BENNINGTON SELECT BOARD MEETING BENNINGTON FIRE FACILITY 130 RIVER STREET BENNINGTON, VERMONT 05201 MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010 MINUTES BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Lodie Colvin-Chair; Sharyn Brush-Vice-Chair; John Zink; Jason Morrissey; Chris Oldham and Matt Maroney. ALSO PRESENT: Stuart Hurd-Town Manager; James Therrien-Bennington Banner Editor and Nancy Lively-Recording Secretary. At 7:00 P.M., Lodie Colvin called the meeting to order. 1.MINUTES - JANUARY 11, 2010 Sharyn Brush moved and Chris Oldham seconded to approve the Minutes of January 11, 2010 as presented. The motion carried unanimously. 2. WARRANTS The warrants were circulated for signatures after Mr. Hurd answered Board questions on the Internet for two highway department garages, gas grill tank refill, Industrial Control Distributors red ink pens, a flashlight, voided check and property tax sales checks. 3. CITIZENS None. 4. OPEN MEETING LAW DISCUSSION Mr. Therrien stated that concerns were expressed at a Vermont Press Association dinner concerning the use of executive session, and has requested that the voters be allowed to vote on the following "Nonbinding referendum question" either at the annual floor meeting or to place it on the ballot: " Shall the voters of Bennington urge the Select Board and other officials to closely examine their use of the executive sessions and follow the Vermont Open Meeting Law strictly, limiting the use of executive session except when absolutely necessary to protect the town's interests, and to clearly state reasons for the session and take a vote of the board prior to entering a closed session?" Ms. Colvin stated that the Board already does this and that some of the Board members were "insulted" by the inference that they were not following the law. Ms. Colvin doesn't feel that it belongs on the ballot but supports it as a floor meeting discussion. Mr. Therrien noted that this was not intended to suggest that Boards were acting negligently but more to educate the public to the process. Mr. Morrissey added that this, and the article on the front page of the Banner, was "in poor taste" and quoted the article as saying the "misuse and abuse of executive session is widespread" without giving any specific examples of that. Mr. Morrissey also noted that, in the past three years that he has been on the Board, the Select Board has never even come close to not following the Open Meeting Law, and that an in-depth explanation of the Law is part of every Board members orientation. It was the consensus of the Board that this should be an item for discussion at the annual floor meeting. 5. REGIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN John Zink moved and Chris Oldham seconded to accept the Bennington Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan as presented and to authorize the Chair or Town Manager to sign. Mr. Maroney asked if we were bound to the project time frames as indicated in the table, and Mr. Hurd answered no, the table just prioritizes the projects as funds become available. The motion carried unanimously. 6. ANDRE LANE LAND SALE Mr. Hurd explained that the 1.45 acres of mainly wetland that encompasses the Hewitt Brook is excess land and may be made available for sale. The Chief Assessor has placed the value of the land at $5,000. Conditions of the sale would be conservation of the wetlands, that the Town retains access to a monitoring well in the far northwest corner, and access to the brook should flooding or blockages threaten Andre Lane. Mr. Hurd suggested that we offer the land to the adjoining landowners, however, the Board felt that public land should be offered to everyone - even though the adjoining landowners would probably be the only ones interested in it. Jason Morrissey moved and Sharyn Brush seconded to direct the Town Manager to request bids for the Andre Lane land site as presented with a minimum bid of $5,000.00 to be sold to the general public. The motion carried unanimously. 7. CANDELORA PROPERTY - EASEMENT ISSUE Mr. Hurd stated that Dennis and Lani Candelora are requesting that the Town give up any water rights it may have on the tract of land that they own located off South Stream Road in Pownal. They are exploring the possibility of on site water powered electrical generation working with the Federal Government and CVPS. The Town's easement prevents this from being viable. The Candelora's will pay to rewrite the deed maintaining all other rights for the Town, except water rights. There is an access road to Town-owned parcels above this one. Mr. Hurd further explained that the easement is known as the South End Line out of Sucker Pond, we don't maintain it and it is in "deplorable" condition. Also, Sucker Pond is surface water and any water used from it would have to be treated and we would never put a water treatment plant at this location. Sharyn Brush moved and Chris Oldham seconded for the Town to give up the water rights on the Candelora property as presented while maintaining all other rights. The motion carried with John Zink abstaining. 8. SIGN 2010 ANNUAL TOWN MEETING WARNING Mr. Hurd noted that the Vermont Center for Independent Living were requesting more funding that they had last year, and therefore, were required to petition. They did not do so, so they are not on the ballot. Chris Oldham moved and Sharyn Brush seconded to sign the 2010 Annual Town Meeting Warning as presented. The motion carried unanimously. 9. 2010 LIQUOR AND TOBACCO LICENSE APPLICATIONS The 2010 Second Class Liquor License Applications and the 2010 Tobacco License Renewal Applications Approval Sheet was circulated on the following: 2010 Liquor License Renewal Applications - Second Class Renewals 1.AUM 2.Short Stop #117 3.Short Stop #145 2010 Tobacco License Renewal Applications 1.AUM 2.Short Stop #117 3.Short Stop #145 4.Paulin, Inc. 10. MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Hurd reported that the work has been completed on the ancient roads and we have added 1.98 miles of road and 2.244 miles of Class 4 roads (not maintained) and trails this year. The Certificate of Highway Mileage was circulated for signatures. Mr. Hurd shared the first half of this fiscal year's recycling cost/revenue accounting with the Board. The market for recyclables remains somewhat soft and is affecting our income. July 2009 - December 2009 expenses = $21,327.60 with income only at $12,764.95. 11. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Maroney asked, since we're never going to use the water from Sucker Pond, does it make sense to continue to pay taxes to Stamford for that property, and Mr. Hurd answered that several years ago the National Forest wanted to buy it, and the Board at that time, felt that it was a recreational asset to the Town. Mr. Hurd will contact David Mance to assess what the value of the property is. Ms. Brush informed everyone that there was a nice article in the Rutland Herald - and nothing in the Bennington Banner - on the opening of the Crazy Russian Girls Bakery. At 7:58 P.M., John Zink moved and Sharyn Brush seconded the adjournment of the meeting. The motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Nancy H. Lively Secretary