Town of Williamstown
Board of Selectboard Meeting
June 6, 2011 - Monday 7:00pm
Williamstown Middle/High School Library
MINUTES
PRESENT: Larry Hebert – Chair, Bill Ashe – Vice Chair, Rodney Graham, Francis Covey, Art Stone
TOWN MANAGER: Garrett Earls
SELECTBOARD MEETING
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Historical Society will present Gordon McCarther who will speak on June
14th at the Gardens, 6:30pm pot luck, 7pm is the
meeting. The topic will be the
history of the fife and drum.
Becky Watson announced there will be a meeting on June 25th to
discuss Rachael’s garden at 9am.
The committee would welcome any citizens to
attend. The area is large so
many gardeners will be needed to make this
work. She thanked Art Stone for
cutting the weeds.
VISITOR’S COMMENTS
L. Hebert warned people of the dangers still on the roads, deep culverts,
and damage on Brockway Hill road. He thanked everyone
for their patience while the repairs are being
done. R. Graham expressed thanks
to the highway crew for putting in long hours over the Holiday
weekend. Mike Sprano asked if
there was any idea of what the flood damage will cost the
Town. L. Hebert answered that
it would be over $100K. G. Earls
said that the town is still waiting to hear from FEMA for funding assistance.
Ms. Watson asked about Winchester Hill road, if the Town was going to be
repairing it also. L. Hebert
said the Town’s priority is the Class III roads, but they will look
into it.
L. Hebert asked for a motion of approval for the warrants. R. Graham made
a motion to approve SB 98 and payroll warrant from 5-22 to 6-4-11. B. Ashe
second, motion passed by voice vote 5-0.
L. Hebert excused himself for approval of SB 99, because this was
for his company. B. Ashe made
a motion to approve SB 99, R. Graham second the
approval. Motion passed by voice
vote 4-0.
MANAGER’S REPORT:
G. Earls said that Evergreen Enterprise’s quote for summer mowing will
not increase from last year’s price, for a total of $5,500. He asked
for the Boards approval to hire Evergreen to perform the
work. R. Graham asked G. Earls
to request to have the mower cleaned before he starts work for the
Town. The concern is over the
Hogweed issue. G. Earls agreed
that it was a good idea. R. Graham
made a motion to approve hiring Evergreen, F. Covey
second. Motion passed by voice
vote 5-0.
The issue concerning the Fassett property has been taken care
of. Trash has been removed, two
cars were towed, and one went to the
dealership. G. Earls said that
he can’t seem to get much money for the towed cars,
$100. A. Kramer commented that
Mr. Fassett has registered two of the cars to make them legal so they cannot
be removed. A total of 12 tons
of garbage was removed. It was
a really bad situation, tires, feces mixed in with the
garbage. L. Hebert mentioned
the health hazard so the town agreed to clean it up.
There will be leans against the
property to pay back the Town’s
costs. G. Earls wanted to know
if the Board wants to continue with the
cleanup. L. Hebert said as long
as the health issue has been taken care of that was the main
goal. F. Covey asked if the trailer
was livable. A. Kramer said that
it is private property. It is
Mr. Fassett’s right to determine if the trailer is
livable. He talked to a State
representative who said that the State was glad that the Town did what they
could. Many thanked A. Kramer
for the good job. For now the
Board is satisfied that everything has been taken care
of.
G. Earls said that based on an emergency action clause he has the right to
purchase services from Hebert Excavation as they are the only contractor
set up to work for the town.
F. Covey reiterated that he wants to keep hiring
local. Even before L. Hebert
was on the Board the Town hired him and was treated
fairly. A. Stone commended L.
Hebert for his time devoted to helping the Town during this
flooding. R. Graham said that
other trucks were called in to help; E. Eaton, it was necessary to get the
roads open. B. Ashe noticed that
there were other trucks working besides Hebert
Excavation. L. Hebert appreciates
the work the Town has given his company, and said that there wasn’t
a shortage of any work. He did
get calls from Barre City to help there and his answer was that Williamstown
was his first priority.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
G. Earls said that Mr. McKenney wasn’t present to discuss the
issue. He asked if he can put
him on the Town’s payroll to have him
insured. A. Stone asked if the
EPA could contribute any funding for
this. G. Earls said probably
not since it would be under a $1000 and that they usually take care of storm
water, pollution issues. F. Covey
mentioned how Mr. McKenney could cut down the plant and use plastic to cover
the growth to kill it. Then coming
back to make sure it has been eradicated.
So it may not be as labor intensive as
perceived. F. Covey brought up
posting signs to warn people of the
danger. B. Ashe thinks that the
location is very accessible to children and said it is a serious problem,
and needs to be dealt with quickly.
The weeds are located around the Pump and Pantry
brook. A. Kramer brought up that
this is a nationwide problem, brought over from
China. It grows very
rapidly. A. Stone knows of a
girl that was seriously burned from it.
She has been to the hospital numerous
times. M. Sprano brought up the
grant funding? G. Earls said
that grants are not available right now.
L. Hebert made a motion to move on this and F. Covey second, and the
motion passed by voice vote 5-0.
G. Earls said that one of the websites that had the fire engine listed was
incorrect. So their results
won’t be in until June 7th at
2:00pm. G. Earls asked the
Board’s permission to notify the highest bidder, as long as it is over
$1,500. F. Covey made a motion
to approve G. Earls to negotiate with the highest bidder on the truck, A.
Stone second and the motion passed by voice vote
5-0. R. Graham asked to be notified
on results.
G. Earls solicited three companies who sell bucket loaders Volvo, John Deere,
and Cat. Volvo L60 is their 1rst
choice, L. Hebert, L. Wiggins, A. Stone, E. Farnham, and G. Earls made up
the committee to select the best piece of
equipment. The Volvo was also
the lowest bid, and has the best options.
They also offered the best value for the E543 John Deere loader trade
in. Warranty details were
discussed. G. Earls is asking
for Board approval of the extended
warranty. R. Graham asked about
his recommendation for the warranty.
G. Earls said that fixing heavy
equipment isn’t cheap.
Seven year extended warranty
is $7,500. No loans are needed
it can be paid for out of Town’s
budget. B. Ashe asked when it
would be available. G. Earls
said that it could be shipped within the
week. G. Earls said that this
is #1 priority, then the dump truck, compactor and later a grader; by 2014
a Mac truck should be replaced. He
will create an equipment replacement
schedule. A. Stone mentioned
that the one that is being replaced didn’t have the third hydraulic
system which causes problems, it was poorly specked
out. Cost is $98,400 for the
Volvo L60; this would still leave a balance of
$174K. R. Graham made a motion
to purchase the Volvo L60 with the seven year warranty, second by F.
Covey. The motion passed by voice
vote 5-0.
F. Covey abstained from the discussion.
A. Kramer was asked to look into 783 Hebert
Road. He went to Mr. Griffin’s
property and took some pictures.
What he saw was as follows:
three campers, ten 55 gallon drums, one 275 gallon fuel tank, at least
300 tires, 25 vehicles and pieces of whole ones, mobile home frame, vehicle
carrier, two 4x4s, a wrecker, mechanical tools, two mobile homes (contents
unknown), several snow machines.
Mr. Griffin confirmed that he has approximately five
acres. He said that the weather
has been interfering with what he can do.
L. Hebert said to Mr. Griffin that this has taken too long to clean
up. A. Kramer recommended helping
him remove what makes him look like an illegal salvage yard, make a plan,
and set up dates. Mr. Griffin
said that the new laws have happened just within the last
year. He asked to have until
the end of June to have everything done.
D. Chambers brought up that J. Brabant, ANR the State involvement,
will be dealing with the solid waste and the salvage yard
problems. A. Kramer reiterated
that Mr. Griffin needs guidance in developing a
plan. She wants to include both
solid waste and the salvage yard items.
A. Kramer asked how Mrs. Chambers could speak for
ANR. She replied that she speaks
with Mr. Braband on a regular basis and that this issue will be going to
enforcement. L. Hebert said that
he has had communication with Mr. Braband who told him he was pleased with
the way the Board is handling this
situation. M. Pierce said he
first approached the Board in 2009 about this issue, and he is concerned
with the waste run off onto his property on Casino
Road. M. Pierce has lived in
the town for 45 years. He realizes
that these fluids run off on his
property. A. Kramer asked if
he has any samples. M. Pierce
said he did not. Mr. Pierce said
that he wouldn’t be as concerned if the barrels weren’t lying on
their side, and good practices for removal were being
performed. He brought up that
the State has guidelines for a salvage
yards. R. Graham asked D. Chambers
about her involvement with other salvage
sites. D. Chambers said that
she has been talking with Mr. Braband,
ANR. R. Graham is aware that
the timeline has been moved several times and does need to
stop. R. Graham voiced that this
is a new area for the Town to deal with.
D. Chambers said she will continue to be an advocate on this clean
up, and said he needs to come up with a plan, or charge him a fine.
She mentioned another one on
Pleasant Road that is going to enforcement for solid
waste. A. Stone said that he
is sick of hearing about her advocacy.
R. Graham said that it is the Board’s job to advocate the
law. B. Ashe asked when Mr. Griffin
can get the vehicles off of the property.
He said within 14 days he will have them off the property except the
ten that are registered. B. Ashe
reiterated will Mr. Griffin be able to keep this commitment otherwise the
Board will turn it over to the State for enforcement.
A. Stone said it should
be 14 working days. B. Ashe asked
if the drums and tires could be taken care of in that time
frame. Mr. Griffin said yes,
but no to removal of the tires. L.
Hebert suggested July 5th.
B. Ashe said June 20th for everything but the
tires. Date for the removal of
the tires July 12th. Mr.
Griffin agreed cars, barrels, tires, and trailer frame will be
removed. B. Ashe said that if
it goes longer than these dates the Board will turn it over to the
State. B. Ashe made a motion
to have the Board agree on the dates, R. Graham second.
The motion passed by voice vote
4-0.
NEW BUSINESS:
L. Hebert presented the award to John and Karla Perkins for their work in
the community as follows: school
functions, alumni banquets, contributions at their church, umpiring for sports
events, provided recommendations to the transportation committee.
A group picture was taken and
they received their award.
G. Earls said that the roof is 30 years old and needs to be repaired before
the fall. He wants to make the
Board aware of the leak. $32K
is left after July 1 for building
repairs. The two bay garages
are where it is leaking. The
break room can wait. There are
two different types of roofing on there
now. L. Hebert said to check
into patching it. F. Covey asked
about the snow build up causing a
problem. Did any of this have
an effect on the electrical problem?
F. Covey said the electrical problem should be taken care of
also. G. Earls would like to
approach Burrell to patch the roof, and get their opinion on the
rest.
G. Earls said he hasn’t heard from him
yet. G. Earls said it’s
an issue with Mr. Yacavonis' schedule.
B. Ashe said he did a great job last
year. F. Covey made a motion
to allow G. Earls to hire Mr. Yacavoni as soon as scheduling is confirmed,
A. Stone second. R. Graham asked
is it our schedule or his that is the
problem. A. Stone would like
to make sure that it’s done early enough so as not to run into problems
with getting the Town Report out in time.
The motion passed by voice vote 5-0.
VISITOR’S COMMENTS:
Les Smith asked for some gravel for the road to the Boonie
Club. L. Hebert asked if he knew
how much he needed. L. Smith
said approximately $1000 - $1200 worth of gravel. The funds that have been
spoken for are Young road and the Clark request, but won’t be used this
fiscal year. G. Earls guaranteed that $3,800 is left over for class IV roads.
G. Earls is trying to set up
the reserve accounts making them more
transparent. He knew the Class
IV road money would be used up this fiscal
year. B. Ashe made a motion to
use $1k for the road, R. Graham second.
The motion passed by voice vote
5-0. L. Smith will notify G.
Earls when he is coming in to get the
gravel.
M. Sprano asked about the schedule mentioned last week for the
roads. L. Hebert said all that
was blown away with the latest flooding
emergency. L. Hebert explained
that one or two men will be running the grader and the rest will be dealing
with the washouts.
A. Kramer wants permission to discuss with Mr. Brabant what items
can Mr. Griffin leave on his
property. Also, what will ANR
be able to do if Mr. Griffin doesn’t finish by the dates set by the
Board? B. B. Ashe said that is
a very wise thing to do. Mr.
Kramer will notify the State of the Boards decisions.
AROUND THE TABLE:
R. Graham said that the maintenance of the roads should still have a schedule
and will be done soon. He asked
about an emergency action plan? G.
Earls said that he probably has an email with it right
now. If there is one it needs
to be distributed to the Board.
L. Hebert said that when he got to the village it was decided what half of
the Town he would fix and the Fire dept., and Ed Farnham would do the other
half. So it is good to revisit
the Emergency plan and go over it.
G. Earls will bring it to the next
meeting. F. Covey wants to review
it and look what needs to be updated.
G. Earls mentioned his first
emergency experience was two years ago and it was light out.
F. Covey made a motion to go into Executive session to discuss a personnel
issue at 9:00pm, A. Stone second. The motion passed by voice vote 5-0.
Motion to adjourn by B. Ashe at 9:11pm, F. Covey
second. The motion passed
by voice vote 5-0.
Selectboard
approved June 20, 2011.