Brookfield, Vermont

BROOKFIELD PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

(unapproved minutes)

WEDNESDAY JULY 24, 2019, 5:30 PM

BROOKFIELD TOWN OFFICE,

40 RALPH ROAD, BROOKFIELD, VT

Mike Stoddard, Stuart Edson, Michael Rutkovsky and Lew Stowell and William Bohnyak, Orange County Sheriff, Guest.

1. Review and Approve Minutes of June 19, 2019.  Approved unanimously.
2. GUEST: Orange County Sheriff William Bohnyak outlined his plans to more fully provide patrol and response coverage according to the Brookfield contract in FY 2020.  He pointed out that they provided 37 hours of patrols in June, have a good start already in July and will continue to provide more hours during the Summer months and use the resources provided in FY 2020.
3. Questions or Issues Brought by Members of the Public.The email from Gene & Evangeline Parent about speeding was read and discussed along with the fact that Lt Clouatre, OCSD has contacted the Parents and efforts to reduce speeding on Northfield Road are underway.
4. Continuing Review of OCSD Activities, Reports and Bills. The OCSD completed 64.78% of the $12,000 FY 2019 contract.
5. Review of Radar Speed Cart Deployments in 2019. LT Clouatre is following the 2019 Speed Cart Plan and has had three deployments already: Brookfield Elementary School, Pond Village and Route 65 near the Post Office.  A common thread among all three is excessive speed.  Patrols are alert to this trend.  L Stowell to send speeding locations to The VSP in Royalton.
6.  Continuing Review of Parking & Law Enforcement on Brookfield Roads. It was noted that The Select Board has selected a surveyor to determine the town ROW on Stone Road.
7. Public Safety Developments: There is a new alerting platform being rolled out in Orange County in the Fall.  L. Stowell will obtain more information.
8. Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)Progress.  It was voted to designate an EAB Subcommittee consisting of both Public Safety Committee Members and non-members to plan and implement strategies to mitigate the effects of  the spread of the EAB in conjunction with town officials such as the Town Forester and Road Foreman/Tree Warden.  The Sub Committee will keep the Public Safety Committee informed of progress.
9. E-911 Sign and Traffic Sign Status. There are 7 individuals wishing to order signs now.  Order forms will be sent out in the tax bills to encourage further orders.  Brookfield property owners wishing to order for non-Brookfield property owners will be provided another choice.  L Stowell will send the E911 Sign Order Form to T Godfrey and W Bohnyak. L Stowell to contact Vermont Correctional Industries (VCI) about the shipping costs bill.
10. Public Safety Advisory Committee Website Use.  Interest in Statistics was continued.
11. August Public Safety Message. L Stowell to submit to S Edson for the website and to Front Porch Forum for publication.  Committee group email to be displayed for comments.
12. Setting the Next Meeting. August 21, 2019
13. Inviting Guests to the Next Meeting. L Stowell to invite LT Barbara Kessler, VSP
14. Adjournment.  7:02 PM

BROOKFIELD PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
WEDNESDAY JUNE 19, 2019, 5:30 PM
BROOKFIELD TOWN OFFICE,
40 RALPH ROAD, BROOKFIELD, VT

UNAPPROVED MINUTES

The following members attended: Dan Mason, Mike Stoddard, Stuart Edson, Michael Rutkovsky and Lew Stowell with Kate Forrer, Town Forester and Russ Barrett, Northfield Tree Warden, Guest

1. Review and Approve Minutes of May 22, 2019. Approved unanimously.

2. Questions or Issues Brought by Members of the Public. No members of the public attended.

3. GUEST: Russ Barrett-Developing and implementing the Draft Emerald Ash Borer Threat Plan. Russ explained how Northfield got into removing trees from the Town ROW. The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) had not been discovered four years ago when Northfield began clearing the Town ROWs. It was led by the Town Highway Foreman, Trent Tucker as a means of making the rural roads more passable in bad weather and easier to maintain. The removal of trees in the Town ROW was just the first step. Once the trees had been removed, the stumps and debris were also removed, ditches installed or improved and the shoulders of the road final graded. Almost all of the property owners agreed to have all of their trees harvested by Limlaw Chipping & Land Clearing Inc. Limlaw provided the service free of charge in exchange for the chips which they sell to wood fired heating plants. Limlaw removed the trees during periods when they could not get into the woods because of wet or unfrozen ground. Many land owners were eager to see their roads improved. All species of trees were removed, not just Ash trees. The Select Board held several open meetings to obtain agreement and Mr. Tucker and Russ visited each land owner, some more than once. The priority of improving the ROW was based upon the road condition, worst first. The committee thanked Russ for his presentation.

4. Select Board Meeting of June 10, 2019. L Stowell related the results of his presentation of the status report to the Select Board.

5. Continuing Review of OCSD Activities, Reports and Bills. The OCSD bill and report had not been received for May so there were no updates.

6. Continuing Review of Parking and Law Enforcement on Brookfield Roads. The sketch of the parking area was discussed and it was noted that J Benson has volunteered to plan the layout of an improved parking area this Summer.

7. Review of Radar Speed Cart Deployments in 2019. The Speed Cart has been deployed in Brookfield this Spring but no data from those deployments has been provided yet by OCSD.

8. E-911 Sign and Traffic Sign Status. A few E911 signs have not been picked up yet. A number of people have expressed interest in E911 signs in the next bulk purchase of signs.

9. Public Safety Advisory Committee Website Use. S. Edson to check on progress.

10. July Public Safety Message. Several ideas were suggested and L. Stowell will form them into a safety message with assistance from OCSD.

11. Setting the Next Meeting. July 24, 2019

12. Inviting Guests to the Next Meeting. Sheriff William Bohnyak will be invited.

13. Adjournment. At 6:49 PM.

BROOKFIELD PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
WEDNESDAY MAY 22, 2019, 5:30 PM
BROOKFIELD TOWN OFFICE,
40 RALPH ROAD, BROOKFIELD, VT
UNAPPROVED MINUTES

The following members attended: Mike Stoddard, Stuart Edson, Michael Rutkovsky and Lew Stowell with Kate Forrer, Town Forester.

1. Review and Approve Minutes of April 24, 2019. Approved

2. Questions or Issues Brought by Members of the Public. None Attended.

3. Continuing Review of OCSD Activities, Reports and Bills. As of April 30, OCSD has 138 patrol hours (53%) remaining in the contract. L Stowell spoke with LT Clouatre on 5/20/19 whether there was a new policy about charging for meeting attendance. LT Clouatre is to check with Sherriff Bohnyak and get back to L Stowell. L Stowell to attend the next Select Board meeting to request that any unspent OCSD contract monies be used to purchase additional traffic signs and discuss other issues.

4. Continuing Review of Parking and Speed Enforcement on Brookfield Roads.
There were two written traffic citations and two written Warnings issued in April 2019. R Peck completed a reconnaissance of the Town Office parking lot. It can be nearly doubled in size. More planning to include possible parking lot layouts is needed.

5. Review of Radar Speed Cart Deployments in 2019. LT Clouatre stated on 5/20/19 that the Speed Cart data from 2018 had been lost in downloading. He said that the schedule is achievable. He will deploy the cart as soon as he gets a trailer hitch on his cruiser. He will be in charge of the cart this year. There will be no charge for moving the speed cart.

6. Developing and implementing the Draft Emerald Ash Borer Threat Plan. L Stowell reported that R Peck, Town Tree Warden is willing to assist with Ash tree removal efforts but would prefer to not be involved in meetings and decision-making efforts. K Forrer recommended having Russ Barrett be a guest at the next committee meeting. Russ, a retired County Forrester, has been in charge of Northfield’s ROW tree removal. It was decided to complete inventories of roads with likely high numbers of Ash trees in June. S Shaffer and P Mercier will be asked to assist. Other committee members may also assist.

7. E-911 Sign Status. Only a few signs remain to be picked up. M Rutkovsky to call to remind the property owners who ordered signs to pick them up. L Stowell to contact R Peck and K Wheatley about putting the signs on the Town Garage and the Town Fire Station respectively.

8. Traffic Sign Status. R Peck will inventory and install the remaining traffic signs as soon as the East Hill Project is completed.

9. Public Safety Advisory Committee Website Use. S Edson reported that Google Analytics will be installed on the Town Website soon to improve the data about usage of the site.

10. June Public Safety Message. Reviewed and approved as revised.

11. Setting the Next Meeting. June 19, 2019.

12. Inviting Guests to the Next Meeting. Russ Barrett, Washington County Forester, Retired.

13. Adjournment. At 7:00 PM

BROOKFIELD PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

WEDNESDAY APRIL 24, 2019, 5:30 PM

BROOKFIELD TOWN OFFICE,

40 RALPH ROAD, BROOKFIELD, VT

UNAPPROVED MINUTES

The following members attended: Dan Mason, Stuart Edson, Michael Rutkovsky and Lew Stowell.

1. Review and Approve Minutes of March 20, 2019. Approved
2. Questions or Issues Brought by Members of the Public. Dan Mason as a member of the public represented himself and his neighbors on the East end of Taylor Hill Road. He stated that the road was unpassable despite efforts by the town road crew.  Fire trucks and ambulances would not be able to get to the houses on that end of the road because of the lack of needed ditches and culverts.  This is a safety hazard.  There is concern that their taxes have not gone down but the road condition has deteriorated.  There are several families living in that area with multiple children.  The committee will pass this on to the Select Board but recommended that Dan and /or his neighbors attend the next Select Board meeting.
3. Continuing Review of OCSD Activities, Reports and Bills. There was a discussion of billing and the fact that only 38.91 % of the patrol hours have been conducted for the FY 2019 year so far.  L Stowell will discuss this and other matters with LT Scott Clouatre, OCSD.  There have been a number of traffic citations issued on Ridge Road in recent months.
4. Continuing Review of Parking and Speed Enforcement on Brookfield Roads.  A draft list of roads in Brookfield to receive special interest for traffic enforcement was revised and approved.  This list will be sent to LT Clouatre, OCSD.
5. Review of radar speed cart locations and schedule in 2019. The Speed Cart Plan was reviewed and approved. It will be sent to LT Clouatre, OCSD.
6. E-911 Sign Order Results. L Stowell to place a notice on Front Porch Forum that the signs in the second order are in.  Persons ordering should stop by the Town Office to pick them up.
7. Public Safety Advisory Committee Website Use. S. Edson provided a report on the activity for the last 12 months on the Public Safety Advisory Committee page on the town web site. Among other data there were 1571 page views.  S Edson to find out if more data can be obtained and if Google Analytics would be helpful.
8. Developing and implementing the Draft Emerald Ash Borer Threat Plan. There was a discussion about organization and having a meeting with possible vendors to get input.
9. May Public Safety Message. The draft message was reviewed, revised and approved.
10. Setting the Next Meeting. May 22, 2019
11. Inviting Guests to the Next Meeting. Dan Mason will invite a Motor Vehicle Inspector and advise L Stowell.
12. The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 PM.