The March 12 Town Meeting will be the first held at the Bennington Town Hall upstairs meeting room for nearly four decades. The space, which formerly doubled as the town gymnasium, is now Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant thanks to the addition of an elevator. 

At Monday night’s deliberative session, residents approved 28 warrant articles for Town Meeting, with none altered or removed. The town operating budget is up $172,000 to just over $2 million, mainly due to cost increases, including health and dental insurance for town employees, that are out of the town’s control. 

In addition to the operating budget, warrant articles included annual appropriations for police, fire, rescue and highway department vehicles, as well as funds for road rehabilitation, sidewalk maintenance, bridge repair, safety equipment for the fire department and repairs to the library. The complete warrant is available at townofbennington.com. 

Town Moderator John Cronin III reported there are many vacancies in town positions and that while the filing period had passed, candidates can run as write-ins. 

“At this point we have many more vacancies than candidates who have come forward. Please encourage anyone you know to get involved and serve on some of these boards,” Cronin said. 

Bethany Craig, representing the Trustees of the Trust Funds, noted that the numbers in the printed version of the budget were slightly off, and provided updated numbers on every reserve, trust and capital fund referred to in the session.

Resident Anne Marie Wilson asked if the library reserve funds could be used to make the library accessible. 

“Because right now, I can’t go to the library,” she said. “Are there any plans to make the library ADA-compliant?”

G.E.P. Dodge Library Director Leslie MacGregor said the library is working toward ADA compliance, but that the reserve funds can only be used for maintaining the existing building. Craig said a separate fund would need to be created specifically for ADA modifications to the library.

“We have had some generous donations in the last few years and we do have a plan for ADA compliance,” MacGregor said. “The library will need an addition for an elevator to the second floor.”

MacGregor noted that the library will deliver materials to patrons needing assistance and has online resources for people who are not able to access the building. 

Several residents expressed concern about the maintenance of Bennington’s sidewalks, particularly in icy conditions. Resident Robert English asked if sidewalks would be wide enough for wheelchairs in the future, and Select Board Chair Jim Cleary responded that “for sure, in the future, they will be.”   

Wilson asked why Bennington had not applied for the Safe Streets grant recently given to Antrim, and Cleary said the board would look into it. 

Bob Hayden of Lyndeborough, a representative of Standard Power, and David McKenzie of the Community Power Committee answered questions about Article 18, which proposes Bennington adopt a community power plan. Similar warrant articles will be on the ballots in Greenfield and Francestown.

After presenting the last nine warrant articles, which all propose support for charitable organizations, including CASA, The Grapevine, Community Volunteer Transportation Company, the Child Advocacy Center and Cornucopia  Project, Cleary raised the issue of combining the nine articles into one.

“Our volunteer vote-counters are all getting older, and by the end of the night, counting all those votes for those nine articles is a lot,” Cleary said.

Several volunteer vote-counters expressed support for the proposal, and Cronin and Craig said it would need to be looked into further. 

Police Chief Jason LePine explained the critical role of the Child Advocacy Center in police investigations.

“When we are working on a case that involves young children, we use their services. We don’t interview young children,” LePine said. 

Melissa Gallagher, director of the Grapevine Family & Community Resource Center in Anrim, presented data on how many Bennington residents had received assistance from or participated in Grapevine and Avenue  A Teen Center programs. 

“We had a 50% increase in Bennington residents participating at The Grapevine since the previous year. We served 225 residents,” Gallagher reported. 

The Grapevine services include financial assistance with groceries, gas, clothing, emergency vehicle or home repairs, social services, tax preparation, parent and child programs and home visits.

As the meeting adjourned, Joe MacGregor proposed that longtime town employee Joyce Miner be added to the Roll of Honor plaque in the Town Offices. Cronin said it was too late to add the proposal to the warrant for this year, but noted that the Select Board could propose to change the verbiage on the plaque for the following year to honor Miner. 

After adjournment, Cronin urged all residents to attend the ConVal deliberative session Tuesday night, as well as the community forum for all nine ConVal towns Feb. 8. Joe MacGregor also encouraged people to attend both meetings and become educated on the reconfiguration proposal, which would result in the closure of Bennington’s Pierce Elementary School if passed.