Killington hires deputy police chief

By Josh O’Gorman
STAFF WRITER | September 18,2013

 

Provided Photo

Former Senior Trooper Robert Giolito is shown with his canine partner, Mitch, when they were with the Vermont State Police. Giolito is now deputy police chief in Killington.

KILLINGTON — There’s a new deputy in town.

Robert Giolito is bringing his extensive law enforcement experience to the recently formed Killington Police Department, where he will serve as deputy chief.

The 38-year-old served for 10 years as a trooper with the Vermont State Police. He’s also a former member of the Rutland County Sheriff’s Department and — in addition to his 10-hour-a-week, $23-an-hour position at Killington — is currently an inspector with the Department of Motor Vehicles Commercial Enforcement Unit.

“I look forward to using my experience in public safety to assist Chief Whit Montgomery and the town of Killington as we form a police department,” Giolito said. “I live in the community and I want to give back to the community where I live.”

Giolito has already done that, as one of the founders of Killington Search and Rescue, a nonprofit organization specializing in backcountry rescues.

In February, the town transitioned from a constable department to a municipal police department, following a unanimous vote by the Select Board. Montgomery, who was elected as first constable by voters on Town Meeting Day, was appointed the town’s first police chief in June.

Montgomery said he looked forward to having Giolito on the force.

“Bob possesses the skills, knowledge and experience to excel in this position and in this town,” he said. “His law enforcement background and education, as well as wilderness leadership, makes him particularly well-suited to serve our community. This is a great fit.”

Giolito is a graduate of Unity College in Maine and is a full-time police officer certified by the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council. He also spent three years doing ski patrol for Killington Resort.

“The positive relationships and stellar reputation Bob has built with other agencies in our region will be a big plus to our new police department and a valuable asset to the community,” said Town manager Seth Webb. “We are fortunate to have him on our team.”

Giolito has a police dog, Mitch, who works with him in drug detection for DMV enforcement; however, Mitch will not join Giolito on the job in Killington.

Giolito will continue to work Monday through Friday for DMV enforcement and will be on call and on patrol nights, weekends and holidays for Killington.

josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com

 

Comment: So far all chiefs and no indians. I advocated for an increased police budget so we could get increased patrols during the off season when a lot of break ins occur. Hopefully there is more staffing to come.

Vito

Killington Chamber considering financial aid request from Town

At the EDTC meeting last night, member Bill Mercier, who is also a Chamber of Commerce member, related to the rest of the commission that the Chamber will be coming with its hand out to the commission seeking funds to support the conversion of Bill's Country Store to a visitor's center and, I would surmise, to subsidize its operations on a going forward basis. This because Mercier also floated the notion of the town providing staffing for the visitors center.
He explained that the Chamber could not afford to finish the project or staff it.
This is no surprise as I always thought the Bill's five intention was to ram the Bill's Country Store/Visitor's Center down the taxpayer's throats. If they can't afford it now they couldn't afford it a year ago either. They had the best ski season in recent years and should have had some discretionary funds to do the build out. However certain partners were investing and spending elsewhere. Chris Carr took over the Foundry (and rumour has it, is investing in a restaurant in the Boston area) and Steve Durkee is spending tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands in legal fighting the ski village,  the best economic development project the region has seen since the establishment of Killington ski resort.
There also seems to be some question as to whether the Chamber is in fact a tax exempt non profit. When asked by Jim Haff whether the Chamber was in fact non profit Mercier's reply was that it's a 501(c)6 organization. Upon checking the IRS database of registered 501(c) entities no entry was found for the Killington Chamber of Commerce.
When all is said and done, what is the point of  a visitor's center anyway. Beyond providing public bathrooms I can't think of anything. If money is going to be spent on economic development and tourism the point is to bring people to the area. How is a visitor's center going to accomplish that - it
only gets used when the tourists get here, it doesn't draw them here.
With all the looming property tax increases between the state and local funding needs do we really need to add to the tax burden with something as ill conceived as this visitor's center?

Vito

Killington chamber cuts funding for shuttle bus service

By Gordon Dritschilo
Staff Writer | September 07,2013

The Killington Chamber of Commerce has cut funding for the free shuttle on Killington Road, the Marble Valley Regional Transit District confirmed Friday.

Marble Valley runs the shuttle service, which is funded by the chamber and was established to cut down on drunken driving on the road during the ski season. It carries passengers to the road’s various hotels and nightspots.

A call to the chamber was not returned Friday afternoon, and calls to various board members were not immediately returned Friday evening.

Reached late Friday afternoon, Marble Valley Executive Director Minga Dana said she had just learned of the move about a week earlier.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” she said. “We were just starting to put our season together and we haven’t spoken to Killington Resort or anyone else.”

Dana said the shuttle runs Saturday nights from Thanksgiving to Easter, with an additional night on holiday weekends like Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day. She said it provided about 3,000 rides last season.

The shuttle connects to regional bus routes on Route 4.

“You can get back to the transit center,” Dana said. “It mostly facilitates somebody who wants to go bar-hopping and doesn’t want to drive.”

Dana said the shuttle costs $20,000 a year to operate, which Marble Valley receives entirely from the chamber, though she believed the chamber, in turn, got some of the funding through other sources.

The shuttles have operated for a number of years, funded by varying sources. In 2009, the resort and Long Trail Brewery teamed up to donate almost $90,000 to the shuttle.

@Tagline:gordon.dritschilo

@rutlandherald.com

Comment: This is interesting news. Wonder if the business community is going to come with their hand out to the taxpayers. A certain businessman on the Killington road was rumoured to have made $48k per day during the Killington Classic. Wonder if he would deign to pay for the service or at least contribute. 

The Chamber must be spending all it's money on Bill's Country Store. 

I also hear a lot of businesses are not rejoining the Chamber because of the upcoming health insurance changes which will allow individuals to get competitive rates without having to be part of a larger group. Also some businesses just do not like the leadership (of lack of thereof) of the Chamber.

Vito

Golf tournament raked in the cash

September 04,2013

 Rutland Herald

KILLINGTON — The 2013 Killington Junior Golf Tournament contributed an estimated $225,000 to the town economy during a five-day period, according to the American Junior Golf Association.

The AJGA-sanctioned tournament took place June 24-27 at the Green Mountain National Golf Course. The 143-player field featured the top junior golfers from 18 states, Canada and New Zealand.

According to the AJGA report, this year’s tournament brought more than 2,000 people to town, boosting local hotel and restaurant business during a slow tourism period for the town.

The AJGA based its estimates on information received from participants at tournament registration.

Town officials are working on a deal to bring the event back in 2014.

“The tournament has provided a needed boost to rooms, meals and retail revenue during a historically quiet time,” said Town Manager Seth Webb.

Comment: This is good news, however I wonder how much revenue GMNGC gave up to host the event and how much it cost to maintain and staff the course during the tournament. The numbers for the golf course do not look good this year. The town may have to subsidize operating costs in addition to paying the debt.

Vito