part two
Spam filters are still my enemy apparently! Last week’s newsletter is posted on my site, but I’m going to try an email without links to see if that helps.
Town Meeting intermission
On Saturday, we had a good turnout at Town Hall for Town Meeting (part 1). Many thanks to WCTV for recording, the Cub Scouts of America for running the microphones, and Change the World Kids for childcare.
We will resume voting tomorrow, March 3rd from 7am-7pm via ballots. Sample ballots are on the town website and linked in my ballot guide.
Schools are part of the solution
Tomorrow, MVSU district voters will be asked to vote on a bond to rebuild the middle school and high school that has two contingencies: 1. the decoupling of school construction debt from per pupil spending and 2. that at least 25% of the cost of the bond is raised via state construction aid, grants, or private donations. Here are the reasons I am supporting this bond that I hope you will consider:
We are already paying for the new school
In 2023, voters approved a bond of $1.65M for design and permitting of the new school. Tomorrow, we will vote on two additional bonds for repairs to address immediate issues in the building. The maintenance team estimates we have spent $2M in the past two years on repairs and we have tens more in the next few years to address if we don’t have a new facility. Pouring millions into repairs when the facility is beyond it’s expiration leaves us with the same problem: we need to replace the building, and construction costs are increasing at historical rate.
We are ineligble for state aid for a renovation
Our building is in such poor condition that it does not meet state criteria for aid if we were to renovate. Said another way, the state considers renovating our building a poor investment.
Education costs are a symptom; not the cause
A lot of the rhetoric around the past few Town Meeting Days is that we as Vermonters can’t afford the rising costs of operating our public schools. The conversation quickly turns to “what can we cut?” But the real issue isn’t simply our spending — it’s our stagnant tax base.
Vermont has an aging population, slow population growth, and a limited workforce, which means the cost of public services (bloating more each year due to health insurance costs and recently, tariffs) falls on fewer taxpayers. As it stands, more than half of Vermont’s residents pay their property tax bills at a subsidized rate due to income.
If we want lower pressure on property taxes, the solution isn’t defunding our public services, it’s growing the tax base — attracting families, supporting businesses, expanding housing, and strengthening the workforce. Safe and successful schools are part of that strategy, not an obstacle to it.
Please let me know if you have any questions about voting.
all things Town Meeting
Starting with good news:
The long-awaited Town Hall conference tech has been installed! Come to a meeting and check it out!
Farmer and the Bell has a new donut flavor called brown butter maple bourbon biscoff and it’s going to make you wish you never met a pants zipper.
The station wagon has a new home! We bid farewell to Big Red this past weekend. You might still see it around as its new owners live in Pomfret.
A note of thanks to Deanna Jones, the Executive Director of The Thompson Senior Center, who testified this week in front of the House Committee on Human Services to advocate for expanded support of Meals on Wheels across the state. If you want to see her moving testimony, you can watch (and learn!) here. If you want to support our local Meals on Wheels program, you can make a donation to the Senior Center or volunteer as a driver.
a demonstration of the aerobic granular sludge process that will be replacing the current activated sludge process at the main wastewater treatment plant
Let’s get into it!
We are 8 days away from Town Meeting Day, part 1. Town Meeting in Woodstock is held in person on Saturday, February 28th at 10am in Town Hall. We will be voting on Articles 1-8 and also hosting an information session about the wastewater treatment plant upgrades.
For part 2: We will be voting via ballot at Town Hall anytime from 7am-7pm on Articles 9-25. This includes the wastewater treatment plant bond, elected offices, school budget, and the school rebuild bond.
Sample ballots are available here if you want to study them. The Town Ballot will be one page, the School District ballots will be 4 pages.
I also have a guide available to walk you through each article on the Town Ballot.
How to register
You can register to vote online at vote.vermont.gov. You will need either a valid photo ID (driver’s license or passport), current utility bill, current bank statement, or another government document containing your residential address.
You can register to vote in person at the Town Clerk’s office any time they are open, including Town Meeting Day. The office is on the first floor of Town Hall (31 The Green), hours listed here.
Voting absentee
Absentee ballots are currently available. You can vote absentee for measures we are voting on Tuesday 3/3, but not for the Saturday portion of our town warning.
If you plan to vote absentee, I would recommend hand-delivering the ballots to the Clerk’s office as postmarks cannot be honored.
What else?
I’m working with Change the World Kids to provide childcare for kids 4+. I’ll keep you updated!
If you have any questions, let me know!
Reading/watching:
right makes right
Firstly, please check your spam folders for my last email if you didn’t get it. My Squarespace batch email sender seems to have been flagged by some inboxes.
My house is just getting out from under the flu. It’s been a rough go and I do not recommend. 0/10. Many thanks to my lovely neighbors and friends who sent fresh sourdough, electrolyte packets, donuts, brownies, mac and cheese, puzzles, Heated Rivalry memes, and books during what I’m calling the Plague of 2026.
Catching up
Since I last wrote the Selectboard has voted to:
approve the FY27 budget to be voted on Town Meeting Day. As a reminder, Town Meeting Day happens in two parts in Woodstock. The town budget (as well as the budgets for the water and the sewer departments) are voted on in person on Saturday.
set the allocation for the Main Wastewater Treatment Plant bond. The bond will be paid for by sewer users only, with $150,000 annual offset from our infrastructure local options tax and some other funds set aside in sewer capital reserves. (The language of the bond doesn’t specify these amounts in case they need to change over the course of the bond).
We also found out that Woodstock has been named the recipient of a $1M Congressionally Directed Spending request for the Main Wastewater Treatment Plant. Another win for Harry “Grants” Falconer of TRORC and our town staff who worked with Senator Welch’s office to secure this. We will still need to jump through some hoops with the EPA, but this is a huge and very unexpected win.
Upcoming
We are a month away from Town Meeting Day(s). Here’s a ballot guide for you. I will post the sample ballots when they are available. Please let me know if you have any questions.
We are working with Change the World Kids to provide onsite daycare for Town Meeting Day (Saturday, Feb 28th).
Reading
Salt shortage forces Upper Valley towns to prioritize, and more coverage
A state land bank? (Do Phil Scott and I finally agree on something?)
slogging through
We have entered 2026 on another tidal wave of unprecedented events. So, here are the things that have brought me joy lately:
The giant bow above Woody’s made by owner Suzi Curtis!
Peanut butter kiss cookies baked by Annie Mears. (Friends know my entire family is allergic to peanuts so I seek out peanut butter like a hound when I leave my house)
Peter and Wendy at Northern Stage. Abby and I went as guests of her friend’s family and had the best time.
Two hometown book announcements:
Town wide reappraisal
The town wide reaappraisal is underway. The assessors and reappraisal consultants have started in the Village. You can expect to receive the above notice in the mail prompting you to make an appointment for a reappraisal. The time will vary by the size of the property, but it is in your best interest to let them inside your home so they can examine the interior and accurately estimate the value. This will save you and the assessors time so that they have the best information possible and avoid the grievance process later.
The reappraisal consultants and assessors are driving cars which readily identify them.
WWTP
The Main Wastewater Treatment Plant is going to bond this Town Meeting Day and we are currently working on the allocation for paying the bond. The bond payment will add about ~1.6m to the sewer budget each year (the current budget is $1.5m) Options thrown out at the last meeting were:
90/10 split between users and all parcels (effectively 95/5 between users and non-users)
allocation from the infrastructure fund (local options tax #2) and users only
At our public forums, I’ve heard a reflection of the sentiments of the above options from private septic users: that non-users should pay nothing or they should pay something, but very, very little. Let me know if you have thoughts, we are hopefully setting the allocation on Monday’s meeting so that it can be included in the warning for Town Meeting.
The board will be hosting public forums every Wednesday until Town Meeting (schedule here). Please join us if you have questions about this or other ballot-related questions. Here is the website with all the info about the plant upgrades and renovations.
Budget
We are close to finalizing the budget. Items of note:
adding 2.5 firefighter/EMTs to the Fire Department (including a full time training specialist)
buying down the tax rate by ~0.5% with funds from the undesignated fund balance
adding to our sand and salt budgets, as well as road stabilization (If you recall last year, I said we can expect these line items to keep growing as we experience more extreme climate related events)
Reading/watching:
it’s the time of the season
First, I want to say thank you for everyone who helped make Wassail Weekend happen. This is a tremendous feat for our town and it’s an all-hands-on-deck exercise. From the road crews removing snow starting at midnight on Friday, to our public safety personnel making sure the parade-goers stay out of harm’s (and horses’ way), from our public works folks staying on top of trash, to the many volunteers who organized, coordinated, and produced lovely and cheerful events.
Catching up
Since I last wrote the Selectboard has voted to:
pause currently EDC grant programs. This means that those already awarded grants will be funded but we are no longer accepting applications for previously advertised housing, storefront, or other grants. This will give a chance for the fund to regenerate while Economic Development Director establishes how she would like to recommend the fund be used.
adopt new sewer abatement guidelines. They can be found here.
allocate 10% of staff time within the budget to the new water department. Right now, staff allocate their time across 4 functions: Town, Village, Sewer. The addition of the water utility brings us to a new allocation of Town: 55%, Village: 25%, Sewer Dept: 10%, Water Dept: 10%.
appoint Nori Pepe and Aimee Bartlett to the Marketing Committee. The committee is advisory and supports the work of our Marketing Coordinator, Jess Kirby.
Looking forward
We have discussed and are likely to vote on the following in the next few meetings:
a policy for plaques and memorials on town property
a penalty for filing homestead declaration late. Currently, full-time residents are required to file a homestead declaration each year along with income taxes. This ensures they are charged the correct tax rate. Towns are able to charge a penalty of up to 8% of your education tax bill if you do not file on time. Other towns like Barnard are already enforcing this policy.
a possible spend of local options tax funding on way finding signage that will allow visitors to more easily navigate the Village.
Fun at the Vail Field Rink
Budget FY27
Budget season is upon us. The Selectboard has heard from department heads and now has the municipal manager’s recommended budget. This year’s theme: still course-correcting and building reserves.
The largest budgetary change from last year’s budget for the town is the Fire Department’s request to add more personnel to to enable staffing 4 full time shifts. Our current shift schedule/short staffing is leading to burnout and increased costs due to overtime.
We will be meeting again in early January to continue our discussions about the budget.
You can view the WIP budgets for Town, Village, water, and sewer here.
Affordability while we recover from years of underinvestment is a lofty goal, but one the joint boards are committed to.
On accountability
Last week, the joint boards received a letter from town hall staff asking us to direct immediate attention to “establish clear expectations for public conduct,” and review “safety and security measures” to keep them from ongoing situations in which they feel vulnerable and unsafe. The letter was read into the record and representatives of the board are planning to meet with staff after the holiday to come up with an action plan.
There is much that makes our small town charming. But often, I find in Woodstock, too much is an open secret—ignored or minimized so no one has to confront it. Those who harass and terrorize our town staff are empowered by the silence of our small town, by the power self-preservation and avoidance have on many of us. I am grateful to those few who have spoken out against bullying and harassment and have publicly voiced support for our town staff. I hope our community (including our boards) can do more to hold accountable those who disregard the safety and wellbeing of others.
what’s sludge got to do with it
Kicking off with the good news:
The SBOOKY Halloween party at NWPL was a huge hit! Thanks to Adrian, Emily, and library staff for making it so fun for the little ones.
WUHS football team is heading to the finals after a shutout against Otter Creek on Friday!
The Selectboard has appointed our 5th Musketeer: Cliff Johnson. Thanks to all of the incredible applicants and welcome, Cliff!
We made it to the first snow of the season! Do I regret putting the winter bins in the basement? Yes.
It’s that time of the season
Budget season has kicked off! I highly recommend watching the video from our joint board meeting last week. Highlights: police cruisers now have snow tires, but we need new cameras (state-mandated); reassessment is nigh; and the sludge truck from 1999 needs replacing. Tensions continue to be in staffing and maintenance costs. The next step will be department heads submitting actual budgets for consideration.
The budget is incredibly consequential and I encourage anyone who is available to attend our meetings in person or via Zoom to learn and/or offer feedback.
Vondell Cobb Reservoir
The Selectboard has concluded our listening tours about the conservation easement for the Vondell. It appears that most are in favor of the easement with Vermont Land Trust, which could would set us up to receive a grant from VHCB for $650,000 if we were to include the previous excluded parcels by Grassy Lane. The board still wants to hear from the community on how much private donors should seek to raise to augment the grant in exchange for the restrictions.
While we cannot pre-pay the bond for the land (remember we voted to buy the land last year for $1.6M), the board could vote to use these funds to pay for dam repairs that we know are imminent.
What’s next:
Tours of the main wastewater treatment plant will be held this Saturday, 11/15 from 10am-2pm. Please dress warmly.
Members of the Senate Education Committee will be visiting Woodstock Union High School on 11/18 at 2:45pm. Polly Mikula at Mountain Times has a comprehensive guide on the Redistricting Task Force’s current work; though they did convene yesterday and reject the CTE-based map. If you care about the future of our schools, please come to this event. Childcare will be provided, look for details in the listserv.
Our next Selectboard meeting
Reading/watching:
Skinny Pancake to close amid staffing, housing struggles (thanks to Jess for sharing)
Affordability, opportunity decides who stays in small towns (h/t Rob G.)
Don’t Talk About Politics - I cannot recommend this enough. If you’re going to buy/borrow one book this year, make it this one.
Woodstock Community Food Shelf continues to be a beacon in these dark times. Please consider donating.
decisions are made by those who show up
Kicking off with good news:
Farmer and the bell is open! Praise Beyonce and the carb gods! I highly recommend the double chocolate donut AND the creemee with syrup from Jenne Farm.
The new website spree continues: this time it’s the library!
The 50th Annual Harvest Supper sold out both seatings. Congrats and many thanks to the PTO, Change the World Kids, and Principal Workman for such a great dinner.
My husband has agreed to sell the station wagon. Telling you all in case he forgets :)
Vondell Cobb Listening Tour
The Selectboard is going on a listening tour for the next 3 weeks to hear what how the community wants to proceed with a conservation easement with the Vermont Land Trust on the Vondell Cobb Reservoir property. Town staff are working on confirming dates and locations - keep your eyes on the listserv for specifics.
Objectives and Goals
The Village Board of Trustees and the Town Selectboard will be kicking off their joint meetings to set goals for the fiscal year on Tuesday at 5:30pm. Here is the link to last year’s goals. IF YOU ONLY ATTEND ONE MEETING THIS YEAR, THIS IS THE ONE TO ATTEND. The goals we identify and vote on will help guide our budget and decision making process over the next year.
I’ve heard from a lot of you over the past few weeks regarding everything from traffic patrol to culverts to a merger to housing to parking. If you want our government to work for you, please come to the meeting in person (or virtually) and give us feedback.
Upcoming dates
If your kids are not yet ready to be scared this Halloween, come to the SBOOKY Library party on Sunday, October 26th.
Taxes are due on November 7th. The town only issues ONE bill per year, so please mark your calendars for the next payment due date in May.
Register for Zack’s Place Turkey Trot on November 27th. I highly recommend signing up if you need to escape visiting family for a few hours on Thanksgiving.
the future of land
Kicking off with good news:
The long-awaited Ranch Camp is now open in the East End! I highly recommend walking there while the weather is so nice. “Viva La East End!” as we have taken to saying in our house.
Ben and Jerry’s is on sale at Mac’s
The new local options sales tax generated more than $350k in the first year. This revenue funds the newly-formed Infrastructure Fund.
The PTO is more than halfway to their fundraising goal of $1500 for a new cafeteria table for Woodstock Elementary (Can we get it done by Friday? Venmo @WESTPVPTO)
We’ve had several board meetings since I last wrote, including the now annual “State of the Stock” where our Town Manager gives an assessment of our collective progress during the fiscal year. It is very much worth a watch, as is last year’s - which some called a “barn burner.”
CDBG-DR (try saying it five times fast)
Sustainable Woodstock and Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission are leading a grant application, in collaboration with the Town and other organizations like Woodstock Community Trust, for a Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR). This is HUD funding available to certain areas of Vermont that experienced flooding during 2023. Specifically, the application seeks funding to study ways to lower flood levels around Riverside Mobile Home Park and protect homes from damage, as well as study potential parcels for relocating the most at-risk homes. Riverside experienced severe flood damage during both Hurricane Irene and Summer 2023.
Many thanks to Jenevra Wetmore and Kyle Katz for their work on this. You can reach out to them with questions: director@sustainablewoodstock.org, kkatz@trorc.org.
Future Land Use Mapping
At August Planning Commission Meeting, Kyle Katz and Kyle Hansen from TRORC (henceforth known as the The Kyles) kicked off the Regional Future Land Use Map process. The Map guides the regional plan for development and serves as one of the regional standards our Town Plan needs to align with. The first draft put forward by TRORC is available here and can be commented on. And here’s the new language/area designations that all regional plans and maps need to use per Act 181. TRORC is looking for public comments before November 1st.
The Town Plan also features a more specific Future Land Use map for the town, which will be drafted by the Planning Commission as part of the Town Plan revision process we will launch once the Village bylaw review is completed.
The Vondell
Last year, Woodstock residents voted to acquire ~360 acres up Cox District Road known as The Vondell for $1.6M. This land had previously been owned by Woodstock Aqueduct Company and is home to the system’s single water tank, two reservoirs, miles of trails used for recreation like walking, birding, snowmobiling, and, of course, mountain biking.
The bond equates to ~$68 per year for the average Woodstock property owner, for 30 years (each year decreasing as the interest is paid off). This acquisition doubled Woodstock’s landholdings and signified, in my opinion, a deep shift in how we invest in the future of Woodstock.
During the acquisition process, Susan Ford worked with the Vermont Land Trust to investigate if a conservation easement was possible. A conservation easement is a permanent legal agreement between the owner and another body to restrict the use of the land forever. In return for the restrictions, the owner receives a financial reimbursement and/or tax incentives. During the winter, VLT had estimated the reimbursement for the Vondell to be around $750k and we worked with them and TRORC to identify sections the town could exclude from the easement in case voters wanted to reserve some of the land from a perpetual restriction (we decided on excluding less than 40 acres across 3 parcels). About a month ago, VLT came back with an offer for considerably less: $200k, with the option to increase to $550k if the town included the total acreage in the easement. We have also had individuals volunteer to fundraise the balance, should we choose to move forward with either option.
The questions I have are:
How do you want to see this land used?
Does a conservation easement bring you closer to that wish? And if so, what value would you place on it?
Right now there are no plans to change how that land is being used/how it was used when it was owned by the Aqueduct. It is also worth mentioning as we volley between extreme climate events, that the reservoirs were once backup water sources for the system. Additional infrastructure would be required to make either a safe source again, but they hold in excess of 28 million gallons of water. Most of the land is not currently developable.
Let me know your thoughts.
sowing and reaping
Happy September! Kicking off with good news:
Last month, the Billings Park Commission voted to spend some of their funds on the Mount Peg Golf Ave trail entrance to make the trail more accessible. They partnered with WAMBA to widen the trails up to the outdoor classroom. Go check it out!
There is a new picnic table at Vail Field in memory of Paul Rigali, currently by the tennis/pickleball courts.
Woodstock has hired its first Economic Development Director, Abbie Sherman. You can read more about her here.
A payphone was installed at WUMS/HS as part of the device-free initiative. It is free to use!
NWPL’s Summer Blow Out Party had 100+ attendees and hosted a giant inflatable unicorn (we’re still talking about it at my house).
Town wide reassessment
At the last board meeting, Ryan Silvestri from New England Municipal Consultants came to answer questions on the upcoming town wide reassessment. Beginning this fall, Ryan will be working with our assessors, Kathy Avellino and Tim McCarthy to update the valuations of each property in Woodstock as we have not had a town wide revaluation since 2016.
Before they come to your property, you will receive a letter prompting you to make an appointment for your assessment. Their visit should take 15-20 minutes for the interior, but the total time will depend on the size of the structure(s) and property.
It is advantageous to you to allow them inside so they can better assess your property - otherwise they are left to rely on incomplete information to make their assessment, which increases the chance of appeal. If you do not want them to come inside, please let them know when making your appointment.
If you want to see what your home is currently valued at you can check the NEMRC records here (the fewer search fields the better). Only residential and condo records are online.
Objectives and Goals
Last year our Municipal Manager challenged both boards to come up with shared objectives and goals that would help guide our decision-making, our budget process, and how we direct staff to spend their time. The result was a four objectives, meant to be long-term “North Stars”: effective and efficient government, housing and development, affordability, and climate resiliency; and many goals that fell under one or multiple objectives that we wanted to achieve within the fiscal year (some might know these as OKRs).
We’re about to kick off that process again. First, we’ll revisit last year’s goals and evaluate how we did, what needs continued resources and if expectations need to be recalibrated. We will also take input from the public on these goals so we can be a more reflective, effective, and efficient government (HEY! See what I did there?)
Since Town Meeting, I’ve heard from many of you that you would like to see a Village/Town merger. If you want this to become a reality in the near future, please make public comment at our forthcoming joint meetings and/or please reach out to members of both boards to express your support for this as it will require majority votes from both boards to take this on.
Upcoming
We set the tax rate at the last meeting, so tax bills will be going out soon! They are due on the first Friday of November and the first Friday of May.
The Planning Commission is wrapping up revisions to the Village bylaws as tasked by the Selectboard to make changes that would increase usability, encourage Smart Growth, comply with state regulations, and minimize the municipality’s liability. If you want to see what changes they are considering, come on down to Town Hall (or on Zoom) the first Wednesday of the month at 6pm.
The Community Campus is hosting a Fun Run and Open House this Saturday, September 6th. The Fun Run is a 5k loop around the Pogue that starts at 8:30am. The Open House is 12-3pm and will feature food, lawn games, and a tour of their space.
The annual East End Community Celebration is Sunday, September 14th from 1-5pm at East End Park. One of my fave musical acts, The Drop Offs, will be performing :)
Reading/watching
Living in the Shadow of the American Dream (thank you to Brian for sharing)
Everyone Thinks They’re a Critic but No One Knows How to Critique