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Town of Pittsford
Select Board Minutes 3/31/04
Thomas “Hank” Pelkey opened the meeting at 6:30 P.M.
The Board members present were: Thomas “Hank” Pelkey, Larry
Pomainville, Dave Markowski, and Allen Hitchcock.
Joseph Gagnon was absent. Also
present were Michael Balch, Roy Newton, Lance Meade, Al Westin, Baird Morgan and
Paula Bizon Recording Secretary.
MINUTES
The Select Board minutes from 3/24/04 were reviewed,
discussed and approved. The Board stated that the sewer allocations might need
to be dealt with altogether. The
Board consensus was to follow up on the extra allocations, beyond the ones being
held at Pittsford Commons, at a later date.
ORDERS
The orders of 3/31/04 were reviewed, discussed and
approved.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No comments were made tonight.
TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT
VTrans Funding
M. Balch informed the Board that he has received
information from D. Lathrop on the unlikely-hood of the Town getting a Class 2
Highway grant this year. D. Lathrop
explained to Michael Balch that new funding requests are based on past funding
requests from Towns.
OLD BUSINESS
Trail License
B. Morgan addressed the Board on the proposed trail
license. He stated that the information he handed out would answer the questions
that were raised by the Board in the past.
B. Morgan stated that the Town would not be held liable for any accidents
on private property. B. Morgan
stated that the VLCT is willing too write a certificate of insurance to the
private property owner that the Town or owner will not be held liable for any
accidents that occur on the trail system. The
Board stated that it was their understanding that these are walking trails.
B. Morgan stated that they are not listed as strictly walking trails, but
they are limited to non-motorized vehicles.
The Board asked if the residents that do not want horses on their
property if the trails would be marked as such.
B. Morgan stated that the trails would be noted. The Board directed that
this agreement would be shared with all property owners. If an owner changes
their mind on the use of their property there would be a 90-daynotice to be
removed from the trail system. The Board asked who would be monitoring the
updating of the trail system. The
system should be self-monitoring. If the land changes hands the agreement with
the previous owner would be voided. A.
Hitchcock moved and L. Pomainville seconded a motion to accept the pedestrian
trail license as presented. B.
Morgan departed at 7:18 P.M.
Computer Network Upgrade
M. Balch presented a bid proposal on the Town computer
network upgrade. There were three
interested parties and one official bid has been received.
The bid process was posted and opened to all parties. The Board discussed
the proposal and how long this upgrade will hold the Town.
M. Balch stated that not all issues will be taken care of but the
majority of the network will be good for the next 5 or so years.
The Board asked if the upgrade would take care of computerizing the
Lister’s office. M. Balch stated
definitely. D. Markowski moved and
A. Hitchcock seconded a motion to accept the bid from Vermont Digital in the
amount of $11,687.00 on the computer network upgrade.
Unanimously approved.
Wildlife Management area
A.
Hitchcock informed the Board that he has received a copy of the letter
from J. Facey.
Jack Facey sent the letter to ANR on the status on the
discussion of the project. The
Board stated that any dedication on the proposed site would be done at the risk
of the parties involved.
West Creek Road
The Board requested an update on the project.
The parties have not met at this time, but will within the next week.
Roy Newton departed at 8:00 P.M.
NEW BUSINESS
Community Resource Panel
L. Meade addressed the Board tonight in reference to
putting together a committee or task force that he would moderate to allow
concerned residents to come to a common ground on the issues that involve their
properties and OMYA. He would help
the residents and OMYA to come to a conclusion that would be acceptable to all
parties. L. Meade stated that he
has worked with similar communities with similar issues. His recommendations
would be to have a forum developed so that the residents would have a better
feeling about having their concerns heard as they develop through OMYA’s
permitting process. He recommends that the Select Board appoint individuals to
the forum. L. Meade would then poll
the individuals and develop an agenda prior to each meeting.
The agenda would then be available to the Board prior to the meetings for
the Board’s review. The Board had a concern over their position in this situation
and if the Board might be opening themselves up as a Municipality to get into
debates over permitting issues. L.
Meade stated that he would put together a mission statement.
This would allow the forum to voice their concerns and have the
moderation be provided by a non-partisan party.
This forum would be discussion and not intended to develop technical
advice. L. Meade stated that there
are concerns from both sides that need to be addressed.
D. Markowski stated that maybe the forum might need to have a broader
area of interest, not just OMYA. H.
Pelkey also stated that given the climate in Pittsford that it
may be difficult to find residents that are neutral on this subject.
L. Meade stated that he is not interested in neutral parties but
residents that have definite opinions and can come to conclusions together.
L. Pomainville asked if there would be a cost to the Town for this forum.
L. Meade stated that there would not be a cost to the Town.
A. Hitchcock asked if there is anything the Town can do on this issue
since the permits are currently at the State level.
L. Meade stated that even though the permits are in process it would
still be good to have the residents involved.
The Board asked exactly what L. Meade is requesting at this time.
The Board is in favor of creating this dialogue but will not be
responsible in creating the forum. The
Board needs to remain out of the finding area of this matter and let the
appropriate Town Boards take care of these concerns.
L. Meade stated that he has spoken to persons on both sides of the issue
and has found support to create this type of forum.
The Board asked if this forum would deal with different issues at
different times with interested parties to discuss the current topic at hand.
L. Meade stated that Rutland County has a similar Conference group that
deals with different issues as they arise.
M. Balch stated that this type of movement is happening around the
country to help mediate residential issues.
The object of the group would be to help create conflict resolution
venues for its residents. The Board
consensus was to have M. Balch research more information on this format and
bring back to the Board. The Board
asked the time frame on the current permits that are being addressed at the
State level. L. Meade stated that
even though they are up at the State level it would take awhile for the State to
take action. The discussion was
tabled until the April 14th meeting.
L. Meade departed at 7:04 P.M.
Emergency Management Plan
A.
Westin addressed the Board on the proposed updated Emergency Management
Plan.
The phone numbers and names of current members have been
entered on the new plan. The Plan
needs to be submitted on an annual basis. A.
Westin updated the Board on grant requests.
There will not be any submissions to matching grants at this time.
A. Westin stated that there would be a major disaster drill that he will
be attending as an observer. The
Board noted a few corrections on the plan as they pertain to school busses and
the name of a non-member. The Board
asked who is responsible for identifying a particular hazard.
A. Westin stated the Town is aware of the hazards in Town.
If there were a spill on US RT 7, or a significant hazard, the State
HAZMAT Team would be contacted by the Police Chief, the Fire Chief, Town Manager
or the Emergency Management Coordinator. The
Contacts will be listed in the plan. The
Board discussed and reviewed the plan. The
Board asked the status of the siren. A.
Westin stated that it is in the Town garage waiting to be installed once the
best location is determined. A.
Westin will keep the Board informed on the location of the site of the siren.
L. Pomainville moved and D. Markowski seconded a motion to accept the
Emergency Management Plan with the corrections as noted.
Unanimously approved. A.
Westin departed at 8:00 P.M.
The Board recessed the Select Board meeting at 8:03 P.M.
to go into Sewer Board. The Board
reconvened the Select Board at 8:44 P.M.
RCSWD
L. Pomainville moved and D. Markowski seconded a motion to
appoint Don Nickless to the RCSWD as the Town’s representative.
Unanimously approved.
Recreation Fees
D. Markowski moved and L. Pomainville seconded a motion to
approve the tennis court fees, as presented.
Unanimously approved.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
In accordance with 1VSA 312(b) where premature general
public knowledge would clearly place the Municipality or person involved at a
substantial disadvantage, the Board unanimously agreed to go into executive
session for Legal and Personnel issues at 8:44 P.M. Michael Balch was invited to stay. P. Bizon was excused. The
Board came out of executive session at 9:20 P.M.
D. Markowski moved and L. Pomainville seconded a motion to
amend the Town Manager’s employment contract to permit the difference between
the Town’s contribution to his VMERS Plan A (the only plan the Town can
currently offer) and the VMERS Plan B which is specified in his contract to be
contributed to his ICMA IRS 457 retirement plan.
Without any further business, the Board adjourned at 9:25
P.M.
Respectfully
submitted:
Thomas
“Hank” Pelkey, Chair
Larry
Pomainville, Vice-Chair
Dave
Markowski, Selectman
W.
Joseph Gagnon, Selectman
Paula
Bizon, Recording Secretary
ABSENT
Allan Hitchcock, Selectman
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