Select Board Minutes 6-4-2024

Select Board Minutes 6-4-2024

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECT BOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

JUNE 4^th, 2024

 

• The meeting opened at 6:00 P.M. with the pledge of allegiance.
• Board members present Mary Ashcroft, Joe Denardo, Sharon Russell, Kurt Hathaway, and Matt Getty
• Members of the public participating: Dannielle Mumma, Andrew Palmer, and Teresa Miele

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Select Board Minutes for May 21^st:

Selectman Getty moved to approve the minutes.  Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

 

Howard Burgess, Chair of Fire District #1, sent a letter to the Board requesting the Board make an appointment to their prudential due to a recent resignation. Mr. Burgess requested Cynthia Delbianco be appointed.  After discussion, Selectman Denardo moved to appoint Cynthia Delbianco to the prudential committee. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Dannielle Mumma and Andrew Palmer were present and are requesting they be appointed to the Otter Creek Communication Union District, which is an organization supporting broadband service in our communities. Selectman Getty moved to appoint Dannielle Mumma and Andrew Palmer as our primary and alternate appointments to the OCCUD. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Teresa Miele, from HR Acquired, was present to discus with the Board the proposed Comp Time and Paid Holiday policies. There is no comp time policy now. The paid holidays listed in the draft are the same as in the current personnel policy. Discussed some details in the Comp Time Policy, and the differences between a work week and a pay period and how it affects over time and comp time earnings and payouts. Once effective, meetings with department heads and employees which fall under these policies will have meetings to provide training. Discussed carrying over floating holidays over fiscal years. After discussion, Selectman Getty moved to adopt both paid holidays and compensatory time policy as presented and to have the policies take effect July 1^st, 2024. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. Discussed updating the language in paid holidays related to the carryover of a floating holiday to read “Floating holidays do carryover into the next fiscal year and must be used in that fiscal year or will be lost.” Selectman Getty moved to amend his motion to include this language. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The amendment motion passed 5 – 0. The original motion passed 5 – 0.

Larry Dell Veneri Town Transfer Station Manager

1. Discussed the purchase of a trailer for the transfer station generator. It cannot be run inside the building. Putting it on a trailer versus erecting a building has several advantages.
2. Selectman Denardo moved to approve the purchase of the trailer, for an amount not to exceed $3000 with the funds to come from transfer station maintenance. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. After discussion, the motion passed 5 – 0.
3. Discussed the table of free items which has been up at the station for some time. It was recently removed due to questionable and inappropriate items being left on it. The table will be put back up, and an effort will be made to ensure there are no issues.
4. There were 147 bags brought there from green up day.
5. The latest household hazardous waste day collected 10,000 pounds of materials.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

1. Several culvert projects have been done and more are being worked on.
2. Followed up on issues after paving on Post Road.
3. Preliminary approval has been received for our Class 2 paving grant. We are waiting for final approval.
4. Discussed a possible reconfiguration of the intersection of Simons Ave and Business Route 4. The State VTrans office will be contacted for a discussion.
5. No bids were received for the highway truck for sale. Discussed options for selling it.

Marcia Chioffi Rutland Town Head Lister

1. Requested a meeting with the HR consultant who is working on the new personnel policy. They have not been a part of a conversation on updates yet.
2. Site visits to several town properties have been done.
3. Work on lodging the Grand List is nearly complete.
4. Several property owners in town still need site visits and have not followed up.
5. Discussed the vacant Lister position with Jack McCamley resigning. Further information on filling the vacancy is needed.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

1. All of the department’s trucks have been inspected. One failed, but parts to fix it should be in soon.
2. Discussed the need to replace the departments 2 thermal imaging cameras. The current ones are obsolete, and no parts or batteries are available. Several new units have been reviewed. The preferred ones are $6200 each, two would be needed for a total of $12,400. Selectman Hathaway moved to approve the purchase for a cost not to exceed $13,000. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The name of the vendor is NY Fire Equipment LLC.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

1. Discussed the pending Vermont Child Care Contribution coming next fiscal year. If the Town funded the entire obligation for all Town employees, the cost would be approximately $4700 annually. Discussed where the cost could come from. A new line item could be added to the department budgets to account for the expenses. Payments to the State are made quarterly. Selectman Denardo moved to approve paying the entire Child Care Contribution for Town employees. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. After discussion, the motion passed 5 – 0.
2. Discussed the Town Clerk and Treasurer pay request. Briefly reviewed the discussion from prior meetings. The topic and options were discussed with the Town Attorney. He advised overtime could be paid to an exempt employee as long as the task is something extra or in addition to their regular duties. Discussed similar issues with other Town salaried employees. Discussed if office hours could be modified to compensate for extra hours due to elections. Selectman Denardo would be in favor of a one-time bonus and not move to overtime, to be fair to other Town employees. Reviewed the most recent VLCT Compensation and Benefits report. The salary for our Town Clerk and Treasurer is above both the average and median amounts listed. Selectman Hathaway moved to go into executive session, at the end of the meeting, to discuss specific options. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
3. Discussed the Cortina Inn settlement fund balance. A vote to affirm what to do with these funds needs to happen. Discussed previous uses of the funds. Discussed how to apply balance of the settlement funds to the current Police budget. A variety of options were presented. After discussion, Selectman Hathaway moved to cover the FY24 Police department budget deficit with Cortina Inn funds. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
4. Selectman Getty moved to carry the remaining balance of The Cortina Inn fund balance over to the next fiscal year in its own separate fund. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
5. Discussed how to track Capital Improvement fund and Cortina Inn fund expenses. A spreadsheet created by Mr. Sweet showing all expenditures for the 2 funds was provided to the Board. There was a town vote from the March 2022 election dedicating capital improvement funds to the Public Safety Building. This will be added to the sheet. Additional information from the origin of the Capital Improvement fund is needed. A copy of the audit report for that year is needed.

Mike Delehanty Town 1^st Constable

1. Discussed the property at 118 US Route 4E. A site visit is needed. Constable Delehanty will be discussing this with the owner soon and will follow up with the Board. Discussed how the process could follow one done on Perkins Road by the 2^nd

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

1. Recent calls for service were provided and reviewed. There were 148 calls for service and 65 traffic stops.
2. Request for a Police Committee meeting to discuss some unexpected expenses.
3. 79% of the calls for last month were on the South end of Town.
4. Officer Plakas and K9 Rooster will be in training starting in July for 12 weeks. Another officer is unable to wear a vest due to an injury right now. This will leave Chief Dumas and Deputy Chief Washburn as the only officers available for that 12-week period. Selectman Hathaway moved to hire another officer for the Police Department. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The position is funded in the new budget. The motion passed unanimously.

John Paul Faignant Town Health Officer / 2^nd Constable / Public Safety Building Clerk

1. Discussed a recent dog bite complaint at Dewey Field. The owner was not able to be immediately identified. Fortunately, they were able to be found and the rabies protocol didn’t have to continue.
2. The Public Safety Building is moving forward on schedule.
3. Discussed the compliance of The Cortina Inn with their agreement. There are deficiencies in what they agreed to. Discussed how to handle these issues. The contact information for the Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Human Services will be forwarded to Mr. Faignant so they can discuss the matters.
4. Discussed the Diamond Run Mall property and if any of the current ordinances can help with the issues going on.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

1. The pool is on track to be open on schedule.
2. Some updates to pickle ball are being made. A link to a scheduler is being put on the website. It will not reserve courts but should hopefully make it easier for people to play.
3. The outside of the pool building has been repainted and looks great.
4. Discussed the purchase of the sprayer for the Rec Department. Selectman Denardo moved to authorize the purchase of the sprayer for an amount not to exceed $4000. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
5. The new AED is at the pool building and is available.
6. Discussed the light poles at Dewey Field. The lights and poles need to come down. After discussion, Mr. Rowe will contact some local contactors which may be able to reach them.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

1. Letters for the Rutland High School scholarship award recipients are ready for their awards night. Invitations for the other 2 students were sent to them inviting them to the next Board meeting.
2. The electrical upgrade work has begun. The building will be closed June 6^th and 7^th due to power being shut off.
3. Irving energy sent us pricing for heating oil and propane for this coming heating season. After discussion, an RFP will be created to put it out to bid.
4. Received some settlement information for the national opioid settlement. Information on qualifying uses will be forwarded to some Board members to review to see if we want to pursue the claim.
5. Provided a letter for the Board to sign thanking Jack McCamley for his time as a Town Lister.

Discussed the Highway Department using their camera to inspect the Route 7 sewer line from Dennys.

The Board entered executive session at 9:28PM. Upon leaving executive session at 10:07PM, Selectman Denardo moved to approve an amount of $1000 for the Clerk and Treasurer for the additional work on the election. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Selectman Hathaway moved to adjourn. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:08 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Bill Sweet, Town Administrator.

 

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Mary Ashcroft, Chair

 

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Joseph Denardo, Clerk

 

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Sharon Russell

 

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Kurt Hathaway

 

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Matt Getty

 

Center Rutland, VT.