Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday September 23, 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, Anne Zolotas
Board Members Not Present:
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 2024-09-23-2024
1. Called to Order:
– The meeting was called to order by Chairman David Carter at 7:00 pm.
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-none
3. Minutes:
-Steve Robinson made a motion to approve the minutes of September 9, 2024. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. none
5. New Business:
A. Peter Zamore of the Wastewater Committee was present to discuss updates. It appears that the land at Allenholm orchard may not be suitable for any town mound system, as the 2 acres set aside is not shaped well and will probably not support a large enough system. The Lavin property on Route 2 may hold some potential and will be explored. The DEC ARPA funds pool has been amended as a grant in the amount of $800,000.00 for the Town to study design, permitting and land acquisition for a potential system. Note that the current grant opportunity is for study and possible land acquisition only, not any possible construction as in a past grant. See the attached grant document * ARPA WW Grant Agreement 9-9-24If any useful capacity is found and the Town does eventually acquire land, then the Selectboard will be charged with having to fund it and build it. There is no Town match required for this grant. Joan Falcao asked many questions about the impact of a Town owned septic system if a site was ever found and built. Note that the capacity cannot be determined until the study is done to see if there are viable options. See LCATV for the video for the questions and answers (https://lcatv.org/south-hero). Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve and have the Chairman sign the ARPA grant agreement for the study of a Town wastewater system. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Peter Zamore also discussed another possible grant in the amount of $240,000.00 From the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD). The grant is not yet awarded, but if it is, time will be of the essence to turn it in. Anne Zolotas made a motion to allow the Chairman to approve and sign a possible grant agreement from the ACCD if it is presented. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Phil Scott of the Recreation Commission (RC) was present to discuss the trees at the Town beach. An estimate was presented by DJ’s Tree in the amount of $13,600.00 to remove damaged trees and trim others. The RC will use $4000.00 from its budget and the Tree Warden budget will use $3000.00. The remaining $6600.00 expense will come from the Town general funds. Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve the work as described in the DJ’s Tree estimate. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. Kathleen Swanson and Nate Hayward of the Town Office Building Committee were present to discuss the findings of the RFP put out in August for the possible new Town Hall. 6 companies expressed interest and 4 of them submitted proposals. There is a current $20,000.00 grant from NRPC for the phase one of the project. After careful consideration from the Committee, they recommend the AES Northeast design/build proposal. The estimate for phase 1 is $17,820.00 + $2400.00 for grant services. See Attached *A&E committee recommendation . Anne Zolotas made a motion to accept the recommendation from the Building Committee and to retain AES Northeast for the work. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
-Chairman Carter thanks the Building Committee for the hard work in coming this far in the process and continuing to work on this.
D. Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve the contract from Clay Point Assoc. for the hazardous material inspections of the current Town Hall and craft shop buildings in the amount of $3950.00 plus $800.00 for bidding out the removal of hazardous materials if found. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
E. Alton James of AJ Heating was contacted about cleaning the heater in the craft shop building.
6. Town Administrator and ZA Reports:
A. See the written reports posted with these minutes (Below online or hard copies in office).
B. Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve the Municipal Roads Grants in Aid request from NRPC in the amount of $1000.00. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. The Vermont Appraisal Company will be conducting a Town wide reappraisal beginning in 2025 that will take about 2 years to complete.
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 25-07 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: see above
D. Road Department update: The trusses are here for the salt shed project and the walls are built on the ground. Kibbe Point Rd. ditching is being completed. The vertical brush hogging has been done on several roads. It is necessary to be done periodically for safety and to improve sight lines. It has not been done in a while and it quite jarring to look at when it is first done. Homeowners may trim trees in their own Town ROW if they prefer to do it themselves.
E. Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH) project: A hazardous material assessment of the building and the ground around it will be done.
F. Lister Updates: see above
G. Wastewater (WW) update: See above
H. Town Hall Committee update: See Above. Plus, Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve and sign the Declaration of Official Intent that is a necessary document in order to bond for a possible new Town Hall. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
I. Tree Warden Update: see above.
J. Anne Zolotas made a motion to go into executive session to discuss a zoning legal question at 8:32 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Executive session ended at 8:38 pm. No action was taken after executive session because the matter discussed does not need to involve the Town.
K. Anne Zolotas made a motion to go into executive session to discuss a real estate matter at 8:44 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Executive session ended at 9:07 pm. After executive session, David Lane made a motion to spend up to $2500.00 of Town funds to dig exploratory test pits, should they be authorized, at the Lavin property on Route 2. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
10. Adjournment:
-Skip Brown made a motion to adjourn at 9:10 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 23, 2024 ZA’s report to the SB
1. No word yet on the wetlands permit submitted by Fitzgerald Engineering in August. This
is for the after-the-fact wetlands permit for the widened part of Martin Rd. by the Allen
Point fishing access entrance.
2. There was a Zoning Administrator’s Roundtable in St. Albans on Thursday, September
19., sponsored by Northwest Regional Planning. Discussion included changes to Open
Meeting Law. NRPC stressed that the process for reporting OML violations needs to be
posted on Towns’ websites. Other discussions included updates to Act 250, many of
which do not apply to South Hero because we do not have municipal water and sewer.
However, one exception – during municipal review for 3- and 4-unit housing, the DRB
cannot consider ‘character of the area’ during conditional use review. New FEMA maps
are expected for review in October. Municipal development regulations will need to
reflect the new information by October 2026.
3. I will be attending VLCT’s Fall Planning and Zoning Forum at Lake Morey on October
17.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission held a special meeting and community discussion on September 11
at Worthen Library on pedestrian/bicycle options for South St. The meeting was well attended,
and I’m told it was very productive. Discussion will continue at the Commission’s next meeting,
on October 2 at 6PM at the Town Office.
The September 19 NRPC zoning roundtable included required updates that will be needed to
the Town’s Development Regulations to reflect the legislative changes to Act 250.
Development Review Board
There is only 1 hearing this week (Sept. 25). No hearings are scheduled as yet for October or
after. The busy summer schedule is slowing down a bit as is typical at this time of the year.
Recent DRB decisions are posted on the Town website.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024
- MERP Application is being submitted this week.
- Stantec the company we chose to conduct the Featherbed Lane Study, has moved the schedule to start in the spring of 2025 due to the lack of activity that is in that area now.
- We have received a proposal from Ted Nelson for the town wide reappraisal that we are hoping to start next summer. (Please see in your packets)
- After speaking with John Beaulac regarding the 2025 Municipal Roads Grants in Aid Construction Project, he says we will need NWRP to assist with preparing and/or reviewing invoicing materials and helping manage. That contract is with your paperwork to be approved tonight.
- Town of South Hero plans to attend the Trunk or Treat again this year.