TOWN OF RUTLAND

SELECT BOARD MEETING

December 7, 2010

MINUTES:

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

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

Review of 11/23/2010 Minutes

There were corrections suggested on Page 3 for a typo of repeated words and on Page 5 to denote that the water is for standby. Mr. Hawley motioned to accept the minutes with these changes and Mr. Hall seconded the motion. All were in approval

Byway Update - Susan Schreibman

Susan Scheiebman from the Rutland Regional Planning Commission was present to update the Select Board on the Byway proposal now called the Corridor Management Plan. She is seeking support from the Select Board.

The Byway would stretch from West Rutland to Hartford. Inventory has already been taken in regards to recreational, scenic, archaeological, historical and natural resources. The theme is Crossroad of Vermont. Some of the Rutland Town attractions are Mead Falls, Otter Creek, the first fort in Center Rutland and the railroad and its connection to the marble industry.

There are three goals: Development (economic) which involves tourism and a safe multi-modal transportation network, Promotion i.e. marketing awareness and Preservation of historical and natural resources.

The next step is to obtain support from the select boards and alderman in the towns along the route and then present the plan to the Scenic Preservation Council who will hold a hearing, most likely in January in Killington. Then they recommend to the Transportation Board that the road be designated a byway. Funds for National byways are usually distributed in March so there is a tight timeline.

Mr. Hawley motioned to have Mr. Zingale write a letter of support from the Select Board for the Byway Plan. Mr. Hall seconded the motion. All were in approval. Ms. Schreibman said she would make the Select Board aware of the hearing date.

Town Clerk/Treasurer - Marie Hyjek

Ms. Hyjek reported that the total cost of the McKinley bridge project was $337,000 with $3,300 not allowed for reimbursement which was for signs and it was stated in the original contract that the Town would have to pay for these. A late bill was received from Stantec for $446 that she will submit to the State. A wire transfer was received from the State in the amount of $316,754.79. Interest accrued for monies kept in the money market account was $1200 vs. $8,832.37 charged for taking out the loan. There is $15,864.82 left in the Highway account to carry over to next year's budget. Mr. Hall said that this money may be needed to repair some of the paving after the winter weather. Per Mr. Hathaway, there is an issue where the two pavings come together which can be fixed with highway budget money. Ms. Hyjek said she wanted to thank Andy DeForge for his help in expediting the paperwork process.

Bids for the Town report were opened and were as follows:

Print Tech $3.477.50

Sharp $2.697.00

Repo Digital $2.295

Select Print $2,237

Solutions

Mr. Hall motioned to accept the bid from Sharp Printing for $2,697 since they are local, have done the report for the last few years and the quality was good. Mr. Hawley seconded the motion. Ms. Hyjek was asked if she agreed with this motion and she said she did. All were in approval.

Mr. Rhodes said that he wanted the Supervisory Union's salaries printed in the Town report along with the administrative salaries at the Town school.

Ms. Hyjek said she would like to thank Theresa Kulig and Capt. John Paul Faignant in helping to retrieve lost keys for a Town resident lost in the wind storm.

SWAC - Charlie Shields

Mr. Shields said he submitted the SWAC report to Ms. Hyjek for the Town report.

Hazardous Waste days are proposed for Memorial Day week-end and October and Mr. Shields sent a letter requesting that the Memorial Day week-end be changed.

Mr. Shields researched plastic sandwich boards for the transfer station that could be used to inform the public of Town events. They cost around $99 each. Mr. Hawley and Mr. Callahan will check this out.

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Transportation - Charlie Shields

Mr. Shields said there was going to be a new method of handling proposed road and bridge projects. Some of the projects that have been on the list for years will be selected to be done. One project planned is to seal coat the new Route 4 from Route 7 to the New York State line. This will help preserve work done in the recent past.

Mr. Shields said that State standards for roads are more flexible than the National standards.

Mr. Zingale asked that the service road planned behind businesses on Route 7 South be brought up at the Transportation meetings to keep the project alive. Mr. Shields said this has been done.

Highway - Byron Hathaway

Mr. Rhodes asked Mr. Hathaway if he thought the new size road signs were easier to read and Mr. Hathaway said no. Mr. Rhodes also said that they were dangerous in the wind.

Mr. Hathaway said most of the clean-up from last Wednesday's wind storm was done. He has written a letter to be put in the Circle stating that the Town is only responsible for limbs that fall in the Town's right of way. Residents are not to pile their debris in the Town right of way. He added that most people were patient waiting for assistance. There is a large brush pile that needs to be burned. Clean-up costs from the storm will be sent to the State for possible reimbursement.

The new Town truck is in and it will now be taken to the body builder. Mr. Rhodes asked when the old truck should be advertised and Mr. Hathaway said probably in late January.

Mr. Hathaway asked if it was still expected that the Town would continue to snow blow a section of sidewalk near Home Depot. Mr. Zingale said the State does not require that this be done and it is dangerous being so close to a busy highway. Mr. Hathaway said the snow blower could only handle light snow, not the wet and sloppy type. No real decision was made.

Mr. Shields asked about crack sealing which has been done in Castleton and Killington. This process helps to save money on total repair of roads. Mr. Hathaway said it is reasonably inexpensive to set up and could be a help.

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Planning Commission - Bill Matteson

Mr. Matteson thanked Mr. Hathaway for attending the last meeting of the Planning Commission to discuss new road regulations in regards to subdivisions and curb cuts. To date the Select Board has left curb cuts up to Mr. Hathaway when Act 250 is not involved. Mr. Zingale will notify Mr. Hathaway when meetings pertain to road issues.

Mr. Matteson thanked the Select Board for approving the grant application for State aid in working on the new zoning document. He stated he wants to work in conjunction with the Select Board on zoning. Mr. Rhodes will try to get hard copies of the last 2008 zoning document for the Planning Commission and the Select Board to use.

Fire Department - Chief Joe Denardo

The department conducted an inventory and there was a lot of extra hose on hand that was donated to a neighboring township. Enough was kept to replace what is currently on the trucks. All the hose was tested.

There have been some issues with pass devices from MSA. Mr. Rhodes asked why MSA has not made good on them and Chief Denardo said that they are past warranty but that MSA will knock off $8 per new unit. Money to replace these units will come out of the new equipment budget and cost about $5,000.

There is $100,000 in State emergency manager funds available on a 50/50 match and applications need to be in by December 29th. Mr. Denardo asked if the Board felt there was a need to have an emergency generator at the Town Office. A copy of the Town audit would need to be presented. The Board asked that the cost of this be checked out before making any decisions.

Steve Hawley and Jim Callahan will work with Chief Denardo on next year's budget.

Chief Denardo talked about having an inside lock box for keys to get into the offices at Town Hall. He also said he is still waiting for keys to the transfer station.

Police Department - Chief John Sly

Chief Sly said the key words for tonight would be "Don't Touch". Improvised explosive devices are being planted in soda bottles. There is also a hazardous powdery substance that can burst out of the bottle. Call the Police if there is anything that appears suspicious.

Chief Sly said that he appreciates all the phone calls from residents that help his department keep the community safe.

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Recreation - Jim Hall

Mr. Hall reported that there had been a budget meeting with three Commission members and two Select Board members. They came up with a preliminary budget.

Town Administrator - Joseph Zingale Jr.

Mr. Zingale showed an overhead map of the street lights in Town. As part of the Efficiency Vermont initiative, the plan is to turn off every other light except where there is an intersection. The Board asked Chief Sly his opinion and he said he didn't feel that keeping lights on was a deterrent to crime as crimes have been committed in broad daylight. Mr. Zingale will contact CVPS for assistance. Ms. Hyjek asked if there would be a cost to turn off the lights and then, if necessary, a cost to turn them back on. Mr. Zingale will check this out. The Town has eight free hours of engineering coming through Efficiency Vermont. The prospect of new LED lights was discussed briefly. Mr. Rhodes said he understood that CVPS is not in that business as yet. Mr. Nicholson said that the Town of Hartford switched completely over to LED lights but in the process it is expected that the Town will receive a lot of calls from residents thinking that lights turned off are burned out. Chief Sly will review the light map with Mr. Zingale.

Correspondence

Pratico's submitted what the Board thought was a high estimate to trim, remove and replace shrubs at Northwood. Mr. Rhodes suggested putting money in the budget to do something with the landscaping and it was mentioned that the Highway Department may be able to help in this regard. This will be revisited in the spring.

The Housing Trust, formerly the Rutland County Community Land Trust, has a request for funding to be added to the ballot in March. It was decided that since this is actually the same agency, no petition is required to do this.

Brownfield expenditures on Flory's Plaza total $88,500 thus far. Mr. Zingale said that it may be known by spring if the State will accept the plan to excavate about thirty truckloads of material.

The Board received an invitation from MSJ to contribute the "Project Out" project. Mr. Hall said that per a discussion last year, the Board decided not to partake. People can volunteer time, however.

The Regional Ambulance Service will again be on the ballot for $16,152 which they say is the same per capita cost as previous years.

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The Diamond Run Mall water delinquency with the City, has been resolved via a payment schedule in which Gemini will pay off the delinquency in about six months.

Mr. Hall asked if Rousseau had contacted the Town in regards to his accepted bid to fix the furnace at the Town Hall. Mr. Zingale has left a message but will try to contact him again. The need to replace some windows at Town Hall was also discussed and this work will be budgeted.

Mr. Hawley motioned to close the meeting. Mr. Hall seconded the motion. All were in approval. The meeting ended at 8:10 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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Josh Terenzini Date

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