Members Present – Thomas “Hank” Pelkey, David Mills, Alicia Malay and W. Joseph Gagnon. ABSENT: Thomas Hooker. Others Present: Helen McKinlay, Will Veve, Justin Grassano, Charles “Butch” Shaw, Town Manager John Haverstock, Kelly Giard – Recording Secretary.
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM by Chairman Pelkey.
J. Haverstock stated that there was a need to enter into Executive Session for Contracts (Union vacations). Motion by T. Pelkey and seconded by A. Malay to enter into Executive Session for contracts. Motion passed 4 – 0.
J. Haverstock stated that there no need to amend the agenda. Motion by D. Mills and seconded by A. Malay to accept the agenda as presented. Motion passed 4 – 0.
Minutes:
The minutes of the July 15, 2020 Regular Select Board meeting were signed, with no corrections.
Orders:
The orders in the amount of $3,341.25 (FY 20) and $77,046.32 (FY 21) and Payroll in the amount of $10,940.81 were signed with the following discussion:
J. Gagnon inquired about the expense for the mosquito control. J. Haverstock explained that included the third of four buy–in payments and the yearly fee. J. Gagnon inquired about the expense for the propane for the Fire Station and the Town Office. J. Haverstock stated that this was part of the change in suppliers.
Town Manager’s Report:
J. Haverstock reported the following:
- The Municipal Offices have been open to the public since July 13. The public has been cooperating with the social distancing and mask wearing. There are plenty of gloves, cloth masks and thermometers available to staff who are required to use them. The State will be providing additional cloth masks.
- There was a meeting with representatives from VT Digital to assess the equipment that will be required for boards to continue meeting remotely. The Board of Civil Authority will be meeting using Zoom. A proposal for this equipment was included in the packets for review.
- The Municipal Office internet upgrade has been completed.
- There was a rebid for the Depot Hill Project. The opening was held on July 30. Casella Construction was the low bidder, coming in lower than the engineer’s estimate. Currently, the financing is being sought. The information on the rebid was included in the packets for review.
- Regarding the Salt Shed project, there was a pre-bid meeting on July 27, 2020 and construction bids will be opened on August 7, 2020 at 2:00 PM. There is a substantial completion date of November 2020. There is a committee that will review the proposals four firms seeking a construction inspection services contract and make a recommendation to the Select Board for consideration.
- There was a meeting on August 1, 2020 at West Road Extension in Chittenden, which is the road that Chittenden would like to convert into Class 4 roads. Selectman Gagnon joined the Town Manager at this meeting. The Select Board in Chittenden will be discussing this area again at their meeting on August 10, 2020 at 5:30 PM. The Town Manager will be attending this meeting to be sure that the access is still allowed at the water source.
- Richard Gagnon has paid his fine as a result of a recent Dog Hearing.
- Rutland Regional Chamber of Commerce and Rutland Economic Development Corporation will be merging. There was a press release in the packets for review.
- The Town has received a $20,000 grant project for stone-lined ditching work to be done on Goat Farm Road, Barnard Road, and Sugar Hollow Road. The Town can supply their local match “in kind” with labor and equipment usage.
Select Board Comments:
Selectman Mills reported that the paving along West Creek Road has made progress with a shim coat being applied as far as the Brandon line.
Selectman Mills inquired if the Town employees qualified for any of the funding that has been made available to the essential employees. Rep Shaw stated that Town employees are not considered essential workers and this program seems only to include health care workers at this time.
Public Comment:
Rep Shaw stated that the Board of Civil Authority had a successful Zoom meeting on August 3, 2020.
OLD BUSINESS
Discussion of COVID 19 Coronavirus Response:
J. Haverstock reported that the Government orders change almost daily. Currently, the town office staff are utilizing face masks, hand washing, using sanitizer and the office is being cleaned more with more of a focus on the frequently touched areas.
Continued Discussion of Anticipated COVID 19 Repercussions for Municipal Finances:
J. Haverstock stated that he has been in communication with neighboring towns and they are remaining status quo on highway and general fund budgets and some have postponed tax due dates. J. Gagnon inquired if it would be a hardship on the Town to postpone the due dates and have to borrow funds and pay interest. Helen McKinlay stated that the spending would need to be closely monitored and the Town may not need to borrow. The payment to the schools will be a large amount, but could be pushed to January if necessary. J. Haverstock explained that there is funding available to towns who find it necessary to borrow money and the funding would assist with the interest payments. D. Mills inquired about the possibility of moving the tax due dates. J. Haverstock explained that the mortgage companies are calling to get the due dates to submit payments on behalf of their customers.
Discuss Status of Grand List and the Setting of the Tax Rates:
J. Haverstock reported that the Grand List was lodged on July 23, 2020. The following tax rates were presented for review:
|
HOMESTEAD |
|
TAX RATE 19/20 |
|
TAX RATE 20/21 |
|
CHANGE |
|
|
GENERAL FUND |
$0.3501 |
$0.3545 |
$0.0044 |
||||
|
HIGHWAY FUND |
$0.2755 |
$0.2798 |
$0.0043 |
||||
|
VILLAGE |
$0.0362 |
$0.0359 |
($0.0003) |
||||
|
LOCAL AGREEMENT |
$0.0025 |
$0.0023 |
($0.0002) |
||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
EDUCATION/HOMESTEAD |
$1.4131 |
$1.4313 |
$0.0182 |
||||
|
TOTAL RES TAX RATE |
$2.0412 |
$2.0679 |
$0.0267 |
||||
|
TOTAL RES TAX RATE W/VILL |
$2.0775 |
|
$2.1038 |
|
$0.0263 |
||
|
NON-HOMESTEAD |
|
TAX RATE 19/20 |
|
TAX RATE 20/21 |
|
CHANGE |
|
|
GENERAL FUND |
$0.3501 |
$0.3545 |
$0.0044 |
||||
|
HIGHWAY FUND |
$0.2755 |
$0.2798 |
$0.0043 |
||||
|
VILLAGE |
$0.0362 |
$0.0359 |
($0.0003) |
||||
|
LOCAL AGREEMENT |
$0.0025 |
$0.0023 |
($0.0002) |
||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
EDUCATION/NON-HOMESTEAD |
$1.6433 |
$1.6739 |
$0.0306 |
||||
|
TOTAL NON-RES TAX RATE |
$2.2714 |
$2.3105 |
$0.0391 |
||||
|
TOTAL NON-RES TAX RATE W/VILL |
$2.3077 |
|
$2.3464 |
|
$0.0387 |
||
Motion by D. Mills and seconded by J. Gagnon to approve the tax rates as presented with the first payment due on September 1, 2020. Following discussion that this timing may need adjusting, the motion was rescinded by D. Mills and J. Gagnon.
Motion by D. Mills and seconded by J. Gagnon to approve the tax rates as presented with the tax due dates of September 3, 2020; October 15, 2020 and November 12, 2020. Motion passed 4 – 0.
Discussion of COPS Grant Status and Possible Police Relationship with the Town of Proctor:
J. Haverstock reported that Proctor has decided to remain with the Sheriff’s Department for their policing needs. D. Mills inquired if this grant could be retained to train a new police chief in the event that Chief Warfle chooses to retire. J. Haverstock will discuss this with Chief Warfle.
Continued Review of Village Sidewalk Bid and Discuss Alternatives:
J. Haverstock reported that VTrans did not authorize the mere resurfacing of the sidewalks along Route 7 near the school. Wilk is being asked to requote the project, to include curbing.
NEW BUSINESS
Discussion of Proposed Plains Road Solar Farm:
Will Veve was present to discuss his plans for constructing a solar farm at the site of the salvage yard on Plains Road. Mr. Veve stated that he has been working with Mr. Grassano on this project. The site will be a net metered solar project. Currently the project is in the 45 day notice period and is also in the Act 248 permitting process. The project plans and maps were distributed and discussed with the Select Board members. Mr. Veve stated that the property is currently screened as it was an operating salvage yard. Mr. Veve stated that there may be some trees on the Town’s property that would need to be removed to allow more sunlight. This will be discussed further with the Select Board. Mr. Veve will be meeting with the Planning Commission at the August 27, 2020 meeting. D. Mills stated that the Rutland Regional Planning Commission would be inquiring where the power would be going. Mr. Veve stated that there would be off-takers, however, they have not been identified. J. Gagnon inquired about the longevity of the project. Mr. Veve stated that he has a 20 year agreement with GHR with a possibility of renewing up to no more than 35 years. J. Gagnon inquired if this would be replacing the salvage yard. Mr. Grassano stated that the salvage yard has been cleaned up and cleared out with very few vehicles on site and this has left a good amount of property to construct this project.
Mr. Veve and Mr. Grassano exited at 7:15 PM.
Update on Assessment Grievances and Primary Election Plans:
BCA Chairman Shaw was present and explained the Primary Election voting set up. This year, there will be a “drive through” voting with tents at the entrance and exits. Residents will enter on the western side of the building, check in, receive ballots and drive to the back parking lot where they can vote. Once they have finished voting, they will drive to the eastern side of the building and hand in their ballot and check out. There will be members of the Board of Civil Authority available to bring the ballots into the ballot counter machine.
BCA Chairman Shaw stated that there are 3 grievances to be heard and that grievants would be receiving their letters in the near future to schedule their Zoom meetings.
Update on Broadband Grant:
J. Haverstock stated that the Rutland Regional Planning Commission has been awarded a grant to assist with a broadband study in the area. Brandon has already chosen to move forward with the process of establishing a CUD. (CUD = Communication Union District). This topic was tabled for discussion at a future meeting.
Review Highway Access Right of Way Permit Applications:
J. Haverstock reported that Douglas and Christine Falk (Sugar Hollow Road) have applied for a Right of Way/Access permit. Chad Eugair has inspected the property and stated that this was an existing access to the property and the culvert was already replaced with gravel added. The recommendation from the Highway Foreman was to slope the access so that the water does not enter the traveled portion of the road.
J. Haverstock reported that Roger and Patricia Kimball (Furnace Road) have applied for a Right of Way/Access permit. Chad Eugair has inspected the property and made a condition of installing a 15” culvert and sloping the access away from the road so the water does not enter the traveled portion of the road.
Motion by J. Gagnon and seconded by D. Mills to approve the requests with the conditions that were stated by the Highway Foreman. Motion passed 4 – 0.
Consider Grant–in–Aid to Purchase Leaf Blower for Highway Department:
J. Haverstock stated that the Rutland Regional Planning Commission has grant–in–aid funds available to help towns purchase equipment. A list of the eligible equipment was in the packets for review. Chad Eugair recommended the leaf blower to assist with fall clean up. Following discussion, the Select Board would like to have Mr. Eugair present at a future meeting to discuss the leaf blower, as well as the hydroseeder, which was the second choice.
Review Town Policy Prohibiting Acceptance of Late Applications for Open Town Staff Positions:
J. Haverstock gave a history of this topic and stated that there have been 12 applicants for the current Recreation Director position with 2 of these applications coming in after the deadline. J. Haverstock reported that there is a committee that is reviewing the applications and will be interviewing the candidates. One of the applications was received over the weekend following the deadline and the other was received in person a couple of days after the deadline. Motion by A. Malay and seconded by T. Pelkey to rescind the policy against accepting late applications. D. Mills recommended notifying the committee of this policy. Motion passed 3 – 1 (Gagnon opposed).
Consider Accepting Letter of Resignation and Making Appointment to Recreation Committee:
J. Haverstock reported that Bill Crossmon has work conflicts and has submitted a letter of resignation from the Recreation Committee. Coincidently, Jill Blanchard has submitted a letter of interest regarding serving on the Recreation Committee. There was also discussion of expanding the committee to include Randy Adams as a member, if he wishes to serve. Motion by D. Mills and seconded by A. Malay to accept the letter of resignation from Mr. Crossmon, appoint Jill Blanchard to the Recreation Committee and to expand Recreation Committee membership by one if Randy wishes to serve in that capacity. Motion passed 4 – 0.
Update on Recreation Director Recruitment Efforts:
J. Haverstock reported that there is a committee that is reviewing the applications for the Recreation Director. The committee will be meeting on August 10, 2020 at 3:00 PM to determine which applicants to interview. This committee has been made aware of the need for confidentiality.
Review Depot Hill Pump Station Replacement Bids:
John Kiernan from Otter Creek Engineering submitted a letter stating that 5 bids were received for this project and Casella Construction submitted a bid approximately $150,000 lower than the engineer estimates. There was discussion that there may possibly be better funding from the State, now that this is a new fiscal year.
The Select Board recessed at 8:17 PM.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
T. Pelkey made the motion and seconded by A. Malay to go into Executive Session for contracts where premature knowledge would be damaging to the Town and may be jeopardized by public disclosure.
In accordance with 1 VSA 312 (b), where premature general public knowledge would clearly place the 8:17 PM. Town Manager Haverstock was invited to remain for Executive Session.
The Select Board exited Executive Session at 8:33 PM with no action taken.
The Select Board meeting was adjourned at 8:33 PM.
The next regular meeting of the Select Board will be held on August 19, 2020.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kelly Giard
Recording Secretary
_________________________________________
Thomas “Hank” Pelkey, Chairman
_________________________________________
Alicia Malay, Vice Chairman
_____________________ABSENT______________
Thomas Hooker, Selectman
_________________________________________
W. Joseph Gagnon, Selectman
_________________________________________
David Mills, Selectman