Skip to content Skip to main navigation Skip to footer

Announcements

Recreation Commission Agenda, 03.16.2023

Guilford Recreation Commission Meeting
Thursday, March 16, 2023-  6:30-7:30
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89647903353

I. Recognition of Public:

II. Call to Order:  

III. New Additions:  

IV. Changes to Agenda:  

V. Approval of Minutes:  

VI. Finances: 

VII. Old Business: 

  1. commission members – how can we get more involvement? – Mary
  2. ski returns –April? Chris

VIII. New Business:

  1. E-bikes at the library (energy commission) – do we want to get involved (Chris Beebe
    will present)
  2. Egg hunt (Saturday before Easter)- Ashley
  3. Playscape- play equipment, ADA compliant path -Mary
  4. Halloween party in October for the adults (Saturday night the 21 st ?)-Verandah
  5. background checks for members $150 line item- Chris
  6. Ideas for next meeting –Everyone

VIII. Adjournment

Cemetery Commission Agenda, 03.16.2023

GUILFORD CEMETERY COMMISSION MEETING
Thursday 16 March 2023  9:30 am Town Office

Agenda

Call to Order

Recognition of Public

Rules of Procedure

Additions

Approval of Minutes

New Business:   

  • Vermont Open Meeting Law
  • Election of officers

Old Business:

  • Brochures
  • PVC pipes 
  • Veterans buried in cemeteries
  • Number of flags we have
  • Cemetery Signs
  • Rodney Bell – Carpenter Cemetery

Discussions, up-dates

Actions to be taken

Adjournment

Planning Commission Agenda, 03.15.2023

Town of Guilford Planning Commission Meeting 
Wednesday, March 15, 6:30 pm 
236 School Road, Guilford, VT 
Public is welcome to attend in person or via Zoom. Link below 

Agenda 

I. Call to Order 

II. Recognition of Public 

III. Rules of Procedure 

IV. Changes to Agenda Order 

V. Approval of minutes 2/21/23-2 minutes 

VI. New business 

  1. Coffee with Coffey and State Senator Wendy Harrison. Report from Julie Holland-5 minutes Informational topics: 
    • Climate migration into the CT Valley series by WRC: Identifying Planning Solutions for the Connecticut River Migration System of New Hampshire and Vermont-5 minutes 

VII. Dubois and King Strategic Planning Process-Dan Mallach from D&K-45 minutes

  1. Town Tour 3/22/23 
  2. List of Businesses registered in Guilford-need to refine: 
    https://bizfilings.vermont.gov/online/BusinessInquire/BusinessSearch
  3. Next steps 

VIII. Creation of Housing Committee: Why start a housing committee? | HousingData.org-15 minutes

IX. Adjournment 

Guilford Commissions is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. 

Topic: Guilford Planning Commission 
Time: Mar 15, 2023 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

Join Zoom Meeting 
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85736338064?pwd=VzE4T0wyMmNKNG14eFZIMWVvUUNlZz09

Meeting ID: 857 3633 8064 
Passcode: 716027

Selectboard Agenda, 03.13.2023

GUILFORD SELECTBOARD MEETING AGENDA
Monday, March 13, 2023, 6:30 p.m., 236 School Road, Guilford, VT

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/94125752190?pwd=bHN0Wk9ka1k4MEFVcHRoTFJQMGI1dz09
Meeting ID: 941 2575 2190 Passcode: 158256
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,94125752190#,,,,*158256# US (Washington DC)
Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
If link does not work: sign into zoom.us, enter Meeting ID and Passcode to join

Agenda

  1. Call to Order  (ESTIMATED Time)
  1. Rules of Procedure (2 minutes)
  1. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair of Selectboard (5 minutes) (action: motion)
  1. Welcoming of Public     Community Comment Period (10 minutes)
  1. Changes to Agenda Order (2 minutes)
  1. Approval of Minutes (2 minutes)
    1. Minutes of the regular meeting of 2.27.23
  1. Updates & Reports
    1. Assessor Clerk – Statistical Reappraisal update from the State (no action) (2 minutes)
    2. Highway (10 minutes)
      1. Clarification of 2.27.23 order of Bandit chipper
      2. Discussion about Kubota Tractor/Mower purchase
      3. MRGP grant revenue and expense report 
    3. Hearing date to be set for “Jason Herron v. Town of Guilford Selectboard (no action) (2 minutes)
  1. Old Business
    1. Traffic Safety in Algiers Village – shall Guilford approach VTrans and, if yes, about which option (action: motion)
    2. ARPA Awards update and balance (no action)
    3. Sub-committee Recommendation re: Friends of Algiers Village ARPA grant application (action: motion)
  2. New Business
    1. Conflict of Interest forms to be signed by Selectboard members (for the record) (2 minutes)
    2. Annual appointment of Town Officers (action: motion) (5 minutes)
    3. Appointment and Compensation of Delinquent Tax Collector  (action: motion) (2 minutes)
    4. Relationship between Town and WSESU (report) (2 minutes)
  3. Finance  (5 minutes)
    • Warrants    (action: motion)   
    • Other Business
    • Communications
      1. Chip Carter on Agenda Detail
      2. Election questions
      3. Stony Hill Road Improvement
    • Actions from Previous Meeting – NONE
    • Action Taken
      1. Approved minutes of meeting of 2.13.23
      2. Approved purchase of the chipper
      3. Approved revised procurement policy
      4. Accepted grant application from FAV and forwarded to the subcommittee which is revised to include Richard and Rusty for this particular application
      5. Agreed to forward draft of personnel policy to VLCT  – they don’t provide that service anymore and advised that policy be reviewed by outside attorney
      6. Approved warrants
      7. Approved salary adjustment
    • Actions to be Taken
    • Adjournment

    Notice of Public Hearing, 03.23.2023

    NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Thursday, 3.23.23, 6:30 p.m.

    Agenda

    1. Call to Order
    2. Recognition of Public
    3. Rules of Procedure
    4. Changes to Agenda Order
    5. New Business*

    Public Hearing to review and adopt the final version of Town of Guilford’s Town Plan, 2022-
    2030 which was approved by the Planning Commission on 12.27.22.

    Amendments include 1) incorporation of a paragraph in the History section that discusses the
    history of Lucy and Abijah Prince in Guilford 2) inclusion of explanatory language regarding
    the tax abatement process in the Land Use section 3) removal of the sentence indicating that
    Guilford would undertake a sewer feasibility study, replacing it with language that wastewater
    and water management systems would be explored in the Land Use section  4) updated
    information indicating that Guilford’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan has been approved by the
    State of Vermont. 

    Additionally, all of the maps contained within the Town Plan have been updated with new
    maps when available. Finally, the Town Plan has been edited to include the Town’s new
    website address. 

    *Relevant documents are available at the Town Office.

    ZOOM INVITATION:
    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83999739654?pwd=Zkl5SWlvM0FtOWlVOElaa0ljS1Q5Zz09
    Meeting ID: 839 9973 9654 Passcode: 813816

    One tap mobile
    +13017158592,,83999739654#,,,,813816# US (Washington DC) +13052241968,,83999739654#,,,,813816# US
    Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)

    Planning Commission is Growing

    The Guilford Planning Commission is upsizing from five to seven members. Why? The Commission is entering a 9-month community planning project that will engage the community broadly about what makes Guilford special, now and into the future.

    Working together, the Selectboard and the Planning Commission seek a broad representation of the town’s voices to lead this planning effort. Planning Commission members serve staggered 3-year terms. With the addition of two new members and the departure of Mike Szostak (thanks for your service, Mike!), three new members will be appointed. The Planning Commission generally meets once per month, on the second Wednesday evening of the month. 

    It is the Selectboard that makes appointments to most of Guilford’s Commissions (not the Cemetery Commission, which is elected). The Selectboard will work closely with the Planning Commission for this planning project, and is invested in building  the strongest possible team for Guilford. 

    If you have personal interest or strong recommendations, send your name (or suggested person’s name) and contact info, along with a brief bio and a 3-sentence statement about why service would be important, to zoneastes@guilfordvt.gov.

    Conservation Commission Minutes, 02.16.2023

    Conservation_Minutes_2.16.2023 Draft

    Attending: Linda Hecker, Linda Lembke, Steve Soszynski, Susan Bonthron, Anne Montgomery, Bill Jewell, Bevan Quinn, Karen Murphy
    Not attending: Marli Rabinowitz

    Meeting called to order at 5:30 via Zoom.
    There were no changes to the agenda.
    The minutes from January 19 and 26th were unanimously accepted.

    Town meeting:
    We plan on staffing a table at the meeting with information about the Emerald Ash Borer.

    We confirmed the presentation by Sam Schneski on April 20th from 7-8:30 at the BBCC. He will be speaking to the new changes to the Current Use Program.

    We have plans to circulate information about the Emerald Ash Borer as it has been identified in Guilford.

    The NRI report is complete in draft form. Several board members will be working on finalizing the report. We hope to be able to present it sometime this summer at the BBCC as well as on the newly designed web site. 

    We had a discussion about the town’s Rules and Procedures that were circulated by the select board. 

    A tentative plan to install both permanent and temporary wildlife crossing signs will be presented to the select board for approval. 

    Guilford Cares walks:
    Last year GC sponsored several walks that were well attended. We brainstormed several walks that might be of interest and will be led by a GCC board member.

    IPads: We hope to keep them at the town office. 

    Linda Lembke showed us a new map, developed by Jeff Nugent, entitled Mountains of Windham County, Vermont.

    New business:
    AVCC Tiny Grant available.
    A new town administrator has been hired. 

    Next meeting is March 16 at 5:30 PM.

    Respectfully submitted,
    Karen Murphy, Clerk  
    Guilford Conservation Commission

    Energy Committee Minutes, 02.20.2023

    Energy Committee Meeting Notes
    6:00 pm Monday, February 20, 2023

    Call to order: 6:06pm

    Energy Committee Members Present: Nancy, Chris, Jen, Anne, Gary, Anne, Jen

    Recognition of Public: none

    Old Business:

    • E-Bike Grant
      The Selectboard approved the project and opened the door to receive grant monies after concerns over impact to Town’s liability insurance were noted to be minimal, and part of the grant funding over the first two years of the program. Total 2-year project costs are just over $2,900, which is the full grant award, so no cost to the Town. There was a small contingent of the Guilford public who oppose the project, but no rationale was offered as to the negative impacts to the Guilford community.

      The project budget developed by Chris includes an estimated cost for storage. If Recreation Club provides storage, the budget could be expanded over a longer period without an increase in the current budget. Other items included are nominal increase in Town’s liability insurance, and the purchase of helmets and safety vests. 

      We discussed that we’ll need to purchase bike locks, but headlamps are currently not anticipated to be necessary as bike usage will most likely be during daylight hours.

      Next Steps:
      Chris will reach out to the Rec Club to see if they can store the bikes. He’ll also see if the Club can take over the permanent ownership of the program, which would be a logical next step while demonstrating a great example of community collaboration.

      Not sure if grant providers will require an ongoing accounting of the use of the grant funds, but consensus in the Committee is it would be a good idea to provide proactive project updates to the Town and the grantor organization.

      The Committee agreed that purchasing (2) two step-thru bike models will be of the most utility to the diverse Guilford community.

    New Business:

    • MERP (Municipal Energy Resilience Program) 
      This is a Vermont state grant program that is just ramping up in early 2023 and has for separate grant categories. 
      1. Municipal Building Audits: This is the most nearterm component of grant funding that we’ll need to focus on in the coming months.  We determined that the Library is the only and best Town-owned building that could benefit from this program. The goal for the Committee is to receive approval from the Selectboard to apply for the grant to support the Town Library. If approved, the audit could serve as a transition project to reducing the Library’s use of fossil fuels. The final audit could also be instrumental in the future Library project to receive additional funds from Efficiency Vermont to support building improvements. This audit would serve as a “baseline” for current energy usage, which Efficiency Vermont requires in order to verify energy savings due to future upgrades.  Applications for this grant category will become available in early March.
      2. Community Capacity Building – This category supports the increase of the Town’s ability to support a wide range of energy efficiency activities.  Including but not limited to: hiring grant writers, organizing and convening public meetings to discuss energy efficiency efforts and opportunities, etc.
      3. Building Renovation Projects – This supports projects targeted specifical at upgrading buildings to reduce the usage of fossil fuels. Grant amounts up to $500, 000 will become available, but this component won’t become available for at least 2-years. Discussion focused on the potential for this grant to support the Library project, in particular components that are focused on energy efficiency. This could ideally help offset the direct costs to Town.
      4. MERP Fund Prioritization – The grants under this category are a set aside for Vermont towns that are shown to have the highest energy burden. Due to recent influx of wealthy residents to Guilford, we’re considered less energy burdened, on a townwide basis, than many other Vermont towns.  This component of the grant program will evolve over the next few years, so details will clarify over time.

    The opportunity for applying for the Library audit grant funds should be brought to the Selectboard ASAP for their approval.

    Jenn will be the front end liaison with the MERP process (grantors) until she leaves in May/June.

    • Efficiency Vermont (EVT) grant application 

    This grant provides support for Vermont communities who have been involved, or will be involved, with the Window Dressers’ program. Nancy applied for $4,000 in funds to support window inserts for low-income Guilford residents. EVT acknowledged receipt of Nancy’s application and it is pending review and approval.

    • Guilford Free University – March 11th, 2023

    This is a partial day event (12:30 to 6:00, with a 6:00-8:00 potluck and social time)

    Jenn submitted our desire to sign up for a booth for the full event, and we received approval.

    We’ll have various educational materials and demonstration items (science-fair type demonstrations). Included in our goals to have a light bulb and metering demonstration showing the difference in energy usage between incandescent/CFL and LED light bulbs; a solar PV demonstration module; a Window Dressers mock and a facts/figures display showing the positive impact of the Window Dressers program to date for Guilford.

    Other additions to the Energy Committee’s booth may be added, with a focus on attracting the younger crowd of Guilford citizens.

    Schedule Next Meeting: Thursday March 16th, 2023

    Close of Meeting: Meeting adjourned at 7:01 pm.

    Selectboard Meeting Agenda, 02.27.2023

    GUILFORD SELECTBOARD MEETING
    Monday, February 27, 2023 6:30 p.m., 236 School Road, Guilford, VT

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89669087008?pwd=S3NvcFRod3JkUVZ3d1BVakVnSXBqdz09
    Meeting ID: 896 6908 7008 Passcode: 410840
    One tap mobile
    +13092053325,,89669087008#,,,,410840# US +13126266799,,89669087008#,,,,410840# US (Chicago)

    Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
    IF LINK DOES NOT WORK: GO TO https://zoom.us/join , ENTER MEETING ID, THEN PASSCODE

    Agenda

    1. Call to Order  (ESTIMATED Time)
    1. Rules of Procedure (2 minutes)
    1. Welcoming of Public     Community Comment Period (10 minutes)
    1. Changes to Agenda Order (2 minutes)
    1. Approval of Minutes (2 minutes)
      1. Minutes of the regular meeting of 2.13.23
    1. Updates & Reports
      1. Highway (5 minutes)
    2. Old Business
      1. Revised Procurement policy (2 minutes)
        1. Added: “As an alternative to issuing Requests for Proposals the Town may use the competitive procurement price solicitation process provided by the Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Program.” See page 2 of policy.
    3. New Business  
      1. AARP Grant application from Friends of Algiers Village (5 minutes)
      2. Regional Policing Policy Work Group (2 minutes)
      3. Review of Draft of Personnel Policy (10 minutes)
    4. Finance  (5 minutes) – Warrants
      •    
    5. Other Business
    6. Communications
    7. Executive Session to discuss personnel issues per 1 V.S.A. § 313 (a)(3) to discuss the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee. 
    8. Actions from Previous Meeting –
      1. Approved minutes of two prior meetings
      2. Approved working with Sourcewell purchasing cooperative to acquire Highway equipment
      3. Approved professional audit engagement letter
      4. Accepted e-bike grant award; determine amount of liability coverage provided for $55 premium
      5. Approved increasing the Planning Commission membership from 5-7
      6. Retroactively appointed personnel subcommittee
      7. tabled discussions of revisions to the personnel policy
      8. approved warrants
      9. voted to extend offers to assistant town treasurer and town administrator preferred candidates 
    9. Action Taken: update Procurement policy accordingly
    10. Actions to be Taken
    11. Adjournment

    Cemetery Commission Minutes, 02.16.2023

    GUILFORD CEMETERY COMMISSION MEETING
    Thursday 16 February 2023  9:30 am Town Office

    Cemetery Commissioners Present:
    Nancy Detra, Eric Morse, Verandah Porche, Carol Schnabel

    Member of the Public Present:
    Lynn Pancake

    Call to Order:
    The meeting was called to order at 9:30 am 

    Approval of Minutes:
    The minutes from January were approved as submitted.

    New Business:
    Carol received the VOCA newsletter and their spring meeting will be in Vergennes on May 6, 2023.  Deadline to reserve is April 15.  Carol will keep us posted on topic when she hears.

    Old Business:
    Burial in Carpenter Cemetery- Lynn Pancake came to discuss green burials and inquire about buying burial plots.  Green burials are allowed in Vermont and there are a variety of ways to do this.  We talked about asking Rodney Bell to meet some of us at the Carpenter Cemetery in the spring.  We discussed protocols for green burials. 

    Brochure- Nancy and Evelyn McLean are about to meet to get this ready to print.  Eric contacted Jeff Nugent who is working on a map of Guilford Cemeteries.  

    Flag count-  Carol contacted Penny and there are plenty of flags for now.  

    Flag holders- Kyle is working on that and will have the information for the next meeting.

    Identifying veterans- We have been working on getting a better list of veterans buried in Guilford.  

    Town meeting- Nancy offered to nominate Kyle from the floor.

    Cemetery signs-  Kyle is working on that.

    Insurance- nothing needs to change at this time.

    Another Guilford citizen looking to buy a plot- Eric has had trouble reaching him and Nancy is going to get the contact information.

    Actions to be Taken:
    Kyle- information on PVC and signs.
    Carol- work on more accurate count of veterans and also get in touch with West Guilford and
    Christ Church Cemeteries.
    Nancy- brochure and finding contact info for person seeking to buy a cemetery plot
    Eric- contact Rodney Bell

    Adjournment:
    The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.

    NEXT MEETING THURSDAY MARCH 16 9:30 AM GUILFORD TOWN OFFICE