LONDONDERRY, Vt. – At the Nov. 18 Londonderry Selectboard meeting, town administrator Shane O’Keefe announced they received a resignation letter from Emmett Dunbar, cochair of the SoLo Master Planning Task Force. Rachel Febbie, a previous Williams Dam advisory committee member, also wrote to the town acknowledging Dunbar’s resignation.
Melissa Brown, former selectboard member, pressed the board to get answers as to why volunteers continue to resign in the Town of Londonderry. Brown declared there have been “14 resignations in the last six months…I’m pushing to say, ‘please do something.’”
Board cochair Martha Dale expressed, “When the planning commission resigned, I said that we owned it.” Dale continued to verbalize that occurrence was something the board needs to understand and learn from.
Brown urged the board to speak with those individuals to determine why they each could not continue in their roles. Board member Taylor Prouty stated they have hosted exit interviews in the past for specific positions. Dale agreed they could privately meet with resigned volunteers to determine what went wrong. Board member James Ameden expressed, “I’m open to hearing anyone’s concerns…To me it’s a communication gap that hasn’t been fixed since.”
Dunbar’s letter read, “After the undeserving ill treatment, escalated tones, and finger waving I received from some of the Londonderry Planning Commission members and an audience member (Tom Cavanagh) on Nov. 11, I am respectfully resigning as the cochair of the SoLo Master Planning Task Force.” He continued to state, “This project is worthy and good. It can help our village be even better than it already is. Perhaps, the deliverables will aid in positive economic and community development in South Londonderry? Respectfully – yet discouraged, Emmett Dunbar.”
Febbie wrote to the board on the evening of the Nov. 18 meeting, requesting that it be read aloud. “I recently heard of another resignation from a town committee member…I’ve never seen so many resignations, it’s truly concerning,” she wrote. “I would have resigned from my positions as well if we had not disbanded the Williams Dam Advisory Committee.”
Febbie continued that the committee was always very mindful of the townspeople’s values and tax dollars, and referenced the research and study the committee did. “The changes made to the scope of the study completely undermined the committee’s purpose, and the fact that someone from above made those changes without communicating them to the committee is an unfathomable level of deceit, and exhibits entitlement and arrogance. I will also add, those changes were made at a cost to the townspeople. Quite honestly, I feel being on that committee was a complete waste of my time and energy.”
She went on to say her feelings were validated when the Williams Dam Committee was disbanded. “Moreover, validation came once again when Tom Cavanagh disrespected our senior community member Bob Forbes, who served on the Williams Dam advisory committee, when Bob was trying to share findings with the selectboard.”
“I have never served on a selectboard, but I do feel there should be a level of professionalism and objectiveness, and if you can’t adhere to that, then maybe you should be the one considering your resignation.” Febbie concluded her letter, “We’re all learning and growing, and perhaps this letter is a stepping stone in some way.”
Resident Heather Stephenson suggested making meetings more interactive, with the ability for residents to participate without attending in person. O’Keefe noted the meetings are not required to be hosted remotely, though they are required to be recorded and posted for 30 days. Part of the restrictions, he explained, is the personnel to make that happen.
Stephenson said, “In the direction of transparency,” the town may get a volunteer to help, “but doing nothing is going in the opposite direction.”
The board agreed that action needed to be taken, and Dale expressed that she would be interested to look into the underlying issue, and the “ethics we want to embrace.”
Other announcements from O’Keefe included a notice from the State of Vermont through FEMA that the local reimbursement is at 75-95%. He explained the state will kick in another 7.8% toward federally declared disasters through the Emergency Relief and Assistance Fund (ERAF). This leaves the town to fund 2.2%.
O’Keefe noted that the Town of Londonderry is the only town locally that has been reimbursed for everything. To date, they’ve received over $914,000 in reimbursements. O’Keefe had also applied for a $500,000 Municipal Energy Resilience Program (MERP) Implementation Grant to assist with funding of the town office renovation project, and was awarded $450,322.22.
Concerned citizen Barry Randell stated that he has realized how much taxes have gone up in the last few years. He said that local taxes went up 20% this year, and 23% last year, and asked the town, “How are we approaching the new budget?”
Tina Labeau, treasurer, confirmed that local taxes did increase by 20% this year, but only by 8% the previous year. O’Keefe explained the overall budget went up 23% last year, not the rate.
Prouty explained that each category of expenses are voted on, “every year we go line by line for each appropriation,” and never pass everything. O’Keefe added that the highway budget has been underfunded for years, and they have been putting money in the reserve fund with the anticipation of spending it in the next year or so on equipment and paving, which is also years behind schedule according to Prouty.
“We’re trying to be smart with that money, and not jeopardize our cash flow,” O’Keefe stated, referring to the reserve fund.
The Londonderry Village Wastewater Committee presented the board with options for the wastewater system, recommending Option 1, which would service 21 properties, and exclude the town hall. Option 2 would service 19 properties. Either option would exclude about five properties in the South Village, as there are limitations to how far the system can extend. There is potential to increase the capacity and add additional connections in the future. The board approved Option 1, with the condition that the properties that are not included in the scope of the initial project would be given priority when Phase 2 of the project begins.
The Londonderry Housing Commission presented updates, stating they completed a housing study in March of 2023, and discussed some of their findings. They acknowledged an affordability gap and other housing crises that continue. Their goals include expanding long-term rental units, assisting local workers to acquire local housing, and growing capacity to address housing needs. They requested support from the board to put a 1% options tax to a vote at the Town Meeting, which would apply to rooms, meals, and alcohol.
O’Keefe stated they would have to hold a meeting to change the distribution of funds. Currently, excess funds are reallocated back to taxpayers. In the proposed scenario, excess funds generated from the options tax would be disbursed to a general fund, and appropriated to projects as the town sees fit. But there would not be a way to separate excess taxes from taxpayers from the options tax. The topic was tabled for the Dec. 16 meeting, when all of the board members would again be present.
Short-term rental (STR) administrator Andy Dahlstrom then gave an update on STR registration and enforcement. He reported that 96 people who have not yet registered, who have all be previously notified, will be receiving another application with a Nov. 27 deadline to respond. Dahlstrom said he would start ticketing for noncompliance, which starts at $200 per day. He requested feedback from the board to move forward, or hold off on ticketing until after the holidays.
Board member James Ameden said, “I’m absolutely in favor of supporting this now.” The board was all in agreement. Ticketing will begin to those not in compliance after Thanksgiving.
The next selectboard meeting will be held Monday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m.