TOWN OF RUTLAND
SELECT
BOARD MEETING
FEBRUARY 2, 2010
MINUTES:
The meeting
opened at 6:55 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Board members
present: Joe Dicton, James Hall, Steve
Hawley, Stanley Rhodes III and Josh Terenzini.
Review of the 1/19/2010 and 1/20/2010
Minutes
Mr. Hall
motioned to accept the minutes of 1/19/2010 as written. Mr. Hawley seconded the motion. All were in approval.
Mr. Hall
motioned to accept the minutes from the 1/20/2010 budget meeting. Mr. Hawley seconded the motion. Three were in approval with Mr. Terenzini
and Mr. Dicton abstaining.
Recreation – Jody Hall
Mr. Hall
reported that the basketball season is winding down and that the first meeting
on Little League has taken place. There
will be a regular meeting of the Recreation Commission in February including
Mr. Terenzini and Mr. Hall. Mr.
Terenzini asked that it be a day other than Thursday.
Questions from the Floor
Don Chioffi was
present to discuss with the Board the possibility of purchasing stealth cameras
for the Town to help the Police Department with surveillance. The cameras could be moved periodically and
only the Police Department would know where and when. Mr. Chioffi said that he has brought this up in past years and
has also discussed this with Chief Sly.
The Board agreed to take the matter under consideration after talking
with the entire Police Department.
Mr. Dicton and
Mr. Terenzini offered for Mr. Chioffi to review the logs that are kept by the
constables as far as what types of things they do during their shifts.
Mr. Chioffi said
that he isn’t trying to talk against the Police Force; he feels constables
should be available 24/7 and arrange their shifts accordingly. He also stated that he felt more time should
be spent on crimes other than speeding.
Town Clerk/Treasurer – Marie Hyjek
Ms. Hyjek
reported that the office will be closed on February 15th in honor of
Presidents’ Day.
The absentee
ballots are due in the week of 2/1. So
far there are over one hundred requests.
The Town Report
is at the printer’s and is planned to be mailed by February 19th.
The office will
be open until 5:00 P.M.on February 25th to accept voter applications. This is the last day to accept them for
voters who want to vote in the March election.
Ms. Hyjek plans
a BCA meeting on February 16th to determine who will be working the
polls for the March election.
A second check
has been mailed to the City for water/sewer bills that came in late. All users were made aware of the new billing
system via a letter in their last bill.
Corrected tax
bills will be printed 2/3. Mr. Burgess,
the Town Lister, has already sent his 411 form to the State in order to meet
the deadline. There are five grievers
going to the State level and three going to Superior Court. Those who want to go to the third level of
appeals have until February 13, 2010 to
file with the Town Clerk.
Rutland Regional Transportation Council –
Charlie Shields
Mr. Shields
reported that at his last meeting The Bus put on a presentation on their services
which included transportation to Killington, Ludlow and picking up non-ambulatory people at their homes. The Bus
reported usage by 345 people per day, and this number goes down during when
seasonal workers no longer ride to Killington.
The RRTC gave the
AOT a priority list of improvements to bridges, roads, etc. in the Rutland
Region. Then the State will
re-prioritize based on need statewide.
Mr. Hall said
that he felt changes made by the State, without representation from the towns,
was non-productive. Mr. Shields said
that there really wasn’t any money for projects anyway.
Rutland Regional Planning Commission –
Fred Nicholson
Mr. Nicholson
said that RFP’s would be sent out in regards to the monies available from the
Department of Energy. An example for a
request for money would be upgrades/changes suggested from the energy audit
performed at the Town office building.
(2)
Highway – Byron Hathaway
Mr. Hathaway
passed out a report on salt usage. Mr.
Rhodes suggested that when a taxpayer asks why a contractor is salting or
plowing when there is no storm, they should be told it is at the request of the
Road Commissioner. He said he had a
complaint from a resident on Blue Ridge Drive.
Mr. Hathaway said it was a preventative measure taken before the last
snow squalls. Mr. Shields said that he
thought it was strange at first until an hour later when the snow fell. He appreciated the Highway Department’s
efforts.
Mr. Rhodes asked
if the contractors would be loading their own salt and Mr. Hathaway said that
all were in favor of it except the Quirk Brothers and he did not want to go
forward with this plan without all contractors in agreement. He added that it would free him up to
perform other duties.
Rutland Regional Planning Commission –
Fred Nicholson
Mr. Nicholson
reported that RFP’s will be sent out in relation to monies available from the
Department of Energy. An example of
things that will be looked at would be suggested changes/upgrades from the
energy audit performed at the Town office building.
Rutland Town Planning Commission – Bill
Matteson
Mr. Matteson
said that the last Planning Commission meeting was held at Rutland City
Hall. Mr. Hall also attended. They were present to reinforce the Town’s
stance on the rail yard relocation.
The Rutland
Regional Planning Commission will attend the Rutland Planning Commission’s
meetings on the third Thursday in February and March for training purposes.
On Thursday,
February 4th, the Planning Commission will attend an interactive TV
class at the Stafford Technical School on “Planned Unit Development”.
Mr. Matteson has
some Kiwanis members that will help out the Town performing energy assessments
for homeowners. The group has attended energy training. Mr. Zingale asked that
Mr. Matteson be his co-chairman for this project. Some light bulbs and shower heads may need to be stored at the
Town office. After an energy
assessment, the homeowner can then pay for an energy audit, most of which will
be reimbursed through rebates.
Police Department – Officer Ed Dumas
Mr. Dumas
responded to Mr. Chioffi’s concerns about their schedules and the safety of the
Town. He said that the schedules are
planned so that there is only one officer on duty per shift unless otherwise
needed in certain circumstances.
(3)
He is currently
working on an embezzlement case.
Mr. Hall asked
about activities at the Green Mountain Shopping Plaza. Officer Dumas said that there had been some
accidents and also a break-in that was being investigated
Town Administrator – Joseph Zingale Jr.
Mr. Zingale
discussed the McKinley Bridge project and upcoming dates for the project with
the Board. Currently the plan is to
advertise for bids and also a Project Supervisor. On February 23rd there will be a pre-construction
meeting at 10:00 A.M. at the Town Office.
The RFPs’ are due to the Town by 3/5/2010 and will be opened on
3/9/2010. Mr. Zingale needs to enter
these dates on a form to e-mail to the State.
Maps will be available for the project and Mr. Zingale can check with
Repographics on what would be an appropriate charge for these.
Mr. Zingale said
he needs a Board member to approve the paperwork before it is sent to the
State. Mr. Rhodes suggested a meeting
before the next scheduled meeting of the Board.
Mr. Zingale
showed a map and pictures of a flood plain violation by Chris Wilk at the
junction of Business Route 4W and the West Proctor Road. The Town’s Zoning Board of Adjustment has
not received sufficient information from Mr. Wilk in order to give him a
permit. Mr. Zingale will issue a notice
of violation which could lead to monetary fines. Mr. Dicton said that the Zoning Board of Adjustment should meet
ASAP to decide on a recommendation to present to the Select Board to resolve the
problem.
Another
violation was presented by Mr. Zingale of a business on Route 4E that put up a
number on their building that coincides with Woodstock Avenue instead of Route
4E. This was reported by the 911 Board
when first responders could not locate the building when called. The business has since put on the correct
number of 43 that coincides with addresses on Route 4E but have not taken down
the incorrect number as they said they have business cards, etc. made out with
that address. Mr. Zingale said the
number has to come down.
Mr. Matteson and
Mr. Zingale are on the Route 7 Corridor Plan Committee. Mr. Zingale said that there are some issues
that the Select Board may want to address in the written draft. Mr. Hall will get together with Mr.Zingale
and reword the parts that they do not agree with and then get Mr. Matteson’s
input. These issues include loss of
curb cuts and the inability to receive permission for a curb cut for future
businesses. Mr. Hall said that he felt
these issues should have been discussed at the meetings that were held on the
plan.
(4)
The Army
Reserves, who plan to build on Post Road, want the Town to maintain a new road
they will be building. Since they are
not a taxpayer, the Town is adverse to this idea. Mr. Zingale looked into the possibility of payment in lieu of
taxes and the Army Reserves is not allowed to do this. He said that perhaps the
Planning Commission can request an escrow account for maintenance of the road
when the Reserves come before the Commission.
Mr. Dicton brought up the wear and tear to Post Road from all the heavy
vehicles that will be going in and out of the facility. It is also unknown if they will need an Act
250 permit being a government organization.
Mr. Zingale
brought up the possibility of changing mapping services for the Town.
Currently, Russell Graphics does these updates but is located in North
Carolina. They charge $3,000 a year and
there are often mistakes and they are not able to link to the Grand List. He suggested that the Town do business with
Harry Rouche, who used to work for the State and now has a private
business. The advantage to this is that
he will be able to link the maps to the Grand List. The initial outlay of money would be somewhere between $3,600 and
$6,300 and then $2,000 per year thereafter.
They are doing maps for other towns.
Howard Burgess, the Town Lister, would like to see this change as he is
familiar with working with Mr. Rouche and the linkage to the Grand List would
help him and Mr. Zingale in their daily duties. Mr. Zingale would also have digital coverage as well. Mr. Dicton and Mr. Rhodes said they would
like to see some of Mr. Rouche’s work before deciding.
The Clarendon
Planning Commission has invited the Select Board and the Rutland Town Planning
Commission to a meeting on February 15th at 6:30 P.M. concerning the
Airport Zoning Commission. Since this
is a holiday, Mr. Zingale will check the date with Clarendon.
There is a
proposal to move the CV College to Tenny Brook Plaza. This may increase traffic in the area.
The State’s
storm water regulations along Otter Creek may include Rutland Town. The new regulations will determine what kind
of run-off is allowed. Mr. Nicholson
said that this is being driven by the Federal government.
The emergency
light on the sewer pump on Post Road came on and it was determined that the
conduit housing the wiring has been compromised and the new wiring is
required. Currently one pump is
servicing the area. If the Army
Reserves moves onto Post Road, then a third pump may be needed. Mr. Zingale said that perhaps the Army
Reserves can help out with the cost of this.
(5)
The South End
sewer line has been cleaned up from a grease clog. However, there have been other incidences in the past so Mr.
Zingale has asked that Tom Gallipo monitor the flow every other day for a
while. He will be paid out of the sewer
account. There are six restaurants that
use this line. Mr. Zingale said he
would like to start monitoring the grease traps at the restaurants to make sure
they are properly emptied and are of sufficient size. An alarm system may also be needed at the restaurants which would
cost them money. At the risk of
antagonizing the businesses, it may also be necessary to charge fines if they
do not comply with what is needed.
Mr. Dicton
motioned to go into executive session to discuss the appraisal on the land near
the Cheney Hill Cemetery. Mr. Hall
seconded the motion. All approved and
they went into executive session at 8:50 P.M.
At 9:05 P. M.,
the Select Board was out of executive session.
Mr. Zingale will send out letters to abutters of the land in question.
Correspondence
A time sheet was
received for work done at the Mead tract.
There was a dog
complaint from a resident on Belock Drive concerning the Bove’s dog. The constables will handle this.
An informational
letter was received from the City on the Ripley Bridge.
Mr. Terenzini
motioned to end the meeting. Mr. Hall
seconded the motion. All were in
approval. The meeting ended at 9:08 P.M.
(6)
.
.