Highway Commitee Minutes 10-5-2023

Highway Commitee Minutes 10-5-2023

RUTLAND TOWN SELECT BOARD COMMITTEE MEETING

HIGHWAY COMMITTEE

THURSDAY OCTOBER 5^th, 2023

The Highway Committee of the Rutland Town Select Board met at 12:00 PM on Thursday October 5^th, 2023, at the Municipal Town Hall. Present was Select Board Clerk Joe Denardo, Select Board Member Kurt Hathaway, Road Commissioner Dave Sears, and Town Administrator Bill Sweet. Present from the Town of Clarendon was George Ambrose, Cash Ruane, Mike Klopchin, Jeannie Stimple and Art Menard.

1. The committee discussed maintenance on Quarterline Road.
   1. Grading the road is still planned. It will depend on availability of equipment and operators.
   2. Winter maintenance should be more consistent with the addition of trucks and staff.
   3. Clarendon Select Board member & Clarendon Town Road Commissioner Cash Ruane expressed concern about maintaining our Class 4 section of Quarterline Road and setting a precedent for other towns. Selectman Denardo discussed our agreement with the Town of Mendon for some border roads.
   4. Selectman Denardo asked the Clarendon Board to reconsider their decision not to enter a maintenance agreement with our Town for that section of road.
   5. Clarendon Select Board member George Ambrose thanked the committee for their efforts to work out an agreement.
   6. Clarendon Select Board member Mike Klopchin asked what a payment arrangement to the Town of Clarendon would be. Selectman Denardo said the discussions stopped when the Clarendon Select Board said they were not interested.
2. Open proposals from the North Grove Street RFP
   1. The RFP is for engineering design work to fix a site line issue on North Grove Street.
   2. One proposal was received from Otter Creek Engineering for $9975.
   3. The cost would need to be included in the next budget. Construction work would likely take place in 2025.
   4. The committee will recommend this project to the full Board and to include funds in the next budget.
3. Post Road sidewalk, shared use path update.
   1. The sidewalk project is on hold until a paving contractor is available to put asphalt on it.
   2. A one-year extension of our grant award is anticipated.
   3. The shared use path work continues. It is not complete yet but progress is being made.
4. Town Highway grant programs
   1. A grant opportunity for a new salt shed recently became available.
   2. Commissioner Sears is looking at the application process to see if we qualify.
   3. Discussed what a new building would look like and its location.
5. Carmel Place paving MOU
   1. Karl Ronn has taken over the project of gathering information for the HOA to be able to turn the road over to the Town.
   2. No full proposal has been received yet.
   3. Discussed what an arrangement would look like.
   4. No action was taken.
6. Simons Avenue intersection work.
   4. Discussed reworking the western intersection of Simons Avenue at Business Route 4.
   5. The current alignment allows cars to turn off Business Route 4 at 40 to 45 MPH.
   6. Discussed alternatives. A meeting with VTrans would be needed.
   7. Commissioner Sears will coordinate the next steps.
7. Boardman Hill pull-off issue
   1. Some ditching on Quarterline Road has been done and waste fill from that project is being used to fill it in.
   2. The pull off will be eliminated as material is available.
8. Dyer Road parking / dumping issues
   1. Instructions on the process to give up the road were received from the Town Attorney.
   2. This will be discussed at the next Board meeting.
9. Fog line painting request on North Grove Street.
   1. Selectman Denardo spoke to Constable Faignant about the request. Constable Faignant does not think it would have the impact on this road that it would on others.
   2. The road is 2.7 miles in each direction.
   3. The line striper we own is not appropriate for this project, and the project is too small for most contractors to do. Discussed options for something that would work correctly. No decision was made.
10. Winter maintenance contract
    1. The Hubbards are willing to plow again this year.
    2. They asked for the callout number be 40 down from 43.
    3. After discussion, the committee wis in favor of this with the acquisition of additional town equipment.

11. Highway Garage lighting
    8400. Received a quote for updating the lighting at the garage. The total was approximately $8400.
    8401. Some money may be available as part of a state energy efficiency grant.
    8402. Discussed this project along with the idea of putting a lower ceiling in the building.
    8403. No action was taken.
12. Reviewed replacement options for the Ford F350. A new truck on the state bid price is $59,987. A plow and sander would be an additional $16,000.
    1. The committee will recommend to the full board to move ahead with the purchase.
13. Discussed shifting the paving bid process.
    1. The current process could cause some inconsistency with the contractors.
    2. After discussion, due to the Highway budget carrying over in a fiscal year, there was no objection from the committee.
14. Future budget discussions should include matching funds for the Route 7 North shared use path.
15. An issue with Town Highway numbers was recently discovered.
    1. The list in the Road Book, and the list the Listers Office uses, are not the same.
    2. The list the Listers Office uses is complete. The Road Book is missing some Town Highway numbers.
    3. This affects the Road Name and Road location Ordinance and the Vehicles and Traffic Ordinance.
    4. This will be discussed with the full Board.

The meeting adjourned at 1:45 PM.