BENNINGTON SELECT BOARD MEETING BENNINGTON FIRE FACILITY 130 RIVER STREET BENNINGTON, VERMONT 05201 MONDAY, JUNE 13, 2011 MINUTES BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Joseph Krawczyk-Chair; Matt Maroney-Vice-Chair; Jason Morrissey; Justin Corcoran; Chris Oldham and John Zink. ALSO PRESENT: Stuart Hurd-Town Manager; Joan Pinsonneault-Treasurer; Scott Murphy-Economic and Community Development Director; R.J. Joly-Highway Superintendent; Terry Morse-Water Resources Superintendent; Dan Monks-Planning Director; Larry McLeod-Facilities Manager; Joanne Erinhouse; John Shanahan; Patrick McCardle; Neal Goswami-Bennington Banner and Nancy Lively-Recording Secretary. 1.EXECUTIVE SESSION (2ND FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM) A.INTERVIEWS FOR BOARDS & COMMISSIONS - HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION At 7:00 P.M., Joseph Krawczyk called the meeting to order. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all. 3.MINUTES - MAY 16, 2011 MINUTES - MAY 23, 2011 Chris Oldham moved and John Zink seconded to approve the Minutes of May 16, 2011 as submitted. The motion carried unanimously. Chris Oldham moved and John Zink seconded to approve the Minutes of May 23, 2011 as submitted. The motion carried unanimously. 4. WARRANTS The warrants were circulated for signatures after Mr. Hurd answered the Board question on the pathway signs. 5. CITIZENS Ms. Erinhouse reminded everyone that Bennington has been designated as the "Finish Line" for the Great Race on June 17, 2011 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. State dignitaries expected to attend are the Lt. Governor, the Commissioner of Tourism and Marketing, and Miss Vermont. The hope is that they will stay to help us celebrate our 250th Anniversary on June 18, 2011, as well. 6.FY 2012 TAX ANTICIPATION BORROWING John Zink moved and Chris Oldham seconded to waive the reading of the Town of Bennington Resolution Tax Anticipation Borrowing (Line of Credit) as presented. The motion carried unanimously. John Zink moved and Chris Oldham seconded to accept the Town of Bennington Tax Anticipation Note (Line of Credit) for $2,000,000.00 as presented, to adopt the Town of Bennington Resolution Tax Anticipation Borrowing (Line of Credit) as presented, and to accept the Town of Bennington Non-Arbitrage Certificate Tax Anticipation Borrowing (Line of Credit) as presented. The motion carried unanimously. 7. WATER/SEWER FUND BUDGET & RATES DISCUSSION Mr. Hurd explained that three of the Board members had met with Accountant Steve Love to successfully clarify the depreciation/reserves confusion. Mr. Hurd continues to support the FY12 Proposal A of a 16% increase in the water rate and an 11% increase in the sewer rate. Mr. Maroney feels that, given the condition of our systems, the increases should be higher. Mr. Morrissey asked if the 'due from' from the General Fund in the water and/or sewer budgets is always there, and Mr. Hurd answered yes. Mr. Zink feels that the rate increase could be more aggressive but that this is a "happy medium". Mr. Corcoran is comfortable with this rate. Justin Corcoran moved and John Zink seconded to increase the FY2012 Water Rates by 16% and to increase the FY2012 Sewer Rates by 11% Mr. Krawczyk agrees with Mr. Maroney and feels that the Strategic Objectives on infrastructure will help in ultimately addressing our maintenance issues. The motion carried with Matt Maroney opposed. 8. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES DISCUSSION Mr. Hurd did an overview of the Town of Bennington Select Board Strategic Objectives 2011 document created by Town Staff for the Board. Mr. Zink and Mr. Oldham expressed the usefulness of the document going forward. Kudos to the Staff for their work. The following is a more detailed look at the five strategic objectives for the coming year that had been outlined by the Board - 1. Economic Development; 2. Water/Sewer Infrastructure; 3. Highway Infrastructure; 4. Expanded Recreational Opportunities; and 5. Acquisition of the Armory: 1.Economic Development Recently, a new task force on economic development had been formed by the Better Bennington Corporation (BBC), the Bennington Chamber of Commerce, the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC), the Bennington County Industrial Corporation (BCIC), and the Town. To date the group has learned that economic development requires: 1. A strategy; 2. Identification of what businesses are desired; identification of who leads; 3. A complete, transparent partnership once partners are identified; 4. Ambassadors; people willing to assist when called; and 5. A resistance to territorial boundaries. The current cooperative effort has sought no legislative (local) support or buy in and no legislative support or buy in from the State legislative delegation at this time. Ultimately this is required. Board comments: * '#6. Petition the State to lower taxes' should be added to the list. * We are in direct competition with the Albany area for small and medium sized businesses. * Our legislators need to come to Bennington to work with the Task Force so they can help us at the State level. * Make legislators accountable for their positions on economic development and endorse them accordingly. * Perhaps senior citizens can create a 'Welcome Packet' for all new residents that move to Town. * Keep the Select Board apprised of the Task Force's meetings and progress. Mr. Shanahan's comments: * The Task Force began six months ago and it has taken that long to develop the cooperative initiative at a local level. * Focus has now turned to the State for their assistance going forward in areas not controllable at the local level. * State agency representatives have been invited to meet with the group to help the group understand how better to take advantage of State personnel and programs. Mr. Murphy's comments: * We have been awarded $2,912,712 in grants over the past five or six years. * We have loaned local businesses $1,178,000 over the past five or six years which has generated approximately $60,000 in interest. * The loan process was reviewed with the Board. Ms. Erinhouse's comments: * In the future, we need to go to Montpelier "as a block" for a face-to-face presence with the legislators. * There used to be a 'Welcome Packet' that went out to anyone that moved to Bennington. Although this is a good idea, the main objective of the Task Force is to attract business people. Mr. Monks's comments: * All of the resources and agencies at hand are consulted to get the best fit when a prospective business owner expresses an interest in coming to Bennington. * We do need to reach out to these people before they contact us, and that is an area that the Task Force is working on. 3. Highway Infrastructure The cost of cold patch to maintain a sparsely traveled paved road is greater than the equipment expense to maintain a dirt road. The Town may consider reclaiming the following roads, leaving them in the gravel state, compacting the ground blacktop material, and treating the surface with calcium chloride for one year: Pleasant Valley Road - Approximately one mile of existing blacktop Middle Pownal Road: (Fuller Road, south to Pownal line) approximately one mile Niles Road: Approximately 3/4 of a mile Mr. Joly's comments: * The condition of these roads is so bad that they would have to be pulverized first before blacktopping them - if we chose to keep them blacktop. * The cost of pavement per mile without a major reconstruction is ~ $175,377 which does not include reclaiming, milling, culverts, drainage, fabric, gravel, landscaping, curbs, equipment, labor, demolition, or walks. * The budgeted amount for FY12 resurfacing is $479,850, or 2.74 miles. * The portion of Murphy Road that has been reclaimed is an improvement over what was there this winter. Ore Bed Road has been done, as well. * Road work selection is somewhat planned in conjunction with the condition of the water and/or sewer lines underneath it when possible. Mr. Hurd's comments: * The residents will be notified of the change and the Board will need to approve the potential change of policy - perhaps at the next meeting. * We are presently being paid for our dirt roads. * Ideally, we would like to resurface 10 miles of paved road each year, which would put us on a 10-year resurfacing cycle. We are presently doing around 3 miles/year. a.Facility * The new consolidated highway garage will replace two old structures that are well beyond their useful life for municipal highway operations currently underway in Bennington. * The new structure will bring staff and resources under one roof for greater efficiencies and eliminates the redundancies that currently exist in three locations. * In December 2010, conceptual site plans were developed at two locations: the former Jard site off of Bowen Road and the site of the current highway garage located on Orchard Road. * The Jard site is a larger building but we can fit everything we need at the Orchard Road site. * We can survive as we exist now for another two to three years. This also will give us the time to consolidate our thoughts and present the end product to the Board and to the public in a timely fashion. * We are presently in compliance with the State, however, a mandate to cover salt, sand, and equipment may be issued in the future to reduce the amount of storm water runoff. The major impact from this is in northern Vermont, whereas, we don't presently have any impact from this in the southwest corner. * The specifics of the building design can be an agenda item in the future. 4.Expanded Recreational Opportunities Mr. McLeod's comments: * The $680,000 bond approval that we have will only fix the pool area. An RFP will be ready to go out on this in September 2011. * Issues with the rest of the building that need to be addressed - especially if an addition is considered - are: a. The roof structure beams should be replaced. b. All of the walls should be insulated. c. It isn't ADA accessible throughout the building. d. All of the interior plumbing is original. e. Significant rusting inside. f. Original tile that needs to be replaced. Mr. Monks's comments: * The Bennington, Vermont Park and Open Space Plan is an excellent reference source when discussing recreation. 2.Water/Sewer Infrastructure Mr. Morse's comments: * We replace an average of 50 to 75 manholes each year, and 90% of those are red brick. All of the new ones are precast concrete. * As Mr. Joly had said, we are coordinating road resurfacing with necessary water/sewer work whenever possible, and doing a better job of planning ahead to accomplish this. * The Water Department should definitely be a part of the new highway garage facility. 5.Acquisition of the Armory * To be discussed at a September 2011 meeting. An update on the Task Force, acquisition of the Armory, RFP for the pool area repair, and the next steps for Recreation will be discussed at a meeting in September 2011. 9. 2011 LIQUOR AND TOBACCO LICENSE APPLICATIONS The following New 2011 Liquor and Tobacco License Application was approved by the Board: 2011 Liquor License Application - First Class 1.Ramunto's Pizza 10.APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS & COMMISSIONS Jason Morrissey moved and Justin Corcoran seconded to appoint Joseph Hall to the Historic Preservation Commission. The motion carried unanimously. 11. MANAGER'S REPORT Matt Maroney moved and Jason Morrissey seconded to waive the prohibition of alcohol as provided in the Ordinance at Willow Park during the 2011 Car Show. The motion carried unanimously. Chris Oldham moved and Justin Corcoran seconded to close Main Street on June 17, 2011 from the Four Corners east to Valentine Street from noon until 5:00pm for the Finish of the Great Race. The motion carried unanimously. Mr. Hurd reported that, in 1986, the Board had voted to sell a two-acre parcel of the former landfill lands to an abutter with only a 1/2 acre parcel. The sale never took place and we have been approached again to do so by members of the same family. Should you decide not to sell, the owner has asked if the Town would be interested in purchasing the 1/2 acre parcel. The two-acre parcel is a landlocked parcel valued at $6,000. Discussion on this issue will be tabled until the next meeting. 12. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Zink reminded everyone that June 14th is Flag Day. Mr. Krawczyk thanked the Elks Lodge for the flag ceremony that they had on June 12th. 13. EXECUTIVE SESSION A.Contracts An Executive Session was not needed. At 8:54 P.M., Justin Corcoran moved and Chris Oldham seconded the adjournment of the meeting. The motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Nancy H. Lively Secretary