Pittsfield Select Board Regular Meeting Minutes, September 13, 2018

​PITTSFIELD SELECT BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
 
DATE:                    September 13, 2018
PRESENT:             Ann Kuendig, Charlie Piso, Trish Fryer, Greg Martin, Caleb Hawley, Bill Oren
 
AGENDA
 
Agenda Modifications: Public Present: Planning Commission, David McKenzie and Eric Furs are not attending tonight’s meeting; Correspondence #8 – New Service from AT&T; New Business #6 – Town Hall Chimney; New Business #7 – ADA Signs
 
Minutes Approval: Regular Meeting Minutes June 26, 2018
 
Public Present:                 Bill Oren, Fire Dept. Personnel
 
Correspondence:

1. VLCT Annual Meeting procedures
2. Red Cross
3. VLCT Town Fair 2018
4. VT Community Leadership Summit
5. TRORC Annual Dues
6. VTrans temporary bridge project
7. State of VT Enhanced 911
8. New Service from AT&T

Old Business:

1. Fire truck financing
2. Parking at Fire Station
3. Sand shed update
4. Culvert update
5. Resignation Patty Haskins
6. Appointment, start date new Clerk Treasurer

New Business:

1. Health Officers Resignations and new appointment possibilities
2. Planning Commission
3. Budgeting update mtg schedule
4. Clerk Treasurer report and addendum items
5. Basketball court lights
6. Town Hall Chimney
7. ADA Signs

Next Meeting Dates:     September 25, 2018
Adjournment
 
Meeting Opened, Minutes Approval & Agenda Modifications
Charlie motioned to open the meeting at 6:02 p.m., Ann seconded, meeting opened. All in favor of the agenda modifications: Public Present: Planning Commission, David McKenzie and Eric Furs are not attending tonight’s meeting; Correspondence #8 – New Service from AT&T; New Business #6 – Town Hall Chimney; New Business #7 – ADA Signs. Charlie motioned to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held June 26, 2018; Ann seconded; minutes approved.

Correspondence

1. VLCT Annual Meeting procedures – Held at Town Fair October 3 & 4. Charlie will be the delegate and Ann will be the alternate.
2. Red Cross – Letter received indicating services they provide to Pittsfield and requesting funding. File for budgeting sessions.
3. VLCT Town Fair 2018 – October 3 and 4 in South Burlington. Charlie, Ann, Trish and Sarah all plan to attend.
4. VT Community Leadership Summit – October 1 in Castleton. Sarah wants to attend as a member of the Planning Commission. Charlie motioned to approve Sarah attending the Summit; Ann seconded; motion carried.
5. TRORC Annual Dues – Thank you from TRORC for payment of annual dues.
6. VTrans temporary bridge project – Eric Furs and other VTrans personnel were unable to attend tonight’s meeting. Topic is tabled to the September 25 meeting.
7. State of VT Enhanced 911 – Charlie and Herb will review the information.
8. New Service from AT&T – The new service provides priority access to emergency personnel if they are AT&T subscribers. This information along with the “I am responding” system will be forwarded to the Fire Department.

Old Business:

1. Fire truck financing – Mascoma’s rate for the loan is 3.6%. Trish will have the loan paperwork ready for the September 25 meeting. She will also find out how pre-payment of loan funds affects the total amount due. A copy of the loan agreement needs to be reviewed by the town attorney. Mascoma Bank requires the Select Board to be co-signers on the loan. Charlie motioned to move forward on the loan process and to authorize him to sign on behalf of the Select Board; Ann seconded; motion carried. The Fire Department is collecting donations for additional items to outfit the new truck. They are doing a mailing, posting the donation letter and will contact local newspapers to spread the word. A property owner that overpaid on their taxes would like to donate the overpayment to the Fire Department fundraiser. Charlie made a motion to donate the overpayment of taxes to the Fire Department’s fundraiser; Ann seconded; motion carried.
2. Parking at Fire Station – Bill Oren is present to discuss this topic. Jersey barriers were put in place due to the number of vehicles that continue to park in the Fire Station lot. The new signs are due to arrive by the end of September. The biggest issue is enforcement and the Select Board will look into options to present at Town Meeting. Bill will look into a possible vendor for new barriers to use and he has also contacted VTrans about flashing speed signs to get traffic to slow down through town.
3. Sand shed update – The town received an award letter dated September 5 from Joel Perrigo of VTrans for the reconstruction of the town’s sand shed in the amount of $281,000. These are federal funds that reimburse the town for qualified expenditures. The town is responsible for 20% of the cost. Charlie motioned to approve the Project Commitment Form; Ann seconded; motion carried. Once VTrans receives this form they will put together the Grant Agreement.
4. Culvert update – The Liberty Hill culvert project is going out to bid. The Tweed River culvert project is complete and the cost was much higher than original planned. Some of the additional cost was due to the price increase of sand.
5. Resignation Patty Haskins – Patty tendered her resignation as Town Clerk & Town Treasurer effective September 16, 2018. The town also received a Thank You note from Patty for the farewell recognition and bench.
6. Appointment, start date new Clerk Treasurer – Tricia L. Fryer was sworn in as the Town Clerk & Town Treasurer at 7:45 p.m. with an effective date of September 16, 2018.

New Business:

1. Health Officers Resignations and new appointment possibilities – Clairetta Corron tendered her resignation effective immediately due to personal reasons. Sue Wuerthele has submitted her resignation effective September 30, 2018. The Select Board has a list of possible appointees and Trish will send a letter inviting them to consider taking one of the open positions.
2. Planning Commission – Tabled to the September 25 meeting.
3. Budgeting update meeting schedule – The Select Board plans to begin the budgeting process early November. The Board would like to get more townspeople involved, possibly post flyers around town seeking input.
4. Clerk Treasurer report and addendum items – Reviewed July and August financials. Reviewed pre-buy history for fuel oil and propane; the board approved 550 gallons of propane for the highway building, 1400 gallons of propane for the Town Office and 450 gallons of #2 Fuel Oil for the Town Hall. Trish has set-up on-line banking with Mascoma Bank. Independent Contractor documentation paperwork for Randy Andrews submitted to the board for approval. Trish is fine with shoveling small amounts of snowfall however would like someone to handle the large snowfalls. Jeff Bradley submitted his contract to conduct the town audit; the board signed it. Trish updated the board on funds available for Patty Haskins to consult if needed. The board has authorized Trish to decide what she needs for additional training and consulting. Trish asked the status of pursuing projects that fall under Approved Article 13; Charlie and Ann will address the building issues and projects as Matt is not available at this time to pursue.
5. Basketball court lights – Currently the lights are not working and some folks would like to play in the evening. This will need to be investigated further.
6. Town Hall Chimney – The chimney is pulling away from the building. One contractor checked it and believes the building is the issue as the chimney is plumb. Possibly strap the chimney to get through the winter. May need a new furnace; Greg Martin will look into it. Charlie motioned to get contractors in to look into the chimney situation; Ann seconded; motion carried. Charlie or Ann will call around as Matt is not available right now to pursue this issue.
7. ADA Signs – Trish is updating the bathroom signs to be in compliance with ADA. The new signs simply have “Restroom” printed on them and the word is also in Braille. The signs will be posted lower as well to be in compliance. Charlie motioned to authorize Trish to use the town credit card to purchase the new signs; Ann seconded; motion carried.

Next Meeting Dates:  September 25, 2018
 
Adjournment:  Charlie motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 p.m.; Ann seconded; meeting adjourned.                                                                         
 
Approved Date:              September 25, 2018                                                    Recorded by: Tyna Gallagher
 
Charlie Piso
 
Ann Kuendig