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Road salt use melts available funding By Tom Gresham There will be fewer of the perennial road paving projects in Williston this summer because of a budget overrun created by an icy winter. Public Works Director Neil Boyden said the department ran approximately $18,000 over budget on salt costs this past winter. Two large ice storms that created exceptionally slippery roads were the main culprits. “That’s a lot to go over for just an $80,000 budget,” Boyden said. In order to make up for the overrun, Boyden said, summer road maintenance projects will be cut back to keep the department’s budget in line. Road paving projects that are likely to make the cut and be completed this construction season include Van Sicklen Road (Muddy Brook to South Brownell Road), Blair Park Road (North Meadow Road to Paul Street), Old Stage Road (Turtle Pond to Mountain View Road) and Chamberlin Lane (Isham Circle to Brennan Woods Drive). A one-mile section of Mountain View Road between Ledgewood Drive and North Williston Road remains a question mark. Boyden said the town hopes to start paving on Van Sicklen Road this week. The Selectboard recently approved a series of traffic-calming measures for the Williston side of the road, and Boyden said the paving would probably enable the calming work to be completed later this summer. Boyden said paving projects that will likely not be completed this summer include the Town Hall parking lot and a stretch of Shunpike Road. Others projects that will apparently be postponed until next construction season include Stirrup Circle and a connecting stretch on Morgan Parkway from Stirrup Circle to Vermont Route 2A. Both paving jobs will require a great deal of preparatory work before paving occurs, Boyden said.
Bike path progress Boyden said the town has hopes to make progress on expanding the network of bike paths and sidewalks. The main project for the summer will be new sidewalks in the Blair Park area. In June, Boyden expects a section of sidewalk to be constructed that runs along U.S. Route 2 from Taft Corners to Blair Park Road. A sidewalk spur will also be constructed from U.S. Route 2 along Helena Drive to Vermont Route 2A, connecting with the existing sidewalk. Also, in the early stages of the summer, a stretch of sidewalk running a few hundred feet will be built on Old Stage Road near Adams Farm Market. Boyden estimated it would likely be between a year and 18 months before construction could begin on a bike path planned for Mountain View Road. Boyden said the town continues to gather easements from property owners along the road. Town officials have also met with specialists to review the project’s impact on wetlands. Some property owners along the bike path route have been reluctant to grant easements that will allow the path to cross their properties. “There’s only so much we can do if people aren’t willing to transfer an easement,” Boyden said. The work on Mountain View Road could take longer than the 18-month estimate if some property owners do not grant easements and the town is forced to invoke imminent domain. In that case, the town would have to prove the necessity of the bike path and settle on compensation amounts for the property owners. |
Budget constraints curtail road construction projects
Board
Town manager erased e-mail detailing discussion
By Tom Gresham
Observer staff
The Williston Selectboard ignored a request from the Observer for e-mail records that might have shed light on the board’s deliberations over a recent dog bite complaint.
An e-mail message last week from the Observer to Selectboard members asking for copies of the correspondence went unanswered. When asked in person for his records of the e-mail messages, Town Manager Rick McGuire said he had erased the messages shortly after they had arrived in his computer inbox at Town Hall because he had categorized them as privileged. McGuire said he would not have turned over the correspondence even if he had not erased them.
Selectboard Chairwoman Ginny Lyons said in a telephone interview that the e-mail correspondence was not public record because the board was in deliberative session. State law exempts from the public records law records or internal materials prepared for the deliberations of a public agency acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, which the Selectboard was doing presiding over the dog bite complaint. It is one of 29 exemptions in the public records law.
Vermont Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz agreed with the town’s assertion that the e-mails were privileged under Vermont law. However, Markowitz said the Selectboard’s failure to respond to the Observer’s request for the records “was a sloppy violation of the technical terms of the law.”
State law requires a custodian of a record to deny in writing a request for a record he or she believes to be exempt within two business days of the request.
Ross Connelly, the publisher of the Hardwick Gazette and a member of the Vermont Press Association Board of Directors, questioned whether the town and Markowitz’s reading of the law follows the presumption of openness required by Vermont’s public records law.
State law says records pertinent to litigation to which the public agency is a party of record should be available upon the termination of the litigation. Connelly said it would make sense that records from deliberative sessions follow the same rule.
“Exchanging e-mails with each other to arrive at a decision in deliberative session, I think they can do that,” Connelly said. “I question whether it would remain privileged after the decision is made public and there is no longer any need for (the e-mails) to be privileged.”
Robert Hemley, a Burlington attorney who practices First Amendment law, declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said the state’s public records law is not always clear.
“It’s a complex matter,” Hemley said. “These analyses of access to public records and public meetings are often complex and driven by the particular facts.”
McGuire has compared the Selectboard’s use of e-mail in deliberations to the correspondence among a panel of judges considering a case behind closed doors.
“It actually makes complete sense,” McGuire said. “A deliberation amounts to a conversation among Selectboard members. It could have taken place at the meeting, over the telephone or, in this case, through e-mail.”
The Selectboard held a hearing on the dog bite complaint on April 25. Brooks McArthur, a Williston resident, had filed the complaint after an alleged attack by a German shepherd owned by his neighbor, Michelle LeBlanc.
At the end of the hearing, the board decided to go into deliberative session to discuss the case. The board eventually decided to fine LeBlanc $500.
The Selectboard, however, did not issue a decision that night. Instead, Selectboard member Andy Mikell wrote a draft of a decision and board members revised the draft through e-mail over the course of the subsequent week. The Observer sought copies of those e-mails.
The Selectboard is not required to go into deliberative session when serving as a quasi-judicial board, but Lyons and Selectboard member Jeff Fehrs said there was never any debate about whether the board would use a closed session.
“I think it’s a very good process,” Fehrs said. “It’s very helpful to hear what others on the Selectboard think and to hear what their concerns are without being grilled by someone in the public or being stared at.”
The decision to use e-mail kept the deliberative session open until the release of the written decision on April 29. The use of e-mail by a governing board to make a decision is a violation of the open meeting laws, except in the case of deliberative sessions, according to a recent edition of the Opinions newsletter produced by Markowitz’s office.
McGuire said Wednesday morning he had received informal indications LeBlanc might appeal the Selectboard’s decision. LeBlanc asked for materials used to craft the Selectboard’s decision, but she did not seek the e-mail correspondence.
Lyons seemed surprised by the Observer’s interest in the e-mails, saying little of substance was discussed.
“The process here was pretty benign,” she said. “There’s no big secret.”
Condo damaged in fire
By Tom Gresham
Observer staff
An afternoon fire caused interior damage to a Williston condominium this week, but firefighters kept it from spreading to adjoining units.
No person was injured in the fire, which occurred at 425 Westview Circle. However, a pet cat died of smoke inhalation, despite efforts to revive it with an oxygen mask.
A neighbor spotted smoke coming from a second-floor bedroom window of the condominium on Tuesday. She called 911. Williston and Essex Junction firefighters arrived at the scene at approximately 3:30 p.m. Westview Circle is located close to the boundary between Williston and Essex Junction.
The female occupant of the condo was running errands at the time of the fire. According to municipal records, the condominium is owned by Jeffrey Jimmo, but he rents the unit out.
Firefighters found the fire was burning in the downstairs of the condo and was strongest in the rear of the building, according to Williston Fire Chief Ken Morton. When firefighters arrived, smoke filled the downstairs and was being ventilated up the flight of stairs and out the second-floor window that had been left open.
Firefighters entered the condo and knocked the fire down with water. Windows were also broken open to further ventilate the smoke. An Essex Junction ladder truck was used to access the upstairs windows.
The Westview Circle neighborhood is intimately organized with units laid out close to each other. Several neighbors stood in their front yards and watched the firefighters at work.
Morton said the fire did not “flash over,” meaning flames did not flash over the entire confined area downstairs. Damage to the interior of the condo was significant, but would have been much worse if flash over had occurred. Morton said the fire was controlled relatively quickly.
“It was a free burning fire, but it was pretty cut and dry,” Morton said. “We got in and got after it so it didn’t become a big fire.”
Morton said the fire did not spread to the adjoining units in part because of the strength of the sheet rock walls between them. He said adjoining units did receive some smoke damage.
After controlling the fire, firefighters searched for the pet cat inside. They found it, and Williston rescue workers used an oxygen mask designed for pets. The cat was then rushed to a nearby veterinarian. However, it did not recover.
Morton said the cause of the fire remains under investigation, though he suspects it was electrical in origin.
Budget constraints curtail road construction projects
Road salt use melts available funding
By Tom Gresham
Observer staff
There will be fewer of the perennial road paving projects in Williston this summer because of a budget overrun created by an icy winter.
Public Works Director Neil Boyden said the department ran approximately $18,000 over budget on salt costs this past winter. Two large ice storms that created exceptionally slippery roads were the main culprits.
“That’s a lot to go over for just an $80,000 budget,” Boyden said.
In order to make up for the overrun, Boyden said, summer road maintenance projects will be cut back to keep the department’s budget in line.
Road paving projects that are likely to make the cut and be completed this construction season include Van Sicklen Road (Muddy Brook to South Brownell Road), Blair Park Road (North Meadow Road to Paul Street), Old Stage Road (Turtle Pond to Mountain View Road) and Chamberlin Lane (Isham Circle to Brennan Woods Drive).
A one-mile section of Mountain View Road between Ledgewood Drive and North Williston Road remains a question mark.
Boyden said the town hopes to start paving on Van Sicklen Road this week. The Selectboard recently approved a series of traffic-calming measures for the Williston side of the road, and Boyden said the paving would probably enable the calming work to be completed later this summer.
Boyden said paving projects that will likely not be completed this summer include the Town Hall parking lot and a stretch of Shunpike Road.
Others projects that will apparently be postponed until next construction season include Stirrup Circle and a connecting stretch on Morgan Parkway from Stirrup Circle to Vermont Route 2A. Both paving jobs will require a great deal of preparatory work before paving occurs, Boyden said.
Bike path progress
Boyden said the town has hopes to make progress on expanding the network of bike paths and sidewalks.
The main project for the summer will be new sidewalks in the Blair Park area. In June, Boyden expects a section of sidewalk to be constructed that runs along U.S. Route 2 from Taft Corners to Blair Park Road. A sidewalk spur will also be constructed from U.S. Route 2 along Helena Drive to Vermont Route 2A, connecting with the existing sidewalk.
Also, in the early stages of the summer, a stretch of sidewalk running a few hundred feet will be built on Old Stage Road near Adams Farm Market.
Boyden estimated it would likely be between a year and 18 months before construction could begin on a bike path planned for Mountain View Road. Boyden said the town continues to gather easements from property owners along the road. Town officials have also met with specialists to review the project’s impact on wetlands.
Some property owners along the bike path route have been reluctant to grant easements that will allow the path to cross their properties. “There’s only so much we can do if people aren’t willing to transfer an easement,” Boyden said.
The work on Mountain View Road could take longer than the 18-month estimate if some property owners do not grant easements and the town is forced to invoke imminent domain. In that case, the town would have to prove the necessity of the bike path and settle on compensation amounts for the property owners.
Board
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Town manager erased e-mail detailing discussion By Tom Gresham The Williston Selectboard ignored a request from the Observer for e-mail records that might have shed light on the board’s deliberations over a recent dog bite complaint. An e-mail message last week from the Observer to Selectboard members asking for copies of the correspondence went unanswered. When asked in person for his records of the e-mail messages, Town Manager Rick McGuire said he had erased the messages shortly after they had arrived in his computer inbox at Town Hall because he had categorized them as privileged. McGuire said he would not have turned over the correspondence even if he had not erased them. Selectboard Chairwoman Ginny Lyons said in a telephone interview that the e-mail correspondence was not public record because the board was in deliberative session. State law exempts from the public records law records or internal materials prepared for the deliberations of a public agency acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, which the Selectboard was doing presiding over the dog bite complaint. It is one of 29 exemptions in the public records law. Vermont Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz agreed with the town’s assertion that the e-mails were privileged under Vermont law. However, Markowitz said the Selectboard’s failure to respond to the Observer’s request for the records “was a sloppy violation of the technical terms of the law.” State law requires a custodian of a record to deny in writing a request for a record he or she believes to be exempt within two business days of the request. Ross Connelly, the publisher of the Hardwick Gazette and a member of the Vermont Press Association Board of Directors, questioned whether the town and Markowitz’s reading of the law follows the presumption of openness required by Vermont’s public records law. State law says records pertinent to litigation to which the public agency is a party of record should be available upon the termination of the litigation. Connelly said it would make sense that records from deliberative sessions follow the same rule. “Exchanging e-mails with each other to arrive at a decision in deliberative session, I think they can do that,” Connelly said. “I question whether it would remain privileged after the decision is made public and there is no longer any need for (the e-mails) to be privileged.” Robert Hemley, a Burlington attorney who practices First Amendment law, declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said the state’s public records law is not always clear. “It’s a complex matter,” Hemley said. “These analyses of access to public records and public meetings are often complex and driven by the particular facts.” McGuire has compared the Selectboard’s use of e-mail in deliberations to the correspondence among a panel of judges considering a case behind closed doors. “It actually makes complete sense,” McGuire said. “A deliberation amounts to a conversation among Selectboard members. It could have taken place at the meeting, over the telephone or, in this case, through e-mail.” The Selectboard held a hearing on the dog bite complaint on April 25. Brooks McArthur, a Williston resident, had filed the complaint after an alleged attack by a German shepherd owned by his neighbor, Michelle LeBlanc. At the end of the hearing, the board decided to go into deliberative session to discuss the case. The board eventually decided to fine LeBlanc $500. The Selectboard, however, did not issue a decision that night. Instead, Selectboard member Andy Mikell wrote a draft of a decision and board members revised the draft through e-mail over the course of the subsequent week. The Observer sought copies of those e-mails. The Selectboard is not required to go into deliberative session when serving as a quasi-judicial board, but Lyons and Selectboard member Jeff Fehrs said there was never any debate about whether the board would use a closed session. “I think it’s a very good process,” Fehrs said. “It’s very helpful to hear what others on the Selectboard think and to hear what their concerns are without being grilled by someone in the public or being stared at.” The decision to use e-mail kept the deliberative session open until the release of the written decision on April 29. The use of e-mail by a governing board to make a decision is a violation of the open meeting laws, except in the case of deliberative sessions, according to a recent edition of the Opinions newsletter produced by Markowitz’s office. McGuire said Wednesday morning he had received informal indications LeBlanc might appeal the Selectboard’s decision. LeBlanc asked for materials used to craft the Selectboard’s decision, but she did not seek the e-mail correspondence. Lyons seemed surprised by the Observer’s interest in the e-mails, saying little of substance was discussed. “The process here was pretty benign,” she said. “There’s no big secret.” |
