Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of September 11, 2017
South Hero Town Hall, Monday 7:00 PM
Board Members Present: Jonathan Shaw, Skip Brown (also Board Secretary), Anne Zolotas, George Rice, David Carter (present via speaker phone)
Board Members Not Present:
Others Present: Sharon Roy, Town Clerk and Martha Taylor-Varney, Admin. Assistant. Also see sign in sheet.
1. Called to Order:
-The meeting was called to order by Chairman Shaw at 7:00 pm.
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
-none
3. Minutes:
-Anne Zolotas made a motion to accept the minutes of the meeting of August 28, 2017 as written. The motion was seconded, George Rice abstained, the others in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. David Graham and Everett Dubuque were present to discuss a coin drop on Route 2, October 7, 2017. Anne Zolotas made a motion stating that the VFW has the support of the Selectboard to conduct a coin drop from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm on Route 2 in front of Malcolm Allen’s house on October 7, 2017. The motion was seconded, George Rice voted no, the others in attendance voted yes and the motion carried. Note that Route 2 is a State Rd. and a permit will be required from the State.
B. Sandy Gregg questioned why the small speed limit warning sign was not there. It was to be temporary and it is the property of the Grand Isle County Sheriff for use at their discretion. It does get removed for charging.
5. New Business:
A. Road Commissioner, John Roy, was present to discuss the dirt road grading policy. There is no actual schedule, as the condition of the roads varies with the weather. In order to grade, the roads need to be wet. The grading is usually done after a rain. But, only if the weather forecast predicts that it will be dry for a couple of days after grading. Otherwise, the roads turn to mud. As a side note, portions of West Shore Rd., Landon Rd. and the intersection of Whipple and East Shore Rd. are planned to be paved in 2017. Paving prices are down from last year, and if the budget allows, perhaps more will be done.
B. A company who sells fireworks has asked about buying property in South Hero. Current zoning rules will require that such a use will require conditional use review through the DRB and would require State and Federal permits. But, our current rules do not specifically prohibit such sales in the village district or specifically prohibit hazardous materials. It was discussed whether interim zoning should be enacted while the matter is studied. It was decided to not enact specific “spot” zoning, but to possibly enact Section 406: Performance standards language from the new proposed zoning regulations that will give the DRB more standards to consider should a conditional use review occur. Should this interim zoning be done, there are specific procedures to follow and a public hearing will have to be held.
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.
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. South Street reconstruction project from Landon to Martin Roads updates:
– The section from West Shore Rd. to Landon Rd. is being worked on now. Gravel has been in short supply and the contractor is moving as fast as possible with the materials available. As of now, it appears to be on schedule to be finished in October.
B. The emergency services building construction is underway and no new updates at this meeting.
C. South Hero has a current dog ordinance. VLCT has an updated template for a dog ordinance that the Board has been reviewing the last several meetings and some changes were finalized at the last meeting. The updates have been posted on the Town website so that residents had the chance to review it and comment. Anne Zolotas made a motion to approve the “Town of South Hero Ordinance Regulating Dogs and Wolf-hybrids” and to follow the procedure to adopt the ordinance for the Town. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Note that this proposed ordinance is posted on the Town website (TOWN OF SOUTH HERO Dog Ordinance 2017 )and that copies may be found in Town Hall.
8. Other Business:
A. Skip Brown made a motion to sign orders 18-05 and pay the bills associated with this order. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
9. Announcements and Communications:
A. A letter of thanks was sent to the Board for the mowing of the shoulders.
B. There was a complaint from CHAMP about the grading of Whipple and East Shore Rd. on a Saturday when they had planned a trail ride using Town roads. Note, that CHAMP never notified the Town or the Sheriff that such a ride was occurring. Due to the rain in the last few weeks and the detour of South St. onto Whipple and East Shore Roads, grading was done during Saturday overtime hours to maintain the roads. It is advised that all groups who hold events on public roads notify the Town when such events are planned to avoid confusion in the future.
10. Adjournment:
-David Carter made a motion to adjourn 8:15 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 September 11, 2017
Discussion Items:
1. I plan to be away the week of October 23 – 27. There is a Selectboard meeting on the 23rd. I will have an Administrator’s report prepared ahead of time and will post warnings for the 8/23 meeting during the previous week.
-Planning Commission: Continued discussion with the SB and DRB re the draft updates to the Development Regulations. Next meeting scheduled for September 20 at 7PM. Public hearings have not yet been scheduled.
-Development Review Board: The next scheduled hearing will be September 13, 2017 with Camp Ta-Kum-Ta for additional site plan review requested by the DRB as part of the previous Site Plan and Conditional Use approval in March of this year. No hearings for September 27. Currently 2 scheduled for October 11 and one on October 25.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA and Asst. to the Selectboard