PITTSFIELD SELECT BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
 
DATE:                    July 18, 2017
PRESENT:             Matt Corron, Patty Haskins, Charles Piso, Marsha Hopkins, Lyle Jepson, Mary Cohen
 
AGENDA
Agenda Modifications: Correspondence #7-Peter Borden recusal letter; Old Business #9-Tweed River Open Space sign; New Business #7-Town Clerk & Treasurer June Financials, #8-CV Oil Pre-buy contracts, #9-TRORC Enhanced Energy Plan, and #10 Letter of support re: Basketball Court grant
Minutes Approval:  Special Meeting June 27, 2017
Public Present: Mary Cohen of Regional Chamber of Commerce @ 6:00 pm; Bill Oren Town Planning regarding Act 250 @ 6:20pm; George Deblon re: Town Loader @ 6:45pm; Eric Furs Easement for Bridge 126 VTrans (Tweed River Open Space) @ 7:00pm
 
Correspondence:
1.Vermont EPSCor
2.VLCT News
3.VT Dept of Taxes
4.TRORC Road Grants Pilot Program
5.Fisher Sheehan DPW Questionnaire
6.ELAN City Radar signs
7.Peter Borden recusal letter
 
Old Business:
1.VTrans Tweed River Open Space easement
2.T.O. & T.H. Maintenance Projects updates
3.Park Place Casella Follow up
4.Paving review/ appointment follow up
5.Town Hall Dehumidifier
6.Town Purchasing Policy
7.Basketball court Proposal
8.Open Meeting Seminar
9.Tweed River Open Space sign
 
New Business:
1.Notice Act 250 Hearing Riverside Horse Farm
2.EC Fiber Celebration
3.Bike Rack Grants
4.George Deblon Town Loader
5.TRORC MPG announcement
6.Grant of Development Rights overview
7.Town Clerk & Treasurer Report – June Financials
8.CV Oil Pre-buy Contracts
9.TRORC Enhanced Energy Plan
10.Letter of support re: Basketball Court grant
 
Next Meeting Date: TBD, 2017
 
Agenda Modifications: Charlie motioned to open the meeting; Matt seconded; the meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. Agenda modifications presented:  Correspondence #7-Peter Borden recusal letter; Old Business #9-Tweed River Open Space sign; New Business #7-Town Clerk & Treasurer June Financials, #8-CV Oil Pre-buy contracts, #9-TRORC Enhanced Energy Plan, and #10 Letter of support re: Basketball Court grant. Charlie motioned to accept agenda modifications; Matt seconded; motion carried.
 
Charlie read Peter Borden’s letter to the Board recusing himself from tonight’s meeting due to agenda item #1 under New Business: Riverside Act 250 Hearing Notice.
 
Minutes Approval: Minutes have been tabled until the next meeting due to Peter’s absence.
 
Public Present:

1. Mary Cohen, Executive Director of Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce (RRCC), and Lyle Jepson, Executive Director of Rutland Economic Development Corp. (REDC), shared a presentation on the 10-year marketing & re-branding initiative for Rutland County. It is being promoted as Killington Valley. Population is decreasing, especially younger professionals. The goal is to grow business and attract millennials to the area. Focus will be on quality of life, workforce and tourism. There is strong emphasis on mountain biking and other recreational opportunities throughout the region. They are looking for representative from Pittsfield to be on the Quality of Life committee as Pittsfield is one of four towns that is actually growing. Providing funding for the initiative is not required however if a town would like to help with the promotional efforts they suggest one dollar per resident which most towns are amenable to.

1. Bill Oren Town Planning regarding Act 250 – did not attend
2. George Deblon re: Town Loader – The current loader is 36 years old and needing a fair amount of work. NorTrax is offering a new John Deere 444K, with several options and a 7 year warranty for $118,250. This is a deeply discounted price. George has checked out several used loaders and either the machine has a high number of hours or is full of rust. The used machines are listed at $94,000 and up. The town equipment fund has $92,000. The board would like George to find out how long NorTrax will offer this special pricing program and how much is a 5-year lease. Charlie will verify VLCT what authority the board has for entering into a lease.
3. Eric Furs Easement for Bridge 126 VTrans (Tweed River Open Space) – did not attend

 
Correspondence:
1.Vermont EPSCor – Vermont Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research questionnaire related to extreme weather situations specific to water is being completed by Patty, George and Matt.
2.VLCT News – July issue received. No action.
3.VT Dept of Taxes – The Education tax rate has been received.
4.TRORC Road Grants Pilot Program – Thank you for participating.
5.Fisher Sheehan DPW Questionnaire – This is for the town of Belmont, MA. No action.
6.ELAN City Radar signs – Charlie will contact Rita Seto at TRORC about setting up the speed signs for the Village. He will also get more detailed information from ELAN.
7.Peter Borden recusal letter – Peter recused himself from tonight’s meeting due to agenda item #1 under New Business: Riverside Act 250 Hearing Notice.
 
Old Business:
1.VTrans Tweed River Open Space easement – Revised guardrail design on Lower Michigan Road is still a concern for George. Charlie will contact Doug Bonneau at VTrans about the issues and possibly have an on-site meeting. VTrans will agree to cover the cost of transplanting the trees and the 2-year warranty. They prefer the town arrange for a vendor and the arrangement will be included in the separate right-of-way agreement. Matt will contact Harvey’s for the tree company information in order to get a proposal.
2.T.O. & T.H. Maintenance Projects updates – Patty is working on a date to get the floors re-finished. Window cleaners stopped by for the paperwork but have not returned. Matt will follow-up and if they are not able or willing to do the project then he will look for another contractor. Matt contacted Mona Colton about the Town Hall painting projects inside and out. 
Mona is still willing to do. Matt will need to get paint and supplies. Trim up along one eave of the Town Hall needs to be replaced as well as some molding that is rotting along handicap access. Matt will look into finding some quotes to get this work done. The door trim on the front of the Town Office needs to be re-painted and Matt will check into this as well.
3.Park Place Casella Follow up – Charlie spoke with Casella’s and they will be putting boulders in place in a few days. They will contact George.
4.Paving review/ appointment follow up – The person Charlie spoke with could not address the fire house pond. Charlie will ask Doug Bonneau at VTrans for a contact that can address the pond and the run-off from Upper Michigan Road.
5.Town Hall Dehumidifier – Matt will review available dehumidifiers and give Patty a recommendation on which one to order.
6.Town Purchasing Policy – George needs to review and provide input. Tabled until September.
7.Basketball Court Proposals – Difficult to compare proposals as there are no apples to apples and a wide range of prices. Charlie does not believe there is enough usage to warrant a large investment. Charlie would like Erica to attend a meeting to discuss the goal and she needs approval from the Board before spending any funds.
8.Open Meeting Seminar – Charlie will reach out to other area towns to find out if they would like to have a joint seminar. Patty suggests other Pittsfield committees could use this free seminar as well.
9.Tweed River Open Space sign – Re-worked wording. Sign colors and font should match the sign on the high water marker. Matt will contact Harvey’s to find out who they used for the sign. Charlie will check with VLCT about a guideline on how large to make the 911 on the sign. Charlie will also contact Peter to find out if he spoke with Connie about mowing the open space.
 
New Business:
1.Notice Act 250 Hearing Riverside Horse Farm – The hearing is Friday July 28th. Marsha Hopkins as the Planning Commission representative would like George to attend because the application is for 600 additional roundtrips on Tweed River Drive. George does not foresee any huge issue for road maintenance due to this section of the road is fairly flat. He will not be attending the meeting. Marsha's other areas of concern are noise and pollution, both items are addressed in the Town Plan. Members of the Planning Commission plan to attend the hearing.
2.EC Fiber Celebration – Event is Thursday, July 20th. Charlie was asked by ECFiber if he would say a few words at the celebration.
3.Bike Rack Grants – Combine with the discussion about the basketball court at a future meeting.
4.George Deblon Town Loader – Public Present #3
5.TRORC MPG announcement – Planning grants available. Forward information to the Planning Commission.
6.Grant of Development Rights Overview – Vermont Housing & Conservation Board easement requires a Management Plan for the Tweed River Open Space area. Matt and Charlie will review the easement document closely and discuss at next meeting. The plan needs to be in compliance with 24 VSA 1061. Charlie will review the statute. Patty has asked TRORC for an example of a plan to use for guidance.
7.Town Clerk & Treasurer Report – June Financials were reviewed and all were in order.
8.CV Oil Pre-buy Contracts – Board reviewed numbers with Patty. Charlie motioned to sign the Pre-buy Contract for 500 gallons of propane for the Highway Garage, 350 gallons of #2 fuel oil for the Town Hall, and 1,400 gallons of propane for the Town Office Building. Matt seconded the motion. Motion carried.
9.TRORC Enhanced Energy Plan – TRORC is submitting the Energy Implementation Plan for adoption to the State. No acti
 
10.Letter of support re: Basketball Court grant – The board needs clarification on exactly what they are supporting. Charlie will contact Erica. Matt motioned to allow Charlie to sign a letter of support on behalf of the Board if it is specific to supporting Erica’s fundraising efforts to improve the basketball courts. Charlie seconded the motion; motion carried.
 
Next Meeting Date:  Thursday, August 10, 2017 (conflicts on August 8 and 15)
 
Adjournment:  Charlie motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:40 p.m.; Matt seconded; meeting adjourned.
 
Approved:  August 10, 2017                                 Recorded by:  Tyna Gallagher    
 
Charles Piso
  
Matt Corron
 

PITTSFIELD SELECT BOARD SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
 
DATE:                    June 27, 2017
PRESENT:             Matt Corron, Peter Borden, Patty Haskins, Charles Piso arrived 7:30 p.m.
 
AGENDA
Agenda Modifications:
Minutes Approval:  Regular Meeting June 20, 2017
Public Present:
Old Business:
1.       Request to Cater Malt – Vermont Farms Catering, LLC: 7/1-7/2/17 and 7/14-7/15/17
2.       Application for Special Event Permit – Cold River Spirits: 7/16/17
3.       HMGP Financial Report Form – request for 2335 Rt 100
4.       Park Place Demolition – Casella follow up
5.       Paving review/appointment with VTrans –  Follow-up
6.       Set Municipal Tax Rate
7.       VTrans – Trees in Tweed River Open Space
New Business:
1.       Town Hall Use Request
Adjournment
 
Matt motioned to open the meeting; Peter seconded; the meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m.  The meeting recessed at 6:55 p.m. while the BCA conducted their meeting. The Select Board Meeting reconvened at 7:30 p.m.
 
Minutes Approval: Peter motioned to approve the regular meeting minutes for June 20 2017; Matt seconded; motion carried.
 
Old Business:
1.       Request to Cater Malt, Vinous, and/or Spirituous Liquors – Vermont Farms Catering, LLC: 7/1-7/2/17 and 7/14-7/15/17 – Peter recused himself from this business. Matt motioned to approve both requests; Charlie seconded; motion carried.
2.       Application for Special Event Permit – Cold River Spirits for 7/16/17: Fork to Fondo event with Cold River Spirits requesting to serve tasting samples of liquor. Peter recused himself from this business. Charlie motioned to approve both requests; Matt seconded; motion carried.
3.       HMGP Financial Report Form – request for 2335 Rt 100: This is for the former Halligan property. Peter motioned to sign the report; Matt seconded; motion carried.
4.       Park Place Demolition – Casella follow up: They will install large boulders as specified in the plan. Stone for the road has been laid and the road is in good shape. Area is temporarily blocked with a tree until boulders are put in place.
5.       Paving review/appointment with VTrans – Follow-up: Paving project has been moved to 2020. Dave Colton has expressed concern about culvert by the pond at the fire station. Charlie will contact VTrans engineers to review this issue and the run-off from Upper Michigan so VTrans can plan appropriately.
6.       Set Municipal Tax Rate – School tax rate has not been received yet however the Board cannot change it anyway. Patty presented the approved 2017 municipal budget totals and the Actual 2017 Grand List total. Using these figures the 2017 municipal tax rate will be .45. The municipal tax rate was estimated at .45 at town meeting. Peter motioned to set the municipal tax rate at .45 and add the school tax rate on once the town receives it and that figure is the resultant tax rate; Matt seconded; motion carried.
7.       VTrans – Trees in Tweed River Open Space: Peter suggests having TRORC review the situation. He will send them the information via e-mail and will follow-up by telephone. Relocation of the trees, telephone pole placement, guardrail placement, ROW for culvert and FEMA approval all need to be in writing from VTrans. Will discuss further at next meeting.
 
New Business:

1. Town Hall Use Request – Dolly Curry wanted to rent the space however the $100 fee is too high. It will cost $80 to clean the hall before renting. Insurance through PACIF is $77 however Patty will suggest Dolly use homeowner’s insurance for a $10-15 fee. Rental fee remains at $100.

 
Adjournment:  Peter motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 p.m.; Matt seconded; meeting adjourned.
 
Approved:  August 10, 2017                                   Recorded by:  Tyna Gallagher    
 
Matt Corron
  
Peter Borden