Weston board, Little School sign 10-year lease

By Bruce Frauman
© 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC

The Weston Select Board and Christine Falango, treasurer of the Little School, have signed a 10-year lease agreement for the school’s continued use of the Annex building, next door to Town Offices on Lawrence Hill Road.

The lease, signed at the Aug. 22  Select Board meeting, includes provisions for ending the contract should both parties agree. It also includes possible use of the 2nd floor as an indoor play area for the students once regulatory requirements are met.

The 10-year contract also calls for the tenants to pay the town $9,300 a year, starting Sept. 1, 2017 with annual increases of $300 a year to 2027.

The board also gave board member Jim Linville and Falango authority to draw up specifications for a drainage system and it awarded that $3,000 contract to Josh Allison, the only contractor submitting a bid for the system.

The project will divert water streaming off the roof away from the building. The fix is expected to be completed before school begins in September. Falango said she was not surprised by the bid amount because asphalt must first be removed, perforated pipe buried below the frost line and a lot of rock added to the ditch.

On locked doors and
uniform providers

The installation of a new front door lock on the Town Office that will automatically lock when the door is closed continued to elicit discussion from the board. Board chair Denis Benson said, “We, on occasion, have a failure to operate the key,” leaving the building unlocked.

Town Clerk/Treasurer Kim Seymour obtained quotes from Countryside Alarms for touchscreen and keypad lock systems, but each would still require an action to turn the deadbolt. Seymour concluded that “we either have to get rid of the deadbolt or we install something (to turn the deadbolt) that does not need human intervention.” Benson asked Seymour to “do some more research.” When Linville asked if there was enough time, Seymour replied that “everyone knows enough right now to use a key.”

In other news:

• • Weston Lister Howie Brosseau wrote the board describing two situations of errors and omissions that required board approval to be fixed. According to Seymour, neither will drastically affect the Grand List. In one, a property sale was incorrectly listed and the buyers were taxed too high as were the sellers. Total valuation for each party will be reduced.In the second instance,  assessors incorrectly applied a discount twice to four properties owned by the same company. Those tax bills will be returned to their original numbers.
    

• • A consultant for UniFirst did not appear before the board as expected to offer discounted prices for uniforms and rugs for town facilities. But the board still discussed the potential 40 percent “volume discount” available to them from Foley, the town’s current supplier. Both companies provide uniform and facility supplies. Seymour said the town doesn’t have any problems with Foley. Town Administrator Cheryl Barker said the contract with Foley does not run out until March 2019, so unless the board wants to break that contract, there is plenty of time to make a decision.

• • The board also approved Seymour’s recommendation that $250,000 be put into a 90-day CD at 0.96 percent interest to earn the town about $600. The town’s bank, TD Bank, made the suggestion.

• • The board ended the meeting by going into an executive session to discuss a  personnel issue. Board member Charles Goodwin told The Telegraph that Lister Ron Prouty has tendered his resignation and a replacement will be needed.