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At last night's Special Meeting, the select board announced that at town meeting on Saturday, March 2 (at the Weathersfield School in Ascutney) at 12:30 p.m. the boards plans to discuss Article 9 first, rather than wait until later in the meeting. Article 9:  Shall the voters of the Town of Weathersfield approve the expenditure of $265,070 for the support and operation of a new municipal fire department? $245,070 shall be raised by property taxation, allowing the Select Board to set the appropriate tax rate. Article 9 was placed on the town meeting ballot after a petition was circulated around town when some citizens were concerned about the funding for the new municipal fire department. At the November 5, 2019 select board meeting, the select board voted unanimously in a roll call vote to exercised its statutory authority pursuant to 24 VSA §1951 to create a municipal fire department. Last night's special meeting was the final meeting discussing the move to a new ...

Town Meeting March 2 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Weathersfield Elementary School Town Vote March 5 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Martin Memorial Hall News You Can Use I must sadly report the passing Gary Parker Richardson, 83, he died Feb. 16, 2019. He was born April 23, 1935, the son of Ruth Ann (Parker) and Hyland Warren Richardson. He graduated in 1953 from Springfield High School where he played football, basketball, baseball, was scouted by the Red Sox for pitching, and voted Most Dramatic. He graduated in 1957 from the University of Vermont, studied Business Economics, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and played banjo in a Dixieland jazz band. Mr. Richardson then attended basic military training at Fort Dix. He married Barbara Ann Spinelli Oct. 27, 1959. He worked for American Locomotive Co. in New York City and was plant manager at Mack Molding Co. in Cavendish, retiring after 25 years. Mr. Richardson was Representative for three terms to the Vermont House, active in the Town of Weathers...

The Weathersfield Select Board is scheduled to meet Wednesday, February 27 at 6:30 p.m . at Martin Memorial Hall on Rte 5 in Ascutney to discuss " Option B " a proposal drafted by Ascutney Volunteer Fire Association (AVFA). This document was created by AVFA in response to the select board's decision to create a municipal fire department for the town. It was sent to the town manager and presented in the select board packet January 7, 2019 . "Option B"  review was on the February 7, 2019 agenda found in the select board packet but the meeting minutes link doesn't work. The minutes for the February 7 meeting are in the select board packet for February 18  but on page 10 of 85 it appears that no discussion took place. The minutes from February 18 have not been posted yet. A copy of the proposal was available at the informational meeting hosted by West Weathersfield Volunteer Fire Department at Martin Memorial Hall on Saturday, February 23. About 30 pe...

Register to Vote Beginning January 1, 2017, eligible persons may register to vote on any day up to and including the day of the election . Registration is available during all normal business hours of your town or city clerk's office on days preceding the election and during polling hours on Election Day. 17 V.S.A. § 2144 You may also register to vote online . A Guide to Weathersfield Town Meeting In an effort to help the taxpayers of Weathersfield understand the upcoming March Town Meeting, I've created an analysis of the Ballot and the Budget items for the taxpayers consideration. Town Reports are available online, if you haven't received one in the mail yet. http://www.weathersfieldvt.org/   ->Government->Document Center->Town Reports Town Report 2018 Australian Ballot Voting by Australian ballot will be conducted in Martin Memorial Hall , at 5259 U.S. Route 5 in Ascutney, on Tuesday, the 5th day of March, 2019 .   [The polls will open ...

The meeting has been rescheduled for Feb. 27 6:30-8:30 Because the agenda was posted at 12:15 p.m. not within the required 24 hours this meeting on Feb. 21 has been canceled   postponed to Wednesday, Feb. 27. Selectboard Agenda Martin Memorial Hall 5259 Route 5, Ascutney, VT 05030 Wednesday, February 27 th , 2019 6:30 P.M. SPECIAL MEETING 1.       Call to Order  2.       Appoint Health Officer (3-year appointment)  3.       Fire Services Discussion a.        Review and approve Ascutney Fire Department’s proposal (option b) b.       Answer questions from the public c.        Other Fire Service Discussion 4.       Adjourn    The select board is hosting a meeting tonight at martin Memorial Hall from 6-8 p.m.. The agenda was just posted online o...

Letter to the Editor , My name is David T Fuller and I have served my town of Weathersfield in a number of capacities previously. ( Selectboard-School Board and Emergency Mgt person during 2011-- Tropical Storm Irene). I am now a candidate for the 3 year seat on the Selectboard and ask for your vote on Mar 5th 2019. I have farmed here since 1977, my father served before me and now my daughter is on the ballot for the School Board, marking 3 generations of family public service. One of the greatest joys of this for me ---is meeting people I normally would not and for that I am grateful. Nothing to do with politics, new friendships. Having said that, I am troubled by the direction and path taken to merge our 2 volunteer fire departments. The Town’s Selectboard’s timeline of motions/actions, even on their own story page ( town website) did not foster consensus on this issue. And there is none. One department has said “ yes” ---One has voted “ no”. It h...

News You Can Use The Municipal Fire Department discussion continues in town. Some of the discussion has spilled over to social media. Some information is true, some blatantly false and some not quite “transparent.” If you read the “Wood Report” from 2016 one the items emphasized is cooperation from all parties concerned with an outside facilitator and regular meetings. The report also says all parties should work together on “the operational aspect of delivering fire protection in the community.” It appears these two steps were overlooked in that one fire company was not involved when the other brought the issue of a unified fire department to the select board and after many votes that fire company wants to remain a single non-profit fire department. The report mentions an alternative to a single fire department. “The town may want to consider, as an alternative, getting out of trying to govern the fire departments and just pay each association to provide fire protection to the ...

West Weathersfield Volunteer Fire Department (WWVFD) is hosting an informational meeting at Martin Memorial Hall, Rte 5 in Ascutney on Saturday, February 23 9-11 a.m. WWVFD paid for and produced the follow flyer that was mailed to residents in town earlier this week. This flyer states the since October 2018 there have been twice a month meetings with the "Select board, Fire Commission, Fire Dept. volunteers and community members. It should be noted that the select board suspended the Fire Commission after the Oct. 18, 2018 commission meeting. These meeting minutes are online but were never approved because the commission was suspended by the select board at their Nov. 5, 2018 meeting. Oct. 18, 2018 Minutes    These minutes include the fire services budget approved by the fire commission. (The motion to suspend the Fire Commission took place on Nov. 5 and can be found in the select board packet of Nov. 19   page 23/86 (the link to the select board meeting minu...

Happy Valentine's Day or as I like to call it Chocolate Lovers Day (photo of Gretchen Ocasio's-Skunk Hollow Tavern-Chocolate Raspberry Cake) Just a gentle reminder...the third installment of our property tax is due today, Feb. 13! News You Can Use Weathersfield select board and town news : The town has launched its new and improved website. http://www.weathersfieldvt.org/ . The select board was scheduled to meet on Feb. 4 but canceled that meeting and reschedule for Feb. 7. The agenda contained an item to discuss the many questions that have come up about the municipal fire department. These questions appear on the Facebook page “Villages of Weathersfield and surrounding areas.” Three members of the select board met at SAPA-TV on Friday, Feb. 1 to tape an informational message to be aired in the future. With three members attending it was considered a quorum and should have been warned as a meeting. An agenda and the minutes were posted after the fact and the...