3/12/18 Select Board Meeting

Select board (SB) meetings are recorded by Okemo Valley TV and are available at their website and on Comcast Television.  Written minutes are available at the town’s website. The following action was discussed/taken at Monday night’s meeting:

• Fire and Rescue Dave Burgess has resigned from the Prudential Board of Fire District #2 (Cavendish Village) and the SB approved replacing him with Scott Ranney until the next annual meeting of the Fire District, which is Feb. 2019.

Stu Lindberg of the Prudential Board informed the SB that due to low numbers of volunteers, the Cavendish Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) is considering closing. Finding volunteers for fire departments is a problem all over the country and at this point, CVFD is unable to secure the volunteers to run a service. They have five active volunteers remaining, with volunteers from previous years having aged out, moved away or find they have other demands on their time.

While Lindberg has been researching this and talking to various people at the state and in the legislature, it’s a multi step process including voters, fire departments, the town’s lawyer and even the legislature. Lindberg said finances, equipment and the building are in good order and are the property of Fire District # 2 residents.

Given the high cost of Ludlow Ambulance request for this year’s budget, the SB had checked into Golden Cross and found it would be almost 75% less. However, they need a bay to park ambulances. The question was raised whether or not a bay at CVFD’s fire house could be used for that purpose.

Also raised was the impact on home owner insurance rates in Fire District #2 if the fire house was closed. SB Chair, and also Proctorsville Volunteer Fire Department Chief, Bob Glidden, noted that there is not a problem having one district with two fire houses.

• SB Organizational Meeting: Most positions remain the same as they appear in the Town Report page 7 with a few exceptions: Animal Control officers will be Jillian Flinn and Ed McEnaney. There is a need for a new Energy Coordinator.

• Use of Town Greens: Approval was given for the use of the greens for the 8th Annual Town Wide Tag Sale, which will be Saturday July 28. Also approved was a request for a wedding on Sept. 29th at 3pm for the Proctorsville Green, provided the couple purchases an insurance rider. It was suggested that the town come up with a information sheet and/or policy that outlines responsibilities for using the green(s). 

• Liquor License Approval: The following had their respective liquor licenses approved: Cavendish Pointe, Singleton’s and Murdock’s on the Green.

• Waste Water Permit for 57 Depot Street: The SB approved the waste water permit for the Kauppinen Property, which will house four condos.

• Outer Limits Brewery: A presentation was made to the board about Outer Limits Brewery’s (OLB), located on the Proctorsville Green next to Murdock’s, plans to open a brewery and a 150 seat restaurant, which will be phased in over a several year period. They currently do not have an Act 250 permit for the project, instead opting for water and waste water permitting first. The goal is to have all permits in place by the end of March, as this will give them the best opportunity to be open by Thanksgiving and in time for the 2018/2019 season.

While the board saw no issue with parking, OLB is looking to allocate 9 specified spaces for employees. It should be noted that the parking issues was raised when Murdock’s was required to go through an Act 250 hearing when they requested an upgrade to their restaurant from 50 to 80 seats. [Information on this hearing is available at The Dish ]

No waste water from the brewery operation will go into the town’s system. This will be trucked out and organic sediment from the brewing process will be distributed on a weekly basis to two farms, one of which is Little Village Farm in Proctorsville. Internal pluming plans are available and will be submitted to the SB committee, per SB member George Timko’s request. There is currently no storm water permit or design and the town may need to be the co applicant.

OLB would like to give the town $3,000 of the $20,000 permitting fee required now, with the balance due before construction begins. They would like to get this authorized as soon as possible.

• Updates from Weston and Sampson: The engineering firm of Weston and Sampson provided updates on various town projects:

-       Aeration Waste Water Plant: Bids should be going out in mid April, with award in May and construction beginning in June. This project was approved by the voters March 2017 but was delayed due to a medical leave of absence by Randy Shimp, who heads the Municipal Water & Sewage Department.

-       Depot St. Bridge: Finalizing design work of burying utility lines under the river, versus attaching them to the proposed bridge. This project is fully funded by VTrans. There is a $900 application fee required by the state for construction. It is anticipated that the bidding process will be completed and boring will begin in July. Bids for constructing the bridge will go out in the fall of 2018 with construction taking place in the summer of 2019.

-       Town Garage: Will be meeting with Asst. Town Manager, Bruce McEnaney to finalize internal designs of the town garage, which will be located in the “sand pit.” Two different building orientations are being considered, with the expressed purpose of having southern exposure of the roof making it suitable for solar panels. The building will be constructed off site and will take about a month from ordering to delivery. Once it is delivered and constructed, interior work and paving will be completed. The goal is to have the garage ready for use for winter 2018/2019. While water permitting will take 45 days, the fire safety permit will be fast tracked, since the state is aware that this is an essential municipal building.