Carla Occaso
MONTPELIER — With summer coming to a close, City Manager Kelly McNicholas Kury said she met with the Montpelier Emergency Cold Weather Shelter board to discuss winter shelter options. On the table this year is the city hall basement, the Unitarian Church, and the vacant 148 State Street property adjacent to Perry’s Gas and Service Station, according to McNicholas Kury during the Sept. 9 city council meeting.
McNicholas Kury also clarified the city is not planning to run the shelter. Rather, she said, idea would be for the nonprofit Capstone Community Action to sublease and manage the property.
Each option requires preliminary steps before the space is available. The Unitarian Church requested the extension of a building use waiver in order to allow extreme cold overnight shelter, McNicholas Kury said. The Montpelier Emergency Cold Weather Shelter group submitted a formal request to use the downstairs space of city hall under the same conditions as last winter. However, the city would install a second egress door at the request of the city fire warden for building safety.
McNicholas Kury said she would move forward on changes to the city hall basement without further city council discussion, because the cost would be around $5,000, amount low enough that it doesn’t require council approval.
She then introduced the idea of using the vacant office property of 148 State Street at the intersection of Bailey Avenue. The property is owned by Jesse Jacobs, who has been in talks with the group, she said. It would not need a change-of-use zoning permit because it has not been in use for over 12 months.
City Councilor Ben Doyle said he would like to know more about the lease terms and master lease.
“I will also say there are ways we can mitigate risk to the city,” Doyle said. He added that if Capstone is involved, it would limit the cost to the city as opposed to the city operating a shelter on its own. McNicholas Kury said she would further the conversation and bring more information in order to get “approval from you all to enter into a lease.”
Councilor Paul Costello said it is “essential that the city is involved and takes leadership.” He said he wants to see what services would be provided to those who stay at the site. He also introduced the idea of having services offered in the upstairs offices of the building while the shelter operates on the ground floor. Ultimately, “I am in favor of moving forward,” he said.
Councilor Jim Sheridan said the Homelessness Committee has not met recently, so he has nothing to report on that front. Sheridan also asked about the 10 degrees Fahrenheit temperature cut-off before the extreme weather emergency shelter opens.
“I think it is a little low. I think it should be 20. I’ve lived in Vermont all my life and I think anything below 20 starts to feel cold,” he said.
Interim River Hazard Regs Move to Second Hearing
Planning Director Mike Miller reported his staff has been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make an interim amendment to city regulations to keep pace with state regulations.
“We received feedback that we can improve our protections by making an additional update,” Miller said. The city’s river program provides discounts to flood insurance holders if river hazard regulations are in good standing. Montpelier is currently at a rating of 8, which gives flood policy-holders in the city a 10% reduction on their premiums, Miller said.
Miller later told The Bridge that 10 is the starting point, and Montpelier is currently working on getting to a rating of 7, which would earn a 15% discount.
The change requires new utilities in residential structures be elevated above the designated flood level. Utilities would need to be elevated in new construction where feasible as well. Additionally, any new utilities added in construction would need to be elevated, such as if a furnace got destroyed and needed to be replaced.
Sheridan moved to adopt the interim change and Costello seconded. The subject was moved to a second hearing at a future meeting by unanimous approval. There was no public comment.
Building Codes to be Updated
Miller told the council that Montpelier also needs to update its building codes in order to align with state changes. The key change is related to the requirement that lock boxes be installed on buildings with monitored fire systems and sprinkler systems, he said.
Fire Chief Derek Libby said the ordinance requires building owners or managers to install coded lock boxes that allow the fire department to get a key to enter the building. Such boxes would allow Libby to “track who takes the key out at what time the box was reopened and what time the (city’s second) key … was restored to the truck,” Libby said. Additionally, it allows firefighters to enter a building to fight a fire or prevent a leaking sprinkler without forcing a door open.
Costello said he was worried about adding the expense to residential housing. “How many buildings are we talking about?” Libby said it is aimed at buildings three stories or taller.
Another part of the new building code requires building owners to install elevators at least 84 by 24 inches in order to accommodate stretchers.
“There are certainly some elevators that you can’t get in without jacking the patient up 90 degrees to get them out of the building,” Libby said.
The new codes were unanimously approved and moved to a second hearing without public comment.
Revised Fire Ordinance Introduced
In order to comply with other new state regulations, Montpelier needs to update its fire burning ordinance, according to McNicholas Kury. Fire Chief Derek Libby said one of the key changes is to redefine a small camp fire from one that is “comfortable enough to be around,” as it is currently worded, to one that is “36 inches or smaller, like a campfire.”
The previous definition led to too many instances of people declaring unpermitted large bonfires as “comfortable to be around” and therefore avoid the ordinance, Libby said.
No members of the public commented on the first reading of the fire ordinance, and the city council unanimously moved it to a second reading.
Other Business
The city council also discussed changing zoning fees for new residential construction and the development of a map showing allowable areas for bow hunting in forested areas on the Country Club Road property, but no final decisions were made.
