TOWN OF RUTLAND

 

SELECT BOARD

 

 

 

MINUTES: December 6, 2011

 

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

 

The Meeting opened at 6:50 P.M. with the pledge of allegiance.

 

Mr. Rhodes requested all present remain standing for a moment of silence in memory of Mr. Tom Turner who recently passed away. Mr. Rhodes said Mr. Turner was a former Chairman of the Select Board and Vice Chairman on the Town Planning Commission.

 

Mr. Hall moved to approve the 11-22-11 minutes as presented. Mr. Hawley made a second to the motion. The motion passed 4 to 0. Mr. Terenzini abstained from the vote.

 

Mr. Hall moved to approve the 11-8-11 minutes with corrections. Mr. Terenzini made a second to the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 3 to 0. Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Hawley abstained from the vote.

 

Questions from the floor:

 

Town Delinquent Tax Collector Mr. Richard Lloyd met with the Board and discussed the Sirak property, which the Town of Rutland has acquired as a result of non-payment of Taxes.

 

Mr. Rhodes cited the fact that prior to the meeting he signed the required paperwork for Town ownership of the property. Mr. Lloyd said once the Town Clerk has recorded the book and page for the deed recording he would notify his lawyer.

 

 Mr. Lloyd gave the Board correspondence regarding what other towns have done when they acquire property. Mr. Lloyd asked that the initial tax against the property be taken off the books and he said he would forgive any penalties he is owed.

 

Mr. Rhodes asked Mr. Lloyd who received a $15,202.00 payment from the Town on 11-4-11. Mr. Lloyd said he received the money. Mr. Lloyd said it was his entire bill for his work for 2009 and 2010.

 

Mr. Lloyd said the Town should have the property assessed and get a realistic value for the land. Mr. Rhodes cited the fact the land was reappraised in 2009. Mr. Dicton said the value of the land is over inflated. Mr. Dicton said the property is land locked.

 

Mr. Rhodes said the Board should vote whether to remove $10,476.75 in back taxes from the Tax collector’s books. Mr. Dicton made a motion to relinquish the tax liability to the town of $10,476.75. Mr. Terenzini made a second to the motion. Mr. Lloyd told the Board the Town is entitled to the $10,476.75 plus any interest. The Board and Mr. Lloyd discussed the motion further.

 

Mr. Rhodes asked Town Treasurer Ms. Marie Hyjek what she would do with the $10,476.75 plus interest. Ms. Hyjek said she would create a new account and use the money to lower the tax rate.

 

Mr. Lloyd his attorney has advised that the Town is entitled to $15,202.95 plus this year’s tax of $10,476.75 and interest of $1,117.49. Mr. Lloyd said the Town can only cover its expenses through the sale of the lot and cannot make any money from the sale of the lot. Mr. Lloyd said Mr. Sirak would receive any money above what the Town is owed.

 

The motion passed unanimously.

 

Town Clerk & Treasurer:  Ms. Marie Hyjek reported:

 

No meeting no report.

 

Mr. Rhodes opened the Town Report printing bids. Repo Digital bid $2,335.00 and Rutland Printing bid $2,750.00. Ms. Hyjek will review the bids and report to the Board at the next meeting.

 

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

 

No meeting no report.

 

Mr. Shields questioned the Board regarding Christmas tree disposal at the Town Transfer Station. Mr. Rhodes said the Town accepts Christmas trees.

 

Regional Planning Commission Mr. Fred Nicholson reported:

 

No meeting no report

 

Planning Commission: Mr. William Matteson reported:

 

Mr. Matteson told the Board that the Planning Commission and the Select Board would surely miss Mr. Tom Turner. Mr. Matteson said Mr. Turner has been an integral part of the Planning Commission for the past 10 years. Mr. Matteson said Mr. Turner’s intellect allow him to read complicated documents and present a synopsis to the Planning Commission. Mr. Matteson said Mr. Turner would be missed.

 

Mr. Zingale said Mr. Turner also served the Town as the Chairman of the Town Bypass Committee.

 

Mr. Matteson informed the Board that the Commission had held a second meeting with interested parties regarding the service road proposed for the south end of Town. Mr. Matteson said only one individual had a negative opinion regarding the proposed service road.

 

Mr. Rhodes said the proposed service road would enhance traffic on US RT 7 S by taking traffic off US RT 7 S. Mr. Matteson said the next step is to seek funding to begin preliminary work on the proposed road. Mr. Matteson said there could be funding through the RT 4 & RT 7 committee. 

 

Mr. Matteson told the Board the Commission would review the Aldi’s Subdivision proposal at the next meeting. Mr. Matteson told the Board that he has discussed the service road with Mr. Steve Bowman, an Aldi’s representative, and that Mr. Bowman supports the proposed road and have allowed for space required.

 

Mr. Nicholson told the Board he argued with two fellow Regional Commissioners regarding the fact the new Spartan Arena sign is illuminated and would add light to the night sky. 

 

Mr. Nicholson said there are some exciting things proposed for the Town (Proposed service road and US RT 4 sewer line) and cited the benefit in having minimal zoning regulations. He said a lot of the discussions would go away if the Town has zoning regulations.

 

Town Road Commissioner: Mr. Byron Hathaway reported:

 

  1. Informed the Board he had met with the FEMA representative and that it appears the Town may have to register with the State as a Hazardous Waste Generator, due to the mud brought into the Transfer Station, from tropical storm Irene.

    Mr. Hathaway will hire a site technician to do a soil evaluation and proceed with the application. Mr. Hathaway said he would continue to cut brush until it begins snowing. Mr. Hathaway told the Board he has produced up to $700.00 in revenue from scrap metal sales.

 

  1. Mr. Hathaway said the Town has received $106,000.00 through a paving grant.

 

 

 

Police Department: Chief John Sly reported:

 

 

 

  1. Requested a brief executive session with Board at end of meeting

 

  1. Reminded Christmas shoppers not to leave their purchases in their vehicles because there have been many vehicle break-ins. He said if individuals bring their packages out to their vehicle they should move the vehicle to a different location in the parking lot, if the individual plans on going back into a store to do more shopping.

 

  1. Advised drivers to slow down on town roads now that winter is hear and the roads will be icy.

 

  1. Informed the Board that the State of Vermont has begun taking over 50% of all the traffic fine revenue with in the Town. Mr. Sly said the money should be going into the Town’s general fund.

 

Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Sly discussed under what circumstances Mr. Sly should receive vehicle reimbursement. Mr. Sly said the department has had an agreement with the Board for many years regarding vehicle reimbursement. Mr. Sly said the policy has been that his department is paid for vehicle reimbursement unless an officer is sick or on vacation. Mr. Rhodes said the matter could be discussed in executive session.

 

Recreation Director: Mike Rowe reported:

 

  1. Informed the Board that a valve for the swimming pool had been received and would be installed. Mr. Rowe will find out what happened to the old valve

 

  1. Needs to schedule a meeting the Mr. Dicton and Mr. Terenzini to work on the Recreation budget.

 

Town Administrator:  Mr. Joseph Zingale reported:

 

  1. Told the Board that he had met with some town businesses in a similar situation as the Red Roof Inn and encouraged them to take a good look at their sewer bills.

 

  1. Informed the Board a delinquent sewer user in the Clarendon Industrial Park has agreed to a payment plan with the Town.

 

  1. Told the Board that he has not received a response from the owners of the Ponderosa Restaurant regarding a grease violation. Mr. Zingale said the owners have until December 21 to submit a plan as to how they will monitor their grease trap.

 

  1. Told the Board that the residents living off the private drive of Bittersweet Lane have agreed on the name “Pine Hill Place” as the name for their private drive. Mr. Matteson cited the fact there is a town street named “Pinecrest Road”. The Board discussed the matter and took no action.

 

  1.  Told the Board they needed to vote to authorize Jim Earl at Earl’s Trucking to fix the Town compactor box. Mr. Zingale told the Board he had authorized the work and that the Board had not voted to do so. Mr. Rhodes said the Board had decided to fix the box and budget for a new container at $6,000.00. Mr. Hall moved to authorize Earl’s to make the additional repair to the box for $1,900.00. Mr. Hawley made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

 

  1. Told the Board they were invited to the annual lighting of the red ribbon Christmas tree at the Diamond Run Mall. Mr. Zingale said the ribbons on the tree are in memory of individuals that have been victims of drunk drivers. The event is scheduled for 11:00 AM on December 15.

 

  1. Informed the Board he had heard from the Division of Historic Preservation regarding the grant application for the chimney and roof. He said the individual requested additional information.

 

  1. Told the Board that the VTrans hearing for the proposed Farrell slip lane had been canceled.

 

  1. Suggested the Board consider budgeting for five new desktop and two new lap top computers for the Town office. Mr. Rhodes requested Mr. Zingale come up with a budget amount for the Board.

 

  1. Mr. Zingale told the Board that the audio equipment used to record the Board meetings was paid for by Mr. Tom Turner, who anonymously donated $1,000.00 to the Town.   

 

Mr. Zingale and the Board discussed the Oak Ridge Drive 911 addressing matter. Mr. Zingale said one possible solution would be to rename “Oak Ridge Drive” and then name the private drive “Oak Ridge Drive”. He said to name a private road “Drive” would not be in keeping with the Town’s practice of naming all unapproved town streets as “Place”. He said the Board’s practice of doing so is not required by the Town’s ordinance.

 

Mr. Zingale told the Board that the 9-1-1 Board has recommended that the residents’ addresses be renumber and that the homeowners told the Board a the last meeting that they did not want to change their house numbers.

 

Mr. Matteson suggested the Board rename Oak Ridge Drive after Tom Turner. Mr. Denardo suggested the Board name the road after the Atwood’s, who used to own the land in question.

 

Chief Denardo told the Board that his department knows that any road with the word “Place” is a private road. He said by naming the private road, as a “Drive”, will make men think the road is a Town road. Mr. Denardo said as a result of the meeting he now knows the section of road in question is a private road. He said he always thought the road was a Town maintained road. The Chief said the Board would be deviating from what it normally does.  Mr. Zingale said there are 25 streets in Town with the name “Place”.

 

Chief Sly told the Board that Mr. Zingale has done a good job being consistent in the Town 911 addressing He also told the Board that the E 911 addressing is quite clear and there is no variance allowed.

 

Mr. Hall moved to rename Oak Ridge Drive to Atwood Drive. Mr. Hawley made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Mr. Hall made a motion to name the private section of road as “Oak Ridge Drive”. Mr. Hawley made a second to the motion. Mr. Rhodes said that based on Chief Sly’s recommendation the road should end in “Place”.

 

Those in attendance discussed whether the homes off “Oak Ridge Drive” should be renumbered. The Board said it is up to Mr. Zingale to decide whether the house numbers are changed. The motion passed by a vote of 4 to 1. Mr. Rhodes voted in the negative.

 

Fire Chief: Joseph Denardo reported:

 

1.      Presented a proposed Fire Department Bylaw amendment for Board consideration. Mr. Denardo told the Board he is not looking for a vote at this time. Mr. Denardo said the amendment is in response to a recent case in Vermont where a Fireman was denied town insurance coverage because his injury happened during maintenance work at the Fire Station and not while responding to a fire. He said the amendment would clarify the duties of town fire fighters. He said the amendment also addresses the Good Samaritan law.

Mr. Denardo discussed the proposed amendment with the Board. Mr. Dicton asked Mr. Denardo if the Travelers Insurance Company had approved the departments proposed amendment. Mr. Denardo said the amendment had not been given to the department’s insurance company.

Mr. Denardo said there are portions of the bylaws, which should be separate as “standard operating procedures”. Mr. Dicton said the department really needs to follow its bylaws. Mr. Terenzini moved to adopt the amendment to the Rutland Town Fire Department Bylaws as presented by the chief. Mr. Dicton made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

 

2.      The Fire Committee scheduled 2:00 PM on December 15th to review the Fire Budget with the Fire Chief.

 

3.      Mr. Denardo and the Board discussed whether the proposed $9,000.00 Fire Station study budget would be included in the Fire Department budget or whether it would be a separate ballot item. The Board reminded Mr. Denardo that it had previously decided to make the $9,000.00 a separate item.

 

4.      Mr. Denardo invited Board members to the department’s annual meeting on January 9, 2012 at 6:00 PM at the Center Rutland station.

 

Mr. Rhodes opened the window and door bids. The following bids were received:

 

Giancola Construction – base bid $11,490.00 option 1 $4,525.00 option 2 $5,640.00 option 3 $ 10,175.00

Wright Construction - $22,396.00

L& M Construction - $24,573.00

Quinn Group - $18,800.00

Taggart Brothers - $20,988.00

 

The Building Committee will review the bids and make a report at then next meeting. Mr. Dicton asked Ms. Hyjek how much money is available for the project. Ms. Hyjek said there is a little less than $20,000.00 in maintenance. Ms. Hyjek said the building maintenance account also covers office equipment rentals. Mr. Hall said the Board needs to change the practice of keeping the business equipment in the building maintenance account.

 

The Board reviewed packet correspondence.

 

Board members signed a Rutland Town Scholarship Award letter prepared by Mr. Hall to be included in the Town Report.

 

Mr. Rhodes cited a request from Mr. Hall to include the following information in the Town Report:

 

 

Mr. Hall said the information should be available to Town residents.

 

The Board instructed Mr. Zingale to write a letter to Ms. Kimberly Sherman regarding her request to dispose flood-damaged material in the Town Transfer Station.

 

Mr. Terenzini requested an executive session to discuss a business complaint against a Town employee.

 

Mr. Hall suggested the Board write to the American Red Cross and ask how much assistance they provided to town residents following tropical storm Irene. Mr. Hawley said the request is a general $2,000.00 funding request and is not specific to tropical storm Irene.

 

Mr. Dicton moved to go into executive session to meet with Police Chief Sly and to also discuss a complaint against a Town employee. Mr. Terenzini made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Mr. Rhodes declared the executive session closed at 9:10 P.M.  Mr. Terenzini moved to close the meeting. Mr. Dicton made a second to the motion. The motion passed unanimously.