Danville Vermont             

~DRAFT~

                                Town of Danville

                                    Selectboard Minutes

                     November 5th, 2009

Michael K Walsh called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. Selectboard present were, Michael K Walsh, Doug Pastula, Steve Larrabee, and Denise Briggs. Also present were Wendy Somers, Gail Devereaux, Linda Leone, Kevin Gadapee, Merton Leonard, visitors Mary and Hollis Prior, Barb and Gary Fontaine, Ken Linsley, reporter Sally Anderson. Steve Larrabee moved to accept the minutes of the October 15th meeting as written; Doug Pastula seconded the motion, the minutes were approved as written.

Kevin, Jeremy, and Andy Cochran had done some investigation of the porch deck on the front of the town hall, to try to determine the construction used in the structure. They cut a 2ft square hole in the deck, which turned out to be 5 or 6 inches thick setting on dirt fill.  The base of the deck is also concrete and did not appear to go very deep into the ground, in all probability doesn't have much of a foundation. The center of the porch was filled with earth up to the level of the bottom of the floor, then it appears the floor was poured over the earth and the walls at the same time. They went in through the basement window and determined that the front wall of the town hall below the deck is also concrete and in good condition. They couldn't see the TH wooden beam clearly, but expect that some of it will have to be repaired when the deck is replaced. They went up to the attic to view the top of the columns, it appears that they will not suspend from the roof but will have to be supported from the bottom, before the deck is torn out.  With some discussion it was suggested to ask Sally Fishburn if she determined how the earlier repair was made to the pillars with the addition of the pressure treated material helping to support the roof; to drill the front edge of the concrete to determine if the front of the deck is thicker; and to research a type of epoxy that will best coat the deck for the winter.

 Wendy was present to give the Board a brief rundown of this years tax collection results.  There were $207,900.27 in delinquent taxes which is about a 10% increase over last year. Since Oct 25th $45,441.22 of these delinquent taxes have been collected.

 Kevin reported that the dry weather has allowed the road crew to continue the culvert and ditching work, as well as grading. They have continued to haul sand as well and he estimates they have got up to 7500 yards hoping to finish the sand in another week. They have completed the remainder of the FEMA work and Merton will apply for the balance of the FEMA funds with expectation they arrive before the end of the year. A crew from the corrections work camp have been cutting brush along some of the wooded roads, with assistance from the town chipper, truck and one man. The road crew have also been working on the equipment to get it ready to go for winter, including mounting the plow equipment. Vast has requested access to the rail trail through the gravel pit that the town leases. The general consensus was to leave the gate unlocked for the winter. The water project is nearing its completion. Kevin has had discussion over the paving of Hill Street, it now appears that the project will pave half the road, and the town will have to pave the other half if they want it all done.

  Merton reported that he attended a Route#2 Project utilities meeting last Wednesday in Montpelier. The utilities have reached agreement on the undergrounding with the state, but are waiting for the final drawings for their final approval. Ken Robie expects the right of way to clear by April and expects to advertise for bids for the entire Route #2 project in June, hoping construction to start the second week of August.

             The State of Vermont, VTrans, and Vast have appealed the decision by the Coordinators for the District Environmental Commissions 5,6,and 7, that Act 250 jurisdiction attaches to the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT) project. No action has taken place yet on the appeal, but we can hope they reconsider their prior decision.

             VLCT has requested a donation of $300 from member towns to help in the fight to overturn the Environmental Court decision vacating the Montpelier wastewater treatment system permit renewal. The decision requires the ANR to review each application for renewal of a waste water treatment system, to determine if the previous analysis of the receiving water carrying capacity provided a stringent enough limit on the discharge limits of the treatment facility. VLCT is asking for the extra donation as it is such a significant issue for local governments. After some discussion, Doug Pastula moved to donate $300.00 to the VLCT waste water fund, Steve Larrabee seconded the motion which was approved.

             The organization for disabled veterans is requesting towns to add an article to town meeting warning to increase the tax reduction from disabled veterans property from $10,000 of value to $40,000 worth of value. There are 9 veterans that this would effect and would remove a total of $360,000 from the grand list. After some discussion the board decided to advise the group to circulate a partition same as required for all appropriations for money from the town.

             The recycling is expanding into the waiting room of the station, as the historical society has moved most of their items into their historical house. Bob LaRose, the recycling coordinator, is requesting to enlarge the door opening by several feet to allow better access between the two rooms. There will be other structural work required as it is wet in the basement with water is at least entering from the exposed east side of the building. Alan Langmaid of the Health Center informed us that it may now be possible to expand the parking lot. He request we define the area we would be interested in using on a site plan and return it to him. The Board discussed it but would wait for Marvin to return to decide just what to do as he has been involved with it.

             Merton met with CVPS on the power to the hill street park. The existing anchor pole crossing Hill St can not be used for power as it is to short. They can install a new pole near the gazebo and run a power line to it would cost approximately $1500.00, plus the wire and entry box. The other option would be to run it under ground from the power pole to the gazebo, which could add up to another $500 to $1000. The general consensus was to obtain more information on the underground route.

             As the hour was nearing 7:00pm the meeting was recessed to hold the hearing on the revised Zoning Bylaws. The Board resumed the regular meeting at 8:50. They reviewed the budget and signed the orders. The Board also reviewed a letter from a Danville resident that lives near the wood dump, who is concerned about their safety with the shooting at the wood dump. After some discussion the Board decided to have no shooting signs installed by the road along with safety zone signs in the interior.

 With no other business, the Board adjourned the meeting at 8:05pm.

             Respectfully Submitted,

Merton Leonard

Clerk of the Selectboard

Send mail to Mert.Leonard@DanvilleVt.com with questions or comments about this web site.