MEETING NOTES. MAY 21, 2009.

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MINUTES: May 21, 2009
WARDS 4 & 7 NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING ASSEMBLY
Heineberg Community Center, 14 Heineberg Road
Facilitators: Michael Crane, Ward 4
Note Taker: Phil Lavigne, Ward 7

Assembly was called to order at 7:00. Introductions and announcements were followed by the Ground Rules and Agenda

BUSINESS: We approved the minutes of the March and April meetings, and elected of Larry Solt, Ward 7. There were no resolutions or endorsements.

REPORTS from Elected and Appointed Officials included Russ Ellis, Paul Decelles, Mark Larson, Pat Kearney, Bob Hooper and Bernie O’Rourke.

OPEN FORUM: Residents made brief statements of neighborhood/city interest or concern. There was discussion of the sea gulls on Lori Lane and Gazo Ave., and of the disc golf course proposed for Leddy Park. Nancy Powers brought us up to date on Friends of Leddy Park request for a Master Plan.

8:00 PROGRAM –

~Vermont Refugee Resettlement : Beth Lemire Jenkins shared her work as a volunteer with VRRP. She built community awareness of the challenges met by refugees and immigrants who live among us. Like how to use seat-belts, child car seats, shopping at Hannafords, figuring out what processed foods are, how to dress for snow and cold in Vermont, plastic cards for library, debit, safe child – what to do if a child is abducted? Call the police – sheer terror! A group of local residents has proposed that a community center showcasing cultural diversity would be a wonderful addition to North End. Volunteers are welcome as we search for a location, sponsors, and funding.

~Fluoride: Wendy Davis, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, spoke of her confidence in fluoride. Local dentists, Chuck Seleen and Paul Kenworthy talked about the dental health advantages of fluoride. Donna Hayes, dental hygienist, raised many skeptical issues, like after all this fluoride in drinking water, children still have cavities. Donna advocates for choice. Ian Carlton explained why the Board of Health is opposed to mandatory fluoride in public drinking water. Our dentists, and the Health Commissioner, are very much in favor of it because of the public health benefits.

~Wind Power, Paul Kenyon. This speaker thinks wind generation would be a big mistake for VT. He feels there is only one side of the issue being presented, and he urges people to be skeptical, to doubt and check the facts. In VT the winds are variable, don’t blow in the summer when we need it. We don’t store electrical energy in our grid, it’s generated and used, not stored so it is inefficient. Wind is an erratic power source, so it creates inefficiencies. It costs a lot to buy auxiliary power, and that pours more CO2 in the environment. Windmills will fundamentally change the ridgeline of VT drastically, not what people move to VT for. There is only wind on the ridgelines, and in order to get more wind they have to put up larger and larger turbines.

Sketch-Up 3-D Modeling was rescheduled because Carol Stenberg was called out of town.

8:50 Reflections