Charlotte Shelburne Hinesburg Rotary
Wednesday, September 12, 2018, 7:30 a.m.
Trinity Community Room, Shelburne.
President Erik Kolomaznik called the meeting to order and led the Pledge. Bill Deming gave the devotional.
Guests were introduced including Rotary District 8750 District Governor Larry Vars and his wife Joan. Lee Krohn, Interim Shelburne Town Manager was also in attendance
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Sept. 18 Board Meeting (All members welcome)
Sept. 19 Opioid Campaign Kick-Off
Sept. 26 Aaron Noble, Shelburne Police Chief
Oct. 3 Annual Budget Meeting
SERVICE PROJECT REPORTS:
Harvest Festival: A few more volunteers are needed in the afternoon. Sign up with Bill Root
Light the Night – Judy Christensen reminded everyone that we should have a CSH Rotary team to walk on Sept. 28 from Edmunds School to downtown with candles. A fundraiser for Lymphoma and Leukemia.
Halloween Parade – Richard Fox reminded everyone to review their roles in this big event and get ready for the 46th annual parade on Oct. 28. Ric Flood has asked Kwiniaska’s new owners for the six golf carts we borrow each year.
Thanksgiving and Christmas Turkeys and Hams: Tod Whitaker needs a replacement. Bill Root and Jon Lowell volunteered.
Rotary garden/pond at the Town Offices: Chris Davis and Diana Vachon volunteered to head up this year’s cleaning effort. The Garden Club seems poised to take over after that.
SERGEANT AT ARMS
Bill Root officiated. Many people expressed happiness about this.
Sam Feitelberg: Happy Rosha Shana
Chris David: Happy to have Town Manager Lee Krohn and Town Clerk Diana Vachon at the meeting
Richard Fox: Happy to have District Governor Larry Vars and Joan at their 2nd meeting with us!
Keith Walsh and Susan Grimes: Had a great time at Linda Gilbert’s H2H kick-off event
Trafton Crandall: Happy for all the geniuses in the room
Carole Obuchowski: Remembrance of 9/11 (her daughter’s story is online)
Lucky draw
Sam Feitelberg’s ticket was drawn. Rollover. Pot was $70.
PRESENTER: Lee Krohn, Interim Shelburne Town Manager, Volunteer: Shelburne Fire Department
Lee was Manchester, VT Town Manager for 25 years. He moved to Shelburne 5 years ago to take a position as Senior Manager of the Chittenden County Planning Commission. He was asked to take the Interim Town Manager role to “lower the temperature of civic discourse.” He is originally from Pennsylvania and did many things before his work as town manager. One interesting career path was professional photography which he said he started at age 15. It started when he went to a local paper and said he thought the pictures weren’t very good. As a result, he showed his pictures and got hired at the Mountaintop Eagle. This led to his involvement with the volunteer fire service because they “invited” him. He recently challenged himself to run a marathon.
He then turned to current town affairs. He said that the Fire Department is using the library project as a way to do drills. The demolition of the current building should be done soon.
George Schiavone asked how Shelburne compares to other towns. Response: Assets are that people really care. Challenges are Rt. 7. The main concern is why is it so hard to do business here? If that’s true, then what can we change. One idea was form-based zoning. There is no clear indication at present that this will work. Another seemingly dead issue is rerouting Rt. 7; a better alternative would be a different truck route. Howard Seaver brought up Fritz Horton’s idea of a truck tunnel. Fritz clarified this idea. Linda Gilbert wondered why it isn’t possible to make a more inviting entrance to Shelburne citing eyesores like the Apple Motel and the many dead properties along the way. There were many other similar exchanges before the meeting concluded. Members learned that Lee Krohn has applies for Town Manager.
Recorded by Judith Christensen