Wallingford Fire District No. 1

 MINUTES OF THE PRUDENTIAL COMMITTEE MEETING
 May 9, 2007

The official copy of these minutes can be obtained at Wallingford Fire District #1 Office.

Called to Order:  Chris Rabtoy called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm .  Also present were Chris McPhee, Rose Regula and Stephanie Biagini/Clerk-Treasurer.

Visitors:  Warren Allen, Timothy Biagini, Kurt Brown, Gregory Macleod, Joel Mudge, Priscilla Raykoske and John West

Proposed Fire Truck:  W. Allen came before the committee to update their efforts on obtaining additional quotes for the proposed fire truck.  He provided figures of $268,000 from American Buying Power and that’s before financing, with similar components.  He is still waiting for another quote from American France; he anticipates that would probably be about $300,000.  The quote from E-One the first proposal was $251,611.

C. McPhee asked if there was rate worked out per household.  It would be .26 cents per thousand or $26.00 per 100,000 equating to $2.17 per month.  The figures were based on the 2006 grand list with approx. 1,100 households. 

C. Rabtoy made a motion to schedule a meeting with 30 days in advance to have the Fire Department too present their quotes, financing, cost to the public and voting would commence the next date by ballot.  R. Regula asked if there were any other institutions for funding, or just E-one for financing 5.38%.  There were other areas that were looked into for financing and it was decided on to go with the proposed financing offer from E-One.  R. Regula said that she had made calls into the USDA Rural Development for a loan ranging from 7-15 years @ 4.125% (fixed rate), which is a lower rate.  R. Regula said that she would have the information the next day and photocopy for each of the members for their review.  The only requirement is that the USDA would need to view the ballot.  As well as Attorney Paul Guilianni would need to review the ballots too make sure it’s legally worded correctly.  He was the Attorney that had to do it for Water Bond.  The clerk noted that we would want to make sure that we have all of the information needed before any notices are put out to the public.  C. Rabtoy made the motion to have a notice put out 30 days from the next prudential committee meeting.  C. McPhee seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  (3-0)

Depot Street:  W. Allen asked who would be responsible for the hole at the end of Depot Street , the bricks are falling in.   An orange caution cone had been placed near the whole.  J. West said he didn’t know who would be responsible.  R. Regula said that it was the town’s jurisdiction, were sewer.  C. Rabtoy said that it’s an issue that would need to be addressed to the town and he would make the call.

Old Water Meter:  W. Allen informed the committee that he had given the old water meter from the house on Depot Street that was taken down to M. Breznick. 

Highland Association:  G. Macleod was requested to come in to discuss working out charging water from the bridge to the Highland Association.  C. Rabtoy read a couple of memos that were written to the association regarding the high water readings from the bridge.  C. Rabtoy says what we are proposing is that we charge from the bridge and one water bond.  J. West said that we have more of a liability by putting meters and having the residents pay the water bond.  He remembers that at the time that was the logic behind this brand new water bond.  Instead of having the one meter pit, we would charge the 30 homes to get the bond reduced for the district.   At that point in time we would sell water out of the district and charge more per thousand gallons then you would charge in the district, that would off set their user fees not the bond.  He’s not sure who was on the board at the time, but they decided no, we are going to put in the meters and charge bond instead.  G. Macleod met with the clerk to check on the numbers on how that would play out.   

C. Rabtoy would like to make the motion to charge the one bond payment and charge accordingly for the water going through the meter at the bridge and rate would be higher than the in district rate.  R. Regula interjected and said that there was in issue in the past, we were charging Hillside residents more for water/sewer rates and we got told that we couldn’t do that.  C. McPhee asked how about if they are outside the district?  C. Rabtoy said that we do have time to check into the rate we can charge, this isn’t something that would start next week if it’s approved.  The rate is still debatable.  He’s not really sure of the legalities of charging 30 water bond payments outside of the district. G. Macleod had individuals ask if they were part of district because they were paying the water bond.  C. Rabtoy said that unfortunately we can not correct previous error or mistakes, but we can try not to have them carry forward.  R. Regula said that if this goes through for the Highland Association you’re going to have a discrepancy with people on Hillside and other areas that are not in the district boundaries.  C. Rabtoy asked if there was a meter pit there.  C. Rabtoy stated that we will need to check with an attorney to figure out where we can go with this and where we can’t.  He also stated that he doesn’t think that it’s legal charging for water bond outside of the district, but that’s the way it’s been done the past, but that doesn’t mean anything to him.   He doesn’t care that if something has been wrong for 20 years, we are not going to carry it wrong for another 20 years, just because.  He thinks that it may have been an error on one of the previous boards.  R. Regula said that she couldn’t agree with him.  C. Rabtoy said that we will be checking with an attorney and see if we can legally be charging for the water bond for those outside of the district, because he’s not sure that we can.  C. McPhee said that we should table the motion, until we have more information. 

J. West asked if R. Regula seemed to think that we should be able to charge bond outside the district.  She responded we had kind of gone into this when she had first come on; we were charging Hillside and another area one in half times the rate.  People were getting billed at a higher rate and there was someone that had come to the board to complain.  Found out that it was illegal that we could not charge anymore for someone inside or outside the boundaries, we had to charge equal.  She can’t remember who was on the board at that time, because she was just getting into it.  J. West said that we would want to revisit it.  R. Regula said that it was in the statute because she had looked it up she will have to find out where she had read it.  J. West said that is it legal to sell water at a higher rate out of the district to cover bonds. 

Part Time Employee Status:  J. West said that R. Squier’s is out from an injury at his other part time job.  He’s not sure when he will be back to work for us. 

Drying Beds:  C. Rabtoy asked the status of the drying beds.  J. West responded that we are waiting for the engineers and some formalities of letters from the state.  He went on to explain the process of the need to have a solid waste permit. 

Sump Pumps:  C. Rabtoy brought up the issue of people running sump pumps into the sewer.  This issue has been discussed at a previous meeting.  At some point we will need to address it.  He wants to run a camera in the sewer line.  The alternative is that a hose should be run outside a window.   J. West said that it’s theft of services and where a sheriff gets involved.  We have a capacity of double of the size of the town.  Another thing is smoke testing.  Not only the sump pumps, roof drains or any of those things – the homeowners are responsible for, but are never going to maintain, unless they see the smoke bellowing out.  He’s seen where the contractors have had the foundations run right into the sewer. 

Approval for Minutes: The minutes of 2/20/07 , 3/14/07 , 3/28/07 , 4/11/07 & 4/25/07 were read.  There was a question on who was allowed to approve minutes from the annual meeting.  The clerk had a written response from Deb Markowitz, stating that the prudential committee could approve the minutes; the response was handed out to each committee member.  C. Rabtoy made the motion to accept the minutes as presented for 2/20/07 .  C. McPhee seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0).  C. Rabtoy made the motion to accept the minutes as presented for 3/14/07 .  C. McPhee seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0) C. Rabtoy made the motion to accept the minutes as presented for 3/28/07 .  C. McPhee seconded the motion.  R. Regula had a question about the purchase of stamps.  The clerk responded that she was probably going a little above and beyond by requesting approval for the purchase of stamps.  She wanted to make the board aware that the rate for stamps would be going up as of May 15^th and she wanted to make sure that we had purchased stamps for the 2^nd quarter billing and to be proactive in working ahead by placing the stamps on the bills.  Another question from R. Regula was about a CVPS bill for North Main Street .  The clerk said that she had checked with CVPS and it was for the pedestrian walk light at the corner of Main and Rte 140.  We are responsible for the bill, because we are responsible for sidewalks.  R. Regula asked about the issue with R. Davenport and the fee for parking on his property.  The clerk went on to explain the situation to R. Regula, J. Bowen was going to meet with R. Davenport to work out the situation (lodge renters are paying for the use of R. Davenports property for parking cars and the district’s insurance should not be held responsible for any damage to the vehicles parked on his land and also the amount charged for parking on his property needed to be addressed).  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0).  C. Rabtoy made the motion to accept the minutes as presented for 4/11/07 .  C. McPhee seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0). C. Rabtoy made the motion to accept the minutes as presented with one correction, changing C. Rabtoy to C. Rabtoy for 4/25/07 .  R. Regula seconded the motion.  R. Regula wanted to bring up one more issue about the Vermont Department of Labor for the claim.  C. Rabtoy said let’s first get through the minutes and discuss it under other business.  Does it change what’s in the minutes or is it further discussion under other business?  R. Regula said that is could be discussed under other business.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (3-0).

Old Business:

Tree Removal for Mr. Haley:  C. Rabtoy went and spoke to Mrs. Haley and had asked them to contact their insurance company, because unfortunately it’s an act of god and the district wasn’t liable for taking the tree off their property no matter where it fell from.   R. Regula checked on the boundaries and the insurance company.  There are still some boundaries that we are not sure about.  She contacted VLCT and it is correct we are not liable, because we didn’t do anything to make the tree fall, this was natures call.  But if we wanted to be a good neighbor, we could cut up the tree and have it removed.  C. Rabtoy isn’t interested in spending money to have it remove it.  C. Rabtoy said that there isn’t really any action that needs to be taken.  R. Regula said maybe we could check prices to have it done and the district should be friendly. 

D. Galarneau Inquiry:  The follow up to D. Galarneau inquiry regarding monies past due were found to be inaccurate.  The clerk checked previous records and found no information showing money due to the district.  A letter was sent to him regarding the findings.  R. Regula checked her records and did not find anything as well.  C. Rabtoy asked if R. Regula had sent a copy of her ledger sheet along with monies collected by her.  The town doesn’t have anything either.  C. Rabtoy requested that D. Galarneau check with his bank on who reported the unpaid money.  There will be no further action taken at this time.

Water Meter Pads:  New residents that have new homes or construction that has been completed should have the water meter pads put on outside near the utility. The clerk had sent reminder letters and had not received a response.  We’ve even tried to contact them by going to their homes and still no response.  R. Regula asked if there was a meter hooked up at the home across from Cumberland Farms.  The clerk responded, it hasn’t and it will be a big digging project that would include Rte 7.  C. McPhee asked if that were the PVC piping, yes it was the one on the embankment.  The new owners are currently renovating the building and have no water on at this time and house is empty.  They are still being charged water bond, water/sewer rent and fire district taxes.  The owner had expressed interest in have a water meter installed. 

C. Rabtoy asked if we could still check with VLCT; since we have repeatedly requested Mr. Whitty have the water meter pad put back on the outside of his building.  B. Lohsen removed it and hasn’t put the meter pad back, which he should put it back on.  C. Rabtoy asked if we could ask VLCT if we could access a fine for not putting the pad back on.  The clerk responded that we should look at our water/sewer ordinances and see if there’s written documentation on such actions before a call is made.  We could send someone to have it done and charge the residents the plumber fee.  It’s not right to have M. Breznick do it when, it’s the responsibility of the plumber that picks the meter up along with the pad.  We shouldn’t have to manually knock on doors to read meters in basements.  It costs to have repeat visits to read meters.  R. Regula had another question on a property on Mill Street .  At this time there is a zero reading, she said that there is someone living there, but didn’t know when they are or not there during the year.  The clerk suggested that an insert go into the bills asking residents to contact the office when there is a change in residents/construction/filling pools and or spa’s and leaks.  C. Rabtoy said another issue that will need to be addressed is when residents leave for the winter, they shouldn’t be removing meters.  He said that there is a process to have the water shut off at the street and they have to come to the office to do it.  C. McPhee said that there seems to be a lot of these issues that if people didn’t bring them up, then we would never know, but it has to be the responsibility of the plumber to know. 

Water/Sewer Rates for 2^nd Quarter:  The water and sewer rates were set by the amount of water sold.  R. Regula asked if we were charging the same for sewer as for water, since people are washing cars, water gardens, filling pools and spas and not going into the sewer.  Yes we are responded C. Rabtoy.  She said that we couldn’t.  C. Rabtoy said that it’s based on the water used.  C. Rabtoy made the motion to set the water rate at $4.02 and the sewer rate $5.62.  C. McPhee seconded the motion.  R. Regula said that because she’s not comfortable with either rate and doesn’t get it.  C. Rabtoy explained the process to R. Regula.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0) one abstained vote.

Treasurers Report -

Delinquent Tax Collector Correspondence:  We received a letter from Rick Smith regarding his delinquent tax report and he suggested that the meters be re-read for accuracy.  The clerk explained that there is documentation of re-reads that there had been unusually high readings caught.  The findings were brought to the committee’s attention before the bills had been sent out.  The committee directed the clerk to bill for the water in and out respectfully.  R. Regula wanted to know why nobody had done anything before the bills were sent out.  The clerk said it’s been said that we should have nipped it or comments where made as to why didn’t someone take ownership, the clerk did, and the clerk did not want to send anyone a $7,000 bill.  C. McPhee doesn’t think that there is anything we can do.  He suggested that maybe have them go into abatement.  C. Rabtoy said that maybe we could hand them over to J. West to investigate.

Exemption Status of Property Claiming: Each member received a copy of the.  Maybe a sub-committee should be set up to complete the form and follow through the exemption for the property at the lodge.  A discussion ensued.  C. McPhee made the motion to at least open the door to discuss legal issues with an attorney.  R. Regula seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (3-0). 

Phone/Fax Line: The clerk looked into reducing the cost of office’s fax and phone line.   We currently spend about $110.00 per month combined.  The office doesn’t receive many faxes on a weekly and/or monthly basis.  The phone company sent over the programs to combine and the costs that would be saved. 

The Vermont Transportation:  More information was gathered regarding the cost break down for a bill on hold.  They reported that the extra fee and cost was for the paving at Hull Avenue and Main Street when a valve was changed.  C. Rabtoy said made the motion to pay that overage out of the water capital fund, because it was for the improvement to replace that valve on Main Street .  C. McPhee seconded the motion since it was to repair the water valve.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0) one abstained vote.

VLCT Municipality Loss Report:  One open case regarding Hull Avenue and the water in the basement.  C. Rabtoy said that we have no record in the office as to a call made to the fire district.  There was a frozen pipe in the basement resulting in water in the basement.  They are claiming that they had contacted the office to have the water shut off in the street, which prompted us to have a policy in place. Who ever shut the water off did it in the basement that resulted in the pipe freezing.  J. Ingalls went out and replaced the valve at the street.  C. Rabtoy will follow up with VLCT.

Unemployment Claim:  A lengthy discussion ensued regarding the unemployment claim from an elected official.  No action taken.

Pay Orders:  C. Rabtoy made the motion to accept the pay orders.  C. McPhee seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (2-0) one abstained vote.

Accountant:  A discussion ensued regarding communication with the Accountant.  The audit does request a response in writing addressing their findings.  C. McPhee said that he would assist with the project. 

Lodge Repairs:  Electrical problems occurred at the caretakers lodge.  A bill was received for the repairs and C. Rabtoy said that before the bill is paid further information would need to be gathered.  Because when CVPS had gone out and there, there weren’t any problems with the electric.  No approval was obtained before the service was done. 

Caretaker Utilities: The utilities have still not been changed over into his name.  The clerk has contacted the companies and they are awaiting his call.  C. Rabtoy made the motion that by Monday, May 14^th, we will contact the utility companies and have them shut them off.  C. McPhee seconded the motion based on the facts presented.  R. Regula agreed 100%.  No further discussion.  Motion carried (3-0). 

New Business:

None

Public Comments:

No comments

Other Business/Announcements:

Committee Member Absent:  C. McPhee said he would be out of town June 6^th – June 20^th. 

Cost of Sludge Removal:  M. Breznick wrote a detailed letter regarding an increase of 40% for sludge removal charges from the City of Rutland ’s for Fiscal Year 2008’s budget.

Executive Session:

None

Next Meeting:

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Prudential Committee will be held at 7:00 p.m. on

June 13, 2007 – Town Hall.

Adjournment:

C. McPhee made the motion that the meeting be adjourned.  C. Rabtoy seconded the motion.  No further discussion.  Motion so carried (3-0).  Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted:

Stephanie P. Biagini - Clerk/Treasurer

Date Approved:   July 11, 2007

Home     Hours & Meetings     Town Officers     Selectboard     Town Clerk
Transfer Station     Recreation    Roads     Planning & Zoning     Conservation Commission    Gilbert Hart Library  
Ordinances    Town Info.     Community     Phone & E-Mail     FAQs      Links   
Site Map        Wallingford Elementary School Agenda & Minutes
Mill River Union High School
Little Red Schoolhouse        Wallingford Fire District No. 1          Web Site Policy  

 © Copyright 2001 Town of Wallingford, Vermont