Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday December 12, 2022 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 (via Zoom from 7:20-9:00pm)
Board Members Not Present: Chuck Hulse
Others Present: Kim Julow, Treasurer. Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA. Also see sign in sheet of in person and Zoom attendees. *Attendance SB 12-12-2022
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:
-David Carter made a motion to acknowledge the minutes of November 28, 2022. The motion was seconded, all in attendance at the meeting so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. none
5. New Business:
A. Road Foreman John Beaulac and Road Commissioner John Roy presented the proposed Road Department budget for FY 2023/2024.
B. Bridget Kerr of the Conservation Commission presented their proposed budget for FY 2023/2024.
C. The Board, with the help of Treasurer Kim Julow, continued work on the general FY 2023/24 Town budget.
D. Ross Brown made a motion to have the Chairman sign a letter of support for Two Heroes grant application. The motion was seconded, all in attendance at the 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 in Town Hall).
B. Skip Brown made a motion to appoint Tim Maxham and Nate Hayward to 3 year terms to the Development Review Board (DRB). The motion was seconded, all in attendance at the meeting so voted and the motion carried.
Ross Brown made a motion to appoint Ellie Reid and Sherry Corbin to 1 year terms as alternates to the DRB. The motion was seconded, all in attendance at the meeting so voted and the motion carried.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. Ross Brown made a motion to approve the job description for the Town Administrator/Lister Administrator position as discussed and amended. The motion was seconded, all in attendance at the meeting so voted and the motion carried. Note that the ad will be posted after New Year.
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. See other business
9. Other Business:
A. Skip Brown made a motion to approve and sign orders 23-12 & 23-12A 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: see above
C. Recreation Commission (RC) update: no report
D. Road Department update: The Kibbe Point Rd. right of way appears to be 2 rods (33 feet) wide for a portion of it. Most public road rights of way in Town are 3 rods (49.5 feet) wide. This may affect if it is able to ditched and/or paved. A survey regarding paving or not paving Kibbe Point Road has been sent to owners living on Kibbe Point Rd and roads that originate off it has been sent out. The results will be compiled upon their return after January 2, 2023.
E. Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH) project: The committee is awaiting better estimates of possible construction.
F. ARPA fund updates: When estimates for possible uses of the funds are updated, there will be public hearings to determine how to proceed.
G. Wastewater update: none
H. Ross Brown made a motion to go into executive session at 9:07 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance at the meeting so voted and the motion carried. Executive session ended at 9:25 pm. Upon exiting executive session, Ross Brown made a motion to have David Carter speak to Martha Taylor-Varney about adding health insurance. The motion was seconded, all in attendance at the meeting so voted and the motion carried.
I. Note: There will NOT be a Selectboard meeting on December 26, 2022. The next scheduled meeting is January 9, 2023.
10. Adjournment:
-Ross Brown made a motion to adjourn 9:27 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown, Secretary David Carter, Chairman
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Administrative Officer’s Report to Selectboard December 12, 2022
- At this point, the remaining schedule for FY2024 budget discussion is: Dec. 12 – Highway Dept. and Town Office.
- Kim Julow and Martha Taylor-Varney attended a Grants Management Symposium on Dec 8th in Montpelier, hosted by Vermont Dept. of Housing and Community Development.
- The Town will need to apply for a pedestrian study for crosswalks in the area of Apple Island Resort, Featherbed Lane, and the new development at the Sandbar area. Peter Pochop of VTrans sent me a link to the VTrans Bike/Pedestrian grant applications that will be active in spring 2013.
- I had a demonstration of NEMRC’s zoning module last Tuesday. The program is quite good, and I think could increase the efficiency of the Zoning Office. Town Clerk Sam Hilliker also sat in on the meeting. She is currently inputting data into the Town’s new cemetery module from NEMRC. There will need to be some upfront data entry into the new system. The one-time charge for the module is $1795. Since the Town already uses other NEMRC modules there will be no additional annual fee. Estimated costs to convert data will be $145. Additional training of 1 to 2 hours will be $145 to $290. NEMRC told me that the training and data conversion could be paid now and the cost for the module billed in July 2023.
- VHB technicians were at the landfill site last Monday (12/5) conducting groundwater sampling for PFAS from the existing wells at the site, and returned to complete the sampling on Friday (12/9). Results from these tests will be available in a couple of weeks. They will be contacting property owners to formally get access agreements signed and set up a schedule for sampling supply wells at the targeted residential properties. This is anticipated to be later in the month or in early January. Results from these rests are anticipated to be complete in February. After evaluating the results of the 12/5 tests and those later this month/early January, a formal workplan may include installation of strategically located deeper bedrock wells and additional monitoring of key wells to better define the source and extent.
- The grant agreement for the sidewalk scoping study was signed by David Carter on Dec. 8. The award is for $40,000, with Town matching funds of $10,000. I have been designated the Municipal Project Manager. This is a federal grant, through VTrans, making the Town a subrecipient of the grant. VTrans’ project supervisor is Ashley Andrews. The Planning Commission has been in contact with her already. The award began October 30, 2022 and the end date is Oct 30, 2024.
Planning Commission
2023 Town Plan discussion — The Commission’s next meeting will be Dec. 21. Greta Brunswick of Northwest Regional Planning will be attending with an update from the process of compiling and fleshing out the body of the 2023 Town Plan. NRPC expects to spend part of the winter writing the draft plan, with public hearings expected to begin in late February or March.
Development Review Board
- The DRB’s next scheduled meeting is December 14. This meeting will include a hearing for a setback waiver. The Christmas holiday will allow for only one meeting in December.
- As of now, there are no hearings yet scheduled for January 11.
- DRB Alternates’ 1-year terms end on December 31st each year. Where applicable, DRB regular members’ 3-year terms also end on Dec. 31st. These are staggered, with 2 to 3 members finishing terms in December each year. Alternates Sherry Corbin and Ellie Reid have each asked to be re-appointed for 2023. Regular members Nate Hayward and Tim Maxham have also asked to be reappointed for another 3-year term each. An ad has been placed in the Islander for anyone else who may be interested in the Selectboard’s consideration. Deadline for letters of interest is Dec. 12. I received no additional inquiries or letters of interest from the ad.
Respectfully submitted, Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA and Asst. to the Selectboard