[0:06] Recording in progress. You're all set, Jeff. Okay. 6:45. Call a meeting to

[0:11] order. First order of business is to adopt the agenda.

[0:15] » I'll make that motion. >> Motion and a second to adopt the agenda.

[0:18] All in favor say I. I. I. >> Uh item two, executive session. So, we

[0:25] will need a motion to go into executive session. So, moved.

[0:30] Second. >> So seconded motion and a second to go

[0:33] into executive session for 1 VSA 313 appointment of a public officer to

[0:39] include applicant and um or for the budget committee and the slick board. So

[0:45] time to go into executive session. All in favor say I.

[0:48] » I. >> Thank you.

[1:02] Maybe. >> Okay. We It is 6:58

[1:07] and we are coming out of executive session. No action was taken within

[1:12] executive session. >> Mr. Chairman, we get a motion to end the

[1:16] executive session. It's a change. I'll make that motion to exe end executive

[1:20] session. Okay. >> Motion in a second to end executive

[1:24] session. I'm out of I'm not as versed as I was before when I was bored all the

[1:29] time. Right. Um all in favor of coming out of executive session say I.

[1:33] » I. >> I. Okay. Item three is select board

[1:38] remarks. That's where I always say we're small group in the room. We want to play

[1:41] nice and be respectful to each other's uh wishes. Even though we may not always

[1:46] agree with everything that is said, but we still are a nice small community that

[1:51] likes to be friendly and peaceful. So that is my select board remark. Item

[1:57] four. >> I wanted to say something cool about at

[2:02] our last meeting I spoke about the cops being on duty all the time the same

[2:07] time. I've noticed over the weekend they worked over the weekend and I've had

[2:11] people tell me they've seen them on different hours. So I just wanted to say

[2:15] much appreciated.

[2:20] Good. Um,

[2:23] item four, possible consent for the minutes and the warrant.

[2:29] Pleasure. >> Uh, I'll move that we add item well the

[2:33] minutes and the warrant to a consent agenda, please.

[2:38] » We have a second for the consent for

[2:42] » second. >> Second. Okay. All in favor of doing it

[2:46] as a consent say I. I. I. Opposed. No one. So,

[2:52] questions on any of the warrants or we're all good.

[2:57] » One question. >> Second page.

[3:00] Uh, like halfway down.

[3:07] » I thought that might be worth a question. I circled it. So,

[3:10] [clears throat] right. So, the town has a 60-in uh

[3:14] gasoline powered zeroturn mower, which apparently is about 12 years old, and

[3:19] it's having some starter problems. It's been in the shop a few times, and it's

[3:23] being repaired. Um, a front porch forum post came up to uh someone in Brandon

[3:30] had bought an EGO 42in zeroturn mower. and Ego is the brand that uh we use in

[3:38] the tool ships that the energy committee runs and the town has had a couple of

[3:42] hand tools with that. So, we checked out the price new um and the one that was

[3:48] posted had only 28 hours of use on it. And the highway division chief and the

[3:54] highway crew member who does all of the mowing went up and checked it out with

[3:59] the Brandon person who was selling it and they decided they would like to try

[4:03] it. Um, the mowing person believes it will be more suitable for the small

[4:09] parks downtown and the cemetery especially, and he was looking forward.

[4:13] He says the 60-in mower is actually a little bit too big to negotiate those

[4:18] areas. The concept is not that this will be able to replace the 60-in mower, um,

[4:25] but that we will, following the green fleet policy, we'll try to get the best,

[4:30] um, tool for the job, so to speak. and if it's an electric one, we'll try an

[4:35] electric one. So, they've they've taken it. Um, the lady who was selling it

[4:39] allowed them to take delivery of it and try it out, and they've used it

[4:43] successfully, so we want to go ahead with the purchase. Um, but at some

[4:47] point, we're either going to need to replace the 60-in gasoline mower to do

[4:53] like big jobs like Estherbrook and the Nes playing fields and stuff like that

[4:58] that this will not be suitable for. or um we might need to put some more money

[5:03] into the 60-in mower that we have, which again is 12 years old. So, that's the

[5:08] story with that.

[5:12] » Any other questions on the warrant?

[5:16] » The uh retail price on it brand new was like $5,300. So, it's considerable

[5:20] savings to the town to buy it slightly used.

[5:26] Oh, >> yes.

[5:34] Uh Claire a stone Brandon resident uh batteries for this

[5:41] » came with batteries. Yeah. >> How many does it have?

[5:44] » Has four and have two more. >> And um do we know how many hours they

[5:49] get? >> Enough to do a shift of mowing.

[5:53] » Okay. A shift. Eight hour shift. Okay. Sometimes that's all you do is charge.

[6:00] » Yeah. I mean, he he did a little studying about the the rated range on it

[6:06] is 2 acres of mowing on one charge and the Central Park, Kennedy Park, Green

[6:12] Park, Crescent Park, and the cemetery together would not be two acres and he

[6:18] would not generally be mowing them all in the same day anyway.

[6:21] » Okay. >> But it see it seems to be suitable. I

[6:23] would not have encouraged them to consider it if there was concern that it

[6:26] was not going to be suitable for what they want to use it for.

[6:29] » And let me applaud you for for this path of um getting a deal. It's a wonderful

[6:36] thing. >> Yes, I guess it's good savings. Thank

[6:38] you. >> Okay. Motion in a second. And we've had

[6:42] discussion. All in favor of the minutes and the warrant say I

[6:48] » I opposed. No one. Item five, consider appointment to the

[6:55] advisory budget committee. >> Board member like to make a motion.

[7:00] » I will move that we appoint Clara Stone to the FY28 budget advisory committee.

[7:05] Second motion and a second. Any discussion?

[7:09] None. We just had it in the closet. All in favor of uh voting for clear uh

[7:16] to be on the budget advisory committee, please say I. I post. No one.

[7:22] Welcome. Um,

[7:28] item six, set the schedule for budget workshops. Seth, you want to

[7:33] » Sure. So, there's a memo in the packet with a suggestion. You can go with it.

[7:38] You can do something different entirely. This is sort of what happened last year.

[7:43] This is approximately the schedule we kept last year. So, uh, my suggestion

[7:47] would be to kick it off on Tuesday, September 22nd with the review of the

[7:52] closed budget, the status of the open budget, the big goals for the budget

[7:56] that we're about to write, and then move into a series of meetings with the

[8:01] department heads, and then consider the capital plans, and then a first draft,

[8:06] second draft, and finalize in early December. All of those dates are on the

[8:11] off weeks of select board meetings and you could decide whether you want the

[8:16] Mondays or the Tuesdays. Except the first week I I could not make the

[8:19] Monday. >> Was there any other thought towards

[8:24] potential Tuesdays? Just kind of shaking it up or

[8:26] » if you want it's Yeah, it's up to the board and the budget committee's

[8:29] availability and what you think. Yeah, maybe the public might like to have a

[8:33] chance here and there for it to be not to Monday. I don't know.

[8:38] I always like the Mondays because it was in my head that Monday is select day or

[8:42] select person day and so I was always looking for whatever I had to do on

[8:48] Mondays. So I enjoyed Mondays but I don't care. I'm available any of those

[8:54] dates with the exception of meeting number three. I'm going to be out of

[8:57] state but

[9:01] you can go on without me. >> I might say Tuesday, November 3rd's

[9:04] election day. That might be tricky. But other than that,

[9:08] » oh that's a very good point. A bunch of you will be busy counting

[9:14] votes and stuff. Probably don't want to do number four on Tuesday. Probably want

[9:18] that on the Monday.

[9:22] » I like the Mondays. >> Huh?

[9:24] » I kind of like the Mondays if everybody else does. I'm open to do a couple of

[9:27] them on Tuesday. Just

[9:32] not too pressed one way or the other. Well, again, we're at the mercy of

[9:38] somebody making a motion to what you would like to do.

[9:46] I will move uh to formalize the schedule for the budget workshop series starting

[9:52] with Tuesday, September 22nd, Monday, October 5th, Monday, October 19th,

[9:58] Monday, November 2nd, Monday, November 16th, Monday, November 30th, and Monday,

[10:02] December 7th. And we can always add more if we need to

[10:07] get down to finalizing something at a later date.

[10:09] » And I might just say if if any members of the public feel strongly that we

[10:12] should do a couple more on Tuesday, let us know. We can check them. Okay.

[10:17] » Could you repeat those dates again? >> Yes. Tuesday the 22nd of September.

[10:22] Monday October 5th. Monday the 19th of October. Monday November 2nd, Monday

[10:26] November 16th. Monday November 30th. And Monday December 7th.

[10:33] Yes. As of this motion has not been second.

[10:36] » We have a motion. We have a second. We have a motion and a second. Any further

[10:39] discussion? >> We're loving that one. All in favor say

[10:43] I. >> I.

[10:44] » I. Put it on the website.

[10:50] Ah, town managers report. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the

[10:54] public who are here and by Zoom. Um, from my publish report, just a couple of

[10:58] highlights and two updates. One highlight is that yes, um, the paving

[11:04] started and I think if you've driven McConnell Road, you'll see they did a

[11:08] good job on the south end of McConnell Road. They had some equipment trouble

[11:11] and they do anticipate starting up again tomorrow.

[11:16] The second update is also in public works. Um, I gave you some info about

[11:22] road salt. I have been able to firm up the road salt, so that's good. So, we're

[11:27] on board for 1,000 tons with Cargill. The price per ton this year is $106.50,

[11:33] which is very close to what we we budgeted. We budgeted essentially for

[11:37] $105. So, we're going to be about $1,500 short if we get the full loads.

[11:44] Um Ralph indicated that yes, uh some weekend patrol hours were able to be uh

[11:49] done in the schedule with the existing police officers this weekend and we

[11:54] appreciate that. And then I always do highlight the local option tax receipt.

[11:58] And I think that for consistency I need to highlight that uh we've received our

[12:03] local option tax for the April, May, June quarter, $86,845.

[12:09] And in fairness or transparency, um this is a quarter that did not exceed the

[12:15] same quarter of the previous year. So last year we got $1,158

[12:20] more than we got this year. That's happened on occasion since we started

[12:25] the tax 10 years ago, but it's not the general trend. The general trend is that

[12:29] every year the same quarter is a little bit better than the quarter of the

[12:32] previous year. That might be overall economic pressures going on in the

[12:38] world. And the last thing uh to update is that the 1% fund figure that's given

[12:43] there at $571,63 should be augmented by that uh receipt

[12:49] of 86,845. So the 1% fund really is 658448.

[12:57] That's my updated report. And then you have the two pages

[13:01] with last year's budget still subject to change for another few days, another

[13:06] week, I guess. This year's budget to date. And then there's a project tracker

[13:12] with um the completed projects dropped off. And so you see it's a much shorter

[13:16] list than it has been recently. That's all I have.

[13:22] Thank you very much, Miss Hopkins. Questions for Mr. Hopkins from the

[13:25] board. Just make a quick comment. I I very

[13:30] pleased going over the um FY26 budget that we just finished, seeing as though

[13:35] we're talking about budgeting going forward. Um that we were pretty darn

[13:40] close to spot on with things. We uh um took in 104% of what our we expected

[13:48] our revenue. So, we beat our revenue by um a few hundred,000, which is nice. And

[13:55] our expenses, we came in about as close to perfect as you could be at 99.8%

[14:03] of what was expected to be spent. So, means that the budget process worked

[14:07] pretty good. At this moment, there still could be some additional um things

[14:13] coming in until the end of August, but at this point, we're looking at we had a

[14:18] small surplus of around 150,000. So, that's pretty darn good budgeting um

[14:25] that was that was done and pretty good managing to stay within that.

[14:29] » Practically perfect in every way, but really

[14:34] [laughter] sorry. questions for the town manager on

[14:38] his report. >> I've got a I've got a question. Go for

[14:43] it. Uh the 159,000 that will probably transfer to the reserve fund, right?

[14:48] » That's where it goes unless the select board directs it somewhere else.

[14:51] » Now, the reserve, >> but that's not a guarantee for another

[14:53] seven days, >> but it'll be in the ball.

[14:56] » Yes, we we would think. Yep. >> And the reserve fund's in pretty good

[14:59] shape, right? >> Reserve fund was at seven and a quarter.

[15:02] Yep. 725. Brian has talked about playing paying

[15:06] off the police station several times. Would that be enough to pay off the

[15:10] police station? >> Police station like 135 something. I

[15:15] » think we owe like 135 on it. >> Oh, you know where you know the better

[15:19] figure. No, it's the better figures in here.

[15:25] The police station

[15:29] was 177500, but then we had two more payments. So, it should be like 130,000.

[15:34] Yeah. >> I just I just think we ought to start

[15:38] thinking about that. >> What What's the

[15:40] » It's a good idea. The interest rate is super low on the police station.

[15:46] That's what I need the book for is the interest rate. It was taken when it was

[15:50] like a very favorable time to borrow.

[15:54] » What are your highest loan? >> The highest one is going to be the one

[15:58] that we take for the highway bond. If the voters approve that, that's going to

[16:02] be a lot higher than

[16:11] » I struggling to find it. Hold on. >> Like Ralph, I I had the same

[16:16] conversation with Seth because if we're going to be doing the highway barn, it'

[16:19] be good to be rid of another payment, but

[16:22] » and the payment >> if we have time, we can make this

[16:24] decision. So, the police station is 3.14%.

[16:31] The one that we're paying off for segment 6 is 4.67%.

[16:38] The overflow cover is 3.3%. So, they're all very low. The number

[16:44] that was quoted us to borrow today, if we borrowed for the highway barn, would

[16:48] be 4.28, I believe. I think we got to think about that

[16:55] because that would that would take that bill right away.

[16:59] » Yeah, it would save you know 20 to $24,000 a year in the general fund.

[17:03] » Three quarters of a percent. >> Yeah.

[17:06] » Yeah. >> It's definitely feasible.

[17:09] » Yes. Uh Brent Buler, how does the like

[17:16] $300,000 that was used to buy the truck from the police budget get posted at the

[17:21] end of the year? So we did >> rather than against the police.

[17:24] » I asked Sue to transfer it and she agreed it should be transferred and she

[17:28] transferred it. So if you look in the packet on the FY26 budget, there's a top

[17:33] line on the expense side that just says transfer out and it's not assigned to

[17:37] any department. >> Okay? So that's where the highway truck

[17:41] is going out of the general fund now, >> which means it didn't come out of the

[17:46] police, which it's more transparent and accurate to show that police spending is

[17:50] actually 649, which was only 68% of its total budget.

[17:55] » Thank you. >> Yeah, appreciate that.

[17:56] » Yeah, I'm glad Sue agreed that that could happen.

[18:03] » Any last questions for Mr. Hopkins on his report.

[18:08] » Yep.

[18:17] Lar Brandon, I just want to say thank you on the record for um you all paying

[18:25] attention, hearing people's needs in the town and doing such a great job with the

[18:32] budget and um trying new angles and being open to hearing people talk about

[18:39] ideas because this is a wonderful thing as a [clears throat] person in talented

[18:45] Heaper that you're able to do your budget, be on target, have some savings,

[18:50] have a pot of money that you can pay off bills with. That's just delightful. And

[18:57] not everybody's in that place. So, thank you all for that. I know it takes a lot

[19:02] of work and a lot of stress. And thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate

[19:08] it.

[19:14] Um, is there anything you want to touch on on the project tracker or not? We're

[19:18] just information to us all. And >> so, yeah, it's information. Um, if

[19:22] there's any questions about specific projects, the Union Street sidewalk, um,

[19:26] the state has authorized engaging the engineers to assist with moving that

[19:31] further along. Um, the McConnell Road culvert, I'll go quickly through all of

[19:35] it, I guess. um we we either need to start from scratch or we need to get um

[19:41] design uh engineering done on it and that's difficult based on the

[19:48] the initial engineering firm is I guess not interested in doing the design

[19:52] engineering. Um Bill has someone coming in to quote the actual resurfacing of

[19:59] the multi-use court like with you know kind of traditional tennis court

[20:02] surfacing. Um, and that can be taken care of with the ARPA that was set aside

[20:08] and with some penny Esther Brookbrook estate money that was designated for

[20:11] Estherbrook Ark, the North Street Bridge. Um, you did the scoping study.

[20:16] It's ready and all we have to do now is get in the right spot, in the right line

[20:20] for some construction money to build the replacement bridge. There's no active uh

[20:25] FEMA buyouts right at this moment. Um and there may that may be slowing down

[20:30] or it or it may come back. Energy navigators are still working. The nifty

[20:37] thrifty uh gift uh the police department solar is is working and uh making

[20:42] electricity all the time. The Conan Square solar is not yet hooked up, but

[20:47] it's it's basically getting ready to be hooked up. The new highway department um

[20:52] is an agenda item later. the hazard mitigation plan. I would just

[20:57] ask for a little bit of patience. Jackie uh believes that she has found a route

[21:02] to a solution here. Uh and then there's a a recommendation that I have in here

[21:07] for a project you don't know about, which is sidewalk repair on West

[21:10] Seminary Street. As many of you know, there are a number of folks who live up

[21:15] um on West Seminary Street who use mobility devices and power scooters and

[21:19] things like that. And um a lot of them live at the Nesabe House which is on the

[21:24] west side of West Seminary. They then can get on the sidewalk but the sidewalk

[21:28] on the west side ends right kind of abruptly before it connects even to this

[21:32] building. So the um concept would be to get some crosswalks laid out from west

[21:39] side of West Seminary to the east side. But we will need to do some repair on

[21:43] the sidewalk in front of the old Brandon High School. If you've walked that

[21:46] stretch, that is a it's a poor sidewalk. It's um it it's really just kind of like

[21:51] a hump of asphalt. So that's a suggestion. It would be something you

[21:55] could look to use 1% money for or fund balance money for that kind of thing.

[22:00] Won't be a large project. Certainly would not be a project I would say would

[22:04] be warranting a grant application from the state because that will make it, you

[22:09] know, very complex. And the last line is, you know, going to be a

[22:13] disappointment, but um we owe a few parking spots. The town owes a few

[22:19] parking spots over by the Baptist church which were pledged in writing uh during

[22:26] segment six. And it's a very challenging site. There's a fire hydrant, there's a

[22:32] telephone pole with an anchor wire, there's sidewalks and storm drains and

[22:38] all kinds of stuff that it's it's got to be done and we don't yet have a feasible

[22:44] workable design. And I just threw in the engineers estimate which is a little bit

[22:49] old and which is a little bit more involved than I think the solutions that

[22:54] we're trying to get toward

[23:01] » questions on this report.

[23:10] Oh, go ahead. Please. Yeah. Brett Buer again. I I walk Union Street

[23:18] almost every day and when I talk to the folks some of the folks there, they have

[23:22] no idea about the sidewalk project. So maybe something needs to go out to

[23:27] inform everybody on the on the street. Well, I don't know. Maybe they don't

[23:32] need easements or something, but >> Well, they definitely need easements.

[23:35] And so the engineer is going to help facilitate a group meeting as well to

[23:39] inform them about where we're at. >> Okay. because I I was kind of surprised

[23:42] how often we talk about it and yet nobody on the street really knew about

[23:46] what was going on.

[23:50] » Bill, did you have a community development report?

[23:53] » I do have a verbal one. Uh yeah, I didn't submit a printed report. U so

[23:57] just two items on there. One, uh around recreation, we have a new functional

[24:02] fitness class that's going to be taught downstairs here uh on Tuesdays,

[24:06] Thursdays. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. This is for folks that might be

[24:11] wanting to work on mobility, uh, balance. Um, it's a class that tends to

[24:15] be popular with the average brain resident. Um, you know, working on

[24:22] balance. Um, then they do these classes up at East View and they're insanely

[24:26] popular. So, we decided to operate here downstairs offices town hall. Um, and we

[24:32] also have uh an update. [gasps and sighs]

[24:35] I went with folks from the chambered economic development of the Rutland

[24:38] region as well as uh the community health centers of the Rutland region and

[24:42] they are the folks that operate uh Brandon Medical Center on Steinberg Road

[24:47] and they're in the process of securing funding to do a large expansion um in in

[24:53] Brandon to offer more services.

[24:58] I guess it's G. Yes, I mean yeah sorry. Yes, Gro Street. Yes, it will still be

[25:04] access from Gro Street, but they plan on doing expansion offering more services.

[25:08] As a part of that, they've uh applied for a Northern Border Regional

[25:12] Commission's catalyst program uh pre-application grant, and they asked

[25:16] the town to step in to make their uh application look a little more um

[25:24] community oriented. Um, as a part of that, uh, if they were awarded the

[25:28] grant, we would get some funding with no match to provide some more amenities at

[25:34] Esesterbrook and trying to connect Estherbrook to the Park Village

[25:37] residents. There's 4 to 500 people up there that would have easier access to

[25:41] Estherbrook as well as some possible equipment improvements at Esesterbrook

[25:46] if they get this uh, grant. That's my report.

[25:51] » Questions for Mr. Moore from the board? questions for Mr. Moore from the public.

[25:59] Mr. Moore is off the hook. Um, thank you. Um, item eight,

[26:08] uh, consider redesign phase proposal for replacement of the highway facility.

[26:15] Uh, may include appropriation of $10,000 from local options tax or another fund.

[26:21] Mr. Hopkins. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. So, uh, in

[26:26] the packet you have the letter from Co and Co. and an outline of what they

[26:31] could do. Um, this constitutes a pre-esign phase, right? They came down,

[26:37] um, without any cost to the town. They came down and did look at the site. Uh I

[26:43] was there, Bill was there, Ralph was there, uh Jeremy Dorta, our highway

[26:48] chief was there, and we kind of explored different aspects of the site as it

[26:53] exists now and challenges and just kind of a little bit of a general idea of

[26:57] what the town was looking for in terms of putting in some safe and um energy

[27:04] efficient and weathertight um working conditions for our highway department.

[27:10] So um there the recommendation is laid out here with first some meetings um

[27:17] with folks in Brandon again like a more formal set of meetings with the highway

[27:21] department. A more formal meeting with the whole select board and the public

[27:26] about what priorities are and what funding might be available. Some

[27:30] alternatives and then some code and permitting um considerations. And then

[27:37] um the construction cost estimate that we could use to go to the voters and ask

[27:42] the voters if they would consider issuing a bond. Um we would go at town

[27:47] meeting and ask if they would consider issuing a bond um to build a new highway

[27:52] department. So this is one proposal. It's not the only way to do things, but

[27:57] these folks had been successful in building, I would say, um, similarly

[28:03] scaled highway department buildings in Vermont in Glover, Vers, Sheffield, and

[28:09] Sharon. And we kind of were basically you get a little bit of cost

[28:16] efficiency with them not reinventing the wheel, so to speak, in terms of like a

[28:20] basic design. I wouldn't say any of them were fancy fancy. Um, the plans that

[28:26] they brought down that were more detailed were from Sheffield, which was

[28:30] last year. And, you know, they did have some stuff that we might or might not

[28:35] think was necessary in Brandon. They had a a radiant floor heating system, which

[28:40] our highway department really would like to have, but they also had a second

[28:44] boiler with blowing, you know, heat exchanger kind of heat. So there was two

[28:49] heating systems in the same garage to de ice trucks, you know, and things like

[28:54] that. I also asked them as part of their scope of work. I gave them the site plan

[28:59] that we have for what we've got up there now, which has the wetlands delineation

[29:03] that Bill got from the state. Um, basically shows what's wetland we have

[29:08] to stay out of, what's buffer zone we have to stay out of, and what's

[29:12] available to work with. Um and then I also asked them to consider the salt

[29:17] shed because our salt shed is not sufficient um in size or really in

[29:24] condition at this point to think about working around it. So that's going to be

[29:28] something that they're going to also take into consideration.

[29:33] So if um this is one way to get the project off the ground and if you want

[29:38] to get the project off the ground with them um I think you'll find them

[29:41] responsive to you know what we had for concerns and the the estimate or the

[29:47] quote is for $10,000 which you could do from the local option tax or the fund

[29:53] balance. My recommendation is always to spend it from the most restrictive fund

[29:57] that is eligible, which would be the local option tax, because this would

[30:01] clearly be a capital project. This would be the down payment on a capital

[30:04] project, and that would leave you more flexibility in the fund balance of the

[30:08] general fund.

[30:13] » Questions from board? Yeah.

[30:19] Is this is is this like a normal cost to do something like this? Is this a Does

[30:26] anybody have any experience? I have no clue on if this is a

[30:30] » I mean we um you know we scoped out the forestale path at like what did that

[30:35] cost? >> $45,000. I mean prelimin and that also

[30:40] was not like buildable construction design, right? So, this is kind of I

[30:45] think a a pretty [gasps] pretty standard um or I think this is

[30:51] actually a good value again because they've got this little mini This is not

[30:56] all they do is build highway barns. They build lots of things and they just

[30:59] happen to have built four highway departments in Vermont in the last seven

[31:03] or eight years. Um I think we're getting a little bit of cost efficiency from

[31:07] that. I understand it's, you know, $10,000. It's a big number. It is a big

[31:11] number, but we're not going to be able to

[31:15] build this the way that Well, I mean, you can you can consider it, right? I

[31:20] mean, we can consider building this kind of like really on on a shoestring just

[31:24] on our own, but we're going to run into some pretty serious

[31:29] um environmental concerns up there because of what we have there now and

[31:34] the wet ones that adjoin so closely. So, I think we've got to do this in a very

[31:39] professional way. And to me, spending this money, investing this money to make

[31:45] sure that we're kind of like making the first decisions in the right direction,

[31:49] um, would be money well spent. Cuz if we start making the first decisions and

[31:53] we're going a little bit offkilter, by the time we get to the other end, we'll

[31:56] be far off of, you know, what would be acceptable in in modern construction

[32:01] kind of terms.

[32:07] Um, can you just touch on when we're when we're planning to be ready and go

[32:12] to bond vote? So, so their their time frame is um on the

[32:18] third page and their schedule is about a an 8week process, right? So, it would be

[32:25] taking all of September and October really. So, which is why we can't vote

[32:30] this in November at the election. We won't be ready. So then after September

[32:34] and October when they're done, they'll deliver. They have that list of

[32:38] deliverables. They'll deliver to you. Here's a recommendation and an alternate

[32:43] uh kind of situation. And then we can spend time with them in December, even

[32:50] September, Octo November and December. You can spend some time like, well,

[32:55] let's let's not have that secondary heating system or let's make the salt

[32:59] shed this big and not that big or whatever we decide to do to kind of get

[33:03] the construction number to where we want it to be. And that would be November,

[33:07] December. Get ready for publication in January, have some public have a public

[33:12] hearing before town meeting and vote it at town meeting in March.

[33:17] That's the >> not not at town meeting that that

[33:20] election day >> papers on paper Australian ballot all

[33:23] the voters >> let's say yes

[33:25] » but in conjunction with that election in March

[33:30] you can see the last page of the little uh section in the packet is not from

[33:34] them it's from the bond bank and that's the anticipated payment if it were to

[33:39] cost $3 million which I think is possible

[33:44] uh depending on what they come up with as an order. They tell me as an order of

[33:48] magnitude, this is not um is not far off what what their ballpark guess would be.

[33:54] So $3 million if you look in that furthest right table that says annual

[33:58] debt service schedule. Um the first year is high and then it goes down from

[34:03] there. But essentially you're paying $150,000 of principal every year and

[34:08] then you're paying interest in in descending amounts from $125,000 down to

[34:13] $3,000 per year. What essentially it would mean to do this without raising

[34:19] taxes is you'd need to take all the money that is in the town's budget now

[34:25] to pay the segment six bond and use all of that and then you'd need an equal

[34:31] amount and for the first few years a slightly greater amount than that to

[34:34] come out of the 1% money to pay the total bond payment without raising

[34:38] taxes. So basically 50/50.

[34:48] It's a big um commitment of the 1% money on a long basis, a 20-year loan. Um but

[34:57] it's it's a way to do it without raising taxes.

[35:01] And that's if it's $3 million. Maybe it will be less. I I would love it to be

[35:06] less. I don't know that it less.

[35:14] You're not committing to any of that. You know, we're just that's just for

[35:17] your information and pondering

[35:23] » discussion from the board.

[35:30] » I can tell you I met with Seth today. I looked at I was a proponent for the hoop

[35:35] building that we put up there a few years ago. Um, I used to get a a farm

[35:42] tech magazine pretty regularly about farm type buildings and the hoop

[35:45] building and I see that they're used in highway departments all over the place.

[35:50] Um, and that building has worked out really well for us at a not a big amount

[35:57] of money. Um, and so I went back into my repertoire of farm type stuff and

[36:06] there's a company called Clear Span and they make either hoop or metal buildings

[36:12] that can be insulated in whatever. So I passed that information on to Seth just

[36:17] saying, you know, we should look at every option if we have from now until

[36:21] December to make a final decision. And I don't know if Clear Span would be better

[36:28] or worse or cheaper or more expensive, but I I I did go through their web page

[36:34] and they had buildings in there that are being used for fire departments and um

[36:41] town highway garages, etc. So, it's just a matter of now maybe reaching out to

[36:46] them or or whatever. So, I mean, I like to

[36:51] » um you gave me the information enough to get, you know, get a quote from them or

[36:55] get an estimate from them or get their interest. Yeah.

[36:58] » Yeah. >> I will do that.

[37:00] » Um Yeah. Yeah, cuz I I have to say when when we started discussing this a year

[37:06] and a half ago, it was hoped that, you know, oh, we're just going to pack cash

[37:10] in segment six bond and have another bond to be of the equal amount. And when

[37:15] we're looking at three million bucks, it's likely. So, um, you know, it's just

[37:20] a matter of trying to see what numbers come in and they may come in lower than

[37:24] that. So, but clearly our building is in pretty bad shape. I mean, I guess as a

[37:31] very first step, like the select board kind of like being at consensus that

[37:35] yes, you want to build a new building up there is probably a great kind of

[37:40] resolutionish kind of finding. Like I don't if you're all on board with that,

[37:44] that's that's enough to start from. If if there's contrary opinions about that,

[37:50] we probably should air those out before we start spending money.

[37:55] » I'm certainly in favor of a new building. I mean, the building there is

[37:59] It was old 20 years ago. You know, it's uh uh actively leaking. It's not big

[38:04] enough for the trucks. It's just not doing a job. And as we've

[38:08] talked about, there's not really anywhere else on that site that makes

[38:12] any sense for it until you start hitting wetlands.

[38:18] I think we're just pouring heat right out right right out through the walls

[38:23] and roof indoors and it's an unacceptable works workspace. You know,

[38:29] the questions just becomes how big do we have to have take care of our trucks?

[38:34] You know, what's the what's the now need and what's the need for the next 10 or

[38:39] 15 years look like? So,

[38:45] anyone else? I like the thought of exploring that

[38:48] other option.

[38:53] » So if we're going to explore another option, do you want to move forward with

[38:57] code to be doing this engineering thing? Would we need this either way?

[39:03] » You'll need a you'll need some kind of site design phase. Yes. Because they're

[39:07] going to have to consider all of the components. It's like if we get in touch

[39:11] with Clear Span, they're going to assume like we've got the dimensions that they

[39:16] need and it's flat and it's clean. And in our case,

[39:20] » that's not the case. Like in our case, if it's the dimensions that we need,

[39:23] we've got a building sitting there that we've got to remove. And then we've got

[39:27] to think about the floor drains in the building and the systems that support

[39:31] that and so on and so forth. I did already kind of lob um co and co a

[39:37] thought that we had been talking about trying to connect the highway department

[39:41] to the town sanitary sewer so that the bathroom could be you know taken care of

[39:47] by getting it across the road into the Champlain pump station. I would perceive

[39:51] that to be probably an expensive component. And what's up there now is

[39:55] apparently a holding tank that just gets pumped on a fairly infrequent basis, but

[40:01] sufficiently pumped. And I I suggested to Co and Co, maybe we just don't even

[40:06] go down the road of, you know, forcing the wastewater into the pump station. We

[40:11] just plan on building a new modern holding tank system there. It should be

[40:16] less money. We won't be able to build a traditional on-site um leechfield kind

[40:22] of situation because of the constraints of the site

[40:32] » that we go forward with the ending code and code for a initial engineering

[40:36] phase. >> I'll second that.

[40:41] I think it's a step we need to go through no matter what.

[40:45] Any discussion? No discussion. All in favor

[40:50] of this say I. I. No. >> Thank.

[40:56] » Do you want to talk about how you want to fund that?

[41:00] » How we want to fund the 10,000? >> Right.

[41:05] um

[41:08] this moment I just I guess I go in your wisdom where I would say from last

[41:14] year's reserve first thing that can come out of the reserve or something

[41:20] » and I still like this idea of playing off police station but

[41:23] » no that's that's valid >> you know I I

[41:26] » I guess my maybe if you think about it this way the reserve money can always be

[41:31] added to 1% money for capital stuff, but the 1% money cannot ever be thrown into

[41:36] the general fund reserve. Do you know what I mean? So, I I I would prefer if

[41:42] you don't think it's difficult, I would prefer to spend it from the capital

[41:45] fund, which is the 1% money. >> It's fine with me. Y

[41:51] » Okay. >> Could you make a motion in that

[41:55] direction? >> I move that that $10,000 comes out of

[41:57] the 1% option tax. >> Thank

[42:01] you. >> All in favor? I

[42:02] » I >> thank you.

[42:04] » No one. Okay. Um

[42:10] knew that was going to be a long one. Number eight was going to drag us right

[42:13] down. [laughter] Um number nine, uh consider intram designation ratifying

[42:20] no parking zone between the gazebo and the monument.

[42:26] And that has been flagged off this week. I looked at it today and I agree with it

[42:31] 100% because it's just traffic accidents waiting to happen. Every time somebody

[42:35] tries to back up, it's too narrow. >> So if we you want to say anything about

[42:43] that because I'm ready to make >> Well, if the community, you know,

[42:45] doesn't have an awareness of what I wrote, maybe I'll just give a quick

[42:48] summary. So, we're talking about Central Park, the west end, there's parking on

[42:53] both the north and the south. And then there's a crosswalk from the fountain

[42:58] and between the fountain and the dispensary. The middle section, there's

[43:02] parking only on the north side toward the Brandon Inn. And then there's

[43:06] supposed to be no parking by the gazebo, but in practice, that's been a bus stop.

[43:10] And that's actually, you know, one of the designs that was allowed for. And

[43:13] then there's a crosswalk from 22 Park over toward the gazebo. And then the

[43:18] eastern end that goes toward Park Street, that's essentially just a

[43:21] two-way driveway, and there should be no parking in that at all. That's what uh

[43:26] we've had the police put up the temporary signage for. Um it really is

[43:30] starting to become something that is a perennial kind of every weekend when

[43:35] things are busy down there. Um there's a lot of cars and it does make it unsafe

[43:41] for motorists, pedestrians. um the bus that does come through. Um I I would

[43:46] recommend at least that eastern third uh be found to be no parking. And again,

[43:51] this is all what the board accepted from the design engineers of segment 6, but

[43:57] it never made it into the traffic ordinance. So, what I'm asking for

[44:01] tonight is for this to be done until like as a stop gap measure while the

[44:07] traffic ordinance kind of gets a full A to Z rewrite. It's a very complex

[44:14] ordinance. My preference would be that both the middle and the eastern side be

[44:19] signed for no parking along the park because that would allow you to back out

[44:23] of the Brandon in spots if you were parked in the Brand and I say the

[44:27] Brandon in spots. Those are not spots spots just for Brandon in guests. Those

[44:32] are public parking spots. The Brandon in has its own parking behind the inn. Um,

[44:37] anybody can use that for doing their their Brandon Commerce errands or

[44:40] whatever. Um, and I think it would be safer for all if there were no parking

[44:44] there on the side opposite.

[44:49] » Okay. Now, I make a motion that we uh >> What's

[44:54] Go ahead. >> What's enforcement going to be? How are

[44:57] we going to enforce that? >> Well, if you find so like if I just have

[45:00] the police put out posters, they can, you know, write tickets that will not

[45:06] stand up. If you find that this is a, you know, this is your directive, then

[45:12] it's like an ordinance in a temporary way and they can write tickets that will

[45:16] stand up. >> Okay. Good. Good. Cuz

[45:19] this isn't the only spot that we need to look at for fire. So that's so the the

[45:24] reason that I'm bringing this and I hadn't brought other stuff before is the

[45:28] select board has always wanted not to do peace meal tinkering with the traffic

[45:32] ordinance which is smart is a good idea. Um but the traffic ordinance is not even

[45:38] two meetings three meetings away from coming back to the select board. This

[45:42] the traffic ordinance is still in in quite a state of under review.

[45:49] Can they put some of those no parking signs right out here?

[45:53] » Well, that's what I'm saying. Like, really? No. Like, we we can't just like

[45:57] start willy-nilly placing no parking because those are not enforceable. They

[46:03] can do it for the parade for a brief period of time, but what I'm talking

[46:06] about is a more more permanent designation. Yeah.

[46:09] » So, we need to wrap up the parking in the street. we need to deal something

[46:13] with the traffic ordinance and um we can we can make an effort whether I think

[46:18] that the board had kind of determined that the traffic ordinance was going to

[46:22] be looked at separate from the other the main ordinance review right of all of

[46:26] the the book of ordinances and policies. So maybe we just need to prioritize

[46:31] doing that before you get into the the sticky wickets of the the main review of

[46:35] the book.

[46:39] » Okay. Okay. So, I'll make a motion that we uh designate no parking zone between

[46:44] the gazebo and the monument. Um, actually, I think it should start at the

[46:50] crosswalk. >> Yeah.

[46:52] » Down at uh where where the parking on that side of the road ends all the way

[46:57] down. >> So, the middle section between the two

[47:00] crosswalks and eastern section that's toward Park Street. None of that is

[47:04] painted as parking spots and people are parking there and

[47:08] » it's a problem. >> That's my motion.

[47:12] » I will second that >> discussion.

[47:16] And just to be clear, we are not touching the parking spots in front of

[47:18] the brand, but everywhere else is >> correct. All in favor?

[47:24] I >> I

[47:25] » I post

[47:28] no one you if the should be current once what that looks like I can give you that

[47:34] okay half

[47:39] » okay well there you get to get up >> pictures of circles and arrows and

[47:44] everything there um [clears throat]

[47:49] » yes

[47:52] Make your way. >> Barbrier,

[47:55] » Barb Scribner, I had a question. So those parking spots

[48:00] there, the bus that comes or buses, can we put some lined items painted that say

[48:07] loading zone for bus or >> Yes.

[48:09] » something to designate so people realize that they are allowed to do that for the

[48:15] community. >> Yep. They've been they've been done in

[48:17] the past. The town crew is happy to put them down. They get ignored. they get um

[48:22] you know messed up in the winter like they have to be done every spring

[48:25] » just like the crosswalks. Yeah, [gasps] we can definitely do it.

[48:33] Okay, moving on. Item 10. Uh item 10 says followup request on road

[48:40] closure Pearl Street for the harvest dance October 2nd.

[48:46] » I was looking to provide some more information to you guys. uh the last

[48:49] meeting when I brought this upation some questions asked about uh safety and the

[48:56] like um since the last meeting reached out to chief

[49:03] chief and both were had no issues with this

[49:09] being a closure spoke with uh Andy Jackson of the

[49:16] rescue squad. He had some concerns um saying the response time they

[49:21] experienced when they had during the flooding uh had about five minutes

[49:25] response time on both long swap short swap.

[49:32] some concerns about that and the possibility another road were closed

[49:36] that night that that might need to be bypassure

[49:57] things happen

[50:01] the barn out having somebody monitoring scanner make sure there was no issue the

[50:07] barn sorry the covered bridge is our guess the covered bridge um cover um

[50:13] it'll be able to clear that up fairly quickly in a safe man

[50:18] and that was that road that had be closed say champ street

[50:24] that we could end the dance early open up streets

[50:31] So many streets. Um so the uh so that was around the safety concerns. Um there

[50:36] was uh there's a question about whether or not Barn Opera was on board to

[50:40] collaborate. I provided you um all four of you uh

[50:46] here into the record if anybody wants to hear it. Um dear select board, my name

[50:50] is Josh Kier. I'm the artistic director of Opera Vermont in Barn Opera. I'm

[50:54] writing on behalf of the board of directors of our organization support

[50:58] Brandon and Connie Wright events and I'm delighted to be a part of why I have

[51:01] will no doubt be an annual event. It's vitally important for our community to

[51:05] continue to find ways to innovate, create and provide cultural

[51:07] opportunities for all of us with the proximity of the Sanderson Bridge to the

[51:11] Barn Opera House. It benefits all of us to open our beloved space to our

[51:15] community to remind all of us that Barn Opera House is not just for opera but

[51:18] rather for community events providing another beautiful event space in Brandon

[51:22] area for million different purposes. We're grateful for the offer to

[51:25] collaborate on this event and hopefully others like it in the future. I know

[51:28] that we all look forward to the remarkable sess success that is

[51:33] to be sending all my best on behalf of the board of directors of Barn Opera

[51:36] Inc. Josh Kier. There's a PS. Uh, my daughters Lily and Chloe are already

[51:40] picking out their best fall dancing outfits for the event. So, how can I

[51:43] possibly again be against this very fun event

[51:48] and that is

[51:52] I mean I mean I do have some covered bridge people here I think if they'd

[51:55] like to speak to their excitement about it as well.

[52:02] » Scott, 69 Park Street. Um, I'd like to say that I'm here on behalf of the board

[52:08] of the Mont Crumb Ridge Society, but I haven't received all of the votes back

[52:12] uh for full support, but I can tell you that you have my full support. I'll be

[52:16] there. I will um donate my time. I'll come and help clean up afterwards uh

[52:21] because I think it's a great, you know, great way to uh promote our bridge, our

[52:28] covered bridge here in town. So I thank all you guys for, you know, coming up

[52:32] with this opportunity to to do that. We need to keep our uh focus on our bridges

[52:38] and um so yeah, thank you very much and I will let you know as soon as I hear

[52:44] back from my board. I' I've I need to have the full boards, you know, approval

[52:48] before I can come up here and say we're going to support you 100%. But I can

[52:52] tell you that um I have submitted a uh article in our newsletter which is

[52:57] getting ready to come out um just promoting the uh event. So um I know all

[53:03] of the Coverbridge Society members are going to see that it's going on, but I'd

[53:07] like to also do uh once I get approval, I'd like to do a shout out to all our

[53:11] members and just say come to Brandon, check it out, come see our bridge

[53:15] because we're proud of it. So thank you very much.

[53:20] Yeah.

[53:25] Dan Culage. So when you talk about closing a road,

[53:30] to me it needs to be something major. It's not a small thing to close. You're

[53:38] using Barn Opera. They couldn't hold the dance in the in the building. And you

[53:45] could just maybe close the road for an hour so people could check out the

[53:48] bridge and walk around. do a shorter part that's on the bridge for road

[53:54] closure and then have everything else in the barn opera or a different location.

[54:01] To me, you know, you're setting a precedent. You keep closing roads for

[54:05] this and that the other thing. And to me, that should be your last resort to

[54:11] close a road that, you know, can't you accomplish the

[54:15] same thing having tours of the bridge, you know, have it closed for a short

[54:19] period of time, not for four or five hours?

[54:23] I'm just wondering >> if they thought that answer.

[54:29] » Um, sure. I mean, I think what the genesis of this idea is that we're

[54:34] not the first people to think about doing this.

[54:37] There's a a place New Hampshire, was it Jackson, New Hampshire? Jackson, New

[54:41] Hampshire that does this. This is would be a kind of fun, cool event. And road

[54:45] closure is a big deal, which is why the select board needs to needs to approve

[54:49] it. Um, but this is not the only time we ever vote to close roads. And since

[54:54] 1976, we voted to close the road, Route 7,

[54:59] major north south thort

[55:05] opportunity for a fun event. I'm I'm just saying it's I'm just I'm just

[55:09] trying to say like like we do close roads.

[55:14] » You know, my my proposal was to clo to close the road from 5 to 10. It would be

[55:18] five hours. The event itself would be 3 hours in the middle of that time. And

[55:23] then, you know, in either side of that, you know, like as quickly as we can

[55:26] clean out the bridge, you know, the bridge could be open at 9:15

[55:29] potentially. I mean, people have gone at 8:30. I mean, it's But I wanted to make

[55:33] sure that the that we had a solid be uh beginning as

[55:40] the end would allow the opportunity to open the road more easily. And again,

[55:44] that the folks on either side of the bridge um would have access to their

[55:49] homes. The sign closing the road will be at Corona Street, but anybody beyond

[55:53] Croner Street down to the last driveway before the bridge on this side of the

[55:58] bridge would have access to their homes. And conversely, everybody on the other

[56:02] side of the bridge would have access to their homes from the other side.

[56:07] » I spoke out against this at the last meeting.

[56:11] I think it's a great event. I don't think it's a good place to have it. Not

[56:14] in a bridge. And uh

[56:19] I'm not going to be in favor of it. I don't think it's great for the residents

[56:22] of Pearl Street or the people on Short or Long Schlom. [clears throat]

[56:30] » Opinion. Um, I could kind of go either way on it. Um, in the interest of

[56:36] fairness, we did get I think Alma Lakeboard got an email from a Pearl

[56:39] Street resident who was pretty strongly opposed

[56:43] uh to the event. We also have this one that is very strongly in favor from a

[56:45] Pearl Street resident. organization director. Um so clearly it

[56:52] is not firmly in one direction or the other. Um I hear the argument that

[56:58] closing a bridge is and closing a road is

[57:01] a major significant thing. I also hear the argument that this could be another

[57:06] way to put Brandon on the map in the fall. Um

[57:12] I'm on the fence. We have a

[57:16] » Yeah. >> Yeah. Uh Cecil had asked at the last

[57:20] meeting about what the residents down there think of it. We've got two. Have

[57:24] we asked any others?

[57:29] » I spoke with on Long Swamp Road.

[57:34] » Oh, it was on Long Swap Road and she had no concerns, but she works in the town

[57:38] offices. Full disclosure.

[57:42] And we have we have other parks in town. We got Eststerbrook. There's plenty of

[57:48] other facilities that could have the event. I know it's not a covered bridge,

[57:52] but you are correct. We could do a dinner

[57:57] brook or any of our downtown parks. I think the idea of the the bridge has its

[58:04] own interesting

[58:08] flavor to it, which is is good. Um, I understand your your concerns and I

[58:16] talked with Seth and Bill today on on mine and said I'm in the same particular

[58:20] boat that in one hand I'd love to see it happen and another hand

[58:25] I'm on the fence. I wonder if this would be an item to table for another two

[58:30] weeks till we have our full board here, but that's up to the board. I

[58:35] » And I think in fairness, I'll make a motion we table this for two weeks.

[58:41] » I'll second that. >> Okay. And we have a motion to table it

[58:44] for two weeks. Uh any discussion on that official

[58:49] motion? >> We could put out a bulletin to street

[58:53] folks. I think that would be >> go door to door to the folks on the

[58:57] street that you want to give me give me addresses

[59:02] besides Pearl Street in addition what other street sorry I don't go out that

[59:07] much that way what other street would you be the um

[59:14] » I person would be Pearl Street the other side of

[59:18] Pearl Street a couple houses there then you get the long swap and it's kind of a

[59:22] long stretch

[59:26] No other street. >> You can take long swim. You go up over

[59:29] Marshall Phillips, end up on High Pond Road. Yeah.

[59:33] » Yeah. >> And and come in on

[59:35] » as they say, you can get there from here. There's there's a lot of different

[59:38] ways to skin that cat as far as, you know, but immediate impacts I would be

[59:43] the folks on. I would say there's only one house on that side of the bridge you

[59:48] should talk to and on this side there's everybody out the corona. That make

[59:53] sense? >> Absolutely.

[59:55] » Yeah. >> But on this side everybody that's there

[59:57] can get access in and out during the entire time of the event.

[1:00:02] » Yeah. >> And they can get access into town and

[1:00:06] back to their house any time during the event.

[1:00:08] » Right. I I don't think Cecil's concern was access. I think she her was

[1:00:13] » knowledge of it and that they were on board and that kind of stuff is what her

[1:00:17] concern >> you give me that not the absence of the

[1:00:20] houses but the streets that are the concerns.

[1:00:23] » I will go from house to house and and bring back that information or get a

[1:00:27] bill for two weeks from now so we can get an idea of the folks that it really

[1:00:31] is going to impact if it really impacts them. I'm not sure how many would impact

[1:00:38] that are that close to the bridge is what I I'm trying to visualize.

[1:00:44] Is there any way you can cut the time frame to

[1:00:48] » that's a consideration? I certainly um >> group seven for the July parade is like

[1:00:54] two hours and it's easy to get around that isn't. So if you cut it down

[1:01:03] instead of five hours, you know, that would make it a lot more doable and less

[1:01:10] chance of, you know, rescue had to, you know, time is a lot when you're the one

[1:01:15] needing rescue. So if you can cut that down, it might have a chance of having

[1:01:22] appreciate the suggestion. >> As the free DJ, I don't mind making it a

[1:01:26] shorter event. >> Yeah. And in defense of closing the

[1:01:28] road, I mean, we closed Park Street for numerous parades,

[1:01:35] um, you know, Memorial Day, Veterans Day.

[1:01:41] » So, >> well, if I could interject, I now live

[1:01:44] on the part of Park Street that nobody asks if you want it closed or not, and

[1:01:48] it's closed, and you can't get out of your driveway in a car on parade day.

[1:01:52] And it's always been that way. We get alerted by a slip of paper dropped into

[1:01:58] our mailboxes the night before by the volunteers who work hard to put on a

[1:02:02] great parade and it just says don't leave your driveway from like 8:00 in

[1:02:07] the morning until noon. [laughter] >> Feel like someone should talk to the

[1:02:10] town about that. >> Well, I don't think the select board

[1:02:12] votes to close Park Street Extension. I don't think that that's ever been part

[1:02:17] of the, you know, parade stuff. It's just street and the people on Pearl

[1:02:22] Street are not going to be inconvenienced at that level because

[1:02:25] they're always going to be able to get in and out of their driveways in a car.

[1:02:29] So, I feel like I don't mind that they close my road on Independence Day

[1:02:34] weekend and I can't get out in a car. Like, I feel like it's a very small

[1:02:39] inconvenience to pay for a really excellent community event. And, you

[1:02:43] know, we all live in community with each other. We don't have the privilege of

[1:02:47] living in island on islands and then just kind of going somewhere else for

[1:02:51] entertainment. Like to get entertained sometimes we all have to have a little

[1:02:55] skin in the game. And again, I really don't think the Pearl Street folks are

[1:02:59] going to have the same level of inconvenience as when they close Park

[1:03:03] Street from Marble Street out to Country Club Road for the Fourth of July parade.

[1:03:09] » Yeah. and worth saying that the house that is would probably be the most

[1:03:12] inconvenienced is strongly in favor of the event. So

[1:03:16] there is that. >> Okay. So we do have a motion in a second

[1:03:19] to table for until the next meeting. All in favor?

[1:03:22] » I I >> I Okay, we'll give you a final decision

[1:03:26] in two weeks. Um

[1:03:31] item 11, followup item um considering townwide

[1:03:36] reappraisal. You found out some more information. do have a little more

[1:03:40] information. Um, so I provided some to the board, but so the community knows,

[1:03:45] um, we have had some contacts with some of the towns, like getting some

[1:03:49] referrals and so forth, and that's been good. Jill Brooks at the town office is

[1:03:53] keeping a file of all of the information that we've got from the other towns.

[1:03:58] Essentially, um, it's widely the towns are satisfied

[1:04:03] with the assessing firms that they chose to assess their towns, right? So like in

[1:04:07] general um any of those four you'll find a prepoundonderance of the experience to

[1:04:14] have been positive uh by the towns that they've recently reappraised. The

[1:04:19] information that I shared with the board um that I think is worth the board

[1:04:23] thinking about is um is that our current professional assessor is through a

[1:04:30] contract with NEMRI which is the third firm listed on the chart that was in the

[1:04:35] summary. So she work she's an employee of

[1:04:39] Nerrich. The town pays Nerk to have her professional appraiser service, a

[1:04:44] professional assessor services in Brandon kind of on an ongoing basis.

[1:04:50] Nermeric has a policy that came to us um I think since the last meeting, right?

[1:04:56] We didn't know this at the last meeting. So, this is what I want you to think

[1:04:59] about. Nermeric will reappraise a town where somebody else is the assessor.

[1:05:05] But if Nememerch is the assessor and the town chooses someone else to reappraise,

[1:05:10] Nermch will not be the assessor anymore. Does that make sense?

[1:05:17] So if the board um were to select Nerk, we would likely maintain our current

[1:05:26] relationship with Nerk as our professional assessor. We don't have an

[1:05:30] in-house on staff assessor's clerk anymore,

[1:05:35] but we would be looking at a two at a at a summer of 2032

[1:05:40] townwide reappraisal completion date. Right? This is a long way off.

[1:05:45] If the town if the board were to choose one of the other three firms, we would

[1:05:49] then at the same time need to make a transition away from using Nerrich as

[1:05:55] our kind of on our our in-house assessor. we would need to find somebody

[1:05:59] else to do that. It's not impossible. It's just a significant uh consideration

[1:06:04] that I think bears thought

[1:06:10] » kind of boils down to is the extra weight time for NRIC worth not going

[1:06:15] through the hassle of it may boil down to that. Y

[1:06:21] » So you're not officially making a recommendation for us to make a decision

[1:06:25] on tonight >> here. I was I was uh looking for some

[1:06:29] maybe board sense or direction about what you

[1:06:34] preferred we we do. Yeah, >> I can say that I still was not excited

[1:06:41] about their completion date. Long way off.

[1:06:45] So you're saying that the New England

[1:06:48] Municipal and the Real Capital Consulting both had good references.

[1:06:53] » Yes. >> Yeah.

[1:06:54] » And so did Nerk in fairness? >> Yes. Oh yeah.

[1:06:56] » Yeah.

[1:07:04] » Clear as stone. One more time. >> Yes, please. Otherwise, Zoom can't hear

[1:07:11] you. >> You're going to have to learn to sit in

[1:07:12] the front row. >> Only the smart kids in the front.

[1:07:18] Claire, now I forgot what I wanted to know. So I I guess I don't like the idea

[1:07:24] of somebody um saying you stick with us and do it this way or we're done. So

[1:07:30] what is that about and why are they able to hold us on such a tight leash? Like

[1:07:38] what do they have so much of that we need?

[1:07:41] » We operate I don't want to speak for them but you know we operate in a market

[1:07:46] of very few providers of a specialty service.

[1:07:50] It is for nothing, >> right? Yeah. And and and it's to do with

[1:07:54] the fact that every town needs this kind of service and there's maybe well

[1:08:00] there's there's 14 total licensed firms in Vermont who can do this. A bunch of

[1:08:07] them won't even consider it because we're too far away from where they

[1:08:11] operate and they're a small firm, whatever, blah blah blah. So, we heard

[1:08:14] back from only six. Two of them declined to propose. We got the four. I mean the

[1:08:20] I don't want to speak for anybody for any of them. They all presented

[1:08:23] proposals. They all have um references that are solid. They all have track

[1:08:29] records in Vermont in towns our size or bigger or smaller. All of those things.

[1:08:36] The key drivers are dates and pricing and this other component of the

[1:08:43] relationship that you have. I mean, I did look around quickly after I got that

[1:08:48] news and I was like, well, what do the other towns do, right? And so, like,

[1:08:51] some of the other towns have an on staff assessor,

[1:08:56] part-time, full-time, whatever. It depends on the side of the town. I don't

[1:09:00] think that's a good option for Brandon. I really like that we pay an assessing

[1:09:05] firm that has professional licensed assessors and we pay them for the work

[1:09:10] that they do in Brandon at at a good rate. You know, like it's a it's a

[1:09:15] professional person's rate. It's not a a clerk's rate. Um that we used to have a

[1:09:21] clerk that worked in Brandon to support the assessor and we don't have that

[1:09:25] relationship anymore. I I think what we have is nice.

[1:09:29] Could we explore it with another firm? I I believe we could explore it with

[1:09:34] another firm. There's also the question of the software. Um many of them use

[1:09:39] different forms of assessing software. And that's one of the considerations is

[1:09:44] what's compatible with what we do now. Is it time for us to kind of refresh

[1:09:48] that or is it time for us to recommmit to it? Those kinds of things. It's it's

[1:09:52] a big decision. >> It is. Yeah. And it's a big process.

[1:09:55] » Yeah. So, I was just curious about why the leash with that company.

[1:10:02] » I mean, I I guess if you're going to kind of continue to do the support role,

[1:10:09] maybe this is like you do the support role expecting that when the big job

[1:10:14] comes, like we don't pay the assessor even $20,000 a year, right? We get our

[1:10:20] assessing done for in the teens of thousands of dollars a year. And when it

[1:10:26] comes time for the $250, $300,000 job, I maybe they believe they're owed some

[1:10:32] difference. I don't know.

[1:10:37] » Just a curios. >> Yep.

[1:10:38] » Thank you. >> I'd be curious to get a idea of the uh

[1:10:44] town office staff's opinion on whether the NMR software is worth sticking with

[1:10:49] or not. >> We could stick with the NRA software.

[1:10:53] Gotcha. that that's that's not in conversation.

[1:10:58] » We're to switch away from them or we might not necessarily that might not

[1:11:02] necessarily dovetail with whatever. >> It's a very technical question. I don't

[1:11:05] want to answer because I don't know the answer. Yeah, I understand what you're

[1:11:08] asking though and that's that's exactly what we need to consider.

[1:11:13] » Just trying to get an idea of the I don't need to know everything but like

[1:11:16] the >> leg work involved. The NEMIC grand list

[1:11:18] will still work, right, >> if we put values in it from some other

[1:11:22] software that's done a townwide reappraisal. I believe we've had that

[1:11:25] experience in the past actually.

[1:11:32] » So then I think we take this as an FYI and you're going to come back to us more

[1:11:36] information later. >> Yep.

[1:11:39] » Okay. Bingo. >> This I did I did talk with the state

[1:11:42] property valuation and review department like specifically about it and um our

[1:11:48] person who's in charge of making sure Brandon is like you know assessing

[1:11:52] fairly and so forth. She indicated that the completion date was less of a

[1:11:59] concern to them because they're aware that there's a limited number of firms

[1:12:02] that can do this. And what they want to um be sure is that we're in a process

[1:12:09] that's going to lead to a a full reappraisal in a and that that's that's

[1:12:14] their main concern less the time. >> Yeah,

[1:12:19] » we may have other we may have our own reasons to want the time to

[1:12:22] » say Mr. Buer. Yeah, scrap Ber. What was the software that gives us so much

[1:12:28] trouble? Is that the billing one for utilities or there?

[1:12:33] » Well, there was one that that you said [gasps]

[1:12:37] » budget >> is problematic

[1:12:39] » and budget workshops. So, NEMRI is like a big umbrella and there are little

[1:12:46] modules within NEMR and the town uses a lot of them and um I believe all of what

[1:12:52] we use for like assessing and water and sewer bills and um the grand list and

[1:13:01] property taxes and the general ledger. I believe these are all NEMR modules and I

[1:13:07] don't think we have another software that's driving anything except maybe

[1:13:12] your wreck stuff is like living off on its own like my wreck platform or

[1:13:17] something, right? Yeah. >> So, it is NERC that we spoke of in the

[1:13:21] past that that is kind of touchy. >> It it can be it can be hard to navigate.

[1:13:27] It's it's been uh used by Vermont towns for many many many many years and it's

[1:13:33] tailored for Vermont towns and it works for Vermont towns and um it's not really

[1:13:41] it's not really kind of been changed that I can understand. It's not really

[1:13:45] been modernized or updated or things of that nature.

[1:13:48] » So you're not unhappy with it. [laughter]

[1:13:51] » That's my question. So that mean >> it's come up before

[1:13:55] » as town manager I don't use much other than the general ledger right I go in

[1:13:59] and I make sure like this department that department I can see these things I

[1:14:02] can make some reports for the select board to consider the people who use

[1:14:06] NRIC all the day long are like Jackie who is human resources and Jill who is

[1:14:12] accounts payable and the town clerk and the deputy town clerk like those four

[1:14:15] people are in Nerrich all the day long in various parts of it and I I know that

[1:14:22] it does the job that they need it to do. >> Okay. Thank you.

[1:14:26] » And from my limited experience finding a robust data management software,

[1:14:32] none of them work that well. Find one that is robust and that is something.

[1:14:41] Okay, we'll wait for you to tell us about it another time.

[1:14:44] » Okay, now we're at the favorite part of the meeting. Item 12, public comment

[1:14:48] participation. And if you haven't commented and participated enough, you

[1:14:53] can come do it now. This is for items not on the budget or

[1:14:57] not on the agenda that you would like to have us put on a future agenda or

[1:15:02] something. Mr. Bill Bulock. >> Hello, Billy Bullock. Small Road.

[1:15:08] Apologize for not being here two weeks ago. Um I was up in Quebec City um

[1:15:13] enjoying some time away. Um on the way home um actually what I did was the

[1:15:18] other day I read in the minutes in the report from the last meeting about how

[1:15:24] we going to protect our covered bridge. Well coming back through Quebec um we

[1:15:29] decided turn off GPS and just point ourselves towards the sun and well

[1:15:33] that's kind of hard because you're going east and west a lot. So, but anyway,

[1:15:36] we're out in the country and we come across this

[1:15:42] probably 4in steel pipes in the ground with this big steam uh uh steel girder

[1:15:47] across the top of it. Of course, it's in French, but it did have height wise on

[1:15:52] it. And I said, "All right, well, there's got to be a bridge around here."

[1:15:54] You go around the corner and there's covered bridge. So, I saw that sign. I

[1:15:57] was like, "Yeah, that's pretty good idea." You know, you hit that steel

[1:16:01] light beam and you're going to stop in a hurry.

[1:16:05] So, we got to the other side and I looked up and I, oh, there's another

[1:16:10] steel girder in the air. Except that one had a big dent in it. And I looked in

[1:16:15] the rearview mirror and the bridge was pristine.

[1:16:18] So, you know, put the onus on the driver who

[1:16:24] wants to be the fool. Don't tear our bridges down. Put a big steel burn uh

[1:16:28] girder up there and let them hit that. That would be kind of fun and it's a lot

[1:16:33] cheaper to fix. So, a welder. So, something to think about.

[1:16:38] » Thank you very much.

[1:16:43] » Anyone else with a public comment? >> Yep. Come on, Scott.

[1:16:50] » That balance class myself. Um, thank you for bringing that up.

[1:16:55] Actually, Barbara and I saw the sign that there was a bridge and we went and

[1:16:58] took I've got a picture of that bridge and and the metal bar, which is very

[1:17:02] nice. Uh we've um approached the uh governor about helping fund the towns

[1:17:10] and putting the metal bars like that in front of all the bridges, but we've got

[1:17:13] a lot of uh push back on it. >> Um so we we actually uh approached a

[1:17:18] welding school and they made one for us in one of the towns. So, and it just

[1:17:24] recently got hit this last weekend. Saved the bridge, but it it killed the

[1:17:28] RV. Um, I just wanted to say again on the on

[1:17:32] the covered bridge. Um, that is something that the Vermont Covered

[1:17:37] Bridge Society is trying to do is is bring more um,

[1:17:43] you know, more attention to the bridges. And if we held something like that here

[1:17:47] in town, that would be great. I mean that's something that we are really

[1:17:51] focusing on and we just had a dinner at one of the covered bridges um up north.

[1:17:57] So uh the towns will be approached more about having more social events because

[1:18:02] it is a great way to bring the community together and then also you know support

[1:18:06] the bridges and we should you know really focus on trying to um

[1:18:14] have more events around the bridges. I mean, that's what the societyy's doing.

[1:18:18] But if we can build it up, then we could basically um, you know, bring in a lot

[1:18:24] of money for the town just just by having people come to tour and look at

[1:18:28] the bridges because it is something that there's only a handful of states that

[1:18:32] have them. So, we're Vermont, we're very lucky to have them. So, I just say, uh,

[1:18:37] when you guys do decide to vote on it, please vote yes because I think it'd be

[1:18:42] a great a great thing. And I'm really trying to get the Vermont Cover Bridge

[1:18:45] Society, you know, behind us also. So, um, if I can do that, we can promote it,

[1:18:50] you know, help promote it for, you know, more for you guys and then I can get

[1:18:54] more people down here to help out, uh, during the event. So, thank you again.

[1:18:59] » Thank you. >> Perhaps there's an opportunity there for

[1:19:02] fundraising for a steel contraption.

[1:19:09] » Anyone else? >> I had one thing. I I wanted I wanted to

[1:19:13] uh thank it's public record. I wanted to thank uh uh the scribers where they made

[1:19:19] a donation to help us replace uh a sign on uh on we had a missing pedestrian

[1:19:26] crossing crosswalk sign on Park Street. Um and they uh they reached out and made

[1:19:31] a donation and we now have our sign back there and we hope it stays there till

[1:19:35] the winter when we move them. But thank you guys for your donation.

[1:19:44] One last thank you from Claire. There have been hardly any um kids

[1:19:51] riding crazily on Park Street or I saw one kid today and I couldn't catch him.

[1:19:57] Went through on his scooter. I mean, I'm out there with my track shoes on now.

[1:20:02] Was going to chase him on my lawn mower, but I thought better. Anyway, thank you

[1:20:07] because the word is out. I I have heard from several people. My name was in the

[1:20:12] Rutland paper. I did not know the gentleman was on, which is fine, but I

[1:20:17] do think that it's made a difference. I know school starting soon, but I think

[1:20:22] there's a a a twinge of fear and awareness and um something is happening.

[1:20:29] The rain's not keeping the kids in or the idiot adults that were doing

[1:20:33] wheelies on 73. So, I'm glad that we talked about it and that people need to

[1:20:38] be safe. We sure don't need stupidity to ruin lives and not following the rules,

[1:20:45] but you're all about safety, not about freedom, but safe. So, thank you.

[1:20:50] » Thank you. >> I have a you

[1:20:54] have

[1:20:57] I was trying to get to Brian here. Go ahead. [laughter]

[1:21:00] So, when I was heading home from a meeting on Wednesday night last week,

[1:21:05] here's somebody coming down 73 towards town all in black on one of them scooter

[1:21:10] thingies. And I'm just like once he gets to the curves that the car came, he

[1:21:16] wouldn't even have seen him. So then another day I'm heading home and I'm

[1:21:20] going by the Forestdale post office. You know how you round in the corner? Two

[1:21:24] kids were on their little scooters and the one ended up on the in he he

[1:21:31] put it down. He ended up on the pavement, but if I'd been 5 seconds,

[1:21:37] he wouldn't have been able to stop and I would have hit him. And the look on his

[1:21:40] face when he was in the the ground, you know, it was like that was close. His

[1:21:46] buddy was a hair behind him, so he was able to stop. you know, he scooted it

[1:21:51] this way, but that kid wasn't able to or I would have hit him because I wouldn't

[1:21:55] have had time to react. That's how they don't realize. And maybe they will now,

[1:22:00] but >> they might.

[1:22:02] » Yeah. >> This where Doug Bailey makes his stupid

[1:22:05] remarks. He says five more seconds. Right.

[1:22:08] » I have two two tiny quick things on that.

[1:22:10] » Okay, go for it. Um, first off, I've said it before,

[1:22:14] eventually someone's going to die, and I don't want

[1:22:18] that to happen, and we should all be very vigilant to make sure that doesn't

[1:22:22] happen. Um, I did have a really good conversation with a a parent of young,

[1:22:26] you know, bike riding kids, um, who isn't keyed into selectboard stuff and,

[1:22:31] you know, um, and really just didn't realize the extent of the problem and

[1:22:35] that their children were probably participating in it. Um, and they made a

[1:22:40] very clear point to me that once they were aware of it, they are going to put

[1:22:43] a kibaash on their kids behavior. So, if you know folks who might not be in the

[1:22:48] know of this discussion or if we can get that word out more, um, I think some of

[1:22:51] it is just people not being quite aware of the the severity of it.

[1:22:55] » I did I did think the Rutland Herald articles probably got the word out there

[1:23:00] a little bit too, so that helped. >> Motion to adjurnn.

[1:23:04] » Second. All in favor of joining say

August 24, 2026 Selectboard Meeting

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