Waterbury Select Board to interview school board applicants
March 31 recap: Rt. 100/Blush Hill/Stowe St. safety, & more
April 7, 2025 | By Lisa ScagliottiThe Waterbury Select Board tonight intends to interview four candidates for two vacant Waterbury positions on the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board.
Tonight’s meeting is the first the select board will hold at its new meeting time of 6:30 p.m. in the Steele Room at the municipal offices and online via Zoom.
Waterbury’s four school board seats were up for election on March Town Meeting Day, but only two candidates filed to run for election. Corey Hackett, who was appointed in 2024, won a two-year term; newcomer Rob Dabrowski won a three-year term.
That left two seats unfilled on the ballot. The school board may appoint individuals to those positions to serve until the March 2026 election. Its process is to request a recommendation from the local select board from the towns the open positions represent.
In Waterbury’s case, four individuals have expressed interest (a fifth reported last week has since withdrawn from consideration). They are Dan Roscioli and Elizabeth Brown, who both were appointed last April to serve until March when positions remained open following the March 2024 election.
Neither filed to run for election this March but have since put their names in consideration following the election last month. Roscioli explained that family circumstances in January prevented him from filing for election. Brown said her work situation has changed since the election deadline came and went, and she would be interested to serve another year.
The board also has letters of interest from Waterbury residents Brooks Fortune and Pamela Eaton. (scroll down to see all four letters of interest)
Select Board member Roger Clapp said he was disappointed that the board needs to go through the exercise of interviewing school board candidates. “I’d prefer school board members to be elected,” he said, calling the practice of recommending appointees to the school board “not ideal.” In 2024 two openings for the school board failed to attract candidates for the March election. Another Waterbury member’s resignation soon afterward meant three school board positions were filled by appointment.
The Harwood school board hopes to make appointments at its meeting on April 16. In addition to the Waterbury positions, one Duxbury seat remains vacant following the March election when no candidate filed to run for the position previously held by member Life LeGeros. Board Chair Ashley Woods on Sunday said she has received one letter of interest for the Duxbury opening so far from town resident Emily Dolloff. The Duxbury Selectboard meets next Monday to discuss its recommendation to the school board.
March 31: Residents share concerns about Rt. 100 intersection
Cars back up on the bridge waiting for the light to change at the intersection of Stowe Street, Rt. 100 and Blush Hill Road. The bridge is set to be replaced this year. File photo by Lisa Scagliotti
The select board allocated time at its meeting on March 31 for residents to share their concerns regarding the intersection of Vermont Rt. 100, Stowe Street and Blush Hill Road. The busy spot has been the subject recently of discussion on Front Porch Forum and it soon will be the site of a major construction project.
This summer, the bridge near that intersection that spans the Thatcher Brook is to be replaced. The $4.3 million project will be done by the Vermont Agency of Transportation starting as soon as next month, according to Municipal Manager Tom Leitz. Staff from the state agency will attend an upcoming Waterbury Select Board meeting to go over the details of the project which will take all summer and likely be completed in the fall. Leitz said that visit is tentatively scheduled for the board’s May 5 meeting which would be held at the Main Street fire station to accommodate a larger-than-usual meeting audience given the anticipated public interest.
Ahead of that, town officials said they wanted to hear public concerns about the intersection that could potentially be addressed in the near future given the upcoming VTrans project.
Recent issues raised online have included concern about drivers ignoring the traffic signal and about dangers pedestrians and bikers face in navigating the intersection.
Several residents in attendance at the meeting addressed safety issues mainly for motorists. Blush Hill resident Sue Johansen spoke first. “That intersection is terrifying,” she said. “I’m talking about the motor vehicle piece. In my opinion, no one should even try to walk near that intersection.”
Johansen listed multiple concerns including “red-light runners” who don’t stop for the traffic signal, the timing of the light cycles that leave insufficient time for vehicles to cross or turn onto Rt. 100, and motorists who stop in the intersection waiting to turn and block the space when the signal light changes.
“There’s really going to be a very tragic accident there. It’s just a matter of time,” she said. “I know it’s a state highway, but there’s something that needs to be adjusted in terms of timing of the lights, the pavement markings … anything that can be done to make it better would be really, really helpful.”
At the Waterbury Select Board meeting, Al Lewis shares his suggestions for improving the intersection of Rt. 100 with Stowe Street and Blush Hill Road. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Longtime Perry Hill resident Al Lewis picked up on the pavement and lane markings point. He brought a homemade map with photos of the intersection from various angles to illustrate marking additional turning lanes on the existing roadways at the Stowe Street and Blush Hill Road entry points to the intersection as well as on Rt. 100 northbound where it meets Stowe Street.
Former Town Manager Bill Shepeluk said he thought Lewis’ idea has merit. He suggested that traffic signal timing could be adjusted to address concerns that both Johansen and Lewis raised. To make turning safer, he suggested staggering signals that allow traffic to turn onto Rt. 100 from Stowe Street and Blush Hill; likewise eliminating yellow turning lights for Rt. 100 traffic that encourage motorists to move into the intersection and get caught there, he said.
Leitz said in anticipation of the discussion, he pulled out a 2017 study that looked at the Rt. 100 corridor between Stowe Street north to Laurel Lane. It considered adding sidewalks on one side of Rt. 100 between Stowe Street and Shaw’s with a price tag of $600,000. Since then, Leitz noted that storm damage has eroded the banks of the brook, leaving less room to potentially construct sidewalks. “The situation presents all sorts of complex engineering challenges,” he said, estimating that a sidewalk project now along that stretch would likely cost at least $1 million.
Town officials also have little say in making changes to this intersection because it involves a state highway, Leitz emphasized. However, he did note that the town has about $214,000 from a state transportation planning grant. “We can study this issue and refresh the numbers and look at alternatives,” he said, cautioning that any construction would likely be “well into seven figures.”
Regarding a potential crosswalk at the intersection, Leitz noted that VTrans would not allow a crosswalk connecting points without sidewalks. The new bridge on Stowe Street will have sidewalks, he noted, but the steep section of Blush Hill Road across Rt. 100 would be very difficult to add sidewalks.
Flood resilience; Emerald ash borer; conflict of interest policy
Other items the board covered at the March 31 meeting included hearing from Leitz that the invasive insect emerald ash borer has been detected in two trees on South Main Street in Waterbury. Read more about that here.
Leitz briefed the board on flood resilience topics including a proposal in the state legislature that would transfer 48 acres of Randall Meadow to the town for flood mitigation. If the measure is approved by the legislature this session and the governor, the transfer would move forward, Leitz said. Soil sampling and an archaeological review will be done before the transfer; the town also will explore potential grant funding by working with the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission to see if flood mitigation efforts could serve a dual goal of reducing phosphorus from going into the Winooski River, Leitz said.
Related to flood-resilience, Leitz said he is finalizing hiring former select board member Dani Kehlmann to take a position with the town as Natural Disaster Preparedness Coordinator which would be a part-time role compensated with a stipend to oversee readiness for future floods or other disasters.
He also noted that more than 2,000 local residents have signed up for a new text messaging system called TextMyGov that would be used in emergencies to get important information to the public. Instructions on signing up for the free service are on the town website.
The board also reviewed edits to a revised town Ethics and Conflict of Interest Policy created by combining new policy language adopted by the state legislature for municipalities to use along with a previous policy the town had in place. Board members edited the draft document during their discussion, making several minor changes and clarifications. They unanimously approved the final version. The new policy is posted on the town website WaterburyVt.com under Rules and Plans/Policies and Guidelines at the top of the website homepage.
Other business
In other action, the board also:
Approved fire protection contracts to serve parts of Moretown and Duxbury. The Moretown agreement is for $3,776 for this year. It covers the portion of Moretown along Cobb Hill and along U.S. Route 2 between the town line with Waterbury and the former Moretown landfill. The Duxbury contract is for $127,560 paid in two payments this year. It covers 83% of Duxbury’s properties but does not include South Duxbury.
After a lengthy discussion, unanimously approved creating a new town communications position at a cost of up to $500 per month. The position’s main function would be to create and circulate a town newsletter with timely updates from town departments, boards and commissions. The board directed Leitz to advertise for applicants.
Asked Leitz to reschedule a visit to the board by the commander of the Berlin Vermont State Police barracks. Lt. Thomas Howard was scheduled to attend the March 31 meeting but was unable to make it.
Heard from Conservation Commission Chair Amy Marshall-Carney on the commission’s ongoing projects, such as mapping work that will be part of the update to the town plan that the Planning Commission is currently working on.
Agreed to interview candidates for positions on volunteer town boards and commissions at its April 21 meeting. More than 20 positions are open including: Four positions each on the Development Review Board and the Recreation Committee; five seats on the Conservation Commission; three spots on the Tree Board; two positions each on the Planning Commission, Housing Task Force (seeking current renters), and the Natural Disaster Preparedness Committee. Details on how to apply are on the town website here.
Heard from the town manager that he has been appointed to the board of directors of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns which entitles Leitz to receive a stipend of $150 per meeting. His employment contract, however, stipulates that he needs permission from the select board and the Edward Farrar Utility District Board of Commissioners for any outside employment. Former Town Manager Bill Shepeluk – who also served on the league’s board and received a stipend – was in attendance and advocated for Leitz to keep the stipend given that the board role will require time. Leitz said he believes his salary is generous given the contract he received when he was hired in 2022 and that he intends to donate the stipend funds to the town.
Confirmed that in addition to the town website, physical notices of public meetings would continue to be posted at the town office as well as both Waterbury U.S. Post Offices.
Approved event permits for the Waterbury Area Trails Alliance 17th Annual Gravel Grinder bike ride, scheduled for Sunday, May 4, and the Clyde Whittemore Little League parade to be held on Saturday, May 10. The Gravel Grinder will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Pilgrim Park with between 300 and 400 participants. The little league parade will begin at noon from Dac Rowe Park. Details on both event permits are in the March 31 meeting packet online.
Ended its meeting with an executive session related to “contracts and attorney-client communications,” but did not exit to take any action.
Tonight’s meeting agenda which has a Zoom link can be found on the Select Board page of the town website.
School board applicant letters of interest
Letter | Elizabeth Brown
Letter | Pamela Eaton
Letter | Brooks Fortune
Letter | Dan Roscioli