Select Board Minutes 3-12-2024

Publish date: March 13, 2024

Select Board Minutes 3-12-2024

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECT BOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

MARCH 12th, 2024

 

  • The meeting was opened at 6:00 P.M. by Town Clerk Kari Clark
  • Board members present Mary Ashcroft, Joe Denardo, Sharon Russell, Kurt Hathaway, and Matt Getty

Town Clerk Kari Clark opened the meeting to accept nominations for Board Chair.

Selectwoman Russell nominated Mary Ashcroft for Board Chair. Selectman Denardo seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations. There was a unanimous vote for Mary Ashcroft as Chair.

Selectwoman Russell nominated Selectman Denardo for Board Clerk. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. There were no other nominations. There was a unanimous vote for Joe Denardo as Board Clerk.

A moment of silence was observed for two Town residents who recently passed away.  Larry Williams, a Charter member of the Town Fire Department and Fred Nicholson who served the Town in many capacities including ballot clerk at the recent Town election.

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Select Board Minutes for February 27th:

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

Approval of Select Board Minutes for March 4th:

Selectman Getty moved to approve the minutes.  Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0. Select man Denardo abstained.

Update from the Select Board Chair

Thanked the Town voters who came out to vote recently and to the Department Heads for their work in putting the budgets together.

There was 1 additional signed document to be for the Public Safety Building Bond application. It is the Resolution and Certificate document. Selectman Denardo moved to ratify the action of passing the Resolution and Certificate related to our bond. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The document was missing from the mailed version of the bond packet. The motion passed 5 – 0.

The grandmother of Town First Constable Mike Delehanty also passed away recently. The Board extended their sympathies to his family as well.

There are funds available from the State related to the December flooding. After discussion, there was no damage to the town infrastructure which would qualify us for federal funds.

The ad-hoc committee for work on the Town Hall war memorial met recently. They will be looking at different memorials in other communities to get ideas for developing a new one here.

The School Board will be using the Board room to hold a public meeting to discuss their budget with member of the public.

Articles for the next edition of The Circle are due this Friday.

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

  1. Selectman Denardo reported on his behalf.
  2. There was a meeting this past Friday to review progress on the public Safety Building.
  3. Space for additional parking is being worked on.
  4. The roof work is progressing and should be done soon.
  5. While running the water line, they encountered ledge so there has been some jackhammering to remove it.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

  1. Selectwoman Russel reported for Mr. Rowe.
  2. At a recent Rec Committee meeting, use of the pool by various organizations was discussed.
    1. Due to the large number of requests, groups will be limited to 4 visits per year.
    2. The lawns need to be sprayed again for insects. Discussed options for who could do it. Lawn Masters was used in the past. The Board will leave the decision of who to use up to Mr. Rowe. Selectman Getty moved to authorize the Chair to sign authorization for Lawn Masters if Mr. Rowe elects to use them. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

  1. Reviewed a recently approved sub-division by North Grove Street and McKinley Avenue.
  2. The energy planner at the Regional Planner was wondering if the Town would like to join a multitown energy consortium. No decision was made.
  3. There are 5 members of the Planning Commission with appointments that are up. They are regular members Barbara Pulling, Dana Peterson, Mary Beth Poli, and alternates Norm Cohen and Jim Hall. After discussion, Selectwoman Russell moved to reappoint all 5. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

  1. The contractors have been called out 29 times, and there is approximately 100 tons of salt left in the shed.
  2. Reported on recent maintenance tasks.
  3. The updated Certification for Road and Bridge Standards was provided. Selectman Denardo moved to approve the Certification and to authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
  4. Reviewed the 2024 Public Works Mutual Aid Agreement. Road Commissioner Dave Sears is the primary contact person. After discussion, Bill Sweet will be added as the secondary contact person. Selectman Denardo moved to approve the agreement, add Bill as the secondary person to contact, and to authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
  5. Discussed selling the old F-350 Highway truck. Information will be put together so a request for bids can be put out.
  6. Paving bids will be opened March 25th at 9AM at Town Hall.
  7. A request for bids to do culvert cleaning has been sent out. They would be opened at the same meeting as the paving bids.

Marcia Chioffi Rutland Town Head Lister

  1. Business Personal property declarations are still coming in.
  2. There has been some training lately on Current Use and other topics.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

  1. Requested the Center Rutland Fire Station be added to the next paving list. This will be coordinated with the Road Commissioner.
  2. The fire alarm panel at the Center Rutland Fire Station failed its recent test. A quote was received from Royals to replace it. The total cost is $6870.64. Royals is a preferred vendor. After discussion, Selectman Denardo moved to approve the quote from Royals for the new panel, with the funds to come from the Capital Improvement Fund. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. After discussion the motion was amended to have the cost come from the Fire Department building maintenance. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

  1. Provided the updated local option tax report based on the 3rd installment being received. The installment was $403,753.77. For the year we have now received more than the budgeted amount.
  2. Dog licenses are due by April 1st. There have not been many registered yet.
  3. Presented 3 liquor licenses for approval. They are J.W. Sandri Inc, Hannaford’s and 99 Restaurants of VT. The Police Chief has no problem with them. Selectman Hathaway moved to approve all 3. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
  4. Reviewed the recent election.
    1. Approximately 34% of voters voted in the primary.
    2. Approximately 37% voted on the local ballot.
    3. The school budget and bond request did not pass. Another election will be needed for their budget. Discussed the logistics and who is responsible to pay for it.
    4. The school is having a public meeting at Town Hall on Wednesday night to discuss the budget.
    5. A date for the revote has not been set yet.
  5. Discussed write-in votes from the recent election. No one reached the minimum of 30 to qualify. The Board would have to appoint people. The 2 vacant offices are Town Grand Juror and Town Moderator. A list of candidates written in will be included for the next meeting.

Mike Delehanty Town 1st Constable

  1. Thanked everyone in the community for their thoughts and support over the past several weeks with the loss of family members.
  2. Followed up on a damaged property on the corner Gleason Road and Route 4 East. The building has been temporarily secured. A new wall will be constructed in the spring. It was not able to be determined who damaged the building.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

  1. Recent calls for service were provided.
  2. Chief Dumas expressed his condolences to the family of Fred Nicholson.
  3. Discussed the future of the homeless housing program. The State has reduced the amount being paid on a per-night basis. The call volumes have continued to keep our department focused on the South end of Town.
  4. If The Cortina Inn continues in the program, the rate they pay to the Town would increase by 5% effective April 1st.
  5. The Days Inn has ceased participating in the program. They were very good partners in communicating with the Town and the Board appreciates their cooperation. After discussion, a letter thanking them will be drafted.
  6. The Child First Advocacy Center has approached the Chief about the Town providing an officer to be an investigator in their office. The officer would be a Town Police Officer assigned to CFAC. They would reimburse the Town for the cost of their expenses. No decision was made.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

  1. Spent last Tuesday assisting a vendor in completing energy audits on Town Hall and the Highway garage. A full report will be sent to us.
  2. We have revised plans for the remodel of the downstairs at Town Hall. A building committee meeting is needed to discuss the next steps.
  3. We have not heard back on our grant applications for the VLCT grant or the EV Charging Station grant.
  4. Provided an updated contract for Northstar Fireworks. The original contract had the wrong date of August 17th. Selectwoman Russell moved to approve signing the corrected contract and to authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
  5. A request to increase the sewer allocation was received from 194 Seward Road, Wulnick Properties. This is in response to a letter sent to them notifying them their usage exceeded their approved amount. The requested increase is 3 gallons per day. Selectman Getty moved to approve the increase. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
  6. Provided a draft letter to be sent to VTrans regarding discussing changes at the entrance to the Green Mountain Plaza. Selectman Denardo moved to approve sending the letter. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
  7. Provided a list of Town Officials needing appointments. Residents currently holding these positions will be asked if they would like to be reappointed. This will be added to future agendas to continue to fill the positions. Other residents interested will be discussed at a future meeting.
  8. Reviewed the current Board member committee assignments. After discussion, the Water and Sewer Committee will be combined with Highway to create a Public Works Committee. The balance of the committee members will remain the same.

Board to discuss a systematic plan to deal with E-911 discrepancies.

  1. This has come up in past meetings, but no decision was made.
  2. Discussed various examples which exist in Town. No large-scale changes have been made recently. The 2 groups recently reviewed are Grover Drive and Gleason Road.
  3. Selectman Hathaway moved to adopt a policy to handle E-911 discrepancies. If an address does not conflict with the odd/even rule and is not out of sequence with other numbers, a notice will be recorded in the land records with the parcel that the address must be changed at the time the property changes hands. If a property does conflict with either of those rules, it must be changed right away. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion.
    1. Discussed if there should be a minimum address discrepancy to trigger a land record notice. No decision was made.
    2. Town Lister Marcia Chioffi brought up possible issues with parcel IDs and SPAN numbers. If an address is updated, the Listers will be copied on the notice.
    3. Discussed the effect on properties with life estates. The exact wording addressing this will be worked out as the policy is developed.
    4. The motion passed 5 – 0.
    5. This may necessitate a change in the ordinance which governs town addresses.

A follow-up letter from the State was received regarding our land fill water samples. The inspection and sampling trips may be combined to reduce the number of trips to the site. This is being worked on by our vendor.

Selectman Hathaway moved to enter executive session for the purposes of a personnel matter, contract negotiation, to discuss advice from Town counsel, and to discuss pending litigation. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0. The Board entered executive session at 8:05 PM.

Upon leaving executive session, Selectman Denardo moved to forward a letter regarding the use of Town funds to the Listers office. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0. Selectwoman Russell abstained from the vote.

A document from our Building Resilience Grant regarding advanced eligible expenses needs a signature. Selectman Denardo moved to approve signing it and to authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0 .

Selectman Denardo moved to adjourn. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:43 PM.

 

_______________________________________________

Mary Ashcroft, Chair

 

_______________________________________________

Joseph Denardo, Clerk

 

_______________________________________________
Sharon Russell

 

_______________________________________________

Kurt Hathaway

 

_______________________________________________

Matt Getty

 

Center Rutland, VT.

 

Rutland Town News

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