Present:     Selectboard Members: Paco Aumand, Heidi Scheuermann, Larry Lackey, Richard Marron, Norm Williams; Town Mgr Charles Safford; PW Director Justin Rabidoux; Asst PW Director Cliff Johnson

Others Present:       Barbara Allaire, Mark Sgantas, Mark Walker, Arthur Lloyd, Ted Teffner, Ed French, Reporter Lisa McCormack; Denise Gutstein, Darrow Mansfield, Jonathan Smith, Brent Ely, Amber Couto

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

Mr. Marron made a motion to approve the Agenda with the removal of Item F from Consent, seconded by Mr. Williams. Motion carried.

On a motion by Mr. Wiliams, seconded by Mr. Marron, the Board approved the Consent Items as presented.                                  

A.      Request to Cater - British Invasion - On a motion by Mr. Williams, seconded by Mr. Lackey the Board approve the Liquor Consent item as presented. 

A.      Review/Adopt Policy: At the 2008 Annual Meeting the voters approved the establishment of an Equipment Reserve Fund. The Board reviewed a draft of the Equipment Reserve Fund Policy and minor changes were made. Board members expressed concern of being locked into vehicle replacement cycles and commitment to the document and in particular the size of fleets. 

Mr. Safford stated that the Board was not locked into the policy and said the Replacement Cycle could be amended to Replacement Cycle Guidelines. He said some years vehicles are moved back or forth and that it is not an exact science but there should be an effort to generally adhere to the plan to even out the impact and the transfer of dollars from year to year. Mr. Safford said the plan is approved by the Board annually by approving each expenditure from the Fund.

Mr. Lackey made a motion to approve the Equipment Fund Policy as amended, seconded by Mr. Williams.  Motion carried.

A.      Project Status Update: Mr. Rabidoux updated the Board on the construction of a sidewalk on Route 108 from Weeks Hill Road to the Rusty Nail and noted that this hearing met a requirement by the State for grant funding. He said the project will go out to bid in February with some relocation work of poles being done prior. Sidewalks will be asphalt. 

There was a discussion regarding the sweeping, condition and construction of sidewalks. 

It was the concensus of the Board that the Town sweep the curb area along Route 108.

There was no further discussion.

A.     Proposed Property Lease & Building: Darrow Mansfield described the project to be located on the so called Moscow shop property to the Board.  The property is owned by the Town and proposed to be leased by Stowe Electric. Mr. Mansfield briefly described the interior and exterior details of the proposed building including parking and traffic flow.

There was discussion regarding the project fitting into the area, traffic,landscaping and screening.

Mr. Marron noted that the abutting bus barn utilization was similar and didn’t find Stowe Electric’s use of the area to be of serious concern.  

Mr. Marron made a motion for staff to work with the Stowe Electric to prepare a draft lease agreement for review by the Board at a future meeting. Mr. Williams seconded the motion. Motion carried.

F.       Stowe Electric Accounting Administrator: Mr. Marron made a motion to approve the creation of a Stowe Electric Department Utility Accounting Administrator as requested by the General Manager, seconded by Mr. Williams. Motion carried.

At 6:56 the Board went into executive session on a motion by Mr. Marron, seconded by Mr. Williams with Mr. Safford in attendance.

The Board came out of executive session at 7:30 pm. No action was taken

Mr. Aumand adjourned the meeting at 7:31 pm.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Susan Moeck.

STOWE SELECTBOARD MEETING                             Monday, September 22, 2008

Present:        Selectboard Members: Paco Aumand, Heidi Scheuermann, Larry Lackey, Richard Marron, Norm Williams; Town Mgr Charles Safford;

OTHERS PRESENT:           Steven Riley, Ed Stahl, Evelyn Frey, Barbara Allaire, Don Post, Tim Meehan, Lisa McCormack, Bruce Nourjian, Phil Scott, Chantal Kerivan, Valerie Rochon, Pall Spera, Neil Van Dyke, Carolyn Ruschp, Patti Clark, Chris Francis, Ian Oberlander, Peter Jones, Rose Matulonis, Rachiel Chevalier, Lainie Nichols, Jean Innamorati, Marilyn Mayhall, Steven Mayhall

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

Mr. Marron made a motion to approve the agenda and move Consent Item A to after the Local Option Tax discussion and to add Real Estate to the Executive Session, seconded by Ms. Scheuermann. Motion carried.

Mr. Marron made a motion to approve the Consent Items as presented, seconded by Mr. Williams. Motion carried.

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

A.      Discuss Rt 100 Gold Brook Bridge Replacement Alternatives: The Board reviewed information from VTrans regarding the replacement of the Route 100 Gold Brook Bridge and alternatives for both the construction and traffic management portions of the project. VTrans recommendation is to build a new bridge using rapid bridge technology on the existing alignment in conjunction with an off-site detours onto Moscow Rd to Barrows Rd to Luce Hill Road and River Road. Another option would be conventional construction which would involve a much longer construction period but with no detour anticipated. 

After brief discussion, the Board requested that staff attend the VTrans alternatives presentation meeting, express concern on the potential impact to River Road etc and ask that a VTrans rep attend a future Board meeting to further discuss the project. 

The Board agreed that there was a commitment to work together on the capital program and asses spending programs.

A.      Presentation of Business Plan by Historic Stowe II – Ms. Frey spoke on behalf of Historic Stowe II and the plan they presented to the Board outlining uses for the building. She said that the group was investigating the possibility of getting the building on the historic register.  

During discussion, Board members noted that the plan was a vision of how Stowe Historic II would like to use the building but was missing business plan components of estimated project costs, a timeline for the project and what the return on investment would be among other items. 

Mr. Meehan said it was time for the Board to take leadership on this project.

Mr. Scott and Ms. Innamorati spoke on behalf of the building and saving the structure.

Concluding the discussion, Mr. Aumand said that it was consensus of the Board that they would work on the proper language to go to the voters at Town Meeting. He said that the Board wanted to do due diligence making sure that the entire community was on board regarding the building’s fate. He added that a valid concern was how much overhead the community can absorb when it comes to its buildings and that the Warning may include language that says “with no cost to the taxpayers of Stowe.”

Mr. Aumand said no other action would be taken and concluded the discussion. 

The Board thanked the group for their work on the plan.

A.      Maple Run Lane Property MOU: The Board reviewed information from Stowe Land Trust for the final phase of securing the funds necessary to purchase a piece of property on Maple Run Lane. Ms. Furman explained that the provisions of the Warranty Deed and conservation restrictions were similar to those conveyed to the Town by the VT Land Trust on Sterling Forest. 

Ms. Scheuermann made a motion to accept the Maple Run property as presented in the Warranty Deed with the understanding that the conservation easements will be held in SLT and VHCB and authorize the Town Manager to sign all documents on behalf of the Town; and $1000 from the Conservation Commission budget will be used to assist in covering the closing cost of the project. Mr. Williams seconded the motion. Motion carried.

A.      Discuss Proposed Resource Assessment: On a motion by Ms. Scheuerman, seconded by Mr. Williams the Board approved the balance of money set aside for Field K to be used for a full resource assessment of the Mayo Farm.

A.      Personnel – The Board went into executive session at 8:02 pm on a motion by Mr. Williams, seconded by Ms. Scheuermann. Motion carried.

The Board came out of executive session at 8:20 pm. No action was taken.

There being no further business to conduct, Mr. Aumand adjourned the meeting.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Susan Moeck.