Town Proposes $23,000 Gift To Norwich Fire District For Sidewalk Repairs

Sidewalks need repair and maintenance and that takes money.  Many years ago, our Norwich  forefathers decided that the homes and businesses in the Village, rather than the entire Town, should pay for the Village sidewalks. Hence, the Norwich Fire District, a special municipal entity that can tax and spend, is responsible for most sidewalks in its geographic area.  Today, the District’s principle purpose is to supply potable water to approximately 310 homes and 20 commercial businesses in the Village, but the sidewalk responsibility is not unusual for Fire Districts in Vermont.
On Wednesday, July 29, the Selectboard will consider two proposals that will shift the responsibility for the sidewalks from the Fire District to the Town.    Item 8 on  the Selectboard agenda for its meeting sounds innocuous  — “Main Street Sidewalk from Hazen Street to Koch Road” — but these proposals will increase taxes for Town taxpayers.  Both proposals shortcut the democratic process without much analysis of the pros and cons.

The first proposal is that the Town pay $23,000 for sidewalk repairs that should be paid by the Norwich Fire District. Call the payment what you like, but the money will not be repaid, and that is simply a gift from the taxpayers of Norwich, Vermont to the Fire District.  I doubt the gift was part of the budget approved by the voters at Town Meeting in March, but I could be wrong.  For budgetary reasons, the Town has not funded the sidewalk reserve fund for several years, so its sidewalk budget is not flush.  If the Norwich Fire District budget is tight this year, because of the pump house fire, then the Town should be patient and tackle the work next year or after fire insurance issues are resolved.

The second proposal carries the recommendation of the Town Manager and is for the Town to take over ownership and the ongoing responsibility to repair and maintain sidewalks of the Fire District.  This is a complete reversal of the cost sharing policy that our Norwich forefathers established.  However, nothing in the packet explains why a change is justified, other than that the Town previously assumed responsibility for some sidewalks from the Fire District.  The cost to the Town is not clear; nor is it clear why the Fire District can not raise the money in the coming years, as it has done in the past.
Both proposals deserve an airing when the agenda description gives better notice to the public.  A vote of the public at Town meeting is appropriate before the Town takes over the obligation of the Fire District.

More information about Fire Districts in Vermont is available at the Colchester Fire District No. 1 web site.

The portion of the Selectboard packet relating to sidewalks is here.


LINKS
http://www.cfd1.org/about_fire_districts.html
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5p_pfaeTTstNzkzUXgyWDVSWlU/view?usp=sharing

Asteroid Day

Today,  June 30, 2015, is the inaugural Asteroid Day, a "global day of education and awareness about asteroids — especially those that threaten Earth."

The day marks the anniversary of the Tunguska Event in1908, when an asteroid exploded above a remote area of Siberia, leaving over 800 square miles of blown-down trees.

The Asteroid Day web site is here: http://www.asteroidday.org  or Asteroid Day.  Check it out and consider signing the petition.
Twitter: #AsteroidDay

Newsweek had an article about the asteroids on June 11, available here: We Can Save Ourselves From Earth-Killing Asteroids, But Someone Has to Pay

Planetary Radio released a pod cast today: Saving the Planet: Voices From the Planetary Defense Conference | The Planetary Society

A few questions for the Selectboard and the Town Manager for Wednesday’s Special Meeting of the Selectboard.

A few questions for the Selectboard and the Town Manager for Wednesday’s Special Meeting of the Selectboard.

1. (Item #1) Cut to the chase.  Is the current Town Manager willing to sign an employment agreement similar to that signed by Peter Webster, but for one year (two or three years?) at his current compensation package?  If not, why not?

2.  (Item #3) Plan B. If the bond passes, is the Selectboard legally obligated to borrow the money?

3.  (Item #4) Fulton Memorandum.  Was Mr. Fulton’s memorandum an appropriate response to Ms. Layton’s “Public Vote of No Confidence” document?  

4.  (Item #5) Trust but verify.   Should the Town Manager provide more recent construction projects that he supervised to establish his qualifications as  project manager, because the projects he cites at page 6-8 of his resume are from the 1980’s?

5. (Item #5)  Let’s get special.   Should a special town meeting be considered to vote on the project manager issue? Is that a reason to delay the Special Town Meeting scheduled for next week?

Agenda for the Special Selectboard Meeting of Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 6:30 PM

1)    Funding to Seek Legal Advice (Discussion/Possible Action Item)
2)    Receive Petitions (Discussion/Possible Action Item)
3)    Consideration of Cancelling the Special Town Meeting Scheduled for May 12, 2015 (Discussion/Possible Action Item)
4)    Town Manager/Selectboard Relationship (Discussion/Possible Action Item)
5)    Project Management (Discussion/Possible Action Item)

7 questions for the Selectboard at its April 22 meeting

7 questions for the Selectboard at its April 22 meeting

1.  Digging deep into the Accounts Payable warrant, there are two invoices from law firms.   How come the Selectboard has no money available to hire a lawyer for advice?  Since we are pinching pennies, are these law firms subject of RFP’s or approval by the Selectboard?  [Agenda Item 4 -Accounts Payable]

2.  One more lawyer question. What are the “Union Matters” covered in the invoice from the law firm of McNeil Leddy?  

3.  There is always an agenda item for Capital Facilities.  Will this meeting include a discussion of hiring an independent project manager per the proposal of Selectboard member Mary Layton? [Agenda Item 7 - Capital Facilities]

4.  With respect to the Layton proposal, will the Selectboard get the Town Manager’s views in writing or are we left with his comments in the Valley News? He says he is in charge.  But the statute makes an exception for projects  “specially voted” under 24 V.S.A § 1236 (4).  What does that mean? 

5.  Agenda Item 9 (c) - “Employee Contract” is downright mysterious.   Turns out this is a discussion about the Town Manager’s contract.   Why not just say that?  (Note to Selectboard: talk to an employment lawyer in executive session before saying anything in public. Please, please.)  Of course there is a contract — it is year to year.  Would the Selectboard that hired Mr.  Fulton give him lifetime tenure as a Town Manager binding all future Selectboards in Norwich, in light of the Town’s history with Town Managers? 

6.  Flip flop?   Mr. Fulton says he has no contract but was happy with protections provided by the statute.  In the past Mr.  Fulton has said publicly he did not need a contract because he already lived in Norwich and was not moving from away.  Why the change in position in his email to Ms. Layton?  

7.  Agenda Item 8 (d): Memo from Neil Fulton. Is this the “measured” response we want from the Town Manager to a newly elected official? I thought it rude and non responsive.   Plus parts of the memo gloss over key facts.   More on that later.

No Confidence In Town Manager To Supervise Construction, says Selectboard Member Layton

Selectboard Member Mary Layton does not want the Town Manager to oversee the building of the Fire, Police and Public Works Facilities, if the bond for the project is approved at a special town meeting in May. Ms. Layton proposed that the Town hire a separate "Owners Project Manager".

In a statement, titled "Public Vote of No Confidence",  distributed at last night's Selectboard meeting,  Ms.  Layton said the March 2015 defeat of the Bond was a "referendum about lack of public trust in the Town Manager’s judgment and sensitivity to what the Town wants and needs." The Statement concludes that the Project "cannot go forward under the supervision of our current Town Manager."
Ms. Layton's Statement can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5p_pfaeTTstcGtEdWpNQ3Rwd0U/view?usp=sharing

Town Manager Fulton responded with his own memorandum indicating the Layton Statement contained "gross inaccuracies".  Mr. Fulton's memorandum can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5p_pfaeTTstTzJBTGtPWE1OU28/view?usp=sharing

In an interview with the Valley News, Mr.  Fulton indicated that by statute, the Town Manager is in charge of construction.  Even if the Selectboard hired a project manager to supervise the construction that person would be the Town Manager's employee.  “They make their policy; I get to implement it,” Fulton said, according to the Valley News article.  The article also indicates the Selectboard did not discuss "Layton and Fulton’s dueling memos on Wednesday night".

The Valley News article Norwich Tries to Shore Bond Support by Rob Wolfe is available online at:
http://www.vnews.com/news/townbytown/norwich/16526565-95/norwich-tries-to-shore-bond-support.

Town Of Norwich Pledges $5000 To Conserve Sample’s Woods And Rosemary Rieser Trail

The Selectboard pledged $5000 towards the acquisition of a Conservation Easement on the Rieser Property on Hobson Road in Norwich.  The vote took place at the April 8 Selectboard meeting, following a brief presentation by David Hubbard of the Norwich Conservation Commission.

The 11-acre site includes the historic Sample’s Jump, a ski jump site listed in New England Lost Ski Areas Project.  The trail will be named for Rosemary Rieser, an avid walker and devoted member of the Norwich community for more than 50 years.
The Upper Valley Land Trust and the Upper Valley Trails Alliance are leading the effort to raise the $50,000 needed to purchase the easement, with fundraising expected to be completed by the end of April.  This price is less than the fair market value of the land.  The money pledged by the Town of Norwich comes from the Town’s Conservation Trust Fund, which is funded by donations not taxes. 

For more information, see the brochure at the web site of the Upper Valley Land Trust at http://www.uvlt.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SamplesWoods_RieserTrail21.pdf or make a secure online contribution at: www.UVLT.org.

Norwich Fire Department Rescues Molly

Photo and caption from Selectboard packet for April 8, 2015 Selectboard meeting