May 19

5/19/2008

APPROVED
Town of Johnson
Selectboard Meeting

Monday, May 19, 2008 - 7:00 p.m.
Upstairs, Johnson Municipal Building

MINUTES

Selectboard members present: Eric Osgood – Chair, Margo Warden, Brad Reed, Rocky Hooper, Howard Romero.

Others present: Duncan Hastings - Municipal Administrator, Rosemary Audibert - Town Clerk, Lois Frey, Steve Smith – Johnson Road Foreman, Susan McGovern.

Eric called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Draft Minutes from the April 21, 2008 meeting were reviewed. A motion to accept the draft minutes was made by Howard, and seconded by Rocky. Eric stated that he was not present at that meeting, and the motion was withdrawn. A new motion to accept the draft minutes as amended was then made by Howard, and seconded by Rocky. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Rosemary said letters for the tax sale were going out this week. Delinquent taxes are as follows: 2008 - $179,000; 2007 - $176,000; 2006- $173,000. Rosemary said that the delinquencies were running about average. There is $62,000 left in the current budget. A review of the status of reserved funds would be reported in June. The Town may have to borrow money after July 1st. Duncan stated that the Town should receive additional PILOT money for next year. Eric stated that he is still very concerned about the status of the budget and we needed to look at all options to reduce spending. He asked if the town would be allowed to impose a mandatory week off without pay. This was something IBM had done in the past. Duncan was not sure if the Town could do that.

Rosemary stated that the computer server which serves the entire office needs to be replaced due to problems with the software (it only has 512 ram), and that the IT person was working on quotes. The cost will be at least $5,000, with the money coming out of capital reserves. The computers for both Duncan and Steve were replaced last year. A new anti-virus had also been purchased, but cannot run because there isn’t enough space.

Report from Steve Smith, Road Foreman:

1. Since last meeting have received 1.8 inches of rain.
2. The mud has finally dried up.
3. Plows, wings and sanders have been painted.
4. Starting on trucks this week.
5. Tatro Construction has stripped enough of the pit to possibly get us through the summer. This was done with less money than was budgeted.
6. The grader has been going steady, and we have hauled about 2500 yards of gravel to cover up the crushed stone that was put in the worst mud holes.

7. Steve spoke with Duncan about a bill for snow removal at JES and came up with the following figures: Labor - $5562.00; Equipment - $6589.00; Material $725.00 for a total of $12,876.00. These figures were for last winter, which had more snow than usual – 209 inches.

Eric asked about the truck and was told it will be here July 1. The chassis will be here and will then be sent to Morrisville. Steve asked if deferring construction of a salt shed this year would help with the budget. Duncan stated the money for the shed was from Capital Reserve funds, so would not lower taxes needed. There were issues with the retaining wall of the Power House bridge. Photos were taken and sent to Randy Reed. The bridge definitely needs to be repaired (the retaining wall against the abutment). Duncan reported there is a good chance we may be funded for a grant to make repairs. Seeing more traffic on Foote Brook Road, too.

Steve said that the employees have been taking their comp time right along. Steve wants the men to meet with the SB. Time was provided at tonight’s meeting, no one showed up other than Steve. Chris said he is losing money. Steve said 3 others are the same way. Rocky stated he has been hearing things from members of the public which are being said by highway employees and thinks the whole story is not being told.

Eric has been hearing complaints about Route 15 in the Village. Duncan stated he gives out the engineer’s phone number when he receives a complaint.

Margo suggested the SB host an informational breakfast to answer questions. Duncan said he wouldn’t know what to tell them, and suggested the board contact Floyd and Susan to see if they could get something done. It was also noted that if and when the town siren goes off, the traffic control people have been notified that they have to clear the road and stop traffic in all directions.

Regarding TH #19 – Duncan said that Mark would be coming in to request reconsideration of the Board’s decision. (Board concluded Rd. was still Class IV since it had not legally been re-classified to Class III). Mark can bring up to current Class III standard and request reclassification. Rocky said there are no ditches up there, and that water was running down the middle of the road.

Selectboard Issues and Concerns:

NEMS – Brad attended a meeting where NEMS decided to upgrade the charges for their Paramedic Intercept calls. Apparently they paid out $25,000.00 but only received $3,000.00 back from the participating towns. They are changing their contracts and will now charge $500.00 for each intercept call. New contracts need to be signed by July.

Howard Romero for Casey Romero re BOOST grant allocations – Casey sent a letter to Amy Langlois, Sheri Boutin and Duncan Hastings with regard to monies remaining from the grant. Rosemary stated that no one had gone through the time cards. Duncan suggested that a way they could do it legally would be to reimburse the skate park for Jim’s salaries. Margo wanted to know how the money was supposed to be divided between the skate park and recreation (no rec person here). Money has to be used per the guidelines of the grant. The skate and rec committee could work it out - but if not, rec could give the money to the skate park and not back to the state (risking having to pay back the money). The rec committee members and the skate park committee should all be invited to the next meeting to plead their case. Eric could make a decision after that. Duncan wondered about the possibility of making an amendment to the grant to be able to utilize the grant in another way. A motion was made by Howard to move this topic until the next meeting, which was seconded by Rocky. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed. The Board would like a proposal in writing. Duncan will contact the rec committee members.

Old Business:

Follow-up to Roger Marcoux visit and suggestion of Local Ordinance to Register Alarm Systems. This would generate a fee and there would be a fine after the first false alarm or second alarm - $25/fee for those. Eric would like to survey surrounding towns. Rocky suggested contacting Department of Public Safety and thinks the Board should contact Roger to find out how many there are around here.

Zoning and Subdivision Public Hearing. There is a hearing scheduled for this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. There will be persons in attendance from LCPC and Johnson Planning Commission.

Priority Action Meeting Items:

Signatures: 4/29/08 letter from Lamoille Country Sheriff: Contracts for Dispatch and Patrol need signatures. A motion was made by Rocky to approve the contract budget as written, which was seconded by Howard. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed.

5/5/08 email to Randy Reed: Power House bridge. Steve advised Duncan that the retaining wall issue is getting worse, so Duncan contacted VTRANS and was told they may be able to free up some grant funds. He would like to replace the retaining wall and paint the beams.

*there was a motion made by Rocky and seconded by Margo to accept liquor license for River Valley Store. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed

Request to Cater Malt & Vinous Beverage from Aramark: Reception at Dibden on 6/26 at 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. A motion was made by Howard to allow the request from Aramark to cater malt and vinous beverages at Dibden on June 26, 2008 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., which was seconded by Margo. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed. No signatures were required.

TULIP insurance for building use insurance coverage. This is something we may want to look into further. It is an insurance that VLCT is offering to users of municipal buildings. We have a lot of groups and organizations using our buildings and they are not “covered” under our policy. We have coverage if we get sued for some injury or loss, but the group or organization is at risk for loss. PACIF is strongly encouraging municipalities to adopt a Facility Use Policy and Use/Rental Agreement which would include a waiver of liability clause. The agreements also allow them to purchase liability insurance during their use of the building or provide a copy of their insurance under which they have coverage. Would like to see the rental agreement at $75 and up. The Board was in agreement with the Village Trustees that this is a good idea. Duncan to report back to the Board with proposed documents.

Notice of Claim from Ilene Leavitt: April 21st at 8:30 she hit a pothole on Mudgett Hill road. Damages are for $882.34. Filed with PACIF. Steve believed she was in Hyde Park at the time. The claim will be denied.

2009 Enhancements program schedule & process: Pre-application letter must be submitted by June 16th. Duncan asked the Board if there were any projects that we would want to apply for. Duncan thought it would be good to hire a consultant to develop a plan for trailheads and facilities for accessing the rail trail. Is this something the Board might want Lea to work on? The consensus of the Board was to authorize Lea to submit a letter. Anyone interested in viewing the map may stop by Duncan’s office. He also has the document on CD.

Duncan has a map of the railroad with potential sites for “trailhead” access points on it. VAST has asked for Selectboard review and comment as well as any concerns the town might have over the management of the rail trail in Johnson. One thing we should comment on is the impact on the Highway garage and facilities and request a relocation of the trails around our building. Duncan has some news to report on that front as he and Steve met with a guy from VTRANS this week. VTRANS said that if the town and VAST could agree to an alternate trail location, it was okay with them, but the actual ROW could not be altered due to federal rail banking requirements. It is Duncan’s understanding that the state is taking the position that use of the trail by ATVs should be left up to the Towns. This will certainly be coming back to the Board as an issue.

Recommendation for person to serve on Rail Trail Advisory Committee. Howard spoke with Mark Woodward, and Lois Frey spoke with Gail Longley. Duncan will send Doug Molde an email, and possibly get some suggestions from him. Lois also brought up Judy Cotnoir’s name.

Talc Mill Property. The Planning Commission has submitted a Report on the Talc Mill property, including recommendations for next steps, which Duncan handed out at this meeting. Duncan gave a copy to the Trustees at their meeting and asked that they review. Duncan believes that a joint work session (perhaps with PC but at least with Lea) would be appropriate to discuss the report and what the Boards want to do next.

Act 250 Applications. There are several Act 250 applications and at least two are asking for Municipal Impact Questionnaires to be filed out by us. One is Tomlinson on the Hyde Park border and access from Hyde Park on Melody Lane to Rte 15. The other is Johnson Farm and Garden for expansion and “corrective” permits. Duncan will fill out the questionnaires, but will not be participating in any of the hearings.

School plowing for 2009. Duncan provided the cost data to the school and heard from Judy Schultz that the cost was more than she thought it would be and she wasn’t sure there would be any money available to cover it. Eric suggested that it might be appropriate to write to the School Board and ask if they intend to have the town plow. If the School Board does not want to pay anything for it, we might put them on notice to seek other alternatives for plowing. Duncan will draft a letter for Eric to sign as Board Chair.

Signatures: Town Forest Fire Warden re-appointment of Gordon Smith. Duncan stated that Gordy would agree to the appointment. A motion was made by Margo to authorize the appointment of Gordon Smith as Town Forest Fire Warden, which was seconded by Howard. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed.

Signatures: Noise Waiver Ordinance for Robin Bouchard & Arjay West - rehearsal dinner and Wedding July 25th & 26th. A motion was made by Rocky to authorize the approval of a waiver of noise ordinance with no stipulations for the rehearsal dinner and wedding of Robin Bouchard and Arjay West on July 25th and 26th, which was seconded by Eric. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed.


Signatures: Noise Ordinance Waiver for Tuesday Night Live Concert series. A motion was made by Howard authorizing Eric to sign the waiver of noise ordinance for the Tuesday Night Live Concert Services with the conditions that the field is clean after the events and to provide portalet facilities. The motion was seconded by Margo. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed.

Signatures: VLCT Legislative Committees. Duncan stated that he would serve on the Transportation Committee again this year if the Selectboard wanted him to. A motion was made by Howard authorizing Eric to sign the form appointing Duncan to serve on the Transportation Committee, which was seconded by Brad. All members voted in favor and the motion was passed.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Selectboard will be on Monday, July 21, 2008 at 7:00 PM at the Johnson Municipal Building.

Meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by
Susan Y. McGovern
Respectfully Submitted by: JFlores

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