Selectboard Minutes 8-2-2022

Publish date: August 4, 2022

Selectboard Minutes 8-2-2022

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECTBOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

AUGUST 2nd, 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 Chris Nicholson, Chris Howland, Lisa Sears, Larry Dell Veneri, Regina Spillane, Howard Burgess, Robyn Sweet, Jim Scholtz, Dave Potter, Barry Ellison

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for July 19th Special Board meeting:

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the minutes as printed.  Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 3 – 0. Selectman Denardo abstained.

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for July 19th Regular Board meeting:

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

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for July 25th Special Board meeting:

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the minutes as printed.  Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 3 – 0. Selectman Hathaway abstained.

Announcements

  1. Anne Carpenter, on behalf of Rutland High School, sent a message thanking us for the scholarships.
  2. The Tumielewicz family sent a thank you note for flowers sent to them on the passing of a family member.

Questions from the floor / public comment

  1. Dave Potter, who is running for the Rutland 2 Representative seat addressed the Board.
    1. While not a Representative now, Mr. Potter has been in the past and is seeking to be reelected.
    2. Mr. Potter gave a summary of his accomplishments from when he was a Representative previously and his willingness to work with all legislators in Montpelier.
    3. The Board discussed an upcoming meeting regarding the regional dispatch effort. This was communicated to Mr. Potter as a very important local issue.
  2. Barry Ellison, a Town resident from Easy Street was present to discuss a drainage issue on his property.
    1. Pictures of the drainage system and areas were provided to Board members.
    2. He would like the current system moved away from his driveway.
    3. This issue has been brought up to Commissioner Sears by Mr. Ellison.
    4. Chairman Chioffi suggested a meeting with Mr. Ellison, Commissioner Sears, and the Highway Committee. This matter will be added to the Highway Committee agenda.
  3. Chris Nicholson, a Town resident from West Elbern Avenue was present to discuss a parking issue.
    1. Requested a “No Parking Here to Corner” sign be placed on the road.
    2. An issue with cars being parked along West Elbern Avenue, which is a dead-end road, is ongoing with his neighbor.
    3. He has discussed this issue with his neighbor, asking him not to have anyone park across from his driveway. It prevents cars from being able to leave his driveway.
    4. In one instance, someone visiting his neighbors house, hit his mailbox trying to leave.
    5. The Ordinance needs to be reviewed to understand the remedies. The Road Commissioner and Police Chief will be consulted as well.

Chris Clark Rutland Town Fire Chief:

  1. There have been 3 calls for service in the past 2 weeks, 14 for July in total.
  2. The new truck is having the tools mounted this week. A delivery date should be scheduled soon.
  3. There have been 2 calls to the Cortina Inn recently. Both were accidental activations.
  4. Hose testing was done recently. It was done at the mall parking lot. There was a lot of traffic noticed driving through there. The topics of barricades was discussed. It was up to the property owners to install them if they had wanted.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

  1. The next meeting is Thursday August 4th. A Flood Hazard permit will be reviewed and discussed.
  2. The Flood Hazard Regulations go back to 2008. Updating them, to include river corridor management, would allow the Town to qualify for additional reimbursement if disasters were declared. This will be discussed at their next meeting.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

  1. The tax bills for the new year are printed and almost all are ready to be mailed. Most property owners should see them within the next several days.
  2. The primary election is next Tuesday. Everything is ready to go.
    1. Postcards were mailed out to every household with a registered voter letting them know of some important changes.
    2. Residents have been coming in to vote early. Most have said they saw the postcard but did not read over it.
    3. The cards contained the new voting district, and affects the ballot received for voting.
    4. This was also meant to add awareness that depending on your new district, different names will appear on the ballots.
  3. Chairman Chioffi commented on the efforts from a variety of people to get the tax bills printed. There are approximately 2200 bills. A full set of copies also needs to be made. The day the bills were printed, we were notified by the State of changes to 21 tax bills.
    1. The bills could have been sent out as is and corrected at a later date, or the bills which had changes could be pulled after being located in the stack of bills. Once found, they would have to have the bill updated and reprinted so they were sent out correctly the first time.
    2. Chairman Chioffi thanked Treasurer Clark for the time she spent looking through all the bills to find the 21 needing changes and making sure each property owner got a correct tax bill the first time, saving them time and frustration of having to correct it later.
    3. Treasurer Clark thanked the volunteers from RSVP who came and spent several hours stuffing tax bills and getting them ready to be mailed.
  4. Reminded residents to keep their tax bill in a safe place. There are 3 stubs which need to be sent in along with the payments and reminders of tax due dates are not mailed out. This is the only notice.
  5. The second deposit of ARPA funds are expected soon.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

  1. The last day the pool will be open is Saturday, August 27th, the day of the Town Wide Celebration.
  2. Youth soccer and football sign up forms are on the town website on the Rec page or in Town Hall.
  3. Swings have been ordered for Northwood Park. They will not be delivered for several months and will be installed in the spring.
  4. Selectwoman Ashcroft thanked Mr. Rowe for his willingness to help at the upcoming Town Wide Celebration.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

  1. Reported on the tree at the corner of Conner Drive and Town Line Road. The tree has successfully been trimmed and the line-of-sight problem has been resolved. The property owner allowed us to take care of several issues all at once. A thank you letter will be sent to the owners.
  2. Painting of stop bars and other markings will be done soon. An order of paint is coming so it can be finished.
  3. The roadside mower is back with us, and the next round of mowing is underway.
  4. Cheney Hill Lane is nearly ready for paving. The grading work should be done this week.
  5. Town Line Road will be closed starting Monday August 8th for up to 30 days to replace a culvert.
  6. Discussed the insurance requirements to be included with our winter maintenance contracts. The template we received from VLCT suggested a minimum of $2M. This was discussed at a recent Highway Committee meeting. The contractor who was present said this may be a large increase in the premium. Commissioner Sears spoke with a representative from VLCT and they estimate the increase would likely only be $20 to $40 annually. VLCT said they are recommending the $2M coverage because of increase costs to cover items from claims. After some discussion, it was decided $2M will be the minimum requirement.
  7. We have received 3 applications for our upcoming opening in the Highway crew. 2 interviews have been completed and 1 more is planned. A recommendation should be available for the next meeting.

Ed Dumas Rutland Town Police Chief:

  1. Recent calls for service were provided. There have been 863 calls for service through July of this year, just on the South end of Town. At this same time last year, there had only been 330 in the same area.
  2. Officers have been undergoing training for active shooters this week.
  3. Discussed the regional dispatch plan.
    1. Grant opportunities have opened up.
    2. There is a meeting planned for early next week to discuss this. They need to come up with a plan for where it will go, staffing and long-term funding.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

  1. Provided copies of the findings for the Perkins Road hearing, which include the changes recommended by our Town Attorney. After some discussion, Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the Perkins Road Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order as modified by the Town Attorney. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 3 – 0. Selectman Denardo abstained.
  2. The Regional Planning Commission sent us a copy of the Public Works Mutual Aid Agreement. It has been adopted by 27 of 29 Towns in the County. A copy was given to Commissioner Sears.
  3. A meeting room use request was received and approved for the Democratic Committee on Monday August 8th at 530PM.
  4. A Frequently Asked Questions page is being developed for the website. There is a good list of questions, and once the answers are completed, we will make the page live. This covers a good range of topics.
  5. The Police page on the website has been refreshed and is live. It uses our new layout design and looks great. The Clerk’s page is being worked on now for redesign.
  6. Discussed the Town Line Road closure. We have messages on social media and our website. Regional Ambulance and the Sheriffs departments have been notified as well as our town emergency services.
  7. Discussed adding a vendor to the preferred vendor list. Voity Electric has done several projects for us lately and they have been a good partner. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve Voity Electric as a preferred vendor. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
  8. Reviewed the proposed contract with Consolidated Communications and the new services.
    1. Internet service is being added to 2 buildings without it currently.
    2. Internet speeds at other buildings is being increased.
    3. We will receive a single bill, broken out by department.
    4. The anticipated increase is approximately $68 per month over our current services.
    5. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the contract with Consolidated Communications and to authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. After some discussion, the motion passed 4 – 0.
  9. Discussed the grant reimbursement request for the Route 7 North Sidewalk scoping study.
    1. The final bill was received and paid so we are ready to apply for the reimbursement.
    2. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve and submit the reimbursement request for the TAP TA20(10) grant. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
  10. Discussed the supplemental sewer allocation application from PETCO, at 312 US Route 7 South.
    1. The application for an additional 800 GPD is complete, and a check has been received.
    2. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to approve the application. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.
  11. Discussed the supplemental sewer allocation application from Tractor Supply at 1177 US Route 7 South.
    1. A request was sent to them approximately 7 weeks ago asking them to apply for the supplemental sewer discharge amount they are over.
    2. No reply was received from them despite several attempts to reach them. A notice of violation including a fine for $1000 was sent, $500 for each week past the 30-day due date.
    3. After receiving the notice of violation, they contacted our office to discuss it. We received the application the same day, via email. A check has not yet been received.
    4. Discussed the next steps for the status of this application and violation. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to table the application until the next meeting. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Committee meeting updates:

  1. Discussed the recent Town Wide Celebration Committee meeting.
    1. Tasks for preparing for the day were divided up among meeting attendees.
    2. The food has been ordered and many events are lined up.
    3. We plan to have the fire and police department, regional ambulance service, a medical helicopter, games, open swim all day, a bounce house from Jump For Fun, and more.
    4. The Roadside Chapel, which usually hosts its own event, is partnering with us and providing resources including people, to help staff our event.

Old Business Review of the New Personnel Policy Draft

  1. The Board members will be polled for each of the items listed with comments to see if there is a majority decision to include a suggestion or not, or if the items need to be discussed further.
  2. Each of the suggestions were reviewed and changes were included, or not, based on the results of the polling of Board members. An updated draft will be created and given to Board members so this items which are needing discussion can be discussed at a future meeting.

Selectwoman Russell moved to enter executive session to discuss a personnel matter and for privileged communication. Selectman Hathaway seconded motion. The motion passed unanimously. The board entered executive session at 8:26 PM.

Upon leaving executive session, with no action being taken, Selectwoman Russell moved to adjourn. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 9:52 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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