Housing needs
In limbo
Hinesburg committee outlines approach
Act 127 throws school budget process into chaos
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February 15, 2024
Police merger talks restart
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Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
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At forum
Balanced
Charlotte candidates weigh in LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
Three Charlotte Selectboard candidates and one for the library board of trustees talked affordable housing, governance models, Charlotte’s future and other issues with more than two dozen residents during Tuesday night’s hourlong community forum. Incumbent Frank Tenney is running uncontested for a threeyear term on the selectboard alongside incumbent Louise McCarren and Natalie Kanner, who are both vying for the two-year seat. McCarren was present for most of the meeting before signing off for the remaining last few questions. Matthew Bijur, who was also present at the forum, is running unopposed for a seat as a five-year library trustee.
With the public safety plan released to the selectboard, Hinesburg and Richmond officials are restarting talks to merge their departments into a single municipality covering both towns. Even before the plan was released, Richmond had reached out to town officials to schedule a meeting. Selectboard Chair Merrily Lovell in December said that she, selectboard member Maggie Gordon, town manager Todd Odit and police Chief Anthony Cambridge met with Richmond officials to continue discussions that were paused a year before. A second meeting has yet to be scheduled, Odit said, but officials are working on dates for the two towns to meet. “This is an ongoing collaboration — it’s fluid and it’s developing,” Lovell said. Since last spring, Hinesburg has provided patrol and administrative services for Richmond’s beleaguered department. At the time, Richmond had only two officers on hand and an interim chief. Now, the department is empty, with no officers of its own to patrol the town. The contract has been a benefit to Hinesburg. The town is expecting to collect $240,000 in revenue from the shared agreement, which
Town Meeting Day The first question posed to candidates was how they believe Charlotte should structure Town Meeting Day. The selectboard this year originally opted to switch Town Meeting Day back to in-person, but after hearing concerns from residents about holding the annual meeting on the last Saturday of school vacation, the board — in a 3-2 vote — moved back to Australian ballot. “I really love the idea of a continued in-person Town Meeting Day followed by an election day,” Kanner said. “I think the way that it was structured to vote on the budget in person and then vote on PHOTO BY AL FREY
See SAFETY PLAN on page 12
CVU’s Violet Wenschhof competes on beam during a gymnastic competition against Burr & Burton and Burlington. More on page 13.
See FORUM on page 10