Selectboard Meeting

January 23, 2006

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Attending the meeting; Rob Bast, Andrea Morgante, Jon Trefry, Randy Volk, Howard Russell, Jeanne Wilson, and Ashley Matthews of the Burlington Free Press.

 

Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

Budget Planning Session

 

Revisit Highway Budget

Excavator – discussion on leasing vs. purchasing vs. renting as needed or sub-contracting.  It was recognized that there were two different scenarios where an excavator could be needed.  The first is for scheduled maintenance.  The second is for emergency repairs.  It was expressed that there were still many questions about how much an excavator would be used, what the best type of machine would fit the needs, whether there was a need for different machines for different jobs.  The Board agreed that the Drott should be sold, and recommended that over the next year the Road Foreman gather information about the different options.  For instance, subcontract out ditching and shoulder work for a two week period and compare the cost and productivity (number of feet of ditching competed) to the cost and productivity of renting a machine for a two week period.  The Road Foreman should report back to the Board on the findings.  This information will be useful in evaluating the alternatives.  It was recognized that approaching the summer maintenance in this manner would require management and planning on the part of the Road Foreman.  $25,000 was put in the Summer Highway budget for excavation work.

 

Loader – discussion on purchasing vs. lease-to-own.  Jeanne had received information on the two different alternatives, and costs were similar.  The lease-to-own option offers an out should a machine prove to be a lemon.  The Board decided to leave $25,000 in the capital budget, and Jeanne will get a quote on a five year lease and report back to the Board.

 

Fifth Department Member – discussion on whether to eliminate the funding for a 5th highway employee.  Due to the desire to contract more work, the Board decided to eliminate $52,000 from the budget for employee expense, and increased the line item for excavation work by $26,000 to allow for more subcontracting expense.

           

 Revisit Buildings & Facilities Budget

Town Hall – main level flooring – Rocky had uncovered an area of the main hall flooring, in order for the Board to inspect the sub-floor.  The Board felt that the sub-floor was adequate, and underlayment would not be necessary.  Rocky had provided more pricing information on the wood floor project, and based on this information the Board agreed to include $30,000 in the budget for the replacement of the wood floor on the 2nd floor of Town Hall.

 

Revisit Computer/Copier/Fax Budget

Jeanne read an email from Alex Weinhagen, regarding a request to increase the computer hardware line item by $1,100 in order to purchase a laptop computer for the Planning & Zoning office to be used for presentations.  The laptop would be purchased instead of the desktop computer already included in the budget.  The Board felt that this option should be better researched and revisited during next year’s budget process.

 

           

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Revisit Agency Budget

The Board agreed to increase the VNA request by 4%, the same as all other agency requests.  The Board decided to move the GBIC request to the Planning & Zoning budget, since it was more like a dues (similar to the CCMPO and CCRPC) instead of an agency request.  GBIC will remain at $600.

 

Review Capital Budget

           Jeanne will update the capital budget to reflect changes made during tonight’s discussion.

 

Review Revenue Summary

The Board recommended increasing the Police Judicial Fines to $20,000.  Total non-tax revenue is budgeted at $657,720.

 

Review Expenditure Summary

Jeanne will update the expenditure summary to reflect changes made during tonight’s discussion.

 

Growth in Grand List / Tax Rate Projection

Due to the town-wide reappraisal it is currently impossible to estimate the value of the Grand List, and therefore a projected tax rate.  The Board reviewed past growth in the Grand List to get a relative idea of the budget impact.

 

Review of Articles

The Board reviewed a draft of the warning for Town Meeting.  There was further discussion on whether the paving of Pond Brook Road should be included on the warning as a separate article.  Andrea made a motion to warn the $89,000 for the Pond Brook paving as a separate article.  Motion seconded by Howard.  The motion failed with Andrea and Howard voting for, while Jon, Rob and Randy voted against.

 

Howard made a motion that the VLCT article regarding the use of state education funds be included in the warning.  Seconded by Randy and approved.

 

Explanation of Articles

Jeanne had drafted information to be included in the annual report which explains how the numbers in the warning articles are calculated.  The Board will review the draft and email Jeanne with comments.

                       

Other Business

 

Approve Warrants:  Howard moved that the Board vote to approve the warrants (including payroll warrants) for bills payable as presented by the Town Treasurer. Second by Jon and approved.

 

Approve Minutes of January 2, 2006:  Howard moved that the Board vote to approve the minutes of January 2, 2006 as corrected, second by Jon and approved with Randy abstaining.

 

Approve Minutes of January 16, 2006:  Howard moved that the Board vote to approve the minutes of January 16, 2006 as corrected, second by Jon and approved.

 

 

 

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Discussion of Sidewalk Plowing:  Rocky has included funding in the FY 06 – 07 budget to hire out the sidewalk plowing.  Due to Rocky’s shoulder injury, he has hired Dan Tucker to plow the sidewalks for the short-term this winter.  Jeanne recommended that it would be a better use of Rocky’s time to continue to have the sidewalks plowed this winter.  She anticipated the additional expense to be $1,000 or less.  The Board was supportive of the potential budget over-run and agreed that Rocky’s time would be better spent on other projects. 

 

Expiring Wastewater Capacity Allocations:  The Board signed letters to all holders of wastewater capacity allocations which expire in June, 2006, notifying them of the pending expiration. 

 

Review of Proposal / RE: Impound Facility:  ACO Earl Dionne had provided the Board with a proposal regarding changing the current impound facility from O’Neils in Shelburne to a town-owned facility in Bristol.  Chris Morrell had provided written comments on the proposal.  The Board decided to stay with O’Neils for another year, and revisit this idea next year after the Bristol facility has been operational for a period of time.  It was also recommended that the Board ask an independent expert to inspect O’Neils in regard to the allegations made by the ACO to ensure that it remains to be a suitable facility.  Jeanne will arrange this inspection.

 

April/May Meeting Schedule:  Because of Jeanne’s vacation and Memorial Day, the Board decided to meet on April 3, April 10, May 8 and May 22.

 

Discussion of Long Range Planning Police/Fire Facility:  There was a discussion about currents talks between the fire department, police department and Brett Grabowski regarding planning for future police & fire facilities.  Howard had a concern about the process.  He felt that first there should be discussions about what level of staffing we want to see in the future for the police department, and then decisions should be made about what type of facility meets these needs.  He felt that the Selectboard should be centrally involved in defining the process, so that other municipal needs could be considered and addressed.

 

Rob noted that the current activity is defining the box within which future discussions will take place.  With this direction it is easy to lose track of the big picture.

 

Andrea noted that the Selectboard is the community leader, and as such should be facilitating this type of discussion.

 

Jon noted that there will be a lot of groups making decisions as this moves forward, since it will involve re-zoning and a DRB permitting process.

 

The Board was uncomfortable with the on-going discussions.  The involvement of other parties could make this a better process.  Andrea questioned whether this is the time to be considering the sale of the parcel where the police department is located.  The Board asked Jeanne to invite representatives from the Fire Department, Police Department as well as Rocky to an upcoming meeting to outline a process for proceeding.    

 

Randy moved that the Board adjourn at 11:00 pm, second by Howard and approved.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Jeanne Kundell Wilson

Town Administrator