WOODBURY – Thanksgiving week in Woodbury began with the usual fourth Monday evening select board meeting, November 25, at which Jayne Nold-Laurendeau submitted her letter of resignation as a lister.
Town Clerk Robin Durkee said she’s been finishing up final reports from the election. Her documentation of land records is on hold pending an appropriate ribbon for the vintage Selectric typewriter on which that work is done because a new ribbon is on order for it. While they can be printed from a PC, different cards are required, she said.
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Town Treasurer Brandy Smith was unable to attend the meeting and submitted a report with notable payments from FEMA of $2,600.00 reimbursing flood repair expenses paid to Anderson Equipment and $80,988.05 reimbursing 2023 flood repairs.
Recovery Officer Skip Lindsay said nine 2023 FEMA flood repair projects have been approved for $206,953 at 90% reimbursement. One project is still pending an environmental and historical review and three projects are pending Hazard Mitigation Reviews (HMR). Bridge replacements and mitigation work for the Town Highway 23 and 24 bridges is expected to go to bid before February, to be completed next year. The last outstanding project is for town office repairs for which board member Chris Casey will work on with Durkee. Casey said he has someone in mind who may be interested in doing the remaining work. A plumber will be needed to put a sprinkler system in the furnace room if Fire Chief Paul Cerutti’s recommendation is taken. An unused chimney needs to be cleaned out and capped to avoid any future leaking, said board member Diana Peduzzi.
Lindsay is documenting road crew hours, materials, equipment usage rates and other information that was required to repair damaged roads as preparation for submitting reimbursement requests to Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) and FEMA. The town’s VEM contact has resigned and the state has hired Guidehouse Consulting to fulfill the state’s role in the review process.
Road Commissioner Alfred Larrabee told the board, gravel piles are ready for spring’s mud season and the trucks are ready for winter plowing. The road crew is building a shed to keep a truck under cover, loaded and ready to go with salt for small sections of Cabot and Foster Hill Roads that need salting.
Larrabee reminded the board and community members that the road crew grades roads as weather allows, but freezing temps limit what they are able to get to.
There was again a lengthy discussion of an issue concerning a town resident’s request for reimbursement for a damaged windshield. Miscommunication between the board and Larabee was cleared up, resulting in a plan for board member Lizzy Higgins to contact the resident again. She will tell him the town will pay his insurance deductible, if there is one, after the repairs are completed and an insurance claim documented.
One person has shown interest in the Town Treasurer position and has submitted a resume. The board made plans for talking with them and another person who has shown interest as well as developing better details of the position’s requirements.
Casey is interested in discussing options to transition the Treasurer’s position from an elected to an appointed one and how it might make the job more attractive to a new and future job applicants.
The board finished the meeting with FY26 town budgeting, beginning with the highway budget. In the absence of Treasurer Brandy Smith, many questions weren’t answered.
The need to budget for any culvert replacements and upgrades was noted and the budget should include money for at least one section of new guardrail. Road Commissioner Alfred Larabee agreed to check into prices. Larabee expressed the need for a new 10-wheeler, reporting there is a company in N.H. assembling trucks like the one we’ll need, and it may not take more than a year to acquire. The board said they will need Smith to explain the Highway Equipment Reserve Fund balance. It’s hoped that some of our expected FEMA payments could be used to soften any budget increases.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
