Selectboard Minutes 9-13-2022

Publish date: September 14, 2022

Selectboard Minutes 9-13-2022

TOWN OF RUTLAND SELECTBOARD OPEN MEETING

RUTLAND TOWN MUNICIPAL TOWN HALL

181 BUSINESS ROUTE 4, CENTER RUTLAND, VT  05736

SEPTEMBER 13th, 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 Jim Scholtz, Ann Scholtz, Marcia Chioffi, BJ Hathaway, Byron Hathaway, Anil Sachdev, Mark Riley

A moment of silence was observed in remembrance of September 11th.

Approval of Orders

The Board approved the orders.

Approval of Selectboard Minutes for August 30th:

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

Announcements

The Board is postponing 2 agenda items. The meeting with Kyle Medash and the discussion on the Delinquent Tax Collector position will take place at a future meeting.

Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to donate $500 to the Foley Cancer Center as a thank you to Happy Cow Ice Cream for their participation in our Town Wide Celebration event. Selectwoman Russell seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Chairman Chioffi read a thank you note for a scholarship award from Maci Celentano.

Public Comment

Mark Riley, General Manager for the Hampton Inn on Farrell Road addressed the Board. Mr. Riley expressed his concerns for the people staying at the Cortina Inn and the detrimental effect it has had on their establishment. A fence was installed but has been regularly broken and needles continue to be found, as well as a host of other issues. Chairman Chioffi thanked Mr. Riley for attending and discussing his concerns with the Board. Chairman Chioffi told Mr. Riley that the Board is having on going discussions with the owners of the Cortina Inn to come to a resolution. Mr. Riley spoke about the experience they had when some of their rooms were used for this program. It was only a short-term occupation for them due to the issues they had.

Barbara Pulling Rutland Town Planning Commission Chair:

  1. The revised permit tracking ordinance, along with the permit form and proposed questionnaire were sent to the town attorney and we are waiting for his comments.
  2. A new letter has been sent to the Planning Commission, from a different law firm, asking for the Commission to sign off that certain properties are in compliance with all municipal regulations. After some discussion the Planning Commission will discuss reply with a letter letting them know the Planning Commission does not have the authority to handle the request.
  3. The energy survey has been publicized. It has seen some results, and an article is being put into the next “The Circle” where we hope to get more responses. The plan is to leave the survey up through October.
  4. Discussed the Board rescheduling the meeting with Kyle Medash. This will be planned for a meeting in October.

Mike Rowe Rutland Town Recreation Director:

  1. The Halloween party is planned for October 28th this year and will be like last year, with the trail through the woods. A flyer will be published for the event.
  2. Soccer and Football programs are underway. These programs have had some of the highest attendance in a very long time.
  3. Regular park maintenance continues and will end when seasonally appropriate.

Larry Dell Veneri Rutland Town Assistant Fire Chief:

  1. There have been 7 calls for service in the past 2 weeks.
  2. The department is discussing some changes to the by-laws and Town Ordinances having to do with the Fire Department. Once these reviews are complete, they plan to meet with Selectwoman Russell as the Fire Committee to discuss them.

David Sears Rutland Town Road Commissioner:

  1. An excavator has been rented and is being used to complete some ditch and swale work.
  2. Several routine maintenance and clean up tasks have been completed around town.
  3. The Town Line Road culvert project is moving along and we expect to have the road passable next week. Repaving will be done this year, but a final coat will not be put on until next year in the project area to let the ground settle from this project.
  4. BJ Hathaway asked if a committee meeting could be scheduled to discuss the proposed Winter Maintenance Contract. Chairman Chioffi asked the comments be discussed with Commissioner Sears first and then a committee meeting can be scheduled if appropriate.

Kari Clark Rutland Town Clerk and Treasurer:

  1. The first installment of taxes was due yesterday. Some are still being processed, results will be available for the next meeting.
  2. The State will be mailing ballots for the November election, and they recently pulled the mailing list from us. They will begin mailing by the end of this month.
  3. Work on the audit continues this week.
  4. The first installment of the local option tax was received this week. It was $12,500 less than the same period last year, but ahead of what was budgeted. The amount received was $349,771. The total last year received was more than $400,000 above estimates.
  5. The next round of ARPA funds were received in the amount of $215,342. One more installment is still pending.
  6. 3 invoices for the new public safety building were paid from the balance of the Center Rutland Fire Station bond funds. The balance, after the invoices are paid, is $26,699.
  7. An ad has been published in a variety of locations for the part time office staff position previously discussed.
  8. Discussed the efforts made by Susan in the Clerk and Treasurer office while Kari was out sick with Covid. The Board thanked Susan for her efforts during the difficult time.
  9. There was a sufficient balance from the taxes received to cover the initial school payment. No money had to be taken from the cash to open balance to cover it.

Ted Washburn Rutland Town Deputy Police Chief:

  1. Recent calls for service were provided and reviewed. The South end of Town has not seen a decrease in call volume.
  2. Lynette Gallipo, the Police Department admin was present and gave the Board an overview of the current situation with dispatching services.
    1. Discussed a letter recently received from the Public Safety Commissioner. This was a follow up to a letter from June 8th.
    2. They are notifying Towns that as of October 1st they will no longer handle any administrative calls. They will only take emergency calls. Administrative calls will be forwarded to the appropriate Town to handle.
    3. There is a serious concern about the safety of Town citizens since the dispatchers are not providing the level of service they have in the past.
    4. For an emergency, 911 should still be called. They will answer those calls.
    5. For Town Police, call the office at 802-773-2528 x 505 or 802-772-4327.
    6. Since we are not available 24/7, an immediate response may not be possible. Calls will be handled by priority once someone is on duty.
    7. Please do not call officer cell phones directly. They do not answer them when not on duty, and schedules change. Calling the office is the best way to ensure your issue is logged.
    8. The state will answer all fire department calls and dispatch for them. Once someone acknowledges the call, they will not communicate with them any longer, unless a request for mutual aid is made. They also will not log call times any longer.
    9. Discussed the best way to inform Town citizens of the issues. It will be publicized in a variety of ways including social media and our website.
    10. All the Officers / Constables can do cases, and research vehicle / driver information electronically, except for the 2nd Constable because he does not have technology in his vehicle.

Mike Delehanty Town 1st Constable

  1. The efforts with the directed patrols on the South end of Town have been very successful. There have been several arrests and instances of recovered property.

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

  1. The deadline for the cleanup of 282 Perkins Road has passed. Pictures were provided to Board members that were taken on the last day of the window given. It shows little improvement. The matter will be forwarded to our Town Counsel to work on next steps.
  2. Discussed purchasing the necessary technology to be able to research vehicle / driver information on traffic stops. Selectwoman Russell moved to purchase the tablet and service needed to allow him access the necessary data. The cost of the tablet shall not exceed $1000, and the cost of the monthly service shall not exceed $50. Selectwoman Ashcroft seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

Bill Sweet Town Administrator:

  1. Provided some draft ordinances for the Board to review. One is the Permit Tracking Ordinance and the other is the Peddler / Vendor permit.
    1. Town Counsel Kevin Brown was present and provided feedback on the permit tracking ordinance. The amounts for fines could be raised to a maximum of $800 if the Board wanted to. Recommended removing language about seeking enforcement with an injunction. Attorney Brown had some concerns about the additional questionnaire proposed. It very closely resembles zoning questions. Suggested some updates to the current form to help guide residents to other ordinances. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to table this discussion. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. The motion passed. 4 – 0.
    2. Discussed the Peddler / Vendor / Solicitor Ordinance. A new copy of the ordinance was provided along with the version as it exists currently. The new draft updates the formatting and layout to establish consistency. Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to adopt the draft ordinance with the included revisions. Selectman Hathaway seconded the motion. Discussed some future amendments but the current amendments can be adopted now. The motion passed 4 – 0.
  2. The balance of Town Ordinances are being updated to reflect the same formatting and layout. The departments which most closely relate to a particular ordinance have been given theirs to review. Once done, a committee meeting should be held to finalize amendments to be able to move froward.
  3. There have been several updates to our website.
    1. The Clerk and Treasurer page has gone through an extensive update and combines several individual pages into one inclusive page.
    2. A new “How Do I” and frequently asked questions resource has been added.
    3. We are working on a Town business directory and are soliciting information from businesses so it can be included.
  4. Discussed an issue with items being brought to the Gleason Road transfer station by individuals claiming to represent our Town. The solid waste district sends us an invoice for these items. None of them have been able to be verified to be town employees and ultimately the invoices have been removed. We will be able to create IDs for Town employees soon and once they are ready we will notify them to only accept items from the Town with valid ID.
  5. Copies of the update personnel policy will be distributed to all employees who receive a paycheck from the town. Acknowledgement forms returned complete will be tracked.

Selectwoman Russell moved to enter executive session for pending litigation. Selectman Hathaway seconded motion. The motion passed 4 – 0. The board entered executive session at 7:55 PM.

Upon leaving executive session, with no action being taken, Selectwoman Ashcroft moved to adjourn. Selectman Denardo seconded the motion. The motion passed 4 – 0.

The meeting adjourned at 9:30 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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