the town of
Dummerston, Vermont
Dummerston Selectboard
Dummerston's five-person Selectboard handles the municipal governance issues of the town. 
The Board generally meets every other Wednesday at 7:00 PM, at the Town Office. Meeting times are always warned in the Brattleboro Reformer. You can e-mail the Board at selectboard (at) dummerston.org.
The Selectboard is comprised of the following elected officials:
| Tom Bodett (Chair) | bodett (at) dummerston.org |
| Lewis White (Vice Chair) | white (at) dummerston.org |
| Zeke Goodband (Clerk) | goodband (at) dummerston.org |
| Greg Brown | brown (at) dummerston.org |
| Bill Holiday | holiday (at) dummerston.org |
From the March, 2011 Town Report...
With our fiscal year being so out of whack with the here and now, it's jarring to realize that FY2010 started way back in July of 2009. We were mere days into the process of reviewing, amending and approving a new Draft Town Plan. Repairs to the Tucker Reed Road Bridge were still glints in the eyes of Paul and Jody Normandeau . For all we knew, the wing walls on the Covered Bridge would last a hundred years, and the Green Iron Bridge would be open soon.
We would not go so far as to invoke Thomas "These are the times that try men's souls" Paine. But it's fair to say they have tried the good people of Dummerston's patience. But, as we've come to expect from our good town, we rose to the challenges and shouldered the disappointments.
Hearings and adjustments to the Town Plan took the entire fiscal year and more, but finally resulted in a Plan that was passed unanimously by the Selectboard. A vote which was met with spontaneous applause from the townspeople gathered at the Dummerston Grange. That was the sweetest sound this board had heard in many many meetings. Thank you to the Planning Commission for shouldering the bulk of the work and the abuse, and to all the other Town boards and committees and citizens who stayed with a difficult conversation and saw it through to the end. Everyone can be proud of what we accomplished together.
Given all the noise surrounding the Town Plan one could be forgiven for thinking that's all the Selectboard had to do. Oh that it were so. Necessary repairs to the historic Tucker Reed Road Bridge were managed by Road Foreman Lee Chamberlin and the expertise of local dry stone waller, Jared Flynn, with funds from the VT Agency of Transportation, along with some expert bureaucrat wrangling from Laurie Frechette.
Long awaited renovation of the Green Iron Bridge were begun by the State and carriedout by Renaud Bros. Then, just when it looked like things were in the clear, unexpected structural degradation was found in the upper support members and the project is now halted while State engineers address the problem. We hope this will be resolved soon as it is going to be necessary to find another way across the West River when we dig into approaches to the Dummerston Covered Bridge.
During the course of last year's repair to the covered bridge deck it was discovered that the wing walls supporting the approaches to both ends of the bridge have eroded to the point of urgency. The Selectboard was able to write a successful proposal for a Federal Transportation Enhancement Grant, which will pay the bulk of the costs and provide this board and its able assistant, Laurie Frechette, with plenty of laugh-out-loud state and federal bureaucratic routines. Actual work on the wing walls will not begin before late summer of calendar year 2011 and perhaps as late as the spring of 2012. The bridge will be closed to traffic for two to three weeks according to current estimates. Notice of closures will be large, often, and early.
Another shining accomplishment begun in FY2010 and not quite completed is the purchase and transfer of the Regional Library building on Rte 5 from the State to Southeast Vermont Learning Collaborative. The town was able to negotiate a transfer at no cost to its residents, which also assures the Learning Collaborative a permanent and affordable home in Dummerston.
In other good news, you have probably been seeing the Covered Bridge in a new light. These lights are of the new LED technology, which uses a small fraction of the electricity of the previous lights at a substantial savings to the town. The reason the savings are so great is that the lights themselves were donated to the town by Phillips Corporation at the urging of Entergy electrician, Smokey Howe, and Energy Committee member Alex Wilson and installed at no cost by Smokey and a crew of electricians whose time and expertise were donated by Entergy. A big word of thanks to all involved in this illuminating endeavor.
Another big thanks to board member Zeke Goodband and departing member Wayne Emery who - after animal control officer Ron Hubbard stepped down - took on the responsibilities of animal control in Dummerston. Rarely have so few done so much for so many. Zeke also stepped into the position of Town Health Officer when longtime THO, Mary Lafayette took her well-earned retirement from the position. Thanks again Zeke, and a big, belated thanks to Mary for her many years of service.
And most of all, this board would like to thank the good people of Dummerston who continue to volunteer for our committees, challenge us at our meetings and hearings, and help us to always stay focused on what is important for the long term good of our town. It is forever a pleasure and a privilege to serve on your Selectboard.