Saturday, October 01, 2016
Berlin News to Know August 26, 2016
BERLIN NEWS TO
KNOW August 26, 2016
*
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.
*
For current news
look for "Berlin, Vermont" 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 "Berlin, Vermont Memories" on facebook.
***********************
Note:
Did you catch the “French Fry Tour”
segments on WCAX this summer? It’s worth
going to www.wcax.com and searching for them. Excellent places to go visit. Visiting some of these places while out on
the road for the 251 Club might be a mighty fine combination.
Below you will find:
SOCCER SIGN-UPS – DEADLINE SEPT. 2ND
ANNUAL USED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT SALE
JOB OPENING AT BERLIN ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
BERLIN HISTORICAL
SOCIETY – PERRIN FAMILY HISTORY
KNAPP AIRPORT
EVENT
VERMONT PHOTO
CONTEST WINNERS
BICYCLE LAWS
UPCOMING MEETINGS
AND CHANGES
BERLIN RENOVATION PROJECT INFORMATION
BERLIN
ELEMENTARY NEEDS $3 MILLION FIX
FARMERS TO YOU OPENS PICK
UP SITE IN BERLIN
***********************
SOCCER SIGN-UPS –
DEADLINE SEPT. 2ND
If your Berlin Elementary student is interested in playing
soccer please note, sign-ups END on Friday, September 2, 2016
Participation forms can be obtained by emailing the Berlin AD,
Bill Gant, bgant23@yahoo.com or from the front office at school.
Completed forms should be returned to school via your student,
dropped off at the front office or emailed to your AD, bgant23@yahoo.com.
Any questions please email Bill Gant, bgant23@yahoo.com.
***
***
ANNUAL USED MUSICAL
INSTRUMENT SALE
Saturday, August
27th is the Annual Used Musical Instrument Sale at the Bethany
Church on Main Street in Montpelier. Doors open 9am.
***
***
JOB OPENING AT BERLIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Full time facilities supervision position
at Berlin Elementary School is now open https://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=2704257
***
***
BERLIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY – PERRIN FAMILY HISTORY
Tuesday, August
30th the Berlin Historical Society meets with David Perrin who
will be speaking of the history of the Perrin family in Berlin. This
will be at the Town office and although the meeting starts at 7pm, you’re
welcome to come early (6:30pm) to look at his display and visit.
***
***
KNAPP AIRPORT EVENT
Save the date of
Saturday, September 24th for the Vermont Aviation Extravaganza
at the Knapp Airport, 10am – 4pm, with a rain date of Sept 25th. More
details to come.
***
***
VERMONT PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS
These Summer in
Vermont photos are amazing
***
***
BICYCLE LAWS
There has been a lot in the news
about bicycle riding and what the laws are. A courtesy when bicycling on a bike
path and you come up behind somebody walking is to say in a nice loud voice
"On your left" - hardly anybody seems to do so. Here's a link to the
Vermont Bike Laws:http://thegmbc.com/VTBikeLaws.pdf
***
***
UPCOMING MEETINGS AND CHANGES
The Town offices
will be closed on Monday, September 5th and because of the
holiday the Selectboard will meet Wednesday, September 7th 7pm.
*
The Development
Review Board meeting for Sept. 6th is cancelled.
*
The Berlin
Emergency Management Team meets on Thursday, September 8th 6:30pm
at the fire department.
***
***
BERLIN RENOVATION PROJECT
INFORMATION
On Tuesday,
August 30th at 6pm members of the Berlin School Renovation
Project will meet with the school board at the school. This is your
opportunity to weigh in on the decision to have a $3 million bond vote go
before the voters. Failing systems, building safety, energy efficiency, code
compliance and student needs have been looked at and there is a proposal for a
bond vote in November. Please attend. Call Chris Winters
with any questions 223-8101.
Two pages of information can be found at this link:
BERLIN ELEMENTARY NEEDS $3 MILLION FIX
Pub.
8/24//16 Times Argus by David Delcore
BERLIN — Following a summer-long assessment
of the physical shortcomings of Berlin’s aging elementary school, a committee
is poised to recommend the School Board add a proposed $3 million fix to the
ballot in November.
That recommendation is scheduled to be delivered during a special meeting Tuesday when the board huddles with a committee that has been working with a local architect on a proposal that now has a price tag and a defined scope of work.
Both are subject to change by the board, which isn’t obligated to accept the committee’s recommendation, but isn’t likely to ignore it either.
The board has already invested in the services of architect John Hemmelgarn and expressed interest in addressing facilities shortcomings that have persisted — and in some cases gotten worse — since voters rejected a $3 million bond issue in 2005.
Board members could opt to restore work that was cut by the committee in an effort to bring down the bottom line, or go in the other direction and cut more deeply than committee members considered prudent.
If the board wants to ask voters to approve a bond issue in November it will have to act relatively quickly. It just missed the deadline for having the measure added to the ballot the state will prepare for the Nov. 8 general election, but still has until later next month to finalize language and order a supplemental ballot that could be counted separately.
While the board has decisions left to make, the committee’s work is now done. During a series of summer meetings that wrapped up last week, the panel — a mix of board members, former board members and town residents — was able to get the cost of the project they are prepared to recommend just below the $3-million-mark that some viewed as a political must.
An extra handicapped-accessible restroom, new telephone and public address systems, and plans to repave the school entrance off Paine Turnpike were among a lengthy list of items — an estimated $300,000 in all — cut by the committee at its final meeting.
The product of a process that sought to prioritize the mounting needs of a 47-year-old school building, while remaining mindful of the tolerance of taxpayers who will have to foot the bill for any improvements is what committee members view as a no-frills proposal.
“We realize it’s a lot to ask of taxpayers, but there is nothing on this bond that is frivolous or a luxury,” said School Director Chris Winters, who has served as chairman of the committee and plans to pitch the proposal to his colleagues next week.
Much of the work — including bringing the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, meeting state fire codes and improving school security — were contemplated in the failed 2005 bond issue, though the costs have climbed, and the building has aged.
The committee’s proposal acknowledges the need to upgrade or replace the building’s key infrastructure. An estimated $400,000 has been targeted for replacing the school’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, another $300,000 would be spent on lighting and electrical upgrades and a similar amount would be spent on the school’s floors and ceilings. Add in $275,000 for plumbing and $600,000 in soft costs, which range from engineering and permitting to a 10 percent contingency — and the project is approaching $2 million.
Abating asbestos is expected to add roughly $250,000 to that cost and making ADA-related upgrades represent another $200,000 of the total price tag.
Though no addition is being proposed, as was the case in 2005, improvements to the building envelope — including windows and doors — represent $125,000 of the project cost and security-related improvements would add another $125,000. The committee has included $75,000 for resurfacing the floor of a gymnasium that doubles as a cafeteria and replacing the tables, and has proposed spending $25,000 addressing fire code compliance issues.
david.delcore @timesargus.com
That recommendation is scheduled to be delivered during a special meeting Tuesday when the board huddles with a committee that has been working with a local architect on a proposal that now has a price tag and a defined scope of work.
Both are subject to change by the board, which isn’t obligated to accept the committee’s recommendation, but isn’t likely to ignore it either.
The board has already invested in the services of architect John Hemmelgarn and expressed interest in addressing facilities shortcomings that have persisted — and in some cases gotten worse — since voters rejected a $3 million bond issue in 2005.
Board members could opt to restore work that was cut by the committee in an effort to bring down the bottom line, or go in the other direction and cut more deeply than committee members considered prudent.
If the board wants to ask voters to approve a bond issue in November it will have to act relatively quickly. It just missed the deadline for having the measure added to the ballot the state will prepare for the Nov. 8 general election, but still has until later next month to finalize language and order a supplemental ballot that could be counted separately.
While the board has decisions left to make, the committee’s work is now done. During a series of summer meetings that wrapped up last week, the panel — a mix of board members, former board members and town residents — was able to get the cost of the project they are prepared to recommend just below the $3-million-mark that some viewed as a political must.
An extra handicapped-accessible restroom, new telephone and public address systems, and plans to repave the school entrance off Paine Turnpike were among a lengthy list of items — an estimated $300,000 in all — cut by the committee at its final meeting.
The product of a process that sought to prioritize the mounting needs of a 47-year-old school building, while remaining mindful of the tolerance of taxpayers who will have to foot the bill for any improvements is what committee members view as a no-frills proposal.
“We realize it’s a lot to ask of taxpayers, but there is nothing on this bond that is frivolous or a luxury,” said School Director Chris Winters, who has served as chairman of the committee and plans to pitch the proposal to his colleagues next week.
Much of the work — including bringing the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, meeting state fire codes and improving school security — were contemplated in the failed 2005 bond issue, though the costs have climbed, and the building has aged.
The committee’s proposal acknowledges the need to upgrade or replace the building’s key infrastructure. An estimated $400,000 has been targeted for replacing the school’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, another $300,000 would be spent on lighting and electrical upgrades and a similar amount would be spent on the school’s floors and ceilings. Add in $275,000 for plumbing and $600,000 in soft costs, which range from engineering and permitting to a 10 percent contingency — and the project is approaching $2 million.
Abating asbestos is expected to add roughly $250,000 to that cost and making ADA-related upgrades represent another $200,000 of the total price tag.
Though no addition is being proposed, as was the case in 2005, improvements to the building envelope — including windows and doors — represent $125,000 of the project cost and security-related improvements would add another $125,000. The committee has included $75,000 for resurfacing the floor of a gymnasium that doubles as a cafeteria and replacing the tables, and has proposed spending $25,000 addressing fire code compliance issues.
david.delcore @timesargus.com
***
***
FARMERS TO YOU OPENS PICK UP SITE IN BERLIN
Exciting news - Farmers To You Opens Pick up Site in Berlin, VT!
Would you like to: Support local farming families, eat
nutrient-rich everyday staples, and conveniently order groceries online?
Then join us! Go to www.farmerstoyou.com to create an
account and place an order. We’re offering 5% off to all Vermonters.
Farmers To You has been bringing fresh, organic food from
Vermont’s farms to hundreds of families in the Boston area for six years. Now,
we want to share this glorious bounty with you. We’ve carefully selected over
50 farms who we believe are doing the best work: taking care of the land, being
good neighbors, taking care of their workers, and producing superior products.
Each week, we also bring up fresh saltwater fish from small boat
fishermen and women in Massachusetts.
Our first pickup location is at our Hub, the red warehouse next to
BlueCross BlueShield beside the Berlin Airport, every Wednesday between noon and 6 pm.
***
# posted by Corinne's blog of Berlin and area happenings @ 7:14 PM 
