Select Board 5-15-08

Weathersfield Select Board Minutes May 15, 2008 Present:        Daniel Boyer             Glenn Fisher             Norman John Arrison             Henry C. Cobb             Patricia Daniels Others Present:    Lisa Sargent, Recording Secretary             DeForest Bearse, Land Use Administrator             Deb Ostrum, SAPA             Jeremy Osgood             Cindi Osgood             Peter Daniels             Neil Daniels             Chief Brown 1.  Call to Order by Chairperson: Mr. Arrison called the meeting of the Weathersfield Select Board to order at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday May 15, 2008 at Martin Memorial Hall.   2.  Review Minutes from Previous Meeting(s): Mr. Boyer made the motion to approve the minutes dated May 1, 2008, Mr. Fisher seconded the motion.  Corrections were noted.  Motion carried 4 – 0 with one abstention. 3.  Comments from Citizens: None Moved ahead to #5 5.  Citizen Complaint – Excessive Noise: Mr. Arrison said we have received correspondence from the Osgood’s regarding excessive noise and they are looking to the Town for some help.       Mr. Cobb said a year ago we started a process to consider a noise ordinance based partially on a complaint from the Osgood’s and the noise they have been dealing with has been going on close to one year now.     Mr. Osgood said he talked with his neighbors about the noise and it is pretty clear they are not going to do anything about it.  Mrs. Osgood said there are up to four machines and one is excessively loud.       Mr. Boyer asked if they had a track.  Mr. Osgood said he feels building his house may have aggravated them because soon after he built they started cutting trees and started riding round and round.       Mr. Arrison said he thought the State ordinance was from sunrise to sundown but Mr. Osgood has been told it is until 10:00 p.m.  Mr. Arrison said it is sad people can’t show respect to their neighbors.       Mr. Osgood said it has a physical affect on his whole family and it affects the property value.       Mr. Cobb said he knows the Osgood’s well and has been to their property, he questioned if there was wetland in the area that was being disturbed.  He said there might be environmental issues.  Mr. Cobb said he is willing to start again with the noise ordinance and focus on if there is a problem in Weathersfield.  He suggested having a Public Hearing and to have Citizens talk about noise and focus on noise and not the objects that creates the noise.       Mr. Boyer said he agrees we should re-address the noise problems if we leave firearms out.       Mrs. Daniels also agreed to look at the noise ordinance again.  She asked Mrs. Bearse if there were any zoning issues with the current complaint.  Mrs. Bearse said as long as there isn’t a business there isn’t a zoning issue.       Chief Brown said he would look at the State ordinance and see if anything can be done in the short term.  He said he would check the decibel noise.  Mr. Cobb asked Chief Brown to report back to the Town Manager as soon as possible with the decibel information.       The consensus of the Board is to look at the noise ordinance again.  Mr. Osgood said they have done some research on their own and he has looked at the noise ordinances from other towns.  Mr. Cobb said that perhaps we could focus on recreational vehicles and the noise they generate.  Mr. Arrison said he would get with the Town Manager and we will discuss this again on June 5, 2008.   Back to #4 4.  Weathersfield Land Use     A.  Accept I-91 Exit 8 Interchange Master Plan and Zoning Bylaws: Mr. Boyer made the motion to accept the I-91 Exit 8 Interchange Master Plan and Zoning Bylaws, Mr. Cobb seconded the motion.       Mr. Cobb asked if accepted what impact does it have on the Town.  Mrs. Bearse said no impact, more of a formality.  She said if accepted, the Planning Commission would begin incorporating it into the Town Plan.       Mr. Boyer amended his motion to include having the Planning Commission begin incorporating the plan into the Town Plan, Mr. Cobb seconded the amendment.       Mr. Peter Daniels said the Planning Commission should use this as a tool.  Mr. Arrison said a concern with the original plan was they didn’t come up Route 5 further.  Mrs. Bearse said she is satisfied enough with this plan to pay the grant but still would like another step to go further up Route 5 and also further toward the river.       Mr. Neil Daniels said speaking to the State Highway they have a lot of negative thoughts regarding the highway.  He said the Select Board doesn’t control the highway, the State does.  He said he would meet with them in the next week or so to discuss this further.  Mr. Daniels said he understands this is about ten years out and it’s a million-dollar project that there isn’t any money for at this time.  He said some small things that are wrong with the traffic are easily correctable but changing the four-way highway to a two-way highway with all the traffic that goes towards Claremont and I-91 isn’t very appealing.       Mr. Arrison said he agrees the chance of having the State jump on board is a long shot but he feels there is room for change with the traffic count totals that were recorded.  He said he feels speed and lack of turn signals is a big problem and he is not sure the State is concerned with aesthetics.       Mr. Peter Daniels said he doesn’t feel the intention is to have the State reduce the four lanes to two but to have them look at the options especially with all the school children coming to this side of town with no cross walks.  He said the State took a huge chunk from Ascutney when the interstate went in and they should be willing to help us with this section.       Mrs. Daniels encouraged Mr. Neil Daniels to be very forceful with the State and push hard for changes.  She said we are facing issues that we will need to keep pushing hard for, we need to look for some calming issues maybe not this year but in the next few years.  Mr. Daniels said he feels speed is a big problem through the intersection and he will push for re-design of the intersection with pedestrian crossing.     Motion carried 5 – 0.     B.  Request Waiver of Permitting Fees – VT State Park-and-Ride Facility: Mrs. Bearse said this fee is $320.  There was discussion that the Town does not pay Act 250 fees but we pay other fees to the State.  Mr. Boyer made the motion to deny waiving the fee to VTRANS for the park and ride, Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion.  Mr. Cobb said he is concerned this could taint their decision with funding us in the future.  It was noted the fees are for administrative fees, not for profit.  Motion carried 4 – 1.     C.  Sign Agreement for Planning Services, Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission: Mrs. Bearse said this is a routine planning grant for a little over $10,000 and we will contract with the Regional Planning Commission for their expertise.     Mr. Boyer made the motion to have the Town Manager sign the agreement between the Town of Weathersfield and Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission.  Mr. Fisher seconded the motion, which passed without dissent. 6.  Weathersfield Fire Commission     Discuss Agreement between Town and Weathersfield’s Volunteer Fire Departments: Mr. Boyer said the Fire Commission has been working on the draft for about three months and the section on what the Town supplies to each department still needs to be completed.  He said Mr. Melen would finish that section and have Town Counsel review it.  Mr. Boyer said this is a draft at this time.  Mrs. Daniels said she thinks we still need to appointment a member to the Fire Commission. 7.  Old Business     A.  Listing Agreement for Sale of Town Owned Property, Muse & Associates Real Estate: Mr. Cobb made the motion to approve the listing agreement between with Muse & Associates Real Estate and have the Chair sign it, Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion.  There was discussion on the price; it was decided to leave as is.  Motion carried unanimously. 8.  Ordinances, Polices, Procedures     A.  Establish Procedure for Handling of Complaints and Citizens Inquires: Mrs. Daniels made the motion to move to the second reading, Mr. Boyer seconded the motion.  Motion carried 4 – 0 with one abstention. 9.  New Business     A.  Connecticut River Valley Flood Control Commission, Payment in Lieu of Taxes: Mr. Arrison said he talked with Representative Shand and apparently this didn’t move out of the house.  He urged us to invite our Representatives to come here so we can express what is in the resolution.       B.  Walk-a-Thon, Weathersfield Veterans Memorial Committee: Ms. Sargent mentioned the second annual walk-a-thon to benefit the Weathersfield Veterans Memorial Fund will be held Saturday June 7th beginning and ending at the Martin Memorial Hall.     C.  Fiscal Year 2009 State of Vermont Tax Credit Installments: Mr. Cobb made the motion to table this until June 5, 2008.  Mr. Boyer seconded the motion, which passed without dissent. 10.  Appointments:     (i) Ancient Roads Committee: Mr. Cobb made the motion to appoint Willis Wood, Marilyn Houghton, Ted Goddard, Steve Aikenhead, Julia Lloyd Wright, Pat Daniels and deForest Bearse to the Ancient Road Committee.  Mr. Boyer seconded the motion which carried 4 – 0 with one abstention.     Mr. Peter Daniels urged citizens to become a member for the Planning Commission, he said there is an urgent need for another member.   11.  Sign Treasurer’s Warrants: Mr. Cobb made the motion to approve the Treasurer Warrants as follows:     General Fund Payroll                    $  14,543.99     General Fund Operating Expense                $811,958.38     Highway Fund Payroll                    $  11,148.14     Highway Fund Operating Expense                $     5,349.67     Solid Waste Management Fund Payroll            $    2,124.69     Solid Waste Management Fund Operating Expense    $       877.91     Grants                            $    4,725.81     Reserves                            $    6,196.46 Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 12. Next Meeting’s Agenda Items: Roberts Road reclassification, noise ordinance, Murray Flats Bridge. 13.  Adjourn: Mr. Boyer made the motion to adjourn. Mrs. Daniels seconded the motion, which passed without dissent.                             Respectfully Submitted,                             Lisa Sargent Approved by the Weathersfield Select Board June 5, 2008                         ____________________                         Daniel Boyer                         ____________________                         Glenn Fisher                         _____________________                         Norman John Arison                         ______________________                         Henry C. Cobb                         _______________________                         Patricia Daniels Appendix         Name of chairpersons of various committees - Chip         Website policy - Larry         Ancient roads (continue working on) - deForest         Posting sign policy - John         Use of Weathersfield Elementary School - Chip         Capital asset inventory – Chris Adams         No Parking Signs by Thomas residence         Review and increase of land use fees - deForest 03/08/07    Procedure for handling of complaints and citizen inquiries - Pat 05/03/07    Emergency communication - Dan 05/03/07    Radio Station designation for emergencies – Mike Thomas 08/16/07    large gathering permit - John 10/18/07    Economic depreciation factors from AMPTA - Pat 11/01/07    Designation of emergency shelter and power supply - Dan 03/20/08    Cascade Falls Road Parking Area (maintenance)