At the board's January 19 meeting, school Principal Richard Schattman and board chair Missy Siner-Shea told the select board that the net increase in the budget this year is 3 percent. Schattman explained that the budget is actually up 4.8 percent over last year, but because of the town's Common Level of Appraisal (state formula used to determine state education property tax rates per town) and the Harwood Union budget, the school board was able to bring in the budget with only a 3 percent increase.
BRIDGE YEAR
The board adopted the budget last week. Siner-Shea told the select board that Governor Douglas's proposal that school boards and towns freeze their budgets for a "bridge year" while some solution or alternative to Act 60/68/82 is considered may not be do-able.
"The governor has asked that schools not present their budgets at Town Meeting and hold them until the governor and Legislature determine some other funding mechanism. But we have already passed our budget and it's done. There are a whole host of other issues as to whether it is legal once that has happened. Now we have to go to the public with this statutory process," she said.
HEALTH CARE COSTS
Schattman and Siner-Shea said one reason the school was able to keep its increase low was because they saw zero percent increase in their health care costs. Waitsfield's health care costs for its employees, by way of comparison, went up 40 percent this year.
Schattman warned the board that next year it may be more difficult to keep the increase below the level which triggers two votes (Act 82) due to falling property values. The CLA is based on where a town's property values fall in relationship to fair market value. If property values fall, town's won't see any "true up" in their CLA for several years, as the CLA is based on a three-year average of "fair market value."
Planning commission chair Steve Shea explained the commission's work priorities for the coming year and strongly urged the select board to work to educate the public on the importance of municipal sewage.
TOWN PLAN
"We need municipal sewage or we have to change our Town Plan. Inherent in our Town Plan is the assumption that we will have municipal infrastructure. Given the difficulties in getting the water project passed, we think it's important that we hear from the public on this and that we communicate our reasoning on supporting these projects," Shea said.
Town Administrator Valerie Capels said there was no money in the 2009 budget for wastewater studies or engineering.
"It's probably something we need to tackle," Shea said.
"You're right. We either need to change our Town Plan or change our perspective on municipal sewage," board member Bill Parker said.
OTHER GROUPS
"When we were holding forums for the water project, people were very ambivalent. This would be a good opportunity for us to have that conversation," added board member Kate Williams.
"From a planning commission perspective, some of us feel we weren't involved enough in 'selling' the water and wastewater projects. We think that other bodies, groups and organizations in town need to be involved and brought on board as well," Shea said.
Shea stressed the importance of water and wastewater infrastructure to allow development to be concentrated in hamlets in Irasville and Waitsfield Village, to preserve open and prime ag lands outside those areas and to allow workforce and affordable housing to be built.
"If you put too many of those things together, those things tend to collect and create slums," said board member Paul Hartshorn.
PUBLIC INPUT
Among the priorities of the planning commission this year is to begin to gather public input for the Town Plan which comes up for renewal in June 2010. The commission is also working on updating its flood hazard regulations and the commercial lodging and limited business district zoning.
"We want that zoning to reflect what people want to see in the commercial lodging/limited business district," Shea said.
"What about the petition I've heard about to deliver to the board directing the planning commission to work on an 'e-commerce' zone?" asked Capels, referring to a petition being circulated by Brian Fleisher, a member of the town planning commission.
IN WRITING
Shea said he hadn't seen the petition yet but said that when Fleisher raised the idea at a recent meeting, he (Shea) told him to put his proposal in writing for the commission to review.
"For some reason he really feels like he doesn't want to go through the process. What he's proposing is sort of what we were working on for the commercial lodging/limited business district. Little zones that are more developed rather than allowing develop to sprawl out -- hamlets of development," Shea said.
SPOT ZONING?
"So you'd be talking about specific businesses and letting them do something more than they can now? Isn't that spot zoning?" asked board member Roy Hadden.
"That's the challenge for us, and that's the challenge for what Brian wants to do too," Shea said.
"How can you say you're going to rewrite the zoning because you like the businesses that are there now and they should be allowed to grow? They won't always have the same owners. What if I buy 25 acres next to one of these businesses? Can I build a factory because I'm next to one?" Hadden asked.
THE PETITION
The petition was drafted by Fleisher and is entitled "Allow Successful Waitsfield Businesses to Grow." It reads, "Several nationally recognized businesses in Waitsfield are limited in their ability to expand because of their status as 'non-conforming' for the zone in which they reside. Such businesses include Yestermorrow Design/Build School, American Flatbread, Waitsfield-Champlain Telecom, Small Dog Electronics and Kenyon's to name a few.
"I am requesting the Waitsfield Select Board place an item on the March Town Meeting ballot asking the Waitsfield Planning Commission to create an Integrated Green Enterprise Hamlet that would allow these and other businesses to expand including workforce housing and commercial development that would be in line with sustainable energy and ecological practices. All zoning changes and permits would be approved by the Town in the usual manner."
Yestermorrow and American Flatbread are located in the town's Commercial Lodging/Limited Business District where minimum lot size is 25 acres. Waitsfield Telecom, Small Dog and Kenyon's are located in the town's Agricultural/Residential District.
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