~ Approved~

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

• Approve Minutes of Last Meeting
• Planning Commission Minutes
• Mike Clark - Request for Use of Common for Soccer Camp
  (June 25-29 & August 6-10)
• Craftsbury Outdoor Center Marathon (January 27, 2007)
• Mellett – Gravel Pit Update
• Conservation Committee
• Susan Houston – Update on Workshop
• Certificate of Highway Mileage – due February 15, 2007
• Health Insurance - Cigna
• Road Foreman Report
• Clerk's Report
• Other Business:
• Workshop –Regional Hurricane Tabletop Exercise Jan. 28, 2007 in Barton , VT
• Vt. Assoc. of Chiefs of Police – Luncheon Jan. 11, 2007 at Capitol Plaza Hotel
• Budget

The Selectboard met at the Craftsbury Town Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006 at 7:30 PM. Selectboard present were Bruce Urie, Jim Jones and Susan Houston. Yvette Brown (Town Clerk), Steve Marckres (Road Foreman), Ken Menard (Conservation Committee Chair), Peter Gebbie, June Cook (Hardwick Gazette) and Michelle Warren (Clerk of Selectboard) were also present.

Mr. Jones made a motion to approve the November 28, 2006 Selectboard Minutes as printed, Mr. Urie seconded. The November 28, 2006 Selectboard Minutes were approved.

Mr. Urie said that the Town Planning Commission had met a few weeks ago to decide if the wireless proposal is in compliance with the Craftsbury Telecommunication Ordinance. The Town Planning Commission found no problems with the wireless proposal.

Mr. Urie mentioned that the $50,000 grant for the wireless project was awarded to Craftsbury, contingent on fundraising $40,000. Dave Stoner is currently working on the fundraising portion of the project. Mr. Urie said the project is still on track, with a mid-winter/spring installation planned (antennas may go up earlier). Mr. Menard said he would be willing to have an antenna atop his silo.

Mr. Urie read the letter from Mike Clark requesting use of the Common for the Soccer Camps scheduled June 25-29 & Aug. 6-10 in 2007. Mr. Jones made a motion that we approve the request, Ms. Houston seconded. Ms. Warren will send a letter to Mr. Clark informing him that his request to use the Common for Soccer Camp (as done in the past) has been approved.

Mr. Urie said the town has received a letter from John Brodhead asking if the Town crew would be able to plow the parking lot at Dustan Field (as done in the past) for the Craftsbury Marathon scheduled on January 27, 2007. Mr. Marckres said they could plow it again, but noted that it could be a problem if there’s a bad storm at the same time. The letter mentioned that Mr. Brodhead was planning the same type of road crossings in the Village and the Common and that he was willing to meet with the Selectboard to discuss the event.

Mr. Urie had recently talked with an Act 250 coordinator who said there were two possible directions. One choice is a 10-acre municipality loophole in which only Stormwater (not Act 250) permits were needed for towns that owned their own land. Since the Mellett’s own the gravel site however, the second choice is more feasible. The Melletts would have to do the application and the town could do a supporting letter as the co-applicant. The Mellett’s would be the primary applicant because they are the landowners.

Mr. Urie will try and check with the Margo and Kurtis Mellett to see when they can meet again with the Selectboard to discuss the gravel pit. Mr. Marckres would like to do a little more digging on the property. So far only one hole had silty sand, the rest of the dug holes had good sand and/or good gravel. Mr. Urie said that Kristen from Act 250 is willing to meet with them. Kevin Burke, who handles Stormwater/MSGR permits, and John Miller, a permit specialist, are also good resources. Hopefully the Mellets can meet together with the Selectboard in early January. When Mr. Urie asked Ms. Brown if the Mellett property had any past Act 250 permits associated with deeds, Ms. Brown replied that she thought so. Mr. Urie said that anything in the previous Act 250 permits would have to pass as well.

On behalf of the Conservation Committee, Ken Menard gave the Selectboard a letter stating that they had reviewed the possibility of establishing a formal Conservation Commission and recommends that the Selectboard include it as an Article in the Town Warning. Mr. Menard said that Randi Calderwood was the only member who hadn’t had a chance to review/approve the letter, although Mr. Calderwood indicated earlier that he supported a Conservation Commission. After considering the Conservation Committee’s recommendation, the Selectboard agreed to put the Conservation Commission on the Agenda in the Town Report.

Mr. Menard mentioned that several members of the Conservation Committee were willing to put a table up and have information available for the voters. Mr. Urie said that an information table would be very helpful, since it’s important for people to understand what the Conservation Committee is about. Farley Brown will put in an informational page regarding Conservation Committees for the Town Report as well. Mr. Menard said that Conservation Committee understands that they cannot work on anything other than what the Selectboard has asked them to work on.

Ms. Houston said that the Selectboard Forum that she had recently attended was very informative. It covered topics such as ancient roads, highly effective selectboard and selectboard laws.

The Selectman decided to wait to fill out the Certificate of Highway Mileage form at a later date, since it isn’t due until February 2007.

Mr. Urie said that Craftsbury was chosen to receive approximately $4500 from the Ancient Roads Grant. The Department of Housing and Community Affairs gave $100,000 to 22 different towns for Ancient Road Grants. Mr. Urie had processed the application and plans on Mr. Mutrux helping the town identify the old roads. Although it will take much work, Mr. Urie felt that the town would have a better understanding of the town roads when they get done.

The Selectboard met this afternoon with a VLCT representative and decided to continue with VLCT under the new Cigna program. The Town currently has 3 employees on health insurance.

Mr. Marckres said that Randi Calderwood asked if he could use the town sand for sanding driveways in town (such as the school, etc.). Mr. Marckres had told Mr. Calderwood that he wouldn’t be able to charge for the sand and Mr. Calderwood understood and said that he wouldn’t charge for the sand. Mr. Marckres said the town crew wouldn’t mind loading up Mr. Calderwood’s truck when they were at the shed. Since Mr. Calderwood isn’t a town employee though, Mr. Marckres was unsure regarding the liability of letting Mr. Calderwood use town equipment to load his truck of sand (when town crew wasn’t available). The Selectboard would like to know the amount of sand approximately that Mr. Calderwood wanted. Mr. Urie will ask Mr. Calderwood to stop in at the next Selectboard meeting to discuss the request.

Mr. Marckres and Ms. Brown had worked on the preliminary budget figures.

Mr. Urie mentioned several different activities the Selectboard was invited to attend: Hawaiian Pedometer Challenge, Aquatic Nuisance Control Program, Luncheon sponsored by Vt. Police Chiefs Jan. 11^th at Noon, and the Regional Hurricane tabletop Exercise Jan. 28^th from 11:30 AM – 5 PM at Barton Grade School.

The budget was also discussed. Before bridge estimates can be calculated, the Selectboard needs to meet with Dale Sweeney and John Weaver to discuss the Atwood bridge project. Mr. Marckres mentioned that the tarp bought in 1998 for approximately $3000 is rotting out. He thought that possibly some of the roadside trees could be sawed to make a more permanent Salt Shed structure.

The Selectboard Meeting adjourned at 8:45 PM. The Selectboard will meet at Noon on Friday, Dec. 29, 2006 to close up the books and firm up the budget. The next Selectboard meeting is scheduled at the Craftsbury Town Hall Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 7:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Michelle Warren, Clerk of the Selectboard