Town of Grafton

Select Board Meeting

MINUTES

October 16, 2017

Select Board Members Present: Joe Pollio, Stan Mack, Al Sands, Ron Pilette, Cynthia Gibbs

Community Members Present: Margo Matt, Cappy Matt, Suzanne Welch, Kimberly Record, Noreen Sands, Danny Taylor, Tom Cannon, Dottie Cannon, Danny Michaelson, Bill Brown, Jessica Westclark, Chris Wallace, Kent Armstrong, Liisa Kissel, Sam Battaglino, Joan Lake, Dave Muelrath, Kate Muelrath, Carol Lind, Charlie Hooker, Kevin O’Connor (Fact8TV), John Turner, Ed Bank, Eric Stevens, Janice Atwood, Cathy Siano-Goodman, Kurt Goodwin, Craig Ruggles.

Call to Order: 6:00PM

Adopt Agenda: Motion to adopt Agenda (Stan 2nd Al) PASSED

Adopt Minutes of October 2, 2017: Motion to adopt minutes (Al 2nd Stan) PASSED with no changes.

Adopt Minutes of October 12, 2017: Motion to adopt minutes of Special Select Board Meeting (Stan 2nd Ron) PASSED with no changes.

Highway Report:

  • Danny said when we bought Truck 2 the plow was not replaced. Danny would like to use Viking Cives to replace the existing plow and keep the old one for a backup. The cost will be around $7,500.00 and the money would come from the plows and sanders budget. Motion to purchase a plow fromViking Cives (Stan 2nd Cynthia) PASSED.
  • There is an area around the hydrant valve at the fire pond that needs to be dug out to help with drainage. Danny said the Town would supply materials but he needs a small excavator to do the job as our trucks are too big. Motion to have the area around the hydrant valve repaired Stan 2nd Al (PASSED).
  • Danny said there will be another 40-60 hours left for mowing and that some shoulders on Townshend road need some gravel now that the paving is done.

Ed Bank/Act 46 Consolidation:Ed talked about the Supervisory Union which consists ofWestminster, Rockingham, Athens, and Grafton. After a number of meetings the Towns are leaning towards staying as a supervisory union and are hiring an attorney to help with proposal. If the Towns stay as a Supervisory Union everything will remain the same as it is now. This is to stop the State from consolidating schools. Ed said that Rockingham is the big driver on this deal but there could also be an Athens/Grafton school district. If we remain a supervisory union everything will stay the same. Ed also said there has been a drop in enrollment at the Grafton School from 90+ students to 60+.

Randy Bronson, VEM/VT Alert: Randy Bronson was not present.

Delinquent Tax Sales: Janice Atwood said she has 5 properties that will come up for tax sales. Sandy Shriver, the attorney that represents the Town in these sales, sends out certified letters to the property owners, which the Town will be reimbursed for, and this usually helps collect the taxes owed. Janice said she would like to get them out for tax sale 30 days after the certified letters go out from Sandy.

Approval of VLCT Onsite Workshop: VLCT offers onsite workshops for municipalities. The cost is $415 a staff attorney to conduct the informational meeting. Motion to have Sarah Jarvis speak to the Select Board (Cynthia 2nd Al) Passed

Quarterly Budget Review: Kim Record said that all the Board members have a copy of the budget and asked if there were any comments. Ron had a question about experience modification that is under benefits. Kim said that is associated with Workman’s Compensation and required its own coding. Ron also asked about contracts and services that were over budgeted by $100,000. Kim said we will get a grant to cover this. Kim then asked when the Board will go over 2019 budget, Joe said it will be on next Agenda Nov. 6th.

Green Mountain Power Owned Street Lights: Stan talked about getting rid of 5 of the street lights that are owned by Green Mountain Power but paid for by the Town of Grafton. So far one of the meters has been removed. Stan would like homeowners where the 5 street lights are located to absorb the cost.Emily will draft a letter to send to the homeowners.

Personnel Evaluation Forms: The Board members have the forms one for the Town Administrator and a separate one for the Highway Department. Ron said he would like the form to indicate who is doing the evaluation. Motion to use the new evaluation forms for the Highway Department and Town Administrator as amended (Stan 2nd Al) PASSED. There was discussion about when evaluation should be done, at the end of the calendar year or the anniversary of hire. Kim said this brings up a budgeting issue.

Planning Commission Appointment: Joe asked for each candidate to give a brief resume about themselves. Danny Michaelson said he has been a full time resident since 1996 and is retired from teaching at Bennington College. He said he is an educator, designer, and mediator so he can contribute to issues on the Planning Commission that have conflicts. He gave an example of an issue he mediated at Bennington College. Chris Wallace said he was previously on the Planning Commission and that he is currently Justice of the Peace for Grafton. Chris talked about the current Town Plan, saying he thought he could make valuable contributions. Al said that he heard both presentations at the Planning Commission meeting and asked Chris how he thought his military experience could help the Planning Commission. Chris said he was a staff planner at the Pentagon. Ron asked other than energy, what issues are important to the candidates. Chris said that renewable energy is important to him. Danny said he also supports renewables, adding that he first supported wind but then thought it was inappropriate for Grafton. He said he thinks the important thing on any issue that might divide the Town is to listen to everyone’s opinion and not make it a divisive attack. Danny said he feels he would be effective with this. Stan asked about a topic important to him which is sewer and well water consumption in the village. He asked for a thought process from Chris and Danny on this issue. Chris said he lives in the village and he sees how the absence of a village water system affects the Town and gave Cheese Factory as an example. He would be open to migrating the Village to communal water and sewer. Danny said he doesn’t know that much about this issue saying he would research this if it came before the Planning Commission. Danny added that this does seem obvious that this will become an issue. Joe asked both candidates if they are available to attend the Planning Commission meetings and what they think about the Town having a Village designation. Danny said he will be away the month of March otherwise is available. Chris said he has two kids in High School and would be available. Chris also said he supports the Village designation in respect to growth and jobs. Liisa said she does not want divisiveness in the Town. She read a text from a comment made by Chris on the Grafton Woodlands Group Facebook page. Chris said the constant barrage from the Grafton Woodlands Group is divisive for the Town. Kate first thanked both gentlemen for stepping forward as candidates for the Planning Commission. Joe said he does not see either candidate having an Agenda and reminded the audience that the Town Plan has to go before the Town in March. There was discussion about opinions, disagreements, and personal attacks. Motion to use paper ballotsfor the appointmentALL AGREED. Emily tallied the ballots: The vote was Chris-4 Danny-1.

Public Comment:

  • Liisa Kissel announced an upcoming meeting about watershed and rivers.on October 28th from 9am to noon. Liisa encouraged members of the Select board to come.
  • MargoMatt spoke about the debris on Danny Young’s property from TS Irene. Margo said he is okay with the debris removed but wants a “hold harmless” agreement to cover everyone involved. Marie Caduto will be onsite Friday at 10AM and said she will help with funds to remove the debris. Margo asked for support from the Select Board.

New Business and Follow Up: Joe brought up Eric Steven’s request for WRC help with theTown Plan. Motion to seek help form Windham Regional(Joe) PASSED).

Al Sands attended a meeting with the Saxtons River Watershed Alliance and said they would like Select Board participation at all the meetings. Joe and Cynthia said they will be at the October 28th meeting. Ron asked that the Town Administrator send out the Code of Conduct to everyone.

Motion to Adjourn 7:43PM

Date of Next Meeting:

  • Monday, November 6, 2017 @ 6PM, Grafton Town Garage