Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday July 10, 2023 at 7:00 PM
At South Hero Town Hall and via Zoom
Board Members Present: David Carter/Chairman, Ross Brown/Vice Chairman, Skip Brown/Board Secretary, Anne Zolotas and Chuck Hulse
Board Members Not Present: none
Other Staff Present: Sue Arguin, Town Administrator and Martha Taylor-Varney (Zoom). Also see sign in sheet of in person and Zoom attendees. *Attendance SB 2023-07-10-2023
1. Called to Order:
-The meeting was called to order by Chairman Carter at 7:00 pm
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-none
3. Minutes:
-Chuck Hulse made a motion to approve the minutes of June 26, 2023. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. None at this meeting
5. New Business:
A. Joe Connelly of RunVermont was present to discuss the Island Vines 5K and 10K race scheduled for Sept. 17, 2023 leaving from Snow Farm Vineyard. They hope for approximately 450 runners this year. Signage on West Shore Rd will be noted the week before the race to advise residents about the event. Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve the Island Vines race on September 17, 2023. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Andrew Herwig of Farm to Fork Fitness Adventures Zoomed in to discuss the bicycle event on July 16, 2023. It will leave from Snow Farm Vineyard in several waves, so no street closures are planned. They expect about 300 cyclists. Ross Brown made a motion to approve the 2023 Farm to Fork Fondo on July 16, 2023. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motions carried.
C. Sandy Gregg and Greta Herwig discussed the revised sidewalk scoping study that eliminated looking into South Street and changing the classification on Route 2 in the Village areas. The Planning Commission (PC) discussed it at their last meeting and decided to abandon the scoping study since the parameters changed drastically, and it didn’t seem to be a viable alternative for the amount of money being earmarked. She asked if the money allocated could be carried over. It may not be allowed to do that since the FY budgeted money has to be spent in that year, but will be looked into.
D. Skip Brown made a motion to approve and sign the Grant Agreement Resolution-Single Grantee for the GEARS system, changing the signer from Ross Brown to Sue Arguin. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
E. The State has set the FY 2023/2024 education tax rate for the Town. It is $1.744 for the homestead rate and $1.725 for the non-homestead rate. This is an approximately 9% increase and is set by the State, not the Town. See attached. * State Ed Tax Rate 2023-2024The Selectboard will set the Town portion of the taxes at the next meeting.
6. Town Administrator and ZA Reports:
A. See the written reports filed with these minutes (Below on the website or in Town Hall).
B. If the Town Plan fails to pass, then the consequences are noted in the attached document. *CONSEQUENCES OF A LAPSED TOWN PLAN
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 orders 24-01 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: – Ross Brown made a motion to approve and sign the contract for Sullivan and Powers for the Town audit. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
-Also, the Town has an outstanding deficit amount of $40,349.35. Ross Brown made a motion to apply for a short term loan to cover the deficit while waiting for FY 2023/24 tax dollars to come in. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. Recreation Commission (RC) update: White’s Beach was closed for a few days due to cyanobacteria blooms. Note that signs will be put up when the beach is closed. Per the health department rules, the beach must be closed for 24 hours even if the water has cleared up. Notices will also be coordinated on the Town website.
D. Road Department update: Anne Zolotas made a motion to sign the agreement from Northeast Structural Engineering for the services necessary to the new salt storage shed. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motions carried.
-Tree Warden Anne Zolotas noted that there are several dead branches in poplar trees on South St. She will contact DJ’s Tree Service to get an estimate to clean them up.
E. Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH) project: Testing for lead and asbestos was completed and results are pending.
F. ARPA fund updates: none
G. Wastewater (WW) update: none
H. Town Hall Feasibility study committee: The current Town Hall building is nearing the end of its life and a new building will be necessary. Read the minutes from that committee for more info.
10. Adjournment:
-Anne Zolotas made a motion to adjourn at 8:15 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown, Secretary David Carter, Chairman
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
July 10, 2023 ZA’s report to the SB
1. I have made copies of the VT Dept. of Housing and Community Development
Memorandum summarizing Act 47 (S. 100), Housing Opportunities Made for Everyone
(HOME Act) for each board member. The legislation is part of a multi-pronged approach
to mitigating the housing crisis in VT. Sections 1 – 10 reference Municipal Zoning
Reform. A part of the legislation that affects South Hero is permitting duplexes with no
additional review. Per Act 47, beginning on July 1, 2023, municipalities must allow
duplexes anywhere single family or single-household dwellings are allowed for year-
round use. This includes the same dimensional or setback standards to duplexes as
would be allowed for a single-family home. In the current development regulations,
duplexes have required conditional use review in the rural residential, shoreland, and
conservation zoning districts. This will no longer be the case. Additional requirements
of this Section for towns with municipal water and wastewater do not apply for South
Hero. These changes supersede the existing South Hero Development Regulations as
they pertain to duplexes. Effective dates of September 2023 and December 2024 are
related to emergency shelters and parking requirements. Parking requirements for
multi-unit dwellings in areas without municipal ww and water will change from 2
parking spaces to 1.5, rounded to the nearest whole number when calculating the total
number of required spaces for these dwellings. Keep in mind, these changes come from
the State, not the Planning Commission. The resulting changes to the Development
Regulations have/will take place without a townwide vote, as currently required for the
Regulations and Town Plan.
2. Zoning 101 classes will continue on the last Thursday of each month (this month July
27 th ). This month’s class will be the 4 th of the series.
Planning Commission
The final draft of the Town Plan is available for review on the Town website (southherovt.org).
Development Review Board
The Board has 2 hearings this Wednesday, 2 on July 26, and I am scheduling into the latter part
of August.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA