Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday January 11, 2021 at 6:00 PM
South Hero Town Hall
Board Members Present: Jonathan Shaw, Skip Brown (also Board Secretary), Anne Zolotas, David Carter, and Ross Brown in person.
Board Members Not Present: none
Others Present: Janet Yates, Town Clerk and Martha Taylor-Varney. Also see sign in sheet of in person and Zoom attendees. Attendance SB 01-11-2021
1. Called to Order:
-The meeting was called by Chairman Shaw at 6:00 pm
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-Add to New Business: Town Meeting voting updates and clearing sidewalks of snow.
3. Minutes:
-David Carter made a motion to approve the minutes of December 14, 2020. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. none
5. New Business:
A. Cindy Reid of Cathedral Square and Robin Way of CIDER updated the Board on the proposed BayView Crossing senior housing project. Some key takeaways are:
-Permits and funding are ongoing.
-They have been and are applying for several grants; the next one will be a VCDP Implementation Grant in April.
-The updated zoning regulations and Village Districting have helped with the project.
-Archeology studies have not found anything that may delay the project.
-The water line is designed and permitted.
-A wastewater permit application has been submitted.
-43 people have expressed interest in renting.
-CIDER fundraising has been going well in anticipation for purchasing office space in the proposed complex.
-They are cautiously optimistic to break ground in the fall of 2021.
B. David Cater made a motion to approve and sign the VCDP Grant Application Resolution for the BayView Crossing project. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. There is a Better Places Grant available for Towns to apply for. This is for small projects for public good. A garden space has been proposed for an area near the library and a “pocket park” landscaping project has been proposed for the grass area to the west of the Old White Meeting House. Ross Brown made a motion to approve and sign a letter of support for a Better Places Grant that will be applied for. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
D. Skip Brown made a motion to re-appoint Linda Burger to the Recreation Commission. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
E. The State legislature is working on how Town Meeting may occur in this time of COVID-19. Some proposals are to extend the date for Town Meeting and having ballots mailed to every resident. Note that all voting will be by Australian ballot and there will not be an in-person informational meeting. Currently, the Town will probably keep the voting date of March 2, 2021 with the information Town portion via Zoom on February 22 and the school portion date TBD. More information will be forthcoming as the situation develops.
F. Sidewalks in Town are in the State right of way. The State does not clear them of snow. Some options are for each business or resident to clear the sidewalk in front of their property, have the Town road crew purchase equipment to do it, or to hire some entity to do it. This will be further discussed at the next meeting.
6. Administrative Assistant Report:
A. See the written report filed with these minutes in Town Hall or www.southherovt.org.
B. There multiple curb cuts on the north side of Route 2 in the section from Hill Rd. to Wally’s Point Rd., some of which are not a direct access to a property. David Carter made a motion that it is OK to continue to share access from the Town’s curb cut to the West of the Old White Meeting house with the former “CIDER” building that is part of the Cedar Ledge complex at 328 Route 2. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. David Carter made a motion to appoint Ross Brown as interim Town Constable until Town Meeting. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. The interim constable will ask the Town Clerk to be the interim delinquent tax collector.
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. See other business
9. Other Business:
A. David Carter made a motion to approve and sign orders 21-12b + 21-14 and to pay the bills associated with the orders. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. The general Town budget was worked on.
C. The list of articles to vote on at Town Meeting was reviewed.
10. Adjournment:
-David Carter made a motion to adjourn 7:25 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown Jonathan Shaw, Chairman
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Administrative Officer’s Report to Selectboard January 11, 2021
Discussion Items:
1. I received my new computer today. Unless the Town has a need for it elsewhere, I recommend that it be kept for the Zoning Assistant
2. The deadline to appeal the Mobile Vendor’s Ordinance was January 2nd. It will become effective on January 22nd. I have already received inquiries for review.
3. There have been numerous requests for copies of the Ordinance and people seem to be having a difficult time finding it on the website. Could it temporarily be put on the Home page?
4. DRB Alternate Sue Arguin notified me that she will be leaving the Board. I will need to advertise for another Alternate. The Alternates’ terms are for 1 year.
5. Cindy Reid of Cathedral Square will be updating the Board on the status of the Implementation grant application at the 1/11 SB meeting.
6. I need to submit a public notice to the Islander regarding the Environmental Review for the Bayside Crossing project. Before publishing the Public Notice, it must be uploaded to GEARS and accepted by the Environmental Officer. I will be working on this this week.
7. As of Jan 11, I am back in the office full-time, having completed a 2-week quarantine.
8. I had intended to attend a Stormwater Program Lecture last Thursday via Zoom but was unable to due to a bad internet connection at my house. I will be attending an ‘Enabling Better Places’ series discussion, again via Zoom, on Jan 26 and 28.
9. The DRB has a hearing on 1/13 for a proposed Arbor Farm Market change of use for the old CIDER building at 324 US RT 2. One of the curb cuts used for access to this location is on the Town’s lot for the Old White Meeting House. Will the Town agree to allow Arbor Farm Market the use of the curb cut to access their parking area?
Planning Commission:
The Planning Commission is now holding meetings via Zoom.
A. Since the Selectboard approved the updated definition of Accessory Dwelling (Sec. 701 in the Development Regulations), I still need to make the edits to the document and print out a new page 73 for SC, PC, and DRB members. I will have this completed for the next SB meeting.
B. The Planning Commission is looking at its long-term schedule to update the Town Plan by August of 2023. Previously, the Plan was required to be updated every 5 years, but after the 2015 update the State requirements changed to every 8 years.
C. IN addition to the 2023 Town Plan, current discussions include applying for a Better Places Grant for developing pocket parks in the village and coordinating a Small-Business Saturday in November 2021.
Development Review Board:
– The DRB has scheduled hearings currently through February 2021. All hearings are being held via Zoom for the foreseeable future.
– The DRB approved Cathedral Square’s Preliminary Site Plan for the proposed senior housing. There are still parking and traffic circulation issues to be worked out and will be discussed with the engineer and developer at the January 11 DRB meeting. No Final Site Plan reviewed has been scheduled yet.
– Recent DRB hearing decisions can be found posted on the Board outside the ZA’s office or can be emailed upon request.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney (ZA)