by Gazette Staff
HARDWICK – At its December 7 regular meeting, the Hardwick Select Board heard from several residents about community safety concerns and actions, got an update on the wastewater plant, and learned about personnel changes at the police department.
Hardwick resident Jan Mueller wanted to talk about the community safety meetings that have been happening over the last couple of months. He has learned a lot from these meetings and thought it would be good to touch base with the select board from time to time about them.
Resident Kate Scarlott reported that the meetings started back in August when residents felt there was a spike in what they considered drug-related crimes. The focus of these meetings was to give individuals a place to speak and share their questions and concerns. They hoped to better understand each other. After understanding, they could move to ideas. The intention is for a democratic process, where the group focuses on listening and providing a safe and respectful place to express concerns. Scarlott said that she was grateful that the town manager and police chief have attended several of the meetings, as well as some of the select board members.
Board member Elizabeth Dow asked that someone write something up about the meetings, such as a monthly summary, and submit it to the Gazette.
Caitlin Strong shared that she started a neighborhood watch group over three years ago and that those meetings arose from the same concept. She added that the meetings are designed to cultivate an environment where people can talk about safety concerns. The group also want to look at how our community got to this point. She asked about creating a resolution for town meeting about committing to community safety. Town Clerk Tonia Chase said she would research the process for getting a resolution into the town meeting warning.
Board Vice-chair Ceilidh Galloway-Kane mentioned that the Equity Committee made a resolution a couple of years ago that likely addresses some of the same issues. She indicated that the committee is willing to review its resolution and make changes that would meet the objectives of this new proposed resolution.
Town Manager David Upson provided updates on several items, including the completion of the sludge clean-out at the wastewater plant. The service provider processed 1.6 million gallons of sludge in Lagoon No. 1. The total for both lagoons was 2.5 million gallons of sludge processed at a cost of $1.3 million, $122,154 over budget.
Upson also reported that the fire station boiler has been installed and that the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) provided a $50,000 advance on property claims for the fire station and the wastewater treatment plant. Permitting work for the pedestrian bridge continues, and the community development coordinator is completing a Transportation Alternatives Program grant application to fund a study regarding bike and pedestrian safety on Mill Street and South Main Street.
Chief Mike Henry reported that one of the Hardwick Police Department’s (HPD) part-time officers, Bill Morley, will not be returning to HPD for personal reasons. Chief Henry thanked Morley for the time he served the town in the last year. Henry also shared that full-time officer Andrew Force will be leaving in January to further his career at the federal level. HPD will be advertising to fill the open positions. Henry also shared that HPD collaborated with other local departments, including those in Stowe, Morrisville, and the Vermont State Police, to pick up four individuals who had outstanding warrants or were suspects of illegal activities. HPD continues to issue parking tickets as time allows, primarily in the handicapped zone and area in front of Front Seat Coffee.
Next, the board discussed additional budget planning questions. A copy of the current draft budget can be found at hardwickvt.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/12-07-23-Attachments.pdf.
The board discussed and voted to approve an amendment to the SE Group contract that includes the engineering and design of the pedestrian bridge structure, and then voted to adopt the town’s updated All-Hazards Mitigation Plan.
