MINUTES
TOPSHAM SELECT BOARD MEETING
Monday, March 24, 2025
Present: James Bulger, Jake Thompson, Bradford Calhoun, Tom Otterman and Carl Hildebrandt (Select Board), Karen Walker (Town Clerk/Treasurer), Richard Sampson (Road Foreman) and via Microsoft Teams Janice Emerson (Administrative Assistant)
Visitors: Donna Otterman, Carol Appleton, John Hood, Peggy Welch, James Salina, Roger Vance and via Microsoft Teams Jim Clark, Hank Buermeyer and Dev Emch.
Meeting called to order at 7:03 pm.
Motion made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Jake Thompson to approve minutes from meeting of March 10, 2025. Passed unanimously.
Executive Session - Motion made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Jake Thompson to go into executive session to discuss a legal issue and personnel. Passed unanimously. John Hood was invited to join a portion of the session. Meeting adjourned to executive session from 7:09 pm to 7:32 pm.
Legal Issue – Motion made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Jake Thompson to authorize John Hood, Lister, to seek legal counsel on a land use mapping issue. Passed unanimously.
Personnel – A letter from a non-resident was reviewed and will be placed on file. Jim Bulger contacted a game warden.
HIGHWAY
Road Report – Richie Sampson updated the Board on roadwork and equipment. New Garage – Brad Calhoun updated the Board on the building construction progress.
Audit Update – Karen Walker reported the auditing firm is very pleased with the information provided. They are working on the audit and are on track.
Bond Update – Jake Thompson will contact the Bond Attorney regarding the application and timelines.
Better Back Roads Grant – Motion made by Brad Calhoun and seconded by Jake Thompson to sign. Passed unanimously.
VTrans Packet - Brad Calhoun will handle. Brad is meeting with Logan (VTrans Rep) on Friday.
Certificate of Compliance for Town
Road and Bridge Standards – Motion made by Brad Calhoun and seconded by Jake Thompson to sign. Passed unanimously.
Overweight Permits – Motion made by Carl Hildebrandt and seconded by Jake Thompson to approve permits for Feed Commodities, North Woods Excavating, Irving Oil, Camp Precast Concrete, Structure R B R, Barrett Trucking, Suburban Propane, and Sidney Smith Trucking. Passed unanimously.
GENERAL
Appointment of Town Officers – Motion made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Carl Hildebrandt to appoint the individuals as shown on the attached sheet. Passed unanimously.
Jake Thompson was appointed as NEKWMD Rep.
Open Position – NEKWMD Alternate.
Animal Control Officer - Motion made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Carl Hildebrandt to wait on appointing an ACO. Passed unanimously.
West Topsham Community Hall – Tom Otterman update the Board on this project.
Liquor and Tobacco License – Motion made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Carl Hildebrandt to approve licenses for Gramp’s Country Store and Waits River Country Store. Passed unanimously.
Cemeteries – Jim Bulger discussed the fencing and headstone work needed at the East Topsham Cemetery with Tom Flannigan. Work is currently being done on the gate. Tom Flannigan will provide a list and the cost of additional work need to be done.
Waits River Cemetery – Motion made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Carl Hildebrandt for Tom Otterman to put an ad in the Journal Opinion to get bids on the Waits River Cemetery improvements. Passed unanimously.
The Board approved Tom Flannigan continuing as Sexton for the East Topsham and Welch Road Cemeteries and for Tom Otterman to continue as Sexton for the Waits River Cemetery.
Transfer Station - The Board discussed ways to better regulate the transfer station, including the possibility of adding a new gate, issuing new permit cards, and a Select Board member doing random permit checks. They also discussed the timeline for acquiring the metal dumpster for this year. It is not available yet and so no metal should be left until it is in place. Roger Vance described a recent incident with a discarded robot vacuum cleaner causing a fire at another Casella site and issued a reminder that anything containing batteries is not allowed.
F INANCIAL
The Board reviewed and signed Order #2506 in the amounts of $71,267.27 for accounts payable and $9,133.52 for payroll.
Welch Road Cemetery CD – Motion made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Jake Thompson to renew for one year. Passed unanimously.
Wells River Savings Bank Checking Account – Motion made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Tom Otterman to authorize the Town Treasurer to close the checking account and open a savings account. Passed unanimously.
Motion made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Jake Thompson to pay $700 for reappraisal preparation. Passed unanimously.
OTHER
The Town Office will be closed on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 for training.
Meeting adjourned at 8:19pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Janice Emerson
Administrative Assistant