OFFICE OF THE SELECTBOARD
TOWN OF HALIFAX, VERMONT
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2025
6:00 PM AT THE HALIFAX TOWN OFFICE
CALL TO ORDER
Edee Edwards called the meeting to order at 6:00pm. Other Selectboard members in person or remote are Karen Christofferson, Rhonda Ashcraft, Randy Pike, Tristan Roberts and Secretary Assistant Emily Dow. Highway Supervisor Mike Fournier was present. Members of the town and public online or present in person are Paul Blais, Doug & Marilou Parkhurst, Stephen Chait and David Jones, Karin Larkin, Stephanie Pike, and Scott Ashcraft.
CHANGES AND ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
- Mike Fournier update about sand pile
- Old Business: Excavator financing status and warranty
- Town Meeting Day Preparation: Mixer device
- Other Business: Mailchimp account
- Add December 9, 2025 previous meeting minutes to approval. May not get all others done
NEW BUSINESS
Sand Pile Update
The current Winter season has needed more sand than anticipated. There are 430 tons left to be delivered to fully expend the budget.
- Fournier will contact Mitchell Materials and confirm if they can honor the cost per cubic yard as in the contract and order additional sand as needed.
- Add to next Regular Meeting Agenda: Check-In about a cost estimate. Price per Ton is $28.60 cost per cubic yard delivered. Budget is $127,600.
Tristan Roberts joined the meeting about 5 minutes in.
[Moved from Old Business since Mike is here:]
Excavator Financing Status and Warranty
Dealer Financing and Bank Financing- They need the election on the warranty choice
Quote received 2/4/25:
- Powertrain coverage
- Powertrain plus Hydraulic
- Premier Coverage includes: engine, engine components, factory installed heat and air conditioning, cab, transmission axle hydrostatics, electrical and structural.
Example given: 5 year, 3000 hours, would add $1250 for total $3325.
Current 2009 Excavator has 9000 hours as of December 2024.
Lease Quote option:
- Annual in Advance example
- 7 years in advance totals $38,296.31
The next update for the excavator will include the financing option.
Edwards made a motion to pursue the 7-year warranty with the Premier addition not to exceed $6000 for the entire warranty package.
Roberts seconded the motion.
Motion carries 5-0
[Moved also since Mike is here:]
Resume Reviews & Interview Request Decisions
The Highway Department position was sponsored on Indeed Jobs.
Applications and Interviews will be ongoing.
Some of the 11 applicants have CDL’s; others seem to have little experience or geographic connection to Halifax
Upcoming interviews will be scheduled for Candidate A and Candidate B.
Town Right of Way Permit Application Resolution– Fence in Right of Way
Permit Application was submitted with a late fee as it was not completed prior to the fence installation. The applicant subsequently emailed the Selectboard saying they were going to take the fence down, understanding that is was unlikely the permit would be approved.
The applicants have already removed the cross-pieces of the fence.
The Selectboard formally denied the application due to the Town’s inability to maintain winter roads with this barrier.
The fence needs to be removed by June 1, 2025. We will do a site visit after that point to discuss their concerns about the side of the road.
He also requested a copy of the incident report.
Incident Reports
Mike had written up a paragraph for the Sprague Road incident, but we have not formally done incident reports in the past. Edwards said we need to come up with a procedure. Fournier requested we create a form to do this.
RFP’s for Recycling Services – WSWMD
If multiple towns collectively put together an RFP with a need for recycling services, it may lead to obtaining multiple vendor bids.
Multiple vendor bids provide the opportunity to get the best price and option for the town’s needs.
Some recycling customers are seeing higher costs as they renew their contracts.
Edwards will attend a meeting virtually to learn more.
Future Agenda Item: Revisit the RFP for recycling topic.
Town Meeting Day Preparation: Mixer Device
Paul Blais, who is a network engineer, advises the board to purchase a mixer device that will be reliable for audit and video capabilities for the video recording Town Inforrmational Meeting. This also pertains to Town Meeting Day Special Meeting recording requirements. The mixer allows for audio and video through multiple input and outputs from both in-person and remote. Patty Dow said the election funds could cover this amount.
Roberts made a motion for Paul Blais to buy a mixer for town meeting up to $250. Ashcraft seconded the motion.
Motion carries 5-0.
- Budget Defense at Informational Hearing
Christofferson discovered a placeholder figure that will be corrected at Town Meeting in the taxpayers’ favor. As the warning cannot be changed, a Selectboard member will make a motion for that particular article and would be called on to present any change in numbers at that time. The total amount we will reduce the budget is $42K approximately. The budget increase for raise and appropriate is now 6.6%, but this drops into the 4% range.
- Post-Town Meeting Special Meeting Topics
VLCT recommends that you do not have “other non-binding business” during the town meeting itself, and last year we discussed Declaration of Inclusion and recycling in a Special Town Meeting. Chait wishes to have the chance to thank people. This year, topics proposed include: David Jones with the Halifax Connectivity program (here or during the Broadband committee report). Edwards wanted to discuss Animal Control Ordinance choices. Roberts suggested that we discuss Housing and Business Development in Halifax. There’s no one coming to help small towns like Halifax. How can we be proactive on these topics? We want to put guardrails around these topics. Time boxing is an option. Maybe a working group would be an outcome.
HEARING OF VISITORS (order changed again)
Doug Parkhurst noted Halifax is not alone with the housing and economic development issue. Roberts said this is also a problem in the Northeast Kingdom.
Scott Ashcraft asked if the town really needs a 5th employee. We are three quarters of the way through winter. Edwards noted with repeated 60 hours/week schedules the road crew is pretty burned out. Christofferson agreed that a competent well-rested crew is important year-round to avoid injuries. Pike stated he feels we had 4 people for years and should consider this. Christofferson said we can’t afford to lose one person.
David Jones had a question for town meeting. He wants to set up a booth, who does he speak with. Patty Dow is the proper contract. Paul Blais moderates and walks through the Informational meeting.
Tristan left 7:09 pm.
Karin Larkin joined at this point, but was not audible and did not use the chat feature.
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES
December 7, 2024 Selectboard Special Meeting Minutes
Edwards made a motion to approve minutes from Dec 7 2024 with corrections noted, and Pike seconded. Motion carried 3-0-1 with Ashcraft abstaining.
December 9, 2024 Selectboard Special Meeting Minutes
Pike made a motion to approve minutes from Dec 9 as written. Ashcraft seconded by Motion carried 3-0-1 with Christofferson abstaining.
December 14, 2024 Selectboard Special Meeting Minutes
Edwards made a motion to accept December 14, 2024 minutes as corrected. There was an interruption, so no second at that time. Christofferson then moved to accept the minutes of December 14, 2024, and Ashcraft seconded. Motion carried 4-0.
January 3, 2025 Selectboard Special Meeting Minutes
Edwards made a motion to accept January 3 minutes as corrected. Ashcraft seconded the motion, which carried 4-0.
Mailchimp
We ran into a problem trying to get the last 2 agendas out. Mailchimp said we have “too many contacts” to send this with our free plan. We tried to remove people such as our former secretary and a deceased person. We still couldn’t send. We need to upgrade to a paid subscription. This will also allow for another 2 users to send these emails. The recommended package is $13/month.
Christofferson made a motion to buy the Mailchimp “Essentials” subscription on the town credit card – Ashcraft seconded. Motion carried 4-0.
CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence was reviewed and placed in the box to be filed or otherwise handled.
Overweight permits were received from Renauld Brothers, Inc.; Valley Crane Services, Inc.; Newport Sand and Gravel Company Inc and Carrol Concrete Company, inc.
SELECTBOARD ORDER
Edwards read $34,134.30
ADJOURNMENT
Ashcraft made a motion to adjourn at 9:35pm. Christofferson seconded the motion. Motion passed 4-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Emily Dow
Halifax Administrative Assistant
Recording Link: