Monday, March 10, 2008                                     5 pm

Chair Marron called the meeting to order at 5:05 pm and Selectboard Orders were signed.

Election of Officers – Chair, Vice Chair – Mr. Williams made a motion to appoint Paco Aumand as Chair and Heidi Scheuermann, vice chair, seconded by Mr. Marron. Motion carried.

Appointment of Selectboard Clerk – Ms. Scheuermann made a motion to appoint Susan Moeck as Selectboard Clerk, seconded by Mr. Williams.   Motion carried.

Designate Regular Meeting Schedule - Ms. Scheuermann made a motion to designate the 2^nd and 4^th Monday at 5:30 pm as the regular meeting schedule, seconded by Mr. Williams.   Motion carried.

Designate Official Newspaper: Ms. Scheuermann made a motion to designate the Stowe Reporter as the Town’s official newspaper, seconded by Mr. Williams.   Motion carried.

Town Manager Charles Stafford indicated that Mr. Lackey requested to add an item to Other Business regarding Broadband. Mr. Marron made a motion to approve the agenda as amended, seconded by Ms. Scheuermann. Motion carried.

Ms. Scheuermann made a motion to approve the Burt Spring Lot tree tapping special use permit and Main St. Light purchase as presented, seconded by Mr. Williams. Motion carried.

A.      Continue Review of Proposed Zoning Regulations Changes:  The Board began deliberation on the proposed zoning regulations and discussed several changes to what was proposed by the Planning Commission in regard to zoning district boundaries and  in Sections 1-3. The Board will continue review at their next meeting on March 24 at 5:30 pm beginning with Section 4.

A.      Review Moscow National Register Nomination: In 2006, the Town received a CLG grant in the amount of $5412 to hire a historic preservation consultant to prepare a nomination for listing the Moscow village in the National Register of Historic Places. The Historic Preservation Commission oversaw the project and submitted the nomination to the VT Div for Historic Preservation. Moscow village is already listed as a State Historic District.   Mr. Jackman explained that the VT Historic Preservation Office received three letters from property owners (there are 25 properties listed in the nomination) objecting to the nomination. He said according to the Historic Preservation Act if a majority of property owners were not in favor the nomination could not go through.   Mr. Jackman said the approval was not required by the Selectboard but the SHPC wanted to give those with objections a chance to voice their concerns and deferred the decision to the Board whether to proceed with the nomination.

Mr. Aumand asked those with objections to speak. Mr. Leveille, Ms. Adams and Ms. Convery were not in favor of the nomination. Mr. Leveille expressed concern that he felt the property owners were not involved from the beginning of the process and that those with objections should be able to opt out of the program. 

Mr. Marron made a motion to support the recommendation by the SHP for the approval and submission of the Moscow Village National Register Nomination. Mr. Williams seconded the motion.

There was further discussion between the Board members and those in attendance. Others spoke in favor of the nomination. 

The motion was approved with Mr. Aumand, Mr. Williams, Mr. Lackey, Mr. Marron in favor and Ms. Scheuermann opposed.

A.      Meet with D. Jaqua re VT Coalition of Municipalities: Mr. Jaqua updated the Board on his role with the Coalition and their position on education finance and property tax reform. He asked the Board to consider endorsing the VLCT Education Finance & Property Tax Report Resolution. 

The Board discussed the Resolution. Mr. Marron made a motion to adopt the Resolution, seconded by Mr. Williams. 

Mr. Lackey asked the Board to consider a friendly amendment by changing the language in the second Whereas to: “Each year more State control of the education system is either enacted into law or discussed in an attempt to control costs,…”

The motion passed as amended. 

A.      Personnel -  At 7:35 pm, the Board went into executive session on a motion by Ms. Scheuermann, seconded by Mr. Williams with Richard Hennessey, David Jaqua and Charles Safford in attendance. Also in attendance separately were Kurt Hanson, Chip Percy and Willie Noyes.

The Board came out of executive session at 8:46 pm. On a motion by Mr. Marron, seconded by Ms. Scheuermann the Board appointed Richard Hennessey to the Conservation Commission. 

On a motion by Mr. Marron, seconded by Ms. Scheuermann the Board appointed Chip Percy as Stowe’ representative to the Lamoille Regional Solid Waste District. 

Broadband Grant Application – Mr. Lackey made a motion to sign and send a letter of support for Powershift’s grant application. Motion seconded by Ms. Scheuermann and carried.

There being no further business to conduct, Mr. Aumand adjourned the meeting at 8:46 pm. 

Minutes respectfully submitted by Susan Moeck

Present: Selectboard Members:    Richard Marron (by phone), Paco Aumand, Heidi Scheuermann, Larry Lackey (arrived at approx. 5:20), Norm Williams;

Others Present: Barbara Pfitzenmayer, Chuck Baraw, Lynn Altadonna, Larry Jones, Sam Scofield, Paul Reed, Stowe Reporter Jesse Roman, Ted Teffner, Arthur Lloyd, Denise Gutstein, Fred Duplessis, Skeeter Austin, Joyce Lawrence, Barbara Allaire

Chair Aumand called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm and Selectboard Orders were signed.

Mr. Aumand asked that a discussion regarding Selectboard Goals be added to Other Business.

Ms. Scheuermann made a motion to approve the Agenda as amended, seconded by Mr. Williams. Motion carried.

Ms. Scheuermann made a motion to approve the Consent Items, seconded by Mr. Williams. Motion carried.

Ms. Scheuermann made a motion to approve the Liquor Consent items as presented, seconded by Mr. Williams. Motion carried.

Mr. Marron joined the meeting by phone at this time.

A.      Continue Review of Proposed Changes: The Board continued review of the regulations of Section 4 and the discussion included setbacks from watercourses, dimensional requirements and density standards.

Mr. Lackey noted that the proposed increase in density of lodging units in Highway Tourist and Upper Mountain Road was contrary to the Town Plan in curtailing strip development and encouraging growth in designated growth areas. 

Mr. Marron stated that most of the area of the HT district as it exists now is already developed and now have public water and sewer available with other amenities such as sidewalks, etc with night clubs, an office building, and lodging facilities. He added that in the last few years the town has lost a lot of lodging properties in the upper mountain road and said there won’t be any highway tourist business left if the town doesn’t get more realistic and there is better utilization of land. 

Mr. Altadonna stated that based on the testimony received regarding lodging units vs. condominium development, the PC attempted to create a position that the bylaws were neutral rather than favor one type of development over the other and rather let the market sell the units. 

Mr. Lackey proposed that the density standards be left as they are currently.

Mr. Jackman pointed out that the PC reviewed the definitions in each district and all three zones were adjusted so that they fit with the outline in Section 5.

Although the Board will hold a public hearing to take public comment and ultimately adopt the proposed changes, the Board determined that consensus on this particular amendment was necessary.

Mr. Marron made a motion to accept the density standards as proposed in Table 6.3 by the Planning Commission, seconded by Ms. Scheuermann. The motion passed with Mr. Marron, Mr. Aumand and Ms. Scheuermann voting in favor. Mr. Lackey and Mr. Williams opposed.

The Board will continue review at Section 7 on Monday, April 14.

A.      Review of FY 07 Audit: Fred Duplessis of Sullivan & Powers reviewed the Feb. 4, 2008 letter and the audit process followed. He summarized the deficiencies found and recommendations for correcting them. He noted that some of the recommendations have already been implemented.   A response letter from the Finance Manager was included for the Board’s review. 

The Board thanked staff, the auditors and the Electric Department for their involvement and cooperation during the audit process.  

Goals/Projects – Mr. Aumand prepared an outline identifying goals/projects based on a 2007 discussion. He asked that the Board put the discussion on an upcoming agenda to identify priorities for the next three years. 

Mr. Williams asked for input from staff for that meeting on the projects outlined. 

Mr. Lackey said it was especially important to hear from the Town Manager on how the projects needed to be prioritized, etc.

Mr. Aumand said the Board members should review the list and be prepared to add to the list; discuss the projects so that the Town Manager can add his input and then prioritize those projects for the coming years.

The Board went into executive session at 7:14 on a motion by Ms. Scheuermann, seconded by Mr. Williams with Ted Teffner, Arthur Lloyd, Denise Gutstein and TM Charles Safford in attendance.

At 8:25 Mr. Marron left the meeting and the Board came out of executive session. 

On a motion by Mr. Williams, seconded by Mr. Lackey, the Board appointed Nickie Benoze, Ken Biedermann, Ed Stahl, Evelyn Frey, Valerie Rochon, Michael Hauser, Sal Vespa, Scott Noble, Michael Diender, Susan Spera and Heidi Scheuermann to the Village Center Committee. 

On a motion by Ms. Scheuermann, seconded by Mr. Williams the Board approved up to 80 hours of earned time off between 3/24/08 and 8/2/08 to Susanne Gann with any time taken to be deducted from her earned time off scheduled to accrue in August. 

There being no further business to conduct, Mr. Aumand adjourned the meeting at 8:26 pm.