 All right Scott, you're ready? Okay Call the meeting to order at 7 o'clock first order of business as usual by the minutes we have the minutes from October 18 282 here is there a motion? Move we accept them subject to modification mr. Second second page one And item number three principle should be changed to p. A. L. Oh Hmm Hearing no other corrections then all those in favor of approving the minutes of October 18th 222 say aye. Aye. Aye. Nay opposed Moving right along To public comment. Is there anyone in the room who wishes to make any public comment tonight before we move on? See no one in the room. How about online? No one online. All right We'll go directly to item number four. That's the liquor license application and Eric you want to introduce the The folks that are here. Yep Acting as a local control board the select board has an application from railroad and main restaurant Consider at first third class license and an outdoor consumption permit We have folks from railroad and main here this evening and answering questions the board has this is a new restaurant They'll be coming if any crossing stop is no objections Thanks bunch of folks come up to the table really microphone news and the Microphone doesn't does not apple five So I think you already operate a facility in Essex correct Could you just tell us a little bit about what you'd like to do including the outdoor consumption? So we are casual fine dining and we'll be changing our menu a bit over in Williston and We'd like to do Beer wine liquor specialty cocktails and outdoor consumption the area over there actually butts up to a Micro park or pocket park But it will be obviously fenced in outdoor seating. I think capacity could be up to 60. It won't be more than 35 or 40 and that might even be on the high end All of your staff is currently trained. I presume Are you moving out of Essex over to us? We are we're relocating. It won't be a second location So our current staff will be coming. I'm assuming will hopefully hire additional staff And they'll get trained as well. If they're not already Thank you other questions from the board just real briefly, you know, what what is your Philosophy procedure, you know about ensuring compliance with with the law about serving alcohol. I Would say we're I You know, I think we're pretty conservative on the alcohol consumption But our restaurant invite isn't really we're not gonna have TVs You know, you're not gonna sit there for hours and and drink We're not even in Essex. We have a couple TVs in Essex But the atmosphere is basically come and have dinner grab a glass of wine a nice glass of scotch But we don't particularly have a menu or an atmosphere that kind of leads itself to Being a place to to hang out and I mean, you know, girlfriends might come and get You know have a wine night or something, but it's just not it. We're just not like that kind of place And we never do we're not My husband Todd does our beer list. It's all craft beer. You're not gonna find You know Bucket of Bud Light for $10. You know what I mean? We just thought it's just not that kind of place. So yeah Okay, and in training of staff or instruction you would give staff so staff so restaurants can do two things for Liquor compliance, there is a DLC certification that is online And when they get that that goes for any restaurant, like if they left railroad in Maine and went to Felinos It follows them to Felinos. There's another Program that a lot of restaurants use that's called in-house training that the owners of the restaurant will Will conduct but I don't think it's as thorough and I don't I don't think it they pay attention and you know So we actually don't allow that in our restaurant. So everyone Who's serving alcohol has to get DLC certified through the state? We don't allow there's also a few programs that that Vermont accepts That are not through the state and we just we just keep it all through DLC Okay, all right. Good. Thank you. Yes any other questions If not a motion is proposed Move to approve a first and third-class liquor license and an outdoor consumption permit for railroad in Maine through April 30th 2023 Zero second I'll second Discussion on the motion You're redundant. All those in favor of the motion say aye. Aye. Aye. Congratulations. Thank you very much. We're really excited to make the move. Welcome. Are you keeping the name? We are we have too good of a following to change it and so it's a little bit quirky that we're not We're gonna keep it anyway, no, aren't they gonna request street name You know Los Angeles Lakers basketball team was Minneapolis Lakers, which made a lot more sense They kept the name so you're in good You guys can have bike racks, that's my my friends and I are Bikeable, so we were we were wondering if we could bike there. Yeah, we believe so we are not building the building But there is a huge cement pad that we're pretty sure is perfect bike rack and the the park in front of it Is they've done it. They've done like 600 plants. It's really they've done a really nice job out there We're excited Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Yes. Thank you Moving on to the Grand Lester errors and omissions that we do every year Tonight Eric, we'd like to introduce and Dick Ransom is here to give an explanation Yep, as Terry mentioned, this is a list the select board sees every year It's the listers can look after the grand list put together in the spring and early summer If there's errors or omissions that occur it gives the board an opportunity to correct those before the end of the year On our grand list you have with you a wreck the list of recommended changes from the listers that they've approved for your consideration this evening So a couple of minor items this year Our assistant assessor Dick Ransom is here to answer any questions It's been a while since I presented bill has been doing it the last few years, but Well, I'd like to see you folks Yeah, pretty pretty basic a couple of basic ones with our veterans exemptions We there is a veterans exemption that goes through the state of Vermont the VA affairs And then they send a file to us and the first two individuals were on the original file And in the meantime the first one had sold Mr. Leflam and The corrective deed had come in on his original sale and unfortunately we processed that Without realizing we had changed the name from a new owner back to Mr. Leflam and by the time we realized that We had booked the grand list in July This is just correcting a the ownership and then taking away the veterans exemption Second one we found on another veteran was the resident had been filing a homestead in the past few years didn't this year Not untypical to have late filers When I finally communicated with the gentleman he indicated that he was now a part-time Vermont resident Which doesn't qualify him for the veterans exemption. So we have to take that away The third one was just a minor Land transfer down at that infamous industrial Avenue route to area And we had processed what we thought was a easement or a right She was me a right-of-way, and it was actually a sale of a small piece of land So we had to make that adjustment just reducing the acres by a small amount the last one was a an interesting one it was from a 2012 August of 30th of 2012 tax sale the Listerer assessor's office was never informed by a usually a property tax transfer return Never got processed as far as we could tell at that time. So the ownership never got changed and it's been going on since 2013 would have been the first grand this year so we can correct this year There has been a subsequent property tax transfer return that will handle that will actually Solidify the transaction. So next year will be all set. So those are the three four the net effect is About $49 increased to the town Municipal rate, so not a big It might be to the taxpayers, but in the direction we like it to go We'll put truck Yeah, I was gonna say our budget was next year or all set Dick one question if you don't mind you are under the the last one Unlanded mobile home. Yeah, that means that It's not they were renting a space or the space is owned by someone else that they're either charging rent or not charging rent This was a family situation So, okay, so the 465 is it's just the value of the mobile home value of the mobile home. Okay. Good. Thank you other questions I Was in motion and suggested I'll move to approve the corrections to the 2022 grand list as proposed by the listeners There's no second second There's no discussion on the motion Hearing none. Allows in favor of the motion say aye. Hi. Hi. Any opposed? Stensions, all right So now we're up to thank you very much. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you We're up to the interviews of the the remaining five candidates for the Community Center spoken and library assessment steering committee Two weeks ago. We interviewed five candidates and we do have five candidates tonight as well And I believe We have four in the room right now and one Will be on zoom if not right now very soon I don't see Aaron yet, but I think she's planning to join a 715 school board meeting We need to wait until she appears and So maybe we can move on to the town values policy sure Yep, this is a policy the board's reviewed over the last three First couple looking at the DEI Components of the town value statements. I put on the board with initial draft including those and some other Town values that we've looked at previously on October 18th receive you back from the board that evening and I've made some Additions to the policy after the feedback from the board Specifically a section 2.6 point one I every wrote up for feedback from the board and added some language in a new section three evaluation It's back to the board this evening before as any additional Amendments to to include here or can also consider adoption as presented over the amendments So it appears that things were added that we requested last at the last meeting Any questions for Eric on this? Looks good looking for a motion on this as well I'll move to adopt the town values policy as presented Is there a second second? Discussion on the motion Thank you And if not all those in favor of the motion say aye. Aye. Aye. We opposed. All right And we can also go on to item number 10 the personnel policy amendment and Eric We talked about this last meeting as well Yep another continuation from last meeting This is a member to the town's personnel policy that would allow remote work to occur There was consensus from the board on October 18th to consider action this evening I've prepared for the board the language as recommended by the town attorney the personnel policy This would permit remote work from time to time at discretion the town manager The town manager will consider the reasons for the remote work requests and its request duration The staffing and other needs the town and the nature of the work being performed such arrangements may be adjusted I mean there's discretion at any time and from time to time Language drafted by the town attorney should the board wish to amend the personnel policy to include this our next step At a staff level would be to work on an operational procedure for how this would look with the expectations for for staff and a process for The manager to consider these requests and working closely with department heads I'll say it's certainly something we've seen post pandemic that's that's here to stay and I I think there's a way to allow some of this for the town employees Sold staff is we need to be available to the public in person for all our operating hours and make sure that We'd weigh all those items You have to proceed here Certainly know when today's labor market to it's for positions that can have remote work. It's something Any questions for our Not familiar I'm looking for a motion on that as well Move to approve an amendment to the town's personnel policy addressing remote work as presented There's your second Sorry discussion on the motion Since the resonant all those in favor of the motion say hi Okay We're waiting for Aaron Aaron's on now. Yes. Yeah, I'll get her connected right now. Okay. Yeah, I'm just gonna make you a panelist Hi, Aaron. Hi So we do have five candidates that we interviewed Two weeks ago and we have five candidates that we're interviewing tonight and we anticipate Discussing this and making a decision on the appointments after the other businesses taking care of tonight. So We'll do the same procedure as we did two weeks ago on that is that We'll start off with Questions and get down the line and so you will have a chance to read the first on the line and and the last in line to answer and so we'll alternate that as we go along and so The four who are in the room if you'd come to the table that would be helpful to us if you don't mind sitting next to each other and May need to move the the microphone as we are you gonna take Okay We're brown or a second So welcome and we'll start off with the usual question even though we have your Applications in front of us people who may be watching this would be interested in hearing a brief Introduction to yourself as to your background and why you'd like to be on this particular Scoping committee, so we'll start off with Elton Karby Thanks to me I'm Elton Karby Let me back up a stuff from what I've written here and mentioned that Before my family and I were citizens of Williston. We were indirectly citizens of Williston through the The Williston school system when we were our kids were being raised in St. George That was from 81 right through 92 when we built here I Been I've I think I've done a fair job of outlining some of my both my volunteer and professional experiences I'm very proud of the fact that Back in the second incarnation Both my wife and I were very active in CRG of Williston I think that that's relevant to this in the extent that it gave me a pretty thorough baptism to Processes by which town governments very largely still works today today My my professional work has been both in statewide nonprofit management and before that working with remodeled disabilities Helping them find work in the private sector or wherever might be appropriate In previous to that I had a small business stint of about four and a half years as property inspector I also doubled doing some estimating for the construction firm that the property inspection business was independently housed under I see this my main attraction to this post is that It seems to me it's it's one of these really special Won't say you need that's a pretty powerful word special opportunities to do community building to do real community building based on a lot of the different Areas of town government coming together on a specific set of concerns and It's not often we have a chance to do that I think in a discreet process Kind of way such as this this committee is seems to me designed to be Designed to be going forward and as their mission That's really the main focus I bring to this I Am concerned with with Both adequate library and and expanding our recreation facilities in the most inclusive way possible by that I mean by age by gender by every imaginable Inclusionary Optic and reality I Think that's really good. I wanted to leave you with and I thank you for the opportunity to be considered Thank you We have two errands here tonight, so So I'll go to Aaron Brady first Thank you, thanks for putting up with me and I'll zoom here my husband's in Gradlebo doing League of Cities and Towns work And I'm trying to also be in the school board meeting. So this is suboptimal, but I'm trying to make it work I I'm just really committed to our community. Obviously, you know, I'm active on the school board I'm serving in the legislature right now on behalf of Williston and I'm really invested in this community here that where Ted and I have made a home and Are raising kids and certainly feel there is a real need for more opportunities to bring Families together and more community I need for community resources Not just private clubs and other ways but other ways that people can recreate kids can get together after school clubs Teen centers that kind of thing that Williston just doesn't have despite our growth and I'm you know, I'm excited about our growth I think it's an opportunity We should welcome and also should maximize and continue to make it a community with with a lot of resources That that need a variety of needs. So I've been excited about this possibility for a long time I've been writing to Matt at the Planning Commission I think since about a year or two after I moved here like why don't we have what could we do? How can I help? So I'm thrilled to be at this point and really want to just make sure we kind of seize on some momentum where I think there's Some community some pretty far reaching community interest in investing in our own community and with some physical resources and growth So I just I want to help help Capitalize on this moment that we're in. Thanks Hi everybody You know The reason that this jumped out at me is when it said library I was a library trustee for many many years and so it's that's the one that's it's near and dear to my heart So anything that has to do with the library. I'd love to you know, expand it see, you know Make sure it has a place in the community and I do feel like You know, I'd love to provide input on I do think we're lacking in some things in Williston I raised I've lived here 40 years and I'd love to see more community centers I'd love to I was so sad when the Sports and fitness edge got sold and Williston couldn't didn't have the opportunity to buy it I think we need things like that in this town and and I think it's become more and more important because You see, you know, 40 years ago. You could look around and you kind of knew everybody in Boston and Now, you know, I have no clue So I think it's more important than ever and I think like Dana was saying it's really important You don't have things for all ages all, you know, all walks of life Yeah, I have no I have no expertise in any of this. I'm a plant pathologist at University of Vermont. So Good, thank you Aaron Henderson. Hi Hi Aaron Brady So I Am a Vermonner I grew up in Addison County with not a lot of options Things to do outside of the school and I think that the more rural counties really depend on the schools as have we and my family and I moved back to Vermont 10 years ago and so We lived in some suburban areas where I think there were some Interesting ideas that came out of what they did with libraries what they did with community centers. So I have ideas But nothing that I'm necessarily wed to Two of my three children are now in college and I have one child at CVU still and So I feel like I have some extra time I have been on You know, I've volunteered for wins. I volunteered at Wilson Central as the parent rep for the safety committee But now I really feel like okay. I could free up a little bit more time and do some things for the community I Think I was a high school teacher for about 20 years and when I moved back to Vermont I began working for the state and I do a lot of facilitation For the state and so I feel like that's a strength. I could bring to the committee not really having I Have ideas, but nothing. I'm a hundred percent wed to so I feel like that is a role that potentially I could play on the committee to help facilitate all sides I do Appreciate the range. I don't have small kids anymore. I you know, I have I guess a teenager, but also, you know, thinking about the range of Older adults who might be able to use the facility as well And I also see it as an equity issue when we talk about You know private clubs used to the edge or whatever used to play that role But not everybody can afford that and so I would really just want to approach it also with that in mind Good. Thank you And Andy Michael Thank you, Terry. Andy Michael Native Ramonner other than maybe a decade in College and law school shortly thereafter have been a Wilson residence since first grade Through the Wilson school systems. He view all that happy stuff So Wilson's obviously grown during my tenure from a single blinking yellow lighted tax corners to a few extra traffic lights All good all different awesome Public service stuff Did it stand on a select board as part of that was part of the group that did the fire safety facilities So have some background in that that it's done on the school board Active member of the Willis in Rotary Club, which I think you know brings a lot to this community both in terms of ideas and activities My kids grew up through here active youth Coach umpire all that good stuff by day real estate attorney Retiring in the end of the year. So I too have a few more hours in the day and Would would welcome the opportunity to further serve the town If I can add some some expertise thoughts But you got some good qualified candidates. So whatever the decision it's going to be great Thank you Want the next question? So same question. I asked the other five. So so for fairness, but obviously I see a big Important factor in the scoping committee and study as is getting the community engaged in this process So how would you envision? Getting that the community to take an active role in getting there Their wants and needs and and all of that communicated This question goes to Aaron Brady Thanks. Yeah, great question very important point and really challenging thing to do. Yeah, we're working on a New mission and vision statement for the school district and it can be challenging to get input So I think my first priority would be just making it as accessible as possible You know, whether that's online forms qr codes and places I think any way that we can gather as much feedback as possible Without requiring people to come to big meetings a few people, you know, or can do that But that's a challenging way to get a lot of a lot of input on the plus side I think there's actually so much interest in this and something that talks about physical facilities is a little bit more You know, since it's more tangible than a mission statement I think it inherently brings a little bit more engagement in the process So I don't have a you know set plan of exactly how we would do that but I do think it's a very important part of the process and And we've got to make sure that we make it really easy for folks to access and and Deliberately make an effort to reach different parts of the community to make sure we are just using the same channels or sort of the same Strategies before but ways that we might tap into populations whose voices may not be heard as much in our community It would take a little more thinking and planning to know exactly how to do that But I think we I think there's a lot of great perspectives here that we could be deliberate about Making sure that we are gathering not just you know school families or not just senior citizens not just certain populations But those whose voices are maybe not heard in our community as well Well, thank you and I Um, I guess, you know when I was in the library we and we were talking about expanding That was so controversial just making a new wing But we have a lot of focus groups and that was Really helpful and the one good thing about cove it is now we can all we're all pretty comfortable doing zoom. So I think Trying to get to have like town hall meetings You know like they did like politicians do or having focus groups But I think Erin is right. It's hard You have to sort of select, you know, make sure you get the right Demographics all the demographics represented. So with zoom, we might be able to get a good You know wide range of people, but I think it would take a lot of input with Some sort of a focus group or town halls or something like that So I think everybody we need to hear from everybody basically from kids to you know, a Senior citizens Thank you, Aaron Henderson They're saying all the good answers here Again, I don't have a set plan I would think that the committee would work together to try to kind of Flesh that out and really Think about how are we going to make it most accessible? I know That the technology does help a lot of people I think that there are some age groups that might not feel as comfortable with the technology So we might not be you know, we'd have to really just think about how to do that And then those who don't have access to the technology as well So I just think that there would have to be a lot of different ways that we would be able to survey and then get feedback whether that means going out To different shopping areas going out to different communities and holding kind of smaller groups because I think it's intimidating as well to I'm a little intimidated. Yeah, I think it would be intimidating for some people This one Thanks, I forgot to mention I think the first round of why and then you know almost every day I drive by the park and ride and then the facility going in and Taking this so long. It's like it's time to do this. We've been talking about it We've been talking about parking rides. It's good to see things happening, which is what gets me excited about doing it Yeah For me, I'd like to find a list of other Communities that have centers. I'd like to visit them ask what they do how they do it why they do it What's successful? What doesn't bring some of those ideas back? You know go to Whitney Hill go to Williston Woods go to the schools Go to youth groups Yeah, we may need to take the meeting to them but More people or the earlier the better. I mean a lot of times, you know, we think we've sent the message out and then We enact something like building height and suddenly everybody comes out and says, I didn't know you were talking about building height So yeah, hopefully we're not in a position where we lay out the design for a new community center and someone says well You didn't include We got to figure it out Elden I Agree with every modality that has been suggested here as a viable One in its right place. I also go back to I've done a lot of Political campaign both here locally in Wilson Here in the years when CRG was morphing from a protest slash pressure group into a political party and And I'm more there. I'm more statewide races as well And one of the things that I've learned is that there's nothing to beat And here I'm not terribly concerned with getting the right demographic mix, Mr. Sarah That's politically incorrect in that sounds Nothing beats going out people's homes and doing some door-to-door Input as well as everything else that's been mentioned here I think it's that important and I think unless you get some I Don't know a better word for some some raw feedback as well as the more Filtered you don't get you're not you're going to be in danger of not getting the whole picture Let's leave it at that. Thank you. Yeah couple comments first You know, I'm a native Vermonner lifelong resident of the town and I'm just trying to figure out how We bridge the gap from where we came from to where we are now Because a lot of the ideas are not new ones. We had a parking ride when I was a kid You know, that's that's not new. I was a page in the legislature in 1987 And they see it picked up from representatives Burlington to hike it down to Montpelier. So I think that's all good So my question really is two parts one is around space because I've heard a couple of candidates tonight Think about like additions to current facilities that we might have libraries one But also like would it be a Thoughts on, you know, a brand new community center Would it be bits and pieces and parts and more importantly, what would the programming look like to kind of encapsulate? all areas of age because what I think, you know, definitely Seniors have a part in this sort of the youth But everybody else in between and I'm just curious. That's a very loaded question. I know But what are your thoughts would be on like how you would might put some thoughts out on? Either additions or new construction and what type of programming and how that mesh would work The starts with am I know Well, I would think it would have to be you know a little bit of everything, you know, I think I think there is probably some Way to expand the library, but I think for a community center. I can't imagine that You know, we can't add on to something we already have because we don't have it But I remember didn't the town hall didn't the town own land behind Town hall wasn't there a piece of property that Was owned by the town that I thought the library was We actually I think rent the land where the library is on right now, but we do own some land out behind town hall You don't know we do. Oh, you do, right, right? Yeah, I thought that I mean I think that came up when we were talking about additions or building new facility But yeah, I think it's got to be a combination. That's it would be expensive I have been to some amazing community centers one in New Hampshire. It's like I wanted to talk to him and see Just to see how they pulled it off because it had a swimming pool and had meeting rooms We were having a conference there. There were kids in and out and yeah, it was amazing I'd love to see something like that in Williston and I don't know if we always thought it You know, maybe it would be Heinsberg in Williston, you know, like or Heinsberg-Shellburn in Williston, you know Three towns or St. George If we couldn't do it ourselves, you know a community center three towns, but I'd love to see a big new community center I'd rather have it be where that parking is because That's a big piece of property that's gonna be a lot of parking But Aaron Henderson So you want both ideas about where if I'm just clarifying Where yeah, well as what So I Have also thought like the village is very accessible. We also need to figure out How to Yeah, the space that is involved. So I have also thought that there was property way behind here as well I think That we do need to also think about or at least explore We have a lot of buildings now that are you know, you go down industrial app you go down Over like in where over by the edge, and I know there's a no compete clause there But there are a lot of abandoned buildings as well. So I just think it just needs to be explored I'm not saying that that's the answer But there is also some places where Yeah, obviously parking and getting a place where people can all come together and Have access to it whether people are going to be able to walk to it Or that it'll have you know people have to be driving to it. So that's why I just think that you know in some ways However, the village is so accessible and again, there's not always a lot of space unless we're going back towards the interstate As far as ideas about what it would look like I've seen the same a Pool Something I think that there's often like a lot of focus, you know with both little kids and families and then Often a pool works for older adults But not always whatever in the middle Maybe it's I know that the library for a long time was kind of you know Kids would go there after school up until about 6 or 7th grade and then it did not become cool anymore Where are kids going who maybe are? 8th grade through whatever who aren't driving who aren't doing afterschool sports So just thinking about What kind of rec center what could be available for kids potentially after school who? Aren't involved in the traditional what you know the schools have to offer as well, so Thank you Andy Think it's a chicken egg chicken problem which comes first my best guess is We designed what we'd like to see and it's gonna cost a ton of money because everybody wants a little list a little that That's great How are we gonna pay for it? Where's the money coming from what can we afford what can we build what can we phase? Can we approach businesses? Can we approach private giving? but until we know Money we have and what we're gonna build Then we have to figure out where we can put it So, you know if we had an unlimited budget and 10 acre parcel and we could build what we want That's one thing, but if we can't afford to build that Then we got to do some creative stuff So I don't have any preconceived ideas of how much money we're gonna have Ultimately what it will look like but it all comes together That's the process and hopefully we build the best thing we can the best spot Elton Yeah, I guess the only way that I would distinguish myself in my answer here To this question from what other folks have said is that I Tend to approach questions like this in an extreme Step one extremely open-ended matter Try to strip myself there any and all assumptions and and start from there And I don't know what I've been thinking about is other folks have been talking is Is it going to be useful or is it going to get in the way for instance for this group to do Some tentative sort of modeling here. Here's one model with I could see here's here to be here see here see Time see here see time Point to here's D or is that going to tend to close things off in terms of over-categorize too early what what we're going to do or not do I Think I think that can be useful, but I Coming from where I'm coming from with with my long history working with folks with disabilities one of the things I've learned is that The more you don't assume the more read the more ways you give for inclusivity As a general rule and I don't even know how or how how that works out so well, but it does and so While the model making can be useful it can also be a little dangerous at times if it's done too quickly or People get too categorical about the models. They've set up as being worth anything Except as discussion points perhaps but I'm I Think this this whole process we have a chunk of money to work with But the whole process needs to be approached in a very very open-ended way to Have the best chance to be as inclusive of all interests and needs as possible Aaron Brady Thanks Despite my love of Williston and it being my home. I'm not a lifelong verandah and I Bring some of my midwestern perspective to this I think I grew up in the Minneapolis area And I go back every summer for some time and pretty much every suburb there granted They are larger than us, but the suburbs even of 40 50,000 Has a really robust community center In fact my kids and I make it a mission to sort of fool hop every summer and see which ones how many we can check out And you know the things that I think I have seen that are really exciting Are obviously aquatics and that has a multi-generational impact those tend to get used heavily for Senior programs certainly a lot for little kids And then there's options in between there are folks who are lap swimming you name it So the facilities I've seen tend to have aquatic centers tend to have some kind of area for small children whether it's a daycare center or a place for family classes Some meeting spaces that could serve as sort of a senior center and other functions like that And then I've seen a lot of different variations on the theme. Some have ice rinks. Some have climbing walls. Some have You name it and So, you know Admittedly I'm coming to this dreaming big. I think you know, whether it's brand new or like Aaron saying we you know repurpose a building That we end this process with something that really stands out As unique and accessible and multi-use for all of Williston And I think in the end like Andy saying partnerships will be really important. It's probably going to require some some fundraising efforts Are there opportunities to work with part two or organizations that do some of the programming for kids? I think Aaron's pointing to a really big gap in our we've got pretty limited after school offerings Especially for certain ages. There's a real need there I don't know the entire kind of after school landscape and what other partners might be available Whether the ymca would be one or others that we could work with but I definitely think some partners and I don't know if it's feasible, but if there's some potential to look at even some You know bigger than just Williston is this some Multi-town effort is it I know we don't have you know in the midwest county government is very strong And that also plays a part in some of the recreation facilities that tend to be really robust We don't have that kind of strong county government But you know you take the the surrounding area you take the area that goes to cvsd And you've got a population chunk that I think can support a pretty state-of-the-art modern facility So I think we should explore those options I know the upper valley aquatic center I think is is a model and I know they did a lot of private fundraising and run as a non-profit But I think there are also models, you know, we don't have to go all the way to minnesota though I would love to To find some strong models of of what's possible for us here at this area Good thank you to it I Always the last time I did this I prefaced at the same way. I'm going to preface it tonight This is an important project and we really have to have a community center. There's no question about that. I'm in favor of it But I say that to Kind of inoculate myself from the next part, which is the I'm this is the you have to eat your vegetables kind of question One of the things that I've seen over the many years both on the school board and here on the select board Is that we have to be able to sustain the programs that we create Early on in my tenure on the select board. We had to get rid of a lot of enrichment and some Language classes because the school budget was voted down There are going to be carrying costs associated with this people are going we're going to have to hire people probably We're going to have maintenance costs. We're going to have insurance. We're going to have security issues All this other stuff. So my question is And it's probably a little unfair. So I'm not going to weigh the answers too heavily But what do you uh, how do you feel and what what is your thought on On as you go forward with this project Keeping in mind that that we do have to keep the budget sustainable that there Is it it's not just a question of property tax rates. It's also a question of being able to afford Things like the day camps where we have Low-income kids who don't have to pay And keeping room in our budget in our property tax rate for the school property tax rate So what what is your view of? Cost containment in terms of running this project after it's already built So this goes to Aaron Henderson Containment of the project I I feel like there needs to be I guess some Balance like if we look at the growth that's happening in Williston And the housing I feel like Those two things you know, I mean we look at businesses that are coming in or restaurants that are opening up I feel like we need to Take that and then and I don't know the number so Ted. I cannot you know give you that But I do think that there is I mean that is some that have I mean we're already an attractive community um, I think there is A lot of support Specifically for The school board and the and the district right now Um Because we see what we get right we what what we put we get out of it That was the reason I chose to move to this community 10 years ago It was worth it the taxes because this was the school I was going to get so I feel like the same thing is You know people who are looking and if we are expanding this community then I think that Um We can whether it's you know coming out of taxes whether it's coming out of Private businesses who are moving into this community. I think that we need to balance that with what we're offering to the community Outside of just let's just grow businesses. So Andy Yeah, Ted great question. I won't pretend to have the answer other than you've asked the right questions And I think that's what this group would be tasked with is coming back to the community with um, a fiscal appeal that meets our needs and that we can afford so Yeah, anything from grants to business partnerships to user fees to Tax it all has to go on the table and we figure it out and if it isn't sustainable Then if the committee in your town responsible, I think you cut it back to what we can afford And maybe there's a phase two. You know, maybe there's a 10 year plan. It becomes part of the town plan of Three year five year 10 years, but we'd have to find a site If we build phase one, uh, we can tack on phase two Too early to prejudge Gotta throw everything in the mix and figure it out And The elder I kind of Had I kind of see your question in two parts one is how do you generate sustainability for a project that's coming kind of Whole cloth, you know, and I don't think that's going to be a problem I think there's there's a lot of Need out there in terms of both recreation And improved library facilities And the possibility of something like a community center Whatever form it might take That it's going to be pretty easy to sustain the energy for it And I think the the early Whether it's in, you know Forums or or the door-to-door stuff. I was talking about room. However, however the initial input Gets done. I think if you're going to see emerging some really Solid dominant themes about what people want what people feel they need In this thing and those are the hooks you can use to keep people Engaged and involved As far as the cost My My bias and that sort of thing has always been Aim for what you can have so you can figure out what you can Aim for the use the ideal as a way of Let yourself whittle down to what you can afford Things things things won't can't go wrong that way because Everything you can't fit in to your initial proposal is out there for Possible possible future follow-up and erin break Thanks, I don't know that I have a lot to add here other than obviously it's a really important question. I think Andy Nailed it and I think erin as well and that I do get this sense that there is a It's certainly not universal the voters are unique But that there is a growing kind of sentiment and will listen up sort of where's the balance We're you know, we are accepting a lot of growth and development And we want some things for that some quality of life things for that So I think having a you know a successful center Sells itself in some ways like good schools do and that's important and communication is tremendously important This like for you know, kudos to Eric. You've done a great job in communicating the budget in the last few years I think that kind of work people need to understand, you know, what their investment gets them And I think we have to talk, you know, whoever the community leaders are about You know, not just taxes as sort of a burden, but also what are you know, what are our aspirations as a community And how do we pool our resources for that and what do we get as a community in that way? So hard hard to say in advance, but certainly understandable that that is Has to be part of part of the conversation Thank you Well, I would think it yeah, it would have to be a combination of things like a bond Just to get the building started, but then I think there has to be a A To sustain it. I think it's got to be a tax. It's got to be rolled into everybody's taxes somehow, but I think As we would work with different groups. I think that's a question that needs to be asked is what You know, we'd like to do this. What would you be willing to have your taxes increased to You know, and I don't know enough about town finances to know You know $25 a person a hundred dollars a household. What would that You know, what would that what would we need to sustain a you know, I Just having you know, three employees. I mean, it's got to be a three hundred thousand dollar budget with keeping the lights on and You know, so we you gotta do the math I guess and then ask the people if they're willing to You know meet them because if if they're not It's I don't think it is sustainable But thank you So we're done. I think that'll ask question Jeff You don't want to ask a question So I guess I don't really have a question that I can really add to what's already been asked So instead I'm going to make a comment and then look for your Thoughts on that comment and my comment is is thank you for volunteering I don't really envy you Because you've got a huge task In front of you and as I've listened just to the discussion tonight We've had the same discussion In a previous meeting with five other candidates and it was the same The same thing happened where the diversity of the information you've provided us About what could happen? I'm just going to read back a couple of my notes, you know, it's Child children to seniors Pool to library to climbing wall One building versus possibly multiple buildings Dream big versus the economic reality Disabled versus non-disabled New versus repurposed buildings capital costs versus operating costs Um and providing multiple mechanisms for the community to provide input So my comment is is given the immensity of what you need to be doing I How are you going to? How are you going to be able to focus? To take all that put the important pieces together to focus on what is The answer that will ultimately have to come to either the select board or the community to be approved and it it It can't be a Multifaceted answer. It has to kind of be a pretty concise answer Including how much is it going to cost from a capital standpoint? How much is it going to cost to run it year to year to year? so Good luck with trying to answer that question if you will So and it will give you the first time Sure so I suspect we're all here because we love willis then and we love a challenge and none of us can promise that we'll be successful other than If i'm appointed, I pledge my hardest efforts I Really like to go out and tour other facilities. I may not make it to the Midwest or wherever, but I think there are some good things here I Yeah, ask some questions. What do they have? How do they afford it? What do they see their five-year plan? so It's a ton of of hard work information gathering get the stakeholders involved all the people you just met and Yeah, we make the sausage and You know, hopefully the end result comes out It's something that we we can create and that we're proud of and we can execute on it I can't wait to promise to dry hard Tell them you're next I I think one of the things that I agree with you Jeff. This is this is not This is not an assignment for the the attendee Um, I think one thing that's going to be really important for or Whatever the group ends up looking like in terms of the personnel Is some initial and ongoing team building? With that group within that group because it is it is going to be a tough task and there's going to be a I have a feeling A multiplicity of different visions out there. They're going to be Like shooting stars all over the place at first And and if there's not that well, that's the problem itself because that's a lack of imagination And if there is that it's it's a different kind of problem But much a much easier one to deal with and that's that's a multiplicity of riches Around ideas that some of which may be wildly improbable and others may be somewhere near the ballpark in other words others may be right at home play, so The the team building part I think both initially and ongoing for this group of people whenever they turn out to be is going to be critical and Not to be underestimated And Erin Brady I think we'd have to develop a pretty clear action plan and and work backwards from it. What are the targets? What are the dates by which we need certain information? and and develop a You know a really sort of step-by-step action plan of how how we're going to get to those pieces I will I will say admittedly I don't have a ton of free time. I'm I'm pretty extended I'm really interested and passionate about this And also, I know my voice is plenty loud in Williston and I'm also happy to step aside I just want to make sure that they're you know that that the momentum is maintained That a range of voices are represented that there is a real Focus on kids and families and that that is part of it You know that I bring that personal passion and I'm a parent of younger kids though. They're growing up fast So, you know to me those are really important things to have represented But in the end I'm happy to help and support this however, even if I'm not in this group Whatever that looks like It sounds like Erin would have us organized very quickly and well given her experience Well, I was thinking the same thing that Erin, you know, I still have a day job And this is a huge huge project and I wonder if five five people on committee That's just doesn't seem like enough So I'm willing to step aside also and help but some of The people that are retired and might have more Is this this is a huge task And Absolutely agree Yeah, and so it's it seems very daunting with five people And so what how do you envision this working like Like What do we have an official charge for this committee? We do We do That was the first thing that we came up with when we proposed to have four members of the Suspicionary on this as well as one select board member one School board member so and then we had the consultants so we've hired so oh there are hired. Oh, yes Oh, okay. I know that that's that's very We would not be able to do that Yeah, so I'm happy to step aside. Love these guys. There are better people here to do this, but I'm happy to help Thank you, Erin Henderson, I think you're talking all your candidates out of this No, um, so I I was also thinking You know why the number That you decided on Just as a question, you know, will it take more than that to be on this steering committee I was also thinking about Just making sure I guess that Whoever is on the committee has different strengths that they bring to the committee Um different perspectives different Points of view and at you know, obviously, but then also Whatever their backgrounds are or whatever their strengths are that That will just I think help the committee Because there are there's going to be a lot of organization, right that you're going to have to go through And so just considering that as you're moving forward All right, thank you. And that is our Goal tonight to do exactly that as we get closer to the end of the meeting Erin Sorry, can I just want to I guess clarify? I mean, I'm I am thrilled to serve on the committee and also fully understand that You know, my voice might not be needed needed But I do think it's important that we have, you know, a range of different voices And we don't design a process that only someone who can make it a full-time job or is a retiree Can access because I think that's really going to change and limit where we end up and while, you know, appreciate people giving that kind of time You know, I want folks who are, you know, working families Juggling things in their real lives to be a part of this and a voice in it So I guess I just as that conversation turned a little bit It made me a little nervous in that direction. We were headed so I want to clarify Thanks So as you know, um, we have 10 candidates and four slots to fill We have many other opportunities within the town if you're interested in something else if you're not selected So I'd be very pleased to have you serve in any capacity that you can and um, we look, uh, we'll have Just a discussion. You're certainly welcome to say it'll probably be another 20 minutes or so before we Get to to discuss the appointments, but you're welcome to do that here or online or You know, I just have one other comment that just for the committee, you know, one thing I was struck with when I When I go back to the Midwest There are these mega churches that are there and I went to one ones with a my stepmother and I thought How are these People pulling this off. This is what we want this. It's an amazing community center I don't want it to be revolved around religion, but they had like cafes and people in a library within these big mega churches and no swimming pools, but But I mean that's another model that um as people go out and look into this They've they figured something out in these big Like You know 2000 person churches So I just want to Say that Thank you. Thanks for coming tonight. Appreciate it. Thank you So moving on to the public information hearing on the special talent meeting to consider The communications union And eric if you have a presentation to make For us tonight So I'll run through some slides. I doesn't look like we have a lot of folks online But hopefully uh, this will be recorded and if you're if you're watching this and it's been recorded I'll have my contact information And please reach out if you have any additional questions before you consider your vote for the special talent meeting So we have a special talent meeting coming up a week from today on number the 8th We've had early voting available for just over the last five weeks or so There's a single article to consider at the special talent meeting Right now is a public information hearing information about that that article and opportunity The public to ask any questions that that they have regarding this article It's where we talk about communications union district So the one and only article on the morning It's on the back of the general election ballot Mailed to all registered voters is shall the town of wilson enter into a communications union district with one or more municipalities Under the provisions of 30 vsa chapter 82 the purpose of improving access to broadband services So i'll start out with talking about the problem to solve There's approximately four percent of households in our region that do not have access to broadband internet services And what do we mean by this? It's at least 25 megabytes per second of download speed and three megabytes per second of upload speed 75 percent of in our households in our region Have cable internet, but could be better served by fiber internet And a fiber internet connection is defined as speeds of 100 megabytes per second download and the same for upload There's we're seeing increasing needs for multiple devices to be used at once in our households and businesses. We talk about remote work Joining school remotely and performing schoolwork remotely and with broadband telehealth and many other Uses for for broadband in our modern world We also see about 30 of commercial sites in our region having access to fiber The state of vermont has set an objective to bring universal broadband services to every address So let's take a look at willis-tons connectivity There's about 140 homes in wilson that did not have access to broadband internet today and this creates real challenges This map below on this slide shows households that have Internet speeds of four megabytes per second download one megabyte per second upload So what does that really mean? With that internet speed it could allow basic web surfing for one user Think about checking a web page checking your email and that's just one person at a time You're trying to do a video call or stream a a movie Or tune into the select board meeting this evening. It's it's likely not Possible with that with that type of connection at your home So it's as I said, this creates a great challenge in our in our modern world So the solution for the voters who consider is forming this communications union district It would be a new special unit of government that enables one or more cities or towns to build or cause to be built communications infrastructure together Today, it's it's not appealing to internet companies to invest in infrastructure with areas of low density This communications union district can serve as a single point of contact and negotiate with providers and levered grants And currently most house sites don't have access to a choice of providers. So usually one person that that may be the option Our company rather So coming up right now honored before november the 8th The question of form of CUD is being considered here in williston in sx sx junction Shelburne in south burlington the communications union district is created if at least two communities support it through this Low special town meeting process others could join after creation But it requires at least two to support the the item on the ballot. So we're talking about a new government here This this new government would be a standalone municipal entity It would be completely separate from the town of williston It would be governed by a board of directors that each member city or town appoints to serve as the governance for this new government And currently in vermont, there are nine communications union districts with over 200 member towns and cities to date The primary i'll talk a little bit about the primary role of the communications union district These roles are to deliver public funds to the providers to build the network and determine the financial model to utilize These districts provide public oversight to ensure the network is built to breach all underserved areas And by working together municipalities are more likely to attract a provider and leverage public grant funding So looking at the money CUD has no taxing authority. It must be if the build out must be funded from grants loans gifts or private investment Membership in the cud poses no financial risk to the town or individual taxpayers. And this is according to state statute Taxpayer dollars will not be used and if the cd cud were to fail No liability falls to the member town or the taxpayers If you do not subscribe to the eventual internet service offered by a cud, there's no cost to you You have to opt in to receive these services and the cud becomes the governance vehicle to to help solve this problem So a few other things to share here the current cost to build this network is unknown Work is underway right now with a consultant hired by the state to determine the cost of potential business plan to explore By this potential chitin county cud if it were to form There's a limited amount of grant dollars available for chitin county the state Broadband board has funds allocated On an unserved road mile basis and even we have an issue here in chitin county or unserved road mile basis is the lowest in the state The state's using a federal ARPA dollars that the states received That the legislators appropriated towards this effort So there are funding available. You have to have the cud to unlock the funding to come Flow through the state, but what's been earmarked for chitin county is lower compared to other sections of the state right now It may be determined through this work. There is not a viable pathway forward But after the the negative pieces of possibilities here I have to focus on the positive that Forming the cud is the best possible option available We have today to work to achieve the universal service model to improve broadband coverage in our region Should the voters support the formation of the cud it would be the first step in the process Next um, if it were approved the board would be established to govern the cud Then plans would be determined as the best financial and business model for the cud to to pursue by its board And this would likely involve issuing a request for proposals to have identified possible partner providers For that service to be delivered from CU board would then determine cud board would then determine the best pathway forward at that point So it's forming this new government to Enable the ability to explore whether these partnerships can Can be facilitated in a business model that works to deliver the broadband services So finally why create a cud? Number of reasons to consider uh funders are familiar with municipal districts uh grant makers of from ominous will bomb Broadband board for example, there's public accountability created in this new government There's additional funding opportunities There's either access to federal and state grants and loans that require providing services to those least served Risk mitigations created individual towns are not on the hook for coming up with capital and solving this problem on their own Town boundaries are also irrelevant roads and topography and settlement patterns are most important when you think about running fiber optic cable And those pathways I would follow It's also efficiency network design construction and operation can all be more efficient when planned from the onset And also the entire region can benefit it eliminates cherry picking by requiring universal service across the region regardless of density It also aggregates demand mixing dense and less dense towns makes the project more attracted to providers and more negotiating power I've I've mentioned working to deliver broadband to all un-served addresses But as a ancillary effect here when you think about stringing fiber to these homes that Don't have service right now It creates an opportunity for homes that may have cable service to then subscribe to a new fiber optic service with a new provider or A new option for obtaining internet service. That's now going by their home And it gives an opportunity for more people to engage in that and that also plays into the business planning and financial model That that would be explored here moving forward So again, here's a map. It's kind of small on this slide But the communications union districts throughout vermont the the ones in gray towns in gray are currently not part of CUDs Um, there's certainly been a lot of news as of late with the vermont broadband corp for me Granted these CUDs to help Get their you get the connections going and get the get the plans off the ground So I'll share my contact information on the screen for for anyone watching at home Um, I don't believe we had any members of the public Joining i'm i'm going to stop sharing my screen and check here. Oh, we do have some attendees here Um, but there are town staff and represent brady is still on as well Certainly if there's uh questions online and we also have some folks in the room joining us for our next agenda item If you're to answer any questions this evening Any questions from people in the room or online? Really not any questions from the board You answered my question which what was meant by universal service model, but I think I got it now it's Universal across the area Everybody has access to at least a minimum Quality is that the right word Of service Yeah, okay That was it All right, well we look forward to seeing the results, uh, week from tonight, uh, that particular item as well as others So we'll move on then to the lake urichoy association annual updates So if you'd like both of you to to come we have Shannon Kelly is the president of the lake urichoy association And visiting past president chris connor as well So welcome, uh, eric did you want to lead off anything? Yep, I'm just getting their presentation queued up here, but every year we have Our folks from lake urichoy association that joined the board to to share what they've been up to over the last year I know they've been busy like every year and I got a dressing report to share with you this evening So I'll turn it over to lake urichoy association and get your Presentation up here in just a second welcome again Well, thank you very much to everyone for allowing us some of your time to meet here this evening Let you know what we've been doing what we've been up to for the past year since our last vote I'd also like to thank you really for your help as well We really appreciate it and also eric for helping facilitate so many things for us as well before we get started here Okay, so this is our 2022 update and we'll start off with aquatic invasives management This year we had great news to report We we had to perform practically no active management In previous years when we had an abundance of millfoil Eurasian millfoil we had to put out channel markers Out from the the boat launch the remont fish and my life boat launch But none were needed this year because there was no millfoil present Again the same with diver assisted suction harvesting in past years. Oh, it's been a been a few years since we performed dash We had we had to perform no dash this year because again, there was no millfoil Benthic mat something else that we strategically place typically near the beaches and are near the beaches To keep the millfoil at bay But none were put out this year. So that's a good news story for us Those are, you know, those time money resources commitment on the part of a lot of people It's also important to note that the benthic mats and dash also require even though we have we hold permits for those things We still have to approach de c to provide justification for actually performing putting out the mats and performing dash And of course aquatic oversight as well So we had to we had to do none of those things No active millfoil management with the exception of some hand pulling in the south cove On the hindsburg side. So that's our good news story to share on that front this year Next slide, please Uh, so that's what it looked like in the summer of 2018 We showed a similar slide last year the same slide as far as the summer of 2018 This year we have a new slide summer 2022. So We're happy we're happy as far as to be able to illustrate To show everyone that essentially Everything has been very effective in terms of our millfoil management efforts Next slide, please We perform two aquatic plant surveys. We also have some other data collection that we perform So we perform an aquatic survey on june 6th of this year to of course try to detect any millfoil regrowth A reemergence in our electoral zones We had quite a few points throughout the lake, but no millfoil was detected within the sampling grid within the survey grid September There was none within the sampling grid But we pointed the gentleman in the direction of the south cove to verify whether there was any other Millfoil there from where it had been previously hand pulled There was a small clump there as well Again easily hand pulled which is where we want things in terms of invasive millfoil Uh, there's another invasive that is not quite as Intrusive as millfoil and certainly not something that we're going to try to approach with any Active management, but currently the pond pondweed is the only other aquatic invasive than lake uroquois That that compares with about 51 in lake champlain just were just to provide some relativity there For a number of years since 2011 We've also sampled multiple tributaries going into lake uroquois What we sample for is phosphorus. We try to gauge what what levels of phosphorus are going in This year the state asked us to sample for some chloride relative to wintertime salt usage And that was the other constituent that we added and we sample about 10 of those around the lake So northern western Southern and eastern side of the lake Next slide, please Our greeter program That that has been very successful as well our our primary Mission is to prevent aquatic invasive species From entering or leaving the lake in the way that we do that Is what they is the greeters educate the watercraft users on the aquatic invasive species that are in lake uroquois They communicate that they distribute educational pamphlets. They also although people it's it's a law that people People can essentially say no, but they have a hot wash station set up as well They'll ask, you know, where the watercraft has been Is it coming from lake uroquois lake champlain or some other water body? That's the type of data that they collect So one of the most interesting statistics that they They run from friday of memorial weekend until monday of labor day three days three days a week Between those bracketed by those two periods So we're missing a lot of watercraft, but during those periods in 2019 They essentially inspected 912 watercraft We're all the way up to 2474 for 2022 Now we don't have survey data, you know, we didn't we didn't talk to people to ask them Hey, what brought you to lake uroquois? It's purely anecdotal But we've heard a lot of positive reports on the ability of kayaks canoes and that sort of thing to Be able to Be in the littoral zone, which is where many people want to be whenever they're exploring the shoreline and looking for wildlife in the What? The what zone? Littoral near shore near shore is what littoral refers to now. I know that Yep, are there um, are there people who refuse the hot wash station? There are it's it is a law, but You know our greeters are not not enforcement officials And I think and this is a challenge throughout this state folks can essentially say no and the best that they can do is try To convince them to anecdotal information as to why They refuse. Why do they refuse? Some people some people claim that, you know, they haven't taken the watercraft Into or out of any other lakes? Sometimes they claim well, we we wash it ourselves at home That's hard to verify sometimes the greeters will push back a little bit and say well Can we go in and inspect your watercraft? You know just to verify that and some will relent But still others Just simply say hey, we we don't want to So It's it's unfortunate. It's tough. Yeah Yeah, I'll follow up question. If you don't mind would it be possible? And sorry, I didn't want to interrupt questions. I probably have some more but would it be possible to Make a condition of Allowing a boat to go into the lake Either that it be washed first or that it be washed afterwards It I think the regulation essentially states that but it would require A regulatory enforcement on it. I agree with I agree with you concept is a good concept But yeah, you don't have the Ability to carry it out. Yeah, right makes right. I think it's a perpetual Issue that's going to carry forward Which you know, we're glad we're there. We know that's a We'd love to see what what actual numbers would would be in front of us if we had every single day seven days a week Let's just say a hundred and one days of summer if you will I'm sure it would probably easily be double that if not more if I had to guess We saw a huge influx of All-size watercraft salt But mainly paddle type You know didn't see a big increase in in motor boats as much as paddle and Kayaks and so it's pretty pretty interesting And and to you attributed that to lake air quality being a more desirable Water body now to paddle on versus in the past when you had to deal with Whatever you would like obstructions caused by Male foil, okay Yeah, and I think the other thing and chris knows this very well In relation to where his camp is located on the wilson side I haven't been down at that end my in-laws have a place on the southern end So I don't I don't catch the smell quite like others did But I know that was some of the feedback that the lake airport recreation district has received and i'm Chris has heard over his minute in august august of 19 18 19 20 their the smell there was a few times that Jim Johnson told us that People asked for their money back They were sitting on the beach and decided that the smell was too Too difficult to handle. There's some great pictures a line of pictures On our website on the lake air clear website that will kind of give you a progression of from 2015 16 all the way through to this year and if you look at the pictures You know two years ago you could see the mill foil in the middle of the lake You could literally see the coloration And now if you look at them, it's it's it's amazing and we've had I literally have had dozens of people come past camp And say thank you for The efforts and the energy that we put into it. So It really it's great to see it Plus we're not raking. You know, we're not the the amount of mill foil This year was none. And so there's no Traveling the mill foil which is easily propagated And so it's great to to see that So I guess I might as well ask this question now Why is there none? And I suspect I know the answer but I still Want to want to hear what your opinion is of why there is none Yeah, I think the aquatic herbicide treatment in June of late June of last year Has continued to be effective and it's important to point out I think this is some of the criticism, you know, that the association received from over the years and others who have attempted this as well The important thing going forward is for us to stay vigilant, you know We didn't need to use dash or Benthic barriers or channel markers or anything and that's where we want to keep it but Going forward We would love to avoid having to use herbicide, you know, it is costly It's it's the most resource intensive thing But that requires vigilance on our part and which is, you know, essentially why we do what we do And our plant surveys are a key part of that. So beginning of the season and then towards the end, you know Are we going to get regrowth and detection is going to be important So we're seeing a excuse me. We're seeing a large increase in native plants revert, you know, regrown And reestablishing which is great I think that if you look at that, we were able to apply in a 40 percent of the latoral zone In that one application that's part of the DEC's requirement and only 40 percent per season And I think the stars were aligned, you know, when the when the contractor that we hired to do it was there and we were there with with the state agency overseeing the chemical application And just everything aligned and we we were all of us including the applicator and the state are Are surprised at how well we did. It's a target specific procello core is a target specific to milfoil only and you know that would Will kill milfoil only and so, you know, we're very fortunate. There's 10 lakes in the state that have used procello core And you know when we came in front of you a few years ago is now several years ago about other chemical uses We really found that this was the target That we should use and we used it and we've had amazing success And as difficult as it is for some people We're we have literally Regaining control of the health of that lake And we feel that it's we've done it in a responsible way And the state is also saying seeing the same thing throughout the other nine lakes and It sounds like your your vision for going forward is You're hoping to stay away from another application. You certainly can't promise that you'll monitor And if needed, you'll do another application I assume through the state permitting process Okay, right the permit is good for five years as with all the all of our permits We still have to go back and ask permission and the state in its purview has to Has to see that there is still justification even though we hold a permit for any of these things Interesting permit. It is right, right? It doesn't allow you. It's not like a wastewater permit where you're continually discharging You do have to still ask permission twice basically But I think that's a good control though when you're dealing with something like that for sure Next slide, please So this just you know, we talked about watercraft the the numbers in yellow Or where I would like you to focus your attention So it was just interesting to see Kayaks that we had 818 kayaks out of that total number That suggests to me that tells me that you know folks are getting out there in greater numbers You know with smaller watercraft As I mentioned before and enjoying the water we had 449 battle boards So it was it was quite quite a year for folks getting out and recreating So those were interesting numbers and that's only three days a week that we're counting So can you imagine what their actual numbers were? Next slide, please It's not official, but we uh, we've also had some other great news Lake wise award program. I'm not sure if any of you are familiar, but basically What it does is it encourages shoreline lake shoreline owners to invest in their property Implement shoreline protection efforts. It could be something as simple as just not just no mo zones down near the shore Uh, it could be low what's considered low impact development strategic plantings of Flowers and other types of landscaping that basically slows the flow of water and improves water quality So this year, uh, we had nine we had six leading up to 2022 We had nine additional shoreline properties awarded by vermont d ec this year for 15 total lake wide properties One of the key things one of the key tenants of the program is uh, I guess they're there's some psychology here And they talk about this on their website Once 15 of the total number of lake properties have been awarded They achieve lake wise gold status. It's unofficial at the moment. Um, we have we have technically reached that metric Only two other lakes in the state have achieved that so far We look to have more folks participate But that's that's something very positive for us to report this year Which basically means the most important part of that is more Lake shore owners are getting involved with protection efforts on their property, which leads to better water quality within the lake That also gives us a a bit of a advantage when we're applying for any kind of Grants in the positioning of the gold status. So we're very happy about that We work as some of you may know, we work pretty closely with the lake or a recreation district We have two folks who also serve time on the lake or coy association board Um, so this year we worked with them to apply for a a $50,000 Implementation matching grant through watersheds united vermont We bb lane has has some historical problems. It's it's a low road bed. It's set centrally in a wetland It has poor Poor storm water where there really aren't any storm water practices It floods periodically If anybody has ever been down there in the winter to walk the trail or do some other recreating It gets in pretty rough shape So it needs to be rehabilitated as with many road projects. It's not a glamorous type project. It's not restoring a wetland We've worked very hard and long for many years to try to draw some attention and get some grant funding for this So we did achieve 50 000 matching grant We also have a board member who reached out to senator sanders office for congressionally directed spending fund initiatives So we're still waiting on they thought it was a great project. They sent it forward to congress But as everybody is in the same boat federally, you know, we're all waiting to see where that lands So we're very hopeful that the other three hundred and twenty thousand dollars of a four hundred thousand dollar project essentially due to inflate inflation shakes out each organization lake or coy association And lake earcourt recreation district have also each committed 10 000 dollars Towards this project if we were to get the funding the remaining funding that would be required But still good news for us this year. We're inching forward with that Next slide, please We've also been working with a wanouski natural resources conservation district and the lewis creek association to Basically implement a watershed action plan grant essentially the if I could distill this down We're looking at lake earcoy and the patrick brook watershed down to the leplat We're looking at problem areas. What this will do is essentially Our engineering contractor of record We'll go out and do field surveys and look for problem areas to basically generate What are known as project sheets? We'll take those when we have this watershed action plan in place Similar to lake wise the lake wise award and some other things That provides a lot of wind in our sails to apply for grants and be successfully awarded grants because we have an action plan That carefully outlines all of these things and this is funded by the lake champlain basin program And we're actually about 18 months into it And should hope to have it finished up by next year sometime about about this time next year Next slide, please On the conservation front, we had another successful nesting year for a loon pair I still I still haven't figured out who the photographer was for this photo But it was an amazing photo that somebody took so that's just not plucked from the internet That's actually on lake earcoy We've been working with the remont center for eco studies the loon restoration project for many years And we continue to see success with the loons They come in and it's something that just brings everybody together So the residents and other folks who visit the lake will report loon sightings We have a former member who maintains a spreadsheet and we send that into the The remont center for eco studies just to report on how things are and we've also set up a nesting platform as well That's been very successful. They've used they've used that each of the last four years for seasons So that's always good to report A question does the effort you're doing Regarding the loons interfere with recreational uses of the lake No, the loons will actually i've been out on a paddle board myself the loons will just I mean they they can they can dive deeply as as some of you may know or all of you may know Uh, they'll pop up to interfishing feet away from you and as long as you're not trying to aggress them They go on about their business. Uh, they're they're pretty I say resilient. It doesn't seem to bother them I'll put it that way. So so the human power craft I can see how about the motorized They don't seem to be bothered by no I don't know if they if it's a comfort zone that they've gotten reached but Yeah, it's pretty amazing to watch One of the good things to uh, we we place the nesting platform as far as their nesting efforts It's over in a protected cove Um over it's on I would call it the heinsberg richman lined if you will There's a nice cove over there. So the wave action is is essentially Between the island and the cove They're well protected from any boat action any wave action from any boats and uh, they're um They're life pairs And they return to the lake each year. So it's pretty pretty interesting too Okay Next slide, please We held our second annual ice out contest january through march of this year A williston resident won this year last year. It was a heinsberg resident for the first one So it was very close to here actually So I think if folks are familiar with joe's pond No, we have a a block mounted on a pallet and uh, you know when when the ice is is ready to go it breaks And that's when it stops o'clock. So we plan to do that for a third season. We plan to continue that as long as we can We invested in a nice web-based platform to make it as easy as possible for us to manage So we look forward to that I guess I would say shameless plug We're going to we're going to try to attempt to start that after thanksgiving in an effort to maybe Maybe compel us and folks to get some stocking stuff Hard to get people to think about ice in november, but but it is coming So roughly how much do you make on that? The first year we made about $2,600 we had we had about 2,600 tickets sold last year for whatever reason I I haven't checked in with other associations, but it was about half that So, you know as somebody commented, you know, something is new and exciting the first year and then it ebbs I could speculate maybe people were in a funk over over another year of covid It's just so many variables there. So yeah, it's hard to say. So we're we're hoping for greater success this year Next slide, please And this is just uh, just our websites As far as our url's So nothing necessarily new to report there Other than we've distributed lakeshore property owners manuals. That's part of our outreach and education process And then we have a fall and a spring newsletter Uh, folks who are signed up Typically receive that as well Next slide And that's all I have for this evening. That's what Lake Urlpoi looked like in 1962 for anybody Was may or may not have been around dramatically different in terms of the vegetation. So Good thank you very much for your presentation and I see you have your uh, a letter of request for the uh Appropriation for the coming year and that's helpful to have because we'll be starting to look at the budget Another month or so. Yeah Well, thank you. Well, thank you very much. We appreciate everybody's gone and thank you for the questions as well And thanks again for all the support that will listen chairs with us. We really that's essential So important resource. We appreciate it. Yeah, thank you. Thank you The one question I had about your memo, uh, letter, sorry I see the total amount of requested. Are you willing to say what your Your budget is for um fiscal year 24. I just want to see what your budget is compared to what you're asking the town for Just in terms of so we have we have three different things there Right, so I'm good with all things and understanding, you know, how you came out with them out I'm just trying to compare the 15 Thousand that you're requesting and compare that to what is your total budget. So just so I have a sense of You know, it's one thing if your budget was 20,000 that give me You know kind of one clue if your budget's 150,000, that's you know, not it doesn't make it It doesn't impact anything. It's just helpful for me to know right understood So to lay it out here for dash for about two weeks of diverse assisted suction harvesting That's about a $14,000 total amount For the greeter program. Uh, we're looking at about 17 or 18,000 total for that So what you see there among the three town? Well, I have something different than you to excuse me So so for example, we're asking for 6,000 from the town of wilson So we're looking to make up about 4,000 four to $5,000 that with a grant So that's a total for a total of about 18,000 as far as a budget there for a plant survey we for doing two It's 4,700 who are factoring inflation about $5,000. So you're talking about Some math there. What is that 30? 32 32 and for 32 and five roughly $40,000 If we round up just a little bit in terms of our total our efforts that really Put a draw a continuous draw throughout the summer months the seasonal times that we manage millfoil or participate in other activities Okay, good. Thank you. And then obviously that's going to include the bb road Oh, exactly, right, right and that's and We're I say we're at the mercy of the lake air quarry recreation district We work well with them, but whatever they say goes But they're they're very happy for us to hope them out with their their grant the grant efforts and trying to seek money for that Good. Thank you again very much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you very much again so that brings us up to the appointments of the Steering committee There are four that we need to point tonight and so When we get to that point, I've made a handy little chart We'll be asking you each for your four choices And if you'd like to have a general discussion about not about necessarily about the candidates at this point, but As to what we're looking for and be happy to entertain that start with me Whatever sure. Okay. Well Of course, there's the whole introduction of choosing four out of ten is Extremely tough. It's one of my least favorite Chores on the select board But I don't have a choice. So here I go. Um, and I tried My rationale for choosing these four Really focused on what I saw were some strengths that they would bring to the Forget if we call it a board or a commission Community center of scoping and library assessment Okay And that they, you know That they each bring a separate or individual Strength to the as opposed to you know, we're duplicating some strengths So to the best of my ability Before I'm choosing our lin mcclin talk John, um, butter Or field butterfield Um, mary claire. I don't have her last name And Andy michael, thank you Who's next? I had the exact same people say once Yeah, um, I John butterfield mary claire my government. He was looking at my notes. Yeah Gordon I'm three for four I had Andy michael of my rationale was just trying to capture like Not only background, but just different perspectives that folks might bring to the scoping sequence. Um, I also had lin mcclin talk I had john butterfield and then I had And isla rick. Um, just because she resonated with the kind of the library in the long-term Connection she had there Um, so I was so impressed with everybody. Um, and so my thought process was really to Uh, represent different populations of our community within this. Um, And everybody would bring so much time and talent to the committee, but So I also chose john butterfield and lin mcclin talk And mary claire mcgovern, but I thought that erin henderson represented A population that that nobody else did which was, you know, a parent of Of older teens and young adults. Um, and which present a whole nother scope of of needs That kind of nobody else was representing. So Thank you I had john butterfield Mary claire mcgovern Andy michael And erin henderson So that leaves us with john butterfield who has all five Lynn mcclinic who has four Mary claire mcgovern with four and andy michael with four so it appears that we have um Our four selections and we would need a motion to appoint those folks So moved So I have a motion made to um Appoint the the four uh and zero second a second Is there any discussion on the motion? Thank you everyone. Yeah, thanks If there's no further discussion, then all those in favor of the motion say hi All right So now we're looking to if we can tonight to appoint a member of the select board to serve on the committee as well And if we can't do that tonight, uh, people need more time to think about it. We can do that at the next meeting Rocks is right now. Are we rocks is your paper? I'm willing to do it certainly. Um, unless anybody else wants to volunteer, I'm certainly happy to cede to you But I do think that much like erin, um, you know, I I do represent the Population of our town too with certain age children. So I'm happy to do it. But again, also happy to Let any of you do it No, thank thank you I mean really if you want I am not going to volunteer Not necessarily because I don't want to but I know my personal and Work and other commitments. Um, I I cannot dedicate the time that is is needed. It's I would be more about An anchor than a help I don't like saying that but I need to be honest Hearing all the volunteers I'll chance guys. We would need a motion to apply to ruta to the, um, as a representative from the select board So move And is there a second? I'll second Sure Any discussion on the motion? Hearing none. All those in favor of the motion say aye. Aye. Aye. Any, you know, no opposed So we've completed that energy report as well. We're at Yeah, I just echo it's great to have so many people put their name forward for for this project So it's you know, the city cares and observer was great to hear everyone's engagement questions and these will all be Open public meetings like any committee in town. So we hope to see some faces back again, especially with the community engagement so it's exciting start here we've um So our consultants on board of black river design. We're actually going to have a meeting Thursday They're going to start going through the library a bit and start taking their baseline and looking at that facility and also just gathering some information talking with staff So I think with the committee next steps here The trustees have appointed the representative of recreation and parks committee I think they're meeting this week and that'll be on their agenda as well to round out the committee So I'll send out a poll to everybody and hope to get the committee together I hope once or twice before In the year we've had the holiday season coming up I think the work will probably we'll likely pick up a new year thinking about the community engagement piece This time of year isn't the ideal time we're doing community engagement So it'll be building towards towards that probably in the late winter early spring. I think but I think we've got a really good consultant team on board here. So um I was telling you observer today and they're interviewing me about this. It's uh, I'm sure it's with the board that I think it's important to do this do this well and not do this fast. So We'll be many updates to come and and as we work forward here. So I'm just getting started there. Um, I'll have to share my written report this evening I reminder your retreat scheduled for november 29th at 6 30 here in the town hall for um, working on some Dei discussion with a abundant son consulting firm Please report the town energy committee has been awarded a grant from the vermont council on rural development To assist in an outreach campaign through residents to share information about home weatherization programs available So thanks to our town energy planner, um, linda scott for she offered that grant applications Those are good, uh, good news there the There's a veterans day observance is being planned by the rotary club on veterans day. Um, out between the buildings here like last year I Double check the exact time. I think it's going to be at 7 30 in the morning. It's the last I heard And the board may remember the rotary club is going to be, uh Donating a granite bench in the memory of de beckett for service to the town We'll be getting that installed here before veterans day to have a dedication during that ceremony. We've, uh We've found a spot adjacent to the, um, memorial Between the buildings and that should be installed over the next week or so and I Probably look thinking about Facility outside here might be a way to to grow that over time as well So it'll be a good good and certainly a good welcome. I should interview to the depth service to be installed there And uh, your next meeting on November 15th. I anticipate some executive session topics is one, um By multiple, um, the board is available to meet at 6 30 that evening for an early start to that You suggest perhaps six o'clock to start or um, I think 6 30 would be okay It'd probably be a half hour to maybe 45 minutes of your agenda for these topics 15 the 15th Uh, yep on the 15th on the 15th two weeks from today That's 6 30 on the 15th. Yeah I may I may have a I may actually not be able to attend the meeting. Um My youngest daughter's turning 18 on that day and it's an open question whether she wants me to have anything to do In fact, I suspect that I'll be here early and stay late Don't end up attending that I can chat with you beforehand Okay for everybody else. Yeah, okay So the 15th at 6 30 Leave it there for manager's report All right Is there any other business to discuss tonight? Going once Very none. We are adjourned. Thank you all