Town of Halifax, Vermont
MINUTES
November 15, 2011
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM. Board members in attendance were John LaFlamme, Lewis Sumner, and Edee Edwards. Others in attendance were Margo Avakian, Joe Tamburrino, Ray Combs, Earl Holtz, Orrin Isles, Christina Moore, Maggie Bartenhagen, Nicholas Bartenhagen, Carol Wright, Brad Rafus and Board Secretary Phyllis Evanuk.
Approval of Minutes
Approval of minutes of the October 6, 2011 meeting was deferred from the last meeting to allow Ms. Edwards to be present and voice her corrections and additions to those minutes. Mr. LaFlamme advised that the changes she had presented were mostly comments regarding discussion, but nothing that changed the action taken as stated in the original minutes. Ms. Edwards advised they were for clarification about the discussion.
Mr. Sumner moved to accept the original draft minutes of the October 6, 2011 meeting as written.
Mr. LaFlamme seconded the motion.
The motion carried 2-1, and the minutes were approved.
Mr. Sumner moved to approve the minutes of the November 1, 2011 meeting as written.
Ms. Edwards noted one spelling correction “oversight” and seconded the motion.
The motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Sumner moved to approve the minutes of the October 3, 2011 emergency meeting as written.
Ms. Edwards seconded the motion which carried 2-0-1 with Mr. LaFlamme abstaining as he was not present at that meeting.
New Business
- Update on road repairs and rate of spending: asphalt reclaiming started this date.
Mr. Rafus advised Green River Road hopefully will be open end of November. Grading on Amidon and Stage are on track and Stow Mountain road has base in place and culverts and ditch work is being started.
Ms. Edwards voiced concern about the rate of spending which has been $150 to $200 thousand a week.
The Town has applied for a 2 million dollar line of credit from the bank to cover expenses until FEMA funds are released. They are hopeful that a partial payment from FEMA might arrive in about three weeks.
- Engineering Bids: Bridges
1. Greenman-Pedersen:
Deer Park $41,450
Hale Road $39,150
Reed Hill $40,850
2. Stevens & Associates: Discount if awarded all three bridges
Deer Park $27,100 $21,680 with discount
Hale Road $17,600 $14,080 with discount
Reed Hill $27,100 $21,680 with discount
3. Renaud Brothers:
Deer Park $6,000
Hale Road $6,000
Reed Hill $6,000
4. RJR Engineering: $175,000
DISQUALIFIED – DID NOT BID BRIDGES SEPARATELY AS REQUEST DIRECTED
5. Icarus:
Deer Park $94,380
Hale Road $97,970
Reed Hill $94,950
6. SVE Associates:
Deer Park $23,650
Hale Road $14,800
Reed Hill $22,225
7. Dubois & King:
Deer Park $36,579
Hale Road $22,439
Reed Hill $36,579
- Guardrail purchase
Mr. Tamburrino explained that Vermont Recreational, the company awarded the guardrail contract has informed him they don’t have enough used guardrails but will provide new ones for $2.25 more per foot. This is still much lower than the other bids for used rail. The Purchase Order would need to be increased by $14,850 for a new total of $84,084.
Ms. Edwards moved to approve the purchase of guardrails as outlined by Mr. Tamburrino.
Mr. Sumner seconded the motion which carried 3-0.
- Culvert purchase
Additional culverts are needed to continue repair of the roads. The low bid for the required culverts was $5,008.
Ms. Edwards moved to approve the purchase of 200’ of 18” diameter culvert and 200’ of 24” culvert from Ferguson Waterworks for $5,008.
Mr. Sumner seconded the motion which carried 3-0.
At 8:30 Mr. LaFlamme moved to enter executive session for personnel matters.
Ms. Edwards seconded the motion which carried 3-0.
At 8:57 PM the Board returned to open session. Mr. LaFlamme advised that no decisions were made.
- Earl Holtz, survey results
Mr. Holtz gave a summary of the survey results from the Broadband Committee survey. A copy of the chart showing those results is attached and incorporated by reference.
- Town employees health insurance:
Ms. Edwards recommended scheduling a meeting with employees for their input.
After a short discussion a meeting was scheduled for 10:00 AM Thursday, November 17, 2011.
- Ambulance Services: To assist the Board in understanding the situation regarding WASI and budgeting for the next year, the Board will invite the WASI Board and the Whitingham Selectboard to attend the December 6, 2011 meeting.
- Committee for lessons learned from after action review
Mr. LaFlamme moved to form a committee to address the after action review.
Ms. Edwards seconded the motion which carried 3-0.
- Community Thanks
Ms. Edwards presented some ideas on how to thank all of the people who volunteered and contributed to the recovery from Irene.
The Board decided to think about her ideas and possibly come up with other ideas. Mrs. Bartenhagen suggested that Town Meeting would be a good place to celebrate the community and possibly have a cake. Mr. Bartenhagen suggested that if time allowed they could ask people to stand and be recognized and say a few words.
Hearing of Visitors
Christina Moore advised they have the opportunity to apply for hazard mitigation program grants but that a letter of intent to apply needs to be submitted before December 1, and the application is due by January 20, 2012.
Ms. Edwards moved to complete and submit a letter of intent to apply for a mitigation grant.
Mr. Sumner seconded the motion which carried 3-0.
Old Business
Other Business
The Board agreed to meet at 8:30 AM on Thursday to review the bridge bids prior to the meeting with employees for health insurance discussion.
Communications/Mail
A USDA grant is available to help pay for debris removal and stream work. The deadline for applying is November 18th and it is a short one page application.
Mr. Sumner moved to fill out the application for UDSA assistance.
Ms. Edwards seconded the motion which carried 3-0.
The mail was reviewed and appropriately filed.
Selectmen’s Order to Town Treasurer for bill payment
The order for payment of bills was completed and signed.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 10:34 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Phyllis H. Evanuk
Secretary