Brookfield Selectboard Meeting of March 28, 2016
Town Clerk’s Office on Ralph Road
Selectboard: John Benson (Chair), Jeff Kimmel, Cory Haggett
Public Attendees: Teresa Godfrey (Recorder), Kevin Joyal (Constable), Sandra Cutler, Herbert Cutler, Michael Stoddard, Julie Benedict (Brookfield Representative for WRVA), Stuart Edson, Lew Stowell, Nancy Jacques, Joy Kacik
- Call to Order:
Mr. Benson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p. m.
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
No adjustments were needed
3. Public Presentation:
Mrs. Cutler, a Ferris Road resident, is concerned with the bus route being eliminated for next year. She is concerned for those who need to drive their children to school and how it might affect the property values. She feels 1/3 of the Town will not be getting bus services.
Mr. Benson stated he understood her concerns. The Selectboard has no oversight to the school board however, he would be willing to send a letter to the school board letting them know some of the residents on Ferris Road had concerns with the changes to the route.
Mrs. Cutler said they haven’t been able to get an answer as to why and the only savings she could see was the loss of one bus driver’s salary. The bus would remain available as a substitute, so the registration, upkeep, and insurance would be maintained.
Mrs. Jacques said she was also here with the same concerns and didn’t see where the budget showed the savings with the change.
After more discussion and Mrs. Cutler mentioning that it affected 7-9 students, Mr. Kimmel suggested trying to identify the other parents involved. Mrs. Cutler said that because of the FERPA law (Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act), the school can disclose the number of students affected but not who.
Mr. Cutler was concerned with how the change will affect East Hill being maintained because it will no longer be on a bus route. Mr. Benson agreed that the bus routes are maintained first.
Mr. Benson said the Selectboard will send a letter of concern to the Brookfield School Board.
4. Old Business:
On motion by Mr. Haggett, seconded by Mr. Kimmel, the Board voted to approve the minutes of March 14, 2016 as amended. Vote 3-0-0
On motion by Mr. Benson, seconded by Mr. Kimmel, the Board voted to execute the agreement with Orange County Sheriff Department for the period of July 1, 2016-June 30, 2017 for the amount of $12,000.00 Vote 3-0-0
The Board discussed the Town website. Mr. Benson stated other towns have a link without content and we could have one tab with “Town Organizations” or something similar. The Vermont League of Cities and Towns didn’t have any input other than the Town having a disclaimer for the links.
5. New Business:
Ms. Benedict, (WRVA rep. for Brookfield), reported that WRVA was going through changes and they don’t have any new data available for reviewing how mutual aid agreements with other EMS departments is working out.
Mr. Benson explained to Ms. Benedict the background on why Brookfield is looking into changing how the Town is covered for EMS.
Ms. Benedict stated that if WRVA does the transportation, the mutual aid ambulance doesn’t get paid. There have not been many calls for Brookfield so there isn’t enough data to determine the best way to go for EMS.
Mr. Benson said Andy Courville, also a WRVA rep and volunteer fireman, would like to begin a “fast squad.”
Mr. Joyal stated the Fire Department is now trained in first aid.
After additional discussion, Ms. Benedict stated that she hopes to help the WRVA Board become more effective. Once the new data is available, she will let the Board know what it shows.
Mr. Stowell, Brookfield Public Safety Advisory Committee, wanted to confirm what the Selectboard was looking for with the committee. He wanted to be sure of the parameters. They have met with the Sheriff and State Police to understand how their departments cover Brookfield.
Mrs. Kacik stated that residents are not reporting to the Sheriff what the needs are. The committee is having a public educational meeting on April 16th at the Brookfield Elementary School to help with some of the questions residents might have. The Game Warden will also be attending the meeting.
The Board discussed with the committee having the speed limits on the Town roads assessed by a traffic consultant as voted on at Town Meeting.
The committee would like one of the Selectboard members to attend the April 16th meeting.
7. Highway Report:
The Board has not filed any applications for highway grants for 2017 yet. Mr. Haggett will check with Ray Peck, Highway Foreman, to see if there are any special projects that we want to apply for. All applications need to be in by April 15th.
Mr. Haggett reported that when Mr. Peck backed the green International out, the engine died. To have someone come down to plug it into a scanner is $300. To have it towed is about $400-500. Mr. Peck suspected it might be corroded plugs. Worst case scenario would be $2,500-3000.
8. Accounts Payable:
On motion by Mr. Hagget, seconded by Mr. Kimmel, the Board voted to pay the warrants in the amount of $10,563.99. This amount included a payment to BC/BS for $3,283.15 and to Capital One for $1,998.31 Vote 3-0-0
9. Adjournment:
On motion by Mr. Haggett, seconded by Mr. Kimmel, the Board voted to adjourn at 9:35 p.m. until the next meeting on April 11, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. Vote 3-0-0
Respectfully submitted,
Teresa Godfrey, Recorder