LONDONDERRY, Vt. – The Londonderry Town Meeting began with voters electing their town moderator Douglas Friant, and then hearing from State Rep. Chris Morrow, who was present to answer public questions and concerns.
Morrow addressed a few pending bills regarding housing, one regarding the homeless population, and another working with affordable housing, “giving money to housing agencies that are good at building affordable housing.” Though, he said, “It’s not nearly the amount given during the Covid days.”
Morrow continued to discuss education reform and school choice, reporting that the governor is trying to remove some of the local power and create statewide standards, “Some of which needs to happen,” Morrow believes. “But in order for that to be successful, we need a very strong Agency of Education,” and a strong education board. Morrow is in favor of leaving the school boards the way they are.
The meeting moved to approve Article 2, to act on the report of the town officers, as well as Article 3, electing town officials, including Taylor Prouty for a two-year selectboard seat, James Ameden Jr. for a three-year seat, Allison Marino town clerk for one year, and Sandra Clark lister for three years.
Article 4 presented a general fund budget of $3,150,324, which was approved without discussion. Article 5 was also approved, for taxes to be paid on or before Oct. 1, 2025.
Article 6 was approved, to allocate funds in the sum of $91,250 to organizations such as Champion Fire Company #5, Phoenix Fire Company #6, and Londonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad. Article 7 was also approved to appropriate funds in the sum of $45,222 to community organizations such as My Community Nurse Program, Senior Solutions, SEVCA, and Neighborhood Connections.
Articles 8, 9, 10, and 12 passed, allocating funds to the Emerald Ash Borer Fund, highway equipment reserve fund, town buildings reserve fund, and Pingree Park reserve fund.
Article 11, to appropriate $340,000 to the highway improvement reserve fund, was approved, which, Prouty explained, is for repaving projects, and has been underfunded for quite some time. Prouty stated it is supposed to be allocated $40,000 per year, and is up this year from $300,000, so it is “on schedule to complete needs for the mileage of roads” that need repaving.
Article 13 proposed the town amend the community economic reserve fund to add “housing” to the purposes for which the fund can be used. Currently, the fund’s stated purpose is “to support municipal efforts to plan, promote, and implement economic recovery, revitalization, and development efforts in Londonderry.” Citizen concerns were that Londonderry intended to become a “landlord.” Selectboard Vice Chair Martha Dale expressed that, “The idea is we want to make this community attractive to others,” including those who might put resources back into the community, thus creating more opportunities within and for the town.
The board addressed that the previous 1% local options tax discussion to fund the economic reserve fund was eliminated, as that tax revenue had been allocated elsewhere.
Upon a close vote, citizens were asked for a division, or revote by standing, and Article 13 was approved.
Article 14, to appropriate an additional $25,000 to the community economic improvement fund, also brought public discussion and concern. Treasurer Tina Labeau reported there is currently $15,000 in the fund, and a number of residents generally felt this was a large sum to give to the fund, questioned whether other fundraising efforts were attempted, and others were unsure of what the fund would be used for.
The housing commission explained that, “Adding a little more to the fund [allows us] to make a difference.” Dale, also a member of the housing commission, expressed that fundraising efforts have happened. She provided the example that the Mountain Towns Housing Project raised over $300,000 in cash and in-kind donations to build one affordable home. She explained that that was one model they tried, and “an extraordinary amount of money” was raised. She said they are looking for other vehicles that are replicable to contribute to other projects.
Dale continued, saying that the economic reserve fund is controlled by the selectboard. Upon request for an allocation, the board would be able to decide if the project meets all of the criteria. She said the article is not necessarily a current project, but to help make funds available for projects that come up.
FEMA representative Kelly Pajala added that projects for flood recovery are a great example, and will at some point need funding or grant matching. “While you can say it’s money that is chasing projects, there are already projects being thought of.” Pajala continued, “Everyone is thinking ‘housing’ because of the previous article,” stating there are plenty of projects that the funds can be used for.
Board Chair Tom Cavanagh provided a list the board had drafted, including developing an emergency preparedness plan for the next flood; creating standing volunteer organizations and training; mitigation and erosion projects; evasive species work; a scoping study on the North Village; and creating a watershed study, flood storage outside of town, and a watershed management task force. The housing commission suggested local projects such as increased accessory dwelling units, which could create more housing options, and “other incentivized projects.”
After a division vote, 46 were in favor, and 27 opposed, passing Article 14.
In other business, Melissa Brown requested information on the exit interviews for volunteers and public officials who have resigned. Board member James Ameden reported that he and Dale conducted interviews, and plan to share the information on March 17.
Retiring town administrator Shane O’Keefe announced his last day of work, and the meeting adjourned with a round of applause for O’Keefe.