Selectboard Minutes 10-21-2025

Selectboard Minutes 10-21-2025

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECTBOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

OCTOBER 21^st, 2025

 

• The meeting opened at 6:00 P.M. with the pledge of allegiance.
• Board members present Mary Ashcroft, Joe Denardo, Kurt Hathaway, and Matt Getty
• Members of the public present: Marvin Elliott, Keith Whitcomb, Chris Howe, Shelley Dumas

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for October 7^th:

Selectman Getty moved to approve the minutes.  Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 3 – 0. Selectman Hathaway abstained.

Approval of Orders

Selectman Denardo moved to approve the orders. Selectman Getty seconded the motion. The motion carries 4 – 0.

Update from the Selectboard Chair

Articles for the next edition of the Circle are due by November 15^th.

The meeting with the City of Rutland intermunicipal committee is on hold. One of the BOA members resigned. A replacement has not been named yet.. Once they do they will be in touch.

Discussion on the pending name change to Heather Lane

1. Marvin Elliott, a resident of Heather Lane, was present to discuss the topic with the Board.
2. Crossman Drive Extension was the alternate name with the most support.
3. Discussed correcting the numbering on the road at the same time the name is changed.
4. After discussion Selectman Denardo moved to change the name of Heather Lane in Rutland Town to Crossman Drive Extension and to align the numbers according to the map produced. The change should be effective after January 1^st. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion carried 4 – 0.
5. Letters will be sent to all the affected residents.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

1. A Rec committee meeting will be planned for Tuesday prior to the next Board meeting.
2. The water is off at the parks as of today.
3. The large tractor shared between the Rec and Highway department is in the shop with some engine issues being worked on.
4. The senior luncheon was today. Some new member participated. November 18^th is the planned date for the next event, at the Center Rutland Fire Station. December 17^th will be at the school with the Jazz band.
5. Soccer wrapped up and basketball signups have started.
6. The Halloween party at the school is this Friday.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

1. The salt shed has been filled in preparation for winter plowing. The salt delivered has all been treated in house.
2. The sand box for use by town residents has been rebuilt.
3. The south end sewer project is moving forward well. There have been no major problems.
4. Discussed the hydrant maintenance plan, based on planned rate changes by the City. The Water treatment manager contacted us to discuss it. The information we initially got was incorrect. Based on this, and other processes that go back and forth between us, they asked if a meeting could be planned to work on better communication and processes. After discussion, Commissioner Sears and Town Administrator Bill Sweet will meet with representatives from the City to start discussions.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

1. Discussed the status of security at the Diamond Run Mall.
2. The new tasers are in and everyone is certified.
3. A recent traffic stop resulted in narcotics being found after K9 rooster was used in searching the vehicle.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

1. Discussed the pocket park, and a recent meeting with Green Mountain Power.

• GMP has several requirements listed in their relicensing documents. An informational kiosk and related content are part of that.
• GMP recently installed some information signs which are going to need to be moved at some point.
• Contact has been made to someone who could help identify invasive species in the park area so work could be done in the spring to remove them and start clearing area for paths and other upgrades.

2. The Regional Planning Commission will be assisting us with our update to the Town plan. The grant for this work will not be needed due to their assistance.

Marcia Chioffi Rutland Town Head Lister

Ms. Chioffi was not present but did provide the Board with an errors and omission statement. The Board reviewed it but declined to take any action until a detailed explanation on the change could be given.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

1. Discussed setting a Fire Committee meeting. This will be warned for Monday October 27^th at 4PM.
2. Hose testing was recently done. Only 1 length of hose failed.
3. Pump testing for the trucks should be done soon.
4. Recently attended a Wonderfeet event downtown and it was a big success. Several events are planned over the next week as well.

 

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

1. Provided 2 license requests for review and approval. There is a tobacco and liquor license for 151 Business Route 4 in Center Rutland. The Police have no issues with the application. Selectman Getty moved to approve the licenses. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion carried 4 – 0.
2. Discussed a recent meeting with ADP, the vendor proposed for payroll service. They are going to follow up with us with some cost projections based on our anticipated usage. The amount of related work being moved away from the Treasurers is only about 40% of the overall work.

Joe Denardo Rutland Town Public Safety Building Clerk

1. The access control work for the Police department was approved but is not yet done.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

1. Budget sheets have been sent out to all department heads.
2. The annual generator maintenance was completed over the last couple of weeks. There was some additional maintenance work suggested. Discussed the current contract, and what should be covered. An outlet is needed at the Center Rutland Fire Station for the block heater. It would benefit the generator to be put on a riser also. Chief Clark will coordinate this work.
3. The western Post Road speed sign needed some programming updates. These have been done and it is working correctly.

Selectman Hathaway moved to adjourn. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:25 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Bill Sweet, Town Administrator.

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Mary Ashcroft, Chair

 

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Joseph Denardo, Clerk

 

_________________ABSENT_____________________
Sharon Russell

 

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Kurt Hathaway

 

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Matt Getty

Center Rutland, VT.