Thursday, December 19, 2013

 

News to Know December 19th

BERLIN NEWS TO KNOW  December 19, 2013
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This communication is put together and distributed on a volunteer basis by resident Corinne Stridsberg simply in an effort to share information and build community, it is not from the town of Berlin.

Please share this with your Berlin friends and neighbors.  If you're not already receiving this news by email, send an email to request this to corinnestridsberg@gmail.com
*
Check out the Berlin, Vermont Community News page on facebook to find bits of current news: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Berlin-Vermont/205922199452224

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Notes:  Please pardon my absence... just never enough hours in my days or weeks.  Please note that included below is a link to the town budget that is being worked on.  Hope to see many of you on January 4th for Jared Felch - An Evening of Music. There is a great photo of Jared on the Berlin, Vermont facebook page.   Be safe!

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Included below please find:
JARED FELCH - AN EVENING OF MUSIC SATURDAY, JANUARY 4TH
VERMONT ALERT
NEW AND USED FURNITURE
MONTPELIER MEMORY CAFE
VERMONT VITAL RECORDS .... A FEW KEYSTROKES AWAY
SUPERVISORY UNION BUDGET APPROVED
NEW PLAN IN WORKS AT BERLIN MALL?
PROTESTORS DISRUPT WAL-MART GROUNDBREAKING
BERLIN SELECT BOARD NOTES FROM DECEMBER 2ND MEETING
FROM BERLIN FRONT PORCH FORUM
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JARED FELCH - AN EVENING OF MUSIC SATURDAY, JANUARY 4TH
I am pleased and excited to share with you the following upcoming event:
An Evening of Music with Jared Felch Saturday, January 4th, 2014 at 6:30pm at the First Congregational Church of Berlin at 1808 Scott Hill Road. Admission by Donation. 
Special Guests: Meghan Anthony & Genna Rubenstein Accompanist: Kelly Horsted 
Mark your calendars and spread the word!  See you there!
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VERMONT ALERT
If you haven't signed up yet, find more details about this new emergency notification system here: http://vtrural.org/programs/digital-economy/updates/sign-up-for-vtalert
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NEW AND USED FURNITURE
Vermont Pine Craft and Second Chance Wood Furniture new, used, and custom made
Located on Middle Road in Barre (they actually used to be in Berlin!) - great place to find just what you're looking for at a decent price.
They also have postings on Craigslist.
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MONTPELIER MEMORY CAFE
   Montpelier Memory Café starts on a Saturday morning in January at the Senior Activity Center Call for Volunteers to help launch the first Montpelier Memory Cafe at MSAC
   The Montpelier Memory Cafe will be a unique monthly social gathering for people experiencing early to mid-stage memory loss (accompanied by their care partners).
The first Montpelier Memory Cafe will be on Saturday morning, January 11th, from
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. We are seeking volunteers to help staff a registration desk, serve refreshments, and facilitate activities when the café meets.

If you'd like to volunteer, please attend the next Montpelier Memory Cafe Steering Committee meeting at MSAC on Monday, December 16th at
6:00 pm, when Melitta Maddox will provide a brief training session. For more information contact Liz Dodd at ldodd2005@live.com or 229-9630.
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VERMONT VITAL RECORDS .... A FEW KEYSTROKES AWAY
Who knew you could search Vermont Vital Records online from 1760 to 1954
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SUPERVISORY UNION BUDGET APPROVED
Pub. 12/6/13 Times Argus
   EAST MONTPELIER — The school boards of Washington Central Supervisory Union approved their 2014-2015 supervisory union budget at a full board meeting Wednesday night at U-32.
   The members — representing Berlin Elementary School, Calais Elementary School, Doty Memorial School, East Montpelier Elementary School, Rumney Memorial School and U-32 Middle and High School — voted 14-0 to approve the nearly $2.44 million budget, which is 2.45 percent higher than the current budget.
   The new budget includes a 4.5 percent increase in health insurance costs, a 3.5 percent increase in salaries for professional staff, and a 3 percent salary increase for education support professionals. All other budget lines will be level funded.
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NEW PLAN IN WORKS AT BERLIN MALL?
Pub. 12/10/13 Times Argus by David Delcore
   BERLIN — Thursday’s ceremonial groundbreaking for the already-begun expansion of the local Wal-Mart might not be the biggest news brewing at the Berlin Mall.
   The mall’s new owners apparently are interested in reviving plans to build something on the long-vacant parking lot where, more than 25 years ago, their predecessors proposed what would have been the state’s largest supermarket.
   That proposal was for a 52,000-square-foot Sun Foods supermarket. The parking lot has long since been used by neighboring car dealers with excess inventory and for an occasional summer carnival.
   However, representatives of Berlin Mall LLC, which acquired the mall more than three years ago, are taking a fresh look at the development potential of the once-controversial “out-lot” that is across the road from Central Vermont Medical Center and along the mall’s entrance off Fisher Road. 
   On Monday night representatives of the consulting firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. were scheduled to meet members of Berlin’s sewer commission to verify the availability of sewer capacity for a project that could be coming soon but hasn’t yet been clearly defined. 
   Commission members headed into the meeting with cryptic information involving the mall owner’s request for an additional 800 gallons per day of sewer capacity, and it was unclear how much additional detail would be provided. The meeting agenda indicated that “out-lot” is the site in question.
   Berlin Mall LLC, a joint venture of New Jersey-based development company Lerner-Heidenberg Associates and Rhode Island real estate investment company Goldstein Associates, hasn’t applied for state or local permits for a new project.
   Attempts to reach Ken Simon of Lerner-Heidenberg were unsuccessful Monday afternoon, though it appears the next step in the revitalization of the mall could involve the 6.7-acre parcel that was the focus of a battle over Sun Foods that spanned several years and put the state’s Act 250 development review law to the test.
   The traffic-related dispute, which involved a citizens group and a coalition of CVMC physicians, produced two permits — one that was overturned on appeal to the state Environmental Board and a second that included restrictions involving the use of the Fisher Road entrance that the developer requested and then sought to change before abandoning the project.
   Not long after scrapping plans for Sun Foods 20 years ago, the mall’s former owners proposed construction of a Red Lobster restaurant. However, that was also abandoned, leaving a paved parking lot with no business to serve.
   Enter Berlin Mall LLC, whose parent companies tout their track record for revitalizing older, underperforming shopping complexes.
   Since acquiring the mall in 2010, its new owners have completed interior renovations while swiftly moving to lock down Wal-Mart as an anchor tenant and obtaining approval for a plan that will increase the size of that store by nearly 30,000 square feet.
   Work on the Wal-Mart expansion has started, and Thursday morning it will be the subject of a ceremony that will start inside the mall’s center entrance at 10 a.m. before moving briefly outdoors.
   The Wal-Mart expansion involves a mix of new construction — an 18,700-square-foot addition — and reconfiguration of existing space within the mall. The expanded 93,000-square-foot store is expected to be finished by next fall. It will include a grocery department and is expected to create 50 new jobs. 
   The project also involves an upgrade to the Fisher Road intersection the mall shares with the hospital, pedestrian amenities and some additional parking.
   david.delcore @timesargus.com
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PROTESTERS DISRUPT WAL-MART GROUNDBREAKING
Pub. 12/13/13 Times Argus by David Delcore 
   BERLIN — Santa with a shovel was part of the script for Thursday’s ceremonial groundbreaking for the expansion of the local Wal-Mart. Sign-toting protesters were not.
   And yet there they were, crashing a brief ceremony that began just inside the center entrance of the Berlin Mall before dignitaries moved outdoors for a little shovel work and a photo op with Santa.
   Marshfield resident Jay Moore, a member of the group Occupy Central Vermont, cut off mall owner Ken Simon in midsentence, decrying the employment practices of the world’s largest retailer while holding a sign with an evil smiley face that said: “Low Wages, always.”
   “Wal-Mart makes an obscene amount of money,” Moore bellowed. “Why can’t they pay living wages to their workers? This is unacceptable.”
   Moore started to complain about the tax break Berlin officials recently granted for the mall expansion when fellow protester Brian Tokar, of East Montpelier, chimed in.
   “We have too much Wal-Mart already,” said Tokar, one of perhaps a half dozen protesters who turned out for a 10 a.m. ceremony during which Simon praised Wal-Mart while acknowledging some view the retail giant differently.
   “I know there’s a lot said about Wal-Mart, but working with Wal-Mart I know I can say they’re a very, very fine professional organization that is dedicated to their mission of providing the best merchandise … at the lowest possible price,” Simon said.
   That was before Moore and Tokar briefly stole the show with a peaceful protest that began while Simon was thanking a long list of people who encouraged and helped advance the project, which includes the construction of an 18,700-square-foot addition to the mall.
   The addition, coupled with the conversion of existing mall space, will boost the size of the Wal-Mart from 67,260 square feet to 93,539 square feet — allowing it to vastly expand its grocery department and the mix of merchandise it carries.
   Simon said he and his partners view the Wal-Mart expansion as a significant upgrade to a shopping complex they purchased in 2010 and have sought to improve in more subtle ways since.
   “This is a great step forward in our commitment to make Berlin Mall a place that is a destination for the entire area, to satisfy the needs of the market, and to make this facility something that we and the community can (be proud of),” he said.
   Though Wal-Mart representatives were on hand and market manager Travis Smith was scheduled to speak, that portion of the program was scrapped after the protesters piped up.
   According to prepared remarks included in a news release, Smith did have something to say.
   “We are very excited to be starting the process of expanding the existing Wal-Mart in Berlin to the benefit of central Vermont,” the news release quoted Smith as saying. “The expansion is a testament to how popular the Berlin Wal-Mart is in the area.”
   You couldn’t tell it by talking to Tokar, who said he isn’t alone.
   “Many of us … feel that central Vermont has had enough Wal-Mart,” he said. “They claim that Wal-Mart is good for the community, but Wal-Mart has been bad for every town in every part of the country where it’s established itself.”
   Though Wal-Mart expects to hire 72 additional employees — adding to its 144-member workforce — once the project is complete next year, Tokar said they could expect to be paid “slave wages,” receive no benefits and work irregular schedules.
   The protesters were outnumbered at the event, which attracted more than 40 people, many of whom had a hand in a project they believe will be good for the mall, good for Berlin and good for the region.
   Gov. Peter Shumlin sent a prepared statement.
   “For the past 20 years, the Berlin Mall has served central Vermont as a place to shop and to meet,” Shumlin said. “This expansion opens a new chapter for this mall, and I extend my congratulations to the owners as they diligently work to meet the needs of central Vermonters of all ages.”
   The ceremonial groundbreaking for the Wal-Mart expansion came three days after Berlin’s sewer commission concluded it did not have enough information to act on an informal request from a consultant representing the mall’s owners as they explore the potential to develop a vacant parking lot on the property, across Fisher Road from Central Vermont Medical Center.
   Asked about that request, Simon said there was nothing to report at this time.
   “We are doing some preliminary homework to determine what, if anything, is the potential for that lot,” he said.
   david.delcore @timesargus.com
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BERLIN SELECT BOARD NOTES FROM DECEMBER 2ND MEETING
These are notes that Jeremy Hansen posted on Front Porch Forum (he also included the agenda for the Dec 16th select board meeting which has already passed). 
Here are my highlights from the December 2nd meeting:
* Delinquent tax notices went out recently, and the next quarterly installment of property taxes is due February 15th.
* Mark Youngstrom, the engineer overseeing the water project will be at the December 16th meeting (see "Water Supply Project" above)
* We had some discussion of the speed limit along Crosstown Road, and whether or not we should change the speed limit to 25 miles per hour over the entire length of the road. This was apparently discussed several years ago, but no action was taken then. This came up after a resident contacted me with a concern about excessive speeds along Crosstown, especially at "rush hour" in the morning and in the afternoon.
While the other Board members will not be updating the budget spreadsheet, I will be plugging in updated numbers to the 2015 online budget document as I get them. If you're interested in seeing where we are, go here:
http://bit.ly/BerlinVermontBudget2015
This is a work-in-progress, so there's nothing final about any of these numbers, and things could change without warning. If you see anything there that you're curious about, please contact me!
Jeremy 
279-6054
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FROM BERLIN FRONT PORCH FORUM
Below are several recent postings .... there have been many more about a variety of topics, looking for services, garage sales, meeting announcements, events, etc.  Membership is free - to join go to: http://frontporchforum.com
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GAME FEED DEC 20TH (FPF Issue No 260 on 12/13)
Lorelei Lissor • Route 302 
Event: Dec 20, 2013, 6:30 PM
Game Feed put on by Sons of the American Legion Squadron 3, Main St, Montpelier, vT 05602
Friday, December 20, 6:30 pm. $16 per person, Venison, elk, bear and bison will be served. Tickets and further information available at American Legion Post 3. 229-9043.
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SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER VACANCY (FPF Issue No 258 on 12/10)
Lori Dutton-Renaud • Paine Turnpike North 
The Board of Directors of the Berlin Elementary School seeks to fill an interim position on the School Board. The position runs until Town Meeting Day. Interested candidates should send a letter of interest outlining qualifications by December 20th to:
William Kimball, Superintendent
Washington Central Supervisory Union
1130 Gallison Hill Road
Montpelier, VT 05602
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BERLIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GARDEN SHED (FPF Issue No. 257 on 12/8)
Cynthia Gauthier • Paine Turnpike North 
Event: Dec 14, 2013, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Hello Berlin Community,
You may have read or heard that your Berlin Elementary School received a grant to build a garden. Last spring and summer your neighbors, staff and students constructed Phase 1 of the garden, we planted, studied and harvested a good crop for our first year. Our garden is now sleeping but staff, students and community members are busy planning and building. We need help on Saturday, December 14 to complete work that has been started on a garden shed. The shed will hold tools, it will be used to start some plants and the roof will act as a water collection area. If you have a few hours or the morning to help out please email cgauthier@u32.org
As always, I am deeply appreciative to be part of a community the values the education of its children. If you are interested in being part of our work to educate Berlin's children about gardening and the importance of knowing where your food comes from please be on the look out for future notices of the Berlin Eat Local Team (BELT) or email cgauthier@u32.org to have your name added to our distribution list.
Thank you!
Cynthia Gauthier
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GMTA SEEKING VOLUNTEER DRIVERS (FPF Issue No. 255 on 12/6)
Tawnya Kristen • Community Relations Mngr., GMTA 
Green Mountain Transit Agency (GMTA) has a current need for Volunteer Drivers to provide coordinated rides to those residing outside the fixed route service area. Volunteer Drivers offer cost effective transportation services under the management of GMTA. Drivers are reimbursed for the miles they drive and are the foundation of our rural services. If you are interested in becoming a GMTA Volunteer Driver within your community, please contact us at 802.223.7287 or info@gmtaride.org.
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GOT ODD JOBS?  CLEANING, ORGANIZING, HOUSESITTING, RUNNING ERRANDS? (FPF Issue No. 242 on 11/17)
Nate Buck • Brookfield Rd 
I'm a sophomore in college coming home for my break starting December 10th. I would love to earn a little cash while I'm home for doing some odd jobs. I would apply to somewhere but I think that would be a waste of time because I need to be back at school by January 5th.
SO, if you are looking for someone to watch your house while you're away for the holidays, I'm your guy. I am responsible, reliable, and harmless. I have plenty of references that would back me up! Or if you need someone to just watch/walk/take care of your pets while you're away...I can do that too.
I like to clean, so if you don't like to clean, I will clean for you. I can also organize things well. I can run errands for you that you don't have time to do. I'm a little guy, I can't do a whole lot of labor intensive jobs, but I can shovel some snow here and there.
I'm also an art student majoring in photography, so I can take portraits, I can sell you photos!
check out my flickr: flickr.com/natebuckphotography
I have retail experience (I currently work at an Urban Outfitters in Savannah while I'm in school), I worked at an asian cuisine restaurant in Savannah, I have barista experience from the Skinny Pancake, I was a bellman at the capitol plaza...I have held all jobs for long periods of time and haven't been fired from any!
Help me out, I'll help you out. Happy Holidays and I hope to hear from someone!!
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INTERESTED IN TALKING ABOUT SCHOOL FOOD ISSUES? (FPF Issue No. 242 on 11/17)
Allison Levin • Lord Road 
Event: Nov 22, 2013, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Interested in Talking About the Food Our Kids Are Getting at School?
A group of Berlin parents is forming a committee in conjunction with the elementary school's Berlin Eat Local Team (BELT) and Food Service Program to look at and discuss the Berlin Elementary school's lunch program.
The Healthy School Lunch Committee invites you to join us for our introductory meeting on Nov 22, 6PM in the school library.
Some of topics that have already come up in discussions include: length of lunch periods, an interest for more local food on the menu, healthier food options, the quantities of food going to waste, how to make healthy meals financially viable, and involving the kids in the discussion.

For more information, contact Allison Levin at 229-4281 or allison.c.levin@gmail.com.

 

News to Know November 14th

BERLIN NEWS TO KNOW Nov 14, 2013
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This communication is put together and distributed on a volunteer basis by resident Corinne Stridsberg simply in an effort to share information and build community, it is not from the town of Berlin.

Please share this with your Berlin friends and neighbors.  If you're not already receiving this news by email, send an email to request this to corinnestridsberg@gmail.com
*
Check out the Berlin, Vermont Community News page on facebook to find bits of current news:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Berlin-Vermont/205922199452224

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Included below please find:

SMALL TOWN GIRL GOING ON TOUR WITH JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
U-32 PRODUCTION OF LES MIS WAS INCREDIBLE!
PROPERTY TAX INSTALLMENT DUE FRIDAY
HUNTER'S BREAKFAST (BUT EVERYONE IS WELCOME!) SATURDAY
VERMONT LIFE MAGAZINE SUPPORING NYC TRIP
INCREASING PARTICIPATION AND FEEDBACK
RANDALL DRIVE-IN KICKSTARTER DRIVE TO GO DIGITAL (OR GO DARK)
CASINO NIGHT HOSTED BY BERLIN VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT.

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SMALL TOWN GIRL GOING ON TOUR WITH JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
Congratulations to Lindsay Richardson who grew up here in Berlin!  She is living her dream and going on tour as a dancer with Justin Timberlake.  Clearly it's taken a lot of work and perseverance to get to where she is today.  Check out the details at this link:
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U-32 PRODUCTION OF LES MIS WAS INCREDIBLE!
Those of you who were in the audience at one of the Les Misrables shows last week at U-32 know what a fabulous show it was.  While the audience watched an amazing emotional  performance on the stage and the songs were incredibly well done, we all know it took a whole crew of people to make it all happen.  Congratulations to everyone who was involved both on and off the stage including actors/actresses, design and production staff, and also the phenomenal orchestra.  I would like to give a special recognition to all the students at U-32 who are from Berlin who were involved:  Aaron Baker, Abby Brewer, Adam Brewer, Kay Bushman, Nathan Chan, Molly Cowan, Shea Croteau, Trey Croteau,  Kellyn "Kelty" Edraney, Madeline Goddard, Signe Goddard, Kira Johnson, Brendan Marineau, Fiona Nichols-Fleming, Emily Richards, Joseph Sanguinetti, Kevin Thayer, Kate Turner, Minda Stridsberg, along with Berlin parents, Heather Clark-Warner, David Sanguinetti and Craig Marineau. 
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PROPERTY TAX INSTALLMENT DUE FRIDAY

The next installment for Berlin Property Taxes are due Friday (11/15/13). Although the Town Clerk's office is closed on Fridays (Rosemary is there but hard at work), the Town Treasurer, Diane, will indeed be in her office until 4pm and the lock box outside the front door can also be used for your payment.

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HUNTER'S BREAKFAST (BUT EVERYONE IS WELCOME!) SATURDAY

Annual Hunter's Breakfast is being put on by the Berlin Vol. Fire Department on SATURDAY (ONLY),November 16th at the FOUR CORNERS STATION from 4am to 10am $7 per person, children under 5 free. Come and enjoy a hearty breakfast cooked by your local Fire Fighters. You don't need to be a hunter to come participate in this community breakfast!
PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGES - the last few years it was down at the Riverton Fire Station and was on both Saturday and Sunday.

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VERMONT LIFE MAGAZINE SUPPORTING NYC TRIP
Vermont Life magazine is supporting the music/theater students who will be participating on a three day trip to NYC in May 2014 by contributing more than 50% of the cost of subscriptions placed between now and December 6th, 2013. Take advantage of this offer by visiting this special page: http://www.vermontlife.com/u32musictrip
This trip is still in the planning stages and tentatively includes tours of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Apollo, and Harlem, a behind-the-scenes look at Avery Fisher Hall and the Metropolitan Opera House, and dinner and live music at the Cotton Club. Students will participate in a Broadway workshop and attend a matinee performance of a Broadway show.
A subscription to Vermont Life includes four issues along with a digital subscription for just $18.97.
Subscribing to Vermont Life supports local writers, photographers, small businesses (such as Lane Press, where the magazine is printed), and helps tell the story of Vermont to the world.
If you don't have a specific student to support, our daughter, Minda, is participating in the trip. Also note that when placing an order at http://www.vermontlife.com/u32musictrip without naming a particular student, the NYC trip will still benefit. What a great local offer which could also be of interest to long distance family and friends!
Please consider placing an order. Thank you.
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Increasing Participation & Feedback

Jeremy Hansen – Selectboard Member, Berlin
Hi all - I've been mulling over a few ideas for making it easier for all of you to participate in the Town-wide decisions that affect you. I'll get right to it and discuss each in turn:
1) Childcare at Selectboard meetings
I don't know exactly how this would work out, but other towns have experimented with providing free childcare to folks attending Selectboard meetings. There have been times that I had to miss a meeting because I was taking care of my kids, and I suspect I'm not the only one.
2) Live-streamed audio or video of Selectboard meetings
Though the Internet connection I use at meetings can be a bit spotty, I can set up a live stream of the meetings with either audio or video feeds. It may also be possible to have a realtime chat window so that you could ask questions while the meeting is going on.
3) Citizen meetings
The formal structure and recording of Selectboard meetings can be intimidating. As long as there's not more than two Selectboard members present, we could set up separate meetings (or conference calls?) for
Berlin residents who have concerns they want to chat about, and the meetings wouldn't have to be on the public record.
4) A paper newsletter
Though I post pretty frequently here and Corinne Stridsberg keeps everyone up-to-date with news items, the Town could send an official newsletter (quarterly? annually?) to all
Berlin residents in the mail that contains some similar information.
5) Online feedback systems
When there are issues coming up for a vote by the Selectboard, we are often guessing about what folks would want us to do or hear only from those folks who happen to be in the audience at the time. I've been working on setting up a system that allows for robust discussion and a good indication of where people stand on various issues. Here are a few sample questions, with links to the fully-functioning discussion pages:
"Should we prohibit parking on Mirror Lake Road?"
https://jeremy-hansen.consider.it/369849b75c
"Should we switch budget-related questions at Town Meeting to a floor vote?"
https://jeremy-hansen.consider.it/94f4712888
Is there anyone out there who would take advantage of any of these? Let me know and if there's interest, I'll move forward with them.
Jeremy
279-6054
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RANDALL DRIVE-IN KICKSTARTER DRIVE TO GO DIGITAL (OR GO DARK)
Randall Drive-In in Bethel is trying to raise $45,000 by Friday, December 13th to enable the drive-in to go digital and not go dark.  So far $6,133 has been pledged.  If the goal is not reached, none of the pledges will be used.  Every pledge that can be made would be greatly appreciated, even if it's just a few dollars. For more information, including some fun incentives to pledge, check out this link:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1148446999/worlds-smallest-drive-in-movie-theater-going-digit
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CASINO NIGHT HOSTED BY BERLIN VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT.
Saturday, November 23 from 6pm - 11pm at the Barre Elks Club.  Advance tickets are $25/single, $40/couple - call Brady 498-5845 with questions or for tickets.  Games: Texas Hold'Em, Black Jack, Roulette, Vegas Dice.  Lots of great prizes..  Sponsors include: Comfort Inn & Maplewood, Ayer Auto Inc, Bouchard Pierce, Kinney Drugs, Always On Time Signs & Design, Gardner Insurance, and Sears.




 

News to Know November 7th

BERLIN NEWS TO KNOW Nov 7, 2013
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This communication is put together and distributed on a volunteer basis by resident Corinne Stridsberg simply in an effort to share information and build community, it is not from the town of Berlin.

Please share this with your Berlin friends and neighbors.  If you're not already receiving this news by email, send an email to request this to corinnestridsberg@gmail.com
*
Check out the Berlin, Vermont Community News page on facebook to find bits of current news:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Berlin-Vermont/205922199452224

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Included below please find:

BERLIN POND HEARING ON MONTPELIER PETITION IS TONIGHT
U-32 MANDATES THAT MONEY DOES MATTER
DETOUR PUT ON BIKE PATH PLAN
ENGINEER WASHES AWAY BERLIN WATER CONCERNS

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BERLIN POND HEARING ON MONTPELIER PETITION IS TONIGHT
pub 11/7/13 Times Argus by David Delcore 
   BERLIN — The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on Montpelier’s pending request that the state ban all ice shanties, internal combustion engines and petroleum-based fuels from Berlin Pond during a hearing tonight. 
   The two-hour hearing, which is set to start at 6 p.m. in the library at Berlin Elementary School, won’t be the only opportunity for residents to react to Montpelier’s attempt to regulate what is allowed on its public drinking water supply. Those interested in influencing the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s rule-making process have until Nov. 30 to submit written comments on a petition filed with the department’s watershed management division in July. 
   The petition came in the aftermath of a Vermont Supreme Court decision a year earlier that struck down sweeping recreational restrictions that had stood for more than a century.
   In a unanimous opinion the state’s highest court concluded that
Montpelier lacked the authority to enforce restrictions on boating, fishing and swimming on the pond. That power, justices ruled, belonged solely to the state under an evolving statutory scheme that made the once-valid restrictions obsolete.
   Unable to make a successful case that allowing folks to fish and paddle around on the pond posed a public health hazard or a public health risk, Montpelier officials have requested restrictions that they argue are needed to safeguard the city’s drinking water supply.
   According to the city, the proposed rules would not prohibit swimming, fishing or boating — providing the boats aren’t equipped with internal combustion engines. Canoes, kayaks and paddleboats could be allowed on the pond, but snow machines and all-terrain vehicles would not. Neither would gas-powered augers commonly used by ice fishing enthusiasts or heaters fueled by petroleum products.
   Boats with gas-powered motors are already prohibited on the pond based on its classification, and
Montpelier’s request would extend that prohibition to gas-powered items that could be brought onto the pond when it is frozen over.
  
Montpelier’s petition also seeks to ban all ice shanties, which the city contends could help mask “the deliberate or inadvertent contamination of the public water supply of Vermont’s Capital City and the Central Vermont Medical Center.” The petition makes reference to recent acts of domestic terrorism in making the case against allowing even portable pop-up shanties on the ice.
   “The rule may involve inconvenience for ice fishermen who would like to use a motorized auger or lighter fluid to cut a hole in the ice, or heaters or a shanty, but clearly Vermonters have engaged in ice fishing for generations without using motors or shanties, especially on small ponds,” the petition states.
   No decision will be made tonight, and the department will accept written comments on the proposed rule change through Nov. 30.
Montpelier’s petition is available online at http://www.watershedmanagement.vt.gov/rulemaking/htm/petitions.htm.
   david.delcore @timesargus.com
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U-32 MANDATES THAT MONEY DOES MATTER
Published 11/2/13 Times Argus by David Delcore
   EAST MONTPELIER — There is more than one kind of “literacy,” and if it is reasonable to expect youngsters to be reading by the time they hit second grade is it really too much to ask that they be able to balance a checkbook before they graduate from high school?
   Money management matters and studies suggest high schools in Vermont and beyond aren’t doing a particularly good job producing graduates who are fiscally responsible and financially aware.
   It isn’t that they don’t offer courses in financial literacy — most, like U-32 High School in East Montpelier, do — but only a tiny fraction of them require all students to take and pass those courses in order to earn their high school diplomas.
   Starting next fall U-32 and Fair Haven Union High School will join a very short list of Vermont schools that have made passing a semester-long personal finance course a graduation requirement.
   That is already the case at Missisquoi Valley Union High School in Swanton and Vergennes Union High School in Vergennes, but George Cook, senior member of the three-member business department at U-32, said those schools are the exception and it shows.
   “When you look at the data … that has been collected it shows failing marks across the board in this area,” he said. “The reality of it is there’s very little awareness of how to manage money properly.”
   Cook credited U-32 board members and administrators for recognizing the value of a course that he believes really shouldn’t be optional. Based on the U-32 board’s recent decision it won’t be starting with the Class of 2018.
   There isn’t any down-side to that decision, according to Cook, who said it won’t require any increase in staff, will help address a glaring short-coming, while providing valuable information to all students.
   “This is a course … that 100 percent of the student body is going to benefit from,” he predicted.
   According to Cook, that is as true of students who will soon be saddled with student loans and weighing career options, as it is of those who take jobs straight out of high school, or enlist in the military.
   “No matter which path they choose all of these kids are going to be able to utilize this (course),” he said. “I don’t know if schools can say that for other classes.”
   According to Cook, the time is right and the need is real for a six-themed course will explore issues ranging from financial responsibility and decision-making to saving, investing and future planning.
   “There’s definitely, hands down, a parallel between the economic downturn of this country and money not being managed well by its citizens,” he said. “For years and years and years this (personal finance) was the primary math taught in schools and now it’s not.”
   The result, according to Cook, has been fairly predictable.
   “People borrow more than they should be borrowing, they spend more than they have, they live beyond their means,” he said. “This isn’t anything that’s difficult to calculate, but it’s a mindset that people need to understand.”
   The sooner the better, said Cook, who notes the currently elective course at U-32 really resonates with students, some of whom are already juggling cell phone bills and car payments, while working part-time jobs.
   “Kids really like talking about money,” he said, noting high school isn’t too soon to introduce them to concepts like credit and investing.
   “When you educate them on how they can make money grow it’s like the light goes on,” he said. “It really is eye-opening stuff.”
   U-32’s efforts on the financial literacy front have already attracted attention and support, according to Cook, who said the Discover Company provided the school with a $10,000 grant to enhance the program. Perhaps more importantly, he said, the school has forged an alliance with the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College and the Denver-based National Endowment for Financial Education.
   Cook said Champlain College has provided U-32 with a $26,500 two-year grant and the school’s instructors are receiving specialized training and instruction from recognized professionals that will help them fine-tune a course that all students will be required to take starting next fall.
   “We are getting the most current, up to date, rock solid training possible,” he said. “That is huge.”
   david.delcore@timesargus.com

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DETOUR PUT ON BIKE PATH PLAN
Pub 11/1/13 Times Argus by Eric Blaisdell
   MONTPELIER — The proposed bike path in Montpelier has come in at a steep cost and will now move out toward East Montpelier rather than Berlin, since the path can no longer follow the old railbeds.
   Around 15 people filed into the City Council chambers in City Hall Wednesday night for a forum on the new path.
   Mayor John Hollar said the city is working on rights of way, easements and permits for the path. He said he expects plans to be finalized in the spring, with construction starting in late 2014 and completed in 2015.
   Evan Detrick of DuBois & King, the engineering consulting firm that’s overseeing the project, gave a 20-minute presentation of where the project is and what the plans are going forward. The path will start at the Granite Street bridge where it will continue to a shared use path to the Pioneer Street bridge. From there the path will follow Old County Club Road and then more shared use path to Gallison Hill Road. The path will then run along Gallison Hill Road to the Civic Center where it will connect to the Cross Vermont Trail.
   The estimated cost of the two-mile path is around $3.45 million, which Detrick said is almost twice the cost of a typical shared use path which runs around $1 million per mile. The cost of the proposed path does not include right-of-way acquisition or inspection of the construction.
   Eighty percent of the cost of the trail will be picked up by the federal government, with 10 percent each being paid for by the state and the city.
   The major reason for the higher cost is because the trail originally was planned to be placed where the old rail line in Montpelier runs along the Winooski River, but in 2009 Vermont Railway said the trail had to be moved, as they had plans to rebuild the old railbed so the company could move granite blocks out of Barre. Detrick said the railroad could not use the current active rail line in Montpelier because it is in poor shape and the bridges the trains would have to cross with the granite would not support the weight.
   Now the trail will be placed parallel to the railbed, when not on Gallison Hill and Old Country Club roads, which means constructing a trail from scratch that will need retaining walls which Detrick said are expensive. Adding to the cost, Detrick said the section of the proposed path near Barre and Granite streets will actually run along the active railroad so the city will have to move a part of the railroad off to the side.
   Detrick said since the new trail will be within the railroad’s right-of-way, it has final say on the project and can veto it at any time. The railroad also told the city which retaining wall to use, which Detrick said are the most expensive cast-in-place concrete walls. That was a few years ago and Detrick said the city is going to approach the railroad again to see if a possible cheaper solution can be used instead.
   The original plan was to have a bike path from Montpelier through Berlin and Barre City to Barre Town. But after the railroad pulled the plug on using the old railbed, no solution has been conceived.
   Detrick, who also is consulting on the bike path currently being designed in Barre, said the Granite City is also having difficulty figuring out a way to build the path from the Granite Museum to Berlin.
   It may only be a matter of time, however, until someone figures out a way to connect Barre and Montpelier. “Once this path gets built and things get built in Barre, there’s going to be more and more pressure to connect the two,” he said.
   eric.blaisdell@timesargus.com
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ENGINEER WASHES AWAY BERLIN WATER CONCERNS
Pub 11/1/13 Times Argus by David Delcore
   BERLIN — The soft-sell of a new municipal water system is officially under way as nearly two dozen potential customers thirsty for information about the $5.5 million project turned out to hear what the engineer who has been working on it for the past six years had to say.
   No commitments were made and none were solicited during a session that was pitched as a primer on a water project that has been talked about for more than two decades and seriously pursued since 2007.
   On a night when one woman said she would like a free sample before making up her mind and others posed questions about costs and construction schedules, Mark Youngstrom of Otter Creek Engineering said it is possible that water from three capped town-owned wells could be flowing through distribution lines and spurting out facets by this time next year.
   “The plan is to be under construction first thing in the spring,” Youngstrom said, suggesting the largest remaining hurdle involves rounding up enough committed customers to make the system proposed for the area around Berlin Four Corners financially viable.
   According to Youngstrom, that means entering into formal agreements with property owners who would collectively use roughly 96,500 gallons of water a day, or 386 “equivalent residential units (ERUs).”
   That, Youngstrom said, is a fancy name for home and an acknowledgement that many of the potential customers in the proposed service area would use far more water than the average residence.
   “When we get to the magic number (386 ERUs) construction starts,” he said, ticking off the benefits a system that would provide a reliable source of potable water, and “full fire protection” – including strategically placed fire hydrants and the ability to accommodate commercial sprinkler systems.
   Youngstrom told those attending the first in a series of informational meetings about the water project Wednesday night that the town wasn’t asking them to commit to anything yet, but they should start thinking about whether they want to hook on to the system and be ready to make a decision in the not-too-distant future. He said the time is fast-approaching when those who own homes, commercial property, and even undeveloped land will be asked whether they want to reserve what isn’t an unlimited capacity of water.
   “If I could look five years down the road you’re going to reach the capacity of your three wells,” he predicted. “You could sell out the (water) system in a short period of time.”
   Though it will take at least 386 ERUs to begin construction, Youngstrom said 500 ERUs is probably the maximum capacity of the current wells.
   Tapping out a system that hasn’t yet been built and searching for a supplemental source of water would be a welcome problem, according to Youngstrom, who encouraged those in attendance to seriously consider becoming a customer.
   “When somebody finally comes to you and ask you to sign on the dotted line, please sign,” he said.
   Asked about price, Youngstrom said rates hadn’t yet been set, but the goal has been and remains to supply water at an annual cost of between $550 and $600 per ERU — a figure he said is around the state average for a well-run municipally owned water system.
   Youngstrom did say he would not recommend a price break to persuade high-volume users to hook on to the system.
   “Everybody understands fairness, and fairness is everybody pays the same,” he said.
   According to Youngstrom, a typical water bill would likely be broken down into three components — flat fee to pay off the bond that will finance construction of the system, a base rate for the ability to use the water, and a per-gallon consumption fee.
   Though the drop-dead date hasn’t yet been established, Youngstrom said, those who commit to capacity in advance can avoid the expense of a yet-to-be-established connection fee that will be charged those who choose want to hook on at a later date. However, even those who take advantage of that incentive will be required to cover the cost of tapping into the water line that will stop at their property lines, he said.
   With a voter-approved bond issue in-hand, and federal financing for the project locked up, Youngstrom said he is finishing up the final design and working on bid documents in anticipation that recruiting customers won’t be a problem.
   According to Youngstrom, the design-work is 60 percent complete, surveys are done, and soil borings have revealed no insurmountable subsurface problems with ledge along the five-mile route of the proposed distribution system.
   Youngstrom said that route may yet change based on interest from potential users along Paine Turnpike North, which runs from the Route 62 intersection near the local fire station to the Fisher Road intersection where a new state hospital is now under construction. Adding that area into the project scope would likely require dropping a segment of Comstock Road between Granger Road and Paine Turnpike, he said.
   Berlin resident Charlotte Brewer, who hasn’t had water in her house that didn’t come from the well in her yard, said she would be interested in a taste test.
   “I’m dying to try it,” she said of the water produced by the town-owned wells.
   According to Brewer, her own well has good water pressure, but she isn’t wild about the taste that her husband, Lee, attributes to an elevated salt content that has rendered several wells in the proposed service area undrinkable.
   “Ours isn’t bad, but it (the water) does leave rust spots on our stainless steel knives,” he said.
   david.delcore@timesargus.com
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