| The Town and Village Municipal Administrator came
on board the first of March. This position is a
huge help to the Selectboard, all of the department
heads, the Town Clerk and the Town Office. The Administrator
will research and perform follow up for the Selectboard,
there by making our meetings more efficient and
productive. This position has also been found to
be invaluable for keeping up on the constant regulation
changes at the State and Federal level, and keeping
both Village and Town departments heads aware of
these changes.
The Power House Covered Bridge was re-opened
under much fanfare, and a big thanks is extended
to both the Bridge Committee and Johnson Works
for making this day such a success. The rediscovery
of the “New” Cemetery and graves presents
a problem we are still wrestling with. Our intention
is to respect the Town ancestors while working
with the property owners to find the best solution
for all concerned. We also have established the
position of Town Historian to help us with finding
some of these answers, we thank Linda Jones for
accepting this position.
We met with the Selectboards of Belvedere, Eden,
Hyde Park, and Waterville to form a Emergency
Response Committee, and put out the RFP for providing
ambulance service to the five communities. The
five Towns have chosen Newport Ambulance to provide
this service. We thank Lamoille Ambulance for
the many years of dedicated service they have
provided for us. We also thank Selectman Brad
Reed for serving on this committee and his willingness
to serve on the oversight board of the ambulance
service.
We are very concerned with the bridges that keep
getting slid out yet another year for replacement,
particularly the Pearl Street Bridge. We have
sought out our State Senator and Representative
to assist us with getting this bridge moved up
for replacement, and made ourselves available
to work with anyone to help make this happen.
Presentation of the budget will be quite different
starting this year, these changes were made to
make the Town Office more efficient, the Town
Clerk’s job much easier, and align the Town
and Village accounting methodology to be the fundamentally
the same.
Highway Foreman Willy Jewett after serving the
Town for over twenty years decided last spring
to retire, to which we wish him and Nancy the
very best. With deep regret we have lost an employee,
Larry Rogers passed away this fall, Larry was
fiercely loyal and committed to the Town and will
be dearly missed by all. The Town welcomes Duncan
Hastings as the Municipal Administrator, Chris
Perkins and Raymond Gilcris to the Highway Department,
and Steve Smith’s promotion as Highway Foreman.
We thank the Highway Department for their continuing
dedication to maintaining our roads, to Rosemary
and her staff for all of their support provided,
and to Duncan for work he provides for the Selectboard.
Respectfully Submitted,
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