MINUTES
June 14, 2011

Call to Order 

            The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM.  Members in attendance were Howard Alboum, Sirean LaFlamme, D. Chris Estep, and William Pusey, Brian McNeice, and Bradley Rafus. Norman Fajans was absent. Others in attendance were Earl Holtz, William Bell, Adam “Chub” Adamski, and Secretary Phyllis Evanuk. 

Approval of Minutes 

            Mr. Estep moved to approve the minutes of the May 10, 2011 meeting as written.
            Mr. McNeice seconded the motion, which carried 6-0.

Hearing of Visitors

1.  Mr. Holtz was in attendance to give an update on his collaboration with Mr. Estep on the Communications section for the new Town Plan.  They will work up the proposed wording and present it at a future Planning Commission meeting for review.

Mr. Alboum asked if he could update them on the situation regarding the “middle mile”  FiberConnect proposal that had been presented to the school.  Mr. Holtz advised that even though the town had offered to support them with up to $5,000 to offset the anticipated additional cost over what they now pay, the school had declined the offer.  Therefore at this time that proposal is dead.

A short discussion regarding this situation and the pros and cons of it followed.

Mr. Holtz advised that the Broadband Committee is still working with other vendors regarding the “last mile” coverage that the state has targeted to be complete by 2013.

2.  Mr. Adamski and Mr. Bell were in attendance to voice concerns regarding the recently approved Drummey subdivision.  Mr. Adamski advised that having been a contractor for 30+ years, he has been to a lot of hearings regarding subdivisions.  His understanding was that there would be several subsequent meetings following the hearing held on May 19th. Therefore he thought there would be a more appropriate time to come voice his concerns regarding road construction, trees, utilities, and such.  He advised that he had spoken with Mr. Drummey on the day of the hearing and was told it was the simple division of the property into two parcels.  Therefore Mr. Adamski thought there was no need to attend this meeting.  In speaking with the potential new owner he discovered after the hearing that she proposed to use the Collins Road end for access and to bring in the utilities.  He advised that his utilities are underground so as not to require trees to be cut, and he is against having above ground utilities brought to this new property.

Mr. Rafus advised that in speaking with the contractor he was informed that the power would be coming in from Mr. Drummey’s end and would be underground.  Regarding the road improvements the owner does not want the town to take it over, and is only planning on upgrading it enough to give the necessary access to her property.

Mr. Bell advised he is very concerned about drainage issues as he has problems on his property caused by drainage from off site.  The new property owner was told she had to upgrade the road in order to have the utilities put in.

Mr. Rafus advised that the town was not doing that.  CVPS has put in new rules.  They will not install any new service unless they can drive their trucks up to it.

Mr. McNeice advised that they should bring their concerns to the Selectboard, as they have oversight regarding the improvements to roads, drainage issues, along with the Road Commissioner, and installation of utilities.  They have purview over anything in the town right of way.  Other members of the board agreed that the Selectboard could address their concerns.

After more discussion the visitors left having been given the contact information for CVPS projects, and with the suggestion that they call to be put on the agenda for the next Selectboard meeting.

Other Business

The State Municipal Planning Grants are scheduled for fall.  They will let towns know sometime in July or August when the applications will be available online.  The Applications will be due in September.  In order to decide what we want to apply for (Subdivision regulations?) we should plan on brainstorming at the July meeting, and then contact WRC for their assistance.

Adjournment

The public meeting was adjourned at 8:05 PM and the Commissioners entered deliberative session to consider the LaFogg subdivision findings and decision.

Respectfully submitted,
Phyllis H. Evanuk
Secretary