Berlin Community News

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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 directly by email, send an email to request this to corinnestridsberg@gmail.com.

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Check out the Berlin, Vermont Community News page on facebook to find bits of current news, some not included here:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Berlin-Vermont/205922199452224

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NOTE:

Many upcoming events I don't have details on yet but be sure to mark your calendars!!

GREEN UP DAY SATURDAY, MAY 3RD

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY AT WONDER CARDS & COMICS, MAY 3RD

ONION RIVER SPORTS BIKE SWAP (USED BIKES) MAY 3RD  (find details at:

http://www.onionriver.com/bikeswap)

NATIONAL TRAIN DAY IS ON SATURDAY, MAY 10TH (marking the anniversary of the Golden Spike being driven in 1869)  Amtrak celebrates this day by offering free train rides. Limited tickets which are free will become available soon but will go quickly and you must have a ticket to board.  Last year the free event was taking the train down from our station here in Berlin "Montpelier Junction"  (folks also get on at other stations Essex, Waterbury, Randolph, etc) to Bellows Falls, back to White River Jct where you received a box lunch and then were bused back to the train station here  (if you wanted to ride the train back later you would have to pay the fee). 

Included below please find:

HOUSING NEEDED

DAN GANDIN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

U-32 PRODUCTION "ALMOST, MAINE" FRIDAY & SATURDAY

CROSSTOWN ROAD IS INDEED BARRICADED

TOWN OF BERLIN RESOURCE LINE

DOG OWNERS - PLEASE REGISTER YOUR DOGS!

SCHOOL GARDEN - CEDAR POSTS NEEDED & WORK DAY

US 302 BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PLAN

TEEN FINANCIAL LITERACY SERIES - FREE!
KIDS GARDENING PROGRAM AT BERLIN ELEMENTARY

SELECTBOARD MEETINGS

BERLIN BEGINS EXPLORING PATH OPTIONS

PUBLIC SAFETY AUTHORITY: BERLIN SPLIT OVER NEXT STEPS

Note: you can look at previous issues by visiting: http://socialenergy.blogspot.com

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HOUSING NEEDED

Some folks are looking to move into Berlin a.s.a.p., she will be a manager at a store in town.  They would like to find a place with 2-3 bedrooms, washer/dryer hookup, preferably heat included, space for children to play, parking for at least one car. Have one spayed and declawed cat, but can place if necessary. 

You can contact them @ 207-551-4342. 

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DAN GANDIN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

After 36 years with the U-32 program, Dan is retiring. 

Story at: http://www.u32.org/grades9-12/athletics

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U-32 PRODUCTION "ALMOST, MAINE" FRIDAY & SATURDAY

The U-32 production of "Almost, Maine" will be on stage April 11 & 12 at 7:30pm.

Berlin students involved include Minda Stridsberg, Adam Brewer, and Kira Johnson who are in this production along with Nathan Chan - music, and Kay Bushman, Molly Cowan, Trey Croteau, & Madeline Goodard who are student directors.

"Almost, Maine" by John Cariani is comprised of nine short plays (each directed by a different U-32 student or faculty member!) that explore love and loss in a remote, mythical almost-town called Almost, Maine. This delightful play examines the magic and absurdities of falling in... and out... of love.  Tickets are available at the door $8 adults/ $5 students and seniors.

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CROSSTOWN ROAD IS INDEED BARRICADED

Crosstown Road in Berlin is barricaded as of 4/2/14, .75 miles up from the Riverton side. It will remain closed through mud season.   Look for photos on the town website www.berlinvt.org or on the Berlin, Vermont facebook page.

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TOWN OF BERLIN RESOURCE LINE

Call 552-8805 for updates on meetings, events, deadlines, and more.  This recorded message will be updated on Fridays.

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DOG OWNERS - PLEASE REGISTER YOUR DOGS!

Rates to register dogs are now $12 if spayed/neutered and $16 if not.  If you're having trouble getting to the Town Clerk's office M-Th 8:30-3:30, please note this is something you can do by mail.  Checks should be made payable to "Town of Berlin".  If the current rabies vaccination paper is not on file (call & ask if you're not sure - 229-9298), you'll need to include a copy.  If it's your fist time registering the dog and it is spayed/neutered a copy of that certification is also needed.  Even if it's something you don't have paperwork on, usually the local veterinarian's office can verify that and fax that over to the Town Clerk (fax 229-9530). 

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SCHOOL GARDEN - CEDAR POSTS NEEDED & WORK DAY

Thirty or so six foot cedar fence posts are needed for the garden at school.  Anybody know somebody these could be purchased from or even better, may be willing to donate?

A construction work day for the Garden Shed at Berlin Elementary School has been scheduled for during the week of school vacation on Wednesday, April 23rd.  Volunteers are needed.  If you're available, please call the school office at 223-2796.

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US 302 BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PLAN

Quite a few people attended the selectboard meeting this last Monday regarding the bicycle and pedestrian study of the corridor along the Barre-Montpelier Road.  If you'd like to be on the email list for receiving updated information, send an email to Lucy Gibson at DuBois & King lgibson@dubois-king.com   From Lucy - "Essentially, after a very long struggle, it has been concluded by VTrans that there is no possibility of using the railroad right-of-way for the bike path. So, our task is to look at alternatives, including the Route 302 right-of-way and also we will look at a path behind the stores, as there was clearly support for that concept. We will include a cost analysis of the project. Any type of bicycle or pedestrian facility will have a cost, and it will be up to the town voters to decide if the benefits are worth the costs. Our job will be to present the choices clearly, with as much information as possible." http://berlinvt.org/Route%20302%20Bike%20and%20Ped%20Study-03282014153250.pdf

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TEEN FINANCIAL LITERACY SERIES - FREE!
This Teen Financial Literacy Series at Kellogg-Hubbard Library is FREE! They are 1 hour workshops open to all! All start at 10:30 AM on the following Saturdays:
Saturday, April 12: Budgeting, Spending, and Saving: How to Make the Best Choices You Can with Colin Ryan: Comedian and Inspirational Speaker
Saturday, May 10: Budgeting Your Money with Alvah Newhall, VSECU Montpelier branch manager
Saturday, May 24: Establishing Credit, Understanding and Managing Credit/Debit Cards with Ellen Aseltine, Assistant Branch Manager, Northfield Savings Bank
Saturday, June 7: Interest Rates and Mortgages: What Are They and How Do They Work? With Elizabeth La Perle, Mortgage Officer, VSECU Berlin Branch
Co-sponsored by Girls/Boyz First Mentoring, Kellogg-Hubbard Library, National Life, Northfield Savings Bank, and VSECU

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KIDS GARDENING PROGRAM AT BERLIN ELEMENTARY

Register by 4/25/14 with the workshop held on Wed. 5/21/14

The UVM Extension Service continues to offer the Junior Master Gardener program which has been well attended by kids from throughout the area for many years. Registration is due on Friday, April 25th at the UVM Ext. Office at 617 Comstock Rd in Berlin.  You don't need to have a large space to garden in, just a small plot will do or many vegetables can be grown in containers.

Cloverbud - ages 5 - 7

Beginner - age 8+ and who have had their own garden or have helped in their family garden for one or two years

Advanced - age 11+ who have had their own garden or have taken major responsibility for their family garden for three or more years. 

Wednesday, May 21st at 5:30pm will be the "Plant Your Garden" workshop at Berlin Elementary School where kids will receive free seeds and plats and attend workshops.  There are opportunities to exhibit items you've grown at events in the summer and fall and the kids are invited to the Rotary Banquet in September for recognition and the auction. Rotarians will set up garden visits to offer their support and encouragement.

If you're interested, give the UVM Extension service a  call at 223-2389 x205 between 8am and 4:30pm.

You can find the brochure/registration form at:

https://www.facebook.com/225468414261660/photos/a.225475484260953.1073741828.225468414261660/384498535025313/?type=1&theater

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SELECTBOARD MEETINGS

Selectboard meetings can be found on line at:

http://www.orcamedia.net - look for the listing of "Berlin Selectboard"

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BERLIN BEGINS EXPLORING PATH OPTIONS

Pub 4/9/14 Times Argus by David Delcore

  BERLIN — The public rollout of a plan to explore creating amenities for bicyclists and pedestrians along a stretch of the Barre-Montpelier Road received mixed reviews this week.
  Though no decisions have been made and the process has barely begun, some residents were less enthusiastic than others about the prospect of shifting focus from a railroad right of way parallel to the Barre-Montpelier Road to one that would potentially use a portion of that well-traveled state highway.
  The idea of incorporating bike lanes in a stretch of road that is five lanes wide in one location and narrows to two in another was described by one resident as “a golden opportunity” and by another as “a really important transportation alternative.”
  However, it was panned by others who said a roadside path would be a dirty and dangerous substitute for an off-road option.
  “It certainly wouldn’t be anyone’s first choice to do it that way,” one resident said.
  Lucy Gibson, of the engineering firm DuBois & King, acknowledged it wasn’t the first choice but said that without a guaranteed easement from a railroad that isn’t willing to provide one, it would be impossible to secure federal funding to construct the bike path that was originally proposed.
  “It may be the only choice,” Gibson said of the evolving plan, which will involve exploring ways to extend a multi-use path from the Wayside Restaurant to the Price Chopper Plaza.
  According to Gibson, that plan would likely include incorporating portions of the path into the current paved roadbed, which is scheduled to be resurfaced by the state next year.
  “These are options that could fit right in with the paved area that you have now,” she said, reviewing alternatives that ranged from buffered bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the road to a two-way “cycle track” on one side of a reconfigured road.
  Wayside Restaurant and Bakery owner Brian Zecchinelli said he was a bike path supporter but was skeptical of the possibility of creating bike lanes on a commercial stretch of state highway that is busy enough to be dangerous.
  “Hopefully we can pursue something off the beaten track ... not necessarily the railroad bed, but in a more refreshing, rural (setting),” he said.
  While some said they believed an alternative that ran behind Barre-Montpelier Road businesses should be pursued to the exclusion of ones that use the road itself, others said both were important and could be an asset to businesses, as has been the case in communities like South Burlington.
  Jonathon Goddard said he liked the idea of connecting one of Berlin’s commercial centers in a “complete streets manner.”
  “I think it could really be a boon for businesses,” he said of the prospect of having bike- and pedestrian-friendly access.
  “Whenever I see someone walking along that road I just sort of cringe because it truly is awful,” he said.
  According to Gibson, the consultant-led study will explore a number of alternatives that will be discussed with the state Agency of Transportation and property owners before they are presented at a second public meeting in August.
  Input from that session will lead to the selection of a preferred alternative that will be refined and presented at a public meeting tentatively planned for October.
  The well-attended overview of the scoping study was held in conjunction with Monday’s Select Board meeting.
  In other business the board approved a five-year tax stabilization agreement with Northfield Savings Bank and a $1-an-hour pay raise for Town Treasurer Diane Isabelle.
  The bank plans to break ground on a two-story, 20,800-square-foot office building that will initially bring 65 employees to the intersection of Paine Turnpike and Stewart Road in Berlin. The town’s economic development committee recommended the stabilization agreement, which is similar to one approved for the expansion of Wal-Mart. Select Board member Jeremy Hansen voted against the agreement.
  Board members said they were pleased with Isabelle’s performance in her first six months on the job and agreed to boost her pay to $24 an hour.
  david.delcore @timesargus.com

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PUBLIC SAFETY AUTHORITY: BERLIN SPLIT OVER NEXT STEPS

Pub. 4/9/14 Times Argus by David Delcore

  BERLIN — A verbal tussle over whether Berlin voters will be given the opportunity to decide if their town should join Barre and Montpelier in a regional public safety authority continued this week, and it probably isn’t over yet.
  Proponents of what they view as Berlin’s no-risk participation in the new authority say they plan to circulate a petition to obtain the public vote that was requested by a majority of those at last month’s town meeting.
  They are welcome to do so, according to Select Board Chairman Ture Nelson, who claimed Monday night the board would be within its rights to ignore a petition — even if it is signed by the requisite 5 percent of the town’s registered voters.
  That assertion took two former board members — Patricia McDonald and Paul Irons — aback, though Town Administrator Jeff Schulz said he’d researched the issue and was confident the board could not be compelled to warn a vote on the proposed charter if one is requested by petition.
  Schulz said after Monday night’s meeting that he had consulted the town’s attorney, Rob Halpert, before arriving at that conclusion.
  Contacted Monday, Halpert declined to comment on what he said was a privileged conversation. 

  However, based on Secretary of State James Condos’ emailed response to an inquiry from The Times Argus, the board might want to think twice before discarding a petition.
  “The statute … is quite clear: ‘A proposal to adopt, repeal, or amend a municipal charter may be made by the legislative body of the municipality, or by petition of five percent of the voters of the municipality,’” Condos wrote. “The petition process is a valid mechanism for initiating the adoption of a municipal charter and does not leave the select board any discretion to deny such a petition.”
  McDonald said Tuesday she had also reached out to Condos and a petition is in the works.
  “What we’re asking for is the right to vote on an issue we have a right to vote on,” she said.
  The only reason the issue was on Monday night’s agenda was the board’s recent retraction of a letter reiterating that it wanted no part of the regional authority. That letter, which was written on the board’s behalf in the wake of the nonbinding vote on Town Meeting Day, prompted McDonald and Rep. Patti Lewis to claim the board violated Vermont’s open meeting law by agreeing to send the correspondence without first publicly discussing it.
  Based on that criticism, board members agreed to rescind the letter last month and defer discussion of what to do about it until Monday’s meeting.
  Nelson told board members they had three options: resend the letter that reflected the unanimous view of the board, modify it, or simply opt not to send it and “move forward.”
  Nelson recommended the latter — a course he said wouldn’t change the board’s position but would, he hoped, eliminate what has become a distraction.
  The discussion got off to a somewhat testy start when McDonald, who was critical of the letter’s content, as well as the process that led to it being sent out, raised her hand.
  “Do you want us to send the letter, or not send the letter?” Nelson asked curtly.
  “Can I comment further?” McDonald asked.
  “No, we’re just discussing the letter right now,” Nelson replied.
  Less than a minute later — after the board agreed to scrap the letter with nothing more than a series of head nods, McDonald raised her hand and was recognized.
  The letter aside, McDonald told the board she remained interested in a public vote on the proposed charter that she said was requested by a majority of voters at town meeting.
  “They wanted the opportunity to vote,” she said, suggesting that message was seemingly lost on a board that abruptly ended its four-year participation in a study that town taxpayers helped finance before work on the proposed charter was finished late last year.
  “A lot of us would like the opportunity to vote on this charter and have the ability to sit at the table with the public safety authority,” McDonald said. “How do we make that happen?”
  Nelson said the advisory vote suggested the issue be included on the ballot for the next annual or special town meeting.
  “I’m not going to hold a special town meeting just for that topic,” he said. “I’m not going to spend the money on that.”
  That’s when McDonald wondered aloud if a petition might change the board’s mind and Nelson contended it wouldn’t be binding.
  Irons questioned that opinion, only to be told by Schulz that, even if presented with a valid petition: “The board would not be legally bound to have a vote.”
  Legality aside, McDonald said she was troubled by the “incomprehensible” resistance of a board that let Nelson do all the talking.
  “You’re so dead set against this … that if we were to submit a petition you would not consider that you would want to hear from members of this town that you represent?” she asked.
  Another former board member, Bob Wernecke, suggested the question could be asked in conjunction with this year’s primary or general elections if cost was a concern.
  “I would think we would take that under advisement,” Nelson said.
  Several members of the Berlin Volunteer Fire Department, including Chief Miles Silk Jr., attended the meeting but didn’t say anything.

However, Lewis’ husband, Albie, who served in the department for 25 years including a couple as chief, said he was having a hard time understanding the board’s reluctance to participate in a regional authority that will evaluate the potential for consolidating some or all emergency services in participating communities.
  “Was there additional cost that they were asking for … or did you just decide that you did not want to participate even though there was no cost?” he asked.
  Nelson said he objected to what he described as a “totally backward” process that required towns to adopt a charter before being presented with a detailed implementation plan.
  “If they come forth with a concrete proposal I would be much more in favor of taking a look at it,” he said, accusing the committee that Patti Lewis served on for more than four years of “wasting our time” by focusing its efforts on a charter that has now been approved by voters in Barre and Montpelier and a funding mechanism.
  Patti Lewis said Berlin should not forgo the opportunity to have risk-free, no-cost representation on a yet-to-be-selected board that will be tasked with answering the sort of detail-oriented questions Nelson posed.
  “I think we owe it to our taxpayers and … our neighbors to at least go the next step and investigate it,” she said, suggesting to do otherwise would be shortsighted.
  “You need to look at the future,” she said. “It’s not just about tomorrow. It’s about 10 years from now (and) 15 years from now.”
  McDonald agreed. She said there was “no downside” to signing on to the regional effort and a potential benefit to helping chart a direction for the authority.
  “I don’t understand the resistance to sitting at the table with our friends and neighbors,” she said. “I just don’t understand the reluctance.”
  If Condos is right, and a petition calling for adoption of the public safety authority charter is filed with the appropriate number of signatures, the board would be obligated to warn a vote on the question.
  david.delcore @timesargus.com