KILLINGTON — On Thursday, Oct. 8, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) will host Town Fair 2015 and its annual meeting at the Killington Grand Resort in Killington, Vt. More than 500 local officials, VLCT staff and board members, and vendors from around the state will gather for a full day of workshops, a trade show exhibiting products and services to help municipalities efficiently achieve their goals, and the annual meetings of VLCT, PACIF, and the VERB Trust. Town Fair is an opportunity for local officials to network with others who share their responsibilities.
Local officials do not lack for complex issues and Town Fair workshops will address them. Topics include water quality, back roads erosion, and the state’s new Clean Water legislation. Local officials can also learn about Rutland’s Project VISION – an innovative method that has been successfully addressing the use of opiates in that city, siting of renewable energy facilities and the Public Service Board process, and managing conflicts of interest at the local level. Steven Jeffrey, recently retired executive director of VLCT, will be keynote speaker at the Town Fair lunch.
Patrick Scheidel, municipal manager in Essex Town and Essex Junction Village, is the recipient of this year’s Municipal Service Award. Scheidel has served as manager of Essex town for 25 years, and recently added Essex Junction Village to his managerial job scope. He began serving on the VLCT Property and Casualty Insurance Fund in 1994 and was elected president in 1998, a position he still holds today.
“The Town of Essex has had the great fortune to have Pat be the municipal manager of our community for the past 25 years,” said Essex Select Board chair Max Levy. “His dedication and love for our community shows daily in all of his work. We are all thrilled to see Pat receive this well deserved recognition.”
At its annual meeting, VLCT’s membership will adopt the municipal policy for the 2016 legislative session and elect officers for the coming year. The municipal policy includes more than 80 separate policies which, upon adoption, will be pursued by local officials and VLCT advocacy staff. Addressing the opiate addiction crisis, funding for new mandates in Vermont’s Clean Water Act and the Lake Champlain TMDL, and education funding are but three areas on which local officials are expected to take positions at the annual meeting.
“Town Fair is a high-energy event of instruction, policy development, and networking … and it’s fun!” said Karen Horn, director of public policy and advocacy. “Local officials get things done in Vermont. Every other level of government relies on them for practical and timely implementation of programs and policies that, in the best of circumstances, were developed with their substantial input,” she added. “Town Fair is a day to thank them for their service and ask them to continue their work, particularly as they talk to legislators about those municipal issues with which they’re familiar.”
For more information visit https://www.vlct.org.
