Morristown hires an officer; solar plan gets a tree screen

“We switched it up this time,” said Keith, who normally makes the decision himself on whom to recommend for an opening.

Wolfe grew up in central Vermont and earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Norwich University in 2011. He served four years in the U.S. Army and joined the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department after graduating from the Vermont Police Academy in May 2016. Wolfe is the second Lamoille deputy to join the Morristown department in the last year; Peter Hughes was the first last August.

Wolfe’s first day with Morristown will be Friday, March 1; he will be paid $22.20 per hour until he moves up one step on the department’s pay scale on July 1. Wolfe will be reassessed by Keith and the select board after a one-year probationary period before being reappointed as a tenured member of the department. Wolfe holds several instructor certifications, which Keith said could come in handy down the road.

“He’s well qualified, there’s no question,” Keith said. “We’re pleased to have him on board.”

The police job has been open since longtime officer Michael Reeve resigned Dec. 8. Keith’s department will be back to full strength – nine patrol officers and one detective — when officer Kevin Laplante returns this spring; he was injured while on duty in mid-December, and is recovering from surgery.

In another bit of housekeeping, current Morristown officer Lance Lamb was reappointed as a full-time officer. Lamb, who has been with the department for several years, was out with an injury when his one-year probationary period ended in December 2016 and he was never officially reappointed, despite now being a tenured officer.

“It was just an oversight,” Keith said.

Other business

In other business Monday:

• The select board reviewed updated plans for the Lawrence Brook Solar project just off Route 100 between Stowe and Morristown. The 2.2-megawatt facility is a collaboration among Morrisville Water & Light, the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority and Encore Renewable Energy. The project is at 3780 Laporte Road — Route 100 — on property owned by the Davis family.

The board has concerns about how 7,800 solar panels would look on a 24-acre parcel so close to the state highway. In response, the developers presented plans Monday for a line of softwood and hardwood trees that will screen the project from passing drivers.

Some board members still have reservations about a solar project right on the main artery between Stowe and Morristown, town administrator Dan Lindley said, but the consensus among board members was that the trees are better than nothing.

Morrisville Water & Light General Manager Craig Myotte expects to request a certificate of public good for the project from the Vermont Public Utility Commission later this winter; if all goes well, construction could begin this summer.

• Town Clerk Sara Haskins said select board members need to run Town Meeting Day next month until a new moderator is elected. David Polow, the longtime town moderator, was re-elected last year but will be out of town on March 5. So, someone else will have to be elected at the beginning of this year’s meeting to run everything after that. Polow recommended that Haskins ask former Speaker of the House Shap Smith to run for moderator; Haskins said Smith is interested but the decision is up to voters.

• The board promoted Allen Stearns, who has been with the highway department for just over a year. Stearns will now be paid $18.69 per hour as a Tech 2, Step 1 employee. The board also accepted the resignation of highway employee Reney Audet, who was with the department for about six months, according to Lindley.

• The board directed the Morristown Conservation Commission to look into acquiring a small island in Kenfield Brook. The Lamoille County Planning Commission is interested in turning over possession of the island to the town, and Lindley expects further discussion later in the year.

• The board appointed Greta Quintin as a new volunteer with the Morristown Emergency Medical Services Department and welcomed new department chief William Mapes, who started on Monday, Feb. 4.

• The board accepted a retirement letter from longtime lister and listing coordinator Charlie McArthur, effective March 8. A retirement party and open house will be held in McArthur’s honor at the town offices on Portland Street on the morning of Friday, March 1.

Another lister, Richard Tomlinson, is not running for re-election, so to cover the listers’ duties, the town is contracting with Vermont Appraisal Co. until June 30, when there should be a full three-member board of listers again. Morristown has contracted with the company to assess commercial properties for the last decade, Lindley said; from now until June 30, it will also be paid to assess residential properties. Morristown will pay Vermont Appraisal $4,500 per month for the work, with part of that coming out of the town’s reappraisal fund.

• Community Development Coordinator Tricia Follert updated the board on a dog park proposed in the village. The park will likely be at the intersection of Copley Avenue and Park Street, but funding still needs to be found, Lindley said.

• A final discussion was held on the design of bathrooms that will be built this year at Oxbow Riverfront Park. The concrete building will have two bathrooms, but board members are still debating if each bathroom should have a separate, enclosed stall for the single toilet in each room. Lindley hopes to advertise for bids this spring, with construction this summer or fall.