SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – At Monday night’s May 13 Springfield Selectboard meeting, two representatives from Vermont Telephone (VTel) were in attendance to present the board with a plaque recognizing the Town of Springfield as a Smart Rural Community (SRC). The first town in Vermont designated as an SRC, the recognition acknowledges Springfield as one of the top 50 work-from-home locations in the country.
Amber Wilson, director of customer care for VTel since 1997, and Andrea Spaans from VTel’s sales and marketing division, were in attendance, stating they were proud to recognize Springfield as “one of our state’s rising stars – with a strong dedication to local community, economic progress, and an openness to change.”
Calling the town “Vermont’s prize technological hub,” Wilson stated, “As a local business ourselves, [VTel] couldn’t be prouder to see Springfield continuing to attract smart entrepreneurs and developers looking to invest resources locally.”
Town manager Jeff Mobus reported on two vacancies, one on the library board of trustees, and the other on the Springfield Trails and Rural Economy (ST&RE) Committee. Mobus declined to officially recommend the candidate for library trustee because she is his daughter, Carrie Mobus, but recommended the board appoint Susan White to ST&RE.
The board moved to approve the appointment of both candidates, and library director Sue Dowdell thanked the board for acting to fill the vacancy. “I think [Carrie will] be an excellent asset,” Dowdell remarked.
As in past years, the board voted to grant a permit to Mainly Marathons to hold an event on the Toonerville Trail on June 13, from 5 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mobus mentioned the town had already received a certificate of insurance from the group, and since there had been no incidents reported in prior years, he recommended the approval of the permit.
At the last regular selectboard meeting, Mobus told the board that, because of the recent sewer main break near 100 River Street, the State of Vermont had required further investigation into the incident. Mobus reported on the additional investigation, which showed the adjacent and down-flow lines to be in very poor shape, and now the state has given the town a deadline of May 18 to develop a plan that will address the conditions of the lines.
Mobus detailed actions taken so far by Wastewater Superintendent Nate Fraser and the Dufresne Group, to apply for Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) money and contracting with Dufresne to prepare a preliminary engineering report (PER), a requirement of receiving SRF funding.
Explaining that the project will likely require additional funding, Mobus said the proposed timeline includes a bond vote in March 2025, prior to the start of construction that summer. In the meantime, Mobus asked for board approval to purchase a bypass pump that will allow the town to minimize any environmental damage caused by a future sewer line break.
There was some discussion over the initial cost of hiring Dufresne to develop a PER and timeline for the process, quoted at $45,000. Added to the cost to purchase the bypass pump, $45,758, the total of $90,000 was already a large amount to cover for a nonbudgeted expenditure, and that was to be only the beginning.
Mobus summarized what will be part of the Dufresne Group’s scope of work, including camera inspections of mains on River, Main, and Mineral Streets. Mobus then spoke about increased expenses associated with replacing damaged water lines, past failures to successfully plan for yearly costs which contributed to the current shortfall, rising salary and benefits expense, and the general need to increase funding to the water and wastewater budget.
Mobus remarked, “The town has a plan to improve our roads over time, the RSMS, [and] we really should have a similar plan to improve our water and wastewater lines.”
The next regular selectboard meeting will be held on Monday, June 3, moving it from the original date of May 27, Memorial Day.