Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday September 13, 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,
Chuck Hulse, Anne Zolotas
Board Members Not Present: none
Others Present: Kim Julow, Town Clerk/Treasurer, Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA. Also see sign in sheet of in person and active Zoom participants. Attendance SB 09-13-2021
1. Called to Order:
-The meeting was called by Chairman Carter at 7:00 pm
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-none
3. Minutes:
-Chuck Hulse made a motion to acknowledge the minutes of the meeting of August 23, 2021. The motion was seconded, all who were in attendance at the last meeting so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. none
5. New Business:
A. Bob Monette and Nik Ponzio of GMAA were present to discuss the Green Mountain Marathon that will be held on October 17, 2021. The race will start at Folsom Educational and Community center and will run to approximately the end of West Shore Rd. and Rte. 314 and back to Folsom. The full marathon will run that course twice (out and back, then out and back again to equal 26.3 miles). They expect about 350 racers and will cap it at 500. They will police the course privately since the Grand Isle Sheriff will not be able to provide traffic support. Chuck Hulse made a motion to allow the marathon to occur on October 17, 2021 and the use of the parking lot at the Folsom Educational and Community Center. The motion was seconded, all who were in attendance at the last meeting so voted and the motion carried.
B. Ethelyn Dubuque was present as spokesperson for Granny’s Attic to ask if the group may continue to use the lower bay of the Old South Hero Meeting House for storage. Ross Brown made a motion to allow Granny’s Attic to use the lower bay for storage until it is deemed necessary to leave the space when a renovation is anticipated to begin. There is also a stipulation that all items must be stored in the center of the bay with a 3’ walkway around the perimeter of the stored items. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. Members of the Planning Commission (PC) were present to discuss several topics:
-Doug Patterson requested that the Selectboard plan to budget $16,650. 00 to update the Town Plan. A Municipal Planning Grant (MPG) of $15,000.00 will be applied for this update. Should that grant be approved, then the Town portion will be $1650.00.
-There needs to be a Selectboard member authorized to sign off on the MPG. David Carter will be that person.
-There was a joint meeting of the PC with the Selectboard held on September 1, 2021 to discuss studying Community wastewater in South Hero. A PowerPoint presentation was made then and can be seen here: *
Anne Zolotas made a motion to support the Planning Commission to begin to conduct a community wastewater case study. The motion was seconded, all who were in attendance at the last meeting so voted and the motion carried.
-There was a public hearing on August 23 to discuss proposed changes to the Development regulations, some of which are actually state mandated. See attached Zoning-Amendment Report–
Anne Zolotas made a motion to adopt the Development Regulations as presented by the Planning Commission at the August 23, 2021 public hearing and the motion was seconded by Skip Brown.
Note that the proposed amendment to Article II: Table 2.1 – Allowed Uses “Commercial Uses – Industrial” the notation ‘X’ (prohibited) is proposed to change to C/S (conditionally permitted with site plan review) in the South Hero Village and Keeler Bay Village zoning districts caused the most comment.
Note that the narrative on the regulations section 203 states:
Village Districts
The Village Districts, consisting of South Hero Village and Keeler Bay Village, encompass the traditional village centers in South Hero consisting of a concentration of residential, commercial and public land uses at higher densities than other parts of town. Commercial and mixed use development is encouraged to be located in the Village Districts and encouraged to be designed and sited to further traditional village center characteristics such as walkable, pedestrian friendly streets, sidewalks and walkways; human-scale buildings with architectural details,
landscaping and lighting; an integrated street network; shops and services intermixed with homes; a variety of commercial establishments from retail shops to home businesses, professional offices, and tourist services; places for the community to gather for social and cultural events; small, low impact industry; and government services. Historic buildings are a significant contributor to village character and should be preserved when possible. New
development shall be consistent in siting and scale with the surrounding historic structures in the Villages.
The issue is that the accompanying chart inadvertently shows “industry” as x’d out as “not allowed”. The PC would like to change that to conditional use/site plan review to concur with the narrative.
A summary of some comments
-Bob Fireovid and Ron Phelps believe that the changes should be voted on by the Town.
-Anne Quinn gave David Carter names of 3 people who have concerns.
-Chuck Hulse and Sandy Gregg think that the changes are in keeping with the narrative and that there is faith in the DRB to decide conditional use in the Village Districts.
-Bridget Kerr and Sue Straight think that the Village Districts are too large.
After hearing the comments, the Selectboard voted unanimously to adopt the changes to the Development Regulations.
D. There have been 3 lots and a PUD created at the Keeler Bay Campground and Marina and there are no more 911 numbers for the properties, so 2 driveways will be named as private roads. Anne Zolotas made a motion to name the driveways “Rachel Way” and “Phoebe Lane”. The motion was seconded, all who were in attendance at the last meeting so voted and the motion carried.
6. Administrative Assistant Report:
A. See the written report filed with these minutes (below on the website, or filed in Town Hall).
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. Ross Brown made a motion to put an article up for vote at Town Meeting for a new fire engine as presented by the SHVFD. The motion was seconded, all who were in attendance at the last meeting so voted and the motion.
B. The OSHMH committee met today (Sept. 13.). They will meet with Arnold and Scangas architects in October and hope to have some idea of the scope of work and a budget for restoring the building sometime in the winter.
C. Regarding ARPA funds, the Town received +/-$160,000 in additional funds. This is another deposit. It now appears that the Town will receive a total of approximately $493,000 when all of the payments are made by next year.
D. The canine ordinance was discussed, as VLCT has a new template. It will be edited and presented at the next meeting. See it here:So Hero. Model Dog Control Ordinance & Guidance
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. See other business
9. Other Business:
A. Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve and sign orders 22-05 and 22-06 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: The office is functioning well and the hours of the assistants have been reduced.
C. Recreation Commission (RC) update: The parking at the Beach went well this past season.
D. Road Department update: Martin Rd. improvements are finishing up. All proposed paving projects should be completed by the end of October. The former mower tractor will be repaired and the road foreman will try to sell the dump truck.
E. Ross Brown made a motion to approve and sign the liquor license application from Chef Works, LLC/The Roving Feast. The motion was seconded, all who were in attendance at the last meeting so voted and the motion carried.
F. Anne Zolotas made a motion to go into executive session for real estate matters at 8:45pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Executive session ended at 9:15. After exiting executive session, no action was taken.
10. Adjournment:
-Skip Brown made a motion to adjourn 9:15 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown David Carter, Chairman
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Administrative Officer’s Report to Selectboard September 13, 2021
Discussion Items:
1. The Selectboard met with the Planning Commission at the PC’s regular meeting on September 1, 2021 to discuss grant funding available for wastewater planning and assessment. The meeting was facilitated by Lynette Claudon, a watershed coordinator with the VT Agency of Natural Resources to discuss grant funding available for village wastewater planning and assessment. The discussion will continue at the PC’s 9/15 meeting.
2. I have the password for the new Guest wifi throughout the Town Office. The old WiFi password no longer works.
Planning Commission:
The Planning Commission is now meeting in person but continues to provide a Zoom option for those who prefer.
A. Funding and format options for the 2023 Town Plan are currently being considered.
B. Plans for “Weekend in the Islands”, October 9-10, continue. There is a website now (weekendintheislands.org), including the current list of local businesses participating. PC member Michele Gammal is organizing.
C. Discussion will continue about Village wastewater funding opportunities, including whether the entire town should be included in a feasibility study.
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.
– I am scheduling DRB hearings into October 2021. There is one hearing scheduled for Oct. 22nd. A 2-lot subdivision Administrative Review will probably be heard on Oct. 13.
– 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)