PLAINFIELD – Voters on Town Meeting Day approved two non-binding resolutions: one calling for the abolishment of ICE, and the other supporting “the right to grow food.”
The first resolution, proposed by resident Debra Stoleroff, seeks the dissolution of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The second resolution, called the Right to Grow Food, seeks to protect small farmers’ ability to raise, donate and sell food they have produced without undue interference from government.
On Tuesday, residents packed into the Plainfield Town Hall Opera House. They were welcomed by volunteers selling primroses and pies to fund-raise for the Cutler Memorial Library.
At the end of the meeting, Stoleroff stood to propose the resolution calling for the abolishment of ICE.
photo by Claire Charlow
Nine Hardwick residents from Colombia, Nicaragua and Ecuador were arrested and detained by ICE in September, according to Vermont Public.
“It’s important that Vermont towns stand up and that people know we care about our residents,” Stoleroff said.
The resolution passed overwhelmingly by a voice vote.
The Right to Grow Food resolution also passed by a voice vote with no opposition.
By passing this resolution, Plainfield residents are petitioning the state legislature to protect the rights of Vermont farmers, specifically those who own four acres of land or less.
photo by Claire Charlow
In 2025, the state Supreme Court overturned decades of legal precedent ruling that farming is not exempt from all municipal regulation, according to the resolution.
“The court concluded that municipalities may regulate all aspects of farming that do not relate to water quality, thereby setting a new precedent,” the resolution states, “in stark contrast to the previous statewide understanding that farming is exempt from municipal zoning regulations.”
According to the resolution, municipal officials are not currently equipped with agricultural expertise to assess the risk the Vermont landscape faces, especially with the increase in natural disasters. Hands-on experience in regulating livestock, nutrient management and land suitability can help in setting evidence-based zoning regulations, it says.
While Plainfield residents participated in discussion and exercised their debate rights on the floor for some controversial article items, they came together near the end.
photo by Claire Charlow
Rae Carter is a Plainfield farmer who proposed the resolution. After it passed, she said it could help small farmers and homesteaders be able to be more in control of their livelihoods.
At the end of the meeting, retiring town Emergency Management Director Michael Billingsley delivered a speech about the impact of natural disasters on Plainfield.
Floods have been displacing Plainfield’s residents, especially those living in valleys and low areas. Average rainfall has increased by several inches, causing the destruction of homes, he said.
Emergency management in Plainfield has been focusing on moving people out of the valley and onto higher ground and mitigating hazardous climate change impacts, he said.
“This is a Vermont town with a long history, and a lot of that history has included disasters where people have pulled together in the past. I am encouraging people to continue to do that again in the future,” Billingsley said.
The present is the time to start preparing for better evacuation plans, better shelter plans and better emergency management plans, he said.
In other business, Plainfield voters approved an appropriation for the Cutler Memorial Library to pay for the librarian, a library assistant and the purchase of materials and services, including those to make the library more accessible to the community.
photo by Claire Charlow
By Australian ballot, voters were asked to approve bonds for repairing and modernizing the water system, and for repairs to Main Street.
Claire Charlow and Eisha Qureshi write for the Community News Service, a University of Vermont internship, for The Hardwick Gazette
Claire Charlow
