Town of Halifax, Vermont
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES- DRAFT
May 13, 2015
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:33 pm at the town office. Board members in attendance were Edee Edwards, Jessica Bruno, Gretchen Becker, Mary Horne, and Curtis Carroll (at 6:55pm).
Agenda Additions/Deletions
N/A
Approval of Minutes
Bruno made a motion to accept the minutes of the April 16, 2015 Regular Meeting with a small correction. Horne seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-1(Becker abstained).
New Business
Regional CEDS Update Meetings
Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) will host four regional meetings to update members of the community about the progress toward implementing the Windham Region’s federally regognized Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS). Details including locations and times can be found attached.
The committee briefly discussed doing a new economic development survey but no action will be taken at this time as our recent survey indicated the main item people in Halifax needed was broadband.
Whitingham Farmers Market
Vendor registration will be held June 3rd at 7pm at the Whitingham Municipal Center. The market will be open 6/26-10/9. The cost to become a participating vendor is $39. See the attached flyer for more details.
Website Posting Procedure
The group discussed the procedure for posting items to the broadband committee page on the town website. It was agreed that info that is time sensitive will be posted without review. Semi-permanent info will be reviewed by the committee before posting. Questions about posts can be brought to Edwards’ attention as a Selectboard member.
Old Business
Update on Colrain Fiber Project
Edwards reported that Colrain approved $2.4 million for a high speed broadband network (with WiredWest) at their town meeting. Bruno added that 7 of 33 towns are at goal participation.
VTA Resiliency Grant
Edwards reported on the project for the radio units for cell service along the Rte 112 corridor. Dave Malko from VTA informed her that the panels are grid connected but they are slow to get the radio units up because the economic development unit hasn’t agreed to the contract yet. There are approx. 165 units to install statewide. It is unlikely that they will meet the June 30, 2015 deadline and the project will most likely be rolled over.
Cell Phone Mapping in Town
The committee will see if the cell provider coverage maps for Halifax can be merged. The committee owns phone with the following providers:
US Cellular
TMobile
Verizon
Virgin Mobile
The committee will try to attain the assistance from an individual with an AT&T phone.
VTel Tower
Carroll reported that his most recent call indicated it may be ready by the end of June. He tried to find out if the towers will have a provider association but was not able to obtain that information.
Wi-Fi Hotspot Usage
Edwards reported there are no substantial changes to usage. Edwards discussed the potential donation of a picnic table for the site. She will discuss with the road crew and the Selectboard.
Hearing of Visitors
N/A
Adjournment
The meeting was closed at 7:20 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jessica Bruno