Selectboard Minutes
Public Hearing + Regular Meeting of Monday June 24, 2024 at 7:00 PM
At South Hero Town Hall and via Zoom
Board Members Present:, David Lane/Vice Chairman, Skip Brown/Board Secretary, Ross Brown and Anne Zolotas
Board Members Not Present: David Carter/Chairman
Others Present: Sue Arguin TA, Martha Taylor-Varney ZA. Also see sign in sheet of in person and Zoom attendees. *Attendance SB 2024-6-24-2024
1. Called to Order:
– The meeting was called to order by Vice Chairman David Lane at 7:00 pm.
2. Public Hearing:
-There was a public hearing to discuss changing the Traffic Ordinance by adjusting a few speed limits and sign locations, plus updating a few terms to better reflect the current ones used (i.e “food carts” are now called “mobile vendors”). Martha Taylor-Varney summarized the changes. For speed limits, currently Hochelega Rd. is 35 mph and Lavigne Rd. has no speed limit signs. Traffic studies were done and the proposed speed limits are to be set to 25 mph. There was some confusion in the document about the exact locations of stop and yield signs at the triangle intersections at Tracy and Station Rds. The intention is keep the signs as they are, so the document will need to be updated to reflect what is there now.
-The public hearing was closed at 7:10 pm and the regular meeting began.
3. Adjustment to Agenda:
-Sign contracts from the auditors Sullivan and Powers
4. Minutes:
-Anne Zolotas a motion to approve the minutes of June 10, 2024. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
5. Public input:
A. Bob Fireovid of the Conservation Commission was present to ask about $600.00 that was received in the form of a tiny grant for a kestrel project. The check was made out to the Town of South Hero and the money was deposited into the general fund. As of now, there is no mechanism to increase the FY 2024/2025 budget lines. More info will follow at the next meeting.
6. New Business:
A. The vote on updating the traffic ordinance as noted in the above public hearing will be tabled until the next meeting.
B. Skip Brown made a motion to approve and sign the Financial Management Questionnaire as presented by the Treasurer. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
7. Town Administrator and ZA Reports:
A. See the written reports posted with these minutes.
B. Ross Brown made a motion to sign a mobile vendor application for Hart’s Korean and Filipino Food that will be located at Hackett’s Orchard. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
8. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. The salt shed RFP is still being finalized. Ross Brown took another trip to New York to get bids from an Amish company. Estimates are still pending. A RFP will go out for bids for the labor portion of the job.
9. Announcements and Communications:
A. Anne Zolotas made a motion to sign the contract from the Sullivan and Powers for services for fiscal years 2024/2025 in the amount budgeted.
10. Other Business:
A. Skip Brown made a motion to approve and sign the orders 24-26 and to pay the bills associated with the orders. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Town Clerk/Treasurer updates: Anne Zolotas made a motion to sign the liquor license application for AIR Development/Apple Island Marina. The motion was seconded, Ross Brown voted no. The others in attendance voted yes and the motion carried.
C. Recreation Commission (RC) update: A discussion about hiring a recreation manager was discussed. The RC should begin to develop a job description and potential budget.
D. Road Department update: See above re: the salt shed.
-Ross Brown will call the State about maintenance on the sidewalks along Route 2 in the State ROW.
E. Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH) project: Read the OSHMH minutes for updates.
F. ARPA updates: No new updates
G. Wastewater (WW) update: Ross will speak to the Treasurer about finalizing paperwork for reimbursement of current expenditures.
H. Town Hall Committee update: The committee will meet every 2 weeks on Tuesdays. Please see the minutes of the meetings on the Town website for more information. The consensus of the Board is that the committee should develop a plan to hire a consultant to complete a projected cost analysis of the 2 projected sites for a new town hall.
11. Adjournment:
-Anne Zolotas made a motion to adjourn at 8:35 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown, Secretary David Carter, Chairman
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
June 24, 2024 ZA’s report to the SB
1. There may be one mobile vendor license application for the Boards approval and
signature tonight, for a vendor at Hackett’s.
2. I received an email from Krystal Sewell of VT DEC Wetlands as a follow-up to the
meeting John Beaulac and I had with her on the 3 rd . She has reviewed and
approved the wetland delineation map on Martin Rd., where widening the road
encroached into wetlands and the wetland buffer. She said Fitzgerald could proceed
with preparing the Wetland’s permit application. I wanted to update the SB before
authorizing this. So far, the billing from Fitzgerald is for delineation and mapping,
totaling $297.50. The estimate for this had been $1500. Estimated costs for
Fitzgerald to prepare and submit the permit application is $1500. The Town’s after-
the-fact costs for the permit will total $2073.50. Had the permit been applied for
before the work was done, the fee would have been $780.75. I asked about her
predecessor’s comment that the additional fees could be waived, but she said she
looked into that, and the after-the-fact fees are required by statute. The additional
fees are not a penalty. They are assessed because permitting projects after the fact
incur more work and review by DEC. I don’t know if the actual cost for preparing
and submitting the permit application will be. If the Board approves, I will contact
Fitzgerald to have them begin preparing the application. It will no doubt need the
Board’s signature and I should have that within the next couple of meetings.
3. I received another complaint last week from a gentleman on West Shore Rd.
complaining about a property next door to him that was advertised as a short-term
rental. The ad said it was a 5BR home with accommodation for up to 15 people. My
parcel files and the Listers card say it is a 3BR home, which would limit its capacity
to 6 people. In addition, an accessory structure on the property was referred to in
the review section as an additional dwelling. The neighbor said that the property has
been rented numerous times to large groups, again backed up by comments in
reviews on the rental business’ website. My concern is that septic systems are being
stressed by overuse in many of the short-term rentals, especially along the lake. I
contacted the DEC enforcement officer about it, since wastewater issues are
handled by the State. If I had a way of knowing what properties in South Hero are
short-term rentals, I could identify the allowed capacity of their systems and notify
the owners what the maximum number of guests that the septic system will allow. I
think a lot of property owners don’t understand that the number of people and the
number of bedrooms are not arbitrary depending on the size of the dwelling, or
whether it is year-round or seasonal. I would like an opportunity to discuss this
further with the Board.
4. The door of the Town Office bathroom will not latch or lock. We’re asking again for
this to be repaired.
(over)
Planning Commission
A. The next meeting is not until July 17 at 6PM.
B. I placed an ad in the June 20 issue of the Islander for 2 new members of the
Planning Commission, to bring the number of members back up to 5 from the
current 3.
C. The Commission has been working on a sidewalk inventory in the village, mainly
along RT 2. The sidewalks are in rough shape in several places and the Clerk’s
Office has received 2 complaints recently about the condition of the sidewalks
and speeding drivers on RT 2. This morning, I saw a woman with a walker
traveling in the breakdown lane across the road from the Town Office because
the sidewalk was too rough for the wheels on the walker.
Development Review Board
1. There was no meeting on June 12. The next DRB meeting will be this Wednesday,
June 26 th . Hearings are so far scheduled through July 24.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT FOR 6/24/2024
- Local Hazard Mitigation Candidates. Please see in your paperwork along with a “Highlights” page on the companies that responded to my RFP request to work on our Local Hazard Mitigation Process. I would like to get back to these folks with a yeh or nah. I would like a vote tonight to choose which one you would like me to go with.
- Working with Northwest Regional Planning on closing out one of the grants for the meeting house this week.
- There is another grant that is being advertised for Municipal Park & Ride’s. The last time this came up for discussion the Board decided against it but just checking again to see if that is the same. There is a 20% local match. (Paperwork in your packet)
- The Listers just finished our Grievance Day last Tuesday, June 18, 2024, and everything went smoothly.