Town of Charlotte
Board of Selectmen
Minutes
Monday, September 15, 2003
7:00 PM, Charlotte Town Hall
Jennifer Steele Cole
Francis Thornton
OTHERS: Stephen
C. Brooks
Debbie
Christie
Peter
Coleman
Tricia
Coleman
Dana
Farley
John
Hammer
Clark
Hinsdale, Jr.
Clark
Hinsdale III
Sylvia
Knight
Robert
Mack
David
Pierson, Jr.
Linda
Radimer
Dick
Reid
Peter
Richardson
Carrie
Spear
Jocelyn
Bolick (clerk)
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm.
The items on the agenda were as follows:
Call to Order /
Adjustments to Agenda / Approve Minutes for August 25 / Public Discussion / Questions
for Public Service Board Concerning VELCO Testimony / Varney Farm Update / Discussion
of Hiring of Selectboard Assistant / Aube-Hinsdale Density Solution Update –
Clark Hinsdale III / Paving of Charlotte Berry Farm Entrance – Clark Hinsdale
III / Request to Waive Old Impact Fee Requirement – Clark Hinsdale III /
Approve Senior Center Coordinator Job Description / Decision Regarding
Greenwood America Floating Easement / Selectboard Updates: Liaison to Library
and Senior Center; Pending Legal Case: Stephen Brooks v. Town of Charlotte /
Authorize bills and warrants / Adjournment
Adjustments to Agenda
Approve Minutes for August 25
Postponed until a later date.
Signs
will go up on Wednesday informing the community that the parade will take place
on Sunday, October 12th, at 2 PM.
Jennifer Cole asked if the town insurance policy covered the parade; it
did.
Motion
made by Jennifer Cole, seconded by Frank Thornton:
“To have the town of Charlotte
officially sponsor the East Charlotte tractor parade on October 12th
and allow the closing of the road for the time the tractor parade starts at Our
Lady of Mount Carmel Church, north to Spear Street Extension 4 corners, right
up to Hinesburg Road, right onto Jackson Hill Road, and down into the green”.
Vote: all in favor.
Sylvia
Knight asked if there was any notification posted in Hinesburg at the junction
of Route 116 and Hinesburg Road. Carrie
said there will be a sign posted the Wednesday before the parade at that
junction.
Peter
Coleman asked if there were any problems with cars last year; Carrie said no,
it went beautifully. There was a milk
truck coming from the creamery that was heading west that was stopped for a few
minutes; Carrie will give notice to the creamery this year.
Stephen
Brooks said the last 2 years the traffic was light and it was moving fine. Also, Stephen wonders if the motion needed
to include making it an official event, rather than just closing the road.
Charles
asked about shutting half the road, and let cars use the other half. Carrier said for safety issues, it would not
be a good idea.
Carrie
said she would like to sound off an alarm that you can hear from the church to
let everyone know that the parade is about to start.
Questions for Public Service Board Concerning VELCO Testimony
Jennifer Cole and
committee have been working on questions to submit to the Public Service Board –
they have been going through the testimony and have come up with questions and
comments. They would like people to
look at what they have come up with and send in comments to the town. The questions are due the 22nd of
October. There will be a public hearing
on September 30th.
Some of the
questions: clarifying what the right-of-way is that GMP has; what the
right-of-way is at other areas where transmission lines are already in place. Clark
Hinsdale, Jr., asked if the right-of-way is going on new land. Jennifer said it is on land that GMP is already
using, but they need to widen the existing right-of-way 30 feet to the
west. They want a 100 foot right of
way. The poles will range from 61 feet
to 70 feet, depending on the location.
Right now they are 35 to 40 feet.
VELCO has offered the possibility of shorter poles (52 feet), but then
the poles would be closer together.
Stephen Brooks
thanked Jenny for all the work that has gone into this; Stephen suggested to “heavy
up” on the public values and social causes section. He feels they should get more specific and aggressive with the
section concerning why the line shouldn’t be buried. Jenny said part of the purpose is to clarify the testimony and
figure out where they did their research, etc.
If anyone can think of any specific questions that would be good to add,
please contact her.
Sylvia said there was
one question from Erich Finley’s earlier version that was missing from the
handout tonight. She would like to
encourage the committee to reinsert that question. The question was “Given that large transmission lines can
decrease property values, how will VELCO mitigate the impact where the utility
lines impact designated view sheds of high public value?” Jenny said they would need to work on the
wording, since a lot of that information is in the testimony that they have
already given - do we want additional information? The question came up – could the lines be added while updating
Route 7, but that work has already started.
Also, could the lines be added while adding the bike path - VELCO wants
to get the lines in before that construction occurs.
Sylvia feels that if
we could convince the Public Service Board that it is in the greater public
interest to have the lines buried in the ground (perhaps via independent
assessment), then it would not be Charlotte and Shelburne paying for the
burying by themselves.
Jennie found some
information on the internet about towns that had buried their lines. It had mentioned the company that designed
the project, so we may be able to get some information from them. Sylvia said they could use help researching
these issues. People who are interested
in this issue - feel free to offer your services.
Dana Farley wished to
thank the selectboard and Sylvia for taking this issue so seriously.
Linda Radimer stated
that Mary Beth Freeman apologized for not being at this meeting. However, Linda was her spokesperson
tonight. She said the NIEHS has
categorized the 150 volt lines as category 2B (i.e., possibly carcinogenic – the
same category as DDT, chloroform, lead, welding fumes, gas fumes, cellular
transmissions, etc.). There is
radiation being given off and could possibly cause cancer. It is an area that we need to continue
researching.
Linda said there is
now such a thing as “dirty energy”. The
signals that are coming off the high frequency lines are so pervasive that they
are mingling with the electrical transmission voltages and are being
distributed over the electrical lines.
Varney Farm Update
Stephen Brooks said
the seller is selling to the town for $1; what is the need for an executive
session? What could be detrimental to
the town? Charles said it is not just
the town; it could be the other side as well.
Motion
made by Jennifer Cole, seconded by Frank Thornton:
“To go into executive session to
discuss the possible Varney Farm purchase”.
Vote: all in favor.
Peter Richardson and
Dana Farley accompanied the selectboard into executive session.
Motion
made by Frank Thornton, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
“To come out of executive session”.
Vote: all in favor.
Dana said they would
like to have a conference call ASAP, certainly this week, and would like to
work towards the outline of a proposal (if the town is interested in this gift)
within the next couple of weeks. The
Demeter Fund is also interested in an update of what the selectboard is
thinking. Charles Russell asked if
Thursday morning would work (before 10 AM).
Dana said she wasn’t sure, but was interested in working on scheduling
that tomorrow.
Charles said as part
of the feasibility study we need to look at the water and the septic. Spencer Harris will be in next Monday to
test for the septic; it would cost his time plus a maximum of $500 (probably)
for a backhoe. Craig Heindel said you
need to do a 72 hour draw down test for the well since it’s a public building. The number Craig threw out was $5000, but
that seems high. The selectboard needs
to decide if it wants to spend the money on these 2 items.
Motion
made by Frank Thornton, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
“To spend up to 5K to determine
whether water and septic testing is a viable issue for the Varney Farm property”.
Vote: all in favor.
Sylvia Knight felt
that it’s not wise to draw down a well.
She feels that you can affect other people’s water reserves as
well. She doesn’t feel it is wise to do
during a drought.
Charles said Craig Heindel
had three options. The first was to
have a mid-level scientist gather information on the neighboring wells (costing
$1,000 to $2,000). The next choice was
to do the 72 hour draw down test. The
third choice was to look at aerial photographs and look for rifts in the crust
and dig a well, which would obviously be more expensive. The issue is if we are thinking of public
use for the building and the water is not there, then it is back to being a
private residence.
Tricia Coleman asked
why a 72 hour draw down? She said at
the Senior Center, they couldn’t draw down, they actually couldn’t empty
it. But it was only one day, not 72
hours.
Stephen Brooks said
what he is hearing is that if we spend the $5,000 and don’t like the results of
the water tests; the town would still accept the gift. So why spend the $5,000?
Clark Hinsdale, III,
said that septic is more limiting than water.
He feels there are many more options to get water than to get
septic. He also feels the town would be
well off owning the bulk of that property, even if the house was sold off. Getting some of that land back for park use
in the future would be extremely valuable to the town. He feels a lack of water is more solvable
than a lack of septic.
Affordable units and
renting it out to non-profit agriculture groups are still at the top of the
list for renting out the property. So
far, $500 has been spent for Jeffrey Glassberg to look at it, and fees for
lawyers, etc. Robert Mack asked what
will be the cost for the taxpayers – this should be figured out before the gift
is accepted. Jennifer Cole said one of
the goals that was set early on was that the property not create additional
expense to the town – it must be cost neutral to the town.
Peter Richardson said
at the end of July, two themes emerged:
affordable housing and agricultural use. Peter still feels there is potential to combine those. However, obstacles to be researched are
density, structural issues, septic issues, and water issues. We’re working to define the issues, but it
is still ongoing. Robert asked how many
units – Peter said they haven’t gotten there yet. Robert said there’s only 2 weeks until October 1st,
and that issue hasn’t been resolved yet?
Robert Mack asked how
much money will be spent between now and October 1st to decide yeah
or nay. Right now you are still
spinning wheels.
Stephen Brooks said
he’s sure the selectboard can do this, but this is feeling like the Holcomb
House all over again. He’s concerned. The Holcomb House was a simple situation
that was lost because no action was taken.
Dana said October 1st
is the date for an outline for a proposal.
Clark Hinsdale, Jr.,
asked if the board plans to have an environmental assessment. Charles said Jeff Glassberg has sent a list
of everything that needs to happen to bring it up to par. We can get quotes on that to figure out how
much it will cost. Peter said there is
a ton of financing issues that need to be addressed, but we’re not there yet.
Stephen Brooks said
you are going to lose your seller.
Sylvia Knight said
the Conservation Commission has some ideas, and that property needs to be kept
low density. Traffic is a big
issue. There needs to be a low impact
solution up there. She would urge the
selectboard to determine the water issue another way and not do a draw down.
Clark Hinsdale, III,
doesn’t feel the 72 hour pump test is necessary – that’s a test that is
required for applying for a permit for a specific use, but he hopes the town
does the septic and the Environmental One test. If the town is looking at a gift worth $300,000 or $400,000, it’s
worth it to agree to spend $5,000 to test the property. But he feels the community would be
disappointed if we didn’t do our due diligence in a timely fashion. He encourages the board to pass the motion. Perhaps the selectboard can access the
citizens of Charlotte who are professionally involved in representing people
buy these kinds of properties. They can
give the selectboard information.
Peter said the 3
pieces of information that we are trying to get to are density, septic and
water. If we could get some sort of
written report on those issues, then organize a discussion among the various
advocates. An environmental assessment
is important, but probably not feasible within the next 2 weeks.
Charles said by next
Monday we may known something about the septic and water, and may have a better
idea about the density too. Davis
Charrington said the well was 2.2 gallons per minute; he must have gotten that
number somewhere. Charles feels there
would need to be political pressure to get the density increased, and there are
pros and cons to doing that.
Dana said the Demeter
Fund would like to see within the next few weeks a choice and a proposal for
what the town would like to see there.
Discussion of Hiring of Selectboard Assistant
Charles said he got 7
or 8 resumes for the selectboard assistant position. He was hoping to schedule interviews on Thursday morning. This will be discussed next week.
Aube-Hinsdale Density Solution Update – Clark Hinsdale III
Clark said they are
prepared to go in for their final hearing on the 50 acre lot with 3
subdivisions. It is an approved 9 lot
subdivision: 2 lots will be used to satisfy the Carol issue, 3 lots are to be
developed, and 4 lots are slated to be donated to the Charlotte Land
Trust.
Paving of Charlotte Berry Farm Entrance – Clark Hinsdale III
Clark said he would
like to hook up with Junior to get the Charlotte Berry Farm entrance paved. Charles said they need a motion to use the
town paving equipment.
Motion
made by Frank Thornton, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
“To allow the Charlotte Berry
Farm be afforded the opportunity to obtain paving at the town rate if it is
agreeable with the town road commissioner and the pavers”.
Vote: all in favor.
Request to Waive Old Impact Fee Requirement – Clark Hinsdale
III
Charles said he will
ask Joe McLean about this. This land
was subdivided in the past by someone, Clark Hinsdale got the land but never
built on it, and that is what has triggered the impact fees. Clark said people who are buying lots will
someday want to come in to get building permits. One of the fees is already in escrow. He would like to resolve it now to avoid putting other fees into
escrow. Clark said these were lots
created in the mid-80’s.
Approve Senior Center Coordinator Job Description
Charles said we will
table this. Ellie Russell rewrote the
description, but we don’t know if it has been formally approved. Tricia Coleman wanted to know if there was
any provision in the new job description of accountability of the program
director to the town. Charles said he
hopes so, but he doesn’t know for sure.
Stephen Brooks asked if the public would have an opportunity to review
the job description, Charles said yes.
Decision Regarding Greenwood America Floating Easement
Charles got a note
form the trails committee recommending that the town keep the right to have a
trail through there. Stephen Brooks
said if you’re going to leave it alone, you do not need to take any action.
Selectboard Updates
Stephen
Brooks said there are 3 entities here:
the town, the taxpayers, and an agency relationship that the town has
engaged to manage the property. Stephen
feels the by-laws are fine the way they are.
To change the by-laws, you need to call a meeting of the
membership. Frank Thornton said the
original issue was that they had appointed 2 interim directors. Stephen feels that the interim directors
were appointed without any authority, but Frank said they have a right to
maintain the membership. The only issue
that they were interested in changing was the issue that Stephen Brooks had
brought up, which was the question of interim directors. Stephen said the by-laws seem to implicitly
state that directors can only be voted on by the membership. Frank said that Stephen was interpreting
more into the by-laws than are there.
The by-laws state that the membership can vote directors at the annual
meeting. If the board of directors gets
diminished, the board has an inherent right to appoint someone in the
interim. Frank said the adding of
directors is an inherent right of corporations – it is a general law. Stephen feels that a vote by the entire
membership would encourage more participation.
Charles
suggested delaying a liaison appointee to the library until other selectboard
members are present.
Motion
made by Frank Thornton, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
“To go into executive session to
discuss the pending legal case of Stephen Brooks versus the town of Charlotte”.
Vote: all in favor.
Motion
made by Frank Thornton, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
“To come out of executive session”.
Vote: all in favor.
Authorize bills and warrants
Motion
made by Frank Thornton, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
“To approve
the petition for the use of a right of way to bury a line under Lewis Creek
Road”.
Vote: all in favor.
Motion
made by Frank Thornton, seconded by Jennifer Cole:
“To approve request
by Green Mountain Power to change 2 poles in accordance with their request A0022205409”.
Vote: all in favor.
Signed
bills and warrants as appropriate.
Adjournment
Next
meeting: Monday, September 22nd
at 7 PM.
Motion
made by Jennifer Cole, seconded by Frank Thornton:
“To adjourn the selectboard
meeting”.
Vote: all in favor. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Jocelyn Bolick.