Killington reviews access road plans

Rutland Herald

December 24,2014

KILLINGTON — The town of Killington will have a Planning Commission meeting on Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the town offices.

Residents and local business owners are encouraged to attend and give their input and feedback on plans for enhancing pedestrian-friendly roads and sidewalks on the Killington access road and the Killington Resort.

The purpose of this initial meeting is to collect early input on experiences, issues and recommendations from the public.

Killington plans more summer events

Rutland Herald

By Bryanna Allen
STAFF WRITER | December 19,2014

KILLINGTON — The town of Killington is currently working on securing new events for next summer, including a lively food and music festival and a Powerman competition, as part of an overall goal to make the town a four-season vacation destination.

The Select Board meeting Tuesday night addressed the growing popularity of year-round events in the area, and took a closer look at the numbers behind each event.

Town Manager Seth Webb said about 80 percent of marketing and events investments are concentrated in the third quarter: July, August and September.

The other quarters are primarily driven by weather and skiing, which Webb said are not as reliable as they once were.

Vermont Business Magazine recently published research done by the University of New Hampshire on winter revenue across the country. The 2012 study stated that there has been a $1 billion loss, along with 27,000 fewer jobs, over the past decade nationwide because of decreased snowfall, changing the outdoor activities of many Americans.

Webb said this means the town should concentrate its events during the third quarter, as it has been doing for the past couple of years.

Those three months are also when the local golf course brings in roughly 65 percent of its revenue.

“We have increasingly seen that people do not just travel for golf,” Webb said. “Visitors want more activities.”

Since 2012, more restaurants have remained open during summer months than ever before.

Last summer, a total of 27 restaurants and delis remained open.

Amy Morrison, the town’s event and marketing coordinator, presented a slide show on the revenue that each event brought in for the town. She mentioned areas in which events could be improved to increase tourism, such as the hay festival.

“It’s doing well,” Morrison said, “But we need to work with it a little more to make it better and more appealing.”

Webb said the town is searching for more events that he called “low-hanging fruit,” meaning they are affordable to host and operate, and have beneficial outcomes for the region.

For example, The Biggest Loser 5K Run/Walk is sponsored at $4,000 and brings in an estimated 2,500 people for one to two days. Killington Restaurant Week is sponsored at $3,000 and serves anywhere between 750 and 1,000 meals in the Killington region.

The week is an event that not only attracts tourists, but allows locals to explore restaurants they have not yet explored themselves.

One of the new events that Webb introduced is called the Vermont Jerk Festival, which could be scheduled for August 2015. The event is based on a Caribbean-style meal with a wide variety of foods, drinks and music.

An estimated 5,000 people will attend.

The idea is to eventually expand the year-round population of Killington, Webb said, to increase the population of the schools, businesses and full-time employment.

bryanna.allen @rutlandherald.com

Jury acquits accused Killington shooter

Rutland Herald

By Brent Curtis
staff writer | December 20,2014

 

A Rutland jury on Friday returned not guilty verdicts on two felony assault charges brought against a Killington man charged with shooting his roommate and his own girlfriend during an early-morning fight in March.

After three days of testimony, jurors acquitted Justin Bitar of aggravated assault with a weapon and aggravated domestic assault in the first degree.

Bitar, 28, stood stoically while the verdict was read, but his fiancee, 25-year-old Jessica Martome — who Bitar was charged with shooting in the leg — wept with joy while seated behind the defense table.

“I believe in the system,” Bitar said standing with Martome in a hallway outside the Rutland criminal courtroom after the trial ended.

The couple offered their thanks to public defender Robb Spensley, who defended him at trial, and Martome even thanked Deputy State’s Attorney Peter Bevere when he exited the courtroom after a failed attempt to convict Bitar.

“I’m not sorry you lost but you’re a good person,” she said.

Prosecutors and police charged Bitar with using a .22-caliber pistol to shoot his roommate, 25-year-old Matt Dunn, in the leg while Dunn lay prone at the end of a fight that played out in Bitar’s 2841 Killington Road bedroom on March 17.

Bitar was also charged with domestic assault for allegedly recklessly discharging the firearm and shooting Martome while the two men grappled for the gun.

The trial came down largely to two descriptions of the fight — one told by Bitar and Martome and the other by Dunn and his friend who was not involved in the fight but witnessed it.

During closing arguments on Friday morning, Bevere told jurors that Bitar went beyond the reasonable use of force to defend himself when he shot Dunn, who was lying on the floor with his pants pulled down after a lengthy melee in which Bitar used the butt of the gun to hit his roommate over the head.

“He hit (Dunn) in the head, punched him in the groin and kicked him in the face,” Bevere said. “The defendant stated that Matt Dunn was on the floor with his pants around his ankles and his friend was trying to pull him out the door but Justin Bitar decided enough is enough so he put the gun to his leg and pulled the trigger.”

“Before he did it, Ms. Martome said to him ‘What good would this do?’ and he turned his back to her and said, ‘This is over’ and shot (Dunn) in the leg. Ladies and gentlemen, I would say that leads to the unassailable conclusion that Justin Bitar committed a crime here,” the prosecutor added.

But Spensley argued that the prosecution’s conclusion didn’t account for a ruse that he said Dunn and his friend used to convince Bitar to put down his gun during the fight and go to the aid of his wounded girlfriend.

When the gun was left unattended, Spensley said Dunn picked it up, pointed it at Bitar and pulled the trigger — but the safety was on and it didn’t go off.

After wrestling the gun away and knocking his roommate to the floor, Bitar was taking no more chances, Spensley said.

“Justin knows this is only going to end by disabling Matt somehow,” he said. “Mr. Bitar took the necessary actions to defend himself and his girlfriend.”

brent.curtis @rutlandherald.com

Public inspects Killington firehouse conditions

Rutland Herald

By Bryanna Allen
STAFF WRITER | December 19,2014

 

KILLINGTON — The turnout gear is stuffed in a precisely arranged fashion into cubbies lined up behind a wooden wall, almost giving the illusion of a locker room.

If the fire-retardant gear weighed any less than roughly 45 pounds, it might sway slightly because of the draft in the old building.

Members of Killington Volunteer Fire Department have been trying to educate the Select Board and townspeople about the disintegrating condition of the fire station on Killington Road.

Built in the 1970s, the building fails to meet a number of fire code and safety regulations.

But beside the legal aspect, the safety of volunteer firefighters is the most pressing issue on Capt. Gary Roth’s mind as he watches the building slowly crumble around him, his crew and their equipment.

Residents and officials met Wednesday night at the fire station, so they could assess for themselves the condition of the building.

Roth led the group on a tour of the building, pointing out areas that needed renovation or replacement.

“When a call goes off, we get dressed in the dark,” Roth said. The lights for each room are not located in an area that is easy to access, so to save precious time, the firefighters get dressed relying only on feel and an established routine.

Roth went through a long list of issues with the building, including the bays barely being wide enough for the trucks to come and go.

“On either side of the vehicles is where the turnout gear is stored and where some of the volunteers get dressed,” he said. “My crew is surrounded by exhaust from the trucks. It’s not only unhealthy, but it’s damaging for the gear.”

Also, exposure to sunlight is harmful to the material.

Roth said a new uniform is designed to last about 10 years, but theirs last about four.

The town is working with architects to identify the fire department should renovate or build a new station.

“It’s just pretty clear that this station isn’t sustainable or efficient,” Roth said.

The Killington department isn’t the only crew of firefighters watching their building deteriorate.

Castleton Volunteer Fire Department broke ground for a new station in the fall when they got fed up with a station built in the 1960s that no longer met the needs of the town or firefighters.

The new station is near Four Corners in Castleton, where a survey found most of the calls originate.

“The building was just too small for our trucks and other equipment,” Fire Chief Heath Goyette said. “There wasn’t enough room to get dressed quickly, and that slows response time.”

Goyette said the land the station is built on is about 1 acre, prohibiting expansion of the building.

The new station will be on 5 acres.

Vehicle bay doors will be extended from 10 feet to 14 feet.

“We’ve lost a lot of mirrors to those narrow doors,” Goyette said. “But no more.”

Goyette said the process of getting the building approved, budget passed and construction started took a little more than two years.

The Killington department is pushing to head in the same direction.

Roth said the uneven floors, scary-looking stain on the carpet and general disrepair of the station is especially discouraging when trying to recruit new volunteers.

“Volunteers in this industry have declined over the years,” Roth said, standing next to a leaky water pump located inches away from the electrical breaker and exposed wiring. “And this facility is not going to encourage new people to join the crew.”

Roth isn’t the only one noticing this trend.

Nationally, the number of volunteers who sign up to fight fires and make other rescues has drastically dropped.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, the population of volunteer firefighters has decreased by 11 percent since the mid 1980s, while the number of full-time, paid firefighters has increased by more than 50 percent.

“I go on about 300 fire and rescue calls a year,” Roth said. “I don’t go to my paying job that many days. It’s a serious commitment.”

Right now, the Killington department has 34 volunteers, but is having a hard time attracting younger people as current volunteers phase out or leave for paying jobs.

Rutland City Fire Chief Robert Schlachter said this decline is because people simply can’t afford to spend so much time volunteering.

“Some people are working two jobs to make ends meet,” he said. “People have children and families, and jobs that pay them. Volunteering is time consuming.”

Schlachter said the training required to become a volunteer is now more extensive than it used to be.

The current amount of time needed to be trained as an entry-level firefighter takes 170 hours.

Training in the 1960s and ’70s took a total of 45 hours.

This is because the materials have changed through the years, Schlachter said.

“Things burn differently, materials are more complex and more hazardous,” he said.

That, combined with an increase of natural disasters, such as floods and snowstorms, require departments to be trained for a wider variety of situations.

These are all factors that Schlachter said are discouraging for new people and existing ones.

Jim Litevich, chief fire safety training officer in Vermont, said he has seen class enrollment of new recruits drop during the past 10 years.

“The average class used to have at least 25 people,” he said. “Now, I see about 20.”

Roth said he and the crew do what they can to market the department for new volunteers, but first and foremost, they need a new building.

bryanna.allen @rutlandherald.com

Trial opens in Killington shooting

Rutland Herald

By Brent Curtis
staff writer | December 18,2014

 

The trial of a Killington man charged with shooting his former roommate and his own girlfriend opened Wednesday with the prosecution arguing that Justin Bitar’s use of a 22-caliber pistol in March constituted a pair of assaults while the defense told jurors that one of the shootings was accidental while the other was in self-defense.

Bitar, 28, was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon and aggravated domestic assault in the first degree following an early morning fight on March 17 at the apartment that Bitar and the man he shot, Matt Dunn, 25, shared with four other people at 2841 Killington Road.

Bitar pleaded innocent to the charges.

During opening arguments on Wednesday, Deputy State’s Attorney Peter Bevere and public defender Robb Spensley described the same series of events in very different ways.

During the night of March 16, the two attorneys agreed that Dunn came home to the apartment where he was beaten up and thrown out of the home by one of Bitar’s friends.

They agreed that Dunn returned to the apartment during the early morning hours because he believed that Bitar was “trashing the place” based on what a friend had told him.

But in almost every other respect the two sides described events differently.

Bevere said Dunn went to Bitar’s room to confront his roommate after he returned to the apartment and was struck repeatedly in the head by Bitar who used his gun to pistol-whip Dunn.

Dunn fought back, Bevere said, and during the fight, Bitar’s girlfriend, Jessica Martome, 25, was shot in the back of the leg by Bitar whose reckless actions, he said, constituted domestic assault.

“Her injury goes untended and the fight continues,” Bevere said.

The prosecutor said the fight didn’t end until Bitar shot his roommate who was lying stunned on the ground after being beaten over the head with the gun.

“He said, ‘This is over’ and put the gun against Dunn’s leg and pulled the trigger,” Bevere said. “Bitar told the police that Dunn said, ‘You don’t have to do this,’ before he shot him.”

But Spensley told the jury that Dunn was the aggressor — and would have killed Bitar with his own gun if the weapon’s safety hadn’t been engaged.

Spensley said Dunn returned to the apartment intending to exact vengeance on his roommate because he was no match for Bitar’s friend who was no longer in the apartment at that point.

“The evidence will show that the reason we’re all here today is because Matt Dunn thought Justin Bitar was a little wimp and someone whose (expletive) he could kick,” Spensley said.

He said Dunn forced his way into Bitar’s room by breaking through a flimsy lock and then began hitting his roommate in the head using brass knuckles. While no such weapon was mentioned as being entered into evidence, Spensley said the defense planned to call an expert during the trial who could prove that wounds to Bitar’s head could only have been delivered using brass knuckles.

During the fight, Spensley said, Martome tried to break up the fight and was accidentally shot while Bitar and Dunn fought for control of the pistol.

“She was shot below the knee in what was a total accident the evidence will show,” Spensley said, adding that the defense planned to call Martome, who is still dating Bitar, as a defense witness.

Contrary to the prosecution’s argument, Spensley said the fight stopped momentarily after Martome was shot while Bitar gave her a belt to use as a tourniquet.

During that lull, Spensley said, Dunn grabbed the gun, which Bitar had set down, and pointed it at his roomate.

“He pulled the trigger but the safety was on,” Spensley said. “Bitar got the gun back and pistol whipped him.”

Spensley said his client ended the fight by shooting Dunn in the leg.

The trial, which involves felony charges that could send Bitar to jail for 30 years if convicted, includes testimony from Dunn, Martome and state police investigators. Spensley said Wednesday no decision has been made about whether Bitar will take the stand.

brent.curtis @rutlandherald.com

Killington FD to discuss station

Rutland Herald

December 11,2014

 

Firefighters to discuss station

KILLINGTON — The Killington Volunteer Fire Department will host a public meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Fire House on Killington Road.

The meeting is designed to encourage the public to see first hand the condition of the fire station and to review and discuss possible renovations to the current building and/or construct a new building entirely.

 

 

Comment: If you are at all interested in getting first hand information on the Fire Department facilities as they relate to either renovation of the existing facility or construction of a new facility please attend. This is going to be a critical issue in the town as there are significant costs associated with the proposals ranging from $2.5 to $6.5 million or even higher which will of course affect out tax rate for years to come.

While this was originally scheduled as a meeting of the KVFD Facilities Committee and the Fire Department for a first hand assessment by the Committee, it is a public meeting and anyone can attend and should, so that the proper information get out to the public.

Vito

Killington Drafts $4.1 Million Budget

The Vermont Standard
12/4/14

By Virginia Dean

Standard Correspondent

KILLINGTON—Select board members spent most of Tuesday night’s meeting working to develop the proposed 2015-16 budget focusing capital expenses that represent 33 percent of the town’s annual $4.1 million budget, according to Town Manager Seth Webb.

“The capital plan is where most of the increases lie,” said Webb.

As the result of a town vote in 2014 to adopt a fiscal year, the select board’s new proposal represents 18 months of spending for January 2015-June 2016. To make the transition to the fiscal year from a calendar year, the town needs to adopt an 18-month budget for one year.

The draft 18-month budget proposal calls for $6,162,760 in spending and $6,162,760 in expenses. As drafted, it would result in an estimated municipal tax increase of 1.8 cents. The significant increases in the draft budget are for highway operations (due to the increase in salt price, the town will pay $20,000 or more for salt in the new year), an additional full-time police officer, fire fighting equipment and maintenance, facilities maintenance, liability insurance, and board of health expense.

To manage the largest portion of the expense, the town has developed a five-year capital plan in 2011 that details all its major assets (highways, bridges, culverts, facilities and equipment) and establishes replacement/maintenance schedules and timelines, cost estimates, and factors in inflation, Webb noted.

Additionally, the town’s Sustainability Report Card on Capital Funding helped to guide the select board in choosing appropriations that would establish sustainable funding levels, avoid unnecessary borrowing, and be efficient with taxpayer money.

To help prioritize spending on roads, the board reviewed the 2014 Paved Road Report Card which ranks the roads in one of four conditions: Excellent, Good, Fair, Failed, based on best practices from around the state. Currently 25 percent of the paved roads are in excellent condition, 33 percent in good condition, 27 percent classified as fair, and 14 percent as failed. Next year’s paving proposal calls for an appropriation $243,000 in addition to the $297,000 the town has secured in grants, and efforts will focus on repaving the next section of Killington Road. The first section from Route 4 to West Hill was repaved this summer.

Another item discussed was how to manage costs associated with bridge maintenance. The town estimates it has over $7 million dollars worth of bridges and three bridges, constructed prior to 1939, will require significant work over the next few years. The board decided to make the estimated $181,500 in repairs in 2017 instead of 2015-16 in order to tax pressure off the tax rate in the upcoming year.

Other items that were discussed were increasing the maintenance facilities appropriation from $5,000 annually to $12,500, anticipated roof repairs at the library, and the cost of the town pool replacement in approximately eight years.

The select board plans to continue its work on the budget on Dec. 16 when it will focus on the Clerk/Treasurer, Recreation and Marketing and Special Events budget. The Board plans to have a final budget proposal in mid-January.

The draft of the Capital Improvement Plan was drawn up and presented in part by Road Foreman Chet Hagenbarth and his son, Colin, a 2014 graduate of Washington & Lee University with a major in Mathematics.

The town has implemented a funding level in order to keep the tax rate level over a longer period of time, according to Colin Hagenbarth.

“The idea behind the sustainability program is to have the money for larger paving projects, buildings, trucks, etc. in advance so that the tax rate doesn’t spike and Killington is able to maintain a proper level of upkeep of their current assets,” said Hagenbarth.

The sustainable funding would also help reduce the need for bonding in the future that results in taxpayers saving money on any potential bond interest, Hagenbarth explained.

The current draft of the Town of Killington Capital Improvement Plan shows a tax appropriation of $1.716 million in the 18-month budget from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.

Using the 2014 Grand List, Killington estimates a tax rate of .2167 that is a decrease of .0386 when compared to the projected 2014 actuals multiplied by 1.5, according to Hagenbarth.