By STEVEN JUPITER
PITTSFORD—The Pittsford Selectboard convened for its regular meeting on Wednesday, October 16. Board Chair Alicia Malay was not present. Acting in her place was Vice-chair David Mills.
Town Manager’s Report
The meeting began with a report from Town Manager David Atherton. Mr. Atherton presented the Board with a summary of the activity of the Pittsford Police Department (PPD) for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2024-25 (FY25), encompassing the months of July, August, and September.
According to the submitted chart, PPD documented a total of 354 incidents, compared to 191 during the same period in the previous fiscal year (FY24). An increase in traffic tickets was responsible for the bulk of the increase, with 213 traffic tickets issued in the first quarter of FY25 and only 58 issued during the same period in FY24. The total amount in fines collected by PPD so far this fiscal year is $57,655, compared to $12,876 in the first quarter of FY24. Other categories of crime, including larcenies, domestic disturbances, vandalism, etc, remained roughly comparable from one year to the next.
Mr. Atherton advised the Board that the town’s auditor would be on site the following week to begin the town’s annual financial audit. Despite a few hitches in last year’s audit, when the auditor made suggestions to tighten some of the town’s accounting procedures, Mr. Atherton assured the Board that the town was “looking pretty good” this year.
Mr. Atherton also noted that a presentation had been given the night before at the OVUU School Board meeting regarding a proposal for a new community center to be built on land currently owned by the school district. [Please see the article on the proposed Valley Community Center in this issue for more details about the plan.] The members of the Pittsford Selectboard appeared skeptical, balking at the estimated cost of over $12 million.
Otter Creek Watershed Insect Control District personnel issue
Mr. Atherton requested permission from the Pittsford Selectboard to draft a “letter of concern” to the Brandon Selectboard regarding one of Brandon’s representatives to the Otter Creek Watershed Insect Control District (OCWICD), whom he believed to be disruptive to the operation of that organization.
Mr. Atherton had recently become one of Pittsford’s representatives to OCWICD, taking the position over from Alicia Malay. He stated that at OCWICD’s meeting the previous week, this board member, Wayne Rausenberger, had disrupted the meeting with “repetitive, aggressive questions” that hindered the function of the meeting and drew it out to almost 3 hours.
In a later conversation with The Reporter, Mr. Atherton stated that Mr. Rausenberger had been on the OCWICD board several years ago and had created a conflict with the Vermont Department of Agriculture that was serious enough to jeopardize OCWICD’s state funding for larvicide. The Brandon Selectboard subsequently removed Mr. Rausenberger from the board but recently re-appointed him.
OCWICD President Stephen Belcher of Pittsford stated in an e-mail that he has “invited comments from senior members of the Board and await their opinions.”
In response to an e-mail from The Reporter, Mr. Rausenberger stated that he had been looking out for Brandon’s financial interests at that meeting.
“I was stepping up for Brandon, who I represented,” he said, noting that OCWICD was asking for an increase in Brandon’s annual disbursement to the organization, which also serves Pittsford, Proctor, Leicester, Salisbury, Goshen, and Leicester.
Mr. Atherton said in a phone call after the meeting, “It would be negligence not to say something in my role as town manager. I have to look after Pittsford’s best interests. Wayne almost cost the district $70K in larvicide funding the last time he was on the board.”
Proposed closure of Syndicate Road at Brandon line
Mr. Atherton advised the Board that he had received a phone call and subsequent letter from Brandon Town Manager Seth Hopkins regarding Pittsford’s Syndicate Road, which is a continuation of Carver Street in Brandon. Mr. Hopkins wanted to see whether Pittsford “had any concerns” about a potential reclassification of the unpaved portion of Carver Street between the railroad crossing and the bridge over Otter Creek, where Syndicate Road begins. The issue, as Mr. Hopkins relayed to Mr. Atherton, is that this stretch of Carver Street has long suffered from illegal dumping of trash and debris.
In response to an e-mail inquiry from The Reporter, Mr. Hopkins stated that the road is currently Class 3, which the state defines as “a highway negotiable under normal circumstances all seasons of the year by a standard manufactured pleasure car.” Essentially, a Class 3 road must be drivable by standard motor vehicles in every season. However, according to Mr. Hopkins, the town does not maintain that stretch of Carver Street in the winter and it is often closed during mud season.
Though the Pittsford Selectboard expressed reservations about cutting off a road between two towns, Mr. Hopkins noted that Mr. Atherton later told him that the Pittsford Highway Chief had no objection to Brandon’s barring that portion of Carver Street to vehicular traffic from the Pittsford side.
Please see the main article on this proposal in this issue for more details.
Tri-Town Trail Meeting
The Board discussed upcoming public meetings at the Pittsford Town Offices, Proctor Library, and West Rutland Town Hall at 6:30 on Wednesday, October 23 as part of the Tri-Town Scoping Study for a nature trail connecting Pittsford, Proctor, and West Rutland. The meeting will present the results of “local concerns” meetings held in June to gauge community response to the project. Results of surveys will be discussed, as will the pros and cons of 4 proposed routes for the trail.
Roads approved for snowmobiling
The Pittsford Snomads submitted a request to the Board for authorization to use certain town roads for snowmobile travel in the 2024-25 winter season. The Board granted the authorization. The full list of approved roads can be found in the Selectboard packet for 10/16/24.
Budget workshops scheduled
The Board scheduled two budget workshops outside of regular Selectboard meetings: Wednesday, October 30 and Wednesday, November 13, both at 5 p.m. at the Town Office. These meetings are open to the public.
RNESU Superintendent
RNESU Superintendent René Sanchez had been expected to appear at the Selectboard meeting on Wednesday evening to discuss a grant proposal, having been warned on the meeting’s agenda, but Mr. Sanchez ultimately did not make the meeting.
Approval of order and payroll
The Board’s last piece of public business for the evening was the approval of an order in the amount of $77,845 for the town’s obligations and expenses.
