Franklin Selectboard Meeting

December 2, 2020 @ 7:00 p.m.
Zoom virtual meeting

 

 

 

Call to order

At 7:06 p.m. Dave Bennion called the meeting to order. The Pledge of Allegiance was said. 

 

Present: Peter Magnant (at 7:45), Dave Bennion, Yvon Dandurand, Brooks Sturtevant, Andy Godin, Lisa Larivee, Town Clerk.

 

Guests: Jeremy Barnum, Highway foreman; Bryce Bachelder, Shelby Barbour, Ethan Dezotelle.

 

Agenda amendments:  none

 

Public comment period: Shelby Barbour attended regarding the ACO concerns.  She is holding a dog that was picked up on Browns Corners Rd and the owner has not been found.  She has taken her to the vets as she is ill.  Has worked with three cases of cats and dogs in Franklin that were left abandoned.  She is proactive with helping animals for their safety and of residents.  She is available to assist when needed if Dennis needs help. 

          Ethan Dezotelle, Homestead Board, attended to inform the selectboard of the petition being circulated for the Homestead to get an assessment of $5,000 from the town to operate.  With necessary increases in pay to keep stilled staff and the large increase in insurance premiums, they have become financially burdened to operate. 

 

Approval of minutes: Yvon D/Andy G made a motion to approve the minutes of November 18th regular meeting as written.  All members voted in favor 4-0; motion passed.

 

Highway Dept: 

·                   School tractor:  reviewed the bill of sale from the MVSD to the town for the Kabota tractor and attachments for $1.00.  Yvon D/Andy G made a motion to accept the bill of sale from MVSD for the tractor and attachments to the Town of Franklin for $1.00.   All members voted in favor 4-0; motion passed.

 

New Business: 

·       Tree warden:  discussion of the new legislation H.673 that was passed.  Lisa will speak with NRPC for guidance and what other towns input has been.  

 

Review bills for approval of warrants: three members will come into the office to review and sign warrants.  Yvon advised the generator at school is still using antifreeze; Dana will service and advise of status. 

 

Town Clerk Concerns:

·                   Copier purchase:  Lisa discussed the pricing of a new copier from Symquest.  The current is about 10 years old and should be replaced, repairs will become difficult due to the age and the maintenance cost increases.  Prices on a comparable model with new updated technology/security features are $3,652 for BW and $3,627 for color.  Monthly maintenance contract is $25-BW and $35-color.  There are enhanced features that will make the new digitized land records process more streamlined.  We currently have approx. $48,000 in the reserve funds for digitization and vault restoration; therefore, would like to purchase with these funds, rather then add to budget.  Brooks S/Yvon D made a motion to purchase a color copier from Symquest for $3627 with a monthly service contract of $35.70 with reserve funds.  All members voted in favor, 5-0; motion passed.

Peter joined the meeting at 7:45

·                   Cemetery policy:  The commissioners have not responded to the request for input and to join a meeting.  Board would like to know if they are still willing to continue to serve.  Tabled until next meeting when the Cemetery Commission are present.

 

Old Business: 

·                   St. Albans Central Dispatch: Reviewed with Mike Lawyer, he is good with it. The contract is for two years at $17,004 with no increase from last year.  Brooks S/Andy G made a motion to enter into a two-year contract with St. Albans Central Dispatch for $17,004 per year.  All members voted in favor, 5-0; motion passed.

·                   Town meeting time-line:  reviewed the time-line for holding town meeting by an Australian ballot vote.  Will hold the annual public budget meeting on Jan, 21st and approve the warning.  Petitions for assessments & articles to be voted on are due by January 14th.  Candidate consent forms to be added to the ballot due by January 25th.

·                   Weed harvester update:  We are still waiting for the new engine to arrive.  Yvon wants to be sure of the parts needed for the conversion before he orders them from Aquamarine.  Town will pay $1,000 toward the labor to install the new engine by the highway crew.  Plan to replace in early spring when it can be removed from storage and get into the water to test.  Yvon working on a quote to build a new trailer to transport the machine.  Andy spoke with Britch’s about beefing up the old trailer, approx. $5,000.  Jeremy-Jamie Vaillancourt may also be a good person to fabricate a new trailer. 

 

Budget Review:

·                   Lisa will contact the Recreation Dept and the Library for presentation of their budgets for the 16th meeting.

·                   General- reviewed the budget lines; building maintenance-flag pole $1500 for park, paint inside of town hall $7850, possible generator repair.   The generator circulator pulp on the antifreeze system is not working and needs a temperature gauge.  It does an auto start every Friday morning and is running well otherwise.  Yvon will speak with Shaun Coleman regarding grants for emergency shelter generators.  Dave advised the front town hall door needs to have the hardware replaced; approx. $900; maybe this should be done this year, Lisa will check on available funds. 

·                   Highway- Jeremy advised would like to see individual budget lines for each piece of equipment to track expenses.  The grader needs much work, estimate is $10K to repair as soon as possible, should not wait on.  The machine only has a trade in value of about $15K.  Yvon-how many hours a year are put on the machine? Approx. 300 hrs but would also like to get snow removal equipment on a new machine as a back-up in winter.  The current grader is a 1982 with approx 12,000 hours.

 

Member Concerns:  

Dave- spoke with Clark Hubbard last week, he is doing much better and may return to work in January. 

Yvon- wants to add regarding the town hall paint quote, they use paint brushes, no roller, and will get a much better finish and also the staging setup so the price seems high but price on quality work.

Peter- reminder of the ZBA/SB meeting with Attorney on Dec 4th at 10 am via zoom. 

 

Adjournment

Brooks S/Yvon D made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  All members voted in favor; motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 9:06 p.m.

 

Next meeting will be December 16 @ 7:00 pm via Zoom

 

Respectfully submitted,

Lisa Larivee, Town Clerk

December 3, 2020

 

These minutes are not official until approved at the next regular Selectboard meeting.

These minutes were approved at the December 16, 2020 Selectboard meeting.