Select Board reviews 2023 road projects, community events
April 9, 2023 | By Lisa Scagliotti Acknowledging that mud season isn’t entirely over for 2023, Waterbury town officials spent time last week discussing spring and summer road projects and reviewing plans for a variety of public events on the calendar.
Public Works Director Bill Woodruff offered a cautiously optimistic report on the town’s gravel roads. After a particularly bad mud season in 2022, this year so far is shaping up to be “much more tolerable,” he said, with the caveat that there still is potential for storms and muddy roads.
“Road conditions are excellent for spring,” he said.
The budget voters approved on Town Meeting Day contains $60,000 for maintenance on gravel roads this year, half of which is federal American Rescue Plan Act funding.
Woodruff said the Highway Department would wait until after the possibility of addressing any spring conditions subsided to decide where that effort would be directed. “We have about a half dozen gravel roads to put on that list,” he said, suggesting that sections of both Sweet Road and Perry Hill Road could be top candidates.
With a local source for road gravel closing in Bolton, Woodruff and Municipal Manager Tom Leitz noted that more of the budget would likely be used to cover hauling costs from sources farther away such as Hinesburg.
Mid-winter thaws made for muddier conditions in January than in April so far on some town gravel roads like Perry Hill. Photo by Gordon Miller
Paving priorities
The bigger effort will be paving projects.
This year’s budget has $405,000 allocated for road paving and Woodruff reviewed a proposed list to determine priorities.
Crews would start this season with the section of Blush Hill Road that did not get a final layer of pavement last year. A culvert replacement project was completed in November with just a base layer of asphalt over it, Woodruff said. Finishing that will cost about $54,000.
Next, Howard Avenue between Vermont Route 100 and intersections with Maple Street, Howard Avenue and Guptil Road is in need of paving. “It’s been a long time. It’s pretty bad,” Woodruff said.
That project would likely run about $106,000, he noted.
A third project would involve paving along Kennedy Drive and Ashford Lane with a cost estimate of $150,000. That work, however, would need to be timed after a water line replacement project is completed since that will involve road excavation, Woodruff said.
Funding for the water line project will be the subject of a bond vote by voters in the Edward Farrar Utility District next month. If approved, scheduling and completing that project in 2023 may not leave time for paving to happen afterward.
A grader works on Little River Road, November 2020. File photo by Gordon Miller
A fourth project discussed would pave the stretch of Little River Road from the intersection with U.S. Route 2 to the bus turnaround, essentially in the most concentrated residential neighborhood. The Select Board for the past several summers has heard from residents there about increased traffic, speed, and dust due to growing activity at Little River State Park at the far end of the road. The town purchased additional speed monitors to use on the road to alert drivers to their speed and Vermont State Police were asked to do additional patrols.
Property owners last year were told that paving could address some of the issues, for example making it easier to add speed bumps and pavement markings to slow traffic.
Leitz said he would communicate with Little River Road residents about the project. No estimate for the work has been done yet.
The board approved the plan to include the Blush Hill, Howard Avenue and Little River projects this year. If funds were still available from the paving budget, Woodruff said some small projects downtown could be included.
Other road-related notes:
A freshly paved Stowe Street in 2022 got crosswalks marked, but lines need to be added this year. File photo by Gordon Miller
Board member Alyssa Johnson asked about line-painting on Stowe Street which was paved in 2022, but lines were not painted on it. The state is to paint the center line, Woodruff said, noting that time ran out before it could be completed last year. That should be done this season after which the town crew will paint the white fog lines on the sides, he said.
The final phase of the Main Street reconstruction project – removing overhead wires between Stowe Street and the State Office Complex – is expected to be completed by June 1, Woodruff said. One remaining utility line attached to poles is to be removed by April 15 and afterward, work will commence to remove the old utility poles and patch sidewalks by June, he said. Utility lines in that section of Main Street are now buried in underground conduit. The effort will mark the completion of the project that began in 2019.
The group briefly discussed reducing the use of road salt. Leitz said he and Woodruff would bring a proposed plan for roads to eliminate or reduce winter salt use early in the fall.
Keeping up with town committees
As part of its reorganization for the coming year, the board discussed having members assigned to follow the work of the town’s various volunteer committees and commissions as a way to improve communication and awareness of ongoing work among the groups.
Each member noted their interests in which groups to follow. They agreed to the following assignments: Mike Bard would be the liaison to the Conservation Commission and the Development Review Board, both of which he has served on previously; Alyssa Johnson would be the liaison to the Planning Commission, which she served on before joining the Select Board; Kane Sweeney would be a liaison to the Housing Task Force and Roger Clapp to the Recreation Committee.
The list covers all appointed committees except for the Tree Committee. Other town boards have elected members. Dani Kehlmann was not at Monday’s meeting to volunteer for an assignment yet.
Event permits
The board reviewed multiple requests for entertainment permits for upcoming events that will involve large groups and alterations or increases in traffic.
The board approved requests for permits for the Clyde Whittemore Little League parade and for the Leaf Peepers 5K and Half Marathon race.
Runners in the 2021 Leaf Peepers Half Marathon start off on South Main Street in Waterbury. The event received a town permit for Oct. 1 this year. File photo by Gordon Miller
The little league parade is scheduled for Saturday, April 29, starting at Dac Rowe Park at 1 p.m. and lasting under an hour. It will involve closing Main Street to traffic prior to and during the parade which will end at Park Row.
Lead organizer Scott Culver from the little league organization submitted a detailed plan outlining points where volunteers would coordinate traffic control. He explained how he is coordinating with the Waterbury Fire Department and Vermont State Police to minimize disruptions and be prepared to respond in the event of an emergency.
The Leaf Peepers annual race is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 1. It involves multiple running events starting and ending at the State Office Complex on South Main Street and using a route that takes participants along the River Road in Duxbury.
A third event, the Waterbury Area Trails Alliance May 7 Gravel Grinder bike event was given approval with conditions that the group provide event-day contact information and adequate course volunteers to address issues of riding etiquette and litter. The event is run on roads in Waterbury, Stowe, Duxbury and Moretown with signs but no vehicle traffic closures.
The board did not act on permit requests from Circus Smirkus or the 100 on 100 relay foot race. The circus is scheduled to perform at Farr’s Field July 4-6. The board postponed action on the permit until April 17 so that the event plans could be reviewed by the fire chief.
The 100 on 100 relay is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 12, starting in Stowe and ending in Ludlow, passing through Waterbury briefly on Vermont Route 100. The board noted that it coincides with the Vermont Antique and Classic Car Meet in Waterbury. Board members said they would request a safety plan addressing traffic and spectators associated with the event before approving the permit.
Exploring a town charter
Board Chair Roger Clapp said the board has asked the town manager to research and share information with the board regarding creating a town charter. Waterbury does not have a charter that spells out authorities beyond what is outlined by state statutes.
A local charter could give the town government more flexibility in managing some of its affairs, Clapp said, such as enabling it to levy a local option sales tax. Currently under state law, municipalities with charters may enact a local option tax such as adding a 1% sales tax to be collected on top of the 6% state sales tax. A local option tax would provide a revenue source separate from property taxes to fund local government services.
Other management details could be spelled out in a charter such as the process for how various town staff members are hired. One example the board discussed is the zoning administrator position which currently is approved by the Select Board and recommended by the Planning Commission but supervised by the municipal manager. A charter provision could streamline that process.
“This is something we want to explore,” Clapp said.
The board directed Leitz to look into other examples of communities similar in size to Waterbury with charters for a future discussion about whether and how to pursue a potential town charter.
Other business
The board briefly covered several other items including:
Appointing Mike Loschiavo as town Tree Warden to succeed former town Planning and Zoning Director Steve Lotspeich who recently retired. Loschiavo is a member of the Tree Committee and his company, Vermont Gardenscapes contracts with the town for landscaping services such as maintenance of the roundabout plantings, summer flower baskets on lampposts, and managing downtown holiday garlands and light decorations. The Tree Warden’s role mainly plays a role in making decisions about trees in the public right of way when necessary.
Increasing the fee for use of the Steele Community Room at the municipal offices from $25 to $50 for the first two hours with the hourly fee beyond that remaining $10 per hour.
Reviewing a draft agenda for the April 17 meeting which will include multiple appointments to town committees. Members of the public interested in serving on a committee or commission should send a letter of interest to Town Clerk Karen Petrovic by Thursday, April 13. More information about openings can be found here.
Noting that the April 17 Select Board meeting will be preceded by a Board of Civil Authority meeting at 6 p.m. to review a tax abatement request from the Children’s Literacy Foundation. The Board of Civil Authority is made up of the Select Board, the town clerk and the town’s 15 elected justices of the peace.