Sunday, January 17, 2016

 

Berlin News to Know July 17th

BERLIN NEWS TO KNOW  July 17, 2015
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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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For current news look for "BerlinVermont" on facebook for a constant flow of information.  You don't need to be a facebook user to access it, but if you do use facebook, be sure to "Like" it:

For historical news look for "BerlinVermont Memories" on facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BerlinVermontMemories
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Below you will find:

DO GOOD FESTIVAL INCLUDES O.A.R.
BEN & JERRY'S OUTDOOR SUMMER MOVIE FESTIVAL IN WATERBURY
BARRE HERITAGE FESTIVAL
FRESH TRACKS FARM VINEYARD & WINERY
A SPECIAL PIZZA SHOP
TEXTING - GOLF CART HANDS-ON DEMONSTRATION
THUNDER ROAD - LONG TIME FAN OR THINKING ABOUT GOING?
WATER PROJECT UPDATE
LOCAL MEETINGS
BERLIN MAY SEEK SIDEWALK FUNDING FOR B-M ROAD

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DO GOOD FESTIVAL INCLUDES O.A.R.
The Do Good Fest has come back for a second year at National Life.  This event is sponsored by National Life, The Point, Seven Days, Montpelier Alive and the National Life Group Foundation.  This is a family friendly event but please leave your dogs at home.  Gates open at 2:30 and the festival gets under way at 3pm with children's activities.  Music on the main stage starts at 4pm.  There will be food trucks, a beer tent, and a nonprofit village for area charitable organizations to share their messages.  The parking fee is the only admission charge which is $10 per car before 5pm and $20 per vehicle after 5pm.  All parking proceeds will benefit the Branches of Hope Cancer Patient Fund.  There is parking for 2,000 cars at National Life but you're certainly welcome to park elsewhere and walk in.
On Stage
4-4:30 - Patti Casey and Colin McCaffrey
4:45-5:15 - Panama Wedding
5:30-6:30 - The Alternate Routes
7:30-9pm - O.A.R
Zeb Norris, The Point’s Program Director, said O.A.R is sure to be a big crowd pleaser “The guys in O.A.R. are awesome entertainers who can headline Madison Square Garden,” Norris said. “But they bent over backwards to do The Do Good Fest to help out with the great cause of supporting Branches of Hope and the Cancer Patient Fund at Central Vermont Medical Center. This promises to be a spectacular show, with our friends The Alternate Routes joining us, too!”
https://vtdigger.org/2015/05/31/o-a-r-to-headline-do-good-fest-2015-a-second-annual-music-festival/
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BEN & JERRY'S OUTDOOR SUMMER MOVIE FESTIVAL IN WATERBURY
Shows begin at dusk outside the scoop shop
Movie is projected on to a wall
Bring your own blankets/chairs
Free ice cream samples
2015 MOVIE FEATURES
7/4 Mockingjay Part 1 PG-13
7/11 Earth to Echo PG
7/18 Muppets Most Wanted PG
8/1 Big Hero 6 PG
8/8 Maleficent PG
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BARRE HERITAGE FESTIVAL
The Barre Heritage Festival has a variety of events taking place from July 22nd through July 26th.  Saturday, July 25th is when the parade kicks off at2pm and the fireworks are at 9:15pm.  Lots of great musical entertainment including Native Tongue with a street dance on Saturday night from 8pm - 11pm (they'll take a break during the fireworks).  Don't miss the Bathtub Race, Fiddle Show, and Car Show.  Take the time to check out the VermontGranite Museum and the Rock of Ages.  On Saturday morning 7:30-10 is the annual Barre Rotary Breakfast and Saturday afternoon is a chili eating competition.  Much, much more... so take a moment to look at the website.  http://barreheritagefestival.org/
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FRESH TRACKS FARM VINEYARD & WINERY
There are several positions to be filled at Fresh Tracks.  Check them out at:
http://freshtracksfarm.com/careers-join-the-fresh-tracks-family/

Also check their website for their special events which are becoming quite popular!
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A SPECIAL PIZZA SHOP
A good news story.  Wouldn't be great if these caught on all over?!
https://video-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xpt1/v/t43.1792-2/10873113_969924066381785_1207555844_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjE1MDAsInJsYSI6MzI5OX0%3D&rl=1500&vabr=880&oh=7d2407f1145db792b3d8a332e9209117&oe=55A9465B
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TEXTING - GOLF CART HANDS-ON DEMONSTRATION
When I was working for Gov. Hwy Safety I had the opportunity to hop into one of these golf carts and try out one of the coned courses they had set up to demo the program they had started bringing around to schools. Seems like it should be part of driving training for everyone. Perhaps set up at fairgrounds also to give folks who already have their licenses the opportunity.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2PfYWSmt-Y&feature=youtu.be
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THUNDER ROAD - LONG TIME FAN OR THINKING ABOUT GOING?
On July 7th Fox44 had eight interviews up at Thunder Road throughout their morning broadcast. Hats off to the TRoad staff and drivers who got up early to make it happen along with the Fox44 people. Whether you're a long time fan or thinking about heading up to TRoad to watch your first race, these short informative segments are for you.
Seven of the eight interviews are at the first link: 
http://www.mychamplainvalley.com/…/2…/j5_XAnOBlUq-VwlaQiAufg
This second link is for the Nick Sweet interview. Chronologically it actually came after the interview with Derrick. It's the one I happened to see live on TV this morning and it is indeed what live TV is all about... up at the Nation's Site of Excitement!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol3fAKQ6nXI
For more information find Thunder Road Speed Bowl athttp://www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com or on facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/TRoadSpeedbowl
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WATER PROJECT UPDATE
From the Town Administrator, Dana Hadley -
The water project is progressing well. The work crew is working to finish installation on Airport Road. Currently the line runs from the wells on Dodge Farm Road down Airport Road and from Route 62-Fisher Road up Airport almost to COOS Trail. Crews are working towards each other. (Kind of like the Continental Railroad work of 1869).

DN Tanks, a subcontractor of Munson Earthmovers is on site and building, assembling and installing the 400,000 gallon water storage tank. They have been at the site for three weeks, preparing the site, and making the bottom, sides and top of the tank. This is done using forms and pouring cement. A crane is scheduled for next week to be on site to begin lifting the pieces into place. Sort of like making a barrel.

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PAVING
Thought this upcoming work was worth mentioning again:
All or parts of six roads will be resurfaced this season - Pine Hill Drive, School Street, Lovers Lane, Chandler Road and Crosstown Road in Riverton, as well as a section of Scott Hill Road.  Paving where it is currently paved, not adding pavement to any dirt sections.  Due to favorable bids, the board was able to add additional paving to parts of Evergreen Drive, Highland Avenue and Partridge Farm Road 
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LOCAL MEETINGS
The Selectboard meets July 20th and both the Planning Commission & Historical Society  meet Wednesday, July 22nd all meetings are at 7pm at the Town office.  
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BERLIN MAY SEEK SIDEWALK FUNDING FOR B-M ROAD
Pub. 7/8/15 Times Argus by David Delcore
   BERLIN — Sidewalks for the Barre-Montpelier Road aren’t arriving anytime soon, but they could be coming and would be a welcome addition on a commercial strip that is in the midst of a recent round of redevelopment.
   So says Lucy Gibson, a consultant with DuBois & King Inc., who has spent the past year spearheading an in-depth analysis of the stretch of state highway that runs between Barre and
Montpelier and was built for cars and not much else.
   That should change based on the findings of a study now in near-final form, which was the subject of a second public hearing hosted by the Select Board this week.
   Citing projects that were either recently completed, under construction or in the works, Gibson told the board it should think seriously about incorporating amenities that would make the strip both safer and more accessible.
   “There should be sidewalks with this much activity, this much business and this much growth,” she said.

Though the projected cost of constructing sidewalks — which would run along at least one side of the Barre-Montpelier Road between the Wayside Restaurant and the Price Chopper plaza — is nearly $1.5 million, Gibson said the sidewalk could be constructed in segments and the town could apply for a bicycle and pedestrian grant from the state Agency of Transportation later this month 
   “The timing is perfect if you’re interested in jumping forward with this,” she said, noting the grants are competitive and the application deadline is July 17.
   With the deadline looming the board appeared open to applying for a state grant that would make one of the town’s busiest roads considerably more pedestrian-friendly. However, board members left the decision of whether to apply now or wait a year to Town Administrator Dana Hadley.
   Hadley said he planned to consult with VTrans representatives and the board before deciding whether to pursue funding for four of the five segments of sidewalk identified in the consultant-led study.
   Those four segments involve the construction of roughly one mile — 5,264 linear feet — of sidewalk that would run from the Wayside Restaurant to the Vermont State Employees Credit Union building, and cost an estimated $1.2 million. If the town obtained a grant under the VTrans program, the local match would be roughly $120,000.
   According to Gibson, those estimates would take what would likely be a yearslong project from design through construction. If all went well she said the sidewalk could be ready to be built in 2019.
   Board members were told the town would be responsible for making sure the proposed sidewalks were plowed in the winter.
   “That’s probably one of the bigger costs to the town in the long term,” Gibson said, suggesting it was decidedly different from another key recommendation contained in the study that will be developed at virtually no cost to the town.
   This Gibson described as “a paint job” — a plan to create buffered bike lanes on both sides of the
Barre-Montpelier Road from the Wayside to the Price Chopper plaza that is commonly referred to as a “road diet” because it shrinks the traveled way for motor vehicles in order to create roadside lanes dedicated for cyclists.
   The state plans on incorporating those lanes, at least on a trial basis, when it repaves the
Barre-Montpelier Road later this year or early next year. Before the final coat of asphalt is applied a decision will be made whether to retain the bike lanes, which Gibson said would be painted and plowed at the state’s expense.
   According to the study, reducing the number of lanes from five to three in one area and three to two in another would add an estimated 13 seconds onto the two-minute travel time between the Wayside and Price Chopper, and slow the average speed of motorists by about two-miles-per hour — from 21.3 to 19.3 mph.
   Gibson said slightly slower speeds and a reduced number of potential conflicts on a narrower traveled way should translate into fewer accidents while accomplishing the study’s main goal.
   “The primary purpose is to provide for safe bicycle and pedestrian transportation in the corridor,” she said, noting the state highway was not constructed with those users in mind, as evidenced by the absence of sidewalks and narrow shoulders as well as limited crosswalks.
   The study recommends addressing those shortcomings and potentially allowing for a landscaped streetscape down the road. Three new crosswalks have been proposed in addition to the three that exist at the signalized intersections in the study area. Plans call for adding one crosswalk at Overlook Drive, where the building that most recently housed Simply Subs 2 was recently demolished, a 5,400-square-foot office building is now under construction and plans call for construction of 54 units of hillside housing in that area. A second crossing has been proposed just north of the Wayside and the third would be installed in the vicinity of the credit union.
   According to Gibson, the recommended improvements, which involve the relocation of at least one existing bus stop and the creation of a new one, would do more than make the
Barre-Montpelier Road more accessible.
   “It actually should make this a better business district,” she said.
   The board, which previously agreed to test drive the “road diet” as part of a paving project that was originally supposed to occur earlier this year, hasn’t yet decided how it feels about sidewalks and wouldn’t be committing to anything if Hadley opts to apply for the grant recommended by Gibson by the July 17 deadline.
   @Tagline:david.delcore @timesargus.com



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