Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday September 9, 2024 at 7:00 PM
At South Hero Town Hall and via Zoom
Board Members Present: David Carter/Chairman, David Lane/Vice Chairman, Skip Brown/Board Secretary, Steve Robinson
Board Members Not Present: Anne Zolotas,
Others Present: Town Personnel: Sue Arguin/TA and Martha Taylor-Varney/ZA. Also see sign in sheet of in person and Zoom attendees. *Attendance SB 2024-09-09-2024
1. Called to Order:
– The meeting was called to order by Chairman David Carter at 7:00 pm.
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-Town Highway Salt Shed discussion moved to first new business
3. Minutes:
-David Lane made a motion to approve the minutes of August 26, 2024. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. Russ Barone of Richards Rd. was present to discuss noise issues coming across Paradise Bay from the former Anchorage property at the end of Featherbed Lane, which is now owned by Michael Forenza. Mr. Barone states that there is loud music, many parties, jet ski buzzing and party boats very often late into the night. He states that this was not the case when it was the former business. It is supposed to be a private residence even though it is made up of several cabins. Mr. Barone thinks that it is now being used as a short term rental property. He asks about the Town developing a noise ordinance. David Carter suggested that first Mr. Barone meet with the owner to see if a mutual agreeable solution can be reached, as a noise ordinance is sometimes difficult to enforce. More info will follow as this develops.
5. New Business:
A. Road Foreman John Beaulac and Millbrook owner Dave Pratt were present to discuss a change order to the salt shed specifications. The current specs can for ½” particle plywood on the interior and ¾” particle plywood on the exterior. John Beaulac wants ¾” plywood on the interior for strength against the salt/sand pile and that is necessary. Rather than switch the plywood and use ½” on the exterior, he would like ¾” on both the interior and exterior. That will cost $3900.00. Mr. Pratt thinks that a possible less expensive solution will be so use the ½” plywood on the exterior and also to strap it in order to have more material for the screws through the metal siding to grab onto. This should cost less than $3900.00 but an estimate has not been prepared for this solution. Steve Robinson made a motion for John Beaulac to make the decision for the change order, with a cost of up to $3900.00, once the new estimate is prepared. John Beaulac can decide whether to either use ¾” plywood on the exterior or ½” plywood plus strapping once a the best solution is determined. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. For the Town Hall Building committee, the RFP has gone out and approximately 8 companies have expressed interest. There was an addendum posted today to answer some questions. See the Town Building webpage for more information. More info will be at the next Selectboard meeting.
C. Robin Way, Secretary of the South Hero Service Committee, DBA Granny’s Attic was present to discuss upcoming plans. They submitted a Projected Relocation Timeline document. See attached *Granny’s Attic 09-09-2024. Mr. Way asked about the Granny’s Attic group continuing to use the former Red fire station and to place 1 or 2 storage containers adjacent to the building for up to 2 years in order to store and possibly sell from once they move out of the Old South Hero Meeting House building. David Lane made a motion to allow the placement of storage containers near the former Red fire station. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Note that possible Town approvals may still be necessary to satisfy zoning requirements depending on the land adjacent to the Red building.
D. The State noted an error in the School tax rate for the homestead tax bills. The bills were already printed, so new tax bills had to be ordered and printed. This caused more time and expense to the Town. An invoice to the State has been prepared in the amount of $941.20. Steve Robinson made a motion to send the invoice to the State of Vermont for the additional expenses. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
E. Andy McIlwaine of DINSE attorneys is leaving the firm. The consensus of the Board is to have Mr. McIlwaine’s associate Justin Barnard continue with the current Town business in relation to the Pest Pro matter.
F. David Lane made a motion to approve and sign the Errors and Omissions document as presented by the Listers for a trailer that was not present at Camp Skyland for the term noted. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
6. Town Administrator and ZA Reports:
A. See the written reports posted with these minutes.
B. Skip Brown made a motion to approve the Mobile Vendor license application for Green Mountain Kettle Corn to be sited at Goulet Farm Stand. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. David Carter made a motion allow the addition of up to $4,000.00 to the matching funds for the Featherbed Lane/Apple Island Resort Concerns Scoping Study in order to get the project moving. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. none at this meeting
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. none at this meeting
9. Other Business:
A. Skip Brown made a motion to approve and sign the orders 25-06 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: none at this meeting
C. Recreation Commission (RC) update: The RC has a meeting scheduled for Sept. 10. See their agenda on the Town website.
D. Road Department update: See above re: the Salt Shed project. The excavator needed track repairs and is now fixed.
E. Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH) project: Read the OSHMH minutes on the Town Website for updates.
F. Lister Updates: Lister Russ Stratton was present to discuss the upcoming Town-wide reappraisal. He presented a document titled “Review of the Suitability of Categorical Reappraisal Methodology for the Town of South Hero”. See Attached *Listers 9-9-2024 Document. Apparently this method will not work for the Town, so that a full reappraisal will be necessary. The Listers are waiting for an estimate for work necessary to begin the project.
G. Wastewater (WW) update: See above
H. Town Hall Committee update: See Above and read their minutes for updates
I. Tree Warden update: Estimates to remove an ash tree on Keeler Bay Lane and another estimate to trim and remove trees at the Town beach were presented. No action was taken on either estimate.
10. Adjournment:
-Skip Brown made a motion to adjourn at 8:25 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown, Secretary David Carter, Chairman
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
September 9, 2024 ZA’s report to the SB
1. I have 1 mobile vendor license application for the Boards approval tonight – Green
Mountain Kettle Korn (Dan and Amy Bergeron).
2. No word yet on the wetlands permit submitted by Fitzgerald Engineering a couple weeks
ago. This is for the after-the-fact wetlands permit for the widened part of Martin Rd. by
the Allen Point fishing access entrance.
3. There will be a Zoning Administrator’s Roundtable in St. Albans on Thursday, September
19., sponsored by Northwest Regional Planning. This will be a hybrid meeting – Zoom
and in-person. I plan to attend in person. The meeting is from 9 to 10:30 AM at City
Hall.
4. The VT Cannabis Control Board is launching a new series of training videos for
licensees to fulfil a mandate for the completion of an enforcement seminar every three
years before licenses can be renewed.
5. I will be out of town Monday through Wednesday (September 16-18) and will be working
from home on Thursday after the NRPC Roundtable in St. Albans.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission is holding a special meeting and community discussion on
September 11 at Worthen Library at 6:30 regarding sidewalk options on South St. between RT 2
and the school. The Commission members are looking for information and feedback from
residents. Invitations were mailed to South St. residents, but the session is open to the public.
This will be the only meeting of the Planning Commission in September. Their regular
September 4 and 18 meetings have been canceled. The next regular meeting will be October 2
at 7PM at the Town Office.
Development Review Board
There are 2 hearings this week (Sept. 11), one of which is a continuation of a hearing that
began on August 14. The busy summer schedule is slowing down a bit as is typical at this time
of the year. Only one hearing is scheduled for the September 25 meeting.
Recent DRB decisions are posted on the Town website.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT FOR 9/09/2024
- Featherbed Lane/Apple Island Resort Concerns Project Scoping Study. We are working with Dean Pierce from NRPC (Northern Regional Planning Commission) for $3986.83. Dean and I went over a few companies in which to hire to do the services for this project and decided on Stantec. They have since submitted a Project Workplan and to use their services it would cost $40,000. So, the total cost of this study would be $43986.83. With that said our grant we were awarded with us matching $8000 was $32,000, leaving us short almost $4000 to proceed. After a consultation with Dean this morning he feels even if we were to call in our “next company in line” they would be about the same amount if not more and if we choose to continue should seriously consider this proposal from Stantec and vote to add the additional $4000 needed.
- The MERP Level 2 Energy Assessments have been completed on the Museum & Highway Department and the reports are in my office if anyone would like to see them. I hope to find another grant opportunity to help with the cost.
- There has been an addendum to the request for proposal for the new town office building and it has been uploaded to the Vermont Business Registry. (Please see copy in your packets). So far there have been 8 different companies expressing interest in the job.
- Diane Kline called today to tell us that they have cancelled the trail ride that was going to happen on Saturday, September 14th due to it being too muddy and mosquitoes. She said she would be calling the Sheriff’s Office to let them know.
- The Recreation Department is working closely with the South Hero Land Trust to renovate the boardwalk at the South Hero Recreation Park. The boardwalk that was built in 2008-2009 by local Eagle Scouts and their families, is in need of new decking and new supports. They have planned a few Working Party’s, and the first one is Wednesday, September 18th from 3-5PM. RSVP to Guy Maguire at [email protected] .