Archive for category: Greensboro News

Read our Spring Newsletter! Lots of news and information about upcoming events in Greensboro. Thank you to Karen Gowen, our Newsletter Editor.

 A reminder that winter parking rules in Greensboro are in effect.  Parking vehicles on Town Highway rights-of-way and turnarounds is prohibited.  Vehicles may be towed at the owner’s expense.

Overnight parking in public parking lots, around the Town Hall, or in front of Willey’s Store is also prohibited.  Cars may be towed at the owner’s expense.

Plowing snow across a Town Highway or depositing snow on a Town Highway is a violation of state law and is strictly prohibited.

Trees and brush in the Town Highway right-of-way that are deemed to pose a hazard by the Select Board or Town Road Foreman may be removed.

At the Select Board’s November meeting, Hardwick Police Chief Aaron Cochran presented plans for the addition of a new officer to the department.  The HPD has applied for a federal grant to help cover the cost of an additional entry-level officer’s salary for three years, after which that cost would need to be assumed by the HPD budget, of which Greensboro pays a share.  If the grant is received, an existing officer would be promoted to detective.  Statistics show that our area has seen an increase in crime, which Chief Cochran attributes primarily to the drug problem.  Working with Hardwick Town Manager Jon Jewett, the Hardwick and Greensboro select boards will put together two versions of the HPD budget to reflect both receipt of the federal grant and no receipt of the grant.

As we near the start of the 2018 Vermont Legislative Session, reports are emerging that the State Education Fund will face a significant shortfall.  The impact on property taxpayers, both resident and nonresident, could be significant.  As the session unfolds and the impact becomes clearer, the GA will endeavor to keep its membership informed of possible tax impacts.  For some background information on what is at stake, the following articles are helpful and informative:

https://vtdigger.org/2017/10/02/depleted-education-fund-makes-for-likely-tax-increase/#.WdvK3kyZO9Y

https://vtdigger.org/2017/10/09/education-fund-gap-go-high-80m/#.WdvH5EyZO9Y

Many of you completed a survey last year for the Greensboro Planning Commission to provide input on the Commission’s ongoing work redrafting our Town Plan.  The intent of the new Town Plan is to guide and support change in our community over the next eight years.  The results of the survey helped the Commission craft a vision for Greensboro. The vision, which will be the basis for preparing the Town Plan, is shared below.

Greensboro residents aspire to see a future for the community where:

• The Town’s rural character is viewed as a significant benefit that should be protected.
• As a community, there is a strong sense that conservation of our natural resources should be a high priority.
• Greensboro continues to attract and enjoy vibrant and unique small businesses that sustain tourism, support our economy, and are gathering places for local residents.
• Greensboro is attractive for both retired families as well as new families raising young children.
• Greensboro, a small New England town, is the home of many cultural opportunities typical of larger towns.
• The community offers a multitude of recreational activities for young and old.
• The community strongly supports lifelong education, with the important benefits it provides to the community.

The Commission would welcome your input and comments on these questions:

Is the vision consistent with your expectations for the future of Greensboro?

Second, the Town Plan must include specific actions that will move the community towards this vision. What actions would you like to see that will support the vision?

Your thoughts are appreciated and welcomed!

Finally, the Commission still needs members.  You do not need to be a registered voter in Greensboro to serve on the Planning Commission.  If you would like to play a role in defining the future of our community, please let us know!

Please email your responses to Dan Predpall, Chair of the Greensboro Planning Commission at  [email protected] .

In recent years, Greensboro and the Caspian Lake community have seen an uptick in the use of Chinese paper lanterns.  Several residents have indicated concern about the environmental impact and safety of these lanterns.  They have been found in the lake, on people’s cottages and lawns, and in farmer’s fields where they pose a serious health risk to livestock if they and the wires they contain are baled or ingested by animals.

The GA Board hoped to gain more input from the membership at its Annual Meeting last week, but a full agenda limited the available time for discussion.  The Board anticipates discussing in future meetings what, if any, position the GA should take on the use of these lanterns.   They are actively seeking member input to inform discussions on this issue.   Please leave comments here or in the GA’s Facebook Group.  To ensure that input helps the Board better understand the community’s position on this issue, the Communications Committee would like to remind participants that discussion should be kept respectful.  All comments are subject to review by the communications team and inflammatory or derogatory remarks will be removed.

Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts will speak at the Greensboro Land Trust’s annual public meeting on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Greensboro UCC Fellowship Hall. Tebbetts will discuss the current agricultural scene as it affects our region.

The Greensboro Land Trust is celebrating its 25th anniversary. GLT co-founder Nancy Hill will introduce Tebbetts. His talk will follow a brief business meeting. Refreshments will be served.