DERBY- When the Town of Derby bought land contiguous to the town office, one of the motivations was to move the tennis and basketball courts to higher, drier ground. The current courts would be converted to a parking lot. However those plans may change due a request by Vera Lawson at North Country Union Junior High School to retain two of the tennis courts.
On Monday, the Derby Selectboard entertained a request by Lawson to upgrade two of the courts while converting one tennis court and the basketball court to a parking lot. The reason for the request is that a junior high school girl’s tennis team will be created next spring, and there is only one court at the Derby Community Park. There are no tennis courts at the school.
“It would be a shame to lose two of the courts to a parking lot,” Lawson said. The courts are in need of resurfacing; the cracks make it an unsafe playing field.
“We’ve talked about restoring two courts,” selectman Brian Smith said. Last spring Derby Elementary School teacher Peter Aucoin advised the selectboard he was using the new tennis court at the Derby Community Park. Aucoin also asked two of the older courts be restored.
An estimate of the cost to repave and restore the fence is a necessary next step. Selectboard Chair Grant Spates said there is up to $150,000 in grant funds available in the state’s park and ride grant program.
The topic is tabled until an estimate is secured.
U.S. General Services Administration
Two representatives from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) attended the selectboard meeting. Sara Massarello and Brian Fuller both work in the real estate department. They work with customs and border protection, managing the border stations.
In reference to the station in Beebe, they are looking to upgrade a security apparatus that is placed in the roadway.
Massarello acknowledged their placement of barriers and walls has an impact on the town road crew, whether they’re plowing or performing maintenance tasks.
“When we do an upgrade for security purposes, we’ll put in a drop-arm gate,” Massarello said. “We’re reaching out to you for your operations and maintenance agreement.”
The GSA has a similar agreement with the Town of Alburg. The selectboard will review an operations and maintenance agreement with the GSA.
The selectboard tabled an update of the town’s dog ordinance. There are some changes, including an increase in fines and a limit on the number of dogs that can be owned by a person/family. The proposed ordinance allows for up to six dogs. If there’s more than six, the owner must apply for a kennel license. The owner must have documentation confirming the dogs are neutered/spayed, or the animal control officer can impound them.
There will be new quiet hours specifically for dogs between 8a.m. and 7p.m.
Spates noted the dog ordinance hasn’t been updated since 2011.
“It’s long overdue,” selectman Brad Shattuck agreed.
The updated ordinance was tabled until the next meeting, allowing the selectboard to have time to review the revisions.