CAVENDISH SELECT BOARD MEETING 12/8/14

Select board (SB) meetings are recorded by LPC-TV and are available at their website and on Comcast Television.  Written minutes are available at the town’s website. 

A. Telecommunications: SB members were e-mailed the preliminary findings of the Cavendish Telecommunications Survey. Rich Svec, town manager, said that representatives from TDS, but not Comcast, would attend the January Select Board meeting.

B. New England Power Clean Power Link Project: Rich Chase, Principal TDI New England, spoke to the board about the proposed New England Clean Power Link a  1,000 MW High Voltage Direct Current transmission line that would deliver clean, affordable hydropower to Vermont and the New England marketplace. The privately financed line would be submerged in Lake Champlain and buried in existing rights of way and would run from the Canadian boarder to a converter station to be built on Nelson Rd in Ludlow. This football size building would be just over the Cavendish line and would connect to the Coolidge substation located in Cavendish.

TDI New England, late Monday, Dec. 8, filed documents with the Vermont Public Service Board for approval of the project, promising several benefits to Vermont in exchange for the board's approval. Among the company's promises: $136 million in power cost reductions, made through payments to Vermont's high-voltage power system operator over the 40-year life of the project; and more than $120 million for environmental improvements on the lake. The company had previously applied for federal permits for the project.

The Vermont Public Service Board will now begin a thorough review of the project, and if the application is approved, will issue a Certificate of Public Good, which will detail the terms and conditions under which the project may be constructed and operated.

The expansive filing contains hundreds of pages of facts, testimony and exhibits that describe the project, explains its impacts, and illustrates its benefits to the people of Vermont and New England. The filing is a result of input received from the extensive public outreach that TDI New England has been carrying out over the last year.  The Public Service Board will review the filing and provide opportunities for the public to offer input on the proposed 154-mile project.

The application is available on the New England Clean Power Link web site: and a hard copy will be delivered to the Town office. 

Some of the citizens at the meeting asked questions about radio interference from the proposed converter station, as well as pollution risks. Chase agreed to find out more information about these concerns.

In October, Ludlow’s Select Board endorsed the project.

 C. External Appropriations Requests for FY 2015-2016 Budget: A number of non profit groups that serve Cavendish-Senior Solutions; RSVP; Visiting Nurse & Hospice; VT Rural Fire; Black River Good Neighbors; LPC-TV; Black River Senior Center and SECVA- gave updates on their programs, current utilization by Cavendish residents and requests for the upcoming budget.

D. Solar Project: Panels have been installed and it’s two-thirds ready. Several parts will not arrive until January, but the plan is to test out the system and to be partially on-line by Dec. 31.

E. Skate Board Plan for Greven Field: Members of the Recreation Department provided drawings of a proposed skate ramps etc. for Greven Field.

F. Bridge Projects: The East/Brook Rd Bridge is now open. An approach guardrail will be installed in the spring. Weather dependent, work has been taking place on the Davis Rd Bridge. Completion and first use will not be until spring 2015.

Cavendish Select Board Meeting Agenda 12/8/14

The Cavendish Select Board will meet on Monday, December 8, 6:30 pm at the Cavendish Town Office. The agenda will be as follows:

1. Call the Meeting to Order

2. Act upon minutes of the meetings of November 10th

3. Sign Orders

4. Review Correspondence

5. Adjust agenda

6. Hear Citizens

7. Sheila Grace of the Public Advocacy Division of the Vermont Public Service Department

present to inform the Select Board of the role of the Public Service Department in the

proposed New England Clean Energy power Link Project. An attorney for the project will

likely also be in attendance. Ms. Grace hopes to engage the Board in a discussion about the

project as part of the PSB activities before taking a position on the project. The proposed

project would bring power from Canada to the Coolidge substation in Cavendish to connect

to the power grid.

8. Starting at 7:15 pm - Review and hear presentations on External Appropriations Requests for

FY2015-16 Budget - schedule:

a. 7:15 pm - Senior Solutions

b. 7:20 pm - RSVP

c. 7:25 pm - Visiting Nurse & Hospice

d. 7:30 pm - VT Rural Fire (N. VT Resource Council)

e. 7:40 pm - Black River Good Neighbors

f. 7:45 pm - LPCTV

g. 7:50 pm - The Current/Connecticut River Transit

h. 8:00 pm - Black River Senior Center

i. 8:05 pm - SEVCA

9. Town Manager to discuss with the Board a proposed schedule of FY 2015-16 budget work

sessions

10. Town Manager to provide updates on current projects: Solar; Bridge #37 and Bridge #27.

11. Brief update on Water System activities including progress on the O&M Manual, the

permitting of well #2 and the Chief Operator position for water and wastewater operations.

12. Town Manager to update the Board on various other town activities.

13. Other business

14. Adjourn

Vermont 2014 Telecommunications Plan

The Department of Public Service, in conjunction with the Agency of Commerce and Community Development and the Department of Information and Innovation, is pleased to announce the release of the final 2014 Telecommunications Plan. The Plan addresses the major ongoing developments in the telecommunications industry, including broadband infrastructure development, regulatory policy and recommendations for future action.

“This Plan is the product of a rigorous public input process. The Department carefully considered the proposals made by members of the public and the telecommunications industry in response to the Department’s final draft,” said Public Service Commissioner Christopher Recchia. The final plan includes added recommendations on “make-ready” and pole attachment policy, net neutrality, and it provides a more in depth look at the cost of deploying fiber to the home to every E911 location in Vermont.  The Plan calls for a prioritization of State supported projects that ensure locations with the slowest available broadband speeds receive priority for upgrades.  “The comments we received during the public and legislative review process helped us make this plan much stronger” Recchia said, adding “I appreciate the efforts of all those who commented and we made every effort to constructively address those comments in this final plan.”

The Plan also discusses ongoing developments in the provision of telephone and cable. In addition the Plan provides an analysis of state government telecommunications infrastructure. The Plan presents readers with an overview of the last ten years and what the State should focus on over the next ten years to ensure Vermonters have access to the best available telecommunications services. “It is our hope that this plan will help guide Vermont’s future telecommunications policy.”

The 2014 Telecommunications Plan is available electronically at the following link:

2014 Telecommunications Plan

Cavendish Update 12/5/14 Survey/Swap/News/Events

If you appreciated checking out the Cavendish VT Facebook to see if school was cancelled or delayed earlier in the week, read the preliminary findings of the Cavendish Telecommunications Survey, followed the unfolding stories of recent robberies on The Dish, or just enjoyed seeing what new photograph was posted to the Facebook page, show your appreciation by:

• Making a donation at the Abundance Swap on December 6 

• Mailing a check to Cavendish Connects, PO Box 3, Cavendish VT 05142 or clicking the Support Button and donating on-line. 

• Make a donation for an issue of the Cavendish Update in someone’s name

• Organizing a fundraiser

THE 12/5/14 EDITION OF THE CAVENDISH UPDATE

1. Weather Forecast and Upcoming Abundance Swap

2. Cavendish Related News

3. Cavendish Russian Christmas

4. Real or Fake: Which type of Christmas Tree is Eco Friendly?

5. Events

1. WEATHER FORECAST AND ABUNDANCE SWAP: The National Weather Forecast in Burlington has issued a winter weather advisory for wintry mixed precipitation, which is in effect from 7pm this evening, Dec. 5, until midnight Saturday night Dec. 6. Snow, sleet and freezing rain are forecast with a potential accumulation of 1-3 inches of wet snow.

The Abundance Swap is scheduled to start at 9:30 tomorrow morning, Saturday Dec. 6 and go until 11:30. Since the forecast calls for warmer temps and rain at this time, we will hold the Swap as scheduled, staying open longer to accommodate those who can’t get there earlier. In the event that the forecast changes, and we need to cancel this event, we will post on the Cavendish VT Facebook page at 7:30 am as well as the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For more information about the Swap, please check the calendar page. 

2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS

Cavendish Robberies- from 11/23-12/3: Note: An additional robbery took place this week. According to Crime Reports, https://www.crimereports.com there have been a series of robberies in town as follows:

11/23 (Sunday) 1100 Block Tarbell Hill-Larceny

11/25 (Tuesday) 1700 Davis Rd-Larceny

11/26 (Wednesday) 800 Block Farm Town Rd- Breaking & Entering

11/26 (Wednesday) 4200 Block Twenty Mile Stream- Larceny

12/3 (Wednesday) High Street-Larceny

If you have any information on these cases, please contact the Vermont State Police 875-2112.

Cavendish Telecommunications Survey: Preliminary Findings: From November 15-30, Cavendish Connects conducted an on-line survey about Internet, cell and landline service. Of the 97 respondents 80% were full time Cavendish residents and 17% second home owners. All parts of town were represented in the survey. Preliminary findings from the survey are available at The Dish. 

VT Attorney General’s Office Warnings to Consumers: There is a phone scam taking place in Vermont in which callers claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are demanding money. The caller threatens legal action if an alleged outstanding debt to the IRS is not paid immediately. The callers then direct the consumer to call a phone number and make immediate payment by credit card or other direct means of payment. WPTZ 

• Scammers are also creating fake posts on Craigslist stealing information from legitimate real estate sales but claiming the properties are for rent. Other scammers are making up listings for properties that don't exist. They entice victims with low advertised rents and ask them to wire a deposit. The AG says never send money until you've tour the property and met the owner, property manager or real estate agent. WCAX 

3. CAVENDISH RUSSIAN CHRISTMAS: As part of understanding the heritage of the many countries that Cavendish residents have come from, this holiday season the Cavendish Historical Society (CHS) is celebrating Russia.  Many will immediately think of Cavendish’s connection with the famous Russian writer and Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who lived in our town for 18 of the 20 he was in exile. However, the first Russians came to our area in the early 1900s, thanks to the Gay Brothers trip to Eastern Europe to recruit Mill workers.

Many of those who came to Cavendish, were from villages, where it would have been customary to place a sheaf of the year’s grain crop and decorate it with ribbons. If you notice the swags on the Museum and Cavendish Stone Church, you’ll see that these traditions continue. Instead of wheat, it’s likely that many of our Russian immigrants would have used flax, once grown in Cavendish, as well as other items found in nature-birch and pinecones.

On December 22, CHS will be holding a series of workshops for the students of the Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) where the students will engage in a “hands on activity,” as well as sample Russian Christmas goodies. Special thanks to Svetlana Phillips for her help with this program.

To learn more about Russian Christmas and the program for Cavendish students, go to the Cavendish Historical Society blog. 

 4. REAL OR FAKE? WHAT TYPE OF CHRISTMAS TREE IS ECO FRIENDLY? With both fire departments launching their annual Christmas Tree sales this weekend, you may be wondering whether it is environmentally more friendly to buy a real tree or use a fake one. According to Post Consumers, real trees support farms and natural eco systems. Buying a real tree isn’t just a “more” eco-friendly decision than using a fake tree, it’s actually a way to actively help the environment and enjoy the aroma/feeling of nature in your home. You’re also helping local farmers, which is always a good thing. And in our case, buying a tree from either Cavendish or Proctorsville Fire Departments supports our community. 

 5. EVENTS: December 6 (Saturday) is the First Annual Abundance Swap and the Holiday Fair. December 6 and 7th will be the annual Christmas tree and wreath sales at the Cavendish and Proctorsville Fire Departments The Juniors of the PFD will also be conducting a bottle drive, so please drop your cans and bottles that are worth a .5¢ deposit.

For more information on these and other upcoming events, go to

• Cavendish Connects Calendar

• On going Cavendish Fall Activities 

•  Okemo Valley Calendar 

SUPPORT CAVENDISH CONNECTS