[0:00] uh the diversion. Okay. I'm Miranda
Porch and this is the special select
[0:06] board meeting of Guilford. Uh it's 9:30
and I'm officially opening the meeting
[0:15] and uh Chip.
>> Yes.
[0:17] » How about the rules of
>> Absolutely. Vermont's open meeting law
[0:21] 1BSA 312H requires that the public be
given a reasonable opportunity to
[0:26] express opinions on matters considered
by the board provided order is
[0:30] maintained under reasonable rules set by
the chair. The select board invites
[0:34] public comment on each agenda item and
approach designed to support public
[0:38] engagement. Meaningful participation in
the board's decision-making process
[0:43] process to help keep the meeting on
track. Time limits will be applied.
[0:47] comment should remain focused on the
agenda item being discussed.
[0:51] » Thank you,
>> Chair.
[0:52] Okay. So for new business, we have the
municipal planning grant and I wanted to
[1:00] uh ask the select board for a motion to
allow Jenny Lavoy, the administrative
[1:10] service manager for the community
planning and development community
[1:15] planning and revitalization
department for the department of housing
[1:21] and community development.
to make a statement for our um for our
[1:30] meeting. So, I move that we do so. Is
there a second?
[1:33] » I'll second it.
>> Any conversation about it?
[1:37] » Okay. All in favor indicate by saying I
>> I uh abstaining opposed.
[1:45] » You're abstaining from having her speak.
>> Yeah.
[1:48] » Oh, okay.
>> Okay.
[1:50] » Okay.
Ask Jenny to unmute.
[1:54] Um
[2:01] » Jenny, did that work? Can you hear me?
>> Yes.
[2:05] » Great.
[2:08] » Good morning. My name is Jenny Lavoy.
Thank you for allowing me the
[2:12] opportunity to speak today. I am the
administrative services manager as
[2:16] stated with the community planning and
revitalization team within the
[2:19] department of housing and community
development
[2:23] and the administrator of the municipal
planning grant program for 10 years.
[2:27] This program is exceptionally
competitive and we consistently receive
[2:30] more applications than we can award each
grant round. For context of our program,
[2:36] municipal planning grant funds are
regionally aortioned based on the number
[2:39] of communities within regional planning
commission confirmed municipal plans.
[2:44] Communities in the Windham region
compete against each other for these
[2:48] funds. In fiscal year 26, the Windham
region submitted eight applications. Due
[2:54] to the high quality of these
applications, our department pulled in
[2:57] additional funds to fund five out of
these eight applications. The Guilford
[3:02] application essentially tied for first
place with only a 0.5 difference in
[3:07] scoring between the top two
applications.
[3:10] Reviewers specifically commented on
Guilford developing their first bylaw,
[3:15] the extensive public outreach proposed,
and the fact that Guilford was utilizing
[3:19] our program's brand new no required
match by the town for developing their
[3:24] first bylaw. Our department was excited
at the opportunity to showcase this
[3:28] project and award as a potential model
for other communities.
[3:33] Unfortunately, due to recent events, we
no longer have confidence that this
[3:37] grant award will lead to a successful
outcome and would be a good use of
[3:41] taxpayer funds. For these reasons, the
department is rescending this grant
[3:45] award. We do welcome the town to apply
in a future grant round once consensus
[3:50] has been reached on the best path
forward for Guilford. Thank you.
[3:55] Thank you, Jenny, for taking the time
and for your careful consideration of
[4:00] the grant. Okay, so select board members
and um the grant is basically no longer
[4:11] available
to us. And
[4:16] I personally
wanted to thank everybody for their
[4:23] engagement in this whole process. I
mean, we're volunteers.
[4:29] We do the best we can. We make mistakes
and we
[4:36] uh we come together for the benefit of
the town that all of us love, no matter
[4:42] what our point of view is. My hope is
that the energy that people expended on
[4:51] considering their position with this
grant will lead to continuing
[4:58] uh public engagement and what kind of
future we want to see for our town
[5:05] because change happens. changes coming
from all over from our aging population
[5:12] from mandates from the state and from
our own vision for what we want here. So
[5:22] with that, you know, I will call for
adjournment.
[5:28] Uh I move that this meeting adjourn.
some second.
[5:32] » Well,
>> you should let the public speak to to
[5:38] express our opinions on You just said
it.
[5:41] » This was my motion, so I get to talk
about it. I think
[5:46] » this and doesn't it have to be
withdrawn? The motion that I originally
[5:49] made,
>> the grant has been rescended.
[5:52] » Okay.
>> So, there's no grant for Guilford to
[5:55] talk about. And I truly welcome Guilford
to talk about about their feelings, our
[6:03] feelings about land use planning or
zoning or whatever else we want to call
[6:10] it. Uh or alternative ways to look at
the affordability and the vitality of
[6:17] our town. But there's no grant
>> that's on the table anymore.
[6:23] » Okay. I would still like an opportunity
to speak about it. Well, where was he?
[6:28] » Um, can we give Janette?
>> So, I'm not sure. Well, if it's on the
[6:32] agenda, if it's [clears throat] it's not
on the agenda, I just I mean, I don't
[6:37] know if we're going to be pillaried for
talking about
[6:42] the thing was to consider the grant, not
to consider the issue that the grant was
[6:46] talking about. So, we might get in
trouble. I don't know.
[6:51] » You could talk about the grant. That's
what the meeting is about for future.
[6:55] There is no grant.
>> There's no
[7:00] » The word is open-ended as in future.
>> And you're talking about sustainability
[7:06] you just mentioned in the aging
population. Do you know why there's an
[7:10] aging population? Because your tax base
is increasingly
[7:14] unobtainable.
Um, I think that it will be wonderful
[7:20] for people to come together and discuss
all of these issues,
[7:26] » but this is not the
>> issue. It's called reality,
[7:31] » transparency.
>> May I speak? I've actually raised my
[7:33] hand and I follow.
>> Um,
[7:37] » please say your name before you speak
because I don't know.
[7:39] » Janet Tokar's Ashford. Um
I'm really excited to see this number of
[7:47] people thinking about the issue of
landbased food. Um
[7:53] land commission meetings are warned and
open to the public and I want to invite
[8:00] people to use the planning commission
meetings as a forum to have these
[8:04] ongoing discussions that we have the
grant has been rescended. that means
[8:10] that we don't have the funding, but that
doesn't mean we don't have the energy
[8:13] and commitment and desire to continue
this discussion. So, um my email address
[8:20] is available. Um I'm happy to stay after
this meeting to have preliminary
[8:24] conversations. So, I think we want and
need to have this conversation. Um this
[8:31] to your point, this heading is not that
forum, but we want to make other forums
[8:35] available to continue to have that
conversation. Thank you, Janette.
[8:42] Okay. Well,
uh, I move that we adjourn this meeting.
[8:47] Is there a second?
>> We did.
[8:49] » Oh, we did. Okay. I guess my nerves got
ahead of me. Okay. So, um, I will pull
[8:59] the uh, select board members. Um, Chip,
how do you vote? I adjourning the
[9:05] meeting. Mike
>> I
[9:08] » Tara
>> no
[9:10] » Sha
>> I
[9:11] » and Miranda says I so this meeting is
adjourned.