News

Town Meeting 2021 results

BRISTOL RESIDENT STEVE Brown delivers his completed ballots to election worker (and town selectboard member) John “Peeker” Heffernan during brisk voting in the basement of Holley Hall on Tuesday afternoon.

ADDISON COUNTY — Here are the results of Addison County’s Town Meeting Day votes.

ADDISON
Addison on Tuesday chose an incumbent over a challenger for a seat on the selectboard in a close race and approved all proposed spending measures, all in Australian balloting conducted on Tuesday.
Addison was the only town in the county to hold an in-person meeting this week — it was an informational meeting on Monday evening at the Addison Town Hall. In the midst of a snowstorm fewer than 10 masked citizens showed up to get the selectboard’s quick preview of items to be voted on the Town Meeting Day ballot the next day.
In the selectboard race multi-term incumbent Peter Briggs defeated political newcomer Geoffrey Grant, 89-76.
There were no other contested races. Among those earning posts were Addison Northwest School Board member Laurie Childers, Lister William Munoff, Auditor Tim Buskey, and TriTown Water Commissioner Larry Simino.
Overall, residents backed all town spending measures. They supported a $471,757 general fund budget, toward which the selectboard had proposed to apply a $43,642 surplus, by 136-3.
Residents also approved $803,044 of road spending, to be offset by a $107,351 surplus, 134-5.
A final article recommended residents agree to establish a “Wastewater Reserve Fund.” Essentially, officials said, this measure changed the existing “Wastewater Project Account” to a reserve fund, and money in the budget for the project will be transferred to the reserve account. It earned support, 122-5.
Officials said the change will allow future annual contributions to pay for maintenance to the town’s new in-ground septic system, which is designed to serve the town clerk’s office, the fire station, Addison Town Hall, and the church next to the town hall. The church agreed to deed the town hall building back to the town in exchange for septic service.
Addison also joined other Addison Northwest School District communities in supporting a $21.6 million 2021-2022 (FY22) budget that came in at about $238,400 less than current district spending. The commingled tally of votes from the five municipalities was 1,052-392.
ANWSD residents also backed by similarly wide margins a number of board proposals on how to handle a roughly $1.6 million ANWSD surplus from the FY20 fiscal year.
Those included using $266,000 to lower the FY22 district tax rate, $890,895 to create an Education Stabilization Fund, placing $475,000 into the existing general district-wide ANWSD capital reserve fund, and using up to $380,000 to mitigate of a mold infestation at Ferrisburgh Central School. 

BRANDON
Incumbent Brandon selectboard chair Seth Hopkins got 691 votes to hold off challenges from three newcomers and retain his one-year seat on the board in Town Meeting Day balloting. One of those challengers — Mike Markowski — tallied 649 votes to win the other one-year selectboard seat on the ballot. Lindsay Berk (475 votes) and Alexandra Breyer (443) finished in third and fourth, respectively.
Incumbent Selectman Tracy Wyman was unopposed in his bid for re-election; he garnered 1,068 votes.
Voters approved everything on the Town Meeting Day ballot in Brandon, from appropriations to a $5.7 million wastewater treatment bond to future retail marijuana sales.
Voter turnout was at 42% with 1,263 people voting out of 2,951 registered voters.
A proposed $3,244,020 municipal budget, of which $2,744,136 will be raised in taxes, was approved, 786-444. The overall spending request is down 0.68% from what was OK’d for this year, and the tax request is up 0.95%.
A $5.7 million bond to upgrade the aging wastewater treatment plant also passed, 805-397. Aldrich and Elliot engineers will now proceed with a plan to upgrade the facility on Union Street, which was built in the 1960s. The project entails replacing and upgrading a number of systems in the plant. Loans and grants totaling $2.5 million will offset some of the bond costs, including a $2.2 million USDA Rural Development Grant, a $3.3 million USDA loan, and a $170,000 planning subsidy from the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund.
With the positive bond vote, final design will be completed soon, bids will go out this month, and construction is expected to begin in May.
The cost of the bond is expected to increase sewer bills by $39/quarter for users.
Brandon is one of four area municipalities where residents voted on whether to allow cannabis retailers in town, once the sale of recreational pot is legal later this year. On Tuesday, 657 voters here answered “yes” and 555 people voted “no.”
Brandon residents joined with voters in the other towns in the Otter Valley Unified Union School District (OVUUSD) and approved a school district spending proposal of $21,039,634, which represents a 3.25% increase. According to a district flier, the single biggest increase (on a percentage basis) is for employee benefits, which are going up 1.41%, or $287,000. OVUUSD voters approved the proposal 1,252-960.
Brandon also voted on three positions on the OV school board. Challenger Natalie Steen beat incumbent Barry Varian, 917-821, for Brandon’s three-year seat on the district school board. Two at-large seats were also up. Incumbent Greg Bernhardt of Leicester won a three-year at-large seat and a second at-large seat went unfilled.

BRIDPORT
Bridport voters on March 2 agreed to change the community’s budget cycle from the current calendar year to a fiscal year, and decided they’ll appoint their delinquent tax collector — as opposed to elect — in future years.
The switch to a fiscal year passed by a 184-57 tally, while the new tax collector hiring process prevailed by a 191-55 tally.
In line with the voted transition to a fiscal year budget, residents OK’d (by a 184-57 vote) an 18-month (Jan. 1, 2021-June 30, 2022) spending plan of $1.4 million for public works and $377,716 for general fund expenses.
Bridport, like most other Addison County communities, conducted all its town meeting business via Australian ballots this year, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In other action on Town Meeting Day, Bridport voters approved:
•  $15,000 for Bridport Fire Department operations, by a 244-13 tally.
•  $8,000 for Townline First Response, 240-15.
•  $16,000 for a repeater to provide better communication options for the fire department and first response, 231-16.
•  A total of $34,508 in funding requests from area nonprofit agencies that serve Bridport residents.
•  Tax-exempt status extensions of five years each for the Bridport Grange (by a 222-25 margin) and Bridport Historical Society (222-25).
In the lone contested election on the Bridport ballot, incumbent Selectman David Bronson topped Pierre Bordeleau, 150-90, for a three-year term on the selectboard.
Those running unopposed included Tim Howlett, selectboard, two years; Stephen Huestis, selectboard, two years; Tim Howlett, town moderator, one year; Richard Shimel, first constable, one year; Bruce Stocker, second constable, one year; and Ernest Audet and Drexel Wheeler for two and three years, respectively, as water commissioners.
No one ran for delinquent tax collector.
Bridport residents also voted on several Addison Central School District issues.
In one of two contested ACSD board elections, incumbent board member (and former Chairman) Peter Conlon topped Chris Kramer, 1,425-1,090, for Cornwall’s lone (three-year) seat on the ACSD board, which oversees preK-12 education for children in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge.
In the other contest, ASCD residents elected Lindsey Hescock and Mary Heather Noble in a three-way race for two, three-year terms representing Middlebury on the ACSD board. Hescock was the top vote getter with 1,774 tallies, followed by Noble with 1,331. Incumbent Davina Desmarais finished out of the running with 915 votes.
Barb Wilson (2,245 votes) was unopposed for a three-year term representing Shoreham on the ACSD board.
All members were voted at-large.
Bridport was one of six ACSD communities that was asked to ratify the town of Ripton’s Jan. 12 vote to withdraw from the district, in an effort to prevent their elementary school from closing. Bridport residents endorsed the move, 189-58. All six of Ripton’s fellow ACSD communities voted in favor of Ripton’s withdrawal. The State Board of Education must now rule on Ripton’s request to become an independent school district.
Bridport voters joined their fellow Addison Central residents in endorsing — by a vote of 2,082 to 668 — a proposed ACSD budget of $40.3 million for the 2021-2022 academic year.
ACSD voters also agreed, by a 2,222 to 488 tally, to allow the school board to transfer $623,744 in Fiscal Year 2020 fund balance to the district’s Capital Reserve Fund.
Bridport is among the communities served by the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, which proposed a 2021-2022 budget of $3,829,301 that passed by a 5,169 to 910 count.

BRISTOL
On Town Meeting Day, Joel Bouvier was re-elected to a three-year term on the town selectboard, and John “Peeker” Heffernan was re-elected to a two-year term.
The following officials were also elected:
•  First Constable: Bruce Nason.
•  Second Constable: Brian K. Fox.
•  Listers: David S. Cobb and Patricia L. King.
•  Library Trustees: Caroline Engvall and Jill Mackler.
Write-in candidates for town meeting moderator did not garner enough votes to win election.
All of the warned articles in Bristol were voted on by Australian ballot this year, and all of them passed. On Tuesday voters approved:
•  $976,393 in General Fund spending in the coming year.
•  $809,116 in public works and highway spending.
•  $307,211 for the Arts, Parks and Recreation Department.
•  25 voted appropriations totaling $101,281.
•  $512,000 for various Town Reserve Fund accounts.
•  $144,248 for Lawrence Memorial Library.
•  $29,000 for the Bristol Cemetery Association.
•  The transfer of $75,000 from the Fire Department Equipment Fund to the Fire Department Vehicle Fund, to help pay for a new fire engine.
Bristol voters also adopted a new town plan, which includes an enhanced energy plan.
Folks in the Bristol Police District (primarily the village) approved $455,987 in spending for the Bristol Police Department next year.
In two contested races for the Mount Abraham Unified School District board, Krista Siringo and Kevin Hanson were each re-elected.
Siringo defeated Pamela Jennings and William Mount, 353-142-96.
Hanson defeated Erin Jipner, 316-281.
Bristol voters, along with MAUSD voters from four other towns, also approved a $31,753,310 education spending plan for the coming school year, 1,320-696, with all ballots commingled.
A total of 637 ballots were cast in Bristol on Tuesday, of which 288 were absentee.

CORNWALL
School-related issues dominated 2021 town meeting in Cornwall this year.
Incumbent Addison Central School District board member (and former Chairman) Peter Conlon topped Chris Kramer, 1,425-1,090, for Cornwall’s lone (three-year) seat on the ACSD board.
In the other ACSD board contest, residents elected Lindsey Hescock and Mary Heather Noble in a three-way race for two, three-year terms representing Middlebury on the ACSD board. Hescock was the top vote-getter with 1,774 tallies, followed by Noble with 1,331. Incumbent Davina Desmarais finished out of the running with 915 votes.
Barb Wilson (2,245 votes) was unopposed for a three-year term representing Shoreham on the ACSD board.
All members were voted at-large.
Cornwall was one of six ACSD communities that was asked to ratify the town of Ripton’s Jan. 12 vote to withdraw from the district, which is an effort to save their school from closing. Cornwall residents endorsed the move, 425-67. All six of Ripton’s fellow ACSD communities voted in favor of Ripton’s withdrawal. The State Board of Education must now rule on Ripton’s request to become an independent school district.
As is the case in most Addison County towns, all of Cornwall’s town meeting business was conducted by Australian ballot on Tuesday due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Residents adopted the Cornwall selectboard’s proposed 2021-2022 general fund spending plan of $499,608, by a 471-22 tally.
The proposed highway budget of $451,713 passed muster by a 468-21 tally.
Cornwall residents on Town Meeting Day also approved:
•  $69,750 in funding for the Cornwall Volunteer Fire Department, 488-11.
•  $4,000 for Cornwall Free Public Library, 469-26.
•  A total of $30,520 to support two-dozen Addison County nonprofits that help Cornwall residents, by a 455-37 vote.
•  A $3,500 fund transfer to the Cornwall Conservation Fund to pay for educational and outreach conservation programs from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022. This passed, 436-53. The unspent portion of the $3,500 will remain in the Conservation Fund as a reserve to be used to support long-term conservation efforts — such as helping to conserve farms and natural areas.
•  A $10,000 installment toward the cost of a town-wide reappraisal, anticipated within the next three or five years. This passed, 406-65.
There were no contested local elections in Cornwall this year. Those running unopposed included Cy Tall, town moderator, one year; Susan Johnson, town clerk, three years; Susan Johnson, town treasurer, three years; John Roberts, selectboard, three years; Tanya Byker, selectboard, two years; and Rodney Cadoret, collector of delinquent taxes, one year.
Cornwall voters joined their fellow Addison Central residents in endorsing — by a vote of 2,082 to 668 — a proposed ACSD budget of $40.3 million for the 2021-2022 academic year.
ACSD voters also agreed, 2,222-488, to allow the school board to transfer $623,744 in Fiscal Year 2020 fund balance to the district’s Capital Reserve Fund.
Cornwall is among the communities served by the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, which this year proposed a 2021-2022 budget of $3,829,301 that passed, 5,169-910.

FERRISBURGH
Ferrisburgh residents on Tuesday re-elected two selectboard members, one in a contested race, and passed all proposed articles on its town meeting warning, including spending measures, a truck purchase and new zoning regulations.
In the contested selectboard race, incumbent Red Muir turned back challenger Billy Larrow, 270-118, for a three-year term. Incumbent Jim Benoit faced no opposition for another two years on the board.
The selectboard’s budget proposal of $2,171,467 passed, 334-112.
Other articles on the warning will add to total spending in the upcoming fiscal year. Residents backed, each by wide margins:
•  $31,905 of charitable requests were.
•  $220,000 for a tandem dump truck for the highway department, of which $190,000 will be financed.
•  A new tree reserve fund, adding $4,500 in spending.
•  A reserve fund for a new fire truck, meaning $30,000 a year for each of the next five years.
All those items bring the new budget total to $2,262,562, adding about $74,000 to current spending. But because Ferrisburgh officials expect a grand list increase, they said the tax impact should be minimal.
Residents also backed, 311-116,  an update to Ferrisburgh’s Land Use Regulations. Among other things, those laws will create new districts in the Old Hollow Road village and in the mixed-use area including the school, town offices, homes and commercial property along and near Route 7.
Ferrisburgh joined other Addison Northwest School District board communities in supporting a $21.6 million 2021-2022 (FY22) budget that came in at about $238,400 less than current district spending. The commingled tally was 1,052-392.
ANWSD residents also backed by similarly wide margins a number of board proposals on how to handle a roughly $1.6 million ANWSD surplus from fiscal year 2020.
Those included using $266,000 to lower the FY22 district tax rate, $890,895 to create an Education Stabilization Fund, placing $475,000 into the existing general district-wide ANWSD capital reserve fund, and using up to $380,000 to mitigat a mold infestation issue at Ferrisburgh Central School. 

GOSHEN
Goshen, which normally hosts a community-oriented pot luck dinner before their town meeting each March, this year settled for a virtual informational meeting that drew only 12 participants — including the three selectboard members.
“One citizen wanted to catch up on the local news (during the meeting) … but the selectboard didn’t want there to be talk about politics,” said Assistant Town Clerk Marci Hayes, who is also the selectboard secretary, the town zoning administrator, and a road crew member. On Tuesday Hayes also won re-election as Goshen’s first constable.
On Town Meeting Day 21 residents came to the town office to vote on a Goshen ballot that included nine offices to be filled and five articles to be yea’d or nay’d. Those voters were in addition to the 40-something who cast absentee ballots. Hayes said town officials figured that with the ease of the absentee ballot Goshen might get a few more citizens taking part this year, but the overall number of votes cast was only one more than the usual Town Meeting Day.
All of five of the articles passed overwhelmingly
That included a request for $235,269 for general expenses, which represents a decrease of $13,274, or 5.3%, from the figure approved a year ago. To cover highway expenses, voters agreed to spend $217,200 — an increase of $1,000 over last year.
Selectboard Co-chair Diane O’Classen won re-election to a three-year seat on the town’s top governing body. Bill Mathis will continue as town moderator.
In school voting, Goshen residents joined with voter in the other towns in the Otter Valley Unified Union School District (OVUUSD) and approved a school district spending proposal of $21,039,634, which represents a 3.25% increase. According to a district flier, the largest increase is for employee benefits, which are going up 1.41%, or $287,000. OVUUSD voters approved the proposal 1,252-960.
Goshen also voted on three positions on the OV school board. Incumbent board member Bill Mathis, who is the town’s representative on the OV board, won re-election. Greg Bernhardt of Leicester won a three-year at-large seat on the OVUUSD board and a second at-large seat went unfilled.

GRANVILLE
Skipping an in-person town meeting and instead deciding all Town Meeting Day questions by Australian ballot drew larger participation in Granville. Town Clerk Kathy Werner said the White River Valley town in the northeast corner of Addison County drew 102 votes on Tuesday.
Residents were pretty clear in their preferences on most questions on the Town Meeting Day warning, except on Article 11: Shall the Town of Granville vote to support the construction of a cell tower off North Hollow Road in Granville? The results were 50 in favor and 47 opposed. Five voters left the question blank, but they could have swayed the outcome if they had voted no.
In the related Article 12 — Shall the Town of Granville vote to alert residents if 5G cellular technology is considered within its boundaries — drew a more distinct result: 74 in favor and 22 opposed.
“I think people just want to be notified about cell towers,” Werner said.
Both cell phone questions were advisory only.
In binding results, Granville residents overwhelmingly backed a proposed $375,061 municipal spending plan. That is lower than the figure approved last year. The tally was 93-7. They also voted, 78-24, to spend $80,000 repairing the town hall steeple. The town already secured a $20,000 matching grant from the Vermont Department of Historic Preservation to pay some of the bill. Snow and rain have taken a toll on the nearly 100-foot-tall steeple, easily the tallest structure in town.
For town offices, newcomer Rachel Grigorian won an uncontested three-year term on the selectboard. Also, Jennifer Stickney, who was appointed to the selectboard last fall, on Tuesday won voter approval to finish out a term that ends in 2023.
Werner said the Australian ballot voting went smoothly and had its benefits, but “people like to get together” for the annual meeting.

HANCOCK
Residents of Hancock expected a pretty quiet town meeting this year, and they got it. The town budget and requested appropriations passed. Pandemic-inspired Australian ballot voting for town officers (this is usually voted on from the floor of town meeting) resulted in an unsurprising slate of winners.
Incumbent selectboard members Scott Gillette and Dan Perera both won re-election — Perera for a three-year seat and Gillette for a two-year term on the board. Both gentlemen also won write-in races for other positions. Gillette was the new constable and Perera was written in as road commissioner (though, to be fair, he was appointed to the job within the past year and just didn’t have his name on the ballot).
Another unsurprising write-in winner was James Leno, who didn’t get around to having his name put on the ballot for moderator but then won the position with the most write-ins.
On the spending front, residents voted Yes on the warned municipal budget of $375,545, which covers both general expenses and highway spending. That figure was slightly less than the figure approved last year.
Hancock residents also OK’d spending $29,435 on appropriations to 13 social service agencies, including $19,703 to White River Valley Ambulance.
Forty-five Hancock residents cast ballots on the spending questions, and most, if not all, were yes votes, Town Clerk Jody Jessup recalled from memory on Tuesday.

LEICESTER
Only 10 residents showed up at the Leicester town office Tuesday to vote in person, with another 203 residents casting absentee ballots. Voters represented a 29% turnout.
The results of the elections could mostly have been predicted, since there were no races on the ballot.
Incumbents Tom Barker won a two-year seat on the selectboard and Brad Lawes won a three-year selectboard seat. Other election winners were Richard Reed for moderator, Deborah M. Miner for auditor (three years), and Beth Swinington Ripley for delinquent tax collector (one year). The position of auditor on the ballot went unfilled.
Voters were also disposed to accept the Leicester selectboard’s proposed $746,436 town spending plan. Specifically, residents affirmed general expenses of $310,846 (with $289,276 to be raised by taxes), which represents an increase of $5,151, or 1.7%; and they OK’d proposed highway spending of $435,590 (with $296,947 raised in taxes), which is $46,000, or 11.8%, more than was OK’d last year. Leicester votes on the entire spending plan, not the components. The outcome was 168 in favor and 40 opposed.
Leicester and the other Otter Valley Unified Union School District (OVUUSD) towns approved a school district spending proposal of $21,039,634, which represents a 3.25% increase. The single biggest increase was for employee benefits, which are going up 1.41%, or $287,000. OVUUSD voters approved the proposal 1,252-960.
Residents of Leicester got to vote on two positions on the OV school board: Leicester resident Greg Bernhardt was re-elected to a three-year at-large seat by voters across the district and a second at-large seat went unfilled.

LINCOLN
On Town Meeting Day in Lincoln, Paul Forlenza was re-elected to a three-year term on the selectboard and Oakley Smith was re-elected to a two-year term on the panel. Both ran unopposed.
The following officials were also elected in Lincoln:
•  Town Clerk: Sally Ober.
•  Town Treasurer: Lisa Truchon.
•  First Constable: Matt Collins.
•  Second Constable: Mark Truax.
•  Collector of Delinquent Taxes: Nancy Stevens.
•  Town Meeting Moderator: Todd Goodyear.
•  Lister: Dan Adam.
•  Lincoln Library Trustee: Grace Smith Freeman.
All of the warned articles in Lincoln were voted by Australian ballot this year, and all of them passed. On Tuesday, Lincoln voters approved:
•  $461,009 in General Fund spending.
•  $1,043,083 in highway spending.
•  a $150,000 deposit into the Paving Reserve Fund.
•  $44,000 for the Lincoln Library.
•  $55,896 for the Lincoln Volunteer Fire Company.
•  $41,710 for various voted appropriations.
•  a selectboard raise to $2,000 per member per year, with an additional $1,000 for the board chair.
Sandra Lee was elected to a three-year term on the Mount Abraham Unified School District board, filling a seat that was previously held by Sarah McClain, who decided not to seek re-election this year.
Lincoln residents, along with Mount Abraham Union School District voters from four other towns, collectively approved a $31,753,310 education spending plan for the coming school year, 1,320-696.
A total of 410 Lincoln residents cast Town Meeting Day ballots this year — 110 in person and 300 absentee.

MIDDLEBURY
Middlebury residents elected a new selectboard member and decisively passed the handful of articles on their 2021 Town Meeting Day warning — including a proposal that signals the community’s willingness to host cannabis retail stores in the future.
The cannabis retail referendum passed by a 951-546 tally. Vermont’s Act 164, which legalized recreational marijuana, requires a municipality to “opt in” by a vote of residents before a cannabis retailer can open in that community. Middlebury was one of more than a dozen Vermont municipalities that fielded the opt-in votes, including Vergennes, Salisbury and Brandon.
Residents picked Esther Thomas over Andy Hooper in the race for a one-year term on the Middlebury selectboard. Thomas, who won by an 812-633 margin, will serve out the one year remaining on a three-year term vacated last year by incumbent Victor Nuovo.
Incumbent selectboard members Lindsey Fuentes-George and Farhad Khan were unopposed for new three-year terms.
Also running unopposed were Susan Shashok, town moderator, one year; Hudson Tilford, lister, three years; and Meg Baker and Amy Mincher, both for three-years terms on the Ilsley Library Board of Trustees.
Middlebury conducted all its town meeting business by Australian ballot this year.
Voters approved a fiscal year 2022 municipal spending plan of $11,510,928 by a 1,308-166 margin. The budget — which maintains current services — reflects an infusion of $622,706 in surplus local option tax revenues that will offset spending on capital improvements within the town. The budget reflects a $66,472 decrease in spending compared to this year, and will add two-tenths-of-a-penny increase on the current municipal tax rate of 80.34 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
Middlebury residents fielded several issues dealing with the Addison Central School District.
Of particular interest in Middlebury — ASCD residents elected Lindsey Hescock and Mary Heather Noble in a three-way race for two, three-year terms representing Middlebury on the ACSD board. Hescock was the top vote-getter with 1,774 tallies, followed by Noble with 1,331. Incumbent Davina Desmarais finished out of the running with 915 votes.
In the other ACSD board contest, incumbent board member (and former chairman) Peter Conlon topped Chris Kramer, 1,425-1,090, for Cornwall’s lone (three-year) seat on the panel
Barb Wilson (2,245 votes) was unopposed for a three-year term representing Shoreham on the ACSD board.
All members were voted at-large.
Middlebury was one of six ACSD communities that was asked to ratify the town of Ripton’s Jan. 12 vote to withdraw from the district, an effort to prevent their elementary school from closing. Middlebury residents endorsed the move, 1,180-312 (see related story on Page 1A). All six of Ripton’s fellow ACSD communities voted in favor of Ripton’s withdrawal. The State Board of Education must now rule on Ripton’s request to become an independent school district.
Middlebury voters joined their fellow Addison Central residents in endorsing — by a vote of 2,082- 668 — a proposed ACSD budget of $40.3 million. ACSD voters also agreed, 2,222-488 tally, to allow the school board to transfer $623,744 in Fiscal Year 2020 fund balance to the district’s Capital Reserve Fund.
Middlebury is among the communities served by the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, which this year proposed a 2021-2022 budget of $3,829,301 that passed by 5,169-910.

MONKTON
On Town Meeting Day, Stephen Pilcher was re-elected to a three-year term on the selectboard and John McNerney was re-elected to a two-year term. Both ran unopposed.
The following officials were also elected:
•  Town Clerk: Sharon Gomez.
•  Town Moderator: Kenneth Wheeling.
•  Constable: Marc Beaupre.
•  Auditor: Robin Huizenga.
•  Planning Commission: Ivor Hughes and Gayle Grim.
•  Library Trustee: Ian Smiley.
Two lister positions remain unfilled.
All of the warned articles in Monkton were voted by Australian ballot this year, and all of them passed. On Tuesday, voters approved:
•  $1,262,249 in highway spending.
•  $487,283 for salaries and general expenses.
•  $175,445 for capital funds and voted appropriations, including spending for the Monkton Fire Department and Russell Memorial Library.
•  $118,000 for a new tractor and roadside mower.
They also approved the new Unified Planning Document that was approved by the selectboard on Jan. 25.
Monkton voters, along with voters from four other Mount Abraham Unified School District towns, also approved a $31,753,310 education spending plan for the coming school year 1,320-696, with all ballots commingled.
“This was a long but good election day,” Town Clerk Sharon Gomez said. “Everything went smoothly. And I have an amazing support team. I couldn’t do it without the team effort.”

NEW HAVEN
On Town Meeting Day in New Haven, Steve Dupoise was re-elected to a two-year term on the selectboard, and Bruce Many defeated incumbent Jim Walsh for a three-year term on the selectboard, 207-157.
The Independent was not able to reach Many or Walsh for comment before press time.
The following officials were also elected in New Haven on Tuesday:
•  Auditor: Karen Gallott.
•  Listers: Michelle Litch and Ted Foster.
•  Delinquent Tax Collector: Sylviasue Ford.
•  Moderator: Pam Marsh.
All of the warned articles in New Haven were voted by Australian ballot this year, and all of them passed. On Tuesday, voters approved:
•  $717,226 in General Fund spending, plus a $475,000 school payment.
•  $1,242,999 in Road Fund spending.
•  spending up to $10,000 to paint the town office interior and up to $40,000 for external repairs to the building.
•  smaller appropriations totaling $26,208.
Sarah LaPerle was re-elected to a three-year term on the Mount Abraham Unified School District board. She ran unopposed.
New Haven voters, along with MAUSD voters from four other towns, approved a $31,753,310 education spending plan for the coming school year, 1,320-696, with all ballots commingled.
A total of 387 New Haven residents cast Town Meeting Day ballots this year.

ORWELL
2021 was a year for a quiet town meeting in Orwell. Instead of holding a live annual gathering at the town hall, Orwell residents on Tuesday used Australian ballots to decide 27 articles and 13 elected offices.
In the only contested election on the ballot — a race for a one-year posting as first constable — Allen R. Alger defeated incumbent Rebecca Heibler.
Two selectboard incumbents ran unopposed — board Chair Thomas Audet earned a three-year seat and Vice Chair Bill Goddard was re-elected to a two-year seat. Town Clerk Betty Walker and Town Treasurer Bryan Young both won re-election to their one-year jobs.
Orwell residents OK’d the big-ticket item — the $1,134,701 town spending plan, which is $12,452, or about 1%, more than the figure approved last March. The approved 2021 budget will require $675,743 in taxes, which is more than 10% less than last year’s figure.
Also approved was the $176,743 proposed sewer budget, $26,000 to purchase about 1 acre next to the firehouse to facilitate drainage, and $20,000 to replace the gazebo on the town green.
Also by Australian ballot on March 2, Orwell residents joined with other towns in the Slate Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) in OK’ing the  $26,280,385 spending proposal, which represents a decrease of $122,201 or 0.46%. The projected spending per equalized pupil ($16,483) is 0.55% greater than spending for the current year. Voters in the six-town district voted 868-810 in favor of the spending plan.
SVUSD towns also approved, 1,028-565, the transfer $882,500 (from a $2.6 million surplus) to the Capital Improvements and Repairs Reserve Fund.
Peter Stone, Orwell’s representative on the Slate Valley school board, won re-election uncontested.  

PANTON
In Australian balloting on Tuesday, Panton re-elected an incumbent selectboard member in a closely contested race, approved constructing new buildings for the town’s road department, and backed all spending proposals.
Residents returned Teresa Smith to the selectboard: She defeated challenger Megan Vorsteveld, 94-79, in a race for a three-year term. 
Kirsten De La Cruz was elected to finish the final two years of a three-year term on the selectboard, replacing a board member who had resigned. But a position representing Panton on the Vergennes-Panton Water District board remained unfilled.
Residents backed, 145-36, a town spending plan of $744,375 for the coming fiscal year. That’s about  $19,000 less than last year’s roughly $763,600.
That budget figure doesn’t include $8,100 of support for nonprofits that Panton residents also approved easily, along with six reserve funds appropriations totaling $50,000 for which the selectboard sought approval.  
And they authorized the selectboard to seek a 10-year loan of up to $270,000 to build a new salt shed and equipment barn at the town garage site on Panton Road. That vote went 128-51 in favor. 
Panton joined other Addison Northwest School District board communities in supporting a $21.6 million 2021-2022 (FY22) budget that came in at about $238,400 less than current district spending. The commingled tally was 1,052-392.
ANWSD residents also backed by similarly wide margins a number of board proposals on how to handle a roughly $1.6 million ANWSD surplus from the 2020 fiscal year.
Those included using $266,000 to lower the FY22 district tax rate, $890,895 to create an Education Stabilization Fund, placing $475,000 into the existing general district-wide ANWSD capital reserve fund, and using up to $380,000 to mitigate a mold infestation at Ferrisburgh Central School. 

RIPTON
All eyes in Ripton were on the Town Meeting Day ballot returns in the six other communities in the Addison Central School District, all of which endorsed the small mountain town’s bid to withdraw from the ACSD and become its own independent school district.
Voters in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge were asked on Tuesday to ratify the town of Ripton’s bid to withdraw from the district. A majority of Ripton residents on Jan. 12 had already voted in favor of leaving the ACSD in an effort to prevent their elementary school from closing. The State Board of Education must now rule on Ripton’s request to become an independent school district.
If a majority of residents in any of the six towns had voted against ratification, Ripton’s withdrawal bid would have died.
All voting in Ripton and most other Addison County towns was done via Australian ballot on Tuesday.
Ripton residents voted, 172-9, to support a combined total of $647,361.68 in spending for highway and general fund services during fiscal year 2022, which begins July 1.
Local residents on Tuesday also supported:
•  A total of $26,126 in funding requests from area nonprofit agencies that serve Ripton residents.
•  $41,000 for the Ripton Volunteer Fire and First Response Department, 171-9.
•  $6,000 to the Ripton Cemetery Commission, 169-12.
•  Continuation of a reduced property tax bill for the Silver Towers Camp — owned and operated by the Vermont Elks Association Inc. — amounting to 33% of what would otherwise be due. This passed, 143-13.
There were no contested local elections in Ripton this year. Those running unopposed included Ron Wimett, selectman, three years; Molly Witters, moderator, one year; Carolyn Smith, delinquent tax collector, one year; Perry Hanson, constable, one year; Beth Eliason, lister, three years; and Carole Cummings, cemetery commissioner, five years.
In one of two contested ACSD board elections, incumbent board member (and former Chairman) Peter Conlon topped Chris Kramer, 1,425-1,090, for Cornwall’s lone (three-year) seat on the ACSD board, which oversees preK-12 education for children in seven towns.
In the other contest, ACSD residents elected Lindsey Hescock and Mary Heather Noble in a three-way race for two, three-year terms representing Middlebury on the ACSD board. Hescock was the top vote getter with 1,774 tallies, followed by Noble with 1,331. Incumbent Davina Desmarais finished out of the running with 915 votes.
Barb Wilson (2,245 votes) was unopposed for a three-year term representing Shoreham on the ACSD board.
All members were voted at-large.
Ripton voters joined their fellow Addison Central residents in endorsing — by a vote of 2,082 to 668 — a proposed ACSD budget of $40.3 million in the 2021-2022 academic year.
ACSD voters also agreed, by a 2,222 to 488 tally, to allow the school board to transfer $623,744 in Fiscal Year 2020 fund balance to the district’s Capital Reserve Fund.
Ripton is among the communities served by the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, which this year proposed a 2021-2022 budget of $3,829,301 that passed, 5,169-910.

SALISBURY
Salisbury voters on Tuesday defeated a proposed $25,411 budget for mosquito control services next year, and sent a signal that the town is open to hosting cannabis retail stores in the future.
The funding request for the Brandon-Leicester-Salisbury-Goshen-Pittsford (BLSG) Insect Control District lost by a decisive 132-92 margin. The proposed budget had generated a lot of debate through Salisbury virtual meetings, social media and letters to the editor in the Independent, with opponents voicing their opposition to the annual spraying of mosquito adulticide.
Residents voted 118-105 in favor of an article signaling that Salisbury will entertain applications for cannabis retail stores in the future. Vermont’s Act 164, which legalized recreational marijuana, requires a municipality to “opt in” before a cannabis retailer can open in that community. That can only be done via a Yes/No vote of residents. Salisbury was one of more than a dozen Vermont municipalities that fielded the “opt-in” vote. Locally, Vergennes (387-185), Middlebury (951-546) and Brandon (657-555) also entertained cannabis retail votes (see related story on Page 1A).
As is the case with most Addison County towns, Salisbury conducted all its town meeting business by Australian ballot this year. The selectboard convened a virtual informational meeting on Saturday, Feb. 27, that had to be shut down part way after being “Zoom bombed” by multiple people and web bots from all over the world. Meeting organizers said viewers were “subjected to sexually offensive material, some racist comments, annoying noises, and other intrusive conversation.”
Undaunted, officials resumed the virtual meeting without a hitch on Sunday, Feb. 28, with added precautions.
Salisbury residents on March 2 voted, 194-24, in favor of a 2021-2022 highway budget of $505,669, and 202-18 in support of a general fund budget proposal of $285,828.
Local residents also endorsed:
•  By a 200-22 tally, the creation of a “Computer Equipment Reserve Fund,” to be used for necessary for technology upgrades. This reserve fund would be financed at the end of each fiscal year with any unspent money in the general budget that was earmarked for compute-related purchases.
•  A total of $89,625 for various municipal and nonprofit operations that provide services to Salisbury residents. It should be noted that $43,240 of that sum is for the Salisbury Volunteer Fire Department.
In Salisbury’s lone contested election this year, Ryan Emilio topped Jeff McDonough, 113-88, for a one-year term as first constable. Candidates running unopposed included Wayne Smith, moderator, one year; Susan Scott, town clerk, one year; Christopher “Kip” Andres, selectboard, three years; and John Nuceder, selectboard, two years.
Salisbury residents also voted on several issues related to the Addison Central School District, which provides preK-12 education for children in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge.
Salisbury was one of six ACSD communities asked to ratify the town of Ripton’s Jan. 12 vote to withdraw from the district. Salisbury residents endorsed the move by a 174-45 tally. All six of Ripton’s fellow ACSD communities voted in favor of Ripton’s withdrawal. The State Board of Education must now rule on Ripton’s request to become an independent school district.
In one of two contested ACSD board elections, incumbent board member (and former Chairman) Peter Conlon topped Chris Kramer, 1,425-1,090, for Cornwall’s lone (three-year) seat on the ACSD board.
In the other contest, ASCD residents elected Lindsey Hescock and Mary Heather Noble in a three-way race for two, three-year terms representing Middlebury on the ACSD board. Hescock was the top vote getter with 1,774 tallies, followed by Noble with 1,331. Incumbent Davina Desmarais finished out of the running with 915 votes.
Barb Wilson (2,245 votes) was unopposed for a three-year term representing Shoreham on the ACSD board.
All members were voted at-large.
Salisbury voters joined their fellow Addison Central residents in endorsing — by a vote of 2,082 to 668 — a proposed ACSD budget of $40.3 million for the 2021-2022 academic year.
ACSD voters also agreed, by a 2,222 to 488 tally, to allow the school board to transfer $623,744 in Fiscal Year 2020 fund balance to the district’s Capital Reserve Fund.
Salisbury is among the communities served by the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, which this year proposed a 2021-2022 budget of $3,829,301 that passed by a 5,169 to 910 count.

SHOREHAM
Shoreham residents in Town Meeting Day voting supported, by a 218-27 tally, a 2021-2022 highway budget of $901,740, as well as a general fund request of $382,959 by a 224-21 margin.
Shoreham residents also voted overwhelmingly in favor of the transfer of $20,000 from the Highway Fund into the Highway Equipment Reserve Fund, and 20 separate funding requests for municipal and nonprofit entities that deliver services to Shoreham residents.
As is the case with most Addison County towns, Shoreham conducted its business by Australian ballot this year.
There were no contested local elections in Shoreham. Those running unopposed included Julie Ortuno, town clerk, one year; Kathleen Brisson, town treasurer, one year; Loren Wood, selectboard, three years; Molly Francis and Eric Boire, selectboard, each for terms of two years; Laura Siebecker, library trustee, five years; Linda Larrabee and Linda Oaks, planning commission, both for terms of four years; and Lance Wood, water commissioner, one year.
Shoreham residents also cast ballots on several issues dealing with Addison Central School District, which provides preK-12 education for children in Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge.
Shoreham was one of six ACSD communities asked to ratify the town of Ripton’s Jan. 12 vote to withdraw from the district (see related story on Page 1A). Shoreham residents endorsed the move by a 210-32 tally. All six of Ripton’s fellow ACSD communities voted in favor of Ripton’s withdrawal. The State Board of Education must now rule on Ripton’s request to become an independent school district.
In one of two contested ACSD board elections, incumbent board member (and former Chairman) Peter Conlon topped Chris Kramer, 1,425-1,090, for Cornwall’s lone (three-year) seat on the ACSD board.
In the other contest, ASCD residents elected Lindsey Hescock and Mary Heather Noble in a three-way race for two, three-year terms representing Middlebury on the ACSD board. Hescock was the top vote getter with 1,774 tallies, followed by Noble with 1,331. Incumbent Davina Desmarais finished out of the running with 915 votes.
Barb Wilson (2,245 votes) was unopposed for a three-year term representing Shoreham on the ACSD board.
All members were voted at-large.
Shoreham voters joined their fellow Addison Central residents in endorsing — by a vote of 2,082 to 668 — a proposed ACSD budget of $40.3 million for the 2021-2022 academic year.
ACSD voters also agreed, by a 2,222 to 488 tally, to allow the school board to transfer $623,744 in Fiscal Year 2020 fund balance to the district’s Capital Reserve Fund.
Shoreham is among the communities served by the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, which this year proposed a 2021-2022 budget of $3,829,301 that passed by a 5,169 to 910 count.

STARKSBORO
On Town Meeting Day in Starksboro, Koran Cousino was re-elected to a three-year term on the town selectboard, and recent selectboard appointee Carin McCarthy defeated Carrie Austgen for a two-year term, 195-44.
McCarthy’s email comments to the Independent Wednesday morning were full of gratitude.
“I was glad to be able to help out at the polls on Tuesday,” McCarthy explained. “It was an honor to get to sit beside Cheryl Estey at the Robinson School polling station and watch her in her element, on her last day as town clerk. After visiting with community members as they came in to vote, I was reminded of what a gift it is to live in a place like Starksboro, where really people care about what happens around town.”
Now that she’s been elected, McCarthy plans to focus on “creating opportunities that support a vibrant Starksboro community into the next generation,” she said.
Austgen, who is a recent transplant to Starksboro, was upbeat on Wednesday.
“I am excited for Starksboro as Carin will do a magnificent job,” Austgen said. 
On Tuesday in Starksboro the following officials were also elected:
•  Town Clerk: Amy McCormick.
•  Town Treasurer: Amy McCormick.
•  Delinquent Tax Collector: Amy McCormick.
•  Moderator: Keegan Tierney.
•  Lister: Norman Cota.
•  Auditor: Thomas Payeur.
•  Planning Commission: Denny Barnard and Dennis Casey.
•  Cemetery Commission: Peter Antos-Ketcham and Larry Shepard.
•  Library Trustees: Christa Finnern and Susan Thompson.
All of the warned articles in Starksboro were voted on by Australian ballot, and all of them passed. On Tuesday voters approved:
•  $1,008,311 in General Fund spending.
•  $51,239 for the Fire Department Equipment Reserve Fund.
•  $101,158 for the Road Equipment Service Fund.
•  $40,000 for the Paving Reserve Fund.
•  $35,375 for the Starksboro Public Library.
•  $47,000 for various in-town funding requests.
•  $28,536 for various out-of-town funding requests.
Steve Rooney was re-elected to a three-year term on the Mount Abraham Unified School District board. He ran unopposed.
Starksboro voters, along with MAUSD voters from four other towns, collectively approved a $31,753,310 education spending plan for the coming school year, 1,320-696.
A total of 284 Town Meeting Day ballots were cast this year in Starksboro, including 124 absentee/mail-in ballots.

VERGENNES
Vergennes has a new mayor as of Tuesday. Former City Councilor and City Manager Matt Chabot turned back a write-in challenge from incumbent Mayor Lynn Donnelly to easily win the position, 441-96.
Former Addison Northwest School District Board Chair Susan Rakowski and incumbents Ian Huizenga and Mel Hawley were the winners in a five-way race for three city council seats. Multi-term incumbent Lowell Bertrand lost his seat, and challenger Ray Paul came up short in his bid.
The vote tally in Australian balloting was Rakowski, 387; Huizenga, 378; Hawley, 346; Bertrand, 293; and Paul, 130.
Running unopposed elsewhere on the ballot and returned to their posts were Addison Northwest School District (ANWSD) board member Mark Koenig, Vergennes-Panton Water District Commissioner Thelma “Kitty” Oxholm, Lister Christopher Bearor, and Auditor Jennifer Russell. 
Vergennes residents also backed, by a margin of 387-185, a measure to allow retail cannabis operations in Vergennes, subject to municipal review and laws. (Editor’s note: Originally we gave incorrect vote totals for the retail cabbabis referendum; we apologize.)
They also supported property tax exemptions for a Masonic Lodge and the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad and approved requests from all nonprofits on the ballot.
Vergennes also joined other ANWSD communities in supporting a $21.6 million 2021-2022 (FY22) budget that came in at about $238,400 less than current district spending. The commingled tally was 1,052-392.
ANWSD residents also backed by similarly wide margins a number of board proposals on how to handle a roughly $1.6 million ANWSD surplus from the 2020 fiscal year.
Those included using $266,000 to lower the FY22 district tax rate, $890,895 to create an Education Stabilization Fund, placing $475,000 into the existing general district-wide ANWSD capital reserve fund, and using up to $380,000 to mitigate of a mold infestation at Ferrisburgh Central School. 

WALTHAM 
Waltham residents on Tuesday voted by Australian ballot to support all financial proposals and measures allowing the selectboard to appoint the town’s clerk and treasurer, historically elected positions in the small town.
Those separate measures passed, 60-3 for the clerk post and 61-3 for the treasurer position.
In the last election for the post, incumbent acting clerk/treasurer Lucille Evarts, who was injured in a traffic accident on Monday, was elected overwhelmingly as the clerk while running unopposed, according to Selectboard Chair Tim Ryan.
Residents backed, 62-2, the selectboard’s proposed budget of $239,086, up about $20,000 over current spending. Increases were due to $13,500 in road maintenance costs and $6,500 additional to a reserve fund for buildings and grounds.
Also easily winning approval were redefinitions of three existing reserve funds and creations of two new reserve funds, all of which were in the budget proposal and totaled about $22,000. 
Residents also supported $12,000 of a fund balance to be used to offset tax increases. With that approved, the selectboard estimated the bottom-line increase in money needed to be raised from tax revenue would be about $10,000.
Waltham also joined other Addison Northwest School District board communities in supporting a $21.6 million 2021-2022 (FY22) budget that was $238,400 less than current district spending. The commingled tally was 1,052-392.
ANWSD residents also backed by similarly wide margins a number of board proposals on how to handle a roughly $1.6 million ANWSD surplus from the 2020 fiscal year.
Those included using $266,000 to lower the FY22 district tax rate, $890,895 to create an Education Stabilization Fund, placing $475,000 into the existing general district-wide ANWSD capital reserve fund, and using up to $380,000 to mitigate a mold infestation at Ferrisburgh Central School. 

WEYBRIDGE
Weybridge residents on March 2 approved level-funded highway and town budgets, and weighed in on an attempt by the town of Ripton to leave the Addison Central School District (ACSD).
As is the case with most Addison County towns, Weybridge conducted all its business by Australian ballot this year.
Voters endorsed a 2021-2022 highway budget of $519,400, by a 256-2 tally.
The general fund request of $168,800 earned approval by a 248-9 margin.
Weybridge residents also passed:
•  A $25,000 appropriation for the Weybridge Volunteer Fire Department, by a 255-4 tally.
•  $10,000 to continue the community’s volunteer recycling program for another year. This passed 252-7.
•  A combined total of $27,925 for more than a dozen Addison County-based charitable organizations that provide diverse services to Weybridge residents in need.
There were no contested elections on the ballot this year in Weybridge. Those running unopposed included Dan James, selectboard, two years; Stacey Rainey, selectboard, three years; Spence Putnam, moderator, one year; Kristine Bowdish, constable, one year.
Weybridge residents also weighed in on several Addison Central School District issues.
The town was one of six ACSD communities asked to ratify the town of Ripton’s Jan. 12 vote to withdraw from the district. Weybridge residents endorsed the proposed Ripton exodus by a 217-40 tally. All six of Ripton’s fellow ACSD communities voted in favor of Ripton’s withdrawal . The State Board of Education must now rule on Ripton’s request to become an independent school district.
So while Weybridge residents on Jan 12 voted against their town leaving the district, they agreed to not stand in the way of Ripton doing so.
In one of two contested ACSD board elections, incumbent board member (and former Chairman) Peter Conlon topped Chris Kramer, 1,425-1,090, for Cornwall’s lone (three-year) seat on the ACSD board.
In the other contest, ASCD residents elected Lindsey Hescock and Mary Heather Noble in a three-way race for two, three-year terms representing Middlebury on the ACSD board. Hescock was the top vote getter with 1,774 tallies, followed by Noble with 1,331. Incumbent Davina Desmarais finished out of the running with 915 votes.
Barb Wilson (2,245 votes) was unopposed for a three-year term representing Shoreham on the ACSD board.
All members were voted at-large.
Weybridge voters joined their fellow Addison Central residents in endorsing — by a vote of 2,082 to 668 — a proposed ACSD budget of $40.3 million for the 2021-2022 academic year.
ACSD voters also agreed, by a 2,222 to 488 tally, to allow the school board to transfer $623,744 in Fiscal Year 2020 fund balance to the district’s Capital Reserve Fund.
Ripton is among the communities served by the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center, which this year proposed a 2021-2022 budget of $3,829,301 that passed by a 5,169 to 910 count.’

WHITING
Whiting is almost always the last Addison County town to wrap up its annual town meeting each March. That’s because it holds the gathering in the evening of Town Meeting Day.
This year Whiting again will be the last town holding its annual town meeting — because it postponed the meeting until Saturday, May 22.
Town officials really wanted to hold an in-person affair and they figured that if they had it in late spring they could at least meet outside to provide for better coronavirus precautions.
So Whiting had no town meeting this week, nor did residents vote on any municipal matters.
But they did vote on school issues. Whiting is part of the Otter Valley Unified Union School District, or OVUUSD. Voters in Whiting and the other OVUUSD towns approved a school district spending proposal of $21,039,634, which represents a 3.25% increase. The tally on the budget proposal was 1,252 in favor, 960 against.
Whiting also voted on three positions on the OV school board. Rebecca Bertrand was re-elected to the town’s three-year seat on the board. Greg Bernhardt of Leicester won re-election to a three-year at-large seat on the OVUUSD board and a second at-large seat went unfilled.

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