Sunday, January 17, 2016
Berlin News to Know October 1st
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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
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For current news
look for "Berlin , Vermont
For historical
news look for "Berlin , Vermont
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NOTE:
The Vermont Emergency
Prepared Conference mentioned below is FREE and includes lunch but you must register to
attend. You're on your own for
transportation getting there and accommodations should you decide you need
them. While it's an annual conference,
this is the first time it's been held up at Jay Peak
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OCTOBER 12TH - Please note that for many, Monday, October 12th is a holiday.
The Town Clerk's Office is closed that day.
Below you will find:
THE BUILDING OF INTERSTATE
RECYCLING 101 ON OCTOBER
3RD
U-32 CHRONICLE IS
TRANSFORMING
BE PREPARED
BELSHER AND WOOD PERFORMING IN BERLIN
UPCOMING MEETINGS
SCHOOL BOARD OPENING
PTNA
VOLLEYBALL!!
BUS STOP CONVERSATIONS -
CURRENT ISSUE
DO YOU KEEP POULTRY?
LEARNING ABOUT OUR
COMMUNITY
BERLIN MALL MAY BE TOO LATE FOR TAX BREAK ON KOHL'S
KOHL'S DEVELOPER PREVAILS
ON PERMIT ISSUE
CHIEF DETAILS SCOPE OF
HEROIN PROBLEM
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THE BUILDING OF INTERSTATE MONTPELIER AND MIDDLESEX
Thursday, October 1 at 7pm - Middlesex Historical Society is sponsoring this
program. Slideshow of historical photographs narrated by David Newhall and
Manny Garcia. They will speak about the
effects of the construction of the Montpelier-Middlesex stretch of Interstate
89 from 1955 - 1958, emphasizing homes and properties removed. Middlesex Town Hall 7pm - 9pm . Free, donations
accepted.
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RECYCLING 101 ON OCTOBER 3RD
At the Capital City Grange Hall, 1260 Rte 12 South,
An informative session with Cassandra Hemenway, Zero Waste Outreach Coordinator, Central VT Solid Waste Management District. Learn about the new mandatory recycling requirements ('The Statewide Six'). Learn how you can deal with your specific recycling and composting issues.
GRANGE POTLUCK will
follow. (Free! Famous! Fabulous!)
You do not have to be a
member to attend this program! Everyone is welcome!
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U-32 CHRONICLE IS TRANSFORMING
The Chronicle is
transforming. Check out their new website "The Chronicle WCSU's Open Media
Platform" https://medium.com/the-chronicle and also their new
facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/u32chronicle.
There will no longer be a monthly print student newspaper. There will be a
magazine published twice during the school year, "The Washington Central
Zoo".
The Chronicle would
appreciate the links for their new endeavors be shared far and wide!
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BE PREPARED
There is no better time to
make sure you're prepared for unexpected events.
Find a Disaster
Preparedness Checklist and many other safety tips in the Family Emergency
Preparedness Workbook which can be found on line at http://vem.vermont.gov/preparedness
or pick up a copy at the Town Clerk's office.
The radio station WDEV AM
550 is an excellent source of local news.
Do you have a portable radio and fresh batteries?
Do you have food, water,
and other necessary supplies including any medications?
The Central VT Humane
Society has tips for Pet Preparedness
https://centralvermonthumane.org/pet-disaster-preparedness
Are you signed up for
VT-Alert? It's FREE . Go to:
www.vtalert.gov to sign up to receive warnings and emergency information via
the web, your cell phone, email, and other technologies. You can modify what
type of information your receive or unsubscribe at any time. It is a tool to provide you with critical
information when you may need it most.
If you are not able to sign up on line, you can call the Division of
Emergency Management and Homeland Security in Waterbury
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The 2015 Vermont Emergency Preparedness Conference will be held Tuesday
& Wednesday, October 20-21, 2015 at the Hotel Jay and Conference Center Jay , VT
This conference is the only statewide conference
dedicated to Emergency Preparedness in Vermont
For more information about
the conference, and to register, please visit the conference website. All
questions regarding the conference can be directed to Richard Cogliano at
Richard.Cogliano@Vermont.gov or 802-241-5097. If you need assistance with your
registration, please contact JoAnne Huie at JoAnneH@AllClearEMG.com or
336-802-1800.
https://sites.google.com/a/allclearemg.com/vtemergencyprepconference/
https://sites.google.com/a/allclearemg.com/vtemergencyprepconference/
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What images come to mind when you hear that a Vermont Inn is for
sale? One that you've stayed at? An old
sit-com or movie on TV? Do you think it
would be a fun adventure? Even if you're
not tempted to become an innkeeper check out this music video a Vermont Warren Vermont
www.sevendaysvt.com/LiveCulture/archives/2015/09/25/vermont-couple-make-diy-music-video-to-sell-their-inn?utm_content=buffer62eeb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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BELSHER AND WOOD
PERFORMING IN BERLIN
November 9th at 7:30pm at the Berlin Congregational Church don't miss an
amazing performance by fiddler Gordon Belsher and guitarist/vocalist Richard
Wood from Prince
Edward Island
www.rwood.ca/richard-wood-tour-schedule
Interested in a bit of a
preview? Check this out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v9qwKsPKR0
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UPCOMING MEETINGS
Selectboard, Monday,
October 5th 7pm
PTNA October 8th 6:30pm
Sewer Commission Oct. 12th
7pm at Town office
Planning Commission, Oct.
14th 6pm
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SCHOOL BOARD OPENING
If you would be interested
in helping to sustain a great school for all of Berlin 10/6/15 to the Berlin School Board.
Either e-mail it to Carl
Parton, vtdcs@toast.net, or send it to the Berlin School Board, 372 Paine
Turnpike North, Berlin , VT 05602
Please let us know:
- why you want to serve on the Berlin School Board,
- what you would bring to the board, and
- what you see as the role of the board and its members.
- why you want to serve on the Berlin School Board,
- what you would bring to the board, and
- what you see as the role of the board and its members.
Please plan to meet with
the Board on 10/12/15 at 6:30 p.m.
The Berlin Board is
responsible to appoint a new member to fill this vacancy. This members term
will end on Town Meeting Day 2016.
*
The school
board meeting from 9/14/15 can be seen at: http://vp.telvue.com/preview?id=T01221&video=248410
School board
minutes can be found at: http://berlinschool.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=130&Itemid=137
For more information
regarding serving on a school board, visit the Vermont School Boards
Association at www.vtvsba.org .
There is much information including a brochure:
www.vtvsba.org/Candidates11-12.pdf and
information on The Essential Work of School Board: www.vtvsba.org/work.html
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PTNA
The next Parent Teacher
Neighbor Association (PTNA) meeting will be held at Berlin Elementary School 6:30pm . This is a great opportunity to be involved with
the school. On October 30th PTNA will
host a Halloween Family Dance at the school.
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VOLLEYBALL!!
Again this year, there
will be Community Co-ed Adult Volleyball at Berlin Elementary School
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BUS STOP CONVERSATIONS - CURRENT ISSUE
Brian Slopey Receives
Outstanding Science Teacher Award.
Welcome new assistant
principal Jessica Barewicz.
Read our interview with
her, get the Rumney renovation update, see current events, board minutes and
the latest Parent Education Workshop, and see which school is #1 in the state
in the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge in the current issue of Bus Stop
Conversations: http://www.u32.org/grades9-12/images/pdf/bus_stop/bus_stop9.30.15.pdf
Also, if you’d like to
subscribe to Bus Stop Conversations and receive it in your in box every two
weeks during the school year, please send us an email. Send to: dwolf@u32.org with
"subscribe Bus Stop" in the subject.
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DO YOU KEEP POULTRY?
From the Agency of
Agriculture
If you raise chickens or turkeys, it is important for you to learn about Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
If you raise chickens or turkeys, it is important for you to learn about Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
While not known to impact
human health, this highly contagious poultry disease can be devastating to
chickens and turkeys, and the farmers who depend on them for their livelihood.
The disease is most
commonly spread to domestic poultry by infected waterfowl, through direct
contact or contact with droppings, during migration periods. Therefore, the
entire Northeast, including Vermont
While the HPAI outbreak
has not yet been identified in Vermont
If you raise poultry,
please visit: http://agriculture.vermont.gov/…/avian_influenza_preparedne…
Education and prevention
are key to minimizing the impact of the epidemic on poultry producers.
Thank you!
-The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets
-The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets
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LEARNING ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY
The next Berlin Historical
Society meetings are Tuesday, October 27th, and Tuesday, November 24th. The
meetings start at 7 pm, however, we're having fun arriving at 6:30 pm to watch
slideshows of photos which we've put captions on up on the big screen along
with viewing and/or listening to some of the old video & audio tapes that
we're in the process of digitizing. Our September meeting included a 15 minute DVD on Benjamin Falls
If you're not on our email list yet for agendas, minutes, and notices, please speak up if you'd like to be included. While it's not necessary to become a member to join us at the meetings, if any matters arise which require a vote, only dues paying members may vote. Members are also able to borrow books and DVDs from our collection. Dues are $10 for the year. Members also may purchase "A Place To Pass Through,Berlin , Vermont Small Airport Berlin , Vermont
In November we'll learn more about homes on the historic registers - how they get onto the register and the implications of being there.
To stop by the Historical Society at other times, you may find us there by chance with the "Open" sign on the door or you're most welcome to contact us to make an appointment - day, evening & weekend times are possible. Our phone is 552-8804 and email is historicalsociety@berlinvt.org
If you're not on our email list yet for agendas, minutes, and notices, please speak up if you'd like to be included. While it's not necessary to become a member to join us at the meetings, if any matters arise which require a vote, only dues paying members may vote. Members are also able to borrow books and DVDs from our collection. Dues are $10 for the year. Members also may purchase "A Place To Pass Through,
In November we'll learn more about homes on the historic registers - how they get onto the register and the implications of being there.
To stop by the Historical Society at other times, you may find us there by chance with the "Open" sign on the door or you're most welcome to contact us to make an appointment - day, evening & weekend times are possible. Our phone is 552-8804 and email is historicalsociety@berlinvt.org
www.berlinvt.org/community/berlin-historical-society
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A reminder that if you're
interested in the changes to Berlin's Zoning Regulations that information can
be found at Place Sense, questions can be directed to Tom Badowski 223-4405 or
the Berlin Planning Commission http://placesense.com/berlin
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BERLIN MALL MAY BE TOO LATE FOR
TAX BREAK ON KOHL'S
Pub. 9/23/15 Times Argus
by David Delcore
That’s because
According to the policy, all applications for tax stabilization must be “received and approved” before the commencement of construction. “No retroactive contracts will be considered,” it states.
In the case of Kohl’s, construction of the new 55,000-square-foot department store started weeks before the mall’s owner, Berlin Mall LLC, submitted an application for the town’s consideration.
That request, which has yet to be approved, was scheduled to be discussed by the town’s newly revived economic development committee on Tuesday night. The committee, which was also planning to renew its discussion about creating a local option tax for
Though the plain language of the policy seemingly precludes the Select Board from considering the mall owner’s belated request, members ignored less glaring technical deficiencies when they granted the same owner’s request for a five-year tax stabilization agreement for the Wal-Mart expansion project two years ago.
That vote wasn’t unanimous, but board members agreed at the time to overlook the fact that some of the required material — most notably a written estimate of construction costs — weren’t submitted with an application that a majority agreed met the spirit, if not the letter, of the tax stabilization policy.
In that case, board members were told construction of the addition was delayed in order for the project to qualify for tax stabilization.
That isn’t the case with Kohl’s. The shell of the department store, scheduled to open next year, is already standing on a parcel where bulldozers have been moving dirt since early August.
The timing of the mall’s latest request will be fresh ammunition for those who have openly questioned whether a program pitched as an incentive to lure new business to the community has devolved into a “thank you for coming” reward for development that would have happened anyway.
On the other hand, the $4.8 million Kohl’s project arguably meets all of the criteria outlined in the four-year-old policy.
Kohl’s is expected to add roughly 100 new full- and part-time jobs, and the project will strengthen Berlin’s retail base, and redevelop an underutilized and long-neglected parking area. The $4.8 million investment far exceeds the $200,000 threshold contemplated in the policy and will provide a jolt to the $15 million assessment for the mall complex.
A stabilization agreement would allow for that yet-to-be-quantified increase in assessed value to be phased in over five years for municipal tax purposes. The mall would be taxed on 10 percent of the new store in the first year of the agreement. That figure would increase to 20 percent in the second year, 40 percent in the third year, 60 percent in the fourth year and 80 percent in the fifth and final year of the agreement. In the sixth year, the mall would be taxed for municipal purposes based on the full fair market value of the store.
That’s the same incremental formula used in the three other tax stabilization agreements that have been approved since the policy went into effect.
The first of those agreements, approved in 2011, helped entice Vermont Mutual Insurance Co. to expand from
The mall is now in the second year of the five-year agreement it obtained for the Wal-Mart expansion and is paying municipal taxes based on 20 percent of the increased assessment tied to that project. That agreement runs through
The most recent agreement is for Northfield Savings Bank’s newly finished operations center on Paine Turnpike. Under the terms of that agreement, which runs through
Selectman Jeremy Hansen, who serves on the town’s economic development committee, voted against the two most recent agreements, which he equated to a taxpayer funded subsidy for plans to expand Wal-Mart and construct a new operations center for Northfield Savings Bank.
@Tagline:david.delcore
@timesargus.com
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KOHL'S DEVELOPER PREVAILS ON PERMIT ISSUE
Pub. 9/25/15 Times Argus
by David Delcore
However, the three-member commission does want evidence that “significant structural issues with the current system,” outlined in a 2014 maintenance report have been corrected before construction is complete.
Charles Storrow, the lawyer representing
Storrow said he was happy with the recently released four-page ruling that effectively resolves two pending motions involving the land use permit for the freestanding 55,000-square-foot store. The panel had approved that permit in late July.
Storrow had filed a motion urging the commission to alter a permit condition that would have required the stormwater system for the mall, which opened in 1987, to meet state standards for new development that went into effect in 2002.
The other motion was filed on behalf of the state Agency of Natural Resources, which approved a retrofit of the mall’s stormwater system in 2004 and most recently re-permitted it in 2010. The agency objected to the commission’s initial decision to impose stricter water treatment standards than the state-issued permits and the law currently require.
The agency separately approved a much smaller stormwater system to treat runoff from an additional 0.2 acre of impervious surface that will be created by the Kohl’s project.
ANR Deputy Secretary Trey Martin said he’d been briefed on the commission’s latest ruling.
“We think they came to the right conclusion,” Martin said, reiterating the agency’s position that permits issued by its technical experts typically carry with them a “presumption of compliance” that is very rarely overcome.
Without clear evidence that the agency’s experts erred in their analysis, Martin said, the commission shouldn’t have sought to impose stricter requirements as part of the Act 250 permit process.
In the end it didn’t.
The commission responded to the two motions by taking a significant step back from its initial position, while suggesting it was the product of a difference of interpretation.
“While the district commission recognizes that presumptive permits shall be afforded substantial deference … (it) also recognizes that the inability of the existing stormwater system to treat stormwater runoff and control the rate of discharge of stormwater from the majority of the Kohl’s site does not conform to the standards for new development as articulated in the 2002 stormwater manual,” the decision states.
“… The commission recognizes further that ANR, under the 2011 stormwater management rule, only considers a very small portion of the project site to be new development and, therefore, has not required the applicant to upgrade the existing stormwater system to meet the 2002 stormwater manual requirements,” it adds.
The commission did disagree with the agency’s claim that its earlier findings were being made on a “case by case basis” and somehow pre-empted a process that will require the development of new standards for stormwater treatment by 2018.
The commission did raise questions about problems with the mall’s existing stormwater system that were identified last year. As a condition of the newly altered permit, it has asked for evidence that those structural issues have been addressed.
Storrow said that won’t be a problem. He said construction of the Kohl’s store, which started shortly after the district commission issued the Act 250 permit nearly two months ago, is on schedule and the store is expected to open next spring.
@Tagline:david.delcore @timesargus.com
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CHIEF DETAILS SCOPE OF HEROIN PROBLEM
Pub. 9/25/15 Times Argus
by Gina Conn
“There are people who are killed for (the heroin) business, literally, and we’re up against a lot,” said Facos. “The heroin mills in the
He said that when it comes to heroin distribution there is more than one organization and “no clear head of the dragon to cut off.”
As long as there’s a demand for opiates in
During the last two and a half years there have been direct ties between people in
“That does not mean that the gangs are trying to get a foothold here, or recruit or anything like that. It just means that some of these criminal organization groups are using local folks and local networks to set up their business,” said Facos. “With these groups we are seeing guns and it’s still very dangerous for our officers, troopers and agents.”
He made a distinction between two types of drug dealers in
“You’ve got the addict dealer, and then you’ve got the scary dealer, the one that needs to be locked up and put away,” said Facos.
As an example of the first kind, he pointed to a recent case of a woman suspected of dealing heroin across from the elementary school in
“It was just to support her habit. She’s not a high-level trafficker bringing large quantites from the
Another example was a woman arrested at the
“That shows the addiction. It consumes them,” he said.
The other kind of dealer is dangerous.
For that, Facos pointed to a series of burglaries in
“These are people that I strongly feel need to be removed from the community, because that’s beyond,” he said. “God only knows with a bag full of guns what the outcome is for that.”
He said
Training on addiction is planned among these groups as well as the
Facos said the amount of heroin being seized in the Barre and
Another addition to the police force, according to Facos, will be Narcan. Also known as naloxone, Narcan is an emergency treatment for opioid overdoses.
“This truly is the wonder drug,” said Facos. “It’s saved hundreds and hundreds of Vermonters already.”
He said there have been fewer reported overdoses at the
“It’s like something out of TV,” said Facos. “Someone’s on the verge of death, and in minutes can be talking and having a conversation.”
Even though the number of overdoses is decreasing, numbers on the treatment side are going up, according to Facos.
Central Vermont New Directions Coalition Director Ann Gilbert and Ginny Burley, a prevention specialist, as well as Deborah Hopkins, executive director of Central Vermont Substance Abuse Services, were also at the meeting.
Facos said the coalition is a partner of the police department and an addiction resource.
“Facos works on supply side. We work on demand side,” said Burley.
“We — just in the last four months — were able to get rid of any waiting lists at the dosing clinic,” she said, “which is not the case in most of the state.” The clinic handles dosing of methadone or equivalent opiate alternatives.
The hub and spoke system was implemented to deal with the dramatic increase in addiction highlighted in Gov. Peter Shumlin’s State of the State address in January 2014. In the system, local physicians and counselors do assessment, treatment and coordination of care and provide ongoing medication and case management.
Detective Lt. John Merrigan, commander of the Vermont State Police Narcotics Investigation Unit, said on Sept. 9 the state needs more money, resources and narcotics officers to properly combat opiate problems.
Barre Mayor Thomas Lauzon has offered one suggestion of a way to raise money for addressing opiates.
He said he would support the legalization of marijuana on the condition most of its initial proceeds go to opiate treatment and prevention and additional law enforcement positions to disrupt heroin distribution networks. In an interview Thursday, Lauzon said he would like the first $50 million from legalized marijuana to go toward opiate treatment. He said the revenues from marijuana legalization are estimated at $75 million annually. “If you want to invest money where it will do the most good, let’s put it in the opiate problem,” he said.
Lauzon said he will be working closely with Montpelier Mayor John Hollar to combat the opiate issue in the Barre and
Gilbert said a community forum and panel for
“Doctors from ER and law enforcement and prevention and treatment will be there to give people a picture of what’s happening here,” she said.
She said communication between different addiction resources and law enforcement is key to moving forward and facing the opiate situation.
@Tagline:gina.conn @timesargus.com
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# posted by Corinne's blog of Berlin and area happenings @ 4:34 PM 
