Cavendish Update 2/18/22: SB Mtg/Town & School Voting/News
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2/18/22
1. Cavendish Select Board Meeting 2/14/22
2. Cavendish Info
3. Informational Meetings & Voting for Town & School
4. Covid update
5. Events
1. CAVENDISH SELECT BOARD MEETING 2/14/22: The Cavendish Select Board (SB) meeting of Feb. 14, 2022 is on-line at the Okemo Valley TV website. Unapproved minutes are available at the Town’s website and the VT Journal has posted an article on the meeting.
Action Taken/Items Discussed
• Reviewed Town Speeding Enforcement Ordinance: The sheriff deputy recently told town manager, Brendan McNamara, some violations are being thrown out in towns where the ordinances do not list the roads by name. The SB agreed that McNamara should work with the sheriff’s office to upgrade the list to include all roads, whether they are posted or not. To change the ordinance, there will need to be a public hearing and an adoption by the SB. The goal is to complete this change by the summer.
• ‘Mask Mandate Resolution’: With the Resolution having expired at the time of the meeting, two members- George Timko and Bob Glidden-thought it should stay that way, while Sandra Russo and Mike Ripley were in favor of keeping the resolution until the next SB meeting. With the absence of board member Stephen Plunkard, it was a tie vote and consequently, the mask mandate is expired. Note: Free KN95s are available for adults and children at the Cavendish Fire Department, Monday-Saturday 9-4.
• Plans for reclaiming the site of the former Highway Garage: McNamara outlined the summer activities slated for this site: removing the pole barns; removing fuel tank, not sure where it will be relocated; landscaping; and re connecting water for the proposed park and for the Cavendish Historical Society Museum. McNamara will be working with Regional Planning, Cavendish Streetscapes, and Tim Calabresse, landscape architect. The soil will be checked to make sure it’s contaminant free and safe for a public park. Significant improvements to the site should be seen by fall. Work begins this spring with the end of “mud season.”
• Town Manager’s Report: Cameras and alarm systems are installed at the town garage.
- The Supreme court reversed their interpretation of Act 250 for towns without zoning, which is that any parcel over 1 acre will require an Act 250 review. See the first item under 2. Cavendish Info for more information.
- Switching Proctorsville street lighting to LEDs. Costs to operate will be significantly reduced and the lighting will be much better.
- Looking at costs to repair sidewalks in Proctorsville.
- The town is eligible for a Class II paving grant. Tarbell Hill is in desperate need. Quint Phelan is another possibility, though the town crew can do some of the work. High Street and Ranney Hill need to be repaved if not this year, than next.
- Want to replace culverts on Brook Rd and Meadow Brook Farm. These costs can be covered by ARPA funds.
- The electric car charger on Depot Street next to the Proctorsville Green will no longer be free. A credit card reader is being installed.
2. CAVENDISH INFO
• Supreme Court reverses course on interpretation of Act 250 in towns with no zoning: Recently, in a Supreme Court case that was deciding the fate of a stone quarry in Cavendish, Justice William Cohen included an interpretation of Act 250 that would have changed the way the law has been administered since its inception. All parties, including the attorney for Snowstone, the Cavendish quarry, agreed the historic interpretation of the law should remain in place. The new interpretation was irrelevant to the case, the attorney for Snowstone argued, because both the project footprint and the parcel size of the quarry are less than 1 acre. The neighbors had argued that the landowner and the quarrier had tried to evade Act 250, and structured their transaction to that end. The court’s revised decision, which restores the historic interpretation of the law, comes after multiple parties reargued the case. The court decided Friday, Feb. 11, that the quarry does not fall under Act 250 jurisdiction because of the size of both the project and the parcel of land where it’s located. VT Digger
• Superintendent Looking to Align Schedules of All Five TRSU Schools: TRSU Superintendent Lauren Fierman discussed at the recent Ludlow Mount Holly Unified Union School District meeting on Feb. 9 that she is recommending having all five schools in the Union operate on the same schedule. The question is whether all schools have the early release day that CTES currently has on Tuesday or whether CTES would have that eliminated. VT Journal
• Author David Rosenfelt to Speak at the Cavendish Library: The Cavendish Fletcher Community Library, in partnership with the Lucy MacKenzie Humane Society and The Book Nook, is delighted to present a visit with an author: David Rosenfelt on Sunday, March 27 at 1:00 at the Cavendish Library. Rosenfelt is the Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award-winning author of more than twenty Andy Carpenter novels, including One Dog Night, Collared, and Deck the Hounds; its spinoff series, The K-Team; the Doug Brock thriller series, which starts with Fade to Black; and stand-alone thrillers including Heart of a Killer and On Borrowed Time. Tickets for this event are $5 in advance or $10 at the door. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Lucy MacKenzie Humane Society. The Book Nook will be pre-selling copies of his books, and two featured titles, Animal Instinct and Dog Eat Dog, will be on sale during the event. FMI: Kata at 226-7503
• State study confirms long wait times for medical appointments
3. SCHOOL & TOWN INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS & VOTING
• School Informational Meeting: The hybrid informational meeting for the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) budget will be Feb. 24 (Thursday) at 6 pm via Zoom or in person at Green Mountain Union High School.
- Join zoom meeting Meeting ID: 819 7783 9300 One tap mobile +16468769923,,81977839300# US (New York)
- The school budgets are available at the TRSU website CTES, the Cavendish Town Office, GMUHS, and the TRSU. This year’s budget includes the following for CTES: a full time dedicated principal; Nursing coverage for the entire day; a full time guidance counselor and funding support for the Cavendish Fletcher Library.
• School Voting will be for just the budgets of the GMUSD (includes CTES and GMUHS) and River Valley Technical, on March 1st (Tuesday) at the Proctorsville Fire Dept from 10-7.
• Town Informational Meeting: Hybrid meeting at CTES and via Zoom on March 28 (Monday) at 7 pm .
• Town Voting: By Australian Ballot (including warned articles, elected positions, and town budget) will be held at the Proctorsville Fire Dept. on Tuesday, March 29, from 10-7.
4. COVID UPDATE: For local information on testing, vaccinations, boosters, notifying contacts as well as other resources, including for Long Covid, please see the Cavendish COVID-19 Resource Guide.
WEEKLY DATA:
Cavendish & Surrounding Towns For the week ending February 9, Cavendish and the surrounding towns, with the exception of Weathersfield, continue to see a decrease in Covid cases. Cavendish had 3 new cases, 176 total; Ludlow 5 (324 total); Chester 8 (623 total); Springfield 32 (1,872); and Weathersfield 8 (253).
Schools: While the state is no longer tracking COVID cases in schools, the TRSU is keeping a list beginning January 2022, which is available at their website. As of Feb, 17, cases have been recorded since January as follows: CTES 7 cases; Ludlow Elementary 9 cases; GMUHS 67 cases; Chester Elem 46 and Mt. Holly Elementary 12. From the start of the 2021 fall term through Dec. 31, the VT Dept. of Health reported cumulative cases as follows for local schools: CTES 3 total; Chester Andover 15; Ludlow Elementary 8; and GMUHS 20.
State: According to Tuesday’s Feb. 15 modeling reports cases continue to drop with the 7-day average having decreased 23% over the last 7 days and decreasing 55% over the last 14 days. Since Omicron began, cases are down 84%. This past week has had the fewest weekly cases since November 1, 2021. Test positivity has also decreased to 5.9% yesterday versus 7.8% from Feb. 10. Trends in Vermont, the Northeast and the U.S. are expected to continue to decline. As of Feb. 17, 10 new deaths have occurred in VT in the last week. A total of 43 deaths have been reported in February; 579 deaths since the pandemic started . Hospitalizations hit a new low on Wednesday of 52 cases but increased to 57 on Thursday. ICU admissions have held steady at 15 for the last two days.
SCHOOL MASK RECOMMENDATION TO EXPIRE: At Tuesday’s press conference, Gov. Scott announced that the mask recommendation for schools, set to expire Feb. 28, would not be extended. The new recommendation is that schools with a vaccination rate of 80% or higher after Feb. 28, could remove the mask mandate. Scott indicated that at some point the recommendation would be lifted all together but were opting for a phased approach at this time. Education Secretary Dan French noted that masking has been a recommendation and at some point, schools may opt to continue or discontinue the practice. CTES currently has a vaccination rate of 68%.
FREE VACCINE/BOOSTER CLINIC: The Cavendish Fire Department will once again host a vaccine clinic on Feb. 26 (Saturday) from 10:30-1:30. Free KN95s for adults and kids will be available at the clinic. They are also available Monday-Saturday from 9-4 at the Cavendish Fire Dept.
5. EVENTS
FEBRUARY 21 (MONDAY): President’s Day. Town Office Closed
FEBRUARY 21 (MONDAY)-25 (FRIDAY): School winter break.
FEBRUARY 24 (THURSDAY): GMUSD Informational Budget Meeting, 6 pm via Zoom or in person at the Green Mountain Union High School
FEBRUARY 26 (SATURDAY): Free vaccine/booster clinic at the Cavendish Fire Dept., 10:30-1:30
FEBRUARY 27 (SUNDAY): A visit with David Rosenfelt, 1 pm Cavendish Library. FMI: 802-226-7503
MARCH 1 (TUESDAY) Mardi Gras. Voting Day on school budgets for GMUSD (includes CTES & GMUHS) 10-7 pm at the Proctorsville Fire Dept.
MARCH 13 (SUNDAY): Spring forward. Daylight savings returns. Move clocks ahead one hour.
MARCH 28 (MONDAY): Hybrid Town Informational Meeting; 7 pm. In person at CTES multi purpose room or via zoom.
CA❤︎ENDSH VAXXING, BOOSTING & MASKING TO PROTECT SELF & OTHERS