Selectboard Minutes 10-11-2022

Selectboard Minutes 10-11-2022

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECTBOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

OCTOBER 11^th, 2022

 

This meeting had a virtual attendance option available for anyone to join.

• Meeting opened at 6:00 P.M. with the pledge of allegiance
• Board members present Don Chioffi, Joe Denardo, Mary Ashcroft, Sharon Russell, and Kurt Hathaway
• Members of the public present Byron Hathaway, Randal Smathers, Joe Bertelloni, Chuck Hall, Marcia Chioffi, Shelley Dumas, Robyn Sweet

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for September 27th:

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the minutes.  Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Announcements

Chairman Chioffi read a thank you message from Walt Tripp to the Town.

Public Comment

Chuck Hall, manager of the Sunoco station on US Route 7 South was present to discuss the lack of cross walks on Route 7 South. There is some of the crosswalk infrastructure to cross Route 7 at the intersection with Cold River Road, but the lines are not on the road and there are no signs. Mr. Hall asked the Board to consider installing the rest of the crosswalk parts needed. Selectwoman Ashcroft commented that this is a state highway, and they must be the ones who do this.

Randal Smathers and Joseph Bertelloni from the Rutland Free Library Association were present. Mr. Smathers thanked the Town for their invitation to the Town Wide Celebration. Mr. Smathers handed out some information regarding the library budget relating to the Town contributions. The budget request this year will be no more than 5% over last year. Mr. Bertelloni is one of the Town residents who is on the library board. Board members encouraged Mr. Smathers to not increase their budget request. Mr. Smathers stated anything less than a 5% increase would result in a decrease in operating hours. Recent negotiations between the library and the union resulted in a 3% increase in compensation plus a 3% bonus. There will be a 5% cap in FY24 in payroll increases. There was extensive discussion on the impact of the request on town taxpayers, and the process by which appropriations are requested and approved.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

1. Recent calls for service were provided and reviewed.
2. Retail theft in the plaza has been dramatically reduced since the directed patrols started. The plaza businesses are very grateful for the increased patrols.

Mike Delehanty Town 1^st Constable

1. Reiterated the effectiveness of the directed patrols and said he will continue to support the effort.

Chairman Chioffi updated the Board on the progress of the new Public Safety Building. The architect is planning final design meetings and indicated the next steps should allow bidding soon so work can begin in the spring.

Larry Dell Veneri Rutland Town Assistant Fire Chief:

1. The new truck is in service and there is ongoing training on it.
2. Discussed some bylaw amendment recommendations sent to the Board from the Fire Department members.
   1. Fire Committee Selectboard member Sharon Russell has reviewed them and Selectboard member Mary Ashcroft spoke with her about the changes prior to the meeting.
   2. Selectwoman Ashcroft asked if these changes would be better implemented as a department policy or guideline instead of a bylaw.
   3. Selectwoman Russell moved to table the discussion until the Fire Chief is present. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
3. Discussed budget planning for 2023 – 2024. Dispatch services may need to be included.
4. Discussed adding diesel storage tanks at the highway garage as a way to reduce overall fuel expenses. Selectman Hathaway will get information to present to the Board at a future meeting.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

1. Fixed a damaged manhole cover.
2. Repaired erosion damage on Middle Road.
3. Beaver dams in various locations have been cleared from culverts.
4. Some corrective paving work on Town Line Road has been done near the new culvert. Full paving will be done in the spring.
5. Roadside clean up along Quarterline Road is being done. It is a very labor-intensive process.
6. Selectman Denardo discussed topics from the recent Highway Committee meeting.
   5700. The sander in the F350 needs to be replaced. Based upon the discussion at the committee meeting, the committee is recommending the purchase of a new sander from Earle’s Truck Repair for an amount not to exceed $5700. Selectman Denardo moved to approve the purchase from Earle’s Truck Repair with the funds to come from the Highway Depreciation Account. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the motion. Discussed the use of depreciation funds to purchase new equipment. The motion passed 4 – 0.
   5701. East Pittsford Road culvert work will begin soon.
7. Discussed adding additional signs to the curve on East Pittsford Road in front of the soccer fields. There have been several cars off the road there recently. Several options were discussed. No decision was made at this time. Options will be discussed at a future meeting.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

1. Absentee ballots are being returned regularly. There have been some questions from voters on the mailed ballots.
   1. Voters can vote in person on election day and not use the ones that was mailed. They are the same ballots.
   2. If a voter does not wish to vote, there is no action needed.
   3. If anyone has questions they should call the office.
   4. All ballots have been mailed. If a voter did not receive one, they should call the office.
   5. There are no concerns about a voter being able to vote twice.
2. Interviews for the part time office position have been done and more are planned. Noone has been hired for the position yet.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

1. The Halloween party is Friday October 28^th from 5PM to 630PM at the Town School.
   1. Several events, including live music, are planned.
   2. Plans for inclement weather are in place.
2. Mowing at the park is largely done. Some events are still planned.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

1. Kyle Medash from the VT Department of Environmental Conservation was preset to talk with the Board about river corridor management regulations which could benefit the town.
   7. If there is a federally declared disaster, the Town is reimbursed for 75% of its related expenses. The Town and the State each cover the remaining 25% equally. If the Town adopted flood hazard regulations, the Town responsibility would be only 7.5% of the total expense and the State would increase to 12.5% of the total expense.
   8. Adoption of these regulations could also help with our standing in grant applications.
   9. There are a few areas of focus in town. These are East Creek, Tenney Brook, Moon Brook and Otter Creek.
   10. Agriculture is not included in these regulations. It is aimed at new permanent infrastructure.
   11. The reimbursement applies to municipal and not induvial expenses.
   12. Erosion hazard elimination is a main goal.
   13. The regulations currently in effect are the bare minimum.
   14. It is not known if the reimbursement is increased in the case of non-flood events.
   15. Discussed ways to have the landowners in the areas identified and notified of these plans in order to facilitate a discussion. This could be done using the Planning Commission.
   16. The river corridor regulations would be in place in conjunction with the flood hazard regulations already in place.
   17. The Planning Commission is willing to take on the public information campaign for this topic.
   18. Discussed looking at past federally declared disasters to see the difference the additional reimbursement would make.
2. Dana Peterson, the Planning Commission Vice Chair thanked Mr. Sweet for all of his help creating a draft update to the Sub-Division Ordinance.
3. The proposed sub-division off the end of Hawley Lane is still moving forward. They are waiting on some state permits so they can come back to the Commission.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

1. Northstar Fireworks sent us a letter regarding the expected costs for future fireworks displays.
   1. Discussed other options for displays, including partnering with a neighboring municipality on a display to make it more cost effective.
   2. Rutland City, Mendon and others will be contacted to discuss this.
2. The rollout of services to Town buildings with Consolidated Communications has been completed. The next part of that project is to install a wireless access point infrastructure at each of the town buildings to be able to have s public wi-fi network. Quotes from several vendors were provided to Board members. The state bid pricing was used to get a better price on hardware. Discussed the source of funding being the Capital Improvement Fund.
   5994. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the bid for the Meraki system for an amount not to exceed $5994.12. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. After discussion, the motion passed 4 – 0.
3. Discussed the Certificate of Substantial Completion for the Town Line Road culvert.
   1. Chairman Chioffi stated since the shrubbery which is to be replanted has not been done yet, it is not substantially complete.
   2. After some discussion, Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to table the discussion. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
4. Provided a list of all employees and the status of having signed acknowledgement of the new personnel policy.
5. Provided a map of the Green Mountain Plaza showing E-911 numbers. Discussed the previous decision of designating the parking lot as 296 US Route 7 South.
6. Blank budget sheets were provided to help facilitate planning. Once department budgets have their drafts complete, please forward them to Bills office so they can be added to the master draft sheet.
7. Discussed the applications received for the upcoming vendor fair on October 22^nd at Fulsoms Plaza. They had requested a waiver of the fees for their event.
   1. Discussed the process involved in the permitting.
   2. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to charge a single $100 admin fee to cover the processing of applications for this event. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
8. Discussed the need to move the November 8^th Board meeting due to a conflict with the election. After some discussion, Selectman Hathaway moved to change the meeting to November 7^th at 6PM. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
9. Encouraged meetings be set for budget planning. Discussed the timeline for planning. There will be a special Board meeting set for December 12^th at 6PM for the purpose of finalizing the budgets.

Selectwoman Ashcroft said she will not be able to attend the October 25^th meeting.

Selectman Hathaway moved to table the discussion on the Permit Tracking Ordinance. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Discussed the updates to the Credit Card Policy. Copies with all the updates included will be provided for the next meeting.

Discussed the Social Service Appropriation Policy. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to table the discussion until the November 7^th meeting. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to enter executive session for pending litigation and a personnel matter with Town Administrator Bill Sweet attending. Selectman Denardo seconded motion. The motion passed 4 – 0. The board entered executive session at 9:21 PM.

Upon leaving executive session, with no action being taken, Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to adjourn. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0. The meeting adjourned at 10:13 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Mr. Bill Sweet

 

Don Chioffi, Chair

Joseph Denardo, Clerk

Mary Ashcroft

Sharon Russell

Kurt Hathaway

 

Center Rutland, VT.