OFFICE OF THE SELECTBOARD
Town of Halifax, Vermont
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
December 18, 2013
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:32 pm. This meeting replaced the 12/17 Regular meeting that was postponed due to bad weather. Board members in attendance were Lewis Sumner, Earl Holtz, and Edee Edwards. Others in attendance were Jessica Bruno, Ray Combs, Margo Avakian, John LaFlamme, Christina Moore, Bill Moore, and Ross Barnett.
Approval of Minutes
Edwards made a motion to accept the December 3, 2013 Regular meeting minutes as amended. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
Sumner made a motion to accept the December 9, 2013 Regular meeting minutes as written. Holtz seconded the motion, which passed 2-0-1 (Edwards abstained).
Holtz made a motion to accept the December 11, 2013 Special meeting minutes as written. Sumner seconded the motion, which passed 2-0-1 (Edwards abstained).
Edwards made a motion to accept the December 14, 2013 Special meeting minutes as written. Sumner seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
New Business
Town Report and Mailings
Edwards explained that as per VLCT and VT Secretary of State, the legal requirements for mailed documents consist of the warrant, summary of revenue and expenditures, and the auditor’s report. The rest of the report is not legally required to be mailed but we have mailed the entire report in the past. VLCT recommends having an article at town meeting to determine whether to continue mailing the entire repot or mail only the required pages. This year the Selectboard will continue to mail the entire report. The cost is approximately $3-4k for printing and mailing. The group discussed their preferences. It was noted that they may need to discuss this with the school board.
Update from Co-EMD’s
LaFlamme presented a draft letter for EOC staff regarding their recent evaluation and future drill dates. He also presented a draft letter for residents to capture special needs information. There was a discussion about the sensitivity of the information requested and how it would be protected. The Selectboard will need to think about what information will be requested and how it will be used and how it will be protected.
LaFlamme reported that the state police in Brattleboro will be moved to Rockingham in 1 ½ to 2 years so there will no longer be a state police barracks in Brattleboro.
LaFlamme discussed the need to formally adopt ICS and a Hazard Mitigation Plan. Edwards noted that they did already adopt a HMP and he should check with WRC. There is also a need to discuss the incident commander position. Edwards noted that there is a training #372 which discusses the incident commander and they should participate in that.
Hearing of Visitors
N/A
Old Business
Brattleboro Library Cards
Holtz called the director of the library regarding the possibility of getting cards for Halifax residents. Currently 11 people from Halifax have library cards there. The library would be looking for a donation of $6953. Holtz will notify the citizen who approached him about the inquiry to get a petition if she wants the town to pursue the funding.
Feedback for Co-EMD’s
Holtz made a motion to meet with the Co-EMD’s one on one in executive session. Edwards seconded the motion, which passed 3-0-0.
The Selectboard entered into executive session at 7:30 pm. Ross Barnett and John LaFlamme joined the Selectboard in executive session.
The Selectboard returned from executive session at 8:28 pm- no decisions were made.
CDBG Update
Edwards hopes to have a public meeting as required by the grant in January. The Selectboard has not heard from Moore or Rafus concerning a list of potential projects.
Winter Roads Policy
The Selectboard discussed additional changes to the draft policy.
Personnel Policy Update
Edwards reported that she called Rafus to discuss the changes to the policy. The Selectboard discussed various outstanding issues regarding compensatory time and ride alongs. The policy will be sent to Bob Fisher for review.
Liaison Reports
Holtz noted that Jeff Austin is replacing Sabina Haskell at Fairpoint. He noted that we have fiber across from the town office and he is trying to get a cost estimate to make the line accessible to the neighborhood which would provide 1.5 mbps-10 gbps. He also noted the Fairpoint receives funding through Connect America.
Edwards reported that the grant acceptance letter for the planning grant needs to be signed and mailed.
Bruno discussed a town logo contest for the development of a logo to be used on town stationary, property, website etc. (as previously discussed at the last 2 Broadband meetings). The Broadband Committee would like a town logo for use on the town website. It was decided that it was not a priority and would require too much administrative work. The Broadband Committee has permission to come up with an unofficial logo for the town website (without a contest).
Upcoming Meetings:
January 25, 2014 8:30am for town warning
January 4, 2014 8:30am and January 18, 2014 at 8:30am for budget
Correspondence
The correspondence was reviewed and filed.
Sumner will discuss an email they received about a survey pin moved during ditch work with Rafus.
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 10:01pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jessica Bruno
Selectboard Secretary