TOWN OF WALPOLE

MEETING OF THE SELECTBOARD

MAY 15, 2008

Selectboard Present: Sheldon Sawyer, Whitney Aldrich,
Jamie Teague (late) as she was attending another meeting

Mr. Sawyer called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM with two people present in the audience.

PUBLIC BUSINESS:

BERNARD KARNACEWICZ:  With reference to last weeks meeting, Mr. Karnacewicz was present to request that the Selectboard consider giving him the opportunity to purchase the pie-shaped piece of Town property that his fence is on.  When he erected the fence he thought it was his land. The Selectboard has no objections to leaving the fence where it is for as long as he owns the property.  Mr. Sawyer felt the Selectboard should talk to the North Walpole Village Board of Commissioners and agreed to look into it.      

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:  Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Accounts Payable check register and manifest in the amount of $43,656.99.  Seconded by Mr. Sawyer.  All in favor, so voted.

PAYROLL:  Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the payroll voucher for the week ending May 10, 2008, for gross wages in the amount of $17,095.17 or net wages in the amount of $8,589.09.  Seconded by Mr. Sawyer.  All in favor, so voted.

Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the electronic fund transfer for the Withholding, MEDI and FICA taxes in the amount of $4,068.92.  Seconded by Mr. Sawyer.  All in favor, so voted.

Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the request of Teresa Kissell to take a vacation day on Friday, May 23rd, 2008.  Seconded by Mr. Sawyer.  All in favor, so voted.

MINUTES:

SELECTBOARD MEETING – May 08, 2008:  Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Minutes of the May 08, 2008, Selectboard meeting with the following corrections:  Page 3 – North Walpole Park, 7th line, change “ence” to “fence”; Change “Trustees of Trust Fund” to “Trustees of Hooper Fund”.  Seconded by Mr. Sawyer.  All in favor, so voted.

NON-PUBLIC SELECTBOARD MEETING – May 01, 2008:  Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard meeting of May 01, 2008, as printed.  Seconded by Mr. Sawyer.  All in favor, so voted.

DEPARTMENT / COMMITTEE REPORTS:

The Selectboard received and reviewed the Minutes of the North Walpole Village Board of Commissioners meeting of May 12, 2008.

REFUND:

CREG AND JILL DANCE –MAP 008-022-000:  Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the Refund for Property Taxes in the amount of $1,008.00 for Creg and Jill Dance.  This is the result of assessment changes made by Avitar.  Seconded by Mr. Sawyer.  All in favor, so voted.

Selectboard Meeting – May 15, 2008 – Page 2

OLD BUSINESS:

GRANT FOR FUNDING OF OIL COLLECTION CENTER:  Mr. Sawyer had previously signed the Grant for Funding of Oil Collection Centers as requested by Rick Cooper.

NEW BUSINESS: 

WARRANTS FOR PROPERTY TAXES – WALPOLE AND NORTH WALPOLE:  Mr. Aldrich moved that as soon as Warrants for Property Taxes for Walpole and North Walpole are ready the Selectboard will come into the office to sign them.  Seconded by Mr. Sawyer.  All in favor, so voted.

CEMETERY DEED –BRIGITTE AND WILLIAM GRAVES LOT- D-354:  Mr. Aldrich moved to approve and sign the Cemetery Deed for Lot D-354 for Brigitte and William Graves for $400.00.  Seconded by Mr. Sawyer.  All in favor, so voted. 

TOWN BULLETIN BOARD – PLANNING BOARD MINUTES:  Following a discussion, the Selectboard agreed to send a note to Pam Aslinger stating that they appreciate allowing the citizens the opportunity to see the Planning Board minutes but they would appreciate trying to hold the volume.  They feel that one month of meeting minutes is sufficient on the Town bulletin board as previous meetings are available in the office.

TRUSTEES OF TRUST FUNDS – CHANGE OF MEETING DATE:  The Trustees of Trust Funds will be meeting on the third Thursday of each month at 9:00 AM.  These meetings will be open to the residents.

VACATION –MAY 24, JUNE 7 and 28, 2008:  The Selectboard acknowledged a memo from Rick Cooper advising that he will be taking vacation days on May 24, June 07 and June 28, 2008.  Mr. Coburn will be in charge during his absence.

VACATION –MAY 27 TO 30- ELAINE MOORE:  The Selectboard approved the request of Elaine Moore to take vacation days from May 27th to 30th, 2008. 

FRENCH ROAD:  Elaine Moore received a complaint regarding French Road.  1) There are auto parts being stored on the Conservation land; and 2) It appears the mobile home is too close to the road and there is a question as to whether or not there is a septic system.  There was a consensus of the Selectboard to ask the Conservation Commission to check on the auto parts to see if they are on Conservation land and to see if the mobile home is too close to the Conservation land boundary line.  The Health Officer will be contacted to check to see if there are any health problems on the property.

TIMBER CUT:   Mr. Sawyer moved to bill Tom Aldrich $540.00 for his timber cut.  Seconded by Mr. Aldrich.  All in favor, so voted.

Jamie Teague came into the meeting.

SELECTBOARD’S OFFICE –WORK WEEK- 4 DAYS:  The Selectboard office employees requested changing to a 10 hour / 4 day work week from June 18th to August 29th, 2008. 

Mr. Aldrich moved to approve this request.  Seconded by Mrs. Teague.  All in favor, so voted.

Selectboard Meeting – May 15, 2008 – Page 3

Mr. Aldrich moved to adjourn this meeting.  Seconded by Mrs. Teague.  All in favor, so voted.  The time was 8:46 PM.

The Selectboard entered into a meeting of the Trustees of Hooper Fund.

TRUSTEES OF HOOPER FUND MEETING

Mr. Sawyer called the meeting of the Trustees of Hooper Fund to order at 8:48 PM.

HOOPER INSTITUTE CONTRACT WITH T.G.K. CONTRACTING, INC.:  Mr. Aldrich moved to approve the contract for the Hooper Institute sidewalk and steps with T.G.K. Contracting, Inc. and to authorize the Chairman of the Selectboard and the Selectboard liaison person to sign in the appropriate places.  Seconded by Mrs. Teague.  All in favor, so voted.

There being no other business, Mr. Aldrich moved to adjourn this meeting.  Seconded by Mrs. Teague.  All in favor, so voted.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Borden, Recording Secretary

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	Walpole's Ambassador Adrian A. Basora, a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Director of the Project on Democratic Transitions, will be the featured speaker at the Annual Meeting of the Windham World Affairs Council of Vermont on Friday, June 20, at 7:30 PM, at the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro. 



	The title of his talk will be Must Democracy Continue to Retreat in Postcommunist Europe/Eurasia?



Ambassador Basora also serves as Past President and Trustee of Eisenhower Fellowships, actively participates in an EF global leadership network that includes the former President of Turkey, the new Vice President of Taiwan,and over 100 past and current cabinet ministers, plus several hundred other leaders such as CEOs, university rectors, NGO heads and media directors in over 50 key countries.



Basora is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a trustee of the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and an Independent Director of the Quaker Investment Trust. He holds an MPA in International Affairs from Princeton University and undergraduate degrees from Fordham University and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris.



There will be a short business meeting beginning at 6:30 PM, coffee with the speaker at 7:00 PM, and the talk beginning at 7:30 PM. Free and open to the general public.