Municipal tax rate set
DUMMERSTON — DUMMERSTON - The Selectboard set the 2016 municipal tax rate at the July 6 regular Board meeting.
“$727,574 is the amount we need to raise through taxes,” Board Chair Zeke Goodband said.
To achieve this, and “leave a little cushion,” Goodband said, the Board unanimously voted to set the rate at 0.2774 cents and the local agreement (education) rate at 0.0060 cents.
According to information from the official minutes, the state set the residential education tax rate at $1.6782 and the nonresidential education tax rate at $1.4481.
Slow-down sought on Wickopee Hill
DUMMERSTON - A resident of Wickopee Hill Road, Steve Tavella, requested the Selectboard change the speed limit on the road from 35 mph to 25 mph.
At the July 6 regular Board meeting, Tavella brought a petition signed by his neighbors asking for the change.
Tavella told Board members his street “is a very narrow and steep road,” and the current speed limit is too fast. He noted the two roads on either end of his, Stickney Brook Road and Pleasant Valley Road, both have posted speed limits of 25 mph.
Some of the reasons Tavella gave for wanting a slower speed limit were the presence of small children, horses, bicyclists, and pedestrians on the road.
He told Board members he believes the speeders are using the road as a cut-through from Route 30 to West Brattleboro.
Tavella also expressed concerns about littering and speeders possibly drinking while driving along the road, noting when he and his partner take regular walks, they collect enough beer cans to fill more than a plastic grocery bag.
They also pick up cigarette butts, but “we won't pick up the diapers,” Tavella said.
He asked the Selectboard to encourage the Windham County Sheriff's Department and the Vermont State Police to patrol the road. Tavella offered to monitor what times of day speeders appear and will share that information with the Board and with law enforcement.
Members of the Selectboard and Highway Foreman Lee Chamberlin discussed possible processes and requirements for considering the request, including conducting a traffic study, bringing in the Windham Regional Commission, and changing the town ordinances.
Board member Hugh Worden agreed to research the issue and revisit it at the July 20 regular Selectboard meeting.
Tucker Reed Road bridge update
DUMMERSTON - Highway Foreman Lee Chamberlin said he is waiting to receive the plans for the Tucker Reed Road bridge replacements, and he hopes to get them by July 20.
At the July 6 regular Selectboard meeting, he said if he can get the plans on time, he can put the project out to bid for two weeks, then award the bid on Aug. 3 or Aug. 17. This should allow enough time to complete construction and re-open the road by Oct. 1.
“These are all just wishes,” Chamberlin said, adding, “we have to get the plans back first."
Road repairs planned and made
DUMMERSTON - Highway Foreman Lee Chamberlin shared his plans for some summer road repairs with the Selectboard at their July 6 regular meeting, and informed them of recent work his crew completed.
Chamberlin said he gathered some information from other Vermont towns about how they handle bids for crack-sealing the blacktop on town roads, and he received a sample bid from Colchester's town officials. He said he would use that to draw up the town's bid.
The areas Chamberlin said would receive crack-sealant are East-West Road from the KOA campground to the town's center, then “almost to the covered bridge,” a small section of Schoolhouse Road, and the Town Office's parking lot.
Chamberlin reported he and his crew installed about 1,400 feet of under-drain on the north slope of Sunset Lake Road.