Selectboard Urged to Take Action on Turf Field
In the public comment section of the July 1 meeting, residents asked the board members to follow up on the CVSD's recent vote to accept a gift of a turf field and athletic complex at CVU.
By Claire MacDonald
Hinesburg Record Staff Reporter
In the selectboard meeting on July 1, the highly contentious issue of the artificial turf field installation at CVU – approved in an 8-3 motion by the school board the previous night – presented itself once again.
Public comments from Jennifer Decker, Andrea Morgante, and Carl Bohlen expressed great concern about the school board’s decision.
Decker, who said she had sent a letter to the selectboard earlier in the week addressing her concerns about the field, urged the board to consult a lawyer as to whether the town would be able to protect itself in the hypothetical case of future contamination.
“We could be up against a multinational corporation with a very large legal budget if we find ourselves in a bad predicament with PFAS,” she said. “I would really like to see the board take proactive action on this, and not wait and see if something bad happens later before deciding what to do.”
Morgante and Bohlen both thanked the selectboard for their transparency and reflected upon their frustrations with the structure of the school board’s meeting.
“I don’t always agree with your positions, but you are willing to state them and why you state them,” Morgante said. “I was appalled that through all the meetings … [the school board] sits there, and we never know what they’re thinking. Their agenda is written in such a way that they don’t ever reference the topic and give a little background for people who might want to be engaged.”
Bohlen suggested the selectboard invite one of the school board’s Hinesburg representatives to a meeting, to talk about the board’s decision regarding the field.
The selectboard also discussed and approved the FY2027 water and wastewater budgets. The water budget will increase by almost 17 percent, mostly due to bond payments for Well 6; the wastewater budget will increase by 14 percent, mostly due to expected bond payments regarding sludge removal.
Town Manager Todd Odit suggested moving to a three-tier rate structure in the next year. This would mean that rates would remain the same for those using 4,000 cubic feet or less per year – the vast majority of users – while rates would be higher for those using between 4,000 and 10,000 and over 10,000 cubic feet per year.
Odit said that accounts using 4,000 cubic feet or less annually would see no annual increase in their water and sewer bill. Accounts using 6,000 cubic feet annually would see a $50 increase in that bill.
“The idea is to try to get more parity with the higher users of the system versus the lower users. That’s going to take some time to even out,” he said.
Decker asked if there was any way to increase charges to CVU, to create a fund that would allow the town to protect itself in the event of possible contamination. The board said they were unsure if this is possible.
Additionally, the selectboard:
Accepted Victoria Gelbert’s application to serve on the Affordable Housing Committee, for a term that will end on April 1, 2029;
Approved the Resolution of Authorization brought forth by Fire Chief Prescott Nadeau, which will give the fire chief or the town manager permission to sign agreements with homeowners donating their houses to the fire department for training purposes;
Approved the request to use the town roads for the Tour de Frost, a gravel bike-riding event, on July 26;
Approved the proposal for replacement improvements to the Lincoln Hill culverts from local company Mitchell Excavating in the amount of $226,511;
And went through the Town Manager’s report, where they:
accepted a line of credit proposal from Northfield Savings Bank in the amount of $1.2 million at a rate of 4.75 percent for a one-year term; and
noted the near-completion of the project at the Lantman’s crosswalk.
Claire MacDonald is this year’s recipient of the Hinesburg Record Journalism Fellowship. In June she graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in political science.