New Haven News In and about Town...

Transcription

1 New Haven News In and about Town... Contacts: Selectboard Roger Boise Pam Marsh Kathleen Ready Kathy Barrett Pat Paquette Town Clerk Pam Kingman Town Treasurer Barb Torian Town Shed Beeman Elementary Mt. Abe High School Superintendent s Office New Haven Community Library Deborah Lundbech Events Coordinator Suzy Roorda Fire Chief Alan Mayer Cell Burn Permit Dave Heisler, Fire Warden Cell Mike Dykstra Planning Commission Jim Walsh Development Review Board Tim Bouton Zoning Administrator Dave Wetmore Animal Control Officer Wayne Marcelle Any non-profit group event that is open to all members of the community can be listed in the Community calendar. Contact: Pam Kingman ( ) Suzy Roorda ( ) 1 Volume 6 Issue 11 February 2011 Selectboard Report During January, we have continued to work on the 2011 budget, while continuing our normal business. In addition, we held a hearing on the proposed Town Plan. By the end of the month, we will have had five meetings! We have adopted the General Fund and Roads budgets. Although we have tried to be fiscally conservative, both show increases over last year. The General Fund increase is largely due to increases in health insurance (we don t provide retirement or disability benefits for our staff, so health insurance is their primary benefit), a $25,000 payment toward the Sleeper property purchase, a small wage increase for some workers (after no wage increases last year) and increased costs in maintenance of the Town Hall and Town Office. We plan to replace the non-functioning elevator in the Town Hall from the Reserve Facilities Fund, as that is a legal and safety requirement for the use of the Town Hall. The Roads budget is also increasing, partly due to lower revenues expected from the State, road work that needs to be done on the roads, whether or not we receive state grants, planning for our share of the cost of future bridge repairs, and the anticipated cost of hiring a new Road Foreman to replace Phil, who is retiring in April. We had an energy audit on the Town Hall and the Town Garage/Fire Station. The report on the Town Garage/Fire Station revealed some health and safety issues that must be corrected before any energy improvements can be made, and which should be corrected for the health of our road crew and firemen. We also budgeted for those in the Roads budged, with the funds to come from the Reserve Facilities Fund. We will have a separate item on the Warning asking for voter approval to spend up to $50,000 from the Reserve Facilities Fund towards energy improvements in the Town Hall and Town Garage/Fire Station. We believe the improvements will reduce the Town s overall costs for energy in these two buildings over time. Some of them such as replacing all the lights in the two buildings will be eligible for a significant rebate from Efficiency Vermont. We finally completed the Town School Agreement allocating responsibilities for the use and maintenance of the Town Hall, which is owned by the Town, but used extensively by Beeman Elementary. We have also nearly completed a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Haven Volunteer Fire Department allocating responsibilities and expectations for both the Town and the Fire Department, given the Town s substantial financial support of the Fire Department. Our minutes can be found on the town website, and townspeople are encouraged to attend our meetings and/or call or us with any questions or concerns. Pam Marsh, Chair Changes to Homestead Declaration The homestead declaration filed in 2010 will now remain in effect until it is withdrawn; because the property is sold or there has been a change in homestead use. This means you do not need to file this form every year anymore. Only when there is a change of use. If you are a new property owner declaring your homestead you will need to file form HS-131. If you are eligible for a property tax adjustment (pre-bate/rebate program) you still need to file the new form HS-145 every year. If you need to withdraw a declaration of homestead you will need to file form HS 132. There are still time frames and deadlines for filing the forms listed above so make sure you comply with the appropriate dates. See further information on the town website under tax information: or you can visit or call Vt. Dept. of Taxes Barb Torian, Treasurer

2 Beeman Corner for February Feb. 3 Four Winds Training at Beeman 8:30-10:30 Feb. 7 Instrumental/Chorus perform at B.E.S.T. 8:15 in the Town Hall Feb. 8 Night Instrumental & Band performance at 6:30 in the Town Hall Feb. 14 B.E.S.T. 8:15 with the Share class 8:15 in the Town Hall Feb Winter recess Town Trail Network Are you interested in helping map trails in New Haven? Do you know of or use any trails that you are willing to share? How about ancient roads, old farm or logging roads? If you can help, please mark your trail on the map provided and return it to the town offices. Please include your name, property location and contact information Feb. 28 Student led B.E.S.T. 8:15 in the Town Hall Town Meeting begins at 4:00 Town Dinner sponsored by Beeman s Four Winds Nature Program Incoming Kindergarten Class for the fall of 2011 If you have a child who will be attending Kindergarten at Beeman in the fall and have not heard from us, please call the school office to get your child on our registration list. Call and ask for Mary Pat. (phone # and /or ). The map is also available on the Town Website at newhavenvt.com or at the Town Office. Please feel free to contact one of us for more info. Thanks~ Suzy Roorda, , cscasam@gmavt.net; Nina Bacon, , ninam@together.net, Francie Caccavo, , fwc@oliviascroutons.com 2

3 New Haven Planning Commission Report The last edits have been made to our latest draft of the proposed Town Plan and the Select Board Public Hearing was held on January 11. The Select Board, with majority support from those in attendance has accepted the Plan and will recommend that the plan be voted on by Australian ballot on March 1. We appreciate the feedback and suggestions that so many of you provided at the recent hearings and over the past two years. We encourage you to take the time to vote for the Plan. If you will not be able to come to the Polls on March 1, we would like to suggest that you arrange for an absentee ballot, by contacting our Town Clerk, Pam Kingman at It is an easy process and can be handled over the phone. If we can count on your support of the Town Plan, we can get right to work on revising our current Zoning Bylaws. Please remember that all are welcome and encouraged to participate in this process. New Haven Planning Commission Jim Walsh, Chair Francie Caccavo Rod Case Angie Dunbar Bill Brooks Pat Palmer New Haven Community Library News This month is packed with interesting programs at the Library - hope to see many of you here! On Wednesday, Feb 2 at 7pm, Megan Bushey, who is attending college in New Zealand, will be on hand to show slides of this stunningly beautiful country and to talk about her experience living as a student and working "down under." Megan is leaving to go back to New Zealand soon after, so we're lucky to get her for an "extra" February Armchair Traveler before she leaves! On February 16 at 7pm, the Friends of the Library are sponsoring a Vermont Humanities Speaker. Mark Stoler, Professor Emeritus at the University of Vermont, will be presenting a lecture entitiled, "World War Two: American Perceptions and Historical Realities." Professor Stoler will compare our standard perceptions of the War over the past sixty years with what some scholars now claim is a more truthful version. This presentation promises to be a provocative and fascinating talk and is free, wheelchair accessible and open to the public. Madeleine Quesnel was scheduled to present her gorgeous photographs of her travels through Amish Country, but unfortunately has had to cancel. We will look forward to Madeleine s presentation in the future as there has been a growing popularity in "Amish" fiction these past few years. It has been suggested that this simpler, family and spiritually based life is comforting to read about during the stressful times we live in. For those of you who enjoy this genre and for everyone that appreciates outstanding photography, stay tuned. Please remember to check out our news, program and material updates and photographs on our website at nhcl.org and on Facebook at New Haven Community Library (Vermont) where we encourage you to "like" us in order to get the latest updates! Friends of the Library It's all about the Chocolate! Chocolate Delight Night, that is. Celebrate the month of February by enjoying chocolate in every shape and form. This year's Chocolate Delight Night will be on Saturday, February 12, from 7-9pm in the school cafeteria. This is an annual fun treat for all those who love chocolate and those who love the people who love chocolate - treat your sweetie with chocolate. To take your goodies home, the cost is $12. If you stay and enjoy them at the cafeteria, the cost is $10. This event is for those 12 and older. Chocolate Delight Night is a major fund raising event for the Friends and all proceeds benefit the New Haven Community Library which sponsors: Books for Babies Program, Green Mountain Book Awards (Books for Teens), Children's Summer Reading, H.O.P.E. s Christmas 3 Angel Program, Dolly Parton Foundation Imagination Library, and our Speakers Programs in addition to purchasing new books for the Town s Community Library. We want to thank all of you who have sent in a donation for our annual gift drive. Your support makes possible all the programs that the Friends sponsor. We couldn t do it without you. Finally, another fundraiser we do is to provide the baked goods at one of the Ripton Coffee Houses. This year we baked for the January 1st shindig and raised $236. Thank to you all who baked and helped to run that table. It s always a fun evening as well as being profitable for us. Our next meeting is Wednesday, Feb. 9th, 7pm at the Library all are welcome! Mary McGuire

4 Town Meeting Warning 249th Annual Town Meeting of New Haven, Vermont The legal voters of the Town of New Haven are hereby warned and notified to meet at the Town Hall in New Haven, Vermont on Monday, February 28, 2011 at 4:00 pm to act on Articles 1 through 5; and on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM to vote by Australian Ballot on Articles 6 through 31. A DISCUSSION PERIOD FOR THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT ARTICLES WILL BEGIN IMMEDIATLEY FOLLOWING TOWN MEETING. ARTICLE 1. Shall the Town of New Haven vote to pay real estate taxes to the Town Treasurer on October 3, 2011; delinquent taxes will be subject to interest charges of one percent per month, and an eight percent penalty charged against them from October 3, 2011? ARTICLE 2. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven accept the Auditors Report for the year 2010? ARTICLE 3. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven approve changing the name of the Computer Fund to the Computer / Office Equipment Fund? ARTICLE 4. To transact, vote and act upon any further non-binding business, which may legally come before this meeting. ARTICLE 5. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven authorize the Selectboard to enter into contracts for emergency services with Bristol Rescue Squad, Vergennes Rescue Squad and Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Association to be included in the General Fund budget beginning 2012? ARTICLE 6. To elect the following Town Officers by Australian Ballot: Auditor Beeman School Director Delinquent Tax Collector Grand Jurors (2) Library Trustee Lister Moderator Mt. Abraham School Director Selectboard 2 years Selectboard Town Agent Trustee of Public Funds ARTICLE 7. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven vote to adopt the Town Plan as adopted by the Planning Commission and Selectboard? ARTICLE 8. Shall the voters the Town of New Haven authorize the Selectboard to spend up to $50,000 using matching grants and Reserve Facilities Funds for energy efficiency improvements to the Town Hall, Town Garage and Fire Station? ARTICLE 9. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven adopt the proposed Road Fund Budget in the amount of $ 893,806.46, a portion thereof in the amount of $ 610, to be raised by taxes, for the purpose of maintaining town roads for the year 2011? ARTICLE 10. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven vote to adopt the proposed General Fund Budget in the amount of $ 662,814.71, a portion thereof in the amount of $387, to be raised by taxes? This amount to be increased by any additional monies voted affirmatively by other articles of this Annual Meeting or voted affirmatively by Australian ballot on March 1, Tax rate to be determined by the Selectboard. ARTICLE 11. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $1, for the Addison County Community Action Group (ACCAG), d.b.a. HOPE? 4

5 ARTICLE 12. Shall the Town of New Haven appropriate $500 for ADDISON COUNTY COURT DIVERSION AND COMMUNITY JUSTICE PROJECTS, INC. to help provide restorative justice projects for offenders who have potential to learn from their mistakes and avoid incarceration and a criminal record, said sum to come from Town Funds? ARTICLE 13. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $1, for the Addison County Home Health and Hospice, Inc.? ARTICLE 14. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $1, for the Addison County Parent/ Child Center? ARTICLE 15. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $ for Addison County Readers, Inc. to be taken from Town funds for the purpose of improving literacy skills for children under 5 years of age? ARTICLE 16. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $ for the Bristol Family Center? ARTICLE 17. Will the Town of New Haven appropriate the sum of $2,200 to Bristol Parks, Arts and Recreation Department for support of its programs, including the Pottery Studio, Skate Park, Ice Rink, and the Hub/Youth Center, which have been found to serve the Five Town area? Said sum to come from the General Fund. ARTICLE 18. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate the sum of $3, to the Bristol Rescue Squad, to assist them in providing emergency coverage to said residents of New Haven? ARTICLE 19. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $ for the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging? ARTICLE 20. Shall the voters of Town of New Haven appropriate $1, for the Counseling Service of Addison County? ARTICLE 21. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $ for the Elderly Services, Inc.? ARTICLE 22. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $ for the Hospice Volunteer Services? ARTICLE 23. Shall the Town of New Haven vote to appropriate the sum of $ to the Addison County Humane Society, Inc. to support their mission to promote the ethical treatment of and prevention of cruelty to all domestic animals and forms of wildlife? ARTICLE 24. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $1, for the John W. Graham Emergency Shelter Services, Inc.? ARTICLE 25. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate the sum of $1, to the Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Association? ARTICLE 26. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $ for the Open Door Clinic? ARTICLE 27. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $ for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)? ARTICLE 28. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $ for the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad, Inc? ARTICLE 29. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $ for Vermont Adult Learning? ARTICLE 30. Shall the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate $ for the Vermont Center for Independent Living? 5 (Continued on page 6)

6 ARTICLE 31. Will the voters of the Town of New Haven appropriate the sum of $1, to WomanSafe, Inc. to support their mission to: work toward the elimination of physical, sexual and emotional violence against woman and their children through direct service, education and social change? Said sum to come from General Funds. Dated at New Haven, Vermont, this 25th day of January, Received for Record: January 25, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. Attest: New Haven Town Clerk * Pam Marsh * Kathy Barrett * Pat Paquette * Kathleen Ready * Roger Boise ****Original signatures on file at the New Haven Town Clerk s Office**** Where is it? I want you to tell me where this is., or where I am standing and what direction I'm looking in. your answers to me at jgallott@gmavt.net, write the answer down and drop it off at the Town office or hand it to me if you see me around town. Deadline February 15. Where was it? Standing at the corner of Hunt Rd and South Street. looking northeast towards Sargent Cross Road and River Road. Correct Answers: Walker Whittemore, Bill Landon, Mike Audy, Kyle Delabreure, Scott Brown, Jim Walsh 6

7 Reserved for Community Calendar 7

8 Chocolate Delight Night - see Page 3 Town of New Haven 78 North Street New Haven, VT PRSRT STD US Postage Paid New Haven Vermont Permit No. 1 Postal Patron New Haven, VT Recycling Saturday mornings 8-12 at Town Garage. Trash drop-off at same time for a fee. Interested in receiving an reminder of the newsletter deadline? Send your address to me jgallott@gmavt.net) and I will add you to our reminders list. "Please stand and state your name..." An open forum for anyone to discuss town issues. All submissions will be printed as long as they meet the following criteria: 1) You must be a New Haven resident, and include your name, address and phone #. Only your name will be published. 2) Must concern Town issues. Be civil. Stick to issues. 3) Must be 500 words or less, one piece per month. 4) Submit in electronic form by the 15th to Jim Gallott jgallott@gmavt.net Selectboard Report - Page 1 Changes to Homestead Exemption - Page 1 Beeman Corner - Page 2 Town trail network - Page 2 Planning Commission - Page 3 Community Library - Page 3 Friends of the Library - Page 3 Town Meeting Warning - Pages 4, 5, 6 Where is it? - Page 6 Community Calendar - Page 7 Town Meeting February 28th (Voting is Tuesday of March 1st) 8