OFFICE OF THE SELECTBOARD
Town of Halifax, Vermont
SELECTBOARD SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
December 21, 2015

 

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 8:00 a.m. Selectboard members Lewis Sumner, Doug Grob, and Brad Rafus were present, as were Cara Cheyette, Charlene Martynowski, and Robbin Gabriel.

Changes and/or Additions to Agenda

None.

New Business

Set Public Hearing Date for Zoning Bylaw Amendments
Lewis Sumner said he had called this special meeting to assure the Selectboard’s public hearing on zoning regulation revisions was held in time to prepare an article for the March 1st Town Meeting warning. We received the revised regulations from the Planning Commission this morning, he added. After consulting the calendar and the Brattleboro Reformer’s holiday publication schedule, Sumner made a motion to hold a Selectboard public hearing on the proposed zoning regulation revisions on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. in the Halifax Town Offices. Brad Rafus seconded the motion, which passed, 3-0. Notice will be published in the newspaper on Monday, December 28th, and will also be posted on town bulletin boards and on the web site. Gabriel told Cara Cheyette that the small corrections approved by the Planning Commission at their December 8th public hearing will be incorporated into the fully revised text of the regulations and will be available for public review online and in the Town Offices. Cheyette has offered to scan the revised text pages for the online pdf version, as some lines dropped out of the original version.

Old Business

None.

Other Business

Charlene Martynowski asked Board permission to do some advance training of lister candidates, as both Martynowski and Joe Tamburrino are retiring and Gabriel, the third lister, has only one year’s experience. Martynowski and Tamburrino, who have served the town as listers for many years, have offered to make themselves available if assistance is needed once new listers have been elected. Budget-wise we should be in good shape, Martynowski continued, there should be sufficient funds remaining to pay for some training hours. Cheyette said she considered it unorthodox to train individuals before they were actually elected. Martynowski made the point that, in addition to her inexperience, Gabriel is working several other jobs for the town. If she should fall sick, we might have two brand new listers with no support. Sumner advised that a month’s training period could be considered once candidate petitions have been submitted late in January.

Hearing of Visitors

Cheyette had two questions—first, had there been any follow-up on a mediation session with plaintiffs in the Denison conditional use appeal. Sumner said nothing had been done about that yet. Secondly, Cheyette asked whether Brad Rafus was on the highway department time clock while he was attending this Monday morning Selectboard meeting. Rafus said no, he was not.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:17 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Robbin Gabriel
Selectboard Secretary