Regular Meeting Monday, August 19^th, 2024

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BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Angela Litchfield, Katy Johnson-Aplin, Jeffrey Chevalier, Ann Golob (Zoom), and Mike Fitzpatrick (phone).

OTHERS PRESENT: Austin Rice (BCTV) and Wannetta Powling (Administrative Assistant).
Zoom:  Jay Wilson (Road Foreman).

CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Selectboard Chair Angela Litchfield.
CONFIRM PROPERLY WARNED: Powling confirmed the meeting had been properly warned.

ADDITIONS/AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA:
None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

1. August 5^th, 2024, Regular minutes.
   Golob made a motion to accept the August 5^th regular minutes, and Chevalier seconded.
   The motion passed.

2. August 5^th, 2024, BLC minutes.
   Chevalier made a motion to accept the August 5^th BLC meeting minutes, and Johnson-Aplin seconded.
   The motion passed.

ROAD FOREMAN’S & ROAD COMMISSIONER’S REPORT:

1. We have the proposal for putting the test wells in at the gravel pit to monitor the ground water level.
2. I don’t have anything back from Bob Fisher on the Loop Rd. Easement.
3. The expected start date for the Depot Road box culvert is September 3^rd.
4. Fitzgerald Engineering is working on all of the permitting needed for the stream back repair near the Green Iron Bridge.
5. Green Mountain Power is between Kafka’s and Cables’s on South Wardsboro Road, putting in the underground power lines. The road will be very rough while they are working.

 Golob made a motion to accept the Road Foreman’s Report, and Johnson-Aplin seconded.

Discussion:
Litchfield and Johnson-Aplin agreed to post a notice on social media of the road closed due to Road Repairs.

Fitzgerald Engineer submitted a proposal for the geotechnical test holes. This proposal will evaluate the groundwater conditions at the gravel bank on Radway Hill Road.

Johnson-Aplin made a motion to accept the geotechnical proposal of $ 17,124.00, which Chevalier seconded.
The motion passed.

Fitzpatrick joined the meeting via the phone at 6:07 p.m.

Golob wanted to follow up on Keith Ramsay’s email to the Board members and confirm the Town Right of Way for the Green Iron Bridge #49 rehabilitation work. The State of Vermont assumed responsibility for the bridge after Hurricane Irene damaged it. Over time, the bridge has come to need serious work, and they are now moving forward with considering repairs or a replacement. Wilson said that this would not happen any time soon.

Golob made a motion to have Wilson respond to the questions in Ramsay’s email, Chevalier seconded.
The motion passed.

 Research of the records could not find any evidence of a greater than normal three-rod right of way.

5. A Public Notice from Green Mountain Power was shared with the public and will be posted on social media.
   Litchfield called for the vote to approve the Road Foreman’s report.
   The motion passed.

 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT’S REPORT:
I have researched the Carroll Trail extensively. I have contacted the Secretary of State, The VT Legislation for the State Statutes, and VLCT to understand the procedure that needs to be followed before discontinuing. I have included the steps necessary for the Selectboard to follow. Just to be clear if you go to the last highlighted section. It may not be required to read the five other chapters. The Timeline and steps the Selectboard must follow are outlined in the Vermont Statutes,

VSA 19 Highways ~ 7 Laying Out, Discontinuing and Reclassifying Highways.

Partial excerpts from the chapters are listed below to save time and space.

*708.  Petition ** A person who is a landowner in a town, desiring to have an unidentified corridor which passes through or abuts his or her land discontinued or altered, may apply in writing to the Selectboard for that purpose.

• 709 Notice and hearing The Selectboard shall promptly appoint a time and date both for examining the premises and hearing the persons interested, and give 30 days’ notice to the petitioners, and to persons owning or interested in lands through which the highway may pass or abut, of the time when they will inspect the site and receive testimony. The Selectboard shall also give notice to any municipal planning commission in the town, post a copy of the notice in the office of the town clerk, and cause a notice to be published in a local newspaper of general circulation in the area not less than ten days before the time set for the hearing. The notice shall be given by certified mail sent to the official residence of the person(s) required to be notified.
• 711 Selectboard’s return; recording (a) Within 60 days after the examination and hearing, the Selectboard shall return the original petition with a report of its findings and of the manner of notifying the parties together with the survey or discontinuance, to the town clerk’s office. The Selectboard’s order laying out, altering, reclassifying, or discontinuing the highway, with the survey, shall be recorded by the clerk.

Subchapter 7: Discontinuance of Highways

• # 771 Procedure (a) The legislative body of a municipality may discontinue a town highway after following the procedures of sections 708-711 of this title. The authority of the legislative body under this subsection shall extend to any town highway, regardless of whether the highway was originally laid out by the town, the former county court, the Supreme Court, a committee of the General Assembly, a turnpike company, or was established in any other manner now or formerly authorized by law. (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the legislative body shall not discontinue a class 1 or class 2 town highway without the prior approval of the Secretary of Transportation. (c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the legislative body shall not discontinue a class 3 or class 4 town highway extending into an adjacent municipality without notifying the legislative body of the adjacent municipality. If the legislative body of the adjacent town is aggrieved by a decision of the legislative body of the municipality in which the highway is located, it may appeal to the Transportation Board pursuant to subdivision.
• 775.Title to discontinued highway

The Selectboard shall notify the Commissioner of Forests, Parks, and Recreation when it has filed a petition to discontinue a highway under this subchapter. The Selectboard may designate the proposed discontinued highway as a trail, in which case the right-of-way shall be continued at the same width.

• 790.Laying out a highway or bridge on or near the line between two towns

The Selectboards of two adjoining towns may, by agreement, layout, reclassify, or discontinue a highway on the line between the towns or erect a bridge over a stream between the towns if a majority of the Selectboard members of each town assent.

I contacted the Dover Town Office and confirmed they have not discontinued Carroll Trail.

I have attached the letter from Dover Selectboard’s 2011 decision and the Chair of Newfane Selectboard’s letter of agreement. (See attached.) Discontinuing the Trail will not benefit Newfane.

2. Town Fair 24 is October 1^st & 2^nd in Killington – Early Bird registration ends August 30^th. Is anyone able to attend?
3. (Captain) William Bradford Memorial marks the 404th signing of an agreement to govern the settlers before landing in Plymouth, MA. It is considered the first constitution before the constitution we know of, which was signed in 1776. It costs $325 to purchase and will take approximately eight weeks to receive.

Johnson-Aplin made a motion to accept the Administrative Assistance Report, and Chevalier seconded.

Discussion ensued:
It was unclear what the actual class of Carroll Trail or Class Four Road was.

Litchfield mentioned she wanted to walk the Carroll Trail (Class Four Road) before the September 3^rd meeting. Chevalier will accompany her.

Wilson said that if the Selectboard discovers it is a Class Four Road, which he said is listed that way on the State map, he recommends changing it to a Legal Trail. People would be allowed to walk it, but it would no longer be the town’s responsibility.

Golob suggested the Planning Commission and Conservation Commission be given the Carroll Trail material, allowing them to participate in future discussions.

Golob asked if there was any follow-up information on discontinuing the appointment of a Town Constable. Powling mentioned that the voters must vote to remove the appointment at a duly warned Town Meeting.

 Litchfield called for the vote to approve the Administrative Assistant’s Report.
The motion passed.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Planning Commission -No update

Traffic Calming- (Johnson-Aplin)- Signs in Williamsville have gone up. Individual efforts to plant flowers is occurring, no meeting has been scheduled.

Williamsville Hall– No update.

SCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC –None

UNSCHEDULED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC:  –None

OLD BUSINESS:
Carroll Trail Werner’s request for discontinuance
Katy Bristol (Zoning Administrator) – Response  (Tabled until the September 3^rd meeting)

Town Beautification (Chevalier)
None

FEMA buyout of South Newfane General Store (Golob)

• The town of Newfane is now the owner of the building.
• Inspection for Lead and Asbestos determination will happen this week, and remediation must be determined.
• Brownfield remediation work will begin in the middle of August to remove the fuel storage tanks.

 Fitzpatrick mentioned placing boards over the entrance to prevent trespassing and people potentially getting hurt.
Wilson asked if insurance was needed. Powling will contact VLCT.

ARPA Funds Updates (Golob) – No update

Personnel Policy changes/ recommendation (Johnson-Aplin/Chevalier)
Johnson-Aplin will contact the town attorney to see if any progress has been made in reviewing the proposed changes to the personnel policy.

Town Website Design – Golob & Johnson-Aplin –No updates

Emerald Ash Bore – Tree Warden Bill Gunther’s memo was read into the meeting minutes.
I have contacted the active members of the Conservation Commission, and they all said yes to taking a training session on how do to an ash tree inventory along the town roads.

I did receive an e-mail back from Joanne Garton who puts on the training, and she works for the Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (my old Dept). The training session is 3-4 hours long, and it would need to be done during daylight, during regular working hours.

Still waiting to hear back from the Athens Tree Warden (he is on an extended vacation) and some folks from Ludlow who wanted to also take the training.

Having an inventory of all the ash in the town’s right-of-way is the first critical step in managing EAB. You must know where all your ashes are and then develop a plan for how we are going to manage the outbreak.

Once a tree is infested it usually takes about 2+ years before you can observe symptoms and by that point the tree is already becoming more brittle making it much more hazardous to fell from the ground. Then, you would have to do the work from a bucket truck or a crane, which greatly increases the cost of tree removal.

So, in a few years, we could be faced with some large expenses as most of this work would need to be done by a professional tree service.

The inventory would include a field that would indicate if power lines are threatened by any large ash. I am still trying to get a clear idea as to what the power company will pay for

 Also, I wondered if the town put any money aside specifically to deal with the Emerald Ash Bore.

Respectfully submitted, Bill Guenther, Tree Warden

Discussion
Litchfield asked Powling to put a note in the folder to address the EAB during budget season.

CORRESPONDENCE:

1. Flyer of an upcoming cycling event using Rt-30, Grimes Hill Rd, and Dover Road. Saturday, October 5th, 2024,
2. SeVEDS –sent a request and asked for continued support for the long–term economic strategy and programs they are supporting in our communities.
3. Michael Lapointe’s email: Newfane is one of the towns with an Emergency Watershed Protection project that could impact Wood Turtles.

Golob and Fitzpatrick, who attended remotely, left the meeting at 6:50 P.M

PAY ORDERS

1. Payroll #116933                 $  7,184.12
2. Payroll # 116934                $  6,322.76
3. AP #25003                          $ 55,325.65
4. AP #25003 (A)                    $ 67,413.75

 

Johnson-Aplin made a motion to approve Pay Orders, and Chevalier seconded.
The motion passed.

ADJOURN:
Johnson-Aplin made a motion to adjourn.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:58 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Wannetta Powling,
Administrative Assistant