Thursday, July 03, 2014
News to Know July 3, 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
***********************
NOTE:
Happy Fourth of July! If
you're looking for some fun festivities: http://www.wcax.com/story/25862063/4th-of-july-celebration-festivities
(there are additional activities listed in the comments on that page)
Tune
into WDEV to see if the anticipated weather today changes any of the plans for Montpelier
*
Take a minute to refresh what you know about
lightning safety (see below) and be sure to share the information with your
kids!
*
Below you will find:
LIGHTNING SAFETY - BE SAFE
LOOKING FOR HOUSE RENTAL
JEFF DANZIGER AT KELLOGG-HUBBARD
LIBRARY JULY 9TH
UPCOMING HOSPITAL HILL ROAD
TOWN OF BERLIN
REGIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY
***********************
LIGHTNING SAFETY - BE SAFE
http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/tips.htm
*
Lightning: What You Need
To Know
NO PLACE outside is
safe when thunderstorms are in the area!!
If you hear thunder,
lightning is close enough to strike you.
When you hear thunder, immediately move
to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an
enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up.
Stay in safe shelter at
least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.
*
Indoor Lightning Safety
Stay off corded phones,
computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with
electricity.
Avoid plumbing, including
sinks, baths/showers and faucets.
Stay away from windows and
doors, and stay off porches.
Do not lie on concrete
floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.
*
Last Resort Outdoor Risk
Reduction Tips
If you are caught
outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following
actions may reduce your risk:
Immediately get off
elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks
Never lie flat on the
ground
Never shelter under an
isolated tree
Never use a cliff or rocky
overhang for shelter
Immediately get out and
away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water
Stay away from objects
that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.)
***
***
LOOKING FOR HOUSE RENTAL
Family with two teenagers looking
for a 3 (or more) bedroom house to rent in the U-32 school district with a
10-12 month lease. Country setting preferred and the closer to I89 the better —
Berlin
***
***
JEFF
DANZIGER AT KELLOGG-HUBBARD LIBRARY JULY 9TH
Jeff Danziger, a longtime political
cartoonist, will speak at Kellogg-Hubbard Library on July 9 at 6:30 p.m. about his latest book, “The Conscience of a Cartoonist,” an
account of America
“Danziger documents, via cartoons and extensive educational commentary, the tragedy of that day and the politically disorganized response that followed,” according to a news release for the event.
The coffee table book is “also his elucidation on the art of editorial cartooning.”
Bear Pond Books will be selling copies of his book at the event, which Danziger will sign.
Danziger is a political cartoonist syndicated by The New York Times worldwide. He was a finalist for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize, won the 2006 Herblock Prize and the 2008 Thomas Nast Prize, and is a decoratedVietnam
Danziger was included in the recent French documentary “Cartoonists: Foot Soldiers of Democracy.” It was shown at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, which he attended.
His cartoons will be on exhibit at the library during July and August.
“Danziger documents, via cartoons and extensive educational commentary, the tragedy of that day and the politically disorganized response that followed,” according to a news release for the event.
The coffee table book is “also his elucidation on the art of editorial cartooning.”
Bear Pond Books will be selling copies of his book at the event, which Danziger will sign.
Danziger is a political cartoonist syndicated by The New York Times worldwide. He was a finalist for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize, won the 2006 Herblock Prize and the 2008 Thomas Nast Prize, and is a decorated
Danziger was included in the recent French documentary “Cartoonists: Foot Soldiers of Democracy.” It was shown at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, which he attended.
His cartoons will be on exhibit at the library during July and August.
***
***
UPCOMING HOSPITAL HILL ROAD
"Tentatively we are starting the closure on July 8th now. We are
also going to work 24 hours a day to get the repair completed in 15 days, to
lessen the impact on the public." "Hospital Hill" in Berlin Barre-Montpelier Road Berlin , Vermont
***
***
TOWN OF BERLIN
The Town Offices will be closed on Friday, July 4th.
*
The next Selectboard meeting is Monday, July 7th at 7pm at the town office.
As a reminder, potential water system users who return their
signed commitment form prior to the project going out to bid will have the
connection fee waived. This is potentially a $1,000-$1,500 savings.
The Selectboard anticipates placing the water supply project out to bid at
their July 7th meeting,
so send in your completed form as soon as possible if you want to take
advantage of this savings. Of course you can submit your commitment form
after the project has been put out to bid, however, your connection fee
will not be waived.
*
The Economic
Development Committee will meet on Wednesday, July 9th at 5:30pm at the town office.
*
The Planning
Commission meets the 2nd and
4th Wednesdays of the
month with their next meetings being on July 9th and 23rd at 7pm at the town office. They’re currently discussing
subdivision regulations.
*
The Town
Clerk’s office will be closed Thursday, July 10th and the Treasurer’s office will be
closed Friday, July 11th
*
The
Development Review Board will next meet on Tuesday, July 15th at 7pm at the town office. Agendas are published in the Times
Argus, are posted on the board at the town office, and can be found on the town
website www.berlinvt.org.
***
***
REGIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY
The Select Board is doing what’s best for Berlin
Pat McDonald, a former two-term state lawmaker, and
candidate for the Vermont Senate, leaves no doubt as to where and with
whom her allegiance lies when she says, “The administration as well as the
legislature wants to see the authority succeed and hopefully be repeated
throughout the State. I want to get our town on board up front” (Times Argus 3/28/14 ).
One can only come away from that quote
realizing it is not what’s best for Berlin that is driving McDonald to
circulate a petition overruling the Select Board and requesting residents to
blindly vote about regional public safety to meet her goal of getting “our
town on board up front.”
In the few years I've been on the
select board I have seen firsthand how a few phone calls, e-mails, name
recognition, and a little leg work can influence a situation like this because
so few people in Berlin
It’s a lot easier to influence a small
number of voters then it is to change the minds of a dedicated select board.
Public safety is not a one time cost to be paid for by user fees like the water
bond. It’s a forever expense that quite likely could be dictated by Barre
and Montpelier Berlin
I have read the public safety charter
four times complete with highlighter and pen in hand, and for the life of me
cannot figure out why anyone would suggest that Berlin
I don’t need to sit down at the table
and have further discussions to know we should stop right here. There are
simply too many differences between “us” and “them” for Berlin Montpelier Barre City
If McDonald was interested in doing
what’s best for her own hometown instead of advancing her political aspirations
and the agenda of the administration and legislature, I’m confident we wouldn't
even be talking about this. On November 6, 2013 , at a publicly warned meeting, the
Berlin Select Board withdrew from the authority and didn’t hear anything about
it again until McDonald announced her candidacy for the senate in 2014.
I hope the residents of Berlin Berlin
Peter Kelley
pkselectboard@yahoo.com
(802) 476 7391
***
***
Pub. 7/2/14 Times Argus by David Delcore
On Tuesday night Malone was scheduled to appear before Berlin’s Development Review Board to pitch his plan to clear the lot that is home to three buildings — one that houses Newhouse Furniture and Barre Electric Supply, and two side-by-side shedlike structures occupied by Rubber Bubbles party store and a shop that specializes in countertops. A small storage structure would also be razed as part of the $2.2 million redevelopment project that Malone has proposed for the 2.9-acre parcel, which sits between the
Malone wasn’t expecting to get an answer Tuesday night, and the review board is scheduled to continue the hearing July 15.
However, after months of speculation about what Malone had in mind for the property that he acquired from the Newhouse family for $1.6 million, at least one question has been answered. His preference isn’t to rehab any of the existing buildings, but to start from scratch.
Plans submitted on Malone’s behalf call for the construction of three buildings on the site. Those would be configured differently from the ones they would replace, allowing for a vastly expanded parking area.
Assuming he is able to obtain permits for the project, Malone said the future tenant mix is a huge question mark — a fact that is underscored in his application.
“Specific uses for each building are unknown at this time,” the application states, holding open the door for a broad range of commercial uses, from office and retail to a restaurant.
Since Malone acquired the property, rumors about potential tenants have ranged from a Goodwill thrift store to an Olive Garden restaurant, though none has been substantiated.
According to the plans, the new main building — at 15,600 square feet — would be noticeably smaller and set significantly farther back from the road than the 24,100-square-foot building currently occupied by Newhouse Furniture and Barre Electric. Pushing the main building closer to the rear lot line shared with the Price Chopper plaza would create space for four full rows of parking in front, according to the plans, which indicate that center lot would include just over 100 of the 139 parking spaces in the project.
According to plans prepared by DeWolfe Engineering Associates Inc., the balance of the spaces would be dedicated to two separate structures that would bookend the main building. One of the two smaller buildings would be parallel to the entrance to the Price Chopper plaza and perpendicular to the
The other building would be roughly 6,900 square feet and would be constructed along with 20 parking spaces on the portion of the property where Rubber Bubbles and the countertop shop are currently located and near where the entrance to the entire complex is planned.
The consolidation of the entrance and exit would eliminate two of the three grandfathered curb cuts that span the majority of the property and would create separation from the entrance to the Price Chopper plaza.
Although the entire parcel is in the federally mapped flood hazard area, none of it is in the more restrictive floodway. Plans call for “significant filling” of the site so the proposed buildings can be constructed with first floors that are 1 foot above the base flood elevation. Malone would need to truck in enough fill to raise the grade of the site nearly 7 feet to allow the new buildings to be constructed above the base flood elevation.
The plans call for a net reduction in combined square footage on the site. The existing buildings collectively cover 33,727 square feet, not counting the storage building, while the proposed structures would cover a combined 29,100 square feet, according to the application.
Malone said his plans for the property will almost certainly require at least the temporary relocation of all of the current tenants and that he has tried to be as accommodating as possible given the uncertainty of the permit process.
“I’m trying to give all of the tenants as much notice and as many options as I can,” he said.
At least one of his current tenants, Rubber Bubbles owner Debbie Hemmings, said she has had preliminary conversations with Malone about an alternate location, though the one he suggested was out of her price range. Hemmings said Malone hasn’t indicated when he hopes to start work — in part because he hasn’t yet obtained the permits he’ll need — but she is bracing to move the business she opened in 1990.
“I know it’s inevitable,” she said.
Malone said he has reached out to all of the current tenants, offering them alternative space, while stressing he is at the front end of what could be a very time-consuming process given the need to obtain various state and local permits.
“This process could take a couple of years,” he said. “I hope not, but it could.”
Malone is shifting his focus to the
According to Malone, all but 2,500 square feet of that building has been spoken for. Next month, he said, Fastenal will move its store from another building he owns at the base of Gallison Hill into the Dollar General building, and Ormsby’s Computer Store will relocate from downtown Barre to the
@Tagline:david.delcore @timesargus.com
***
***
BERLIN
Pub 7/2/14 Times Argus by Neal Goswami
The site of the new, 25-bed
“This is the shining example of how to turn tragedy into opportunity,” Shumlin, a second-term Democrat, said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday morning.
The hospital sits on more than 5 acres adjacent to
Officials said the
Another temporary facility in Middlesex hasn’t yet been slated to close.
“This is a big day for
The inpatient beds will serve Vermonters with acute mental health treatment needs, with other outpatient services available in communities across the state. The Shumlin administration and lawmakers opted for the distributed system of care that allows mental health patients to receive treatment closer to their home communities.
“Today marks over two years of the creation and the expansion of our mental health system,” said Mental Health Commissioner Paul Dupre. “A lot of hard work has gone in. This building is just one piece of a large system of care throughout our community. All the hospitals in the state of
The governor said he opted against rebuilding the site in
“As long as I’ve been in politics in
He thanked the health care personnel and law enforcement officers across the state who “have all risen to the challenge and delivered the best care they could under extraordinarily difficult circumstances” after the closing of the state hospital.
Human Services Commissioner Doug Racine noted the effort state employees have made to continue caring for their patients, even as they were displaced and moved to different locations.
“Throughout this whole crisis, and it’s been an ongoing crisis as the governor said, they and so many people have stepped up,”
The hospital cost $28.5 million to construct. The Federal Emergency Management Agency covered $12.5 million, while insurance paid $3.5 million. The state contributed $12.4 million to the effort.
Shumlin said the state’s newest facility and its system of care will improve the lives of Vermonters struggling with mental illness.
“We have learned from the mistakes of the past. We know that mental health patients, historically, have been discriminated against when compared to other diseases.
@Tagline:neal.goswami @timesargus.com
***
# posted by Corinne's blog of Berlin and area happenings @ 5:55 AM 
