Sugar season
Underwater Champlain
Shelburne sugarmaker undaunted by warm weather
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Library program explores Revolutionary War era
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Volume 52 Number 14
shelburnenews.com
April 6, 2023
Shelburne selects new town manager
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Top choice ‘did his homework’ LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Canada geese enjoy the view of Lake Champlain from Meach Cove in Shelburne.
After a nearly five-month search, Shelburne has selected a Virginia man as its next town manager. Matt Lawless, 34, takes the reins in June. After vetting nearly 40 applications, the town manager search committee made up of seven selectboard members, town employees and others — Mike Ashooh, Luce Hillman, Linda Riehl, Lee Suskin, Mercedes Ortega and Betty Jean Bogue — narrowed the pool to four candidates just weeks before the final decision was made. “What was interesting about the candidates is they all had different skill sets and different attributes,” search committee member and selectboard chair Mike Ashooh
said. “We thought it would be interesting to bring all of them in and see what people thought.” The four candidates, three of whom were Vermont residents, came to Shelburne to meet another group of residents before meeting with town department heads. “We asked them to prepare a policy analysis — a short presentation and a write-up kind of like they would if they were a town manager — here’s an issue facing the town, what do you recommend,” Ashooh said. Megan McBride, a former planning commission member and participant of the resident interview process, said that she was impressed most with Lawless’ understanding of the complexities See TOWN MANAGER on page 12
Shelburne picks Crown Road for its wastewater LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
After months of deliberation, the Shelburne Selectboard has decided that the town’s wastewater treatment operations should be consolidated at the Crown Road facility as the most cost-effective solution.
The Turtle Lane facility will be converted into a pump station. Nonetheless, residents can still expect to vote on $30 million bond — or more — at next year’s Town Meeting Day for the project. Shelburne currently operates two aging wastewater treatment plants and both are in need of extensive upgrades. The project
is expected to be one of the most expensive capital projects in Shelburne’s history. The town has been mulling over a few solutions since 2021, but ultimately opted to pick between upgrading the Turtle Lane or Crown Road sites, rather than improving both. In September, engineers with
the firm Aldrich + Elliot recommended converting the Turtle Lane site into a pump station and consolidating operations at Crown Road — a process that could take five years to complete. However, after hearing concerns from property owners on Mariners Cove and Mariners Way near the Crown Road facility, selectboard
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members asked engineers to alternatively study the efficacy of consolidating at Turtle Lane. “It is anticipated that this bond request would be on next year’s ballot,” Shelburne town manager Lee Krohn told the Shelburne See WASTEWATER on page 13
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