DRAFT MINUTES OF TOPSHAM SELECT BOARD MEETING
Monday, April 27, 2026 @ 7:00 pm
Present: James Bulger, Brad Calhoun, Tom Otterman, Jake Thompson, Carl Hildebrandt (Select Board), Karen Walker (Clerk/Treasurer) & Janice Emerson (Administrative Assistant) via telephone.
Absent: Richard Sampson (Road Foreman)
Visitors: Senator John Benson, Michael McPhetres, Cindy Flannigan, Jim Clark, Nancy Clark, Megan Clark, Donna Otterman, Nick Milburn, Aiden Otterman & Pat Plaisted & Michael (via Teams)
The meeting was called to order at 7:01 PM.
Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Brad Calhoun to approve minutes from meeting of April 13, 2026. Passed unanimously.
Visitors
Appointed Senator John Benson spoke about his background and what was presently happening in Legislature. He will be running as a candidate for our district in the General Election.
Cindy Flannigan will continue to plan the Annual Memorial Day ceremonies. This year the ceremony will be held at the new cemetery on Welch Road on Saturday, May 30th at 5:30 pm.
Cindy Flannigan reported that two Veteran Memorial markers are done. One of the markers and a new flagpole need to be installed in East Topsham cemetery. She asked if some funds for that cemetery could be used to install them. Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Brad Calhoun for approval to do so. Passed unanimously.
Cindy Flannigan reported that the East Topsham cemetery gate needs to be repaired again or replaced. Following a discussion, motion was made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Jake Thompson to purchase a new gate. Passed unanimously.
Cindy Flannigan also reported that the East Topsham cemetery fence needs cleaning and several flagpoles need to be replaced in some of the cemeteries.
Tax Sale: Cindy Flannigan, Delinquent Tax collector requested a Tax Sale be held in August 2026. Following a discussion, motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Carl Hildebrandt to have a Delinquent Tax Sale in August for all delinquent property taxes except for the 2025 taxpayers who have a payment plan in place. Passed unanimously.
Highway
Road Report: Brad Calhoun reported on roads and equipment. Road crew is continuing to work on improving the roads. They are grading and doing ditching to open the culverts after the rainstorm.
We are continuing to investigate possibilities of purchasing a used grader to replace the present one. Brad suggested starting the process to obtain bids from Blaktop and Pike in anticipation of receiving a paving grant.
Camp Precast Concrete would like to deliver the Honey Corner bridge culvert that is now going to be used on the upcoming Ben Dexter bridge project. State approval for this project is less complicated because the stream is classified as intermittent.
New Garage: Brad reported that the fuel tank should be installed soon.
Town Roads and Bridges Standards Update: Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Tom Otterman to approve the amended standards and sign the document. Passed unanimously.
Overweight permits: Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Carl Hildebrandt to approved permits for Sargent Artesian Wells and Structures RBR, Inc. Pass unanimously.
General
Open Position: NEKWMD Alternate Representative. Anyone who may be interested, please call the Town Office at
802-439-5505 for more information.
West Topsham Community Hall:
Tom Otterman reported the new septic systems for the hall and for the neighbors will be installed in the next couple of weeks. Megan asked if Karen could find out if volunteers are covered under our insurance who may help with preparing the community hall for the upcoming renovations. Donna Otterman, Budget Committee Chair reported that proposed budget items for heat and electric were mistakenly excluded from the 2026 Budget.
Transfer Station:
Brad Calhoun ordered the sign to post that states who is allowed to bring trash to the station. Tom Otterman is meeting with a Casella sales representative on Thursday, April 30th at 10 am to discuss options for a new transfer station location/trash disposal system.
Karen received a quote from Copies and More for the printing of new transfer station cards for town residents and taxpayers. Each 3x5 card is 45 cents. The total estimate cost for 837 cards will be $377.00. Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Carl Hildebrandt to approve the purchase of the new cards. Passed unanimously.
Planning Commission:
The Energy section of the Town Plan was discussed. After reviewing it, the Select Board has some feedback and questions about it before it is approved. They were invited to attend the next Planning Commission meeting. The May 4th meeting was postponed due to the Annual School Meeting and will be rescheduled.
EC Fiber Delegate Form:
Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Carl Hildebrandt to approve the resolution to appoint Rob Rinaldi and Trever Lowell as our Town delegates for the Governing Board of E.C.V Telecommunications. Approved unanimously.
Use of Town Hall:
Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Tom Otterman to approve the requests to use the town hall for Tim Peterson on May 30th and for Pat Plaisted on June 13th. Passed unanimously.
Correspondence
Jim Bulger plans on attending a meeting on Thursday, April 30 from 6-8 pm in South Royalton with VLCT and TR to discuss the needs of the town.
Financial
The Board reviewed and signed Order #2608 in the amounts of $24827.84 for Accounts Payable and $9,799.83 for payroll.
Other – NONE
Executive Sesson: Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Carl Hildebrandt to go into Executive Session to discuss a legal issue and a personnel issue. Passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned to Executive Session from 8:36 pm to 8:52 pm. Motion was made by Tom Otterman and seconded by Jake Thompson to authorize the Chair to consult with Counsel and sign the response when finalized. Passed unanimously. Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Tom Otterman to retain both Roger and David Vance as transfer station monitors for the time being. Pass unanimously.
Motion was made by Jake Thompson and seconded by Tom Otterman to adjourn meeting. Passed unanimously.
Meeting adjourned at 8:55 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Otterman