SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – At the Monday, May 11, regular meeting of the Springfield Selectboard, the discussion continued, as Town Manager Scott Pickup gave the latest update on several problematic properties and the ongoing effort to clean them up.
Pickup reported that the town hired Crown Point Excavating to remove exterior junk and trash from several of the sites, and that the work had begun at the Seavers Brook Road property that day.
Residents of the Seavers Brook neighborhood once again expressed their concerns about issues such as trespassers and hazardous materials seeping into the brook. Selectboard Chair Kristi Morris explained that, as a government agency, the board cannot take action without due process, and that it was making some headway.
Another Springfield resident asked, “If people are showing up at the house, and going into the house at night, why would it not be possible for the police to arrest them? They are entering a house that is not theirs. Is there no interim action that these people can take, or do they have to wait until their house gets burglarized or set on fire, or one of their kids finds…a syringe? What can a person do in such a terrible situation?”
The residents were left with no immediate resolution. While Pickup agreed that the situation was “unfortunate,” he explained that, since these are private properties, the town has no authority to go onto a lot or into a home whatsoever.
Walter Martone addressed the board on behalf of the ordinance committee, presenting the committee’s review of the draft land-use development ordinance. Martone told the board that the committee had conducted a detailed analysis of the ordinance, meeting once a week since November for sometimes four or five hours at a time. With consistent input from the planning commission, the ordinance committee rewrote the ordinance, updating it with recommended revisions.
Additionally, the board voted to set a date for a public hearing to adopt the modified ordinance once the selectboard had a chance to examine the report and send it back to the planning commission for statutory review. The public hearing was scheduled for Monday, June 22.
There was discussion on the Slab City Road culvert, which was damaged and subsequently repaired in December 2023. Originally, the town received a federal payment of $86,430.67 and applied for additional FEMA funding to increase the size of the culvert. In June 2025, FEMA withdrew the initial hazard mitigation funds of $135,741.99, essentially forcing the town to abandon any plans for future improvements.
The project was put out for bids, and the town received four. Due to the lack of funding, the selectboard agreed with Pickup’s recommendation to reject the bids and not to move forward with the project.
Due to the Memorial Day holiday on May 25, the board will meet next on June 1, then again on June 22 for the public hearing on the development ordinance. The board approved the remainder of the summer schedule – meeting once on July 20 and again on August 10.