Minutes
September 14, 2026
Attendees
Select Board Members: Chris Casey, Diana Peduzzi, and John Gordon
Town Officials: Graham Christie (Town Clerk); Lilly Baron (Town Treasurer); Stephen Murphy (Town
Moderator)
Town Employees: Peter Dailey (Road Commissioner); Michael Gray (TH Admin. Asst., WSB assistant)
Members of the Public: Larry Ferno, Robin Durkee; Monty Shatney; Tara Hewett; Susan Gabor
Media: Jerome Lipani
-HCTV
Call to Order Chris called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Adjustments to Agenda None
Approval of Meeting Minutes Minutes for 8/24 and 9/3 WSB meetings were approved.
Public Comment Robin questioned a comment by Chris in a recent FPF posting regarding the
reasons for the increase
in the tax rate. She believes that to increase the Town Ttreasurer's schedule to 30
hours/week (thus giving the treasurer full time employee status) cannot
be done by the WSB; this can only be
done at a Town Meeting and voted on by town residents attending the meeting. The WSB will look into this.
East Long Pond Dam Association (ELPDA) w/ Susan Gabor
Susan Gabor shared that HED is considering being the financial sponsor for the dam repair project and that
the HED commissioners will be discussing and possibly making a decision about that at their meeting
on
September 15
th
.
Susan then asked if Woodbury could do something with town tax dollars to assist with the
project cost. Chris asked what the ELPDA
is thinking about
-Susan responded that Greg Farnum (he was
unable to attend this meeting) has been looking into the other funding options. ELPDA's immediate goal
is to
have
an assessment of the dam site done by a civil engineer before winter sets in, so that they can be ready to
apply for grants next spring. They have an engineer lined up. This is why they are trying hard to get an
agreement fror a town, either Woodbury or Hardwick, to become the "fiscal sponsor" for the project.
Road Report with Peter Dailey and Michael Gray
Peter received a quote for a new Ford 350 with plow and sander.-$82,296 without a trade-in for the disabled
550.
So, no added discount for deleting the trade-in. The future of the 550 was discussed
-whether to do the
repair (to replace the engine) or not. Peter thinks that if we pay $15,000 to replace the engine, the truck could
be sold for more than
15 + 7 ($22,000
-new engine cost plus the trade-in offer.) No decision was made
regarding the 550 but it was clear that the WSB needed to make a decision
on the purchase of the F350. The
WSB gave Peter the approval to order the truck. Lilly stated that we will have the money to pay for it, as taxes
are coming
in steadily. Peter will contact Lamoille Valley Ford and give them the go ahead on the purchase
with the plow and sander included.
Tim and John have begun work
on Foster Hill Road, allowing Peter to focus on grading.
Peter shared his concern about a new school bus route that goes
up and over Wheeler Hill Road. He fears
that it will
be too dangerous in the winter and mud season. He will work with the school bus company to find
an alternative winter route that would not include Wheeler Hill Road.
Peter asked if there
is a way to discontinue plowing the Class 3 road that goes only to one house (formerly Rip
and Ann Brown). It is difficult to plow as cars are often parked in the way and there is not a good turn-around.
This led to a discussion
of other town roads that have served only one household for many years. The WSB
decided that at this time, with winter approaching, no changes should be made regarding reclassification of
roads. But the issue should be studied over the winter (David Barber's request to discontinue TH 21 will be
processed.)
Michael reported that the design work for the Buck Lake Brook/ Cabot Road USDA EWPP project has been
determined by the NRCS engineer to more complex than originally thought and that NRCS would like to have a
geologist study the site for the engineering design. USDA/NRCS has requested the town apply for a one-year
extension for the EWPP projects. Michael will pursue this with CVRPC's assistance.
Special Town Meeting The warning for the special town meeting was ready to be signed. The
meeting will be held
in the school gym on October 15
th
,
starting at 6:30. The meeting was scheduled in
response to a petition that was received, asking for a town vote to determine whether Town Officials should
be
voted for by Australian ballot instead of from the floor at Town Meeting. Chris asked about the moderator's
election. Steve Murphy explained that the moderator serves through Town Meeting of the year they were
elected, and he
is available to moderate the Oct. 15 meeting. Chris corresponded with Paul Cerutti who got
permission for the meeting to be held
in the school gym despite a recent warning from the State Fire Marshal.
The meeting is allowed as long as a fire truck and two firemen will be
on site. The WSB signed the warning.
Town Clerk's Repo rt with Graham Christie
Graham reported that the unlicensed dog list is down to six dogs. Graham has a request from a non-profit
transit provider requesting to be considered
on the town meeting warning. TriValley Transit (TVT) has taken
over some Green Mountain Transit (GMT) routes and has contacted him about being placed
on the warning.
Diana questioned if a new petiti
on is needed from TVT or would TVT be slotted in in place of GMT? The WSB
requested Graham contact TVT to obtain a service record to better understand how they serve Woodbury
residents. Graham reported on the new open hours for the town office and the reasons for the change. New
hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00p.m.
Tuesdays.
Town Treasurer's Report with Lilly Baron
The Town's total cash on hand is currently $15,223. The primary reason for the low balance is the Valley Lake
Road/Kingsbury Brook Culvert project. A check for payment
of $297,592 to the contractor of the project has
been written and
is in the WSB packet to be signed tonight. The Town expects to receive $200,000 in grant
reimbursement shortly after the funds are withdrawn from our account
Lilly also asks the select board to officially approve the use
of available existing fund surpluses to pay off the
FEMA fund deficit.
In her report to the WSB, Lilly laid out the amount needed to pay off the deficit
-$104,216 –
and the funds that she will be tapping to pay the deficit. Rebuilding the existing funds that are tapped into will
need to be done using future tax revenues. The WSB approved the use of existing town fund surpluses to pay
off the FEMA deficit. The General Fund
is currently showing a positive year-to-date variance of $37,722, with
revenue
$66,586 above budget and expenditures $28,863 above budget. The Highway Fund
is showing a
year-to-date deficit of $44,819, with expenditures $59,062 below budget and revenue -104,880 below.
The Highway Fund's revenue
is below budget at this point in the year because the Town's property tax
revenue is collected into the General Fund and wi
ll be transferred to the Highway Fund at the close of the tax
year.
Through August, the Town received $213,319
in revenue against a year-to-date budget of $250,613, while
expenditures total $220,985 against a year-to-date budget of $250,613. As the town moves through September
and October and receives the majority of our property tax revenue, these figures will change substantially.
In August, the Town collected $142,699 in current tax revenue and $24,932 in delinquent tax revenue.
The Woodbury Community Library
is interested in using the town's credit card to order books through an online
source. The WCL anticipates there would be a low use of the credit card for this purpose. Lilly felt it best to not
have another town credit card and instead created a policy for credit card authorization use by the library. The
WSB will review this policy and place discussion on its September 28
th
WSB meeting agenda.
Heating Fuel Bids Gillespie Fuels was the only company to submit a bid. The pre-buy rates
submitted
in the bid for heating fuel is $4.79/gallon and $1.64/gallon for propane. John moved that the WSB
approve purchase at the pre-buy rates quoted
by Gillespie; the motion passed.
Updates on Buyouts with John Gordon
The low bid for asbestos remediation was Catamount Environmental -$39,929. The WSB signed the contract.
The start date for the asbestos removal
is October 5
th
. Larry Ferno, who was chosen to do the building
removals, had some questions for the WSB regarding his contract for the removal
of the two buildings in the
village
.. He would like to place a "curb stop"
on the nozzle recently added to the well head on the Auxiliary
property, to allow for above ground shutoff
of the waterline. Larry's other concern addresses the town hall
addition where the hot water heater
is stored. He observed that back wall of the addition is not properly
supported and worries the addition
of the pressure tank -each tank estimated to be about 500 pounds -would
compromise the addition's supports. Robin offered that, in her experience, the hot water is rarely used and
that much hot water
is not needed. It is decided to remove the hot water tank and replace it with an on-demand
hot water system. Chris and Graham offer to take a look at the addition and its supports for possible solutions.
Updates and Other Business
Bills and Payroll: Bills and payroll orders were signed at the end of the meeting.
VLCT Annual Town Fair: Lilly wi
ll be attending the town fair.
Town Garage Roof: No news
Executive Session: The WSB voted to enter executive session pursuant to 1 V.S.A. 313(a)(E)(F) to
discuss legal advice on the pending Swenson 250 application. No decisions were made, no votes taken.
Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
Signatures and
Chris Casey
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John Gordon -',jLL-_,_,.<—–=—-"'-.::,…_ __
Guide to Ac onyms
Diana Peduzzi~ £~/
Date Approved 'l L ~
ACO -Animal Control Officer; ANR -Agency of Natural Resources; AOT -Agency of Transportati on; AP -Accounts Payable; BR
Better Roads; BRIC -Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communiti
es; CDT -Collector of Delinquent Taxes; CIP -Capital
Improvement Plan; COi -Certificate
of Insurance; CR -Cash Receipts; CVRPC -Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission;
ELPDA -East Long Pond Dam Association; EMO -Emergency Management Director; EMS -Emergency Medical Service; 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; H&H -Hydrological
& Hydraulic; HO -Health Officer; LEMP -Local Emergency Management Plan; K -thousand; LHMP -Local Hazard Mitigation Plan;
MMA -Money Market Account; MRGP -Municipal Roads General Permit; MOU -Memorandum of Understanding; MVUESD –
Mountain View Union Elementary School District; NEMRC -New England Municipal Resource Center; NEWT -Northeast Wilderness
Trust; NRCS -Natural Resources Conservati
on Service; OSSU -Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union; PR -Payroll; PTO -Paid
Time
Off; RBT-RB Technologies; RC -Road Commissioner; REI -Road Erosion Inventory; RFP-Request for Proposal; ROW
Right of Way; 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; VDH -Vermont Department of Health; VEM -Vermont
Emergency Management; VTRANS
-Vermont Agency of Transportation; WCC -Woodbury Conservation Commissi on; WCL
Woodbury Community Library; W/CFS -Woodbury/Calais Food Shelf; WCSD -Washington County Sheriffs Department; WEC –
Washington Electric
Co.; WNRCD -Winooski Natural Resource Conservation District; WSB -Woodbury Select Board; WPC
–
Woodbury Planning Commission; WVFD -Woodbury Volunteer Fire Department; ZA -Zoning Administrator; ZBA -Zoning Board of
Adjustment; ZO -Zoning Ordinance