TOWN OF RUTLAND

SELECT BOARD MEETING

November 9, 2010

MINUTES:

The meeting opened at 6:47 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Board members present: James Callahan, James Hall and Stanley Rhodes III.

Review of 10/26/2010 Minutes

Mr. Hall motioned to accept the minutes as written. Mr. Callahan seconded the motion.. All were in approval.

Town Clerk/Treasurer - Marie Hyjek

Notifications have been sent to those who were elected on November 2nd. They will need to take the oath by 2/11/11. Tom Terenzini was newly elected as a Justice of the Peace. The turnout was 67% on the east side and 64% on the west side. Ms. Hyjek wanted to thank all those who worked at the polls for a good job done, especially since there were many paper ballots to hand count.

The Town office will be closed on 11/11 for Veteran's Day and on 11/25 and 11/26 for Thanksgiving.

A.M. Peisch has started the Town audit.

The Town sweeper was sold as scrap metal for $778.80. Ms. Hyjek asked what account to put this under and suggested the Depreciation fund and all three Board members present agreed.

SWAC - Charlie Shields

The Solid Waste District's Public Waste Management Plan, which covers five years, will be published in the paper and if there are no requests for a hearing then it will be certified.

Mr. Rhodes asked about the glass crusher and Mr. Shields said it has been parked and is not being used because of the high cost of blades.

The same officers were re-elected for SWAC.

Transportation Council - Fred Nicholson

Mr. Nicholson attended the last meeting of the Transportation Council as back-up for Mr. Shields. The same officers were re-elected.

The American Lung Association gave a presentation at the last meeting about avoiding some air pollution by shutting off diesels rather than let them run as truckers have in the past. Newer vehicles don't need to keep running in cold weather unless they have a refrigerator unit. This will also save gas. UPS and the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters saved thousands in a year's time. Mr. Nicholson has spoken to the Road Commissioner, Byron Hathaway, about this.

The Intergovernmental US Route 7 Corridor Management Agreement will be signed by the Town of Clarendon after being approved by the RRPC. Rutland Town is also planning to sign.

Rutland Town Planning Commission - Bill Matteson

There was no meeting on 10/21/10 as only four members showed up.

Mr. Matteson told his Commission members to speak up if they have a problem with any of the zoning data. Mr. Rhodes acknowledged that the Select Board has received the letter from the Commission concerning a DRB (Development Review Board) vs. a ZBA (Zoning Board of Adjustment). He said that he would prefer to discuss it when there is a full Select Board. Mr. Matteson said he wants the new zoning document to be a combined effort between the Planning Commission and the Select Board. He added that he plans to apply for a grant for facilitation in writing up the new document and he passed out the application to the Board members as it is the Select Board who actually has to apply.

Mr. Matteson asked if it would be possible for him to attend the meeting with the Green Mountain Plaza that Mr. Rhodes was invited to attend. Mr. Rhodes said that they are trying to keep attendees at a minimum. Mr. Matteson asked that Mr. Rhodes remind the group that part of the entrance to the Plaza is owned by the Town. Mr. Rhodes stated all parties are aware of that fact.

Rutland Regional Planning Commission - Fred Nicholson

Mr. Nicholson said the annual audit was not quite complete as he had stated last meeting.

Mr. Nicholson will attend a By-way meeting on 11/15. So far the goals and objectives are in draft form. He gave the committee the Town history and did a write-up on the Town today. There will be a formal presentation sometime in December or January.

The wood pellet plant proposed in Fair Haven so far is not really viable per Mr. Nicholson.

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Police Department - Chief John Sly

Chief Sly reminded drivers to be careful now that winter weather is approaching.

He also asked the public to call the police if they see something suspicious.

There may be a possible animal control issue to be brought before the Board concerning some dogs that are not being kept under the owner's control. They are wandering into the neighbors' yards despite the fact that the police have spoken to the owner.

Mr. Rhodes informed the Board regarding a dog that had bitten two people. The owner had the dog put down which is against the statute the dog had bitten someone within 10 days. He also mentioned that there are several dogs in the Town that have not been registered. He has forwarded information to Captain Faignant when he encounters this problem.

Timber Bids - Russell Reay

Mr. Reay said that the successful bidder would have to execute a contract within thirty days of notification. All bids should contain a $500 check, which they did.

Mr. Rhodes opened the bids and they were as follows:

HB Logging (New Hampshire) $75,166

L. White Construction $73,634

G H Evarts(New Hampshire) $52,244

Brown's Family Farm (Benson) $52,609

CTA Inc. (E. Middlebury) $56,295

Mr. Reay said that he advised taking the highest bidder since he knows they have the proper equipment to do the job. Mr. Hall motioned to accept the bid from HB Logging and Mr. Callahan seconded the motion. All were in approval. Mr. Reay will notify all bidders and return the checks to those who did not win the bid.

Town Administrator - Joseph Zingale Jr.

Mr. Zingale gave a presentation on the problems incurred with the drain on Route 7 South due to grease build-up. He had A1 Plumbing fix the problem. It was noticed that the manhole cover was floating and the grease build-up was not allowing flow from the east side to the west side.

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Mr. Zingale feels the problem lies with the Ponderosa restaurant but they did not agree and refused to pay the bill for the repair. They said that is why they are paying O&M costs. Mr. Zingale said that the O & M does not cover grease going into the drain that should not be there. Hartigan's will install a camera to monitor the grease build-up. They said there is a possibility of the line under the road being collapsed.

Mr. Zingale also had an overhead display to discuss transfer station containers. The best ones for the Town's purpose cost $5,600 each with a $425 delivery fee for two containers which would put the Town just over budget. Mr. Zingale will see if they would deliver for a lower cost. There is $11,300 left in the budget.

Mr. Zingale said there would be a notice in the paper in the legal section concerning the landfill permit. If no one asks for a hearing then the State will grant the Town a permit.

Mr. Zingale had some information on the number of calls answered by the State Police from county towns. By dividing the calls by the population, Rutland Town is third in the number of calls answered. Mr. Zingale said he would check the time frame for this data. Mr. Rhodes asked Chief Sly how many officers it would take to have 24/7 coverage in the Town. Chief Sly said at least four, not counting vacation time. Mr. Rhodes stated that this will not be happening anytime soon.

Stantec is closing its Springfield, VT office. Mr. Zingale has been going through files to save the important paperwork Stantec had on file. Mr. Rhodes said that Pete Andrews will still work for Stantec and be available to the Town.

The Army Reserves have requested a shape file from Mr. Zingale and Mr. Zingale asked the Board if they were adverse to this as they have been in the past. Mr. Callahan asked what the issue is and Mr. Zingale said that not all the data may be accurate and could possibly put the Town at risk if they give it out for others to use. Mr. Zingale said perhaps he could help them out with some other data he has available.

The site visit for the transfer station recertification went well with the exception of how appliances with freon are handled. The freon needs to be removed before dumping the appliance. It was mentioned that perhaps Hubbard's could help with this but Mr. Zingale said he thought the Town's certification required that the Town be able to provide this service.

Water testing was done at six sites on Amanda Place as agreed. The cost was $180 which will be recouped from the homeowners.

Payment has been received from the City for the overcharges at Northwood Park for water in the pool.

Paperwork on the McKinley Bridge project is ready to be mailed so that the Town can receive the stimulus money and pay back the loan taken out for this project.

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The road crew checked the lights on the map Mr. Zingale showed at the last meeting and it was pretty accurate. CVPS said there are actually more lights on Route 7 South than depicted. Mr. Hall motioned to sign on to the Improving Efficiency program in Municipal Street and Public Lighting. Mr. Callahan seconded the motion. All were in approval.

Correspondence

The furnace bids for upgrading the second boiler to engage when the first one doesn't work will be discussed when there is a full Board. Mr. Rhodes will abstain form the vote.

The American Red Cross has asked that they have a request for $1,000 put on the ballot for the March election and they wanted it to be for three years running. Mr. Hall said that by law this type of request needs to be made each year. The Board asked Mr. Zingale to tell them that they have to have a petition signed by five percent of the voters to be added to the ballot as they are a new requester.

Mr. Rhodes stated that there needs to be money put in next year's budget under "Dog Catcher" since Mr. Williams does not have accommodations for cold weather. Animals would have to be taken to the Humane Society and there is a cost involved which would eventually be paid by the owner of the pet.

Mr. Reay handed in his diary and time sheet.

An amendment had been made to the Forestry Management Plan per Mr. Reay for thinning the woods. Mr. Rhodes read the document aloud.

A representative from "Straight Talk" would be meeting with the Board at the next meeting.

There is money available from VLCT for training to make jobs safer.

Mr. Hall attended the last meeting of the Coalition of Municipalities. The same directors were elected. The State education tax is lower this year than last year. Mr. Hall said that Steve Jeffrey from the VLCT said that it is still about 30% from property taxes with Act 60 as it was with the previous plan. The key objective for next year would be to make sure money appropriated is used for the intended purpose.

Mr. Rhodes sated that Dick Lloyd held a tax sale and the Town will own the property involved after a year has passed. The owner has one year to pay what is owed in back taxes and other fees involved, i.e. lawyer, sheriff, etc.

Mr. Hall attended the meeting of the Community Advisory Board and the Corrections Department gave a presentation concerning categories of release of prisoners and how they intend to notify the public when these take place.

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At 8:20 P.M., Mr. Callahan motioned to go into executive session to discuss a pending litigation on a tax appeal. Mr. Hall seconded the motion. All were in approval.

At 8:45 the Board came out of executive session without action. Mr. Callahan motioned to end the meeting. Mr. Hall seconded the motion. All were in approval The meeting ended at 8:47 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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