Minutes
June 9, 2026
Attendees
Select Board Members: Diana Peduzzi, Chris Casey, John Gordon
Town Officials: Lilly Baron (Town Treasurer)
Town Employees: Peter Dailey (Road Commissioner); Michael Gray (WSB assistant)
Members of the Public: Carol Ray
Media: Jerome Lipani -HCTV
Call to Order Chris called the meeting to order at 6:04 P.M.
Adjustments to Agenda add David Barber's request to declassify TH 21 and bridge repair
Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the May 27, 2026, Select Board meeting were approved:
Public Comment Carol Ray requests a discussion and more transparency about the Swenson
Quarry expansion and permitting processes. Carol states she is not concerned about the reimbursement rate
the WSB is negotiating, her greater concern is about the quality of life in Woodbury. The WSB discusses this
with Carol, pointing out their role within the Act 250 process and the ZBA's role, stressing that the ZBA is the
entity Carol should bring her concerns to.
Road Commissioner's Report with Peter Dailey
Peter has not been able to meet with David Barber to look at the bridge on TH21. Peter has met with a
resident on Cabot Road who is requesting a permit for a curb cut and wants to bore under the road to run a
power line. The landowner was advised to pick up three permit applications at the Town Office -access (curb
cut), Work within the Road ROW and a zoning application. On Friday Peter met with VAST on site along West.
Woodbury Road to review their proposed work to improve the road for snowmobile travel. They have
requested the road be closed for the two weeks the work is being done. The work is anticipated to occur in the
fall. The WSB approves closing the road as long as it does not affect any residents. The permit for the road
work was signed. Peter is still waiting for McGee Ford to get back to him with a trade-in offer for the 550 and
pricing for a smaller truck. Peter has met with the NEK/CVFiber reps and the permit to allow placing
underground fiber in the ROW of Scribner Road, was signed with the condition that the conduit for the cable
will be underneath the culvert. The culvert replacement and fiber wiil have to be done simultaneously.
Discussion then turns to the garage ceiling/roof project.
Garage Roof Repair Chris met with Steve Connor of Connor Contracting (who lives in Woodbury) to review
the roof and ceiling repair. They established there was no water leakage with the chimney but there was water
damage to the roof sheathing, most likely from condensation. Steve felt the· $40k PACIF had proposed as
compensation for the repair work would not cover the work that would be needed. There will be another on site
meeting with PACIF to take another look at the project. Chris feels it may be too late to hire a contractor to do
the work this year. He feels the town may have to come up with a short-term fix for the coming winter while
also working out a long-term plan/vision for a new garage. The board realizes that the garage is not in good
shape and is deficient in many ways. He will be meeting with the Calais SB to see if there might be the
possibility of sharing garage space there. Options for a new garage and ways to get more space for use at or
near the present garage, were discussed. Another local resident, Chris Temple of DeWolfe Engineering, might
be helpful.
Grant Updates: with Michael Gray
Michael has received the VTrans grant agreements for the culvert engineering/design work of Church Street
and Bailey Bridge Road. He is also anticipating grant agreement forms for the paving of Foster Hill Road and
the Better Roads Valley Lake Road project. The WSB authorized him to sign the grant agreements on behalf
of the town.
Town Treasurer's Report with Lilly Baron
The General Fund is currently operating at a budget deficit of -$73,235. The town is just slightly under
$100,000 off from our budgeted revenue. This translates closely to the $92,498 still sitting in our
delinquencies for the current year. The Highway Fund has a budget surplus of $108,378, and remains in
a strong position. Our Highway fund has exceeded our budgeted revenues and is currently underspent
for this period. Overall, the FY26 budget remains in a net position of $35,143 year-to-date when considering
both funds. Total cash on hand is $905,310. As a reminder, $527,301 of our current cash balance is restricted
FEMA funding that will be repaid once we receive formal notice to return the funds.
Given the substantial FEMA funding received last year, a direct comparison of total cash balances is not
an apples-to-apples comparison. Excluding restricted FEMA funds, our current cash position is
$378,010, compared to $562,854 at Period 11 (the month before the end of the fiscal year) last year, a
decrease of $184,844 year over year. One driving factor of this decrease is purchase of the new truck and
deficit in the HERF fund. In the General Fund, we should still be receiving a large refund from the School
District for an overpayment on the State Education Tax payment which will increase our General Fund before
the end of the fiscal year.
The end of the fiscal year is approaching. Lilly will provide a report on the month of June at the first meeting in
July, followed by a full fiscal year-end review at the second meeting. Over the next few weeks, we will gain a
clearer picture of our cash flow needs and whether it would be prudent for Woodbury to utilize its line of credit
to bridge the gap between the end of the fiscal year and the receipt of tax revenues.
Lilly then informed the WSB of a town tax policy that is not compensated regarding the town's tax payment for
its school tax. Woodbury provides a veterans' property tax exemption that is not recognized by the State for
education tax purposes. As a result, while the exemption reduces the Town's taxable grand list, it does not
reduce the amount of state education tax that Woodbury is required to remit to the State. Under 32 V.S.A. §
5404a(d), municipalities that offer this exemption are expected to establish a separate tax rate to recover the
state education tax associated with the exempted value. Woodbury has not historically done this. As a result,
the Town has effectively absorbed this cost rather than collecting it through taxation. The impact on taxpayers
is expected to be minimal. In simple terms, the Town must raise the amount of state education tax attributable
to the veterans' exemption and spread that cost across the entire tax base. This is a topic that should be part
of our tax-rate discussions for the new fiscal year.
Lilly then shared that she has learned that temporary employees working more than 20 weeks in a year are
considered eligible for sick time. Both temporary employees have crossed this threshold. Lilly will begin
tracking their sick time. Temporary employees are not eligible for VMERS.
Updates on Buyouts with John Gordon
John states that there is not much new to report. The site inspection for asbestos at the two buyout sites will
occur the following day. If asbestos abatement is needed, the work may need to go out to bid according to the
town's purchasing policy. The led to a discussion of the Purchasing Policy and whether it should be updated.
The policy is more than ten years old. It is also stated that the policy is not law and has been overridden in
some instances in the past, always with good reason. Compliance with a local policy is required by FEMA and
other funders.
Emergency Generator The emergency generator failed to kick in during a brief power outage
over the last weekend, causing concerns from the school. When they arrived on Monday and realized there
had been an outage, Michael was called by the school and he discussed this with the maintenance person at
the school. Michael provided the MOU for the generator to the school and Diana. Under the MOU, the town is
responsible for the emergency generator and it's fuel (LPG). Discussion followed on how to remedy the
situation. Chris will call Brookfield Services to discuss an automatic weekly firing of the generator and Diana
will contact Joe Houston, head of OSSU building maintenance, to also discuss. John will check with Paul
Cerutti to ask if the WVFD is still checking the fluid levels during their monthly truck check.
FEMA Status Update There is no change in the town's status with FEMA. Lily and Skip are
double-checking to make sure the figures are correct.
Appointments The WSB appointed the following town residents to the Woodbury Fund Board -Robin
Durkee, Alex Peltz, George Sawyer, Gary Smith and Natalya Zahn.
Updates and Other Business
Bills and Payroll: Bills and payroll orders were signed at the end of the meeting.
Swenson/Polycor Quarry Act 250 Hearing Request: The hearing Is scheduled for June 26. The
SB has worked with John Reid and the town's attorney to prepare Pre_Hearing Testimony that was submitted
by the June 3 deadline.
Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:42 P.M .
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Guide to Acronyms
ACO -Animal Control Officer; ANR -Agency of Natural Resources; AOT -Agency of Transportation; AP -Accounts Payable; BR
Better Roads; BRIC -Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities; CDT -Collector of Delinquent Taxes; CIP -Capital
Improvement Plan; CR -Cash Receipts; CRC -Consolidated Resource Center; CVRPC -Central Vermont Regional Planning
Commission; DHC -Department of Health; EC -Ethics Commission; EMD -Emergency Management Director; EMS -Emergency
Medical Service; EOA -Elected Officials Agreement; ERAF -Emergency Relief Assistance Funds; ET -Electronic Transfer; EWPP –
Emergency Watershed Protection Program; FIRM -Federal Insurance Rate Map; FPF -Front Porch Forum; FY -Fiscal Year; GF –
General Fund; GIA-Grants in Aid; HED -Hardwick Electric Department; HERF -Highway Equipment Replacement Fund; HF –
Highway Fund; HMP -Hazard Mitigation Plan; HPD -Hardwick Police Department; H&H -Hydrological & Hydraulic; LEMP -Local
Emergency Management Plan; LHMP -Local Hazard Mitigation Plan; MMA -Money Market Account; MRGP -Municipal Roads
General Permit; MOU -Memorandum of Understanding; MTSC -Mountain Tamers Snowmobile Club; MVUESD -Mountain View
Union Elementary School District; NEMRC -New England Municipal Resource Center; NEWT -Northeast Wilderness Trust; NRCS –
Natural Resources Conservation Service; OSSU -Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union; PDM -Program Delivery Manager; POC –
Point of Contact; PR -Payroll; PTO -Paid Time Off; RBT -RB Technologies; RC -Road Commissioner; REI -Road Erosion
Inventory; RFP -Request for Proposal; ROW -Right of Way; SS -Seacoast Securities; TAC -Transportation Advisory Committee;
TAN -Tax Anticipation Note; TC -Town Clerk; TH -Town Highway; THO -Town Health Officer; TM -Town Moderator; TTr -Town
Treasurer; USDA -United States Department of Agriculture; VEM -Vermont Emergency Management; VTRANS -Vermont Agency of
Transportation; VAST -Vermont Association of Snow Travelers; WC -Workman's Compensation; WCC -Woodbury Conservation
Commission; WCL -Woodbury Community Library; W/CFS -Woodbury/Calais Food Shelf; WCSD -Washington County Sheriffs
Department; WHRT -Woodbury-Hardwick Rail Trail; WRSC -Worcester Rangers Snowmobile Club; WSB -Woodbury Select Board;
WPC -Woodbury Planning Commission; WNRCD -Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District; WVFD -Woodbury Volunteer
Fire Department; ZA -Zoning Administrator; ZBA -Zoning Board of Adjustment