Danville Vermont             

~DRAFT~

                                Town of Danville

Selectboard Minutes

            May 7th, 2009

The Selectboard met at the Danville Town Hall on Thursday May 7th, 2009. Marvin Withers called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. Selectboard present were Denise Briggs, Marvin Withers, Michael K Walsh and Doug Pastula. Also present were, Kevin Gadapee and Merton Leonard and visitors Larry Donna, Barry Cahoon, Gary and Barbara Fontaine, and reporter Sally Cook.

             Michael K Walsh moved to accept the minutes of the April 16th meeting as written, Denise Briggs seconded the motion which was approved.

             Larry Donna of VTrans Rail Division was present to clear up the questions surrounding the sudden cancelation of the lease that the Town has held for a number of years on a piece of state land next to the railroad tracks on Pumpkin Hill. This land has some gravel on it and the Town has the gravel rights as well. While the Town knew that a small piece of the leased land was going to be sold to Arron Palmieri , the State's explanation of canceling the lease was to allow this piece to be sold. Mr Donna assured the board there would be no question that the lease would be rewritten for the town after the property is surveyed. He did say that they would like to consolidate the rail crossing held by Barry Cahoon with the one the town held as they were fairly close together. Neither party had any problem with that. Mr Donna assured the Board as soon as the land was surveyed the State would write a new lease for the Town with surveyed boundaries. The Board requested a letter to that effect.

             Gary and Barb Fontaine were present to request they be allowed to connect to the Town sewer line on Hill St. Their house is a few feet past the end of the sewer line, but believe several of their neighbors have been allowed to connect on to it. The Board had no objection to their connection, and requested Merton to investigate what would be required to make the connection. While not at the meeting, Jeremy McMullen had requested to have a caution sign installed for children playing in the area. The Board had no objection and would have Kevin install it provided Mr McMullen purchase it.

             Kevin reported that the roads are drying out and they have been grading daily and many are getting towards summer form. Where needed the culverts and ditches have been cleaned out, culverts have been replaced where they have failed. For Green up the crew put out the picnic tables, swept pavement around town, and placed the cement curbs around the Green, as well as cleaned up the wood dump. The FEMA work on the Morrill Road is almost complete, they will be starting on the Woodward Road FEMA project as soon as the culverts arrive. The engineering drawings on the Whitman Road FEMA project have been sent to the State for their approval. When approval is received a formal project meeting will be held and that project will be put out for bid. The Harvey's Hollow Bridge project is moving along. Due to the amount of blacktop on the bridge, 75 feet of highway pavement will have to be planed on both sides of the bridge to matchup with the new deck level.  

             Merton reported that the Route 2 landowner meeting was well attended by both residents and State Officials. The State supplied a full set of colored drawings that really defined the details of the project.   When construction nears, the Town will have to formally close and abandon Brainerd Street where it crosses the green. Walden Hill Road will have the entry to Route 2 squared up to give a better sight line to the West. The Kitchel's requested the present entry onto the road be returned to them so they can reclaim it into their lawn. Merton expressed concern that the culvert under Mountain View Avenue will not be large enough to handle all the water when the State enlarges the culvert feeding into the Mountain View culvert to four feet. The next step in the process will be land purchase and right of way offers to be sent out from the State to the landowners. The State will then begin acquiring the land and ROW they need for the project.

             Merton also reported that the Town received the full amount of the April payment from the State Municipal Highway Aid, but the grant request was turned down for additional project work. The new Cemetery Caretaker is on the job cleaning and repairing the town cemeteries making ready for Memorial Day. Green Up / Bulky Day seemed to be successful, judging by the amount of trash and rubbish collected. It appears that this is working to help reduce the road side dumping. There seems to be a continuing security problem at the North Danville School, with people leaving the building unlocked. After a short discussion, the Board confirmed it continues to support its letter of Aug 2, 2007, sent at that time to all authorized key holders requesting that the building be locked at all times when not in authorized use. It is also up to the North Danville School Association to carry this out.

             The Board reviewed the expenditures, and approved the orders for payment.

             The Board signed the Fire Department Mutual Aid agreement with Walden, putting a long standing unwritten procedure in writing as required by Vermont Emergency Management.  The Board reviewed the three bids for the Town Hall Porch repair, which turned out to be higher than expected, so no decision was made.

             With no other business, the Board adjourned the meeting at 8:07 PM.           

Respectfully Submitted,

Merton Leonard

Clerk of the Selectboard

Send mail to Mert.Leonard@DanvilleVt.com with questions or comments about this web site.