Select Board Minutes 2-14-2024

Select Board Minutes 2-14-2024

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECT BOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

FEBRUARY 13^th, 2024

 

• The meeting opened at 6:00 P.M. with the pledge of allegiance.
• Board members present Mary Ashcroft, Joe Denardo, Sharon Russell, Kurt Hathaway, and Matt Getty
• Members of the public participating Ken Watson and Joe Bertelloni

A moment of silence was observed for 3 town residents who recently passed away. Town 1^st Constable Mike Delahanty’s mother Tammy passed, Town Select Board member Matt Gettys Grandmother Betty Pike passed, and Tyler Robideau passed. Tyler was a past member of the Rutland Town Fire Department and very active in his community.

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Select Board Minutes for January 30th:

Selectman Getty moved to approve the minutes.  Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Update from the Select Board Chair

Town Reports are in the mail, and available at Town Hall. There is a page missing, which is available at Town Hall. Our Town Police K9 is on the cover this year.

The new edition of The Circle is available.

Question from the Floor / Public Comment

Ken Watson and Joe Bertelloni, who are the Rutland Town representatives on the Rutland Free Library Board, were present. The library is applying for a $1.5M grant and is asking the Board to provide them with a letter of support. There is no financial obligation for the Town. After discussion, Selectwoman Russell moved to provide the letter. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. Board Chair Ashcroft will draft the letter. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

1. This is the last week of basketball. The 5^th and 6^th grade boys will be playing in a tournament in March.
2. Signups for spring sports are available now on the town website.
3. Recently Randy Dewey and Stan Blicharz were recognized for their 50 years of service to sports as officiants.
4. Chair Ashcroft asked the Rec Committee to discuss what they could do to help support the town seniors by assisting with scheduling and other administrative tasks.
5. Discussed the progress of finding the history of the Northwood Park property. The research is not complete yet.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

1. Some maintenance tasks have been completed between storm work.
2. The new electronic speed signs on Post Road have been installed and are working well.
3. The paving list is nearly complete and a new paving grant from the State just became available.
4. Discussed topics from the recent Highway Committee meeting.
   1. The Town of Clarendon asked the Committee to reconsider an offer for maintenance on Quarterline Road. The decision was made to keep it in house.
   2. Discussed the cost to install the generator at the Highway garage. The cost originally came from generator maintenance. The committee is recommending shifting it to garage maintenance. Selectman Denardo moved to charge the installation work to the highway garage maintenance line, and to credit the generator maintenance line. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. After discussion, the motion passed 5 – 0.
   3. Discussed the selection of a municipal project manager for the Route 7 North sidewalk project. The firm we hired to create the scoping study is not on the State preapproved list. There are 3 vendors the Town has worked with in the past which are. They will be contacted to see if they have the interest and availability to help us.
   4. Reviewed updates to the Mailbox Damage and Class 4 Road Maintenance policies. Selectman Denardo moved to adopt the 2 policies. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
   5. The committee also reviewed the mowing bids and is recommending accepting the bid from Connor Gallipo. It is for 2024 and 2025. Selectman Denardo moved to accept his bid. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
5. There is an issue with illegal dumping at the end of Park Street. After discussion, Commissioner Sears will look into the problem and see what property it is on.

Marcia Chioffi Rutland Town Head Lister

1. Provided a form to the Select Board to review for approval. It certifies there are no appeals or suits pending to recover taxes paid under protest. Selectman Denardo moved to approve signing it. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
2. There is a webinar soon on the state education rate changes which could impact the town.
3. There was an error in the amounts for the Lister hourly rates in the Town report.
4. Provided a copy of the contract for business personal property appraisal services. This will be discussed in an executive session at the end of the meeting.
5. A contract renewal for tax map maintenance was provided. It is from CAI Inc. It is for 1 year at $3100. This is the same term as the last time. After discussion, Selectman Hathaway moved to approve the proposal. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

1. There were 27 calls for service in January.
2. A truck was damaged at a mutual aid fire in West Rutland. The Town of West Rutland was contacted, and they are covering the repair costs.
3. Board Chair Ashcroft asked the Chief to thank the members who attended the memorial service for Tyler Robideau.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

1. Requested an executive session for a personnel matter at the end of the meeting.
2. The Town School reached out regarding reimbursement for costs related to The Circle. There have been different arrangements in the past. After discussion, we will make sure the school gets the funds allocated in the current budget and will be reimbursed correctly in the future. The school is fine with this arrangement.
3. Town meeting day ballots have arrived. Absentee ballots will be sent out soon.
4. Board Chair Ashcroft thanked Kari for her work on the bond application. There was a last-minute issue which was addressed. The application was successful. Discussed the best way to accept the funds when needed. No decision was made.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

1. Recent calls for service were provided.
2. Discussed security at the Diamond Run Mall. They have not reached out to him yet.
3. Reviewed 3 liquor license requests. One is from Johnny Boys and the other is from JW Sandri, and Midway Mobil. The Police Chief had no issues with them. Selectman Hathaway moved to approve them. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

John Paul Faignant Town Health Officer / 2^nd Constable / Public Safety Building Clerk

1. Construction on the new building is moving along very well.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

1. The Regional Planning Commission housing survey is going well.
2. There will be a presentation on river corridor management at the Planning Commission meeting on February 15^th. The Select Board is invited to participate.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

1. Provided a form to reappoint a Town representative to the Regional Ambulance Service Board. Marty Wasserman is our current representative and has agreed to continue. Selectwoman Russell moved to reappoint him. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0 .
2. We received our water quality monitoring report from the closed landfill. There is a vent pipe which needs to be fixed. There are no immediate actions needed regarding test results.
3. Discussed the status of Short-Term Rentals in the Town. There is an increase in the listings in the Town since last year. This topic will be added to the next agenda.

Committee meeting updates:

1. The personnel committee met recently. Discussed updating the personnel policy. There will need to be a discussion in the executive session regarding it.

Selectman Denardo brought up the past topic of changes to E-911 addresses which do not meet the standards in our ordinance. He is in favor of making the changes that are needed.

The agreement for the MS4 grant was finalized by the State and is ready for Board approval. Town counsel has reviewed it and did not have any major concerns. This grant is for designing MS4 projects. Selectman Denardo moved to approve the grant and to authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Selectman Denardo moved to enter executive session to discuss a contract review, and for personnel matters. Town Listers Marcia Chioffi and Marie Faignant will attend the contract discussion, Town Clerk Kari Clark will attend one of the personnel matter discussions. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The Board entered executive session at 7:26 PM.

The Board came out of executive session at 8:22 PM. Selectman Denardo moved to accept the contract for Gail Gantick and to include under 3C “Should the Town exercise this option, the parties will negotiate a reduction in the overall contract price.” Selectman Getty seconded the motion. Selectman Denardo and Selectman Getty voted in favor of the motion. Selectman Hathaway and Selectwoman Russell voted against the motion. Board Chair Ashcroft voted in favor of the motion to break the tie. The motion passed 3 – 2.

The Board reentered executive session at 8:24 PM for the personnel matter discussions.

Upon leaving executive session, with no action being taken, Selectman Denardo moved to adjourn. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:25 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Bill Sweet, Town Administrator.

 

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Mary Ashcroft, Chair

 

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Joseph Denardo, Clerk

 

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Sharon Russell

 

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Kurt Hathaway

 

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Matt Getty

 

Center Rutland, VT.