BY ANGELO LYNN
PROCTOR — The Proctor selectboard approved a request from Megan Cannucci, who manages the town ice skating and rolling skating rinks, to appeal to the Mortimer Proctor Fund for playground equipment that would be located adjacent to the skating rinks. The idea, Cannucci said, was to create a multi-season community recreational area that offered a variety of activities for a wider range of ages.
The playground equipment, valued at about $48,000, would be geared toward kids ages 2-12. “It’s something the entire community could use year around,” she said, emphasizing the need for recreational activities that weren’t located just on the school grounds.
The playground would be located on town-owned land, and would be at the confluence of town trails (the Carriage Trail entrance) as well as the skating rink. It could become a “cool pocket park,” said Town Manager Michael Ramsey, who added that a pavilion was also planned for that area financed through a possible grant from the Vermont Outdoor Recreational Economic Collaborative (VOREC), which they hope to hear back from in February.
There were three playground equipment proposals in varying price ranges: one for $28,000, one for $48,000 and another for $75,000. The proposal is based solely on getting funding from the Mortimer Proctor fund and would not be financed through the town budget or by taxpayers. If the grant is approved, the plan would be to build the play- ground this coming summer.
ANNUAL MEETING, TOWN BALLOT
The selectboard also formally approved holding a virtual Town Meeting via Zoom on Monday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. to review the town budget and other issues during a public informational hearing. A formal vote by Australian ballot will be held on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at the Proctor Junior/Senior High School Gymnasium, 4 Park Street, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Of the dozen articles voters will consider, voters will:
• Elect the following officials: a town moderator for one year; selectboard members for one- , two-, and three-year terms; a school board member for Quarry Valley Unified School District for a three-year term, and a member of the school board for a one-year term.
• Decide whether the town shall “authorize cannabis retailers in town pursuant to 7 V.S.A., section 863,” and a companion article that authorizes “retail portions of integrated licensee operations in town.”
• Approve the “town budget of $482,636 for the maintenance and repairing of town highways for the period of July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023;” and for the amount of “$926,506 for current expenses (General Fund) of the town” for the same period?
• Approve allocating $67,000 for the Proctor Free Library for the fiscal year, and
• Approve collecting taxes in four equal installments throughout the coming year.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the selectboard:
• Discussed how to proceed with collecting delinquent water bills;
• Heard an update on a project to x the South Street sidewalk.
• Learned that the Willow Street sewage fix was moving along and was nearing the end of the permit phase, and would hopefully go out to bids in the next few months.
• Learned that Karen Folger had accepted a part-time position as the town’s assistant assessor.
• Learned that the town received a $37,000 grant to draw up a storm water master plan. The grant was awarded through the Lake Champlain Basin Program Clean Water and Healthy Ecosystem Projects.
Town Manager Michael Ramsey also reported that the Rotary Club would be staining the Ice Skating Rink cabin this summer, and offer thanks ahead of time for that effort; that a new of office door to the Treasurer’s and Town Clerk’s office had been installed and completed “with excellent workmanship,” and that an Ice Fishing Contest would be held at Beaver Pond on Feb. 26. It’s a free event for local residents, Ramsey said, with more information forthcoming as the event draws nearer.
