HARTFORD — On Tuesday, the Selectboard will interview and pick one of five candidates to fill a seat that has been vacant since July.
The open seat was vacated by Brandon Smith at the end of July following his decision to relocate to Lebanon. He submitted his resignation roughly seven months shy of completing his two-year term on the board.
To fill the seat, the Selectboard solicited applications and decided at an Aug. 19 meeting to interview all five of the applicants in open session next week.
After the five 15-minute interviews, Town Manager John Haverstock said the Selectboard plans to enter an executive session and make the final decision about who will fill the seat. They will announce the decision Tuesday night.
The five candidates submitted applications to the board last week.
A familiar figure
Former Selectboard member Lannie Collins, who unsuccessfully ran for reelection this March, threw his hat in the ring once again.
Collins, a 59-year Hartford resident, first joined the board in 2021. He currently lives in White River Junction and identified housing as a top priority, according to application materials.
Collins referred to his past board experience as an asset, especially in the upcoming town budget process and wrote that he represents “a large number of folks that have been in our community … for generation(s).”
The four other candidates would be new to the board.
Open dialogue
Kristen Deprizio-Pelletier has lived in Hartford for eight and a half years. A Quechee resident, she is the only candidate not living in White River Junction.
Deprizio-Pelletier, who is a real estate broker and paraprofessional in the Hartford School District, does not have any past experience in government but wrote that she hopes to “offer a new perspective” to the board. She is the president of the Windsor County Board of Realtors.
Though she didn’t identify a top issue, Deprizio-Pelletier believes that “solutions can be found with open dialogue.”
Affordability and planning
Though John Haffner has lived in Hartford for only three years, the town is his “forever home,” he wrote in his application.
Hafffner is a regional planner with the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission and serves as chairman of the Hartford Committee on Housing and Homelessness and on the Advance Transit Board of Directors.
He is most focused on the affordability of housing, basic services and infrastructure improvements. He hopes to use his professional experience to improve the town’s long-range planning and raise revenues.
Collaboration
Tim Fariel is currently a facilities manager at Aris Solutions, a nonprofit White River Junction-based accounting firm. He has lived in Hartford for 22 years and previously served on several committees, including as chair of the Hartford School Board, and on hiring committees for the school district superintendent and town manager.
Fariel wrote that he would prioritize making long-term strategic decisions over reactionary short-term ones, improving the budget process and collaborating more with the school district.
Fariel also emphasized the importance of researching ideal policies and practices, including in other communities.
Meaningful growth
Mike Eigenbrode is also a three-year Hartford resident but has been in the Upper Valley since at least high school, according to his application.
He works at and serves on the board of directors for the Co-op Food Stores and noted that his professional experience has helped to build “great local connections.”
On the board, Eigenbrode would prioritize “meaningful” and “transparent” growth in terms of housing developments and infrastructure improvements. He also noted the importance of expanding public engagement with residents.
The Selectboard will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 26 at Hartford Town Hall.