Select Board Minutes 6-25-19

Select Board 6-25-19

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECT BOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL BUILDING

181 US BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

JUNE 25^th, 2019

 

• Board members present: Mary Ashcroft, Sharon Russell, Joe Denardo
• Meeting opened at 6:00 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance

 

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders

Approval of Select Board Minutes for June 11^th, 2019

• The minutes could not be approved because there was not a quorum of members present from June 11^th.

Bill Sweet Administrative Assistant to the Select Board:

• Presented the board with the final draft of the conflict of interest policy for adoption.
  1. Denardo moved to approve the policy as presented. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
• Presented a draft of a letter to be sent to the Holiday Inn regarding a parking issue.
  1. Russell moved to approve signing the letter to be sent. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
• Provided an invitation from General Electric for 2 people to attend a graduation ceremony for their apprentice program.
• Provided notice from West Rutland regarding a change in appraisal for town owned property.
  1300. The town owns 2 parcels. The value of the 84 acre parcel increased by $1300. The value of the 100 acre parcel increased by $24,400.
  1301. The board would like Mr. Sweet to schedule an appointment to go and grieve the new appraisal.
        1. Ms. Russell moved to approve having Bill go and grieve both appraisals. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
        2. Mr. Hathaway brought up looking into the West Rutland charter to see if this property is town owned land in West Rutland or if the land is considered to be part of the Town of Rutland, in which case we should not be paying taxes on it. Research into the West Rutland charter, with the help of town counsel, will be done to see if a determination can be made.

• Presented comments received from Town Attorney Kevin Brown with his comments on the new adopted Storm Water Ordinance.
  1. A Copy of the ordinance was provided as well.
  2. Discussed section 7.7, which addresses entering a property with 48 hours’ notice and whether this is appropriate.
  3. This topic will be tabled until the next meeting.
• Discussed the final draft of the RFP for the clerks office remodel.
  1. This topic will be tabled until the next meeting.
• Provided a draft of a letter to a landowner who was granted an allocation in 2017, but a connection was never made. The letter states the allocation is being revoked, as allowed in the sewer allocation ordinance.
  1. Denardo moved to approve signing the letter and sending it to the land owner. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
• Presented a draft letter giving support to VELCO who is requesting to install a new solar array inside a buffer zone, 50’ from their property boundary line. The abutting parcel is owned by VELCO but the 2 parcels have not yet been combined.
  1. The original position of the array was outside the 50’ buffer, it was moved to accommodate
  2. Russell moved to approve signing the letter for VELCO. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
• Informed the board that the new copiers are in at Town Hall and working well, as well as the additional surveillance cameras.
• Brad Long from Efficiency Vermont was in the office today and has let us know they have earmarked up to $4000 for the Town to spend on efficiency projects, above any incentives currently being offered by Efficiency Vermont. This is available until the end of the current calendar year.
  1. Heat pumps and lighting upgrades are the only current projects we need at the moment which the funds could be used for.
  2. Mike Rowe said he could use some lighting upgrades at the pool and Mr. Hathaway said some new efficient lights could be used at the Transfer Station.
• Informed the board the town was not awarded the grant for an electric vehicle charging station grant. There were 4 times the amount of requests as funds available. We may try again if there is a 3^rd

Barbara Noyes-Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

• Clarified the timeline for hearings and approvals on the energy plan.
  1. The hearing was required within 120 days of getting the plan from the Planning Commission and approval is required within 1 year.
• There will be a town wide informational meeting at Town Hall on July 11^th at 6PM on the new Storm Water Ordinance.
  1. Information is being made public via a range of avenues to get the word out.
• Informed the board on the Planning Commissions intention to work on an internal policy regarding member votes and actions. It comes from a couple recent actions of members.

Kirsten Hathaway Rutland Town Clerk/Treasurer:

• Presented updated budget status sheets.
  1. A surplus is expected now due to more local tax option income than anticipated and more delinquent taxes being collected than expected.
  2. The Police, Fire and Rec departments all came in under budget and are turning funds back in.
  3. The next payroll cycle will be charged to the next fiscal year.
• Discussed an upcoming golf tournament through VLCT and whether or not there was enough interest to put together a team.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

• Ashcroft announced that the 2019 Rutland Town School Year Book was dedicated to Mike Rowe.
• The grade 5 and 6 baseball team has made it to the championship game and will play Brandon on June 26^th at 6PM.
• The pool is open for the summer.
• Thanked Byron and Jason from the Highway Department for their help on the walking trails. Several organizations contributed to the clean-up effort.
• The pool will be open all day on the 4^th of July as well as July 6^th.
• The senior luncheon is scheduled for July 11^th at Northwood from 11AM to 1PM.
• Discussed some work he would like to have done at the Town School, moving the softball field back. He would like to ask the highway crew for their help with this and their time spent there would be paid for by the school budget.
  1. Russell moved to approve letting the highway crew do the work, with the compensation for time coming from the school. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
• Discussed the option to acquire a pickup truck from the Fire Department, which was discussed at a recent recreation committee meeting.
  1. Russell moved to approve transferring the Ford Ranger from the Fire Department to the Rec Department, at no cost, once the new fire truck is in service. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
• The work at Dewey field is almost done. Some fencing needs to be reinstalled and the new lines to be painted are almost ready to go.

Byron Hathaway Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

• Provided the board with a letter of intent to be signed for the Grants in Aid program.
  1. This program has been used for projects that fall in hydrologically connected sections of road which fall within the road erosion inventory. Ditches can be lined with stone as an example.
  2. A 20% local match, including in kind services is required and it is a reimbursable grant.
  3. Russell moved to approve signing the letter. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
• Provided a cost estimate for a project which would mitigate the storm water issue adjacent to the Ragosta property on Grover Drive. Some additional research will need to be done in regards to underground utilities. The estimate is just under $10,000.
  1. If this is done, it would negate the needs to restore the natural area which was excavated by Mr. Ragosta.
  2. This matter will be referred to the highway committee
• Provided a cost estimate for a project on Seward Road to mitigate a water run off issue from Seward Road onto the property of the Graphic Edge. They have a below grade loading dock which regularly has water in it. There is a sump pump which discharges the water into their sewer line.
  1. The property owner stated under severe rain conditions the dock floods.
  2. Water comes off of the Foley property and crosses Seward Road then runs onto their property.
  3. Hathaway showed the project area on an online map
  4. The property owner is planning to make some improvements on their own property and is asking the town to do some additional work.
  5. This matter will be referred to the Highway Committee for further work.
• There is a Transportation Council meeting on Thursday so a report will be available at the next Board meeting.
• Presented some examples of new trailers he would like to acquire.
  1. 2 vendors have been contacted, and he will contact Earl’s truck repair as well.
  2. The cost of the trailer exceeds $5000 which requires a bid process to be followed.
  3. He will provide follow up at the next meeting.
• Discussed the replacement of a fire hydrant on Seward Road.
  1. Rutland City did some preliminary site work.
  2. The current hydrant and piping is older and requires the main to be shut off to perform the replacement. This will affect at least 3 businesses if it is done during regular work hours.
  3. It can be done on the weekend, but would cost more. The rate differential is not known.
  4. A later start on a weekday may be possible which would reduce the amount of overtime.
  5. Denardo moved to approve allowing Mr. Hathaway to coordinate the replacement in the most time and cost efficient manner possible. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The funds would come from the water maintenance fund. The motion passed 3-0.
• Discussed the reclassification findings of fact on both Dyer Road and Sugarwood Hill Road.
  1. Ashcroft presented details on both roads.
  2. Denardo moved to approve the findings of facts for both roads. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. One clerical correction was made removing the words “portion of” at the top of the Dyer Road findings since it covers the entire road. The motion passed 3-0.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

• The department will have trucks and personnel at the 4^th of July fireworks and the Town Wide Celebration on July 6^th.
• Hose testing of all department hose was recently completed.
• Recently brought a truck to the town school and sprayed water for the kids to run through. It was a big success
• There is an ongoing pump class to bring up training and awareness.
• Presented an application for David Sutton to join the department.
  1. The background check has been done and he has been interviewed. He is a town resident.
  2. Denardo moved to approve the application. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

• Provided recent calls for service.
  1. There is an increase due to recording directed patrols more regularly.
• Presented two prices for the purchase of a speed detection cart.
  1. Discussed availability from the 2 companies
  2. Both units have solar panels for power.
  3. The show speed and log the speed detected and create a time log.
  4. Russell moved to purchase a speed trailer from Stalker for $8970. Mr. Denardo seconded the motion.
     1. Discussed having one with a built in camera. VT law does not allow them.
     2. The funds would be taken from the capital fund. This fund will not be funded until a tax payment in September.

• Mr. Denardo moved to table the motion until the next meeting. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.

• The new town officer Brendan Reilly will start on July 1^st. He is planning to attend the next board meeting.

Committee meeting updates:

• Denardo reviewed the minutes from a recent Water and Sewer committee meeting which included the proposed addition of a water main on Randbury Road and tracking of sewer allocations using the Grand List.

A notice was received from Same Sun of Vermont for the installation of a solar array on the property of Mark Foley. A copy of the information will be available in Bills office for review.

Mr. Denardo moved to enter executive session to consider confidential communication from Town council with Bill Sweet and Kirsten Hathaway attending. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The board entered executive session at 6:47 PM.

Upon leaving executive session, with no action being taken, Mr. Denardo moved to adjourn. Ms. Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted, Mr. Bill Sweet

 

Joshua C. Terenzini, Chairman

Mary Ashcroft, Clerk

John Paul Faignant

Joseph Denardo

Sharon Russell

 

Center Rutland, VT.