This week’s Selectboard meeting was brief and business-like, covering a number of relatively mundane matters in fairly short order. Highlights include emergency funding for road repair (promised by the Governor, fingers crossed), major fundraising for the West River Recreation fields, Main Street closings for Heifers events, and the beginning of the interview process for a new police chief.
At 6:15 pm, the meeting was called to order and minutes approved.
Dick DeGray opened his chair’s remarks with the expression of his deepest sympathy to Joerg Mayer’s family. Joerg Mayer, a former Selectboard member and servant to the town in many capacities, passed away this week. DeGray described Mayer as “a colorful character who gave a lot to the town.” DeGray said that Mayer had been “an asset to the community” and that he would be “deeply missed.” It goes without saying that this sentiment was reflected in faces around the room.
DeGray also thanked town reps for approving the budget at Town meeting — all articles passed.
He announced that the Selectboard had traveled up to Montpelier on March 25th to visit the state Transportation Committee. DeGray said, “we were the straw that broke the camel’s back.“ The next day, the Governor released over $3 million for emergency paving to help towns after the rough winter. “We don’t know if we’re going to get anything, but we hope...,” said DeGray, adding that he would be surprised if the town got nothing at all.
DeGray also thanked BCTV for its telecast, saying that he would try to remember to thank them in the future....
Barb Sondag devoted Town Manager’s Comments to the recycling bins on Fairground Road. The large bins, she said, had been removed for cleaning and put back today. Public Works is working with the Windham Solid Waste District to pave the area (to get rid of the mud problem) and put up a fence. Having it open 24-7, she said, encouraged dumping of inappropriate materials, such as sofas and other hard-to-dispose of items. Having a fence and limiting access off-hours, she said, would improve the way the site looks and encourage people to recycle.
Sondag also said that Vtrans reps came to look at our roads and identified critical repairs. Thanks Vtrans!
Public Participation: The Public had nothing to contribute this evening.
Rich Garant updated us on the Peak Oil Task Force, saying that they have a new proposal, authored by Tim Stevenson and others, for consideration at the April 23 Selectboard Meeting. Garant said the group would be sending it along. Sondag said she would review it as soon as it arrived.
The board then became Liquor Commissioners. Said Sondag: “It’s that time of year.“ Except for Jesse Corum’s conflict on Vermont Inn Pizza (necessitating a two step vote around as last time), all first and second class liquor licenses, tobacco and entertainment licenses passed without remark.
Next, the Selectboard took up their goals and workplan for the next eleven months. Barb Sondag asked for public input.
George Reed-Savory was first to volunteer his thoughts. “Let’s extend the capital plan to 25 years, and include the schools so we have a better picture of where we are going,” he suggested.
Sondag responded by saying that the Town had gotten a planning grant to help with the Capital Improvement plan. “We have work to do” she said, in recording all our assets (which now include roads and buildings like the Municipal Center) but that they would try to complete it by fall so it’s in place when the Town does budgets.
John Liensenring agreed that establishing a value for fixed assets would help in completing the capital plan.
Jesse Corum wondered if the GASB 34 standard recommends 25 years? GASB is the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, similar to FASB in the business world.
Leisenring and Sondag said no, that under state statute recommendations, they would be following a 10 year plan, with public hearings. They said, “We could implement tax incremental financing,” whatever that means. GASB is for value, they explained.
What is apparently most different about this new method of financial reporting is that they Town must now “value” or appraise all of its assets, including roads, sidewalks, wholly-owned town buildings, and the like.
Jesse Corum agreed with Reed-Savery that the capital planning should go out “at least 15 years.” Corum also liked the idea of coordinating with the schools.
Leisenring said, ”one risk is that we’ll be scared by all the big numbers...”
Citizen Peter Cooper said, “At Town Meeting, I asked about the Capital Improvement Plan - will it include the wastewater treatment plant? How do we deal with enterprise fund items that are out of the capital improvement fund?”
Sondag said that we have capital improvement plans for our enterprise funds - utilities and parking. We look at them together, she said, so that the town isn’t putting in roads one year then doing pipes under roads the next...
Cooper said that a more comprehensive capital plan would be an easy way for the public to be aware of the large items out there. Leisenring agreed that all capital items do need to be in one document
Cooper also mentioned roads, saying that while the emergency funding was great, he suspected that we aren’t keeping up and they are crumbling faster than we can repair them. “I hope that roads won’t slip off the table until budget time,” he said, adding that the town needed to be creative in keeping costs down.
Dick DeGray said that roads have been a level-funded item for a long time. “There will be a discussion about an infrastructure bond - what is the necessity and what can people afford,” he said. The wastewater plant will have a big impact, he noted, as well as still paying for high school and elementary school improvements. “We need to do more with our infrastructure,” DeGray concluded. “It won’t be forgotten by me or my colleagues.”
Next up on the agenda was the VELCO power line project and the town’s request for intervenor status.
Martha O’Connor announced that she had a conflict of interest on VELCO and wouldn’t be particpating on VELCO matters now or in the future.
Sondag introduced the topic. The Selectboard voted to get intervenor status, she said. The Planning Commission is still figuring out if we need it. If we do continue, Sondag said, we’ll want to know how we want to do it - with WRC? Do it alone? Work with another town?
Laura Beliveau, a staff attorney with Department of Public Service, explained the legal aspects of the VELCO application process. The Department represents the public, she said. Several towns are intervening in the docket.
The Department of Public Service is a party in the proceedings. The Board makes the final decision, and the Department is a party representing the public. We are in the discovery process right now, she said, and are in the process of preparing to make a recommendation; in the end, the Public Service Board decides.
Beliveau said that public hearings are scheduled from mid October to mid November with a decision expected in early 2009.
Moving along, the board took up the West River Recreational fields on Route 30. Sondag explained that as Town meeting had approved the site purchase, the project could now move along. She said that there were three things that needed to be discussed:
1. contract with Cersosimo for purchase
2. $100k VT Community Development grant for permits and maybe some development. Permit process will cost about $40k.
3. Board to create a separate fund for rec field funds.
Carol Lolatte explained that out of the VCDP grant, there was a Withington Fund, from which $100,000 was available to kick-start the permitting process (on which the sale is contingent). Mr. Withington, a lifetime recreation and parks guy, helped create Living Memorial Park. This grant would really helps get the ball rolling, LaLotte said. If we can raise $100k they’ll give us an additional $50k, she said, hoping the board would approve the grant.
DeGray asked why this wasn’t going through the capital grants review committee siince it’s a grant, and a large enough one to qualify as a capital grant. Sondag said that the land is the only capital purchase, and it comes from a bond, which is true, but she didn’t address the question about why the $100K grant for permitting and possibly development didn’t go through the Capital Grants Committee.
DeGray asked about the impact on the general fund? Would there be requests for additional sums of money beyond yearly maintenance, he wondered.
Carol LaLotte said that they intended to get grants for phase one (preliminary design, “subsurface”, and creation of open space with parking). She said that “post-development” costs would be between $10,000 and $12,000 each year.
“People are volunteering their bulldozers,” LaLotte said with enthusiasm. She said that she expects 5 years to full development.
Jesse Corum stated his strong support for the West River Rec Fields project. Peter Cooper did as well. “I’m excited by this. The town needs it,” Cooper said. “My questions are about process. $40 of the $100k is for permits - what is the other $60k for?”
LaLotte said that the $100,000 would get permit process underway, then other pledges could come in and supplement. “We’ll start with roads and drainage,” she said.
Cooper persisted. “That’s not a capital expense?” he asked.
Leisenring answered him: “yes.”
The Selectboard then voted on the three motions. The purchase contract with Cersosimo, special fund, and $100,000 grant were all approved by unanimous vote.
Next was a motion to accept the low bid on cornice repair on the Gibson-Aiken Center. Both GPI and Northeast Masonry from New Hampshire bid, but Northeast Masonry was lowest at $156,000. The winning company have previously done work for both UNH and UVM, and claim that they’ll be in and out of there by Memorial Day. The board approved their bid by unanimous vote.
The Town recently got a grant to pay for various “orphan” stormwater projects, to the tune of $22,600. Planning Director Rod Francis recommended that SVE Associates (the middle bid) get all three contracts. Francis hinted that there might be issues with various interested landowners. Corum asked if the project was guaranteed to come in at or under budget. Francis said it wasn’t but that it would look bad if it came in over budget and the Town had to come up with more money. Sondag agreed that the reason they were doing this was because it was essentially free to the town.
Garant asked how a stormwater project became orphaned. Francis told the story of a small subdivision that changed hands without being completed. While in the hands of a local bank, one of the parcels which had been earmarked for a detention basin was sold as a buildable lot. And that, he said, is how orphan stormwater systems are created. But he said, the state has offered to pay for it, “so everyone is relatively happy. “ “It’s a gift,” Francis said.
The contract with SVE Associates to do the orphan stormwater systems was approved 5-0.
There was discussion of Strolling of the Heifers which this year, wants to close Main St from Elliott to High St for two different time periods. First, they want it closed for part of Gallery Walk (5-7:15pm) and then again most of Saturday from 10am to 3:30pm.
Sondag said that there will be additional costs to the town as there were last year for police, public works, and on-call folks. “We feel the cost was minimal” she said, and that it was outweighed by the festive atmosphere and great tourist traffic brought in by Heifer Fest.
Dick DeGray was concerned about southbound traffic cutting thorugh parking lots to get around as they did last fall during a test drive of the closure of Main St during a late-season Gallery Walk.
Sondag said that she felt this was because there was not a lot of notice on that particular Gallery Walk night, but that this time, there will be a lot of notice and hopefully people will avoid downtown if their goal is just to drive through.
Both motions passed 5-0.
Bob Donley, a festival organizer, said that this year’s theme is “Live Green. “ The Commons display would feature all kinds of “green projects” including cars, trailers, and solar panel companies. He also announced that the Heifer people plan to do fall events too. For instance, they are sponsoring a “huge” concert including 1990s faves Matchbox 20 and ‘70s “blue-eyed soul” singing group Hall and Oates, among others, to be put on this autumn.
School safety was part of the impetus to make Parkside Avenue one way from Clark Street to Home Street during the hours of 2:30pm to 3:30pm while school is in session.
Dick opened the public hearing. No comment. Dick closed public hearing. The motion was approved by unanimous vote.
There was a first reading of an ordinance change to add the Depot Street Lot to the list of lots where permit parking is sold. This was a bit of a housekeeping measure. According to Sondag, back in January, the Selectboard approved 21 add’l spaces for this lot - but the lot doesn’t have permit parking. So, she said, we’re amending the ordinance to allow permit parking at the Depot St Lot.
The motion passed 5-0.
Finally, under Old and Other Business, Barb Sondag announced the formation of a Citizen Committee to be part of the hiring process for the new police chief.
“We got numerous responses to our ad for a police chief,” Sondag said. Now it’s time to start interviewing them.
Three different groups would have input in the process, said Sondag. These three groups would be able to interview all candidates, and report their findings to the main Interview committee, which will be composed of Town Manager Barb Sondag, Finance Director John Leisenring, an outside police chief and members of the Selectboard. In addition to the official committee and the citizen committee, there would be a union committee composed of staff members from the Police Departments.
The process would be similar to the town manager hiring process, Sondag explained.
John Allen said that he’d like to be on the interview committee, and DeGray did too. Martha O’Connor also threw her hat in the ring. Not clear at press time who the Selectboard representatives will be, as they seem to have left that matter undecided for now. The Citizen Committee, for its part, seems to be by invitation and will be announced once members have accepted.