NOTICE: There will be no third Selectboard meeting on October 29th.
The next Selectboard meeting date will be rescheduled to Wednesday, November 6th, due to the scheduling conflict caused by Election Day (November 5th).
| Selectboard Meeting Minutes |
| October 15th, 2024 6:30 pm Chelsea Town Hall |
| Call to Order |
| Kevin Marshia called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. SELECTBOARD Kevin Marshia (Present until 8:00 pm) Kelly Lyford (Present) Gregg Herrin (Present) Leyna Hoyt (Present) Jesse Kay (Present) TOWN EMPLOYEES Tierney Farago (Town Administrator) Rick Ackerman (Highway Supervisor) Kasey Peterson (Grants Administrator) Phyllis Hayward (Lister) Susan Elder (Lister) Frank Keene (Cemetery Commissioner) |
| Additions to the Agenda: None |
| Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None |
| Public Comments: None |
| Approve Minutes From October 1st 2024 |
| Leyna Hoyt made a motion to approve the minutes from October 1st; Gregg Herrin seconded the motion. Motion passed with five votes in favor. |
| Current Events and Updates |
| A. Draft Town Plan/Regional Plan |
| Peter Gregory from the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission attended the meeting to discuss the changing regional plan as it applies to Chelsea’s draft Town Plan. The Selectboard’s main concerns were regarding the change for principal retail to be only within the village center. Peter discussed the reasoning for the zoning changes, as well as the need for updating floodplains throughout the state. He will continue to work with Chelsea and other towns facing the same issues as they continue to update the regional plan. He recommended continuing with the current draft Town Plan so that Chelsea has one in place and has the ability to amend the plan in the future. The Selectboard agreed to move forward with the draft and set a date for the public hearing. Jesse Kay made a motion to schedule the Draft Town Plan hearing for November 19th; Leyna Hoyt seconded the motion. Motion passed with five votes in favor. |
| B. Pedestrian Bridge |
| Frank Keene presented specifications on the proposed bridge rebuild. Ben Rose from the Vermont Emergency Management department was in attendance to speak on the FEMA aspect of the project. He mentioned that moving forward with FEMA on the project can result in the Town using the funds for alternate projects after they cost it out. The Selectboard has considered the options and would like to move forward with the project in FEMA while Mr. Keene works on the bridge. Jesse Kay made a motion to move ahead with the pedestrian bridge; Leyna Hoyt seconded the motion. Motion passed with five votes in favor. |
| C. Lister: Reappraisal |
| Phyllis Hayward and Susan Elder brought to the Selectboard’s attention two corrections that needed to be made on the Grand List. They submitted the corrections to the Selectboard for approval and signatures. No official motion was made for this approval. They also made a recommendation for the Request for Proposals made for the Town’s reappraisal; NEMRC had the preferred proposal of $91,560.00 for the reappraisal to be conducted from 2027-2029. Jesse Kay made a motion to approve the bid from NEMRC for $91,560.00; Leyna Hoyt seconded the motion. Motion passed with five votes in favor. |
| D. Highway Update |
| Rick Ackerman provided the Selectboard with a salt invoice to be signed by a Selectboard member. Snow blowing for the town was discussed; Rick will speak with another employee to see if they would be willing to snow blow this winter if another road worker is not hired. He mentioned that we will be needing gravel as well. He also discussed the issue of trash at a home that is no longer occupied; he will be picking up the trash bags and taking them to the transfer station for disposal. In regards to the open road worker position, the Town Administrator will advertise on additional sites and the Selectboard agreed that it would be best to open the position for part-time/seasonal and full-time to attract more candidates. |
| E. Town Administrator Update |
| The Town Administrator reported that a meeting with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns regarding insurance for the pedestrian bridge was rescheduled. |
| F. Myers/Casella Trash Prices |
| The Town Administrator presented the current prices for trash collection from Myers and Casella. Casella is about $10 more each month than Myers. The Town Administrator will reach out to Casella and see if there is any way to get the price down below Myers. |
| Action Items |
| A. Approve Orders |
| Jesse Kay moved to approve the orders; Leyna Hoyt seconded the motion. Motion passed with four votes in favor. (Kevin Marshia had to leave the meeting early). |
| Executive Session If Necessary: None |
| Adjournment |
| **Before adjournment the Selectboard discussed the next meeting; it was decided that there would be no meeting on October 29th. The November 5th meeting will also be moved to Wednesday, November 6th due to Election Day.** Jesse Kay moved to adjourn the meeting; Gregg Herrin seconded the motion. Motion passed with four votes in favor. The Meeting was adjourned at 8:28 pm. |
Tax time is upon us! With the November 1st due date looming, the Town Treasurer’s office will have the following temporary hours from October 21st-November 1st:
Monday-Wednesday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Thursday-Friday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Please note that taxes are only taken in by the Treasurer or the Treasurer’s assistant.
| Selectboard Meeting Agenda |
| October 15th, 2024 6:30 pm Chelsea Town Hall |
| Call to Order |
| Additions to the Agenda |
| Conflict of Interest Disclosure |
| Public Comments |
| Approve Minutes from October 1st 2024 |
| Current Events and Updates |
| A. Draft Town Plan/Regional Plan |
| B. Pedestrian Bridge |
| C. Lister: Reappraisal |
| D. Highway Update |
| E. Town Administrator Update |
| F. Myers/Casella Trash Prices |
| Action Items |
| A. Approve Orders |
| Executive Session If Necessary |
| Adjournment |
| Links to join the Selectboard Meeting: https://meet.google.com/fwf-ayyb-acq https://www.youtube.com/@ChelseaVTSelectboardOfficial/streams |
if you would like to join please click on https://www.chelseavt.org/.
| Selectboard Meeting Agenda |
| October 1st, 2024 6:30 pm Chelsea Town Hall |
| Call to Order |
| Kevin Marshia called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. SELECTBOARD Kevin Marshia (Present) Kelly Lyford (Present) Gregg Herrin (Present) Leyna Hoyt (Present) Jesse Kay (Present) TOWN EMPLOYEES Tierney Farago (Town Administrator) Rick Ackerman (Highway Supervisor) |
| Additions to the Agenda |
| The Town Administrator added final signatures for a previously approved loan agreement for the Wastewater Plant upgrade project. The Selectboard had questions regarding the loan and what part of the earmarked funds would be used for the loan. The Town Administrator will follow up with the engineering firm to confirm. |
| Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None |
| Public Comments |
| Frank Keene and Tim Courts attended the meeting to express their frustrations with the ongoing process of attempting to rebuild the pedestrian bridge. Mr. Keene obtained a petition from numerous residents to allow work to be conducted to rebuild the bridge. The Selectboard heard these concerns and are working diligently along with the Town Administrator to find the means to properly rebuild the bridge by following all rules and regulations required. |
| Approve Minutes from September 17th 2024 |
| Gregg Herrin made a motion to approve the minutes from September 17th; Leyna Hoyt seconded the motion. Motion passed with 5 votes in favor. |
| Current Events and Updates |
| A. Town Administrator Update |
| The Town Administrator updated the Selectboard on the first meeting regarding the engineering study for the wastewater plant upgrade. FEMA meetings are still occurring to wrap up the projects for emergency work done last year. There have also been ongoing talks with ANR regarding the pedestrian bridge replacement. Further clarification is needed. |
| B. Highway Update |
| Rick Ackerman gave an update on the Grants in Aid projects that were completed for several areas around town. All projects went smoothly. He will be working on gravel and sand for future road work. There have been no additional applications for the open road worker position. |
| C. Transfer Station |
| The Selectboard discussed revenue and expenditure numbers provided by the Treasurer regarding the transfer station data of trash and recyclables received. Based on past year totals, the transfer station is currently breaking even rather than being over-budget. It appears that implementing tickets and recycle stickers have been helping alleviate costs accrued for the transfer station. |
| D. Quarterly Library Update |
| Kezia Frayjo presented a quarterly update on the happenings of the library. Currently their budget is healthy and they recently received a $20,000 grant to help upgrade the library/Town Hall to be more ADA accessible. They have had great success with after school programs, summer programs, the book sale, and certifications for the librarian. Their challenges include space needs and shared resources currently. Kezia requested a motion to remove 50% of the balcony chairs in Town Hall so the remaining chairs can be refurbished and the balcony can be cleared for more storage for books. The Selectboard agreed to add the item to a future agenda to have proper warning for the public. Kezia will work with the Town Administrator to reach out to the fire inspectors about the plans and ensure it is acceptable from a fire safety perspective. |
| E. Community Nursing Forum |
| Several community members and a representative from First Branch Ambulance attended to show support for acquiring a community nurse for the town. Jodi Hoyt, community nurse for Tunbridge, gave a summary of the program for those that may not have been looped in during previous Selectboard meetings. The Selectboard discussed the possibility of cost-sharing with the Chelsea Health Center in order to be able to fund the position. The Health Center will internally discuss what they may be able to offer financially. The Selectboard also heard some comments from residents who are concerned about tax raises to pay for the nurse position. Kelly Lyford mentioned that a contract position rather than a Town employee model would be the best fit for the Town if it moving forward with acquiring a community nurse. This item will be added to the October 15th meeting agenda to discuss further. |
| Action Items |
| A. North Common Landscaping |
| The Town Administrator brought up the topic of landscaping updates for the north and south commons from the previous meeting. There are funds in the budget to pay for services to infill areas, aerate, fertilize, and otherwise tidy up the commons. It was also confirmed that the expected monetary threshold is low enough to proceed with accepting services from the current mowing contractor. Work would be done on the commons on days that do not interrupt any scheduled events. Due to the expected pricing of the services (approx. $2,400), the Selectboard did not need to make a motion and agreed to let the Town Administrator proceed with executing the contract. |
| B. Town Forest Management Plan |
| David Paganelli, Orange County Forester, attended virtually but was unable to stay to discuss the Forest Management Plan. Kate Willard stepped in to elaborate on the plan for the Selectboard. The Management Plan includes timber sales and a path to both preserve and prune the forest as recommended by the foresters. Jesse Kay made a motion to adopt the Town Forest Management Plan from 2023; Leyna Hoyt seconded the motion. Motion passed with 5 votes in favor. The Town Administrator will follow up with the County Forrester to begin plans for following forest management. |
| C. Approve Orders |
| Leyna Hoyt made a motion to approve the orders; Gregg Herrin seconded the motion. Motion passed with 5 votes in favor. |
| Executive Session If Necessary: None |
| Adjournment |
| Leyna Hoyt made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Gregg Herrin seconded the motion. Motion passed with 5 votes in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 pm. |
| Selectboard Meeting Agenda |
| October 1st, 2024 6:30 pm Chelsea Town Hall |
| Call to Order |
| Additions to the Agenda |
| Conflict of Interest Disclosure |
| Public Comments |
| Approve Minutes from September 17th 2024 |
| Current Events and Updates |
| A. Town Administrator Update |
| B. Highway Update |
| C. Transfer Station |
| D. Quarterly Library Update |
| E. Community Nursing Forum |
| Action Items |
| A. North Common Landscaping |
| B. Town Forest Management Plan |
| C. Approve Orders |
| Executive Session If Necessary |
| Adjournment |
| Links to join the Selectboard Meeting: https://meet.google.com/fwf-ayyb-acq https://www.youtube.com/@ChelseaVTSelectboardOfficial/streams |