Town Meeting Day a well-attended, paragon of participatory democracy in Vermont, has suffered this year because of COVID-19 bans on gathering â but was the tradition headed out before the pandemic?
Charlotte has an article to move Town Meeting Day to the first Saturday in March, an attempt to increase participation in hopes of returning to the good old days of town meeting.
Selectboard chair Matt Krasnow has childhood memories of Town Meeting Day when it was a community event centered around discussion of what townspeople wanted to do with school issues, town issues and the lunch in-between.
Krasnowâs father Eddie supports the move to Saturday Town Meetings.
Town Meeting Day memories from before COVID-19 vtcng.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from vtcng.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Voters will decide the future of East Charlotte Villageâs commercial district during Town Meeting Day.
The townâs selectboard unanimously chose to put to vote the issue of whether the size of the district should grow to allow for development.
At a Jan. 25 meeting, the selectboard also opted to let residents vote on whether the town land use regulations should be amended, clarifying current rules for on-farm business. Member Louise McCarren was the lone dissenting voice, with all four of her colleagues voting to put the issue on March ballots.
âI had heard so much from people that it wasnât ready,â McCarren later said about her vote. âI normally would have said let the townspeople decide. I absolutely support development in East Charlotte.â