Weathersfield Select Board Meeting: Appointments, Reorganization, and Warrant – August 25, 2026

The Weathersfield Select Board met on August 25, 2026, according to the supplied timestamp; the transcript opens by dating the meeting August 24, 2026. It was called to order at 6:30 p.m.; no end time is given. The board filled two vacancies, reorganized, accepted resignations, discussed the town manager search, changed an authorized representative, and approved the monthly warrant. No agenda or minutes were included with the source material.

Public Comments & Testimony

• A resident asked the board to create a bipartisan committee to hand-deliver absentee ballots to all registered voters if new U.S. Postal Service restrictions on mail voting take effect; the chair said he would pursue the idea with VLCT and the Secretary of State's office.
• Dr. Murray, speaking about the Veterans Memorial Committee, said the committee would submit a memorandum requesting consideration of part of the approximately $5,000 reserve fund for landscaping and replanting at the memorial site.
• Lisa requested the police department relocation update, saying it was her third time asking; the chair said the site plan is going back to the DRB and a fuller report is coming.
• An online resident asked about the Reading police contract; Chief Greg responded that the town has 24/7 road/on-call coverage except for limited gaps, and that the contract with Reading provides 13 hours per week and took effect July 1.
• Windsor County State Senator Becca White offered to return for questions on motorcycle mufflers, the DMV miscellaneous bill, and inspections; the board said it would welcome that at a future meeting.

Discussion Items

• Minutes review: The board tabled the July 21, July 23, and July 27, 2026 minutes for corrections. Points included a missing recorded vote on July 21, a misquoted transition-team-leader motion and missing amendment vote, no recorded departure time for a member on July 27, and a request to add conflict-of-interest language to a comment by Mr. Lad. The recording secretary was also asked to remove draft labels on approved minutes posted to the website.
• Vacancy appointment process: The chair read the August 4 notice of two vacancies effective August 4, 2026, and explained that appointees serve until the next town election unless citizens petition for a special election with signatures from 5% of legal voters. Eight applications were received; Virginia Goddard withdrew that afternoon, leaving seven. Dick Clattenberg and Lawrence Turner were not present when called. Applicants who spoke were: Steve Dauphin, David Fuller, Tom Leach, August Marty, and Zach Van Volkenberg. The board agreed not to take public comment on applicants, to avoid turning the process into a campaign.
  • Steve Dauphin: 40-year resident and 28-year taxpayer; offered common sense, listening, and a commitment to consider all sides, with fiscal responsibility and public safety as priorities.
  • David Fuller: former school board member/chair and former select board chair; called for lowering the temperature and restarting, and cited his farm's $33,094 quarterly tax bill as a reason to be part of the fix.
  • Tom Leach: former select board member; said the town has a PR problem, pointed to two defeated budgets and the roughly $22,000 search, and urged the board to include someone with a different viewpoint.
  • August Marty: retired Army colonel and former select board member; said he would step down from the budget committee if appointed and offered his policy, fiscal, and leadership experience.
  • Zach Van Volkenberg: state trooper, EMT, former firefighter, and Army combat medic; called for professionalism, transparency, revisiting the select board's handling of complaints, long-term stability, and a strong town manager search.
• Executive session and appointments: The three-member board entered executive session under 1 V.S.A. §313(a)(3) for appointment/evaluation of a public officer, took no action there, then returned to open session. It appointed Zach Van Volkenberg to the two-year seat and David Fuller to the three-year seat, with both terms expiring at the March 2027 town meeting. They were sworn in by the town clerk.
• Reorganization: The newly constituted board elected Rika Henderson as chair, David Fuller as vice chair, and DeForest Pierce as board clerk.
• Resignations: The board accepted with regret Joseph Boublat's resignations from the Development Review Board and the Planning Commission.
• Town manager search update: The meeting originally planned for Thursday was postponed because Joe was unavailable; the chair agreed to reschedule, possibly for Monday, August 31. New members requested copies of the search contract, timetable, and status. A needs-assessment survey for employees, residents, and board members was available online and at the meeting. One board member defended the approximately $20,000 search cost as coming from the former town manager's salary allocation, not fund balance.
• Authorized representative change: After clarification that the item concerned the wastewater feasibility study, not the water district, the board amended the motion to include loan number RF1-321-1.0 and appointed Josh Compo as authorized representative so bills related to the study can be signed.
• Warrant approval: The board approved the August 24, 2026 warrant: general fund payroll $37,574.57 and operating expenses $75,623.56; highway fund payroll $10,385.17 and operating expenses $27,785.94; solid waste payroll $2,552.04 and operating expenses $2,190.52; library payroll $2,718.78 and operating expenses $37.69; Center Road Paving operating expense $101,641.94. Totals were $53,230.56 in payroll and $207,279.65 in operating expenses.

Key Outcomes

• Appointed Zach Van Volkenberg (two-year seat) and David Fuller (three-year seat), terms through the March 2027 town meeting.
• Reorganized with Rika Henderson as chair, David Fuller as vice chair, and DeForest Pierce as board clerk.
• Accepted Joseph Boublat's DRB and Planning Commission resignations.
• Tabled all three sets of July minutes for corrections.
• Approved the authorized representative change for the wastewater feasibility study with loan number RF1-321-1.0.
• Approved the warrant with four ayes and one abstention; the abstaining member said they had not reviewed the warrant.
• Scheduled follow-up on the town manager search and agreed to provide new members with the search agreement and status.
• Adjourned.