Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday July 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM
At South Hero Town Hall and via Zoom
Board Members Present: David Carter/Chairman, David Lane/Vice Chairman, Skip Brown/Board Secretary, Steve Robinson, Anne Zolotas
Board Members Not Present: none
Others Present: Sue Arguin, TA + see sign in sheet. *Attendance SB 2025-07-28-2025
1. Called to Order:
– The meeting was called to order by Chairman David Carter at 7:00 pm.
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
– Remove Treasurer discussion from New Business.
3. Minutes:
-Steve Robinson made a motion to approve the minutes of July 14, 2025. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. Chair of the School Board, Rich Monterosso was present to advise that there will be a GISU forum at the Worthen Library on Tuesday, June 29 to discuss the Act 73 re-mapping for school districting.
5. New Business:
A. Guy Maguire of South Hero Land Trust and Molly Varner were present to discuss the Town beach area. Several of the old poplar and maple trees were dead or dying and were removed. They provided shade and anchoring of the shoreline. There are grant funds available for shoreline stabilization and erosion control in the Town’s Basin 5 area of the Lake. The consensus of the Board is to continue to explore the situation and develop some design ideas.
B. Rich Monterosso discussed the damaged and deteriorating play structure behind the Folsom School and Community Center. An estimate to repair it was presented in the amount of $14,878.93. See Attached * Miracle Playground Quote 07082025 There are funds in the Local Option Tax (LOT) that are earmarked for Town structures and recreation. This appears to be an “emergency” repair necessary to make the playground structure safe. Anne Zolotas made a motion to use $7500.00 of the LOT to help fund the repair of the playground structure behind Folsom School and Community Center, with the remaining funds coming from the school budget. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. At the last meeting, the Town received a letter from Todd Chagnon re: Dubuque Lane. The Town does not encourage use of the road or condone parking on private property. There is a 50’ Right of Way (ROW) on the east side off all of the lots that runs from Landon Road to the Straight property line to the North. That ROW encompasses Dubuque Lane. The Straights have a given an easement on the corner of their property to access the former landfill property that the Town owns. The Chagnons were given documents to this effect. Mrs. Chagnon stated that she had some documents that disputed the documents that the Town presented to them, but did not share them with the Board. Chairman Carter explained that the Selectboard does not have the authority to amend the ROW and suggested that the Chagnon Family consult an attorney to know how to proceed, as this is possibly a PC or DRB matter if it is determined that changes can be made.
D. The RFP for the improvements to the Town Garage was re-done. 4 bids were opened, varying from over $200,000.00 to a low of $37,350.89. Anne Zolotas and Steve Robinson will review and discuss the proposals. They will advise the Board on recommendations at a future meeting.
E. Now that the former Lavin Property is owned by the Town, the open fields should be mowed. Anne Zolotas and Steve Robinson will develop and RFP to locate a contractor to mow it.
6. Town Administrator (TA) and Zoning Administrator (ZA) Reports:
A. See the ZA report attached *
B. Anne Zolotas made a motion to appoint Sherry Dupont to as an alternate member to the DRB. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. TA Sue Arguin said that there will be a new contact for the former landfill testing and a new contract will be presented.
D. David Carter made a motion to pay the electric bill for the Old South Hero Meeting House and the former Red fire station that is presently used by Granny’s Attic. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. There are no updates re: ACT 181 mapping and Village Center designation.
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. none at this meeting
9. Other Business:
A. David Lane made a motion to sign the orders 26-03 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: See https://southherovt.org/rec/ for more info.
D. Road Department update: The lowest paving estimate is $77.00/ton and the paving work is being scheduled. 2 culverts on Kibbe Point Rd were replaced.
E. Lister Updates: The Town wide re-appraisal process will begin soon and a letter will be sent to homeowners when inspections will begin in their area.
F. Lavin Property updates: There will be future long range planning of what the Town will do with this property in addition to the wastewater aspect. A public forum will be scheduled to get input.
G. Town Hall Committee update: See https://southherovt.org/town-office-building-committee/
H. Tree Warden Update: None at this meeting
I. Anne Zolotas made a motion to go into executive session at 8:05 to discuss personnel and legal matters. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Executive session ended at 8:42 pm. Upon exiting the executive session, the consensus of the Board is to update the Town employee salaries as budgeted.
10. Adjournment:
-Anne Zolotas made a motion to adjourn at 8:45 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown, Secretary David Carter, Chairman
For a video of the meeting, see: www.lcatv.com
July 28, 2025 ZA’s report to the SB
1. The Development Review Board is recommending that the Selectboard appoint
Sherry Dupont to fill the open Alternate seat of that board. The term will end on
Dec. 31, 2025, after which she may be appointed to a full 1-year Alternate’s term
on the DRB. Sherry is originally from Fairfax, VT and recently moved to South
Hero when she bought the home previously owned by Jamie Montani in Keeler
Bay village. She is director of corporate insurance for Ralliant. She attended the
July 23 rd DRB meeting to introduce herself and the Board enthusiastically
recommends that she be appointed an Alternate to the Board.
Planning Commission
The PC continues to discuss clarifications in the Development Regulations, including
clarifying definitions of “average natural grade” and “pre-construction grade.”
Discussions also continue on proposed uses of the Lavin property, including hiking and
biking trails. The PC plans to produce a map of all existing trails in South Hero.
Development Review Board
1. The hearing for the Town Park is scheduled for August 13. The Town is listed as
the Applicant. The $180 hearing fee has been waived.
2. Matt Reed is finalizing the site plan for a required review process before the
Development Review Board. Required reviews are for conditional use and site
plan. I anticipate scheduling a hearing for early Fall.
3. The Board’s next meeting is August 13.
The DRB
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA