 | COLCHESTER SELECTBOARD June 13, 2023 @ 6:30 PM 781 Blakely Road 3rd Floor Conference Room __________________ |
1. Call Meeting to Order
Roll Call: Pam Loranger, Chair; Tom Mulcahy, Vice Chair; Jacki Murphy, Clerk; Charlie Papillo; Maureen P. Dakin
Staff Present: Aaron Frank, Town Manager; Lea Sanguinetti, Assistant Town Engineer; Bob Vickery, Town Assessor
Others Present: Andi Higbee, Curt Taylor, Ella Ruehsen
Pledge of Allegiance
Selectboard Chair Pam Loranger led the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Citizens to be Heard*
Andi Higbee thanked the Colchester Parks and Recreation Department for their upkeep of Airport Park.
Ella Ruehsen introduced herself to the Colchester Selectboard as a new reporter for the Colchester Sun.
3. ACTION | Consent Agenda
a. Minutes of 5.23.2023 Selectboard Meeting
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Charlie Papillo to adopt the Consent Agenda as it may have been modified by the Board and to take the actions indicated for each item:
a. Approve the Selectboard Minutes of the meeting of May 23, 2023.
The MOTION carried.
4. Special Business Items
a. ACTION: Annual Audit Preparations
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to review and, the Chair of the Selectboard, as Town Agent, to sign the annual Financial Management Questionnaire. It is an annual audit requirement.
The MOTION carried.
b. ACTION: Concurrence in Selectboard Chair’s Letter to Governor Scott re: H.480
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Charlie Papillo to concur in the letter sent by the Selectboard Chair to Governor Scott requesting a veto of H.480 for reasons outlined in the letter.
Selectboard Member Maureen P. Dakin summarized her and Selectboard Chair Pam Loranger’s meeting with Colchester Representatives from last week, which included discussion on how to improve communications between the two groups.
The MOTION carried.
c. ACTION: Letter of Support for Grant Application | Lea Sanguinetti, Assistant Town Engineer
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Tom Mulcahy to authorize the Selectboard Chair to sign the attached letter of support to allow the Department of Public Works to submit a grant application for the 2023 Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Small Scale Local Grant per the recommendation contained in a memo dated June 7, 2023 from Lea Sanguinetti, Assistant Town Engineer.
Assistant Town Engineer Lea Sanguinetti explained that this 100% state-funded grant, if awarded, would be applied to active projects, including roadway signage to improve safety, the installation of breakaway signage, and tree clearing to improve sight distance.
The MOTION carried.
d. ACTION: Signs in Town of Colchester Right-of-Way| Aaron Frank, Town Manager
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to explicitly grant authority to the Town Manager and/or the Planning and Zoning Director to remove and dispose of advertising signs from the Town’s right-of-way without prior notice to the sign/property owner(s), and to allow the Town Manager and/or the Planning and Zoning Director to delegate this authority to others as they see fit, except for signs subject to rules related to elections.
Town Manager Aaron Frank Many explained that The Town has received complaints, especially since COVID, about plastic signs in the Town’s right-of-way; that the Town does not budget staff time for the removal of these signs; that there is a state law prohibiting off-site advertising like these signs; and that the Town has received information from the state and Town attorney that it is not legally required to authorize, but that the Selectboard could clarify that the Town Manager and/or the Planning and Zoning Director can personally remove or delegate the removal of these signs without notice to the sign/property owner(s).
The MOTION carried.
e. Information: Review Proposed Tax Warrant - Tax Rate for FY24 | Bob Vickery, Town Assessor and Aaron Frank, Town Manager
Town Assessor Bob Vickery noted this year’s Grand List total to be $22,566,817, which is an increase of 0.743% over last year’s warrant, but lower than the anticipated 1.1% estimated in November. He added that the amount to be warned has a buffer to account for appeals and errors and omissions.
Town Manager Aaron Frank added that the draft FY24 Tax Warrant will be voted on at the next meeting and would result in setting the Municipal Services Tax Rate for FY24 at $0.6098 per hundred dollars of assessed value, which is a 6.1% increase over last year’s rate.
Selectboard Vice Chair asked what would happen to the Grand List if a reassessment of the depreciated utilities inventory was conducted, and Town Assessor Bob Vickery answered that the actual Grand List would increase. Town Manager Frank clarified that the Tax rate would also decrease, resulting in the amount of taxes remaining the same.
f. ACTION: Town of Colchester Solar Application Letter of Support
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Charlie Papillo to authorize the Selectboard Chair to sign the letter supporting the application for the Fort Ethan Allen Solar Project, which the Colchester Selectboard approved permitting for on March 28, 2023.
The MOTION carried.
5. Public Hearing | Licenses and Petitions
a. Amusement License
• American Legion Post 91
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Charlie Papillo to hold a public hearing regarding an Amusement License for:
• American Legion Post 91, 8 South Street, Colchester VT 05446
All information included in the packet related to such application is considered part of the public hearing, and, whereby the Colchester Selectboard shall enter a deliberative session later in the meeting to consider the matter and then issue a permit or denial in writing to each applicant via staff through the US Mail and will share the outcome publicly by placing the permit or denial as an informational item in the next Selectboard packet
The MOTION carried.
Selectboard Clerk Jacki Murphy asked about the date of renewal for amusement licenses and Town Manager Aaron Frank stated that because of the new process this year, applicants may still be adjusting to new application due dates but stated he would research the matter and get back to the Selectboard to be certain.
Selectboard Chair Pam Loranger closed the public hearing.
6. Additional Business | Manager’s Recommendations
There were no further recommendations.
7. Informational Items
Town Manager Aaron Frank noted that there was significant information on the Town’s history and actions related to moorings and docks in Town and newsletter outreach in this week’s informational items packet.
8. Announcements
Selectboard Chair Pam Loranger shared that June 7th was the Town’s 260th anniversary and noted where folks can read more about this milestone in the Colchester Sun and from the Colchester Historical Society.
9. ACTION | Warrants
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to approve Warrant #23-34 in the amount of $1,092,957.71 and Warrant #23-35 in the amount of $270,974.74.
Town Manager Aaron Frank shared that there was a question on Warrant #23-35, item #26, to Claussen’s at $239.99, which he explained was for landscaping materials for the areas around Town Hall and the Police Department and for Colchester Blooms! for their planting around Town.
Selectboard Chair Pam Loranger also encouraged folks to donate to Colchester Blooms! to support their beautification efforts in Town.
The MOTION carried.
10. Deliberative Session | Licenses and Petitions
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Tom Mulcahy to meet in deliberative session under the authority of 1 V.S.A. § 312(e) for the purpose of considering licenses and petitions which were specifically noted on the agenda and for which a hearing was held earlier in the meeting. The Selectboard will issue a permit or denial in writing to each applicant via staff through the US Mail and will share the outcome publicly by placing the permit or denial as an informational item in the next Selectboard packet.
The MOTION carried.
11. Executive Session
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Tom Mulcahy to find that premature general public knowledge of contracts, pending or probable civil litigation, and personnel issues would clearly place this Selectboard at a substantial disadvantage because the Selectboard risks disclosing its negotiation strategy if it discusses these topics in public.
The MOTION carried.
MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Tom Mulcahy to enter executive session to discuss contracts, pending or probable civil litigation, and personnel issues under the provisions of Title 1, Section 313 (a)(1)(a)&(e) and (a)(3) of the Vermont Statutes, Executive Sessions.
The MOTION carried.
12. Adjournment**
MOTION was made by Tom Mulcahy and seconded by Charlie Papillo to adjourn the meeting.
The MOTION carried.
The meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m.