 So I will call the major to order at seven o'clock. We do have a quorum We have two people two members that we expect will be along hopefully shortly and We do not have a quorum Of the folks that attended the last meeting so we cannot do the minutes at this moment So we'll go directly to public comment if anyone in the audience has any Comment to make on any issue at all. This is your opportunity See no hands raised. We'll go on to the Catamount Town Forest Committee appointments and we do have four candidates for two slots on the on the committee for appointment tonight And I'd invite all four candidates to come up to the the table to drive a chair and Come up So welcome and what I'd ask you to do is in order starting here to Introduce yourselves for the camera and for us give a brief description of your background to be on the committee and Why you'd like to be on on the committee, so The community was nothing that I could do So now that I'm retired and I'm Just popped up on I looked at it and said Serving the town and looking at that piece of property how it's managed over the years. I Guess a semi a buddy Landowner under Wilson Road and The old farmhouse there near the cemetery, so my property goes over to the state property So I'm interested in sort of long-term health of that area and trying to figure out how to best Provide great stewardship, but also look at a place to use it Mountain Since the town acquired it about five days a week. It's an incredible gem and I would like to also Volunteer for the town sort of pay it forward familiar with many of the trails in the area Including you know by a tree hill and places in Essex as well And it's just such an incredible resource and I really kicked myself for not getting involved in the first go-round of the You know when a committee form to sort of help put some guidelines together So I wasn't on the committee, but I was involved in the public input of of the management and I also work in health care, and I'm very aware of the thing Not that you need to be in health care, but aware of the benefits both physical and mental of You know having access to this gem of a property and I would like to You know sort of help I think One of the things that I see when I'm up there is other than the organized forms of using the land I'm not seeing a lot of individuals Fully, you know taking advantage of that Area, and so you know a question in my mind is how do we You know promote that both preserving but also Accessing the land and just taking advantage of such a resource in our community so I would love to give back and Do what I can to preserve and encourage So my name is Terry Marin, and I've only lived in Wilson 20 years so I Live over on Christmas Lane over near Lake Eroquois, and I was on the committee that Met about a year ago, and we met you know just almost seemed like about a year on trying to figure out making recommendations for the select board and So got to know a bit about the catamount I'd skied there previously back in the day when they they had snow and You know now it's great. The snow has kind of come back a little bit I would love to you know work with Ethan and Tapper the forester and You know taking care of the forest and the wildlife and also work with the catamount Outdoor Family Center to kind of Keep everything running smooth, and it's a great resource for you know people wildlife I would really like to see More people utilizing it I know there's tons of bikers and runners and things, but I would just love to Get the general public Have better more access there. I've led bird walks there in different times of the year and You know do try to do get the public involved maybe doing a bluebird trail or you know chimney swift boxes and But I just think it's a great resource to have And would just like to be continue to be a part of it and see it grow and I'm Deb Beckett I 30 years must be the I've been resident here for about 30 years and I just I look at this as Such a tremendous resource for the town for this community the educational opportunities and recreational opportunities are just endless up there and You know to have the opportunities for anyone to be able to go up and utilize the trails At that catamount would just be awesome I've been up there, you know whether cross-country skiing in the past or snowshoeing or hiking or biking Over the years it's just you know such an opportunity and It's one you know when I saw this come up It was something I would just love to be involved with I'm retiring as town clerk as you all know in of five months and About two minutes I'm not counting And and I just looked at this as it's just a great opportunity to stay involved with the community to get back to the community Outside of what I do now as in the this clerk and treasure So Questions for the board Yeah, I'll start sorry So first of all, thanks for coming and putting yourself forward I think this is a really important Committee, I think you all spoke about stewardship with a land, which is something I think is a high priority I just I guess I'd ask the same question of all of you if I could like What would be like your I guess number one for focus and paying this forward on what you would? Direction you would take as an individual and then how you would work with other Participants on the committee to kind of move that thinking of your own forward But also incorporate it with everybody else's kind of Pull and push system of what they see as their foresight of where this should be going They'd like to speak about your focus. That would be great We can we can we can go left to right or middle out however you like to choose Go reverse order. Thank you. I think I would like to see a main focus Aside from just to be able to utilize the trails of wildlife And wildlife education whether it's birding or like a bird fest a bug fest I mean, you know bio blitz. There is so much wildlife out there that people have no idea What's there? Thank you. So, yeah, I think I would really Enjoy kind of bridging with the catamatter family center and the You know, I just finished the master naturalist program in Williston and you know, just to work with different groups to bring people in and to Get to know what's there You know, the wildlife is definitely very important. You know, we're losing land all the time So really try to work with different groups to get people out and really get to know what's what's out there in their own backyard and You know, whichever groups are interested and Taking advantage of it Thank you and I think you know, similarly thinking about access and And stewardship of the land I know Back in the day, there was a program through the school system that looked at environmental education and that kind of thing and you know, perhaps tying in with school children, I think habits start young and sort of teaching the the leave no trace and you know, bringing children out there, perhaps connecting with the library and You know, having some kind of you know activity that is advertised through the library or Senior citizen groups as well that maybe meet here I know they meet at the you know, I think there's a group that meets at the federated church So those kinds of things just sort of sort of cast a wide net Around the the use of the the property I guess for me, I'll take all of that because I think all of those things are fun I think the other part is really trying to figure out what the right balance is You know, I guess when I think about stewardship, it's like how do we use it? Abuse it or overuse it and I think the educational component of it looking at public access I don't know the property as well as maybe some other hope you were part of the process But are there some areas that we want to just leave as completely natural and just have it be like the Bristol Wilderness area That doesn't have any trails that people can go along around as much as they want So I think it's really trying to figure out what the short-term but also what the long-term Goals would be around education about utilization But I do think some of the ideas of connecting to the schools is a really good idea Thank you all because I can hear that resonating in all of you of where you're Maybe individual direction is but how you're you're all linked with that So I'm just was really impressed to hear about not all I'm a science teacher Not in this town but another and I think there's just a lot of education that can be done around Just the things that live in our backyard that kids and even adults don't know about But then also I just like the balance and just those other pieces of that you mentioned tonight So I appreciate you all putting your hat in the ring and it's going to be another tough choice as I can see Thanks Sort of along the same lines you actually stole my first question that's good I'm reading from the The charge of the catamount community for us and it talks about things along the lines of protection of wildlife habitat and water quality protection in addition to Recreation and so my question is Given the historical use of the property given that there's this license agreement For the catamount family Outdoor Center to use the property I think for the next five years and you use the word balance. I think that's a good word. Sorry if I'm Dealing from you plagiarizing from you How do we how do what is what are your thoughts about that balance that we're going to need to strike and Stated a little bit differently It's what are we doing right with the property maybe what are we doing wrong and that we really need to Need to focus on and instead of what are we doing right? I'd really prefer that you try to focus on what we're doing wrong, but maybe what we could improve on Does that question don't make sense and in this time maybe we should go from well my left to your I can go first so So being on the committee for that meant for the year It was a great process. It was really incredible to see everyone's different you know ideas of what they thought that the catamount should be and You know having an existing business there was quite a challenge, you know to try to incorporate a Business along with you know having just people come from all over For free, you know to come use these trails So, yeah, so I think that you know the catamount outdoor family center Had a lot of good things in place, you know, they had great trail system There were some issues. They had a group from UVM come in and go through the whole area and pick out spots where they needed some You know erosion control and maybe remove, you know move a trail and and everyone worked really well together They were really open to making some of these changes. I think the town, you know did some bridge work and Yeah, I think they were open to you know, there was a lot of issues, you know like around the dogs and the horses and people and runners and skiers and things but you know, it was great to see how You know, it did kind of all come together everybody was working to kind of Make it so it would work so everybody could enjoy it. I Think those are some of the really good things that came out of that process was that There was you could see where there were going to be different uses So there were different things that had to happen on the land as we went forward but But yeah, I think that overall a Lot of good things are in place and you know, the more people get to know about it I think it's very underused because when I ever whenever I go up there There's lots of bikers and there's lots of runners and things But you don't see too you see a few birders. You know, you see people out there walking, but I think it's kind of a You know hidden gem So I when I think I think one of the things that I would do because I I'm not sure that I'm totally aware with of a lot of the concerns that maybe exist I know there is some erosion. It sounds like a you know, I know a lot of that has been addressed, but And in my runs on occasion I actually hope to run bump into Jim and and I didn't once I had made this decision But I'd love to hear from the family. What do you think is the biggest? Concern, this is your you know property that you have owned forever and What was your concern? You've now, you know turned it over to the town and how can we be sure? That you who knows this area most how can you you know? How can we help and make sure that we are on you know, maybe the right page of Preserving this resource. What what are your concerns and how can we help? What do we need to it? What are the priorities here? I guess that would be sort of my approach To preserving land and Being sure that we're on task and I know various people experts in the field have been called in to look at the bobble links and the deer nesting grounds and all of those things but So I don't have it a specific I guess the only other thing that I would say is I am familiar with some trails in Essex that are incredibly overrun and Certainly we don't want catamount to become that and you know one of the things this particular area in Essex has done is you know narrow it down to Residents and Residents who need to pass you know art is that where we are in ten years from now who knows but I think to just keep reassessing and You know keeping a pulse on The health of the trails and and the non trails and the wildlife, etc Jeff if I would like I'd say cohabitation Is is a challenge because I've been up there? I still feels like catamount family center You know as opposed if I drive up around sunset hill It's really clear where the five tree hill parking area is in the park there and walk up five tree hill So as I've walked up the road and gone it just still feels like catamount So I think one of the challenges how do we make it feel so that it's a couple of the folks have talked about that it Always feels like it's still catamount family center So how do we make it be the Williston forest and how do I identify it? I was out of mobs far about Jericho this past weekend You know there's little parking area and it was over packed with cars because it's a really cool place to walk around So you know it's a part of it to work So how do we do that in the internet and whether the five-year agreement continues for another five years? I don't know but I think in the short run part of it is how do we make it so that? Folks who want to go there and not and just walk around feel comfortable doing that No, that's right, and I Think you know as everyone here does I think communication between the catamount family center and this committee is Is absolutely Imperative over you know having a good solid working relationship over the next five years and beyond if it goes that goes that far But but it definitely takes it's going to take the communication Going forward and also I think it's it's would be important in that communication that just with catamount As a business there, but it's also you know would be important whether it's to have the communication with different departments within the town whether it's a stormwater as far as Some water mitigation type of things whether it's recreation departments. I mean everybody's got to really work together To make this a success I believe and So the floor is open I'll state the obvious which I think we're all feeling lately We seem to be in this good place where we're getting more good qualified applicants for positions and it Puts us in a very awkward position because we end up having to say no to somebody Who would have I believe we would have no problem appointing in fact we'd like to appoint We just can't so with that opening statement You can already see me squirming in my chair because you're yes We could have all of you that would say yes right away, but that's not the case And I don't want anybody to be discouraged on Reapplying at a later date to another post if you're not selected this evening Rich pool again as Jeff has stated. Yeah Well, I'm gonna I don't know how to I don't know how to do this and I don't know why I'm the one starting, but so Thank you, I thought Patrick gave a very good answer to my question and for some reason Patrick I just I Have a feeling that the skills you would bring to this position are Are Exactly what we're looking for the perspective the skills the open the balance the open-mindedness the balance and then The other person I've known Joanne for many years and have the utmost respect for her And her family so it'd be awfully hard for me because I know Joanne to think of somebody who's Who's gonna who's gonna work hard and look at the issues and and come to her own decision whether or not It's it's the the decision of the group. You'll speak your mind, and I think that's I know that about Joanne, and I know that's important Well, they're comments the other two candidates gave excellent answers Particularly difficult first of all I came in late and I apologize to all of you But in the same regard Yeah, it's like voting in the Soviet Union But that being said I thought all of you did Great answers. I'm Teresa. I particularly enjoyed your answer that catamount is underused I thought that was a well Was it an insight and Patrick I think the same thing with your Comment that the That it's kind of a hidden hidden gem right now. Well, I don't know if that's the term you used but the idea I think somebody else did too. Yeah, actually but that that it's Anyway So we have to make it we have to make a motion somebody does anyway, you know what I think we should do we should get a dartboard Because it would quite honestly we would Well, no, I Would make a motion if the chair would entertain yes I Move to appoint Patrick Brown to the catamount community forest community for a three-year term through June 30, 2022 Is there a second? I will second that one The discussion on the motion during no discussion all those in favor of the motion say aye Any opposed so we filled the three-year term And we're looking for The two-year term that we appoint to ensure to the Catamount community forest for a two-year term through June 30th 2021 Zero second I'll second that And it's your discussion on the motion Hearing no discussion all those in favor of the motion say aye Any opposed So congratulations to the two of you have been selected and We look forward to the other two serving a different capacity perhaps or when vacancies occur So thank you all for yeah, thank you all for your time So we're at the point for To look at the management plan for the former Pondridge school property Linda. I think it's here. Yes Linda Scott from our conservation planner is here to give us a brief description of what is in this large document so this management plan is for a 42-acre parcel of open space that the town acquired in 2016 This parcel was deeded to the town by Nets New England Theological Seminary As a condition of approval for their redevelopment of the former Pine Ridge school So the parcels located off of Governor Chittenden Road near the intersection of route to It abuts UVM owned talc at forest to the west the Nets property to the south and The River Hill Farm to the north parcels Primarily wooded and It's got some steep topography It's also within a designated deer wintering area Fall of 2018 the town had a group of students from the University of Vermont Rubenstein program Do a Resource assessment of the property about I think it was a group of five students went and inventoryed the The natural communities Inventoried invasives Did an inventory of the trails and also looked at potential access to the property and also Took invent took an assessment of the existing cabin on the property So Staff worked with the Williston Conservation Commission to Take these inventories and Compile them into a cohesive management plan and that's what we brought for you to consider The draft plan has been posted on the town website for a couple of months and Also on the town Facebook page There's Williston Conservation Commission has discussed the plan during four regular meetings and Approved the plan on August 7th, 2019 Only one Williston residents submitted feedback for the plan Basically stating that they hoped it would be remain as pristine as possible the property that is The draft plan was also shared with the director of public works and his feedback incorporated One thing I want to note is this property unlike some of our other conservation properties is not under a conservation easement So there's no requirement to have a management plan, but since there has been some interest in this property That's been expressed to me. I thought it was important at least Develop a plan for for future management so in the plan There are noted three different options of what we could do with the What we might do with the the property to begin with and then As we go forward with that maybe you want to describe those for us sure I think what you're referring to is In particular forest management So the three different options that were given were basically a hands-off approach which Typically has been The conservation Commission's recommendation on on other town conservation areas There's also the approach of Doing some Limited timber management or forest management to with the goal of improving habitat and Then the third option given was to do Sort of all out commercial tree harvesting on the property At this time the conservation Commission is recommending pretty much a hands-off approach just leaving letting the forest regenerate and Kind of go Go through natural of its own natural evolution and with one point being that if Talcott if UVM should ever engage in active forest management of the abutting Talcott Forest I think Conservation Commission would be interested in a collaboration with them and To manage do some horse management in the Pine Ridge Forest as well Thank you Questions from the board regarding the the plan The town obtained it or Abtained in 2016 is this the first management plan that's been developed for it. Okay, that is a minute It's a criticism or anything. I just wasn't sure Okay, I Was a little I mean not pleasantly or not unpleasantly surprised to hear about the The cabin me too Can you talk about that a little bit? What was it do we know what it's who built it what it's intended use was? Yeah, so the cabin Was used by the former Pine Ridge School. I Believe that it was constructed Think in the I want to say Maybe the 60s or the 70s That's not really known when it was constructed But it's certainly not any older than than that, you know, probably some time during the 60s or 70s for the purpose of education and Interestingly The inside of the cabin is it's it's as if it's exactly the way it was, you know when the Pine Ridge School Kind of disbanded There's still little notes on the counter Looks it looks like part of a lesson So it it obviously was used for an education purpose and I mean, it's in generally good shape It does need to be cleaned out a bit But it could going forward, you know, I think there's a decision to be made by the town of how to use this whether to just Lock it up and you know not have any access to it or to potentially School groups who might want to use it for educational purposes Okay, good. I'm on page 47 and And it's talking about how a Connector trail might be put in place so that folks can actually access the trails that are on this parcel and I was I was confused because the sentence read the most viable connection appears to be along a path through the River Hill Farm properties shown above But if I look at the map correctly and maybe my orientation is wrong It looks like the access would actually be through the UVM property Am I I think the the trail that you see is kind of a general Yeah, I don't think it's Accurately depicts an actual connection. Okay, there are You know, I don't There could be a connection through Talcott, but the topography is pretty challenging Okay, I think what the UVM students concluded it was that the easiest connection at least In terms of physically developing a trail would be through the abutting land Meaning the River River which gets this wrong River Hill Farm Do we have any any? Information about how willing either property owner would be to allow a trail. I think I think UVM would Probably welcome some kind of a connection. I think they'd be okay with it. I don't know There the town does have Or at least tried to obtain an easement You know previously So It's possible, but it would be awesome Would have to find out. Okay. I'm on page 49 and It talks about recreational use potential and in the first paragraph it gives some I Some suggestions hikers bikers and potentially skiers and Given that River Hill Farm is in a budding landowner with horses. Is there any consideration of horses? It was not discussed But it certainly could be considered okay Okay, all right. Good. Thank you. And then in the next paragraph It it makes the recommendation that it be limited to pedestrian only and I just want to make sure I understood what pedestrian Means for some people it means bikes and some for in some people's mind. No, it's just walkers hikers Yeah, so I just want to be know if you know what the intent was here. Yeah, so it it was Intended to be off-limits or pedestrian only meaning no bikes. No bikes. So walkers and hikers only. Yeah, okay Okay, those are my questions Any further questions? Motion would be in order to Adopt and prepare the plan Move to adopt the management plan for the former Pine Ridge school property. Is there a second? I'll second I just want to make sure we're all comfortable with that concept of the Hands-off sort of approach and figure it out kind of I read this as figure it out as we go You know what needs to be done just do the immediate things right now, which I think is really focused on Maybe even just a cabin, you know Figuring that out and then down the road figuring out pedestrian trails Yeah Harvesting or forest management Okay, I believe the select board pretty much any time can Choose to do another option other than option one at this point Right, but you know this hopefully will be in place for Whatever right we could suddenly say no one active You know active harvest thing If not all those in favor of the motion say aye aye any opposed All right. Thank you very much for that. Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair. Can we Revisit the appointments. Did we skip over or did I miss the Oh, I figure partner. You're right. We had to that worry requested from Was it the conservation Commission and You're right Yes, right So one from the conservation Commission one for recreation committee And one from the select board. I think that joy is already volunteered to do that but we do need to Step back and make the motions for the other two that have been recommended to us from those two committees I Move to appoint joy Lamos to represent the select board on the catamount community forest committee You're a second I'll second that sorry discussion on that just that that's what she gets for missing a meeting Right Don't think so, but Although some table the motion say aye aye any opposed And the next motion move to appoint Laura mayor to represent the conservation Commission on the catamount community forest committee This is your second As your discussion on motion just a question I assume Nobody else from the conservation Commission is interested or they went through a process in which she was selected. Okay I just would hate to hear about afterwards Hearing no other discussion all those in the favor of the motion say aye. Hi. Hi any opposed And the last motion move to appoint Danielle do set to represent the recreation committee on the catamount community forest committee Is there a second? I'll second Sorry discussion on the motion same question about the process, okay Their terms on these oh, okay, right. Yeah. Okay, good, right? All those in favor of the motion say aye opposed So I think we have taken care of all of the issues re-yarning the town forest so moving on then to the noise control ordinance amendment and We do have The amendment is proposed as Was requested by the select board about a month ago and we have some information that has come from The the gun club and their attorney with a compromise to the Proposal of the select board so Bob Adi would like to speak on behalf of the the gun club regarding the So hello again So we reviewed the proposal that staff drafted Following the select board's suggestions at the July 23rd meeting And made only what we believe are a couple of hopefully you'll find the minor changes The first being to change the wording around When special events can occur to make weekday special events permissible We talked a little bit about this at the at the last meeting although the discussion was more around numbers and I'll get to that in a minute, but but you know with the town's consensus or apparent consensus around calendar year 2006 being the time period that We should be looking at for guidance on how to move forward And the weekday special events that occurred in 2006. We thought it was appropriate to add that back in Further there not so much from the legal argument so to speak on that but the Common sense argument if you will this was included in the in the letter there You know the presumption that weekday special events while there are certainly people who are Retired may work off schedules things like that with probably the preponderance of people in the community being Monday through Friday 9 to 5 years That those weekday special events may be less impactful to the community than The Saturday events that we would have been limited to under the town's wording The other change that we're suggesting is around the wording of how the total number of special events is is tabulated What I didn't do a very good job of articulating at the last meeting when we were having the discussion around numbers and I Think I've made the comment Something like you know, there's never been a number So to speak and and what I was really getting at there is The fluctuation the level of activity that's happened at the club pretty much Throughout our history. We looked at four years of data that we had presented following the Court ruling, I know staff had presented data from other time periods And things like that and I don't know that there are any two years within that where the number of special events held at the club Or are the same And so looking for a way to reflect that We didn't add any special events as as you likely saw But are suggesting that the number of 16 special events be based on an Average within a defined period as opposed to a calendar year Count and there, you know in theory what that allows us to do is if we have a year where we host 12 special events in the Following year we get that 17th request You know, we don't have to say no to that 17th request and we come out to an average somewhere in between and and And would give us that the flexibility to do that so Those are the two main Changes that we suggested to what was proposed by the select board Last time again, like I say, I would just point out that neither of those Suggestions adds a a single special event or day of shooting to what the town proposed It just allows them to be Distributed a little bit differently and like I say, I think there are arguments to be made in a possibly less impactful way In the case of some of those events should we should we continue to host the occasional event on a weekday? So are the questions from the board for Bob? Bob if there was a weekday special event in this in the summer it would go until dusk I Left I believe would left the nine to four Hours in there for the special events. Okay Do you remember Bob or do you know in the past that historical period we looked at to find out what the past practices were? Were special events or events held on weekdays in addition to Saturdays or do you know? Yeah, and that and that was what we based that on there were there were some in 2006 Okay And then this is a question. I'm sorry. I was not at the meeting where this was discussed has the select board come to a decision that the 16 special events and then for 100 safety courses are the The number it feels I've for lack of better words comfortable with that was what the board recommended that the staff draft for us. Yes Okay, I mean just personally I feel the 16 plus 4 feels like too many, but I think I'm in the minority on this Further questions from the board Well, the only question I have about the I I think the rolling idea is is fine is good I like that. It provides a little bit of flexibility, but yet puts You know limits for lack of better words on The only question I have is you could see a situation where the if the rolling is interpreted to mean you can do 16 times 2 plus 4 times 2 in one year and zero the next G is that it should we put any limits on how much roll? I don't know how to express this ceiling a ceiling a talking right, you know Would that make sense? Well, we've already got the limit in there We left in the limit of the three and actually to be fair So this is one other small change that actually is that is a I see a point We've got the limit of the three events in there now. I did just want to clarify so it's not to obscure anything I did change the wording around that a little bit with the limit on three now moving to three Saturdays a Month that would have been implied before because only Saturday events were permitted Again the thinking there that you know if if we presume that weekday special events are less impactful excuse me impactful with a Large subset of folks being at work that Those Saturday ones would be the ones that would if done on a more regular basis would draw the most Attention shall we say Rick is the gun club proposal on dropbox Good old-fashioned yes Well Ted's reading that over maybe I'll ask or point out something again. I might be in the minority on this is The and I'm just going to focus on the the Proposal that was the town put together before you countered with or not counter came back with this other proposal And it talked about no more than three special events would occur on Saturdays But then if you add in the gun safety courses I guess my question is does that mean that for four months in a row? There could be an event whether it be a special event or a hunter safety course happening every weekend And I just want to make sure I understand Sorry ask that one more time. Sure. Sorry So there's The proposal is 16 special events, but only three can occur in a month And and they could only occur in Saturdays because that's the way the language originally read But then there in addition to that there can be four hunter safety courses So on that assuming a month has four Saturdays. I know some actually don't But assuming a month has four Saturdays Does that mean that there could be four months in a row in which there'd be three special events on Saturday and then a gun safety course on the Fourth Saturday meaning There would be something happening for a total of four months Every Saturday, and I just want to make sure I understand Yeah, so I know that we had talked about the hunter education events not counting against the total that the total number of special events and that I don't know that we went into the Detail of whether those would count against the three per month. But what I would say is that I think that just Functionally that would be somewhat unlikely for the following reason the hunter education events Tend to be held during times of the year when we're not as busy with Our own special events or other special events So to speak so like I say, I think I think operationally that would be unlikely Yeah, okay, and please don't get me wrong in theory. We'd have to discuss it like I said I don't recall that level of detail being discussed about whether those would count as part of the the three Yeah, I'm very much in favor of the gun hunter safety courses or a hundred the hunter safety courses I think that's a very positive thing But I just wonder if it does mean what is the impact on the neighbors Yeah, the other thing that was discussed and I don't want to speak for the board But I think the reason that there was some willingness to kind of pull those out and look at those separately Art who who runs those at the club is is here this evening And certainly correct me if I'm wrong But one of the things that we discussed around those is those are a very low volume shooting Okay, you know, we're they're usually moving through Six to twelve I mean shooters often and it's it's mostly a matter of displaying good gun handling It's not you know, how many do you break out of a hundred? I mean, I think you know the people who are there may shoot five or ten shells You know in any given event so You know again, I don't want to speak from the for the board, but I think that was one of the reasons Okay, any further questions at this time from the board How does a rolling average actually work? The other the other way to look at that would be that we could hold 48 in three years In a 36 month period so a new month comes along you host what you host or you don't and then the 35th 36 month behind you falls off It's like So I'd open it up to members of the audience who wish to make any comments regarding the proposals either the towns or the the gun gloves if you do please identify yourself and Keep your comments down to two minutes if possible and then I'll recognize people as they raise their hands. Yes, sir I Try to keep it in two minutes. Yes, sir. Maybe sure come off to the microphone My name is John Vibber. I'm a member of the club. I've been on the board club And I'm happy to hear that the club and you are pretty close together So please take what I'm saying in that spirit your Situation at the moment is we have a historic Footprint of operation how we operated before May 22nd 2006 some span of time and you folks That's kind of the historical footprint and you folks have not to step on that footprint as you make your your noise Ordinance and when that happens The war is over. I mean we've been aligned with each other and that would be a really good thing But I have some some comments along the way the key of Statement in the in the Supreme Court Judgment was the level of discharge at the club on the effective date of the statute It's important establishes the baseline existing use against which municipal regulations are measured So Accordingly references in this opinion to historic levels of shooting at the club refer to those levels established as of May 22nd 2006 so we're talking about time period before In your original proposal you have January 1st 2005 and I think this is an era the court statement. It's very clear that it's 2006 May 22nd and to use the January 1st one is to lob off 17 months of the historic period and I don't think that's what you meant to do Our Attorney was concerned that using that date may be that you were trying to look at a smaller period of time To make a judgment about fewer special ambulance or something like that. I would just like to remind you that This would contradict the board's negotiating position over the years you Had Rick McWire count the number of Special events from 2007 to 2015 may of each year and so you've got eight years an eight-year span when you kept track of us and You were dealing with the number of events per year So we've got a metric there and you've the averages of the number of events per year So you already used an eight-year period And so it's not too unlikely that we're gonna we ask for maybe three or four years Before 2006 and I think that 16 number probably comes pretty darn close so I'm thanking you for taking that position my second position my second suggestion is Echoing Bob here That some of the 16 events should occur on weekdays and here's what the Supreme Court said about the Statute concerning gun ranges the 2006 statute this statue Unquestionably limits the town's authority to reduce the permissible use or discharge of firearms at the club Below the levels in effect on May 22nd 2006 So the club has documented that what day special events occurred in the years before this date They were not prohibited at that time therefore in the words of this court in the court. They were permissible the court judgment references that to the Makes references to the historical level of discharge in several ways including what I said before the historical footprint We our evidence clearly shows that weekday special events held within our normal shooting hours are part of our historical footprint Okay, in summary I urge you to stay with the 16 special events And I urge you to accept a few of these events shifted to a weekday when you know fewer folks will be at home Thanks for listening to me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else who wishes to make any comments regarding the issue Yes, sure The January 5th 2005 date was part of the original ordinance and that was chosen because that was the date the ordinance went into effect January 1, 2000 So the question is do we want to schedule a public hearing regarding the Proposal for amendment and if we do Which one do we wish to to want to warn? don't think we're ready for Hearing yet because I want to See if we can't work Done close proposal into our ordinance I don't know I don't know if that's going to be successful or not But I would like to get input from staff and the town's attorney and see if that's If that's possible There's no there's no hurry to do this certainly as far as calling for a public hearing. That's good to get it right Before we actually do that So a motion to table it certainly would be in order well before before that's made though. I did the The special events on during the week that would be until 4 p.m. That that's intriguing That's I Think that might be a that might be a good idea But that's what I that's what I think Hi That sounds good to me. The only thing I will add is Terry, I know you didn't mean this this manner, but you said there's no rush and I cannot wait for this to get I agree we get to second things Yeah, but let's I agree you can do that, but it's important to get it right. You're absolutely correct. Thank you You're absolutely correct. Yeah, so Yeah, let's let's keep this on the agenda and move it as quickly as we can but I would like more input So I would move to table. Do I hear a second to table? I'll second It's not a debatable Issue so all those in favor of the motion say aye. All right any opposed So we'll continue our discussions on this, but thank you very much for your input and all of you for coming out tonight Thank you. Thank you Any of you have not signed in we've signed in before you leave please So moving on then to the charter change proposal, and that's Eric Board directed staff to proceed with the charter change proposal then comes this changes related It's required binding arbitration for Passes The memo before you prepare that draft language for consideration And during that time we'd also like to bring to the board's consideration other policy point To think about as we go through this charter amendment process So then it's related to self-governance issues in the state for my as the Dylan's rule state allows Municipalities only exercise power specifically granted to them or necessarily in its an essential to their purposes The role Enable the municipality to deviate from general statute in specific instances when after adoption by the voters and approved by the Legislature to go through that multiple step process So this past legislative session the Senate passed a bill that would establish a pilot program to authorize a limited number of cities and towns to engage in self-governance Within some strictly defined parameters This would involve a proposal for local changes approved by voters that would then go to a new commission formed for approval rather than the legislature this was approved by the Senate, but House government operations did not take up the bill or its companion bill in the house the first half the biennium So that's on the wall still there So the policy question for the board to think about is we're looking at this charter change So whether it's supportive of increased self-governance at the local level And if so, where would that begin? One approach Rick and I have prepared drafts some red line language in this memo is maffina charter to enable the town by Australian ballot To amend the charter to allow any measure that is granted to another municipal charter in the state with voter approval So that concept is if one must municipalities allowed to do something by virtue of its charter Other municipalities should be able to opt in for the same and not be subject to legislative legislative review of it So we've put that draft language in there. I consulted with Paul Gillis Attorney mob pillar who's helped the town throughout the years for its town charter Paul was supportive of placing this torque to the voters along with the Binding arbitration question at the board discussed previously I ran it by him as well He didn't know that He foresaw it passing some legal Hurdles he referenced chapter two section six tests. He called it the Vermont Constitution that grants the legislature authority to create municipalities We bring it to the board because other sad towns are likely to consider language like this BLCT has been a strong advocate for this to the legislature It's along the same lines of the binding arbitration issue if Multiple towns take this to the voters that people support this. It does send a message to the legislature For that public input piece So I leave that policy issue to the board if it would like to discuss further and think about us in the charter amendment proposal It'll be interesting that if we should put these forward and the voters approve them to see what the legislature actually does with Language at least regarding the first one where it allows the the town to Do something that other towns have done There was a bill I think in the legislature in the last session Maybe it's probably still there and hanging on the wall that would say that the legislature would not necessarily be very required to act on something that's sort of cut and dried type of thing and Be interesting to hear the discussions Has has this language shown up in any other town charter that you're or a town charter proposal that you're aware of Not to this point Some towns are talking about this right now. So we wanted to get it to your attention now as you're looking at the charter amendment Nothing specifically at this time, but it's yeah, I mean I I support the concept I Don't know how viable it is in the legislature's perspective right So I if you're asking should we be a guinea pig to move this forward I say sure By way of example if and actually this was a big deal 20 years ago as a local options tax was a new idea. Yes under the this under this law If The legislature grants one municipality the right to do a local options tax than any municipality can do Well, I mean our charter would be all the rules that could do it, right? But I mean that yeah, right But but didn't that affect us? Yes If they adopted that same type of vision Take advantage of the law that was geared additionally towards one community. So interesting Point you brought up because wasn't that sort of the concept of the local options tax at first It was only for certain communities that were impacted by act 60, but isn't it available to any community now? I believe it is no Yeah, Wilson initially They the state legislature had created a law that had a formula and it was intended I believe to allow Wilson to become a community if it's so chose to Adopt the local option tax. I remember but when the a formula was applied Wilson fell just below the limit I said and so we had to go back To the legislature later on with a charter change Yeah, it was a charter change that Let us to become Okay It's probably it's not terribly relevant to But to what's at hand tonight, but as I recall when I first got on the select board the local options tax was scheduled to sunset Wasn't it? That's correct. Oh interesting. That's right. Yeah, really worried that I was gonna blow a huge hole in our And actually the time the first time the town voted on it. It was overwhelming to feed it That's it was Second time I got voted on it was overwhelmingly approved. Yeah, first meeting you referred to was the ugliest Town meeting I've ever been to So the interesting thing about this is Boy would it cause legislature to look at any charter Revision so carefully actually what I'm a little worried. Yeah And it might reduce their willingness to approve charter changes because of that unknown who else is going to come and ask for this I'm not saying that should influence our decision, but I can just see yes It'll be you know, it'll be interesting conversation and governance. Yes I know last session. I think see a South Browlington passed an additional may use half a percent tax on rental cars Yeah, that's right. They should didn't approve that Voters of the city supported it the legislature didn't accept that change Relevant example of some of the self-home rule versus still under So Rick I think you said you would like to Postpone this any action on this tonight? But absolutely true right like to do is in our next meeting Bring back to you The schedule of public hearing right now after the public hearing you have an opportunity to make additional changes And the second public hearing could be as late as sometime in January So we have some time here But the there isn't a lot of time so we that's why we're trying to get the first public hearing schedule, right? right So any other input on the proposals tonight? Okay Yeah Big Big proposal I'm just imagining there'd be like if like South Browlington has major issues with the airport Other towns would have major issues with correctional centers. Maybe some town will have an issue with Recreational marijuana shops or something like that And I'm just it'd be really kind of odd that if you know suddenly Williston is allowed to place a correctional center in a certain place when that's really more an issue for swatting or Or you know that we we get to we get to tax an airport if one ever moved to Williston, I mean it'd be Be kind of a strange But I don't know that'd be necessary for us to worry about Usually thinking about correctional facilities usually for slightly in those the town makes out extremely well because they're not going to accept it unless The legislature builds a road or sewer treatment plant or both or whatever. So the legislature has spent a lot of money in towns for Those kind of things we used to have a chance. We had a parcel at a tree place We weren't allowed to put a police station there Still have that parcel. Oh Yes, we could put another whole story which I'll have to bring to you So so you do you raise it a very interesting point? I don't know where we're I don't know where it's going, but It's it's one thing when you might want to Prohibit or regulate a government entity from doing something, but what about private entities you mentioned the marijuana dispensaries Then I think it gets a little sticky You know or what about something like solid waste facilities which right now have some protection under state law and We were to remove those protectors for instance Or a town, you know was choosing to remove those protections Of course if the town another town was doing that and was granted the right then why and Wilson decided one of that's right To them why wouldn't shouldn't we get that right? Yeah, I don't have a good answer. Yes or no I'm the one hand you sit and say You know it should be available to all like the local options tax I should probably be available to all I could see where an argument should be available to all municipalities There are other things where I'm not so sure For instance, and I'm sorry. I don't mean to focus on solid waste on it, but it's maybe something I know a little bit about is Something that would in Coventry's place make sense because they house the right now the only Landfill in the state would be very different than Willis then which is potentially looking at being a host community for a land I mean I could just see where there's Yeah, I don't have a that's a good legal question Indeed So I think we'll move along to the good. Yeah purchasing policy update Just a just a good go ahead In general, I mean out of all the things we do Charter changes are probably about in the middle of you know kind of my high low interest Yeah, this is raised it up a bit These are some interesting concepts There are Purchasing policy update and you have a new copy of the high and highlighted With the changes that were Recommended by the board at its last meeting Specific changes so on page four section now seven point four Some language added after section 10 or determined to be sole source as defined in section 11 The request for a waiver of competitive bidding form must be completed and sent to the town manager for approval So that was one change as of the result a couple meetings ago nexus on Numbers are different here. I just saw it said page 505 after page Six of five but anyway next page 505 section 11 is has been reworded the sole source purchases beginning Sentence and a half has been struck and add in language for Being approved by the town manager following a good faith review available sources and a termination determination There's only one qualified source for the required supply service reconstruction And then At at the end the bid waiver form would be completed and submitted the town manager for review And then going on to the next page So change from we have the the select board award and contracts to make these Emergency purchases is section 13 now and we've changed it to the town manager and Provide the select board is notified as soon as practical of these emergency purchases And those were the changes surely surely measures of discussion and I Reviewed my comments from last week and how they were addressed and I'm good Good so if there's no questions for Eric on this emotion is in order Move to Amend the town's purchasing policy as presented Is there a second? second Your discussion on the motion Good job All those in favor motion say aye. Hi any opposed Okay, let's go back to the minutes then we do now have Three people here that were in attendance at the last meeting and I'd be looking for a motion to approve The minutes of August 20th, 2019 So moved for a second I'll second Page one It's true Hearing no corrections all those in favor of approving the minutes of August 20 2019 say aye Hi, I'm the opposed and what abstention that's me So I'll move on then to the manager's report I Don't have too much to add to my written word I guess only two items. I want to touch upon his first local options tax he's got that sure a while ago terrific and our Report came after the last like we're meeting so I did provide you a copy as soon as it came out but officially it's included in this agenda packet and It shows that we exceed our budget by Close to four hundred thousand dollars for the fiscal year So that's pretty significant and then Just an update on the library director recruitment process. We have narrowed the field down to candidates the Finalists are scheduled for an interview on September 16th. It's going to be a multifaceted interview in other words there'll be a panel of Library patrons and one slide board member which is Terry McKay. He's volunteer for that. Thank You Terry That'll be moderated by myself And we've also will also be giving the candidates a written assignment that they'll have to present at that particular interview There'll be a less formal interview with Staff library where each candle will get a tour and the staff will get a chance to ask Questions and the candidates will get a chance to ask questions of the staff and Then that will be followed by a formal interview by the library board of trustees By the way, the informal interview will be Eric will be the facilitator for that and I will be the facilitator for the library trustee interview And I believe most of the library trustees will be at that meeting. It's a regular meeting night for them And so they had already planned on that so Hopefully you will follow that process will have a recommendation and we'll move forward And did you have anything dead? All right, thank you You provide any Information about Christine daughter daughter D daughter T She's from Colorado. Yeah, she's got a good strong background in storm water. Okay But a while since I looked at her resume and she your most recent position was working with gas pipelines. I believe so Okay, she's actually that was a good. Yeah, she's actually seen both sides regulatory side and as a business being regulated, okay Yeah, okay. Yeah, I'm looking forward to meeting her Yes There's no more questions for Rick then other business we have some catering permits and a special agent permit permit So the first is a special event permit for schedule for September 14th and the Permitee will be the Burlington beer company They're hosting a special event that Involving Volunteers working to clean up a section of the brook near where their business is located. So Nice interesting special Is there a motion so moved Discussion of the motion allows in favor of the motion say aye. Aye. Aye Any opposed? All right Next is a catering permit application. This is for an event schedule for September 21st and this was at the I should baller and Caterers 802 cocktails LLC Is there a motion on this Second discussion All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Next one is September 28th also Catering permit also at the Isham bar and the Keter is American flat bread Is there a motion? So moved Seconded discussion motion staffs good. Yes. Yep. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? And one more last one is catering permit for October 5th also at the Isham bar And the caterer for this event is the skinny pancake So moved Finally Discussion on the motion All those in favor of the motion say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. I think that takes care of One other or okay. Good. This is not a catering or a special permit this is Relates to the Vermont League of Cities and Towns annual business meeting which is scheduled for Wednesday October 2nd and It'll be held in Killington, Vermont at the Killington Grand Hotel If one of the select board members is interested in coming then we would like to add your name to this if not Deb Beckett will be there anyway Her selecting her as the designate Designate delegate from Williston and you're comfortable with that representing Williston. Yes, then I'm good Do I think we probably need a motion to that effect? I'll move to Select Deb Beckett to represent the town of Williston at the VLCT town fair did I get the name of the event correct? It's the annual business meeting. Sorry at the annual VLCT business meeting Your second second Sorry discussion on the motion All those in favor of the motion say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Anything else on the other business that anybody has? Oh, yes, sorry one quick thing I have before me the County Mount Community Forest Committee, which I was not part of the discussion to Adopt this so I probably shouldn't sign it. Is that correct? Yes, okay Thank you, thanks Anything else? My apologies for being late in my defense Transporting daughter from the JVA soccer game and CBU won three to one over Colchester All right, the varsity one one nothing in overtime. Oh my goodness No, it was a sudden death It ended ended quickly enough so that my phone rang with my daughter's voice saying where are you? I'm in the parking lot Wait a second I need to understand something So your daughter was in the parking lot her game was over, but you were watching a different game The JVA team goes and supports the varsity girls in their overtime When their game was over, so I thought that she was okay She was there and I was actually I was grabbing a hot dog because I knew that I wasn't gonna have time to eat before This meeting so I was doing it for the sacrificing for the town of Williston So my blood sugar levels would be high enough and I could provide the leadership Felt would be required. That's your defense. It's my I'll thank the board for their attention last Meeting that I was absent for enjoyed the great job as vice chair. So thank you all And if there's no other business then We're adjourned