BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – The Tuesday, Feb. 13, regular meeting of the Bellows Falls Village Trustees began with public comments. Bellows Falls resident Gary Wallace raised his hand.

“The reason I am here,” Wallace stated, “is that I have a neighbor behind me who has a flock of chickens, 10 of them. They spend more time in my backyard and the neighbors’ yards than they do at his house. At first it didn’t bother me too much, but now they’re pooping all over and making an awful mess.”
Wallace continued, “I think we need some sort of an ordinance saying that [the chickens] need to be restrained to the owner’s property. It’s getting to be a health hazard.” Wallace reported that he’d called the police department three times, but the issue remained unresolved.
Village President Paul Obuchowski said the board would add the topic to a future meeting agenda for discussion, and thanked Wallace for his attendance.
Kathy Urffer from the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) updated the board on a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Connecticut River Hydro relicensing process that began 12 years ago. During that time there were several delays due to government shutdowns and studies conducted between 2014-2019.
Urffer reported that within the next six months there will be an opportunity for a formal comment period, which will be the last chance for citizens to have input on the whole of the application. CRC is reaching out to all towns, covering 175 miles, and including 16 Vermont and 14 New Hampshire towns, to inform everyone of the operational changes, and will be looking for feedback from all impacted communities.
CRC’s focus, as Urffer explained, is to care for the river in a variety of ways, and to advocate for simple regulations such as permits and rules enforcement. CRC also wants to encourage community science awareness and recreational opportunities. Through outreach and educational efforts, CRC plans improvements to recreational infrastructure, conservation of property, restoration of riverbanks, protection of natural habitats along the river, and water quality monitoring.
The board reviewed the village debt schedule, and municipal manager Scott Pickup commented, “Nothing substantially changed here, this is just more informational. I know the board has expressed some concern about our debt leverage in the sewer fund.”
Trustee James McAulliffe pointed to the difference made by federal programs for the water department. “You don’t see any interest payments,” McAulliffe stated. “Versus the sewer projects where we had to pay interest – $9 million of debt versus $6 million of debt, and the annual debt services are $260,000 versus $800,000.”
Rob Wheeler, chief operator at the water and sewer department, was in attendance to address any concerns and discuss his effort to utilize ARPA funds and available grant funds to move forward on repairs and upgrades to the system’s efficiency.
Pickup commented that the town may only be “on the hook” for about $250,000 after assessing potential outside funding.
McAulliffe voiced his concern regarding the direction the department budget was heading, saying, “It appears that we’re about 80% spent, through seven months. Being on budget was a big part of our budget process last year, and we seem to be blowing through that.” He asked Pickup and Wheeler to report on how they expect to end out the year, financially.
Wheeler said the department has had some unanticipated costs pop up, and he would be happy to sit down with Pickup to work out the next four to five months of anticipated expenses.
Obuchowski reminded everyone that the next meeting is March 12, and as they head into final budget discussions, the trustees would be going back to holding two meetings per month for March and April.