MINUTES OF THE SHAFTSBURY, VT
PLANNING BOARD FOR TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2005
Present: Kevin Bubriski, vice-chair; Mark Young; Andrew Knafel; Bill Pennebaker; Chris Williams.
Others Present: Harvey Rutheiser; Audrey Rutheiser; Tom Dailey; Karen Mellinger, select board member; Mary Beth Maguire; David Mance; Trevor Mance; Chris Parker; Virgil Martin; Joseph LeBleur; Jason Reinford.
Absent: William Jakubowski, chair.
Call to order: Mr. Bubriski called the meeting to order at 7:38 p.m.
Mr. Knafel and Mr. Mance recused themselves at this point.
Old Business: Application for TAM, Inc.
Mr. Mance said that they were still waiting for the drainage plant to be finished, and that Macdonald-Secor Associates were helping them with the design for the structure. The transfer station itself will be a metal building. The other item that he added to the map was the location of storage areas, so as to avoid confusion when the buildings are actually being built. The temporary recycling storage area is where plastic, glass and tin items would be stored while waiting for proper disposal. Mr. Mance also noted that in Sunderland, the people at that town’s transfer station store recyclables in a box.
Mrs. Mellinger asked if this was a continuation of the hearing. Mr. Bubriski said that from his understanding, this hearing was a continuation of the 6:30 site visit.
Mr. Young voiced his concern about traffic flow in a public facility, and he asked about the points of access. Mr. Mance stated that the two points from Airport Road and North Road would remain the sole points of access. The entrance to North Road would have to be widened slightly because they would like it wide enough for trucks to go in. Mrs. Mellinger mentioned traffic flow coming down North Road; she commented that there had been some talk about minimizing the flow pattern coming down from North Road, and expressed her belief that it should be an access point for employees only.
Mr. Mance mentioned that he could see the North Road access point being upgraded to reduce congestion, and that traffic through Airport Road would be improved upon and reduced. Mr. Pennebaker asked if that would prevent traffic going out on North Road. Mr. Mance said that at the Airport Road access point, vehicles would have to go on a scale to be weighed, and that after disposal of their goods, they would have to go out the same way they entered, as in the town’s own transfer station.
Mr. Knafel asked about individual contractors who were qualified to dump at the station. T. Mance said that those folks would be required to obtain a special commercial sticker in order to dump their materials. Mr. Pennebaker asked about the business’s hours of operation. T. Mance said that he would be open six days a week, with Saturday being a half-day (7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.). Mr. Knafel then commented about non-Shaftsbury residents being able to utilize the facility. T. Mance said that private individuals who are not from Shaftsbury can obtain stickers for use of the station as well.
Mr. Mance then noted that there has been a lot of soil moved on the site in order to make it usable as a transfer facility. Mr. Young noted that there were some trees planted alongside the property. Mr. Mance said that if they got some top soil and mulch, the trees would be helped in their growth. He said that by the next meeting, the drainage work would be done and the building elevations would be completed. He also said that they would sketch plans for the on-site buildings as well. Mr. Mance said that they would need to seek a variance on the transfer station building in order to make sure that they were in compliance with local and state regulations. Mr. Pennebaker commented that someone needs to make the call on regulating waste materials that come into the station. Mr. Mance said that about 15,000 tons of material would come into the station per day and that there would be precautions taken to make sure that certain truckloads would come and go.
Mrs. Rutheiser asked how many truckloads would come into the business every day. Mr. Mance said that he would have to check on the number. Mr. Mance commented that the impact of the heavy trucks on the road would have to be assessed.
Mr. Dailey said that the board would have to take caution singling out TAM’s trucks, which are being used on public roads, and give them the same benefits that trucks from other businesses have. Mrs. Mellinger asked if they used liners for containers. T. Mance said that the liners are primarily used for asbestos. Mr. Dailey asked if the issue has been scheduled for a joint meeting with zoning. Mr. Bubriski said that to his knowledge, there was not. Mrs. Rutheiser commented that the site visit was in the minutes from the last meeting, and that the town should be invited to it. Mrs. Mellinger said that as a select board member, she feels that the town attorney should listen in on this issue to provide some legal input. Mr. Bubriski asked the board if they felt that a meeting with Mr. Rob Woolmington would be worth it.
Mr. Williams made a motion to the board that they request an open meeting with the zoning board of adjustment and select board, as well as the town attorney, to discuss legal parameters with this application. Mr. Pennebaker seconded this motion. The motion passed 4-0-0.
Mr. Dailey said that this proposed joint meeting should be open to the public because all three boards would be involved with an attorney. He also said that he was attending the meeting both as the attorney of the Mances and as a townsperson. As a townsperson, he said that they would probably be tainting this process should all three of the boards choose to have a closed meeting. As an attorney, he commented that if the meeting was closed, the process would be tainted. The board expressed interest in having the proposed joint meeting as being one that is open to the public.
Other Old Business: The Wards were not available to comment on their proposed bed and breakfast.
New Business: #05 69 48: A sketch plan for the site at 1835 Rte. 7A. Virgil Martin and Jason Reinford, representatives of a Shaftsbury-based congregation, came forward at this time.
Mr. Martin said that they intend to use the facility on a temporary basis to hold their congregation’s services. He asked about changing the status from commercial to religious use. Mr. Pennebaker recommended keeping the commercial status. Mr. Knafel asked if there would be any retail business. Mr. Martin said that their long-term goal would be to sell crafts at the store there. He also said that one of his church members was interested in displaying some goods there as well. Mr. Knafel commented that they would have to come back to the board if they wanted to change the status again. Mr. Martin said that the property would utilize 50 feet past the information sign for parking spaces. He said that there would be about 23 parking spaces if the circular drive on the left side of the property was included.
Mr. Knafel said that the parking spaces should be drawn out to scale so that they could show the spaces denoted on the map, as well as lighting. Access, both ingress and egress, would also be an issue. Mr. Pennebaker noted that the parking lot would have to be surveyed because they did not want any cars backing out on Route 7A for safety issues. Mr. Williams said that 24 feet would be needed to execute a single-point turn, and that due to the design of the parking lot, it could not happen at any point. Mrs. Rutheiser asked if the facility was going to be utilized for daily worship. Mr. Martin said that they have one Sunday worship service as well as a prayer service once or twice a week. Mr. Pennebaker asked if they would have Sunday school there. Mr. Martin said that they were considering utilizing the building as a place for religious education.
Mr. Knafel recommended that the congregation do a little research concerning the property’s use for both religious and educational use. Mr. Rutheiser commented that the speed limit on Route 7 would be affected because if they use the building as a school facility, then the limit would have to be reduced. Mr. Williams said that they would have to go to the state in order for the building to be certified for school use. Mr. Young asked what their goal was concerning a new church facility in the next year. Mr. Martin said that it was hard to find a decent piece of property on which to build a church in Shaftsbury.
Mr. Bubriski recommended that the two men talk to Mr. Zazzaro concerning the issues and request that they be put on the agenda for a future meeting. Mr. Pennebaker recommended that they understand the parking, especially on the north end. Mr. Knafel said that they would have to consider a number of issues, such as waste disposal, water supply, sprinkler systems, septic system, and other items. He also said that to get more perspective on the issue, they should also bring the issue before the zoning board as well.
Zoning administrator’s report: None.
Minutes to be approved. None.
Mr. Pennebaker brought up an issue with the new conflict of interest policy, and that they would have to have something in place by September 1. Mrs. Mellinger, at the previous night’s select board meeting, asked where the board was in the process, because they had had two readings on the policy issues. She noted that chairman, Mr. Wynn Metcalfe, told them to go ahead and draft a new policy by September 1. Mrs. Mellinger noted that if the policy was adopted, then an individual like Mr. Mance (or anyone else in his firm or family) could not present before the board and serve as a member at the same time. Mr. Mance recommended that Mrs. Mellinger check with the planning commission in Arlington about the issue, because Mr. Chris Heins works in the same occupation as he does and that he faces the same situation in that town as well. Mr. Pennebaker suggested that they adopt the policy, and that they do so as an interim measure. Mr. Knafel also suggested that they warn the issue for the next meeting. Mr. Bubriski said that the board can’t take any action until it’s been warned or adopted. The board suggested to Mrs. Mellinger that she contact Dominic Cloud or go to www.vlct.org to have access to the document.
Mr. Pennebaker made a motion that the board place on the agenda for the next regular meeting the rules of procedure and policy (Section 11- Conflicts of Interest, Clause A); the second sentence will be deleted until it is clarified by the select board. Mr. Young seconded. The motion passed 5-0-0.
Mr. Knafel moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Young seconded.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Paolo S. Rosales
Recording Secretary