Cavendish Update 12/21/18: SB Mtg/News/Events

This issue of the Cavendish Update has been made possible in part by a donation from Liz Bammerito. Thank you for your continued support.

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12/21/18 Cavendish Update

1. Cavendish Select Board Meeting 12/10/18

2. Cavendish Related News

3. Events

1. CAVENDISH SELECT BOARD MEETING 12/10/18: Select board (SB) meetings are recorded by Okemo Valley TV and are available at their website and on Comcast Television.  Written minutes are available at the town’s website.

Action Taken

• Agreed that the $4,966 VT Community Development Program refund check could be earmarked for the rehabilitation of the space vacated by the old Town Highway Garage.

• Accepted Mike Ripley’s letter of resignation as Emergency Management Coordinator with regret and appointed Robert C. Glidden as the Emergency Management Coordinator for the remainder of Ripley’s term, which expires in March 2019

Items Discussed

• Presentations were made by the following organizations seeking to receive funds from Cavendish in the FY20 budget: HCRS, Black River Good Neighbors, The Current, The Council on Aging/Senior Solutions, Black River Senior Center, Visiting Nurse & Hospice, SEVCA, Green Mountain RSVP, American Red Cross, Okemo Valley TV, Windsor County Youth Services and the Women’s Freedom Center.

• Due to lack of membership and a failure to meet on a regular basis, town manager Brendan McNamara is recommending that consideration be given to dissolving the Board of Water Commissioners and having the SB take over this function. This will possibly be voted on at the January meeting depending on further discussion and additional investigation.

•  In response to an article in the Eagle Times, which indicated Cavendish had a crime problem, McNamara provided VT Sate Police statistics from 12/1/17-12/1/18. Of 378 calls, only 25 could be categorized as crime related with the remainder being 911 hang-ups, motor vehicle accidents, juvenile response calls, home security alarms or other non crime related incidents. Contrary to the Eagle Times article, Weathersfield is not expanding coverage to Cavendish at this time. The Weathersfield proposal would provide 24 hours per week of police coverage for $84,500. Currently the Windsor County Sheriff spends 12 hours per week in town for a net cost of $18,000 per year.

2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS

Ski Programs at CTES and CAES Mount Fund-Raisers: As a preface to this article from The Chester Telegraph thank you to Jarrod Harper for acting so quickly to protect the snow sports program for CTES students and a special thank you to all those who contributed to the Go Fund Me campaign or sent in donations. We're an amazing community.

Winter sports program coordinators have scrambled to set up Go Fund Me campaigns to ensure that children at Cavendish Town and Chester-Andover elementary schools can participate, after Okemo Mountain Resort raised prices from $19 to $47 a child and eliminated lower fees for families qualifying for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. The fund-raising efforts are intended to pay for the hikes and keep the prices that families pay level with last year. The Cavendish Campaign has exceeded its goal and has been halted.  In the past, said Cavendish Snow Sports coordinator Jarrod Harper, Cavendish families who could afford it had been paying $80 for the entire program: $15 to participate in the program and $65 for the equipment rental. Families qualifying for reduced priced school meals had been paying $55: $15 for the program fee and $40 for the equipment rental. And families with significant need were charged a flat $20. Between 62 and 64 Cavendish children sign up for the snow program, with slightly more than half participating in the federal lunch program, Harper said.

Required Spending Vexes GMUSD Finance Committee: After the Green Mountain Unified School District’s Finance Committee elected to punt last Thursday night. Staring down a nearly 6 percent increase for the 2020 fiscal year (which begins on July 1, 2019) the board sent the budget back to the administration with the directive to cut the increase approximately in half. With the holidays just ahead and a mid-January deadline for printing the budget for Town Meeting looming after New Year’s Day, the pressure is increasing on the committee. See the Chester Telegraph’s article for a good recap of where things are. The next GMUSD Finance Committee Meeting will Jan. 8 at 5:30 pm at CTES.

Update on Chester-Andover Elementary School: Originally the school was scheduled to open in mid-November, but due to various problems, the project has been delayed, with the new move in date being January 3rd. VT Journal

Springfield Medical Care Systems (SMCS) Update: Springfield Hospital board has issued an update. “We recognize the urgency of our situation and are moving quickly to complete a thorough assessment and make timely improvements,” said George Lamb, Chairman of the SMCS board of directors. “While this is a challenging time for our organization, we have never been more united in our commitment to ensuring that SMCS and Springfield Hospital remain viable and continue to fill a critical need in the communities we serve. The board is most appreciative of the commitment of our employees and especially for their extra effort during this time.” According to Lamb, the appointment of an interim chief executive officer and chief financial officer are being finalized. The selected candidates will bring extensive experience working with critical access hospitals and federally qualified health centers, as well as a successful history of improving financial operations. Chief of Practice Operations Josh Dufresne will continue to serve as the primary administrative contact for SMCS and Springfield Hospital until the appointments are finalized. Eagle Times

Governor cites Serious situation at SMCS Appoints Monitor: Governor Phil Scott today announced that he has appointed Tom Huebner, the former chief executive officer of the Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC), to evaluate, monitor and assist Springfield Hospital as it confronts serious financial challenges.

3. EVENTS

DECEMBER 21 (FRIDAY): Movie Night Fundraiser -6-8 pm-The Polar Express at the Ludlow Town Hall. All donations for this evening will for Tedy’s Team and the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge in support of the fundraising efforts of Proctorsville resident Lisa Marks and Lora Miele for cancer research and stroke awareness. Parents can drop their children off at 6 and pick them up at 8. Santa will arrive for a reading of Twas’ the Night Before Christmas and pictures at 7:40.

DECEMBER 24 (MONDAY): Christmas Eve Services

• Gethsemane Episcopal Church: 89 Depot St. Proctorsville. Service is at 5 pm. FMI 226-7967

• Cavendish Baptist Church: Christmas Eve Candle lighting, 6 pm, 2258 Main St., Cavendish

• Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church: Proctorsville, 7 pm; note that Annunciation in Ludlow will have services at 5 pm on Christmas Eve and 9 am on Christmas Day

• Okemo Mountain Resort: 8 pm at the Jackson Gore in Ludlow-service lead by Abe Gross of Cavendish Baptist Church

DECEMBER 25 (TUESDAY): MERRY CHRISTMAS!

DECEMBER 31 (MONDAY): NEW YEAR’S EVE

JANUARY 1 (TUESDAY): HAPPY NEW YEAR

JANUARY 8 (TUESDAY): GMUSD Finance Committee Meeting, 5:30 pm at CTES

For information on upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For area events, check the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar.  

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