FAIRLEE — For the first time in 33 years, Town Meeting was held Tuesday morning in the recently renovated Town Hall instead of nearby Samuel Morey Elementary School. The decades-long gap was caused mainly by the historic building’s failure to meet federal disability access standards dating from 1986, according to Town Clerk Georgette Wolf-Ludwig.
It took more than $1 million in donations, taxes and a town loan to bring the structure up to speed. The results were strikingly apparent to the almost 100 people who assembled in the second-floor auditorium: A new elevator from the ground floor; gleaming maple flooring; a concession area at the rear; full compliance with every government code and the piece de resistance — a handsomely restored, 107-year-old theater curtain called a “grand drape” showing boaters on Lake Morey. It was created from a postcard by a Brooklyn, N.Y., company.
The curtain dominated the stage, providing a colorful backdrop for Town Moderator Bruce Taylor, elected for another one-year term. He helped orchestrate the 90-minute proceedings with aplomb gained in 20 years at the job.
All 14 articles on the warning passed easily by voice vote with one minor exception: a proposal that the town constable be an appointed position, rather than elected. It went to a show of hands and passed 43 to 16.
Voters approved a general fund budget of almost $1.1 million with $959,288 to be raised in taxes, an increase of $15,465 from last year. The highway budget of $232,944 would require $163,528 to be raised in taxes, a decrease of $15,010. The overall total budget translates to a municipal tax rate increase of 2.3 cents per $100 of valuation to just over 58 cents, or $1,457 in taxes on a home assessed at $250,000.
During elections from the floor, Joshua “Josh” Hickman, 34, an administrator at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Lebanon, was elected to the Selectboard, replacing Frank “Jay” Barrett Jr., who has served on the three-member board for 24 years and decided not to seek another term. Hickman’s wife Samantha is the town librarian.
Thirteen other town officers besides Hickman were also elected, including town fixture Clyde C. Blake II, who in addition to serving as grand juror is also weigher of coal and inspector of lumber, shingles and wood.
At the end of the meeting, Barrett gave a status report on a long-standing dispute between the town and five engineering and construction companies that had been retained to build a 285,000-gallon water tank to supply potable and fire department water. The structure proved to be defective, Barrett asserted, so the town has sued the firms. The matter is now in mediation.
Barrett received a special town proclamation for his service, and an annual historical lecture series is also being named for him. The first lecture will be on May 7.