Wallingford Selectboard Minutes
The official copy of these minutes can be obtained at Wallingford Town
Hall.
Selectboard Minutes Index Present: Bill
Lohsen, Visitors: Dave
Ballou, Dick Landon, Tom Phillips, Joyce Barbieri, Dennis Smith, Lisa
Charbonneau, Debbie Scranton, Ralph Nimtz, Shannon Pytlik, Kim Blodgett, and
Peter Upton B.
Lohsen called the meeting to order at Minutes.
F. Bruce moved to approve the March 10th minutes; B. Brooks seconded the
motion. Motion carried (5-0). Selectboard Orders.
B. Lohsen made a motion to approve the Pay Order in the amount of
$30,482.91, which was seconded by F. Bruce.
Motion carried (5-0). Public Comments.
B. Lohsen asked Dave Ballou to draft a response to a memorandum sent
to all Selectboard members dated March 15 from Ken Fredette who shared his
thoughts on the education funding. After
a lengthy discussion on what is the true driving force behind tax rates, the
Selectboard took no action. Dave Ballou brought to the Selectboard’s attention examples of
missing/incorrect information on tax bills.
For those properties with a house and more than two acres, the fire
protection tax should only be imposed on the house plus two acres; however, in
some instances, the fire protection tax rate is levied on the full assessed
value. In other cases, there is no
fire district tax charged at all. There
are some properties that can be classified as both homestead and non residential
when the property has a portion rented out; however, some properties are only
being charged the homestead rate. Dave
and Joyce would like to be involved in reviewing the tax bills and Lister cards
to get this information as accurate as possible.
The Selectboard asked that Vermont Municipal Assessor be notified of
these inconsistencies and ask them to take measures to get them corrected before
the final grand list is filed with the State. State Board Tax Appeals.
In response to Spencer Potter’s email on the two tax appeals going to
the State appraiser, the Selectboard agreed that he should defend the Town
instead of the Listers as they were not involved in determining the assessments
on these properties as the properties crossed into other towns.
Dave Ballou alone will represent the Town on the tax appeal going to the
Rutland Superior Court. Public Comment. Dick Landon
stated that he is interested in the road commissioner position.
He inquired about the amount of paperwork involved with this position and
asked about pending road projects. Dennis Smith discussed his dissatisfaction with the mediation session
held recently in regard to his conditional use application.
Lisa Charbonneau also stated that she was unhappy with the process of the
New Ford Truck. As a continuation to the Selectboard’s approval to purchase the truck from John C. Stewart at the last meeting, B. Lohsen made a motion to purchase the truck from John C. Stewart & Son, Inc. at a cost of $34,230; motion seconded by F. Bruce. Motion carried (5-0). F. Bruce made a motion to purchase the equipment (steel dump body, stainless steel hopper sander, plow and hitch) from Howard P. Fairfield at a cost of $29,750; motion seconded by B. Lohsen. Motion carried (5-0). Gateway Motors, Inc. and Ted Green Ford, Inc. will be notified accordingly. 2008
Liquor License Renewal Applications. The
list of Liquor License applications included
the Victorian Inn, Midway, Sherman V. Allen and Cumberland Farms.
B. Lohsen moved to approve the slate of liquor license applications as
presented. F. Bruce seconded the
motion. Motion carried (5-0). VTrans
Annual Financial Plan.
B. Lohsen explained how the form is completed.
B. Lohsen made a motion to approve the plan.
F. Bruce seconded the motion. Motion
carried (5-0). FEMA
Map Update. The
Selectboard reviewed the letter and documents from FEMA which stated that the
Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) for the community are final.
The modified BFEs and revised map panels are effective as of Other
Business. The
Conservation Commission came in at B.
Lohsen did not feel this letter would help to further the cause in getting the
land reclaimed for recreational purposes. He reminded the Commission that the Selectboard
notified them last November to halt all activity in the “pit” until further
notice. D. Later
in the meeting, the Selectboard discussed how that letter may have been created
because it was pointed out that the Conservation Commission minutes do not show
approval to issue the letter. The
open meeting law requires that minutes be taken at all public meetings. It
was asked whether this would be considered a violation of open meeting law
because there is no mention in the minutes.
As the Town found out back in 2001, all emails between any town officials
are considered public record. Transfer
Station Scrap Metal. In
an effort to explore more revenue to help offset our solid waste expenses, the
Selectboard reviewed a proposal from Earth Waste Systems.
They propose charging the Town $100 per pull and will pay the Town 59%
per ton of the American Metal prices. Current
pricing would equate to approximately $100 per ton.
This compares to our current arrangement through Rutland Co. Solid Waste
who pays us $35 per ton, plus a pull charge of $143 by Casella.
After some discussion, F. Bruce made a motion to enter into a three-year
agreement with Earth Waste Systems, which was seconded by C. Angel.
Motion carried (5-0). As
mentioned at another meeting, the Town can earn revenue from newspaper as well.
There is currently an informal agreement with a Other
Business.
There are three candidates for the Road Commission position.
Action will be taken at the next meeting.
F.
Bruce reported that the transmission has blown in the Ford 550.
Shaw’s and John C. Stewart provided comparable estimates of
approximately $4,500. After some
discussion on the truck’s condition, the Selectboard agreed to have the road
crew look at the transmission to see if it cracked, as there is no rush to fix
the truck. He also reported that the
road crew is purchasing a pallet of cold Correspondence.
The Selectboard received the Sheriff’s report for February, the
Recreation Committee minutes of 3/18, and a letter to the Planning Commission
from Lisa Charbonneau regarding the minutes.
Ordinance income for February was $1,063. Annual
Appointments.
The Selectboard asked Julie to survey both the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Adjustment to see which members would like to serve on the Development Review Board. Joyce recommended Vacancies remaining: Auditor, Health Officer, Tree Warden, Lister, and alternates to the Rutland Regional Planning Commission and Rutland Regional Transportation Council. Other Business.
There was discussion on some recent thefts and acts of vandalism in The Selectboard reviewed the Prudential Committee’s
memo, which stated that the Town needs to collect $73,224.74 for fire protection
taxes in FY 09. Joyce was in
agreement with this figure. She
questioned how the Fire Truck Fund accumulated $22,482 and asked for a history
on this fund. Sue Duskiewicz gave the
Treasurer a check for $3,464.66, which are the proceeds from the Wallingford
After School account, that will be used towards recreation. The meeting adjourned at |
|
Home
Hours
& Meetings Town Officers
Selectboard Town Clerk
© Copyright 2001 Town of Wallingford, Vermont |