Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday April 13, 2026 at 7:00 PM
At South Hero Town Hall and via Zoom
Board Members Present: David Lane, Vice-Chairman, Skip Brown/Board Secretary, Steve Robinson, Anne Zolotas
Board Members Not Present: David Carter/Chairman
Other Town personnel + public present: Sue Arguin, TA, Kim Julow Treasurer. Also see sign in sheet.Attendance 2026-04-13-2026
1. Called to Order:
– The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairman David Lane at 7:00 pm.
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
– Add: also approve April 8 Special meeting minutes
3. Minutes:
-Steve Robinson made a motion to approve the minutes of March 23, 2026 and April 8, 2026. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. Bob Melcher is the current Town representative to Northwest Fiberworx. His term is up at the end of this month. Steve Robinson made a motion to re-appoint Bob Melcher as a representative to Northwest Fiberworx for a 1-year term. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Bev Blakely and Ethelyn Dubuque of Granny’s Attic inquired about the necessity of moving the shipping container that the group uses for storage. When the Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH) will be moved to the north for repairs, the container will be in the way. The Granny’s rent this container and were told by the rental company that it cannot be moved by others. It was suggested that the Granny’s call the company and see if another container can be delivered and the exiting one be taken away. There will be a cost to doing this, and it will be discussed at the next Selectboard meeting.
C. Ron Phelps of the South Hero Bicentennial Museum was present to advise the Board that the honeymoon cottage which is also in the way of the OSHMH repairs, is ready to be moved.
5. New Business:
A. Peter Zamore of the Wastewater Committee (WW) discussed some updates:
-They have signed a contract with Fitzgerald Engineering to do the wetlands study of the Lavin parcel. The cost is $11,500.00 and it will be paid out of the ARPA funds. After this disbursement, there will be about $60,000.00 left that has to be spent by Sept. 30, 2026. They are working with the State DEC and another engineering firm to come up with a scope of work for the remaining funds.
-The WW is applying for earmark funds from the federal Senators. They are also looking into the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) for funding. Additional funding from NBRC cannot be applied for until the exiting grant funds for the OSHMH are spent. They will look into a possible exemption for this matter.
-Most grants come with matching funding from the Town. Additional funding such a bonds and/or loans, plus setting up a reserve fund will be studied. Also, the sale of certain lots at the Lavin parcel could be a possibility.
-Wastewater is only part of the project. Potable water is also necessary and Fire District #4 is at capacity. Options for increasing capacity will be looked into.
-The Lavin Property Vision committee will meet monthly to continue discussions. There is now a web page on the Town site, www.southhero.org.
B. Treasurer Kim Julow was present to discuss the Bond Anticipation Note (BAN) for the new Town Hall that was approved at the last meeting. The +/- $2,750,000.00 Bond will be applied for in May with funds distributed in August. Because of this, money is necessary to make payments to the contractor in the meantime. She has applied for a $1,000,000.00 BAN. Steve Robinson made a motion to approve and sign the contract for the $1,000,000.00 BAN. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. A Grant Anticipation Note (GAN) for the OSHMH was discussed at the last meeting. She has a looked into this and a $300,000.00 line of credit was agreed upon. Anne Zolotas made a motion to have the Treasurer apply for a $300,000.00 line of credit at Peoples Trust bank. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. There is a possibility of a lower interest rate if the Town is a bank customer. She will look into what this will entail.
D. At the last meeting, the consensus of the Board is to look into the purchase of the .09-acre Harris property to the east of the new Town Hall. This will allow better access to that side and could possibly be used for future expansion or additional parking. A letter of intent was drafted with the owners. Since this was not budgeted for, possible funding was discussed. Bond funds shouldn’t be used for this purpose. It appears the FY 26/27 funds may be available.
E. At the last meeting change orders for the new Town Hall were discussed. Town Hall Building Bommittee member Nate Hayward is knowledgeable in the building trades and suggested that he could approve change orders up to $10,000.00 with a maximum aggregate total of $50,000.00. Anne Zolotas made a motion to allow Nate Hayward to approve and sign change orders up to $10,000.00 with a total not to exceed $50,000.00, with Selectboard member David Lane having knowledge of the change orders. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
6. Town Administrator (TA) and Zoning Administrator (ZA) Reports:
A. See attached with these minutes
B. Anne Zolotas made a motion to dissolve the boundary line between separate Town owned lots at 329 Route 2 and 333 Route 2 which, when combined into one lot, is where the new Town will be located. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. Mowing of Town properties was discussed. Due to the construction of the Town Hall and the OSHMH, only the museum and the small area in front of the Town garage will need mowing this year. Perhaps the current mower will continue. The Rec. Comm. is already tasked with mowing the Beach area and will also mow the future Town park when necessary.
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. David Lane read a notice from the historical commission that a Providence Island Canal Sloop is being considered to be deemed historical.
9. Other Business:
A. Anne Zolotas made a motion to sign the orders 26-21 and have the Treasurer pay the bills as presented on 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: https://southherovt.org/rec/ for more info.
D. Road Department update:
-No decision on adding gravel to Dubuque Lane has been made.
-“Your Speed Is” signs on Route 2 near Featherbed Lane and the Sandbar Restaurant are being looked into.
-The dumpster used by the Blue Paddle is on Town property. The Road Dept. will move it when a suitable spot is determined.
E. Lister Updates: Appraisals are starting up again.
F. Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH) update: See above
G. Lavin Property update: See above
H. Town Hall Committee update: See https://southherovt.org/town-office-building-committee/ See above.
I. Tree Warden Update: Triming of brush in the Town Right of Way was discused.
J. New Town Park updates: See above
K. Liquor License/Mobil vendor applications:
– Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve Mobil Vendor license applications from Deep Blue LLC (seafood sales) that will be a Goulet Farmstand occasionally. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
L. Steve Robinson made a motion to go into executive session for Town legal and contract matters at 9:00 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. A motion was made and seconded to exit executive session at 9:15.
-After executive session, no decision was made on the existing zoning appeals currently going through the courts. See the Zoning Admin. Report listed above.
-Anne Zolotas made a motion approve the purchase of the land to the East of the Town Hall and to have a contract prepared. (See #5-D above). The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
10. Adjournment:
-Steve Robinson made a motion to adjourn at 9:22 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown, Secretary David Lane, Vice-Chairman
For a video of the meeting, see: www.lcatv.com +
April 13, 2026 ZA’s report to the SB
1. The construction of the new Town Office and future parking lot are on adjacent lots that are both
owned by the Town. The address of the current Town Office is 333 US RT 2 (0.4 acre). The
address of the old Rescue building, where the new office is under construction, is 329 US RT 2
(0.38 acre). Rather than maintain two lots on the parcel map, it seemed appropriate to dissolve
the boundary between the two. Another benefit to this is to maintain the 333 US RT 2 address for
the Town Office. Once this is finalized, I can appeal to VT E911 to keep the current address for
the new Town Office location. Changing it to 329 would be prohibitively expensive and a
tremendous hardship for the Clerk’s Office – replacing pre-stamped envelopes that have the 333
address, changing and printing all forms, updating election information during an election cycle,
and informing all State and Federal programs in which the Town participates. I have already
reviewed the boundary adjustment under the requirements of the Town’s Development
Regulations and found that it meets them. Tonight, the application needs the Board’s approval
and signature, after which the Mylar can be made and recorded in the Town Land Records.
2. There is still no change to the status of the appeal by Joanne Naas’ regarding the ZA’s approval
of a boundary adjustment between Chippen Point and Wright Family Partnership on West Shore
Rd.
3. Things appear to be moving a bit on Mitchel Richardson’s appeal of the DRB’s denial of his
application last year. I have received an application for a 3-lot subdivision of the property in
question. I am communicating with Perter Raymond as to whether this will formally close the
appeal. I hope to have more information for you at the SB meeting on April 13.
4. I will be attending the Vermont Community Development Conference in Montpelier on
Wednesday (4/15). The discussions will be on housing programs – 802Homes, Community
Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP), Act 250 reform, Act 181.
5. The zoning office will be closed April 23-28. I will be in TN celebrating my mother’s 95 th birthday.
I will be available by email and will be checking it often.
Planning Commission
Guy Maguire of South Hero Land Trust will be attending the Commission’s meeting on April 15 to discuss
White’s Beach Bioengineering Design. Discussion will also continue amendments/additions to the
Development Regulations required in the HOME Act and Act 181, in addition to revisiting the definitions of
setback and building height.
Development Review Board
The Board’s schedule on April 22 includes a setback waiver hearing on Sunset Beach Rd. and a 2-lot
subdivision administrative review on Wind Ridge Rd. Future hearings will include a proposed 3-lot
subdivision on Ferry Rd. and the continuation of the conditional use/site plan review for the Old White
Meeting House on May 13. The Meeting House review began on February 25 th .
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA