NEW VINEYARD – Voters approved a 45-article budget in short order this morning, after voting in a new selectman for a three-year term.
Douglas Withey was elected selectman with 31 votes, defeating Incumbent Lowell Dubay, Jr., who received 21. The town elects officials from the floor during the meeting.
In another contested election, Director Scott Webber retained his seat on the MSAD 9 school board from challenger Jon Cavanaugh by a vote of 29 to 14. Cavanaugh, Richard Hargreaves and Patty Knapp were all reelected to the planning board for two-year terms.
Provoking the most discussion was Article 20, which set the annual appropriation for snowplowing and sanding at $120,000. That relatively low figure, Selectman Fay Adams explained, was a baseline. The town is planning to put the plowing out to bid as a contract for the first time, and expects a special town meeting is June will be necessary in order to cover the expected increases in cost.
The change is due to a decision by Douglas Nile, who currently plows the roads, to not continue the service next winter. Nile said he decided to stop plowing because of problems associated with the job, such as getting angry calls about mailboxes and finding the plow turning spaces blocked by vehicles.
“I’m tired with the stuff we put up with,” Nile told the assembly. “It’s a thankless job.”
“People just are not cooperative,” Adams agreed. The selectmen, she said, intended to draft the specifications for the plowing contract in the coming months and then hold a special town meeting to likely request more money once bids are opened.
Residents also approved a pay rate increase for firefighters, increasing the hourly pay from $6 to $10 when the volunteer department is attending actual fire calls. Fire Chief Doug Churchill noted that only five members of the town now served on the local department, with other personnel living in Farmington. Multiple residents expressed support for the pay hike in an effort to draw more local people into the department.
An article asking residents to appropriate $86,877 for 18 months of the county tax passed quickly, with only a few questions asked.
The county is moving toward a fiscal July 1 to June 30 year to get in line with the state’s budgetary schedule. Franklin County towns have been given the options of paying the next 18 months all at once or pay for one year and finance the rest over five years at 8 percent interest, costing an additional $6,000.
“We prefer that we just bite the bullet now,” Adams said.
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In a special presentation, Sen. Walter Gooley (R – Farmington) and Rep. Thomas Saviello (U – Wilton) handed out two legislative commendations. One was for Francis Bliss and his wife Frannie, acknowledging that the annual New Vineyard report was dedicated to them for their work with numerous town committees. The second was for Adams, celebrating her birthday.
