Selectboard mailbag for October 28

Here’s some Selectboard correspondence I found interesting in the Selectboard packet for the meeting on October 28.

Road salt

Why are we buying road salt from Chile in South America, asks resident Doug Wilberding. The Town’s share of CO2 emissions from the transport boat, “equates to more emissions than the 45 tons emitted annually at Tracy Hall.” Mr. Wilberding wants the Town to be more proactive about reducing its carbon footprint. “Initiating policy either through Articles or Resolutions is meaningless if you do not act.”

Materials elsewhere in the packet indicate the DPW has concerns about the quality of the road salt from Chile. That may be enough to reject the low bid, although the salt apparently meets Vtrans specifications.

The policy question is why doesn’t the Town consider CO2 emissions in all purchasing decisions.

Don’t pave Blood Hill Road East

Residents of Blood Hill Road do not want their road paved in 2026 as called for in the draft capital plan. “Existing sugar maples would suffer from adjacent construction and pavement and potentially would need to be removed if paving includes a standard width section and side drainage ditches.”

Hmm. How did the road make the paving list in the first place?

Speed Signs on Union Village Hill

Frustration continues because drivers don’t respect the 25 mph speed limit on Union Village Road as it turns into Main Street. “It’s so dangerous and the abuse is flagrant and gets worse when people know Norwich PD is likely off duty. Nights. Weekends,” says one email.

Audit electric bills

The Town’s electric bills were over budget by 39% in the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to resident Pam Smith. She urges the Town to hire an independent auditor to “carefully examine the billings for electricity charges from both Solaflect and Green Mountain Power.”

Part of the spreadsheet prepared by Ms. Smith is below. The increases are striking. Compared to FY 2018, electricity costs increased at Bandstand by a factor of 4.9, at the Transfer station by a factor of 4, and at the Highway Garage by 2.9.

In addition, Ms. Smith says the Town does too “little oversight” of the billings from Solaflect under its Net Metering Agreement with the company. About 60% of the Town’s electricity comes from solar power as a result of the Agreement, at a discount from retail rates.

Open Meeting Law woes of the Planning Commission

The response of Planning Commission to the asserted Open Meeting Law violation did not satisfy the complaining parties. “In sum, the chairwoman’s response represents an end run of the OML and a flouting of the statutes that require the Planning Commission not the planning director to prepare the Town Plan,” says the letter signed by two of the three residents that brought the original complaint. “Lawyering up on the part of the Planning Commission is not helpful to solving these problems.”

Never miss a new post on the Norwich Observer. Subscribe to my blog by submitting your email address in the subscribe box in the right column above. Thanks!