Selectboard Minutes
Regular Meeting of Monday July 13, 2026 at 7:00 PM
At South Hero Town Hall and via Zoom
Board Members Present: David Carter: Chairman, David Lane: Vice-Chairman, Skip Brown: Board Secretary, Steve Robinson, Anne Zolotas
Board Members Not Present: none
Other Town personnel + public present: Sue Arguin, TA, + Public: See attendance sheet *Attendance 2026-08-10-2026
1. Called to Order:
– The meeting was called to order by David Carter at 7:00 pm.
2. Adjustment to Agenda:
– none
3. Minutes:
-Steve Robinson made a motion to approve the minutes of July 27, 2026. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
4. Public input:
A. none
5. New Business:
A. SHVFD Chief Patrick Robinson and Ryan Viens were present to discuss adding a new electronics package to the fire department’s rescue boat. The current aged electronics are not meeting the needs of the department. The new system includes integrated RADAR, GPS, and thermal imaging to better serve the department. The Moorings in Colchester have given the best option. David Lane made a motion to allow the purchase in the amount of $37,299.09 using the equipment replacement fund. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Guy Maguire of South Hero Land Trust along with Brian and Sue Lalumiere were present to discuss the proposed conservation easement of the family’s Kibbe Farm. See Attached *Kibbe_Farm_Selectboard_Reading. The Lalumiere family present stated that they passionate about preserving the farm. The farm consists of about 100 acres of agricultural soils, 60 acres of forested wetlands and about 1500’ of shoreline on Keeler Bay. About 50 acres will be excluded from the conservation easement for farm infrastructure and possible future housing. Guy stated that about 87% of the funds necessary will be from grants and the remainder will be by donations and public outreach. David Carter suggested that possibly some more land could be excluded from the conservation easement for possible future septic upgrades for the houses and camps along Kibbe Farm Rd. Also, he suggested that possibly some funds could be set aside as an endowment for future generations. The consensus of the many people in attendance was that this a great project and they would like to see it done. The South Hero Conservation Commission is in favor of the project. After hearing from anyone who wanted to speak, Steve Robinson made a motion that the Selectboard is in favor of the project. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
C. Peter Zamore and Greta Brunswick discussed the Lavin property and the wastewater project. The State has finalized the wetlands mapping and there appears to be about 32 of the 95 acres not in the wetlands or buffer zones. The engineers are finalizing the wastewater capacity report and it should be ready by the end of the month. There are about $60,000.00 in funds remaining from an ACCD grant and the DEC has a potential $150,000.00 forgivable loan that may cover the cost of engineering wastewater designs. More information will follow.
6. Town Administrator (TA) and Zoning Administrator (ZA) Reports:
A. none at this meeting
7. Old and Ongoing Business:
A. none at this meeting
8. Announcements and Communications:
A. None at this meeting
9. Other Business:
A. Steve Robinson made a motion to sign the orders 27A-03 and 27-04 and have the Treasurer pay the bills as presented on the orders. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
B. Town Clerk/Treasurer updates: Town Clerk/Treasurer updates: See attached *Treasurer letter 8-10-2026
C. Recreation Commission (RC) update: https://southherovt.org/rec/ for more info.
D. Road Department update:
-Mowing of the roadsides is ongoing.
-Trees that were encroaching over South St. to the south of Martin Rd. have been trimmed.
-Steve Robinson made a motion to allow John Beaulac to sign a contract with SD Ireland for paving at $86.00/ton for the paving coat of Whipple Rd. and West Shore Rd. from South St. west to Lakeview Rd. using approximately 2600 tons. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. Note that the funds for this paving project were budgeted for and was voted on in March.
E. Lister Updates: Appraisals are ongoing
F. Old South Hero Meeting House (OSHMH) update: The new foundation has been poured and is being sheathed in stone and will be backfilled. When that is complete, the building will be moved back to the original location around the end of August.
G. Lavin Property update: See above
H. Town Hall Committee update: See https://southherovt.org/town-office-building-committee/
I. Tree Warden Update: The thunderstorm and wind event on August 8 brought town several limbs. Brad Sheridan and Eddie Wendel cleared the roads after the storm. A large hanging poplar branch over the power lines on South Street was removed by DJ’s tree service.
J. New Town Park updates: The parking area that has been staked out will be started when the Meeting House is put back on the foundation and is out of the way.
K. Liquor License/Mobil vendor applications: none at this meeting
L. Anne Zolotas made a motion to go into executive session for real estate/legal matters at 9:00 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried. A motion was made to exit executive session at 9:15 pm. No action was taken after exiting executive session.
10. Adjournment:
-Steve Robinson made a motion to adjourn at 9:16 pm. The motion was seconded, all in attendance so voted and the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted, Approved by,
_______________________________ ________________________________
Graham Brown, Secretary David Carter, Chairman
For a video of the meeting, see: www.lcatv.com