Monday’s Selectboard meeting featured one agenda item: the memorandum of agreement between the Champlain Valley School District and the town of Charlotte for election day security. The topic was debated for nearly an hour among Selectboard members, with Chair Matt Krasnow calling in remotely.
Monday’s brief Selectboard meeting was the last for board member Fritz Tegatz and the last before town meeting. The board motioned and approved several routine agenda items, and briefly discussed actions related to the solar net metering agreement RFP.
The theme of the Monday, January 10 Selectboard meeting was listening. The board heard from the Recreation Commission and Director regarding roles and from the Energy Committee on the proposed net metering agreement with Green Lantern Solar.
Attendance at the Selectboard meeting ticked up on Feb. 10 for a specific reason; members of the public filtered in for the net metering agreement agenda item. It had been discussed and voted on at the previous meeting and was voted against, 3-2. Following letters to the paper, Front Porch Forum posts, and general community chatter, it was back on the agenda.
Members at Monday’s Selectboard meeting passed the FY2021 proposed budget and articles for Town Meeting. The proposed budget was further trimmed by the Selectboard with suggestions from Town Treasurer Mary Mead, Assistant Town Clerk Christina Booher, and from the public. There were more attendees at this meeting than in several months, each there for varying topics, but the budget took center stage.
Town elections have been held at Charlotte Central School for decades; the space is the largest public indoor area in town, and up until two years ago, Charlotters owned and operated the school. In the last two years, since consolidation with four other towns into the Champlain Valley School District, municipal events that have operated the same way for years are suddenly facing new regulations based on CVSD policies now that the school district owns the building.
There are 13 total races on the ballot this year, and voters have only one contested race to consider. There are 7 positions for which not a single person turned in a petition to run, six positions that have only one candidate running, and seven positions that are blank altogether.
In 2016, the Town of Charlotte passed, by Australian ballot, Town Meeting Article 9 by a vote of 1,148 to 349. The article put in place a municipal charter that changed the way Charlotters vote for the Selectboard’s budget. That municipal charter will expire on Town Meeting Day this year unless voters choose to extend it.
At a special meeting earlier this month, the Selectboard voted 4-1 to approve sewer use and sewer allocation ordinances that will allow the town-owned wastewater system in the West Charlotte Village to be leased by private businesses. Two petitions are currently circulating in town, one per ordinance, to disapprove of this Selectboard decision. If the petitions gather enough signatures, the issue will be put in front of voters for a voice vote at town meeting on March 3.
At its Jan. 13 meeting, the Selectboard meeting focused again on the FY2021 budget, interspersed with routine motions and approvals on a highway access permit, the Thompson’s Point wastewater budget, system contracts and leases. The board also received an update from CVFRS on the potential to provide ambulance services to Hinesburg and discussed the West Charlotte wastewater ordinance petition.
Last spring, there was a controversy in Charlotte. The issue was over a request for proposals made by the Selectboard for tree removal. The parties involved made their dissatisfaction with the process known through Front Porch Forum posts, there was general uproar, and the Selectboard scheduled a special May 1 meeting to address the situation.
Monday’s special Selectboard meeting got off to a slow start but concluded with a revote on West Village wastewater ordinances, which was required due to a legality. Selectboard member Louise McCarren motioned, Fritz Tegatz seconded, and the board approved the ordinances 4 to 1, with Vice Chair Frank Tenney voting against.
Monday night’s Selectboard meeting began with the much-anticipated vote on the West Charlotte village wastewater ordinances. Chair Matt Krasnow opened with a recap of the work the wastewater committee and board had done to date. He noted that if the board passed the ordinances, more work is to be done. “There will still be some heavy lifting needed to get them to be effective in generating and calculating the fee schedule,” he said.
Monday’s Selectboard meeting began with a working session on the West Charlotte Village wastewater ordinances and ended four and a half hours later in an executive session on Charlotte Solar. Approximately 20 people attended the working session, several representing or speaking in support of the Charlotte Children’s Center and Charlotte Health Center.
The bulk of a lengthy December 9 Selectboard meeting was devoted to hearing FY2021 budget requests from the town clerk, road commissioner, tree warden, and CVFRS and the Charlotte Historical Society.
The Nov. 25 Selectboard meeting featured a shorter agenda, with members Carrie Spear and Fritz Tegatz absent. The remaining three members heard from various town committees on budget requests, solar RFPs and appointments.
The Selectboard is working its way toward a decision about wastewater and septic usage in the West Village; as the process moves closer to resolution, however, the issue is still misunderstood by many in the community. The board plans on two more public discussions of the matter before voting on the municipal septic system’s future and, by default, on the future of the Charlotte Children’s Center and the Charlotte Family Health Center.
Monday’s Selectboard meeting opened with a public informational hearing for Tuesday’s vote on the amendment to the town plan. No one was present, so the board moved on to other agenda items.
Monday’s Selectboard meeting included updates from the Trails Committee on the construction of the State Park Road path, as well as budget requests and presentations from the Board of Listers, Planning and Zoning, the Trails Committee, the Charlotte Library and CVFRS.
The agenda for the Oct. 14 meeting of the Selectboard included discussion with Trails Committee members on the proposed construction of the State Park Road path and budget reviews of several groups. Routine procedural agenda items such as approval of repairs to the Thorpe Barn and contract with P&P Septic for maintenance of the town wastewater disposal were dealt with quickly as the night progressed.