PLYMOUTH, Vt. – At the April 1 Plymouth Selectboard meeting, Mike Coleman was appointed as chair of the planning commission, and Jay Kullman and Keith Cappellini were appointed as planning commission board members.
The meeting moved to Brendan Donegan on Zoom, who discussed his interest in purchasing a town-owned property on Crimson Hawk Road, which has just over $8,000 in delinquent taxes owed to the town. The selectboard agreed they needed to get the owed taxes for the property, and delinquent tax collector Elaine Pauley noted that an additional $1,000 may be necessary to list a property, so the town needed an offer of approximately $9,000 “to come out flush,” board member Rick Kaminski stated. Donegan agreed to discuss numbers with the trustees of the Berman Trust, the current owners, and continue negotiations.
The board then discussed a notice of petition that was submitted to the town, which requested that the Town of Plymouth “conduct a vote by paper ballot to challenge the decision made by hand vote during the Plymouth Town Meeting held on Monday, March 4, 2024, that approved Article 6, allowing Bethany Birches to be exempt from paying the education portion of real estate taxes commencing in 2024 and be effective for a period of five years. The vote was close, and a decision should be made by the full roster of registered voters.”
The petition was sent to the town’s attorney, who said that the board could correct an error or consider a revote. A revote would have to be conducted in the same manner as the original vote.
The audience discussed the lack of voters – with 400 registered residents, only about 200 votes were placed at the Town Meeting. There was further discussion of the possibility that a hand vote be double checked, to be sure all voters are registered with the town, as well as how an in-person vote on the floor allows for more conversation and amendments to an article, while a paper ballot only provides a simple yes or no vote.
The board cautioned that there could be a smaller turnout at the special meeting than there was at Town Meeting. The board moved to warn a special town meeting on behalf of the petition, and to allow a revote on whether Bethany Birches Camp Inc. should be exempt from educational property taxes for five years.
Margo Marrone then voiced her concerns that the Plymouth Press no longer had a volunteer to post news items to their website. The job was previously done by Lauren Skaskiw of the community center, who is no longer in the role of director. Marrone wants to keep the news source as a community-involved process, and also make sure the service of providing news to the residents of Plymouth is done in a timely manner, which could be two to three posts a week. Cappellini agreed to facilitate a training session with a volunteer, and also coordinate with former administrator Jen Flaster.
The board plans to schedule an additional special meeting to discuss amendments to the zoning ordinance bylaws.
The Plymouth Selectboard will meet again Monday, April 15, at 6 p.m.