Master mimic
Worlds collide
Northern Mockingbirds can learn over 200 songs
Green Valley Coconut bridges two cultures
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July 13, 2023
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Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
thecitizenvt.com
Charlotte selectboard forms committee for new administrator
Community building
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
With only two months left to replace Charlotte’s town administrator of more than 10 years, the selectboard has officially formed a committee to help with initial interviews. Committee members will include selectboard liaisons Lewis Mudge, Kelly Devine and Jim Faulkner along with development review board chair Charlie Russell, assistant town clerk Emily Tupper and resident Moe Harvey.
Dean Block resigned as administrator last November, giving the selectboard until October 2023 to find his replacement. As of Monday, the job posting — which has been up for less than a month — had received eight applicants. The deadline for applications is July 14. “We may have a ninth, we still have some days,” Mudge said. “It’s not a huge batch and I think we got some good brains that we See COMMITTEE on page 12
Hinesburg will spend $300K on town hall Long term renovation still years away COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Charlotters gathered for the town’s annual beach party barbebuce and potluck July 8. More photos on page 10.
Hinesburg will spend $300,000 to stabilize the town hall’s failing roof and reopen the building’s main hall, or the Big Room, which has been closed for nearly two years. The expense comes as officials acknowledged the town was not in the position, as originally laid out, to spend for a full renovation of the historic building. That project was put on hold after another major item — a wastewater treatment facility — forced the town to reconsider its spending priorities. But officials at the last selectboard meeting indicated that they felt it was important to get the Big
Room back open again. “This is the least expensive option that we have in front of us,” Joy Dubin Grossman, assistant town manager, said. “It’s allowing us to use the Big Room for a period of time until we are able to make a greater investment in the town hall.” The town first discovered serious water leaks and “visible movement of the roof line” in the winter of 2022, and asked a local engineer to inspect the slate roof, who told town officials that wooden frame members had bowed and had serious cracking, Grossman said at the time. Originally built in 1901, there See ROOF on page 12