Select Board Minutes 4-9-2024

Select Board Minutes 4-9-2024

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECT BOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

APRIL 9^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 Chris Howland

Deputy Chief Ted Washburn began with a Rutland Town Police Department Award Announcement. Senior Rutland Town Police Officer Jimmy Plakas with presented with an award from an incident which occurred on November 2^nd, 2023. Deputy Chief Washburn read the award which detailed the report which lead to Senior Office Plakas finding someone on a bridge threating to jump off. In the time Senior Officer Plakas spent talking with her, she agreed to go with him in order to seek help. Deputy Chief Washburn presented Senior Officer Plakas with the Life Saving Award for performing extraordinary actions to save the life of a person who would have likely died if not for his actions.

The Board thanked Senior Officer Plakas for his work and congratulated him on his award.

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Select Board Minutes for March 26^th:

Selectman Getty moved to approve the minutes.  Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 3 – 0. Selectman Denardo and Selectwoman Russell abstained from the vote.

Board Member Announcements

Selectman Getty announced he, and others, will be part of a jazz bistro at the Town school on April 26^th. Tickets are available at the school office.  This benefits their Friends of Music group.

Update from the Select Board Chair

There will be an executive session later on in the meeting with Town Counsel.

The School Board may be reaching out during this meeting to let our Board know about their decision to ask the Select Board to mail out ballots for their budget revote.

Mike Delehanty Town 1^st Constable

1. Reported on some recent communication with owners of the Diamond Run Mall regarding the building being unsecure and a sinkhole in the parking lot.

Ted Washburn Rutland Town Deputy Police Chief:

1. Provided a month end calls report for March. Total calls for service on the South end of Town were 85% of the overall call volume. 73% of calls for the year have been on the South end.
2. Discussed how call statistics are compiled.
3. Reviewed topics from the Police Committee meeting.
   1. Discussed the CFAC request and how a new officer could benefit their agency and our Town. The Board was in favor of the moving forward with the request.
   2. Discussed having our Town Health Officer make a visit to the facility as outlined in the agreement.
   3. The owners of The Cortina Inn will be invited to a future Board meeting. There are rumors the State is looking to possibly take over ownership of the facility. There have been State officials visiting the area and the Town was not made aware of it.
   4. Representatives from the State will also be invited to a Board meeting.

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

1. Discussed conducting a site visit at The Cortina Inn. The State has taken over enforcement authority of these facilities so he will only be able to make notifications of any issues found.
2. Discussed adopting a local health ordinance. Mr. Faignant has done some research and will provide the Board with information at a future meeting.
3. The Public Safety Building is moving along well. Discussed some plans for additional parking, and other details. More information will be available at future Board meetings. There is more ledge than anticipated so some additional costs will likely be incurred.

The School Board has voted and would approve mailing out ballots, if the Select Board was willing to fund it. Selectman Hathaway moved to approve the Select Board paying the cost, from the general budget, of mailing out ballots to each voter for the upcoming school budget revote. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. There was extensive discussion on the topic. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

1. The Planning Commission is reviewing data received from the housing survey from the Regional Planning Commission. A sub-committee will be looking at the results more closely. The raw data will be made available to the full Board.
2. A small sub-division is coming up for approval soon.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

1. Fields and courts are being prepped for spring sports.
2. The pool cover will be coming off in the next couple of weeks.
3. There was a lot of research into options for a sprayer. A proposal will be brought up at a future meeting.
4. Discussed the Rutland Town Seniors. They will need some help from the Mike for organizing events.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

1. Presented a summary of the paving bids received which were reviewed at a Highway Committee meeting. Fuller Sand and Gravel was the low bidder. After discussion, Selectman Denardo moved to approve the bid from Fuller Sand and Gravel for $488,046.64. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion.
2. Selectman Denardo moved to approve the bid from Fuller Sand and Gravel to pave the Post Road Sidewalk for $20,475. This is for the entire new sidewalk section. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
3. Discussed a resident from Flory Heights reaching out regarding fixing a driveway transition issue. Commissioner Sears talked to her and told her it would be mid May to early June, weather dependent.
4. Reported on responses to recent storms. The contractors have 41 callouts for the season. This is 1 more than is in the contract. They have been paid the additional amount in these orders.
5. The signs for the plaza have been ordered and are in. We will coordinate with the plaza owners as to placement.
6. Discussed the annual bush and shrub sale, and distribution. This occurs annually at the Highway garage. Accommodations will be made for the group to use the garage again this year.

Marcia Chioffi Rutland Town Head Lister

1. Several days of training have recently wrapped up.
2. Site visits have been scheduled to look at construction projects.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

1. Presented an application for a new member. All the background checks have been completed. Selectman Denardo moved to accept Jim Marsh as a new member. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

1. Discussed the recent appointment of our Town Tree Wardens. We can have a Tree Warden and a Deputy Tree Warden. After discussion Selectman Getty moved to appoint Chris Howe as the Town Tree Warden and Byron Hathaway as the Deputy Tree Warden. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0. Selectman Denardo abstained from the vote.
2. Contacted 211 VT about our plans to install signs encouraging people to donate to local organizations rather than giving money to panhandlers. A page on our website will be setup as a resource for callers to be directed to if they call 211 VT. Local organizations will be encourage to submit information to be included.
3. Received a letter from the State Department of Environment Conservation. PFAS has been detected in wells around our McKinley Avenue site. They would like to test the water. The well is not currently accessible due to construction. If approved, the inspection request is good for up to one year. After discussion, Selectman Denardo moved to approve the request and to authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
4. Need to start discussions for the Town Wide Celebration.
5. Provided the updated draft of the proposed E-911 Address Change policy. This version incorporates everything decided at the last meeting. After discussion, this will be brought to the attention of our Town Counsel and get his opinion on whether this should be a stand-alone policy or part of our Road Name and Road Location Ordinance.

Selectman Denardo moved to go into executive session to hear advice from counsel on contracts, pending litigation and personnel. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The Board entered executive session at 7:33 PM.

The Board came out of executive session at 8:19 PM with no action being taken.

6. Provided an updated Records Retention Policy. The current one was adopted in 2017. This version was sent to the State Archive for their review. The draft policy incorporates their suggestions based on their current practices. The current policy was adopted using the State records retention schedules. After discussion, Selectman Hathaway moved to adopt the policy. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.
7. Reviewed the contract for Municipal Project Management services from the Regional Planning Commission. This has been approved by the State grant coordinator. After discussion, Selectman Denardo moved to approve the contract and to authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 – 0.

Selectman Denardo discussed having the sewer pump station connected to the new Public Safety Building so it can be powered by the backup generator in case of power failure.  After discussion, the electrician working on the new building will be contracted for a quote. The cost is anticipated to come from the Water and Sewer account.

Selectman Denardo moved to adjourn. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:36 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.