Fired man accused of vandalizing employer's pool

Rutland Herald

• By Patrick Mcardle
•  Staff Writer
• Dec 26, 2019

A Bridgewater Corners man is facing a criminal charge after police accused him of vandalizing the pool at the Mountain Green Resort in Killington after being fired from his job there in June.
Paul L. Perry, 31, of Bridgewater Corners, pleaded not guilty earlier this month in Rutland criminal court to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful mischief resulting in $250 or less in damage.
Perry was released without bail. If convicted of the charge, he could be sentenced to up to six months in jail.

The charges are based on an affidavit written by Officer Michael Hoffman, of the Killington Police Department, who said he was assigned to the case Sept. 1. He said when he was given the case, the file included a statement from Michael Moriarty and an email from Perry.
“My review of the email sent by (Perry) indicates a tone of frustration on (Perry’s) part, primarily in regard to his wages versus job requirements. Toward the end of the email, (Perry) writes, ‘Now god forbid anything ever happened to the spa but I feel like I need to remind you not only is everyyyyything in here EXPENSIVE ... ,’ (sic)” Perry wrote in the affidavit.
Hoffman said Moriarty’s statement, from the case file, said Perry worked for him at Mountain Green Resort on East Mountain Road in Killington at the time of the alleged incident on June 4.
Moriarty said he had concerns because Perry was “essentially setting his own work hours” and not meeting the expectations as he would work about five hours a day. Moriarty said Perry had not been reliable about punching in to the company time clock for the last few weeks around the beginning of June.
Because of those issues, Moriarty and another supervisor confronted Perry about his pay and the work that was expected in return. Moriarty said he decided he couldn’t agree with Perry’s terms and told Perry he was being fired.
Moriarty’s statement said Perry then told him he knew what car Moriarty used to get to work, which Moriarty and the supervisor said to each other later sounded like a threat to them.
According to Moriarty, he found his car had been vandalized when he left work June 4. The statement doesn’t include any information that Moriarty had evidence that Perry had vandalized his car.
The repair estimate Moriarty shared with police was for more than $2,000.
Moriarty told police he noticed June 5 that the water level of the pool was about 2 to 3 inches lower than normal.
According to Mountain Green’s website, the resort has an indoor pool and an outdoor pool. The alleged vandalism was to the indoor pool.
Moriarty said staff at Mountain Green found three tears in the liner of the pool which cost $150 to repair.

Moriarty spoke to a man, whom the affidavit does not describe as a guest or employee at the resort, but who allegedly saw Perry “jabbing” at the pool liner with a pole used for cleaning in the area where the tears were found.
The pool technician told Moriarty that the damage appeared to have been done deliberately and that “it appeared to (the technician) that someone took the cleaning head off the pole and just jabbed at the liner with the sharp end of the pole,” the affidavit said.
Hoffman said he and Perry spoke by phone Sept. 20. He said he told Perry about the allegations involving Moriarty’s car and the pool and Perry denied any involvement with either alleged incident.
The affidavit said Hoffman met as well with the alleged witness Sept. 20 who repeated that he recognized Perry and saw him “repeatedly slamming the pole with two hands down into the water where he was squatting.”
Hoffman said he spoke with Perry again Oct. 2. He described Perry as “proactive in cooperating with this investigation” but said he still believed Perry had vandalized the pool.
patrick.mcardle @rutlandherald.co

School board still fleshing out budget for facility needs

Vermont Standard
12/27/19
By Allan Stein
Standard Staff

The Windsor Central Supervisory Union is looking to add extra funds to support next year’s FY21 capital expense budget, which tentatively includes only $50,000 to cover facility needs of the entire district.

“We should be funding $1.2 million to $1.4 million per year,” said James Haff, a Killington member of the Windsor Central Supervisory Union school board, during a meeting on Dec. 16.

“We are underfunding $1 million to $1.2 million per year,” he said.

During the bi-weekly meeting, Director of Finance and Operations Michael Concessi said the projected budget for buildings and grounds maintenance in FY21 is currently pegged at $2.24 million.

This represents an increase of $265,000 over the FY20 budget, he said.

“Snow removal and the mix of custodial/maintenance labor time was under budgeted in the FY20 budget and this has been corrected in FY21. Unfortunately, the projected budget number currently only allows for $50,000 in capital expenses across the district,” Concessi and WCSU Superintendent Mary Beth Banios said in a statement.

“If there is room to add more, we’ll add more,” Concessi said.

While school officials continue putting together the FY21 budget, Banios said $50,000 in capital outlay is a “placeholder amount” until the budget is fully developed.

“If possible we would like to increase the amount available for capital projects. We do have reserve accounts in a number of schools that could be tapped into in the event of an emergency,” Banios said.

Haff said district officials might consider low-interest


rate borrowing of $1 million to $1.5 million to meet districtwide capital needs in FY21.

“We’re trying to do so many great things, but the house we’re trying to do it in is going to hell. We’re a public education system, and you should be taking care of your buildings,” Haff said.

School board discusses budget increases

Mountain Times
December 18, 2019

By Curt Peterson
Windsor Central Modified Unified Union School District Superintendent Mary Beth Banios and the finance committee gave board members a taste of challenges faced in creating the FY2021 budget at the Monday night School Board meeting, on Dec. 9.
The current budget, ending June 30, 2020, is about $20.1 million, which, based on enrollment of 909 equalized pupils, is $17,994 per pupil—just below the state mandated maximum cost per pupil.
Exceeding the state mandate incurs a $1 penalty for every $1 in excess spending.
The state allowed the district to average the lower per pupil cost of the elementary schools and the higher middle/high school cost, thus avoiding the penalty.
Vermont’s statewide benchmark per pupil cost won’t be available until January, but Banios expects it will reflect the increases incurred at the state level.
Paige Hiller, board co-chair from Woodstock, said the budget process will be broken down into smaller segments this year, as working on the entire package is “overwhelming.”
Board co-chair Jennifer Iannantuoni from Killington said, “contractual expenses,” such as health benefits, negotiated on a state-wide basis, have risen significantly.
Statewide, the health insurance premium increase is 12.9% — the district’s projected increase is 14.2%.
Salary increases, negotiated between the state and the teachers’ union, are expected to be 3.5%, although bringing salaries in line across the district will mean a bigger local net increase.
Finance and Operations Director Mike Concessi said substitute teachers are a big expense. Kelly Services currently provides substitutes—Banios said staff find arranging subs is difficult and time-consuming.
Banios and Concessi are analyzing whether having two full-time substitutes would be more cost-effective.
Banios outlined desired “additional educational investments,” including curriculum training for department chairs, summer training for educational coaches, a transportation director, costs associated with increased professional development day substitutes and a theater tech associate, at a total cost of $234,000.
Costs of mitigating moisture issues at The Prosper Valley School, which has been closed for a year, will also be considered.
Bob Crean, a resident spectator at the meeting, suggested spending $6,000 to test results from recent drainage work, and $35,000 for a “deep clean” to remove any mold before committing to $100,000 for a new HVAC system.
Killington board member Jim Haff, who serves on the finance committee that will be primarily responsible for the budget, said the budget increases discussed will impact the district’s education tax significantly, possibly raising Killington’s education tax from $1.62 this year to over $2 next year.
“It would increase our cost per pupil $500 just to operate TPVS,” he told the Mountain Times after Monday’s meeting, “without increasing the number of credited pupils in the district – just moving them from Woodstock to Pomfret.”
Haff cited Town Manager Chet Hagenbarth’s recent report to the district board that Killington real estate prices have risen 20%, possibly increasing the town’s common level of appraisal penalty by 15% or more. (CLA adjusts for the difference between a town’s property assessments and actual market values).
On Dec. 9, Concessi alluded to significant efforts invested to bring the district’s books in order. According to Haff, actual revenue received was never accurately recorded and only fiscal year 2018 has been updated so far.
“An outside firm has been brought in to enter revenue figures,” Haff said. “We may find out revenue is actually way off from what the FY2019 budget and the current budget anticipated.”
“We ran out of tax anticipation note funds [money often borrowed against anticipated tax revenues and state disbursements by towns and school districts] in October — the earliest yet,” he said. “The district put payments other than payroll on hold until they had more accurate information.”
The board also unanimously approved raising student and adult meal prices starting in September for the first time in three years.
A vigorous discussion about required capital reserves for campus buildings revealed while there are very modest reserve funds attached to some schools, the district has been significantly under funding maintenance and replacement funding for years.
“The draft budget includes $50,000 for capital reserves,” Haff said, “but industry standards would suggest putting away between $1.2 million and $1.4 million every year. If we don’t address this now, we’ll be having the same conversation next year.”

World Cup in Killington is ‘loud, it’s energetic’

Vermont Standard 

12/5/19

By Neil Allen

Standard Staff

The crowd at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup in Killington held last weekend.

John Everett Photo

Mikaela Shiffrin, who trained at Burke Mountain Academy in East Burke, making her way down the mountain during the slalom competition at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup in Killington on Sunday.

Dave Young Photo

KILLINGTON — The Killington Resort hosted the Audi FIS Ski World Cup over Thanksgiving weekend, bringing more than 36,000 spectators to the mountain. The ski races and concerts are free and open to the public.

The event, which was broadcast worldwide to more than 60 nations along with national broadcast coverage, has drawn an increasing number of spectators to Killington each year to cheer on racers from around the world. This year, they had 6,000 people at Friday’s opening ceremonies, 19,500 showed up for Saturday’s giant slalom races — setting a single-day record for the event at Killington, and 11,000 people for Sunday’s slalom races.

“It’s loud, it’s energetic,” said Courtney DiFiore, Communications/PR & Social Media Manager at Killington/ Pico Ski Resort Partners. “New Englanders take pride in being the largest crowd for the series. They come out in droves — cheering and being so positive. They’re excited and want everyone to do well.”

This is the fourth year they have hosted the competition featuring the best women skiers from around the world. The 2016 Audi FIS Ski World Cup at Killington was the first World Cup in the eastern U.S. since 1991, which was held at Waterville Valley, N.H., and the first in Vermont since 1978 at Stratton Mountain.

The Audi FIS Ski World Cup includes women’s giant slalom and slalom races, attracting athletes such as U.S. Ski Team member Mikaela Shiffrin, who trained at Burke Mountain Academy in East Burke and grew up in nearby Lyme, N.H.

“The Killington Cup has long been a highlight of mine on the World Cup tour the last three seasons,” says Mikaela Shiffrin in a press release. “In 2018 we — all of us together — set a new precedent for ski racing internationally, boasting the largest World Cup crowd for women on the entire circuit.

“To get that hat trick slalom victory in front of thousands of screaming fans at home is something I will never, ever forget. I’m looking forward to once again competing on home soil,” she continued.

Shiffrin stretched her three-year “hat trick” win-ning streak in the slalom to four on Sunday. She also came in second in the giant slalom races on Saturday.

DiFiore said the crowds are a barometer of the action on the mountain.

“You can tell what’s happening on the mountain through the sounds the crowd is making,” she said. “You can tell they’re loving it and that makes it more fun for us as we’re working.”

It is great for the skiers as well. Throughout the event, during interviews the competitors often commented on the crowds and how much they appreciate them.

“I’ve heard that in the European races once the higher level racers are done, the crowds start to disperse so those lower on the list don’t have many people cheering for them,” DiFiore said. “This is one of the first times some of them are having the crowds cheering for them. The crowds cheering for them can make or break a run as they push down the mountain.”

The numbers on Sunday were nearly half that of Saturday. DiFiore said she didn’t know for sure why, especially with Shiffrin going for her fourth win in the slalom but overheard people at the event discussing the impending snowstorm.

“Some may have changed their plans and wanted to get on the road early so they could get home safely,” she said. “A lot of the people who come to watch are coming up from Massachusetts and Connecticut, which is where the storm was expected to be worse.”

This year the entertainment included concerts from Recycled Percussion, Grace Potter, DJ Logic and Twiddle.

“This year’s entertainment truly showcases the state of Vermont and our neighbors to the east – New Hampshire,” said Jordan Spear, director of marketing and sales for Killington Resort. “The combination of talented artists and world-class athletes make World Cup weekend a one-of-a-kind experience for our guests.”

Recycled Percussion performed before the bid draw then participated in the bid draw as well, according to DiFiore. DJ Logic performed during runs on Saturday and Grace Potter performed after the second run.

Twiddle, a Vermont jam band that has a dedicated following, performed between runs on Sunday. “They don’t usually perform for free so there was a lot of hype about them,” DiFiore said. “After their performance here, they went to a local night club and performed there.”

With a two year contract in place, the FIS Ski World Cup will be coming to Killington again next year.

“Establishing another multi-year World Cup schedule here at Killington is an incredible opportunity for the resort and the surrounding community. I continue to be blown away by the sheer size of the crowds, and their enthusiasm leads me to believe that we’ll continue to see large numbers of spectators to watch the fastest female ski racers in the world take on the Superstar trail,” says Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort.

“We use every cold period in October and November to build a world-class race venue on Superstar, and getting the job done early in the season showcases Killington’s state-of-the-art snowmaking system as an industryleading powerhouse while also setting us up to offer the longest season in the east. In fact, we skied into June this season for the second time in three years,” he continued.

Killington resident invites people to call him with concerns about new high school

December 4, 2019

Mountain times

By Curt Peterson
Although plans for a new high/middle school complex in Woodstock have been growing for some time, many constituents are becoming aware of it for the first time — perhaps most in the six districts towns outside of Woodstock itself — Pomfret, Bridgewater, Plymouth, Killington and Reading (and Barnard, assuming they vote to join the district at the Dec. 10 vote.)
The Windsor Central Modified Unified Union School District (WCUSD) administration hopes its $68 million dollar “new build,” with renovations to existing remote campuses, will stabilize or grow the student population by attracting young families to the area.
On Nov. 25 the WCUSD board approved engaging Lavalee Brensinger Architects to perform a new build feasibility study with an estimated cost of from $425,000 to $450,000. Study financing will include $30,000 from unused ACT 46 grant funds and private donations, some requiring matching donations. Private donations to date total $235,000.
The administration hopes to use a 30-year bond to finance the new complex. The bond amount would reflect the cost of the project less the amount of private and public funding.
At a recent New Build Committee meeting, board co-chair Paige Hiller said she thought the goal should be a maximum education tax rate increase of 15-18%, and suggested the design and financing costs should reflect that goal. Recently the board has been hinting at revisiting the design as regards costs.
Assuming the board goes ahead with putting the project up for a vote (likely sometime after Town Meeting), the bond would need approval by the majority of voters in the district.
Killington resident and businessman Robert Montgomery doesn’t feel an entirely new facility is necessary – and says the resulting cost of the new build will be an undue burden on taxpayers.
“I feel I’m representing the interests of between 500 and 1,000 second-home owners in Killington,” Montgomery told the Mountain Times in a telephone interview. “And I’m getting involved because I’m a local taxpayer myself.”
Commenting on Vito Rasenas’s blog, “As the Ski Turns,” Montgomery invited readers interested in discussing the new build project to call him and register their concerns.
“I got more than a dozen calls before my voicemail box was full,” he said. “And they are still dribbling in.”
He said calls have come from Killington, Reading, Bridgewater and Plymouth.
“Most are learning for the first time about plans to build the new school,” he said, adding he thought the project has been kept “under the radar” until recently when a series of news articles have been published in local papers (and republished on Rasenas’s blog).
Montgomery moved to the area from Boston in the ‘70s. He and his late wife Diane built and ran multiple businesses in Killington. His son Whit is chief of the Killington Police.
Montgomery believes building a new school isn’t the way to improve education, he told the WCUSD board at Killington Elementary School on Nov. 25.
“We are doing a good job on STEM education now,” he said. “The private donations should be invested in those programs rather than bricks and mortar. That’s what will make ours a destination school system.”
WCUSD Facilities Manager Joe Rigoli will be executing tours of the existing campus on Dec. 4, 9 and 19 so interested people can see building conditions for themselves in the 1950s-built structures.
Montgomery is hoping to take one of the upcoming tours. As a former property developer and manager he feels he can lend an educated eye in evaluating what can be done to update and improve the buildings.
“Some of the callers who have taken the tour say it is very prejudiced toward replacement rather than refurbishing,” he said. “I want to see for myself.”
He has not seen the strategic plan, Portrait of a Graduate, published in early 2019, which concludes that remodeling existing buildings unfavorably compares with the new build alternative — based on both cost and outcome — and says he will leave that up to others who, he hopes, will spearhead the movement toward cost moderation.

019

Comments on “Killington resident invites people to call him with concerns about new high school”

Vito Rasenas

December 4, 2019 at 2:43 PM

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

I heard from someone on the finance committee that it would double Killington’s property taxes and we would be paying the brunt of the expense since we are a “gold town”.

Killington Road sees business renovations, redevelopment and welcomes new owners

Mountain Times
November 27, 2019

By Katy Savage

Killington Resort executives and key team members wore hard hats for the ceremonial ground breaking of the new K-1 lodge this summer. Construction will continue through this winter and summer with the lodge expecting to open for the beginning of the 2020-2021 season.

With Killington Resort investing millions of dollars in summer and winter activities, a number of business owners on Killington Road are following with upgrades and changes to their buildings.
Some business owners have invested heavily into summer offerings with the rise in the resort becoming a year-round destination.
“Everyone in the business (industry) does a direct percent of what the resort does,” said Chris Karr, the owner of a number of restaurants. “It’s going to bring more traffic by our doors and create more opportunities for us.”
Karr expanded a deck at Charity’s this summer to seat 30 people outside.
“It’s an exciting time period,” said Karr. “We had a number of factors happen up here over the past few years. We’ve seen great management with the resort now…it’s made a lot of us more competitive in the marketplace.”
Lookout Tavern owner Phil Black also invested in summer seating by installing a covered upper deck at his restaurant over the summer.
“It’s been a project we’ve wanted to do for 15 years,” said Black, who took inspiration for his deck while pub crawling a number of restaurants during a visit in the Carolinas.  “We just haven’t had summer business to make that type of commitment. We waited and waited and waited and business in the summer’s been growing and growing. We felt like last summer was the year to do that.”
The new deck, open in the spring, summer and fall, seats about 50 people.
Mountain biking continues to grow at the resort, with an estimated 30,000 visits last year and summer events are on the rise, but  Killington Resort has also invested in winter activities. Last year, it announced guests would notice impacts of a number snowmaking improvements sister mountain, Pico, this year.  A new $29 million K-1 Lodge at the resort was also announced last year. Constructionwill continue until it’s complete by next winter.
“It’s still happening little by little,” said Killington Resort Communication/PR & Social Media Manager Courtney DiFore.
The 58,000 square-foot building will be three stories high, with a full service bar and floor to ceiling windows.
“This is a significant step in fulfilling our vision to transform the way guests experience and enjoy Killington for years to come,” said Killington Resort President and General Manager Mike Solimano in a news release.
The resort has invested about $60 million dollars in improvements in the last two years.
“We have big plans for Killington moving forward that will continue to solidify us as the Northeast’s hub for year-round adventure,” Solimano said.
Some business owners are taking advantage of the resort’s future plans by investing now.
Robert “Sal” Salmeri, the owner of Moguls Sports Pub and Restaurant,  bought the Killington Mall for $475,000 at an auction on May 21, calling it a “pet project” of his.
“I loved the building and it was killing me to see it closed and not run properly,” Salmeri said. “I decided to try to take it on and try to make something of it. It’s part of this town big time.”
Salmeri spent the summer upgrading the 22,500 square foot building. The exterior has been painted and the interior has new floors and new infrastructure.
Salmeri is opening a new restaurant—the Nite Spot—featuring wood fired pizza, salads and deserts—in the former Outback Pizza.  Another new restaurant, Taco X, will replace the Killington Diner in the same building. There will be a clothing store, a DJ upstairs and an arcade at the entrance. The Killington Mall will be open year round.
“I’m looking for great pizza (and) a great family atmosphere,” Salmeri said.
There have also been real estate changes on Killington Road.
The Mountain Inn and Sante Fe restaurant, now under new ownership, is under a full renovation. New owner Caroline Wise plans to open the inn in early 2020 and a distillery is planned for the former Santa Fe restaurant area.
“I grew up skiing up here for the past 18 years,” said Wise. “When this property came for sale it seemed to be correct fit.”
While there have been many investments, Killington saw changes in the hospitality businesses that decreased hotel room for this ski season.
The Butternut Inn closed June 15 and was turned into a dorm room for Castleton University students. The Highline Lodge also closed to guests with an ownership change in November. The 13-room lodge will available for rent via Airbnb in December.
“It’s such a great area and there’s so much happening here with all the developments,” new Highline Lodge owner Kristin Zajac said.

Killington struggles with short-term rental policy

November 27, 2019

Mountain Times

By Curt Peterson
KILLINGTON—Town Planner and Zoning Administrator Preston Bristow said there are approximately 931 short-term rentals in Killington—more than any other town in the state. According to the 2010 Census, Killington has only 820 full-time residents. The Killington Planning Commission is proposing a registration ordinance to deal with the growing number of short-term rentals and safety and health issues they often produce. The commission held a public hearing Wednesday, Nov. 20. About 40 attendees had some tough questions and comments for the commission.
Bristow said the commission must hold at least one public hearing and the Select Board will hold at least one as well before making a decision about approving the ordinance.
The number of short-term-rentals was estimated by Host Compliance LLC, a Seattle company that monitors internet advertising of short-term rentals with Killington locations. Asked for a legal definition of a short-term rental property, Bristow said if rent is charged, and if the property is rented for more than 14 days in a given year, that defines it as a short-term rental and triggers the requirement for registration.
Town Manager Chet Hagenbarth said temporary over-occupancy by family over holidays does not violate any rental regulations.
“This is all about health and safety,” Hagenbarth said. “The regulations are already in place at the state level or in our existing zoning ordinance—this is a registration ordinance only.”
If adopted, the ordinance will go into effect the following year, he said. Safety and/or health violations would be notified, and, after a waiting period any unremedied violation would earn a $200 fine for every day until the remedy is affected.
A “small registration fee,” to be determined by the Select Board, would be charged for a registration certificate. Hagenbarth said he calculates one part-time administrator might be required to handle the registration process during for the first year when all short-term-rentals would be registered for the first time.
Then the monitoring company would build a data base of short-term rentals for the registrations, and notify of additions or changes. Bristow said monitoring might cost $70,000 the first year. A monitoring company hasn’t been selected, he said.
Several short-term rental owners voiced objections to the proposed ordinance.
Chuck Graziano called it “over-taxing, overbearing,” and involving “too many permits and inspections.” He suggested smaller, shorter-term rentals should be exempted.
David McComb also thinks the registry will be “costly and over-burdening,” and add new requirements.
Hagenbarth said short-term rentals rented for less than 14 days per year are already exempted, and fire and safety requirements are already in effect – the registry is intended to help identify rentals to assure compliance, not to impose new requirements.
Patricia Comblo, an attorney in New York, Massachusetts and Colorado, claimed the registry ordinance is “deficient” and “not ready to be passed.”
Hagenbarth explained the proposal is only a recommendation to the Select Board, who would have to enact it, and that all the regulations registrants are required to certify are already in force.
“This proposal is about prevention,” he said. “It’s about documenting short-term rentals are in compliance regarding sewer and septic, and fire prevention. It will protect both renters and owners.”
Charles Underwood questioned the occupants per bedroom limit.
“Most of the units in our complex are designed for four people per bedroom,” he said.
The proposal sets a two-person per bedroom total “plus two.”
Hagenbarth said Act 250 certification for condo complexes states the occupancy limit already and is not affected by the proposed ordinance.
Select Board member Jim Haff said the registry would not be a problem for the majority of short-term rentals, since they are condos.
“The condominium complexes already have permits for fire and sewers with stated allowed occupancies, and the Division of Fire Safety already inspects every unit,” he said, adding that the property managers at each complex can provide the documents necessary to register.
Planning Commission member Vito Rasenas admitted he isn’t enthusiastic about the proposal, but knows something has to be done, as septic system overloads and large rowdy parties arise from over-occupancy.
“The resort started around 1956, but short-term rentals only became a thing 3-4 years ago,” he said. “They’re good for the town, bringing in outside capital, inspiring outsiders to buy and fix up residential properties. But we need to have them registered so if we need to enforce the rules already in force, the ordinance has teeth.”
The ordinance was tabled pending language suggestions from the hearing.
The next Planning Board Commission meeting is scheduled for Wednesay,  Dec. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the town hall.

Board OKs private funding for school building study

Vermont Standard

11/27/19

By Allan Stein

Standard Staff

A majority of the Windsor Central Unified District School Board authorized on Monday the acceptance of private donations totaling $235,000 for a study to assess costs for building a middle-high school in Woodstock.

The restricted donations are only for use toward a feasibility study, which will be conducted by Lavallee Brensinger Architects (LBA) at a projected cost of $425,000.

LBA is the same firm that produced a comprehensive facilities master plan for the district, which included the option to build a new middle- high school.

The total estimated cost of implementing the master plan, with new construction, is approximately $68 million. However, school officials feel those numbers are pliable, and can come in lower with a proper study.

“This (feasibility) study is about getting to the numbers.

This is an opportunity (that the board) is not going to have again,” said Bridgewater board member Matthew Hough.

Even so, the building project is not a “fait accompli,” Hough said.

The donations are from three anonymous sources — in sums of $200,000, $25,000, and $10,000, respectively. Funding for the study will be released once matching funds or pledges are secured, or in lesser increments with legal written permission by the donors.

As restricted money, the donations may be allocated for use toward the cost of the LBA and Master Plan Team fees for the next phase of middle-high school project planning, according to a WCSU fact sheet.

This will include, in part, architectural, structural, civil/ landscape, engineering, geotechnical, a traffic study and “other work” as outlined in LBA’s proposal.

The recently created New Building Committee recommended an expenditure of $30,000 of district funds from unused Act 46 consolidation grant funds, also for use toward the LBA feasibility study.

At Monday’s meeting, the board passed that recommendation, 10-3. The board also voted, 112, to authorize the district superintendent to enter into a project contract with LBA to support new building planning and design services.

Although funding was accepted, there was still much discussion about the study and building project.

Earlier this year, at the June 10 board meeting, the board endorsed another study committee’s recommendation to do a study of the “financial feasibility” of a district-wide facility improvement plan, including a middle-high school building option.

“We never said it would cost money to do a financial feasibility study,” said Barnard board member Pamela Fraser at Monday’s meeting.

“I feel that spending any money is premature, and it’s not what we voted in June,” she said.

Fraser added the June 10 board vote could be used to “further the notion that this specific (school) rebuild is the only possible solution to the building’s needs.”

At Monday’s meeting, Killington Town Manager Chet Hagenbarth said his concern with a feasibility study is timing and lack of “base information.”

“The reality is without there being site work we don’t know where we can put the building. All of the design work could end up being for naught,” Hagenbarth said.

“I think we’re putting the cart before the horse. You’re putting a lot of money at risk,” he added.

“This whole plan is just ludicrous,” said Killington resident Robert Montgomery about the cost of doing a feasibility study.

A new school building “is not going to result in better grades,” he said.

“This is an ill conceived (building project) plan. It’s going to have major tax increases, which most Vermonters cannot afford now,” he said in a follow-up interview. “A lot of this (project information) is the first time people have heard about this. As more people are finding out about this, and how it’s being kept underneath the radar, there’s not a lot of support for this at this time,” Montgomery said.

As a former developer, Montgomery said he believes that refurbishing the existing middle-high school building would be a more “cost-effective option as opposed to a “tear down.”

In the meantime, school district officials have been conducting public tours of the middle-high school building to point out the dilapidated condition of the building, and its antiquated heating, ventilation and electrical systems. The school was built in 1958.

While national studies show a link between poor air quality and student performance, Woodstock school officials said, no such studies have been done at the middle- high school to date.

Killington board member Jim Haff said if air quality in the school is bad, “please tell me why it is still open.”

“I am not here to slow down the process of a vote” on a new school,” he said, “but stop the scare tactics.”

Woodstock board member Claire Drebitko described the feasibility study as an “important next step to rightsize” the building project’s cost and scope.

In a small Vermont city: heroin, bullets, and empathy

Boston Globe

By Kevin Cullen Globe Columnist,November 21, 2019, 8:33 p.m.

In Rutland, Vt., police and various social service agencies created Project Vision, a recognition that the city couldn’t prosecute its way out of the problems wrought by addiction.Craig F. Walker/File/Globe Staff

RUTLAND, Vt. — The bullets arrived before the dawn, announcing themselves with a loud crack that said this wasn’t some crank in a pickup popping off a couple of drunken, random rounds with a .22.

That sound and the holes in the thick glass door at the Rutland Police Department told the officers inside that whoever fired those shots was wielding a high-powered rifle.

Investigators quickly reviewed video from a security camera, zeroed in on a license plate, and thought they knew who they were looking for when, an hour and a half later, they spotted the white Ford Focus parked near the Walmart in a nearly deserted nearby shopping plaza.

But the driver wasn’t who they thought it would be.

It was Chris Louras, the 33-year-old son of the city’s former longtime mayor.

The cops gave chase, but not for long. Louras stopped his car on the tracks at the nearby Amtrak station and came out firing with a Smith & Wesson M&P15 rifle.

Get Metro Headlines in your inboxThe 10 top local news stories from metro Boston and around New England delivered daily.

If this was what it seemed, a desperate attempt at suicide by cop, Louras appeared determined to take some cops with him.

By this time, four police officers, one of them armed with a rifle, had converged on him. After Louras fired a barrage at them, witnesses said, the officers returned fire. One of the shots hit Louras in the head, and he fell heavily.

Hours later, even as police here scrambled to figure out what had just happened, a passerby spotted the body of a young man on the side of a country road in Salisbury, a rural town about 25 miles north of Rutland.

It was Nick Louras, Chris’s 34-year-old cousin and the nephew of the current mayor, Dave Allaire.

While the investigation is ongoing, investigators are working on the theory that Chris Louras shot his cousin sometime in the early morning hours, drove into Rutland, fired into the police station, then drove around aimlessly, waiting for the inevitable.

At first blush, it made no sense. Two young men, cousins, as privileged and connected as you can be in a place this size, dead within hours and 25 miles of each other. But this is a small place that has experienced big problems at that intersection of drugs and madness, and many people intuitively knew this was that intersection.

With the gunfire over and the shooter dead, Brian Kilcullen, the city’s police chief, was trying to seal off the crime scene that his own station had become, and to reassure his officers and the civilians who arrived that morning to bullet holes and controlled chaos when his phone buzzed.

It was a text, from Christopher Louras, the former mayor.

Chris Louras inside the Speak Easy Cafe in Rutland, Vt.Corey Hendrickson for the Boston Globe

Kilcullen steeled himself, then read it, with rising gratitude and not a little amazement.

It contained condolences and comforting words for the police officers who had just shot his son to death.

“That set the tone, right there,” Kilcullen told me, sitting in the station that, a month later, shows no outward signs of that horrible, chaotic morning. “To have someone, in the midst of his grief and this utter devastation in his own family, reach out and ask about the welfare of our officers. That kind of says it all.”

Two weeks later, the Louras family released a statement.

“We feel thankful and blessed with good friends and a strong community, which is more evident than ever,” it read. “We are eternally grateful for the love and compassion people have shown, from friends and neighbors, and from members of the Rutland City Police Department.”

Mayor Allaire, whose wife is the sister of Nick Louras’s mother, also thanked the police and residents for being kind to his family.

The murder of Nick Louras, the police shooting of Chris Louras, the known and especially the unknown, had the potential to tear this small city apart. Instead, it all has become a grim reminder to the 16,000 people who live here that no one, no family, is immune to the epidemic of opiates and mental health crises that have haunted and harmed Rutland and its residents for a generation.

Rolling in on Route 4 from Killington, or heading south out of town on Route 7, you quickly appreciate the beauty that surrounds Rutland. Mountains ring the city like a warm blanket. But the beautiful scenery cloaks a darker reality. Route 7 is one of the most picturesque in Vermont, but it also provides heroin dealers in New York and Massachusetts direct access to the area.

Chris Louras fell dead next to the train station that is another popular destination for heroin dealers from New York, who can sell their poison for even more here than in the five boroughs and beyond.

The violent deaths of the Louras cousins has shaken this city in particular because there has been progress made in the Sisyphean task of combating the scourge of addiction and its accompanying crime and decay, especially in the city’s Northwest neighborhood. 

Seven years ago, the police and various social service agencies joined forces to create Project Vision, a recognition that law enforcement wasn’t enough, that the city couldn’t prosecute its way out of the urban and human decay wrought by addiction. The collaborative, coordinated approach has borne fruit. Burglaries and thefts are down, some of the quality of life issues — noise, disorderly conduct, loitering — have improved on some of the blighted blocks in the Northwest.

But as the murder of Nick Louras and the shooting of his cousin have underscored, the problems here and in many parts of Vermont are deeply rooted; police and social workers are engaged in a marathon, not a sprint.

Joe Kraus, the chairman of Project Vision, came here in 1980 and never left. He said the shootings were a punch in the gut and a wake-up call.

“There was a time in America when you thought things like this only happen to ‘those’ sort of people, not to people like us, not to people from good, solid families,” he said. “The truth is, it’s everywhere.”

The Louras cousins went to private schools and were standout hockey players. Like his cousin, Nick Louras attended Mount Saint Joseph Academy, a prep school here, and went on to graduate from Cushing Academy in Massachusetts. He was an honor roll student at the State University of New York Morrisville. 

But at some point, he got mixed up in drugs. And at some point, he went from using heroin to selling it. In 2014, he pled guilty to federal heroin distribution charges.

Chris Louras had no criminal record, but in discussing the tragedy here, various officials have spoken vaguely about how mental illness was, beyond heroin, a component to all that happened.

“The tragedy was inexplicable,” Kraus said, “but the important thing is how the community responded. People were shocked, saddened, and had questions, about everything. But they were compassionate. Some of those cops were the same age group as Nick and Chris. They probably knew each other, from school or sports or whatever. You see these remarkable acts of kindness and love and compassion that offset the feeling of loss.”

Kilcullen, the police chief, said that in the days following the shootings, several of his officers reported back to him that during their breaks, when they got to the front of the line in any number of the city’s cafes, someone had already paid for their coffee.

“On that first day, a real long day for us, some ordinary citizen just showed up with pizza for us,” Kilcullen said. “People brought us food every day, for weeks.”

Still, the chief worries about his officers as they process the reality of having taken someone’s life.

Christopher Louras was a popular mayor for 10 years. Then he vowed to resettle Syrian refugees in the city, a noble if not entirely explained idea, and there was a popular uprising against the idea, and eventually against him. Allaire cruised to victory two years ago.

The current mayor declined to talk to me. I left messages for the former mayor, but haven’t heard from him. One of the former mayor’s relatives told me things are still very raw.

Last week, Rutland Police Commander Matt Prouty, the executive director at Project Vision, stood on the top floor of the police station, checking in with the cops and social workers who are his grunts, the soldiers in what is and remains a block-by-block war on opiates and all the ruinous byproducts.

Prouty is an old soldier who is not that old, still part of the US Army. He earned his spurs as a member of the Cavalry Division, the cavalry that in the movies rides to the rescue. He wishes it was that simple here, the cavalry riding into town. But it’s so much more complicated. Prouty was out there last month when the shooting started, has been on the front lines of Rutland’s existential war for years, and is quite familiar with the most dangerous intersection in town.

It’s the one where addiction and mental illness meet.

“We’ve got a lot more work to do,” Matt Prouty said.

He went back into his office and turned on the light.

---

Kevin Cullen is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at cullen@globe.com.

Windsor Central school district leaves new build questions unanswered

Mountain Times

November 20, 2019

By Curt Peterson
The Windsor Central Unified School District Board’s “new build committee” met for the first time on Nov. 6. Woodstock representative Ben Ford told the Mountain Times the committee’s mission is “to advance our endorsement of the new building option.”
Ford outlined options for financing the razing of the existing Woodstock High School/Middle School and creating a modern, efficient and education-friendly campus for an estimated $68 million— a number that also includes renovations to the district’s elementary schools, including mitigation of moisture at The Prosper Valley School in Pomfret.
Board co-chair Paige Hiller of Woodstock had charged the committee with a goal: to identify a project and financing that would raise education taxes a maximum of 15-18%. (If the full amount were bonded over a  30-year period, which no one is recommending, it would produce a 31% tax increase impact — over $500 on a $250,000 home belonging to someone with no income-sensitive deductions.) Most board members agreed that a bond of  about half that might pass.
Assuming the proposed design and estimated price tag, Ford said approximately $30 million in private donations and grant funds were needed to reduce the necessary bond amount to $40 million and meet Hiller’s suggested goal.
Woodstock representative Clare Drebitko suggested community focus groups to spread information about the need for the new school. She urged focus on soliciting the alumni – there are 1,300 followers on the alumni Facebook page.
Ford suggested an additional avenue could be “local option tax,” in each town, to raise funds.
“Local option taxes are only allowed in certain towns,” said Haff, who is also a select board member in Killington. “Not all seven towns are eligible. And if you try an option tax in Killington, where it is allowed, it wouldn’t pass anyway.”
Pomfret representative Bob Coates thought “naming opportunities” a good idea – people donating money to have a building named for them. He also suggested hiring a full-time marketing person to oversee public relations and fundraising.
Superintendent Banios urged Board members to talk to state representatives and senators.
“Tell them why the state should be helping us,” she said.
Though the district is 200 students smaller than in 2003. Ford thinks making the district a “destination school system,” meaning that people would move within the district because of the schools, will be possible with the new campus.
Scoping study
Ford said an anonymous benefactor pledged $200,000 in matching funds to help pay architectural firm Lavallee Bresinger for necessary pre-build work expected to cost $400-$450,000. Since the meeting Ford announced an additional gift of $25,000.
Things got sticky when Ford made a motion to contribute money from the current 2019-2020 district budget to free up some of the matching funds. Discussion included options from $25,000 to $200,000.
“This will indicate to potential donors the board has skin in the game,” Ford said.
Superintendent Mary Beth Banios said she believed she could find available money in the budget without diminishing programs or staff time.
Ford said the Board would be able to recoup the $450,000 from the proceeds of the bond.
Barnard representative Pam Fraser objected to spending $450,000 before the voters have approved the bond, stating that a vote is necessary before any work is done.
“People ask me about the impact on their taxes, and I say, ‘I don’t know,’” Fraser said. “All we are talking about are dreams, and we are moving ahead without knowing the actual numbers.”
Killington representative and Board co-chair Jennifer Ianantuoni said the board has already paid the architects $150,000 that was privately donated funds.
Killington’s other representative, Jim Haff, explained the $450,000 pre-bond work will provide the numbers Fraser wants.
There were several unanswered questions when the meeting ended and many district board members were frustrated either with the lack of a vote to move forward or with the committees suggestion that the board move forward with funds for a project not-yet approved by the board or district voters.
The board tabled the motion to use funds for a scoping study until its Nov. 25 meeting.

1. Vito Rasenas

   November 22, 2019 at 3:46 PM

   
   

   I think Haff was right when he stated these people were “nuts”. That school, while a little dated is probably one of the better schools in terms of building and facilities in Vermont if not all of New England. To propose a $65 million re-creation of the school is absurd especially in the face of declining student enrollment. I would add that these people are not only “nuts” but spendthrifts, as well as insane.

   Reply
   
    https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/vermont/districts/woodstock-uhsd-4/woodstock-senior-union-high-school-158095

Board split on study for new school

Vermont Standard

11/14/19

By Allan Stein

Standard Staff

At Tuesday’s meeting, some members of the Windsor Central Modified Unified Union School District School Board said that the circumstances couldn’t be better to move forward with a middle-high school building feasibility study.

Flush with more than $200,000 in private donations, and with letters of support from community members, the only thing lacking are definitive project numbers.

Woodstock board member Ben Ford, in his first report of the New Building Committee on Tuesday, proposed that $50,000 be set aside to begin the scoping study, whose total projected cost is $400,000.

As the study moves along, the district would continue raising private funds to cover the balance, he said.

“We have a pretty incredible amount of support from the community tonight,” Ford said.

Ford said one community member pitched in with

a $200,000 matching grant, while another donor pledged $25,000.

Woodstock board member Clare Drebitko, a member of the board’s Community Engagement Committee, said there appears to be broad community support for a new middlehigh school.

“It feels really good to have this kind of district-wide support of the process we’re going through,” she said.

Several other board members, however, said they were not prepared to vote on the scoping study without first knowing whether a financial feasibility study is complete or not.


“You people are nuts. Just follow the vote (process).”

— Killington Board Member James Haff

Barnard board member Pamela Fraser she was not ready to support the scoping study “even if it is private money.”

She added, “there seems to be a desire to move forward without concrete numbers.”

Preliminary figures place the cost of new middle-high

school construction at $68 million. Ford said the scoping study will supply more exact, and possibly lower numbers.

“This stage will give us clarity. It will be incredibly valuable,” he said.

Ford said that private funding is critical to having “all the pieces in place” before going to the taxpayers with a project proposal.

Killington board member James Haff, however, said it would be “premature to approve the use of $50,000 until we have the full funds. I don’t know what $50,000 is going to get” the district, he said.

“I don’t know why we are moving on this. We’re supposed to do this right,” Haff said.

Haff said board action would be improper since Ford’s motion was not on Tuesday’s agenda for a vote.

Fraser confirmed, based on the Vermont Secretary of State website, that to vote on an unwarned motion would be a violation of the state’s open meeting law.

“It’s pretty clear we’re not supposed to vote,” she said.

As opposition to the motion mounted, Drebitko made an impassioned plea in support of the scoping study.

She said a new facility would replace the existing one which she described as “failing” to meet the needs of students.

“This facility is failing them. It is not allowing them to reach their full potential,” she said.

At that point, Haff got up and left the meeting, saying, “You people are nuts. Just follow the vote (process).”

During the heated discussion, WSCU Superintendent Mary Beth Banios noted that district funds may be available to help fund the scoping study.

This would include $35,000 left over during school consolidation, and $340,000 in nearly unrestricted building reserve funds, she said.

Bridgewater board member Matthew Hough said that while he supports the scoping study, “process matters.”

He suggested that the vote be postponed for two weeks to get a better handle on funding for the study.

“We have to respect the process of the board,” he said.

The board tabled Ford’s motion until Nov. 25.

Public input sought on Killington’s proposed short-term rental zoning

The Mountain Times

November 13, 2019

Staff report
The Killington Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on proposed short-term rental zoning bylaw amendments at the town offices on Wednesday, Nov. 20  at 7:30 p.m.
Short-term rentals are defined as those rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days and no more than 14 days per calendar year.
The proposed amendments would require short-term rental owners to obtain permits before a certificate of occupancy is granted.
The amendment would also limit bedroom capacity to two people per bedroom plus two additional. A three bedroom dwelling unit would be permitted eight people, for example.

FAQ’s about Killington’s proposed short-term rental registration

Q:  What is a short-term rental?
A:  A short-term rental, sometimes called home-sharing or a vacation rental, is a rental of a home or apartment for periods of less than 30 consecutive days. Killington’s proposed zoning bylaw change would not require registration for short-term rentals for under 14 days per calendar year.
Q:  Is the town trying to discourage short-term rentals?
A:  No. Killington is a resort town which values the income-generating potential to owners of short-term rentals and the increased visitor capacity that short-term rentals bring to our businesses.
Q:  How many short-term rentals are there in Killington?
A:  An analysis in June of 2019 revealed 1,378 listing representing 931 unique rental units within town borders. The emergence of short-term rental websites has created a boom in short-term rentals that continues to grow.
Q:  Why start a registration program now?
A:  The health, safety and protection of rental occupants, rental owners and neighbors is of primary importance. Stopping “party houses” and “pseudo- hotels” in residential neighborhoods is a related goal.
Q:  Why burden everyone because of a few bad
actors?
A:  There is a sense in which all regulation does this. To prevent abuses by some, rules are adopted which all must follow. Killington’s long-term rental market can benefit from the consistency and reliability that regulation brings.
Q:  Will it be a short-term rental “permit” or
“registration?”
A:  The proposed zoning bylaw amendments use the term “permit” because that is the term used in Vermont statutes. In practice, the town will administer it as an annual “registration.”
Q:  What documents will be required for a short-term rental registration?
A:  As proposed, the following five documents will be required:
A copy of the state Wasterwater and Water Supply Permit.
A copy of the state Public Building Permit from the Vermont Fire Safety Division.
A copy of the Posting of Contact Information required by 18 V.S.A §4467.
A copy of a completed state Short Term Rental Safety, Health and Financial Obligations self-certification form.
Proof of short-term rental insurance coverage.
Q:  Are any of these documents not currently
required by law?
A:  Only proof of short-term rental insurance is a requirement, not currently required by law. Because new homeowner’s insurance policies carry a “business activity exclusion,” the rental owner and others may not be covered without short-term rental insurance.
Q:  Will I have to submit all five documents every year?
A:  The state Wastewater Permit and the state Public Building Permit would only have to be submitted once. The others would be updated annually.
Q:  How many guests can I advertise to stay in a short-term rental?
A:  The current zoning bylaw allows two occupants per bedroom. The proposed bylaw amendments will allow an additional two occupants per short-term rental unit. Therefore, a three-bedroom home can be advertised for eight guests as a short-term rental.
Q:  How are the number of bedrooms determined?
A:  Generally, the number of bedrooms is set in the state Wastewater Permit. There may be variations in Act 250 approvals of multi-unit structures, and the capacity of septic systems that were approved prior to state jurisdiction (before July 2007) will be determined based upon the best available information.
Q:  Will the town outsource monitoring of short-term rentals?
A:  Manually monitoring over 900 properties in over 1,300 listings that are constantly added, changed or moved between multiple websites, all with their addresses hidden, would be difficult to impossible. The town will likely contract with a specialized firm with deep domain data technology to continuously monitor compliance with short-term rental registration.
Q:  What will the annual registration of a short-term rental cost?​
A:  An annual fee for a short-term rental registration will be set by the Select Board. The annual fee will cover the cost of the third-party monitor and additional capacity at the town offices to administer the registration program.
Q:  Will the town outsource enforcement of short-term rental regulations?
A:  No. The processing of registrations and administration of the registration program, including enforcement, will continue to be performed by town employees located at the town offices in Killington.
Q. When will the short-term registration program begin?
A:  If adopted, registrations may be instituted as soon as April 1, 2020 with a grace period for applicants to secure a state Public Building Permit and/or state Wastewater Permit.