ask Todd if he would consider being placed on an emergency call list, in the event Randy is sick.

B. The board reviewed a letter of intent from All-Cycle. Randy noted that the dates need to be changed in the letter to the residents. The board reviewed the CPI (Consumer Price Index) information, and the information about recycle bins. All-Cycle will be purchasing recycle bins for all the households in Town. All Cycle is proposing an increase of 3.95% to the current contract price if the contract is renewed in August of this year. The anticipated cost of trash removal will be approximately $412,000 upon renewal of the contract.

C. The board reviewed a letter from Amy Gamble of VTrans regarding Emergency Nurses Care. The organization, in conjunction with the Governor's Highway Safety Program and VTrans, participate in a program to put up memorial signs at or near the location of alcohol related crashes. The organization is requesting permission to put up signs at two locations in Town. The board would like to see what the signs look like. Erin will contact Amy Gamble.

D. The board reviewed an e-mail from Colleen Steen regarding the High Risk Rural Roads program. Bethany Remmers of the Northwest Regional Planning Commission has submitted a list of roads to the State that are considered a high priority in the region. Buck Hollow Road and Huntville Road are among the roads on the list.

E. The board reviewed a proposed amendment to the Sewer Allocation and Connection Ordinance that was drafted by Bob. The board would like Skip to review applications for sewer allocations as they are submitted to the Town Office to determine if the scope of the proposed project and whether it is feasible. Randy suggested a lot review should be done to determine what the buildable acreage is for a proposed project. The board discussed having applicants submit a sketch of the proposed project or a lot layout with a sewer allocation application.

Charlie motioned to grant preliminary sewer allocations for 3 single-family homes, 630 gallons, to Tom Wyckoff. Bob seconded. All board members voted in favor.

F. Charlie has spoken with Roger Whitcomb of VTrans regarding the Bridge #10 project. Charlie indicated that VTrans is proposing a regional detour while the bridge work is being done. The original proposal was to widen Boissoneault Road and use that for a detour. Roger advised that VTrans is still going to design a detour for Boissoneault Road, but there are archeological considerations, and a regional detour through Milton and St. Albans is more feasible. The board will draft a letter to Carolyn Branagan, Gary Gilbert, and Don Collins asking for assistance on the status of the proposed regional detour.

G. Erin received a Liquor License renewal application for the Country Pantry. A new application needs to be completed by the owner of record. Erin will confirm who the owner of the restaurant is and follow up with him.

5. Public Input

Peg Stewart indicated that a call was placed to the Sheriff on Saturday night because cones were put on the roof of the school. She indicated that the Sheriff's Department did a good job responding to the call. She requested that the Sheriff patrol the area around the school during the late evening hours on Friday and Saturday night. Peg also cited a couple instances of vandalism that have been reported in the vicinity of the Recreation Path.

Bob has spoken with Sheriff Norris regarding involving the Sheriff's Department in the chain of command if someone is bitten by a dog. Sheriff Norris indicated that the Sheriff's Department is typically not the first point of contact. Bob has also spoken with David McWilliams, the Animal Control Officer for St. Albans City. Sheriff Norris would like the board to draw up a chain of command and send him a copy.

When Randy was Constable, he was usually the first on the scene when there was a report of a dog bite.

6. Executive Session

Bill motioned to enter Executive Session at 7:52PM to conduct interviews for the Back-Up Operator position; Bill would like the Selectboard Administrative Assistant to be present. Bob seconded. The board entered Executive Session at 7:52PM.

The board returned to public session at 9:08PM.

7. Adjournment

Bill motioned to adjourn the meeting at 10:05PM. Bob seconded. All board members voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 10:05PM.

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Erin McSweeney, Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard