BENNINGTON SELECT BOARD MEETING BENNINGTON FIRE FACILITY 130 RIVER STREET BENNINGTON, VERMONT 05201 MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2009 MINUTES BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Lodie Colvin-Chair; John Zink-Vice Chair; Sharyn Brush; Joseph Krawczyk; Jason Morrissey; Matt Maroney and Chris Oldham. ALSO PRESENT: Stuart Hurd-Town Manager; Jim Harris-Vermont Agency of Transportation; John Ziconni-Secretary of State Administrative Assistant; Dan Monks; Dick Pembroke; Neal Goswami-Bennington Banner and Nancy Lively-Recording Secretary. At 7:00 P.M., Lodie Colvin called the meeting to order. 1.MINUTES - DECEMBER 22 2008 MINUTES - DECEMBER 30, 2008 Sharyn Brush moved and John Zink seconded to approve the Minutes of December 22, 2008 as submitted. The motion carried with Chris Oldham abstaining. Sharyn Brush moved and John Zink seconded to approve the Minutes of December 30, 2008 as submitted. The motion carried unanimously. 2. WARRANTS The warrants were circulated for signatures. 3. CITIZENS None. 6. MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Hurd announced that Bennington was one of a group of five towns selected to participate in the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) Workers Compensation Safety and Wellness Benchmarking Model. Certain benchmarks for various workers compensation safety and wellness policies needed to be met. Bennington place second and was awarded a check for $2,261.00 with Mendon, Vermont placing first. 7. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Krawczyk stated that there will be a discussion at the State level on January 13, 2009 at 10:00am on the Department of Corrections Transitional Living Grant that Bennington chose not to support. Ms. Colvin stated that Julie Krawczyk would like to know if the Town had a smoke free policy for our public parks, and Mr. Hurd said that we do not. Enforcement of such a policy was a concern, however, this will be put on a future agenda for further discussion. Ms. Colvin reminded the Board that there will be an Executive Session concerning a Legal Issue in the Jury Room on January 16, 2009 at 4:00pm. 5. WELCOME CENTER ACCESS PRESENTATION - JIM HARRIS, VERMONT AGENCY OF TRANSPORTATION Mr. Harris and Mr. Ziconni did a Welcome Center Access Presentation for the Board with the following highlights: Bypass Update - o Western Segment has been completed. o Northern Segment is under construction. There are five contractors involved with completion expected in 2012. No part of the road can be opened until all five contractors are done. A detailed description of the five contracts was shared with the Board. o Southern Segment will require fill. The removal of the ledge on Route 7-Exit 2 from the northern segment construction has been transported to there for future use. A completion date is not known at this time. Welcome Center Access - o When the southern segment of the bypass has been completed, there will an exit for the Welcome Center off of that. o The present interim proposal is to route traffic entering Bennington from the south to Northside Drive and connect with the western segment to enter the Welcome Center as travelers from the west will do. o The mileage by staying on Route 7 to where the ramp access will be is 8/10 of a mile. The mileage via Northside Drive is 2 miles. o Signage is extremely important - people not familiar with the area will follow the signs regardless of the visibility of the Center, itself. o Other access options can be considered but they would be extremely costly and we would not receive the 80% amount that the federal government is reimbursing. A 1.2 mile interim inconvenience doesn't warrant spending $5M of state funds only on a redundant project. o Traffic congestion on Northside Drive and adequate signage were Board concerns. There may be a plan to redo the Kocher Drive/Route 7 intersection but it is probably 10 to 15 years out. o Other rest areas in the State are being closed so that this Welcome Center can go forward because it is the first Center when entering Vermont from two different states. o Welcome Center accesses from all directions were reviewed with the Board. Several different options were considered by utilizing several different information resources before deciding that this was the best way to do it. o Mr. Monks noted the importance of the southern entrance to the downtown and disagrees that Northside Drive is the best solution to accessing the Welcome Center. o The legislature selected the systems interchange location for the Welcome Center several years ago and this is the plan that has been approved for federal funding. It isn't practical to start over and consider a new location. o The finished product will be unlike anything else that we are used to. 4. PUBLIC HEARING - CAPITAL BUDGET AND PROGRAM ADOPTION There were no comments from the public. Sharyn Brush moved and John Zink seconded to close the Public Hearing - Capital Budget and Program Adoption. The motion carried unanimously. Sharyn Brush moved and John Zink seconded to adopt the Capital Budget and Program as presented. The motion carried unanimously. At 8:30 P.M., Jason Morrissey moved and John Zink seconded the adjournment of the meeting. The motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Nancy H. Lively Secretary