SELECTBOARD MEETING HELD ON OCTOBER 12, 2022


What You Need to Know:


  • Stand Up for Norwich is clearly having an impact. The Wednesday meeting had 53 participants, a record! The Selectboard has been increasing their transparency in the past few weeks in contrast to how meetings have been run in the past.


  • The town was finally able to hire a Police Chief. We’re excited to welcome Detective Sergeant Wade Cochrane of the Montpelier Police Department, and will actively push the Selectboard to support him more than previous chiefs. Neither the current police staff, including officer-in-charge Anna Ingraham, nor any members of the community were involved in the interview process for this critical role in our community. Neither was the Selectboard involved in this process. The hiring seems to have been done solely by the Town Manager. His approach unfortunately mirrors that of how the Selectboard gave him his contract, and stands in sharp contrast with MCS’s search process for its current principal, which welcomed input and participation from residents.


  • The Town Manager is hoping to hire a couple of drivers for plowing this winter, though he has yet to confirm a solution. The town is offering sign-on bonuses to attract applicants. It seems to us it would have been cheaper to retain the employees that we had on staff. The residents of Norwich are paying for the Town Manager's management education.


  • The Selectboard still struggles to address issues in a manner that represents the needs of the people of Norwich and to do so in a timely manner. Issues such as the Moore Lane bridge and the deadline to hire a contractor for State mandated town wide reappraisal highlight the Selectboard’s inability to oversee the town effectively. The Moore Lane bridge debacle has been on the town’s radar for at least 3 years since Peter Orner discovered hazardous material leaking into Blood Brook, and the listers have been warning about the need for reappraisal for about 5 years. Though these elected officials deserve our respect for volunteering their time to serve on the Selectboard, we must hold Selectboard members accountable to doing the best possible job on behalf of all residents while in that position.


  • Roger Arnold (the current Chair who announced he is stepping down from that role), continues to be disrespectful of other board members such as Marcia Calloway, who is often on the opposite side of issues he supports. A Selectboard Chair needs to lead by example, not try to frame every issue. As the Vermont Institute for Government has stated, “A good leader does not need a big gavel or a loud voice to rule. The most important attribute is the respect of the Board and the board’s respect for the Chair.” Neither Roger Arnold nor Mary Layton fit that description based on their behavior in recent meetings.


  • We want to emphasize that we respect the elected officials on the Selectboard and the time they invest in public service. At the same time, we expect those volunteers to show similar respect for residents’ concerns and to ensure that their actions reflect the will of the people, especially when it affects our families’ health and safety.



Public Comments


  • Stuart Richards read a letter Roger Arnold sent to town department heads about employees’ complaints about the work environment. On April 22nd, HR Happens (the firm hired to look into this issue) wrote to the Board stating there were numerous complaints directed against the Town Manager and employees had reported not feeling safe in the workplace. Stuart again requested a Q&A session.


Watch: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxfBW3tv1oWBbdVfSzl5duuVPBWbZLXtw4


  • Kate White spoke about the Moore Lane bridge. There’s been very little discussion of the issue and alternative solutions. The proposed solution is expensive and temporary. It requires that the town of Norwich become a licensed generator of hazardous waste. Also, only the water has been tested and not the sediments. There’s been a lack of transparency on what information is required and has been provided by the State, and whether the EPA has gotten involved. The Town Manager and the Selectboard either do not know or have not shared if there is any liability to the town and taxpayers, from any future discovery of hazardous waste related to this issue.


Watch: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxSEWzwRBPTKKoNSMXgZFaVpbc_ISwcYIH


  • Manu Tesone asked Roger Arnold if the two former police chiefs had been denied support and equipment that the town had approved funding for and whether Arnold had personally denied that support. Arnold stated that no board member acting on their own has authority to make a decision on the town spending. It requires a majority of the board. That clarifies that the lack of support for our former police chiefs was not only limited to Roger Arnold, but by at least 3 members of the board. Manu also reminded the Selectboard members that they have a fiduciary responsibility to the town residents and that they may have potentially put the town at serious financial risk by not properly addressing employees’ complaints about a reported toxic work environment.


  • Jaan Laaspere focused on personnel issues and, specifically, the Town Manager’s veracity. Jaan expects that the performance goals of the Town Manager include being open to input and respectful of town residents and being factual in his communication. The Town Manager had stated that Peter Orner was the only person to have submitted correspondence on the Moore Lane bridge issue. That was not true, and trivialized the town residents’ legitimate concerns. The misrepresentation is disrespectful to those who comment and sends a message to residents that their input and participation is not welcome.


Watch: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxsGiKSiNEjIpDlyHjVp_WB1lXbehgsB0f


  • Alena Berube stated her concern about cars parking on Turnpike Rd to Gile Mountain preventing neighbors from using the road. This is a critical concern for residents as police and emergency vehicles are not able to reach homes.


Watch: https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx30EwXE5DASYqgLE7_ABANdxqaECau3CH


  • Bill Scavone also spoke in detail about the issue of cars blocking Turnpike Rd and the public hazard they create. Normally the Norwich Police Department had dispersed the traffic and issued citations. This year Bill called police for support but received none.


  • Peter Orner (again) stated his concern about the toxic hazardous chemicals emanating from the Moore Lane bridge. The State of Vermont is saying the chemicals are hazardous and the CDC states these chemicals are extremely hazardous. Peter asked that the Selectboard delay a decision on the temporary fix until these chemicals can be properly studied.

    • Mary Layton cut him off and told him to “wrap this up.” Peter described how he cannot sit outside his house because of the intense odor or let his children play in the brook. Mary Layton said the Board will “try to look into it” and also said that “there’s the dilution factor, if you ate a cup of salt you wouldn’t be doing very well.” Then, again, “I want you to wrap this up.”


Watch


    • Roger Arnold rejoined the meeting and said “he kinda likes the energy [Mary] has going.”

Watch: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxME2PVhGYjDZuK0_oIVcyM1YxR0l80Ilj


Moore Lane Bridge


  • There was common acknowledgement by the Selectboard that the proposal is a temporary measure. There were mixed and conflicting messages on whether we were being required by the state to go forward with this plan. It was clear in the end that the Town is not compelled by the state to do this at this time.


  • Since it is temporary, the obvious question is “How long will it last?” to which there was no answer. The absorbent material has some capacity, but no one could translate that into months before dripping would recommence. Continuous monitoring will be necessary.


  • There was a push by numerous residents and SB member Marcia Calloway to wait a few weeks to get more information, including an important meeting with the state toxicologist next week. This was countered by a harder push, at times rudely, by the Selectboard majority and Town Manager, saying there was nothing to be gained by waiting.


  • The Selectboard majority approved the $62k “bridge diaper,” (Marcia voted “no”) which they hope will be better than nothing. Most importantly, we should move forward immediately with townwide discussion to define a permanent solution. Preferably including requesting approval from town residents for a specific course of action in March ‘23.


  • Roger Arnold is still the acting town Health Officer. At one point in the conversation, after acknowledging he was still the town Health Officer, he said that Blood Brook was not a recreation area. This could be important to the state if our Health Officer says such a thing, since it is clearly not the case. The access to the brook from public Huntley meadows and the daily use by children there makes it effectively a public recreation area and it should be treated as such.



Other Meeting Notes


  • Purchase of Police Vehicle: The Select Board voted to buy the new police chief a RAV4, unmarked commuter car using movies from the Police Cruiser Replacement designated fund.


  • Financial Controls: The Town Manager wants to require multiple signatures on town checks. Treasurer Cheryl Lindberg (an elected official) pushed back with data showing it was not the standard in other towns and that there are controls and oversight in place before she is authorized to sign checks.


  • Zoning Administrator: A messy conversation clarified titles and roles in zoning and planning. The new hire will be zoning coordinator and take over the required designation of Zoning Administrator from Rod. We will no longer have a Zoning Director position, which was the Town Manager’s previous job.


  • Town wide Reappraisal: The Selectboard discussed the selection of a software to conduct the appraisal. They are not following the Listers’ RFP recommendations, which are based on the last town wide reappraisal. There’s an imminent deadline of Dec 9th to make a decision as mandated by the State due to the drop in Norwich’s Common Level of Appraisal. There are a limited number of reappraisal firms and there are many towns in VT that need to do a reappraisal.


  • Boiler Replacement for Tracy Hall: a boiler needs to be replaced to have proper heating this winter. There’s a lack of insulation in the building. The TM will ask for approval to purchase a boiler.


  • Town Personnel Policy: The Town Manager will be leading the process to update the town’s personnel policy though he does not expect to start this until at least November.


  • Town Budget: The Town Manager will be using the same worksheets used in last year’s process.

    • He expects the line item for tree removal to increase due to an increasing number of requests for tree removals in the town right of way. The town is liable for that work. There are several large trees in the right of way and there’s no budget allocated for that work.

    • The Town Manager expects to present the previous budget adjusted for inflation.