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?)
