TOWN OF RUTLAND

SELECT BOARD MEETING

November 23, 2010

MINUTES:

The meeting opened at 6:40 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Board members present: James Callahan, James Hall, Steve Hawley, Stanley Rhodes III and Josh Terenzini.

Review of 11/9/2010 Minutes

There were several corrections to the minutes of 11/9/10 which included adding "all parties are aware of that fact" on Page 2 concerning the Town owning part of the entrance to the Green Mountain Plaza; on Page 4 add "since the dog had bitten someone within ten days" and eliminate the reference to rabies shots; adding "Mr. Rhodes said this would not be happening soon" in reference to adding more constables for 24/7 coverage to the Town; adding on Page 5 that Mr. Rhodes stated that the boiler issue would be discussed at the next Board meeting as he would be abstaining from voting on the boiler and thus there would not be enough votes to carry a motion at the last meeting; add "Mr. Rhodes stated that more money needs to be added to the dog catcher budget; add that Mr. Rhodes attended Mr. Lloyd's tax sale; and correction of a few typos. Mr. Hall made the motion to accept the minutes with these changes and Mr. Callahan seconded the motion. All were in approval with the exception Mr. Terenzini who abstained.

Review of the 11/16/10 Minutes

Mr. Hawley motioned to accept the 11/16/10 minutes as written. Mr. Terenzini seconded the motion. All were in approval.

Town Clerk/Treasurer - Marie Hyjek

Invitations to bid on the Town report have gone out and there was an ad in the Rutland on 11/18 and 19. New businesses have been asked to be added to the mailing list. The bids will be presented at the 12/7 Select Board meeting. Ms. Hyjek said that she has requested more information from some of the companies on their procedures in an attempt to ensure the reports get out to the public in plenty of time before the election. She has lowered the specs as to number of copies and pages to lower the cost. She asked the Board if they still wanted to mail the reports and they said yes. Mr. Terenzini said he thought many people would prefer to see pictures in the report and Ms. Hyjek said that these were missing along with some Department Head reports as nothing was turned in by the deadline date.

The Town Office will be closed on Thursday, 11/25 and Friday, 11/26 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Since the usual Transfer Station hours on Saturday fall on the Christmas and New Year's holidays, it was suggested that the Transfer Station be open on Sunday both of those week-ends instead. Signs will be posted to alert the public of this.

Ms. Hyjek spoke to Andy DeForge concerning the grant money for the McKinley Bridge project. He feels that he has sufficient back-up paperwork and expects to send the money to pay off the loan the Town took out in time to meet the 12/30/10 deadline for repayment.

Taking into consideration what is on hand for the one percent options tax, $272.010.63, what is due to come in, $243,000 on sales and $39,000 on meals and subtracting out what is to be spent on the pool refurbishment, $125,000, the balance will be $429,000 under that account.

SWAC - Charlie Shields

The request for recertification of the Town landfill was published in the 11/10/10 edition of Sam's Good News and if the public does not request a hearing within fifteen days of that date, then the Agency of National Resources will approve the recertification.

At the last SWAC meeting, it was determined that the cost per capita per town will be five cents less in 2011 to belong. There was a $2.88 surplus in last year's budget. VLCT rates will be going up but parking the glass crusher will help mitigate this increase in cost. There was a proposal for SWAC to go apply as one entity to VLCT but Mr. Shields said that the Town of Rutland still has two years left on their current contract so it would not be advantageous for the Town.

On Electronic Waste Day, Rutland Town only had one gaylord which is low compared to other towns. As of 1/1/2011, there is to be no electronic waste allowed in with the regular garbage or there could be a fine levied.

Hazardous Waste Days are being planned for next year but no dates are available as yet.

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Rutland Regional Planning Commission - Fred Nicholson

The Executive Finance Committee met and there will be an increase of $100 per town for dues so this cost will need to be added to the Town budget.

Mr. Nicholson said that educational fees for classes will be reimbursed by the RRPC.

Highway - Byron Hathaway

Mr. Hathaway brought in a sample of the new size street signs which are twelve inches high with a six inch capital letter. Towns are supposed to comply by 2018. Mr. Hathaway said that there would be an added cost for heavier brackets to hold the larger signs. Budgeting and compliance have not yet been determined by the Town.

CVPS did some work on the metal box at Dewey Field and the Highway Department helped out with digging. Mr. Hathaway said there are some issues with drainage around the building there.

Hubbard's trucks are calibrated for winter salt.

The new truck chassis should be in next week and Ms. Hyjek will have to write a check for the contract amount.

Mr. Rhodes asked if the Town had enough salt on hand for the roads and Mr. Hathaway said that there was enough on hand at this point.

Mr. Zingale showed overhead pictures of a problem on Prior Drive in regards to Town trucks being able to turn around when plowing. The house previously owned by Milt Moore, where the trucks turn around, is now owned by someone else who has given permission to use his driveway but there are often vehicles parked in the way. Mr. Klute, another property owner, said he is willing to give up some of his lawn to make a cul-de-sac. There is also a similar problem on Patricia Lane. The Town needs to look into getting easements so they can establish turn-arounds. Mr. Hall asked if there would be a drainage problem and Mr. Hathaway said that there would need to be a slope with a catch basin.

Rutland Town Planning Commission

Mr. Rhodes said the Board needed to sign the planning grant application for the work to be done on the zoning project. Mr. Hall motioned for Mr. Rhodes to sign for the Board and Mr. Terenzini seconded the motion. All were in approval. Mr. Rhodes said that the 2008 draft of the zoning document will be used to begin work on the new zoning document.

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Police Department- Capt. John Faignant and Sgt. Ed Dumas

Capt. Faignant responded to a letter to the editor concerning a gold car seen by the school. Capt. Faignant stopped the car and found that the driver was a State Police Officer and stated that law enforcement officers do not need to comply with the speed limit while on duty. Capt. Faignant added that the investment into on-board video equipment was worthwhile and this stop was taped.

Capt. Faignant said there have been a number of crimes of opportunity and advised that people lock their cars. Sgt. Dumas advised taking valuables out of a parked vehicle as perpetrators will break the windows to get at them.

Capt. Faignant also added that there have been a lot of break-ins along the Route 4 corridor involving businesses.

Recreation - Jody Hall

Soccer is finished for the season.

People are still using the tennis courts and the garbage containers so these will continue to be emptied.

Basketball will be starting up soon and Mike Rowe will be the Director.

Jody Hall said he would like to set up a meeting time with the members of the Select Board Recreation Committee, Jim Hall and Jim Callahan. He would also like to have the public be able to attend as he appreciates their input. The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, 12/4/10 at 10:00 A.M.

Town Administrator - Joseph Zingale Jr.

Mr. Zingale showed the Board a letter from RSG Group and himself on behalf of the Town depicting the scope and budget for a right hand turn only to Farrell Road. The agreement will be between RSG, Rutland Town and Chase Green Mountain and the cost will be $9,800 for a traffic and safety analysis and $7,700 for the conceptual plan. Mr. Zingale added that Mark Blucher from the RRPC has been instrumental in bringing progress to the issues at the Plaza.

Mr. Zingale sent out $4,335.96 worth of delinquent water/sewer notices. He explained to the Board the difference in regular users vs. those with standby water.

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Last Friday, the Red Roof Inn filed a lawsuit against the City and Town of Rutland in regards to the high rates being charged for water and sewer. This will eventually go to court.

Water was tested on Amanda Place and only one home had bacterial contamination and they will have the water retested. Mr. Zingale said that municipalities can no longer be sued for salt contamination from plow trucks and this includes subcontractors.

Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Hall went to Pete's Tire Barn to view the operations and their proposed expansion, which would increase their workforce from ten to thirty employees. Mr. Zingale showed overhead pictures for the Board to view. The facility specializes in commercial tire retreading for most vehicles except aircraft and serves a radius from Long Island to the Canadian border. The equipment they use is all made in the United States. They plan to hook up to municipal water for fire protection, which will serve as stand-by fire protection.

Miscellaneous

Mr. Rhodes reported that the Town just sent the State a check for $732,973 for education.

Stantec came in under $3,800 of their estimate for the McKinley Bridge project.

The Vermont Coalition dues are $250 and Mr. Hall attended the last meeting. He said that the concentration this year will be on early education programs.

Mr. Hall motioned for the Board to approve the purchase of two waste containers for the transfer station with the $11,300 left in the refurbishment budget for the transfer station. Mr. Hawley seconded the motion. All were in approval. Tim Hubbard will deliver the containers for free. The old containers will be sold for scrap metal.

The Town has received a bid from Russo Plumbing and Heating to fix the problem with the Town Hall heating system, which was never hooked up properly for use of the two boilers. The cost would be $1,600. Johnson Energy previously quoted a cost of $3,000. Mr. Callahan asked why the original company was not asked to come back to fix the problem and he was told that the original contractor was never specifically told what was expected and too much time has elapsed. Mr. Hall made a motion to have Russo Plumbing and Heating fix the problem and Mr. Terenzini seconded the motion. All were in approval with Mr. Rhodes abstaining due to a conflict of interest.

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Correspondence

Vermont Woodlands Association wants the Town to pay to join their group but the Board did not feel it was necessary at this time.

Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Zingale testified before the AOT and the Asst. Attorney General concerning the right in only turn, emergency exit for the planned Commons project. This issue will be recommended to the full AOT Board.

The Rutland Parent/Child Center has requested to be put on the March ballot for a $200 donation. The Board will ask them to present a petition with five percent of the voters in order to be put on the ballot. Mr. Rhodes also added that a representative from the agency should appear at the pre-town meeting to explain their organization.

Kevin Brown, the Town attorney, has a few problems with the contract for the timber sale. This will be discussed further at the next Board meeting.

Meetings need to be set up with Department Heads on next year's budgets.

Mr. Hall gave Mr. Zingale a paper from Comcast asking for emergency phone numbers.

Mr. Rhodes said that he has received the environmental assessment of Flory's Plaza.

Mr. Hathaway wanted to thank John Leonard and Stan Drake from Vaillencourt Tree Service for their help in putting lights on the Town tree.

Mr. Hawley motioned to close the meeting. Mr. Terenzini seconded the motion. All were in approval. The meeting ended at 7:55 P.M.

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Stanley Rhodes III, Chairman Date

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James Callahan Date

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James Hall Date

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Steve Hawley Date

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