Cavendish Update 12/13/19: GMUSD, SB, News, Job, Events

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12/13/19 Cavendish Update
1. GMUSD Board Meeting 12/12/19
2.Cavendish Select Board Meeting 12/9/19
3.Cavendish Related news
4.Immediate Job Opening
5. Events

1. GMUSD BOARD MEETING 12/12/19: At last night’s Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) board meeting, various members responded to Twin Rivers Supervisory Union (TRSU) superintendent, Meg Powden’s, recent criticism of the of the Financial Committee, (the entire board), saying they were not collaborating with administrative initiatives. Cavendish representative, Kate Lamphere, was quite clear that the board takes its oversight role seriously and did not appreciate Powden’s comments. Other members commented that the budget proposed by the TRSU for GMUSD, almost $1.3 million over last year, was something the communities couldn’t afford and the voters wouldn’t support.

Item #7 on the agenda, identified as “CTES Library,” was a primary concern for many in attendance. As Cavendish rep Doug McBride pointed out, it’s not CTES’s library but rather a public library, which CTES has the good fortune to use. As it is, CTES only contributes approximately 2% (approximately $2,000) to the Library’s budget of $100,000. McBride also noted that the library trustees own the building and its contents and have a 99 year lease on the ground it sits on. In short, the board can’t just dictate to them.

Both the library trustees who were present, and GMUSD board members agreed the best effort was to work together. Board chair Joe Fromberger summed up the situation -a patron was openly carrying an unloaded gun in the library when the school was closed-by saying it was being blown out of proportion.

Lamphere, who has a child at the school, felt that everything should be done to protect the safety of the students, and basically, if it cost an additional $50,000 or more to ensure students safety, that would be worth it. However, as other members of the audience noted, the school has many other vulnerabilities that have nothing to do with the library. In fact, Lamphere did note that maybe the issue should be addressed at the community level.

Lamphere’s comment may be more accurate than people realize, as one of the most effective programs in the world in stopping shootings and other types of violence, is Cure Violence. This program uses disease control methods to stop all forms of violence by: detecting and interrupting conflicts; identifying and treating the highest risk individuals; and changing social norms. It may make the most sense if community, library trustees and school work collectively in adopting this type of approach.

2. CAVENDISH SELECT BOARD SPECIAL MEETING 12/9/19: Cavendish SB Meetings are videotaped by Okemo Valley TV and available at their website. In addition, minutes are available at the Cavendish Municipal website.

At the December meeting, Tierney Rd once again dominated. This time the Tierney Road Residents Against Quarry came to rebut Maureen Savages’s Letter to the Editor. The comments & concerns of this group are outlined in a Letter to the Editor as well as in the VT Journal’s article Cavendish Select Board meeting continues to discuss Tierney Road quarry. Note: Letters to the Editor reflect the views of the writer only.

Items Discussed/Voted on:
• Approved Cooperative Agreement between the State of Vermont ANR Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation and the Town of Cavendish. (Proctor Piper Trail Project)
• Approved a Special Event Permit for a three year anniversary celebration at DG Bodyworks in Proctorsville for Dec. 14th from 5:15-9:15.
• Approved note in the amount of $195,000 for 24 months at a rate of 2%, to account for Fire Districts tax rate calculation shortfall.
• Heard from external organizations requesting funding for the FY2019-2020 budget. Decisions on amounts of funding take place during the January budget hearings, the first meeting takes place on January 7, Tuesday at 6 pm. Other budget meetings will be held on January 9th, 13 and 16.
• The town health officer, Doris Eddy, has written an emergency health order to Mr. Gattorna whose rental property at 1052 Main St. has no water due to frozen pipes.
• The Town has hired Ron Davis as the assistant water/waste water operator.

3. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS
TRSU superintendent criticizes GM board budget decisions: Two Rivers Supervisory Union’s Meg Powden used her superintendent’s report at Thursday’s board meeting to chastise the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) Board of Directors for what she said was its attitude toward a number of administration initiatives. Referring to a recent GM finance committee meeting in which the panel (made up of the entire board) opted not to fund several administration priorities, Powden said it was clear to her that the spirit of collaboration is no longer there. The TRSU is pushing for consolidated food and transportation services. Chester Telegraph

Senior Solutions Programs: Vicki Mastroianni, Cavendish resident, was recently videotaped by Okemo Valley TV discussing the various programs for seniors as well as volunteer opportunities for our area. You can watch the video by clicking here.

'Worse For Care': Elder Abuse And Neglect Is A Well-Kept Secret In Vermont: Vermont families who rely on eldercare homes often know little about their track records, despite state inspections that document problem after problem. Families make crucial care decisions in the dark. Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL) publishes its citations in inspection reports online, but the reports are uploaded in no particular order on a hard-to-find page. Seven Days and Vermont Public Radio found that one in five of the inspection reports was missing from the state's website. And although the state's eldercare homes must post their most recent inspection reports inside their facilities, the documents can be overlooked and hard to interpret. They also do not make note of previous citations. VPR The joint VPR/Seven Days investigation "Worse for Care" looked into the indignities, injuries and deaths at Vermont eldercare facilities.

4. IMMEDIATE JOB OPENING: Driver/helper 15-20 hours per week. Call 802-226-8131

5. EVENTS
DECEMBER 14 (SATURDAY): Christmas Tree Sale at Proctorsville Fire Dept. 9-4, Santa arrives at 10 with free coffee and homemade doughnuts!

DECEMBER 15 (SUNDAY): Christmas Tree Sale at Proctorsville Fire Dept. 9-4

DECEMBER 21 (SATURDAY): Winter Solstice

DECEMBER 22-DECEMBER 30 (SUNDAY-MONDAY): HANUKKAH

DECEMBER 24 (TUESDAY); Christmas Eve

DECEMBER 25 (WEDNESDAY): MERRY CHRISTMAS

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

IF YOU READ THIS PLEASE HELP SUPPORT CAVENDISH CONNECTS

LTE: Response to Savage Letter

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Please note that Letters to the Editor reflect the writers’ views only.

This is in response to Maureen Savage’s December 6, 2019 letter in the Cavendish Dish about the Savage’s proposed quarry on Tierney Road.


Tierney Road is a mile-long, dead-end, unpaved Class 3 road, serving an area identified on Cavendish Town Maps as “rural residential”, “forest”, or “deer wintering”, and the Town Plan states that rock quarrying must take place in a location “sufficiently distant and isolated from residential properties.”


When the Savages decided to buy their 177 acres at the top of Tierney Rd in the spring of 2016, they were living in Chester. They had to have known that Tierney Rd residents, who have owned their homes there for two and some for almost three decades, went through litigation led by the CCCA over a proposed McLean quarry in early 2000’s. Cavendish residents, supported by the Planning Commission and the Select Board, eventually prevailed in March of 2006.


Almost immediately after the Savages bought the property, they started making plans with Jason Snow to operate a quarry on under an acre of their land and got into a joint venture contract. On 03/04/2017 they promised to present a written disclosure about the proposed quarry operation, but never did.
At the 06/12/2017 SB meeting Justin Savage agreed that the Savages and Mr. Snow would be willing to provide info on the proposed quarry. This “informational meeting” was held on 06/26/2017, but did not provide any information, as the Savages did not speak and Jason Snow did not show up.


On March 15, 2018 The Purchase and Sale Contract between the Savages and Jason Snow was modified to address the concerns of the District Coordinator.” This contradicts Maureen’s statement that she and her husband “have been fairly quiet, letting Jason Snow take responsibility of the legal charge.” “Quiet” means quietly modifying the contract to enable Jason Snow to file an appeal, taking us on a long and expensive path of litigation.


Mrs. Savage states that “It is important to understand how and when Snow will remove the stone, which is in the same manner as he had done with the Cavendish Gulf Rd, where no objections or issues from the town or neighbors were raised.” In fact, Cavendish Gulf Road is a sparsely settled, wooded area, and there are only two homes on the road to the so-called Graham quarry, one “the castle” at the top of the hill, which is for sale, and the other on a dead-end offshoot, immune to traffic. The closed Graham quarry, while not dangerous, has hardly been restored to its natural, pristine state, as a drive-by or Google Map search will show.


For the Tierney quarry, according to Mrs. Savage, the stone would be “remove(d) and split by hand”. The only equipment she mentions is a “Ford F550 (landscaping truck).” She does not mention the 16 yard dump-truck with trailer, the Cat 312 Excavator, the Kubota mini-loader, or blasting equipment noted in Mr. Snow’s testimony at the May 17, 2018 Vermont Superior Court Environmental Division hearing. Note that this equipment will not pass by the Savage’s house, but will pass all of the rest of us when driving or being transported on Tierney Road, and the sounds of drilling and blasting will not be confined to their property.
Mrs. Savage states that “Shortly after acquiring the property, Jason Snow, of Snowstone, contacted us.” It was a bit more complicated. According to the transcript of the May 17, 2018 Vermont Superior Court Environmental Division hearing, Page 43, Mr. Snow learned of the quarry from Michael O’Neil of M&M Excavating, and we would like to know what M&M Excavating might have to do with this enterprise.
Mrs. Savage states that “It’s clear the assessor was lied to by Mr. Watson and took his word as fact without confirming…” This not the only place Mrs. Savage accuses Mr. Watson of lying. If it is true that Mr. Watson lied, Mrs. Savage ought to be able to prove it, but she gives no actual evidence for this libelous charge. The statement also implies that the assessor was less perceptive than she appeared to those who met her.
Mrs. Savage states that “Mr. Snow set up two meetings with the neighbors to describe his operation in 2016. Bruce Watson, who lives at the beginning of Tierney Rd, never attended either meeting.” She neglects to say that Linda Watson did attend at least one of those meetings, and that Bruce Watson attended the meetings of the SB mentioned above. Note that Mr. Snow did not attend and Mr. Savage was silent at these SB meetings.
But, speaking of statements that may diverge from the truth, consider this: As above, Mrs. Savage states that “Mr. Snow set up two meetings with the neighbors to describe his operation in 2016.” However, in a 2018 Mountain Times article, Mr. Savage is quoted as saying that “no one showed up” to site meetings. In fact, as Mrs. Savage now states, there were two such meetings, and most of our group attended them, including Linda Watson.


Mrs. Savage notes that the Watson’s appeal quotes a 2008 study of quarry effects, but the appeal actually quotes several studies, all showing decreases of 15-30% in property values, hundreds of thousands of dollars if applied to Tierney Road. The Savages are not engineers and have no qualifications to evaluate those studies. In any case, there is one test that should be convincing: the red face test. Can anyone say without blushing that a quarry on their road would not degrade their quality of life and property values?
Mrs. Savage states that “a small group has chosen to make this very personal and attack my family”. This “small group” includes a majority of the 17 properties on Tierney Road, and none of us has any interest in attacking the Savage family, only in reestablishing peace and quiet on Tierney Road. The false suggestion that we have attacked them is itself a form of attack; there has been ongoing harassment against us from the Savages and possibly their acquaintances.


Mrs. Savage also noted that: “Watson Stated in 11/14 (2019) Cavendish Board of Civil Authority meeting he showed the assessor where the quarry was – YOU CAN’T SEE IT FROM THE ROAD” (emphasis hers). (Apparently, using bold capital letters gives credence to an argument.) It is not necessary to see the quarry to point out where it is, about 100yds off the end of Tierney. For example, you might point and say that Bill’s house is “up there 100yds on the left, just around the corner.” In any case, it may be hard to see the quarry through the many No Trespassing signs surrounding the property, signs which don’t exist on any other Tierney Road property. The Savages claim to be “respectful”, but surrounding one’s property with No Trespassing signs is hardly respectful of the neighbors.


Mrs. Savage goes on to say that among the neighbors “there wasn’t an overall objection to the scope as a small operation with an ending to it.” This is the crux of the problem. All things come to an end, but the neighbors have become very skeptical about when this will happen. The Savages claim that since most (but not all) of their property is in Current Use, they will not quarry further. However, aside from several acres not in the program, land can be quickly taken out of Current Use, and if the area is relatively small, this will cost very little, especially when compared to the large profits to be made on granite. In fact, in the transcript of the May 17, 2018 Vermont Superior Court Environmental Division hearing, Page 184, Justin Savage was asked “Is there a chance in the future that you're going to sit down and negotiate with somebody else for development of other stone quarrying parcels on your land?” Mr. Savage’s answer was “Yes”, and that he would expand his plans for the proposed quarry if the arrangement is financially advantageous for him. To be taken seriously, the Savages should produce a legally binding document that forever prevents any quarrying beyond the one acre currently proposed. Statements are made by the Savages about the nature of the quarry operation are prospective, verbal claims, and are not guaranteed. The very fact that they resist having a legally binding procedure makes us think that they indeed have further plans for the quarry.


The Savages close their letter saying that “The NIMBY’s … are killing small businesses, VT generational craftsmen and farmers.” Playing the “VT” card is not an argument; it’s just annoying. The group of us opposed to the quarry are people who have worked all our lives, some having retired, and who want to live here in peace and quiet, hosting our children, grandchildren, families and friends. Just like the Savages “we purchased our property to live on it, enjoy it recreationally, and have no desire to live next to a quarry.” Four of us are Vietnam or Vietnam-era veterans. We pay our taxes, we patronize small business. Our real estate taxes have probably brought over a million dollars to Cavendish over the years. We support local businesses, and are happy to support local schools and roads with our taxes. Has anyone ever shown any value at all to the town from a quarry?


Tierney Road Residents Against Quarry, Cavendish

Cavendish Update 12/6/19 SB Mtg/News/Events

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12/6/19 Cavendish Update

1. Cavendish Select Board Meeting 11/25/19

2. Cavendish Related news

3. Events

 

1. CAVENDISH SELECT BOARD SPECIAL MEETING 11/25/19: A special select board (SB) meeting was held to vote on whether the town should appeal the Vermont Department of Property Valuation Review dated October 24th 2019, Watson V. Town of Cavendish.

Bruce and Linda Watson, who live at the intersection of Tierney Rd, and High Street appealed to have their property taxes lowered due to a proposed .64 acre quarry at the end of Tierney Rd-approximately a mile from their property.  In the decision rendered by the hearing officer, who ruled in favor of the Watsons, the assessed value of their property will be reduced from $498,800 to $449,000 for the grand list year 2018.

In a Letter to the Editor, Maureen Savage, who along with her husband Justin, owns the 176 acres at the end of Tierney Rd, provided the following information about the scope of this project. Note that the quarry will be run by Jason Snow of Snowstone.  It is important to understand how and when Snow will remove the stone, which is in the same manner as he had done with the Cavendish Gulf Rd, where no objections or issues from the town or neighbors were raised:

• Quarries dimensional and decorative stone, process to remove and split is by hand.

            • Further processing by machinery is done off site [in Chester, VT]

            • .64 acre parcel tucked in woods not in residential area, can’t see it. 

            • No more than four trips daily in a ford F550 (landscaping truck)

            • Controlled blast approximately once a year 

            • Operation would last approximately five years. 

            • Seasonal business, no weekends or holidays, no operation in the Winter

On Nov. 14, the Cavendish Board of Civil Authorities met to discuss whether the town should appeal this decision.

Diane McNamara, Town Clerk and treasurer, noted that, upon reviewing the Decision, there were items that raised some questions and that she felt an appeal should be pursued if for no other reason than to have an accurate record. Among her concerns included:

Item #4:The appraiser stated that she visited the Tierney Road property with the owners and saw their property from the road. According to the Handbook on Property Tax Assessment Appeals, the appraiser is obligated to inspect the property and to issue a decision in writing.

Item#5: There is currently a very small gravel pit operation at the far end of the road. My understanding is that there is not currently a very small gravel pit operating at the end of the road.

Item #8: The residents of Tierney Road have taken the Town to court to stop the gravel pit from happening. I am unaware that the Town has been taken to court on any matter regarding this.

In her Letter, Savage shared similar concerns with McNamara, Regarding Watsons Tax Appeal decision there are many incorrect statements and assumptions.  It’s clear the assessor was lied to by Mr. Watson and took his word as fact without confirming, I will reference these inconsistences as they are in the 10/24/19 document from the Department of Taxes: Savage shared points #7 and 8, and along with McNamara noted that for Item #7, no act 250 permit has been applied for to expand the quarry. Savage also noted Watson Stated in 11/14 Cavendish Board of Civil Authority meeting he showed the assessor where the quarry was – [however] you can’t see it from the road.

Savage points out that Data provided from 2008 study how “gravel pits” affect values is comparing a 200+ acre pit with 120 truck trips a day to a small 2-man operation.  Also references rezoning, there is no zoning in Cavendish.

According to Savage, Mr. Watson has circulated considerable misinformation. The first one being that we will “postage stamp” our property and sell an acre over and over again. Last year we placed our entire property into land use minus the .64 acre and our homesite.

We purchased our property to live on it, enjoy recreationally and would like to retire here.  This is our home; we are local small business owners and consider ourselves respectful and good stewards of the land. We - just like all of you have no desire to live next to a large-scale quarry. Note: The Savages live full time on Tierney Rd with two of their three children.

After going into executive session with the town's attorney the SB returned and voted 4 to 1 not to appeal. The rationale for this decision was that it would cost the town more to appeal the decision than to let it stand. The one dissenting vote was from Mike Ripley.

Savage’s Letter to the Editor is available at The Dish and the VT Journal.

 

2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS

CVFD Free Air Hose is Operational: The free air hose at the Cavendish Volunteer Fire Department is back in service.

CHS December News Brief: Catch up on the latest news from the Cavendish Historical Society at their monthly “briefs.

Former Ludlow Dentist John C. Montgomery Dies: It is with sadness that we report the passing of Dr. Montgomery, who was a dentist in Ludlow until 2011. His obituary is available on-line.

GMUSD November Board Meeting: GMUSD board meeting Thursday, Nov. 21 lasted nearly four hours dealing with several major issues including a Cavendish Community Library incident that necessitated changes to library hours. On Friday, Oct. 25, the library assistant noticed a town library patron was carrying an unloaded gun. The police were called the next day and the patron’s library privileges were suspended until the investigation was completed. The Cavendish public library is attached to one end of Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES). Following the incident, there were several meetings with Library Board President Bob Evans, CTES principal Deb Beaupre, librarian Kata Welch, additional safety consultants, and TRSU administrators. The result of the meetings were that the library hours have been changed so each morning the library is open to students from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and then open to the community from 12-7 p.m. On Saturdays, the library is open from noon to 4 p.m. The library doors are also locked so that no students can enter the library from the school after noon. Beaupre has agreed that as they consider more permanent solutions to the issue, the short-term changes will work through this year. Beaupre expressed her focus on student safety first and foremost and discussed her initial reaction “as a principal thinking about this particular space and how it makes us vulnerable, the pragmatic thing for me is that the library should go.” She admitted, however, that that’s a bigger conversation. Librarian Kata Welch noted “The thought of the library leaving the school grounds, I think would be a tragedy. We are a huge resource for the community.” Further discussion has been tabled to the December meeting. VT Journal

GMUSD  budget panel nixes CAES preschool, urges fund-raising for CTES playground Puts money into STEAM, literacy, early foreign language: The Green Mountain Unified School District Finance Committee rejected a number of administration initiatives at its Nov. 25 meeting in favor of fully funding the priorities it established at a September retreat- early reading, establishing a world language program in the elementary schools and a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) program in elementary and high school. The committee rejected the biggest initiative – buying the TD Bank to establish a preschool there for more there $500,000, but considered funding a new playground at  Cavendish Town Elementary School before deciding that the $150,000 project should be the objective of a fundraising campaign as it was at Chester-Andover Elementary. Speaking to the playground issue, CTES Principal Deb Beaupre said the school’s support group was very small and that based on a lack of parental involvement, she decided not to pursue fundraising. She also said that since most of the fundraising would come from school families she was uncertain how quickly she could raise the money. Board members Doug McBride and Kate Lamphere, both of Cavendish, told the meeting that residents they have spoken with understand that playground funds were raised by the Chester community and not out of school funds and that people are ready to start fundraising but might need some help with grants. Chester Telegraph

Ludlow Rotary hears speaker on proposed 1% local tax: At a recent meeting, Ludlow Rotary Club members listened to Charlie Kimbell of Woodstock as he discussed that town’s implementation of the 1% local sales tax. Kimbell, who was instrumental in the implementation of the 1% tax in Woodstock, was invited by the LRC to discuss this issue since the Ludlow Select board may consider placing the additional 1% sales tax before the 2020 town meeting for consideration. He noted that, contrary to some towns that have implemented this tax, Woodstock was interested in using the additional revenue to improve infrastructure, enhance recreational facilities, and promote the town’s economic development. Kimbell indicated that the benefit of this approach, rather than simply putting the new revenue in the general fund to lower property taxes, was that it provided necessary improvements that did not increase property taxes. VT Journal

Vermont seniors face high rates of financial insecurity: Seniors in Vermont face one of the highest rates of financial insecurity in the nation. According to the report, 31% of seniors over the age of 65 who live alone, and 43% of elderly couples, don’t make enough income to meet the cost of basic needs, even though they are above the federal poverty line.  The report, which analyzed federal data on the costs of housing, health care, transportation, food, and other goods in all 50 states found Vermont ranks first in the nation for the highest rate of economic insecurity for older couples, and third for singles. VT Digger

How Vermont’s DMV makes millions of dollars selling personal information: The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles has been quietly selling the personal data of Vermonters to private companies since at least 2004, making more than $15 million on sales of the data over the past four years. VT Digger

 Tax commissioner forecasts school taxes will rise over 6%: Vermont’s tax commissioner is forecasting a projected $72 million increase in school spending will drive up the average education property tax bill by more than 6% next year. VT Digger

 

3. EVENTS

DECEMBER 6 (FRIDAY): Tree lighting and sing along, 5:30 pm on the Svec Park (Proctorsville Green). . Tree lights by HP Fuels, remaining decorations from Ludlow Women’s  Club and Cavendish Streetscape. Free cookies and hot chocolate to follow

DECEMBER 7-8 (SATURDAY-SUNDAY): Indulgence Tour. Taste your way through Okemo Valley of Vermont. A dozen country inns inn-vite you inn-side to enjoy their holiday decorations and their inn-dulgent treats from noon til 5 each day. Savory pies, homemade soups, decadent chocolate cake, and more! $15 per person in advance (until Nov 27), then $20 per person. FMI: Julie at Golden Stage Inn 802-226-7744

• Christmas Tree Sale at Proctorsville Fire Dept. 9-4

DECEMBER 14 (SATURDAY): Christmas Tree Sale at Proctorsville Fire Dept. 9-4, Santa arrives at 10 with free coffee and homemade doughnuts!

DECEMBER 15 (SUNDAY): Christmas Tree Sale at Proctorsville Fire Dept. 9-4

DECEMBER 21 (SATURDAY): Winter Solstice

DECEMBER 22-DECEMBER 30 (SUNDAY-MONDAY): HANUKKAH

DECEMBER 24 (TUESDAY): Christmas Eve

DECEMBER 25 (WEDNESDAY): MERRY CHRISTMAS

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

IF YOU READ THIS PLEASE HELP SUPPORT CAVENDISH CONNECTS