May 6, 2025 Selectboard Regular Meeting Minutes

OFFICE OF THE SELECTBOARD

TOWN OF HALIFAX, VERMONT

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

May 6, 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 present were Karen Christofferson, Rhonda Ashcraft, Randy Pike and Lori Marchegiani. Members of the public present were Stephanie Pike, Nancy McCrea, David Jones, Pete Silverberg, and Emily Dow.

CHANGES AND ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

Add under Correspondence: Flood Insurance Rate Maps

NEW BUSINESS

Auditors invited to take oath of office; otherwise, declare vacancies

Two people were write-ins who officially won the elected auditor positions. They were asked to attend this meeting to take the oath of office. They did not attend. The board therefore declared vacancies for these 2 auditor positions.  Physical postings will be placed in town. Anyone considering this role should be comfortable with bank reconciliations, numbers and have attention to detail. This is a paid position. Edwards will reach out to Kaylynn Ashcraft, Adam Morrow, and Bob Teree, as they have previously expressed interest or willingness to serve.

When the new auditors are appointed, 5% of townspeople can petition for a special election to be held.

Future Agenda Item: Reach out to VLCT and ask about conducting a professional audit annually, which is more frequently than the voters approved. This will have future budget implications. The reserve fund for audits has been underfunded as costs have increased, and the professional auditor must confirm the numbers for the years between audits. This takes a lot of time and effort.

New auditors will be appointed at the Selectboard meeting on June 17, 2025.

Liquor License Renewal- Basecamp

This is to approve a liquor license renewal for Basecamp at 3542 VT RT 112. The previous business held a liquor license.  Basecamp purchased the property, and the board approved Basecamp’s first license after the property transferred hands. The fee is $115 and has been paid. They have no violations listed on the form.

Edwards made a motion to approve the Liquor License Renewal for Basecamp. Marchegiani seconded. Motion carried 5-0.

Forlie-Huffman fence post removal extension request

The Right-of-Way Permit application on Sprague Road has been denied with a letter asking them to remove the fence posts by June 1st. The homeowners are asking for an extension due to prior obligations and have asked if a deadline of June 15th is alright. The board agrees and Edwards will relay the update to the homeowners.

There can be a site inspection done on the road conditions and width after that. Research may help determine history; local knowledge and claims suggest that the road has been widened. Whether the centerline has shifted can best be considered at the site with any historical records we may find.

 

OTHER BUSINESS

MERP Grant update

  • Marchegiani spoke with Roberts about transferring the MERP role. Marchegiani reached out to various people involved in the grant process such as Mike McConnell of Windham Regional Commission and she will be placed on appropriate email lists regarding MERP.
  • Roberts said others are finalizing the Request for Bids and they will be ready to be sent out.
  • Emily Dow has emailed the W-9 to the MERP grant office as requested.
  • Further investigate the AUF form: Marchegiani will reach out to Megan Fuller from (BGS) Building General Services. Is this funding already received as the form suggests?
  • The MERP Grant is a part of the audit and will be fully tracked. The town was awarded $4k earlier as a mini-MERP, which the board earmarked for the town garage roof.

End of year budget review

Understanding the current cash position. Christofferson spoke with Dow on 4/20 and determined $400k is the current cash position.

  • $150k of that is in a short-term CD that is coming to term in June.
  • $182k may need to be set aside for the Hatch School Road structures grant in early FY2026.
    • Next Task for this-Obtain Stream Permit.
    • Christofferson will reach out to Scott Jensen and will organize him to contact and meet with Mike Fitzpatrick to get the Stream Profile.
    • The overall work may extend later than originally stated in the bid.

Considering the above, there might be $200K to expend before the end of the year if the board wishes to avoid a large surplus. There are no large expenses expected. Christofferson will assess this in further detail.

Funding needs to consider:

  • Should a “Strategic Gravel Reserve” be created as FEMA funding may not be granted.
  • Finish “earmarking” unexpected income towards covering the unbudgeted town garage roof. About $50K remains to be designated or noted.
  • Spending on the software and NEMRC consulting fees for the changeover, as well as cost for a professional audit, is $90K. Only some of that will fall in this fiscal year, though.
  • Other wish list items were discussed in the previous meeting.

Recycling services RFP via WSWMD

Edwards sent out 12 requests for bids for Recycling Services. Four were sent in paper form. One potential bidder responded saying Halifax is outside of their service area. It has been posted on the website and physical postings in town. The RFP will be shown in the local newspaper next week.

  • Edwards will finish compiling the bid sheet.
  • Christofferson will give Edwards information on the follow-up checklist.
  • Edwards sent a reply to WSWMD informing them that Halifax confirmed they can receive bids until 3:00pm on May 23rd (same day as other towns).
  • Edwards will reach out to Patty Dow to ask if she can certify the number of received bids at that point. No others delivered after that time will be valid.

Stephan Chait informed the board that Bob Spencer at WSWMD can be available at the review of the bids so they can share their knowledge in understanding the inclusions of the bids.

The proposed start date for service is July 1st. To ensure services can start on time, a decision should be made by the June 13th meeting.

  • Construction & Demolition (C&D) debris was not requested in the bid.
  • Edwards left in composting as an option for bidder to give pricing.

Safety Review (Incident) Reports

Edwards contacted VLCT regarding reporting incidents and they sent back a sample employee injury report. The town clerk already fills out this report if needed. The same is true for property damage.

  • Workplace injuries should be reported within 72 hours of injury even if no further action comes of it.
  • Safety Review Reports should also be filled out when there are near misses that happen. An example is when a town truck got caught in the power line on McMillan Road. Even though there was no injury or property damage, this accident should be recorded.

Edwards walked through a proposed Safety Review Report for the Town of Halifax.

  • The first page of the report is a simple overview of the incident, and gives basic information such as how the incident happened.
  • The instructions on how to fill out the form, next steps and process are on the second page as well as who to contact.
  • The third page is a fictitious example of the report.

Edwards and Pike will share the Safety Report forms, with instructions, with the Highway Department.

Finish DVFiber appointments

The Selectboard appointed Ronnie Detlefberger as the DVFiber representative. Edwards is not able to continue as an alternate. Roberts is interested in continuing in this role.

Edwards made a motion to appoint Roberts as an alternate DVFiber representative to represent Halifax. Christofferson seconded. Motion carried 5-0.

Broadband Committee follow-up

Edwards spoke to Roberts and Chait, and Roberts spoke with Jones about the Broadband Committee.The group’s hard work included many hours invested into this project. The goal was to bring high speed internet to Halifax and that goal has been met. The Committee can declare a victory.

Edwards made a motion to disband the Broadband Committee with great thanks to those involved. Marchegiani seconded. Motion carried 5-0.

ROW Permit processes w/ multiple parties involved

  • The current permit process and requirements are being assessed by the town attorney.
  • Next agenda item will include the permit for 820 Thomas Hill Road.
  • The town attorney is researching the law for the utilities’ right of way.

Rossetti’s permit is similar–for electric utilities to be placed under a road. Edwards presented concerns with multiple parties involved in this case. She will try to get advice for this as well.

Jones informed the board that he is preparing a similar ROW permit for a client that will not include a road crossing.

HEARING OF VISITORS

Stephan Chait attended a Windham Regional Commissioner’s meeting on 4/29 urging commissioners to inform their towns of the need to be more self-sufficient in funding disaster repairs. Future funding to towns might not be available. Be prepared for leaner times was the message.

WRC suggests towns build up reserve funds or have borrowing options in place for these future repairs, due to a potential lack of federal (FEMA) funds.

 

CORRESPONDENCE

Silverberg ROW Permit

A 15-inch culvert is required but an 18-inch culvert is recommended. This will be a permanent location and the Silverberg’s will be proceeding with an 18 inch culvert. Silverberg will connect with Fournier to go over the conditions of the permit and if Fournier suggests the Highway Department install the culvert or if it’s okay to have a hired company install.

FCC License for town highway communications is up for renewal.  Edwards is working on this.

FEMA draft Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) updates

Edwards received notice of updated FIRMs just today, including access instructions to the new data. This letter says there are no changes in Halifax. Past communication noted there is one property in town that has a section of their property in a special flood hazard zone. This again is not a change from the past. Our flood regulations have restrictions against building in a flood zone.  Edwards will read this in more detail and report back.

 Net metering system reached 10 years and is changing

After 10 years, there are changes to the town garage electrical bills. There are some fees which cannot be paid by net meter credits anymore. The Greenbacker bill gives a reduced electrical price due to credits from the (WSWMD) solid waste district’s solar panels. We are now also getting a bill from GMP for items like transmission and distribution lines fees. We likely underbudgeted for electrical costs for next year as a result.

APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES

April 15, 2025 Selectboard Regular Meeting Minutes

Edwards made a motion to approve the minutes from April 15, 2025 as amended. Marchegiani seconded. Motion carried 5-0.

April 29, 2025 Selectboard Special Meeting Minutes

Pike made a motion to approve the minutes from April 29, 2025 as amended. Ashcraft seconded. Motion carried 5-0.

 

EXECUTIVE SESSION

None.

SELECTBOARD ORDER

The Selectboard orders were signed and Pike read the aggregate amount for orders on May 6, 2025 for an order total of $12,871.67.

ADJOURNMENT

Ashcraft made a motion to adjourn at 9:28 pm

Marchegiani seconded the motion.

Motion passed 5-0

 

Respectfully submitted,

Emily Dow

Halifax Administrative Assistant

 

Recording Link: