St. Johnsbury Select Board Causes a Stir

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Created on Wednesday, 05 December 2012 20:51

Written by Katelyn Zenie

ST. JOHNSBURY - At the selectboard meeting Monday night, Chairman Jim Rust said "I've never seen a member go to the extremes that he went to like that."

His statement came in response to a prepared statement read by Co-Chairman Alan Ruggles.

 Ruggles, a member of the St. Johnsbury selectboard for less then two years, voiced his deep concerns about the chairman's views on town operations and the current state of St. Johnsbury as a whole.

"I was raised in Saint Johnsbury, and lived here for most of my forty-six plus years. The town represents many things to me, but most importantly, it's home. I'm fortunate to have many friends, both here in town, across the nation, and around the world. Many of them have contacted me, and questioned what is happening to our town. Sadly, so do I," Ruggles said in his opening statement. 

Ruggles went on to state that taxpayers' have a right to access and comment on town documents. "During Vermont Security Of State Jim Condos's presentation, Mr. Condos gave everybody a copy of his documents. If you remember that, his fourth slide stated 'officers of government, trustees, and servants of the people, it is in the public interest to enable any person to review and criticize their decisions, even though such examinations may cause inconvenience or embarrassment.'"

Ruggles further pointed out that people and businesses in the community have asked questions to the board and to Chairman Rust, only to be ignored or ridiculed.

St. Johnsbury's woes appear to have started with the dismissal of former Town Manager Ralph Nelson last spring.  The position and several others including the zoning administrator, economic development director and the director of public works, have yet to be filled with a permanent replacements.

Earlier this April, Jim Rust announced publicly that he was going to apply for the position of town manager.  There is speculation that Rust has been self-appointing and self-identifying himself as dual town manager and town select board chairman since that time. He has received support from his fellow selectman Rod Lamotte, who believed Rust should have been appointed town manager automatically. 

Alan Ruggles does not share the same beliefs as Lamotte about Rust being the town manager however, saying "When we, as a board, decided to fire the town manager, I commented to Mr. Rust that he need not be in the office every day, as many off the townspeople already felt he was there too much. I also cautioned him to weary of making unilateral binding decisions for the town. Since April I've shuttered to think of how many times items of this type have taken place"

Although Rust claimed earlier in the year that he would be applying for the position of town manager, he has yet to put in his resume and had no comment when asked about why. The select board plans on working together to fulfill the requirements of the town manager while Rust finishes up his term as chairman of the board, which ends in March.