Barre Select Board approves Economic Development Committee, advances marijuana bylaw talks

BARRE -- September 5, 2018, Barre Select Board approves Economic Development Committee charge and signs police union contract at September 5 meeting. The board voted unanimously to adopt the charge for the new committee, with regional economic development coordinator Todd Miller warning the town has roughly five to seven years before development pressure from Worcester and Rutland reaches Barre's borders. The board also approved three special event permits, including a 5K road race and walk to raise addiction awareness at Felton Field on September 23, organized by the family of Joseph Duval in collaboration with Q-Drug, and unanimously appointed Dennis Fleming as the alternate CMRPC delegate to replace departing Planning Board member Phil Hubbard. The evening's sharpest exchange came over a letter from attorneys for the Stetson School and Seven Hills Foundation, which board members said failed to address community safety concerns about unsupervised student departures from campus and responded "lawyer to lawyer" rather than to the board, with at least one member calling for state agencies that fund student placements to be brought into the dispute.