Selectboard Meeting 6/15/16 Unapproved Minutes

TOWN OF PEACHAM

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES

Town Hall Meeting Room

Wednesday June 15, 2016 6:30PM

Present:

Selectboard: Annette Lorraine and Tim Scott

Clerk to the Selectboard: Melissa Laurita Kohl

Public: Mike Bruton, Cheryl Stevenson, Town Clerk Tom Galinat, Road Foreman Jeremy Withers, Ron Craig, Aubrey Cabot-Case, Dick Hovey, Dale Roy

The meeting was called to order by Board Chair Annette Lorraine at 6:29 PM.

1. Additions
1. Roller Barn Update

2. Approval of 6/1/16 Minutes
1. Could not be approved because David Jacobs is not at this meeting and Tim Scott was not at last. Will be approved at the 7/20 meeting.

3. Village Pathway Decision
1. The decision needs to be delayed due to a professional conflict of interest on Tim’s part. David and Annette will need to come to a consensus or the path will remain as it is for the time being.

4. Roller Barn
1. David and Tim met with Ray Young last week and work should be complete now. Tim will check after today’s meeting.

5. Margaret Maclean Re: Local Study Committee to study the options for Peacham in light of Act 46 Committee
1. At Town Meeting Day the school board requested volunteers for a local study committee. It is comprised of 2 board members and 7 community volunteers. They have a website with a lot of information, minutes, etc. The url is: www.peachamact46.org.
2. The school board identified 4 options for Peacham based on the law. The board is taking the lead on two items and the study committee. Options below.
3. K-6 District - looking at a potential Greensboro/Stannard merger. Peacham would receive tax incentives and keep the school’s rural grant. Peacham would have equal say in any decision making and neither town would be interested in closing the other school as they are 25 miles apart and are all small schools.
4. K-8 District option requires Peacham to give up school choice in 7 and 8 grade. Peacham would only have 13% representation on the board and the other communities would have larger representation as representation is based on the size of the schoo. The concerns with this option are giving up choice and not having a lot of weight with decision making.
5. Staying the way we are is possible but Peacham would lose its small schools grant and any incentives. This would probably be most expensive option of the four and the State board of education may not approve it. If they didn’t approve it they could put Peacham in a merged district. However, if they do that they cannot put us in K-8 because choice is protected so Peacham could only be put into a K-6 district. The only other schools that are k-6 that they could merge us with are Greensboro/Stannard, Woodbury and Wolcott.
6. The last option is closing the school and tuitioning all students. The board doesn’t think that the community wants that option but they are looking into it so the community can see all of the options.
7. The committee is getting financial projections on all of four options. Right now, the committee has some financial info but so much could change so it is all potential financial outcomes.
8. Taxes don’t go down with any of the choices. Vermont has a statewide budget so even if we are fiscally really tight, other communities could spend more and taxes would still go up.
9. Now that Peacham is talking to Greensboro and Stannard, it could take 4 or 5 months to have all of the information about the choices.
10. The committee conducted a survey and are still compiling results but of the 120 online surveys submittes - 45% people feel ⅞ choice is very important, 26% think it’s important; 58% feel voice is very important, 32% feel important. The survey was completed by a well rounded demographic range (parents, non parents, kids in school, formerly in school, or future school age kids)

6. Cemetery
1. Cheryl presented the immediate and long term goals of the cemetery. This included a new trimmer (Mike or Ron will look into it); getting town water on site for watering plants and cleaning equipment (Cheryl will contact Jonathan or Larry about water); replace the flag pole; getting stones cleaned (Cheryl will get quotes for completing all of the stones); recoating the road that goes through the cemetery and dealing with a road washing out issue (Jeremy will look at the issues to give the Cemetery Preservation Commission and the Selectboard his opinion on the issues); and tree maintenance.
2. The Cemetery Preservation Committee will come up with the budget and once they talk to the town water/fire district tell the Selectboard which water option they would prefer.
3. At the next Cemetery Preservation Committee meeting, they will look at their bylaws and see if they need to be updated. Cheryl has job descriptions for cemetery roles. She read them out loud to Selectboard. The Selectboard, the Town Clerk, and the sextons discussed how everything can work based on recommendation from the professional auditors.
4. The Selectboard, Town Clerk, and Cemetery Preservation Committee discussed the official purchasing policy.
5. VT Cemetery Meeting was in Peacham today and that was fun. Had a talk and a ghost walk in the cemetery and the PTF put on the lunch.

7. Town Clerk Update
1. Sheriff’s office said that we used to receive more fine money and that the reason for the change was due to changes in our contract with them (a reduction of service). Fees received:
1. 2016-$0
2. 2015- $77.50
3. 2014- $593.50
4. 2013- $823.30
5. 2012 - $1088.50
2. The sheriff’s office said that if Peacham wants them to be more strict with tickets they can do that.
3. Annette said that she does not think the revenue is that important but she thinks that safety is. The Selectboard will ask the Sheriff to be more strict as the public at the last meeting was pretty adamant that ticketing was necessary to reduce speeding.
4. The vault is completely reorganized.

8. Highway Department Update
1. Pulling ditches on Mack Mountain Road - cleaning ditches and culverts and grading. Things are really productive right now.
2. Annette signed the paving grant to return to the State
3. Bids for paving job
1. Jeremy and the Selectboard reviewed 4 bids. They selected Mathews Excavating.
4. Annette is trying to track down a radar speed gun. It would be cheaper for the town to do the speed study ourselves when it comes to changing the speed limit.
5. Jeremy did look into speed bumps to slow traffic and he discussed it with Shauna from VTRANS. Her opinion was to get the sheriff out and fine people and get the reputation as a speed trap.

9. Review and approve bills
1. The Selectboard reviewed and approved bills.

10. Review correspondence
1. The Selectboard reviewed and approved correspondence.

Annette moves to adjourn at 8:35pm. Tim seconds. So moved.