GRAFTON, VERMONT
Results of Special Town Meeting
September 24, 2014
Pursuant to a warning duly posted and recorded, the legal voters of the Town of Grafton met at
the Grafton Elementary School in Grafton, Vermont on September 24, 2014 and took action on
the following articles with these results.
Moderator David Ross called the meeting to order at 6 P.M. and asked the audience to stand for
the Pledge of Allegiance. He thanked individuals who had helped organize the meeting and also
thanked the Grafton Improvement Association who had provided a new wooden lectern, crafted
by Bill Brown, for this meeting and future town meetings.
The Moderator said his role was to help voters accomplish the meeting’s business and he
encouraged voters to raise their hands if they didn’t understand what was happening or didn’t
know how to accomplish something. If voters wished to overrule him, that would be considered
a “Point of Order.” The Moderator announced that the meeting would be conducted in
accordance with the laws of the State of Vermont and Robert’s Rules of Order. He noted that
voters may vote to overrule Robert’s Rules, but not state law. Persons who are not registered
voters cannot vote and cannot address the meeting without permission by the voters and the
Moderator then asked non-voters to stand and be recognized. He asked that voters speak once
only initially, then wait to speak for a second time after all others have had a chance to speak.
Though reluctant to impose a time limit on speakers, the Moderator asked voters to keep their
remarks to within three minutes. He noted that while the reading of short quotes was allowed,
any lengthy reading would require special action by voters. He asked voters to be respectful of
one another, to raise their hands, be recognized by the Moderator, then wait for the microphone
and state their names for the record before speaking.
ART. I The Moderator read Article I and asked for a motion. It was moved by Skip Lisle,
seconded by Sam Battaglino, that the Town of Grafton adopt the Regulating Outdoor Storage of
Junk and Junk Vehicles Ordinance.
Discussion: Selectman Skip Lisle said the article was presented in response to complaints. He
said it was a legal template and therefore appeared to cover many small things. He said that
while the select board most likely wouldn’t be able to change a lot of it, perhaps it could be
changed to address the most severe cases. He explained that owners of junk only had to build
screens to shield it from neighbors and the public. Lisle concluded by saying he hoped that
people would think about their neighbors who may live within these worst-case scenarios.
Kent Armstrong said he didn’t think the issue was just junk cars but that it was the beginning of
zoning. He cited a past case where the town had unsuccessfully tried to have an illegal junkyard
removed. He asked who would decide what’s junk and what wasn’t and said he’d moved to
Vermont and Grafton because of its freedom.
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Bill Kearns said the problem with the proposed ordinance was that the select board chair had said
that not everyone would be cited and that it would be subjective. He said if it were subjective,
one might never know whether one’s in compliance or not.
Selectman Sam Battaglino said the proposed ordinance was not arduous and that he had received
a number of complaints from citizens who had refrigerators and junk cars within view. He said
he thought they had a right not to have to look at that. He said that junk was detrimental to first
responders who had to dodge refuse. He said the ordinance was far from zoning, and that zoning
was out of the question.
Danny Michaelson asked if there were a “kinder” approach and wondered if people who owned
junk might receive help from organizations to help them clean up.
Armstrong said that as a former fireman, junk wasn’t an issue for him. He said that many people
don’t want their junk cleaned up and that people should be able to live the way they wanted.
There being no objection, the Moderator allowed Edward Arnold, who is a non-voter, to speak.
Arnold said he’d lived in Grafton his whole life and that he loved his freedom. He said he had a
big pile of returnable bottles in his front yard to help pay for fuel and that Americans shouldn’t
let their rights go away.
Cathy Siano said that she had offered many complaints as a resident of Parker Hill Road and that
if people drove on Parker Hill Road they would also want to do something about the junk. She
said she took pride in the select board’s action but that in order for anything to happen, an
ordinance was needed.
Battaglino said the proposed ordinance allowed for up to four vehicles but that they had to be
moved out of the sight of the public and that a fence was not necessarily needed. He also talked
about enforcement: he said that selectmen would not drive around, that most of the time the
neighbor would file the first complaint and that it was a long process. He said the Town
Administrator most likely would look first, then the board, then the constable; not one person
would go around arbitrarily. He said the board would certainly have a conversation with the
alleged violator first but that the State of Vermont had certain mandates the Town needed to
follow.
Maureen Parker said she could see 10 or 11 junk cars from her front window and that was her
concern. She said the listers had told her they could do nothing to lower her property’s
assessment, even with a junkyard across the street and an abandoned house next door.
Liisa Kissel said that farm and legitimate work tools would not be affected and that perhaps not
everyone had had a chance to read the ordinance.
Michael Parker asked if village residents or the Windham Foundation would put up with a
junkyard in the current location of the Hunter Gallery on Main Street. He said the property in
question wasn’t owned by someone who’d lived in Grafton his whole life but only four or five
years. He asked that the laws be enforced.
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Eric Stevens said the proposed ordinance was about appearances and not about antifreeze or oil
spilling and agreed that those occurrences shouldn’t be allowed. He said Vermont had a tradition
of allowing people to keep what they wanted on their property, that it’s their land, they pay taxes
and they have the right.
Mary Beth Culver said she empathized with residents who lived near a junkyard because she also
had had to drive past a neighboring junkyard for many years. She said she didn’t think esthetics
were enough reason for her to impose on the rights of others and that it was a slippery slope to
zoning.
Don Dougall said that at the meeting where the select board vote took place regarding the
ordinance there were only four selectmen in attendance and one voted against it. He said there
was only one state inspector so that the odds were that enforcement wouldn’t happen anyway.
There being no objections, the Moderator allowed Henry Moseley, who is a non-voter, to speak.
Moseley said he’d contacted other area towns and that if a town had the ordinance, it wasn’t
enforced. He said that health officers in other towns addressed issues such as leaking oil and
suggested Grafton follow suit.
Battaglino said the state inspector would not come to Grafton without an ordinance. He said that
Grafton’s health officer couldn’t just go around inspecting properties.
Arnold asked where it all stops and said that if people had toxic waste, they should be notified.
It was moved to call the question. Pat Jeziorski asked that voting be by paper ballot (with more
than seven voters in agreement). The Moderator reread the motion and explained the procedure
for voting.
The motion was defeated by a vote of 37 yes votes and 56 no votes.
After reading the results, the Moderator thanked the speakers for their decorum and mutual
respect shown during the discussion. He then adjourned the meeting at 6:56 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
____________________________
Wendy Martin, Assistant Town Clerk
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David Ross, Moderator
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Selectman
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