Reorganizational + Regular Selectboard Meeting
Minutes of Meeting of March 11, 2024
South Hero Town Hall and via Zoom, Monday 7:00 PM
Board Present via Zoom and in person (after swearing in): David Carter, Ross Brown, David Lane, Graham “Skip” Brown, Anne Zolotas (via Zoom)
Board Not present: none
Others Present: Naomi, Town Clerk, Martha Taylor-Varney, Zoning Administrator (ZA) and Sue Arguin, Town Administrator (TA). Also, see sign in sheet of in person and Zoom attendees. Attendance SB 2024-03-11-2024
1. Called to Order: The meeting was called to order by Naomi King at 7:00 PM. (Due to an internet issue, Zoom did not start until 7:06. Anne Zolotas was on the phone until Zoom was online. No other people tried to join Zoom while it was inactive.)
2. Board Reorganization and appointments:
A. The meeting was opened by the Town Clerk, Naomi King, for reorganization. David Land and Ross Brown were sworn in by Naomi King.
B. Naomi King asked for nominations for the Chairperson of the Selectboard. Ross Brown made a motion to nominate David Carter as Chairman of the Selectboard. The motion for David Carter as Chairman was seconded. The nominee did not vote, the others voted for the nominee and the motion carried. The meeting was then turned over to David Carter.
C. Ross Brown made a motion to appoint David Lane Vice Chairman to the Selectboard. The motion was seconded. The nominee did not vote, the others voted for the nominee and the motion carried.
D. Ross Brown made a motion to elect Skip Brown as clerk to the Selectboard. The motion was seconded. The nominee did not vote, the others voted for the nominee and the motion carried.
E. The regular Selectboard meetings will continue to be at 7:00 pm at Town Hall and via Zoom on the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, unless otherwise noted.
F. The postings of agendas and other official posting locations will continue to be the Town Hall, the Post office, The Worthen Library and the Town website.
G. The Islander will continue to be the paper of record for legal notices.
H. The following appointments were made:
– David Carter will be Animal Control Officer.
– Anne Zolotas will be the Tree Warden.
– John Roy will be the Road Commissioner.
I. David Carter will be the Emergency Management Officer.
J. David Lane made a motion to approve and sign the FY2024/2025 Selectboard Rules of Procedure. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Adjustment to the Agenda:
-none
Minutes:
–Ross Brown made a motion to accept the minutes of meetings of February 26, 2024 as written. The motion was seconded. David Lane did not vote. The others in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
5. Public input:
-none
6. New Business:
A. Ross Brown made a motion to allow the Road Commissioner and/or Road Foreman to sign road permits and postings. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. There will be a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. The State has asked Towns in the area of totality to plan. David Carter read a draft of plan as proposed by North Hero but will also apply to South Hero. (See Attached) *Eclipse Tips
C. Skip Brown made a motion to re-appoint Jonathan Shaw as delinquent tax collector. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
D. There will be a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the mowing of Town properties advertised. Treasurer Kim Julow will also ask the Cemetery Commission if they will post an RFP at the same time.
7. Administrative Assistant Report:
A. Martha presented a written report. See the written report available in Town Hall or on the Town website for all of discussion points.
B. Sue Arguin and Martha Taylor-Varney brought up the fact that the Town was awarded a $40,000.00 grant for an engineering study regarding sidewalks and cross walks along Route 2 in the vicinity of future Sandbar restaurant/Condos, Apple Island Resort and the State fishing access near Featherbed Lane. A RFP was sent to approved engineering firms and the estimate for the study was approximately $80,000.00. The State and businesses along the area were asked if they would help fund the study and there was no response. The past Selectboard felt that this amount is excessive for the Town to bear and chose not to take action. VTrans recently reached out and asked about the status. The consensus of the Board is to have the Chairman reach out to VTrans to see if another RFP should go out, or if the State would consider funding some of it, since it is along a State Road.
8. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. Building a new Town hall was discussed. An ad will be place in the Islander and on Front Porch Forum to ask for volunteers for a new Town Hall building committee. Note that there is a Planning grant already authorized for Town hall planning, so a future committee will have to work within the parameters of the grant. David Lane will write a draft of a charge for a future committee. More info will follow.
9. Other Business and announcements:
A. Skip Brown made a motion to sign orders #24-19. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. There were no liquor license applications presented as the State website is not allowing Town access:
C. Town Clerk/Treasurer update: Town meeting and the election went well.
D. Recreation Commission update: none
E. Road Dept. update: A RFP for the salt shed roof is going out. Skip Brown made a motion to approve and sign the Certificate of Town Highway Mileage. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
F. ARPA funds update: none
G. Wastewater update: none
H. Skip Brown made a motion to go into executive session for legal matters at 7:50. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Executive session ended at 8:12 pm. Upon exiting executive session, David Carter made a motion to authorize the DRB to consult VLCT for an opinion of 2 points of case law regarding an upcoming decision. After consulting VLCT, the DRB may then discuss findings with the Town attorney. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
10. Adjournment:
-Skip Brown 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 David Carter, Chair
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
March 11, 2024 ZA’s report to the SB
Planning Commission
The PC is currently discussing adding to the performance standards in Sec. 508, used
by the DRB in Conditional Use reviews by the DRB rather than attempting to define
“small, low-impact industry”. The Commission is researching the performance
standards of several nearby towns as part of their discussions. Also included in the
discussion was updating the definition of storage and adding marine (boat) storage and
repair to Table 2.1 (Allowed Uses). Discussion will continue at the Commission’s March
6 meeting.
Due to a lack of quorum, there will be no meeting on March 20.
Development Review Board
-The Board’s March 13 meeting will have another setback waiver hearing. On March
27, there will be an appeal hearing for a building permit I approved at 41 Sunset Beach
Rd. The April 10 meeting will include 2 hearings – a setback waiver on Kibbe Farm Rd.
and variance request on Kibbe Point Rd. I am not scheduling hearings for the DRB’s
April 24 meeting because I will be out of the office from April 24 to May 2 nd .
-The Pest Pro amended site plan review was held on February 28, and closed that
evening. The Board has 45 days to reach a decision.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA