New Peak Lodge will open today

December 27,2013

Rutland Herald

 

Killington’s new Peak Lodge open

KILLINGTON — Killington Ski Resort will open its new Peak Lodge to the public today.

The ski area held a preview Thursday for holders of season passes.

The 15,000-square-foot Peak Lodge has seating for up to 300 guests, a restaurant, a full-service bar and lounge areas with couches and coffee tables.

Situated atop the 4,100-foot Killington Peak, the lodge offers panoramic views of the Green Mountains, White Mountains and Adirondacks.

The original Peak Lodge was built in 1967 as the summit terminal, the largest support building for Killington’s first gondola.

Plans for the new $7 million lodge began more than two years ago. The 1967 lodge was taken down during the summer of 2011.

The foundation, footings and bottom floor walls of the new building were completed in the fall of 2012.

The lodge was designed by Robert Carl Williams of Pittsfield, The general contractor was Engelberth Construction of Colchester.

The venue participates in Green Mountain Power’s Cow Power Program, using electricity generated from cow manure.

Needed Killington road repairs prompt tax increase

By Josh O’Gorman
STAFF WRITER | December 21,2013

 

KILLINGTON — Road improvements are driving the first proposed increase in the municipal tax rate in three years.

For the past six weeks or so, the Select Board has reviewed the proposed budget for fiscal year 2014. As it stands, the proposed budget of $4,055,447 represents a 9 percent increase in general fund expenses, or $320,000, which equates to an additional 2.3 cents on the tax rate.

Of that increase, 65 percent, or $208,000, is for the town highway department, which has had to defer maintenance in recent years because of the lack of sufficient money on hand to make repairs.

“This budget represents us paying our bills and not putting things off,” said Town Manager Seth Webb, who looked at highway funding levels past and present to make his point that the highway department is underfunded.

Webb said during the 1980s, the town was spending, on average, $339,000 a year for gravel and paving projects. Since 2009, the town has budgeted, on average, $220,000 annually.

While funding has decreased, the costs to repair roads have only increased. In 1986, it cost $117,000 for every mile of paving; in 2013, paving costs $266,000 a mile. In 1986, a mile of gravel road cost $76,000. Today, the cost is $135,000.

To get a jump-start on the work, voters will be asked on Town Meeting Day to approve a 10-year, $1.4 million bond for road repairs, with the cost of the first year’s payment included in the budget proposal.

For a town that has cut funding for road repairs, the roads themselves are in decent shape overall, according to a report created by Chet Hagenbarth, director of highways and facilities for the town.

Using standards provided by the Rutland Regional Planning Commission and Vermont Local Roads — an organization funded by the federal Highway Administration and the state Agency of Transportation, whose mission is to provide road and bridge information to municipalities — the report found that 70 percent of the town’s paved roads are in “excellent” or “good” condition.

Twenty percent of the paved roads received a grade of “fair,” and 17 percent of roads received a “failed” grade.

In addition to funding for road repairs, the budget also includes the following increases:

n $49,000 for operating and capital purchases for Killington Fire and Rescue.

n $27,000 for additional patrol hours and equipment for the Killington Police Department.

n $29,000 in benefit increases from additional police and clerk staff.

Killington has not seen an increase in the municipal tax rate for the past three budget cycles, chiefly because the town has used its savings to stabilize the tax rate. However, the town is not using savings this year to ease the budget increase. For the owner of a house appraised at $300,000, an additional 2 cents on the municipal tax rate equates to an additional $60 a year in taxes.

The Select Board has instructed Webb to cut another half a penny from the tax rate, which will require some combination of $40,000 in revenue increases and budget cuts.

The Select Board will next meet to discuss the budget at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 7 at the Town Offices on River Road.

josh.ogorman

Comment: The roads did not get attention because the town was busy building and paying the debt off on the golf course as well as building hay bale sculpters and financing other events to help a few businesses in town. Now that strategy has come home to roost.
Its debatable as to the urgency of the need to repair/upgrade the roads. From observing Chet Hagenbarth's presentations in front of the Select Board I would think the spending could be spread out further than it has been.
As to the tax rate being level for the past three years there is one and only one reason, Jim Haff's persistence in holding the budget down so the tax rate would remain stable. The savings alluded to in the article were the so called "undesignated funds" which were uncovered by Jim Haff. These funds by law were supposed to be allocated at the end of the year to offset the next year's budget with a provision to have a reserve equaling three month's of the town's operating budget.
So to say the town used savings is a bit misleading as these savings were a result of ignorance, mismanagement or willful disregard by the town's government in properly allocating these funds as required by law.

Vito

Killington Chamber names Amy Morrison as new director

Mountain Times
Killington posted Dec 13, 2013

KILLINGTON - On Monday, Dec. 9, the Killington Chamber of Commerce announced the appointment of Amy Morrison as the Chamber director beginning immediately. The new part-time position was unanimously approved by the Chamber's Executive Committee to replace the business manager position.
As the director, Morrison will be charged with managing the day-to-day operations of the Chamber and creating a strategic operating plan for the Chamber to ensure long-term viability of the organization.
"I am thrilled with the opportunity and look forward to helping the organization grow and flourish," stated Morrison.
Coming to the Chamber with strong experience in marketing, fundraising and event planning, President Howard Smith stated, "With her background and her experience, we are confident Amy will be a driving force behind the long-term development and growth of the Chamber."  Smith added, "The creation of this position reorganizes the chamber's staffing structure to better fulfill its mission."
Morrison currently serves as the Events and Marketing Coordinator for the Town of Killington. She will continue in that position, working 30 hours per week for the town.
For more info visit www.killingtonchamber.com.

Comment: Well finally the Chamber figured out a way to get their staffing subsidized. To me it would be really hard to distinguish between Ms. Morrision's duties as the town Events and Marketing Coordinator and Chamber Director as many of her duties will overlap. I personally am not OK with this situation - it smacks of conflict of interest - town vs chamber. I suppose if you're sympathetic to a financially struggling Chamber this might be a godsend.
I bet the next town subsidy to the Chamber will be having the town road crew removing snow from the Chamber's parking lot because of the Park and Ride.

Vito

PA woman killed on Killington slopes

By Brent Curtis
staff writer | December 14,2013

Rutland Herald

 

KILLINGTON — A Pennsylvania woman was killed Thursday while snowboarding at Killington Ski Resort, according to police.

Jennifer Strohl, 21, of Jim Thorpe, Pa., was snowboarding with friends on the Great Northern Trail late Thursday morning when they became separated, Vermont State Police said.

The friends contacted Killington Ski Patrol in the mid-afternoon and a search that retraced Strohl’s course down the mountain ended at 4:45 p.m. when her body was found about 10 feet off the trail. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Strohl’s death is under investigation, police said, but it doesn’t appear to be suspicious. Strohl, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, suffered head injuries in the crash, police said.

State police Sgt. Thomas Mozzer, who responded to the scene, said it was unclear exactly what the snowboarder crashed into.

“There were contusions and lacerations on her face, but it’s hard to say if she caught an edge and hit her face on the snow or if she struck a tree,” Mozzer said.

Strohl, who was skiing on a beginner slope, was described by her friends as an intermediate-level snowboarder, the sergeant said.

Strohl’s death marks the first time this season that a snowboarder or skier has died at a Vermont resort, according to Sarah Wojcik, director of public affairs at the Vermont Ski Areas Association. Last season, there were no deaths at Vermont’s ski areas, she said.

Wojcik said her organization recommends that all skiers and snowboarders wear helmets rated to withstand impacts of at least 12 mph. Skiers in the Northeast have the best helmet compliance in the country, she added.

“We also recommend skiing in control,” Wojcik said.

Longtime Killington library director to step down in 2014

Ruland Herald

By Josh O’Gorman
STAFF WRITER | December 12,2013

 

KILLINGTON — Filled with more than 22,000 books, magazines and DVDs, the success of Sherburne Memorial Library speaks volumes about Gail Weymouth.

Since 1984, Weymouth has been the town’s library director, but she plans to retire in February, drawing to a close a 30-year tenure during which she led the transformation of the library from musty and rustic to state of the art.

On Thanksgiving Day 1983, Weymouth, now 58, moved with her husband to Stockbridge, into an old farmhouse that she described as “always a work in progress.” She came from Maryland, where she was a librarian in a large state library.

Pregnant with her first child — a daughter who’s now 29 and was married this summer — Weymouth answered an advertisement looking for a part-time librarian in what was then called the town of Sherburne.

“What I took as a part-time job for minimum wage became the most rewarding job of my life,” she said.

While the library is currently firing on all cylinders — it’s one of only 30 libraries in the United States to receive a five-star rating from Library Journal magazine — that wasn’t the case when took the reins in January 1983.

At that time, Sherburne Memorial Library contained approximately 6,000 books and was housed in the roughly 750-square-foot former one-room schoolhouse most recently home to the Killington Teen Center. Also, it wasn’t used nearly as much as the current library, which is the busiest municipal library in the state by population.

“It was this old building with brown siding and it was about the size of the department I managed at my library in Maryland,” Weymouth recalled. “I sat, literally for three weeks, waiting for someone to come in.”

The first step to drumming up community interest in the library was getting books people wanted to read, such as National Book Award winners or bestsellers from the New York Times. More books meant more visitors, but also more problems.

“I had created a monster,” Weymouth said. “The floor started sinking under the weight of the books.”

In 1999, the library moved to its current 7,250-square-foot home on River Road, which includes plenty of computers and wall-to-wall wireless Internet access.

Weybridge paid respect to the support the library has received from Select Board members during the years, as well as from second-home owners who frequent the space in the winter.

“Once we proved we were a valuable resource, the support from the Select Board was just incredible,” she said. “So much of our patron base is second-home owners, and they’re able to say, ‘Here’s something we’re getting for our tax dollars.’”

And what are Weymouth’s plans after Feb. 1, her last day on the job?

“I’ve always put the library first. I’m just hoping to spend time with my family and do some traveling,” she said.

The library is looking for a new director. Job information is available on the library’s website, sherlib.wordpress.com.

Driver told police he didn’t know he hit a person in fatal crash

Rutland Herald

By Brent Curtis
staff writer | December 10,2013

 

Anthony Edwards / Staff Photo

Michael Debellis, 27, of Killington, pleaded innocent Monday in Rutland criminal court to a felony charge in connection with the death of Kyle Wilson, 26, of Enfield, N.H.

A Killington man who police say was the driver in a crash that killed a New Hampshire man told police he and his girlfriend panicked and drove home after striking an unidentified object on Killington Road early Sunday morning.

“I heard a noise and immediately saw something roll over the passenger side of the car,” 27-year-old Michael P. Debellis wrote in a sworn statement. “I slowed down and looked around to see if anything was on the side of the road and did not see anything. (Debellis’ girlfriend) and I were both completely in shock and Emily was crying but OK physically so I continued home and parked the vehicle.”

Debellis wrote in the sworn statement he gave to Vermont State Police investigators that he was travelling at about 30 mph on a darker stretch of Killington Road at about 1:20 a.m. when the crash occurred.

He said he didn’t learn until more than 12 hours later that police had found the body of Kyle Wilson, a 26-year-old Enfield, N.H., man by the side of the road near the spot where Debellis said the crash took place.

Wilson’s friends told police that he had been out for the evening and called at about 1 a.m. to say he was walking home. When he didn’t return, his friends decided to look for him the next day and were the ones who found his body, police said.

Debellis pleaded innocent Monday in Rutland criminal court to a felony charge of leaving the scene of a fatal crash. The Killington snowmaker, who has no prior record, posted bail of $25,000 before he appeared in court and he remains free on that amount, along with court-ordered conditions that include he not operate a motor vehicle or possess or consume alcoholic beverages.

Police say Debellis was driving his girlfriend’s car, a black 2003 Volkswagen Jetta, from the Pickle Barrel bar, where they’d seen a musical performance, to their apartment on Currier Road when the crash occurred. Police said the car had extensive damage to the passenger side front bumper, headlamp, hood, windshield, roof, passenger side door and roof rack.

Debellis told police he’d had three drinks between 10:30 p.m. and 12:15 a.m. — a beer and two mixed drinks — and refrained from drinking for more than an hour before getting behind the wheel to drive home. “There’s no evidence that he was under the influence at all,” Debellis’ defense attorney Mark Furlan said during his arraignment in Rutland criminal court.

Vermont State Police Trooper Steven Gelder also said no alcohol was detected on Debellis’ breath. But the test that police administered was performed more than 12 hours after the time when Debellis said the crash occurred.

The prosecution and the defense also argued over where Wilson was in the road when he was struck.

While the police affidavit filed with the court gives no indication of where Wilson was walking when he was struck, Furlan told the court it “appeared he was in the middle of the road.”

When Deputy Rutland County State’s Attorney Jane O’Neill said she hadn’t seen that detail in any of the court paperwork, Furlan said his reading of the investigation suggested that Wilson must have been in the lane of travel.

There were also arguments in court Monday over contact between Debellis and his girlfriend, Emily Tredtin.

Debellis and his girlfriend gave similar accounts of the crash to police.

But while Debellis told police he believed he hit an animal such as a deer or a bear, or even a construction barrel, Tredtin told police she thought the crash might have involved a pedestrian and that she had told her boyfriend so.

“It was really dark outside, but I thought I might have seen what looked like a human butt or thought maybe it was some type of animal,” Tredtin wrote in a statement given to police. “I was freaking out, we were both freaking out. We didn’t know what to do so we just kept going. We just wanted to get home.”

Tredtin told police that Debellis was still “trying to process what happened” the next day and that he wanted to report it.

At just before 1 p.m., Debellis told police he called an off-duty police officer and asked if he’d heard anything about something being found in the road. That officer contacted state police who were already investigating the crash shortly before noon Sunday. State police had been notified by Wilson’s friends of the crash earlier in the day.

Debellis told police he never saw anything in the road before the impact, and he said he may have been distracted by a blinking light near Schoolhouse Road.

The crash remains under investigation by police, who are awaiting results from a crash reconstruction analysis and an autopsy of Wilson. A police spokeswoman said Monday it’s unclear whether Wilson would have survived the crash if it had been immediately reported and medical responders had been called.

State Police said in Gelder’s affidavit that evidence existed to support a charge of grossly negligent operation with death resulting against Debellis. Rutland County State’s Attorney Marc Brierre, who was not in court during Debellis’ arraignment, could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

Park-and-ride plans making leap forward

By Josh O’Gorman
STAFF WRITER | December 05,2013

Rutland Herald

 

KILLINGTON — The town is moving forward with plans to build a “park-and-ride” at the Killington Chamber of Commerce.

Tuesday night, the Select Board unanimously approved the plan to reconfigure the parking lot of the building formerly known as Bill’s Country Store, and create a new shared entrance from Route 4 for the parking lot and the abutting business, Base Camp Outfitters.

“I think this is a great project. It will certainly improve safety,” said Board Chairman Chris Bianchi of the plan, which will include a landscaped buffer along the south side of the Chamber building, forcing drivers to enter and exit through a single location.

That location will be directly across from Killington Road.

The project has an estimated price tag of $103,000, with much of the funding coming from grants. In addition to an $80,000 grant from the state Agency of Transportation, the town was recently awarded a second grant for the project from the state Department of Environmental Conservation for as much as $12,430 for “ecosystem restoration.” This grant will address storm water runoff from Route 4 and Killington Road.

Selectman Bernard Rome described the plan as “good” but said that, without a traffic light at the intersection, there “will be one hell of a problem there.”

“This will create a true four corners with people traveling at a high rate of speed,” Rome continued.

Town Manager Seth Webb said the Agency of Transportation — which is the governmental entity to decide if there will be a light on Route 4 — has determined a light is not needed.

Later in the meeting, Rome said he would be in touch with the state to look into getting a traffic signal.

Selectwoman Patty McGrath acknowledged the challenging nature of the intersection, which also includes a turn to take Route 100 north, as she spoke in support of the plan.

“It doesn’t make it the perfect intersection, but it does improve it greatly,” she said.

The parking lot will include 34 spaces, as well as room for two tour buses, and will provide access to Kent Pond and the Appalachian Trail.

The work will be done using “millings,” or leftover pavement, from the reconstruction of Killington Road, a project that will break ground in 2014.

Ballot taking shape

By Josh O’Gorman

Rutland Herald
STAFF WRITER | December 05,2013

KILLINGTON — From energy efficiency and the restoration of the Teen Center to the creation of a five-member Select Board and a change to the option tax, Killington’s March ballot has the potential to be interesting.

During a meeting Tuesday night, the Select Board discussed a pair of topics. These included a request by the Sherburne Historians for $169,000 to restore the building that was previously home to the Killington Teen Center, and voter consent for the town to enter into a program allowing residents to borrow money to make efficiency upgrades to their homes.

The efficiency program — known as PACE, or Property Assessed Clean Energy — is offered through Efficiency Vermont. It allows a homeowner, including the owner of a condominium but not a condo association, to borrow as much as 15 percent of the value of his or her property — up to $30,000 — to make the home more energy efficient.

Efficiency Vermont would handle the financing and the homeowner would make payments on the loan twice a year, at the same time his or her property taxes are due to the town. And much like property taxes, if a homeowner doesn’t repay the loan, the property can be sold.

Currently, 35 cities and towns have voted to become “PACE districts.” None of the towns are in Rutland County.

Jim Haff raised the question of who would be responsible for the sale: the town, Efficiency Vermont or the bank, the National Bank of Middlebury.

Aside from this question, the town’s only other responsibilities would be providing a description of the property and checking to see if there are any existing liens or back taxes owed.

The proposal received broad support across the board, with Selectman Bernard Rome saying the biggest issue will be coming up with language for the ballot that will make sense to the voters.

A slightly more contentious issue was the request from the Sherburne Historians, who are seeking a home for its historical collection.

“My feeling is, it’s a question that should be put to the public, and the Historians have the right to ask the public for approval,” Rome said. “But, saying all that, I think it’s a terrible idea.”

Rome said he had no idea of the quality of the historical items in question. Selectwoman Patty McGrath said if the board decided not to put the item on the ballot, the town would most likely receive a petition with the needed voter signatures to force the question.

“I think it will be heading toward the ballot irregardless, so we should let it happen,” she said.

Switching gears, Haff asked the board to consider a ballot item to remove the sales tax portion of the 1 percent option tax, but keep the rooms and meals tax.

“I hope you’ll save me the trouble of going out and getting the signatures,” Haff said.

Bianchi also briefly floated the idea of a ballot item to reconfigure the current three-person Select Board so it would have five members.

The Select Board ballot question, and possibly the option tax, will be topics for future meetings. The next Select Board meeting is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Town Offices on River Road.

@Tagline:josh.ogorman @rutlandherald.com

Comment: What is not mentioned regarding the historical society's request is that in March, when they approached the Selectboard for a $250 loan, they stated they would not be seeking funds from the town and would seek grants and outside funding to restore the building. Apparently those efforts were either not fruitful or not attempted. Furthermore, the apparently town would be saddled with future operating costs for the building.
I have no problem putting this on the ballot. If there are enough people in town who feel this is important enough to spend that much money on to house the preservation of our town's history then so be it.
However, there are other options for the historical society. The Chamber of Commerce via Bill Mercier, publicly offered space for the society at Bill's Country Store during a Select Board meeting this year. 

With all the budgetary pressures and the tax rate going up 5 cents on the state side and the Selectboard all but committed to a 2 cent increase on the Municipal side on just the roads budget, this large a expenditure seems to me to be unwarranted, especially in light of less costly (if not free) option if Bill Mercier's offer is legitimate.

There are plenty of other increases being currently considered by the Select board. such as hiring a fulltime Recreation Director, ~$15,0000 and redoing all the town signs, $35,000.

Stating the obvious, with Jim Haff not there to stem the spendthrift ways of our town government our tax rate will no longer remain flat. Simply because of the decisions made by the board regarding the road budget our municipal taxes will be going up every year by 2 cents for the next few years for that one budget item alone. At Tuesday's meeting it seemed every agenda item involved increasing the town's spending and increasing our taxes.

Vito