Weathersfield Select Board Special Meeting: Resignations, Vacancy Process, and Tax Corrections – August 6, 2026
Weathersfield Select Board Special Meeting – August 6, 2026
The Weathersfield Select Board held a special meeting on August 6, 2026, at 6:30 PM to address two board resignations, establish a vacancy appointment process, and approve a tax correction for Green Mountain Power. The meeting was chaired by Rika Henderson, who chaired as vice chair due to the resignations.
Consent Calendar
- (No consent calendar items were noted; the meeting focused on special business.)
Public Comments & Testimony
- A citizen inquired about an update on the police department moving to Scottney Parkroom. The board noted the question but deferred a response due to the meeting's narrow focus.
- John Harrison stated that citizen complaints from five months ago had not been addressed; he withdrew his own two complaints due to staleness. The board chair responded that the board had reviewed all complaints, conducted executive sessions, and adopted a resolution at the last meeting. The board agreed to mail copies of the resolution to all complainants.
- Joe Blasch thanked Town Manager Golmick for his service, noting challenges and the manager's dedication to the town. The manager expressed appreciation and acknowledged the opportunity to serve.
Discussion Items
- Agenda Adjustment: The board added an item to approve an Errors & Omissions (E&O) certificate for Green Mountain Power after noting it was not previously available. The original assessment error of $144,037 was corrected to $339,000, benefiting the town's grand list.
- Resignations of Select Board Members Kelly O'Brien and Michael Todd: The board voted to accept both resignations effective August 4, 2026. O'Brien's letter had been read into the record at a prior meeting; Todd's letter was read aloud. Both resignations were accepted with regret.
- Select Board Vacancy Appointment Process:
- Town Manager Susanna Terrill outlined a process: post a notice of vacancy, accept letters of interest by August 20, 2026 at 4:30 PM, review at the August 24 regular meeting, with public reading of letters followed by executive session discussion and appointment.
- Board members favored public reading and interviews to ensure transparency.
- Amy Beth Main (via Zoom) asked about criteria; the board clarified there are no formal qualifications, encouraging anyone interested to apply.
- John Harrison recommended that appointments extend to the March town election rather than November to provide continuity during the budget and town manager transition. The board agreed to verify with the Secretary of State.
- The notice of vacancy was approved, authorizing Rika Henderson to sign, with a note that the appointment term (until November or March) would be clarified before the August 24 meeting.
- Chairperson Status: Rika Henderson raised a question about whether she automatically becomes chair after the resignations. Susanna Terrill clarified that per VLCT guidance, the vice chair remains vice chair until a formal reorganization, though Henderson presided over the meeting. All votes will require a unanimous 3-0 majority due to the reduced board.
- Errors & Omissions Certificate for Green Mountain Power: The board approved the E&O certificate (dated July 30, 2026) that corrected Green Mountain Power's assessment from $95,000 to $339,000. This allows the company to pay taxes and corrects prior errors. The document was entered into the record.
Key Outcomes
- Resignations accepted: Motion to accept Kelly O'Brien's resignation (effective August 4, 2026) passed unanimously (3-0). Motion to accept Michael Todd's resignation (effective August 4, 2026) passed unanimously (3-0).
- Vacancy notice approved: Motion to approve the notice of select board vacancies and authorize Rika Henderson to sign passed unanimously. The timeline: applications due August 20, 2026; public reading and appointment at the August 24 meeting.
- Errors & Omissions certificate approved: Motion to accept the E&O certificate for Green Mountain Power passed unanimously (3-0).
- Next steps: The board will post the vacancy notice widely (Baromore Hall, post offices, library, website, newspaper, Front Porch Forum, Facebook). The town manager will contact the Secretary of State regarding the appointment term. The board will also mail copies of the complaint resolution to relevant citizens.
- Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent.
Meeting Transcript
It's 629. Give us a couple seconds and we'll start. It is 6:30. So I'm going to call the meeting to order. Joe, would you leave us and then pledge allegiance? Absolutely. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. So the first item as usual is the agenda review. I have one item to add. Anyone else who has anything to add, feel free. We had to deal with errors and errors and admission certificate for the property of the electric company. And at that point, we didn't have this document. The good news about this is that it's an appreciable financial change in our benefit. Our original charge was 144,000 and 37 cents. It is going up to 339. So that will make some changes on our on our grand list and our again in our favor. So we will we'll sign that off. And Susanna, is there anything else I have to say about that? That's it. Okay. Any other agenda changes or nothing? I got one. Okay. Um so the board actually needs to officially vote to accept that there is an emissions report. Oh, we do, yes. All right. Might as well do it right now. We can do it right now while it's could we do it under any other business that we don't want to change the numbers on the agenda? Let's work in the order. Absolutely. All right. Um comments from the select board and citizens on topics not on the agenda. Anything from the select board. I just wanted to say that uh recest was a great success. There were a lot of people came and we seemed to have a great time. Great. Great then. Great. Yeah, they have more than twice. They figured about twice the turn out as I do, which is gratifying. Anything from the audience? Yes, please. Please sleep. Um at the last meeting I asked for an update on the police department moving on to Scottney Parkroom, and my question was kind of dismissed, so I was just wondering if I could get an answer to that. Um probably not tonight, simply because we have such a narrow focus, but I hear it, and it is noted, and we will definitely bring it up. Thank you. John. Oh, I'm sorry.
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