By STEVEN JUPITER
PITTSFORD—The Pittsford Selectboard convened for its regular meeting on Wednesday, February 19. It was the first meeting with Ann Reed as Interim Town Manager, after the departure of Town Manager David Atherton.
Ms. Reed delivered the Town Manager’s report, which is reprinted in full in this issue. Ms. Reed noted that the number of properties with delinquent taxes has dropped from approximately 17 to 7 over the past several years. Ms. Reed also stated that she had been working with several property owners to resolve their delinquencies before the Town Attorney begins tax-sale proceedings.
During Selectboard remarks, Board Chair Alicia Malay thanked the Pittsford Highway Department for their efforts keeping Pittsford’s roads clear during the recent winter weather.
ATV Ordinance
The Board reviewed the latest draft of the proposed ATV ordinance, which would allow use of ATVs on Pittsford’s class 2, 3, and 4 roads. Several edits had been made to the previous draft and Board Chair Alicia Malay suggested that they send the latest draft to the Town Attorney for a final review before voting to approve it.
Among the changes, the ordinance now makes clear that ATVs may cross class 1 roads only at a 90-degree angle, meaning that ATVs may only cross such roads and may not travel on them.
The ordinance was tabled until the Board’s next meeting.
Pittsford Village Farm anti-displacement plan
The Board approved the anti-displacement plan requested at the previous meeting by Pittsford Village Farm (PVF) to complete their application for a $450K implementation grant from the Vermont Community Development Program. The Town is acting as a “pass through” for PVF.
The plan stipulates that no Pittsford residents will be displaced from their homes and/or property because of the project at PVF. The Board had hesitated to sign the document without further review, to ensure that the scope of the document would be limited to the work done at PVF.
Proposed Town Hill Road closure
An attendee asked the Board to consider gating off Town Hill Road, which runs from Elm Street to Otter Creek. According to the attendee, the road has become a repository for trash. He likened the situation to that on Syndicate Road, which has been the subject of debate in recent months.
The attendee, who lives in the vicinity of the road, said that he had recently counted 12 deer and 1 coyote carcass dumped there. He also said that a car had been abandoned there after being set on fire. He proposed that the road be gated off to vehicular traffic, allowing pedestrian traffic to continue using the road as access to popular fishing spots on Otter Creek. Adjacent farms would be given keys to the gate to allow access as well.
The Board had been skeptical of a similar proposal by the Town of Brandon to close off Syndicate Road and expressed concern that gating off Town Hill would create problems for railroad crews that need to access tracks and for local residents who want to fish there.
The attendee suggested several spots along the road where a gate could be placed while still allowing people to park their cars and walk to the creek to fish.
Board member Tom Hooker stated that it would make more sense to close the road entirely than to restrict access with a gate. Ultimately, the Board agreed to consider the proposal without any further action taken.
Otter Creek Insect Control District
Vice-chair Jeff Whiting and Pittsford Rep Stephen Belcher of the Otter Creek Watershed Insect Control District (OCWICD) addressed the Board to let them know that the OCWICD had finalized a budget for 2025-2026 that kept expenses mostly flat while making minor adjustments among the constituent towns’ respective obligations.
Mr. Whiting stated that they were able to keep the budget steady by using surplus funds from the previous year.
He also stated that the Town of Salisbury had agreed to pay the $17,000 that OCWICD had claimed it was owed for services in the 2024-2025 year. Salisbury had argued that it had not received adequate service and had withheld $17K of its $25K yearly obligation. The various town representatives on the OCWICD Board had visited their respective Selectboards to request guidance in resolving the issue. The general sense among the Boards was that Salisbury should pay the $17K and satisfy its yearly obligation.
Additionally, Mr. Belcher informed the Selectboard that OCWICD was in need of additional staff and asked that anyone interested in becoming a pesticide applicator contact them. He and Mr. Whiting noted that UVM has a training program for applicators and that they would pay $30/hr. for 3 or 4 hours of work in the evenings during spraying season.
Town Meeting preparation
The Board agreed that Chair Malay and Vice-chair David Mills would address Pittsford residents at Town Meeting on Monday, March 3 at 6:30 in the Lothrop School gymnasium. Ms. Malay will present a general overview of the proposed budget and the Selectboard’s work. Mr. Mills will present the Highway Department budget.
Warrant
The Board signed an order for $102,026.94 to pay the town’s obligations and expenses.
