BENNINGTON SELECT BOARD MEETING BENNINGTON FIRE FACILITY 130 RIVER STREET BENNINGTON, VERMONT 05201 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2009 MINUTES BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Lodie Colvin-Chair; Sharyn Brush-Vice Chair; John Zink; Joseph Krawczyk; Chris Oldham and Matt Maroney. ALSO PRESENT: Stuart Hurd-Town Manager; Scott Murphy-Director of Economic and Community Development; Mary Morrissey; Mike McDonough; Jim Sullivan; John Shanahan; Jim Carroll; Natasha-Crazy Russian Girls Bakery and Nancy Lively-Recording Secretary. At 7:00 P.M., Lodie Colvin called the meeting to order. 1.MINUTES - AUGUST 24, 2009 Sharyn Brush moved and Chris Oldham seconded to approve the Minutes of August 24, 2009 as submitted. The motion carried with John Zink abstaining. 2. WARRANTS The warrants were circulated for signatures after Mr. Hurd answered questions on the fire rated cabinets, mileage, vehicle sale, fire inspection certification, variable frequency drive at the Recreation Center, cruiser tires, truck lease, and Christmas lights and decorations. 3. CITIZENS None. 5. JIM SULLIVAN - BENNINGTON COUNTY REGIONAL COMMISSION - ROUTE 7A BYWAY Mr. Sullivan explained that the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) intends to submit a $30,000 grant application under the Transportation Enhancements Program. The application requests funds to develop a Corridor Management Plan (CMP). The CMP is an initial step towards the designation of a state highway corridor between Manchester Center and Bennington's downtown as a Vermont Byway. This corridor, following VT 7A for most of its length and including sections of VT 67, 67A and 279 (tentative alignment) has been identified in previous local and regional planning documents as being an ideal candidate for byway designation because of the resources it provides access to and because it connects two established Vermont Byways, the Stone Valley Byway (north along VT 30 from Manchester Center) and the Molly Stark Byway (traversing southern Vermont along VT 9 and passing through the center of Bennington). This has been "in the works" since the 1990's and, if adopted by the State as a Byway, would open up the availability of federal dollars, as well as, national recognition. Board questions were as follows: * What has the Molly Stark Byway gotten us? Signage, national website exposure and tourist information. * Is there a name for the potential Byway? The Shires of Vermont Byway has been used as a reference but nothing has been formalized yet. This will be decided by the Byway Steering Committee which hasn't been formed yet. * Are all the towns along the proposed Byway going to have input in the process? Yes, they have all been contacted and are invited to participate on the Steering Committee. * What will Bennington's role be in the decision making process? As the largest town with the most organizations, i.e., BBC, Chamber of Commerce, etc. Bennington should be well represented on the Steering Committee. However, since the Committee hasn't formed yet, no Bylaws have been established. The Steering Committee will make all of the decisions concerning the Byway in the early stages but will not be involved in subsequent funding applications. * Do the legislative bodies of the Towns have any say in the Byway other than their representation on the Steering Committee? That isn't entirely true because they can submit funding applications for projects along the Byway on their own. * What happens to the designations that already exist on these highways? They will not be affected and should be noted during the CMP process. * Does this program exempt the highway from any state or federal signage laws? No, it doesn't. This is an educational, informational and promotional project. * Is there a time restraint for this application? The application is due the first week of October 2009. This time has worked into our work schedules, however, we could wait until next year assuming there is funding available. * Does this designation override any zoning laws? The Byway Program has no regulatory control. * Is the promotional piece of brochures, etc. ongoing or limited? There are multiple ways to keep the funding of the Byway promotion continuous. * Would the grant application be pursued without a letter of support from Bennington? Without Bennington's support, we would probably not get the funding for the project. * This is a good opportunity to promote this historic section of road. Sharyn Brush moved and Chris Oldham seconded to authorize the Town Manager to write a Letter of Support to the Bennington County Regional Commission for the Transportation Enhancement Program grant application to develop a Corridor Management Plan for the Vermont Byway designation as presented. The motion carried with John Zink and Joseph Krawczyk opposed. 4. PUBLIC HEARING - BENNINGTON PROJECT INDEPENDENCE (BPI) - VCDP CLOSEOUT Mr. Murphy stated that, in October 2007, the Town of Bennington received $200,000 from the State of Vermont for an Implementation Grant for the Bennington Project Independence (BPI) under the Vermont Community Development Program (VDCP) to help fund the construction of their new 10,000 square foot facility on Harwood Hill. The total cost of the project was $4M with the majority of the funds raised by a capital campaign with other sources being the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, HUD and VTRANS. The barn has been historically preserved and incorporated into the state-of-the-art building. BPI is a non-profit Adult Day Care with the demand for such a business expected to double over the next 10 years. Ms. Morrissey, on behalf of the BPI Board, thanked the Town for being a "wonderful partner". Mr. Krawczyk added that this was the "best use of grant dollars ever in Bennington". Kudos to Ms. Morrissey for her efforts and to the contractors, as well. The community was invited to National Adult Day to be held at the BPI on September 23, 2009. Joseph Krawczyk moved and Sharyn Brush seconded to close the Public Hearing - Bennington Project Independence (BPI) - VCDP Closeout. The motion carried unanimously. 6. VENDORS ORDINANCE - 1ST REVIEW Mr. Hurd had distributed a revised Vendors Ordinance that would more accurately address the current vendor activities, such as, flexibility of cart positioning, use of electrical outlets at the poles, insurance requirements ($500,000), revocable licenses, and the use of bulb out areas for the street vendors. Ms. Colvin felt that wording could be changed to "fits within parking space" instead of within exact dimensions, and Mr. Hurd commented that the foot of buffer zone to oncoming traffic creates a "safe zone" for the customers. Mr. Zink will not support anything that will harm an existing business, and Mr. Hurd clarified that the vendor ordinance amendment intent is to, indeed, accommodate these existing businesses. Mr. Krawczyk wanted to be sure that the sidewalk vendors on the bulb outs do not set up so as to block the ability to see traffic, and Mr. Hurd stated that the ordinance addresses that. Mr. Krawczyk asked if the permanent businesses object to the street vendors, and Mr. Shanahan stated that they have no objection, as long as, they don't set up directly in front of their businesses. Mr. McDonough echoed the BBC support of the ordinance amendments. Mr. Carroll and Natasha from Crazy Russian Girls Bakery would like to have advanced notice when any review of the Vendor Ordinance is taking place. Mr. Hurd will get them copies of the suggested ordinance changes as they exist tonight so they can submit their comments to the Board. All existing vendors will receive a copy of the ordinance as presented tonight with a due date for comments. This will be an October 12, 2009 agenda item. 7. ERRORS AND OMISSIONS On Parcel 2), "Inhabitable" should be changed to "Uninhabitable". Sharyn Brush moved and Chris Oldham seconded to accept the Errors and Omissions to the 2009 Grand List as presented. The motion carried unanimously. 8. MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Hurd reported that, on the issue of conflicts with the Bennington Housing Authority, there is nothing preventing a member of the appointing authority (the Select Board) from serving in a contracted position for the Bennington Housing Authority. Mr. Hurd reported that the Harvard Street upgrade is done - except for the screen - at a cost of $23,800, a bit more than anticipated during the court action. The street is much safer now and the screening will be done before winter. Mr. Hurd reported that the three abutting property owners affected by the Hunt Street Bridge project have been contacted to obtain easements at no cost to the Town or the State. We have received a written agreement from Apollo Industries and Mr. Hurd will follow up with the others soon. 9. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Maroney would like to send a letter to the Byway Steering Committee, after it has been formed, stating the importance of keeping the existing names, getting signage up, etc., in addition to the Letter of Support for the Byway that will be sent to the BCIC. Mr. Hurd will do that. Ms. Brush asked that Mr. Hurd have the Police Department check Agway on Hunt Street because someone has apparently "set up housekeeping" there. Mr. Hurd will do that. Ms. Brush also extended her sympathy to the family of Jay Hathaway. Mr. Zink thanked all who participated in the 9/11 event - especially Mary Morrissey - that took place at the Veteran's Home gazebo on September 11, 2009. Mr. Krawczyk congratulated everyone on the success of the Garlic Fest, and reminded everyone that the Bennington Car Show is this coming weekend. Mr. Krawczyk noted that many drivers are not respecting the pedestrian right-of-way in the crosswalks, and also wondered why the Bennington Banner was not covering the Select Board meetings. Mr. Oldham will see that the appropriate person at the Banner is aware of this concern. Ms. Colvin stated that we still have a vacancy on the Bennington Housing Authority, and congratulated Chad Schmidt on his appointment as Sheriff. 10. EXECUTIVE SESSION A.PERSONNEL B.CONTRACTS At 8:32 P.M., John Zink moved and Sharyn Brush seconded to go into Executive Session to discuss Personnel and Contracts. The motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Nancy H. Lively, Secretary