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Rutland Development and Industrial Commission
Meeting Minutes –11/6/15
Community Hall Annex
Meeting opened at 6:35. Attending: Mike Sullivan, Doug Briggs, Tom Dufault, Mark O’Clair, Michele Van Reet
Visitors: Mr. Dick Williams, Gary Kelleher – DPW Director, Margaret Nardowicz – Town Administrator
- Review minutes – None to review
- Barton has asked us to assume liability for the land, but Mike said no, we are selling it ‘as is’
- The Purchase & Sale Agreement (P&S) was extended from 10/15/15 to 11/15/15, but will need to be extended again. Barton is proceeding with plans to build on Lot 2 with the understanding that they may need to purchase a portion of Lot 1 for additional parking needs while they also develop a contingency scenario to build the entire project on Lot 1. In either case, we need to put out an RFP for Lot 1. Paul Cranston advised that he is a bit concerned about wording the RFP as “Lot 1 or a portion thereof” because it may appear that we are putting it forth specifically to accommodate Barton. Mike has the RFP for Lot 1 ready to go if we agree on it. Tom Dufault suggested that we need to split Lot 1 into 2 lots – Lot 1a and Lot 1b (or whatever we want to call them) and put
out the RFP for the specific lots.
- We determined the timeline for the RFP process based on the dates from the last RFP. Michele Van Reet expressed concern that the timeline was too short from mid to late November to the end of January, noting that we got into trouble with a quick timeline before. She expressed concern that it would not be enough time for another bidder to put together a proposal. All other members agreed that the timeline used in the last RFP was appropriate and that this timeline is reasonable. Michele reluctantly agreed to this timeline based on our last RFP timeline:
- 11/20/15 – Post in Central Register (Gary will have Donna help with posting it)
- 12/11/15 – Pre-proposal conference
- 1/11/16 – Deadline for submitting questions 4:00PM
- 2/3/16 - Proposals due
- Senior Tax Write Off Program – Mike Sullivan put forth a proposal to submit a proposal to recommend Richard (Dick) Williams and Thomas Ruchala for the program on behalf of the work they have contributed to the maintenance of the RDIC property. Dick submitted a job description based on the work he has been doing. Margaret explained how the program works and agreed that this proposal certainly falls under the guidelines of the program. We are putting forth the proposal without individual names – we will submit a request to participate in the program for approval, then submit individual names when/if the request is approved for the program.
- Fuel Invoice – Mike Sullivan submitted a fuel invoice to reimburse Dick Williams for fuel used to maintain the Rutland Heights property in addition to the time and equipment he has volunteered. The RDIC does not have a line-item budget for this expense, so Margaret suggested running this expense through the DPW because they have the line item budget for it and they are responsible for maintenance of town property. Tom Dufault suggested that we need to include a line item in our budget for next year to include property maintenance for issues that might arise. In the meantime, Gary Kellaher agreed to assist the RDIC to reimburse Dick for the fuel he has used. There was discussion about the invoice and the difference in the retail cost of fuel versus the lower rate that the town pays for
fuel. Michele Van Reet suggested that Gary reimburse the Dick with 75 gallons of fuel to replace what he has already used on behalf of the town and Dick will be allowed to fuel his equipment at the DPW pumps to use for work on town property.
- Mike Sullivan noted that there is quite a bit of timber on the Rutland Heights property, specifically on Lot 1. He suggested that we solicit bids to harvest the timber on Lot 1 before we put it out to bid. The revenue would not be applied to the RDIC budget, but would go to the general fund and could be applied to pay down the debt. Gary also pointed out that a section of the property was previously but out to bid for haying. The farmer was not able to continue to hay for some reason, so Dick has been cutting it to keep it clean. However, Gary would like to put it on the bid for haying to obtain revenue for the town. Mike noted that we are responsible for maintaining the property and it needs to be done regardless of who does the work – Gary or Dick. Dick agreed to mow
the field to clean it up for this season.
- Solar Committee – Margaret reported that the RDIC property is the second choice for a solar site at this point.
- Town Property – between RDIC and school property. Margaret reported that Dave Lussier talked to her about the parcel and she suggested that we have a group meeting with all interested parties (the town, RDIC, recreation, baseball, soccer) to put together a plan.
- Doug Briggs brought up his concern with taking down the trees on the property because they act as a buffer and he is an abutter. Tom suggested that we notify all of the abutters that we are going to cut the trees on the property. Michele will contact the assessor’s office to obtain a list of abutters for the property.
- Street Lights/Maintenance/Landscaping – Gary asked about the street lights on the property. The road is accepted by the town, but it is has not been submitted to the state as a town roadway from Maple to Main. Gary will pursue getting the roadway accepted by the state and added to our Chapter 90 list for funding.
- Tom just received information from DCAM. He has the bid from for the roadway plan that was recordable for the town and he is going to pursue Pare to get the required documentation.
Adjourn
- Next meeting: Wednesday, 11/18/2015 at 6:30AM at Community Hall Annex.
- Briggs motioned to adjourn. Dufault seconded. Unanimously adjourned at 7:40AM.
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