By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—The Brandon Selectboard convened for its regular meeting on Monday evening. Attendance was especially high because of interest in a proposed resolution reaffirming the Town’s commitment to principles of due process and equal protection. For more details about this discussion, please see the separate article on the resolution also on page 1 of this issue.
Town Manager’s report
After the Board finished its discussion of the resolution, which it ultimately adopted, Town Manager Seth Hopkins delivered his report, the full text of which is reprinted in this issue.
Mr. Hopkins noted that the Sanderson Covered Bridge on Pearl Street would be closed on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. while repair work is being done. There have been several instances over the past several months when trucks attempted to pass through the bridge but ended up colliding with its canopy instead.
Mr. Hopkins also noted that the Town does not allow signs of any kind to be left in Central Park in downtown. He said that signage along Route 7 at that point created a hazardous distraction. He also noted that it was not permitted to chain private signage to a public lamppost.
The Town did not receive a paving grant this year from VTrans, he said, primarily because Brandon had received significant awards in recent years. He said the Town would be well positioned to receive a grant next year as a result. He said that the two main paving projects on the highway department’s radar are Town Farm Road and Wheeler Road, which he estimated would cost $160,000 and $230,000, respectively.
The number of delinquent properties eligible for tax sales fell from 74 to 33 after those property owners received letters from the Town’s attorney.
The 2016 police SUV that the Town had evaluated for potential sale would require $4,500 to $4,600 worth of work to keep operable, said Mr. Hopkins. The Board agreed to hold onto the car until it takes delivery of its replacement, just to have another cruiser on hand if needed.
Community Development report
Deputy Town Manager Bill Moore delivered his Community Development report to the Board, the full text of which is reprinted in this issue.
Mr. Moore noted that the Union Street paving project, which had been estimated to cost $700K was now estimated to cost $900K-$925K. However, he noted that the grant the Town had received for the project required only a 20% match rather than 50%, meaning that the Town’s match would be less even though the overall cost had increased.
Trustees of Public Funds
During the segment of the meeting dedicated to public comment, the Board heard further commentary from Brandon residents angered by what they believe was misconduct on the part of the Trustees of Public Funds (TPF), which oversees a trust left to the Town by resident Shirley Farr in the 1950s. The Trustees are independently elected and do not report to the Selectboard. Until this week, the Trustees were Laura Miner, Tanner Romano, and Courtney Satz.
Please see the article “Brandon Trustees of Public Funds face backlash” in the April 7 issue of The Reporter for background on this dispute. The article is also available for free on our website and on our Facebook page.
In response to intense criticism of his handling of the fund—including a formal ethics complaint—Trustee Tanner Romano resigned via email on May 8, effective immediately. His letter of resignation is reprinted in the letters section of this issue.
Despite the resignation, residents continued to demand changes to the Trustee’s operating procedures. A group of residents submitted a set of written proposals to the Selectboard, who have no legal authority to demand that the Trustees implement any proposed changes.
Board Vice-chair Cecil Reniche-Smith, a retired municipal attorney, explained to the assembly that though the Trustees were bound by the Town’s code of ethics, disagreement with funding decisions was not within the scope of that code. She added that a potential resolution to the conflict over the will would be to seek declaratory judgment from Probate Court, which Mr. Romano had suggested in his letter of resignation.
Neither Mr. Hopkins nor the Board seemed inclined to pursue expensive litigation, despite some exhortations in the room to do so.
Attendees continued their assertions that Mr. Romano had acted corruptly. Some attendees made further assertions that the Selectboard had acted in Mr. Romano’s interests in a recent boundary adjustment between town-owned property and property owned by an LLC under Mr. Romano’s control. Town management categorically denied this, calling it an absurd conspiracy.
The ethics complaint against Mr. Romano was investigated by Ms. Reniche-Smith and Board member Jeff Haylon, who submitted their findings to the Board in executive session on Monday night. The Board voted to accept the report and release it first to Mr. Romano and to the original complainant (who has remained unknown to the public) before releasing it to the public 24 hours later. The Reporter anticipates receiving the report after this issue has gone to press but will make the report’s findings public on its website on Wednesday.
Mr. Romano’s resignation letter had initially been sent on May 8 only to the other Trustees, the Selectboard, and The Reporter (to be published in this issue). But attendees on Monday revealed that they had seen the letter and raised questions about a postscript in which Mr. Romano addressed Ms. Reniche-Smith and Mr. Haylon directly and expressed a desire for them to “make true on your commitment to clear my name as well as Laura’s publicly.” [Editor’s note: Trustee Laura Miner was also named in the complaint.]
Ms. Reniche-Smith and Mr. Haylon both stated that they were surprised to read that postscript and that neither one of them had made any promises or given any assurances as to the outcome of the investigation.
On Tuesday, Ms. Reniche-Smith reiterated, “Neither Jeff nor I made any promises to Tanner or Laura that we would ‘clear their names.’ We asked them questions about the complaint and explained what the potential outcomes could be when we submitted our report.”
Mr. Hopkins stated that anyone interested in being appointed to the vacancy left by Mr. Romano should submit a letter of interest and an “Appointments application” (found on the Town’s website) to him by May 22. Mr. Romano’s term was to end in March 2026 and the appointment would be effective until that time, at which point the seat would appear on the ballot at Town Meeting.
The Trustees will hold their next meeting in the Selectboard meeting room at Brandon Town Hall at 5:30 on Thursday, May 15.
Emergency appointments
The Board appointed Seth Hopkins as Emergency Management Director and Jeff Haylon as Emergency Coordinator. Mr. Haylon replaces former Board Member Tim Guiles in the role. Mr. Haylon recused himself from the vote.
The Board also approved the Local Emergency Management Plan. The full text of the plan is available in the Selectboard packet for 5/12/25 on the Town’s website.
Highway contract with the Town of Goshen
The Board unanimously approved a contract between Brandon and Goshen for Brandon to provide certain highway services to Goshen. Brandon possesses staff and equipment that make certain tasks, such as grading of dirt roads and roadside mowing, much easier for Brandon’s highway department.
The contract stipulates the rate at which Goshen will compensate Brandon for its employees and equipment. The equipment will be used only by Brandon employees, who will perform the work in Goshen during regular business hours and will not incur overtime. Work in Brandon will take precedence over work in Goshen.
Brandon’s insurer reviewed the contract and stated that current coverage was sufficient.
Highway Chief Jeremy Disorda also gave his approval.
The full text of the contract is available in the Selectboard packet for 5/12/25 on the Town’s website.
