Town manager cites miscommunication with property owner

By SOPHIA BUCKLEY-CLEMENT

PROCTOR — The Proctor Select Board is continuing its analysis of a $19,000 trail redesign at Beaver Pond after a March 22 discussion about the miscommunication that resulted in the extra cost.

Architects from VHB had originally designed the trail bisecting resident Frank Beyette’s property. Beyette, however, said he never gave approval for the use of his land.

At this point, Town Manager Greg Maggard said the select board is looking into where VHB allocated funds for the original design.

“It’s not an outstanding bill, it’s basically an addition, if you will,” Maggard said. “The select board will have to decide down the road what to do with it.”

Maggard said the miscommunication has not affected the town’s working relationship with VHB and that Beyette is being brought upto date on all design proceedings.

Since the March 8 meeting, the Proctor Select Board has also reviewed and approved all bills from the 2020-21 fiscal year. After resolving issues with the town’s accounting software, NEMRC, Maggard said all charges were unanimously accepted.

Select board members went through the year’s bills on March 8 and discovered that certain line items were misrepresentative of actual values. Selectman Tom Hogan pointed out during discussion that charges for “water electricity usage,” “lab testing,” “treatment plant repair,” and “pump station repair,” to name a few, were all listed as zero.

Maggard said the issue boiled down to “user error” and since then, the town has had no issue with its reports.

“It was just something on my end, to be honest with you,” Maggard said with a chuckle.

Editor’s note: Sophia Buckley-Clement is an intern and journalism student at Castleton State University.