Selectboard

November 7, 2023 Selectboard Draft Town Plan Hearing Minutes (draft)

Present: Kevin Marshia, Kelly Lyford, Leyna Hoyt, Jesse Kay, Bill Lyon

Others Present: Karen Lathrop, Gayle Durkee, Gregg Herrin, Carrie Caouette-Delallo ,Susan Elder, Snook Downing, Anne Carroll, Wyatt Kay, Gayle Durkee, Mark Vermette Neil Kennedy, Rick Ackerman, Jessie Schmidt, Jessie Schmidt,Cheryl MacNeil, Kendra Densmore, Justin Densmore, Eve Desjardin, Kristianne Gale, Max Quayle, Deborah Quayle, Marty Gratz(online), Robert Harnish (online).

Hearing began at 6:01. Kevin read the hearing notice.

The goal is to take comments from the public on the Town Plan. Susan Elder questioned if the changes were highlighted. Kevin stated they were in the draft Town Plan for the Planning Commission hearing but not this version. He went through the timeline of the Planning Commission Hearing (September 7, 2023) to November 7, 2023. Greg Herrin from the Planning Commission confirmed the timeline.

Susan asked if there were changes to Forests and Parks. Greg reported no changes to that section. Greg Herrin stated there were factual changes in Demographics and substantial changes to the School section. Kevin reported there were some changes made to bring the plan into statutory compliance. Greg noted Town Plans were good for 8 years, but the Planning Commission could start the process over at anytime to make changes. Kevin reported the Board found out in the spring that the plan had to be in place by November 16th.  Kevin thanked the Planning Commission Board members for their service as the Town Plan was under a time constraint for completion and as such they did not make any major overhaul of it.  Members of the Community stepped up and made that happen. There was discussion on Chelsea Design Control and Chelsea Historic District which was not in the Town Plan. Greg reported challenges with writing parts of the Flood Plains but they found out there would be some remapping coming but no dates set for it. Kevin noted under land use there were a few areas in Town that were commercial and mixed use and Greg affirmed there were no changes to that. Anne asked if the Town would be looking at zoning changes.  Kevin noted the Town & Planning Commssion signed a grant with TRORC to start the process of bylaw review.  The Board stated that guiding principle was to keep our Town Plan current so there would not be any impacts to the Town from Act 250 perspective. Kevin read the adoption of the Town Plan & Maps and a resolution for Energy.  There was a brief discussion on the Energy Resolution. It was there to give the Town more leverage with solar projects. It was noted the adoption would need to be done at the Selectboard Meeting.

No further comments. Hearing closed at 6:18 PM

The Town of Chelsea invites the submission of project bids to repair storm damage to two sites on Town Highway #8 Edwards Road

Project Scope:
The contractor will be responsible for two sites: Sites known as 4 and 5. These sites will be marked on Monday, 23 October 23. Highway Foreman Rick Ackerman will be able to answer questions on the location of these sites. He can be contacted at: exmark130@gmail.com and 802.685.4302

Site 4: Repair approximately 50-foot length of slope, 10 feet wide with approx. 370 CY of Stone Fill, Type IV

Site 5: Repair approximately 40-foot length of slope, 10 feet wide with approx. 296 CY of Stone Fill, Type IV

Please Note: The contractor is responsible for any potential debris removal and disposal, and the purchasing and hauling of materials for these projects.

The project completion date is 30 November 2023, unless any unforeseen problem warrants a time extension.

This project is subject to the “Low Risk Site Handbook for Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control”, and the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The contractor is responsible for understanding and complying with all of these permits and documents.

The municipality must ensure all participating contractors have the prerequisite experience, therefore contractors wishing to bid must submit at least one construction reference from a successful project similar in scale to this one for review. This reference must be included with the project bid packet.

Bids will be received at the Chelsea Town Office or by email (grants@chelseavt.org) until noon on Friday, 27 October 2023. The town plans to issue a Notice of Award and Notice to proceed as soon as possible, once the bids have been properly evaluated during a Special Selectboard Meeting that will be held within 5 days of the bid deadline.  

The Town of Chelsea Selectboard reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to accept any bid deemed to be in the best interests of the Town of Chelsea. Incomplete bid packages will not be considered. Please be sure to use the form provided on the Town of Chelsea website.

Further information, including fact sheets and technical drawings can be found on the Town of Chelsea website. If you have any further questions regarding this project, please email Kasey Peterson at Grants@chelseavt.org. Questions will be received until 12 Noon on Tuesday 24 October 2023 so that needed clarifications can be transmitted to all bidders in a timely manner prior to the bid deadline.