Selectboard Minutes Archive

Approved Minutes

Braintree Selectboard Meeting

May 1, 2012

Present

Tim Caulfield-Selectboard Member; Kris Haupt-Resident; Howard Boutwell-Selectboard Chair; Linda Morse-Conservation Commission; Walter Palmer-Selectboard Member; Brian Jones-Resident; Julie Iffland-RACDC; Mary Russ-White River Partnership; Jessica Brassard-Treasurer; Douglas Laurence-Resident; Bob Moyer-Planning Commission Chair; Patricia Laurence-Resident; Holly Jarvis-Administrative Assistant; Jocelyn Stohl-Resident; Tom Dorn-Resident

The meeting was called to order at 6:02 pm.

On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Caulfield the board approve the minutes from April 17, 2012 as corrected.

Citizen’s Comments-none

Guests

• Ms. Iffland of RACDC came to ask the board if Braintree might be interested in some sort of an affordable rental housing development project (or rehab of a current structure for housing)? Some possibilities of the project were discussed; in regards to, locations and how to determine the need within the community and the public sentiment about a project like this. On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the board expressed interested. This gives Ms. Iffland and RACDC the support needed for them to consider starting a market study.

Report of Town Officials/Committees

·        Conservation Commission Report: The commission is working with the White River Partnership to complete a creek clean-up project along Riford Brook. The focus will be to remove debris in and along the brook below David Atkinson’s house, which was deposited there by Tropical Storm Irene. The White River Partnership is going to head this project up with the Conservation Commission being a partner in it. The group discussed many aspects of the clean-up plan along with where a good place for the staging area would be. A number of locations were suggested. The clean-up is going to be on Saturday, June 2 from 9 am until 3 pm.

·        The Planning Commission is holding a town forum at the Town Hall Thursday, May 10^th to discuss the revisions of the Town Plan.

Old Business

·      Status of filling appointments to Town Offices, Commissions and Committees:

o       Individual Appointments

§         White River Ambulance Service Representative-still needed.

§         Representative to the Stagecoach-needed again.

·        The board accepted Mr. Atkinson resignation.

§         Health Officer - still needed; one person is currently considering accepting the position.

o       On motion of Mr. Boutwell, seconded by Mr. Caulfield the board voted to put an ad in the new paper for these remaining open positions.

·      The FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program – 2044 Thayer Brook Road, has been submitted and we are waiting to get it back.

·      The Wheeler Bank Stabilization Project is currently at the point of getting permission for access, and creating a contract with landowners to pay the 25% and for the contractor, once selected.

·      On motion of Mr. Boutwell, seconded by Mr. Caulfield the board approved the purchasing policy. Mr. Caulfield and Mr. Boutwell voted in favor, Mr. Palmer abstained.

·      On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board unanimously voted to not outsource payroll.

·      On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board unanimously voted to change the payroll schedule to every two weeks starting the first full week in July.

·      The board reviewed the information provided by VLCT PACIF (the town’s insurance provider) about how to avoid problems of liability when utilizing volunteers. Mr. Boutwell has been talking to a business (or group of people at a business) who are willing to do some free carpentry work at the Town Hall.  The only thing the town would have to pay for is supplies and it sounds like the business would cover the employees with their insurance while they are doing the volunteer work. It sounds good so far to the board; Mr. Boutwell will find out more.

·      Mr. Caulfield has reviewed the energy plan sent to the town by TRORC, and is in communication with them about it.  

·      On motion of Mr. Boutwell, seconded by Mr. Caulfield the board approved the changes in the personnel policy in regards to call-in pay and comp-time pay. Mr. Boutwell and Mr. Caulfield voted in favor of the motion Mr. Palmer abstained. Below are the sections approved as amended.

“Comp time is earned at a rate of one and one half hours for each hour worked in excess of forty hours in any workweek.

• An employee may accrue a maximum of eighty hours of comp time (80 hours of comp time represents 53.34 hours of actual overtime work). An employee who has accrued 80 hours of comp time will be paid overtime compensation for additional overtime hours of work. Employees may choose to receive overtime pay or comp time, or some combination until the 80 hour limit is reached. Employees shall not carry over more than 40 hours of comp time from fiscal year to fiscal year.

• An employee may, at the Town’s discretion, be paid in cash in lieu of comp time off.

• An employee receiving payment for accrued comp time will be paid at the regular rate of pay earned by the employee at the time the employee receives such payment.

• Upon termination from employment, an employee will be paid for unused comp time at a rate not less than the average regular rate of pay received by the employee during the last three years of employment or the employee’s final regular rate of pay, whichever is higher.

An employee who has accrued comp time and requested use of comp time will be permitted to use such time off within a reasonable period after making the request, if such use does not unduly disrupt the Town’s operations. Requests for use of comp time must be submitted to the employee’s supervisor, who will have sole discretion to grant or deny the request. Requests for use of comp time will not unreasonably be withheld.

Section 29: Early hours and Stand-by pay

Employees are guaranteed a minimum of 2 hours call-in pay in over-time as long as the call-in does not run into their regular scheduled work hours. Any extra hours pay beyond the hours actually worked resulting from call-in pay will not be counted as extra hours for the purposes of computing comp time or overtime. No more than three separate call-in occurrences shall be paid in any 24 hour period. The foreman should require a workday to end after eight (or ten, depending on the season schedule) work hours unless extenuating circumstances such as weather or essential maintenance require overtime. During weather emergencies the foreman should decide when the crew needs to rest in order to be prepared for further emergency work.

Stand-by pay will be implemented November 1 through April 1st. Stand-by pay will be $40/week for regular full-time highway personnel and $50/week for the highway foreman. If an employee is unavailable when called in, then the stand-by pay will be lost for that week.”

New Business

·      On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Caulfield, the board unanimously decided to advised NRCS that they are interested in the grant to remove woody debris from the stream, and would like more information.  

·      The board reviewed the East Central Vermont CEDS Region’s letter requesting input about economic development projects list attached, no action needed.

·      Mr. Palmer and Mr. Masterson will review the bridge inspection reports from AoT’s for calendar year 2011 and let the board know what the reports mean at the next meeting.

Other Business-none

On motion of Mr. Boutwell, seconded by Mr. Caulfield the board unanimously approved Payment Orders.

On motion of Mr. Palmer seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the board adjourned the meeting.

Adjournment was about 9:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

 Approved Minutes

Braintree Selectboard Meeting

April 3, 2012

Present:

Howard Boutwell-Chair; Walt Palmer-Selectboard Member; Tim Caulfield-Selectboard Member                  

George and Kelly Gray of Compucount; Linda Morse-Resident; Carl Thresher-Resident; Janice Thresher-Resident; Jessie Brassard-Treasurer; Mary Russ-White River Partnership; Jeff Masterson-Highway Foreman; Brian Jones-Resident; Holly Jarvis-Administrative Assistant

Mr. Palmer called the meeting to order at 6:05 pm

On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the board unanimously approved the Minutes from March 20, 2012 as corrected.

On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the minutes of March 17, 2012 were approved. Mr. Palmer and Mr. Boutwell voted in favor. Mr. Caulfield abstained.

Citizens’ Comments-none

Guests

• Kelly Gray from Compucount provided the board a proposal to process payroll. On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Palmer, the board unanimously approved continuing the discussion at the next meeting.

• On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Caulfield, the board unanimously approved working with the White River Partnership in their efforts to remove garbage from the area brooks.  It was thought that Riford Brook, below Atkinson’s, would need the most clean-up.  A small section of Thayer Brook, below Perry’s, may also need some clean-up; along with, the Third Branch in and below West Braintree.

Reports of Town Committees/Officials

·        Highway Report: Mr. Masterson advised that he is still waiting for hydraulic studies for three of the culverts. We need those hydraulic studies before we can continue with the Project Worksheets for those projects.

o       After a short discussion with Mr. Masterson. On motion of Mr. Boutwell, seconded by Mr. Caulfield the board unanimously approved replacing the large culvert at the top of Duclos road with the multi plate recommended by the hydraulic study.

o       After a short discussion with Mr. Masterson. On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Caulfield the board unanimously approve replacing Lemery culvert with a bridge (the large culvert on the 4^th class section) .

o       Mr. Masterson advised that there is a lot of brush cutting which needs to be done this year, along with many other road maintenance projects, and flood related projects. He asked if the board had any ideas about how to get it done this year along with everything else which also needs to be done. Mr. Masterson will look into some options. The board requested Mr. Masterson to develop a four year phased plan for roadside brush cutting, using the current grant to accomplish brush removal along Braintree Hill Road and Thresher Road. [There was discussion about using part time labor this summer to get some of the brush cutting, but this was tabled.]

Old Business:

o       Ms. Brassard advised that she would like to wait to hire Alice Asterita until she understands what questions to ask. She has a number of resources she can draw from right now.

o       Ms. Jarvis advised that there is still more catch up work to be done, but a lot of it has been done.

·      The board reviewed the status of appointments which need filling for Town Offices, Commissions/Committees:

o       On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Palmer, the board unanimously appointed Rick Enser, Allen Carter, Paul Kendall, Linda Morse, Joan Richmond-Hall to the Conservation Commission with Jocelyn Stohl as an alternate.

o       On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the board unanimously appointed Mark White, Tut Doan, Nathan Cleveland, Paul Rea, and Nancy Davoll to the Irene Recovery Committee.

o       Mr. Caulfield moved to table the rest of the appointments until next meeting.

·      Mr. Caulfield advised that the Grant Proposal for the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has been submitted.

·      Mr. Caulfield has been working though the steps for the Wheeler Bank Stabilization Project.

·      Town Financial Policies

o       On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the board unanimously approved the Accounting Auditing, and Financial Reporting Policy as it was presented to them.

o       Mr. Boutwell recommended some changes to the Personnel Policy. Ms. Jarvis will impute them into the current policy and email it to Mr. Caulfield. That way he can review the recommended changes in the overall document. The board will review a draft of the amended policy at the next meeting.

·      Mr. Palmer advised that the Highway Department has updated the first aid kit, bought fire extinguishers, and ordered signs as requested by Mr. Boutwell at the last meeting.

·      Ms. Thresher advised that updating the website is proving to be more difficult than she thought it would be. It is hard to get the formatting right. It is being worked on.

·      Mr. Caulfield advised that he had received a response from a lawyer at VLCT in regards to payroll for the outgoing Treasurer. He has forwarded the response to Ms. Stohl and had explained  how the board had calculated the amount paid to her. He also asked her to let him know if she disagreed with the calculations or the interpretation of the statutes. He has not heard anything back. Therefore the board is considering the issue resolved.

·      The board agreed to pay Carl Tilton for gravel taken from his property at the recalculated amount of 577 yards at 2.50 per yard.

New Business

·      Mr. Palmer advised that the highway crew had agreed that they would grade the field on Mr. Jones’s property, where it was used to access the brook during flood recovery efforts. He asked Mr. Jones about the work needed to make those areas usable again.  Mr. Jones advised that there are certain areas he would like to be able to mow over again. One of the Highway Crew members will discuss it farther with Mr. Jones.

·      The board reviewed and approved the overweight permits.

·      On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Palmer, the board unanimously appoint Jessica Brassard, the Town Treasurer, to be the authorized contact for the Town Credit Card. The board asked that a letter on town letterhead be written to FIA CARD SERVICES indicating this, with a set of these minute included.

o       On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Palmer, the board agreed to have the town seek a higher credit limit of $2,000. This process is to occur after FIA CARD SERVICES recognizes Ms. Brassard as the authorized contact.  

·      The board reviewed the memo from TRORC Re: Regional Plan amendment. No action taken.

·      The board reviewed the memo from TRORC Re: Soliciting Irene Recovery Project Ideas for Volunteers. The board couldn’t think of any projects at this time.

·      Mr. Caulfield volunteered to review the Energy Baseline Report that TRORC put together for the town.

·      The town was given notice that AoT will be giving the town $90,307.42 in FY13 for maintenance of our town roads. When the budget was created it was thought that we would get about $84,000 from AoT for these purpose. This will be an increase of $6,307.42, above what was budgeted for in “Anticipated Incomes” for the FY13 budget.

On motion of Mr. Boutwell, seconded Mr. Caulfield, the board unanimously approved the payment orders.

On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the board unanimously adjourned the meeting. Adjournment was at 9:15 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

Approved Minutes

Braintree Selectboard Meeting

March 20, 2012

Present:

Tim Caulfield-Selectboard Member;  Janice Thresher-Resident;  Walt Palmer-Selectboard Member; Carl Thresher-Resident; Howard Boutwell-Selectboard Chair; Jocelyn Stohl-Resident; Bob Moyer-Resident; Brian Jones-Resident; Jessica Brassard-Resident; Holly Jarvis-Administrative Assistant

Mr. Palmer called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm, with the consent of Selectboard members Mr. Boutwell and Mr. Caulfield. 

On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board unanimously approved the Minutes from March 8, 2012 as corrected.

·        It was noted that the board had not made a motion to appoint Mr. Boutwell as the Chair at the last meeting. On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board unanimously appointed Mr. Boutwell as the Selectboard Chair.

On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board unanimously approved posting the unapproved minutes on the website within five days of the meeting, and posting the agenda by noon the Monday before the meeting.

Citizens’ Comments-none

Reports of Town Committees-none

Old Business:

·      An ad was put in the paper to advertise for citizens willing to fill the individual appointments which are currently vacant, along with the three commissions/committee. The board discussed the size of each of the commissions/committee, but decided not to choose a size until the ad has run in the paper and the Selectboard knows how many people are interested in serving on them. It was noted that the Conservation Commission size was set at five as part of the vote at Town Meeting.

·      Mr. Caulfield is willing to shepherd the grant for the Wheeler’s bank stabilization project, but a lawyer will need to draw up the two contracts that will be needed, and he asked that  Mr. Palmer or Mr. Boutwell oversee the construction part of the project. Mr. Palmer and Mr. Boutwell agreed to oversee and approve the construction work.

·      The FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant (HMGP) application was approved for the home acquisition of the Perry’s property on Thayer Brook Road. Mr. Caulfield has been working on the paper work which was needed by the end of the month to continue the process. The board would like to get it in writing that landowners understand that they are responsible for the 25% local share.

o       On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board unanimously approved  Mr. Caulfield as the authorized representative for the Town of Braintree with respect to the HMGP.

·      Mr. Gallant had started reviewing and editing the Model Financial Policies Handbook from VLCT to fit Braintree’s needs while he was on the Selectboard.  Mr. Caulfield has been reviewing the status of those draft policies and proposed that he would bring one policy at a time to the board.  He will review them before the meeting and get input from the Treasurer about them. He will include in the agenda which policy will be brought up at the next meeting so the public may participate as desired.

·      Mr. Boutwell noted that the garage needs a few more fire extinguishers and the first aid kit needs updating. Mr. Palmer added those items to the Highway-to-do-list.

New Business

·      On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board unanimously approved Mr. Caulfield to go the Selectboard Training offered by VLCT.

·      On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Caulfield the board unanimously approved the Revised Grant Agreement with the State for FEMA Public Assistance.

·      On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board unanimously voted to give Ms. Brassard permission to move forward and look into the cost of hiring Alice Astarita before the new budget year start, with the idea that they will likely give permission to hire Ms. Astarita once the cost has been determined and Ms. Brassard has identified where in the current budget the money will be drawn from. Ms. Astarita is a municipal accountant who has helped us with our accounting before.

·      On motion of Mr. Caulfield, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board unanimously approved paying Ms. Brassard, the Town Treasurer, every two weeks.  This was on Ms. Brassard’s  request.

·      The Lemery Bridge Bids were tabled.

·      On motion of Mr. Boutwell, seconded by Mr. Caulfield the board voted to appoint Mr. Palmer as the Selectboard member to be the point person for the audit. Mr. Boutwell and Mr. Caulfield voted in favor.

·      Mr. Caulfield is planning on asking VLCT and the Secretary of State, about how the open meeting law works. It seems to him that the board should be able to get together to carryout decisions previously made during an open meeting without having to warn a special meeting.

·      The board reviewed and approved the overweight permits for the following companies:

o       Feed Commodities

o       United Natural Foods

o       Oldcastle

o       Camp Precast Concrete Products

o       Champlain Construction

Other Business

·        At their meeting on Saturday March 17, 2012, the Cemetery Commissioners agreed to continue Tom Dorn’s contract to include the 2012 mowing season. This was because of a misunderstand by the Selectboard about how long the contract should have been for, to begin with.  Next year they will put the mowing out to bid again.

·        The board discussed where the funding for the cemetery ad is coming from. The board thought it would be most appropriate to have it come out of the cemetery funds.

On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the board unanimously approved Payment Orders.

• Ms. Stohl advised that she believes she is owed for the whole month salary for March 2012 not the portion of it she was paid for the time she work until town meeting day. Mr. Caulfield will follow up to determine what the standard practice should be when a salaried employee works a partial month.

On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board adjourned the meeting.

Adjournment was about 7:45 pm

Respectfully submitted

Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

Approved Minutes

Braintree Selectboard Meeting

March 8, 2012

Present:

Walter Palmer, Selectboard Member                                                          Janice Thresher, Resident

Howard Boutwell, Selectboard Chair                                                            Carl Thresher, Resident

Tim Caulfield, Selectboard Member                                                            Julia Haupt, Resident

                                                                                                             Jocelyn Stohl, Resident

                                                                                                             Sharon Liebert, Resident

                                                                                                             Brian Jones, Resident

                                                                                                             Tom Dorn, Resident

                                                                                                             Tut Doane, Resident

Mr. Palmer called the meeting to order, with the consent of Select Board members Boutwell and Caulfield.  

On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board unanimously approved the minutes of February 21, 2012.

 Citizens' Comments (these were through-out the meeting)

• Jen asked for direction from the Selectboard as to the current role of the auditors. Since there will be an audit this year, what should the auditors be doing? The Selectboard thought that the auditors should do everything possible to get the books in order before the professional audit takes place. Jen will see what Jessica Brassard, the newly elected Treasurer, thinks and work out the details about how to do so. 
• Mr. Dorn handed in a letter of resignation for his 5 year term as a Cemetery Commissioner.
• Jen advised that the auditors, acting for the Select Board in the absence of the Cemetery Commission, had selected Tom Dorn's bid for mowing the Cemeteries, intending to award a contract for both the 2011 and 2012 mowing seasons. When the Selectboard created the contract for Mr. Dorn it was only written for 2011.  Mr. Dorn didn't notice when he signed the contract, although he believed it was for both years. The Selectboard has requested legal advice on the issue from the VLCT but also decided that it would be best to ask the current Cemetery Commissioners to hold a joint meeting with the Selectboard to consider how to best handle this issue.

 New Business

• Reorganization
  • Mr. Boutwell was appointed as the Chair.
  • The board decided to keep the same meeting schedule as before; the first and third Tuesdays of every month at 6:00 pm at the Town Office.
  • The board decided to reappoint the following people to the following positions.

                        Development Review Board

                              Term Expires 201.................................................... Norman Illsley

                              Term Expires 20.............................................. Joan Richmond Hall

                        Planning Commission

                              Term Expires 2011........................................................ Nancy Gray 

                              Term Expires 2011............................................... Jennifer L. Phipps

                        E-911 Coordinator.......................................................... Preston Bristow   

                        Emergency Management .................................................. Tuthill Doane

                        Fire Advisory Committee Repres......................................... Tuthill Doane

                        Orange County Mental Health Representati............................ June Phillips

                              Tree Warden.............................................................. Walter Palmer

                        Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Planning and

                              Development Commission Represent.............................. Mark Bannon

                              Transportation Advisory Committee............................... Genie Robbins

•  
  • The board also appointed Tom Cooch to fill the remaining vacancy on the Board of Auditors until the next Town Meeting. Everyone who was appointed will get a letter asking if they will accept the appointment. There are a number of vacancies of appointed positions. The board will be putting together an ad for the paper looking for volunteers to fill them. The vacant positions include Stagecoach Transportation Services Representative, White River Valley Ambulance Representative, Health Officer, and Town Service Officer. Plus the town is going to need three groups of volunteers: a five member Conservation Commission, a committee to explore the idea of creating a Town Administrator position or increasing to a five member board, and a committee to review the response to Tropical Storm Irene and provide ideas to improve in the future.
•  The board reviewed a couple lists of things that will need to be done:
• • one was for the highways and one was in general  and included where the town stands with the flood projects, what both the old and current gravel pits need, and
  • the second was the status of generator installation at the office.  
• The board reviewed and approved the over weight permits for Newport Sand & Gravel Co., Pike Industries, Inc., GK Bisson Trucking, LLC, and S. D Ireland Concrete Construction Corp.

 Reports

• Highway report: the roads are holding up, but it is snowing. It's going to be muddy soon.

 Approval of Payment Orders

• Questions about bills
  • A resident had provided a bill for gravel taken out beside the brook while the town was trying to get Thayer Brook Road passable again after Tropical Storm Irene. The board reviewed the request for payment for the gravel and the board decided not to act at this time. The owner had initially given a verbal ok to having the gravel used to get their road back to a passable state, without asking for payment for the gravel until now, six months later.
  • Ms. Jarvis asked the board if the RailAmerica's invoice should be paid.  It is for the railroad crossing at the old gravel pit. Mr. Palmer advised that it should be for this year as the town still needs to finish closing the old pit. The Town of Randolph will be billed their portion and so with the land owners. The check was included in the payment orders.
  • Ms. Stohl, the exiting treasurer, provided the board with a time sheet with the expectation that she would be paid the salary for the whole month of March. The board discussed it and decided on an amount to pay her that was within the total amount that the Town agreed to pay the Town Treasurer for the year of service. They will talk to her about it at the following Selectboard meeting.
• On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the board approved the payment orders.
• On motion of Mr. Boutwell, seconded by Mr. Palmer, the board adjourned the meeting.

 Respectfully submitted,

 Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

Approved Minutes

Braintree Selectboard Member

February 21, 2012

Present

Keith Gallant, Selectboard Member                                                                  Julia Haupt, Resident

Howard Boutwell, Selectboard Member                                                             Brian Jones, Resident

Walter Palmer, Selectboard Member                                                          Janice Thresher, Resident

                                                                                                              Sharon Liebert, Resident

Jeffery Masterson, Highway Foreman                                                      Timothy Caulfield, Resident

Thad Leugemors, from SAIC                                                                                                            

Lisa Danner, from SAIC                                                                                                                  

 The meeting was call to Order at 6:02 pm

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board approved the minutes from February 6, 2012.

 Citizens'Comments

• Ms. Thresher mentioned that she would like to see the meeting notices on the website. Ms. Jarvis will be looking for a good way to do that.
• Mr. Jones was asking if the highway crew was aware of how slippery, when wet, the gravel was on Delany Hill on Riford Brook Road.  They were, and they plan to add a new top dress to that section this summer.

Reports

• Ms. Liebert advised the board that the HMGP-Home Acquisition application for the Perry's property has been submitted for review from the State.
• Mr. Leugemors, and Ms. Danner of SAIC came to the meeting to explain to the Selectboard more about the HMGP-Home Acquisition for Atkinson's property. An application maybe submitted for the second round of funding.
• Highway Report

 New Business

• The board approved the over weight permit for Hartigan Company.
• Mr. Masterson advised the board of a couple option for some large culverts, which have had hydraulic studies which indicate they need to be changed out to a much more expensive option than what was their before the flood.  One of the culverts at the top end of Duclos Road shortly before it becomes a legal trail. The other is a large culvert on the class four section of Lemery Road. A bridge will need to be built at this location. The board discussed constructing a bridge with blocks and beams in that area. Mr. Masterson will find out if there are any codes and standards which guide how to construct a bridge of this size and use on a class four road way.
• On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board approved paying Stuart Merusi's bill for flood related road work.
• On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell the board unanimously approved the purchase of a printer, monitor and camera for garage.

 Old Business

• The board decided not to send the Mobile Acres Emergency Access letter, but to attach it to the minutes as a progress report.

 Other Business

• Mr. Twitchell would like to bid on the cemeteries mowing for the coming summer. There has been some discussion about whether Mr. Doran's contract for mowing continues through this coming summer or not. The board didn't believe so, but there is no point in doing anything until after the voters decide who will be given the responsibly of care for the cemeteries at town meeting. The voters will be voting to give the Selectboard the responsibility of the cemeteries or electing five new board members.
• Mr. Gallant advised that someone else will need to be named as the contact for the Planning Grant, since he is the contact for that grant.
• The board also decided to reschedule the following meeting to Thursday, March 8^th, so that the next Selectboard meeting will not fall on Town Meeting Day.  

 On motion of Mr. Boutwell, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board approved the payment orders.

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board adjourned the meeting.

 Respectfully submitted,

 Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

Approved Minutes

Selectboard Meeting

February 6, 2012

Present:

Keith Gallant, Selectboard Chair                                                                   Sharon Liebert, Resident

Walter Palmer, Selectboard Member                                                                   Kevin Hall, Resident

Howard Boutwell, Selectboard Member                                            Jeffery Masterson, Highway Foreman

                                                                                                   Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

 Mr. Palmer called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board unanimously approved the minutes of February 1, 2012 as amended.

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board unanimously approved the minutes of January 30, 2012 as amended.

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board approved the minutes of January 17, 2012 as amended. Mr. Gallant and Mr. Palmer voted in favor, Mr. Boutwell abstained.

Citizens' Comments:

• Ms. Liebert asked if the Selectboard had intended to leave the budget article and the article to approve the tax due dates out of the warning. The board did not. The wording of the articles to be added to the warning was discussed (see below for the motion to amend the warning).
•  Ms. Liebert also advised that the NRCS grant might be able to help riprap the stream bank next the gravel pit. The cost of the property which is being protected has to be above the cost of the protection project. The board asked Ms. Jarvis to write an email to ask if there is any cost to have them help us prepare the plan.

Report

• Highway report: the highway crew is keeping up with truck/garage repairs, and they are hoping for a break in the weather so that they can keep ahead of the needed repairs. The roads are holding up quite well. The highway crew has created a small pile of sand off to the side for residents to use, but they are still taking sand from the large pile. Even though there are danger signs all around it. They are not sure what else they can do. Hopefully no one will get hurt from sliding or falling sand.

 New Business

• Ms. Liebert provided the Selectboard with a letter to the Perry's for them to review and sign. Ms. Liebert had learned of a new requirement of the HMGP's home-buy out program. Since the Perry's house was not on a flood plan they would have to come up with a least three past events which damaged their home to make the cost benefit analysis software work.  They know of two times their home was damaged by flooding so the letter is letting them know that they need to find a third, and what to do if they can find this information. The application deadline has been moved  back to February 16^th  but this still leaves only a short window of time to pull this information together.
•  The board reviewed the special road posting report which needs to be submitted to Department of Motor Vehicles. The board       decided to make Mr. Masterson the contact person, and ask him look into and fill out the report.
•  The board reviewed the "Capital Projects Prioritization" from Two Rivers. Ms. Jarvis was directed to talk to Bob Moyer to see if he can find out a way to get help replacing Lemery Bridge, and will talk to Rita Seto from Two Rivers about it.
•  Ms. Jarvis let the board know that Ms. Phipps emailed a link to a video about the PACE program. It looks to be about a half an our long, they can watch it sometime along if they would like to.
• Mr. Gallant provided the other board members draft financial policies from VLCT which will need to be customized for Braintree. The board members will review them over the next few weeks.

 Old Business

• On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board unanimously approved adding two articles to the warning which reads:  "Article 4. To see if the voters will vote to raise a budget amount, less anticipated income, to meet the expenses and liabilities of the town for the period of July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013. Article 5. To see if the town will collect its real property taxes in two installments, with the due dates being Tuesday, October 16, 2012, and Thursday, March 14, 2013."
•  The board discussed the needed review of all the gravel pit requirements. The flooding had taken away some of the gravel, and the stabilization needed is likely to have changed. Mr. Palmer will contact the people at the state who oversee the permitting of the pit.
•  The board asked to have the check to the Visiting Nurses Association reissued. The original one which was created in November was misplaced and was just recently found.

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board unanimously approved the payment order.

 On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Gallant the board adjourned the meeting at 7:20 pm.

 Respectfully submitted,

 Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

Approved Minutes

Braintree Selectboard Meeting

February 1, 2012

Present:

Keith Gallant, Selectboard Chair                                                 Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

Walter Palmer, Selectboard Member

Howard Boutwell, Selectboard Member

 Mr. Gallant called the meeting to order at 6:07 pm.

The board called this special meeting to review the finances and decided wither or not to include the unaudited expenses with the 18 months budget (January 1, 2010- June 30, 2011)  in the town report this year.

 The board started the meeting by reviewing their budget report ("Town Disbursements and Budget") with expenses included.

 The board had included in it's 2013 budget, money to have a professional audit completed for the 18 month budget timeframe, and the current FY 2012 timeframe. A few weeks ago the auditors had decided to not audit the 18 month time frame due to a number of complexities within the financials. The biggest of those complexities are caused from our switch to a fiscal year from a calendar year.  To effectively make the switch we had to close the calendar year accounting file at the end of June 2010 and open a new one with a Fiscal Year. Therefore reports have to be merged from both files to get a complete picture (which has to be done manually). Having two treasurers with two different ways of posting transactions also has added to the complexity of the financials. We had all realized there were going to be problems to correct but prier to Tropical Storm Irene we were all quite confident that they could be found and fixed with the proper amount of time and thought.

Now that it is time to finalize the reports Ms. Stohl (treasurer) and Ms. Jarvis (Adm. Assit.) met on Tuesday the 30^th to try and find an fix a few of the glaring problems. Within a few hours it was obvious to Ms. Jarvis  that the two different ways of posting transaction were causing some very different looking number in regards to taxes and there were some problems with the reserve funds, also the Treasurer has been trying to more closely simulate in our accounting program how the repurchase agreement, we have with the bank, work, and in the process a discrepancy account with  about 5,000 has been created (she is working on fixing this -and it is getting better). That is why the board called this meeting to decide wither the financials should go in the town report or not.

 The board discussed hiring someone to come in with Municipal book keeping experience to help get the financials in order a bit more before the audit to help defray the costs some. The board asked Ms. Jarvis to email Ms. Stohl with the idea and see what she thinks.

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board unanimously approved the format for the "Town Disbursements and Budget" for the town report. This format included the "actual" (vs. budgeted) expenses for both the 18 month timeframe (January 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011) and the "actual to-date" expenses (July 2011-December 2011) to be in comparison to the FY 2012 budget (which we are currently working in).

 The board then moved on to reviewing and discussing the "Anticipated Income" report. This report is more effected by the complications than the Disbursements and Budget report is. The board feels it is important to put the actual income's in the report. They will need to be prepaid to explain why they are so different, and the philosophies behind what they should  be. On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board unanimously approved the "Anticipated Income" report as presented to them.

The board also reviewed  the reserve fund reports. They will also be included in the town report. The capital equipment reserve fund is the only one that has not been pulled together at all at this point and Ms. Jarvis isn't sure she can.

 The Treasurer turn in her report last night. The board got a chance to review her report and Mr. Gallant asked the other Selectboard member if they would agree to have him write an addendum to the Selectboard report to prepare the town to hear the report before town meeting day.

 Respectfully submitted,

 Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

Approved Minutes

Braintree Selectboard Meeting

January 30, 2012

Present:

Keith Gallant, Selectboard  Chair                                             Jocelyn Stohl, Treasurer

Walter Palmer, Selectboard Member                                        Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant 

Howard Boutwell, Selectboard Member

The meeting was called to order.

 The board reviewed and finalized the FY 2013 budget.

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer , the board approved the Warning for Town Meeting day.

 The board adjourned the meeting at 7:45 pm.

 Respectfully submitted,

 Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

Approved Minutes

Braintree Selectboard Meeting

January 17, 2012

Present:

Keith Gallant, Selectboard Chair                                                                        Brian Jones, Resident

Walter Palmer, Selectboard Member                                                            Jennifer Phipps, Resident 

Jocelyn Stohl, Treasurer                                                              Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

Richard Bowen, Moderator

 The meeting was called to order.

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board approved the minutes of January 3, 2012.

 Citizens' Comments- none

 Reports

• Ms. Liebert had provided the board with update about the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Home Buy-out Program.

 New Business

• On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board unanimously approved moving the Town Meeting to the Braintree Elementary School.

 Mr. Bowen advised that he had heard of an interesting way to get more people to attend the school portion of the town meeting. That is the moderator flips a coin just before the meeting starts to determine which part, the school or the town will go first. It is legal since both meetings are warned to start at 10:00 am. He is thinking about mentioning it at town meeting day to see what kind of response he gets.

 The board reviewed the draft of the budget.

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board unanimously approved the payment orders.

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Palmer the board adjourned the meeting. Adjournment was at 7:41 pm

 Respectfully Submitted,

Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

Approved Minutes

Braintree Selectboard Meeting

January 3, 2012

Present

Walter Palmer, Selectboard Member                                                             Sharon Liebert, Resident

Keith Gallant, Selectboard Chair                                                                   Jennifer Phipps, Resident 

Howard Boutwell, Selectboard Member                                                             Brian Jones, Resident

                                                                                                                          Julia Haupt, Resident

                                                                                                   Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm

 On motion of Mr. Boutwell, seconded by Mr. Gallant the board approved the minutes of December 20, 2011 with corrections.

 Citizen's Comments

 Reports

• Ms. Liebert advised that Two-Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission is hoping to line up some funding thought the Community Development Block Grant to work in conjunction with the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to provide the 25% local share for the buy-out program. They will be applying for the funding on behalf of the towns in this region who wish to apply. Ms. Liebert advised that the town do this if the opportunity for the funding becomes available.

 Ms. Liebert is planning on being able to show the board what she has sent in on the town's behalf for the buy-out program thought the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program at the next meeting. She is hopeful that someone at Two-Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission will be able to check it over for her before it is sent in. It is due on January 20^th.

 New Business

• The board signed a letter requesting Vermont Energy Investment Corporation provide them more information about how to start a Property Assessed Clean Energy Program and to help them learn more about it.
• The board reviewed the Certificate of Highway Mileage, there were no changes this year. The board reviewed signed it.
• The board reviewed the Benefit Description (Health Insurance - description from Administrative Company), it looked right to them.
• The board reviewed the information the Vermont Department of Health requested the town to include in the town report this year and has decided that it would be good to include.
• A representatives to the Stagecoaches is needed. Raymond Gray was suggested as a possible candidate. The board will ask him if he is interested.

 Old Business

• Budget Drafting:

Orange County has provided the town with their budget and the town share.

The board reviewed the health insurance calculations and decided that it would  be best to fund the Health Insurance Reserve fund using the "worse cause scenario" calculations. If the money isn't used it will be carried over to the following year for the same purpose, but if there isn't enough budgeting we will have to deficit to cover the required expense.

 On motion of Mr. Gallant, seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the board approved the payment order.

 On motion of Mr. Palmer, seconded by Mr. Boutwell, the board adjourned the meeting. Adjournment was at 7:40 pm

 Respectfully submitted,

Holly Jarvis, Administrative Assistant

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