PLYMOUTH, Vt. – Longstanding Plymouth Selectboard member Rick Kaminski resigned at the July 6 regular selectboard meeting. Kaminski read aloud a letter that he addressed to the selectboard and the community.
Kaminski shared, “About 10 years ago I made a decision to volunteer some time for the town.” He said he was elected to the selectboard after Ralph Michael retired. “I survived three election cycles,” while serving on many other committees and boards within the town. “It has been a very interesting journey.”
Kaminski shared his appreciation for working with the community, volunteers, and neighbors. He relayed, “As years stack up, I find that my mental capacities and cognitive thinking skills are slowly diminishing, along with memory loss. I accept this as part of the aging process. I feel this is not fair to the Plymouth residents I represent. You deserve better…I believe my seat on this board should be occupied by someone who is energetic and clear thinking.”
“My time has come to move on,” Kaminski expressed. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve my community. I offer my resignation, effective immediately, to this board and all the other positions I hold in Plymouth. I believe the selectboard is in good hands under the leadership of Jay [Kullman], and I wish for nothing but the best for my hometown of Plymouth.”
Kullman, the chair of the selectboard, expressed his gratitude for working with Kaminksi over the years, stating, “It’s hard to see you go.” The audience thanked Kaminksi for his service.
At an emergency meeting on July 16, the Plymouth Selectboard met to set the municipal tax rate at $0.7122 per $100 of assessed property value, and the local exemption rate was set at $0.0145.
At the Aug. 3 regular selectboard meeting, the board held an executive session to review selectboard applicants. The board confirmed that the individual who is appointed will have to run for election at town meeting.
Town Clerk Angela Kissell reported that Jeff Sailer was appointed to fill Kaminski’s open seat.
Bruce Pauley, chair of the planning commission, also spoke about the Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) regional plan. Pauley urged town residents to look at the new map to see if their properties have any zoning changes.
Pauley explained that the zoning language is there to guide local towns on how to frame their zoning bylaws, but it seems to “overstep” current town requirements. He expressed there are more than 65,000 vacant homes in the state, many of which serve as short-term rentals or second homes, and this new regional plan would allow for more homes to be built.
Pauley suggested that an overlay map showing changes “would have answered a lot of questions for a lot of people,” or a more detailed map with town and property lines to help residents and viewers get a clearer idea of proposed changes.
You can view the map and related documents at www.trorc.org.
Attendees of the meeting agreed that the selectboard should compile a letter to TRORC stating their general disagreement with the language of the documents and the map. Residents are also encouraged to correspond with TRORC in order protect their own properties.
The next Plymouth Selectboard meeting will be held Monday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m., due to the Labor Day holiday.