Selectboard Minutes 12-20-2022

Selectboard Minutes 12-20-2022

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECTBOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

DECEMBER 20^th, 2022 

• Meeting opened at 6:00 P.M. with the pledge of allegiance
• Board members present Don Chioffi, Joe Denardo, Mary Ashcroft, Sharon Russell, and Kurt Hathaway
• Members of the public present Marcia Chioffi, Shelley Dumas, Robyn Sweet

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for December 6th:

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the minutes.  Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for December 12th:

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the minutes.  Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Announcements

Selectwoman Russell commented on rumors she had heard about her being disappointed with the Town Fire Department. Selectwoman Russell stated she fully supports the Fire Department and was in no way disappointed with them,

Chairman Chioffi commented on the Senior Luncheon held at the Town School and how well it was done.

Chairman Chioffi read a plaque which will be presented to Town Lister Howard Burgess in recognition of his time serving the Town. Mr. Burgess will be retiring as a Full Time lister at the end of this year. Mr. Burgess thanked the Board for the recognition.

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to take up the matter of vacation time for Howard Burgess.  Chairman Chioffi stated the motion was out of order on advice of attorney. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. There was a discussion about the validity of the motion.

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to make the personnel policy prospective with respect to Mr. Burgess instead of retroactive to preserve the sick and vacation days Mr. Burgess accumulated. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. Chairman Chioffi stated the motion is out of order. Selectwoman Ashcroft asked for a vote on the motion. Selectwoman Russell, Selectman Hathaway, Selectman Denardo and Selectwoman Ashcroft voted in favor of the motion. Chairman Chioffi stated the motion had been ruled out of order.  There was extensive conversation on the topic. Chairman Chioffi stated he overruled the motion because it was out of order, and this is a ruling of the Chair. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to challenge the Chair that the motion was not out of order and the action was appropriate. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. There was disagreement on the appropriateness of the action taken. No further action was taken.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

1. There have been 11 calls for service in the last 2 weeks including a structure fire in Town and a mutual aid response to a structure fire.
2. Discussed an applicant who has met with the membership committee and has received their approval. His name is Michael Drop, and he is a City of Rutland resident. Selectman Denardo moved to approve his application. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

1. There was a lot of progress made on the shared use path.
2. Clean up from the last storm went well. There was some minor damage to mailboxes and signs which has already been taken care of

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

1. January 10^th is the due date for the next installment of taxes.
2. A person has been offered the job for the supplemental office help position and they have accepted. The anticipated start date is January 4^th.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

1. Work continues revising the Sub-Division ordinance.
2. The energy survey is still active and will be until January 1^st.
3. Updated progress on coordinating work on the Pocket Park.
   1. There has been an offer with help on construction, but nothing has been finalized yet.
   2. The MOU with Green Mountain Power is still being developed.
   3. Discussed the feasibility in constructing it in three stages.
   4. There are 2 Native American groups which have an interest in being involved in some of the decisions for this project area due to some historical significance. GMP plans to have them involved.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

1. Recent calls for service were provided.
2. Chief Dumas thanked the Constables for the work they do to help.
3. Discussed plans from the State to have up to 30 rooms occupied at the Days Inn with people using the same program at The Cortina Inn.
4. Discussed adding an item to the ballot in March regarding funding for new dispatch services. Selectman Denardo moved to add a question asking voters to approve spending up to $150,000 from the 1% local option tax received in excess of the $1.2 Million allocated in the General Budget to be used toward the cost of dispatching service. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
5. Discussed replacing the Police Chiefs Vehicle. The purchase could be made using the State bid process, but vehicles are in short supply. Selectman Denardo moved to replace the vehicle using up to $75,000 in funds from the Cortina Inn settlement. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the motion. After further discussion, due to uncertainty in options or availability Selectman Denardo made an amended motion to replace the vehicle using funds from the Cortina Inn settlement. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the amended motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Discussed funding an additional truck for the Highway Department. Selectman Denardo moved to approve the purchase of a new Highway Truck for an amount not to exceed $120,000. The funds would come from the Capital Improvement Account. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the motion. The state bid process will be used to get the best pricing. After discussion, the decision of what to buy and how it is equipped will be made by the Road Commissioner. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

1. Provided a complete set of budget sheets which include all updates. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the General Budget. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. Discussed increasing the allocation to the Town Seniors. No change was made. The motion passed 4 – 0. The total general budget is $1,214,244.
2. Several training campaigns from our security awareness software vendor have been sent out. The completion rate is low. Reminded everyone of the availability and importance of the training.
3. The vendor we have used for furniture, Vermont Correctional Industries, is no longer available. The State has ended the program.
4. We have received the schedule from the vendor who prints our town reports. If all the contributors can have the information in by January 6^th, it will be a big help. A communication will be sent out soon.
5. The Draft Streets and Sidewalks Ordinance was sent to VLCT to help with the legal review. They had some specific suggestions regarding this ordinance. Supporting information was sent back to us which has not been reviewed yet. This could affect the work on the Subdivision Ordinance being worked on by the Planning Commission.
6. Discussed the future of the Delinquent Tax Collector position with the pending retirement of Mr. Scholtz. There are several options available to the Board. No decision was made.
7. Discussed the pre-town meeting date. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to set January 23^rd, 2023, as the date for the pre-town meeting. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Selectwoman Ashcroft discussed adjusting compensation rates for some town employees. Marcia Chioffi will be taking over as Head Lister in January. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to increase her rate to $25.00 effective January 1^st, 2023. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to increase the compensation rate for Transfer Station Manager Larry Dell Veneri to $25.00 per hour effective January 1^st, 2023. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Selectman Denardo discussed a meeting which was held recently regarding ARPA funds. Three Board members ended up attending. The meeting was not warned. It was not intended that multiple Board members would attend. Future meetings will be warned to prevent a conflict with the open meeting law.

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to adjourn. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Mr. Bill Sweet

 

Don Chioffi, Chair

Joseph Denardo, Clerk

Mary Ashcroft

Sharon Russell

Kurt Hathaway

 

Center Rutland, VT.