 Okay. Welcome to the Monday, April the 1st, 2024 meeting of the Montpelier Design Review Committee. I'll let staff and members introduce themselves. Member. Meredith Crandall, staff. Steve Everett, member. Martha Smurski, member. We have anybody else? Eric, you have to unmute yourself. Eric, you're a member. William Russell, member. Okay. I'll let Meredith review the remote meeting procedures and process. Okay. So for those of you who have done this before, you know the drill, Howard. So this is going to be mostly for you and then for anybody who's watching via work of media. Just make sure that the link shows through. I'm going to ask a favor, Andrew. Can you use your mouse to minimize the zoom screen on there? The little single bar, the little square up top on that rectangle. No, the one that has the images of people. Oh, okay. And select over on the left-hand side, select not that one, but that one. And then lift it up a little bit so people can remotely can see the link. Thank you very much. So for anyone viewing tonight's Design Review Committee meeting via work of media, you can participate in tonight's discussion via the Zoom platform through either video or telephone access options. If you want to use the full video experience, you can type this link into your web browser and it should bring you right into the meeting. Alternatively, you can call into the meeting using this phone number. And when prompted, put in this meeting ID and I will get a notice to bring you into the meeting. If you have any problems accessing the meeting, please email me at mprandleatmontpillier-vt.org. I will be monitoring my email throughout tonight's meeting. For those attending via Zoom, turning your video on is optional. And for everyone attending, please keep your microphone on mute when you're not speaking. This will help reduce background noise. And note that the Zoom chat function should only be used for troubleshooting or logistics questions. Anything substantive about an item on the agenda should be shared verbally. And if you haven't already been called on, you can just raise your hand either physically or by using the raise hand button on your toolbar and then wait for the chair to call on you. If in the event the public is unable to access tonight's meeting, it will need to be continued to a time and place certain. I'll now hand the meeting back over to the chair. If everybody's had a chance to look at the agenda, do I hear a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. Second. All in favor of the agenda, speak your names. Eric. Martha. William. Steve. The agenda is approved. We can move forward to the first applicant. Andrew LaRosa for Montpelier High School. Describe your project. Swing the mic over. I'm gonna turn that over to Howard because he's a representative on this project. Oh, okay. Great. My name is Howard Killian. I'm with GreenPrint Partners. We have been, just to get a quick background, we have been hired, have a contract with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to manage the three acre rule implementation for about 65 schools along with Lake Champlain Sea Grant to help them meet the three acre rule. So the high school is one of the projects that we are moving forward this year. And so what we have in front of you is that there's a variety of things we're doing. We've, again, a project management. We've hired a local engineer to design the project with the school's input. And then once we have all the permits in place, we will be bidding the project out to the public to have it constructed. So the project has several disconnection areas throughout the site, along the paths and around the track and some of the parking lots. But the main part of the improvement, if you look on the plans, there is a, we're at the south end of the parking lots, kind of the southwest corner. We are installing in one of the islands kind of a four bay. And what that is is a lot of the storm water from the parking lots gets directed into that, which will allow the more of your pollutants, any debris, any debris that might be in the parking lot to be collected in that. And then it'll run through a pipe to offer the parking lot between the existing parking lot and the tree line. Right now there's an existing small swale there. And we're proposing to put in a bio retention area. And what that'll do is the water will flow into that. It'll have a gravel bottom, but also different sorts of wetland plants. And the idea is the water will stay there for a day or so and filter into the ground, filter out the pollutants until it then slowly releases back into the public swale system. And that's designed, that's just- I noticed on your friends that you have one area where you anticipate changing a gravel parking area to a paved parking area. I was not able to understand where that was in terms of the school itself. Let me find that real quick. There are two small areas in the one corner that they're minor areas. Andrew, do you know offhand which one it is? I'm looking it up on the front door. Basically, if you're standing facing the tennis courts with your back to the front door of the school, if that helps you at all. Yeah. Over in the, well, I guess, let's do it properly. So Northwest corner, there was an area of the parking lot that had been covered with a stay mat and has sort of worked its way into becoming a parking spot. So that's just we're gonna take the stay mat dirt that's been parked on for many years and actually pave that. And then on the south side of the parking lot, there's just a little odd wedge of grass that has been driven on that that's gonna be removed. So it's basically the equivalent of two or three parking spots that currently are being used but are just dirt. So we're gonna pave it so we can control it. If I was standing on Bailey Avenue looking at the school, would one of those areas be to my left? Well, yes, but way down by the tennis courts. Okay. And the other areas would be to my right? Yeah. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Are these photos included actually of my Pealier school? No. No, that's a typical. It's really, if you can envision the swale that we have now, we're enlarging it. Okay. And formalizing it and adding some plantings around it and it's really a matter of enlarging what we have. So I had asked for some photos so you have at least a sense of what the planting area might look like because landscaping is one of DRC's jurisdictional things here even for a school. So the area that holds water is able to deal with sewage and fuel oil? No, it's not intended. No, it's not really intended for that. Not for, certainly not for sewage. Well, I mean what comes through with the floodwaters. Oh, well, no. No. This is just for everyday storm. Yes, this is just everyday storm. It's improving and enlarging what we currently have. Okay. I didn't know that there was some thought of dealing with flood as part of this. No, this is just ground surface work. This is collecting stuff off the parking lots and the track and the roofs. Yeah, the flood, the river hazard permit comes in not because this is like post flood work so much as because it's work in the river hazard area and they're converting, you know, making changes to grade and everything, I had to do a river hazard permit. I didn't know if that was a small thought in the process of this. This was designed well before the flood. Okay. We were fortunate this was a, before the funding was even available, we had money from the friends of the Winooski helped us design this in anticipation. So we've actually had these designs pretty well done for years and now that Green Pence is here and the state has released the funds, we're going to hopefully we're one of the first ones to get it done. Are there other schools in the state doing the same thing? We are over the next three years addressing up to 64 schools in these watersheds. We're trying to do between 10 and 30 this year as the kickoff. This is the first year we're undertaking the work. Okay. And the funds that excuse me, the funds that Andrew mentioned are actually federal, the America Recovery Plan Act funds that are being passed through the state down to the schools. Okay. Maybe there isn't anything major that goes on here but there is a note here about five foot wide permeable concrete walk to outdoor storm water, educational area, C detail. I was unable to find the detail of what that area looks like. Seems like I'm all for it being an educational area and I feel like this whole thing at a school should be a very educational thing. I don't know what sort of infrastructure is being put in place to, or if any, to make that be more of an educational spot. Yeah, well, part of the program is 10% of, I won't bore you with a specific detail, but 10% of the cost of this project needs to go to educational. If we decide to, or we have to pay 10% towards the project, we are choosing to take the full funding and then allocate money towards educational. So yeah, there will be a way for someone who has accessibility challenges to get and be able to go up there and talk about with other classes what's going on there in that retention pond. And we don't have a detailed drawing of that yet. Again, these are probably 90% sets though, so. So we're waiting on that, but that. Liz, I think there's a detail of the previous concrete sidewalk at the bottom of DE1. Yeah, I was wondering if there was more sort of architecture associated with it. There was a note about railings. There was some other things. I didn't know if there was any other details. No, I think it's going to be pretty minimal. It's going to be pretty minimal. That's fine. Get to the edge and be able to look in for it. How does any of the work being done impact the playing fields? Should none. Okay. I wasn't sure given some of the diagrams in the back. That was all their disconnect. That's where they calculate permeable and impervious surfaces and how much drainage you have off of those surfaces. Yep. So that was part of their calculation. I'm sure any additional drainage off the playing field will be greatly appreciated by the right fielder. Fortunately, or unfortunately because of the flood, FEMA, we are doing a lot of work on the fields again this summer. So they're actually going to be... What's being done? More leveling and we're going to re-level the practice field, which is the field on the left. And the old mud lot field is actually getting a little more leveling, a little more fertilization, a little more grass seeding. So that's going to work out. And then behind the school, we're going to do some additional leveling. So. Any members have any additional questions, comments? Do you have some head shaking though? Any lack of questions? We'll eventually have some exciting stuff, guys. Okay. Boring any other questions or comments, I can go through the criteria. There's a criteria sheet. And for all projects, exterior design in materials of new construction or alterations of existing buildings shall be consistent and compatible with the characteristics of the existing building or other properties in the district. Then again, this has to do with accessory landscaping and other parts of the premises. So based on what you've presented, so far that portion is acceptable. In existing buildings should be recognized as a physical record of their time, place and use as is the premises acceptable. Proposed landscaping should be compatible with the neighborhood and the site on which the prep project is located, acceptable. Location and appearance of all utilities, mechanical equipment, trash, storage, fencing should be cited to minimize adverse visual impact or adequately and appropriately screened from public view. Is there, the fencing is the only thing that it's part of the project. So that's acceptable. There's a lot of criteria here that doesn't apply. And lastly, landscaping, screening and site furnishings. Projects within the design review, overlay district and subject to the landscaping requirements and section 3203 shall consider the following. Site furnishings including fencing, seating, other types of site furniture, visible from the street or side yards, does landscaping obscure or undermine key architectural patterns or elements of historic buildings and mechanical equipment screening, all of those are acceptable. And those are really the only ones that apply to the project. All in favor of the application is presented, speak your names. This is Martha, I say yes. William, yes. And Steve, yes. So the vote is five and favor. And do you want to sign representing the projects and you can sign right below my name in that box. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. See you all. Thank you very much. I will get my, I've got to do my whole site plan report and fun. But I'll get that and get the permits out as soon as I can. When they're ready, do you want me to just email you? Should we pick them up? Keep going through Howard. Okay. Everything goes through Howard. The email will be great. Okay, so Howard, we have to actually mail them out because there's a blue notice card that needs to get posted at the site. So that's why, I mean, I can email copies of them if you want an email, but then somebody needs to be able to pick it up or collect that blue notice card and post it at the high school within the 15 day appeal period. So why don't I grab the blue card? Okay. So I'll email both of you when they're ready. I'll make sure that scans of them are in the email so that Howard has them and then, but you can come and pick them up. Very good. Perfect. Great. Thank you. Drew, we're getting closer to that fancy restaurant, but not quite. I realized the only time we've seen each other in the last three years, so that Saturday mornings at the hardware store, and realize we weren't running into each other in the fancy restaurant. Thank you. Thank you all. Good luck with your project. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you, Howard. Thank you. And has everyone had a chance to look at the minutes from February the 20th? Questions? Yes. And I'll make a motion to accept them the way they are. Okay. Okay. All in favor of the minutes, speak your names. Here are Martha. William. Steve, minutes are approved. You're staining, could you go in there? Anyone have any other business at this point? Otherwise, oops, I'm sorry. It's okay. Just a little note, the city council still hasn't approved the zoning changes. So hopefully Wednesday, we'll find out. They were supposed to do it before town meeting day, but they haven't, so it's still going on. So feel free to attend on Wednesday if you want, or we'll see, but it shouldn't change design review all that much, but it could have some other interesting effects. Okay. Okay. Then do I hear a motion to adjourn? So moved. Okay. Second. Okay. All in favor of adjournment, speak your names. Ben. Martha. William. Steve, meeting is adjourned. Thank you all for coming.