Town of Halifax, Vermont

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

December 10, 2014

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 6:35 pm at the town office.  Board members in attendance were Edee Edwards, Jessica Bruno, Curtis Carroll, and Gretchen Becker.

Agenda Additions/Deletions

Edwards requested that we add Rte 112 cell tower project to old business.

Approval of Minutes

Edwards made a motion to accept the minutes of the November 19, 2014 Regular Meeting as corrected. Becker seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-1 (Carroll abstained).

New Business

Meeting Procedure

Becker inquired whether brainstorming ideas should be discussed under other business instead old new business if no action is planned at this time. The group discussed the topic and agreed that the placement on the agenda is not important as long as we list topics discussed in the minutes.

Survey Results

Edwards presented the results of the economic development survey. The main economic priorities of the respondents were making retirement money last and maintaining a business. The group discussed the top directions they should take as a committee:

• Broadband: information and communication
• Cell phone service: concentrate on mapping coverage areas, and information gathering re: cost etc to bring service to Halifax
• Promote training held elsewhere and keep people informed via the town website

Budget Request

The group discussed requesting approximately $250/annually for the Survey Monkey Pro Plan which could be used by all town departments. The ability to export data and generate reports would be very valuable and require the Pro Plan.

Town Report

The group drafted the Broadband Committee report for inclusion in the town report.

Brattleboro Area Techies Group & Survey for Workspace

Becker reported that the Brattleboro Area Techies Group is looking to start a shared workspace. The committee reviewed their survey results. The group can be found here: Brattleboro-area-tachies@googlegroups.com.

Fairpoint Update

Becker reported that she has a new contact at Fairpoint who will keep up updated on their projects.

Department of Public Service 2014 Telecom Plan

Edwards reported the Department of Public Service released their 2014 Telecommunications Plan: http://publicservice.vermont.gov/publications/telecom_plan

Old Business

VTel Monopole

No new news has been received regarding this project.

Rte 112 Cell Project

Edwards reported that she received a call tonight regarding the project. The project coordinator inquired whether the town could install the conduit for the solar panel/electrical system. Hopefully this means we are closer to getting the equipment.

Hearing of Visitors

N/A

Adjournment

The meeting was closed at 8:13 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Jessica Bruno