Select Board Minutes 1-19-2021

Publish date: January 22, 2021

Select Board 1-19-2021

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECT BOARD OPEN MEETING

HELD VIA PUBLICALLY ACCESSABLE CONFERENCE CALL LINE

JANUARY 19TH, 2021

Out of an abundance of caution around the covid-19 virus, this meeting was held via a conference call line which was made publicly available for anyone to call into.

  • Meeting opened at 5:00 P.M.
  • Board members present Mary Ashcroft, Sharon Russell, Joe Denardo, John Paul Faignant and Aaron Jones
  • Members of the public present Chris Howland, Jim Scholtz, Lydia Flynn, Thomas Boisvenue, and Marty Wasserman

Approval of Orders

The Board will approve the orders as they come into the office.

Approval of Select Board Minutes for January 5th:

  • Denardo moved to approve the minutes. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

Bill Sweet Administrative Assistant to the Select Board:

  1. Provided the updated meeting schedule and committee agenda items.
  2. Provided a draft Request for Proposal at the request of the Highway Committee. This would be to obtain study results for the proposed Route 7 North sidewalk. Mr. Faignant moved to approve the RFP document. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
  3. An article was in a recent edition of the Rutland Herald regarding legislation being proposed for fireworks regulations. A copy was provided for the board to review.
  4. A request has been made from the Chamber of Economic Development for towns with locations that would be suitable to host a cannabis cultivation facility with plans to expand to retail in the future. The town would need to vote to opt in to allow this type of facility. Mr. Faignant moved to allow the development in the town. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion. Some sites on Randbury Road and Ripley Road were discussed as the business would need municipal water and sewer.
    1. Thomas Boisvenue joined the meeting with the discussion in progress and asked about speaking with the Health Officer. Ms. Ashcroft asked them to continue the discussion after the meeting.
    2. A vote on the motion was taken and the motion passed 5-0.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk/Treasurer:

  1. Reminded anyone wishing to run for an office in March, to have your name included on the ballot consent forms must be turned in by January 25th. The applies to new candidates and people wishing to run for reelection. Any candidates wishing to submit letters to be published in The Circle need to have them to Kari soon.
  2. The due date for the second installment of taxes has passed and the town has collected 94% of its taxes so far.

Barbara Noyes-Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

  1. Nothing to report.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

  1. Basketball has started for the rec program for grade 3 and 4. Protocols for K to 2 are being worked on now.

Byron Hathaway Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

  1. The 2 items given to the board, the proposed paving contract and information on the Gleason Road culvert replacement, do not need any action tonight. If the budget is approved at Town Meeting approval will be needed after that.
  2. Discussed the replacement of the small highway truck. The state bid process can be used as the pricing has already been established. A meeting with the fleet manager from Ford would be needed next. It would be approximately 12 weeks to get the cab and chassis. Once that is delivered it would take up to 4 months for the body to be built. The total process could be between 6 and 9 months.
    1. The body builder they intend to use also provides state bid pricing.
    2. The highway committee discussed this at their recent meeting and recommended the replacement using the state bid vendors. Ms. Russell moved to approve the process. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion passed 5-0.
  3. Discussed the failing culvert on Gleason Road. Mr. Hathaway said the condition is continuing to worsen. A one lane road block may be necessary until repairs can be made if it continues to degrade.
    1. Mr. Denardo moved to allow Mr. Hathaway to move forward and begin the bid process now. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. There are funds allocated in the next budget specifically earmarked for this project. Mr. Hathaway said it is only permitted to be constructed during July, August, or September. Ms. Ashcroft suggested tabling the motion.
    2. The motion was amended to make the approval contingent on the highway budget being approved at Town Meeting. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
  4. Mr. Hathaway discussed a meeting held earlier in the day where details of the proposed shard use path were discussed with the engineer from Otter Creek Engineering, Robert Clark.
    1. Plans with different routes were reviewed and debated. Ultimately the one with the shortest route was picked because it minimized the impact on adjacent areas of the park.
    2. Additional plans will be drawn up for a future meeting.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

  1. Members were notified they are eligible to get the covid-19 vaccination. Members have begun making their appointments.
  2. Mr. Denardo let Mr. Clark know the former Cheney Hill school building has been sold. The lock box on the building was paid for by the town and should be removed if the new owners will not be using it.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

  1. Recent calls for service were provided and reviewed.
  2. Members of the police are also receiving their covid-19 vaccinations.

John Paul Faignant Town Health Officer:

  1. Essential positions are allowed to receive the vaccine and the hospital has a call-in number to schedule appointments. Vaccines for anyone wishing to get one should be available by January 27th.
  2. In reference to the individual who spoke at the beginning of the meeting, the apartment he was asking about was inspected in conjunction with a contractor. Some violations were noted but not enough to condemn the property. No life safety code violations were noted. The landlord has been contacted regarding the issues.

New Business Board to Discuss Scholarship Funding Request for the Ballot

  1. The amount requested for scholarships had been $10,000. Last year it was increased to $15,000. Ms. Russell suggested maintaining the $15,000 level.
  2. Russell moved to request the sum of $15,000 be added to the ballot to be voted on at Town Meeting. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

The latest edition of The Circle has been sent out.  The deadline for submission for the next article is February 1st.

New Business Board to Discuss Wording to Establish a Transfer Station Depreciation Account

  1. Language suggested by our Town Council was forwarded to all board members earlier this afternoon. The board discussed the exact wording needed to obtain the intended funding level.
  2. The .00125 per $100 of assessed value is the correct amount to be included on the ballot. This is expected to raise $11,154.75 per year.
  3. Mr. Denardo moved to approve the language sent by town council removing the word “cents” in order to get the correct amount. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0. This will be included on the Town Meeting Day ballot.

Ms. Ashcroft commented on a piece of legislation signed by the Governor today which allows a town to opt to mail ballots to all residents. The Select Board would have to act to instruct the Town Clerk to mail them out. Ms. Clark said the timeline would be very tight to do a town wide mailing. Discussed the option to move the 2021 annual Town Meeting to a date later in 2021. This could be done to accommodate the mailing process. Ms. Clark expected this election to run like others in the past. Residents could request a ballot by mail if the like. Mr. Denardo felt that was the best thing to do. No action was taken by the board.

Ms. Ashcroft said the board meeting will be recessed instead of adjourned. This will allow the School Board and Select Board to present their budgets. The board will then resume their meeting at the conclusion of the pre-town meeting for the purpose of approving the budgets.

Ms. Ashcroft commented on the events that recently took place in Washington D.C.

Mr. Denardo moved to recess the meeting until the conclusion of pre-town meeting. Ms. Russell seconded motion. The meeting was recessed at 5:53 PM.

The board came back from recess at 7:31 PM. Mr. Denardo moved to approve the budgets as presented. Mr. Jones seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

Mr. Denardo moved to adjourn. Mr. Jones seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:34 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Mr. Bill Sweet

 
Mary Ashcroft, Chair
 
Joseph Denardo, Clerk
 
John Paul Faignant
 
Sharon Russell
 
Aaron Jones

 

Center Rutland, VT.

Rutland Town News

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