Cavendish Update 9/16/22: Sept. SB Mtg/News/Events
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9/16/22
1. Cavendish Select Board meeting 9/12/22
2. Cavendish Info
3. Covid update
4. Events
1. CAVENDISH SELECT BOARD MEETING 9/12: The Select Board (SB) meeting can be watched at the Okemo Valley TV Website.
John Arrison Updates: Cavendish’s state rep updated the SB as follows:
- Act 172 This act also establishes a grant program in FY 2023 for municipalities to receive recommendations on the use of more efficient heating systems and to make necessary improvements to reduce fossil fuel usage and increase efficiency in municipally owned buildings. The grant program is administered by BGS [Buildings and General Services], which shall award grants of not more than $500,000.00 for approved projects and not more than $4,000.00 for facilitation of community meetings and communication about municipal energy resilience. $45 million has been set aside in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The town can apply for grants to upgrade the town garage as well as for the fire departments.
- A second grant is available for town related generators.
- Of the four schools recently tested for PCBs, Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) was the only one found safe.
AirBNB and Short Term Rentals: Town manager, Brendan McNamara, said there is an impact on town water and the transfer station by increasing utilization of AirBnBs/short term rentals. Note: Town water is only available in the villages and a quick review of the websites VRBO and AirBnB found a number of condos at The Castle, The Pointe and on Depot St. One condo alone said they could sleep 14. All of these properties are on town water, which may explain the increased usage.
Concerns have also been raised that by owners shifting to the short term and seasonal rental market, a significant decrease in long term rental housing has occurred. This in turns impacts the number of students at CTES, which is declining. The CTES population has decreased to 75 students, significantly less than the 104 students from 2008 and higher rates in the 1990s. Betty McEnaney indicated that in spite of the lack of rental housing, there was another reason for the declining enrollment.
McEnaney provided the board with Vermont birth rates, which show a steady decline. In 1990, the birth rate was 14.7 per 1,000 population and by 2020, it had dropped to 8.2. Since 1955, the “baby boom” era, Vermont’s birth rate has been in steady decline. Note that this is a national trend and in fact, the US is far below the 2,100 births per 1,000 women that each generation needs to exactly replace itself.
The role of rentals, birth rates, and declining student population has direct bearing on the Green Mountain Unified School District’s (GMUSD) recent request for voters, in November, to pass a $20 million bond. This would provide upgrades (converting heating systems to propane from oil and weatherization) for CTES, Chester Andover Elementary and Green Mountain Union High School (GMUHS) Approximately $16 million alone is for GMUHS, which currently has 350 students in a building that was designed for 600.
Like Ludlow and Chester, the Cavendish Planning Commission is beginning to discuss rentals and housing in general.
Screening Plant: The town has a screen-used for gravel and sand-which isn’t being used. It’s in good condition and the recommendation is to sell it, with the purchaser being responsible for removing it from its current location.
131 Dog issue: At a special July 25th SB meeting , to discuss the issue of Susan Ladmer’s dogs that have bitten the neighbor and were straying from the owner’s property, the SB voted unanimously for the following motion, The Select Board recommends Susan Ladmer’s dogs are kept tethered, and a kennel will be constructed by August 1st, 2022, and it will be inspected by the Town Manager, and if other instances occur the dogs will be removed. Since that meeting, the Humane Society removed the dogs based on poor home conditions. However, due to lack of facilities, the dogs were returned to Ladmer, who has failed to comply with the SB’s motion. A special SB meeting has been scheduled for Thursday Sept. 22 on this issue.
Resignation of Rec. Director: The SB accepted Terry O’Brien’s resignation, effective Sept. 17, as Cavendish Recreation Director with regret. McNamara said he has a good possibility for an interim director.
ARPA Committee: The Committee will be convening shortly to make recommendations on the town’s use of ARPA funds. If interested in serving on this committee, please contact the town office 802-226-7291.
Energy: The Town’s Energy Plan will be on the Oct. SB agenda.
- Want to replace lightbulbs in Ludlow Electric’s street lamps (Proctorsville Main St.) with LEDs.
Town Mineral Rights: The town currently holds mineral rights on a route 131 property. Recently McNamara has received a number of calls from people who wish to purchase the property and are requesting that the town cede their mineral rights. Since these rights were assigned in the 1950s, it was suggested that testing be done to determine what exactly the minerals are on this property.
Junk Ordinance: There are currently over 30 properties that are not in compliance with the town’s junkyard ordinance. McNamara is working with these property owners, a number of whom are trying to comply.
Water: The water tank in Whitesville is being painted and a leak repaired.
Change of Date for Oct. Meeting: Due to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the SB meeting will be moved to Oct. 17.
2. CAVENDISH INFO
• Bob Williams Go Fund Me: Well known in Cavendish-bus driver for CTES, pond specialist (William Lake Dredging), plow man, store owner etc.- Bob Williams has been diagnosed with brain cancer. He’s at the beginning of a long road to recovery. A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help with expenses.
• M&T Bank Merger: With assurances that People’s United debit cards would work until Sept. 20, many have learned the hard way that their cards were cancelled well before that date and before they received their M&T card. While some customers have found the transmission to be smooth, others have found it very problematic and have posted a variety of complaints at the Cavendish Facebook Page.
3. 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.
Free Test kits: Available Monday-Friday at the Cavendish Fire Dept from 9-4. For weekends and off hours, call 802-226-7807.
Schools: From 9/6-9/15 Covid cases were reported as follows:
CTES 1 new case for a total of 10 since the start of school
GMUHS 4 new cases
Ludlow Elementary 1 new case
State: The current VT Dept of Health Weekly Report Sept.4-Sept 10, continues to report statewide community levels as low, with only two counties reporting “medium” levels-Rutland and Bennington.
• New hospital admissions with Covid: 337 new admissions (decrease by 1 from last week’s 38)
• Percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by patients with Covid: 3.05% (decrease from last week’s 3.18%%)
• Wastewater Monitoring: Increasing Bennington, Brighton, Essex Junction, Johnson, St. Albans City, Winooski. Decreasing Morrsville St. Johnsbury, and Troy/Jay. No report for Barrel, Newport City and Jay/Troy.
• Outbreaks: As of Tuesday, there were 25 active outbreaks, substantially up from last week’s 9 active outbreaks of Covid. This is being driven by 17 outbreaks at schools. Other sites include 5 in long-term care facilities, 2 in Non-LTC Healthcare and 1 in a correctional facility. There are 2 active outbreaks listed for Windsor County.
• Deaths: No deaths have been reported so far for September.
4. EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 23-24 (FRIDAY-SATURDAY): Black River Good Neighbor (BRGN) Rummage Sale at Fletcher Farm.
SEPTEMBER 25-27 (SUNDAY-TUESDAY): Rosh Hashanah
OCTOBER 4-5 (TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY): Yom Kippur
OCTOBER 10 (MONDAY): Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Town Office Closed
OCTOBER 31 (MONDAY): Happy Halloween
NOVEMBER 9 (TUESDAY): Election Day! Proctorsville Fire Dept. 10-7. Town Office Closed
NOVEMBER 11 (FRIDAY): Veteran’s Day Town Office Closed
NOVEMBER 24 (THURSDAY): HAPPY THANKSGIVING
NOVEMBER 25 (FRIDAY): Town Office Closed
DECEMBER 3-4 (SATURDAY-SUNDAY): Okemo Valley INNdulgence Tour. Enjoy holiday decorations, warm drinks and tasty treats at nearly a dozen inns in the Okemo Valley. From noon-5 pm, tickets are $15 per person.