Wastewater, Ag Lands and Flea Market Will be On May 23 Selectboard Agenda
by Nancy Wood,
May 19 2011, page 1.....

The West Village Wastewater Committee will report its recommendations at the Monday, May 23, meeting of the Selectboard. Results of the survey conducted at Town Meeting were released in early April. The survey asked members of the community whether – and if so, how – the town might use its reserve wastewater capacity to help implement the 2008 Town Plan. Eighty-five surveys were returned, and a majority (53 to 26) responded ‘yes’ to the question whether “a portion of the unused capacity of the existing municipal wastewater system [should] be made available for private use – at some cost to the user – to support the goal of concentrated development in the West Village Center.”
Several people who attended the Town Plan Update meeting on April 28 spoke in favor of increased commercial activity in the West Village, and it was acknowledged that septic capacity was a barrier to development. However, at the May 9 Selectboard meeting, Tricia Coleman recalled that at the time the Senior Center was being developed, the Town voted that the septic capacity was for municipal use only.

Thompson’s Point Ag Lease
Details of the lease agreement between the Town and Tom and David Kenyon of Aurora Farms for agricultural lands at Thompson’s Point are also expected to be discussed at Monday’s meeting. Unresolved issues as of the May 9 meeting included the amount per acre that would be paid for the lease and how that would be exchanged for brush hogging of the other open land.

A Flea Market Without the Flea?
The majority of attendees (10 of 18) at the May 12 brainstorming session about the future of the Flea Market site were prior vendors from other towns, some as far away as Colchester and Barre. They advocated for the continuation of a market or bazaar type activity on the site, stating that people come from Vermont and elsewhere expecting to find a Flea Market. Lee Mayo, who has been a vendor for over twenty years, said it could be called something other than a Flea Market, as long as it continued to be a vendor market.
John Owen, the Selectboard member who organized the meeting, outlined the requirements for a short-term continued use as a market: rules of operation, a contract signed by one lessee, and someone in charge. Also, nothing would be left at the site overnight: vendors would be expected to arrive and leave with their own tables, umbrellas and the goods to be sold. The inclusion of good quality crafts, arts and farmers produce would be possible.
A committee was formed to work out details, which will be discussed at Monday night’s Selectboard meeting.