On August 24, the Trustees held a work session on Essex Junction Independence. The following is what was discussed.
The Trustee’s reviewed the current draft charter. At their next meeting on September 14, they will officially approve the charter.
The Trustees discussed the proposals that they submitted to the Selectboard, the Selectboard responses, and the joint meeting from the night before. The Trustees felt like there was consensus amongst the two boards to draft a tentative agreement for police services, reappraisal, and a first right of refusal on the potential future sale of 81 Main Street by the Town. The Trustees and Selectboard need to further discuss shared finance, Indian Brook, tax delinquencies, and the transitional period. The Trustees decided that in order to provide absolute clarity for the senior population, the City will assume responsibility for the operations of the senior center, senior activities, and senior bussing. If the Town is interested in partnering with the City for the provision of these services, the City is open to that discussion. The Trustees want clarity on what a complete deal entails with the Selectboard.
The Trustees heard an update from the Our Village, Our Voices group who is working to educate and inform community members about the vote in November. The group has more than 20 volunteers to do outreach. They have several upcoming events including coffee chats with Trustees and a trivia night. More information can be found here: https://www.ourvillageourvoices.org/.
The Trustees reviewed their upcoming meeting schedule.
After the work session, the Trustees approved two business items related to independence. They approved warnings for public hearings on the Charter to be held on September 28 and October 12. The hearings will be a hybrid style meeting that is available for in-person or online participation. The Trustees also approved a series of frequently asked questions to go on the Independence website. The questions and responses were developed by the Our Village, Our Voices group and vetted by Trustee George Tyler.
For more information, please visit: https://www.essexjunction.org/independence.
If you have feedback on the work session, you are encouraged to share your thoughts here: https://forms.gle/LVXnX61WErjpTz1b6.
If you missed the work session, but would like to watch it, you can find it here (starting at minute 11:01 and ending at 1:21:21): https://youtu.be/tgw_LazHxI0?t=661.
The next work session will take place as the first item on the agenda at the September 14 Trustees meeting, which starts at 6:30p.m. at 2 Lincoln Street. The meeting agenda and link will be posted a few days before the meeting here: https://www.essexjunction.org/boards/board-of-trustees. The Trustees have a joint meeting with the Selectboard on September 20 and 27, starting at 6:30p.m. at 81 Main Street.