Selectmen hijack informational meeting

Tonight's informational meeting has suddenly turned into a "Special Select Board Meeting - Informational Meeting for Town Meeting Articles" thereby hijacking the meeting. 
I've heard it multiple times that the Select Board was going to bar M.B. Neisner from moderating tonight's informational meeting. This would seem to be an apparent tactic to seize control of a meeting and create a bias for the sitting select board members one of whom is running for re-election. The Selectboard  is not impartial in her case and in presenting their budget. For them to control the meeting is questionable at best and sleazy at worst.
I've heard that there is some legal mumbo jumbo they can use stating that since this is an informational meeting no moderator is needed.  All meetings need a moderator they're just stacking the deck in their favor because one of them will moderate and it better not be the candidate running for re-election.
In fact I bet they'll try to nix any statements by the candidates and just make it about the articles on the ballot.
We've had a moderator for all three informational meetings since we went to Australian ballot.
The town moderator is an elected position.

Howard Smith's letter smearing Jim Haff on the Eve of election

From: howard@snowmobilevermont.com

Date: 02/26/2016 5:34 PM (GMT-05:00)

Subject: How Important This Election Is

Hi all,

First, thank you everyone for you efforts in making 2015 a great year at the KPAA.  I look forward to our continued progress in 2016.  We were able to accomplish so much by working together as the business community, Killington Resort, and the Town. These relationships have allowed us to grow our organization significantly. 

With the Town Meeting/Election Day right around the corner, I wanted to reach out to all KPAA board members and stress the importance that not only you get out to vote, but that you also get your employees and friends.

This is a critical year for the KPAA!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, our community is better off than it was a year ago. Everyone must understand this election is critical to the life of the KPAA. One Candidate clearly supports our objectives and the other?

The other candidate has proven to be destructive in the past, and I am sincerely concerned for the future of the KPAA if they were elected. Everyone must understand that things we have worked so hard to develop would go away. We could not be housed at our new Welcome Center without the support of the town with the park and ride nor could we solely employ such a skilled director for our organization.  Without these two assets we could not partner with the Resort in such a productive and collaborative manner. It takes actions from the organization’s members to drive the will of the organization and we all need to realize these possible effects if the wrong candidate is elected.

I know I don’t want to start over, and re-develop this organization. We all have worked too hard and sacrificed too much to get to this point. As a community, we should make sure we are advocating for a candidate that supports our mission and progress.  Please get out and vote this coming Tuesday, March 1, and remember the candidates who have helped us get to this point and need your vote.

Thank you,
Howard



Comment: So Mr. Smith admits the KPAA is a weak organization that could not exist without being subsidized by the taxpayers. What do the taxpayers get in return for this subsidy? Unless they are a business and/or KPAA member they get nada, zero, zilch... maybe even less as the proposed increase in the municipal tax rate just about equals the amount the town is subsidizing the KPAA. 
This email just shows how the town's government and resources have been co-opted to serve business interests as a priority. It's not enough to be spending the options tax on this so called economic development now we get a 2 cent increase in our taxes because the selectboard, as currently constituted, is prioritizing benefits to a private entity whose members are in large part not even residents of our community (i.e. Howard Smith, KPAA president and author of the above email). 
WHY ARE WE SUBSIDIZING A PRIVATE ENTITY??? WHY IS THE PRESIDENT OF THIS ENTITY, A NON-RESIDENT, TRYING TO DICTATE THE DIRECTION OF OUR TOWN??
The KPAA is comprised of million and even close to billion dollar businesses yet they donate less in total than the town's subsidy to their own organization. There's something wrong with that don't you think?

We need to balance the board so this practice is put to and end. Please vote for Jim Haff as he represents the interest of all taxpayers not just a limited few.
The board's priorities need to be redefined to look after the town not line business men's pockets at the expense of the taxpayers.
Please, first and foremost, get out and vote, and secondly urge your friends and neighbors to do so as well so we can end this frivolous waste of our town's resources. 
Vito

Killington town meeting preview

Rutland Herald

February 24,2016

 

Editor’s note: Killington’s town budget cycle this year lasted 18 months as the town transitioned from a calendar to a fiscal year budget cycle. The reason for the large decrease between this year’s town spending and next year’s proposed spending is in large part because the town returns to a 12-month cycle next year.

Town/highway budget
Proposed $4,155,339; $2,127,215, or 33.86 percent less than this year’s budget of $6,282,554.
School budget
Proposed total budget of $1,682,707, an increase of $57,599, or 3.54 percent, from this year’s $1,625,108.
This budget represents a cost of $15,577 per equalized pupil, $1,626, or 9.5 percent, less than this year’s $17,203 cost per pupil.
Special articles
Shall the voters authorize the Select Board to borrow $200,000 to fund the reconstruction of the library roof?
Shall the voters approve expenditures of $400 to fund the nonprofit Child First Advocacy Center which supports the discovery, intervention, treatment and prevention of child abuse?
Contested races
Jim Haff will challenge incumbent Patty McGrath for a three-year seat on the Select Board.
Meeting location
Killington residents will gather to elect school officials and vote on school district money matters from the floor at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 29 at the Killington Elementary School. An informational hearing regarding the town matters will follow, also at KES, at 7 p.m. Voting on town money matters and the election of town officials will take place by Australian ballot from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 1 at the Killington Town Office.

Haff time: my plan By Jim Haff, Killington Candidate for Select Board

 My plan is to once again get our town back to running the core departments of our municipality, which include highway/roads, recreation, library, fire safety and police. Included in recreation should be maintaining our golf course capital and our swimming pool. Included in the fire safety and police should be addressing the new fire house we’ve been told that we need since the building has been deemed unsafe. This board has not shown any interest of putting an article in front of you, the taxpayers/voters, to address these issues. We also are still waiting for the missing “chapters” that account for our Irene debt to be included in our town financials. In multiple letters back and forth between me and my opponent and current Select Board Chair Patty McGrath on Irene debt, she admitted that we borrowed money from ourselves and that this board would address reconciling these loans from ourselves in the current budget. Sadly, it is still absent — once again this board has kicked the can down the road. (They’ve also, in the 2015 annual report, have forgotten to account for a $700,000 tax anticipation loan.) That being said, here we go: my plan. My plan has always been, and still is, to take care of our finances and the core priorities of running our municipality. For some strange reason my opponent has stated publicly that she feels a selectperson’s job is to look beyond the municipality and take care of the economy. Prioritizing new projects with limited funds, has meant diminished allocations for core municipal functions. Here are some examples straight from our 2015 annual report: • $1,398,551.13 this is cash on hand (page 7, Treasures Report, General Fund Accounts, Balance on hand Dec. 31, 2015) • $8,452,491.15 is the amount collected as of Dec. 31, 2015, which leaves our town with $6,567,921.95 to be collected by June 30 for our current 18-month budget. • $7,966,473.08 is what we have if you add what we have on hand and what we still anticipate being collected. • $6,433,105.81 is our total obligations in debts through Dec. 31, 2015 (according to page 7 adding restricted funds, tax sale escrows, education tax due to the state of Vermont and $700,000 of tax anticipation which seems to be missing from our report.) Not included in this number is the reconciling of Irene debts to ourself, which my opponent stated was around $800,000. • $1,533,367.27 is what we have left to run our town from Dec. 31, 2015 through June 30, 2016 ($7,966,473.08 minus $6,433,105.81). If we were to reconcile our FEMA debt according to Mrs. McGrath’s number we would have $733,367.27 to run our municipality for six months (Jan.-June). • The $6,567,921.95 that we still have to collect, includes us receiving full payment from FEMA, which I’m sure is still outstanding and also the amount that they budgeted for the 1 percent option tax, which we all know by now is going to be lower than projected by at least 25 percent. I don’t believe that this amount is sufficient to run our municipality. Yet, my opponent still wants to take care of the economy. “Moving forward” without properly funding our municipality is irresponsible and will in fact take our town backwards as we will eventually have to face the costs for our current municipal obligations. It’s no wonder their hands are cuffed; they understand that they don’t have enough money allocated for the future of our municipality’s highway/roads, recreation, library, fire safety and police. Consequently, no articles on this year’s ballot request voters to weigh in on funding town pool renovations, the golf course irrigation system or public safety building. The above is where we stand now. If elected, I will (with your help) get us back on track taking care of our core municipality before moving forward with any new projects. I would suggest, and put up for a vote, in an article that property funds all of our priorities over time. As a town we should look at all our needs for the municipality, come up with a figure to support those needs, and then go to a bank and borrow the funds at today’s low interest rates so that we fund 100 percent of town capital plans and will not need to borrow again. I understand that this number could be somewhere around $15 million in total. Here is an example of a breakdown: • $2 million for the golf course, which includes irrigation and other capital improvements • $1 million for a new swimming pool • $3 million for public safety building, which includes a firehouse and police station • $9 million to get our roads back in order Currently, we are appropriating $1,257,525 for our capital plans in the current budget. These capital plans truly are not what I call “funding a capital plan,” since I believe that requires looking forward and ahead. The majority of these current allocations are to be used this upcoming year simply for operating costs. I think this is miss leading. My above plan of borrowing $15 million would cost us less than $1 million per year, principal and interest, on a 20 year bond IF done all at once (most likely the bonds would be spread out over multiple years). However, if we did borrow $15 million at once then the cost would still be $257,525 less than what the current Select Board is putting into their so called capital plan. With the $15 million bond we would be able to take care of all of our obligations. Then, I suggest we put the $257,525 left over plus an additional $250,000 above that for a total of approximately $500,000 into future capital so that we can truly fund all future capital plans. In order to achieve this additional $250,000 I suggest that we stop funding an EDT staff through the town. (We can, and should, continue to sponsor events that outside vendors run such as the Stage Race, Killington Classic, AJGA through our golf course, and Cooler in the Mountain summer concert series.) The two EDT staff work at the visitor center and are truly employees for the KPAA not our town. This move would save over $100,000 between salary and benefits. For the other $150,000, I once again will say that I think town employees should, like most of us taxpayers, pay health care deductibles and part of their premium. I understand the last time I brought this issue up, my opponent and others turned this issue into “I have no respect for town employees.” I wonder how many voters receive full health benefits from their employers? For those that pay a portion of their own health costs, does it mean they have no respect for you? I don’t think so. Our government is trying to get all people health insurance but it will be at a cost, as most already experience. I have total respect for town employees, but we must get real and treat all the same and not ask taxpayer to foot the bill for benefit they don’t even get. I understand that some of the employees will probably not vote for me because of my stance on this, but I feel that I need to come forward and let all voters know where I stand and that I will not back down for what I believe is the right choice for us all. At the same time looking at this budget I recognize under “golf course budget” they are predicting a 1 percent increase in expenses at the same time they are predicting a 7 percent decrease in revenue. Yet, our board feels that our golf pro should receive a 5 percent increase in his salary, which is well above $80,000 for the year. When was the last time any of you voters received this kind of salary increase while business was down? I point out this one because it sticks out, but I believe all municipal employees should be held to minimal increases, at least while our town infrastructure is falling apart. In my mind no one should be receiving any more than a 2 percent cost of living increase. These changes would add up to all the funds needed to fund a true capital plan that addresses both current and future needs and moves us forward. After getting our core municipality in place, I do believe that we will be able then to start looking at future projects such as bike trails, streetscapes, gateway project, etc. Sorry for this long letter, but this is the way it needs to be and I feel the voters deserve to hear a fully transparent plan. When moving forward on any of these ideas, I also pledge to put them up as an article for your vote. Once again, folks, here I am putting my own money up for my stance. Also, remember I never accepted any stipends from the town for my service on the Select Board. I believe that while a town is financial unsound, and while asking our employees for such considerations that we should lead by example. If any voter has questions about my proposed plan, I’m always available and happy to discuss it in greater detail. Please call me 802-422-5660 or stop on in at The Butternut Inn. I look forward to serving you once again.

What is Haff time?

Mountain Times
Letters To The Editor
Feb. 11, 2016

Dear editor,

What is Haff time? Select Board Chair Patty McGrath explained it well when she says the main difference between us is that I focus on the nuts and bolts of running a municipality while she looks at the bigger picture, which she defines as the economy. She is quoted in the Rutland Herald as saying “I think any municipality that is not paying attention to its economy — no matter how well you run your municipality — is not going to do well.”

The position I’m running for is select person to oversee our municipality. It seems to me Mrs. McGrath should be running for some state tourism or economic development position, not for select person. When she mentions that I look after the nuts and bolts of running the municipality she’s correct. I’ve been there all the time about the finances about our municipality such as concerns of our golf course debt, our capital plans, which include swimming pool and recreation center, irrigation, town roads and highways, which I’ve always referred to as the core of our town hall. Mrs. McGrath would rather forgo these nuts and bolts and influence how other businesses do in our economy. I don’t believe we (the select board and the taxpayers) should be involved in deciding which businesses survive or not. That’s why they’re in business. They control their destiny and the town controls the core services that a town should provide, which also provides the basis for business, might I add.

The specific nuts and bolts that I am most concerned about include:

Reconcile FEMA debt and proper financial accounting for all accounts.

Making sure all capital plans are fully funded each year so we can repair and replace items to keep our existing infrastructure up and running, not just wait until they fail and then bond. Which include: Swimming pool, fire department/police, golf course, town roads, library, schools.

This current board has shown since day one that it is handcuffed and has no vision to move this town forward. Their plan underfunds capital reserves, cuts from our core priorities and instead allocates monies to new pet projects.

I hope this vote is not just “Jim vs. Patty.” Rather I hope this vote is about the future of our town and making the necessary changes to get things done rather than kick the can down the road.

I have a plan that will properly address our existing infrastructure and obligations while planning for a future that will benefit us all not just a select few and move us forward toward smart development. I plan to outline this plan next week. Stay tuned.

Thanks,

Jim Haff, Killington

Killington’s experts made Mount Fenway come to life

Boston Globe

By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff  February 11, 2016

The temperature was in the low 20s, just fine for making and maintaining snow, when Big Air kicked off at Fenway Park Thursday night. The deep, packed blanket that lined the full length of Mount Kenmore was produced by a seven-man crew from Killington (Vt.) Ski Resort, working in tandem with Natick-based HKD Snowmakers.
According to Michael Joseph, communications manager at Killington, the resort’s crew began making snow almost immediately upon arrival at Fenway Sunday, and worked almost 24-hour-a-day shifts to have the hill ready by midweek. The 100-plus boarders and skiers began working out on the scaffolding-supported hill Wednesday, and the boarders began their qualifying runs Thursday morning.
The Killington crew included personnel trained specifically in snowmaking as well as members who typically concentrate on the grooming and maintenance of Killington’s terrain park. To get the job done on Mount Kenmore, Killington personnel employed a total of four HKD guns, of both fan and land variety.
“It’s really unique for us,’’ said Joseph. “We have some steep pitches at the resort, but nothing quite as narrow as the scaffolding. It presented some challenges. We actually had snowmakers on belay with snow guns to set stuff up.
“We came down here with a full head of steam, ready to take care of whatever challenges were thrown our way. Kind of hard to prepare for, so we brought everything down here but the kitchen sink.’’

 

Killington and HKD used some 300 tons of crushed ice, supplied by the US Ski and Snowboard Association, to make the snow that boarders flew across in Thursday night’s championship.
“USSA allocated 700 tons total,’’ said Joseph, “so we can bring in more if we need reinforcements.’’
The entire snowmaking process could have been in peril if, like last week, temperatures had remained in the 40s.
“We were getting a little nervous about that, but it all went off without a hitch,’’ said Joseph, noting the crew’s excitement. “It’s not very often they are going to get a chance to make snow inside Fenway Park. It is fun to bring that mountain experience and mountain engineering knowledge to an urban environment.’’

Killington Select Board chairwoman faces familiar opponent

By Lola Duffort
STAFF WRITER | February 09,2016

McGrath

KILLINGTON — A familiar contest will unfold on Town Meeting Day in Killington, where incumbent Select Board Chairwoman Patty McGrath will face challenger Jim Haff — the former selectman she ousted from office in 2013.
McGrath, 55, co-owner of the Inn at Long Trail, said the main difference between Haff and herself was his focus on the “nuts and bolts” of running a municipality. A Select Board needs to look at a bigger picture, she said.
“I think that any municipality that’s not paying attention to its economy — no matter how well you run your municipality — is not going to do well,” she said.
But McGrath is also positioning herself as the even-keeled candidate.
She said Monday she was running again in part “because I’ve done a solid job keeping things calm in the town” — an echo of her plea for civility on the Select Board in her 2013 race against Haff, an outspoken and sometimes controversial selectman.
McGrath said she considered building a new fire station as the “most pressing” priority for the town, but also counted re-doing the pool and recreation facility, beautification, affordable housing, and new mountain biking trails as priorities.
This is Haff’s fifth select board race. He ran and lost to then-incumbent Select Board member Mike Miller in 2008, but ousted incumbent Jim Blackman in 2010. He served for a three-year term, and lost to McGrath in 2013. He ran again against incumbent Chris Bianchi in 2015 but lost by a narrow margin.
The co-owner of the Butternut Inn and Pancake House, Haff, 55, thinks the Select Board is “kicking the can down the road” when it comes to long-term planning and not telling taxpayers the full picture.
“I just think that the board is misappropriating funds and I think the board is not taking care our existing infrastructure,” he said.
Haff said the town isn’t planning financially for a new irrigation system the Green Mountain National Golf Course will soon need, or the pool it will have to replace, all within 10 years. He also alleges the town may have illegally paid back its Tropical Storm Irene debts.
“Do I believe the town is in dire financial straits? No. Do I believe that the town is short ($1 million or $1.2 million)? Yes,” he said.
He concedes Killington’s economy has improved in recent years — but doesn’t think the Select Board can claim credit. It’s mostly the Powdr Corp.-owned Killington Resort’s doing, he said.
“The resort is doing its job. Why can’t the town do its job and take care of its existing infrastructure?” he said.
This is McGrath’s third Select Board race. Before winning her seat from Haff in 2013, she ran against then incumbent Selectman Bernie Rome in 2011, losing by just three votes.
lola.duffort @rutlandherald.com

Comment: What the above report fails to relate is Haff's loss against McGrath was as narrow as his loss to Bianchi, only about twenty votes. Jim Haff has a lot of support in town and word is people are disenchanted with the current Select Board and its priority of spending on so called Economic Development at the expense of the town's infrastructure. 

The futility of the town's economic development spending came to the fore this summer. After the Resort added their summer menu of attractions local businesses exclaimed they had the best summer in years.

The inefficacy of continued large scale expenditures of hundreds of thousands on economic development, while experience has shown that it is the Resort's efforts which actually make the difference in the town's economy, underscores the need for a change of direction in the town's government.
If the town government had its priorities straight and set out to build a new firehouse around 10 years ago when they decided to pursue economic development, a new firehouse would have already been paid for and then some.

Vito

Neisner adds new claims in suit against Killington

Rutland Herald

By Lola Duffort
STAFF WRITER | February 03,2016

KILLINGTON — A man suing the town has added new allegations to his litany of claims against municipal leaders.
The Killington Select Board met illegally — even locking the doors to keep out the public — after hearing about Melvin B. Neisner Jr.’s lawsuit, the latter claims in recent court filings in his lawsuit against the town.
A Killington resident and lawyer, and the town’s moderator, Neisner now alleges that former Town Manager Seth Webb — the principal subject of Neisner’s lawsuit — shredded documents sometime after that meeting, “presumably” to keep them out of Neisner’s hands, according to court filings.
Webb, who was appointed as town manager in 2011, stepped down at the end of last year to take a position in the private sector. His last day as manager was Dec. 31.
Dick Horner, the town’s planning director, has been appointed to take over in the interim as Killington searches for a permanent replacement.
Alleging a series of misdeeds by Webb — including that he overcharged taxpayers, acted inappropriately toward employees, and misused town funds — Neisner sued the town in state court in late December.
Since one of Neisner’s allegations is about his due-process rights under the U.S. Constitution, Killington’s lawyers have moved the case to federal court. They have also filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Select Board Chairwoman Patty McGrath acknowledged that town leaders held an emergency meeting Dec. 22 to discuss Neisner’s lawsuit, and that the meeting took place behind closed doors, in executive session.
“Shouldn’t we be allowed to speak to a lawyer when the town is being sued?” she said.
McGrath said she had no knowledge of anyone shredding documents.
“Absolutely not,” she said.
The emergency meeting’s minutes were approved in open session at a later meeting, McGrath said.
Told that no Select Board minutes had been posted to the town’s website since a Dec. 17 meeting, McGrath said that was a mistake.
“I will certainly make sure that Dick (Horner) takes care of that,” she said. “I certainly remember seeing those minutes from those meetings. They should have been posted.”
Horner said Monday the minutes had not been posted online, in error, but had been posted in town at the library, post office and town office. Vermont law requires municipalities with websites to post meeting minutes within five days.
“It’s a transition and all that — it just fell through the cracks,” Horner said.
The Select Board held two emergency meetings — one Dec. 22, the other Dec. 30.
Select Board members took no action except to appoint McGrath as the liaison between the town’s lawyer and the Select Board, according to the minutes.
Reached by phone Monday, Neisner said he had proof of the board’s wrongdoing.
“I have a witness and I have a photograph,” he said of the allegedly illegal meeting.
“And I have the shredded documents,” Neisner added.
Asked what the documents pertained to, he invited the Herald to re-assemble them for him.
Neisner also insists in his Jan. 28 filing that the town, by pointing out the 2011 letter he sent the Select Board offering himself as a replacement to Webb, is falsely portraying him as a frustrated office-seeker.
He told the Herald the letter was meant as a joke. His new filings point out a letter he sent the Select Board the following year insisting the board reopen their search for a manager, but that he had “no desire” to hold the post.
During the interview Monday, he also threatened to sue the Herald if the paper printed that he had sought Webb’s job.
“I’m a pretty good darn person,” he said. “I’m trying to help the town in the way that the Select Board has not.”
lola.duffort@rutlandherald.com