Board to face agency requests
Published: December 1, 2008
Forget Christmas, it's almost time to start thinking about Town Meeting Day.
Or, at least, that's what will be on the minds of the aldermen at tonight's meeting.
Dominating the agenda are seven requests from city organizations to have appropriations requests for the next fiscal year placed on the March ballot. Here's a quick look at what you're likely to see in March:
The largest among these requests is one from the Marble Valley Regional Transit District for $46,140, which the board already approved Nov. 3 to place on the March ballot. This time, the request is accompanied by a one-page annual report to the city.
That request is followed in size by one from the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice, which is submitting a level-funded request for $43,000, which will be divided between the hospice and home and community health services. According to RAVNAH, last year, its staff made more than 98,000 visits to 2,532 homes with about a third of its services provided to city residents.
The Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging has also submitted a ballot item request seeking the same level of funding — $36,975 — as it did last March. Although it's submitted as one request on behalf of the Council on Aging, only $20,000 of those funds goes to operate the council. The rest would be divided between several programs: One-2-One, which provides volunteer transportation to Rutland County senior citizens and physically-challenged adults on Medicaid; the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and the InterAge Program.
Another one of the requests comes from the Association for Retarded Citizens — Rutland Area, which sees most of its funding come from the United Way and city residents, according to Executive Director Lisa Lynch. The organization doesn't receive state or federal funding. This year, the organization is seeking $35,900, which is identical to last year's request.
Two of the requests are in the amount of $10,000, and come from the BROC — Community Action in Southwestern Vermont and the Rutland County Community Land Trust. In part with the funding received from city voters, BROC last year helped more than 2,800 people in the city meet their basic needs. The organization helped to weatherize 57 homes and it reimbursed 18 home day-care providers for serving nutritious meals to more than 180 children and aided 76 residents interested in starting or expanding a small business, according to the accompanying letter from BROC Executive Director Linda Rooker. The Community Land Trust would use its funding to help provide affordable housing solutions in the city.
Lastly, Vermont Adult Learning — Rutland County, which last year provided 303 city residents with more than 8,800 hours of instruction as they sought high school diplomas, GEDs, and job skill training, is asking for $9,000 from residents.
If the Nov. 17 Board of Aldermen meeting taught me anything, it is that forecasting the length of the meeting is a waste of everyone's time. You won't see any more of that from me.
Also happening in the city:
At its last meeting, the traffic committee discussed the enforcement of several laws that are frequently violated. First, for drivers — recently a no-turn on red light was installed at Park Street. Police are enforcing it, and a "tattle-tale" light has been installed in the southbound lane at South Main Street and Main Street. As the name suggests, this small, red "tattle-tale" light would tip off an officer sitting down the road if you took the right on red. And for promoters — there is a maximum fine of $500 for posting signs on poles. A number of signs have been popping up again and city employees and police will be removing them and working on fining establishments responsible for signs it removes, according to Police Chief Anthony Bossi.
Sharpen your skates. Likely you already know that the Giorgetti Arena is open for the season, but from 1:30 to 4:20 p.m. Sunday the Recreation Department will hold an open house to showcase its extensive renovations, including a new lobby and new locker rooms. I'll have more about the facility's face-lift this week.
Contact Stephanie M. Peters at stephanie.peters@rutlandherald.com.
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