MEETING MINUTES OF THE

WEST CHARLOTTE VILLAGE PLANNING COMMITTEE

April 8, 2003

Town Hall 7:00 PM

 

Members in attendance:

Dana Farley (Village Resident), Chair                 Charles Russell (Selectboard)    

Jesse Bradley (Recreation Committee)               Jim Donovan (Planning Commission)

Al Moraska (Planning Commission)                    Dee Pierce (Conservation Commission)

Moe Harvey (Citizen at large)

                                                                    

Members absent:      

 

Bill Lockwood (Economic Development Committee)

John Owen (Affordable Housing Committee)

 

Others present:

Martha Perkins

Dean Bloch, Town Planner

                                   

The meeting convened at 7:05 PM.

 

1. The minutes of the 2/19/03 meeting were approved.

 

2. Update on development and approval of proposed planning process

 
a.       Dana’s discussion with VLT and PTV

Dana said that Gil and Paul thought the planning process looked good.  They agreed that the Memorandum of Understanding should be revised.  They want to initiate discussion with Dick LeBoeuf, in conjunction with Cathedral Square.  They said that the town can have input on the choice of a facilitator for the planning process.  Two consultants who have been mentioned are Brian Shupe and Steve Libby.  Both have worked with VLT on other projects.  Gil and Paul want to use the Charlotte project as a model for other towns.

 

b.      Session in May with Nick Wates

Nick is available for a half-day session.  He will review the planning process.  Dana felt that some steps should be taken prior to the meeting, eg: a reconnaissance walk and an article in the Charlotte News.

 

He’s not coming to give us solutions, but to help us find our own solutions.

 

It was discussed that the possible dates to meet with Nick are Monday 5/19 or Tuesday 5/20 (in the morning).  Tuesday morning was preferred by most in attendance.  Dean will e-mail out to committee to get others’ preference.

 

3. Early steps in the process – Spring 2003

 

Moe suggested getting Peter Coleman do photographs of the property.  Dana will contact Peter.

 

There was discussion about the timing of analysis of the septic capacity, water availability and wetlands on the properties.  Moe offered to get an estimate for septic analysis work from engineers most familiar with the property—Civil Engineering, Heindel and Noyes, and Trudell Engineering.

 

Moe said that when it’s time to select a facilitator he would like to see resumes of the consultants.  Others said that it may be appropriate to issue a Request For Proposals, depending partly on how much money the town will be putting towards to the project.

 

Dana will write an article for the Charlotte News for mid-May. 

 

Jesse will put together a display for the Charlotte Library.

 

Jim will write a Request For Proposals (RFP) for site analysis.

 

It was discussed that there should be a table display at the Town Party in July.

 

Dana will contact Gil about contacting Dick LeBoeuf.

 

Dean wondered whether there should be some analysis of what “went wrong” with the recent village planning process.   Dana said that this should be put on the agenda for a future meeting. 

 

The “Grad Challenge” was mentioned.

 

4.  Misc.

 

Martha wondered how to mobilize local people.

 

a.       SB decision on CLT involvement; other membership issues

Charles said the Selectboard decided to keep the committee as it is.  Dee indicated that no one else from the Conservation Commission is interested in being on the committee, so she will stay on it, although she may not be able to attend as often as she would like to.

 

b.      Renaming committee

Dana wondered whether the committee should be renamed to reflect the fact that the town owns the parcel, and that the committee will probably be looking at more than just the former Burns parcel (ie: the southeast quadrant).  It was decided to keep the name as it is for now, and to get feedback from the public during the planning process.

 

The next meeting will be May 14th.  Potential agenda items:  1) Contacting Dick LeBoeuf; 2) Planning for the meeting with Nick Wates; 3) Discussion of the recent village planning process.

 

Action items:

C         Dana and Dean will put together a packet for Nick Wates, including the planning process, orthophotos, Village Plan (draft), article from the Charlotte News (regarding Village Plan public forum), minutes from the public forum, article from the Charlotte News (to be written), and the MOU.

C         Dana will contact Peter Coleman to photograph the property. 

C         Moe will get an estimate for septic analysis work.

C         Dana will write an article for the Charlotte News for mid-May. 

C         Jesse will put together a display for the Charlotte Library.

C         Jim will write a Request For Proposals (RFP) for site analysis.

C         Dana will contact Gil about contacting Dick LeBoeuf.

 

Meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Dean Bloch