SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – At the Monday night, Feb. 23, Springfield Selectboard meeting, the board heard from town manager Scott Pickup and town and zoning administrator Chuck Wise regarding a property located at 482 Seavers Brook Road that was reported to have become a public safety concern.
Wise told the board he’d been working on this complaint for the past 18 months, but that the issues were longstanding, and included severe building and rental code violations.
A family living in a residence near the property attended the meeting to present reports of conditions at their neighbor’s home, and read a letter they sent Pickup to bring him up to speed on the ongoing situation. They had filed an official complaint that detailed 11 years of neglect, with multiple transient residents “coming and going,” resulting in unsafe, unsanitary conditions, and an unacceptable quality of life for the family.
Pickup said the main roadblock to a solution was that the last known property owner died in 2015, and there is no current, legal owner of record.
Pickup also stated, “The State of Vermont [changed] its tax sale process, so now we cannot tax sale a property for under $1,500 in past-due taxes, or it has to be two years in arrears.”
After some discussion, the board voted to initiate a probate process to establish ownership, most likely leading to the town acquiring ownership and subsequently removing any structures on the property.
The selectboard approved permits for three public events: the annual Touch-a-Truck, on April 11, in the Riverside Middle School parking lot; the Vermont Senior Games One-Mile Run, on May 17, at the Toonerville Trail; and the annual Springfield Humane Society volunteer services, offered on Sunday, March 29, also in the parking lot of Riverside Middle School.
A bid was awarded by the board to Hilltop Construction LLC, to complete the Springfield Reservoir Dam removal project. Pickup recommended the board approve the contract in the amount of $324,000, stating that the bid amount was less than the engineers’ estimate, and because the project is federally funded, if the costs stay within budget, any remaining grant money can be used by the town for other projects.
Pickup told the board how the town might deal with the extremely low supply of road salt available and prepare for the future, where he fears prices will continue to increase and supply will remain low. Pickup said the town can stretch its salt usage by utilizing a magnesium chloride spray. With some “minor modifications,” Pickup explained, the road crews can attach spray bars to their vehicles and immediately start gauging the product’s effectiveness.
Board member Mike Schmidt asked Pickup for a future update on the water and sewer systems, such as the status of well pump replacements, and the inspection and replacement of equipment at the sewage treatment plant. Pickup said he will keep the board informed as the process continues.
The Springfield Selectboard meets on the second and fourth Mondays of every month, at 6 p.m., at the Springfield Town Hall.