Selectboard 3/3/25
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Monday,
March 3, 2025
7PM – 9 PM
Minutes
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Minutes
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Town of Richmond
Selectboard Meeting
Minutes of March 3, 2025
Members Present: Bard Hill, Adam Wood, Jay Furr, David Sander, Lisa Miller
Absent: None
Staff Present: Town ManagerJosh Arneson;Assistant to the Town ManagerDuncan Wardwell.
Others Present: MMCTV Erin Wagg, Terry Purcell, Operational Section Supervisor, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Watershed Management Division, Stormwater Program, June Heston, Caity Filkins, Patty Brushett, Mairead O’Reilly, Debbie, Robin P, Jane D, Darren Kennedy, Jean Haskins, JP, Debbie, Brent, Clint Buxton, iPad(2), Roger Knakal, Jeff Forward, Terry Purcell, Mary Harrison, Karen Yaggy, Uphil, Molly Lawney, JJ, John Klesch, Waficfaour, Alexis Lathem, mlw iPad 10th Gen, Gretchen Paulsen, Dorian Evans, Martha waterman, Emily Mitchell, Brendan Filkins, Reid Webster, 16039913302, Danielle Beadoin, Nick, Guest, iPhone de Carmelo, Andres Torizzo Watershed Consulting, Anna Sherman Watershed Consulting, Douglas Thompson, Paige Kaleita.
MMCTV Video: Recorded by MMCTV by Erin Wagg
https://youtu.be/p4q-WsYmW9k?si=CYyS1F89b8OT8XkG
Call to Order: 7:01 pm
Welcome by: Sander
Public Comment: This was Lisa Miller’s last Selectboard meeting. She was thanked for her service and she in turn stated that she learned a lot about Richmond. Furr warned about flooding and warm weather coming this week.
Items for Presentation or Discussion with those present
Reminder of Town Meeting on Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Timestamp: 0:03
People who participated in discussion: Sander
Sander reminded everyone that this year’s Budget is voted on by Australia ballot and that in person voting will be at the Camels Hump Middle School on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, 7am - 7pm.
Update on Police Department hiring, possible executive session
Timestamp: 0:03
People who participated in discussion: Sander, Arneson
Furr moved to find that premature public knowledge about police department hiring would cause the Town or the person to suffer a substantial disadvantage. Hill seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Sander, Wood, Furr in favor. Motion approved.
Furr moved that we enter into executive session to discuss police department hiring under the provisions of 1 VSA 313(a)(3) of the Vermont Statutes and to invite Town Manager Josh Arneson and Town Attorney John Klesch into the executive session. Hill seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Sander, Furr, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Furr moved to exit Executive Session. Wodd seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Furr Sander, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Arneson stated after the executive session that the Town of Richmond will not be going forward with the Police Department hiring. He will not make any comments about this matter as this is a personnel matter.
Consideration of approving a vendor and funding source for an electronic access control system for doors at the Town Center
Timestamp: 0:34
https://www.richmondvt.gov/fileadmin/files/Selectboard/Meetings/2025/02/3c2_MEI_Bid_Proposal_v3.pdf
People who participated in discussion: Sander, Arneson, Wardwell, Furr
Arneson said this is for a keyless entry system and then he gave the word to Wardwell. Wardwell explained that they have gone through the RFP process and after considering several options, he thinks this is the best one for the Town Center. He said this is the most reasonable option. Furr explained that the Town Center is accessed by keys now and the locks have not been changed in an exceptionally long time, he believes this keyless system gives the option to restrict access as well as allow access to certain rooms and not to others for some of the renters. Sander said keys can be lost or replicated. Wardwell said this is a more transparent way to keep track of comings and goings in the building, and that access can be restricted. Wood wondered if this should be sent to the Library Committee for review since it will come from their budget. Arneson stated that the yearly fee is $1750 per year to keep the system in the cloud. Wardwell said the software was the least of his worries, installation will be more of a challenge.
Furr moved to enter into an agreement with MEI Electrical Contractors for an electronic access control system for doors at the Town Center in an amount not to exceed $41,500 paid for with funds from the Town Center and Library Reserve Fund. Hill seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Sander, Furr, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Consideration of making an appointment to the Housing Committee
Timestamp: 0:44
People who participated in discussion: O’Reilly, Wood
O’Reilly has applied for the open Seat on the Housing Committee. She moved to Richmond in 2023 and is a mom staying at home with her son presently. She is educated as a lawyer and has been interested in housing for some time. She thinks housing is the cornerstone to every healthy community. Wood thanked her for her willingness to run. She was asked if she wanted the alternate seat or the full seat, to which O’Reilly replied, “the full seat.”
Hill moved to appoint Mairead O’Reilly to a full seat on the Housing Committee with a term expiring in 2026. Wood seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Sander, Furr, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Update from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation on Notice of Intent for the Southview Stormwater Permit
Timestamp: 0:49
People who participated in discussion: Arneson, Purcell, Hill, Kaleita, Furr, Heston
Arneson explained that the current NOI is incomplete. Another topic is whether the Town should oversee the Stormwater permit on behalf of residents of Southview because there is no HOA. Purcell said there may be an extension on due dates out to 2028. Purcell added that there are liabilities related to municipalities taking full legal control over Stormwater permits. Hill stated that discussions have focused on hiring engineers to know the impact on private property owners and to understand which properties are affected, furthermore how much the Town’s share is, based on the impervious road surfaces. Purcell said there are 17 or 18 orphaned sites throughout VT and legislative changes may occur that affect those sites. Hill added that a formula needs to be created to determine how much should be billed to the homeowners. Kaleita wanted to know how this would be a benefit to her, which the Board said there is none presently. Hill said that private properties and public areas need to be separated and what is total cost for the project. Furr said this will never be fair. Purcell stated that engineering design will be important in terms of determining dollar amounts. Heston wanted to know if VLTC has been contacted, because there are still a lot of questions around the definition of “3-acre rule.” Arneson said he can reach out to VLTC again.
Update from Watershed Consulting on the progress of the engineering for the Southview Stormwater Permit
Timestamp: 1:14
People who participated in discussion: Arneson, Torizzo, Hill, Kaleita, Sherman, Miller
Torizzo from Watershed Consulting has a website talking about the background of the 3-acre watershed rule. He showed a PPT and talked about what they have considered when looking at the boundary for the Southview Stormwater Program. The total jurisdictional acreage is 10.35 acres and the Town’s roads are 3.75 acres of that, while 6.6 acres is privately owned. Hill stated that means around 60% is privately owned. Torizzo added that the soil composition is important, which they have studied, because the better the soil the cheaper it is to manage stormwater. He said the soils in some areas is particularly good. Running stormwater water through grassy areas is one way to treat stormwater cheaply. Miller wanted to know about how much water are we talking about, and Torizzo answered “around ½ inch an hour, which becomes tens of thousands of gallons of water in total.” Many areas are already compliant because there is enough grassy area. Once the snow melts Watershed Consulting will go through and see how many sites are already filtering the water. Kaleita asked if she still will have to pay for the permit if her property has natural treatment areas in place. Sherman added that rain barrels are a great thing to implement. Hill asked if someone’s driveway is less than 10 feet is it considered compliant. Torizzo stated that shortening or reducing an impervious area is an easy way to become compliant, like shortening a driveway. Arneson showed where on the Town’s website this topic is presented. Torizzo added that there is a survey for homeowners to take. Miller asked compared to other areas, how does the Southview area look to Torizzo. He replied that the soil is great which is a positive, but it’s a very steep area which is a negative.
Consideration of approving a vendor to renew Stormwater permit, 6117-9010.R - Farr Commercial Complex and High Meadows Condominiums
Timestamp: 1:47
People who participated in discussion: Sander, Arneson
Arneson mentioned that the permit renewal for smaller areas in Town is much cheaper to renew, which applies to these two complexes.
Furr moved to approve entering into an agreement with Watershed Consulting to provide the engineering services necessary to renew the Farr Commercial Complex and High Meadows Condominiums Stormwater permit 6117-9010.R at an amount not to exceed $3,500. Hill seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Sander, Furr, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Consideration of approving a liquor license
Timestamp: 1:50
People who participated in discussion: Sander
Stones Throw Pizza has applied for a First Class Liquor License and an Outdoor Consumption Permit.
Hill moved to approve a First Class Liquor License and an Outdoor Consumption Permit for Pine Marten LLC. Doing business as Stones Throw Pizza. Wood seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Sander, Furr, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Update on structure of Community Justice Centers in Chittenden County
Timestamp: 1:51
People who participated in discussion: Arneson, Furr, Hill, Haskins, Brushett, Paulsen
Arneson described that a letter from the Office of the Attorney General regarding funding and structure for Community Justice Centers in Chittenden County was received, which said: “For FY 2026, the AGO will award grants to all four CJCs for pre-charge Diversion in Chittenden County, provided the Legislature appropriates funds for this work. During FY 2026, we will work with representatives of your municipalities and Burlington to ensure a transition to one grantee the following year.” Arneson said this is a way to keep things status quo for a year. Furr is upset because he has experienced whenever countywide services are headquartered in Burlington, they only serve Burlington and not outlying areas. He has emailed people about this issue but has not heard back. Hill thinks it’s important that Richmond continue to have access to these services. Haskins wants to know how many people in Richmond receive services from CJC and wants that posted on the Town’s website. She also wanted to know why Richmond was giving so much more money than Hinesburg to this. To which Arneson explained that this was because Richmond had not given any funds to CJC in previous years. Brushett mentioned that this is a wonderful service and 80% of people who go through the CJC services are very satisfied. Paulsen concurred that it’s important that people in Richmond don’t get pushed aside from these services because it’s located in Burlington.
Consideration of approving the 2025 Certificate of Highway Mileage
Timestamp: 2:07
People who participated in discussion: Arneson
Arneson said this is an updated certificate due to an error on the previous certificate.
Furr moved to approve the 2025 Certificate of Highway Mileage. This approval replaced the incomplete certificate that was approved at the February 18, 2025 meeting. Hill seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Wood, Furr, Sander in favor. Motion approved.
Consideration of adopting Highway codes and standards
Timestamp: 2:10
People who participated in discussion: Arneson
Arneson said that Jim Cota from VTrans recently reached out to ask us to update section 5 on the Certificate of Adoption of Town Road and Bridge Standards.
Hill moved to adopt the Town Road and Bridge Standards as presented. Miller seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Wood, Furr, Sander in favor. Motion approved.
Consideration of approving changes to the Discretionary Funding Policy
Timestamp: 2:13
People who participated in discussion: Sander, Arneson
Arneson showed some changes made (in red) in this document from previous discussions regarding this policy.
Hill moved to approve the amended Discretionary Funding Policy as presented. Wood seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Furr, Sander, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Consideration of approving Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan application for planning for flood resiliency of the wastewater pump station and force main
Timestamp: 2:16
People who participated in the discussion: Sander, Arneson
Arneson elaborated that this is for the Wastewater department, but the Selectboard has borrowing authority for the Town, thus the power to submit the loan application. If for some reason this is not funded at 100% it will be paid back by the Wastewater department, not the taxpayers.
Miller moved to submit the Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan application for planning for flood resiliency of the Wastewater pump station and force main. Wood seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Furr, Hill, Miller, Sander, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Approval of Minutes, Warrants and Purchase Orders
Timestamp: 2:19
Minutes:
Hill moved to approve the draft Minutes of Selectboard on 02/18/25 as presented. Wood seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Furr, Miller, Wood, Sander in favor. Motion approved.
Hill moved to approve the draft Minutes of the Special Selectboard on 02/24/25 as presented. Wood seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Wood, Sander in favor. Furr and Miller abstain. Motion approved.
Hill moved to approve the draft Minutes of the Informational Selectboard on 02/24/25 as presented. Wood seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Wood, Furr Sander in favor. Miller abstains. Motion approved.
Purchase Order Motions
Hill moved to approve purchase order number 5079 to Watershed Consulting Associates LLC for Engineering for the Southview 3-Acre Stormwater Permit in the amount of $32,600. Wood seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Furr, Hill, Miller, Sander, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Hill moved to approve purchase number 5221 to the Hinesburg Police Department for police coverage in November 2024 in the amount of $29,137.50. Wood seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Furr, Hill, Miller, Sander, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Miller moved to approve purchase order number 5222 to the Hinesburg Police Department for police coverage in December 2024 in the amount of $32,210.00. Wood seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Furr, Hill, Miller, Sander, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Wood moved to approve purchase order number 5230 to the Hinesburg Police Department for police coverage in January 2025 in the amount of $24,790.00. Miller seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Furr, Hill, Miller, Sander, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Warrants:
Hill moved to approve the Warrants as presented. Miller seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Hill, Miller, Furr, Sander, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Items for next Agenda
New selectboard member swearing in and reorganization
Recap Town meeting
Town Center locks
Ethics policy revision
Adjourn
Furr moved to adjourn. Hill seconded.
Roll Call Vote: Furr abstain. Hill, Miller, Sander, Furr, Wood in favor. Motion approved.
Meeting adjourned at: 9:34 pm
Chat file from Zoom:
00:11:41 Duncan Wardwell: mute yourself please
00:43:33 Patty Brushett: What is the cost per year
00:45:24 Patty Brushett: Seems like a lot of money. Have we had a problem?
00:46:50 Jean Haskin: Agree with Patty
00:51:31 Patty Brushett: Wow! We are so lucky
00:52:54 Patty Brushett: Thank you Mairead
01:58:10 gretchen paulsen: I agree with Jay on his thoughts with CJC .
02:07:28 Molly Lawney, she/they: Thank you for all this context, Patty. I whole-heartedly agree with you and with Jay.
02:11:27 Alexis Lathem: I agree with Patty and Gretchen. Thank you.
02:34:43 MMCTV Erin Wagg: Thank You Lisa !
02:34:57 Caitlin Filkins: Reacted to "Thank You Lisa !" with 👏
Agenda
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Meeting of the Town of Richmond Selectboard March 3, 2025
Richmond Town Center Meeting Room, 3rd Floor – 203 Bridge Street, Richmond, VT.
Meeting may also be joined online or by phone
Join Zoom Meeting Online:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84611164424?pwd=OU1rZDY2UStLL2ZqV1Q0a0pKSUhJZz09
Join by Phone: +1 929 205 6099 Meeting ID: 846 1116 4424 Passcode: 304382
7:00 PM 1. Welcome and Public Comment
7:03 PM 2. Additions, Deletions, or Modifications to Agenda
7:05 PM 3. Items for Presentation or Discussion with those present
a) Reminder of Town Meeting on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 # (5 min)
b) Update on Police Department hiring, possible executive session (30 min)
c) Consideration of approving a vendor and funding source for an electronic access control system for doors at the Town Center* # (10 min)
d) Consideration of making an appointment to the Housing Committee* # (5 min)
e) Update from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation on Notice of Intent for the Southview Stormwater Permit # (30 min)
f) Update from Watershed Consulting on the progress of the engineering for the Southview Stormwater Permit # (30 min)
g) Consideration of approving a vendor to renew Stormwater permit, 6117-9010.R - Farr Commercial Complex and High Meadows Condominiums* # (5 min)
h) Consideration of approving a liquor license* # (5 min)
i) Update on structure of Community Justice Centers in Chittenden County # (10 min)
j) Consideration of approving the 2025 Certificate of Highway Mileage* # (5 min)
k) Consideration of adopting Highway Codes and Standards* # (5 min)
l) Consideration of approving changes to the Discretionary Funding Policy* # (5 min)
m) Consideration of approving Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan application for planning for flood resiliency of the wastewater pump station and force main* # (5 min)
9:35 PM 4. Approval of Minutes, Purchase Orders, and Warrants*
a) Minutes of 2/18/25
b) Minutes of 2/24/25 – Special Meeting
c) Minutes of 2/24/25 – Public Informational Meeting
9:45 PM 5. Discuss Items for Next Agenda
9:50 PM 6. Executive Session if necessary
9:55 PM 7. Adjourn
Time is available at each meeting for public comment. Documents related to this meeting are available at
www.richmondvt.gov/documents/selectboard-meeting-documents/ If you would like to schedule a time with the Board or need assistance to participate in the meeting, please call Josh Arneson, Richmond Town Manager at 434-5170 or email jarneson@richmondvt.gov. Links to videos of Selectboard meetings can be found at mtmansfieldctv.org/
*Denotes Action Item # Indicates documents in the packet