Selectboard Stirrings - June 4
Hinesburg town leaders discuss appointments, selling a firetruck and update on the search for a new police chief.
By Lynn Monty
The Record Staff Reporter
Rose Watts was appointed to the Conservation Committee for a term ending April 2027. Selectboard Chairperson Merrily Lovell said Watts’ credentials are in line with the position and that she is happy to see younger people getting involved. Vice Chairperson Maggie Gordon said Watts will fit right in and thanked her for stepping up to the task. Also appointed were Kelsey Pasteris to the Recreation Commission for a term ending April 2027 and John Kingston to the Regional Planning Commission for a term beginning July 2025 and ending June 2027.
Residents didn’t pipe up about the rising FY26 Water and Wastewater Budgets and Rates in the hearing on June 4. The Selectboard will vote to approve on June 18.
Hinesburg Fire Chief Prescott Nadeau presented the Selectboard with data involving the sale of Tanker 1. This sale will have no impact on the department’s ability to operate efficiently. Engine 2 has similar capabilities and the mutual aide of surrounding communities are available. Tanker 1 was placed on the market in May through a company called The Garage, an online marketplace for used equipment. A department in Pennsylvania offered full asking price of $135,000 minus a 10% fee paid to The Garage. Delivery of a new tanker is expected in April 2026 to replace both Engine 2 and Tanker 1.
The Act 250 1b Exemption was approved by the Selectboard after the Planning Commission suggested this will help designate certain areas of Town to be exempt from Act 250, as required by the new Act 181 which passed last year. Sarah Muskin, a Senior Planner and Project Manager for the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, presented. She reiterated that this new act overhauls Vermont’s planning framework for coordinating state, regional, and municipal land use. Muskin has been working with the Hinesburg Planning Commission and other Hinesburg committees over the past couple of months.
“The Town has an interest in supporting planned growth in the village area so this eliminates an additional layer of permitting,” Planning Commission Chairperson, Denver Wilson said. “It is not creating growth but it’s simplifying it.”
Wilson said local zoning evaluates environmental impact already. “There are Town regulations to satisfy act 250 regulations,” he said.
The Police Governance Committee has been helping both Hinesburg and Richmond hire a shared chief. They decided to spend $4,000 to hire a “head hunter” to find a longer term interim chief since there has been difficulty in finding a permanent hire. The current contract with Richmond calls for Hinesburg supplying officers for Richmond. Richmond would like a reciprocal contract where both towns benefit. The current contract expires at the end of June.
A Draft Complaint Policy was reviewed and approved by the Selectboard as requested by residents. Hinesburg’s DEI committee created the new policy and a new complaint form will be available in the coming weeks.
Only one bid was received for Lantman’s Sidewalk Relocation and was rejected by the Selectboard on the basis of being non-competitive. The Town will apply for a pedestrian and bicycle grant. This will be the third grant applied for this job. “It is not uncommon for these projects to take 4 to 5 years,” Town Manager Todd Odit said.
The Selectboard approved the Master Tax Exempt Lease/Purchase Agreement with Municipal Leasing Consultants for five annual payments of $14,698.75 to allow work on Well #6 to get underway.
In Odit’s Town Manager Report he said that the Town received the Class 2 paving grant that would allow the Town to finish the reclaim and paving of Richmond Road. Also received was about $200,000 for the bridge grant to help with the deck on Hollow Road. Crosswalks in town have been repainted.
The wastewater facility is slated to be operational in early 2026. “There is a prolonged start up process,” Odit said. “It’s a complicated process.” This facility will be fully automated and no new hires will be needed.
Odit said the new Town Planner, Zachary Nersinger, started on Thursday, June 6.