Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of June 11, 2018
South Hero Town Hall, Monday 7:00 PM
Board Members Present: Jonathan Shaw, Skip Brown (also Board Secretary), David Carter, Sharon Roy, Anne Zolotas
Board Members Not Present:
Others Present: Janet Yates, Town Clerk & Martha Taylor-Varney Admin. Assistant/ZA
1. Called to Order:
-The meeting was called to order by Chairman Shaw at 7:00 pm.
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-Add: Discuss Route 2 Highway access permit
-Move: Emergency Services Building info to New Business
3. Minutes:
-David Carter made a motion to accept the minutes of the meeting of May 28, 2018 as written. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. David Hobbs, Chair of the Recreation Commission was present to advise that the swim buoys are installed at White’s Beach, new parking instruction signs have been installed, RISE VT donated a bike rack, and the perimeter fence will be repaired.
B. Jessica Bolduc of GMAA was present to discuss the Clarence Demar 5K race. David Carter made a motion to allow a portion of South Street to be closed for approx. ½ hour from Folsom School to South of West Shore Rd. at 8:30 am on July 4, 2018. The sheriff will be in attendance for traffic control and the fire lanes at Folsom will be kept clear. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. Greg Cromer of “America from the Sky” was present to show an aerial photo of South Hero that is available for sale.
5. New Business:
A. John Beaulac, Road Foreman was present to discuss the fact that the road crew has been short a man for over a month and road projects have delayed roadside mowing. Anne Zolotas made a motion to allow the Road Dept. to hire Dave Brownell as a part time employee to begin the mowing at a rate not to exceed $18.00/hour with no benefits. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. There is a grant opportunity for a “Better Back Roads” program. David Carter made a motion to approve and sign the 80/20 grant application for the sum of $5100.00. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. The Town has received a grant “Better Roads Program” for a road inventory. Consultant David Antone was present with John Beaulac to explain some of the process. Approx. 10 miles of Town roads will be inventoried in 300’ sections to determine action areas. The inventory will begin in a few weeks and should be finished in October. Updates will be periodically made to the Board upon request.
D. Diane Kline was present to discuss the CHAMP trail ride. It will take place on Sept. 15 around 10:00 am. The route will be from 57 East Shore Rd. to Whipple Rd. to West Shore Rd. to the Roy Marsh trail to Tracy Rd. to through some woods to Eagle Camp for a picnic, then the route will be reversed for the ride back to the farm.
E. David Hobbs and Chelsea Mandigo were present discuss the proposing to a grant for a scoping study for a trail from Folsom to the proposed new library. The consensus of the Board is to wait until next year so that money can be budgeted for such a project.
F. David Carter made a motion to approve and sign the Joint Occupancy Agreement between the Town and the SHVFD and SHR and modify the date to June of 2018. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
G. David Carter made a motion to allow Jonathan Shaw to attend the pending real estate closing for the Emergency Services Building and to sign all documents for the Town. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
H. Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve and sign the engagement letter from Sullivan & Powers, PC for the FY 2017/2018 audit. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
I. Sandy Gregg was present to discuss a Historic Preservation Grant that could possibly be used for the Old White Meeting house (Granny’s Attic). Before just applying for a grant, David Carter made a motion to allow the formation of a committee to study what the ultimate goal of the use of the building will be and how to best address some concerns. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
6. Administrative Assistant Report:
A. A written report was submitted. A hard copy with discussion points can be seen in Town Hall filed with these minutes or on www.southherovt.org.
B. Skip Brown made a motion to exempt the sign for new Emergency Services Building from the 20 square foot size so it can be visible from Route 2. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. The parking area around the (soon to be) former red fire station was discussed. There was a discussion whether to make this a municipal parking area at the last meeting, and VTrans has some requirements regarding the access off of Route 2 due to the change of use. David Carter made and to approve and sign the State Highway Access and Work Permit to allow John Roy and John Beaulac to do some of the necessary work with the Road Crew, and to pay the $250.00 permit fee with the understanding that the Blue Paddle will be a co-applicant and will pay 1/3 of the fee. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. none
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. none
9. Other Business:
A. David Carter made a motion to sign orders 18-25 and pay the bills associated with this order. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. The probationary time for a new employee to receive medical and dental (or HRA account) benefits were discussed and the term will be changed to 60 days. The final draft will be finished for the next meeting.
10. Adjournment:
-David Carter made a motion to adjourn 8:55 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown Jonathan Shaw, Chair
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Administrative Officer’s Report to Selectboard June 11, 2018,
Discussion Items:
1. Update on 5 Railroad St. – I have been in touch with Vincent Chiorgno of the State Salvage Yard Division of the Dept. of Conservation regarding the State’s order to remove junk cars from his property on Railroad St. Some cars have been removed but, as of May 24, there were still a truck (with attached plow), 2 boats, and an old backhoe still on the premises, in addition to a lot of additional junk (old appliances, building materials, etc.) that is not covered by the Salvage Yard Division of the DEC. Furthermore, a lot on Lake St. (that appears to also be owned by Mr. Poquette) has 2 junk cars and an old Winnebago on it. My concern is that Mr. Poquette intends to reduce the number of unregistered vehicles on his properties to only the maximum allowed by the State (3). Mr. Chiorgno said that the rest of the junk on the parcel(s), or any others in town, are not under the State’s jurisdiction. Since the Town has no junk ordinance, there is no further recourse to continue the clean-up of these properties.
2. I met with the Vermont E911 Trainer on May 22 to go over the responsibilities of the Town 911 Coordinator. I continue to work on the Town’s Annual Review and updating the map.
3. The wall mounted sign on the new Emergency Services Building (South Hero Fire/Rescue) exceeds the maximum space (20sf) allowed in our Development Regulations. The size is necessary to be able to read from RT 2. I am asking the Selectboard to exempt the Emergency Services Building from the limitation of 20sf for the wall mounted sign, in addition to waiving the sign permit fee for the applicant, MKN, LLC.
4. I have a VTrans State Highway Access and Work Permit for work within the state highway right-of-way for the Town to establish a dedicated entrance and exit at existing curb-cuts on either side of the Granny’s Attic building. Also included on this permit will be the elimination of the access to the immediate east of the Blue Paddle. The permit fee is $250. As there are 3 total accesses included on this permit, the Blue Paddle will pay 1/3 of the total permit fee ($83.34). The Town will be the Applicant and the Blue Paddle will be the co-applicant. Once the application is completed and returned to VTrans with the permit fee, Peter Pochop indicated that he would issue the permit by June 22. My understanding from him is that the deadline for any work will be December 31, 2018.
-Planning Commission: The Planning Commission’s special meeting with the Selectboard and DRB on Monday, June 4 was an informative and successful discussion. Also included in the meeting were representatives from the Fire Department and Rescue. The Wednesday of the month in July is the 4th, so there will be no PC meeting that evening.
-Development Review Board: 2 hearings are scheduled for this Wednesday (6/13).
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA and Asst. to the Selectboard