Residents voted 130-30 to pass Article 13, which proposed a reserve fund dedicated to expanding the community.

By Brigitte Offord, for the Community News Service

Laughter and nervous tension rippled through the line of people waiting to enter the Plainfield Opera House for the March 4 town meeting. The future of their town would depend on how they and their neighbors voted. 

Flooding devastated the town in 2024, and efforts to rebuild the community were the main focus for many attending the meeting. 

“If we don’t solve the housing problem, it’s very difficult to solve the education problem, or the health care problem,” Rep. Marc Mihaly, D-Calais, who represents Plainfield in the House, said in the meeting.

Not everyone agreed on the best way to do that, however. 

In the end, residents voted 130-30 to pass Article 13, which proposed the beginnings of a solution to the housing shortage: a reserve fund dedicated to village expansion. The fund would go toward new development “by acquiring” land between East Hill Road and Main Street.

It took about two hours to hear from folks on the article, which faced two amendments. Many who suffered from the flooding said they’re scared of another catastrophic event happening in the future. They said they want a safe place to raise their family, without the fear of losing their homes. Those whose homes were destroyed in the flooding said they had been offered buyouts for their properties, which would be converted into park spaces. 

Others said they were unsure about splintering the tight-knit community by constructing housing. They value knowing their neighbors and said a new neighborhood could drive division in the community. 

Some residents expressed confusion about what they were voting on. People were discombobulated on whether they were voting on the reserve fund or an expansion plan. Many said they didn’t have access to physical copies of the town’s annual report and that the balance sheet was missing from the booklets on hand. 

Treasurer Joshua Pitts pinned the logistical problem on the difficulties involved in changing hands; he only began the position in November and said he had to tussle with errors in recording assets. 

There was “pressure on me to get it out,” Pitts said. “I did the best I could.”

After two hours of hearing folks out and editing the article, the vote was finally called, with over ⅔ of the crowd agreeing to a voice vote. But residents were split, so a division of the house was called. Folks stood for what they believed in, pink slips in hand. The end tally was a blowout.

Beyond the excitement of Article 13, voters took on several other measures . Articles 1 through 12 were voted in with little trouble, although some residents expressed budgeting concerns due to confirming multiple reserve funds. 

Residents also passed Articles 14, 15, 17, 18 and 19. 

After bumping the budget up by about $2,000, voters passed Article 16 — funding the town’s administrative operations and fire and highway departments with roughly $1.7 million. That’s set to go into effect July 1.

The meeting concluded with an almost unanimous passing of the “Apartheid-Free Community Pledge.” Several folks stood up to express their denouncement of the mass killing of Palestinians by Israel and of U.S. funding of the country.

Several Jewish residents spoke up, like Jamie Spector, who said that condemning Israel for its actions is not anti semitic but rather humanitarian.

Leaving the meeting, many seemed relieved to have a plan for the future, while others were just grateful that people showed up.

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Hardwick Gazette