Select Board Minutes 5-11-2021

Publish date: May 12, 2021

Select Board 5-11-2021

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECT BOARD OPEN MEETING

HELD VIA PUBLICALLY ACCESSABLE CONFERENCE CALL LINE

MAY 11th, 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 6:00 P.M.
  • Board members present Mary Ashcroft, Sharon Russell, Joe Denardo, John Paul Faignant and Don Chioffi
  • Members of the public present Ed Bove, Lydia Flynn, Marty Wasserman, Esther Swett, Pat Hunter, Larry Dellveneri, Anil Sachdev, Keith Whitcomb, Mike Carlson

Approval of Orders

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

Approval of Select Board Minutes for April 27th:

  • Mr. Faignant moved to approve the minutes. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0. Mr. Denardo abstained from the vote.

Questions from the floor; public comment

  1. Ed Bove, Director of the Rutland Regional Planning Commission, was present. He discussed some information they have received regarding the American Rescue Plan funds.
  2. Mr. Bove also is part of Fire District #6 prudential committee. Discussed the possibility of allowing the Fire Districts to use a portion of those funds to look at additional water sources.

Bill Sweet Administrative Assistant to the Select Board:

  1. Reviewed items from the packet
    1. Provided current meeting schedule and committee agenda items.
    2. Correspondence to review for the next meeting.
    3. Correspondence from the Chamber and Economic Development of the Rutland Region, regarding their sewer discharge usage.
      1. This was referred to the Water and Sewer committee
    4. Provided draft copies of letters for Town Fire Chief Chris Clark and Town Emergency Management Director Martin Wasserman regarding insurance coverage while driving to conduct town business.
    5. Thanked Mr. Hathaway and the Highway crew for their work next door clearing large branches and brush in the cemetery. The local Boy Scout troop is willing to assist with additional work next door in coordination with the VT Old Cemetery Association.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk/Treasurer:

  1. Taxes were due yesterday, the third and final installment for the fiscal year. 95% of the taxes have already been collected. More are still coming in.

Barbara Noyes-Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

  1. The first Pocket Park stake holders meeting was yesterday, representing the recreation group.
    1. Some aspects of the project may be in the State VTrans Right of Way, such as signs, trails, and a boat launch site. Ms. Pulling will reach out to the state and start those discussions.
    2. In the past the Proctor Select Board had not support constructing a formal take out location for canoes / kayaks.
    3. A discussion with the Proctor Select Board may be helpful to help with coordinating goals. Discussed the possibility of creating an exit point for the canoes at the Rutland Town / Proctor Town Line. Further discussions on this topic will take place.
    4. Revisions to the plans are ongoing as these meetings take place.
  2. Reviewed the information provided about the creation and utilization of a Conservation Committee. There would need to be a Town Wide vote to establish this group.
    1. This will be brought up at the June 8th Select Board meeting for further discussion.
  3. The 45-day notice from VELCO will be discussed at the next Planning Commission meeting.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

  1. Work at the park is moving along very well.
  2. Asked about the possibility of being able to hold swim lessons. Asked Mr. Faignant to follow up with him when he has information on it.
  3. Baseball has started and is going well.

Byron Hathaway Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

  1. The Act 250 permit for the Shared Use Path has been started. It should be done in the next 2 weeks. The storm water permit application is nearly complete.
  2. Met with Masterson Excavating recently on Randbury Road. They are coming up with a plan to address the pooling of water. We could retain $2500 and do some of the work ourselves or allow them to complete the work. Masterson Excavating will be getting back to us.
  3. The contract signed at the last meeting has not been handed to Mendon Trucking yet. 3 Board members have signed now, it will be given to them.
  4. A map of the Post Road sidewalk area has been created showing the various options. It can be used for grant funding applications. Discussed if the original plan for a sidewalk would like to be followed or if they want to try to get an easement from a landowner.
    1. The deadline for the construction grant which could be used for the sidewalk, is June 4th and requires a public hearing on it. This grant requires a 50% match.
    2. An option for the school evacuation route still has students going up Post Road and onto Chasanna Drive. An easement to Chasanna Drive could make these plans change and would be a benefit.
    3. Board members were in favor of keeping students off Post Road.
    4. There is a trail that leads from the school to Grover Drive, this could be connected to Chasanna Drive as well.
    5. Discussed applying for the grant and turning it down if it is decided against.
    6. Mr. Chioffi moved to apply for the construction grant. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
    7. The school will take the lead on talking to adjacent landowners about requesting an easement.
  5. Discussed resigning the Public Works Mutual Aid Agreement
    1. A designated contact person needs to be assigned. This person is responsible for requesting aid. Mr. Hathaway was the previous contact.
    2. Mr. Denardo moved to sign the agreement, designating Bill as the Town Representative. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. During discussion, the representative will be the Town Administrator or their designee. The motion passed 5-0.

Mr. Anil Sachdev, owner of the Holiday Inn was present to discuss progress being made to address the issues stemming from the temporary housing of homeless at their facility.

  1. A new security guard has been hired for the hotel independently and another is being provided by the state. The intention is to have 24-hour coverage.
  2. A new fence is nearly completed which makes walking to the plaza more difficult.
  3. Additional cameras are being installed and regular patrols of the property are increasing.
  4. More than 15 people who were not following policies have been evicted recently.
  5. Ms. Ashcroft commented that Mr. Sachdev has sent around the inspection records of the rooms. This is a weekly inspection. The report was reviewed with Mr. Sachdev. Rooms are inspected at random, between 30 and 40 per week. All occupied rooms are not checked every week.
  6. Discussed a specially designated room. According to Mr. Sachdev, it is being used as a room for drug rehabilitation, but it is being inspected.
  7. Mr. Chioffi asked if he knew where the residents that were evicted went. Mr. Sachdev believes they went out of town. They are not being housed at the Holiday Inn any longer and have not been moved to the Econo Lodge.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

  1. There have been only 2 calls for service in the last 2 weeks.
  2. Chief Clark would like to schedule a fire committee meeting soon. The committee members will discuss the best time.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

  1. Recent calls for service were discussed. Of the 29 received, 12 were directly related to the Holiday Inn. There was another overdose last weekend at the Holiday Inn.
  2. Discussed a recent meeting with the city Police and representatives from the state. They are coordinating resources.
  3. An invoice for $2970 has been created and sent to the State of Vermont to help get reimbursement towards the cost of additional responses to the Holiday Inn.

John Paul Faignant Rutland Town Health Officer

  1. Requested an executive session at the conclusion of this meeting, to include the full board and Bill Sweet.

Board to consider liquor license renewal application for the Holiday Inn

  1. The Holiday Inn has submitted a license renewal application. Chief Ed Dumas has recommended against renewing their license given the issues experienced at the facility.
  2. Mr. Denardo moved to deny the application at the recommendation of the Police Chief. Ms. Russell seconded the motion the motion passed 5-0.

Committee meeting updates:

  1. The Recreation committee met recently and discussed the options for the route of the shared use path. The committee is recommending using the route with fewer switchbacks. Mr. Denardo moved to use the plan recommended. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
    1. The basketball hoops will be put back up soon, based on guidelines coming form the state and in conjunction with the Health Officer. Updated signs will be installed at the courts.

Mr. Chioffi asked Mr. Hathaway when he plans to paint the new stop line at Post Road and Post Road extension. Mr. Hathaway said the pavement temperature needs to be a little warmer consistently, and next week looks to be a good time.

Discussed the tabled motion from December about the guardrails. This may be able to be resolved once the line is painted.

The scholarship committee met recently to finalize the award list. 12 application were received, and all students will be awarded funds. Mr. Chioffi asked the board to approve the list as presented. Ms. Russell moved to approve the list of awards as presented. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

The current project list was reviewed. An article in the recent edition of “The Circle” asked for Town residents interested in helping with the redesign of the War Memorial to reach out to a Town official. So far, no one has. The Grover Drive storm water area has been restored.

Discussed the recent Green Up Day. The town dump truck picked up over 120 bags as well as over 20 tires. It was a very successful day. Hubbard’s allowed us to dispose of a large portion free of charge.

Discussed the pending safety grant application. Two additional items are being added. They are larger hard drives to increase the storage capacity of the Town Hall security cameras and a new ID printing system to allow consistent IDs to be created for all Town employees.

Mr. Chioffi discussed taking the tabled motion regarding the guard rail off the table. Mr. Chioffi moved to remove the item from the table. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0. The tabled motion from December 22nd was reviewed, which was to reverse the previous decision to install a guardrail at the intersection of Post Road and Post Road Extension. The original motion to not install a guard rail passed 5-0.

Mr. Faignant moved to enter executive session as the Board of Health with Mr. Sweet attending for the purpose of discussing an item regarding premature disclosure. Mr. Chioffi seconded motion. The motion passed unanimously. The board entered executive session at 7:14 PM.

Upon leaving executive session at 7:28 PM, Mr. Denardo moved to appoint Frank Cioffi as a special assistant to the Health Officer at the rate of $35 per hour. Mr. Chioffi seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

Mr. Faignant moved to affirm the decision of providing insurance coverage letters to Chris Clark and Marty Wasserman. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0.

Mr. Denardo moved to adjourn. Mr. Faignant seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:31 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Mr. Bill Sweet

 
Mary Ashcroft, Chair
 
Joseph Denardo, Clerk
 
John Paul Faignant
 
Sharon Russell
 
Don Chioffi

 

Center Rutland, VT.

Rutland Town News

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