TOWN OF RUTLAND

SELECT BOARD



MINUTES: July 1, 2014

Board members present: Steve Hawley, Joe Dicton, Don Chioffi, Mary Ashcroft and John Paul Faignant

The meeting opened at 6:35 P.M. with the pledge of allegiance.

The Board reviewed the minutes of June 17, 2014. Mr. Chioffi questioned why a vote as to whether A.M. Peisch would be named a preferred vendor did not pass when the vote was 2 to 1- 1 in favor of the motion. Mr. Zingale said the vote failed to to the lack of 3 votes in favor of the motion. Mr. Faignant moved to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Chioffi made a second to the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 3 to 0. Ms. Ashcroft abstained from the vote because she did not attend the June 17, 2014 meeting. Mr. Dicton was not present when the motion was made to approve the minutes.

The Board took questions from the floor.

Town resident Mr. Howard Burgess met with the Board and expressed a public safety concern regarding vehicles parking along side the East Proctor Road and other side streets when there are events at Del Bianco Park at Dewey Field. Mr. Burgess questioned whether there would be liability for the Town since there are no parking signs yet vehicles are parked along the road.

Mr. Burgess cited the fact that there is 3 acres of land abutting Del Bianco Park at Dewey Field. He said if the Town were to acquire the 3 acres of land from Mr. Pete Baker the land could be used for additional parking and storm water drainage. Mr. Burgess cited a chronic water problem along the East Proctor Road due to poor drainage. Mr. Burgess said there is a culvert large enough for a person to fall in, if the cover were removed. He said the culver is a danger and should be replaced.

Mr. Hawley told Mr. Burgess that the last time the Board discussed purchasing the land in question the price was too high for the Board. Mr. Burgess cited the fact that as a result of the Grand List re-indexing, the property value has declined.

Mr. Burgess also raised the issue regarding the hydrant at the new station, which needs to be raised due to the fact it is very low. Mr. Hawley said the Board should get a couple of bids to do the work. Mr. Dicton said he would like to have the matter brought to the attention of Black River Design Architects before any work is done. Mr. Dicton said Black River Design Architects need to be held accountable.



Mr. Hawley instructed Mr. Zingale to contact Black River Design Architects an inquire as to why the hydrant was installed as it was. According to Town Fire Chief Mr. Frank Cioffi the hydrant connection are about 6” off the ground. Mr. Dicton said he would like to know the standard for hydrants. Mr. Burgess will get the Board a couple of prices to extend the hydrant at the station.

Town resident Ms. Donna Zeller introduced herself to the Board and expressed her desire to be appointed the acting Town Clerk & Treasurer. Ms. Zeller cited her life and work experiences. Ms. Zeller also cited her educational experience. Ms. Zeller cited some of the job responsibilities she has had in the various jobs she has held. Ms. Zeller cited all the different type of professionals she is used to working with.

When asked by Ms. Ashcroft if she could work fulltime, Ms. Zeller said she could work fulltime for the Town. Board members thanked Ms. Zeller for attending the meeting.

Mr. Jim Hall, who is Treasurer of the Cheney Hill Seniors, met with the Board and said contrary to a recent article in The Circle the group will continue as a group but will no longer be meeting at the Cheney Hill Community Center.

Mr. Hall said the group is exploring holding their meetings at local restaurants, which have been approved by the Council on Aging. Mr. Hall told the Board that the group's membership is down significantly. Mr. Hall said he thinks the mean age of the group is about 90 years old.

Mr. Hall told the Board that he had instructed Ms. Hyjek to put a hold on the money the Town had appropriated for the senior group but has since informed Ms. Hyjek the group would accept the appropriation. Mr. Hall said the group is about 25% the size it had been in the past.

Mr. Hall said the group has some historical items which he would like to store at the Town office. Ms. Hyjek said the items could be stored on the stage. Mr. Hall said the group is considering meeting at the Sugar & Spice Restaurant in Mendon. Mr. Hall will write up a summary of the status of the group and give it to Mr. Zingale to post on the Town's WWW site. Mr. Hall thanked the Board members for their support.

Town storm water consultant, Mr. Andres Torizzo met with the Board and reviewed the Town's MS4 permit conditions and Mr. Torizzo's proposed improvement projects. Mr. Torizzo said the Town lands within the moon brook water shed are storm water impaired.

He said the Town's MS4 permit requires flow restoration for water contained within the moon brook water shed. Mr. Torizzo said the Town has 20 years to meet all of the MS4 permit requirements.

He said the purpose of the Town restoration plan is to identify potential sites for retrofits storm water clean up. He said the Town needs to finds ways to reduce the amount of storm water runoff entering Moon Brook.

He said the biology will come back to the stream if the clean up projects are implemented. He said the complete flow restoration plan is due to be submitted to the State, three years following the signing of the MS4 permit.

Mr. Torizzo said he was contracted to do the first steps of the plan, which has been done. He said his work is a significant step in developing the restoration plan. Mr. Torizzo used the projector and reviewed his work with the Board.

Mr. Torizzo said the State is going to want to see a project priority list and a timeline of implementation. He said the Board will need to come up with a financial plan showing how the projects fit in the budget. Mr. Torizzo said the State also wants to know how the Town will deal with expired storm water permits.

Mr. Torizzo referred to the projected image and showed the location of the retrofits he has designed for the Town. He told the Board that the project proposed for Randbury Road would be the most expensive project to build.

Mr. Torizzo said the Randbury Road retrofit would treat 14 acres of untreated water. Additionally he said he has planned for the run off from a future road and development along Randbury Road to also be treated by the proposed retrofit.

Mr. Torizzo said another proposed project would be the VELCO / Carmel Place retrofit. He said the planned improvement would involve a series of stepped pools, which would slow down water run off. Mr. Torizzo said Carmel Place has an expired storm water permit.

He said by making a simple adjustment he can improve the level of treatment. He said by reducing the diameter of the outflow pipe it would reduce the water discharge, which would result in improved treatment.

Mr. Torizzo cited the projected project costs for the retrofit projects:

Randbury Road - $279,262.11 (Mr. Turizzo said the town might do a 70 / 30 or 60 / 40 split with VTrans

VELCO/Carmel Pl - $120,205.80

Hitzel Terrace - $15,000.00

Carmel Pl (0utfall) - $15,000.00

Mr. Torizzo explained how the State's model works. He said the model is run for the existing conditions and is run again when projects are implemented. He said according to the State's model Moon Brook has an 11.9 % inbalance in runoff during a big storm.

He said there is about 11.9 % too much run-off for a one year storm in the stream. Mr. Turizzo said the 11.9 % is divided up among the City/Town and VTrans. He said if the Town were to implement the four suggested projects it (the Town) would be 30% toward meeting the ultimate goal for the Town.

Mr. Torizzo said the Town may benefit from projects implemented by the City of Rutland. Mr. Chioffi questioned Mr. Torizzo regarding the math in his example. Mr. Torizzo explained his methodology.

Mr. Torizzo said the Randbury Road retrofit would treat about 1 acre foot of water or 40,000 cubic feet of water. He said the VELCO project would treat about 25,000 feet of water. Mr. Torizzo said the Hitzel Terrace project would be simple to do yet would treat a lot of water.

Mr. Torizzo said from a cost benefit perspective it would make sense to do the Hitzel Terrace project first. Mr. Torizzo said the Randbury Road project would treat an existing portion of US RT 7 as well as a lot of the commercial development along US RT 7.

Mr. Torizzo reviewed his slide show presentation with the Board. He said the Hitzel Terrace project would also address the expired storm water permit for Hitzel Terrace. Mr. Dicton expressed a concern the Town might deposit silt into a private pond which would be a component of the Hitzel Terrace retrofit. Mr. Torizzo said he did not think the project would have an impact on the private pond.

Ms. Ashcroft informed Mr. Torizzo that the Board is dealing with a couple of Hitzel Terrace property owners regarding road run-off problems. Board members and Mr. Hathaway discussed the various options for dealing with Hitzel Terrace residents water problem.

Mr. Torizzo and Board members discussed the proposed VELCO/Carmel storm water project. He said there would be a series of small detention pools which would slow down water run off. Mr. Torizzo said VELCO is open to using their R-O-W for storm water management.

Mr. Torizzo said the final project he has designed would be to reduce the size of the outlet pipe for the Carmel Place detention pond. Mr. Torizzo informed the Board that the Carmel Place storm water permit has expired.

Mr. Chioffi inquired if Mr. Torizzo has considered storm events which exceed the new pipe restriction. Mr. Torizzo said he has modeled the pond with the reduced pipe size and that there is plenty of reserve in the pond.

Ms. Ashcroft cited the fact that the Hitzel Terrace development's Act 250 permit may require an amendment, if pipe sizes and drainage is changed. Ms. Ashcroft asked whether the Town would be done with Storm water retrofits if the four projects are built. Mr. Torizzo said the four project would qualify as 31 % of the total.

Mr. Torizzo said the Town should build the Hitzel Terrace project first due to the relatively low cost and the significant benefit in storm water reduction the Town would receive. Mr. Torizzo will review the proposed Hitzel Terrace project and will try to incorporate the storm water now impacting several lots on Hitzel Terrace.

Town Clerk & Treasurer Ms. Marie Hyjek reported:

  1. Informed the Board that the final payment for the new roof will be on the next Select Board orders.

  2. Mr. John Harrington recently power washed the building.

  3. Thanked Josey for planting flowers in front of the Town office.

  4. The building's fire alarm is scheduled for routine testing later in the week.

  5. The 1st edition of the Grand List was logged in on June 23, 2014.

  6. Grievances are scheduled for July 9th.

  7. Cited the copy of the education tax she provided to Board members.

  8. The annual audit will begin on July 21, 2014.

Mr. Hathaway told the Board that the salvaged roof slate is being stored at Northwood Park.

Ms. Nancy Maguire, who is the Director of the Rutland Natural Resources Conservation District, told the Board that she could apply for storm water grants and other types of possible funding on behalf of the Town of Rutland.

Town SWAC Representative Mr. William Matteson reported:

  1. Not present.

Town Road Commissioner Mr. Byron Hathaway reported:

  1. Informed the Board that he had received only one soil screening bid. Mr. Hathaway said he would probably just shop around for winter sand, as a result of not receiving any bids.

    Mr. Hathaway recommended the Board accept the screening bid submitted. Mr.Chioffi moved to accept the low bid of $4,800.00 from Mr. Matt Abbott. Mr. Dicton made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

  2. Told the Board that road side mowing would begin the week of July 7th.

Town Fire Chief Mr. Frank Cioffi reported:

  1. Submitted three senior fire fighter applications which have been approved by the Department's Membership Committee. Mr. Cioffi said one of the three individuals lives in the Town and the other two live in Rutland City.

    Mr. Cioffi said there are two openings remaining for non- town residents within the department. He said a total of 8 non- town residents are allowed in the Department.

    Mr. Chioffi moved to approve the list of candidates. Mr. Dicton made a second to the motion. Ms. Ashcroft requested clarification regarding the 8 positions. The motion passed unanimously.

  2. Chief Cioffi informed the Board that the Town had received one bid for the planter/ barricade to be constructed at the Joseph J. Denardo Fire Station. He said A. Tedesco Masonry submitted a price of $13,600.00 to do the work. Mr. Cioffi said the price does not include cutting and replacing the pavement and the top to be placed as a cap on the planter / barricade.

    Mr. Chioffi moved to accept the bid submitted to the Fire Department for the planters at the new fire station. Mr. Faignant made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

  3. Chief Cioffi and the Board discussed the issue of replacing the damaged lights at the new fire station. Mr. Faignant and Mr. Dicton said to send the expenditure to the Town's insurance company. Mr. Zingale will send VLCT the replacement cost information.

Mr. Hawley presented the following two week Police Report:

-Calls for service within the two week period: 30

- Total calls year to date in 2014: 426

- Total calls year to date in 2013: 162

-Types of calls assigned
ATV Incident, 911 hang up, Motor Vehicle Crash, Trespassing, Drug Activity, Public Speaking, Loitering, Threatening, Animal Problem, Theft, Citizen Assist, Fire Alarm, Motor Vehicle Complaint, Solicitation, Motor Vehicle Complaint, Property Watch, Littering, Assault, Family Fight and Agency Assist.

Closed Cases: 29




  1. Chief Dumas: 37

  2. Captain Washburn: 65.5

  3. Officer Gamble: 37


Total number of Admin hours: 27

  1. Chief Dumas: 20.5

  2. Captain Washburn: 6.5

  1. Officer Gamble: 0

    Mr. Chioffi reported that the two new police vehicles have not yet arrived. Mr. Chioffi said the Chief has requested that he be allowed to continue to use the vehicle which the Town purchased from the City of Rutland and to use his vehicle.

    Mr. Chioffi said Captain Washburn and Chief Dumas would share Mr. Dumas' vehicle. He said they would use up the remaining amount of money the Town has in the police budget. It was decided the Board will keep the status quo until the new vehicles arrive. Mr. Hawley said the Board would review the situation in a month.


Town Recreation Director, Mr. Mike Rowe, reported:


  1. Baseball has wrapped up. He said one town team made it to the championship game.

  2. The pool is open for the season.

  3. Mr. Rowe submitted proposed staff pay raises to the Board for consideration. Mr. Rowe said most staff would receive a 25¢ raise. He said the staff who took the WSI Class received a larger increase. Mr. Rowe said new hires start at $8.75 per hour.

    Mr. Dicton made a motion to accept Mr. Rowe's request for lifeguard pay for 2014. Ms. Ashcroft made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

  4. Mr. Rowe thanked the Lion's Club for their many years selling food at the Town's Forth of July Fireworks display. He said the recreation staff would handle food sales at the Fireworks display. He said the concession stand would stay open until 9:00 P.M. on the 4th.

  5. Soccer registration will begin on August 1st. Mr. Rowe said forms are available on the Town's homepage or at the Town pool.

  6. Ms. Ashcroft asked Mr. Rowe if he has an eagle scout project. Mr. Rowe said Mr. Matt Bird would be replacing bleachers at Northwood Park and will also do some painting.

  7. Informed the Board that needles have been found at Dewey Field. He said the police have been notified. He said anyone finding a needle should call the Town Office and report the needle. He said no one should handle any needles.

Mr. Martin Wasserman Town TAC representative reported:


  1. Not present


Mr. Joseph Zingale Jr. Town Administrator reported:


  1. He informed the Board that he had conducted a manhole survey and found the manholes to be in good condition with no build-up.

  2. Presented a proposed Excavation within the Town Road Right of Way permit to be issued to Carris Reels and Green Mountain Power allowing them to place debris 10 to 15 feet into the Old Falls Road R-O-W.

Mr. Zingale also submitted a map showing the extent of the proposed fill placement in relation to the Old Falls Road R-O-W. Board members had several questions and decided to schedule a site visit for 7-9-14 at 6:00 P.M. To fiew the proposed fill area.


    1. Mr. Zingale cited a change in the the Open meeting law, which requires the Chairman to announced any agenda cancellation at the start of the meeting.

    2. Informed the Board that the heater in the composting toilet is not working. The Board instructed Mr. Zingale to get the heater repaired.

    3. Mr. Zingale informed Board members that some shingles at the Transfer Station need to be replaced. Mr. Zingale will contact Mr. Larry Young regarding doing the work. Mr. Dicton said additionally two over head doors need to be repaired. He said all of the doors should be oiled and the tension adjusted. Ms. Ashcroft said the Town should consider replacing the trash compactor due to its age.

      Mr. Chioffi questioned why Mr. Dicton and Ms. Ashcroft were addressing Transfer Station matters when he and Mr. Hawley are on the Transfer Station Committee. Ms. Ashcroft said the Transfer Committee should come up with some capita budget proposals for budget time.

Board members discussed the Johnson Energy culvert drainage problem. Mr.Chioffi said every time there is a problem the Board lets Black River Design Architects (BRDA) off the hook and the Board just pays for the fix. He said BRDA failed to design a proper project.


Board member will discuss the drainage matter and problems with the new fire hydrant with Attorney Kevin Brown at the next meeting. Mr. Chioffi cited the retaining wall behind the new station as another matter to be resolved. Mr. Hawley told Mr.Chioffi to put a list together with his concerns and to give it to Mr. Zingale so he can forward to Attorney Brown.


The Board reviewed packet correspondence.


Board members scheduled completing work on the proposed Solar Facility Siting Standards for 5:00 P.M. on July 9, 2014. Mr. Zingale told the Board that the company proposing a new solar farm on Cold River Road have requested two 911 addresses.


Mr. Zingale said he told the company's representative that they would first have to have an approved curb-cut before he could issue a 911 number. Mr. Zingale said there is still a problem because the Town does not issue 911 numbers to open parcels of land.


Mr. Chioffi cited the fact that the entire parcel will have to be cleared of trees in order to construct the solar fields.


Mr. Hawley read a letter from Attorney Jeffrey White regarding a junked vehicle complaint involving the Turner property on the Post Road. Mr. Zingale will give the complaint to the Town Police Department. Mr. Hawley cited a 2002 letter in which the Turners agreed to remove and screen the unregistered vehicles on their property.


Ms. Ashcroft inquired if anyone knew the whereabouts of the Town cane given to the oldest resident in Town. Mr. Hathaway said according to The Circle Ms. Hilda Fish has the cane.


Ms. Ashcroft inquired if there is any news regarding the clean up of the Flory Plaza. Mr. Zingale said he has not received any new information. Ms. Ashcroft informed Board members that it might be a good idea to hold a Board of Civil Authority meeting prior to the November election. Ms. Ashcroft cited the fact that there would be a changing-of-the-guard, when Ms. Hyjek retires. Ms. Ashcroft also suggested the Board schedule an inter-municipal meeting with City officials. Mr.. Zingale will inform City officials of the Board's desire to hold a meeting.


Mr. Dicton moved at 9:31 P.M. to go into executive session to discuss personnel policy. Mr. Chioffi made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.


Mr.Hawley declared the executive session closed at 9:50 P.M. The Board took no action.


Ms. Ashcroft moved to close the meeting. Mr. Chioffi made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.







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