Get to the choppa
Unique Antiques
Charlotte Central School students tour Black Hawk
American Pickers show returning to Vermont
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June 15, 2023
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Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
Former Shelburne manager tapped for Charlotte TA search
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thecitizenvt.com
LAX on the attack
Officials bristle at residents’ petition for change LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
The Charlotte selectboard has approved a consulting proposal by resident Lee Krohn to aid in the process of determining whether to switch to a town manager form of government — a conversation that some selectboard members said has felt like a “gun-to-the-head” situation. Krohn retired last month as Shelburne’s town manager. He was first hired in late 2018 and recently wound down his day-today duties there, serving seven months as interim manager. He is a former senior planner at the Chittenden Regional Planning Commission, and previously spent 24 years in Manchester in a variety of roles, including interim town manager, planning director, zoning administrator, tree warden and E911 coordinator. According to the proposal, Krohn will be tasked with researching applicable statutes regarding town administrators and town managers while also seeking insights, questions, and concerns
from key people involved in the current conversations. He will also do a thorough review of documents while analyzing opportunities, constraints, requirements, or limitations that may flow from statutes regarding town administrators and town managers. The selectboard will rely heavily on his thoughts and ideas regarding intermediate steps that might be available to address concerns raised, while maintaining the current governance structure, should the selectboard not find a town manager-style of government favorable. The findings will be summarized for consideration at the July 24 selectboard meeting. “When transitions occur, it is often appropriate to step back and take time to consider whether current practices still serve us well, or whether change may be warranted,” Krohn said in the proposal. “To date, this current context has generally been framed as a binary choice: maintain a See KROHN on page 16
PHOTO BY AL FREY
CVU’s Maddie Bunting looks to get by Burr and Burton’s Paige Samuelson during the Redhawks’ D-1 Championship overtime loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at UVM’s Virtue Field.
Hinesburg rejects wastewater facility bids, citing cost COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
The Hinesburg selectboard last week rejected the three bids it received to build a state-mandated wastewater treatment facility, citing a ballooning cost that the town is uncertain how to pay for. The project, as currently
proposed in the bids, would have cost the town over $20 million. The selectboard, during its June 7 meeting, voted unanimously to reject the construction bids, based on a recommendation by Aldrich & Elliot, the engineering firm contracted with the town to design the facility. Engineers from the firm recommended beginning the
process of exploring alternatives. “We have been discussing some alternatives, some options for what could be done differently down there, (but) all of those things would need to be reviewed and approved by the state,” Jason Booth, the engineering group’s vice president, told the selectboard during their meeting. “No matter
what happens at this point, the state has to provide some concurrence with what, and if any, changes are made down there.” Hinesburg is one of several towns that are facing multi-million-dollar upgrades, buildouts, or renovations of their wastewater treatment plants. Unique to Hinesburg is the state mandate: In 2018,
the town received a discharge permit from the state that required it to reduce the amount of phosphorus and ammonia in its wastewater discharges to the LaPlatte River — leaving the town on the hook for a new facility to comply with those See BIDS on page 16