Select Board 3-6-08

Weathersfield Select Board Reorganization Meeting Minutes March 6, 2008 Present:        Daniel Boyer             Glenn Fisher             Norman John Arrison             Henry C. Cobb             Patricia Daniels Others Present:    Lisa Sargent, Recording Secretary             Chris Adams, Town Accountant             Edith Stillson             DeForest Bearse, Zoning Administrator             Deb Ostrum, SAPA             Brendan Donahue, Town Counsel 1.  Call to Order: Mr. Adams called the Weathersfield Select Board reorganization meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2.  Election of Chairperson: Mr. Cobb nominated Mr. Arrison for Chairperson, Mrs. Daniels seconded the nomination.  No further nominations were made; Mr. Arrison will be Chairperson for the Select Board for 2008/2009. 3.  Election of Vice-Chairperson: Mr. Fisher nominated Mr. Boyer for Vice-Chairperson, Mrs. Daniels seconded the nomination.  No further nominations were made; Mr. Boyer will be Vice-Chairperson for the Select Board for 2008/2009.   4.  Election of Board Clerk: Mr. Boyer nominated Mrs. Daniels for Board Clerk, Mr. Cobb seconded the motion.  No further nominations were made; Mrs. Daniels will be Board Clerk for the Select Board for 2008/2009. 5.  Appointment for Recording Secretary: Mr. Boyer made the motion to appoint Lisa A. Sargent the Recording Secretary.  Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which carried without dissent.   6.  Designate regular meeting dates, times, and location: Mr. Boyer made the motion to hold the regular scheduled Select Board meetings the first and third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at Martin Memorial Hall.  Mr. Cobb seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.   7.  Adopt Policy for Conduct of Meetings and Hearings: Mr. Boyer made the motion to adopt the policy for conduct of meetings and hearings as presented.  Mr. Cobb seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. 8.  Designate newspaper of record for the Town: Mr. Cobb made the motion to designate the Eagle Times the newspaper of record for the Town of Weathersfield, Mr. Fisher seconded the motion.   Mr. Cobb said he could only remember one complaint about the newspaper we use.  Mrs. Daniels suggested posting the public hearings in the calendar section of the newspaper in addition to the classified section.  The Board agreed this would be a good idea. Motion carried unanimously. 9.  Establish procedure for handling of complaints and citizen inquiries: It was discussed a policy should be established and the first thing in the policy should define the definition of a complaint.  Then we need to discuss how the complaint will be handled.  Mr. Cobb said he feels Mr. Melen should write a document for the Board to review and perhaps the VLCT has a policy we can use.     Mrs. Bearse asked if the policy would be used just for the Select Board or for all Boards and Committees.  She said she gets complaints all the time (usually geared towards zoning).  Mrs. Daniels said the entire town should be looked at and have the same policy.       Mr. Arrison said he would get with Mr. Melen on this.     Mrs. Bearse said the Regional Planning Commission is about to renew their 2003 regional plan as it is about to expire. She said they are going to re-adopt the same plan because they do not have time to make changes at this time.  She said she sees several areas of the plan that are severely outdated.  She asked the Board if she could have their permission to attend the Public Hearing on the 18th to express her concern and to let Regional Planning know they should look at updates as soon as possible.  Mrs. Bearse said she talked with Jason and he said they hope to have a new plan finished in about a year from now.       Mrs. Daniels made the motion to have Mrs. Bearse represent the Select Board at the Public Hearing on March 18th to discuss the Regional Plan.  Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. 10.  Old Business, Emergency Dispatch Communications Services Agreement: Mr. Brendan Donahue was present on behalf of Legal Counsel and said another paragraph has to be added to Cross Indemnification section.  He said they have followed up with the Hartford Town Manager today and he is going to honor this change.       Mr. Arrison said he is concerned that, according to the cover letter, tomorrow is the drop-dead date for the Town of Hartford and asked Mr. Donahue if he is confident they are ok with extending this beyond March 7th.  Mr. Donahue said he will call the Town Manager in Hartford again tomorrow but he feels they are aware of the time extension we are looking for.       Mr. Cobb made the motion to conditionally support the contract between the Town of Hartford and the Town of Weathersfield for the Emergency Dispatch Communications Services; Mr. Boyer seconded the motion.  Mr. Cobb said he is also concerned with the date of March 7th being on the cover letter and asked for the new cover letter to show a date of March 21, 2008.  Mr. Cobb asked Mr. Donahue if there were any other concerns with the contract.  Mr. Donahue said the only other concern was the five-year term that has now been changed to a three-year term Motion carried 4-0 with one abstention. 11.  Appointments     1.  Southeastern Vermont Community Action, Inc. Mr. Cobb made the motion to appoint Ms. Janet Lyle the Town of Weathersfield’s representative to the SEVCA Board.  Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.       Mrs. Daniels asked Mr. Adams to have Shirley Bingham send a letter to SEVCA as soon as possible so they are aware of this appointment.     2.  Conservation Commission: Mr. Boyer made the motion to appoint Christina G. Wood to serve a four-year term on the Conservation Commission.  Mr. Fisher seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.     Mrs. Daniels made the motion to appoint Gary W. Pelton to serve a three-year term on the Conservation Commission.  Mr. Cobb seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.       3.  Zoning Board of Adjustment (One Year Term): Mr. Boyer made the motion to appoint Graham C. Hunter II, Elizabeth G. Deliso, Westley W. Hazeltine, Theodore N. Goddard and David Gulbrandsen to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a one-year term.  Mr. Cobb seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.   Treasurer Reports: Mr. Cobb made the motion to approve the Treasurer Report as follows:     General Fund Operating Expense                $18,072.02     Highway Fund Operating Expense                $  2,139.97     Solid Waste Operating Expense                $  6,552.21     Library Operating Expense                    $       10.10 Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 12.  Adjourn: Mr. Boyer made the motion to adjourn.  Mr. Cobb seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.  The Weathersfield Select Board meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.                             Respectfully Submitted,                             Lisa A. Sargent Approved by the Weathersfield Select Board March 22, 2008                             _____________________                             Norman John Arrison                                                  _____________________                             Daniel Boyer                                          _______________________                             Patricia Daniels                             _______________________                             Henry C. Cobb                             ________________________                             Glenn Fisher