Meeting Minutes of the Select Board
| Location: | Town offices | Date: January 28, 2021 | ||
| Opened: | 7:30 pm | Continued: 9:00 pm | ||
Select Board Members: Jay Jacobs, Kathy Scott, Andrea Hodson ______
Attendees: Cathy Lovas, Barbara Watkins, Anne Howe, Don Scott, Amy Roberts
Budget Hearing
Chairman Jay Jacobs opened the Budget Hearing at 7:30 pm. The board reviewed for attendees the proposed 2021 operating budget for the town, department by department. Excluding revisions related to crack sealing work in highway department budget, estimated expenses for gas for the police department, and a revision downward to one of the Election budget lines, the proposed budget came in at $1,302,004, an increase of $44,204 over the 2020 operating budget. Based on expenditures in 2020 that were less than budgeted, $132,458 will be returned to the unassigned fund balance for 2021.
The SB then reviewed the proposed warrant articles, including three for road projects, funding of the capital reserves, one petitioned article related to fair redistricting, and an article on Electric Aggregation/Community Power. The board noted that the draft budget and warrant are posted on the website and that another Budget Hearing will be held on Thursday, February 18, at 7:00 pm. A second public hearing on Community Power Is scheduled for Thursday, February 4, at 7:00 pm at town offices and via zoom.
Regarding a question about the board’s plan for police staffing following Chief Driscoll’s retirement, the board responded is considering multiple options to continue the level of coverage the town has relied on in the past.
At 9:00 pm, the SB voted to continue the meeting to Friday, January 29, at 9:00 am at town offices for an administrative session.
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Meeting Minutes of the Select Board
| Location: | Town offices | Date: January 29, 2021 | ||
| Continued: | 9:00 am | Adjourned: 11:30 am | ||
Select Board Members: Jay Jacobs, Kathy Scott, Andrea Hodson ______
The SB signed the pay warrant in the amount of $29,714.67.
The board continued discussions related to future staffing of the police department.
Correction to the SB Meeting Minutes of January 26, 2021 – Regarding the meeting minutes of January 26, 2021, the board wished to correct statements related to a possible warrant article addressing a portion of the right-of-way along Skatutakee Road. Property owners Pamela Worden and Charles Faucher have been seeking the board’s agreement to cede the right of way along their parcel. They requested that the minutes reflect the following: Ms. Worden and Mr. Faucher did not confirm that they would submit a petition; in fact, Ms. Worden was strongly opposed to the idea, given the tight deadline for submitting the petitioned article, the need to travel out of state during the Covid surge, and the lack of clarity about why the SB was asking the property owners to submit the petition instead of the SB doing so itself. Ms. Worden and Mr. Faucher said that they would further consider the SB’s request that they be the party to submit the warrant article instead of the SB. Ms. Worden asked if they could have further discussion with the SB on Friday, January 29, once they had further opportunity to review this request with their attorney. No final commitment was made by Ms. Worden and Mr. Faucher.
The board agreed to this submission.