All in the family
On track
Bittner Antiques opens new showroom
CVU alum earns top athletic honors
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Volume 52 Number 6
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shelburnenews.com
February 9, 2023
Town wins in Pierce lawsuit
Angry lake
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY JENNIFER ERICKSON
A common scene over the weekend for those living near Lake Champlain — choppy conditions and mist and fog coming off the lake cause by subzero temperatures and high winds.
Closing the book on a lawsuit against the town of Shelburne and its former zoning and planning director, Vermont Superior Court’s Chittenden unit has ruled in favor of the town — ending a case over access to public records that began more than a year ago. The issues began when Shelburne zoning and planning director Dean Pierce filed two separate records requests on Dec. 24, 2021, for materials and communications “pertaining to the performance of staff at the planning and zoning department that in any way constitutes a complaint or expression of opinion ... received from any person.” The second request sought any communications or documentation pertaining “to the performance or behavior of Town Manager Lee Krohn that in any way constitutes a complaint.” Krohn denied those requests “on the basis that any such documents are ‘personal documents relating to an individual, including information in any files maintained to hire, evaluate, promote, or discipline any employee of a public agency.’” A third request was filed by Pierce on Jan. 3, asking for a variety of communications “occurring outside public hearings or See LAWSUIT on page 12
Town manager to leave in May; search process accelerates LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
Shelburne’s town manager of five years, Lee Krohn, will step down from his role, the the first week of May. Last July Krohn announced he wouldn’t be continuing in the job beyond the end of his contract, which expires in November 2023. Krohn agreed to stay on until the town found a suitable replacement, but says
helping the town must be balanced with the needs of his personal life. “My goal has been to help manage this transition, help the town keep moving things forward, keep doing my job as best as possible for as long as I’m here,” he said. “Given that the searching process took some time to get started and who knows how long it might take, I thought about trying to balance my goal to help keep the town moving forward, but also what I need as a person.”
Now the town is in a bit of crunch fill Krohn’s position prior to his departure. In December, nearly six months after the announcement, the selectboard commissioned a town manager screening committee composed of five members — two selectboard members, two members from town committees and one resident — and began advertising for the position officially on Dec. 15. Although the committee originally anticipated that applications would be field-
ed until Jan. 15, Mike Ashooh, chair of the selectboard and member of the screening committee, said that the deadline was extended to Jan. 29 as application numbers were lower than expected. Ashooh said of nearly 30 applicants, few appear promising. The committee hopes to begin initial interviews this week and give recommendations to the selectboard at its next meeting on Feb. 14. Although the hope See TOWN MANAGER on page 12