PLYMOUTH, Vt. – During their Oct. 18 meeting, the Plymouth Selectboard received an apology from VTrans and a new completion date of Nov. 27 for the Route 100 project. The meeting also touched on the upcoming Dec. 6 informational meeting and Dec. 7 vote and look at the new website launch in early November.
The Route 100 culverts replacement project has a new projected completion date of Saturday, Nov. 27, according to Kristen Higgins from Vermont Agency of Transportation. Pavement for the project will use “temporary pavement” this year and is on schedule for full repavement next year.
Higgins attended the meeting of the board to apologize to the town of Plymouth for what will amount to approximately an additional two-month delay due to issues with the contractor, Willey Earthmoving Corp from Windsor.
The project to replace two culverts along Route 100 included a projected road shutdown, which should have taken 28 days starting Aug. 30. According to Higgins, VTrans has never had a project “go this bad” and acknowledged it is a black mark on the program. She said the contractor has appeared unphased by the issues he’s causing and will likely rack up over $100,000 in penalties and will be withdrawn from consideration for VTrans projects in the future.
VTrans has stepped in to work with the contractor, partnering with other subcontractors to help get the project completed by the Nov. 27 date.
Since the meeting, according to the town’s website, VTrans has contacted the Department of Forest Parks and Recreation to request that the CCC road to Shrewsbury remains open until Route 100 is reopened. That road has been used heavily as a detour during construction but would normally be shut down in the coming weeks. DFPR said they would keep the road open as long as the weather cooperates and the road is passable.
Resident Carol Goodwin expressed her concern regarding the upcoming special town meeting Dec. 6 and 7 may be a lot of information to cover in one meeting. The town will be asked to vote on a proposed short-term rental ordinance and a town office and highway garage renovation proposal.
Board member Rick Kaminski said that the short-term rental ordinance has already had a legal review, clerical review, and a special meeting, and they will just be answering questions at the informational meeting, not making any changes to the ordinance. The ordinance will just be a “yes or no” vote the following day.
For the town office and highway building renovation project, which comes with a proposed cost of $950,000, Kaminski said he would give an introduction to the project, and include the “why” and “how we got where we are,” for voters. Maclay Architects, who submitted a 70-plus-page feasibility study and proposal with options to the town, will be on hand to answer questions on construction details.
Maclay presented the proposal to the board Aug. 2. The Plymouth Selectboard had a working meeting that was not open to the public and then publicly reconvened Aug. 16 to vote on their recommendation, which selected Option D with the solar option.
Goodwin said that although the proposal was fantastic, it was very confusing. She said it was clear that work needed to be done on this building but that people are going to have a lot of questions. She also said that it was important for residents to know there’s no new additional taxes or bond being raised for the project.
According to Plymouth Select Board Chairman Jay Kullman, who was contacted after the meeting, the money for the project will come from $180,000 in a building reserve fund, and the balance out of the $1.2 million in Plymouth’s General Fund.
The full proposal is available on the town website in the “Bulletin Board” section. The board also suggested that citizens could attend Selectboard meetings in between now and the informational meeting Dec. 6 to ask questions.
The new town website, which is slated to launch in early November, should make it easier for residents to be more aware of, and find information on, these upcoming issues, according to board member Keith Cappellini, who is spearheading the website redesign. The website will use the same URL: www.plymouthvt.org.
The next Plymouth Selectboard meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m.