Selectboard Minutes 7-5-2022

Publish date: July 7, 2022

Selectboard Minutes 7-5-2022

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECTBOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

JULY 5th, 2022

 

This meeting had a virtual attendance option available for anyone to join.

  • 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 Howard Burgess, Jim Scholtz, Marcia Chioffi, Larry Dell Veneri, Chris Howland, Lydia Moriarity-Flynn, Danielle Bradtmiller, Robyn Sweet, Chris Howland, Shelley Dumas, Byron Hathaway and Lisa Sears

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for June 21st:

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the minutes.  Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. Selectwoman Ashcroft offered a clarification about the Act 250 amendment application, which was added.  The motion passed 3 – 0 with Selectman Denardo abstaining.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

  1. There were only 3 calls for service in the last 2 weeks.
  2. The fireworks at Northwood Park went well, there were no issues.
  3. The new fire truck is at the dealer having tools mounted and should be ready for delivery soon.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

  1. Thanked Chief Dumas and Chief Clark for their equipment and personnel for the fireworks.
  2. The show was great, and people had to be turned away because there was not enough available parking.
  3. The next senior luncheon is at 11:30AM on July 26th at Northwood Pool. All department heads are invited to come.
  4. Session 1 swim lessons just ended and session 2 starts next week.
  5. The Act 250 amendment for the mountain bike trails is waiting for one more signature then it is ready to be submitted.
  6. The Rec committee met earlier today, and the meeting was reviewed.
    1. Reviewed the capital improvement plan. Items that are on it are being accomplished.
    2. Discussed replacing the zero-turn mower. Purchasing a new zero turn mower was recommended by the committee. We would be trading in an older walk behind mower. The cost of the new mower is $13,789 and it would be expected in September. Selectwoman Russell moved to approve the purchase of the new mower and trading in the old one, with the funds to be taken from the depreciation account. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

  1. Discussed the issue of the tree on the corner of Town Line Road and Conner Drive.
    1. We have not yet been able to contact anyone on the property.
    2. The tree limbs represent a line-of-sight issue for cars trying to turn onto Town Line Road.
    3. Selectwoman Ashcroft offered to attempt to contact them and reach a solution.
    4. Chairman Chioffi asked Commissioner Sears to take care of the tree if a resolution can be reached prior to the next Board meeting.
  2. The new signs ordered have been installed around town.
  3. The end of the culvert on Ox Yoke Drive has been found. The rip rap covering it was removed and some large root balls have been removed. Some additional work needs to be done and will require an excavator which is planned to be rented this summer.
  4. The pump station at the end of Post Road has been pumped out and working correctly.
  5. A meeting with a representative from the Regional Planning Commission is planned for later this week and grant requirements and work will be discussed.
  6. Driveway and shoulder work will be done on Gloria Avenue and Annette Terrace starting tomorrow.
  7. The fire extinguishers at the Highway garage have been serviced and are all up to date.
  8. One application has been received so far for the upcoming opening for a road crew member.
  9. Paving is planned for the week of July 18th for Cheney Hill Circle.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

  1. Recent calls for service were provided.
  2. Vehicle break ins are still being reported around Town. Chief Dumas encouraged all resident to ensure their car doors are locked, the keys are removed, and any items of value are not visible.
  3. New rules for area hotels housing homeless have gone into effect as of July 1st. A complete list has not been provided to the Chief. It sounds like the rules are to be enforced by the property owners. There does not seem to have been much progress made toward resolving the issues at the Cortina Inn.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

  1. Work continues on updating ordinances. Some revised drafts should be available soon.

John Paul Faignant Town Health Officer / Public Safety Building Clerk / 2nd Constable

  1. The Governor recently signed a bill giving co-jurisdiction to a new state department which will assist in landlord / tenant issues and the apartment inspection program.
  2. Showed some pictures of the new public safety building concepts for the outside.
  3. A fall timeline for going out to bid is still realistic.
  4. Discussed setting a hearing for the Perkins Road lot. The property owner was served in hand last week. The hearing will be planned for Tuesday July 19th at 530PM.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

  1. Reviewed two water connection requests for the new water line on Post Road. There is one from Rob Stubbins and another from John Clark.
    1. Chairman Chioffi discussed with the other Board members having the authority to approve these requests given to Bills office rather than bringing them to the Board.
    2. Statutory authority to assign this permission was discussed. It is not known if the authority can be transferred.
    3. Discussed establishing an amount which can be approved without Board interaction and amounts which should require Board approval. Discussed how this could apply to sewer discharge allocations.
    4. Authority will be researched and brought back to the Board.
    5. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the water connection requests. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
  2. Provided copies of our personnel policy which was reviewed for us by VLCT. The copies included the VLCT comments, and some documentation relating to sick time calculations. Chairman Chioffi asked all the Board members to review the comments and be prepared to discuss it at the next meeting. Discussed the work week and a paid or unpaid lunch break schedule. The policy needs to be clarified so it is clear what it should be.
  3. Provided an updated quote from Johnson Energy for the replacement of the boiler at the Town Highway garage and a separate one was received for the installation of Modine heaters as well.
    1. If a new heating system is installed, we have had interest from outside parties who would like to purchase the waste oil furnace.
    2. Discussed the benefits or drawbacks of having the Modine heaters.
    3. The boiler quote provided is $500 more than the original bid received. It was revised to have one with sufficient size to be able to run the Modine heaters.
    4. Discussed options for paying for heating oil for the coming season. The current Highway budget does not have funds allocated for this expense.
    5. Selectman Denardo moved to accept the bid from Johnson Energy for $12,900 to install a new boiler system. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the motion. Continued the discussion on the source of funds for heating oil. None of the budgets likely include enough money to cover the new projected costs of heating due to the large increase since the budgets were created. The funds for the new boiler will come from the capital improvement fund. While the waste oil is available to the town at little to no cost, there were additional expenses incurred last winter including time for maintenance and employees having to check on the boiler on the weekends to ensure it stayed running. An estimate of the additional expenses incurred for maintenance is $5000. Discussed putting the new boiler in tandem with the existing waste oil furnace. There would be additional considerations to that setup.  A question was raised on the permitted use of the building by Act 250. There may be a restriction on the type of heating system.
    6. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to table the discussion. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0. The question on the Act 250 permit will be investigated.
  4. Provided a proposal for concrete work at Town Hall. Ellis Concrete looked at our 2 project areas, by the front door and at the base of the back staircase. The total quote for the work in $7600.
    1. Selectman Denardo moved to accept the bid, with the funds to come from Capital Improvement, and to have proof of insurance coverage for the Town provided. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the motion.
    2. Discussed some language in the agreement where the vendor has waiver of damages which may occur waived. It would be preferred if this language was removed from the agreement.
    3. Selectman Hathaway moved to table the discussion pending an answer to that question. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the motion to table. The motion passed 3 – 1 with Selectman Denardo voting against the motion.

Committee meeting updates:

  1. The Highway and Water / Sewer Committee met recently at the site of the Post Road water line extension project. A paved swale was not seen in the original scope of the project which will need to be restored. We are still waiting for permission from the city of Rutland to shut the water line down so the new section can be attached.

Old Business: Transportation Council Representative Appointment

  1. Chris Howland was appointed to attend the meetings during the time the Road Commissioner position was vacant. The Road Commissioner has typically held this appointment in the past.
  2. The meetings are held on the last Thursday of each month.
  3. Mr. Howland gave a report on the recent meeting. There was an election of officers for the council and our proposed sidewalk on Route 7 North was discussed. There was a topic of recycled glass being used as light weight fill which was interesting.
  4. Selectwoman Ashcroft said it is important that the person attending these meetings is watching for grant opportunities which could benefit the Town.
  5. Commissioner Sears did not have an answer at this meeting on if he would accept the position but expects to at the next Board meeting.
  6. The appointee to the alternate position is Jim Hall. It is not clear if he would like to continue in this role. Chairman Chioffi will reach out to him.

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the minutes of the Special Selectboard meeting from June 30th. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 3 – 0 with Selectman Denardo abstaining.

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to adjourn. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:17 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Mr. Bill Sweet

 
Don Chioffi, Chair
 

 
Joseph Denardo, Clerk
 
Mary Ashcroft
 
Sharon Russell
 
Kurt Hathaway

 

Center Rutland, VT.

Rutland Town News

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