Vermont Standard
10/8/15
By Curt Peterson
Standard Correspondent
killington — David Rosenblum, a regular at killington
select board meetings, reported that he attended a Transportation
Council Meeting on behalf of the town recently, and was embarrassed
when he told other representatives about the signage situation in his
town. During the winter of 2014-2015, he said, the stop sign at the end
of West Park Road was knocked down, and was not replaced for four
months.
“Not only that,” he said,
“when it was finally replaced, the new sign does not conform to current
requirements — it doesn’t have a white border around the edge, which is
the new regulation!”
He went on to say that two
inches of the old steel sign post were left sticking up out of the
ground, creating a dangerous hazard for pedestrians, bicyclists and
motorists.
Rosenblum then cited sign
regulations stating missing stop signs must be replaced on an emergency
basis, which, he was told at the council meeting, means within 24
hours. He then handed the board a list of three names of officials in
other towns with their contact information.
“Call them. You’ll see that I am tell- ing you the truth!”
When Rosenblum issued a
demand that the board look into the matter and hold Seth Webb, the town
manager, and Chet Hagenbarth, the road foreman responsible for
negligence, selectman Chris Bianchi took issue.
“It’s out of line for you to
make demands on the selectmen to do this or that about stop sign
regulations,” he said. “You can ask us to look into the matter, which we
will do. But the proper avenue would be to ask either the town manager
or the road foreman about it directly. They are the experts.”
Rosenblum referred to
previous board meetings at which speeding on West Hill Road had been a
source of major concern, saying that Police Chief Whit Montgomery was
unable to enforce the speed limit because the speed limit signs were
missing, adding that the town would face a major lawsuit if there was a
serious accident due to the missing stop sign or speed limit signs.
Hagenbarth explained that the
ground was so frozen when the West Park Road stop sign had been knocked
down that a new one couldn’t be installed for some time. And when it
was replaced, he used a new sign that he had in inventory, assuming that
it was better to put something up than to
be picky about the white border, and wanting to use up existing signs
before ordering new ones.
Regarding the West Hill Road signs, Hagenbarth said the signs that have been there were there before he came to work in killington, and were not changed until his crew installed new ones recently.
Emotions continued to
intensify as Rosenblum repeated his remarks and Chairman Patty McGrath
and Bianchi tried to end the discussion.
“One more thing,” Bianchi
said. “David, I’m tired of you coming to these meetings and ambushing us
with complaints that we know nothing about until you bring them up in
public. I’ve been on the board for six years and you’ve been doing it
over and over. If you have something on your mind, bring it up with one
of us or with Seth (Webb) or with Chet (Hagenbarth) and we’ll look into
it. But don’t come in here trying to make us look bad and to get TV
exposure.”
The two men exchanged words
over whether or not Rosenblum had demanded that Webb and Hagenbarth be
fired, which Bianchi said was not going to happen in any case.
Vince Chiarella, killington Pico Area Association treasurer, and Amy
Morrison, KPAA director, gave an encouraging report on the group’s
accomplishments over the past year, including improved efficiency,
increased revenues, four new major summer events, 31 new members and
significant enhancements at the Visitors’ Center on Route 4. More than
15,000 people visited the center this year.
The New York Post recently called killington
one of their top 5 resorts to visit, and, Morrison said, the Resort’s
application to host the 2016 Women’s World Cup ski races “looks very
promising.”
“By coordinating efforts by
the Chamber, individual businesses, the town and the Resort,” Morrison
said, “we’ve built an organization that encourages local businesses to
try something new, knowing through KPAA all the other business members
will support their effort.”
Seth Webb added, during his Town Manager’s Report, that USA Today readers voted Route 100 in killington “one of the top ten scenic highways in the U.S.”
As part of their campaign to educate the public about the need for a new killington
Volunteer Fire and Rescue facility, the department is holding four Open
Houses at the existing firehouse, one each Tuesday in October, 6 to 7
p.m. During their first event, Chief Gary Roth took visitors for a tour
of the building and grounds and explained the shortcomings the
firefighters and rescue squad face.
“To start with, about half of
what you see out here is on land belonging to the Durkee family who own
the market next door,” Roth, said standing in the parking lot. “Our
propane supply, our water supply and most of our parking space are
available to us only because of the Durkees’ generosity.”
The original land was given
to the town in 1955 by Patrick Bates’s grandfather. The oldest part of
the present facility was built shortly after. There have been at least
two additions since.
Roth pointed out a shipping container nestled against the building and used for storage space.
Inside the firehouse a man has to turn sideways to walk in the aisles between trucks and between trucks and walls.
“Firehouse bay ceilings are
supposed to be two stories high,” Roth said, pointing upward. “Ours are
less than one-and-a-half stories. There is barely enough room for the
trucks and the overhead door mechanisms.” He added that they have had to
purchase trucks based on the dimensions of the building rather than
primarily on what they needed.
The water used to fill the
tank trucks comes from a 30,000 gallon tank underneath the firehouse.
The contents of the tank are replenished by pumping water from the
Ottauquechee River, which flows past the rear of the parking lot.
“There are a lot of Americans
With Disabilities Act and public building regulations faults in the
building,” Roth said. “We have only one bathroom and it isn’t
handicapped equipped. Access to the building, particularly to the
upstairs kitchen, meeting room and emergency center facility, is not
compliant with the ADA. And we have only one egress from the second
floor. If there’s a fire in the kitchen, which is between the offices
and the stairs, we’ve got no way out.”
The building is very close to killington
Road. When their long bucket truck pulls out of the building and has
to make a right turn, by the time it is clear of the garage door the
bucket is swinging over the top of the walkway on the other side of the
road.
“We’ve hit the side of the garage door twice”, Roth said.
Last year the Department had a
study done, the conclusion of which was that they need to find a new
location and build a new facility.
The Fire Department building
is very important to the town”, Roth said. “During the Tropical Storm
Irene disaster, we served as the emergency logistical center for the
whole town for two weeks. We had phone lines, radios and other equipment
here and we were able to coordinate and provide assistance quickly
wherever it was needed twenty-four hours a day.”
The town is working closely with the department to find a location and help finance the new facility.
Comment: I think the Select Board's complaints of being "ambushed" is totally disingenuous. Dave Rosenblum has been complaining about this since last winter. He has approached the town manager and the Select Board previously regarding this issue, so for them to state patronizingly he should follow the chain of command which he had already done is totally without merit and self serving.
It is they who did not follow up! Furthermore I have found out that the town manager was alerted before the meeting that Dave Rosenblum was going to lambast them regarding the stop sign issue, so either they knew already or the town manager failed to inform them. So stop the bs already!
As far as the firestation goes I encourage one and all to see for themselves what the condition of the firehouse is.
Vito
