Town of Williamstown
Board of Selectmen Meeting
Board of Water/Sewer Commissioners
Williamstown Middle/High School
Library
August
15, 2011 Monday 7:00 P.M.
Members:
Art Stone (by phone)
Francis Covey
Town MANAGER – jacqueline
higgins
VISITORS: Kathleen Lott, Chris Peloquin, Barbara Graham, Mike Sprano, Larry Wiggin, Lori Stroutsos, Ray Stroutsos, Horace Duke, John Perkins, Kamela Chouinard, Allen Chouinard
Water/Sewer Commissioners
L. Hebert called to order the Water/Sewer meeting at 7:00p.m. F. Covey
second, all passed by voice vote 4-0.
1. MICHAEL BILODEAU – ABATEMENT
J. Higgins said that the
property on 203 Railroad Street owned by Walter Marks who
bought the property from M. Bilodeau, was doubled
billed and needs to have taxes abated. Mr.
Marks has owned it for two years and hasn’t paid. R. Graham made a motion to abate the water
and sewer charges of $879.00 for M. Bilodeau, F. Covey second. A. Stone thought that this billing needs to
be straightened out. Motion passed by
voice vote 4-0.
2. GARDEN STREET WATER LINE EXTENSION
The line runs along Mr.
Clogston’s property and Mr. Wiggins. L. Hebert said the line has been measured out approximately 330’ on the east
side of Garden Street. The other side is
across the road onto Mr. Wiggin’s former property. The homeowners need permission from the Board
to extend the water line. There has been
talk about repaving Garden Street so this would be a good time to do this. R. Graham asked who would pay for this, reply
was the homeowners. F. Covey asked if
the Board is just approving the water line extension and to cross the roadway. L. Hebert excused himself from voting on this
as he may be doing the work. C. Peloquin
asked if this will be in writing, is a permit required. L. Hebert said that they will have to submit
an application to work in the Town’s right of way. M. Sprano asked if there is a fee to hook
into the Town’s water line. There was
some discussion about how much the fee is. R. Graham made a motion to approve
the request to extend the water line, A. Stone second. Motion passed by voice vote 3-0.
F. Covey made a motion to
adjourn the water/sewer meeting at 7:10p.m., R. Graham second. Motion passed by voice vote 4-0.
SELECTBOARD MEETING
L. Hebert called the
meeting at 7:15pm.
Announcements:
Debra Palmer submitted her
resignation as Town Clerk effective August 15th. She has health problems, but may run again in
the future if all is well. There was a
going away party for Garrett Earls at the Moose, about sixty people attended
and it went well.
Visitor’s Comments:
C. Peloquin asked if anything was going to be done for Debra Palmer. R. Graham suggested a gas card or a gift card. All the Board agreed that would be a good idea. M. Sprano asked who authorized the party for Garrett Earls. L. Hebert said he did and the same thing was done for Ed McGee. M. Sprano said the Moose is charging the Town after they received tax abatement. C. Peloquin asked if this is a practice that the other Board members approve of. L. Hebert did consult with Bill Ashe and the rest of the Board was notified. R. Graham said it isn’t normal practice to have one member authorize expenditure. A. Stone questioned why every Board member has to have approval for such a small amount. He thinks it was good will and he would split the amount with L. Hebert.
Review &
Approval:
1. Warrants
R. Graham made a motion to
approve payroll 7/17 – 7/30 and SB114 and SB115. He questioned the finance charges for Conti
oil for 107.00. J. Simmons explained
that a bill from February hadn’t been paid.
A detailed report for this account showed finance charges for 107.00 to
start with a zero balance for this fiscal year they needed to be paid. On SB114 A. Stone asked about the landfill
closure invoice. He wanted to know why
the Town keeps getting charged for this.
F. Covey said that he recalls an installment plan that was agreed upon,
something like $9,600. A. Stone
suggested that we find out how long this is going to go on. B. Cleaves suggested that it needs to be
monitored for several years until the emissions have disappeared. L. Hebert said that after the warrant SB114
is modified for the Loyal Moose invoice it can be approved. R. Graham made a motion to approve SB114 for $77,107.12,
A. Stone second. Motion passed by voice
vote 4-0.
B. Cleaves has an issue with the Moose club invoice and feels that the Town has done a lot for them and they shouldn’t be charging the Town.
R. Graham made a motion to
approve the warrant for Hebert Excavation SB113, A. Stone second.
R. Graham clarified that
the invoice for the class 4 Young Road was approved by the Board
previously. This work hasn’t been inspected
yet, but will be by the Town Manager, Road Foreman and maybe one of the
Selectboard members. The hydrant that was
on Brockway Hill road was discovered that it needed to be capped when Pike was
getting ready to pave the road. C.
Peloquin asked if the Board has seen the invoice for $15K he asked if “work in
progress” is acceptable. J. Higgins did
call L. Hebert and asked him what that entailed; she did get a list of what he
did. C. Peloquin thanked the manager for
getting the details. B. Cleaves asked
how many installments will there be and why doesn’t the invoice have a
breakdown of what was done. F. Covey
said that is why J. Higgins called L. Hebert.
L. Hebert said that he did give a contract price to do the work. C. Peloquin asked if F. Covey knew what that
contracted amount was. R. Graham said
that it was $45K and this is what it would have cost the Town to do the same
work. C. Peloquin asked if there is a
written contract, L. Hebert said that it was a verbal contract. There is a grant for $190K and the Town work needs
to match it for 10%. B. Cleaves asked if
that included the labor for the Town crew. J. Higgins said with the full amount
of Hebert Excavation it will bring a total of $144K still under budget. L. Hebert said that the ledge should be
completed by Thursday. Some culvert and
ditching work would remain. That will
make it ready for the Town to come in with the gravel, so everything should be
done by Sept. 2nd. F. Covey
called for a vote, A. Stone second. Motion passed by voice vote 3-0.
2. Minutes
R. Graham made a motion to
approve the August 1st minutes, F. Covey second. Motion passed by voice vote 4-0.
Manager’s Report:
J. Higgins called Sheriff
Bohnyak about the overbilling. They are
going to give the Town a credit for four months in equal amounts. J. Higgins called N. Rodar
the mediator, who conducted interviews and was going to set up a meeting with
B. Cleaves and G. Earls, but since G. Earls has resigned there wasn’t any report
to give. Met with FEMA today they took
all the paperwork and took pictures of the roads. If they need anything else they will be
calling back within the week. She said
that approximately the Town would be getting 87% back around $115-119,000. There are two roads that they won’t cover but
the State would under a flood program for district six.
Work that has been done by
the Road crew: finished cutting trees on
Falls Bridge, finished getting roads ready for paving, Chelsea Rd., Brush Hill,
Brockway Hill Rd. and Circle Street.
Completed work on the upper end of bridge on Falls Bridge Road. Hauled sand to shop. Graded Bailey Road, McGlynn Road, Sunny Side
Road, Old Town Road, Soucy Lane, McCarthy Road, and Lanket Road. Added crushed ledge to
Winchester Hill, South Hill, Jay Lane, McGlynn, and Washington Road.
Projects upcoming are resurfacing half of Martin Road, half of Sugarhouse Road and all of Chelsea Road. Fix a culvert on Flint Road and fix wash out on the upper end of Flint Road. Screen and haul in more sand. Grading Martin, Gilbert, Tower Road, Stella, Baptist, Rood Pond, Weir, Boyce, Birch and Tripp Road. Fix wash out on Graniteville Road.
F. Covey asked about the mediation, did it come down to just a problem between B. Cleaves and G. Earls. He would like for Mr. Rodar to come in to discuss it. J. Higgins said that is where the mediation was going and came to a halt. B. Cleaves has a video that he would like for the mediator to view and will send it to him this week. All the Board members would like to talk to him. Since B. Ashe is still in the hospital a meeting should be postponed until he can be available.
Unfinished Business:
Previously
covered in Manager’s report.
Previously covered in Manager’s report.
New Business:
L. Hebert took a consensus for the Selectboard meeting to be held on 9/6. All agreed to do so.
J. Higgins said the owners,
Avalon Enterprises, have the property listed at $40K
and the Lister assessed it at $14,200. an increase to
the grand list of $25,800. J. Higgins
has another property for a veteran’s exemption that was turned in late, that
reduces the grand list for $40K. The
memo was read regarding Grover Felch. R.
Graham said that they could go thru the whole abatement process which would
affect the new tax rate. It’s wiser to
do it now before its set. L. Hebert said
that they can accept the correction in order to publish the Grand List. B. Cleaves said that it would hold up the new
tax rate to be established. The third
parcel was a commercial property that was entered into the grand list to make
an estimate, an assessment, for a large imaginary property. So the list was overinflated and was not
removed prior to filing. R. Graham made
a motion to grant the changes to the grand list, F. Covey second. Motion passed by voice vote 4-0.
.5710 based on the
adjustments above. Last year it was .5604. R. Graham made a motion to approve the tax rate
of .5710, F. Covey second. Motion passed
by voice vote 4-0. B. Graham said that
the tax rate for the school last year was 1.9306 for residential, now its
2.0012, and for non-residential 2.1300. R.
Graham said that the Board only approves the Town’s tax rate and doesn’t
include the school. They set their own
rate. The municipal rate only increased
a penny.
J. Higgins said that Mr. Zeller came in to request a sign be put on Henry Road to mark the entrance to the West Hill cemetery. J. Perkins said that if the sign is on a State post it should be a state sign. He suggested going to the traffic entity, the Department of Transportation.
He said that he would like
a permanent easement to the back side of his property. He has put a lot of work into it. The Town manager, L. Hebert, and A. Stone has
all looked at it. C. Carrier would like
something in writing to make sure it will be maintained for his use in the
future. C. Carrier has a lawyer that has
drawn up the papers and after the Board has reviewed it he would like to have
it approved. L. Hebert said as long as
he maintains the road and culvert. F.
Covey said that it is a win win situation for the Town and the owner. R. Graham said for any transfer of ownership
in the future the easement wouldn’t be transferred. C. Carrier agreed to have those terms put
in. R. Graham made a motion to have the
request approved for a written right of way, F. Covey second. Motion passed by voice vote 4-0.
R. Graham made a motion to
recommend a gas card for $180 to Debra Palmer, F. Covey second. A. Stone added that if anybody else would
like to donate to that amount could add to it.
F. Covey thinks the Town could afford $200, he amended
the motion to that amount. Motion passed
by voice vote 4-0. A. Stone suggested a
poster be put out to notify people about the extra donations. J. Simmons agreed to make one up.
Appointment of the Town
Clerk: B. Graham said she did talk to D.
Palmer and she did tell her about resigning with a heavy heart. She would like to continue working in the
position. L. Hebert asked if B. Graham
would maintain the hours she is working now.
B. Graham said she wants to keep the current schedule. She said that the only time she would need an
assistant would be around tax time, dog licenses and elections. B. Cleaves asked if the Board would clarify
of what an appointment would mean regarding her tenure. A. Stone would like to see her fill out D.
Palmer’s elected time and then run for election. State law said that the Board can only appoint
B. Graham until March 2012, the next Town meeting. D. Palmer’s term is for another two
years. F. Covey wanted to clarify there
is a difference in an appointment and an elected position. The Board is making the decision for an
appointment. C. Peloquin said that she
will legally be made the Town Clerk. F.
Covey had some question as to that statement.
R. Graham said he needs to be clear about this. B. Cleaves said that the same privileges and
powers would pass on to her as if she was elected. F. Covey made a motion to appoint B. Graham
until March, 2012, A. Stone second.
Motion passed by voice vote 3-0.
J. Higgins said that she has a form to have the Board sign and be sworn
in by a Justice of the Peace tomorrow morning.
Visitor’s Comments:
B. Cleaves, the Town
Treasurer, appointed H. Duke as the assistant Treasurer.
C. Peloquin brought up the
water meter that A. Stone had mentioned previously. He said that someone should refund the Town
or get it replaced. L. Hebert said that
he would bring J. Higgins up to speed on this issue. He spoke to Steve McKinsey the Barre city
Town Manager when he was working for Dubois and King about this. He was the last contact for this and Mr.
McKinsey is trying to make contact with Dubois and King. Next meeting the issue will be revisited
after he speaks to Mr. McKinsey. A.
Stone said that this needs to be taken care of.
Around the Table:
F. Covey thanked H. Duke for his work and welcomed him to the election as the assistant treasurer.
A. Stone brought up the
fire at the Little League snack shack and thought it is a shame someone would
do this.
L. Hebert thanked D. Palmer for her work and wished her a healthy recovery.
Adjourn
F. Covey made a motion to
adjourn at 8:55pm, R. Graham second. Motion passed by voice vote 4-0.
Minutes approved September
6, 2011