buildagendarchive

Grand Isle Buildings Steering Committee Meeting Minutes

November 8^th, 2007 7:00PM

Linda Effel - Town Administration Bob Thompson - Planning Commission

Mark Rowen - DRB Ron Bushway - Selectboard

Brian Martin - Chair Gerry Carton - VFW

Carolyn McCray - Library AnnaMarie DeMars - Asst. to the Chair

Minutes of the Sept. 27^th meeting were reviewed. Mark motions to accept the minutes as written, Linda seconds, motion passes.

Land acreage needs and the Richardson’s gift was discussed. Henry has 57.2 acres on Hyde road. Possible uses of the land were discussed at the last two meetings. There are 15 acres of wetlands which is not able to be developed. Linda has constructed a spread sheet with preliminary requirements of all the buildings areas the town may need. She has included sports fields and the property setbacks. The measurement of the soccer field needs to be changed. Brian added a projection of circulation needed around the sports fields and buildings of 4-5 acres. The amount of the acreage that we would need, without the regulation size soccer fields and the circulation, came up to 55.68 acres. The gazebo would also need circulation areas. Judy and Henry Richardson also came up with some of these ideas. Therefore, the amount of land needed would be in excess of 50 acres. This is the first time we sat down and put ideas and dimensions on paper. We need in excess of 60 acres when the wetlands are taken into consideration. A copy of the list was sent to Henry and Judy Richardson.

Gerry said that the VFW was negotiating with Henry for some land to build the new VFW on and Henry told them there was some other land they could look at.

The subdivision of the land gift from the Richardson’s will not be as complicated as was first thought. It can be done as a single lot subdivision. We forgot to factor in the lot that Henry needs. Our additions and modifications will be discussed at the next meeting.

We will find out this month if we received any money from the state grant (MPG) we applied for to do the needs assessment study. Brian will e-mail everyone to let us know the outcome of the grant. Brian will also take a shot at making a needs assessment template. Deb Perry will get Brian the numbers for the population projections.

Public forum meetings, when held, will be started with a discussion of each groups (Fire, Administration, Library, etc.) needs. Mark says our presentation will need to be bullet proof. We will need to be ready to answer questions about what we need and why we need it.

We need to brainstorm to do the needs assessment. People can’t get defensive when trying to make a case for what each group needs. We need to explain this in detail to the town residents. Each group will answer questions about their needs.

The schedule has the needs assessment finalized by the end of Feb. The forums with the town residents could be in May or June.

We also need to have a letter in the Town Report by Dec. It would be a review on what we have been working on. Brian will write it.

At the next meeting we will do the following:

1) Needs Assessment discussions

2) Status of the Municipal Planning Grant

3) Review modified acreage needs on Richardson land gift

4) Review a letter for town report

5) Review previous meeting minutes

There is a USDA loan and grant for rural areas. Brian can send an e-mail and talk to the people to see if we are eligible to apply for these grants. We are rural because we have population of less 20,000. The deadline to apply for this grant is before Jan. 17^th. Brian will also find out any places in VT that applied for the grant and received it. He will try to talk with people who got the grant and how it went and ask for an application. We could work on it on the 13^th and submit it. There is also a watershed project grant application, it is a project associated with wetlands and water. It is between $1000 and $6000 dollars.

After we get the planning grant maybe we can put it all together and send it to the UVM team and ask for assistance.

The next meeting will be on Thurs., Dec. 13^th at 7:00PM at the Grand Isle Town Offices.

Ron moves to adjourn and Mark seconds. The motion is passed.

Grand Isle Building Steering Committee

Aug. 23^rd, 2007

7:10

Attendees

Brian Martin - Chair
Linda Thompson - Recreation Committee
Linda Effel - ZAO
Ron Bushway - Selectboard
Mark Rowen - DRB
Bob Thompson - Planning
Everett Dubuque - VFW
Jerry Carton - VFW
Deb Perry - NRPC
AnnaMarie DeMars - Chair Assistant

The Committee reviewed the application for the Municipal Planning Grant. We could get up to $15,000. The deadline to apply is Sept. 28^th.

It was agreed upon that Brian will be the grant administrator and Linda Effel will be his backup.

The application needs to be finalized at the next meeting. A checklist of items requiring attention includes:

· Brian will check with UVM on the help they can provide

· Complete Form 1

· Complete Form 6

· Review the budget

· Proof the application form

The goal of the next meeting is to complete the final application. If all the money from the grant is not used we will have to return it. The timeline for the grant is 40% up front in Nov. of 2007, a mid-term report is due Sept. 19^th, 2008, and 30% more in Sept. of 2008. The final payment of 30 % (latest May of 2009) or if finished first. We will be notified in Nov. and the money will be available in Dec. so we can start in Jan. 2008. We need to put dates in the application. It is possible to have a one year timeline finishing in Nov. of 2008. Deb will e-mail changes to Brian next week.

The Municipal Facilities Grant could be used to appraise the land and use it as matching funds. The pro is no money is needed and the con is the timing has to be just right. Ron says we should get the land transferred to the Town as Henry would like it done by Jan. Linda asked if we could sell a property and use that cash. Bob would like to know if it is an issue that people can only donate so much at a time. This is part of Henry’s next subdivision. Maybe the Town’s attorney could advise us on Act 250 and land donations.

Mark made a motion we accept the minutes as written, Bob seconds and the motion passes.

The next meeting will finalize the application, signed by the selectboard and mailed. The next meeting will be Sept. 13^{th,
2007}.

Linda motions we table discussion on the land gift until the next meeting because Henry isn’t here.

Ron says we should let the town attorneys handle the deed transaction. The town will handle the appraisal. McArthur will appraise the buildings and the listers will appraise the land.

There is no other business.

Mark makes a motion we adjourn at 8:30, Ron seconds it, and motion passes.

Deb Perry from NWRP attended to discuss the MPG (Municipal Planning Grant) process. On Friday (July 20^th), a three member team from UVM came to Grand Isle to meet and work with members of the Buildings Committee. They presented a suggested process overview and discussed what may need to be done to come up with a master plan. Planning grants could come in handy to help fund master planning associated with our potential municipal center.

The State of Vermont Municipal Planning Grant Program has funds available to towns for planning and implementing plans providing facilities. Grand Isle has previously received grant money for other projects. There is a certain amount for each region and no match is required. There may be up to $71,000 available to Grand Isle and Franklin counties. Deb feels this may be a highly competitive year. The state reviews the application and selects the groups who will get the grants. There is only one planning grant per town that can be applied for. There is a separate education grant to bring people in to educate on whatever is needed and you can apply for this any time over the year. The state can say that you can only get part of the planning grant money that you put in for. The applications are competitive and towns who are putting together a town plan for the first time are considered a higher priority. Deb thinks only one town (Alburgh) is applying for that. Activities that are eligible for grants are surveys, planning, mapping, capacity studies, and anything that can be linked to goals of the town plans. Other things the grant money could be used for are public process, outreach, public participation, town wide surveys, printing and secretarial costs. A budget and a timeline will be required for the application. Implementation strategies can include 1^st time planning, affordable housing, and new town center designation. State statutes which relate to a new town center designation, concern a community that doesn’t have a traditional village center, but may be creating a new center. No one has tried this program out yet. Jerry asked what strings would be attached to the [MPG] grant. Deb said this grant has the fewest strings attached as it helps towns implement their town plans. Jerry asked if there were no bold requirements. Deb says no, it is a very open grant and getting the money is normally very smooth. This is an eighteen month grant, you apply in Sept. and have seventeen months to implement a plan to use the grant. You have a halfway report in Sept. and a final report in June.

Brian talked a little bit about what had happened up until now. We have a potential gift coming to the town of twenty five to thirty acres from the Richardson family. They want to give it to the town and it is a very generous offer. It is about a mile up the road from the Town offices. The land has 6000 gallons a day of septic capacity with the possibility of more. A year ago we had the first meeting of this committee. We were determining when the buildings in town would need to be replaced and how much square footage they would need. Then the land gift came into play and it seemed a good location for the town or municipal center. The Fire Department had also received a gift of land, a few years earlier from the Gordon family, and would like the new fire station to be there because of safety issues getting onto Rt. 2. The town center could include the Library, Rec. Center, Highway Dept., Town Offices, concert green, nature trails, and ball fields. The VFW is also putting up a building by the potential town center that the town can also use. We placed an ad in the Free Press looking for planning firm to provide design service qualifications and we had a great response. Then we asked and found out that UVM was willing to work with us. They came out and met with us. Now we need to get the people in the town excited. Deb asked if we had any plans for commercial use such as senior housing. UVM wanted to know if we would be able to have a path or a sidewalk so that people could get to the facilities on RT. 2 and we presently don’t. Also, housing might take up to much of the septic capacity. Henry has said there may be more septic capacity there as the soil is very good. It would be good to be able to provide more housing and it would help pay for the complex. Deb recommended that we say we are looking into it. UVM has proposed a high level planning process that suggests what we may need to do, Brian referred to a 15 page report from UVM. We have already done a lot of the pieces that UVM thought we would need. Now we need to get the citizens involved. We need to do research to try to get the village in accordance with the town plan. It may also be a place where people from out of town could go. We could promote tourism and possibly have the bike path go to that area. We would need to eventually have a master plan in place, and as of now we have no timeline in place. In their opinion, UVM would like it [a master plan] to last a long time. You don’t just plop a building down on it without a long range plan. The master plan may be done by a paid firm. UVM would not do the master plan, but would help guide us through the process. A plan that will show what will happen 10-15 years down the road. We don’t know what it will cost to do the plan. The process, public meetings, and a consultant to help plan would all fit in with the grant. It would be great to have a planner to help with the process. We can’t do much until a contract is in place. The infrastructure piece may hold us up a little. We can work through it with Deb or with someone else.

The District 6 Act 250 coordinator, Geoff Green would like to meet during the day. Brian doesn’t know the time yet.

We need to identify grants and what we need to go after these grants. NWRP will help us find out what kind of grants we are eligible for and how to get them. There is a community block grant but Deb doesn’t know a lot about them, they are mainly used for housing.

We need a resolution from the Selectboard to put an application in and accept the money when it comes. That will be done on Sept. 28. The 1^st press release should be about the Selectboard applying for the grant.

NWRP will outline the steps necessary to apply for grants. The committee will get a copy of the outline with steps necessary to apply for the grant. We will use the grant money to produce a product.

Brian will talk to the people in Georgia about how they went about it since we have the same vision for our town. Brian thinks he can do an application with help from Deb. Brian thanked Deb for coming and we will let her know when we need her to come back. We need to decide what our next steps will be.

Linda moves to accept the minutes of the June 14^th meeting, Mark seconds, the motion passes. We will save the minutes of the June 28^th meeting to go over at the next meeting. AnnaMarie will e-mail Linda and have her e-mail copies of that meeting to me so she can send a copy to everyone. There are also copies at the Town Clerk’s Office.

Cathy Dubuque suggested that we should put articles in the Islander so people really know what we are doing. Henry had suggested at the last meeting that we should put a little something in the Islander after each meeting.

Brian thinks that in 4-6 weeks we need to get some kind of work plan and send a mailing out.

We need to ask Bob Thompson or Melissa Boutin about the results of the Planning Commission’s survey.

Jeff Green, Act 250, could come out the week of Aug. 13-17. We will take input from the experts when we can get it.

Brian will send UVM a letter thanking them for coming out. We have established a relationship with them and hopefully they will continue to help us with this process.

The next meeting could be a workshop session. We should start to formulate a plan. We should get materials together, distribute to everyone, have people look it over, and then come together to work out a plan.

Ron talked to Sen. Dick Mazza about how to get grant money. Mr. Mazza said he could give a letter to the Governor. Ron wants to wait until we have a better idea of how much money we are going to need. Brian will ask his friend on the Georgia Selectboard how much money it takes to start. Ron says Sen. Mazza is good at getting grants.

Mark Rowen DRB Henry Richardson DRB
Judy Richardson Citizen Carolyn McCray Library

Discussion opened with thought of the pace of committee plans being too slow. Brian has meet with the UVM group and plans to set a schedule that information and education of our ideas move forward at a more productive pace.

VFW plans to construct a steel building. They have funds available. The possibility of sharing the VFW parking lot-lots with Town was suggested.

Discussion of a need to combine some areas such as adding to the library infrastructure.

Henry tells us that the wetlands area has to be kept natural. Even wooden bridges could not be built.

Henry reminds us of the possibility that senior housing can possibly be in the site planning.

We had a discussion to prepare for a town vote on the project in Nov. but reminded that there is no voting then and it was felt to be too aggressive to prepare a vote for March of 2007.

We have a good chance to do something but need public input every step of the way. A planner is needed for this type of project.

Michael Cane of _______________________notified. He was asked about a time line for a master project. It is felt that six to nine months would be needed at a cost of $10,000 low range to $100,000 high range. The site has already had topography mapping, wetlands survey, and land survey done.

Henry says that we need to talk with ACT 250. Jeff Green is the person to communicate with. Jeff will cover time line costs. His phone is 878-6564.

Discussion of putting each meeting date in Islander News. Contact Kevin Steady who is our news reporter with the information. To be done by Secretary.

Henry suggests that “letters to the editor” in the Islander are well read and it is a good way to get our project information out.

UVM can help structure process, help with advertising, and help to get public involvement through community relations, assist with a Planning Firm selection of site planning and construction .

Committee would like VFW to share their building costs information and type of structure plans with us as we plan our site.

Bill Baron asked if 2011 was the last bond payment on the school. Brian has a letter from the VT. Municipal Bond Bank. He discussed payments on bonds and stated there was a $105,000 a year bond payment on the school. He will try to find out how much the school borrowed and for how long.

Brian stated maybe we should strike town’s unique identity. Bill says maybe we should have closure on the goals of the original committee and start from there. Brian said we could do that, but the problem is we would have to estimate costs of different facilities. We would need to establish what buildings are needed and when, square footage, and understand cost issues. Brian wanted to know if we should consider each building separately or combine them in one complex. Steve says it won’t make that much difference. Brian and Steve will work on this.

Henry wanted to know if you can do this without the design. Each department would need to know what they need now and in the future. If we were looking at one building it would be a place to start. We could save money having it in one building. We should take a look at different scenarios. Ronnie says we should have one plan and the committee should work that out. Steve can get some numbers together and work with Brian on this.

Ronnie wants to know if we are jumping to far ahead since we want to work with UVM.

People from UVM stopped by to get an information package and to see where then land is located. The Director of Planning Services is bringing 2-5 people to work with a small group from our committee to go to the land and then come back and discuss it.

In Bill’s opinion, we should gather assets and needs and then try to balance the two. Linda says that all was included in the package, along with a slideshow about waste water, info on the Richardson property, and Fire Department info.

Bill stated we are letting the generous offer from the Richardson’s drive our goals. No where has he seen a report that clearly states our needs and our assets with clear amounts attached. Brian says before we adjourned we talked about selling the Annex and the approximate value of the assets the town has, but we also know the town is having a reappraisal. Brian doesn’t agree that it’s been ignored, when he left the Planning Commission it was all up to date.

Bill says we are spinning our wheels with no conclusion, an endless process. We should take what we gather, needs and assets, and present it to the Selectboard. Then we should work with a professional planner. Ronnie agrees with Bill that we are not moving fast enough. Brian says he is always open to ideas and help. Henry said about 4 meeting ago we discussed the need to go through the town assets and discuss what to keep and what to get rid of.

Ronnie wanted to know when we should present this; Henry stated next March. Bill thinks the people who are helping us will know if we should sell some properties. Brian remembers that last year we discussed that the town should not be in the real estate business. Henry thinks Doug McArthur could probably have figures soon. Henry said we need the design, a proposed budget, and a time lapse for the buildings.

Linda remarked that we are dealing with buildings and Planning deals with equipment. Ron thinks we should include major items in the plan. Brian would like to know if we want to wind up the first half of this committee’s original charge and take that info to work with the people from UVM or whoever we chose to work with. We will have to appropriate funds to get this done quicker. We will need to make some assumptions about which town properties are saleable. We need someone from this committee to refresh the list. Linda will get a list of reappraised land and what could sell, give it to the planners and find out if we should consolidate and sell off some properties. Ronnie remembers that we talked about this at our first few meetings. We need to know what the properties are worth. We will try to have the reappraisers do the town properties first.

Henry said that Steve mentioned people moving to town and that should make the town’s grand list grow.

Brian could send out a list of capital needs and people could check what is needed and not needed and send it back by June 28^th.

Bill wants to make sure VFW is included because it’s huge. We hope that one of the VFW people will be at the meeting with the people from UVM. Bill would like to know if the people from UVM have a broader picture of the town or just the Richardson land.

Jerry and Everett are waiting for the land to start digging. Jerry thinks that UVM should be extremely competent. Jerry made an 8 point punch list he would like to give to UVM with ideas for different buildings or groupings of buildings etc. Jerry will share notes with Everett and bring a draft to show UVM. Jerry says that first you need a footprint and UVM could do that.

Bill thinks we shouldn’t try to direct them with our vision but let them come up with their own ideas. Jerry has a list of ideas and Brian would like to discuss them with him. Bill says that Fire still wants to be located on Rt. 2 and combined Fire and Rescue is being looked into by Rescue. Henry said there is more septic available on the parcel.

UVM and a small subcommittee will meet. Henry may have info about additional septic capacity. Ronnie and Henry say Act 250 could be an issue since everything the town does has to be scrutinized if the donation is over ten acres. It will have to be checked out but if the land is given in increments it may avoid this problem. Anna will call the Sheriff to see where they are at in trying to look at new location. UVM will meet with the group one afternoon during the week. Hopefully it will be before our next meeting.

Bill motions to accept the minutes from the May 24^th meeting and Mark seconds; motion passes.

The Chair of the Committee, Brian Martin, gave an explanation of why this committee was formed. The groups represented on the Committee include Selectboard, Planning, Library, Fire, Rescue, Schoolboard, Recreation, Administration, Public Works, DRB, and Community Representatives. The Committee can vote to add additional members if they feel it necessary.

The Committee discussed and decided to switch the order of its proposed goals to:

1) Strive to balance the need of town residents’ services while maintaining a stable and affordable tax base.

2) Agree the greater good of the town should supersede that of any specific board, committee or department.

3) Develop a tactical and strategic plan for the Town of Grand Isle buildings related capital infrastructure which covers a period of 50 years.

The following goal was removed from the list: “Give consideration to the incorporation of a “Town Center” concept into the plan, if possible”

Linda Effel had handouts about a law which may be passed having to do with designated town growth centers. This will be discussed at future Committee meetings.

Operating rules were discussed. Linda wanted to know if we were going to follow Robert’s Rules of Order in case of a tie while voting, etc. It was discussed that maybe the Chair would break ties. Brian will look into the use of Robert’s Rule of Order.

Regarding Proposed Operating Rules, Number 1 (re. alternate) was removed and the wording on number 5 was changed to read that “all members and their alternates should strive for very high levels of attendance and notify the chair if they expect to be absent for meetings”.

It was decided that AnnaMarie will type up minutes and E-mail them to those with E-mail accounts and bring copies for the people who don’t use E-mail.

The makeup of the board was talked about and Linda asked if the listers should be included. It was decided that Linda is representing the town office staff and that includes the listers.

There was further discussion as to whether the churches and businesses and businesses should be asked if they are interested in sending a representative to the board. It was agreed that “Community Representative” is a more appropriate term than “Resident Representative”. The Committee also agreed there should be a seat for a Business Representative. There was discussion about whether the Committee should ask the Sheriff’s department if they want a representative on the Committee. It was decided, at this time, the Sheriff would be contacted to ask if they would like a copy of the minutes also if they might want to send a representative to monitor a Committee meeting.

Notices about Committee meetings will be posted and we will put letters in the Islander, or in Kevin’s column in the Islander as needed. We will also get a list of Grand Isle business from the listers and the Chamber of Commerce.

Brian would like things he writes to be agreeable with the whole committee. He can do it and have them look at it first or he could use his best judgment. He will attempt to do this by sending what he writes to Committee members through E-mail and then get responses back before he sends it.

Linda suggests Brian could send a letter to law enforcement and business telling them to go to the town web site or the Town office to see what the Committee status is. Cathy Dubuque says it should also be in the Islander so that small business can also get the information. Pat Dix is going to bring the information about the committee up at her next church meeting.

The Proposed Goals Achievement discussion brought changes to Number 1 by adding “upgrading”. It now reads: “Identify town facilities in need of replacement or upgrading, i.e. fire, library, town offices, etc.”

It was also discussed and decided that High School related discussions would not be part of this committee’s scope. Number 5 needs to say “buildings” - not “building”. Carl Cobb says under Number 4 , sewage should be primary concern. A change to Number 4 adds “zoning and environmental compliance”. Some people thought in Number 6, the word cost should be removed but some thought it should stay and it was decided to keep it in. Number 5 was changed to read, “new, upgraded or retrofitted buildings”. Six months was set as a time frame to the Committee to achieve its goals.

We need to decide how often we feel we will need to meet. Committee members should show up at the next meeting with names of their alternates. At the next meeting all departments will give a 10 minute summary of what they feel they need and requirements for their building or department.

At the next meeting we will have a report on the progress of the action items, a 10 minute summary from each group, input from community representatives, and how to proceed at the end of the next meeting.

The next meeting will be held on May 25^th, 2006 at the Grand Isle Town Office at 7 pm. Linda moves to adjourn at 9 pm and Ronnie Bushway 2nds.