 the Berlin Select Board meeting of Wednesday, February 19th to get to order. To my left is Flo Smith. I'm Brad Town. Wilson's phone is Jeremy Hansen and Justin Lawrence and additions or changes to the agenda data. Yes, I'd like to add, I'm asking the liquor board to convene because we have several licenses that have come in that need to be approved. And I'd also like to discuss a situation on Scott Hill Road. All set on that, Dana? Yes, thanks. Okay. Public comment. Hearing none. Treasurer's report, Dana. Okay. Excuse me. Also with us is Dana Hadley, town administrator, and Dana is about town treasurer. Thank you, Brad. Have a problem. Okay. I've sent out the forms, I sent them out the end of January for the 2020 personal tax forms for the businesses. And they're due on April 20th. Now, in the next couple of weeks, the assessors will be going out in Berlin and they're gonna make certain that I have all the businesses that maybe there might be some that were opened in 2019. So they'll make certain that I have all of them. As I said, those are out and I should be receiving, I'm actually starting to receive some of those back. And otherwise than that, other thing I have is on the agenda. Okay, thank you, Diane. Status of update of fiscal year 20 budget? Okay. And I've given a flow and Brad, just, I've given them a budget status report with some notes that got on it. And because we are right now, we're obviously in the eighth month. So we're getting towards the end for a fiscal year. But this report goes through the end of January. And I just wanted to point out a couple of things that are going on. So as far as on the income side of it, we have a municipal grant mitigation that was from FY19 for 4410. That is finally going to be, I think it's pretty much done. All the work has been done on it. Yes, we're just waiting for this research period or what they call it. So as soon as that's done, I can submit the request. And then we'll have the grant. And I think it's like what, $7,800 I believe in total? Yes, yeah, $7,000. Yeah, so that is, that's some good process. And then in the miscellaneous revenue, we had the loan proceeds for the FY20 truck that we bought of 150,000. And then police finds, we are over a budget on that, which is good because this is income. And this is the town share of tickets, the tickets that are on the highway. And everything's turned into the state and then they give us our share. So that is more than we were anticipating. So which is good. On the police contract wages, we did not budget anything and we received $11,087. And that is mostly duties for exit six that they were hired, I think it's by the state, I believe they hired our police force. Right. While this work was being done. I think they were hired by the contractor. Yeah. For that job. Yeah. And then is the revenue that we get from the police grants. Now we received $3,850 for the equipment grant. That's probably the last of the equipment grants we'll be getting for the next two years. The state is not doing as much with those. Then we have 3,500 received on the operations grant, which is a click it or ticket. That one's still ongoing. And we received 2,188 on the DUI grant and that one's still ongoing. So. We never budget for those because we don't know how much they're going to do. Or if they're going to continue to offer. Or if they're going to, or if we're actually going to get it. We also have $11,000 that we got is in a reserve account for the exit six. Yes. And we need to use that on road maintenance. And I'm thinking East Road would be a good candidate for that. Yeah. Or the police, yeah. And how we can use it in the grant. Yes. Can it be used for anything like the bridge repair? No. So just road maintenance, right? Right, just for that exit six project. I think extra duties too for the police. And the police, yeah. And then as far now, we're going into the expense part of it. And if you look under meetings election balance, we have a credit balance of 2,082. And that is, and this is on page two, okay. And that is that we were in burst of over $2,000 for FY19 that was from the school. That we had incurred expenses in FY19. We finally got reversed for an FY20. We're not anticipating that. So that's very good. On page three, the planning consultant. We have 2,058. And that's part of that grant that I just talked about on the first page that had to do with the plan mitigation. So best expenditures for the FY20 portion of it. And I think there's one more bill that will appear in February. And then we'll have all of the bills. And then on the recreation board, the $600 is for swim lessons that were in July of 2019 that we authorized. And then green up day is a credit of 425.54. Once again, that was FY19. We pay Cassella for green up day expenses. And then they reimbursed me in FY20. So I think that's good news on that. The next page on page four, if we look under the town offices, under maintenance, we have expenditures of 11,566. And we have budgeted 10,000. Well, 7166 of it is the doors replaced of the police department that were done in FY20. And then equipment contracts, that's right on par right now, but that's for the copiers and doc start, just to remind everybody. And that you pay once a year, so it's in advance. Yeah, part of that, yeah. And then the next part of it, legal services, the credit balance of 4820, that I still have not been billed for some of the, we had some, they did not go to tax sale. However, they were able to get some of the fees back from the attorney, and the attorney has not finished billing me for all those fees. So we will have a positive balance in February. And then on the board of abatement, we had budgeted 5,000. We spent 12,000, and that is, we don't have the control of the board of abatement to size what they're going to abate, so just to make you aware of that. And then police services, some of those are going over, still on page four. The full-time, I think that, we probably will be right at budget on that one. I think at this point in time. I think we will, I think we will. The part-time is in terrible condition. Yeah, that we're over, we're over by almost $11,000 right now, and that's through the end of January. And then also the police overtime, that will go over. We were at like 19,000 at the end of January, and we bought in the budget of 20s. I do feel we will go over with that. And then on page five, the police training, we're going to go over on that as well. We budgeted 4,000, we're already at 5,900, but a lot of these trainings, we just have more officers that are interested in getting training. What they do is they ask the chief of police if they can go to specific trainings, and then once they've justified it, then you will allow them to attend those trainings. Is that just, we're not budgeting realistically? I think that that's correct. I think they're probably under on that. And then I've just shown where the wages that we have for the PD grants, those are offset by the income that we had from the income section of it. And then the Berlin Community Fund, we have a $2,500 credit bonus, and that's a donation from Walmart that our police officers go to local businesses and do get donations throughout the year. And that does help to buy miscellaneous items that the police needs to buy. Handcuffs, for example. That's nice, I didn't know that happened. Yeah, that's nice, they do, well, they do a lot of programs for the kids in school. Right, I remember with the backpacks, I just didn't realize they got donations for it, so that's wonderful. Yeah, they do. And then at the end of that page, I'm just saying for winter roads, we budgeted 70,000 and right now we're 61.5 and I do think that probably will go over. And then on page six, under highway, asphalt marking ceiling, we budgeted 150,000, we spent 130,000, basically. We paved patches for the town garages, which was $4,022, and then purchased from road in industrial lane, we put in 109,800. So that is the majority of what was spent on that. Then under highway out there for garage maintenance utilities, we budgeted 16,000, we've already spent 18,000, and part of that 18,000 is air compressor and dryer for $4,600, and removal of the fuel tank for $3,600. Both of those weren't expected. And then under traffic lights, we did repairs of $2,100, which was not expected either. So we were at 3,000 for the budget and we're up to $3,200 for expenditures. And then under the capital budget, highway equipment and structures, we spent $158,000 over $200,000 budget. $2,300 of that is for just in road, and $155,800 is for the new truck that we bought. And that's just all of the bigger ticket items. How much did we spend on the road? Well, in FY20, we spent $2,300. In FY19, I think we spent about that same amount. I think so, or a little more. What was it in FY20? FY20 is $2,300. $2,300. Thank you. And that, as you know, that project, I'm hoping we'll get finished this year. And I'm like the Grim Reaper on that, that's expensive. Well, the income side of current use is 134%? Yes. That the state gives me what we have for actual current use. And that really is dependent on people that make changes. Different factors. People that are taking profit out of current use. And the pilot revenue? That is higher than we had anticipated. But we're done with the pilot revenue right now. I got more from the state than we anticipated. We never know what the state. That's one of those things that I'm very low on. Guessing. So I'm always happy when I have more. I'd rather have guests too low than guests too high. Thank you, Diane. In the house? That's it? Okay, thank you. We'll skip right to Down Street. Come on up. And sign here, please. Have a good night, Diane. Thank you. You remember, Eileen was here at the last meeting. And we talked about the MOU. And the MOU has, we've all looked at it, and we've all agreed to it, including Rob Halper. And so, I think Eileen is hoping that you will be willing to sign the MOU. Did Rob have many changes? No. He's approved the memorandum of understanding with Down Street as presented. And I second the motion. Any further discussion? Hearing none, those in favor? Aye. Motion carries. Now, I was going to, I don't have enough signatures. Jeremy, are you in time that you could stop in and sign this MOU? Yeah, I can stop by tomorrow. Okay. All right. Tomorrow I'll be here till about five o'clock. Okay, great. Thank you. And then when I get that, Eileen, I'll send it to you. Yeah, that'll be great. Well, thank you very much. We appreciate that we're looking forward to continuing to work on this. Things are going well. Congratulations on your municipal grant announcement. It was a really nice ceremony with the governor and opportunity really, it was a good sign that they wanted to highlight what Berlin's up to. So I'm excited about that. And we're working with our consultant for Let's Grow Kids. And we did share a really, you know, pretty early conceptual drawing, but we're pretty really excited. It's a very challenging site because of the elevation issues. So we've been, I mean, we had a meeting with six different designs from our architect, very different designs, trying to address it. And the one that we shared is the one that we're going to try to focus in on and see if it works. It's actually kind of almost like a split level. The daycare has got a little bit of a higher ceiling. But what we like about it is that everything's pretty compressed and small and it really preserves a lot of the green space. So yeah, so it's coming along. And yeah, so, and I know, you know, you're about to hopefully approve your consultant for the new town. Well, Carl is here to talk about that. So I don't know how that's going to go, but yeah. And everything else I feel like is on track at this point. I think so, Eileen, but we'll stay in touch. Oh, wonderful news. Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Keep you posted. Yes, ma'am. Have a great night. Thank you. Carla is here to talk about the consultant for the Newtown Center Design and Design Project. And I'll let her explain how the Planning Commission came to a decision. And we had two consultants that responded to our request for an RFP. One was Playsense and the other was Avoidion King. So, I mean, basically we weren't sure what we would get for a response. So we had this big process where we were going to narrow it down and then decide, but we didn't have to. We had two applications, but to be honest with you, they were both very good applications and it was a difficult decision. Tom did draft criteria that we evaluated it, but ultimately the decision came down to the, we chose Playsense because the consultants had specific experience with the town center designation. So it really, in my mind, that was sort of the deciding factor because each of them brought a little different flavor. And I just thought that that one was much more directed in the very specific things we needed and they had the experience with both the Colchester town center, which is not as successful and the South Burlington town center, which is successful. So I think they've seen the what not to do as well as the what to do. And I think it's going to be a really good team. Playsense was the consultant that did the work for the update and the zoning. Yes, but she partnered with an engineering firm that it has experience with. The other thing is they all had experience with various towns in Vermont. And I think they'll just bring a really good mix of ideas and experience to the table. So it was really difficult. They had two of them, very difficult. They were both really good. They were both really good. They're so reputable, both of them. Yes, and honestly, it was nice to see another, because we hadn't had that problem in the past. We only had one proposal. And it was sort of nice to see the different approach. But I thought some of the aspects of the Dubois and King one, while they were good, they weren't as focused in on what we needed. Whereas the other one, I thought was more focused in on the very specific things we needed and address zoning a little bit better because one of the things that we'll have to do is tweak the zoning potentially, but there was a proposal in the play sense that we might be able to avoid a huge zoning change by doing a design review, which would be great as opposed to having to develop a completely new form-based code for the town center. So that would save a lot of time and money. So it just seemed to be the best thing for us at this point in time. So we were hoping that you will approve that proposal. And we can move forward. So on this one, I'm looking for a motion to approve the contract with play sense and to authorize the chair to sign for the town. What happened with the Colchester's Town Center that it wasn't the location? There was a lot of factors, I think, one being that it was one developer. They explained it as, in some sense, that it was one developer. And so the town itself maybe didn't have as much of a buy-in because it seemed to be benefiting this one person or this one. So, and it was just, it was a big green space. So there was not any development there. So starting now going from zero, I think that impacted it. Whereas South Burlington already had, obviously, a lot of activity there, a lot of businesses there. And it was more creating that infill and creating that walkability. So we're, even though I hesitate to say we're similar to South Burlington, we have much more similarity with the South Burlington Town Center than we deal with the Colchester Town Center. In the sense that- Just an commercial part of it. From the sense of where we're starting from. And so I think we have, it's very positive in that regard. We have a lot of the benefits that they had and I think that will help us to move forward. I think South Burlington has been a lot more, I'm not criticizing Colchester, but a lot more invested into the project. Yes. And one of the engineers is actually on the South Burlington planning commission. So I think that helps to have that direct experience with both sides of it. So I think it's gonna be, it's really exciting. I think they're gonna do a great job. Excellent. Well, I make a motion to accept the contract for consulting services with Place Sense and the town of Berlin to approve the contract for the consultant services from March 1, 2020, which will end on 1231, 2021, and for the chair to sign on behalf of the town. Any further discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Motion passes. Jeremy, was that you that seconded? Thank you. Do we have Jeremy and Justin on the phone? Yeah. Thank you. Thank you guys. Thank you for your support and it's really we're, things are moving with Down Street, which is a really exciting project. It's really nice to see the. It is exciting. It's all coming together. Yeah. So thank you very much. Yep. And I really did a really nice job at the ceremony. She gave a little talk. I thought it was very good. Oh, thank you. That was a really nice event. Yeah, it was too bad they put it, they held it on the same day as the New Hampshire primary. Wouldn't you know? Yeah. They knocked us right out of the news. Oh, well, thank you. Thank you so much. Okay. Discussion regarding sewer extension on pain turnpike data. I just wanted to give you a little update of the extension project for pain turnpike north. As you recall at your last meeting, you approved the contract with Du Bois Construction, which we have not signed a contract yet because it was contingent on USDA and we don't have that yet. So we are waiting for that. But as we did meet with the contractor today to talk about how they were going to approach this project. One of the first things they are going to do is to bore under Route 62 to put in a new water line. And the current location of our water line is now going to be the location for the sewer line because of elevation and the gravity feed. That will be the first thing. Then they are going to be installing the lift station at the center of Vermont Chamber of Commerce. We have an easement, the Chamber of Commerce has given us and so lift station will be on their property. And then when they begin excavation, they will move in a southerly direction toward Route 62. They plan to begin in mid-April and hope to complete the project by mid-September. And there is going to be road closures for a lot of this time because the line is going in the road, basically in the road. And in some places the line is going to need to be over 14 feet deep because of the gravity. So we will make sure that the word gets out about Paintern by North being closed. I was just going to say, how far in advance do we need to notice? I think we'll have enough notice in advance and I would take, we're going to be sending letters to everyone down there soon and put it on front porch forum, put it in the paper. Do what we can to get the word out. Tell it to Corinne, have her put it in her newsletter. Absolutely, give her news to those. Yeah. And residents down there will have access to their property during this project and at night the road will be open. How long have you worked there? They're working 10-hour days, five, 10-hour days. So I think it's probably seven to five, something like that. So they'll be working when people are going to work? I'm sure they will, yeah, yeah. And we'll have to notify emergency services because everyone will have to go around. Right. So that's where that is. We are waiting for the approval from the USDA and we don't anticipate a problem. We just don't have to get. And you said mid-April to mid-September. Okay, thanks, David. That is made on that one? That's it, yeah. Okay, thank you. Approval of select board minutes for February 5th, 2020. I make the motion that we approve the select board minutes of February 5th, 2020, unless there's any comments. That's Justin. Yes. Thank you. Do I hear a second? Yeah, Justin, a second. Okay. Any further discussion? If not, those in favor? Aye. Okay. Motion passes. Approve licenses, permits, vouchers, and applications. I make a motion that we approve the general fund accounts payable warrant number 20G15 with checks 19973 to 2020,012 in the amount of $96,000 in the amount of $10,000 in the amount of $10,000 in the amount of $10,000 in the amount of $10,000 in the amount of $10,000 in the amount of $10,000 in the amount of $96,321.31 Also payable warrant number 20-17 for payroll from February 2nd, 2020 to February 15th, 2020 in the amount of $48,118.43 January general journal entries and tax admin entries also the January reconciled bank statements for the general fund, sewer commission and water division. Any discussion? Those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Can I say about Scott Hill Road? Scott Hill Road, you know. Tim came to me this afternoon and Scott Hill Road from East Road going toward us the Collier Residence. I don't know if you know what that is, but is extremely in bad shape due to the ice buildup. You know, they've plowed, they've put salt down. It hasn't really taken care of the ice problem and the road is literally humps of ice. It's very rough. So I wanted to talk to the board. He suggested that we close the road through traffic. I don't like closing roads. Can he take... Does the grater have browsers on it? I asked him about it. He has taken the grater up there, but he can't quite get it scraped up without damaging the pavement. That's what he tells me. And there's frost leaves as well. Yeah. It is very rough. It's terrible. Yeah, I agree. You put the signs out where the people want to listen to them. They do have signs up there, I believe, that say, bumps. And we're not kidding. But... I have no problem with closing the road, but you've got to seal it open for the residents. Absolutely. Well, I think we were thinking of closing through traffic until it gets in better shape because it is pretty horrible. I think people would be understanding of the reason behind it. At least if you put the signage up and they damaged their cars, it's felt like we're going to be... Well, that's the thing. Tim was saying to me, he was up there working, and I get it, they're driving along like they would. Definitely happen, especially if people are not familiar with the road. So we'll go ahead and we'll advertise that it's going to be closed and I'll have Tim get some signs. And we'll do that. And keep an eye on it. You want to motion on that? Um... I don't think I need one. Just a consensus? Yeah, just do a consensus. Just you're aware of it. Jeremy and Justin, are you good with that? Good. So this will be a consensus. And... let's see here. I have a few things. One thing is the e-mail that Brad got from the Regional Planning Commission advising they're wanting to know the select board's opinion on the VTRANS project which is replacing a bridge over the Stevens branch on Route 302. VTRANS came in and spoke with the select board and I want to say it was maybe early in 2018 that they gave their overall presentation on the project. It's the bridge right next to... Computer Barn? Rubble? Bubbles and so forth. Yes, yeah. And I wouldn't think you'd have an objection or do you have any comments? I mean I was just going to call her and tell her. From the photographs that they showed us the abutments were shifting so it needs to be redone. I mean, yeah. So I'll go ahead and I'll advise Grace. Any comments from the other two? Okay. The next thing I have is Velco is, as you know, is replacing equipment down at their location down on Nelson Drive, down near Green Mountain Powers off of Dog River Road. They want to begin in the spring and they're asking for permission to use Dog River Road and it's probably going to be at the time that we post the roads because of spring. Tim is not in favor of that. They did say, oh, we can fix Dog River Road, but Tim is not in favor, but I'm wondering if they could go out the other way and go out by the Montpelier Public Works and maintain this. Well, either way there, I mean what are they moving in there? Heavy equipment to transformers? They're moving new transformers but I'm not, I guess that's probably one thing they're moving in, but they're going to have equipment in which to pick up these things and put them in place. I've just told them everything I know. They can't move it in now and leave it? At least the roads are frozen and they're not going to hurt any. I could ask them that question. It's worth asking. The roads right now will take 100,000 no problem. I will ask if they cannot move them in now. I mean if they can move in the equipment transformers, they can always leave them there and then move the equipment out if they have another project for it. You know, I could ask Mr. Best to come in and talk to you as well. He would, he had been here before. He's got very little time but Mark's just coming. I know, but It's worth asking. It might be very well that they can follow the way that you just described. How would you like me to address it if he tells me no, that's not possible? Well, play hard ball and you just don't see it. The roads are terrible. We're alternative to allowing them to do the project and then we can fill the months seasons over. Well either way to months seasons almost have to. Well they will if they can't get in there. Right. So I mean if they move the stuff in now with the roads frozen then they can drive in there and do whatever work they need because they can be hurting anything. Would you be amenable if I told him that if he could move his whatever it is now to go ahead but when the roads posted he can't? Absolutely. How about that? It's hardly fair to give special dispensation to them and then tell a logger he can't take it. It's difficult. Exactly. And Tim does try to help people early morning type things. What else are most transparent and pretty moody? The next issue that I've had we've had some residents plowing snow into the road and Tim has made up notices that he's going to just drop off and try and advise people not to do that. He did have one that he had the police go down it was unfortunate because we should have really called the person before we sent the police. Would you like to read it out loud? That way people that are watching can know what the notice says. So Dana is explaining that there's a notice that Tim is leaving for folks. It says notice to Berlin landowners and it says please remember that it is illegal to plow snow across a town road. The snow that is left in the road will freeze causing a dangerous situation for other drivers in the town snow plows. Under 19 BSA section 1105 you could be fined $1,000 plus damages and legal fees. Thank you town of Berlin. And then attached to it is the Vermont statutes online Title 19 highways Chapter 11 protection of highways Section 1105 obstructing travel. Thank you Dana. So that's just so you'll know what that's about. And finally and Justin had asked me about road standards. You know we're working on this class status change from a class 4 to a class 3 road and working on a policy and what is the standard and there is a standard and it is in our site plan reviews and also back in 2013 the town accepted town road and bridge standards which are set by the state and those were not for existing roads at the time but for all new roads to come up to that standard. So it does explain what the standards are in there and here I've got bring the road up to an acceptable town standard and we're working on that a little bit to agree with the state standards and refer to that and maybe if I do that I'll bring this back to you at your next meeting I think that's wise to do a comparison to the state and then make amends where needed. And then I also have the this is in our site plan review and this is a state form that explains that. Next we have I met with the consultant who has done our stormwater planning for the town office and it was for the fire department Joe Stoff came and we all met with the consultant plus the regional planning commission on the plan for the fire department and Joe was amenable to how they drawn up the plans and there is another plan for the school which is March 4th Pam is going to meet with the school and lastly chimney suite but it's a building with other businesses in it down on Route 302 which is quite an interesting plan because that's going to be underground it's going to be somewhat chambers there's a lot of water to treat down there and a lot of it comes from across the street and it may actually be a partnership with property owners across the street and so forth so that is a project underway we're waiting for a grant as far as the town office goes to pay for the construction of the retention ponds and the buffer strip will you know on that grant I'm not sure of an exact day but probably this spring that's all I have entertain a motion to convene the liquor board I make a motion that we convene the liquor board you have to get out of the select board first I make a motion that we move out of the select board and convene the liquor board second all those in favor aye motion carries and what do we got David okay so we have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 this is the timing we have these are due by April 1st every year these are we have two applicants are applying for a class one license those are two restaurants Applebee's side restaurant and they are also applying for class two license and the others are all class two and here is a list of who they are so class one is a mixed drink or something like that and then class two is spirits spirits I guess they call it spirits would be the class one right Applebee's is looking for class one and also class two wayside restaurant is looking for class one and class two and then the others that are wanting to renew their class two is the Berlin Jolly on route 302 CVS Pharmacy on 302 Kenny Drugs on 302 Maplewood on Paintern Pike North, Price Chopper 168 Ames Drive Shaw's Paintern Pike North what about the other restaurants what do they do I don't know I imagine when we I have not remembered because you've got China Moon Pizza Hut I don't remember them having a class one they haven't till April 1st does the bowling alley serve I don't know for sure that was just beer and wine I don't think it's they have a vat liquor as well they do have liquor as well they wouldn't make a one also need a class one license or would they that license comes through the state because of their affiliation with okay because there's some unopened containers yeah they do need this one for their class two for their store sales of wine and beer okay any other restaurants that are not listed we don't have that main restaurant serving also Steakhouse yeah I can't think of any others that's what the Berrymont Play Road yeah is up here ones that are selling beer and wine I mean you've got all the grocery stores and you'll get all those I'm sure you've got Price Shopper and Shaw's here you've got two of them you'll be having Walmart I mean they just don't want to have it like we usually do after the special meeting to sign the liquor license we're trying to avoid that well I would think maybe if you just did one motion list them all and I'll tell Bethany that I've got the list and she doesn't have to and do we have to differentiate on the list right now which one are class one and class two I would on an Applebee's this list is class one this list is class two I'll combine them Applebee's is class one and two and the last one wayside is class one and two and all the others are class two okay very good we can do this I make a motion to approve the liquor license renewals for class one and two would be Applebee's wayside restaurant and in conjunction I make the approval that we go forward with the liquor license renewals for class two for Berlin Jolly CVS Pharmacy Kenny Drugs, Maplewood Price Shopper, Shaw's your second okay so I need there are at least two for every applicant on the Applebee oh I'm sorry I'm getting ahead of the game all those in favor motion carries now you can start your Schmiele would you sign those please and then when Jeremy comes tomorrow he can sign and I can get them back to Rosemary you're all done liquor that's it I make a motion that we come out of the liquor portion of the meeting and reconvene the select board meeting here a second all those in favor motion carries let's see here round table flow I have nothing this evening Jeremy Justin entertain a motion to adjourn do we have an executive session at all tonight no make the motion to adjourn here a second did we have a second all in favor we adjourn