Selectboard Minutes 2-25-2025

Selectboard Minutes 2-25-2025

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECTBOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

FEBRUARY 25^th, 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 Lisa Knickerbocker, Robyn Sweet, Chris Howe, BJ Hathaway, and Shelley Dumas

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for February 11^th:

Selectman Getty moved to approve the minutes.  Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

1. A basketball tournament for 5^th and 6th grade boys and girls basketball is coming up soon. Information will be posted on the Rec website page.
2. Planning a potluck dinner for the Town seniors in March.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

1. The winter contractors are at 43 calls for the season.
2. The salt budget is $71,900 over right now. The amount in carryover will absorb it.
3. Discussed paving plans for the coming season.
4. There are 160 tons of salt in the shed currently.
5. There are 2 trucks out for service now. 1 large and 1 small truck. They should be back soon.
6. Grant applications for paving and structures will be submitted soon.
7. Discussed the mailbox damage policy. We fix mailboxes hit by a plow. There have been some requests for reimbursement without prior notification to the Road Commissioner. The policy details the process. Selectman Denardo moved to deny a recent request, because the policy was not followed. Selectmen Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0. A letter will be sent regarding requests for reimbursement denying the request when it does not meet our policy guidelines.  An update to the policy may be needed to clarify the reimbursement request process.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

1. There are 2 laptops and 1 desktop which will need to be replaced soon. The cost will likely come from the depreciation account.
2. Two local banks who were asked about financing a cruiser have declined.
3. The new building is working out very well. The fingerprint machine is not in yet and it has caused some delays in processing people in custody.
4. The door locks have been adjusted so they close correctly now.
5. There are some issues from construction which need to be addressed.
   1. There is a drainage issue in their utility bay which causes the water to run against the wall.
   2. There is a hole in the wall so the evidence locker door can be fully opened. This was supposed to be dressed as part of construction, but it is still not finished.
   3. Discussed the reports of a leak in the roof. Chief Dumas was not aware of any but will check.
6. Officer Plakas went to a local business looking to purchase a refrigerator for the patrol room. The business donated it to the Police Department. We will send a thank you letter to them.
7. Discussed the purchase of the new cruiser and other funding sources. This will be discussed again at a future meeting.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

1. There are some boundary line adjustments under review.
2. The river corridor ordinance work is progressing. The Board would like to see the draft ordinance before there are public meetings on it.

The annual appointments to SWAC need to be voted on. It was Larry Dell Veneri and Steve Canney in the past. They are willing to do it again. Selectman Getty moved to approve the appointments. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Marcia Chioffi Rutland Town Head Lister

1. The bid proposal for reappraisal is nearly done. It will be going out to the list of approved vendors by next week.
2. Discussed the reappraisal status notice received from the State. The order to reappraise is not expected until July. Most towns are waitlisted until 2029.
3. Some additional funds may need to be contributed to the reappraisal fund in addition to what the State sends in order to be able to cover the costs. Exact amounts are not known at this time.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

1. Discussed topics from the recent Fire Committee meeting.
   1. Issues from construction which need to be fixed.
      1. A data cable in the FD office needs to be replaced. There is a break in it somewhere in the line.
      2. The current door locks are not remotely programmable.

• The hose tower rope and pulley system. The ropes have been ordered. The welding class at Stafford is making the holder for the hose.

1. The CO alarm is set too low for activating the alarm.
2. The range of garage door openers outside is very poor. There are antennas being put on to improve it.
3. The kitchen cabinets have been fixed. There is a panel under the kitchen sink which is missing in front of the plumbing.

• The boiler room door does not close correctly.
• The antennas and radios are in and will be installed in the next few weeks.

1. The sprinkler pump should be installed by Friday and connected by next week.
2. The water filter was installed backwards. It is on site but not working.
3. Discussed the missing transfer switch for the sprinkler pump. The contractor needs to coordinate with the sprinkler contractor on a solution.

2. There are 2 ordinances reviewed at the committee meeting. They are the Fire Alarm and Private Fire Hydrant Ordinances. Draft copies were given to Board members. A review for adoption will be added to the next meeting agenda.
3. The department is working on an update to the standard operating guidelines for the department. More will be brought to the Board when they are ready.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

1. Presented liquor license requests from East Restaurant LLC and Sandri Sunoco. The Police have no issue with either property. Selectman Hathaway moved to approve the licenses. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
2. We recently received our third installment of local option tax money of $454,624.80. This combined with what we have already received nearly brings us to the amount budgeted for anticipated income of $1,300,000. We are only about $81,000 from this number.
3. Discussed the balance in the Capital Improvement Fund. Suggested spending from this account be limited. VMS is owed $141,000 plus $28,000 in orders from tonight. After this, there will be approximately $122,000 in the account.
4. Discussed an invoice from CVC. They billed us for the radios for the Public Safety Building, which were previously approved. The radio portion of the bill will not be paid until they are installed.
5. Reminder of Town meeting next week. The budget will be presented on Monday night at 7PM and voting will be on Tuesday.

The Board reviewed the updated draft of the Personnel Policy with Tereas Miele who the Board contracted to help update it.

1. Discussed compensation for salaried employees who work in excess of what is expected of them. Teresa said they Board could be more generous than the law requires.
2. This handbook will apply to non-elected employees / officials.
3. The Selectboard needs to decide on a procedure for if an employee is hired, and uses all of their sick time, then leaves employment before the end of the year. Would they be required to pay it back? Some updates were suggested and will be added. The employee will not be required to reimburse the Town.
4. Holidays and comp time topics were already decided on.
5. Discussed how to handle compensating employees if the Town Hall is closed due to weather. Discussed the ability of staff to work from home. No language will be included and it will be handled if and when it comes up.
6. Discussed having a preferred medical provider for employees to see if they are hurt on the job. There was extensive discussion on the topic. No decision was made.
7. Selectman Getty moved to adopt the policy as presented. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
8. A final draft will be printed and be made available in Board packets for the next meeting.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

1. Provided draft policy recommendations. They are model policies from the League of Cities and Towns.
   1. Reviewed the Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting Policy.
      1. There is reference to elected auditors, which we did at one point but do not any longer. After discussion, the reference will be removed since it does not apply.
      2. Discussed the requirements to post the audit report. We will send the requirements to our auditor for his input on what parts of his report need to be posted.
   2. Discussed requirements for approving orders. Selectman Getty moved to approve the orders, with payment for the radios held until the work is done. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
   3. Reviewed the draft Balanced Budget policy. Some updates were made to the draft, and it will be added to the next meeting agenda.
   4. Reviewed the draft public records request policy.
      1. Clarified the application of the policy to all town staff.
      2. Discussed the fee schedule. The Police have a separate schedule for them to reproduce reports.

• This policy draft will be discussed at the next Board meeting.

2. April is the Vermont Prevent Child Abuse month. The organization sent a request for a donation and an offer to purchase pinwheels. After discussion, Selectman Denardo moved to donate $100 with funds to come from the miscellaneous line but to decline the pinwheels. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
3. Provided a request from the Hubbard’s to renew their salvage yard permit for 5 years. Selectman Hathaway moved to approve the permit. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
4. The scholarship committee members were given the forms used for scholarships for them to review for possible changes prior to posting them.
5. Town reports should be in the homes of most Town residents, additional copies are available at Town Hall.
6. Updated labor posters were purchased for Town Hall and all town departments. Every location with employees will have a set posted.
7. Reviewed a phone call from a contractor hired by Fire District 5 to help come up with solutions to mitigate a PFOA contamination of their well. They are looking at a variety of options including extending the water main from the city to their pump house. There was an extensive discussion with the vendor. This could help other neighborhoods in the area, which was discussed extensively. The contractor plans to attend a Board meeting, likely in April, to meet with the Board and discuss their options and plans.
8. Reviewed the recent building committee meeting.
   1. The committee is recommending updates and changes to office spaces. With the Police Department having moved out, their old office needs some repainting and a new carpet after which Bill would like to move his office there. His existing office would be used to centralize office supplies, and to create a small conference room which can have a variety of uses. There were no other requests made to the committee to use the space.
   2. Selectman Denardo moved to approve the $1850 quote from the Carpet King for the new carpet and $500 for repainting by Racines Painting. The paint would be purchased using a state contract vendor for a cost of approximately $300. The funds will come from the Town Hall maintenance budget line. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
   3. Discussed the next phase of the electrical upgrade work at Town Hall. Stubbins Electric did the first large phase, and they provided a quote for the relocation of the last subpanel. The total is $7147.21. After discussion, Selectman Denardo moved to approve the quote. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
   4. Discussed updating the 5 electronic locks at Town Hall to include key card access capabilities. The 5 existing locks at the Town Hall would be repurposed to upgrade the 2 locks at the highway garage and the new fire station so individual codes can be programmed. The locks have a management system which allows them to be centrally updated and maintained. After discussion, Selectman Denardo moved to approve the quote from the Royal Group for $9477.99. The funds will come from the Town Hall maintenance budget line. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
   5. Reviewed a quote from Awesome Graphics to create the E-911 sign for the Public Safety Building. After discussion, Selectman Hathaway moved to approve the quote of $62, and have VMS install the sign. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0. The funds will come from the Public Safety Building maintenance line.
   6. There is a group of approximately 30 folding metal chairs at Town Hall. They have been replaced by newer chairs. They will be advertised as available for free.
   7. Discussed migrating our NEMRC system from a server-based platform to a cloud platform. There is a one-time charge of $500 to migrate our data, and then a monthly charge by user. This would be an important aspect of developing our disaster recovery plan.

Discussed the budget presentation for Monday night at the Town School. Selectwoman Russell will present Rec, Selectman Hathaway will present Highway, Selectman Denardo will present Fire, and give an update on the Public Safety Building. Selectman Getty will present Police and Board Chair Ashcroft will present the General budget.

The Board received an email from Jim Hall regarding appropriations requests.

Selectman Hathaway moved to adjourn. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:05 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Bill Sweet, Town Administrator.

 

_______________________________________________

Mary Ashcroft, Chair

 

_______________________________________________

Joseph Denardo, Clerk

 

________________ABSENT______________________
Sharon Russell

 

_______________________________________________

Kurt Hathaway

 

_______________________________________________

Matt Getty

 

Center Rutland, VT.