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Whitehall Planning Board Presents Much to Approve at Monthly Town Meeting

It was clear at the June Whitehall Town Council meeting that the Whitehall Planning Board, along with its sub-committee, has been quite busy, just as Whitehall itself is busy with the hustle and bustle of summer activities, road construction, and work on the water treatment facility gets into full swing.

The meeting, which had a full audience, had a lengthy agenda of items related to the Planning Board. While Mayor Janacaro-Hensleigh worked through the agenda and public comment, many comments took place away from the podium’s microphone. Several times, as the discussion involved more individuals within the audience, such as Town Works Director Kory Klapan, Jason Good with TSS Internet, and others, those at the podium were overlooked as comments came from several directions. With that being said, many items were dealt with at the monthly meeting.

Town Clerk Allissa Christensen reported that the town pool will open on June 15. The bottom of the pool has been resurfaced and she hopes to see “no more bloody toes.”

Klapan reported the town water treatment facility is about a month behind schedule and that a bid should be put out by December. The Town was awarded a $1.5 million grant for a concrete water tank, which will be twice the size of the previous tank.

Linda Jung of the Planning Board reported that an oversized lot on Corbett Loop was suggested for approval of three structures, instead of the normal one, due to its size.

Jung also said that Town Pump has submitted an application for the new building, which will be fenced from the school. The drainage and trash issues are being addressed, an RV dump area may be installed, and the old building could potentially be up for lease.

Bridget Morse with the TIF District reported the District has $273k in its budget. The playground championed by Christensen had presented to the TIF requesting funding, with the TIF requesting a public meeting to consider locations be held. A public meeting is slated for July.

Christensen presented information on utilizing TextMyGov for Whitehall alerts, such as emergency water shutoffs, main breaks, etc. Discussion was had whether spending a total of $5k for the two-year contract would be worth the time saved. Klapan noted that when a water main breaks, it could save significant time, but also warned that the notifications need to be used sparingly and sent to only those affected, otherwise, residents may opt-out of the service. The Council decided to table the discussion and get more information before making a decision.

Good addressed the Council in regards to a grant received via ARPA monies to expand fiber onto Second Street. Klapan commented that he had no issue with the expansion, but asked to see the plan before construction begins at the end of June. Councilman Roy McBride also commented that he would like to be involved and a meeting between the three was scheduled for this week. The Council gave contingent approval to move forward to TSS, based off the meeting with McBride and Klapan. The expansion of this fiber will come at no cost to the Town, as the $85k in ARPA monies will cover equipment and TSS is covering the labor.

Planning Board items:

APPROVED:

• A zoning map amendment to residential district and variance for the Old Gym

• A Good Guy Roofing - business license

• Alpine House SErvices - business license

• Java Rock - business license

• Homeless Vetersb of America Patriot stand - business license

• Jeffery Contracting - business license

• Mariah & Gus Lombardi - fence building permit

• Florence Elliott - fence building permit

• Travis smith - fence building permit

• National Affordable Housing Network structures on Corbett Loop

• Town Pump - new structure building permit

REJECTED:

• Brenda Sue Hartford - variance request for shed

Other items of interest:

• Christensen noted that the Town Court is very busy, with one of the most frequent fines being no insurance or no proof of insurance. She added that digital proof of insurance is submissable, but make sure you can access the file when not in service, otherwise a ticket may be issued.

 

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