Town of Pittsfield
Town Hall Citizens’ Advisory Committee
Meeting Minutes, August 12, 2019
5:00 p.m. Town Office Building Basement
 
Present:Ann Kuendig (interim chair), Dave Larkin, Carl Oertel, Glen Reinauer, Herb Kuendig, Betty Warner, Sarah Gallagher
 
1. Call to order.Ann called the meeting to order at 5:12 p.m. 
 
2. Approval of minutes.The minutes of the July 22 meeting were approved by a motion from Ann, seconded by Betty.
 
3. Chimney Update/Discussion.  The claim for repairs to chimney and building damage resulting from its ultimate collapse was denied by PACIF because it was not caused by an ‘occurrence,’ an accident, event, or disaster.  The committee agreed that an appeal was not in order.  Carl will seal up the chimney opening to protect from the weather.
 
4. Community Engagement/Survey.  There have been limited responses to the survey thus far.  Sarah will draft an introductory sentence to post with the survey link on the Town website and the Pittsfield News FB page.  Surveys and a drop box have been left in the Town Office, and will be left at the library, the Swiss Farm Market and the Clear River Tavern. Surveys will be provided to various town committees and organizations for distribution/collection at their meetings.  The committee will also have a presence at the Bazaar in September.
 
5. First Floor Preliminary Framing Plans. Herb presented as-builts and preliminary framing plans, which called for 9 lally columns as well as some LVL beams.  The drawings will need an engineer’s stamp. An engineer may recommend fewer columns as Herb indicated his design may be ‘overkill’ as he was unsure of the integrity and weight-bearing capacity of the original beams. Carl suggested asking Dan Pratt at RCWA if he would be willing to sign off on the drawings in the interest of keeping things local.  Carl and Herb will arrange a meeting. 
 
6. Scope of work/estimates.Tabled until next meeting.
 
7.  Article Timetable.  Town Meeting is on March 3, and will be an evening meeting in 2020, which would mean that a proposed article would need to be presented to the Select Board in early January.  An alternate site will need to be found for Town Meeting.  Sarah suggested Riverside, Ann will follow up.  Sarah felt that bringing an article to vote at Town Meeting might be too early, given that we’ve only been working on one option for the building.  The committee is charged with researching and presenting options for the building.  We don’t have to vote on anything in March, and we want to be sure that folks fully understand all options presented and their various financial and other implications.  Presenting and voting at the same meeting seems like a lot to take in at one meeting, there will likely be lots of discussion. A special town meeting to vote on options can be at a later date once folks have the information they need to make a decision.
 
8. Next meeting: Tuesday, September 11,  2019, at 5:00 p.m. in the basement of the Town Office building.
 
9. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 6:24 p.m. upon motion from Ann, seconded by Betty. 
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
Sarah Gallagher
 
Approved by:  s/Ann Kuendig                                                                Date:  September 11, 2019

​Town of Pittsfield
Town Hall Citizens’ Advisory Committee
Meeting Minutes, July 22, 2019
5:00 p.m. Town Office Building Basement
 
Present: Ann Kuendig (interim chair), Ray Colton, Carl Oertel, Betty Warner
 
 
Guests: None
 
Call to order. Ann called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m.
 
Approval of minutes. The minutes of the July 1 meeting were approved by a
motion from Ray, seconded by Carl.
 
Chimney Update: Ann reviewed the history of the chimney and its demise.
This committee had planned to put together a work party to take the chimney down during the week of July 16th following a confirmation that the town would be adequately insured for that activity.
On the morning of July 5th the chimney fell to the ground with no human intervention. This event was reported to the Select Board by a citizen.
This was reported to our insurers, PACIF, whom we expect to estimate the allow for the costs of replacement of chimney, residing that portion of the building, and repairing the affected roof area.
No work will be done until we hear from PACIF.
The installation of the power vent to replace the function of the chimney has been placed on hold until insurance company work is done.
The collapse of the chimney left the town with a big pile of bricks to move. That move was accomplished quickly with the help of the Spartan/Peak Racers who were looking for a community project. Coincidentally, the Rutland Herald was coming to the site to follow-up on its Town Meeting day reporting of the Town Hall project. This resulted in a front page photo of the bricks being placed into the town’s dump truck by the strong and energetic racers.
 
Community Engagement Survey. Ann reported that the survey was finalized and a preamble was inserted in to the tax bills as they were distributed. Ann reported on the results to date including the graphic display of data available through Survey Monkey. Surveys and boxes to hold them will be placed at Town Hall and the Library. Ray Colton agreed to take a number of copies to the Swiss Farm Inn where many community members gather early in the morning. He will distribute the surveys and encourage folks to fill them out. We will attempt to join regularly scheduled meetings to hand out and encourage residents to complete the surveys.
 
Community Engagement Events. It seems as though the next community event where a table could be set up for the distribution of surveys would be the Bazaar on the last Saturday of September. In the meantime, we need to pay attention to any other regular meetings where we could distribute the surveys.
 
Next meeting: Monday, August 12, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. in the basement of the Town Office building.
 
Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 6:06 p.m. upon motion from Ray,
seconded by Carl and unanimous consent.
 
Respectfully submitted,
Betty Warner
 
Approved by:    s/Ann Kuendig                                              Date:  August 12, 2019
 

Town of Pittsfield
Town Hall Citizens’ Advisory Committee
Meeting Minutes, July 1, 2019
5:00 p.m. Town Office Building Basement
 
Present: Ann Kuendig (interim chair), Dave Larkin, Ray Colton, Carl Oertel, Betty Warner
 
Guests: Dot Williams from the Historical Society
 
Call to order. Ann called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m.
 
Approval of minutes. The minutes of the June 3 meeting were approved by a
motion from Ann, seconded by Carl.
 
Community Input. Dot Williams expressed concern about the necessity of moving historical society materials from the building while it is being repaired and reported that the Historical Society does not want to move any of the items.
 
Response. Ann pointed out that the request for the transfer of those items came from the Select Board several months ago when it was decided not to use the building for public events. Ann also noted there is a project underway to create “as is” drawings of the first floor of Town Hall and that the Historical Society belongings are impeding the ability to do the measurements necessary to complete that project. 
 
Review Scope of work-update estimates. Dave Larkin will provide additional scope of work items for the first floor project so that the document can be updated.
 
Chimney Stabilization Project.  A motion was made by Ann, seconded by Betty and accepted unanimously to accept the bid of $1721.30 from CV Oil for a Power Vent and its installation. Related to this - 1) Ann confirmed maintenance would be included in our existing maintenance agreement. 2) A Power Vent can be installed inside or outside. CV Oil confirmed that it would be installed inside and thus not subject to weather-related wear. Next steps - Ann will confirm to CV Oil that the town accepts the quote and she will schedule the installation after the removal of the chimney.  It was decided to gather a work party during the week of July 16th for the purpose of taking down the chimney. Ann will speak with people who have equipment and tools to help with the project and based on those discussions set a date for a work party event. Ann will also check insurance provisions for a volunteer work party.
 
Community Engagement Survey. Ann, Sarah, and Betty have been working on producing a survey that will engage the community in telling this committee their wishes for the future of the Town Hall building. A draft version of an insert into the tax bill mailing was presented to the committee. Changes were suggested. A motion was made by Betty, seconded by Carl, and approved to submit revised copies of the insert to the committee for approval and to secure that approval via email. Likewise, a list of the survey questions will be submitted to the committee for review and approval via email.
 
Community Engagement Events. Betty and Ann shared that the idea of creating a community event in August - a potluck gathering - for the purpose of gathering people and getting even more survey question answers. No firm decision was made about a date or the event. Also mentioned was the idea of taking the survey to any local gathering or meeting or place where we could acquire more survey responses. It was agreed that we would use the Survey Monkey application to manage this survey. While no firm decisions were made there was a consensus that the more opportunities we can create for people to respond to the survey, the better
 
Municipal Planning Grants. Ann reported that there are Municipal Planning Grants available. While the current round of funding is underway and we can not take advantage of it, she noted that we should be watching and monitoring possibilities as we move forward. Specifically, grants are available for planning activities which we may need to engage the community in depending upon the results of the survey.
 
Member Summer Availability.
 
Next meeting: Monday, July 22, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. in the basement of the Town Office
building.
 
Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 6:44 p.m. upon motion from Ann,
seconded by Carl and unanimous consent.
 
Respectfully submitted,
Betty Warner
Approved by: s/Ann Kuendig
​Date: July 22, 2019