TOWN OF NEWFANE
SELECTBOARD MEETING
MINUTES
NOVEMBER 20, 2017
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Gary Delius, Marion Dowling, Mike Fitzpatrick, Carol Hatcher, Christopher Williams
OTHERS PRESENT: Pete Novick, Jay Wilson, Erica Walch, Christine Druke, Lynn Forrest
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Carol Hatcher, Chair.
ADDITIONS/AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA
A motion was made by Gary Delius and seconded by Christopher Williams to table the discussion of the recycling survey draft until December 4, 2017. The motion carried unanimously.
MINUTES
November 6, 2017 Regular Meeting: A motion was made by Mike Fitzpatrick and seconded by Gary Delius to approve the minutes. The motion carried unanimously.
November 13, 2017 Budget Meeting: A motion was made by Mike Fitzpatrick and seconded by Gary Delius to approve the minutes. The motion carried unanimously.
ROAD BUSINESS
Road Foreman’s Report: See attached report.
The Board thanked Jay for all of his work during the storm and after
A motion was made by Gary Delius and seconded by Marion Dowling to accept the Road Foreman’s Report. The motion carried unanimously.
Road Damage Bid Award: At this point in the meeting, Mike Fitzpatrick recused himself and left the table. Carol reported that Shannon sent all of the bids to Marc Pickering for his review to clarify that the bids were in order and had all components. The Board received approval to award the bids to the lowest bidder on each project. Christopher Williams noted that he would not participate in the discussion or vote on any project.
Dover Road Site 1: A motion was made by Gary Delius and seconded by Marion Dowling to award the bid to Bazin Brothers for the amount of $35,000.00. The motion carried with three in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
Dover Road Site 2: A motion was made by Gary Delius and seconded by Marion Dowling to award the bid to Fitzpatrick Excavating for the amount $78,832.00. The motion carried with three in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
Adams Hill Road: A motion was made by Gary Delius and seconded by Marion Dowling to award the bid to Fitzpatrick Excavating for the amount of $32,925.00 . The motion carried with three in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
Hunter Brook Road Site 1: A motion was made by Gary Delius and seconded by Marion Dowling to award the bid to Fitzpatrick Excavating for the amount of $1,800.00. The motion carried with three in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
Hunter Brook Road Site 2: A motion was made by Marion Dowling and seconded by Gary Delius to award the bid to Fitzpatrick Excavating for the amount of $19,708.00. The motion carried with three in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
Hunter Brook Road Mid Site: A motion was made by Marion Dowling and seconded by Gary Delius to award the bid to Fitzpatrick Excavating for the amount of $3,800.00. The motion carried with three in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
Hickey Road: A motion was made by Marion Dowling and seconded by Gary Delius to award the bid to Fitzpatrick Excavating for the amount of $3,900.00. The motion carried with three in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
Holcomb Road: A motion was made by Marion Dowling and seconded by Gary Delius to award the bid to Bazin Brothers for the amount of $41,000.00. The motion carried with three in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
Penner Road: A motion was made by Marion Dowling and seconded by Gary Delius to award the bid to Fitzpatrick Excavating for the amount of $5,400.00. The motion carried with three in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
Wiswall Hill Road: A motion was made by Marion Dowling and seconded by Gary Delius to award the bid to Fitzpatrick Excavating for the amount of $5,500.00. The motion carried with three in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
At this point in the meeting, Mike Fitzpatrick returned to the table and rejoined the meeting.
Adams Hill Road Presentation:
Peter Novick echoed the appreciation for the road crew during the storms. He went over his inspection of Adams Hill Road and shared photos with the Selectboard.
Peter recommended a risk assessment in determining how best to fix the roads permanently to avoid further damage during storms.
Peter gave a Power Point presentation to the Board and the public. (A copy of the presentation can be viewed at the Town Office.)
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT:
See attached report.
A motion was made by Marion Dowling to accept the report. The motion was seconded by Mike Fitzpatrick. The motion carried unanimously.
UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
Lynn Forrest, Planning Commission Chair updated the Board on a successful community forum held on Saturday. She noted that over 50 people attended, with representatives from all areas of town. They took all sections of the town plan and wrote comments, questions, and concerns. After a break, they came back and read all the comments. She also noted that a representative from the State of Vermont, Caitlin Corkins, came down and gave a great presentation.
The Planning Commission is currently conducting a survey. It can be answered and mailed in, dropped at the Town Office, or done online.
The Board thanked the Planning Commission for a tremendous job pulling it all together.
OLD BUSINESS
Baker Brook Road Right-of-Way: Carol noted that the Board received a letter from Nancy Rysz in response to a letter the Board sent regarding a berm that was built in the town’s right-of-way. The Board requested that the letter be read out into the record. Marion Dowling read the letter into the record.
After a brief discussion, a motion was made by Gary Delius and seconded by Mike Fitzpatrick to refer the matter to town council for review and advice. The motion carried with four in favor and Christopher Williams abstaining.
OLD BUSINESS
Administrative Assistant Job Descriptions:
Discussion ensued regarding the Administrative Assistant’s Job Description. The Board began to go through the various drafts in an effort to create one draft for approval.
Discussion ensued regarding “exempt” status versus “non-exempt” status and the concept of salary.
Discussion also ensued regarding the hours that the Town Office is open.
Gary Delius will take the various drafts and create one draft for Selectboard review and approval at the next regular meeting.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Correspondence was received from Johanna Gardner regarding a new idea for recycling. Westminster’s way of dealing with recycling and garbage. Shannon will add it to the survey as an option. It will be on the agenda for the November 27, 2017 Budget Meeting agenda.
PAY ORDERS
A motion was made by Gary Delius and seconded by Mike Fitzpatrick to approve the pay orders as follows:
- Accounts Payable Warrant No.18010 in the amount of $56,884.46
- Payroll Warrant No. 11/15/17 in the amount of $3,748.32
The motion carried unanimously.
ADJOURN
A motion was made by Gary Delius and seconded by Mike Fitzpatrick to adjourn at 7:52
p.m. The motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
Shannon Meckle
ROAD FOREMAN’S AND ROAD COMMISSIONER’S REPORT
November 20, 2017
- We have found someone to fill the part-time winter position. David Bertram from Williamsville is willing to do the job.
- The repairs have continued all over town, hopefully the weather will hold out a little longer so we can finish.
- Contracted ditch repairs are almost complete for the four sites. They are Parish Hill, Lower Spring Hill, Adams Hill and Vic Benjamin Road.
- Dodge Utility truck is in at the dealer, they are ordering and installing the fuel tank for the back. I expect sometime next week it will be available.
- River Road Bridge concrete was poured last Friday and the heater has been running to keep the concrete warm.
- ’09 Sterling is ready for pickup at Twin State, they feel the exhaust smell in the cab has been corrected.
- The Antenna on the town garage is being changed tomorrow to allow for the installation of the new radios.
Thank You,
Jay Wilson, Road Foreman
Christopher Williams, Road Commissioner
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT
NOVEMBER 6, 2017
TOWN OFFICE SIGN: The sign has been ordered and McCarthy Signs came and picked it up last week.
BETTER ROADS GRANTS: We have applied for two separate Better Roads Grants. One is for the state road inventory that needs to be done and the other is for major repairs to Sunset Lake Road in conjunction with the work that will be done under the Grants in Aid project. We’re also working on another grant to replace an undersized culvert on Depot Road. It’s due Wednesday.
COMPOSTING RESPONSIBILITIES: I said I would check and find out if the town would be responsible for offering composting facilities if they had a transfer station or any other recycling facility. The town would not have to offer composting.
TOWN REPORT COVER: The cover photo for the Town Report was taken by Chris Campany. He is happy to have it as the cover photo and will be sending a high resolution version for us.