Planning Commission Minutes 3-10-2022

Planning Commission Minutes 3-10-2022

TOWN OF RUTLAND PLANNING COMMISSION

MEETING MINUTES

 

DATE: March 10^th, 2022

LOCATION: Town Hall and a publicly accessible conference line

OPEN MEETING 6:30 P.M.

 

Commission Members Present: Chair Barbara Pulling, Dana Peterson, Jerry Stearns, Howard Burgess, Sherman Hunter, and Norman Cohen. All members in attendance are voting members.

Members of the Public Present:  None

Approval of the Agenda:

Mr. Stearns moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Old Business: Subcommittee Report on Building Notification Ordinance

1. The committee is Mr. Burgess, Mr. Stearns, and Mr. McKane. They have not met recently.
2. There is currently a building notification form, but there is no real enforcement.
3. It is agreed that there would need to be someone appointed to oversee this.

Old Business: Subcommittee Report on Enhanced Energy Plan

1. The committee plans to meet with the Selectboard Energy Committee but has not yet.
2. The Selectboard committee members will be changing at the next Board meeting.
3. Cohen discussed asking the Selectboard if they would approve the Planning Commission approaching the School Board about the idea of forming an energy club at the town school.
   1. This could help educate students on energy conservation and innovation.
   2. Discussed how this could be brought up since it was not included in the Enhanced Energy Plan.
   3. This will be further discussed in the Energy Subcommittee.

Old Business: Update on the Nuisance Ordinances

1. There is no update on this.
2. The Building Notification work was planned first, then moving onto this topic.

Old Business: Report from the Selectboard Meeting

1. Most of the last Board meeting was focused on Town Meeting.
2. It is likely Rutland Town will be losing its 1-member representation district, the Town will be split up into districts represented jointly with other communities.

Old Business: Review public meeting Pocket Park ideas for Selectboard

1. The meeting was held recently and went well.
2. A summary of the ideas proposed was provided to Commission members. They included:
   1. Handicap Accessibility. Everyone agreed it is appropriate and it will be part of the planning.
   2. Bicycle Racks. Everyone agreed this is a good idea.
   3. ADA accessible trails. This will be part of the planning as well.
   4. Discussed having benches, trash receptacles and restrooms. There are some planned picnic table areas. Trash receptacles are not planned, nor were restroom facilities. This is largely due to maintenance concerns, and who would be responsible for it.
   5. Anti-vandalism measures. Lighting and surveillance would be the biggest deterrent. Both are a benefit but would require some additional logistics to operate correctly. The park would only be open dawn to dusk.
   6. It is assumed the Rec Department, with the help of volunteers would provide maintenance but they will need to be included in discussions.
   7. Organizations and resources such as the Boy Scouts and the Stafford Forestry program will be approached to help with completing projects at the site.
3. The exact number of parking spaces which could be available are not yet known. A review of the right of way in the area will need to be done.
   1. 8 are planned right now.
   2. It will be important to help ensure Johnson Energy does not become overflow parking.
4. Funding sources for a large part of this project have not been established. Grants and donations will be the primary focus.
5. The Commission agreed it would be beneficial to include everything proposed, but funding sources for construction and maintenance are a key part of moving forward.

Announcements

There were no announcements.

Approval of Minutes for February 17^th, 2022:

Mr. Hunter moved to approve the minutes. Mr. Stearns seconded the motion. After some clerical changes, Mr. Hunter moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Adjournment:

Mr. Burgess moved to adjourn. Mr. Cohen seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:35 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted, Bill Sweet

 

______________________________________

Barbara Pulling

Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair