01/18/2022 Approved Selectboard Meeting Minutes
Approved Minutes
Braintree Selectboard Meeting
January 18, 2022, at 6:00 pm
“In accordance with the cancellation of the State of Emergency Order by Governor Scott the meeting will be held both in-person and via conference call to follow Vermont’s Open Meeting Law. The meeting can be accessed at the scheduled time by calling 802-210-4472.”
Present at the Town Office:
Daniel Burson, Selectboard Vice-Chairperson Charles McMeekin, Selectboard Member Loren Bent, Selectboard Member Janice Russell, Administrative Assistant Jessica Brassard, Town Clerk/Treasurer
Present on the Phone:
Keegan Haupt, Selectboard Member Jackson Evans, Town Lister
Nathan Cleveland, Planning Commission Chairperson
Megan O’Toole was unable to attend tonight’s meeting.
Daniel Burson chaired the meeting in Ms. O’Toole’s absence. Mr. Burson called the meeting to order at 6:005 pm. A roll call was done to confirm what members and citizens were in attendance via teleconferencing.
The Board reviewed the agenda with no revisions being made.
Citizens comments are limited to 3 minutes per person with a 15-minute maximum –
Reports
- Planning Commission – The Planning Commission, with assistance from TRORC, is working through the Town Plan draft and is awaiting further information on some Town Resources. The Commission anticipates having said draft available right after Town Meeting Day for the Selectboard to review. TRORC will then assist the Town to get it through the citizen reviews, required notifications and Public Hearing process. The Vermont Statute for Town Plans adoption process is 24V.S.A. § 4385. Once the Town Plan has been formally adopted it is valid for eight years. The next step would be to confirm that all Zoning By-Laws are updated to match the new Town Plan.
- Highway Report – The Selectboard reviewed the reported submitted by Mr. Pratt. All equipment is running fine except for a problem with the fan on the John Deere Loader, which is scheduled for repair on Thursday, January 20th. When not working on equipment or out plowing and sanding, the crew is painting the inside walls of the garage.
Old business
- Regional Emergency Management Committee Appointments – This topic was tabled until the February 1st meeting.
- Town Meeting Day
- Town Budget – The budget is diligently being worked on and the Town Clerk and Selectboard Chair believe they have come to a good budget amount that includes cost of living increases and inflation and still is only a 1.1% rise over last year’s budget.
- Town Report/Warning – An examination of the choices for the Town Report Cover was conducted with a decision to keep the traditional cover choice. A brief discussion of the Town Warning articles was conducted and then it was decided that the topic needs to be tabled until after the BCA meeting on Wednesday, January 19th.
- Introducing an Energy Proposal at Town Meeting – The Selectboard decided to have the Energy Proposal brought to the floor for discussion under Article 7 of the Town Warning. Mr. McMeekin will conduct further research on the proposal before Town Meeting.
New business
- 03/01/2022 Selectboard Meeting and Town Meeting Date Conflict – The Selectboard reviewed and discussed potential dates to move the 1st Selectboard Meeting in March.
On motion of Mr. Bent, seconded by Mr. McMeekin, the Board approved the moving the first Regular Selectboard Meeting in March from Tuesday, March 1, 2022, to Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
Payment orders – The Selectboard reviewed the Payment Orders.
On motion of Mr. Bent, seconded by Mr. McMeekin, the Board unanimously approved the payment orders.
Adjournment
On motion of Mr. Bent, seconded by Mr. McMeekin, the Board unanimously adjourned the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice R. Russell
Administrative Assistant