Selectboard Meeting

JOHNSON SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES JOHNSON MUNICIPAL BUILDING MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2025 Present: Selectboard members: Mike Dunham (7:45), Peter Hammond, Adrienne Parker, Eben Patch, Paul Warden Others: Tom Galinat, Carl Rogers, Casey Romero, Kathy Black, Diana Osborn, Lois Frey, Charles Flaum, Morna Flaum, Doug Molde, Eric Schultz, Jessica Bickford, Kyle Nuse (remote) Note: All votes taken are unanimous unless otherwise noted. 1. Call Meeting to Order Eben called the meeting to order at 6:30. 2. Consider Additions or Adjustments to the Agenda Eben added approval of a Municipal Planning Grant resolution form, interlocal kennel agreement renewal, discussion of high water signs from the Department of Environmental Conservation and an executive session for an employee evaluation. 3. Public Comment and Public Announcements Casey Romero said she had a conversation today with the Vermont Community Foundation. The work on the water line at the skatepark could potentially qualify for a grant of up to $5,000 if the work meets their criteria for an urgent health need. In the future, she wants to talk to the selectboard about how the big bill recently incurred for the skatepark is accounted for. 4. Selectboard Updates and/or Concerns Adrienne said she has heard that a lot of people have had well issues due to the drought. Whether there is anything the town can do to help with that may be something for the board to consider in the future. 5. Reimagine Johnson Recreation Economy Task Force Kathy Black said the Recreation Economy Task Force came out of the Reimagine Johnson process. They have been meeting for almost a year. They have brought in a lot of people to talk about recreation needs. They did a survey of recreational assets and they read a lot of plans that had been developed previously, such as the pathway plan and the recreation recommendations in the town plan. Their primary goal is not just to attract people from outside the town to come and spend money here, but also to make sure there is recreation for people who live here. They want to enhance connections between the elementary school, high school and college. They want to pay attention to what people in town do for recreation and how it can be better. Their starting place was recreation for those who are already here. Diana Osborn said the task force is not a town committee, but they want to be collaborators with the town. For instance, Lois Frey of the Conservation Commission shared maps of trails that are planned. The task force is trying to figure out how to fund the community's recreation needs. They don't need anything from the selectboard. But they have a committee with expertise and knowledge and as long as they can help the town they are willing. It came to their attention that maybe the town could use help with the upcoming EPA grant opportunity. Charles Flaum said his 501(c)(3) organization, Discover Johnson, put together a brochure in collaboration with the recreation task force. As a 501(c)(3) they were able to handle the money coming from VCRD. They see themselves working hand-in-glove with the recreation task force. Morna Flaum said Discover Johnson is a separate non-profit. They feel very empowered by the Selectboard Meeting Minutes p. 2 October 20, 2025 work they have done with the recreation task force. The task force has a spreadsheet of over 70 or 80 recreational assets. One great way to attract people to Johnson is the rail trail. We currently don't have lodging but we have a potential to attract lodging being built. In the meantime, we need to build our reputation with day visitors. She would like Johnson to be a place for agritourism, recreational tourism and wellness tourism. Kathy said there is a person on the task force who works at the college and is also a coach. She connected with Isabelle Sullivan. As a result of their conversations, the college restarted their family swim nights and swim lessons. Another committee member, Eric Nuse, said the lower pond at the college used to be a good place for people to learn how to fish. He reached out to Vermont Fish and Wildlife about the possibility of money to re-establish that pond, make sure it is healthy and get it stocked. He is working to find funding and to see if that would be acceptable to the college. The task force brought the Lamoille River Paddlers’ Trail brochure to Johnson Farm and Garden to make it accessible to people. Eric Nuse put together a pedal/paddle event in June that was promoted on Front Porch Forum where people could paddle downriver and ride their bikes back up on the rail trail. Kathy said we should think about how buyout properties along the river could be used once the town owns them. A kayaker came to talk to the task force about the possibility of a whitewater park on the river. Seth Jensen, Paul Warden, Eric Nuse, Doug Molde and the kayaker are all involved in looking into the possibility. There are about three different spots that they think would make a great whitewater center. Morna said she has talked to the person who built the Mill City Park whitewater park in New Hampshire. It did not bring in as many visitors or as much money as they predicted. But they went from one to nine restaurants in the town. Someone built an $82 million living and business center. Someone rehabbed 130 apartments. People come to watch the whitewatering and a river culture for kids has developed. They have boogie boarding for kids when there is low flow and tubing when the flow is even lower. Morna recently wrote a grant to try to find money for more lifeguard hours at the school. During COVID, a lot of swimming culture went down. There are not as many kids who are ready to be lifeguards now as there have been in the past. The water park at Jay Peak needs lifeguards. We could create jobs and more strong swimmers and a better culture for water sports by using grant money to engage in river and kayak safety and water safety for the community. She thinks a whitewater center has a lot of potential to bring growth. It would be good for fish and flooding issues. Doug asked if the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) EPA grant is still on or if it is on hold. Carl Rogers said it is on hold because of the government shutdown. Doug said he feels the grant is important to this community because the recreational assets we have are amazing. He asked Sodexo, the food service provider at the college, if we could advertise that the food there is publicly available. The manager said yes. Doug is also interested in advertising other assets there, such as the weight room, pickleball, tennis, swimming pool, ski area, and disc golf course. He feels the selectboard needs to appoint a good steering committee to bring in people from outside groups and agencies and have them talk about what they can do for us. The ideas that the selectboard is hearing tonight are just the tip of the iceberg. Selectboard Meeting Minutes p. 3 October 20, 2025 Morna said a whitewater park has to be on municipal land. Seth Jensen said we might be able to use studies the Army Corps of Engineers have already done, which could move us ahead in the process of developing a park. We have to do a feasibility study. Kathy said the task force is also looking at camping and overnight accommodations. She thinks people are looking at hiking and biking trails and hut systems that would connect across the state. It is important to be part of the conversations and make sure Johnson is included. Casey said it is encouraging to hear this because in the past there has been a gap between what we wanted and what the taxpayers have been able to pay for. Kathy said this is an opportunity for us to move forward. It is important to do it in a thoughtful way, prioritizing what is most important to people in Johnson while being mindful of both potential income and potential expense for upkeep. Paul said he is impressed with the work the task force has done. It positions us well for the EPA opportunity. Kathy suggested that we keep in mind how the task force can help get work done if we don't have EPA expertise coming in. The task force is not asking the town to build anything. They feel some funding could come from public funds. Funding could also come from non-profits or entrepreneurs. Kathy said Eric Nuse is interested in helping as a facilitator during the RERC process. He has a lot of training as a facilitator. Doug said he thinks there is a missing link in the system in Johnson – a grant writer and organizer. He talked to the community and economic development specialist in Poultney and asked how the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities EPA grant process worked for them. She said it was fabulous. Their infrastructure increased and they went full-time with her position because they were getting the growth they wanted. The recreation economy helps the community prosper. Charles gave an example of one way the recreation economy can build community. An engineering firm in the St. Johnsbury area was having problems attracting engineers so they decided to advertise in mountain biking websites and magazines because of their proximity to the Kingdom Trails, and that was how they found engineers. Doug said there is a meeting coming up about the Velomont Trail that runs the length of Vermont. He has been talking to RJ Thompson, the head of Vermont Huts & Trails, who toured the Johnson area and is coming back to talk about what presence they might have here . Adrienne said the task force is doing a great job making connections and doing groundwork. She asked if they could send over a list of people they suggest for the RERC steering committee. Kathy said she has already given one to Carl. She is one of the people on the list but she is okay with not being on the steering committee if there are other experts who would make a better mix. She suggested that maybe the selectboard can approve the steering committee so Selectboard Meeting Minutes p. 4 October 20, 2025 they will be ready to hit the ground when the funding opens up. We may want to bring in people from the Lamoille County Planning Commission or the state, and maybe include Isabelle Sullivan. Adrienne said the selectboard is reclassifying some highways to trails. Once that happens maybe they could be advertised as walking trails. Doug said the rail trail committee has a list of gravel roads that they would like to get on the Discover Johnson website. There is a lot of interest in gravel roads. Adrienne asked if the rail trail committee has heard anything from the VHB scoping study. Doug said no. Carl said the deadline is at the end of the year. Today he heard that VHB is proposing to give the board a report by December 1 and to come to the December 15 meeting. Adrienne asked if task force members feel the group is still functioning well as a task force. Kathy said the task force has no method to handle money but Discover Johnson does. We need to have a full conversation about what will make the group most effective. Adrienne said she wants whatever will allow them to function best. Diana said the task force has studied what models exist in other areas. The state has a Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Does the board ever see departments forming at the town level? Eben said departments require more employees. As an individual, he has wanted a way to combine some committees, which could have subcommittees, to reduce volunteer fatigue. But he doesn't think a lot of the committees would really support that. Adrienne said she could see the town having a parks and recreation department. She thinks it would be worth investing in adding a couple more employees if recreation keeps growing and we use our FEMA buyout properties as green spaces. Volunteerism is great but it is not sustainable and reliable. She thinks recreation is a big glue in Johnson that connects everything. 6. Future Committee It was agreed to meet with the food access committee next. Eben said he thinks we may need to take a break from meeting with committees in December because we will be working on the budget. 7. CEDS Update / Industrial Park Next Steps Paul said he and Carl have been working on draft covenants for the industrial park. Carl said he got comments from Paul and Peter and he will add those into the outline. Carl said state permit applications for the industrial park did not get submitted on Friday. There were some logistical issues with getting application forms signed and getting checks to Mumley. He hopes he can get that completed tomorrow so the applications can go in tomorrow. The state Fish & Wildlife Department will draft a conservation easement for the Prindle lot. DuBois & King will be acting as facilitators for the visioning project meeting in December. We got the contractor who submitted a proposal in May for the improvements to the Ted Alexander Welcome Center to clarify what he could do for the price that was agreed to by the selectboard and the rail trail committee. Authorization to proceed went to the contractor last Friday. There has been no response from him yet. He indicated he could do the work for $14,250 and that he could start in December. Selectboard Meeting Minutes p. 5 October 20, 2025 Regarding the scoping study for a connection between the rail trail and downtown, VHB is proposing to present their report on December 15 and to send it 2 weeks in advance. Carl asked if that sounds okay or if the board wants to see the report earlier in case there are suggestions for changes, since the grant deadline is December 31. Board members agreed that if it is possible to move up the presentation that would be great. Eben suggested moving it up by as much as two meetings if possible. Tom said we have an excellent opportunity with the EPA to have facilitators help identify options for Johnson’s future. Is there value in delaying implementation of the VHB study in order to design what comes out of that facilitation? We are assuming now that only way to connect is on Railroad Street. Carl said this has been thought about and discussed. The thought was that we don't need to hold up on the connector study. The people at the alternatives presentation favored the Railroad Street option. That was the least costly and the quickest. But that doesn't mean Johnson can't pursue another option later on, such as a new bridge in a different location. Paul said there was support at the alternatives presentation for pursuing another option at a later date. Carl and Paul agreed that people were also not in favor of waiting to implement something. Paul suggested it would not be a bad idea to ask about a potential extension to the grant that would pay for connector implementation. Carl said he can ask about that. Carl said word finally came out that we could start talking about the RERC grant award publicly, but then we heard that EPA staff was furloughed. So now things are on hold. The first task the town needs to complete is organizing the steering committee and then the steering committee will begin holding virtual meetings with EPA staff and consultants, who will act as facilitators and will author the action plan. The steering committee will review the action plan and ask for revisions. Everyone who participates in the day and a half of public meetings will be able to comment on the action plan. One of the original steering committee members named by Randall Szott is also on the recreation economy task force. That person has expressed interest in continuing to serve. Carl has nothing new on the welcome center steps beyond what was in his written report. He still needs to spend time on the Act 250 application. Paul asked if there is guidance about the size of the RERC steering committee. Carl said we have not gotten any guidance on that. The original steering committee listed in the application had 13 people. It included a few people from Johnson and a lot of county and regional people. For some of them, their connection to outdoor recreation is not obvious to him. Adrienne asked if there is a deadline for the Legion Field grant. Carl said all VCF grants had a one-year deadline after the award but they are very lenient on that. If they know the town is active in trying to complete something, they won't push it. 8. Contract Review and Approve for DuBois & King Carl said we got an agreement from DuBois & King for community engagement support for the Legion Field meeting. It includes their proposal and their standard contract terms and conditions. He compared the proposal with the original one to make sure they are the same. He Selectboard Meeting Minutes p. 6 October 20, 2025 looked at the contract terms and conditions. For something this small, he has no issue with any of them. If it was a bigger contract he might push back on some of the language. Adrienne said she didn't see a deliverable date. Carl said there was discussion that they could get this started by the first of the year or even in December, as he recalls. Paul said he believes that is correct but he is not certain. Paul moved and Peter seconded to approve the contract for the amount of $6,000 with DuBois & King for Legion Field community engagement and support and to authorize the chair or the town administrator to sign it. Adrienne asked if Carl can ask them when their deliverable date will be. The motion was passed. 9. TSSA Questions and Next Steps Carl said he reviewed the 2009 Town Sewer Service Area ordinance. He thinks it might be good if the town added a section listing the map revisions, so in the future just that section could be amended to include a new map revision date. Paul asked, we agreed on just having a map done, not metes and bounds? Carl said he believes that is what the board directed. He can follow up with Alec Jones about why metes and bounds was listed. Maybe we could refer to the tax map and lot numbers. He would like to get Alec’s input. It would be a lot of work to determine metes and bounds. Carl said his next step is to meet with Alec to compare the information Alec has with what Carl is finding and be sure they are on the same page regarding the map and what additions are needed to the ordinance. Then Alec will produce the map and Carl can work on the ordinance. Eben said then the board will approve the draft updated ordinance and hold a public hearing right before a selectboard meeting. He suggested that perhaps a draft could be sent for the board to review at the next meeting. (Mike arrived at 7:45.) 10. Informational Meeting Planning Tom said he had discussed with Hope Sullivan the idea that maybe the Lowe Lecture Hall could be open from about 5:30 to 6:00 for the public to wander around with music and refreshments. That would help people envision what the space could be. Eben asked if the information meeting has been posted. Tom said not yet. Eben said he would like it posted on Front Porch Forum for a couple of days. There was discussion about what equipment would be available at the lecture hall for a presentation and for recording the meeting. Mike pointed out that there is currently no water or bathroom available at the lecture hall. He suggested having the information part of the meeting at the municipal building. The board agreed to that. It was agreed to have the Lowe Lecture Hall open starting at 5:00 or 5:30 with selectboard members there from 6:00 to 6:30 and to have the information meeting starting at 6:40 at the municipal building. Tom said he will draft the agenda and send it to Adrienne and Eben. Eben noted that we got the building inspection report. It was very detailed. Peter said it included a lot of little things and some significant things. Paul suggested posting it on the website and including a link in the Front Porch Forum post about the information meeting. Eben suggested that information on the most important things found should be added to the presentation for the information meeting. Selectboard Meeting Minutes p. 7 October 20, 2025 There was discussion about who would present which information at the meeting. Tom said the architect has been sick and hasn't been able to provide the egress information. Tom is meeting with him tomorrow. He is hoping he can at least name the changes that would have to be made, if not put a dollar figure on them. The fire marshal told us about things that need to be done but Tom does not have cost figures for those things. He can describe the changes needed at the meeting. Eben asked him to mail the full list to the board. Peter said if the town takes ownership of the building he thinks there are some things that need to be done immediately, like shoring up the foundation and the other things that were included in the $150,000 estimate. Hopefully we could cover most of that cost with grant money. After we stabilize the building, then the next step is to consider all possible uses and make a plan for how we intend to use it. Then we can look at what work we have to do to make the building suitable for these activities. He thinks there is no reason we can't take it a step at a time. We don't need to spend $400,000 next year. After we stabilize the building, we can do work as we can afford it. It might help people if they see it that way. Adrienne said she mostly agrees. She would like to put together a temporary task force to decide on use of the building. She thinks we should take care of the immediate needs and then rank the priority of everything else. It would be nice for all our public infrastructure to have a priority list. Mike said he thinks a lot of people will not be that excited about acquiring the building until there is a plan for it. Paul said he thinks we should put together a 5-year plan. For instance it could call for first stabilizing it, then using it occasionally for things like the Jubilee, then figuring out how else to use it. Peter said if we go through a year-long process to determine how we want to use it, it won’t still be available. Paul said it might be. Peter said we should make sure people understand that the reason we want the vote to be non- binding is to protect the town if something comes up after the vote that isn’t in the interest of the town. Eben questioned whether we need to give a presentation on Friday, since we will present all the information again at the special town meeting. He pointed out that giving a presentation on Friday does let us adjust the presentation for town meeting if someone tells us on Friday that we missed something. Adrienne said no one ever complains about too much information. Adrienne said a resident emailed her about not being able to come to the special town meeting for the floor vote because they are handicapped. She doesn't know if there is anything we have done in the past to make floor votes more accessible to people who can’t attend in person. Tom said that is up to Rosemary. Eben said that we have not done anything like that in the past. He feels that if we offered any alternative to one person we would need to get information out widely to let everyone know they could request that option. He said he thinks the issue for this person was their personal mobility rather than accessibility of the location. Tom suggested the person reach out to the state election division or the town clerk. Selectboard Meeting Minutes p. 8 October 20, 2025 11. Private Road Naming – Assessor’s Office Eben said Justin Mason is asking the board to approve two private road name requests. One is to change Hidden Bear Hollow to Sap Run Drive. This has been approved by the Historical Society. The other is to name a new road off Collins Hill Tiffany’s Way. Eben moved to approve the request to rename Hidden Bear Hollow to Sap Run Drive and to approve the request to name a private road Tiffany’s Way pending Historical Society approval, Mike seconded and the motion was passed. 12. Health Officer Reappointment Tom said he has not confirmed with Dean Locke that he is interested in being reappointed as health officer, but he spoke with BJ Putvain and Crystal Earl, and he saw Dean recently and Dean did not mention that he didn't want to do it. He thinks it is safe to appoint all of them. The health officers have been Dean and BJ, but the new system for handling dog issues and health officer issues involves text conversation that all three often participate in, so it makes sense to have all three serve as health officers. Adrienne asked how they are paid. Eben said they are paid per call. Peter moved and Mike seconded to appoint Dean Locke, BJ Putvain and Crystal Earl as town health officers. Adrienne said she would rather not vote for Dean because he is not aware he is being reappointed, or for Crystal because she has never met her. The motion was passed with Adrienne opposed. 13. Lowe Inspection Report Tom said we got the Lowe Lecture Hall inspection report. Action items are shown in red. The board agreed that the items in red should be included in the information presentation and the whole thing should be put online. Eben said if the rest of the board would support it, at a future meeting he would like to approve building inspections for the Historical Society building and the town garage. The municipal building seems like it is in good shape. Lois Frey said the Historical Society had a study of the Holcomb House done by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. A report was prepared and sent to Tom in the last 6 months or so. Eben said he would love to see it. Tom said it was sent to the board in February. Adrienne asked him to forward it to her and Paul. Tom said it was sent again in July. 14. Scribner Bridge Siding, Power House Bridge Graffiti Eben said Tom is looking for direction from the board about whether we should contract out the bridge work or have it done in-house. Tom said the highway crew was going to do the work last fall but it was delayed. We only have four highway crew members now. He thinks if the selectboard says it is a priority, Jason will have the crew do the work before winter. Or does the board want to get bids from contractors? There are siding issues, plywood inside that people are taking out and boards that are falling off. Tom asked what has been done in the past about graffiti. Mike said he thinks the last time we hired someone to remove it. Eben said Rosemary would be a good resource on what has been done in the past. He suggested asking her. Mike suggested taking care of Scribner Bridge first, then addressing graffiti on the Power House Bridge. Selectboard Meeting Minutes p. 9 October 20, 2025 Adrienne said the beautification committee bought a big wreath for the Power House Bridge and they are going to ask if the town can hang it. Maybe that could be done at the same time as any bridge work that is taking place. Tom said it probably should be done at the same time as the Scribner Bridge work because it would need the same safety equipment. Eben asked how much Tom thinks it would cost for a contractor to re-side the bridge. Tom said he doesn't know. Paul asked if it is a safety issue if our crew does it. Tom said they would not need to use scaffolding. He thinks if we hired someone else it would be expensive because of the equipment needed. Our crew has the equipment already. The board agreed that our crew should do the work. 15. Gravel Pit Update Tom said last week it was negotiated to use the grant from Vermont Emergency Management to pay for prepping of the pit for closure, which includes removing the remaining gravel and exhausting the pit. That material will give us a credit of $35K for next year’s budget. In the future, the gravel pit site could be used to store knotweed or other invasives that have been pulled or material from flood mitigation projects. It has already been approved as an urban soil dumping ground. Now the board needs to consider whether we want to buy land to expand the existing gravel pit, buy land for another pit elsewhere or just buy processed material. Mike asked, we never got a price for purchasing more land next to the gravel pit, right? Tom said no. We have some preliminary reports on it, which probably should be discussed in executive session. Tom said he thinks sand and gravel will be limited resources in the future and maintaining and accessing gravel will be important for us to consider. The current pit is too small to bring in a crusher, which meant that we had to have someone else crush gravel. If we own a pit in the future, he feels we need to make sure we can process our own gravel. That would make it cost effective. Adrienne asked if FEMA buyout properties have been looked at to see if they have gravel or sand that could be removed to lower them for flood mitigation. Eben said that would be doable, but it would not be a long-term source of sand and gravel. Mike said if we did that we would have a big hole for people to see when they drive into Johnson. Adrienne said she would just like someone to see if it is even an option. Eben said he would like to consider purchasing more land from the landowner adjacent to the pit. He believes the previous deed restricted crushing on the property so we would need to be allowed that. He would also like us to look into purchasing from other towns that have gravel pits and look into the possibility of purchasing land for a pit in another location in or outside of Johnson. Even if we continue purchasing outside gravel for a while, he would like us to look into a resource that we could use in the future. He agrees that crushed material is better, but he is not convinced that we need to use crushed gravel everywhere. There is a lot of cost to crush it. Tom said he thinks it is good to think about segments rather than whole roads. The board agreed that we should look into all possible options. Selectboard Meeting Minutes p. 10 October 20, 2025 16. Jubilee Kyle said she is requesting that the town submit a state permit application for a parade that would start at the elementary school and end at the municipal building for the Holiday Jubilee. Adrienne moved and Peter seconded that the town sponsor the Holiday Jubilee parade and that the board chair or town administrator fill out and sign the state permit application for the parade. Mike asked, didn't the village used to sponsor it? Eben asked it was run by Johnson Works, an independent organization, and the town sponsored it, correct? Mike asked if the village has something to do with it. Kyle said the only village involvement is use of the Village Green. She has to fill out a facility use form and pay for insurance in order to use the Village Green. Last year the village filled out the parade permit application for her. They asked the town to do it this year. She is not sure why. Kyle said she does not need any money. She got a grant to pay for the Jubilee. She just needs a municipality to fill out the paperwork for the state permit for the parade. The motion was passed. 17. Municipal Planning Grant Resolution Tom had sent out a form that needs to be included with the Municipal Planning Grant application. The board decided to do a consortium application with Morristown. Morristown will be managing it. Both towns need to submit a municipal resolution. The application is due November 3. Paul moved to approve the Fiscal Year 2026 Municipal Resolution for a Municipal Planning Grant for the Town of Johnson with Morristown town manager Brent Raymond named as the authorizing official, Donald McDowell of the Morristown selectboard named as the second authorizing official and Adelle Taplin, Morristown economic and community development director, named as the grant administrator, Mike seconded and the motion was passed. 18. Interlocal Kenneling Agreement Tom said the interlocal kenneling agreement has been in place for almost a year and a half. It is time for its annual update. A draft was emailed out with changes to make it renew every year. It needs signatures from the town so we can continue use of the kennel leased by Hyde Park. Mike noted that the cost is $5,000 a year. It was noted that it mistakenly names the Town of Morristown instead of the Town of Johnson. Peter moved to adopt the interlocal agreement regarding animal sheltering between the towns of Hyde Park and Johnson, pending corrections to town names, and to authorize the chair or town administrator to sign it, Mike seconded and the motion was passed. 19. High Water Mark Signs Tom said a floodplain manager from the state rivers program is working with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Burlington National Weather Service to bring new high water mark signs to Vermont towns and she wanted to know if Johnson is interested. The board agreed that Johnson is interested. Tom said the signs will show historical high water marks. 20. Executive Session for Pending or Probable Civil Litigation or a Prosecution Mike moved to enter executive session under 1 V.S.A. § 313(a)(1)(E) for pending or probably civil litigation or a prosecution, to which the public body is or may be a party Selectboard Meeting Minutes p. 11 October 20, 2025 because premature public knowledge of the matter could clearly place the town as a substantial disadvantage, with the town administrator invited to remain, Peter seconded and the motion was passed at 8:53. The board came out of executive session at 9:01. 21. Executive Session for Employee Evaluation Peter moved to enter executive session under 1 V.S.A. § 313(a)(3) for employee evaluation, Adrienne seconded and the motion was passed at 9:04. The board came out of executive session at 9:17. Peter moved to wave the 45 day notice of departure of Tom Galinat's contract, to be replaced with a 30 day notice of departure, with all other considerations of the contract to remain the same, Mike seconded and the motion was passed. 22. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 9:18. Minutes submitted by Donna Griffiths