Selectboard Minutes 12-21-2021

Publish date: December 22, 2021

Selectboard Minutes 12-21-2021

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECTBOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

DECEMBER 21st, 2021

 

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 Mary Ashcroft, Sharon Russell, John Paul Faignant and Don Chioffi
  • Members of the public present Keith Whitcomb, Byron Hathaway, Michael Haas, Howard Burgess, Kirsten Hathaway, Irene Hathaway, Tom Dailey, Walter Tripp, Jason Bathalon, Larry Dell Veneri

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for December 7th and December 14th:

  • Selectman Faignant moved to approve the minutes. Selectman Chioffi seconded the motion.
  • Selectman Chioffi discussed wording in the minutes regarding clerical changes in previous minutes, not being specified in the minutes of the next meeting. Changes are written into the signed copy of the minutes and filed. No decision was made.
  • Clarified a statement on the use of remaining fire station bond funds.
  • Selectman Chioffi stated his objection to his name not being mentioned in the minutes for the discussions in committee and board meetings.
  • Selectman Chioffi asked for clarifying language in the Police Budget discussion from December 14th to include language about supplemental insurance being included in the police admin benefits. This was added to the December 14th
  • The motion passed 4 – 0.

Questions from the floor / public comment

  • Byron Hathaway was present and asked the board to reconsider a decision made at the last meeting regarding the payout of his benefit time with his pending retirement. Mr. Hathaway provided timesheets to the Town Treasurer through the end of the year detailing all the benefit times being paid out. Selectwoman Russell asked Mr. Hathaway if he would be willing to meet with the Highway Committee to discuss this matter. Mr. Hathaway said he would be. A meeting will be set soon to discuss this.

Board to meet with Eric Hall from the RRPC regarding the use of ARPA funds

  1. Hall discussed with the board an overview of the current approved uses of the funds, and some of the uses that are not allowed.
  2. Discussed the use of ARPA to replace lost revenue and the associated calculations. Mr. Hall recommended using NEMRC as a resource to assist with the calculations. Some further guidance on ensuring calculations are correct will be coming in the future.
  3. Discussed the scenario of being subject to a single audit and the benefit of avoiding it.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

  1. Reminder that Town Hall will be closed this coming Thursday and Friday for the Christmas holiday.
  2. The deadline for petitions is January 13th for anyone seeking an elected position and cautioned anyone getting signatures to make sure they have more than just the exact minimum in case anyone signing the petition does not qualify.
  3. Discussed the Pre-Town Meeting date for January. The School Board said the only day they have available is January 11th. A meeting this early is not preferred but should be ok. Selectman Faignant moved to approve January 11th as the pre-town meeting date. Selectman Chioffi seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
  4. The second installment for taxes is due by January 10th.
  5. If anyone knows of someone who would be interested in helping in the office around the elections next year, please contact them for information.

Walter Tripp and Jason Bathalon – Town Highway Crew

  1. All of our trucks are now back in service.
  2. The last storms were handled without issue.
  3. The new scale for the loader is installed and working well.
  4. There was an issue with illegal dumping on Boardman Hill. It has been cleaned up.
  5. There was a water main break on Seward Road recently. The City DPW responded and made the repair. We are waiting for follow up from them.
  6. Water meters in Flory Heights will be read the first week of January.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

  1. Recent calls for service were provided and reviewed
  2. Discussed an accident today at the entrance to the Green Mountain Plaza which was caused by one of the panhandlers interfering with traffic.
  3. Selectwoman Russell asked Chief Dumas to ensure their department is keeping very accurate records of calls being responded to at the Holiday Inn regarding safety. Chief Dumas reviewed a recent call where there was a report of a fight, and the individual had one of our officers tied up for over 6 hours dealing with it.
  4. There was a call for an alarm at the mall. Chief Dumas did not have specifics but will look into it and report back to the board.
  5. Selectman Faignant moved to approve an MOU presented by Chief Dumas between the Town Police Department and the owners of the Green Mountain Plaza. This would allow our officers to enforce ordinances and traffic laws in the plaza. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

  1. There were only a few calls for service over the last 2 weeks, mostly car accidents.
  2. We did a special detail, filling the rink at the school for ice skating. It will be done again this week and it should be ready soon.
  3. We participated in a Toys for Tots parade from GE to the Open-Door Mission
  4. Reminded residents to make sure their chimneys are properly cleaned.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

  1. Discussed a presentation by a representative of the proposed wind project for Grandpa’s knob.
    1. There are several more areas where this will be visible in Town than previous thought. Cold River Road is one of those areas.
    2. The Commission has asked for additional information, mainly around sighting.
    3. The project has not been approved by the state yet.
  2. Discussed the proposed Center Rutland Pocket Park project.
    1. A map with proposed ideas was provided to board members.
    2. Public meetings about this project are planned for early 2022.

Bill Sweet Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard:

  1. Provided an updated list of scheduled meetings and committee agenda items.
  2. There has been no response yet from the last of the 4 property owners letters were sent to about extending the Post Road water line.
  3. The bid opening for the Town Line Road culvert project was this morning. Robert Clark from Otter Creek Engineering is going to review the bids to make sure they are all qualified and will be attending a future board meeting to make a recommendation.
  4. Provided updated budget sheets based on all of the revisions from the last meeting.
  5. Fire District #5 would like to use the meeting room on the evening of January 17th. Selectman Chioffi moved to approve the request. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
  6. The schedule for the Town report has been sent to us. Our full proof is due to them by January 20th. We are reducing our request of extra copies this year. We end up with more than we need each year.

John Paul Faignant Town Health Officer

  1. The Holiday Inn is being rebranded as the Cortina Inn. An inspection was done recently, and some issues were identified, and they are being addressed.

Committee meeting updates:

  1. Briefly discussed the recent Public Safety Building committee meeting.

New Business Board to discuss a ballot item for allowing the sale of cannabis in town

  1. The board is in favor of this and will be asking the Town Attorney to assist in drafting a ballot question to allow the sale of both recreational and medicinal varieties.

New Business Board to discuss a ballot question for Road Commissioner

  1. A draft ballot question was received from the Town Attorney. A small change was made in the wording, from “of the Selectboard” to “by the Selectboard”.
  2. Selectman Faignant moved to approve the ballot item with the corrected language. Selectman Chioffi seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Selectman Faignant moved to enter executive session for contract negotiation and to discuss privileged communication.  Selectman Chioffi seconded motion. The motion passed unanimously. The board entered executive session at 7:32 PM.

Upon leaving executive session, Selectman Faignant moved to authorize our Town Attorney to write a response to the Rutland Housing Authority per the conversation with the Board Chair. Selectman Chioffi seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Selectman Faignant moved to adjourn. Selectman Chioffi seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:56 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Mr. Bill Sweet

 

 
Mary Ashcroft, Chair
ABSENT
Joseph Denardo, Clerk
 
John Paul Faignant
 
Sharon Russell
 
Don Chioffi

 

Center Rutland, VT.

Rutland Town News

Posted in