April 1st Meeting Recap

Following is a brief recap of business conducted at last SB meeting:

Public to be heard (Question about plan for Dickinson Street)
A resident of River Road came to the meeting to inquire about the current plan for Dickinson Road - he wanted to know who will make the decision about the traffic patterns, and when? Seth Jensen, our town planner, was there at the meeting so Tim Nulty asked him to provide some insight.

Seth described the Charrette's process that occurred 4 or 5 years ago to gain input on development in the Flats area. I'm oversimplifying here, but basically he explained that, since the development of David Villeneuve's property in the Flats is still undetermined, the town hasn't moved forward on making a decision about Dickinson Road. The River Road resident pointed out that traffic is horrific every morning between 7 and 8:00 a.m. as parents drop kids off at the middle school then wait in a backed-up queue to take a left onto Route 15. Tim expressed sympathy for the situation. He asked staff to prioritize the next steps for determining the best alternative for converting Dickinson Street into a 2-way street.

Green Up Day
$200 was granted to pay for the breakfast at the Jericho Community Center on Green Up Day. This is a really great spread, and a wonderful chance to mingle with your neighbors. To stake out your piece of road to clean, and to pick up your garbage bags, visit Town Hall or call Jessica at 899-9970. Green Up day is May 1...let's all join the party and green up Jericho!!!

Village Center Designation
Seth (town planner) gave us the skinny on the state's "Village Center Designation" -- which is NOT to be confused with a Historic Village Designation. We agreed that Seth should apply for the designation for the Underhill/Jericho Flats village. (Note: Jericho Center and Jericho Corners are already so designated.) If you live in the Flats and would like more detailed information, please call Seth directly at 899-9970 x 6.

Transfer of Funds
We approved the closing of the Town Hall Renovation Reserve Fund and directed the balance toward the May 15, 2010 Town Hall bond payment.

Speed Limit Revision Request
We reviewed and discussed a petition by the residents of Ethan Allen Road (which leads to the Ethan Allen range). They've requested a decrease in the speed limit of that road to 25 mph. It is now 35 mph but the residents say that cars go much faster. We decided to send a letter to the petitioners letting them know that we appreciate the communication and that we are about to embark on a study of all the speed limits in town by checking their validity in relation to the last speed study conducted by a traffic engineer.

Summer Recreation (aka Jericho Summer Camp)
There was a detailed letter from Lynn Wagner, our Summer Recreation director, with her hiring recommendations for both assistant directors - the older kids at BRMS and the younguns at JES. Jessica Chace will act as site director for JES. Jessica is from Jericho and has attended camp since 1st grade and has 6 years experience working at camp as a CIT and as a counselor. For the BRMS camp, Lynn gave a strong recommendation for Moira Lamay, who has a solid resume with experience in children's mental health and police work. After speaking with Lynn and reviewing the candidates' qualifications, we approved the recommendations for the two Assistant Directors. If you'd like to hear more, please feel free to contact me at 343-1265 or by email: kimnormanmercer@gmail.com.

Streetscape Project
Work on the Route 15 Streetscape project begins April 15th! This may disrupt your commute, so plan on leaving early or going the long way around. Plans for the streetscape project can be viewed online here or, if you want to see the big plats, you can go to town hall anytime where they are available in the Town Administrator's office.

What else?
After a discussion about the VT State Police presence in Jericho (particularly, where they spend most of their patrolling time), I started a random conversation about the idea of instituting a constable position in town. Needless to say, this idea was received with some chagrin. But my own experience growing up in Thetford provided a very positive impression of a constable. I was thinking of it as a sort of sacred Vermont tradition - like our town meetings or our Good Samaritan Law - but apparently there is a history of abuse and controversy with constables. What do you guys think...?!?