Tunbridge Voters Like
Their Two Meetings

Just as important as Town Meeting itself is the mid-day lunch break featuring home cooking and great deserts. Here's the pie table at the Tunbridge Town Meeting. (Herald photo / Tim Calabro)

Tunbridge voters spent just 45 minutes Monday evening voting a $2.2-million school budget, but they spent hours Tuesday talking about mold.

Apparently, that suits them. Given the opportunity to move the school meeting to Tuesday, when far more people attend, there was a virtually unanimous vote to keep things the way they were

"It amazes me," admitted longtime moderator Euclid Farnham.

"We had 201 people at town meeting but just 80 at the school meeting.

"The reason for having it (the Monday night school meeting) is to attract young parents, but it doesn't seem to work."

Attracting a third school board member was also a bit of a problem Monday night, as Jonni Spaulding was stepping down. Eventually Jennifer Hayslett, who had first declined, answered the call—when she was nominated by husband Thornton.

The budget itself passed easily by a vote of 68-12. It will result in an increase in property taxes of about 9%, it was estimated. That's in spite of a continued decline in enrollment at the Tunbridge Cental School, which by next year will have fallen 25% since 2003.

Mold Problem

Town Meeting was held the next day at 10 a.m., and mold was the main topic. That's not unexpected, since a mold infestation has kept the town offices closed for three months.

During that time functions and office hours have been held in private homes, at the school, and at the church parish hall.

Advanced Basement Technologies of Barre was first hired to clean up the mold but apparently did an incomplete job, and Farnham said the selectboard has taken considerable heat about it.

"I know more about mold than I ever wanted to," Farnham quipped Wednesday.

One member, Shane Craig, resigned a few weeks ago, partly over the issue, he said. Craig's term came due Tuesday and no fewer than six candidates ran to replace him.

Farnham expected Tunbridge to indulge in its tradition of holding multiple paper ballots, but Tim Wolfe, at just 27, was elected with a majority after two ballots.

In a short statement, Wolfe acknowleged that people think the selectboard should have done a better job with the mold problem.

The voters didn't hold a grudge money-wise, though. They passed the town general and highway budgets—which were barely increased from last year—and they agreed to each of the requested special appropriations.

The latter were: C.V. Adult Basic Education ($725), C.V. Council on Aging ($300), Clara Martin Center ($1900), C.V. Community Action ($300), Chelsea Senior Center ($650), Green-Up ($100), Kid's Place ($150), Orange Co. Diversion ($150), Safeline ($200), Upper Valley Services ($400), Vt. Association for the Blind ($150), Center for Independent Living ($150), and Visiting Nurses ($2780).