Soul, funk, hip hop and a string trio tonight

MONTPELIER — Whether you like soul, folk, hip hop beats or you're in the mood for a string trio, there's something for you in tonight's Capital City music scene.

Soul-folk singer Sara Grace is playing at Charlie-O's tonight. The show starts at 10 p.m., and as always, there's no cover.

The Black Door has Montreal's Groundfood. The sextet meshes hip hop beats with soul and rock and roll. Let's see if the police shut this band down tonight like they did last Saturday.

And at the Unitarian church, the Paris-based string ensemble Trio Pasquier is scheduled to perform at 7:30 p.m.

It's always cocktail hour in Montpelier

MONTPELIER — The clock on State Street has been stuck at 5:07 since it was damaged a few months ago in the May flooding.

The clock is leased to People's United Bank, and according to the bank's Director of Real Estate Services Bob Peterson, it should be fixed in the next couple of weeks.

He said they're working with Green Mountain Clock Shop to get the clock ticking again, but it's not going to be cheap.

"It's in the neighborhood of $10,000," Peterson said.

The mechanics of the clock are located in the building next to the clock, where the People's United cash machine resides.

A few years ago, Peterson said, the guts of the clock were replaced, but they wouldn't fit in the old location and were moved into the basement.

Peterson said he wasn't working for the bank when that decision was made, and when the North Branch swelled on May 27 and 28, flooding downtown Montpelier, it proved to be a bad idea.

Now he said they're looking for a location, not in the basement, to put the clock mechanics.

It's part of the lease agreement that the bank keep the clock running, and Peterson said the plan is to get it running again this Fall.

Tropical Storm Irene has forced the bank to focus on other issues around the state, he said.

The city's Planning and Zoning Administrator Clancy DeSmet said that the clock is grandfathered into the zoning rules and regulations.

Under the current rules, he said, the clock wouldn't be permitted in downtown Montpelier.

The marquee at Capitol Theatre, the New England Culinary Institute's "restaurant" sign, and the canopy that hangs over the sidewalk in front of the Capitol Plaza Hotel are also grandfathered in.

 

Lost and Found: Found pink bike and lost pink wallet

MONTPELIER — Lots of purses, wallets and things go missing throughout the week in the Capital City, here's a list of some of them.

Someone found a children's pink bike with a purple seat Friday near 39 College St.

On Thursday, someone reported finding a Garmin navigation system in the roadway near 15 Berlin St.

A woman reported to police Friday that she lost a pink wallet with a clip on it near 96 Murray Rd.

To claim an item or report something lost, contact the Montpelier Police Department at 802-223-3445.

Montpelier football player recovering from injury

BARRE — The father of a Montpelier football player severely injured in a game last week said Thursday his 16-year-old son is improving each day and the hope is “to get back to normal, if anything can go back to normal.”

Montpelier junior Dylan Mercadante was injured in the Solons’ home victory over Mount Saint Joseph Academy last Friday night, and was taken from the field by ambulance with signs of head trauma. The initial report from head coach John Murphy and certified athletic trainer and Montpelier co-athletic director Jennifer Lahr immediately following the game was that Mercadante had suffered a severe concussion, which was later reported by several media outlets this week.

Read this story online in The Time Argus.

 

 

City Council gives developer tax break

MONTPELIER — At the City Council meeting last night, a land developer was granted a 50 percent municipal property tax break for up to 10 years.

Frederick Connor and his brothers at Connor Group, LLP are in the process of building a 20,000 square foot office building at 575 Stone Cutters Way located between Turntable Park and Hunger Mountain Coop.

Connor requested, and was granted a 10 year tax stabilization contract. That means the municipal property tax bill will be approximately less $3,800 every year for a decade year.

Councilor Alan Weiss voted against the contract.

He said that the city has already given Connor $50,000 in parking space waivers. And he said, it's not as if Connor was going to pull the plug on the project if the tax stabilization request were rejected.

Weiss said that with the tax stabilization contract in place, it could take 25 years for the city to see any net tax benefit from the new office building.

City officials have said all along that one of the goals of developing Stone Cutters Way is to expand the tax base.

City Manager William Fraser countered Weiss' argument by saying that the city will not incur any new costs because of the building, in terms of snow removal and maintenance.

And he said that during the two public hearings on the matter, nobody came to speak against the tax stabilization contract.

Aside from a hot button issue, such as whether Montpelier police officers should carry Tasers, residents don't normally attend city council meetings.

In a press release, Connor said, "By approving this tax stabilization contract, the city of Montpelier is saying to prospective tenants of our building that the city is open for business."

Councilor Sarah Jarvis said that certainly Connor started the project with the hope that the city would cooperate with him.

The tax stabilization contract is for seven years, however, if Connor can show that there's a net increase of at least 25 new livable-wage earning employees working in the building, it will be extended to 10 years.

Those jobs have to be new to Montpelier, and not just moving into the new building from some place else in town.

The building could accommodate as many as 65 employees, and when complete it's expected to increase the value of the property from roughly $200,000 to $1 million on the city's Grand List.

This tax stabilization contract only applies to municipal taxes and does not impact the education taxes owed by the property owner.

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Tax stabilization press release

Here's what the building will look like when complete

Buy a Danziger print and proceeds go to the Vermont Foodbank

Do you think Jeff Danziger cartoons are funny, witty, poignant? 

Do you think people in Vermont shouldn't go without food?

Well, here's your chance to scratch two itches at once.

Danziger has donated prints of his work to be auctioned off on eBay with proceeds going to the Vermont Foodbank.

Check out the prints on eBay.

Turntable Park ceremony honors work of city employee

MONTPELIER — Tuesday afternoon city officials held a “ribbon cutting” ceremony at Turntable Park on Stone Cutters Way to honor the work of Garth Genge.

There wasn’t actually a ribbon involved, but that wasn’t the point of the event.

City officials, co-workers, friends and neighbors wanted to take a moment out of their day to thank Genge, a community development specialist for the city, for his work.

Read this story online in The Times Argus

 

24-Hour Comics Challenge this weekend in Montpelier

MONTPELIER — Saturday is 24-Hour Comics Day.

To mark the occasion there’s a “24-Hour Comic Challenge” slated to begin at 10 a.m. at City Hall and end Sunday at 10 a.m.

This is the second year Montpelier is hosting a comics challenge.

Read this story online in The Times Argus

 

Burlington man cited for disorderly conduct

MONTPELIER — Wednesday afternoon police cited Michael Nixon, 31 of Burlington, for disorderly conduct following a kerfuffle near Cumberland Farms on Berlin Street.

Police Chief Anthony Facos was the first officer on the scene. 

In the incident report he describes a male wearing blue shorts and a gray hat pacing in and out of traffic on Berlin Street.

Nixon allegedly then went over to Cumberland Farms and "got into some altercation with people outside" the gas station.

Facos said in the report, "Subject is being assaultive."

Nixon was cited for disorderly conduct and released.

And according to the police log, three hours earlier, Nixon reportedly kicked someone's bicycle and threaten to punch someone near 15 Main St.

Weather lady can't stop laughing

This isn't about Montpelier, heck, it's not even in English, but it's so funny I had to share it.

Here's a video of a lady doing the weather and she just can't stop laughing. This video also shows why, besides having a face and a voice for print journalism, I could't do broadcast. Something like this would happen to me for sure.