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June 28, 2021 Minutes

Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday June 28, 2021 at 7:00 PM
At South Hero Town Hall and via Zoom

Board Members Present: David Carter/Chairman, Skip Brown/Board Secretary, Ross Brown/Vice Chairman,
Anne Zolotas, Chuck Hulse
Board Members Not Present: none
Others Present: Erin Morse/Town Clerk. Also see sign in sheet of in person and Zoom active participants.Attendance SB 06-28-2021

1. Called to Order:
-The meeting was called by Acting Chairman Ross Brown at 7:00 pm

2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-none

3. Minutes:
-David Carter made a motion to acknowledge the minutes of June 14, 2021. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.

4. Public input:
A. none

5. New Business:
A. Andy Julow of Lake Champlain Islands Development Corporation (LCIEDC) was present to introduce himself as the new director and to explain about the mission of LCIEDC. LCIEDC is 1 of 12 regional community development agencies in the State. There is no local chamber of commerce in the Islands, as the former Island chamber merged with the Burlington based Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce several years ago, and it seems to be more involved in Chittenden County businesses. He submitted a Regional Project Prioritization information form for businesses and municipalities. See attached.LCIEDC REGIONAL PRIORITY PROJECT INFORMATION FORM-1   LCIEDC Copy of Regional Priority Projects Scoring Matrix_Final
B. Tyler Wren of Wrenegade Sports was present (via Zoom) to discuss the Farm to Fork Fondo bike tour that will take place July 16-18. They will begin the tour from Snow Farm Vineyard. Approximately 25 riders on Friday, 75 on Sunday and 250 on Sunday will participate. See the description attached. Wrenegade Sports Letter Ross Brown made a motion to support the Farm to Fork Fondo event as described. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. Ross Brown mentioned that a South Hero citizen has expressed interest in adding windows and generally sprucing up the Town building that is rented to the Islands Artists Cooperative. The consensus of the Board is that this is positive and that a proposal should be submitted.

6. Administrative Assistant Report:
A. See the written report filed with these minutes in Town Hall or www.southherovt.org.

7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. The propane contract from Bournes Energy was reviewed. The Board agrees to the fixed price option.
B. Stephen Bellows submitted a contract for mowing of Town properties. David Carter made a motion to approve and sign the contract in the amount of $3000.00/year. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.

8. Announcements and Communications:
A. See other business

9. Other Business:
A. Skip Brown made a motion to approve and sign orders 21-26 and to pay the bills associated with the orders. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Erin Morse submitted notes about updates Town Hall and other Town Clerk information. See attached. Town Clerk notes 6-28
C. Recreation Commission (RC) update: Chuck Hulse reported that GMCS has been monitoring the parking at the White’s Beach and it is going well. There was some vandalism done to signs and it will be repaired. The Trails subcommittee will be looking into developing a Keeler Bay “pocket park” on the land that the Town owns. More info will follow as this progresses.
D. Road Department update: -The work on the “Better back roads” grant project on Sunset View Rd. was completed. Road Crew employee, Eddie Wendel injured his arm. Surgery is scheduled for early July, so when he will be able to rerun to work will be when the doctors agree.
E. Anne Zolotas made a motion to go into executive session for personnel matters at 7:50 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Executive session ended at 8:05 pm. Upon exiting executive session, no motions were made.

10. Adjournment:
-Anne Zolotas made a motion to adjourn 8:07 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,                                        Approved by,

_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown                                                       Ross Brown, Vice Chairman

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Administrative Officer’s Report to Selectboard                                               June 28, 2021

Discussion Items:

  1. I received an email from Joel Behring of VHB describing the test wells that were drilled in the vicinity of the capped landfill. The description of the well locations, observations, and next steps.  It appears that several of the borings hit bedrock and produced no water.  Contact the ZA for a copy of the report.
  2. I was contacted by a New Jersey engineering company who will be installing 2 Electric Vehicle charging stations at Jolly’s on RT 2 here in South Hero. The State identified South Hero as a priority for this installation and has allocated grant money.  No reviews are required by the Town because there will be no change or expansion of the original approved site plan.  No schedule is available yet for dates of the installation.

Planning Commission:

The Planning Commission continues to hold meetings via Zoom.

  1. The PC held a public hearing for the proposed amendments to the Development Regulations on June 17, 2021. Minutes from the meeting are on the Town website.  At the conclusion of the hearing, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the Selectboard that the proposed amendments be approved.  A Selectboard public hearing must now be scheduled.   The hearing can be held as an agenda item during a SB regular meeting.  In order to have time to warn the hearing, I recommend the SB schedule an August hearing on either the 9th or the 23rd.

Development Review Board:

– DRB meetings moved back to in-person meetings at the Town Office on June 23.  The Zoom option will continue to be available.  Meeting starting times also moved from 6pm to 7pm for the summer months starting at the June 23 meeting.

– I am scheduling DRB hearings into August 2021.

The DRB approved the Zlotoff Foundation CU/SP review application for use of the first floor of the Museum at Apple Island Resort.  Once the 30-day appeal period ends on July 9, the Foundation’s current notice of violation will be resolved.

Upcoming hearings include a 3-lot minor subdivision and 2 requests for a setback waiver in the Shoreland District.

Recent DRB hearing decisions are posted on the Board outside the ZA’s office or can be emailed upon request.

Respectfully submitted,

Martha Taylor-Varney (ZA and Assistant to the Selectboard))