ROCKINGHAM, Vt. – At the Organizational Meeting of the Rockingham Selectboard on Tuesday, March 7; Elijah Zimmer, Susan Hammond, and Rick Cowan were reelected for positions on the selectboard.
Cass Wright was reappointed as Rockingham Tree Warden and Rockingham Animal Control Officer. Wright admitted he was the expert on “dogs, trees, and kids.” (he was the crossing guard at Atkinson and School Street for years)
Zimmer received 337 votes, Cowan 317, and Hammond 313. New Town Moderator, Paul Obuchowski, received 372 votes. All Articles passed, including the school budgets.
Cowan asked to add a discussion of the Town Meeting to the agenda. Chair Peter Golec suggested they add it to Other Business.
The selectboard agreed to continue holding their meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 6 p.m.
Some of the concerns shared from Town Meeting included; blocked egress, problems with audio, and the light participation. There were 110 people in the lower theater and many were standing in the back, but out of 5,000 residents, it was still extremely low participation.
Board member Bonnie North noted that less than 400 people voted on March 7 and said, “it’s on us to do something (about attendance).” She referred to the town website and said it used to have a red bar at the top of the home page with announcements and upcoming meeting information. North suggested that it be returned and said that information on petitions and due dates for ballots should be easier to find and posted early. Cowan said he had received messages at Town Meeting from people who could not find the link and recommended the zoom link be bold and prominent on the website.
Other suggestions for increasing attendance included having a potluck dinner, offering childcare and safe rides for those without transportation, and changing the day. The Town of Westminster holds their Town Meeting on Saturday.
The selectboard meet again on Tuesday, March 21, at 6 p.m., in the Lower Theater of the Bellows Falls Opera House. Agenda items include committee assignments, audit management letter, and finalization of items for the Depot Bridge. A public comment period is available at the beginning of each meeting, each person is entitled up to three minutes. The meetings can be attended live or via zoom, or watched live on Fact TV Facebook ,with recordings posted to the website www.Fact8.com.