Friday, May 02, 2014
News to Know May 2, 2014
*
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
*
Check out
the Berlin , Vermont
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Below you will find:
CROSSTOWN ROAD
SELECTBOARD ON MONDAY 5/5
DRB ON TUESDAY 5/6
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 5/8
U-32 PARENT GROUP MEETING
TAX PAYMENT DUE
PERENNIAL
PLANT SALE
FROM BERLIN
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The school board has appointed Carol Amos as the next Berlin Elementary
School Danville School
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There are still some dogs that need to be registered. Please
stop by to see the Town Clerk or this can be taken care of by mail.
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CROSSTOWN ROAD
The road foreman hopes to get Crosstown
Road Berlin , Vermont
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SELECTBOARD ON MONDAY 5/5
Monday, May 5th is the next Selectboard meeting, 7pm at the town office. The agenda can be found here: http://berlinvt.org/Select%20Board%20agenda%205-5-14-05022014155246.pdf
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DRB ON TUESDAY 5/6
Tuesday, May 6th is the Development Review Board
meeting, 7pm at the town
office.
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EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 5/8
Thursday, May 8th is the monthly Emergency
Management Team meeting, 6pm at the Fire
House.
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U-32 PARENT GROUP MEETING
Thursday, May 8th is the
next U-32 Parent Group meeting 6:30pm - 7:30pm in the conference room at the back of the library.
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TAX PAYMENT DUE
Thursday, May 15th the next tax
payment is due. In order to meet this deadline, payments should be
brought to the Treasurer at the town office on the 15th by 4:30pm or they can be left in the deposit box
outside the front door (which will be checked Friday morning). Payments
can also be postmarked (not an office meter but postmarked by the post office)
by May 15th. Payments not made will incur a late fee of 8%
penalty and 1% interest, even if it’s late by just a day or two.
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PERENNIAL PLANT SALE Sale
The Berlin
Elementary School PTNA is looking for donations of: perennials, shrubs, berry
cane, and seedling donations for their 1st Annual Perennial Sale. Please
label all donations with plant name. Plants look best if they can be
potted 2 weeks prior to the sale. Cans, milk/juice containers, quart
yogurt/cottage cheese containers, etc. can be used if you don't have pots.
Donations can be dropped off at the school 5pm - 6:30pm on Friday, May 16th. If you have
items to donate but need help digging them, contact Heather Collins at
802-371-7223 or hcmc@tds.net . The sale will be on Saturday, May 17th 9am - 12 noon or until plants are gone at the Berlin
Elementary School RAIN or SHINE! Plants from local gardens at great prices!
Perennials, veggie starts, and more.
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Pub. 5/2/14 Times Argus by
Amy Ash Nixon
BARRE — More than 50 schools in Vermont
Several of those schools are inWashington County Barre , Berlin Northfield
Barre School Superintendent John Bacon said Thursday the new federal guideline, which will see Barre’s elementary and middle school students benefit, is good news for schools that qualify.
“We have been looking into this, and we’ve had one board presentation on it, and we will discuss it at our next meeting, but it’s looking like something we can do. ... I think it will be a great benefit to students, and it’s not just lunch — it’s breakfast as well,” said Bacon. “It should increase participation in the programs for all our students.”
Bacon said the district is waiting for approval from the Agency of Education’s hot lunch program after submitting data.
The hope is that the program would start with the next school year, he added.
According to Hunger Free Vermont, the more than 50 schools that qualify for the expanded program will not have to collect applications anymore for students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals. Every student in the schools with high enough qualifying percentages will now be able to eat at no cost, the group said.
“The federal school meal programs are some of the best tools we have for reducing childhood hunger,” said Hunger Free Vermont Executive Director Marissa Parisi.
“To provide access to school meals for every child who needs them and improve the health of allVermont
In addition to Barre City Elementary and Middle School, the other qualifying schools inWashington County Berlin Elementary School Northfield Elementary School
“You have to have over a certain percentage of your students that qualify, andBarre Town
Children are certified to receive free or reduced-price meals if they fall into certain categories, Horton said: “foster child, homeless child, migrant child, in Head Start, household member receives 3SquaresVT, household member receives Reach Up.”
Not having to process the forms to apply for the free and reduced-price meals will save schools money, Horton noted, allowing them to “reallocate valuable staff time to other important needs.”
“Many, many school meal programs inVermont
According to Hunger Free Vermont, 11 states have been taking part in a test of the expanded community eligibility effort the past two years, and results show that more children are participating in school meals there. “It particularly increases the number of students from all income levels eating school breakfast, an underutilized program that many Vermont schools have been working to expand,” according to Hunger Free Vermont’s news release this week.
At Barre City Elementary and Middle, Bacon said, “About 68 (percent) to 70 percent of our students currently qualify for free and reduced lunch, but only about 250 eat breakfast, and 50 percent, or 400, eat lunch” among all students.
That means that “we have a lot of students who qualify, but don’t eat the food there,” said Bacon. With the new program, and everyone being given free meals, he said, “This way everybody is getting lunch for free, and it totally removes any possible stigma there, and it becomes a social thing and more kids will be more likely to eat, just because everyone’s doing it,” he said.
amy.nixon @timesargus.com
Several of those schools are in
Barre School Superintendent John Bacon said Thursday the new federal guideline, which will see Barre’s elementary and middle school students benefit, is good news for schools that qualify.
“We have been looking into this, and we’ve had one board presentation on it, and we will discuss it at our next meeting, but it’s looking like something we can do. ... I think it will be a great benefit to students, and it’s not just lunch — it’s breakfast as well,” said Bacon. “It should increase participation in the programs for all our students.”
Bacon said the district is waiting for approval from the Agency of Education’s hot lunch program after submitting data.
The hope is that the program would start with the next school year, he added.
According to Hunger Free Vermont, the more than 50 schools that qualify for the expanded program will not have to collect applications anymore for students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals. Every student in the schools with high enough qualifying percentages will now be able to eat at no cost, the group said.
“The federal school meal programs are some of the best tools we have for reducing childhood hunger,” said Hunger Free Vermont Executive Director Marissa Parisi.
“To provide access to school meals for every child who needs them and improve the health of all
In addition to Barre City Elementary and Middle School, the other qualifying schools in
“You have to have over a certain percentage of your students that qualify, and
Children are certified to receive free or reduced-price meals if they fall into certain categories, Horton said: “foster child, homeless child, migrant child, in Head Start, household member receives 3SquaresVT, household member receives Reach Up.”
Not having to process the forms to apply for the free and reduced-price meals will save schools money, Horton noted, allowing them to “reallocate valuable staff time to other important needs.”
“Many, many school meal programs in
According to Hunger Free Vermont, 11 states have been taking part in a test of the expanded community eligibility effort the past two years, and results show that more children are participating in school meals there. “It particularly increases the number of students from all income levels eating school breakfast, an underutilized program that many Vermont schools have been working to expand,” according to Hunger Free Vermont’s news release this week.
At Barre City Elementary and Middle, Bacon said, “About 68 (percent) to 70 percent of our students currently qualify for free and reduced lunch, but only about 250 eat breakfast, and 50 percent, or 400, eat lunch” among all students.
That means that “we have a lot of students who qualify, but don’t eat the food there,” said Bacon. With the new program, and everyone being given free meals, he said, “This way everybody is getting lunch for free, and it totally removes any possible stigma there, and it becomes a social thing and more kids will be more likely to eat, just because everyone’s doing it,” he said.
amy.nixon @timesargus.com
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FROM BERLIN
Below is a recent post .... 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
Posted in Issue No. 335 - April 25, 2014
Notes from April 21 Selectboard Meeting
Jeremy Hansen • Selectboard
Member , Berlin
Posted
to: Berlin
Here are my notes from last Monday's
meeting.
1) Delinquent taxes
Treasurer Diane Isabelle reported that
delinquent taxes are down to about $220,000 from about $310,000 in February.
There are several properties that will probably go to tax sale in the next few
months. If you owe taxes, please get a hold of Diane ASAP to discuss your
situation:treasurer@berlinvt.org
2) Berlin Pond issues
There was a (predictably) animated
discussion of this topic. Recently, a group of citizens called "Citizens
to Protect Berlin Pond" filed a petition with the VT Agency of Natural
Resources requesting that the regulation of Berlin Pond be changed to what they
(effectively) were before 2012. That is, that there would be no activities
allowed on the pond. Their petition in its entirety can be found at the bottom
of this page:
There will be a public meeting about this
petition at the elementary school on May 27th at 6pm .
A new bit of information arrived about
construction of access on the pond: the Secretary of the Agency of Natural
Resources Deborah Markowitz said in an email, "...there are no plans to
build a boat ramp or access on Berlin at this time, and there will not be
unless and until a decision to allow boating has been made on the
petition."
Until we know for sure how ANR is going to
rule, I don't see a benefit in moving forward with spending any more time or
money (we're currently at $5,544.11 in legal and surveying costs) on this
issue. Primarily for that reason, I refused to second several motions brought
by Pete Kelley (there were only three of us present on Monday night, and the
Chair, Ture Nelson, can't second a motion) to:
- Direct Bob Wernecke, the chair of the
Access Committee, to draft a letter to ANR on behalf of the Town in opposition
to the new petition. Note that we did not weigh in on Montpelier
- Take down the "No Trespassing" signs on the Town-owned wetlands bordering the pond on the southeastern side
- Sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Fish and Wildlife beginning the process of their lease and construction of an access point on the northeastern corner of the pond (This MOU should be on the town website shortly: http://berlinvt.org)
- Take down the "No Trespassing" signs on the Town-owned wetlands bordering the pond on the southeastern side
- Sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Fish and Wildlife beginning the process of their lease and construction of an access point on the northeastern corner of the pond (This MOU should be on the town website shortly: http://berlinvt.org)
3) Economic Development Committee goals
& report
Pat McDonald reported a number of items
the EDC is exploring, including the Local Option tax, as I presented at Town
Meeting, listing available properties on the town's web site, and convening a
meeting of business owners in Berlin
4) Solar panel grant
After some discussion of the costs and
benefits, the Board agreed that the Town Administrator should proceed with
exploring options for installing solar panels on Town buildings so that we can
apply for an up to 50% match from the State.
5) Berlin
I was appointed to the BVFD Board of
Directors as a representative of the Selectboard. There is still one position
on the BVFD board available for any Berlin
6) Water system
Though a few items are still in flux, such
as exactly when we start the construction bidding process and when to exercise
the option to purchase the Berlin Water Company, the water system project is
still moving ahead. If you haven't returned your contract indicating your
intention to hook up to the water system yet, you should do so soon. If you
return them before construction commences, you will not be charged the $1500
per ERU (so $1500 for a single-family residence, more for larger water
consumers) connection fee. The sooner we get the contracts in, the sooner we
can get the system going!
7) Green Up Day
Green Up Day is May 3. The Town is renting
a large dumpster, which will be placed near the town garage. The dumpster costs
will be reimbursed by the Central Vermont Solid Waste District. The Town will
post fliers and provide green-up trash bags and at the Town office and at
elementary school. As I understand it, the Highway Department will then drive
around and pick up bags left by the side of the road. I also understand that
the Subaru dealer is doing something similar.
8) Discussion of road maintenance
We had a good discussion about strategies
for maintaining roads, including some concerns from residents about Crosstown
and Junction Roads. We talked about the need for building up a capital budget
for big-ticket expenses like paving and rebuilding unpaved roads. How do all of
you feel in general about adding a little bit to the budget each year so that
we could put in place more long-lasting road fixes than the usual
add-more-gravel-and-regrade? We didn't get to talk about actual dollar amounts,
so I don't have a ballpark figure to share, but do let me know what you think.
Jeff also mentioned that the Town applied
for a state grant to repave a short portion of Paine Turnpike North that has
not been repaved in a number of years. Stay tuned!
Let me know if you have any questions!
Jeremy
279-6054
# posted by Corinne's blog of Berlin and area happenings @ 9:04 PM 
