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Norwich Selectboard Agenda -- June 26, 2013

Agenda for the Selectboard Meeting of Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 6:30 PM

(Times Are Approximate)

1)      Approval of Agenda (Action Item) 2 minutes

2)      Public Comments (Discussion) 10 minutes

3)      Town Manager’s Report (Discussion) 10 minutes

4)      Finance – Board to Sign Accounts Payable/Warrants (Action Item) 5 minutes

5)      7:00 pm – Facilities Planning Process – Bread Loaf (Discussion) 30 minutes

6)      7:30 pm – Meeting with Conservation Commission (Discussion) 15 minutes

7)      7:45 pm – Meeting with Milton Frye Nature Area Committee (Discussion) 15 minutes

8)      Reappointment of Linda Cook and Stephen Leinoff as Norwich Town Forest Fire Warden and Deputy Fire Warden, Respectively (Action Item) 5 minutes

9)      Selectboard Priorities and Calendar for 2013-14 (Discussion) 10 minutes

10)   Correspondence (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 10 minutes

a)    Letter from Elaine Warshell Re: Town Manager’s Refusal to Follow Vermont Law

b)    Letter from Demo Sofronas Re: Letter of Thanks

11)   Selectboard

a)    Approval of the Minutes of the 5/22/13 Meeting (Action Item) 5 minutes

b)    Review of Next Agenda (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 5 minutes

Next Regular Meeting – July 15, 2013 at 6:30 PM

To receive email notices of Selectboard meetings and hearings, agendas, minutes and other notices, send an email to manager-assistant@norwich.vt.us requesting to be placed on the Town Email List.

Norwich Selectboard Agenda -- June 12, 2013

Agenda for the Selectboard Meeting of Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 6:30 PM

(Times Are Approximate)

1)      6:30 pm – Final Public Hearing on Town of Norwich Subdivision Regulations Amendments (Discussion/Action Item) 10 minutes

2)      Approval of Agenda (Action Item) 2 minutes

3)      Public Comments (Discussion) 10 minutes

4)      Town Manager’s Report (Discussion) 10 minutes

5)      Finance – Board to Sign Accounts Payable/Warrants (Action Item) 5 minutes

6)      Appointment of Cheryl Lindberg to the Finance Committee (Discussion/Action Item) 5 minutes

7)      Appointment of Nate Stearns to the Capital Facilities Planning and Budgeting Committee (Discussion/Action Item) 5 minutes

8)      Request to Expend $3,625 from the Police Special Equipment Designated Fund to Purchase a Digital Car Camera Transfer System (Discussion/Action Item) 5 minutes

9)      Selectboard Response to §248a Application for Certificate of Public Good for Radio Communications Tower (Discussion/Action Item) 10 minutes

10)   Approval of Bond Package for July Bond Sale (Discussion/Action Item) 10 minutes

11)   Street Vendor Ordinance (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 10 minutes

12)   Strategic Plan Development (Discussion/Action Item) 10 minutes

13)   Selectboard Goals and Objectives for 2013-14 (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 10 minutes

14)   Review of Appointment of Selectboard Members to Selectboard Committees (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 5 minutes

15)   Correspondence (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 10 minutes

a)    Letter from Elaine Warshell Re: Town Manager’s Refusal to Follow Vermont Law

b)    Letter from Anne Garrigue Re: Norwich Public Library’s Use of Transfer Station

16)   Selectboard

a)    Approval of the Minutes of the 5/8/13 Meeting (Action Item) 5 minutes

b)    Review of Next Agenda (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 5 minutes

Next Regular Meeting – June 26, 2013 at 6:30 PM

To receive email notices of Selectboard meetings and hearings, agendas, minutes and other notices, send an email to manager-assistant@norwich.vt.us requesting to be placed on the Town Email List.

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending June 08, 2013

College Student Drowns Near Patchen's Point 

An international college student drowned in the Connecticut River on June 5 after he jumped off a rope swing at Patchen's Point in Norwich, VT.   The man was attending Riverfest, an annual event by Dartmouth College seniors, celebrating his brother's graduation from Dartmouth. Police do not believe alcohol was a factor.
Divers recover drowning victim’s body
Times-Argus 
June 7, 2013
Divers have recovered the body of a 20-year-old international student who drowned late Wednesday afternoon while attending a party with his older brother, a graduating Dartmouth senior who was among hundreds of students who’d gathered for the annual pre-graduation bash known as River Fest. 
The victim recently attended college in Texas, officials said. 
The victim’s name is being withheld until authorities make sure his family members — who are traveling to attend his brother’s graduation Sunday — have been properly notified. 
Shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday morning divers with the New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game, which has jurisdiction over incidents on the Connecticut River, located the body in about 18 feet of water not far from the rope swing on Patchen’s Point in Norwich. The victim was last seen struggling in the water there just before 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.
Read the rest of the story. 

Related stories:
Drowning victim identified
Students Tried in Vain to Mount Rescue

ValleyNet Ends Nicole's Suspension From Listserv

Perhaps it was the Free Nicole movement or Vermont common sense or maybe Ms.Hastings learned her lesson … whatever the reason, ValleyNet will allow Ms.Hastings to resume posting on the Norwich Listserv.  To the Norwich Observer, the suspension cost ValleyNet good karma points as it seemed its opaque enforcement of "rules" about Appalachian Trail posts was petulant.

Ms.Hastings was gracious in her return.  Read her June 7th listserv post here.

Sunday Storms Down Trees and Power Lines

The weather front that cause the tragic tornados in Oklahoma reached the Upper Valley on Sunday June 2nd.  About 400 residents of Norwich lost power and downed trees closed Route 5. 

Matt Herbert of the Norwich Fire Department directs traffic around a fallen tree and a downed power line on Turnpike Road in Norwich yesterday. (Valley News - Libby March)

Riding Out the Storm: Weather System Leads to Power Outages, Road Closings in Valley
By Ben Conarck, Valley News Staff Writer
June 3, 2013 
A series of powerful thunderstorms crackled across the Upper Valley yesterday, bringing downed power lines and forcing road closings in what amounted to some of the storm system’s worst damage in northern New England.
Plainfield Fire Chief Frank Currier said his department had seen “all kinds of mayhem” in the aftermath of yesterday’s storm, but no one was seriously hurt.
Currier said that lightning struck an electrical transformer near Center of Town Road, and that the strike did “very minimal damage to one house but pretty well wiped out the electrical wiring in the second house.
“It blew the electrical receptacles right out of the wall,” said Currier, who added that his department received about nine calls yesterday. The lightning strike near Center of Town Road forced the closure of Route 12A traffic in both directions for about four hours.
In Canaan, a man and a woman in their 20s were injured in a lightning strike while getting back into their car at the town boat launch on Goose Pond, according to ambulance squad member Alan Ricard, who declined to release the names of the victims.
Storm
Read the rest of the story. 

Rickards Of Montshire Museum Receives Noyce Foundation Fellowship

Upper Valley Business Briefs: People on the move
Times-Argus
June 04,2013
Jennifer Rickards, associate director of the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, VT, has been selected to participate in a year-long sponsored fellowship, with the aim of increasing the public impact of science centers, museums, and related institutions.
Rickards will focus on developing a community partnership model to determine how the Montshire should engage underserved families in the region, and implement new strategies to do so effectively.
The Noyce Leadership Institute (NLI), in partnership with the Association of Science-Technology Centers, the European Network of Science Centers and Museums, and the Association of Children’s Museums, gathers leaders in informal science education from around the world to focus on societal trends, global issues, and the cutting edge of science. The effort is funded by the Noyce Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Read the rest of the story. 

LINKS: 

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20130607/NEWS03/706079939/0/SEARCH

http://thedartmouth.com/2013/06/07/news/river

http://www.vnews.com/news/police/fire/courts/6877254-95/students-tried-in-vain-to-mount-rescue

http://www.vnews.com/news/6758847-95/riding-out-the-storm-weather-system-leads-to-power-outages-road-closings-in-valley

http://lists.valley.net/lists/arc/norwich/2013-06/msg00152.html

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20130604/BUSINESS11/706049989/0/SEARCH

Shumlin Offers To Sell Land Back To Dodge

Governor Shumlin is willing to sell the land back to Jeremey Dodge, if the two can agree to payment plan said Montpelier attorney Jerome Diamond who was retained by Shumlin earlier this week.  Critics say Shumlin toke advantage of a neighbor with a ninth-grade education, when he bought the property for less than fair market value.  “We want the Dodge family to know that the governor has been approaching this in good faith … and that his proposals embrace the very things that Jeremy Dodge and his family have asked for,” Diamond said Wednesday, according to the Rutland Herald.  
Dodge does not yet have a lawyer.  The family says they feel financially out-gunned by the governor, reports WCAX.com.  Vermont Legal Aid turned down their request for help, because the organization does not handle real estate cases.

Related stories
Shumlin offers to sell property back
Shumlin, Dodge lawyering up over land deal

LINKS:
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130606/NEWS03/706069926
http://www.wcax.com/story/22502685/shumlin-dodge-lawyering-up-over-land-deal

Hot!

from The Weather Channel 

Norwich Selectboard Agenda - May 22, 2013

Agenda for the Selectboard Meeting of Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 6:30 PM

(Times Are Approximate)

1)      6:30 pm – Public Hearing on Town of Norwich Subdivision Regulations Amendments (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 30 minutes

2)      Approval of Agenda (Action Item) 2 minutes

3)      Public Comments (Discussion) 10 minutes

4)      Town Manager’s Report (Discussion) 5 minutes

5)      Finance – Board to Sign Accounts Payable/Warrants (Action Item) 5 minutes

6)      Selectboard Response to §248a Application for Certificate of Public Good for Radio Communications Tower (Discussion/Action Item) 10 minutes

7)      Finance Committee (Discussion) 10 minutes

8)      Town Records Preservation and Conservation (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 10 minutes

9)      Transfer Station Sticker Policy (Discussion) 10 minutes

10)   Reappoint Sharon Racusin to the Advance Transit Board of Directors (Discussion/Action Item) 5 minutes

11)   Selectboard FY14 Goals (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 10 minutes

12)   Selectboard

a)    Approval of the Minutes of the 4/24/13 Meeting (Action Item) 5 minutes

b)    Review of Next Agenda (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 5 minutes

Next Regular Meeting – June 12, 2013 at 6:30 PM

To receive email notices of Selectboard meetings and hearings, agendas, minutes and other notices, send an email to manager-assistant@norwich.vt.us requesting to be placed on the Town Email List.

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending May 18, 2013

Police Chief Comments On Door-to-door Solicitors

Since Tuesday, the Norwich, VT listserv was [and still is] abuzz about two young men from Nebraska who are selling products door to door. Most of the posts express concerns about safety, but some suggest patience.  The two men are affiliated with Southwestern Advantage.  The company hires college students as independent contractors to sell educational materials door-to-door. A few students make a lot of money. Most just fail. See Door-to-door for the summer?, in USA Today April 19 2012. Here are Police Chief Robinson's comments issued on Sunday:
        The town of Norwich has a vendor ordinance, if someone comes into the station requesting a permit we obtain the solicitors information, names and addresses, company, any vehicles etc.. and we set parameters' for when they can peddle their wares including but not limited to i.e. only 9 AM to 7 PM /  No Sundays / No Saturdays etc... They are also told that if we get any complaints (rude behavior, aggressive tactics, peddling outside the parameters set then the vendor permit will be revoked.
       If they come in with proper credentials and we have no information or previous complaints from other communities we issue them the permit.  If the town adopts a NO SOLICITATION ordinance then we can refuse the permit.  If you have complaints about the door to door sales you should immediately call the police so we can document the complaints and show enough evidence to revoke the permit.  We also ask, as previously posted by someone on this list serve to keep an eye out for your neighbors and report any suspicious behavior.
       My officers are now gathering all the complaints made to the police as well as on the list serve which will be filed if the company returns next year.
       I hope this explains and addresses some of the complaints.  I will be back from vacation on Wednesday the 22nd, if you have any questions or concerns please give me a call.

Norwich Architect's Drawings On Display At AVA

From the Architect’s Drafting Table
Stuart White’s Plans Were Made by Hand
By Nicola Smith, Valley News Staff Writer
May 17, 2013
Thank the thieves who broke into Stuart White’s car during a trip he made to Italy in 1962, and stole his passport, some money and his camera: without them the drawings he made of the ruins of ancient Greece and Rome, now on view in an exhibition of his drawings and architectural plans at the AVA Gallery in Lebanon, might not exist.
Left untouched were a money belt that his mother had urged him to bring with him, containing $200, and his drawing pencils and pad. Without a camera, White had to rely on his skill as a draftsman to show the colossal monuments of Mycenae and Delphi, and the Parthenon in Athens. “I scarcely dared draw it,” White said of the Parthenon. “My heart was beating too fast.”
Sitting in a chair in the Johnson Sisters Library on the second floor at AVA, where the show of his work runs through June 7, White, modest in manner, gazes over at his drawings. “They’re sketchy, not perfect,” he said. But they have one signal virtue: when he looks at them, “I can feel where I was.”
Read the rest of the story.

ECFiber raises another $430,000

vermontbiz.com
May 17, 2013
The next phase of ECFiber’s broadband deployment received a sizable boost when local investors connected to its 23 town service territory purchased $430,000 of its 2013 Series tax-exempt promissory notes. This new investment will finance extension of the community-based nonprofit’s existing fiber-optic network by as much as 20 miles and will serve an estimated 100 or more households and businesses which currently do not have high-speed broadband access.
ECFiber Treasurer John Roy of Vershire announced results at the groups Governing Board meeting on May 14 noting that the total raised now exceeds $3.5 million from over 300 individual investors. ECFiber currently has about 330 subscribers along its existing 50 miles of network in Barnard, Royalton, Tunbridge, and Vershire. Within the next few months, it expects to connect customers in Chelsea, Thetford, Strafford, Norwich, and Sharon. The next routes to be built are now under design.
ECFiber, based in Royalton, is a consortium of 23 municipalities in east-central Vermont building a community-owned fiber-optic network to deliver reliable high-speed broadband Internet connectivity to every home, business, and civic institution throughout its territory. The number of subscribers is expected to double as the funds raised in 2012 are spent during this construction season.

LINKS:
http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/career/door-to-door-for-the-summer

http://www.vnews.com/search/6239565-95/from-the-architects-drafting-table

http://www.vermontbiz.com/node/27229

The Norwich Observer. Aggregating news and information about Norwich, Vermont with occasional commentary ... . 

My Brigadeiro Chocolates

Upper Valley Business Briefs: My Brigadeiro Chocolates
By Guy C. Denechaud, Times Argus
May 7, 2013
Ana Paula Alexandrescu has kicked off her new business, My Brigadeiro Chocolates, from her home in Norwich, VT.
Orders for the hand-made specialty chocolates exceeded her expectations during the first weeks of start-up, she said, adding she has had to increase the rate of production heading into spring.
Brigadeiro chocolates are a type of confection popular in her home country of Brazil, where she had lived before moving to the U.S. with her husband, Dorian Alexandrescu. She makes the chocolates by hand, with one part-time helper.
Only organic chocolate is used in the Brigadeiro chocolates, and Alexandrescu concentrates on the use of local products whenever possible. Although the chocolates are available in a few stores, such as Dan & Whit’s in Norwich, the majority of sales come through the firm’s Web site.
“I did not believe that it was possible to achieve so much in such a short time, but I have sold my chocolates to customers in each of the 50 states,” she said.
The chocolates, said Alexandrescu, have a consistency that is different from any other chocolates she has tried. “They are sort of between a piece of fudge and a truffle. They are not as chewy as a caramel, but much chewier than a typical chocolate-covered cream candy,” she said.
Read the rest of the story.
My Brigadeiro Chocolates web site is here

LINKS:
http://www.timesargus.com/article/20130507/BUSINESS11/705079945/1042/IRENE
www.mybrigadeiro.com.

The Norwich Observer. Aggregating news and information about Norwich, Vermont with occasional commentary ... . 

ECFiber: misquotes in the Valley News

from the listserv May 12, 2013
Some "news" really is too good to be true. The business section of the Sunday Valley News carried two stories about ECFiber, one focusing on the town of Vershire, and the other describing our expansion plans in other towns incuding Norwich. Unfortunately, there were some fairly serious misquotes and errors in the second story. I did _not_ say that we expect to connect people in "almost all of Norwich" by next fall. Almost all of two or three unserved Norwich neighborhoods, maybe, but at best perhaps 5 or 6% of the town as a whole.


Among other errors, ECFiber is not already "delivering service to 23 municipalities in the Upper Valley and other parts of the state," and the reference to "service from Barnard to Vershire" is true alphabetically but not geographically. We now have customers connected in Royalton, Bethel, Barnard, Pomfret, Chelsea, and Vershire, and fund-raising efforts are underway in Pomfret and West Windsor as well as the towns mentioned in the article.

Lsst but not least, Strafford residents have had some fun today renaming their mis-spelt town as "Stratford on the Ompompanoosuc."

I only wish we could make things happen as fast as the news reporter seems to have imagined, but we're doing our best.

Thanks,
Irv Thomae (Chair, as well as Norwich delegate, ECFiber.)

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending May 11, 2013

Bread Loaf Is Architect For Proposed Fire/Police Station

The nascent plan to build a new fire/police/public works facility in Norwich, Vermont took a major step forward on Wednesday May 8th when the Selectboard approved the choice of Bread Loaf Corporation as the Town's architect for the project at an approximate cost of $25,000.  The next step is site selection followed by design of three options.  Public forums are expected for the Fall.

The owner of the Agway Property (198 Church Street) as well as the owner of the Upper Valley Events Center, asked the Town to consider those sites. The land at 198 Church Street has long be rumored as the favorite. But the Town Manager said that there are "no top prospects" and that the "evaluation or site selection process has [not]started."  

According to its web site, Bread Loaf is a full-service planning, architecture, and construction firm headquartered in Middlebury, Vermont.

ECFiber Summer Expansion Plans Include Norwich 

“Before the fall, we’ll have people connected in Chelsea, Vershire, Thetford, Tunbridge, Royalton and Sharon, and a lot of the people in Stratford and almost all of Norwich,” said ECFiber Chairman Irv Thomae, who lives in Norwich, Vermont.

ECFiber Plans Summer Expansion

By Warren Johnston, Valley News Staff Writer

May 12, 2013 

ECFiber has connected 325 customers to high-speed fiber-optic broadband Internet service and is about to expand its network to more underserved customers this summer, the organization’s chairman said last week.

The Vermont nonprofit provider, which is delivering service to 23 municipalities in the Upper Valley and other parts of the state, also has just completed a round of funding and now has service from Barnard to Vershire. ECFiber also is moving quickly to provide fiber connections in parts of West Fairlee, Thetford, Stratford, Sharon and Norwich for customers who are not being served by commercial providers, said ECFiber Chairman Irv Thomae, who lives in Norwich.

“Before the fall, we’ll have people connected in Chelsea, Vershire, Thetford, Tunbridge, Royalton and Sharon, and a lot of the people in Stratford and almost all of Norwich,” he said.

The nonprofit has raised about $3.5 million through grants and investment loans from community members.

Although residents wanting service are not required to loan money to ECFiber, the tax-free notes promise a good return for investors, ranging from 5.3 percent to 7.65 percent, depending on the type of note.

Read the rest of the story. 

Norwich Inn Brewery Marks 20th Year With Belgian Stout

Current and former brew meisters of the Norwich Inn in Norwich, Vermont are collaborating on a Belgian Stout to celebrate the brewery's 20th anniversary.  The three are Tim Wilson, Patrick Dakin and its current brewer, Jeremy Hebert. 

On Tap: Three Men and a Stout

By Chris Fleisher, Valley News Staff Writer

May 8, 2013

The three men peered over the edge of a steel tank being filled with water, waiting for it to heat as though it were charcoals burning in a grill.

It was a moment of tedium during the beer brewing process that each had experienced countless times before. Over the past two decades, each had taken his turn standing in the brewhouse of the Norwich Inn, soaking grains in hot water with the intent of serving up fine ales to thirsty patrons.

But this time they were doing it together. The three of them — Tim Wilson, Patrick Dakin and Jeremy Hebert — had decided to collaborate on a singular beer to mark the brewery’s 20th year in existence.

“I just thought it’d be kind of fun,” said Hebert, the latest to hold the title of brewer at the Inn’s Jasper Murdock’s Alehouse. 

Read the rest of the story. 

More Graffiti

Graffiti and Vandalism Targets Norwich VT Police

WNTK News Blog

Posted on May 6, 2013 by ghedrington

For the past three years, Norwich Vermont has experienced sporadic out breaks of offensive graffiti. Although the language and symbols are racial epithets, they appear to be to be aimed only at the Norwich Police Department. One of the milder writings offers Free Meth for killing a NPD officer. The offensive writings appear on roads and bri.dges throughout the town, and it remains an ongoing and active investigation. Police Chief Douglas Robinson said that the graffiti is written in in orange or yellow paint and painted on the roads and bridges in Norwich. Chief Robinson asks for anyone with information on this active investigation to call 802-649-1460

LINKS: 

http://www.breadloaf.com/index.html

http://www.vnews.com/search/6147020-95/ecfiber-plans-summer-expansion

http://www.vnews.com/news/townbytown/norwich/5950750-95/on-tap-three-men-and-a-stout

http://wntk.com/wp_news/2013/05/06/graffiti-and-vandalism-targets-norwich-vt-police/

A subscription may be required for access to the Valley News stories. 

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending May 4, 2013

Columnist Praises Girl Scouts and Norwich Boy Scouts For Inclusiveness

Jim Keynon: Two Kinds Of Scouts
Valley News
May 1, 2013
For an organization that prides itself on teaching survival skills, the Boy Scouts of America seems to have a death wish.
As long as the Boy Scouts’ national leaders continue to insist it’s OK to discriminate against gays, the organization grows increasingly irrelevant in a society where — thank goodness — a person’s sexual orientation becomes less and less a big deal.
As you may have read, the Boy Scouts of America’s executive committee has proposed a change in membership rules: openly gay youths will no longer be excluded.
This is progress?
Hardly. The Boy Scouts will continue to ban openly gay adults from being Scout leaders.
Read the rest of the story.

VTel Loses Part Of State Grant
$5 million VTel cell service grant cut in half
by Nat Rudarakanchana, vtdigger.org
May 4, 2013
A state agency has cut a $5 million telecommunications grant to Vermont Telephone Company in half.
This is the third time the Vermont Telecommunications Authority has pulled VTel grant money in recent months. On March 29, it revoked two broadband grants to VTel worth $3.4 million.
The most recent decision, made at a board meeting on Friday, comes after negotiations between the VTA and the private firm VTel stalled. The $5 million cellphone grant was announced at a news conference by Gov. Peter Shumlin in December 2012.
Read the rest of the story.

Earlier This Week In The Norwich Observer 
Norwich Selectboard Condemns Hate Speech

LINKS:
http://www.vnews.com/search/5939600-95/jim-keynon-two-kinds-of-scouts
http://vtdigger.org/2013/05/04/5-million-vtel-cell-service-grant-cut-in-half/http://norwichobserver.blogspot.com/2013/05/selectboard-condemns-hate-speech.html


A subscription may be required for access to the Valley News stories. 

Norwich Selectboard Condemns Hate Speech

Related posts are here and here.


The Norwich Observer. Aggregating news and information about Norwich, Vermont with occasional commentary ... . 

Norwich Selectboard Agenda - May 8, 2013

Agenda for the Selectboard Meeting of Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 6:30 PM

(Times Are Approximate)

1)      Approval of Agenda (Action Item) 2 minutes

2)      Public Comments (Discussion) 10 minutes

3)      6:45 pm – Records Restoration Project (Discussion) 30 minutes

4)      Town Manager’s Report (Discussion) 5 minutes

5)      Finance – Board to Sign Accounts Payable/Warrants (Action Item) 5 minutes

6)      Reappoint James Dwinell to the Finance Committee (Discussion/Action Item) 5 minutes

7)      Committee Liaisons (Discussion) 10 minutes

8)      Solar Project (Discussion) 15 minutes

9)      Request to Expend up to $1,275 from the Fire Equipment Reserve Fund to Replace an AED (Discussion/Action Item) 5 minutes

10)   Approval of Purchase Order for a Consultant (Breadloaf) for Parts 3 and 4 of the Facilities Studies (Discussion/Action Item) 10 minutes

11)   Approval of Purchase Order (Green Mountain Communications) for Tower and Site Work (Discussion/Action Item) 10 minutes

12)   Patchen’s Point (Discussion) 5 minutes

13)   Correspondence (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 10 minutes

a)    Memo from TRORC Re: Enhanced Consultation

b)    Memo from TRORC Re: Scoping Document 2 Issued for TransCanada’s Wilder Dam Relicensing

c)     Memo from Murphy Sullivan Kronk Re: Application for a Certificate of Public Good

14)   Selectboard

a)    Approval of the Minutes of the 3/27/13 and 4/10/13 Meetings (Action Item) 5 minutes

b)    Between Meeting Communications (Discussion) 10 minutes

c)     Review of Next Agenda (Discussion/Possible Action Item) 5 minutes

d)    Personnel - Town Manager (Executive Session May be Required)

Next Regular Meeting – May 22, 2013 at 6:30 PM

To receive email notices of Selectboard meetings and hearings, agendas, minutes and other notices, send an email to manager-assistant@norwich.vt.usrequesting to be placed on the Town Email List.

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending April 27, 2013

Town-Wide Reappraisal Informational Meeting  April 30

from the Town's email distribution list
The reappraisal of all Norwich properties is proceeding on schedule. The property tax bills that will be sent in July will be based on a new Grand List and new values for all Norwich properties. A draft of the new values  will be sent to all property owners on or about May 5, 2013 and this will be followed by an informal process during which you will have an opportunity to meet with the Assessor to review your values. This will be followed by the official notice of Grand List values on or about June 1, 2013 followed by the formal grievance process to the Board of Listers.  For the first time your property record card will be on-line so that you can review your structure and property information and see how your property value was determined. There is an IMPORTANT Public Informational Meeting on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 starting at 7:00 pm in the Multipurpose Room at Tracy Hall with Assessor Bill Krajeski to discuss the reappraisal process and to respond to questions related to the reappraisal.

State Rep Cheney Votes For Tax On Bottled Water

Letter: Key Votes in Montpelier
Valley News  
April 27, 2013 
Based on how legislators have voted on important bills in Montpelier, it would appear that the majority of Vermont voters favor higher taxes and more state spending.
Here are scorecards on a couple of bills:
H.528, to expand the Vermont sales tax of 6 percent to bottled water, clothing (including shoes) over $110, candy, soft drinks and dietary supplements, and to increase the tax on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco by 50 cents (total: $3.12) and 88 cents (total: $3.12) respectively. Also, to increase the rooms and meals tax from 9 percent to 9.5 percent for 2014 and to apply the meals tax to food sold out of vending machines. Voting yes: Reps. John Bartholomew, D-Hartland, Sarah Buxton, D-Tunbridge, Margaret Cheney, D-Norwich, Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, Sandy Haas, Progressive/D-Rochester, Cynthia Martin, D-Springfield, James Masland, D-Thetford, Donna Sweaney, D-Windsor, Sheila Vowinkel, D-Hartford, Teo Zagar, D-Barnard.
House Bill 530, to increase state spending by 4.7 percent, which is nearly 21/2 times the rate of inflation. Voting yes: Bartholomew, Buxton, Cheney, Masland, Martin, Kevin Christie, D-Hartford, Alison Clark, D-Woodstock, Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, D-Bradford, Sweaney, Vowinkel and Zagar.
The Valley News could provide a tremendous service to its readers by printing a weekly summary of key bills in both New Hampshire and Vermont and a roll call of votes when the Legislatures are in session. 
Read the rest of the story. 
http://www.vnews.com/opinion/5834075-95/letter-key-votes-in-montpelier

State Senator McCormack Votes To Ban Corporate Campaign Contributions

According to the Progressive Party web site, only one of the three State Senators from Windsor County voted to ban corporate donations from a major campaign finance reform bill. Dick McCormack (D-Windsor) voted for the ban, while John Campbell (D-Windsor) and Alice Nitka (D-Windsor) voted to allow corporate contributions.
Read the rest of the story.


LINKS:
http://www.vnews.com/opinion/5834075-95/letter-key-votes-in-montpelier
http://progressiveparty.org/blog/2013/roll-call-which-senators-chose-corporate-money-over-real-election-reform

The Norwich Observer. Aggregating news and information about Norwich, Vermont with occasional commentary ... . 

Norwich School Board Agenda - May 1, 2013

NORWICH BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS

REGULAR MEETING

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

7:00 P.M., MARION CROSS SCHOOL LIBRARY

AGENDA

This meeting will be convened in public session.  Other topics arising after the posting of this notice may be discussed and acted upon.

1.                     Call to order:  7:00 p.m., Marion Cross School Library

2.                     Public Input

3.                     Agenda Review

4.                     PTO Report

5.                     Principal’s Report

6.                     Business Requiring Discussion

                        a.         Enrollment update

                        b.         Solar panels

c.            Update from the Long-Range Planning Committee

d.           Update plans for the Board Retreat

                        e.         Update on statistical analysis of NECAP tests           

7.                     Business requiring action

                        a.  Approval of minutes of the regular meeting and executive session of the

                                    April 3, 2013

                        b.         Acceptance of resignation of Melanie Devoid

                        c.         Appointment of Special Educator Anna Turner

                        d.         Appointment of French Teacher Elina Farnsworth

                                                                       

8.                     Communications and Reports

                        a.  Report of the Chair

                        b.  Communications to the Board

                        c.  Reports of Administrators

9.                     Executive session in accordance with Title 1, Section 313, for a discussion of                                                 personnel matters

10.         Adjournment

NEXT MEETINGS:      Retreat:  5-9 p.m. Thursday, May, 2, Norwich Inn

                                                            Regular Meeting:  Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Minutes of this meeting will be available for public inspection within five business days after the meeting (RSA 91-A:2).  Such minutes may be reviewed in the office of the Superintendent of Schools, 41 Lebanon Street, Suite 2, Hanover, NH.