Hitchcock library draws praise
by Kenzie Strange
WESTFIELD — About 40 community members joined together at the Westfield Community Center on Town Meeting Day. The meeting was described as “typical” and “quiet” by Westfield Town Clerk LaDonna Dunn, with the whole meeting taking place in just under two hours. This reporter got a flat tire on her way to the meeting and observed the meeting via YouTube a day after it was finished.
The meeting started with five articles pertaining to the elementary school that Westfield shares and operates with neighboring town Jay. Pat Sagui was reelected as moderator for a term of one year, Andrew Emerey was elected as a Westfield Town school district board member for a term of three years, but no one could be found to finish the final two years of a three-year term as a union school board director.
Voters approved the sum of $2,228,334 to “defray the expenses and liabilities” of the Jay/Westfield joint elementary school (with a net assessment to the town of $913,710). They also approved the Westfield Town school district to spend $932,449 for the elementary school for the 2025-2026 school year. Per pupil, the education cost is $15,073 with the new budget, which is 16.52 percent higher than per pupil education spending for the current year.
Like many Vermont towns, Westfield is struggling with a higher per pupil cost, while the number of children attending school is generally going down. If taxes don’t go up, students miss out.
Although funding for a winter sport program at Jay Peak was cut from $500 to $0, the program continues using money from another source, voters were told.
The current build-out of broadband in town, and the success of the Hitchcock Memorial Museum and Library were focal points for the town officers’ reports.
NEK Broadband has been hard at work in the Northeast Kingdom, with fiber optic cable being methodically built out in the region. “Fiber optic is the way of the future” and is “the best internet technology available,” said Carrie Glessner. The broadband service is already available to some who live on Route 100. “The rest of the community should have the connectivity option by the end of the year, unless their home is on the Montgomery side of the mountain,” Ms. Glessner said.
“If your power runs underground or your house is a long way from the last pole, there would be some added costs to get you connected,” she added. Ms. Glessner encouraged Westfield community residents to visit nekbroadband.org to see what service categories they fall into.
NEK Broadband is still hiring to complete the fiber optic cable network and is mainly looking for linemen. There is free training for those hired, and all who are interested should consider applying.
The library was then the next topic of discussion. Ms. Glessner said it is in the midst of revitalization. The library had 63 percent more visitors than the year before and uses activities and new books chosen by librarian Jennifer Johnson to get people to stop by.
Ms. Glessner announced the Palace Project is now available for people to check out e-books and audiobooks for free, and there are plenty of programs and events for kids. The library is actively looking for volunteers to add even more programming to its line-up and would like to host events like a book club or game night.
“It’s a great space to get together with your community and learn stuff, right here in Westfield,” Ms. Glessner said.
“Our library has kind of come to life the last couple of years and it’s very gratifying,” a community member said. The library is “a hidden jewel right here in the Northeast Kingdom.”
Town Meeting Day is the day to elect town officials, and there were seven positions up for grabs. First constable Mike Jacobs and second constable Mike Piper were each reelected for another one-year term. Rebecca Valesquez was elected for a five-year term as a library trustee. She was not present at the meeting, but people said, she wants to do it, adding that she is a fine goat cheese maker.
Caroline Lyster was elected for one-year of an unexpired term as library trustee. Shelley Martin was elected to a three-year term as a lister, while a second open lister’ position went unfilled. Dan Young is also a lister title, and the community decided two will do. The last seat to be filled was for a three-year term for select board for which incumbent Jacques Couture was nominated and elected.
“After this term will be 50 years,” Mr. Couture said. He’s already done 47. “You’ve done a great job all these years,” a community member said to him.
Article four addressed 24 appropriations of the town budget, amounting to $29,802 total. Most of the items on the list were for amounts of less than a thousand dollars such as $500 to the Pope Frontier Memorial Animal Shelter and $250 to the Vermont Family Network. Those were approved without discussion. The $17,485 designated for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department sparked some controversy.
Community member Maurice Doyon lamented that the sheriff’s budget goes up every year, and maybe this should be the year they get less. Mr. Doyon proposed slashing the amount down to $10,000.
Orleans County State’s Attorney Farzan Leyva was at the meeting, and said that if the budget is brought down, the town might lose access to services. Currently, the town receives 23 and a half hours per month of police work through the sheriff’s office. This includes patrolling, making arrests, serving papers, monitoring speed, giving mutual aid, and performing larger arrests in the area. State Police can always be called for emergencies or back-up, but it’s in the best interests of the town to retain the services the sheriff’s department offers.
“Seven thousand dollars isn’t a big deal” in the scope of taxes, a voter said. Westfield would rather pay the full amount and keep the current services running than slash the budget to $10,000. The full $17,485 amount was approved.
Voters then approved a $434,553 select board budget and $479,240 for town roads. That spending passed with little comment.
The roads are always plowed and sanded, someone said, and the commissioner does an excellent job.
Taxes will be due on October 2, 2025, voters decided. Post-dated checks won’t be accepted.
Before adjourning their Town Meeting, “volunteer guru” Dennis Vincent put out a call for people to help cook meals for residents in need and to help take care of the town’s flower garden by planting flowers and pulling weeds.
“We’d love some younger folks, those who are recently retired,” Mr. Vincent said. He can be reached at (802) 673-9357 for those who are interested in volunteering.
Town residents thanked the Congregational Church of Westfield for the nice donation of pickleball nets and equipment to the town. Helped with other money generated over the years by townspeople, the residents of Westfield will be able to enjoy America’s new favorite pastime: a good game of pickleball.
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