TOWN OF RUTLAND


SELECT BOARD

MINUTES: October 9, 2012


Board members present: Stanley Rhodes III, Steve Hawley, Jim Hall, Joe Dicton and John Paul Faignant

The Meeting opened at 6:35 P.M.

All rose for the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag.

The Board reviewed the minutes of September 25, 2012. Mr. Hall moved to accept the minutes as corrections. Mr. Hawley made a second to the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 4 to 0. Mr. Rhodes abstained from the vote.

Mr. Rhodes cited the fact that the Town Planning Commission has reduced their number of meetings to one a month.

Town Clerk & Treasurer: Ms. Marie Hyjek reported:

  1. Reminded the Board of the October 15th meeting at the Town School regarding the information meeting for the Fire Station.

  2. Reminded the Board of the October 16th Board of Civil Authority hearings.

  3. Presented a liquor license request for Bananas Market to the Board. Ms. Hyjek informed the Board that Chief Ed Dumas had reviewed the application.

Town Road Commissioner: Mr. Byron Hathaway reported:

  1. Cited a proposed agreement with the Town of West Rutland regarding the production of brine. He told the Board the proposed agreement had also been submitted tot he West Rutland Town Manager for consideration. Mr. Hathaway said he is not looking for Board approval at this time.

  2. Showed the Board a book prepared for the Town by Ms. Sherri Slack. Mr. Hathaway said Ms. Slack has done considerable research regarding Town road deeds. He said she would make notes on any abnormalities she finds. Mr. Hathaway cited the fact that according to Ms. Slack's research there are no minutes showing that the Select Board took over Avenues A & B in Center Rutland. Mr. Hathaway told the Board that he budgets a small amount of money every year for the deed research. He said Ms. Slack stops doing research when the budget is spent. He said she then waits until the next year, when there is a new budget to continue work.

    Mr. Hathaway said Ms. Slack has completed a number of streets and has more     to do. Mr. Hathaway said every street has a summary page as well as all the documents that go with the street. Mr. Hathaway informed the Board that Ms. Slack had requested a pay rate increase from $13.53 per hour to $17.00 per hour. Mr. Hathaway said Ms. Slack was the only individual to bid on the work several years ago and that she had proposed to do the work for $13.53. Mr. Hall moved to increase the rate for Ms. Sherri Slack from $13.00 to $17.00 per hour for work on the Highway research manual. Mr. Dicton made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

  3. Informed the Board that he had opted not to purchase winter salt through the State bid process. He told the Board he would be purchasing winter salt from Cargill. Mr. Hathaway told the Board that American Rock Salt was selected by the State. Mr. Hathaway said the reason he decided to purchase salt from Cargill is because the American Rock Salt company stores the salt outdoors in Fort Ann New York.

    He said with outdoor storage moisture gets into the salt and that there is also a problem with asphalt breaking up and getting mixed with the outdoor salt pile. He said another issue is the fact that salt haulers must take lighter loads into Vermont, which means it is difficult to get deliveries to Vermont. He said they make more money hauling more weight in New York.

    Mr. Hathaway said Cargill is charging the same price as the State contract at     $62.13 per ton. He said the cost is forty cents per ton less than last year. Mr. Hathaway said Cargill does not guarantee the Town will get 100% of the 1,500 tons it has requested. He said under the State contract the Town would get 100% of its 1,500 ton order.

    Mr. Dicton asked Mr. Hathaway to explain how much the Town would save by mixing brine with salt. Mr. Hathaway said a per-wet system (like brine) is to saturate the salt to make it stick to the road. He said the Town would reduce the cost of the liquid it purchases (at a cost of 98 cents a gallon) by about 50 %. He said Brine could be made for about 7 to 8 cents a gallon. Mr. Hathaway said the Town would probably break even in terms of expenses.

  4. Mr. Hathaway informed the Board that neighboring Town Road Commissioners are considering adopting a mutual aid agreement because without the agreement a Town can not be reimbursed from FEMA when a Town performs highway maintenance work in another town.

  5. Mr. Hathaway informed the Board that he has received information from the Town School that the bus driver has a visibility concern when exiting Victoria Drive and entering Killington Ave. Mr. Hathaway said normally the bus does not go on Victoria Drive but must now do so to pick up a special needs child. Mr. Hathaway said he and Town Tree Warden Mr. Fred Nicholson would view the intersection and that Mr. Nicholson would schedule a hearing.

    Mr. Faignant said the matter has been before the Board for about eight weeks. Mr. Dicton said it is time for the Board to move on the matter. Mr. Rhodes said Mr. Hathaway should trim the branches cited in the letter as soon as possible. Mr. Hathaway said the Tree Warden must be involved in the original Victoria Drive / Killington Avenue visibility concern because some of the trees are outside of the public right-of-way.

Mr. Hawley asked Mr. Hathaway if the Town could patch the big hole at the Gleason Road / US RT 4 intersection. Mr. Zingale told the Board that based on ortho photography and past history he believes the hole is in the City of Rutland.

Mr. Zingale told the Board he had discussed the matter with the City Engineer and that the City believes the hole is located on private property owned by Mr. John Ruggiero. The Board discussed the matter further and instructed Mr. Hathaway to fill the hole the next day. Mr. Zingale is to inform the City of Rutland that the Town of Rutland would fill the hole.

Police Chief: Ed Dumas reported:

  1. Told the Board things are going well.

  2. Told the Board that Ted Washburn is doing a good job. He said he has not had any complaints against Mr. Washburn. Mr. Rhodes said the Chief is also doing a good job, noting the Board has not received any complaints against the Chief.

Transportation Council & SWAC: Charles Shields reported:


  1. Informed the Board that he attended a meeting regarding bicycle safety and adherence to the law. Mr. Shields said it is a $250.00 if a cyclist does not make a and hand signal before making a turn.


Town Administrator: Mr. Joseph Zingale reported:


  1. Informed the Board that he had received a phone call, from an individual who represented to be working for the Ponderosa Restaurant, who requested Mr. Zingale to explain the method by which the sewer surcharge is calculated. Mr. Zingale said it is difficult to explain how the surcharge is calculated so he requested the individual put his specific request in writing.

    Mr. Zingale told the Board he has not received any correspondence from the owners of the Ponderosa Restaurant since he sent out the surcharge bill. Mr. Zingale asked Ms. Hyjek how much time before the surcharge is due.


    Ms. Hyjek said that since Mr. Zingale did not specify when the charge is due she did not included a payment date. Ms. Hyjek will resend the surcharge bill and give the owners 30 days to pay.

  2. Requested permission to have a large historic map of Center Rutland framed. Mr. Rhodes suggested Mr. Zingale contact Mr. Larry Young to frame the map. The Board agreed.

  3. Informed the Board that he had suggested VELCO consider the land owned by the Town, off US Route 7 North, as a location for a new pole yard. Mr. Zingale said he was asked by Mr. Peter Chase, working for VELCO, for possible locations in Town. Mr. Zingale said VELCO would like to expand from their present location but is unable to purchase land from its neighbor.

  4. Informed the Board that Fabians would soon begin work taking down the Smith Buick building and that the new Aldi grocery store will be built in the spring.

  5. Cited a letter from Town Attorney Kevin Brown, in which he says the Board needs to adopt the proposed US RT 7 S Access Management Plan. Mr. Zingale said after the plan is adopted the Town should review the proposed Farrell Road break in the limited access highway under the plan and if satisfied make application to the State Transportation Board for a hearing.

    Mr. Zingale said the Board could review Mr. John Kalish's curb cut request after the Town's request is given a hearing.


Mr. Faignant moved to adopt the Master Plan for Access to US RT 7 South. Mr. Dicton made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.


Mr. Faignant said that since the residents on Oak Ridge Place are now 911 compliant there is no reason for the Town to have Hold Harmless agreements on file. Mr. Faignant moved to release the Oak Ridge Place residents from the Hold Harmless agreements that are on record and to ask Kevin Brown to generate some sort of document that would reflect that in the land records. Mr. Hawley made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.


Mr. Zingale informed the Board that the Town's Flood Hazard Board of Adjustment received an application from Green Mountain Power Corporation (GMPC) & The City of Rutland, which was not prepared by a geomorphologist. He said that according to a GMPC official the application was reviewed by a geomorphologist, not prepared.


Mr. Zingale cited the fact that the Select Board waived the public comment period for the GMPC & Rutland City proposed stream work on the condition the application was prepared by a geomorphologis.

Mr. Hawley said he would not have a problem as long as the plan was signed off by a geomorphologist. Mr. Zingale said the letter submitted is confusing to a lay person and does not come out and say for certainty that everything is good.


Mr. Faignant said he would like to hear from Mr. Fred Nicholson on the matter. Mr. Zingale said the Flood Hazard Zoning Board of Adjustment (FHZBA) also plans to discuss the letter with Mr. Nicholson. Mr. Hall (who is on the FHABA) said the long and the short of it is, we (the FHZBA) don't have a document to hang our hat on.


Mr. Rhodes questioned Mr. Hathaway regarding changes to the roadside mower agreement with the Town of Clarendon. Mr. Hathaway said Clarendon changed the agreement to include the insurance as part of the agreement and not as an addendum.


Mr. Rhodes cited the fact that Mr. Hathaway will attempt to repair the compactor box at the Transfer Station rather that purchasing a new box or having Mr. Jim Earl repair the box. Mr. Hathaway will develop a cost estimate.


Mr. Hawley moved to approve the Liquor license for Banana’s Market. Mr. Hall made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.


Mr. Hawley read the notice for the Town School Solar Project Grand Opening October 17, 2012 from 5:00 P.M. To 7:00 P.M at the Town School. Mr. Hawley also read a notice for the 13th annual Lights on After School Nationwide celebration is on Thursday October 25, 2012. Mr. Hawley said the Schools Tapestry program will participate in the event.


The Board discussed a funding request for $1,000.00 from the Red Cross. Ms. Hyjek said they planned to submit a petition to get on the ballot.


Recreation Director: Mike Rowe reported:


  1. The Annual Halloween Party will be on October 30th from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at the school gym.

  2. Reported basketball registration forms are available on the Town's Web site or with the Town Clerk.


Mr. Rhodes asked Mr. Rowe to make sure all the waste containers at the park are emptied.


Mr. Dicton informed Mr. Rowe that he had received information that the Northwood Park Gate has been left open on the weekends.


Planning Commission: William Matteson:


Not Present


Regional Planning Commission Mr. Fred Nicholson reported:


Not Present


Fire Chief: Joseph Denardo reported:


Not Present


The Board reviewed packet correspondence.

Mr. Faignant moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 P.M. Mr. Hawley made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
























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