Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday January 10, 2022 at 6:00 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, Chuck Hulse
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 01-10-2022
1. Called to Order:
-The meeting was called to order by Chairman Carter at 6:00 pm
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-Slightly change the agenda order: Discuss articles before budget
3. Minutes:
-Anne Zolotas made a motion to acknowledge the minutes of the meeting of December 13, 2021 and January 10, 2022. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. Joe Flynn works for the State Transportation Dept., but was present a private citizen. He suggested that since the Town is planning to stabilize the Old South Hero Meeting House and that it should look into long term goals in the Town. This building is an iconic “logo” for the Town and he feels that the Town should explore the possibility of moving the building to a location where it could stand on its own and be surrounded by more green space.
Also, the culvert under Route 2 by the “crick” will need replacement in the future. During reconstruction, either one lane at a time on Route 2 will have to be considered, which may result in long backups as traffic is let through, or possibly rerouting on Town roads could be discussed. More info will be necessary in the future. Note that the rebuilding of the intersection at Route 2 and 314 will commence this year. The box culvert south of McKee’s Island Pub will be rebuilt at that time.
5. New Business:
A. Anne Zolotas made a motion to appoint Everett Dubuque as deputy constable from now until Town Meeting Day 2022. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. George Rice is the current delinquent tax collector. He will not do this job next fiscal year. An ad will go out asking for interested people to apply.
C. Matthew Reed and Patrick Robinson of the SHVFD were present to discuss the fire truck as presented previously. Ross Brown made a motion to authorize the South Hero Volunteer Fire Dept. to finalize and sign a contract with E-One to order the new truck. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Note that the time to build the truck will be about 20 months. The old truck does not have much value, but will be sold when the new one comes in.
D. Representatives from Northwest Fiberworx will be at the next meeting to discuss fiber optic broadband.
E. Anne Zolotas made a motion to accept the June 2021 Audit as presented by Sullivan, Powers & Co., PC. The motion was seconded, all in attendance 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. There are several older road and speed limit ordinances. It is suggested to look into combing them into one document to supersede the others. More will be done on this after Town Meeting.
C. The Planning Commission has modified some wording regarding fences in the development regulations and would like to add a section for ADA accessibility structures (i.e. wheelchair ramps, reduced rise stairways, lifts, etc.) The changes will be discussed at the next meeting.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. Chairman Carter read the draft of the articles for Town Meeting. See Attached FY 22-23 Town Articles. Some discussions about the draft articles were as follows:
-Jeff Parizo of the Masonic Lodge discussed asking for an exemption of the taxes for the lodge as a fraternal organization. Note that the Lodge is willing to pay the municipal portion of the taxes with a good neighbor agreement and is mainly hoping to be exempt from the educational portion of the taxes.
-A 1% meals and alcoholic beverage tax will be voted on. This will be a passive tax of which the Town will keep about 70% as the State keeps 30% for its expenses. Currently there could be up to 10 entities selling prepared food during the busy summer months. The funds raise for such a local option tax would be earmarked for Town buildings and recreational facilities in Town.
-Articles 8 and 9 were presented due to a petition of 5% of the voters. Note that should this pass, then any changes to the development regulations will result in a special election should a regular election not be occurring in a timely matter, at an estimated cost of $2,000-$3200. per election.
Ross Brown made a motion to finalize the articles as currently presented and that the final draft will be presented at the next meeting to be included in the Town Report warning. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. The FY 2022/2023 budget was reviewed. Final numbers will not be known until the school taxes are finalized.
C. Due to the current Covid outbreak, the informational portion for Town Meeting will most likely be via Zoom. More information will be necessary before a final decision is made.
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. See other business
9. Other Business:
A. Ross Brown made a motion to approve and sign orders 22-14A and to pay the bills associated with the orders. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve and have the Board sign the liquor license for Victoria’s Café LLC. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. Town Clerk/Treasurer updates: See article and budget discussions above.
D. Recreation Commission (RC) update: none at this meeting.
E. Road Department update: The possible purchase of land behind Town Garage for sand/salt storage and future salt shed is progressing pending more info about possible wetlands.
F. Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH): See above
G. ARPA fund updates: The Selectboard has tried out a Meeting Owl Pro 360-degree camera, microphone, and speaker unit to facilitate Zoom meetings. It appears to be a good solution. Anne Zolotas made a motion to use ARPA funds to purchase the Owl Meeting Pro device. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
10. Adjournment:
-Chuck Hulse made a motion to adjourn 8:05 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 January 10, 2022
Discussion Items:
- The South Hero open positions were posted in the Islander’s Jan 5 issue under South Hero News.
- VT municipalities who are awarded Community Development Block Grant funding from VT Community Development Corporation must have either a member of the legislative body, planning commission, or ZA attend a seminar on Fair Housing Training. South Hero qualified when the Town was awarded the implementation grant for the Bayview Crossing Sr. Housing project. The next seminar is being offered on January 25, 2022 from 2 to 3:30 PM, via GoToMeeting. Does a member of the SB want to represent South Hero?
- I have the document that the SB signed on June 14, 2021 that lists all Town road speed limits, needed by the County court to be able to enforce Town speed limits. Some of these were recently updated, and some are from numerous ordinance updates over the years. The road ordinances also include town road parking regulations, also included in several different documents. Does the SB want to consider incorporating these into one document that can be approved as an ordinance?
- I’ve received a 53-page report from the water testing of the wells at the Town’s closed landfill. Due to low water levels this fall, the testing scheduled annually in October was completed on November 18, 2021. Doug Allen of vhb told me they will prepare a summary report soon after the New Year.
- Annual renewal of the Town’s registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) program will be in February. I will be contacting Babette Lizotte of the VT Procurement Technical Assistance Center for help in getting this done. There is no charge for the service.
Planning Commission:
- The Planning Commission has final copy for updates to the Development Regulations regarding Fencing (Sec. 703), and new language on Accessibility Structures to be added in the list of local exemptions in Sec. 301.E.2. The fencing language clarifies that all fencing is subject to the Regulations, but only those 5 feet or over require permitting from the Zoning Administrator. Currently, Sec. 703 states that only Fences over 6 feet in height are subject to the Regulations. Setbacks from right-of-way, fencing material, etc. needs to meet the requirements. The Planning Commission also recommends that fencing regulations remain in the Development Regulations rather than being included as an ordinance. The new language on Accessibility Structures (i.e. ADA Accessibility structures — ramps/external elevators/etc.) in residential dwellings only are exempt from zoning regulations regardless of the location. The Commission considers these to be minor changes and asks the SB to include discussion and possible approval at their January 24, 2021 meeting.
- South Hero’s Village Center Designation is up for renewal in 2022. NRPC will be assisting the Planning Commission in preparing the renewal application for the Selectboard to approve. (note** — this is different from the Village Zoning District boundaries).
Development Review Board:
There will be a preliminary site plan review this Wednesday, Jan, 12 at 7PM for a proposal to redevelop the Sand Bar Inn lot at 59 US RT 2. The meeting will be held at the Town Office Board room, but there is also a Zoom option. Contact the ZA for an invitations.
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 Selectboard Asst.)