MINUTES OF THE DUXBURY SELECTBOARD January 9, 2005 The meeting was called to order at 5:56 p.m. Members present: Paul Brusa, Fred Collins, Todd Liberty, Jill Smith Others present: David MacWalters, David Quenneville, David Specht, David Rapaport, Alan Quackenbush, Audrey Quackenbush, Katherine Gjessing CLA Tax Rate (Common Level of Appraisal): Tom Vickery reported that Duxbury’s CLA rate is currently at 68.59%. He said the numbers seem right to him, but the town can petition and go through the process if it chooses. Public Hearing on Zoning Amendments with Planning Commission: Katherine Gjessing reported on the December 14 Planning Commission meeting which focused on bringing Duxbury zoning into compliance with state changes by the legislature last year. They corrected some numbers and changed quite a few definitions. A new statute said that if you didn’t participate in a review before the Development Review Board, you can’t appeal. Ms. Gjessing presented the board with an overview of the meeting. There will be a public hearing on these changes, the commission will write the article and give it to Ken to include in the town report, and it will be voted on by Australian ballot by the voters in March. Minutes from December meeting: Jill Smith made the motion to accept the minutes of the December 12 meeting with one change, which is to state that Nils Shenholm “was appointed” rather than “is going” to be the town coordinator for Green-up Day. Todd Liberty seconded the motion. There were three votes in favor of the motion with one abstention. Road Report: The current winter schedule plan is working, and the crew probably won’t go back to “real time” until summer. David Rapaport on Harwood Budget: David Rapaport reported that the Harwood Board is currently involved in working on the budget. He said that without adding anything new, there would be close to a 15% increase. The finance committee went through the budget looking for places to cut and after that presented a budget to the full board that represents a 9.3% increase. A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, January 11, and the following Wednesday, January 18, the board will make its final decision about the budget that will be presented to the voters for a vote at town meeting in March. Townspeople to address the Board: David Specht raised concerns about zoning and a Development Review Board application for a subdivision on Morse Road. He is concerned about runoff onto his property and apparently the DRB said they had no responsibility to deal with runoffs because they don’t deal with roads. Mr. Specht said he looked carefully at zoning regulations again and found a section on “protection of adjacent property.” Paul took note of that citing. In the meantime Mr. Specht was able to reach an agreement with the adjacent property owner which he is 99% sure will protect his property if the work is done as they discussed it would be. However, he thinks it is still an issue for the town to consider. Jill mentioned that it is any citizen’s option to go to the environmental board as well. Daniel MacWalters asked for a “dead end” sign for his road which Paul seemed to think was something that could be done. Budget Discussion: The board members went over the proposed budget worksheet line by line preparing for their meeting with the budget committee. Jill Smith made a motion that we have added line items 123A and 125A to the budget worksheet. Fred Collins seconded the motion, and all were in favor. Jill Smith made a motion to move $427 from line item 123 into line item 123A. Fred Collins seconded the motion, and all were in favor. New Business: The organizers of the 100 on 100 Heart of Vermont Relay have requested permission to go through Duxbury from approximately 8:30 until noon on August 19, 2006. Fred Collins made the motion that we allow them permission. Todd Liberty seconded the motion, and all were in favor. The Central Vermont Community Land Trust will be invited to talk to the board at its February meeting regarding their recent request which isn’t quite clear to the board at this time. Old Business: Paper work for Jason Dalley’s project is all in place, but Paul hasn’t seen a copy of it yet. The meeting was recessed at 9:40 p.m. until Monday, January 16, when the selectboard will meet with the budget committee. The selectboard came out of recess at 6:00 p.m. on January 16 to meet with the budget committee. This committee reviewed the proposed budget and offered a few suggestions to clarify some of the numbers. Fred Collins made a motion to add VLCT’s proposed article relating to education spending to the warning for town meeting. Jill Smith seconded the motion, and all were in favor. Paul Brusa moved to add an article to change the Tax Collector to a salaried position in lieu of fees. Todd Liberty seconded the motion, and all were in favor. There was a discussion on overtime for the town employees, and it was mentioned that the freeze on overtime was on for the rest of the last fiscal year. The meeting was adjourned at 9:19 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Pam Dever