Custom wooden kiosk stolen from town

Vermont State Police (VSP) were notified Tuesday of stolen property removed from Mount Philo State Park in Charlotte. A wooden informational kiosk constructed by volunteers was cut at the base of the structure and stolen from the intersection of State Park Road and Mount Philo Road.

The kiosk stolen is pictured here with Trails Committee members who helped install it on January 1, 2021. The Charlotte News file photo.

On the same night the kiosk was stolen, it was reported that two of the three portable toilets at the park had been tipped over. Both events were believed to have taken place sometime Saturday night.

“An awful lot of work went into the design and construction of the kiosk,”said Trails Committee Chair Bill Regan during the Public Comments portion of Monday’s regular Selectboard meeting. Regan said he was one of the volunteers who helped to install the kiosk. “Obviously it’s an affront to our community — that was a piece of town property on town land. And someone took it away in the middle of the night.”

Regan said he had “no idea” who might be responsible for taking the kiosk or why.

“I would hesitate to at this point to speculate,” he said. “But it’s the kind of thing that works against all Charlotters, not just those who are on the trails committee.”

Regan said he had not yet given any thought to replacing the kiosk.

“We’re just sort of getting our head around the fact that this community asset is now gone,” he said.

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the VSP at (802) 878-7111 and reference case number 21A102785.