Discussion of Pownal's Planning Issues
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". . . the greatest threat to civility - and ultimately to civilization - is an excess of certitude."
- George Will, "The Oddness of Everything"
I am not one of those who in expressing opinions confine themselves to facts.
Mark Twain - Wearing White Clothes speech, 1907
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New Sewer Ordiance Amendment. New flat tax language. More costly????
*Ray Shields 6/8/09. Posted at Winchester's Store and the Town Office new language which also was posted in the Banner on May 30, sets up new language . . Sewer ordinance amendment . . .
Schedule of Rates and Fees, Section 1(b) . . .
b. flat tax assessment. The flat tax assessment shall be assessed on each taxable property, real and personal, on the Grand List of the Town of Pownal to pay for the wastewater project bond.
1) a undeveloped parcel of land, one which does not have both water and sewer shall be assessed a one-half assessment.
2) all other taxable property, real and personal, shall be assessed a full assessment.
Questions: is a developed parcel, one which contains only water a full assessment, and is one which contains only sewer, possible connection, a full assessment? The town in its thirst to be transparent to its community, has not listed the old language and the reason for the change. Will it generate more monies so that the delinquency will be offset by the paying taxpayer?
Those of us on the system and those of us who pay the flat tax need to be proactive and understand this language.
Town Budget Information Availability before March Vote
*Ray Shields. 2/6/09. Why is it that the Town Report, which contains budget information, vital to voters, becomes available only a week before its voted on in March? Should the community know whats being proposed and spent, or not spent, moved and projected to make wise decisions? What say you?
*Ray Shields. 2/12/09. I stand corrected, we received our Town Report today, which indeed does give us ample time to review and compare with last years.
*Ray Shields. 2/20/09. In reviewing the Town Report, 3 pages appear to be missing. All of them are concerned with the Operation and Maintenance of the Wastewater Treatment Facility. Have asked the Town to make these available at the floor meeting on March 2, so that taxpayers will have a firm understanding of our towns fiscal standing.
*Ray Shields 3/2/09. In response to our questions about missing information, Operation and Maintenance of the Wastewater Treatment Facility, selectboard chairman at the floor meeting stated that budget for the facility was not set yet, nor new rates for the users estimated, but that they figures would be available sometime in late March or April.
Communication between Select Board and the Citizens of Pownal
Submitted by Ray Rodrigues: If you have recommendations for how the Town Meeting can be improved, please do share them. Or if other forums should be held in addition to the Town Meeting so that single issues can be addressed in an environment where the debate can be managed, please share your thoughts.
- Ray Rodrigues: This question for the Select Board: What are the rules governing open meetings? Must the Select Board approve every meeting that everyone wants to have about town matters? Or does the Select Board have to approve a meeting only when it is held in the Elementary School or another public building?
*Ray Shields 5/14/09. Communication between the selectboard and its town residents. No updated meeting minutes for the wiki, no input from our selectboard, on town committee, for several years now . . . wonder why that is? Do you ever feel like a mushroom? kept in the dark and fed . . .
*Ray Rodrigues 5/14/09. I don't know why it has been so difficult to get the minutes of meetings which are public, since it would only take a couple of minutes to upload them to the site. My main concern is that lack of regular communication leads to rumors spreading, letters to the editor based on rumors, and unnecessary bad feelings. This wiki was created by the Communication Committee, which was created as a result of the Town-wide planning meetings which, in turn, expressed the concern of many residents that they had no way of knowing what was going on in the town if they could not view Select Board meetings on CAT-TV or if the Bennington Banner could not cover everything or if events weren't on the American Legion or Pownal Center fire department signs.
*Ray Shields 5/14/09. Tonights selectboard is a typical of our selectboard meetings . . . 10 minutes aired by CAT-TV, then the board goes into executive session. Without a reporter present at the meeting . . . the Banner reporter calls the Selectboard Chairman and gets his take on the meeting . . if there is a story in the Banner it is the result of one person's opinion and story telling. As someone who tapes and views each meeting of the Pownal broadcasts by CAT-TV, it is most informative to view the official minutes with the broadcast tape, and if possible the story in the Banner. Yes indeed there was and is a concern that many of our residents do not know whats going on in the very community they live!
*Keith Whitcomb 5/14/09
Ray,
Your description of how I cover Select Board meetings is innacurate. When there is an item on the agenda that warrants coverage, I attend the meetings and write what is discussed. In some cases, I follow up with other sources when further details are needed. I don't believe I have ever called the Chairman after a meeting and written an article on his opinion alone. I'm curious about where you get your information in regards to how the Banner covers meetings.
*Ray Shields 6/30/09. At the last June Selectboard Meeting, it was announced that a business, who had sued the town, was to receive a settlement from the town of some $10,000! Not one mention of this in the local paper. What's going on here!
Followup: A story in the paper Bennington Banner clarified that this "business" was the attorneys that the town hired in the recently completed steeple suit. Our Selectboard was "surprised" by the bill they received on this issue.
Cost of Sewer System
*Ray Shields 10/26/08. At the recent sewer meeting, FAA has reported that the sewer project will come in under $27 million dollars. We hope that the Federal and State funds necessary to conclude this project will not be affected by the downturn in the nations economy as we appear to be in a full recession. FAA thanked the town selectmen for their help and rightly pointed out that this was the largest Bennington County project ever and that they have 685 EU's to show for the effort and have terminated over 280 pollution points.
*Ray Shields 3/2/09. At the annual floor meeting, the board of selectman, notified the participants that the information on the wasterwater plant and its budget, along with revenue and expenses, was not in the annual report of the town. This information will be forthcoming sometime in the not too distant future. Currently there is some $8,000 owed in delinquent taxes by the sewer users. There is still not information on the amount owed on the bond for the sewer. One has to wonder if the reason for the non information available for taxpayers is that the rates will be going up to support delinquency and budget needs at the facility?
*Ray Shields 4/17/09. We now hear, according to the selectboard, that delinquency for the sewer users has risen to a sum over $12,000! This is not good news and with rates going up can only get worse.
*Ray Shields 5/13/09. According to the report read by the selectboard on May 7, 2009, the delinquency continues to rise and is now pegged at some $14,000! This trend seems to indicate another rate increase for the users that are paying might be in the short term future.
*Ray Shields 5/29/09. Take a deep breath, this past Thursday, the Sewer Commissioners, our Selectboard, met at the beautiful Wastewater Treatment facility to discuss . . . the town wide FLAT TAX, the tax each and every taxpayer pays, its recorded on our property bills towards support of the Wastewater project bond . . . take another deep breath and lets see what we might be hearing on this tax for Pownal taxpayers from this meeting . . . any ideas?
*Ray Shields 6/4/09. Just received my sewer bill and along with it some interesting information. Our selectboard has made it policy that after Town Meeting Day, in March and April, the Wastewater Facility budget will be put together. Think about this for a moment! After the largest gathering of towns people, the Wastewater Facility budget won't be available for discussion, input, or questions until sometime in late March or April. I have requested this coming years budget, the one for July 09 thru June 10 and will upon receipt posted it here for your inspection. Thanks for looking out for the sewer users and those paying their flat tax! . . . and it should be noted that the sewer users are paying, those that pay, more than 8 percent since the startup of the Pownal Wastewater Project.
Wastewater Operation & Maintenance Revenue/Expense Report Budget
Item budget 2009-2010
Contractors 2,500
Building and Grounds 250
Chemicals 24,850
Electricity/Pump Stations 14,900
Electricity/WWTF 19,850
Equipment Repair/Pump Station 2,000
Equipment Repair/WWTF 2,000
Equipment Rental 500
Equipment small purchases 2,000
Heating Fuel 9,750
Laboratory Expenses 1,900
General Maintenance 3,200
Generator Fuel 500
Pump Station Fuel 4,000
Maint. Repairs/ Other 2,000
Refuse Disposal 550
Sewer Use Fee 432
Sewer Line Maint. 1.000
Sludge Disposal/Treatment 15,000
Sludge Transportation 12,900
Supplies Parts/Fittings 1,200
Supplies Tools 290
Lab Tests/Outside 890
Vehicle Fuel 1,900
Vehicle Maint. 300
Capital Reserve Fund 0
Contingency 5,540
Operations Total 130,202
Total Budget Expenses 311,202
The Town supplied this information as correct. We noted a difference of $181,000 in this budget and have asked the Town in a letter to supply this information (6/10/09). Upon receipt of this information for the completion of the budget we will post it here. 311,202 minus 130,202 = 181,000. As of June 30, 2009 the town has not answered our letter about the missing information.
July 8, 2009
Received from the Town the following information, completing the 2009-2010 budget . . .
Wastewater billings 296,272
Reserve capacity fee 1,030
Septage fee 13,000
Application fee 200
Interest 200
Delinquent charges billed 500
Total Revenues 311,202
Wages 69,000
Overtime 6,500
Sick Pay 900
Vacation pay 3,710
Holiday pay 2,680
Fica expense 6,500
Health insurance 16,500
Municipal Retirement 3,500
Workers Compensation Insurance 3,000
Consultants/temp operator 500
Labor, Operations and Maintenance 113,780
Administrative charges 1,200
Billing supplies and postage 900
Safety supplies 650
Audit expense 500
Legal fees 300
Licenses, permits and dues 220
WWTF office supplies 400
Paging and internet 1,000
Property and casualty insurance 12,900
Telephone 2,850
Training/certfication 200
Operator exp. mileage 100
Interest expense 6,000
Loan payment 40,000
Administrative expenses 67,220
Delinquency soars to $54,000 on Sewer Project!
At the Town Selectmans meeting of July 23, 2009, selectboard announced that the delinquency amount had risen to a total of $54,000! Kudos to those paying their sewer and flat tax fees.
BARTELS LODGE
Board to act on Bartels property.doc
Hold that bulldozer--Editorial Bennington Banner< here.Click here to read the ATV club proposal as reported in the Bennington Banner. Click here for an editorial on this subject from the Bennington Banner.
*Amy Moore 6/13/07 - Just thought I'd weigh in since I'm the person who created those walking tours for Bennington.com in 1999. Some of the places on one of the original walking tours included diverse architecture such as Earl's Mobil station. I find the idea that a "historic area" must meet one particular "historic era" odd since, with few exceptions, most places have had people living there for so many generations to celebrate one seems silly. Every generation makes choices on the maintenance, expansion, demolition, and repair of structures based on economics and "best possible" decisions. Some times the choice to repair or not repair at all comes down to economics. Siding and roofing can dictate the future health of a building. Siding can be replaced later with higher quality. The installation of vinyl siding does not prohibit its future replacement with wood clapboard. If vinyl is what can be afforded now, that's better than nothing.
I would like to point out that under that poorly maintained, unsightly clapboard of the Walloomsac Inn (in Historic Old Bennington) is a sturdy brick building. In some generation, it was thought that the clapboard would look better than low maintenance brick and now, for all intents and purposes, there is a building that looks completely run down on that walking tour. That doesn't stop people from taking the tours or imagining the Presidents, dignitaries, and scoundrels that stayed there over a hundred years ago. The current (private) owners have no inclination of removing or repairing the siding. I have been inside that structure and it is gorgeous.
As an anecdote, there is a church on Rt. 2 in Massachusetts that has received earmarked federal funding (because Rt. 2 is a scenic byway and the church is considered part of the scenic) that needs a new roof to not fall beyond repair. But the $40,000 from Federal Highway will only pay for part of a new asphalt shingle roof with the removal of the "historic" slate roof. No one is willing to fund the replacement of slate (yet) and Federal Highway dollars won't finance boot-strap projects with in-kind donations.
There are many historic attributes of Pownal - Old Military Road being the first road in the State. No one complained when the Town paved part of it - it makes the road easier and safer to travel and maintain and it is still the oldest road in the state even with "ugly" blacktop on it.
I don't know all the issues around Bartel's Lodge. I do know energy would in be better spent by people who want to see a higher quality improvement investing it in securing funding that doesn't put greater demands on a town that, like every other Vermont town, struggles to balance a budget serving the greatest needs of the greatest number of taxpayers and residents. Tax revenues are not generated by Bennington's walking tours any more than they are generated by the incredible number of bicycle tours in Pownal. The walking tours, especially, are fine past times for people already here. When it comes down to it, Pownal has THE BEST walking tour in the state - it is called the southern terminus of the Long Trail [http://greenmountainclub.org/]- the oldest long distance hiking trail in the United States. There is also the northern terminus of the Taconic Trail in Pownal as well.
- D. Stanley 2/23/08 No, the walking or bicycle tours may not generate tax dollars in & of themselves, Amy, but as the first writer explained, they BRING tourism to town & then tourist/day trip visitors can & do take advantage of the businesses (restaurants, motels, inns, retail shopping,) in the town where they are.
What do tourists have here now? No signs directing them to a historical tour or sites, no tourist center, and a horrible bunch of waste & trash along both sides of our RT 7 to "welcome" visitors here. When will all this change? When will we open our eyes and see how other towns in Vermont are prospering and we are deteriorating?
Be patient? NO, we want and need action now
ATV Trails
A request to approve new ATV trails is before the Select Board. What are the issues that we need to discuss and present to the Select Board? Parking? Noise along roads in front of homes? Underaged drivers running ATVs along public roads to get to the ATV trails? Maintenance of the trails? Policing of the trails by approved users? Policing by Pownal? Required registration with the town? Fees for use of ATVs? Required insurance? Destruction of the environment by ATV users who don't use approved trails? Emission Standards? Differences between ATV "routes" and ATV "trails"? Is this a matter that needs more public input? For the minutes of the Select Board meeting at which this was introduced, go
Below are some links that provide meaningful background information for this topic:
Vermont Statutes on ATVs
ATV Collaborative Draft Report
Wikipedia entry on ATVs
A comparison of ATV regulations in Wisconsin and Minnesota
Peaceful Roads and Trails Response to ATV Proposals
Vermont All Terrain Vehicle Sportsmen's Associaton (VASA)
Vermont Woodlands Association Response to Illegal ATV Use
EPA ATV Emission Standards
A Collection of Other Links on ATVs
Progress Partners, racetrack developers!
*Ray Shields. 10/13/09. Progress Partners slowing development pace at site. Slowing to a stop!
Another Reappraisal!
*Ray Shields. 12/09/08. Oops!. Didn't we just do this a few short years ago at a substantial taxpayer cost?
Comedy Relief . . . Pownal style
*Ray Shields 6/18/09. Have you seen this sign posted in front of a house in No. Pownal?
Good
Woman
Wanted
*Ray Shields 7/27/09. Overheard outside Leonards Hardware on a recent visit . . . one fella to another, Leonard wants 15c for a washer, heck I can drill a hole in a quarter and make my own.
Laugh relief . . .
Due to the economic downturn, to save energy costs, the light at the end of the tunnel will be turned off.
*************
Sign seen at a local bulletin board . . . For Sale-Car. Must be towed. Gets great gas mileage!
Credit to Readers Digest . . .
The burial service for the elderly woman climaxed with a massive clap of thunder, followed by a bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder. "Well," said her husband to the shaken minister when it ended, "she's there."
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