TOWN OF RUTLAND

SELECT BOARD

MINUTES: March 12, 2013

Board members present: Steve Hawley, Stanley F. Rhodes III, John Paul Faignant and Don Chioffi

The Meeting opened at 6:35 P.M.

All rose for the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag.

Town Administrator, Mr. Joseph Zingale Jr., opened the floor to nominations for Board Chairman for 2013-2014. Mr. Hawley nominated Mr. Rhodes. Mr. Faignant made a second to the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 3 to 0. Mr. Rhodes did not vote. Mr. Rhodes thanked the Board for their support, again.

Mr. Rhodes opened the floor to nominations for Board Clerk. Mr. Faignant moved to nominate Mr. Hawley as Board Clerk. The motion passed by a vote of 3 to 0 Mr. Hawley did not vote.

Mr. Rhodes welcomed Mr. Chioffi to the Board.

The Board reviewed the minutes of 2-26-13. Mr. Chioffi cited several grammar corrections Mr. Hawley moved to approve the 2-26-13 minutes with corrections.

Mr. Chioffi cited a reference in the 2-26-13 minutes regarding Rutland City traffic ticket revenue going to the Town of Rutland. Mr. Rhodes said the matter is a continuation of a nine year old problem. Mr. Rhodes said the City police are only writing “Rutland” on the ticket, when they should write “Rutland City “ or “City of Rutland”. He said when they just write “Rutland” the ticket revenue goes to the Town. Mr. Hawley moved to approve the minutes with corrections. Mr. Faignant made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Clerk & Treasurer: Ms. Marie Hyjek reported:

Thanked everyone who helped with the recent election. She said the election went smoothly.
Told the Board everything but the school budget passed.
She said the school re-vote is scheduled for March 26^th
Informed the Board that she had a sign advertising the re-vote put up at the Town transfer station. She said the warning has appeared in the paper and will run one more time.
Told the Board the informational meeting will be at 7:00 PM at the Town School on March 25^th.
Inquired regarding the unfilled Moderator and Grand Juror positions. Ms. Hyjek said the Board could wait until the committees are made later in the meeting.
Informed the Board she had completed work on the Center Station Bond application. Ms. Hyjek said a representative with the Bond bank commented that her work was complete and he complimented the back-up documents.
She said the application will go to the Bond bank in May for review.
Ms. Hyjek reminded everyone that dog licenses are due by April 1^st.

Mr. Chioffi asked how much money is in place. Ms. Hyjek said the Town has a line of credit for $1.2 million dollars until September 15th. Ms. Hyjek said the application was reviewed and that there is no problem.

Transportation Council & SWAC: Charles Shields reported:

Reported he had missed the recent Transportation meeting at Rutland High School.

Mr. Rhodes asked Mr. Shields if he would like to be reappointed to the Solid Waste Alliance Communities (SWAC). Mr. Shields said he would stay on with SWAC. Mr. Hawley made a motion to reappoint Charlie Shields & Fred Nicholson as the SWAC representatives. Mr. Chioffi made a second the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Town Road Commissioner: Mr. Byron Hathaway reported:

Cited a “Complete Streets” form he had filled out regarding recent improvements made to Prospect Hill Road. Mr. Hathaway said the legislature created the reporting process a couple of years ago.

He said anytime he performs construction on a street he is required to fill out a form indicating what was done and why. He said he also has to cite how all forms of transportation were addressed. Mr. Hathaway said the forms are to be filed with the Town Clerk's office. Mr. Hathaway said the Town Clerk should keep the reports in a small book.

Mr. Chioffi said if towns are required to do additional widening to accommodate bicycle paths then cyclist should pay their fair share. He cited past legislative efforts to make cyclist pay to register their bicycles. Mr. Hathaway said there is no mandate that the Town has to build a bicycle path. The Board will review the report at the next meeting.
Mr. Hathaway told the Board that he picked up the new trailer earlier in the day. He said the trailer is 5 years old and is like new. He said it will serve the town well.
Mr. Hathaway questioned the status of the Town Personnel Policy. Mr. Faignant said it would be available in about 30 days.

Police Chief: Ed Dumas reported:

Recreation Director: Mike Rowe reported:

He has submitted four different playground equipment designs to students at the Town school to select their favorite equipment. Mr. Rowe said the equipment would be placed at Dewey Field. Mr. Rowe explained the grant details to Mr. Chioffi. Mr. Rowe said the Town was awarded a $10,000.00 one-for-one matching grant. Mr. Rowe said it was decided the town's $10,000.00 would come from the depreciation fund.
Mr. Rowe questioned the Board regarding replacing the diving board and the installation of a handicapped lift at the Town pool. Mr. Rowe said the handicapped lift must be in before the pool opens.

Mr. Rowe said the handicapped lift is needed because the law requires two handicapped accesses to the pool. Mr. Rowe cited the fact the pool has a set of steps. Mr. Rhodes said there is $93,000.00 in the depreciation fund. Mr. Rowe said between the playground and pool work the cost would be around $31,000.00. Mr. Faignant moved to make the improvements. Mr. Chioffi made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Rowe said baseball registrations would be later in the week and that the end of year basketball party would be on March 20^th at the Town school from 6:00 P.M. to 6:30 P.M, for grades third through sixth.

The Board reviewed the proposed Stantec landfill monitoring contract. Mr. Chioffi questioned the Board regarding the monitoring requirement. Mr. Chioffi said it's another mandate without any money to accompany it.

Mr. Hawley made a motion to sign the landfill monitoring agreement with Stantec for 2013. Mr. Chioffi made a second to the motion and for the chair to sign the contract. The motion passed unanimously.

Fire Chief: Joseph Denardo reported:

Submitted an application from William L. Crawford to join the Fire Department. Mr. Denardo said the membership committee and law enforcement reviewed his information and feels he is okay with everything. Mr. Denardo cited the fact Mr. Crawford has experience from his time in North Carolina and that he now lives on Simonds Ave.

Mr. Denardo said he would go on the roster as a Town resident. Mr. Denardo said Mr. Crawford would be a probationary firefighter for six months. Mr. Chioffi asked Mr. Denardo how many men are on the roster. Mr. Rhodes said there is 48 or 49 on the roster, not including city residents. Mr. Faignant moved to approve the application. Mr. Hawley made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Denardo said according to the bylaws there can be eight members that live outside the Town. Mr. Denardo said the Department can have as many as 58 on the roster. He said Fire/Police are not included on the active roster. Mr. Denardo said some of the 50 individuals formerly lived in Town but are now living in the City of Rutland.

Mr. Denardo said presently only 3 or 4 individuals on the Fire Department are City residents. He said the bylaws will allow 8 non-town residents that have never lived in the Town.
The Chief informed the Board regarding plans to sign a lease agreement to house fire apparatus at the Rosen & Berger property off Business Route 4 while the new Center Station is under construction.

Mr. Denardo said Ms. Theresa McGinnis owns the property and building, which is the former home of Rutland Motor Cars. The chief said the sight is a little tight but has enough room for three trucks and equipment. He said the plan is to begin to lease the building in May for nine months.

The Chief said the Department will install its alarm system, which is currently in the Center Station, in the McGinnis building. Mr. Denardo said the Department would also store its air compressor in the temporary building during construction.

Mr. Denardo said the fence to the property would be left open at all times when the Fire Department is renting the building. The Board told the Chief all costs associated with the move to the temporary station should come out of the money appropriated for the new Station construction.

Ms. Hyjek questioned insurance coverage. Mr. Faignant said the Town should notify VLCT of the building rental. Mr. Zingale cited the fact the McGinnis building may be located across the municipal line in the Town of West Rutland.
Mr. Faignant said it would not matter that the equipment is in West Rutland.

Mr. Hawley moved to have the chairman sign the lease agreement with Sapphire Enterprises Inc. Mr. Chioffi made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
The Chief informed the Board that he would like to notify business in Town regarding the Lock Box Ordinance, which became effective January 1^st. Mr. Denardo inquired if the individual stores at the Diamond Run Mall, which have alarm systems, would be required to install a lock box.

Mr. Denardo said each individual store should have a lock box since they are gated and locked. Mr. Faignant said the ordinance envisioned there should be a lock box to a separate space if a business is locked. Mr. Zingale will notify Town business of the Lock Box Ordinance.
The Chief updated the Board regarding the dead battery issue with the new tanker. The Chief said upon inspection it was determined that one of the new batteries in the truck was junk. He said the battery was replaced.

Mr. Denardo said, according to Mr. Larry Dingee, the installation of the black-box and other new components on Fire trucks will cause the batteries to go dead if the trucks are not used frequently.

The Chief said all four bays in the new Center Station would be properly wired with the cords hanging from the ceiling, in order to plug the trucks in to keep the batteries charged.
Mr. Denardo told the Board that members of the Fire Department would not participate in the review of construction bids. Mr. Rhodes suggested the Board could have Mr. Pete Andrews review the bids in addition to the Black River Design Architects review. Mr. Chioffi cited the fact that Black River Design Architects is required under their contract to review the construction bids. Mr. Chioffi said he would not want to pay a another consultant. Mr. Faignant said it never hurts to have a second set of eyes review the information.

Mr. Denardo said Black River Design Architects would not select a proposal. He said they would help the Town understand the differences with the different proposals. He said the select Board would select the contractor. The Board indicated it would not wait two week before making a decision, once the Board receives the bid proposals.

Mr. Chioffi said it was discussed at the last Fire committee meeting whether a bonus and penalty provision should be included in the construction contract. Mr. Chioffi said both have pros & cons. Mr. Faignant said there are no cons for the Town having a penalty for late completion. Mr. Chioffi said there are cons to having a penalty for late completion.

Mr. Chioffi said most contractors would artificially inflate the bid to cover themselves in the event of a non completion. He said generally, bids seem to be higher when there is a penalty.

Mr. Chioffi said there was not a bonus or penalty for the Northwood project. He said the bonus is usually a percentage, in and around one percent of the total bid amount. Mr. Chioffi told the Board that a bonus can be paid by the day.

He said if the bids were $1.6 million it would be a $16,000.00 construction bonus. He said the Town could do it in eight, ten or twelve days. He said it would be so much per day to a maximum of $16,000.00. Mr. Faignant said the Board needs to have a conversation with the architects on the matter. Mr. Denardo said such discussions should take place prior to the bid package being sent out.
Mr. Denardo said the Department has eight pieces of equipment with life spans of 24 years. Mr. Denardo said a truck is replaced every three years. He said the pumper is replaced every six years and the smaller trucks are replaced in between the 3 & 6 year replacements.

Mr. Chioffi asked Mr. Denardo if he considered the replacement schedule as optimal. Mr. Denardo said yes. Mr. Chioffi asked Mr. Hathaway if he would like an optimal paving schedule. Mr. Hathaway said he is getting close to it but is not quite there, yet.

Mr. Denardo said the department can keep up with the replacement schedule because of the Fire depreciation fund. He said the Board set up the fund so the department can meet the NFPA standards.

Mr. Denardo discussed the disposal of the overhead doors at the Center Station. Mr. Denardo said there is interest within the Department for the doors. Mr. Faignant said Mr. Denardo should offer the doors for sale based on salvage value.

Mr. Denardo told the Board that the Department will be replacing it's air compressor. He said he would sell the old compressor if the Highway Department does not want the compressor.
Chief Denardo asked if the Department could use the Center Station for training prior to taking the building down. The Board had no problem with the request.

Mr. Chioffi asked Mr. Denardo if the Department has a policy for repeat false alarms at commercial locations. Mr. Denardo said the Select Board would need to adopt an ordinance.

Mr. Denardo said the State of Vermont has been very helpful in getting businesses to have properly working alarm equipment. Mr. Denardo said it cost the Town $800.00 for each response.

Town Administrator: Mr. Joseph Zingale reported:

Informed the Board he has scheduled Mr. Kristen Hughes and Mr. Jamie Stewart to meet with the Board at the next meeting regarding the proposed Center Rutland water & sewer corridor study.
Informed the Board that RRPC Executive Director, Mr. Kristen Hughes would like to set up a meeting with both the select Board and Planning Commission and possible other Town officials in order to conduct an enhanced consultation. The Board discussed the matter and told Mr. Zingale that Mr. Hughes should meet with the Planning Commission.
Told the Board he had received word from Enman/Kesselring Engineering that some of the sinks at the Ponderosa restaurant were not connected to the grease trap.
Informed the Board that an individual has inquired whether the Board would be interested in purchasing a parcel of land located in the City of Rutland on the municipal line with the Town of Rutland.

Planning Commission: William Matteson:

Not Present

Regional Planning Commission Mr. Fred Nicholson reported:

Not Present

The Board reviewed packet correspondence.

Mr. Chioffi told the Board that former Selectman Jim Hall was a great deal of help to him. He told the Board that Mr. Hall left a packet of information that brought him up to speed on all the items. Mr. Chioffi said he wanted to publicly than Mr. Hall.

The Board discussed a letter to Rutland County Senators opposing allowing every town in the state to charge a local 1% tax.

The Board put off voting on the Highway & Bridge Standards, due to lack of five Board members.

Mr. Chioffi suggested changes to the letter to be sent to the County Senators.

Mr. Faignant moved to go into executive session to discuss the real estate offer and a personnel issue. Mr. Hawley made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Rhodes declared the executive session closed at 8:30 P.M. Mr. Rhodes said Mr. Zingale will gather more information for the Board regarding the property being offered to the Town.

Mr. Chioffi moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 P.M. Mr. Hawley made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.