TOWN OF RUTLAND

 

SELECT BOARD

 

 

 

MINUTES: November 22, 2011

 

Board members present: Joe Dicton, Stanley Rhodes III, Steve Hawley and James Hall

 

The Meeting opened at 6:45 P.M. with the pledge of allegiance.

 

Questions from the floor:

 

Mr. Don Phillips PE, representing Aldrich & Elliott Engineering, met with the Board and explained the services, which his company can offer to the Town of Rutland. Mr. Phillips cited several Rutland County towns, which have worked with his company on a variety of engineering projects. Mr. Phillips also provided references from several of the town that have worked with his company.

 

Mr. Phillips said his company could provide town assistance with; water, wastewater water, storm water and setting rate structures. Mr. Phillips cited the fact his company seldom charges for advice and other information requested by clients

 

Mr. Phillips said his company is a Vermont firm and works only in Vermont.

 

 

Police Department: Chief John Sly reported:

 

  1. Suggested Christmas shoppers not leave their packages in their vehicles because they will be taken.

 

  1. Mr. Sly told the Board that the Town’s addressing standards are not a nicety rather a requirement of the State of Vermont. Mr. Sly said in 1995 the legislature enacted Statute 307056, which mandates all towns to establish E911 standards. Mr. Sly said should the Board fail to comply with the statute there could be sanctions against the Town. Mr. Sly said when mistakes are discovered they must be address.

    Mr. Sly said for the Town to do nothing to correct the street name problem would be setting a dangerous precedent. Mr. Sly said in the future the Town would be squarely in the States sights if the State enforces penalties for non-compliance.

 

Mr. Rhodes asked Town Administrator, Mr. Joseph Zingale Jr., how the matter came to the Board’s attention. Mr. Zingale said as a result of a discussion he had with the Town Road Commissioner. Mr. Zingale said per the Town’s ordinance a private drive with three or more homes must be given a street name.

 

Mr. Rhodes questioned Mr. Zingale regarding when the third home was built on the private drive off Bittersweet and questions regarding the private road off Oak Ridge Drive. Mr. Richard Lloyd, whose driveway connects to the unnamed private road, told the Board he has no problem receiving mail, UPS and deliveries from Albany New York.

Mr. Zingale said one option would be to change the name of Oak Ridge Drive to Oak Ridge Place and the house numbers would stay the same or the Board could leave Oak Ridge Drive and place a name on the private road, in which case all the house numbers would change.

 

Mr. William Thomas, Mr. Scott Brileya and Mr. Mark Foley Jr. all addressed the Board and said they do not want to change their addresses. Mr. Thomas told the Board you can see Mr. Lloyd’s and Mr. Foley’s home as soon as you turn on to Oak Ridge Drive.

 

Mr. Thomas said the road name is working perfect the way it is. He said if the Board starts screwing around with the road name it might muddy the waters enough that there is a problem. Mr. Thomas said he has lived at his address for 21 years and that there has never been a problem.

Mr. Brileya told the Board if there is going to be a problem it would be with his home, since it is located in Pittsford. Mr. Brileya said he has never had trouble with mail, UPS or Fed X. Mr. Brileya said people find his home using GPS devices.

 

Mr. Sly told the Board that the E911 Board is in the process of correcting mapping inaccuracies. He said at some point when Oak Ridge Drive is corrected, GPS units would no longer show the private drive.

 

Mr. Hawley questioned if the Town would be in trouble when and if the 911 Board updates its information. Mr. Hawley said he is not sure doing nothing is the best way to address the matter. Mr. Hawley said if it comes to where the Town is going to be penalized then the Board would have to do something.

 

Mr. Hall questioned what hardship changing the road name would cause. Mr. Hall said he is not prepared to make a decision. Mr. Lloyd said he would also have to notify motor vehicles and his insurance company.

 

Mr. Zingale said if Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Foley were to connect their driveways to Oak Ridge Drive then the Road name could stay and there would be no need to place a name on the private drive, since there would only be two homes on the private drive.

 

Mr. Foley asked if the Board could call the private drive Oak Ridge Drive Extension so the residents could keep their house numbers and street name. Mr. Zingale said the ordinance does not allow streets with similar names.

 

Mr. Lloyd said the sheer geography of Oak Ridge makes it impossible not to find a house on the private road.

 

The matter was discussed further and no action was taken.

 

Mr. Lloyd cited the fact he had turned in the final tax collector deed for the David Sirrack property located off North Main Street in Rutland. He said the Town officially owns the property. Mr. Lloyd said he has not filed the deed for the property.

 

 

Planning Commission: Mr. William Matteson reported:

 

  1. Mr. Matteson and the Board discussed Town support for the proposed Aldi’s Grocery store. Mr. Matteson informed the Board he had met with Aldi’s representative Mr. Steve Bowman and that a 50 wide strip of land has been reserved for the Town for a future service road.

 

Town Clerk & Treasurer:  Ms. Marie Hyjek reported:

 

  1. Ms. Hyjek presented a request from Town Lister Howard Burgess to lower the assessment on the “Downing Properties “ property, which had a fire and burned. Mr. Hall made a motion to adjust the Downing Properties according to the presented documents. Mr. Dicton made a second to the motion. Mr. Rhodes said appraisal would be lowered to $84,500.00 or a $1,269.00 reduction in taxes. The motion passed unanimously.

 

  1. Reported there is one remaining tax appeal from the 2010 and 2011 appeals. She said the matter has been scheduled for a December 13th meeting. Ms. Hyjek reported on the outcome of the Board of Civil Authority’s November meeting.

 

  1. Told the Board the last Northwood Park refurbishment bill was in the orders before the Board.

 

  1. Told the Board she has received the first draft of the audit report. Ms Hyjek said she has questions regarding the format used by the auditors and plans to meet with an auditor from A.M. Peisch.

 

  1. Informed the Board the Town has received the third quarter 1% revenue from the State. Mr. Rhodes said $277,175.78 in 1% revenue was generated in the third quarter.

 

 

Mr. Rhodes questioned Chief Denardo regarding the status of the new Town Fire Truck. Mr. Denardo said the truck is not yet at Mr. Larry Dingee’s shop in New Hampshire. Mr. Denardo suggested the check be signed so he can pick up the truck in the event it is ready before the next meeting. Mr. Rhodes said now that the Board has heard from Mr. Denardo, the Board can sign the check.

 

 

Solid Waste Alliance Communities & Rutland Transportation Council:  Mr. Shields reported:

 

  1. Mr. Shields said SWAC held its annual meeting last week. Mr. Shields said the 2012 SWAC budget has a slight increase due to a raise for the administrator. Mr. Shields said the administrator has not had a raise in 10 years.

 

  1. Mr. Shields told the Board SWAC was given an overview on the new Casella Zero Sorting process. The Board and Mr. Shields discussed zero sort.

 

Mr. Hall said an individual has raised the issue at the Transportation Council whether Rutland Town can be forced to pay a fee to The Bus for bus service in the Town.

 

 

Regional Planning Commission Mr. Fred Nicholson reported:

 

  1. Not present.

 

Town Road Commissioner: Mr. Byron Hathaway reported:

 

  1. Mr. Hathaway cited paperwork he had submitted to the Board regarding two highway grant applications totaling $100,000.00.

 

  1. Mr. Hathaway said paving is complete and satisfactory.

 

  1. Informed the Board he would like to receive the opinion of the Highway Committee prior to issuing a curb cut permit to the new Alderman KIA dealership. The Highway Committee will view the location with Mr. Hathaway.

 

  1. Told the Board he will meet with FEMA Officials next week to complete project work sheets. Mr. Hathaway told the Board that because the East Pittsford Road and the Post Road are Federal Aided Highways, the Town would not receive any reimbursement from FEMA. He told the Board that the work done on East Pittsford Road and the Post Road did not amount to more than the minimal $5,000.00 requirement per road.

 

  1. Mr. Hathaway and Mr. Rhodes discussed Mr. Hathaway procedure for calling out snowplow drivers.

 

  1. Informed the Board that the Transfer Station had been burglarized and that a lawn mower and items had been taken from the Metal container. He also informed the Board that a town resident got the license plate number and contacted Town officials. Mr. Hathaway will lock all the gates at the Transfer Station.

 

Fire Chief: Joseph Denardo reported:

 

  1. Informed the Board the Fire Department will be replacing their gas meters with new meters, which are more sophisticated. He said the new meters would have a three-year warranty for the meter sensor. He said two new meters would cost $3,600.00.

 

  1. Informed the Board that the NFPA standards for hose testing have changed. He said as a result the Department will have to spend about $3,500.00 per year to have a third party test hoses.

 

  1. Mr. Denardo and the Board discussed how the Department would move forward with plans for re-building the Center Rutland Fire Station. Mr. Rhodes said he is not ready to work with a single contractor. He said a Request for Proposal (RFP) should be advertised to get other contractors to bid on the project.

    Mr. Denardo said he chose to work with Figiel & Barryhill because they designed the Brandon and West Rutland Fire Stations. Mr. Denardo said the estimated cost for the work proposed by Figiel & Barryhill is $9,000.00. Mr. Denardo said the building construction would be put out to bid.

    Mr. Rhodes said the Board could put $9,000.00 in the Fire Department’s budget and ask the public if they support spending three-quarters of a million dollar to rebuild the station.

    Mr. Denardo said it is not known how much the project would cost. Mr. Denardo said the Town would get a preliminary plan with conceptual drawings and a cost for the building. Mr. Denardo said in November the Town could put the project before the voters. Mr. Denardo said if the project were turned down the Department would try to come up with a project the public would support.

    Mr. Denardo said in the future the Department would like to add a 18 feet by 20 feet addition to the back of the McKinley Station building and also get the fuel tanks relocated to above ground.

    Mr. Dicton asked if the chief could present a need assessment for both stations. Mr. Denardo discussed the matter with the Board. Mr. Rhodes said the Department has to have a model they can show the residents as to how the Center Rutland station would look.

    Mr. Denardo said the Town would get; an architectural program for all spaces and areas for a new facility, an inventory of all equipment that needs to be housed in the new facility, a schematic floor plan and exterior elevations that can be approved by the department, a preliminary statement of expected construction costs, drawings suitable for public viewing, including plans and elevation perspective of the exterior and attend meetings to help explain the project for $9,000.00.

    Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Denardo agreed the $9,000.00 expense would be a separate line item on the next ballot. The Board agreed. Mr. Dicton asked Mr. Denardo to submit a plan as to what the Department would do if the budget item fails. Mr. Dicton and Mr. Denardo and Mr. Rhodes discussed the matter further.

 

  1. Mr. Denardo requested the Board make Mr. Larry Dingee a preferred vendor for fire apparatus. The Board discussed the matter with Mr. Denardo and took no action.

 

 

Recreation Director: Mike Rowe reported:

 

  1. Told the Board K thru 6th grade basketball registrations are ongoing

 

The Board considered the 329-gallon per day Alderman KIA wastewater allocation. Mr. Hawley moved to approve a 329-gallon per day for the Alderman KIA dealership. Mr. Hall made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

 

The Board decided to have Jim Earl fix the compactor box for $1,950.00 and budget $6,450.00 for a new box. 

 

Town Administrator:  Mr. Joseph Zingale reported:

 

1.      Informed the Board he is attempting to recover approximately $1000.00 from the owners of the Ponderosa Restaurant for grease discharged into the Town sewer system. Mr. Zingale told the Board that A1 Sewer & Drain Service determined the grease came from the Ponderosa Restaurant.  Mr. Zingale said it is most likely the grease trap is not operating properly.

 

2.      Informed the Board that the Town mapmaker has gone out of business. Mr. Zingale discussed the matter with the Board. Mr. Dicton asked Ms. Hyjek if she is satisfied with the maps and she said she is not satisfied. Mr. Zingale explained why the missing book and page information, which Ms. Hyjek wants in the map book, was not included.

 

3.      Told the Board he is waiting to receive an estimated cost figure for relocating the Post Road Pump Station electrical panel from Mr. Pete Andrews, of Stantec, before he can file preliminary grant application.

 

4.      Informed the Board that the Town has received $25, 951.00 from the Town’s insurance company for damage to two wastewater pump stations from tropical storm Irene.

 

5.      Told the Board that Mr. Mark & Nancy Foley have filed a declaratory judgment with the court against the Town & City of Rutland for sewer over charges. 

 

Mr. Rhodes asked Ms. Hyjek if the Town normally gives the American Red Cross a $2,000.00 annual donation. Ms. Hyjek said the American Red Cross requested the money because of tropical storm Irene. Mr. Dicton questioned whether the American Red Cross should submit a petition in order to get on the ballot. The Board directed Ms. Hyjek to inform the American Red Cross they would need to submit a petition to get on the ballot.

 

 

The Board reviewed packet correspondence.

 

 

Mr. Hawley moved to close the meeting at 8:45 PM. Mr. Hall made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.