Author: vancebell

The West River Modified Union Education District (WRMUED) has warned and notified all articles of business for the district’s 2023 annual meeting. This includes the Leland & Gray budget for our Windham students in grades 7–12. The vote, by Australian ballot, is open to all legal voters of Windham at the Windham Meeting House. Polls will be open on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 from 10 AM to 7 PM.

An Informational Meeting will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 7 PM to discuss and provide information on the articles prior to the vote on March 22. The link and additional information will be posted on the School District’s website: www.westrivered.org.

Historically, Windham has had a very poor turn out for this election. You are urged to attend the informational hearing and to please vote!

WINDHAM TOWN MEETING DAY MOVED TO SATURDAY, MAY 20 at 10AM

ELECTION DEADLINES FOR MAY 20, 2023 WINDHAM TOWN MEETING

APRIL 3 – Clerks and Voters- Last day for voters to file a petition with the town clerk to have an article appear on the ballot.  17 V.S.A. 2642(a)(3)(A) (47 days prior to town meeting).  Petition must contain signatures from at least 5% of registered voters in the municipality. (47 days prior)

APRIL 4 – Clerks- If petitions turned in do not conform to statute, clerks must notify the petitioners in writing within 24 hours of why the petition does not conform.  Petitioners must return supplementary petitions within 48 hours of being notified by the clerk.  17 V.S.A. 2642(a)(3)(A). (46 days prior)

APRIL 10 – BCA- Last day to designate polling places for town meeting day (40 days prior to the warning).  17 VSA 2501(a). (40 days prior)

APRIL 10 – Clerks- First day a clerk may post warnings for town meeting (40 days prior to the election). The warning shall also be posted on the municipality’s website if it is regularly updated.  17 V.S.A. 2641(a). (40 days prior)

APRIL 20 – Clerks- Last day that the warning and notice for town meeting may be posted (30 days before the election).  The warning shall also be posted on the municipality’s website if it is regularly updated.   17 V.S.A.  2521(a) and 2641(a). (30 days prior)

APRIL 20 – Clerks- Checklist must be posted in two or more public places in the town in addition to being posted at the town clerk’s office in towns with population over 5,000.  In towns with a population of less than 5,000, the checklist must only be posted in one place in addition to the clerk’s office.  17 V.S.A.  2141, 2521(a). (30 days prior)

MAY 10 – Clerks and Auditors- Must distribute town meeting warning in annual town report (at least 10 days prior to town meeting) or other written form by this date to all postal patrons in the municipality to avoid publishing warning in newspaper (if publishing in the newspaper that must happen at least 5 days before town meeting).  24 V.S.A. 1682, 17 V.S.A. 2641(b). (10 days prior)

MAY 10 – Clerks- Last day to designate pairs of JPs to deliver ballots to ill or physically disabled voters (at least 3 days prior to the election).  17 V.S.A. 2538(a)(2). (10 days prior)

MAY 19 – BCA- At any time prior to the day of the election, the board of civil authority must appoint a sufficient number of registered voters to serve as assistant election officers for town meeting.  17 V.S.A.  2454 (1 day prior)

MAY 20 – TOWN MEETING IN-PERSON at the Meeting House (FLOOR VOTE – PAPER BALLOT CAN BE REQUESTED FOR ANY ARTICLE IF REQUESTED BY SEVEN VOTERS. ANY ARTICLE CAN BE AMENDED BY A MOTION THAT IS PASSED BY A MAJORITY OF VOTERS. TO BE ELECTED TO A TOWN POSITION, YOU MUST BE NOMINATED FROM THE FLOOR. THERE WILL BE NO BALLOT, SO YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO VOTE. CERTAIN OFFICIALS MUST BE VOTED FOR BY PAPER BALLOT; SELECTBOARD, LISTER & AUDITOR)

For more information on floor vote, go to the Vermont Secretary of State’s Elections website, Guide for Moderator’s, moderator guide 2009.qxp (vermont.gov) .

WARNING
TOWN OF WINDHAM, VT ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
SATURDAY, May 20, 2023
10:00 AM
The legal voters of the Town of Windham are hereby warned and notified to meet
in the Windham Meeting House on Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 10:00 AM
to transact the following town business from the floor:
Convene Town Meeting
Article 1: To elect a Town Moderator for the year ensuing.
Article 2: Shall the voters accept the Town Report prepared by the Auditors?
Article 3: To elect all town Officers as required by law:
Office Term
Selectperson 3 years
Lister 3 years
Auditor 3 years
Delinquent Tax Collector 1 year
Windham Center Cemetery Commission 5 years
West Windham Cemetery Commission 5 years
North Windham Cemetery Commission 5 years
Library Trustee 5 years
Article 4: Shall the voters authorize the Town Treasurer to collect current taxes?
Article 5: Shall the voters set the due date for property taxes as postmarked on or before
October 31, 2023?
Article 6: Shall the voters authorize $257,488 for the General Fund?
Voted 2022: $235,913
Article 7: Shall the voters authorize Roads Budget expenditures of $506,580 of which
$476,603 shall be raised by taxes and $30,375 shall be applied from FY 2022
budget surplus?
Voted 2022: $488,568
Article 8: Shall the voters appropriate $35,000 for the New Road Machinery Fund?
Voted in 2022: $30,000
Article 9: Shall the voters appropriate $30,000 for Repaving and no new funds for Bridges
and Large Structures?
Voted 2022: $90,000 for Repaving and $15,000 for Bridges and Large
Structures.
Article 10: Shall the voters contribute $10,000 to the Meeting House Maintenance &
Improvement Fund?
Voted in 2022: $5,000.
Article 11: Shall the voters appropriate $10,000 for the Town Garage Maintenance and
Improvement Fund?
Article 12: Shall the voters appropriate $10,000 for the Town-wide Reappraisal of
Properties?
Article 13: Shall the voters establish a NEMRC Fund for accounting software and services
and appropriate $5,000 for this fund?
Article 14: To transact any other nonbinding business that may legally come before this
meeting?
Adjourn Town Meeting
Dated at Windham, Vermont this 7
th day of February 2023.
By the Selectboard Members of the Town of Windham:

Kord Scott George Dutton Michael Pelton
Received for Record and Posting
Windham, VT Town Clerk’s Office
This day of February AD 2023
At o’clock and minutes M and Recorded in Windham Town Records Book Page
Attest: ___________________
Ellen McDuffie, Town Clerk

Undergoing a major rebuild to cure several problems.

Please take our survey beginning November 1 and ending November 15. All replies are anonymous. Click on the ARPA Survey above.

How would YOU spend $118,380 for the benefit of Windham?

Windham’s ARPA Committee will advise the selectboard on how to spend the funds the town received from the American Rescue Plan Act. The committee has identified eight possible projects to fund in part or whole. We want YOUR opinion of the eight options, which are described below. Please take our survey beginning November 1 and ending November 15. All replies are anonymous. The survey will be in this area with the heading ARPA Survey on Tuesday Nov 1, 2022.

1. Audio-Visual Equipment – AV equipment makes it possible for us to participate in town meetings from home and to watch recorded meetings later at our convenience. The equipment that was recently donated to the town will soon be obsolete, and some of what we are using is Maureen and Vance Bell’s personal equipment. The Town needs its own, up-to-date equipment. We need a new speaker, long cables, electrical extension cords, a good surge protector, a camera (or two), a projector, a dedicated computer, and a storage cart.

2. Beautify Windham Properties – Let’s enhance our beautiful town by planting attractive perennials and trees at the Town Office, Meeting House, Garage, and Cemeteries. These can commemorate important Windham individuals or events. With some thought and care, we can have perennials blooming in different seasons with native species and colorful plantings that have beautiful shapes even in winter months.

3. Broadband Connection – Those of us who live in the southern half of Windham will have access to high-speed internet, at last. A new nonprofit organization, DVFiber, will install fiber optic cable for this purpose at no cost for those whose homes are within 400 feet of a utility pole. Those of us who live further than that will have to pay for the additional footage of cable. We don’t want this cost to stop anyone from getting high-speed, so we need to create a fund to help those for whom this cost would be a hindrance.

4. Fire Company Gear – The Windham Volunteer Fire Company is asking for help from the ARPA funds because they were not able to have their auction and barbecue fundraiser during the Covid pandemic. They only responded to emergency calls for one year. They need new fire gear for two firefighters. After 10 years, their gear is no longer useful, and if outdated their insurance will not cover them. Also, they need five SCBA masks. These masks are essential to protect our firefighters. Our Fire Company serves our community on an all-volunteer basis.

5. Grant Writer – The Vermont League of Cities and Towns has identified multiple grants that Windham might receive. We can use some ARPA funds to pay a professional grant writer on an as-needed basis to pursue these opportunities. Grant writing professionals are just that: professional. Writing grants is what they do, so they have knowledge and skills to successfully articulate our intentions and significantly increase our chances at funding. This is a way to use some of our ARPA funds to help our town secure additional funds for critical projects.  

6. Meeting House Improvements – Volunteers have made important repairs to the Meeting House, but much work remains to make the building a more vibrant community center. That includes a new heating system that works better and costs less, and changes to meet codes, like replacing the front doors to swing out and installing fire-retardant sheetrock under the stairs. The purchase of a generator and some other changes would make the Meeting House an emergency center. There is much more that could be done if we had the funds.

7. Solar Array on Town Office – By putting solar panels on the roof of the Town Office, we can produce enough electricity to eliminate our GMP bills for the Town Office, Meeting House, and Town Garage. There will also be electricity left over to support changes in our heating systems from gas and oil to renewable electricity. The state and federal governments are providing grants for municipalities to produce solar energy and to become more energy efficient. Support for the solar array will also help the town secure other grants for improved energy usage.

8. Town Office Updates – Our town records have been digitized, but we need a digitized index system, online payment processing, and a terminal for researchers. This will allow land records to be accessed remotely by computer or in the Town Office. An increase in the charge for downloading records will add new income. We also need to update our copier and invest in a wide format printer/scanner for maps and surveys. Let’s make sure our Town Office equipment serves us well.