TOWN OF CLARENDON BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING REGULAR
Monday September 23, 2024
Clarendon Town Hall @ 6:00PM
MINUTES
Guests
Mike Klopchin, Chairman
George Ambrose, Clerk
Robert Congdon, Selectman
Art Menard, Selectman
Cash Ruane, Selectman
Gloria Menard, Town Clerk
Ashley Robinson, Admin Asst
Kevin Peck, Lister
William PEGTV
Thelecia Molaski
Beverly Brown
Tom Garden, Silver Silo Solar project
Barbara Noyse Pulling RRPC
Bob Bixby
Ed Baker
Jimmy Austin
Stephaney Ianni
Tony Costantino (Anthony & Connor)
Josh Webster PRIMO Corporation
Dan Pinkowski
Call to Order
Chairman Klopchin called meeting to order at 6:00 pm
Agenda additions/deletions
N/A
Approval of Meeting Minutes
-Regular meeting minutes 8/26/24
Selectman Ambrose motioned to approve the minutes from the regular meeting on August 26th 2024. Selectman Congdon provided the second. The motion was approved unanimously.
-Site Visit 9/5/24
Selectman Ambrose motioned to approve the minutes from the site visit on September 5th 2024. Selectman Ruane provided the second. Selectman Congdon reclused himself from the motion as he was not present at the site visit. The remaining board members approved the motion.
Highway
Road Commissioner Ruane talks on the mower tractor being up and going thanks to Eddie Baker assisting with input with doing the repairs. The board all thank Eddie for his work on this matter. Eddie says it is a work in process, and all hoses need to be changed after mowing is done for the season. Hope is to have everything working consistently moving forward.
Commissioner Ruane spoke on the Otter Creek debris removal project from the creek on South Creek Road. This is a grant project. After reaching out to 7 contractors we only received a quote from one, being Kurt Hathaway. Due to the timeline and only having 38 remaining days Ruane looked for the board to approve Hathaway completing the work. The bid came in at $42,000 and the grant was awarded for $63,000. Selectman Congdon motioned to approve Kurt Hathaway doing the work; Selectman Ambrose provided the second. All approved the motion. The work deadline is the end of October.
Fuller has begun paving on Cold River Road from North Shrewsbury Road intersection to the Shrewsbury town line. Driveway work in that area will happen when the paving is complete. They have also started grinding/reclaiming Creek Road, and will shim and overlay pavement.
Pot holes on Squire Road will be filled as soon as possible. Ruane hopes to use some of the asphalt from the paving jobs that are being completed to fill the holes as the cold patch does not seem to hold as well as they hope.
Chairman Klopchin request’s Commissioner Ruane to speak on the site visit from Scenic View Drive. There was a concerned resident that had ditching issues along the roadside. The roadcrew will be raising his driveway culvert and shimming the ditch to accommodate proper drainage. This will happen in the spring, if there is time it could happen in the fall.
Resident Tony Costantino thinks the center triangle at the intersection of Walker Mountain and Clarendon Springs Lane should be filled in. He has been maintaining the area for 50 years and it needs quite a bit of fill to make it safe again. This is a town road hoping to have the center of the area to be built up. Commissioner Ruane questions having a T in the road opposed to the V. Tony hopes to have it remain way it has always been. The concern to change would be for safety pulling out of the road. Commissioner Ruane has it on his radar and on the board in the town garage for items to complete.
Selectman Ambrose asks if Ruane if he has any information regarding the Quarterline ditching job. Ruane is waiting on response from the foresters/loggers. Selectman Ambrose asks if the plan is to still have the ditch continue to the bottom. Commissioner Ruane says they may need to add a cross culvert but it is a work in progress. The job is on hold until the trees are taken care of. It is noted that there is now grass growing in the ditches that have been completed.
Approval of Select Board Warrants
All new warrants and warrants previously signed by the designated selectboard members were approved and signed by the present selectboard members.
Guests
-Barbara Noyes Pulling-RRPC Update to the Regional Plan
Barbara came to discuss the regional plan as it has moved on to phase 2 of the project. There had been many public outings seeking survey input for the first phase which produced 1200 responses. Phase 2 will also have many outings, with another survey. Regional plan is done every 8 years, seeking input on energy, economic development, and to strengthen agriculture and forest industries. There is a high demand for locally sourced foods and farmland. The survey will focus on these bullet points to get more familiar through input with what that means for residents. Barbara has left cards with the town for the link to the survey.
Public Comments
*See after old business
New Business
*New business was moved ahead on the agenda before old business during the meeting.
-Tom Garden- Silver Silo Solar project.
Tom Garden from Tri-Land Partners requests the board to sign the letter to approve the site on Pinkowski’s property to be a designated preferred site for the upcoming solar project. He reminded the board that this is something he had been here for in 2022 yet needed a current approval. The repercussions of covid slowed everything down and put this project on hold until now. The new guidelines require a 45 day notice to be sent to the appropriate persons, where in the past it was done after the project was complete. Tom is working on the permitting and the interconnection studies to connect to the grid. The hope is to have it be like the other site on the property being low profile and be 100ft away from the road. They will have an arborist line the site with low growing buffer type tree/shrubs that will not grow above 15ft to avoid blocking abutting landowners sun light and views. The selectman asked abutting resident Bev Brown how she felt about the proposed site. She agrees with it reluctantly, yet understands why it is beneficial. Tom did speak with Bev as she had noticed that the site has changed compared to the plans that were presented, and the board and all others involved will receive a copy of the final toward the end of October/early November.
Selectman Ambrose motions to approve the signing of the letter of the proposed preferred solar site. Selectman Menard provides the second. The motion was approved unanimously.
Old Business
*This was moved back on the original meeting agenda after Tom Garden speaking of Silver Silo Solar Project
-Painting/Siding Bids for Town Hall
The Selectman opened 4 bids. Three of which were painting bids, and one siding. Administrative assistant Ashley had expected more siding bids, and reminds the board that there was one sent in last year for bidding purposes moving forward.
Selectman Ambrose opens a bid for $69,580 from Flying Colors Painting
Selectman Ruane opens a bid for $21,800 from the Vermont Painting Company
Selectman Congdon opens a bid for Mountain View Painting for $48,000
Selectman Congdon also reads a bid for vinyl siding from Primo Corporation in the amount of $89,325.95
Josh Webster of Primo Corp was present at this meeting, and had produced a very detailed quote. He speaks on the quoted product being of thicker gauge as well as having a wood grain to maintain the look of a wood siding. Rot repair would be an additional cost on top of the quote. Mr. Webster believes roughly $5000 would be a good estimate to have in mind for the areas that would need attention. There is discussion on warranty for the product. Primo will warranty craftsmanship on the life of the product, and he will send along the information pertaining to the product manufacturer warranty. The job would be completed in spring of 2025 and would take roughly a month. Primo employees 6 crew leaders, and 20 others.
Ashley states that there is approximately $225,000 in the municipal buildings fund available. Selectman Menard brings up the difference in costs of painting every few years and vinyl. Selectman Ruane asks if the siding bid was to go over what is existing. Mr. Webster did say that the vinyl bid was for covering the existing siding with ¾” foamboard and vinyl which would avoid any led issues that may be a problem.
Primo Corp wanted the board to note that they did complete a similar building in Rutland (Reynolds Accounting Firm) where they had to preserve the historical look of the building. The board requested Mr. Webster to do a walk around to provide a checklist of what may look like it would be rotted and come back with the list and warranty information at the next board meeting. The board was impressed with the detailed quote and thank Mr. Webster for coming to the meeting on October 14th.
There was a motion made from Selectman Ambrose to let the painters know that after careful consideration they have decided to use vinyl siding on the building, and there will be a final decision made on the 14th to the vinyl siding contractor. Selectman Menard provided the second. The board approved the motion unanimously.
*Road Commissioner Ruane excused himself from the meeting at 6:54 to go attend to dust control on Creek Road after getting notice that the contractors working in that area were through reclaiming the road.
Town Officer’s & Committee Member Report
Gloria speaks on the elections coming up on November 5th. Registered voters will be receiving a mail in ballot and can bring in day of to drop off or vote.
Select Board Member Concerns
Selectman Ambrose will be getting with Selectman Ruane on more information on the ditch work on Quarterline road.
***Public Comments***
Tony Constantino wanted to discuss his property located across the old Clarendon Springs Motel that had burned down. He is concerned as the Clarendon Springs Cemetery no longer has plots available and he would like to be buried in the area. Tony is having an open discussion of having it be an additional cemetery for local residents on that property. He would want to keep things in tune with the area, keeping tombstones in the 18th century era. There is still a foundation on the property that he would need to look into. The landscaping would be maintained nicely. The board suggests to look into regulations, and like the idea of having that in the area.
Dan Pinkowski suggests when the mower isn’t being used for a day or two, to change the hoses before waiting for mowing to be complete. Eddie baker said it would take roughly a day if it is planned properly. Selectman Congdon agreed. Dan also asked if the trim work on the vinyl bid was to be wrapped in coil stock, and Ashley confirmed that was how it was bid. He then voiced his concern with adding foam on the outside of the building how it may cause humidity to build inside, causing due points to change, and suggested having dehumidifiers in the basement, as well as the main part of the building to avoid any rotting that may happen from the inside out due to the humidity levels. Dan did say that foam is ok, just to have a humidity monitor to watch the levels.
Ed Baker built a brine machine, and is hoping for approval for it to be used. He notes that other towns that have used one have cut their budget in half. It concentrates the salt. Selectman Menard notes anything to keep the salt levels down would be great. Selectman Congdon agrees.
Adjournment
Chairman Klopchin entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:10pm. Selectman Congdon provided the motion, with Selectman Ambrose providing the second. Everyone motioned and approved.
TOWN OF CLARENDON BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETING REGULAR
Monday September 23, 2024
Clarendon Town Hall @ 6:00PM
AGENDA
Call to Order
Agenda additions/deletions
Approval of Meeting Minutes
-Regular meeting minutes 8/26/24
-Site Visit 9/5/24
Highway
Approval of Select Board Warrants
Guests
-Barbara Noyes Pulling-RRPC Update to the Regional Plan
Public Comments
Old Business
-Painting/Siding Bids for Town Hall
New Business
-Tom Garden- Silver Silo Solar project
Town Officer’s & Committee Member Report
Select Board Member Concerns
Adjournment
