WOODBURY – The select board came together for the first time after town meeting, to organize, Monday, March 10. Electing a chair and a clerk, setting the time, place and schedule of future meetings and determining the newspaper in which legal notices will be posted were added to the agenda. An executive session for personnel matters was added at the end of the meeting.
photo courtesy HCTV
Chris Casey was nominated and elected as board chair for the next year and Diana Peduzzi was appointed clerk. The Times-Argus was designated for legal notices. Future meetings will be held on the second and fourth Mondays, 6 p.m., in the library community room. A proposal to explore an alternate working session format was mentioned, but no decision was made.
Diana Peduzzi accepted the appointment to approve overweight permits so that residents would not need to wait lengthy periods for approval.
Town Clerk Robin Durkee thanked everyone who assisted at the March 1 and March 4 town meetings. A service contract for the generator with both a major and minor service at $1,615 was discussed for two visits each year, with some leaning toward a single major service to lower costs.
A survey report on town meeting attendance was discussed. Out of 100 respondents, 65 expressed support for continuing town meetings (with 19 being neutral), 17 preferred not to have a town meeting. Some suggestions were made to improve phrasing in future surveys.
The financial update included income and expense figures from the past two weeks. The majority of income was attributed to taxes, and there was a discussion about FEMA 2023 mitigation funds.
Members reviewed details regarding a deposit of $815,000 and concerns about the fund’s tracking. The possibility of designating a separate money market account or adding a distinct line item to the accounting system was examined. It was stressed that the FEMA funds should not be touched except for designated mitigation projects.
Appointments were made for several positions, including reappointment of animal control, pound keeper, dangerous buildings oversight, recovery officer, members of the planning commission, zoning board, conservation commission, Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission, E911 coordinator, and members of various committees such as the Woodbury Fund Committee and the Sylvia Jackson Fund. Additionally, Alfie Larrabee was appointed as the road commissioner. The motion covering the appointments passed unanimously.
Larabee provided an update on road conditions. After heavy snow and subsequent thaw, he noted ongoing challenges with gravel piles, frozen conditions at times, truck repairs and plans to trim snow banks to aid drainage and road maintenance. Issues on how to coordinate with local gravel suppliers during warmer weather were discussed.
Under new business, a request from Kathy Kells was discussed regarding reducing the speed limit on Bailey Bridge Road from 35 to 25 mph. The board noted such a change would require a study, a period of road monitoring (as demonstrated by a similar case on Cherry Hill Road), and adherence to legal procedures including state approval. The discussion also touched on signage issues such as the use of dead-end notices and procedures for Nichols Dam Road regarding pent roads.
Additional topics included paving proposals. There was also a brief clarification on the Zoom phone access information for public participation.
Finally, the board moved into an executive session for personnel matters.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
