Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of March 23, 2020
South Hero Town Hall, Monday 7:00 PM
Board Members Present: Jonathan Shaw, Skip Brown (also Board Secretary), Ross Brown
Board Members Not Present: David Carter, Anne Zolotas
Others Present: none
1. Called to Order:
-The meeting was called by Chairman Shaw at 7:00 pm
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
– none
3. Minutes:
-Ross Brown made a motion to approve the minutes of March 9, 2020. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. none
5. New Business:
A. Skip Brown made a motion to add Thereza (Tree) Cononi, and Chuck Hulse to the Recreation Commission. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Skip Brown made a motion to approve and sign the Grant Agreement Resolution-Single Grantee form which is needed for the proposed Senior Housing. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. Skip Brown made a motion to approve and sign the VCDP Subgrant/Administration Service Agreement form. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
6. Administrative Assistant Report:
A. See the report on www.southherovt.org or filed with these minutes.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. No info on the replacement of the “Welcome to South Hero” sign.
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. Road Crew member Martin Jensen may have been in contact with a person who has COVID-19 symptoms and has been tested, but not verified. Ross Brown made a motion to instruct Martin Jensen to self-quarantine for now and that he will continue to receive pay. Should the person test positive, he may self quarantine for 14 days. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. (NOTE: Since the Board meeting and before these minutes were written, it was learned that the person has tested negative. Martin will return to work on Monday, March 30)
B. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Ross Brown made a motion that at this time no April Meetings will be scheduled. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. Jonathan Shaw made a motion that documents which need signing during this period will be reviewed by the Board electronically. Then they may be signed by the Chairman alone if necessary, or individually one at a time should a quorum of the Board be necessary for signatures. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
9. Other Business:
A. Skip Brown made a motion to sign orders 20-19 and to pay the bills associated with the orders. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Liquor License renewals:
-Ross Brown made a motion to approve and sign the beer and wind liquor license renewal for Snow Farm Winery, LLC. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
– Ross Brown made a motion to approve and sign the liquor license renewal for Chefworks, LLC/DBA The Roving Feast Catering. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
10. Adjournment:
-Skip Brown made a motion to adjourn 7:30 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown Jonathan Shaw, Chairman
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Administrative Officer’s Report to Selectboard March 23, 2020
Discussion Items:
1. Senior Housing Planning Grant — The Selectboard needs to sign Cathedral Square’s subgrant agreement at their 3/23 meeting. Vermont Community Development will not have their grant agreement offer prepared in time for the SB to sign on 3/23 but will have it for the next meeting in April.
2. Cathedral Square completed a required summary for the Senior Housing planning grant, and I uploaded it to GEARS on March 10. I received notification on 3/23 that it was approved.
3. Continued well monitoring for PFAS in the vicinity of the Town landfill on Dubuque Lane – I sent out cover letters and access agreements to each of the landowners identified for continued well monitoring by VHB on March 16th. The map identifies 8 surrounding wells (in addition to the 4 monitoring wells at the landfill) that will continue to be monitored for PFAS contamination. So far, no wells outside of the landfill location have been found to be affected. I included a stamped envelope addressed to the Town (to my attention) for returning the signed access agreements. Once I receive these, they will be forwarded to VHB.
4. The Wrenegade BikeTour, originally scheduled for July at Snow Farm Winery, has been postponed to September 6th. A March 31st planning meeting with Grand Isle and the Sheriff’s Dept. will be scheduled to a later date.
5. I am working from home right now but have come into the office when it is closed (generally at night) to access parcel files, etc. that I need to answer email questions. I can be contacted through my email – [email protected].
6. I am looking into options for meetings to continue online for DRB and Planning Commission. I am hoping to get assistance from DRB and PC board members who are more familiar with these platforms than I am.
Planning Commission:
Having been approved by the Selectboard at their March 9th meeting, the draft Development Regulations will become effective on March 31st (barring a petition signed by 5% of the Town’s registered voters requesting a Town-wide vote). I will have copies printed after that time for the DRB, Planning Commission, and Selectboard to include in their notebooks. Some additional copies will be available for purchase in the Clerk’s office for those who do not have (or want to have) access to the internet.
The Planning Commission is working on expanding the current Village Center Designation boundaries in both new Village Zoning Districts. The proposed location for the Sr. Housing is not within the current designation boundaries but is within the South Hero Village Zoning District boundaries. By expanding the Village Center Designation boundaries, Cathedral Square will have more opportunities for grants.
The Planning Commission agreed at their 2/19 meeting to keep the 6PM meeting time rather than changing back to 7PM. Martha will amend the PC’s Rules of Procedure to show the new time and will have it ready for the Commission’s signature at their next meeting, tentatively scheduled for April 1st.
Martha and Sam have been working to update current applications for zoning permits and DRB reviews (many of which are out of date). These will be presented to the Planning Commission for their review and approval as they are completed. There will also need to be fees included for new types of review added to the fee schedule. I will include these recommendations for the SB to consider as application drafts are completed.
Development Review Board:
– There were 2 hearings at the March 11 meeting. Decisions for these hearings must be completed by April 15th to meet the 45-day requirement by statute.
– Applications before the Board that were dated after the Dec. 16, 2019 warning date for the Development Regulations’ 1/6/20 Selectboard public hearing are currently being reviewed under both the current regulations and the proposed amended regulations. This will continue until March 31st. Only 2 review applications have been conducted by the DRB under these requirements. They were reviewed under both Regulations and deliberations will include both, even if those deliberations are held after the updated Regulations become effective (3/31), meeting statute requirements.
– No other hearings are scheduled at this time.
– Recent decisions can be found posted on the Board outside the ZA’s office.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor Varney, ZA and Selectboard Assistant