Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday February 24, 2024 at 7:00 PM
At South Hero Town Hall and via Zoom
Board Members Present: David Carter/Chairman, Skip Brown/Board Secretary, Steve Robinson, Anne Zolotas
Board Members Not Present: David Lane/Vice Chairman
Others Present: Sue Arguin/TA. Also see sign in sheet. *
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 February 10, 2025. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. none
5. New Business:
A. Road Dept. Foreman John Beaulac was present to discuss 2 issues:
-There are 2.7 miles of dirt roads left in South Hero. The Road Dept. would like to pave the remaining 3 roads at an estimated cost of approximately $500,000.00. He feels that the current road budget, carry forward surplus and the money planned in the 2025/2026 budget will cover the expense. Note that once paved, it costs less to maintain than a dirt road. Currently Town does not have a working water/chloride truck and adding chloride in the summer is not healthy for the environment.
-John Beaulac wants to purchase 2 new trucks. He feels that if we purchase now that the cost would be approximately $307,000.00 per truck. He did state that the Town’s 10 wheeler dump truck is in good shape and may be worth approximately $90,000.00 if traded in a year.
No action was taken and more info will be discussed at the March 10, 2025 meeting.
B. Catherine Dimitruck of Northwest Regional Planning (NRPC) was present to inform the Board about NRPC in general. She also discussed some new information regarding Act 181 and some changes that are possible regarding Act 250 in designated Village areas. New mapping is underway and she has been working with the Town Planning Commission (PC). There will be more information with public engagement once this is complete.
C. No Liquor license applications were presented:
6. Town Administrator and ZA Reports:
A. See the report from the ZA with these minutes
B. Sue Arquin stated that VHB has presented the fall update on the landfill testing. A full report is available in the Town Hall for review.
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 25-17A, 25-17B & 25-18 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: Town Informational meeting is March 1, 2025 and voting is March 4, 2025
C. Recreation Commission (RC) update: See https://southherovt.org/rec/ for more info.
D. Road Department update: See above. Plus, the Town helped to clear Wally’s Point road after the blowing snow drifted and the private contractor was not able to clear it in a timely matter. This is not a regular occurrence, but was done to insure safety for the residents’ as the road was impassable.
E. Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH) project: Fundraising is ongoing. Due to the recent changes in the Federal government, the funding for anticipated grants may be delayed or cancelled. Bids are due in April and more information will be available after that. See the https://southherovt.org/meeting-house-project for more information.
F. Lister Updates: None at this meeting
G. Wastewater (WW) update: Steve Robinson made a motion to appoint Rich Goggins to the WW Committee to replace Mitch Richardson. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Also, Lavin has expressed interest in also selling the Town lot #4. More information will be forthcoming on this matter. See https://southherovt.org/wastewater-committee/ for more info.
H. Town Hall Committee update: There will be more public information at the Town meeting on March 1, 2024 to discuss updates. See https://southherovt.org/town-office-building-committee/
I. Tree Warden Update: The trees at the beach have been removed and trimmed.
10. Adjournment:
-Anne Zolotas made a motion to adjourn at 8:40 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown, Secretary David Carter, Chairman
For a video of the meeting, see: https://lcatv.org/south-hero
February 24, 2025 ZA’s report to the SB
1. I have not yet received final notices of approval from the Agency of Natural Resources
for either the Martin Rd. wetlands permit or the reclassification of the wetlands at the RT
2 quarry.
2. My approval of the boundary adjustment between the Town’s Meeting House property
(RT318), the red fire station building (RT310), and the 1.88- acre lot being donated to the
Town for a Town Park became effective on January 28, 2025.
3. David Carter and I attended a webinar on Thursday, Feb. 20, presented by Vermont
Floodplain Management. The webinar was on Local Emergency Management Plans,
specifically community flood response efforts. The speaker was a gentleman who is the
Executive Director of the Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience. He
connects community volunteers with local organizations and city departments in
Montpelier to help coordinate responses to disasters – specifically the 3 flooding events
in Montpelier in the past 2 years. But these plans could be useful in other disasters —
flooding, ice storms, wind damage, etc. This led David and me to consider how this
could be a model for a similar program in South Hero. Thoughts?
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission is considering a public meeting to be held on March 19 to get public
input on NRPC’s regional future land use mapping re Act 181. Details for the meeting will be
discussed and ironed out at their March 5 th meeting. Additional discussion at recent PC
meetings has been clarifying the definition of average natural grade/pre-construction elevation,
measuring the height of a structure, and a proposed multi-modal path on South St. The
Commission’s next meeting is March 5, 2025 at 6PM at the Town Office.
Development Review Board
On February 12 th , the DRB agreed to amend a previously approved 2023 survey of the Lavin
property to remove easement language on Lot 5. A 20-ft. wide easement to benefit Nedde
Burlington LLC (owner of Seb’s) was removed at the request of the Town of South Hero and
Martin Lavin. The easement had not yet been included in any deeds. The amended survey
was recorded in the Town Land Records on February 20 th .
No further meetings or hearings are on the schedule at this time.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA