Town of Charlotte
Board of Selectmen
Minutes
Monday, July 21, 2003
7:00 PM, Charlotte Town Hall
Paul Arthaud
Debbie Ramsdell
Eleanor Russell
Jennifer Steele Cole
OTHERS: Dan
Senecal-Albrecht (selectboard assistant)
Mia
Beer
Stephen
C. Brooks
Peter
Coleman
Dana
Farley
Clark
Hinsdale, III
Robert
Mack
John
Owen
Peter
Richardson
Anna
Smith
Amy
Vazquez
Tim Yandow
Jocelyn
Bolick (clerk)
The meeting was called to order at 7:03 pm.
The items on the agenda were as follows:
Public Discussion / Approve
position description for Organized Sports Coordinator and take action on hiring
of same / Varney Farm: further
discussion of options / Selectboard Updates / Authorize bills and warrants /
Adjournment
Approve position description for Organized Sports
Coordinator and take action on hiring of same
Laura
Atkinson interviewed last week for the Organized Sports Coordinator position.
Motion
made by Eleanor Russell, seconded by Debbie Ramsdell:
“To approve the organized sports
coordinator job description”.
Vote: all in favor.
Dan Senecal-Albrecht
read the job description to the attendees of the selectboard meeting.
Discussion ensued
concerning whether the coordinator could be paid on a monthly or quarterly
basis. Perhaps it can be a contract
position?
Peter Coleman asked
about the amount of the pay – it will be $4500 for the year. That was the recommendation from the rec
commission. Fall soccer will cost $30
per child, or $60 maximum for a family.
This will include a T-shirt.
They have not come up with a dollar amount per child for
basketball. The idea is to have the
programs pay for themselves. Also,
perhaps enough money can be raised to pay for field maintenance and other
things that just don’t get done right now.
Stephen Brooks asked
if the coordinator will be a contractor or an employee. Ellie Russell said that still needs to be
resolved. Stephen asked if the
coordinator is a contractor, why does the town care about the number of hours
worked? Ellie said that the town
wouldn’t care if that were the case.
Ellie said the
recreation commission is working on a mission statement as well. Charles said there was one applicant who had
her application in within the deadline, and she was interviewed last Thursday
by 3 members of the recreation commission, as well as Ellie Russell. She was basically told she had the job.
Stephen asked if the coordinators’
description incorporates the mission statement. Ellie said the mission statement is a guide to the philosophies
of the programs. Ellie said the mission
statement exists in its preliminary form, but it has not yet been finalized.
Motion
made by Eleanor Russell, seconded by Paul Arthaud:
“To hire Laura Atkinson to fill
the position of organized sports coordinator at a rate of $4500/year to start
immediately”.
Vote: all in favor.
Varney Farm: further
discussion of options
Ellie
put together an outline for a letter to Stephen Rockefeller concerning the
Varney Farm. Charles feels it is a good
summary of where we’re at right now.
Ellie would like to flush it out with the most up-to-date information
when the letter actually goes out.
Clinic. Tim Yandow has
been working for the past 5 years at a complimentary medicine clinic in
Westminster, VT called Sojourns Clinic.
They have combined western medicine with a lot of care like acupuncture,
massage therapy, chiropractic care, herbology, physical therapy, etc. When people come into the clinic, they have
very specific needs. By putting
together a team of practitioners, they can put together a personalized care
program for those people, using the practitioners in the clinic as well as
elsewhere. Tim would like to put a
clinic such as this together at the Varney property. The similarities between the building at the Sojourn Clinic and
the building at the Varney property are striking. The Sojourn Clinic incorporates an organic farm, and Tim feels
they could put an organic farm at the Varney property as well. Other services, such as yoga and meditation,
could easily fit into this idea.
There’s nothing like that in this area – there’s no place that has a
model where they coordinate and collaborate as an active model of their health
care. Tim feels there is a higher level
of care that a team provides under one roof.
Debbie
Ramsdell asked about rent – Tim said the details would have to be worked
out. They would set it up as a non-profit,
but it would be a money generating business with revenues. Paul Arthaud asked about insurance; Tim said some of the services would be able
to accept insurance, but some would be out of pocket. Stephen Brooks asked if the private non-profit would be the
tenant, and the service providers would be paid by the non-profit
organization. Tim said that’s how he
would see it structured.
Peter
Richardson asked about the space that the clinic would need at the Varney Farm;
Tim said he hasn’t been up to the property yet, and hasn’t worked out the nitty
gritty details. Issues would have to be
addressed such as handicap accessibility, etc.
He feels about 4 or 5 people per hour would be going in and out at any
given time. Stephen Brooks asked about
other practitioners in the community who might want space in their
operation. Why would the town subsidize
certain practitioners through the property, and not others? Charles said we’re trying to figure out the
viability of certain ideas right now.
Debbie
asked how long it would be before they could start using it. Tim said he would get commitments from the
few people he has spoken with – maybe a core of 3 or 4 practitioners, and put
together a detailed business plan. He
imagines that within a 4 to 6 month period he would be able to pull together
enough people and resources together to get it going.
Paul
asked about funding sources – did Tim mean funding from the town or from Tim’s’
group? Tim said from his group.
Children’s Museum. Amy Vazquez, Mia
Beer, and Anna Smith came to discuss a children’s museum at the property. Children’s museums are centers where
creativity, discovery and curiosity are brought to life through exhibits and
programs designed to foster a passion for lifelong learning. The age is primarily for 2 to 6 year olds, and
their families. In Acton, Massachusetts,
they have created a fantasy land for learning, yet kept the architecture and
design of the house in tact. The museum
in Acton is on a traveled route, similar to the location of the Varney Farm.
They
feel the Varney farm is a quintessential Vermont setting which could enhance
family life through learning. There
would be opportunities for all ages to participate, and it promotes the mission
to preserve the Vermont landscape while providing access to the public.
Ellie
asked about the timeframe. Mia said
they originally had a 4 year timeframe, but that was without a site in
mind. She feels the possibility is
there to be within a shorter time span than 4 years. They would rent the space from the town. Debbie asked about the hours – Mia said they’re
structured differently. Some are open
all the days of the year, some are open selective days. Initially they would target a younger age
group, and those kids are usually napping in the afternoon. It really depends on the target
population. In terms of using the house
alone (without the barn), they’re aiming for toddlers to age 6. That would limit the afternoon hours. Ellie asked about the number of cars; Mia
said that is hard to predict at this point.
Dan
asked if there were any numbers about children’s museums from places with low
population density. Mia said they don’t
specifically have that information. Those
number are available, there’s a good network out there that they have already
tapped into. Debbie asked about the
Discovery Museum in Essex Junction. Mia
said it no longer exists. They have
folded some of their exhibits into the ECHO center. Stephen Brooks asked if Acton received all of its funding from
gate receipts. Mia said they did an
initial campaign drive and subsidized the cause through fundraising; they plan
on doing a feasibility study to look at the numbers. Debbie asked how long they have all been working together; Mia
said they’ve pulled everything together within the last 6 months. They have other sites in mind – they are
going to do it, it’s just a matter of where.
Mia asked if they had the square footage of the site. Dan said he had
the info from the listers.
FARM. Clark Hinsdale,
III, mentioned a study of the potential of an organic farm on land owned by
Tony Perry. The study was done by John
Quinney. Clark suggested getting that
research since it would be just as relevant to the Varney Farm. Clark is concerned about the amount of real
estate the town has to manage – he wants to caution the selectboard because of
the maintenance, particularly in the core village area – the firehouse, the
library, the senior center. He feels
the town needs to be really careful.
The
Demeter Park is an incredible town resource.
He feels if we could find a true not-for-profit resource there that
complements the park - that would be a compelling reason for the town to get
involved with the property. If we put
something there that has no relation to that resource, why do it? 11.4 acres is not big enough to be a real
farm. If we don’t come up with a
compelling use for the house, would the town want to ask Mr. Rockefeller to
contribute 9.4 acres of land and leave 2 acres with the house? What is the legitimate public interest in
the property? Sometimes when you get an
old historic building, the best thing to do is to put historic preservation
covenants on it and sell it to someone who has the resources to maintain it.
Affordable Housing. Peter Richardson
feels that the anchor use of this property is as a residential site. The barns can be appropriately converted
into badly needed affordable housing.
All other uses mentioned can be ancillary to that use. Each one is going to take a lot more
development. He feels the selectboard
can kick off a process to encourage that development. Peter would like the board to take the step tonight to say that
affordable housing is an appropriate use at the property, invite in business
plans, look at the facilities and see how it all can be combined, get engineers
out there to figure out the feasibility … and say to these folks to get back
with info by Sept. 15th.
Otherwise he feels the board will be groping. He discourages the town from being the landlord for this site. Ellie asked Dana if The Demeter Fund wants
to be involved on that level. Dana said
no, she didn’t think they would want a menu of potential uses. They don’t want to make any value judgments.
Charles
asked if Nagley and Chase did the barn study; Dana said yes, they should have a
copy of the study.
General Discussion. Stephen said the
viewpoint of the town is to maintain the open rural landscape. All the ideas being considered have always
been talked about bringing it into the village area, not in a rural landscape.
Paul
Arthaud asked about the process of a zoning change – since it’s rural
designation, some of the uses would require a zoning change. Ellie said there would be no zoning change;
they would find a use that is suitable within the existing bylaws. Dan said some uses can be done under the
adaptive use of existing historical structures, which is already in the zoning
by-laws. According to Ellie, the chief
problem is the density issue. Dana said
the attorney for the Vermont Land Trust has been floating around ideas concerning
how density could be achieved by combining the parcel with other contiguous
land owned by the town. Perhaps the
conservation easement on the non-Varney land could be suspended in order for
something to happen at the Varney farmstead? There is an additional issue of
the emerging lots doctrine. Under
Vermont statute, when 2 lots of contiguous ownership come to abut one another,
they merge automatically. These are all
legal issues. This is probably
something the town would want to raise with the town attorney and the attorney
with the Vermont Land trust. If it
involves a density issue, it will have to be fairly creative.
John
Owen said 9 options have been considered.
He feels there needs to be more criteria than what has been listed. There has to be some way of evaluating one
against the other. Dana said that’s
what the town plan is for. She feels
this would be a great time for the selectboard to refer to this document.
Debbie
asked Peter Richardson about funding for putting condominiums into the
barn. Peter said sources of subsidy for
home ownership in cheap financing – the sources are out there. The Burlington Land Trust has done a lot of
this. They could come up with the
money. There are certain constraints,
but it can be done in certain situations.
Clark
said one of the features of this property is the curb cut – that 11.4 acres has
a curb cut on Route 7. Perhaps those
9.4 acres is not worth much to the town, but imagine if it was not owned by
friendly folk? In the middle of the
property up there, it could be bad news.
Jennifer
Cole mentioned the use of the Thorp Barn.
Perhaps some of the proposals that are being discussed could use the
Thorp Barn. Peter Richardson wants the
board to affirm that what appears to be an anchor use of the property is
affordable housing. Spend $1000 to hire
Jeff Glassburg to headline this, see if Mr. Rockefeller might be persuaded to
do some engineering and structural feasibility studies to look at the septic,
the traffic, etc. Have some specific
deadline – within the next 45 days have these things sorted out. Maybe some of these uses will fall out.
Paul
said one of the purposes tonight is to make a recommendation for the best use
of the property. Charles said we’re
not looking to do this letter and send it out now. Ellie said we need to get a letter off before August 1st. Basically, it’s a progress report and asks
for an extension. One thing she thinks
the board should do is to look at the town plan, talk to Dean, and see what most
in compliance with the town plan is.
Clark
said that one organization that has done extensive analysis of looking for a
permanent home is the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. One of their main missions is to train young
people how to build trails and manage parks and recreation. They have done a feasibility study that
would fit into the goal of using the park.
The research process they went through would be generically useful to
the town.
Peter
Coleman said each of these proposals is a 2 or 3 year process. You can’t expect Mr. Rockefeller to wait for
a proposal that is 2 or 3 years out – that’s not a good business plan. Charles wanted to know if we are ready to
make the decision to get the town involved with this property. Clark said this property is right next to a
major town asset, so we need to be involved at some minimum level.
Mia
wanted to know what would happen to the property if the town was not interested
in it. Dana said there are a number of
options: moving the house and/or barn
to another location, putting it on the open market in the future, etc. Peter Richardson said the town would have
squandered a wonderful opportunity.
Clark recommends strongly that:
1) State in the letter that analyzing the property to support the use of
the park is a high priority. 2) Don’t
ask Stephen for any money – to look a gift horse in the mouth and risk
insulting Stephen by asking for feasibility money – not a good move. Clark volunteered to write a check for a
couple hundred dollars towards the feasibility study. Get some other people to do this in order to do the analysis.
Charles
said the Conservation money cannot go for this, but the Vermont Land Trust
can. Dan noted that the agenda said
discussion of options, not to pick an option.
The
issues that need to be solved include septic, density, and water. Paul asked Dana what Mr. Rockefeller
needs. Dana said he needs an acceptance
and a thoughtful proposal of what the town is planning on using the property
for. Charles felt that the town will
need to spend money on studies before accepting the property for the town. Peter Richardson said if you’re successful,
you get the feasibility money back from the program that is put together to use
the property.
Peter
Richardson needs to know the septic capacity and the density issue before
affordable housing can seriously continue.
Dan said he’ll need specific questions to ask of Mr. Glassburg; Peter
will help him with that. Funding of
this study will be decided later. Paul
asked about cisterns – if there are only 2.5 gallons per minute, why not? Clark said you can get good yield if you can
get 24 hour storage.
Selectboard Updates
Paul
wanted to know what happened to SBL Painting.
Dan said they sent a letter last week saying they would get to it within
2 weeks – and that would be next week.
Jennifer
Cole wondered if anyone went to the pre-hearing conference of the Public
Service Board. The town is continuing
to look for party status.
Jennifer
Cole talked to Erich Finley about VELCO.
He was hoping to get a call back from Richard Watts today. There were 3 areas that have already been
suggested as important areas – down in the railroad tracks, down in the wetland
area, and north of Demeter Park down into the village.
Ellie
will go ahead and flush out the letter to Mr. Rockefeller in draft form again. She will add some of the other ideas to the
letter.
Ellie
said the floating wetland trail Easement for Greenwood America is still pending
and they will be after the town for a decision. Dan said there will be a site walk Wednesday at 9 AM.
Ellie
and Charles met with the Fire and Rescue people. They will give the board the bylaws in a week or so. They agreed to have an outside person look
at the specs once they are finalized.
Paul will contact some people to find someone who will be willing to be
the outside person. Ellie had a quick
look at their year end budget. They
have ordered the thermal imaging camera.
A
question arose whether the town is buying the truck, or the town is giving CVFRS
up to $450,000 to buy a truck.
According to the wording of the bond, the town owns it for use by CVFRS.
Authorize Bills and Warrants
There was a bill from Jessie Bradley for $800 for planting
pussy willows at the beach. Charlie
said they need to talk to the Rec commission to make sure they stick to their
budget.
Adjournment
Next
meeting: Monday, July 28th
at 7 PM.
Meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Jocelyn Bolick.