Wallingford
Selectboard Minutes
The official copy of these minutes can be obtained at Wallingford Town
Hall.
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February 4, 2008
Present: Bill
Lohsen,
Charlie
Angel, Gene Gilman,
Chris
tine Davenport, Frank Bruce and
Julie Sharon
Visitors: Joyce
Barbieri, Joan Crowley,
Rodney Ward
,
Keith Shelvey
, Lisa Marchinkowski, Ben Morgan, Ann Tiplady, Sue Duskiewicz, Cassie Ahearn,
Ann Tiplady, and Sandi Switzer
B.
Lohsen called the meeting to order at
7:00 p.m.
Minutes.
F. Bruce moved to approve the January 17th minutes; G. Gilman seconded
the motion. Motion carried (5-0).
Selectboard Orders.
F. Bruce made a motion to approve the Pay Order in the amount of
$20,880.44, which was seconded by C. Angel.
Motion carried (5-0).
Recreation Budget Cuts and
Recreation Committee Appointment. Rec
Committee member
Keith Shelvey
addressed the Selectboard stating that it was unprofessional to eliminate the
recreation budget without discussion beforehand with any committee members.
B. Lohsen explained the Selectboard’s reasoning for these cuts and
apologized that it was done at the last minute. Someone asked if the
Elfin
Lake
revenue should have been lowered accordingly; however, the
Elfin
Lake
budget does not affect the summer rec budget.
Tom Phillips stated that one port-o-potty is necessary on the north
field, and that restoration work must be done on the tennis courts soon while it
is still affordable. He believes
that the Rec Committee has not addressed the tennis courts in 13 years. Lisa
Marchinkowski stated that the town would lose the out of town programs, i.e.
Tapestry, Pathways, if there are no lifeguards at
Elfin
Lake
. B. Lohsen asked why
Wallingford
would service other towns and stated he was not aware of what revenue came in
from these programs. Joyce Barbieri
pointed out that the proposed budget for
Elfin
Lake
salaries is $7,500, an increase of $500 over last year.
She also added that salaries haven’t reached $7,000 in the last two
years. The Selectboard’s
recommendation that Sue Duskiewicz could share the salaries with a second person
and not have lifeguards was not an edict. Sue
stated that the complaints about the crowding in the parking lot caused by these
large groups could be addressed. She
also wanted to start advertising the lake as a public beach to other towns.
Ben Morgan and Lisa both feel lifeguards are necessary as their son was
rescued by one in the past. Ann
Tiplady voiced her concern that the lifeguards do not have the proper equipment
– i.e. hats, sunglasses, lifeguard chair.
The Rec Committee has discussed that issue as well and they intend to
purchase the equipment for this season.
Charlie
Angel asked Sue how much money is in her checking account for the summer
program and she answered approximately $3,500.
There was discussion on what monies are in CDs -- $3,500 in the
playground fund which will be used for fencing.
There is approximately $4,600 in the rec fund; $4,000 of which was from
GE and is already earmarked for the dugouts and sidewalk repair.
There were various recommendations on the number of employees required
for the lake, who should be in charge, hours of operation, etc.
C. Davenport stated that she was never in favor of replacing Sue at the
lake, and G. Gilman and C. Angel had similar sentiments.
Sue offered to give up the summer rec program in order to keep lifeguards
at the lake. Ann Miller stated
concern that the children are affected by the budget cuts, and B. Lohsen
explained that the
Elfin
Lake
budget remains in tact with a $500 increase in salaries.
Upon the recommendation of the Recreation Committee, B. Lohsen made a
motion to appoint Tony Petrossi to the Recreation Committee; motion seconded by
F. Bruce. Motion carried (5-0).
Public Comments.
Cassie Ahearn spoke about her mother-in-law’s accident that
occurred last November on
Sugar Hill Road
and the time it took to respond because of the icy road conditions.
She urged the Selectboard to put a policy in place whereby the road crew
has someone in town “on call” at all times.
Ann Tiplady asked if she could bring hand outs to town meeting in regards
to the
zoning
article. Joyce stated that the
Moderator does not favor this practice. There
was discussion whether the Moderator will call for a moderator pro tem to take
over so he can voice his opinion on the
zoning
article.
Route 140W Speed Limit. Tom
Phillips questioned whether the change in speed limit from 40 mph to 25 mph
should have a gradual 5-10 mph decrease, instead of the abrupt change.
Julie will ask Tom Roberts at VTrans for his opinion on this issue.
Route
140W
Bridge
Transportation Grant.
The Town was awarded a $300,000 Enhancement Grant for rehabilitation
of the
Route
140W
Bridge
! Julie reviewed the timeline of the
grant with construction of the bridge not starting until the spring 2010.
VTrans Town Highway
Grant Program Applications.
No applications will be made this year because we were fortunate to
receive two grants for the
Route
140W
Bridge
.
Vermont
DMV Records Request.
Julie learned at a VLCT seminar last month that DOT regulations state
that employers must check the DMV records for each employee that operates a town
vehicle on an annual basis. Julie
will be requesting these records on Charlie, John and Dan.
Rutland
Region Transportation Council Report.
C. Angel reported on the talk given by Mel Adams, VTrans’ Director of
Policy and Planning. The discussion
focused on the budget and ways to increase transportation revenue.
With more fuel-efficient automobiles on the road, the fuel tax is
declining, and there was discussion on having a nickel tax on fuel over the next
five years. The Route 7 upgrade
project was discussed.
Fire
District’s Attorney Response on Fire Truck Vote.
The Selectboard reviewed an email from Paul Kulig who confirmed that if
the district wants to purchase a new truck and have the cost as part of the
town’s share; it would first be approved by the Budget Committee and then
submitted to the district voters for approval of financing.
F. Bruce stated the Fire Protection Budget Committee never approved the
final budget because the proposed fire protection budget is missing the previous
year’s carryover balance.
Joyce was encouraged that Warren Allen promised to
perform an inventory of the town and look into following through on two dry
hydrants that were started on in the past.
Correspondence.
11/26/07 Conservation Commission minutes; 12/10/07 Planning Commission
minutes; Universal Broadband
Initiatives; USDA Forest Service Mailing; VSP Citizens Advisory Meeting Report;
RCSD Law Incident Report; Update on Creek Road Bridge; Electronic Disposal Waste
Bill; FEMA letter; Michelle Wade letter, and Judicial Bureau of Vt. Law
Enforcement Bulletin.
B. Lohsen made a
motion to move into executive session at
8:55 p.m.
with J. Barbieri present to discuss personnel; motion seconded by F. Bruce.
(Motion carried 5-0). The
Selectboard came out of executive session at
9:25 p.m.
with no action taken.
B. Lohsen read a
letter from Carl and Ann Buffum addressed to the Selectboard, with a copy to the
Planning Commission Chair, concerning the auctions being held at the Mason
Temple on
South Main Street
. They questioned if this activity
is a permitted use. The Selectboard
would like the Planning Commission to address their concerns and issue a ruling.
The
meeting adjourned at
9:30 p.m. |