Brandon Select Board Meeting

November 23, 2009

   NOTE:  These are unapproved minutes, subject to amendment and/or approval at the subsequent board meeting.

 In Attendance: Richard Baker, Kellie Martin, Mitch Pearl

 Also in Attendance: Keith Arlund, Chris Brickell, Tom Schmelzenbach, Linda Stewart, Wayne Rausenberger, Lee Kahrs, Jim Leary, Judy Bundy, Helyn Anderson, Devon Fuller, Jim Emerson, Lynn Saunders, David Holbrook, Maurice Racine, Janet Mondlak

1.  Call to order  

The meeting was called to order at 7:49PM by Richard Baker.      

a) Agenda Adoption - Motion by Mitch Pearl/Kellie Martin to adopt the agenda as written. The motion passed unanimously - 3 to zero. 

2.  Consent Agenda

a) Minutes - Select Board Minutes of November 9, 2009

Motion by Kellie Martin/Mitch Pearl to approve the minutes of the November 9, 2009 Select Board meeting. The motion passed unanimously - 3 to zero.

b) Consider VAST Request for Use of Wagner Road

Mr. Holbrook of VAST stated there will be an on-site meeting held next week.  Mr. Holbrook stated they have used this trail for about 25 years and last year Leicester Hollow was washed out. There was an issue with a land owner on Churchill Hill Road and VAST has just received notice from the federal government that the Ridge Trail will now be used.  The snowmobiles crossed at the end of Churchill Road in the past; however, the homeowner does not want any snowmobiles going through there.  This is a major connector for the VAST trails and the State of Vermont has asked VAST to work with the Town of Brandon to get approval to use a portion of Wagner Road.  Mr. Holbrook advised the snowmobiles would be riding about 3/10 of a mile along Route 73 and 2/10 of a mile on Wagner Road. It is hoped the town will provide permission. They are looking at alternative crossings, but it cannot be done this year.  VAST is a statewide organization and the trails are used regularly and this trail is a major corridor and gets a fair amount of use from north to south. If permission is received from the town, VAST will then ask permission from the state to use their portion of the proposed trail.

Richard Baker stated that snowmobiles are not allowed to ride on the road unless the local governing bodies provide permission and it is posted accordingly. Mr. Holbrook stated VAST is proposing to come down the north side of Route 73 and cross at the guard rails. 

Tom Schmelzenbach stated there are some issues relative to different types of vehicles mixing on the road.  He would like to know if any sign packages are included in this request and how will the public know to expect snowmobiles on the road.  Mr. Holbrook stated VAST can provide the signs the town requests. He stated there would be snowmobile crossing signs on Route 73. Mitch Pearl asked if there have been any issues with the people on Wagner Road and Mr. Holbrook advised there has not been in the past. 

Motion by Mitch Pearl/Kellie Martin to authorize the Town Manager to coordinate with Tom Roberts of VTrans on the use Wagner Road by VAST; subject to also receiving their approval by the state.  The motion passed unanimously - 3 to zero.

3.  Fiscal

a) Warrant - $1,017,477.22

Motion by Mitch Pearl/Kellie Martin to approve the November 23^rd warrant in the amount of $1,017,477.22. The motion passed unanimously - 3 to zero.  

Richard Baker stated these warrants are affected by the $924,000.00 that is to be transferred to Neshobe School and OV for their quarterly payments.  

b)  Errors and omissions

Motion by Kellie Martin/Mitch Pearl to approve the errors and omissions. The motion passed unanimously - 3 to zero.

4.  Education Update

Kellie Martin stated Neshobe Voices will be performed on December 4^th and 5^th. There is a concert scheduled for Thursday, December 10^th and the school starts the holiday break as of December 23^rd. Jim Leary stated the Neshobe School Board will be working on the school budget and the public is welcome to attend the meetings to provide input in the budget process.

5. Town Manager's Report

Keith Arlund stated there was a discussion at the last meeting concerning the Recreation Department budget and he had indicated it was $15,000.00. He wished to provide a correction noting the budget was actually $33,000.00 and $15,000.00 had been spent, with around $15,000.00 remaining.  Mr. Arlund advised he provided a correction to Ms. Whitney and he wished to apologize for the confusion.

Mr. Arlund reported the VLCT provided the new rates for the health insurance, which has a 2.8% increase. The liability and unemployment rates will be available around the first part of December and he has been advised there may be a fairly high increase in unemployment premiums. Mr. Arlund stated the first draft of the proposed budget should be available at the first meeting in December.  Mr. Arlund advised January 25 is the deadline for all nominating petitions to be submitted to the Town Clerk, January 21 is the deadline for posting the warning notice for town meeting, February 20 is the deadline for mailing the Town Report, March 1 is the scheduled date for town meeting and March 2 is voting day.  Mr. Arlund also advised this Thursday and Friday the town office will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Linda Stewart stated the increases for the municipal employees is out of line and she requested this issue be reviewed as social security recipients received low increases and there will be no increase for social security recipients this year.

6.  Citizen’s Public Forum

a)  James Emerson - PSB Solar Application

Kellie Martin recused herself from this discussion.

Mr. Emerson stated this is a process he initiated in August and he wants to make sure the plans are understood. He advised they are trying to install one solar panel, rather than two, which would be less conspicuous. They are planning to do landscaping and to work with the neighbors so they understand what they are proposing. Mr. Emerson stated the town has a statement of support for alternative energy and he asked how this plays in what he is doing. He stated with regard to glare, this array will be at a 45 degree angle in the winter, which would be high in the air.  In the summer, there may be a possibility of a northern neighbor being affected. 

Richard Baker apologized on behalf of the town for the misunderstanding that had taken place prior to receiving the additional information. Mitch Pearl stated while the Board appreciates the public's concerns and appreciates the request to have the Board weigh in on this subject, due to the fact it is a project governed by the Public Service Board, the Select Board does not have jurisdiction over this. He stated everyone was under a misconception of what the concerns were. Mr. Emerson stated he would not mind receiving a set of guidelines of what the town prefers. Mitch Pearl stated there is a Town Plan, which is a public document and there are also Zoning By-laws that set standards. Mr. Emerson stated Mr. Arlund did provide this information to him. Mr. Pearl wished him good luck and he noted we need to do more of these types of projects.  Mr. Emerson stated he does welcome input and he stated he is open to ideas and suggestions to make it as attractive as possible. 

Janet Mondlak stated she is present to discuss economic development and provided the following dialog:

More than two years, I put in my name to serve as a volunteer on the Brandon Downtown Community Development Corp. The Select Board had advertised they were looking for volunteers. In fact, the ad is still on the town's website. I never heard from anyone. Ever.

In Sept 2008, the Chamber pursued the town filling the vacant Economic Development officer position. The Chamber was asked, at that time, to assist in the endeavor by drafting a strategic plan relative to economic development; and if that includes a person, to also include in the plan a method of funding for the position.

The Chamber took that request seriously and formed an ad-hoc committee. In October 2008, the Chamber presented the Select Board with their recommendation for an approach to economic development. We asked to partner with the town. We put forth a profile of an economic development officer including skills we thought would be useful in the job. We proposed a mix of immediate and long-term tasks. We made four specific recommendations. We never heard back on this. Ever

In December 2008, I attended a Select Board meeting along with Jamie Stewart, the executive director of the Rutland Economic Development Corp. who had been invited to discuss the proposed ad for an economic development consultant. I would like to read to you a few points that were made that night to remind you of what was said at the time by Board members, Jamie Stewart, and myself regarding the economic development work:

• The days of luring big businesses into town are over, but there should be a way to encourage entrepreneurship and help people on a micro-level.  

• Retail businesses in this town have gone out of business and perhaps if there had been someone at the ground level encouraging businesses to move in, there may have been a way to get people into these businesses.

• Micro businesses are the future of our economics and we should encourage and nurture them to become the employers of the future.

• A lot of towns have a community developer to do downtown landscaping and village designation, and this person sometimes has a connection with economic development.

• The job description should look for someone to be actively involved, and it would require someone with business experience and a financial background.

• Someone to be a conduit to connect prospective business people with assistance such as REDC, the bank, etc.

•  Economic development always seems to fall to the bottom of the pile. The town should make full use of REDC's services, but there should be someone who will be held accountable for doing the follow-up and reporting to Mr. Arlund.

• The Chamber sees economic development as someone to be sales person and someone who will be pro-active as opposed to reactive.

• Brandon has fiber optic lines, the availability of space and a downtown designation.

• There needs to be facilitation and it is important there is focus on some of the smaller projects.

It seems to me that there was more than enough meat in that discussion for the Board to decide what they were looking for and to do some recruitment.

In April 2009, four months later, the Board advertised for someone to serve "various economic development functions within the town." The Chamber was never notified of the advertisement. The ad was not dated - no "apply by" - which in itself, doesn't sound very serious. I'm not sure where the ad was placed or how many times it ran - the Rutland Herald perhaps, but there was not a good response. With all due respect, for an ad which took 4-6 months to write, the wording was forbidding. I don't believe I would have been qualified to respond and I've been working in a parallel position in this town for more than 17 years. Accordingly, with little or no response, the ad was repeated in June. Well, I'm not sure if it was repeated or other wording was used because again, the Chamber was not notified and I never saw the ad.

Here we are in November 2009, another four months has gone by. Why am I repeating all these details which you all know so well? At your last meeting, Richard proposed a description for a Community and Economic Development Committee. It would have been nice if the Chamber of Commerce were notified that there was a proposal being made - especially since the proposal specifically names the Executive Director or other Chamber Board appointee to serve on the proposed committee.  From your minutes, the Select Board was asked to consider the proposal for discussion at a subsequent meeting. I don't know why it was not on your agenda for tonight. I don't know where the language came from for Richard's proposal. I don't know why a committee is being asked to be formed at this time. More importantly, why wasn't this language used when writing the job description which was placed in April and June.  You are asking for different functions from this committee than what was asked for in the previously mentioned ad. I don't know why a new committee is being proposed - why isn't the Brandon Downtown Community Development Corp. being repopulated? And what is the legal status of that Corporation? How many more businesses have to close in this town before the Board takes a dramatic approach? With money in the last two budgets designated for these activities, which cannot be used as an excuse. I applaud the fact that there is this gesture, the proposed committee, but why is it not a priority? I just don't understand.

I am more than happy to work with a board appointed committee. I started this letter with the fact that about two years ago, I put my name in to serve on the Brandon Downtown Community Development Corp. I am still willing to serve. You folks are about to enter into your budget building season and will be busy. Please move this to the front burner. There are enough caring individuals and business people in town that you will not have to take time out of your own busy schedules to serve.  Thank you - Janet Mondlak.

Judy Bundy stated there should be some kind of response from the Board relative to Ms. Mondlak's dialog. Kellie Martin stated she does have an item to discuss during the Old/Other Business section of the agenda relative to Mr. Baker's Committee idea. Ms. Bundy stated the Board should at least acknowledge this presentation. Richard Baker stated there is no longer a 24 Center Street Inc., as it was terminated by the state. He noted his group used to be called the Brandon Downtown Development Corporation. Mr. Arlund is currently the designated representative for the downtown designation.  Janet Mondlak stated she was under the impression there needed to be a group in order for the downtown designation status to remain in tact. Richard Baker stated the legal issues surrounding the downtown designation will be reviewed. He noted 24 Center Street, Inc. started out as a single purpose entity to tear down the Green Block and all that transferred to the Town of Brandon was the real estate. Janet Mondlak asked if there is a paper trail for 24 Center Street, Inc. and she questioned if the town used a false name when going for downtown designation. Mr. Baker stated this item will have to be researched and he noted that he does appreciate her input and does agree with her.  Helyn Anderson questioned what has to be done to maintain the status of the downtown designation. Mitch Pearl stated we are still a designated downtown and Mr. Arlund is the temporary representative.  Mr. Pearl stated he does appreciate Ms. Mondlak's comments and has many of the same feelings.  He stated the Town Manager can serve in this role to accommodate downtown designation. Mr. Pearl does not know the best way to bring forth better community and economic development; however, people have brought forth various ideas. He agreed the Select Board does need to do something about this.  He thought that in advertising for the position, he felt it was moving forward and he stated that Mr. Baker's suggestion was made to try to move this process ahead. Mr. Pearl stated perhaps a committee is the right way to go, as the Chamber, Town Manager, and Select Board representation needs to come together to determine what will work best.  Mr. Pearl suggested perhaps a committee could meet a few times in an attempt to move the process ahead. Kellie Martin stated the first plan was to try to advertise for the position, however, that did not work with little to no response and perhaps Richard Baker's suggestion of an ad-hoc committee would provide the opportunity to meet more often. It was felt that a committee could work significantly faster than the Select Board meeting twice per month.  Mr. Racine questioned what Mr. Arlund's role is in the endeavor.  Kellie Martin stated for the purposes of downtown designation, Mr. Arlund is the contact person. Mr. Baker stated that hiring a person is not necessarily the answer until we have a community consensus of where we are going. Mr. Racine questioned if the specific outline was created by the Select Board or created by Mr. Baker. It was noted the Committee description was created by Mr. Baker as a suggestion for moving this process forward.  

7.  Rutland Re-Development - Tom Macauley Fiber Optic Network

The decision was made to defer this item to a subsequent meeting when the full Board is in attendance.

8.  Public Works

a) Consider P. O. #50969 - $5,400.00

Motion by Kellie Martin/Mitch Pearl to approve P. O. #50969, in the amount of $5,400.00, to Power Washer Sales LLC.   The motion passed unanimously - 3 to zero.

Mitch Pearl questioned how a culvert thawer works. Tom Schmelzenbach stated a thawer uses high pressure steam to thaw the culvert.  He stated the town does have a device like this, but it is much older technology. Tom Schmelzenbach stated some years they do not need to use this equipment a lot, but last year it was used about five times.

Devon Fuller asked if it is the Public Works Department that takes care of the leaves in the parks. Tom Schmelzenbach stated they do mowing in the summer, but there is currently no program for removing leaves.  Devon Fuller suggested perhaps a local youth group could do this project. 

8.  Appoint Interim Select Board Member

Mitch Pearl suggested the two candidates make a presentation to the Board, with a review of the information to take place when the full Board is present. 

Lynn Saunders stated her offer or request to be appointed is an offer to serve during the interim period, however, she will not run again in March.  She stated this is an opportunity to create an equal playing field in March and she knows how difficult the budgeting process can be and she has eight years experience in this area. Ms. Saunders stated she has no personal interest and is offering to fill in until voting time.

Devon Fuller stated he has lived in Brandon for three years. He is interested in the development of Brandon and is on the Neshobe School Board. He has owned two different businesses and has been involved in the Neshobe School system, as well as serving on a couple of other non-profit Boards in the past. He had spoken to Bruce Brown and Mr. Baker about the position and is interested in being involved and if it is not as a Selectman; it will be in another aspect.  He does not have the same eight years of qualifications, but he does have experience with budgets and he is interested in seeing Brandon prosper.  Richard Baker asked if he would run in March and Mr. Fuller stated, if chosen, he would use this time as a trial period and if it was a good working relationship, he would consider running in March. Mitch Pearl asked if he is still on the Neshobe School Board and Mr. Fuller noted he has one more year left.  Devon Fuller stated he talked in detail with Bruce Brown and understands the commitment.

9. Committee Reports/Announcements

Richard Baker stated last Thursday the Rutland Regional Transportation Council representative from Tinmouth advanced and requested the Council to put Bridge 114, which is the Route 7 bridge over the Neshobe River near the town office, on the state's list of priorities. The Council agreed to do so.

Richard Baker reminded the public that Lieutenant Pulsifer will be doing a presentation on identity theft tomorrow night at 6:30PM at the Brandon Library.

10.  Old/Other Business

Kellie Martin stated in general she likes the tasks that were listed for the Economic Development Committee, but discussion should be held about ways to choose appointees. She stated one thing missing is a proposed time line so that we are moving this item along. Richard Baker asked if there is a consensus to start this as an ad-hoc committee. Mitch Pearl stated he sees this as an ad-hoc committee; however, recommendations need to be made for what should be done and who needs to be doing the tasks. Kellie Martin asked how the group would be populated. Mitch Pearl suggested that people could be asked. Richard Baker suggested soliciting letters of interest for a short time span.  He stated the town has a lot of people with talent, but the Board is not sure who would want to participate.  Mitch Pearl suggested people could call, rather than write. Richard Baker suggested people could call with their interest to participate and a discussion could be held at the December 14 Select Board meeting.  Judy Bundy stated this is a critical issue for the town and she felt it will be difficult to try to solve this problem in the middle of the holiday season.  She suggested the Select Board members each contact 5 to 10 people to try to get people to come to an informational meeting to discuss this item in general terms.  She stated that without a structure, she does not feel that anyone would be willing to take on this task without discussion. Ms. Bundy stated to put an ad in the paper at Christmas time would not be a good idea.  Linda Stewart felt this should be about the community getting together to discuss it. Richard Baker stated he agrees with Ms. Stewart, however, very few people in the community have come forward to express their interest in this concept. Mitch Pearl stated he agrees it is a community issue, however, not everyone agrees within the community. He stated that although there are different ideas on how to do economic development in the town, we can get bogged down with the entire community being involved.  He stated there are some people who are going to be interested in this concept and who will get it started. Maurice Racine stated he is interested in steering this effort for the betterment of the community of Brandon.  Mr. Baker stated he felt it is important to get the ball rolling. Mitch Pearl stated if there are other people present who are interested, he suggested they also come forward. Lynn Saunders stated there are a lot of community groups who are interested in the downtown and perhaps those groups should be sent an invitation to provide a name. Janet Mondlak reiterated that all names should be provided to Keith Arlund with their interest to staff the ad-hoc committee for economic development before the next Select Board meeting. Helyn Anderson asked if the Town Plan is in place. Richard Baker stated there is an approved Town Plan and a Land Use Ordinance. Mitch Pearl stated the Town Plan is a general document which talks about the town as a whole.  He stated when talking about economic and community development, they may not necessarily be addressed in this plan, as the Town Plan is a long-term plan and does not go to that level of detail. Richard Baker stated the Town Plan does address developing of the downtown and a committee could facilitate and seek the tools to do that. Richard Baker stated the documents were developed after widespread community involvement and if there needs to be any changes, the public can bring forward suggested changes. Mitch Pearl stated we have a good Planning Commission and they take these documents seriously. Janet Mondlak requested the Board ask Mr. Arlund to research the designated downtown status to determine if a corporation is necessary.  Mitch Pearl stated we need to understand what the legal obligations are and it was noted that Mr. Arlund will research this area. 

Mitch Pearl noted that he was advised there is now box board recycling available at the transfer station. Judy Bundy suggested that perhaps The Reporter could provide a note that the transfer station is now taking box board. Keith Arlund advised that people need to remove the cellophane liners prior to recycling the boxes.  

Helyn Anderson asked if there is a plan to reconfigure the sidewalk in Forestdale. Tom Schmelzenbach plans to demark and paint with a reflective post.  He stated there is no plan to reconfigure the drainage of the sidewalk and it is not the only place where that configuration exists.  Mr. Schmelzenbach stated there is a similar configuration on High Street and comes from using existing infrastructure with new features.  Helyn Anderson stated it is dangerous and Tom Schmelzenbach advised he will do something about it.

Keith Arlund stated there was an announcement received concerning grant monies relating to energy efficiency and he has provided this information to the Town Hall Committee. Lynn Saunders noted the RFP is 42 pages long for this item.  Keith Arlund advised this is a short-run program and the town has not had much success in receiving grant monies. Mr. Arlund advised the Police Department is working on potential candidates to fill the position that will be funded from the Cops Grant.  He also spoke with the Recreation Committee Chair about the development of the Recreation Coordinator job description and he will continue to work with the Recreation Advisory Committee to develop a suitable job description.

A motion was made by Kellie Martin/Mitch Pearl to enter into executive session at 9:16PM for the purposes of discussing a real estate item.  The executive session will include the Town Manager and the Chief of Police.  The motion passed unanimously - 3 to zero.

11.  Possible Executive Session

The Board came out of executive session at 9:40PM.  The Board requested the Town Manager coordinate and schedule a Special Meeting for December 1, 2009 at 7:30AM in the Town Offices.

12. Adjournment

Motion by Mitch Pearl/Kellie Martin to adjourn the Select Board meeting at 9:45PM. The motion passed unanimously - 3 to zero. 

Respectfully submitted,

Charlene Bryant

Recording Secretary