TOWN OF STAMFORD
SELECTBOARD MEETING
February 6, 2014
(UNAPPROVED)
Present:
Selectboard: Christopher Dargie, Chair, Nancy Bushika and David Bugbee.
Thomas Houghtaling and Olaf A. Aase were not present.
Visitors: Nancy Dargie, Bill Levine.
David Tatro, Road Commissioner.
Lori Shepard, Administrative Assistant/Town Clerk.
Chris Dargie called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.
MINUTES
MOTION by Chris Dargie to accept the regular meeting minutes of January 29, 2014 as written. SECONDED by Nancy Bushika. All in favor. Motion APPROVED.
ROAD CONDITIONS
1. Dave Tatro is having trouble ordering road salt. There appears to be a general shortage in the northeast due to the high usage this year. He is negotiating with Countryside Landscaping since salt from the regular vendors is unavailable.
2. The highway crew has been removing ice build up at the ends of the culverts. It is important to remove the ice to prevent road washouts since water can flood quickly.
3. The plow trucks have been out every day trying to keep up with the snowstorms.
4. The Chevy is out of the shop and working fine but there is an issue with the wing plow. It has cracked due to the constant vibration of plowing.
RECYCLING
Roy Gibson, the Recycling Center Alternate, filled in this weekend.
TOWN MEETING PREPARATION
1. The board reviewed requests for donations from prior years to see whether a petition was required or if the amount was included in the budget, as well as the vote at town meeting.
2. The board considered using a portion of the town’s positive fund balance to repave the northeast portion of the school parking lot, instead of using the money to reduce the raise and appropriate as originally intended in Article 2 of the Town Warning. Dave Tatro said the parking lot is in dire need of resurfacing and using the fund balance would allow the town to complete the project without raising taxes.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Bill Levine attended the recent LEPC meeting. Homeland Security gave a presentation on Vermont Alert, a messaging system which can send notifications in the event of an emergency by email, twitter, facebook, phone or text. People must sign up for the free service. After town meeting Bill Levine will invite a representative to provide more information and discuss who should have authority to initiate notifications in the event of a local emergency.
OFFERS ON ALPENWALD LOTS
MOTION by Chris Dargie to accept the offer from Beverly McDermott Aase in the amount of $101.00 to purchase Lot 291 in Alpenwald, and to accept the offer from Ann Welker and Vincent McGann in the amount of $200.00 to purchase Lots 133 and 183 in Alpenwald. SECONDED by Nancy Bushika. All in favor. Motion APPROVED.
CERTIFICATE OF HIGHWAY MILES
MOTION by Chris Dargie to accept and sign the Certificate of Highway Miles. SECONDED by Nancy Bushika. All in favor. Motion APPROVED. There have been no mileage changes since last year.
ERAF COMPLIANCE
A letter was received from the Secretary of State’s Office modifying its standards to qualify for the State’s Emergency Relief and Assistance Fund (ERAF). FEMA will reimburse the town 75% for costs incurred due to a federally-declared emergency. ERAF will pay an additional 12.5% if towns comply with the new standards, effective for disasters after October 23, 2014, which require towns to adopt proactive flood hazard regulations, adopt the latest Road and Bridge Standards, establish an up-to-date Local Emergency Operations Plan, and develop a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. The town has already been working on these items and will review this topic again in the fall.
CDL DRUG & ALCOHOL POLICY & GUIDANCE
Wade Masure, Loss Control Consultant, with the Vermont League of Cities & Towns (VLCT) dropped off a new Drug & Alcohol Testing Manual. VLCT has hired a new company to conduct random drug and alcohol testing required by federal CDL laws and the Selectboard will be given its contact information. He provided a model Drug & Alcohol Policy and said all municipalities with commercial motor vehicles operated by employees must adopt this policy. Lori Shepard will prepare a draft for the board’s review.
UPCOMING SEMINARS
Lori Shepard would like to attend a refresher course on elections to be held in Brattleboro, Vermont this Monday. There is also a seminar in Bennington on Disaster Planning for Archival Records coming up in April.
SELECTBOARD WRITE-INS
The board discussed a press release to encourage candidates to consider running as write-ins for the two Selectboard vacancies.
TOWN OWNED ALPENWALD LOTS
Dave Bugbee requested a column indicating Amount Paid at Tax Sale be added to the listing of town owned properties available for sale. The board agreed and the revisions will be made.
ANCIENT ROADS
Nancy Bushika will contact Bruce Richardson to discuss the next set of roads to be reviewed this spring.
TOWN POLICIES
Nancy Bushika suggested the board review current policies to determine if any updates are necessary. The board agreed and will review individual policies at future meetings.
MOTION to adjourn by Chris Dargie. SECONDED by Dave Bugbee. All in favor. Motion APPROVED. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
David Bugbee
DB/las Clerk
REMINDERS
1. Free Scenic Route 100 Byway window decals are available at the town office.
2. All dogs must be licensed by April 1, 2014. Dog licenses are now available at the town office.
3. The deadline to register to vote in the March 4, 2014 election is Wednesday, February 26, 2014. The Town Office will be open on February 26, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to accept applications for addition to the checklist.
4. Absentee ballots will be available until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 3, 2014. Please call the town office at 694-1361.
5. Anyone interested in serving as an appointed board member, please review the expiring appointed positions in the town report and contact a member of that board or the Selectboard.
TOWN OF STAMFORD, VERMONT
Chartered 1753
986 Main Road Stamford, VT 05352 Tel: 802-694-1361
SELECTBOARD MEETING
STAMFORD TOWN OFFICE
Thursday, February 20, 2014
7 p.m.
Welcome to a meeting of the Stamford Selectboard. If you have a matter to discuss that is not included on the Agenda, you may do so by addressing the Chairperson and stating your name and address.
CALL TO ORDER
HEARING OF VISITORS (time allowance: 5 minutes per visitor; 15 minutes per topic)
READING AND APPROVAL OF RECORDS AND ORDERS
Minutes of February 6, 2014
Selectboard’s Orders
ROAD CONDITIONS
RECYCLING
DISCUSSION
Preparation for Town Meeting
American Red Cross - Emergency Shelter poll
Review First Draft of CDL Drug & Alcohol Policy and Guidance
Review Various Town Policies
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
ACTION
CORRESPONDENCE
Uniform Municipal Excess Weight Permit for Valley Crane Services, Inc.
Uniform Municipal Excess Weight Permit for Renaud Bros., Inc.
Certificate of No Suits Pending
OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
ADJOURNMENT