Cavendish Update 6/16/17 SB Mtg/Concerts/Events

SUPPORT CAVENDISH CONNECTS BY ATTENDING BBQ UNDER THE STARS ON JULY 15.

6/16/17 Cavendish Update

1.Cavendish Select Board Meeting 6/12/17

2. Cavendish Related News

3. Events

CAVENDISH SELECT BOARD MEETING 6/12/17: 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.  The following action was discussed/taken at Monday night’s meeting:

• Update provided on Telecommunications

• Deferred to July’s meeting the approval of the Coolidge/Ludlow Solar road crossing agreement on Quent Phelan Rd

• Agreed to ask the Agency of Natural Resources for an extension on filing of comments as to the need for an Act 250 permit pertaining to the Quarry at the end of Tierney Rd. Agreed to convene a meeting to further discuss the issue and to see if a binding agreement can be reached between the concerned Tierney Rd residents and the quarry owner. Note-The extension has been granted by ANR until June 30.

• Approved hiring Katie Hamlin to redo the municipal website using Square Space

• Approved the use of the Proctorsville Green for the summer concerts starting July 5 and ending Aug. 16. (See schedule below)

• Accepted with regret the resignation of Seth Perry as animal control officer and town constable.

• Approved the VT Municipal Bond Bank Loan Agreement for the replacement of the Wastewater Treatment Plant Aeration System, which was approved by town vote in March.

• Approved the filing o a grant application to place beacons in the cross walk in front of CTES.

• Reviewed options for replacing the town garage. Preferred approach, and lest costly, is a prefabricated building, which could be in place by the time snow flies.

For a more in-depth report on the SB Meeting, go to The Dish.

 2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS

Black River Water Testing for 6/14/17: The sites on the Black River in Cavendish all tested clean for swimming and boating on June 14 (Wednesday). These sites include Greven Field (70 CFU) and the Cavendish Gorge (72 CFU)). Thank you BRAT and Okemo for providing us with this invaluable service.  To check other sites that are tested on the Connecticut River watershed, go to http://connecticutriver.us/site/content/sites-list

 Summer Concert Series: Once again CCCA is sponsoring the concerts on the Proctorsville Green, which take place from 6-8 pm every Wednesday from July 5 to Aug. 16. The concert line up is as follows:

July 5 Gypsy Reel

July 12 Sensible Shoes

July 19 The Spiders (featuring Cavendish’s own Mark Huntley on drums)

July 26 Alison Turner

Aug. 2 local blues man Chris Kleeman

Aug 9 Gully Boys

Aug. 16, Yankee Chank (featuring Cavendish fiddler Bob Naess).

Thank you CCCA and Sharon Huntley for continuing to provide free and quality music every summer. Weekly concert reminders will be posted in the Cavendish Update and on the Cavendish VT Facebook page. In the event of a cancellation, or change of venue due to weather, check the Cavendish VT Facebook page. FMI: 226-7736

Solzhenitsyn Talk: On June 22, Thursday, Margo Caulfield of the Cavendish Historical Society will be giving a talk on the book Alkesandr Solzhenitsyn: The Writer Who Changed History at the Fletcher Memorial Library in Ludlow at 7 pm. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at this event, which is free and open to the public. Please use the rear entrance to the Library Margo will be sharing his extraordinary journey . . . from young Russian child to Communist student . . . from heroic soldier to gulag prisoner . . . from unknown provincial schoolteacher to Nobel prize-winning author . . . from a “traitor” expelled by the Soviet government to a living legend finally returned home.  Solzhenitsyn was himself, a longtime resident of Cavendish, VT.  Certainly a fascinating time in US, Cavendish and Vermont history! FMI: 802-228-8921

Black River High School and Black River Academy Yearbooks: The Fletcher Memorial Library in Ludlow now has all yearbooks from 1930-2016 for BRHS & BRAM digitalized. Cost per page to print is .20¢. You can order a disc for $10 each. FMI: 802-228-8921

3. EVENTS

JUNE 18 (SUNDAY): HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

• Pickleball 10 AM at CTES.

• Cavendish Historical Society Museum Open 2-4.

JUNE 21 (WEDNESDAY): CTES 6TH Grade Graduation, 6 pm

JUNE 22 (THURSDAY): LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

• Talk at the Fletcher Library on the book Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: The Writer Who Changed History, 7 pm, free and open to the public. Please use rear door. More information above.

JUNE 23 (FRIDAY): GMUHS Graduation

Select Board Meeting Report 6/12/17

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.  The following action was discussed/taken at Monday night’s meeting:

A. Telecommunications: A homeowner on Chapman and Twenty Mile Stream expressed frustration with the lack of services with TDS, particularly as the promised upgrade has not resulted in the service as advertised. Could some type of legal recourse be taken? What about funding to get Comcast to extend service out that far?

Margo Caulfield, who is a member of the Cavendish Telecommunications Committee explained that they are working with Comcast on a State grant from the VT Department of Public Service’s Telecommunications Division, which was submitted in December.  The grant would extend service from Tarbell Hill through and around Knapp Pond. The state has asked representatives from Cavendish to come to the June Telecommunication Board to discuss the situation in Cavendish and why we deserve to be funded. Caulfield and another committee member will attend. Further, the state asked Caulfield to serve on their board, which she has agreed to do but only after the entire town of Cavendish has been wired with high speed Internet. Note that a report was given to the SB in December about the proposed grant, which can be downloaded in PDF format.

TDS has received Connect America Funds (CAF) in order to expand high speed Internet in rural communities. This year’s allocation went only to Northfield, VT. The earliest an upgrade would be done in Cavendish would be 2018 and then it’s only for 10Mbps, which is well below what Comcast currently offers.  There are 17 junction sites in the Cavendish/Proctorsville/Ludlow area that need to be replaced with fiber. In the mean time, the degradation of TDS Internet services continues.

B. Ludlow Solar Project: The SB was asked to approve a Coolidge/Ludlow Solar road crossing agreement on Quent Phelan Rd. Due to the length of the agreement and materials submitted at the meeting, this was tabled until the July meeting.

C. Quarry Tierney Rd: The SB discussed a possible response to the Natural Resources Board (NRB) regarding an Act 250 permit for less than an acre mining operation, which is allowable under the Cavendish Town Plan. (See Cavendish Update 6/9/17 for information on this project). Several Tierney Rd homeowners spoke strongly against the project, which is very different than what was proposed by McLean back in 2003. That resistance resulted in the formation of the CCA, now known as Cavendish Community and Conservation Association (CCCA). This group, not the town, raised $150,000 to pay the legal and other fees associated with the Act 250 process, in addition to the donation of thousands of in-kind hours.

CCCA’s position is that they’d like to see a binding agreement with all parties involved as they recognize the scope of the project is very different than what McLean proposed. Unfortunately, no documentation was provided that compares the McLean project versus what Savage/Snow plans on doing.

After considerable discussion, the board voted to ask for an extension on the filing (NRB had asked for a submission by June 20) in order to hold a special informational meeting where all sides can present their viewpoints and hopefully come up with a binding agreement. This meeting should take place as soon as possible. Town manager Brendan McNamara noted that being born and raised in the town, he understands the rights of landowners who want to use their property versus potential homeowners who could be impacted by that use. He will call NRB first thing in the morning to request the extension and to arrange for a meeting, which will be advertised via the Cavendish VT Facebook page and the Cavendish Update.

D. Town Website: The board approved hiring Katie Hamlin to redo the town’s website using Square Space, teach staff how to use the site and provide yearly maintenance. The contract will be up to $1,500. Money has been budgeted for this activity since 2011.

E. Town Garage: A design build for replacing the town garage, which was heavily damaged by fire in February, would not result in a town garage by the time snow flies. However, doing a fabricated building could meet that deadline as it takes 6-8 weeks to build and five days of construction. The town would act as their own construction manager, and have already discussed this with Randy Shemp, current head of Municipal Water and who has served as Clerk of the Works on a number of projects. Ultimately, the prefabricated structure, which comes insulated, will need to be plumbed and wired. According to assistant town manager Bruce McEnaney, this is a straightforward process. That noted, McEnaney explained that things are taking longer that anticipated, particularly with the asbestos removal.

F. Summer Concert Series: SB approved the CCCA’s request to use the Proctorsville Green for the annual summer concert series, which will be on Wednesday nights from 6-8, starting July 5th and ending on August 16th.

G. Resignations: Jill Flinn had planned on resigning as Animal Control Officer but said she’d try to continue to serve in that capacity as Seth Perry needs to step down as both Animal Control Officer and Town Constable. The board will need to decide if the Town Constable position is necessary. The state police want to see towns eliminate this position. The board accepted Perry resignation with regrets.

H. Wastewater Treatment Plant: Approved the VT Municipal Bond Bank Loan Agreement for the replacement of the Wastewater Treatment Plant Aeration System, which was approved by town vote in March.

I. Flashing Beacons for School Cross Walk: The town has an opportunity to seek grant funding to install blinking lights at the school cross walk. The town’s cost would be $3,962. The SB gave approval for McEnaney to file the grant application.

Select Board Agenda 6/12/17

Select Board Meeting, Monday, June 12th, in the Cavendish Town Office Meeting Room
at 6:30 pm
................................................................ AGENDA ................................................................
1. Call the meeting to order
2. Act upon minutes of the meetings of May 8th and May 17th , 2017.
3. Sign Orders
4. Adjust agenda
5. Hear Citizens
6. Select Board to consider Coolidge/Ludlow Solar road crossing agreement on Quent Phelan
Road.
7. Select Board to discuss possible response to the Natural Resources Board regarding proposed
stone quarry on Tierney Road.
8. Select Board to review and consider approval of proposal for a new website.
9. Update on progress with Town Garage.
10. Select Board to review CCCA request for use of Town Green for Summer Concert Series.
11. Consider resignation of Jill Flinn as Animal Control Officer.
12. Consider resignation of Seth Perry as Town Constable and Animal Control Officer.
13. Select Board to consider approval of the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank Loan Agreement for the
replacement of the Wastewater Treatment Plant Aeration System.
14. Other business
15. Executive Session

Cavendish Update 6/9/17: Quarry/News/Events

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 6/9/17 Cavendish Update

1. Cavendish Related News

2. Correct Dates for Tag and Plant Sales

3. Quarry-Tierney Road

4. BBQ Under the Stars Benefit

5. Events

1. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS

Go Fund Me Site for Gary Palmer: Cavendish resident Gary Palmer was in a terrible accident two weeks ago. His niece Sheila Connolly has set up a Compassionate Crowdfunding website to help with the expenses. If donating on-line is not something you are comfortable with, there are other ways to help the family-check out How to Respond When Someone is Ill or Injured.

 Passing of Doug Haskell: Doug and his wife Karen lived on High Street in Cavendish for 33 years, moving to Charlestown, NH in 2014. No longer residents, Doug continued to come to Cavendish, volunteering to tend for the Cavendish Historical Museum and Stone Church properties. It is with sadness that we report his passing on May 27. Our deepest sympathies to his wife Karen, his Mom Evelyn, and his family and friends. His obituary is available on-line

CHS Plant Sale List: The Cavendish Historical Society Plant Sale will be on July 1 (Saturday) from 9-2 in front of the Museum. To learn about pre buying and what’s for sale go to the CHS blog.

Water Testing of the Black River: The Black River at historic Cavendish Gorge is sampled weekly during the summer of 2017 as part of the Black River Action Team's (BRAT) "Adopt-the-River" program. A trained volunteer gathers a sample on Wednesday morning, it is tested at the Endyne Lab in Lebanon, NH and results are posted on Friday at the Cavendish VT Facebook page as soon as they are received. Thank you to Okemo Mountain and the incredible BRAT for making this possible.

GMUHS Girls Capture Division IV State Track Title: Congratulations to coach and Proctorsville resident John Rice and the GM girls track team on their state win. VT Journal

Walker Bridge in Ludlow is Closed But Stores are Open: The merchants of downtown Ludlow have been proactive in countering the potential negative effects of Walker Bridge construction on local businesses during June and July. Each weekend will have unique and fun themed events to celebrate the season and support our local merchants. See the VT Journal for listing of events. The bridge will be closed for a 35-day period between June 1 and August 31, 2017. Two weeks before and after the Bridge Closure Period, traffic will be maintained on the bridge with one-lane alternating traffic during the daytime hours.

Admission to state parks, historic sites free June 10, 11: Admission to Vermont state parks, historic sites and the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier will be free this weekend to celebrate the summer. Fishing will also be allowed without a license at any Vermont Fish & Wildlife fishing access on Saturday, June 10.

No Cost Summer Lunches at GMUHS: Green Mountain High School in Chester is once again participating in the very popular no cost lunch program this summer. No cost lunches will be offered the school Monday through Friday all summer long. The no cost lunch is for anyone 18 years old and younger. There is no registration or application process involved. Simply stop by the high school and have a healthy lunch. We will be serving lunch Monday through Friday from 11-12. Menus will be available on line and we can e-mail one to you if you like. Letter to the Editor

2. THE CORRECT DATES-Tag & Plant Sales: Seems we manage to get the correct dates on the calendar but they’ve been published incorrectly in the Updates. Must be we’re still stuck on a 2016 calendar. However, the correct date for the Town Wide Tag Sale is July 29-always the last Saturday in July. TheCavendish Historical Society’s plant sale is July 1-always the Saturday before the 4th of July.

3. BBQ UNDER THE STARS-Benefits Cavendish Connects & CCCA: Glimmerstone Mansion is sponsoring a fundraiser to benefit two Cavendish organizations, Cavendish Connects and the Cavendish Community & Conservation Association (CCCA). On July 15, Saturday), there will be a barbeque followed by music and dancing-Chris Kleemen, blues man extraordinaire- from 6-9 pm. The $15 admissions fee covers the cost of food and music. There will be a cash bar. Come and enjoy a July evening with good food, music, neighbors and friends, and know you are helping to support two organizations that continually give to the community. Tickets are on sale at Crows Bakery, Depot Street Proctorsville and online.

4. QUARRY-TIERNEY ROAD: On June 2, William Burke, District 1 Coordinator for the Agency of Natural Resource’s (ANR)’s Act 250 permitting, sent an e-mail to the Cavendish Select Board and to various members of the community about a proposed quarry at the end of Tierney Rd. The purpose of the e-mail is to let them know that ANR will be making a decision about whether the proposed quarrying project can operate without an Act 250 Land Use Permit..

 In a request dated June 1, 2017, attorney Lawrence G. Slason, Esq. (“requestor”) filed a request pursuant to 10 V.S.A § 6007 for a formal Jurisdictional Opinion on the question of whether Snowstone, LLC (“Snowstone” or “buyers”) may acquire a .64 acre tract of land subdivided out of a 176.18 tract owned by Justin and Maureen Savage (“sellers”) and, utilizing a .29 acre easement over an existing road owned by sellers, operate a commercial earth extraction business without an Act 250 Land Use Permit in Cavendish, VT – a “one acre town” for Act 250 jurisdictional purposes. All documents associated with the request are available for public access and viewing starting at the following website: https://anrweb.vt.gov/ANR/vtANR/Act250.aspx At the website, find “Project Number” and type in JO 2-308, then scroll down and click on “Search” and then click on “Detail”.  Scrolling further down will provide links to the submitted document folders.

The e-mail goes on to explain that anyone with a particular interest in this project should submit factual or legal arguments in writing via e-mail (william.burke@vermont.gov) by June 20.  While all such facts or arguments might involve degrees of relevancy, I’m particularly interested in the legal effect, if any, of the seller’s retention, in the Contract of Sale of Real Estate, of a grant from buyer to seller of a “Right of First Refusal” under which the seller may reacquire the real estate from buyer.   Whether or not this obligation effectively defeats the required “arms-length-transaction” (necessary to bring the jurisdictional acreage under one acre) is of particular interest in this set of facts.

 The requestor or other parties will then be accorded an opportunity to file any rebuttal argument, if desired.   Any such rebuttal argument shall be submitted on or before Tuesday, June 27, 2017.

 For questions on this matter, please call or e-mail William Burke at 802-786-5923 or e-mail william.burke@vermont.gov

 5. EVENTS

JUNE 11 (SUNDAY): Pickleball 10 AM at CTES.

• Fire Fighter Olympics Proctorsville

• Cavendish Historical Society Museum Open 2-4.

JUNE 12 (MONDAY) Select Board Meeting, 6:30 pm. Cavendish Town Office. Agenda will be published at the Dish when received.

JUNE 15 (THURSDAY): Arts Night at CTES, 6:30

JUNE 21 (WEDNESDAY): CTES 6TH Grade Graduation, 6 pm

JUNE 22 (THURSDAY): LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

JUNE 23 (FRIDAY): GMUHS Graduation

For information on upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For area events, check the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar.