1. Call Meeting to Order | Executive Session I | 5:30 p.m.

MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to find that premature general public knowledge of a grievance would clearly place this Selectboard at a substantial disadvantage because the Selectboard risks disclosing its negotiation strategy if it discusses this topic in public.

MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to enter executive session to discuss a grievance under the provisions of Title 1, Section 313(a)(1)(D) of the Vermont Statutes, Executive Sessions.

The MOTION carried.

2. Roll Call | Pledge of Allegiance | 6:30 p.m.

Roll Call: Pam Loranger, Chair; Tom Mulcahy, Vice Chair; Jacki Murphy, Clerk; Charlie Papillo; Maureen P. Dakin

Staff Present: Aaron Frank, Town Manager; Renae Marshall, Deputy Town Manager; Scott Crady, Fire and Rescue Chief; Norm Baldwin, Public Works Director; Robert Vickery, Town Assessor; Cathyann LaRose, Planning & Zoning Director

Others Present: Clayton Clark, GMT General Manager, Doug Bishop, Ella Ruehsen, Jack Parlon

3. Citizens to be Heard*

Mr. Dirk Reith questioned if there were limits outlined in zoning regulations or a distinction between agricultural areas and residential areas as it relates to the number of chickens allowed in a residential area. Cathyann LaRose explained that the Town of Colchester does not regulate farm animals, including the number allowed, although she invited Mr. Reith to contact her during her office hours to better understand his concerns.

4. ACTION | Consent Agenda

a. Minutes of 7.23.2024 Selectboard Meeting

MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to adopt the Consent Agenda as it may have been modified by the Board and to take the actions indicated for each item:

a. Approve the Selectboard Minutes of the meeting of July 23, 2024

The MOTION carried.

5. Special Business Items

a. Green Mountain Transit Update |General Manager, Clayton Clark provided an update on noting the fiscal cliff faced by GMT following the conclusion of the availability of federal COVID relief funds, cost of services exceeding the revenues which is necessitating a need to right size, or reduce amount of service provided by approximately $2M. Mr. Clayton explained that there would be at least five public hearings during which to consider public feedback on the service reductions, which offer reductions as high as $3M, as well as a fare increase on ADA paratransit services. He explained the impacts to Colchester would be minor, including a consolidation of the Milton Commuter with the Saint Albans Link Express; eliminating the mid-day trip of the Milton Commuter and; a reduction to the Saturday evening service of the Burlington/Winooski/Colchester/Essex, also known as GMT Route 2. Selectboard members asked about the costs of using smaller buses which Mr. Clark explained were not less costly from a capital or driver pay cost; about the ADA cost increase and the impact on users which Mr. Clark felt might have been a seasonal change; of the ridership on GMT Rt. 2 which Mr. Clark explained was especially low; and of the reduction in costs to the Town based on the service reduction.

b. Colchester Fire Department Update | Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Crady

Chief Crady explained overall incident volumes which have been steady for the last three years with the majority of calls being 50% of motor vehicle crashes and emergency medical services calls, 30% False Alarms and 4% structure fires. He explained total staffing including career and volunteers of 59 on the fire side. He also explained the Town had a new fire engine coming in the fall, that the remainder of the fire trucks were in good condition. He explained that the relationship with Saint Michaels Fire was strong that they signed a three-year contract evidencing this relationship. He also explained that the Town replaced all of its air packs, providing each firefighter their own mask and regulator and consistency in equipment across the department. He noted the Town was in the process of replacing hand held radios with UHF/VHF (dual-band) and digital. He explained the department continued to update its standard operating guidelines as well as a training program for new firefighters to become exterior and interior firefighters, and a driver/pump operator program. The Selectboard asked about station needs, standard operating guideline education and training and thanked Chief Crady for his work.

c. Malletts Bay Sewer Update | Public Works Director Norm Baldwin

Director Baldwin provided an update on the Malletts Bay Sewer including the West Lakeshore Drive Gravity Sewer lines, the Blakely Road no access force main, and the West Lakeshore Drive Pump Station. The West Lakeshore Drive contract was awarded to J. Hutchins and is expected to be completed in the spring/summer of 2025. He shared information including the linear feet of pipe, the quality of work by J. Hutchins, efforts to minimize impacts on local businesses, and the schools. The Blakely Road contract was awarded to Kingsbury and includes primarily directional drilling and should be completed by Summer of 2025. The West Lakeshore Drive pump station was awarded to S.D. Ireland, will begin in February 2025 and likely conclude in the fall of 2025. He also noted the Towns efforts to minimize impacts on occupation of West Lakeshore Drive including pavement hatching communications with the School District, Parks and Recreation, and individual property owners, a project newsletter, a project specific email account, use of in-house staff for flagging by J. Hutchins.

d. Townwide Reappraisal Contract Award, Robert Vickery, Town Assessor

Town Assessor Robert Vickery provided an update on the changes in the real estate market since 2018, that the Town drafted a request for proposals and received two partial and two full bids; that a committee met to evaluate the proposals, negotiated the bids and reduced the costs by nearly $250,000 by having he town take on responsibilities, which allowed the project to fit within the budget. The recommended firm, Vision Government Solutions, was experienced with the Town’s software and is familiar with appraising in Vermont. He explained that the Assessor would be reaching out to the residents and taxpayers as the process moves forward. The Selectboard had questions on the phasing and timing of the work.

MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to authorize the Town Assessor to enter into a contract with Vision Government Solutions, an appraisal firm that has been certified by the Vermont Department of Taxes to reassess all taxable parcels within the boundaries of the Town of Colchester, incompliance with a Vermont Department of Taxes issued Reappraisal Order, as recommended in a memo dated August 23, 2024 by Town Assessor Robert Vickery.

e. Public Hearing: Sterling Homes Request for Partial Refund of Permit Fees | Deputy Town Manager Renae Marshall

MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to hold a public hearing regarding a request by Lauren Nealy of Sterling Homes for a partial refund of permit fees paid for a single-family home at 48 Maddie’s Way. All information included in the packet related to this matter is considered part of the public hearing, and whereby the Colchester Selectboard shall enter a deliberative session later in the meeting to consider the matter and then issue an approval or denial of the request in writing to Sterling Homes via staff through the U.S. Mail.

The MOTION carried.

Chair Loranger opened the public hearing.

Deputy Manager Marshall explained the reason for the request and the recommendation made by Planning & Zoning Director Cathyann LaRose.

Chair Loranger closed the public hearing.

f. Public Hearing: Harbor View Marina and Rentals Request for Refund of Permit Fees | Deputy Town Manager Renae Marshall

MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to hold a public hearing regarding a request by Stephanie Chicoine of Harbor View Marina and Rentals for a refund of permit fees paid for a proposed deck at 546 West Lakeshore Drive. All information included in the packet related to this matter is considered part of the public hearing, and whereby the Colchester Selectboard shall enter a deliberative session later in the meeting to consider the matter and then issue an approval or denial of the request in writing to Stephanie Chicoine of Harbor View Marina and Rentals via staff through the U.S. Mail.

6. Additional Business | Manager’s Recommendations

7. Informational Items

Maureen P. Dakin asked that the Town Manager contact the Colchester Historical Society to determine if they had members willing to serve as liaisons for the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and for the matter to be taken up at a future Selctboard meeting.

8. Announcements

9. ACTION | Warrants

MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to approve Warrant #25-06 in the amount of $1,399,484.13 and Warrant #24-42 in the amount of $37,161.46.

All Warrants have been reviewed by the Selectboard, Finance Department and the Town Clerk & Treasurer’s Office and are available for in-person inspection by request.

The MOTION carried.

10. Deliberative Session

Clerk Jacki Murphy read the following Deliberative Session Statement, “The Colchester Selectboard will meet in deliberative session under the authority of 1. V.S.A. § 312(e) for the purpose of considering requests for refunds of Planning & Zoning permit fees which are specifically noted on the agenda and for which a hearing was held earlier in the meeting. The Selectboard will issue an approval or denial in writing to each requestor via staff, through the U.S. Mail, and will share the outcome publicly by placing the approval or denial as information item in the next Selectboard packet.

11. Executive Session II

MOTION was made by Jacki Murphy and SECONDED by Maureen P. Dakin to find that premature public knowledge of contracts, pending or probable civil litigation, and personnel issues would clearly place this Selectboard at a substantial disadvantage because the Selectboard risks disclosing its negotiation strategy if it discusses these topics in public.

The MOTION carried.

12. Adjournment**

The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

DRAFT MINUTES