Selectboard Minutes 1-14-2025

Publish date: January 16, 2025

Selectboard Minutes 1-14-2025

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECTBOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN SCHOOL

1612 POST ROAD, RUTLAND, VT 05701

JANUARY 14th, 2025

 

  • The meeting opened at 5:30 P.M. with the pledge of allegiance.
  • Board members present Mary Ashcroft, Joe Denardo, Sharon Russell, Kurt Hathaway, and Matt Getty

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for December 30th:

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

Update from the Selectboard Chair

The deadline for articles for The Circle is the 15th. This is the last edition to be published before Town Meeting Day. Candidates and Department heads are encouraged to submit an article.

Reminder of the Selectboard meet up on Thursday. Let Bill know by tomorrow if you want to go so a registration can be submitted.

There was no Town Moderator elected last March. One will be needed for Pre-Town and Town Meeting. Selectwoman Russell nominated Matty Getty as moderator until a new moderator is elected. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0. Selectman Getty abstained.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

  1. Statistics for calls were provided. Showed historical trends of high and low volumes when the Cortina Inn is open and when it is not.
  2. Discussed the hourly rate for the School Resource Officer. The effective rate is $45 per hour, which is used to bill the school. This accounts for his time, benefits and vehicle costs. Reviewed the projected budget for income and expense related to this position.
  3. Reviewed the draft Police Budget for the next fiscal year. Selectman Denardo moved to approve the Police Budget of $693,135. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
  4. Discussed the purchase of a new police cruiser. Deputy Chief Washburn and Officer Plakas worked on a vehicle replacement schedule and got a quote for a new cruiser. The new vehicle would be another Tahoe, replacing a Charger. The total cost is $76,278 including the upfitting. There are some items which will be removed from the quote, reducing the cost. The only additional item needed would be radios. Discussed using an out of state vendor who uses competitive pricing under their state contract. There are sufficient funds in the Cortina fund to offset the purchase or lease of a new cruiser. The vendor needs a signed quote to be able to hold a vehicle for us. Selectman Getty moved to authorize the Deputy Chief to finalize the quote with any adjustments identified and to authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

  1. Basketball is in full swing.
  2. There is a K -2 basketball camp during February break. Sign up on the Town website.
  3. Encouraged people to cross country ski or snowshoe in the park.
  4. Reminded everyone of the need to have dogs remain on leash and to clean up after their dogs. Waste bags and receptacles are provided in the park.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

  1. Reported on the work done on the south end sewer. After the work was done the line was inspected using our camera. There is a point under US Route 7 where the diameter decreases, and the camera cannot pass through. A resolution to replace this line is needed. After discussion, our engineering partners and contractors will be contacted for options. The bill from the contractor for the work recently done was received. It was just under $5000 which was very good.
  2. Provided a certificate of highway mileage to be signed. It is the same as last year, with the exception of the mileage for Dyer Road which was given up as a town road. Selectman Getty moved to approve the document. All 5 Board members need to sign. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
  3. The plowing contractors are up to 15 call outs for the season.
  4. Reviewed the proposed ballot language for the increase in the depreciation account. Selectman Denardo suggested changing the word purchase to replacement. After discussion, Selectman Denardo moved to approve the new ballot language with the change in those words. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

  1. The annual Fire Department meeting was held last week. There is a new Lieutenant in Center Rutland, Trevor Brown. Jorge Mada has moved up to Captain. All the other officers stayed the same.
  2. Discussed adding a requirement for a specific key in fire alarm panels to our fire alarm ordinance. This will be added to the committee’s topic list.
  3. There were 186 fire calls for 2024.
  4. The signs for the new station are completed and should be installed soon.
  5. When the new pick-up truck was delivered, it had the wrong rack on it. The vendor is replacing it for us. We have not paid for the truck yet. We are waiting for this to be resolved.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

  1. The second installment of taxes are still coming in.
  2. This is the time of year the second round of scholarship payments are made as long as recipients send in their request.
  3. Dog licensing is now open, and is due by April 1st.
  4. The deadline for appropriations to be on the ballot is the 16th of January.

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

  1. A report was sent to the Board, Mr. Faignant was not present.
  2. A meeting is planned for Monday the 20th at 10AM to review critical items within the building.
  3. Discussed occupying the building. We do not yet have a certificate of occupancy, which we cannot get until the sprinkler system is hooked up. We cannot occupy the building with the CO.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

  1. The group is working on the application for the Pocket Park grant. Some additional information is needed. Discussed whether our purchase policy will meet the requirements in the grant. Research is needed.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

  1. Reviewed a request from the Census Bureau asking about any boundary adjustments.
  2. Reviewed communication from the State DEC regarding a required meeting to review our MS4 grant status. The meeting is scheduled for February 4th.
  3. Provided a quote for the flashing lights for the crosswalk in front of Town Hall. The total is $13,757 with a second set of lights or approximately $8000 for the lights just at the crosswalk. This will be added to the Selectboard project list.
  4. The Local Hazard Mitigation Plan is down to its final draft. It will be presented at the Board meeting on the 28th.
  5. The website for the Town of Proctor was recently compromised. Work is already underway with our vendor to strengthen our site security. We are also adding accessibility features, which are required by April of 2026.
  6. The deadline for Town report is next week. Department head reports are needed, among other things.

Selectman Hathaway moved to recess until after pre-town meeting. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0. The Board recessed at 6:55 PM to facilitate pre-town meeting.

The Board resumed their regular meeting at 8:10 PM.

Selectman Denardo moved to go into executive session to discuss a personnel issue. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0. The Board entered executive session at 8:11 PM.

The Board came out of executive session at 8:30 with no action being taken.

Discussed the budgets, and how surpluses are applied and budgeted for.

Selectman Hathaway moved to approve the warning with the changes to article 17 and 18, the depreciation language. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Selectman Hathaway moved to adjourn. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:57 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

 

 

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