Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of February 11, 2019
South Hero Town Hall, Monday 7:00 PM
Board Members Present: Jonathan Shaw, Skip Brown (also Board Secretary), David Carter, Sharon Roy, Anne Zolotas
Board Members Not Present: none
Others Present: Janet Yates, Town Clerk and Martha Taylor-Varney, Admin. Assistant and ZA. Also see sign in sheet.
1. Called to Order:
-The meeting was called to order by Chairman Shaw at 7:05 pm.
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-add Selectboard stipend to Other Business
3. Minutes:
-David Carter made a motion to accept the minutes of the meeting of January 28, 2019 as written. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. Jeff Sikora of Apple Island Real Estate was present to discuss the DRB preliminary site plan/conditional use hearing for the proposed SeaComm Federal Credit Union (SeaComm) at the Lavin property on Route 2. This hearing was held on January 9, 2019. When this meeting was recessed, another meeting was scheduled for January 28. Apparently, the representatives from SeaComm felt that there were negative opinions of the project at the meeting and they felt that it may have ultimately been rejected by the DRB. Before the 2nd meeting, they have rescinded their application for the project. Mr. Sikora was not at the meeting, but heard that some DRB members may have questioned the appearance of the building and that made SeaComm uncomfortable. He feels that it may not be in the DRB jurisdiction to comment about the physical appearance of buildings, as Town regulations do not directly address appearance. DRB members Doug Patterson and Tim Maxham feel that the DRB may suggest some physical appearance changes, but the applicant is not bound by them. David Carter made a motion to write a letter to the SeaComm principles to invite to the Selectboard or to the DRB to discuss this further. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
5. New Business:
A. The Model Town Financial Policy suggestions by VLCT were handed out and will be reviewed at the next meeting.
B. There were no liquor license applications
C. There was a continuation of a discussion about mailboxes/posts that are damaged by snow and/or plows. Note that the weight of the snow, not the plow itself, can cause damage to a mailbox/post. Currently there is no specific policy for the Town to repair mailboxes or their posts. Note, that most mailboxes are in the Town ROW and that the USPS has specific guidelines for mailboxes and the construction of posts. Many posts may not meet the USPS specifications. Right now, if a post is actually hit by a plow or truck, then the road crew will attempt to help repair it. If heavy snow coming off of the plow causes problems, then maybe the strength of the post was not sufficient. More discussion will be had in the future.
6. Administrative Assistant Report:
A. A written report was submitted. A hard copy with discussion points can be seen in Town Hall filed with these minutes or on www.southherovt.org.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. The draft of a Whites Beach ordinance was reviewed and some edits were suggested. A final draft will be discussed at a future meeting and will then be posted for a public hearing.
8. Announcements and Communications:
– See other business
9. Other Business:
A. David Carter made a motion to sign orders 19-16 and to pay the bills associated with the orders. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. There is $5300.00 budgeted for Selectboard pay. The consensus of the Board is to divide it with $1300.00 going to the Chairman and $1000.00 to other Board members.
10. Adjournment:
-David Carter made a motion to adjourn 8:30 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown Jonathan Shaw, Chair