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
