VELCO Continues to Seek Staging Lot on Charlotte Land
by John Hammer

VELCO’s search for a staging lot in Charlotte continued again this week. The latest target has shifted from North Greenbush Road to land on either side of East Thompson’s Point Road. A number of citizens came forward and provided noisy opposition to an approach VELCO had made to Clark Hinsdale III. Residents on East Thompson’s Point Road, especially in the Palmer Road neighborhood, made points that any staging yard would pose environmental, safety and health threats. Marty Illick called for a clear presentation from VELCO at which all the facts could be learned. As it was, Selectboard members Charles Russell and Jenny Cole had spoken by telephone with five VELCO staffers and learned that they were looking at 25 sites of 15 contiguous acres between New Haven and Shelburne. These sites would be used to store about 400 poles between 55 and 90 feet in length. These are treated-wood poles and would share the site with several storage trailers, an office trailer, about 30 steel poles, and the vehicles of about 20 employees. Preparatory work would begin in June, material would be delivered in October and line work would commence at year-end. The site would be used during daylight hours on weekdays with delivery trucks accompanied by escort vehicles. Hinsdale said that VELCO had approached him and he was trying to bring the neighbors together to determine what course to take. The land in question belongs to him. He feels that the most probable alternatives would have poles arriving from New York State by road rather by rail. He proposed to VELCO a number of sites, including the Varney Farm or the old Champlain Saw Mill site on the west side of Route 7 on the Shelburne line. One benefit of the Varney farm site would be the building of a gravel road and lot which could be converted to an entrance and parking for the Thorp Barn complex. The Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Monday, May 21, at 7:00 p.m. to discuss this matter. VELCO will be invited to be present. Rescue Service Agreement with Shelburne to be Discussed. Two years ago, the Charlotte Rescue Squad was asked to look into the feasibility of joining forces with that of Shelburne. A blue-ribbon committee was formed and a presentation of its findings will be made at the Fire House on Tuesday, May 22, at 7:00 p.m. A mock trial of sharing resources is being considered over a period of one or two months to see if the average of two-and-a-half daily calls among the two towns might be accommodated by a joint program. The Charlotte squad would take responsibility for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Interested persons are urged to attend the presentation. Pease Mountain Development Discussions Ongoing. The proposed development at the base of Pease Mountain and to the west of the Charlotte Central School continues under discussion. Developers Peter Schneider and Jessica Donovan presented a revised plan to the Selectboard that accommodated changes suggested by the Selectboard at its last meeting. The Selectboard is unwilling to give preliminary approval prior to the final Planning Commission session on the matter June 7. The Selectboard will hold a “quasi-deliberative” session to discuss the development further on May 27. At issue is the use of open areas in this ecologicallysensitive area. In a related agenda item, the name of the road into the development was approved as Griffin Hill Road. Highway Actions Ongoing Two curb cut actions were approved. Both were revisits of actions of previous years. The curb cut for Chris Brown and Erin Hyer was approved for the west side of North Greenbush Road while Clark Hinsdale, III received approval for two curb cuts associated with the horse farm complex development north of 1081 Greenbush Road. The new alignment will allow better and safer access to the barn complex. The process of public hearings on “ancient roads” and their approval for continuance on the Town Highway Map hit an obstacle when a question was raised from the public on the process being used to identify the roads for inclusion on the map. The first road under consideration is Meander Street, which runs between the covered bridges along Lewis Creek. The Selectboard has agreed to conduct a site visit to walk the road at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 9. This will be followed by a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Offices on June 11. Ellie Russell, previous Selectboard Chair, said that there were 12 roads to be considered before state-mandated elimination of these “ancient roads” will take place in 2009. She emphasized that the Selectboard had considered the process over the past months and that they are considered important to the town and its trail network. In preparation for Planning Commission approval of a five-house sub-division on the north side of East Thompson’s Point Road, the name of its access road was approved as Big Oak Lane. Miscellaneous Items Tom Moreau , General Manager of the Chittenden Solid Waste District, presented and got town approval for its budget for the next fiscal year. The budget includes no increase in the tip fees. Green Mountain Power received permission to install a double-pole platform on which to locate three voltage regulators to the west of the Guinea Road intersection with the Hinesburg Road. The approval is contingent on Selectboard member Jenny Cole’s coordination with a neighboring home and the telephone company. The Thompson’s Point Leaseholder Guidelines were approved after many months of consideration. Appointments Bill April was appointed to the Trails Committee for a one-year term, and Heather Manning was named to fill the vacant Lister position.