Cavendish sets sewer rates, addresses Greven Field work and tax grievance process

By Lorien Strange
©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC

This month’s Cavendish Select Board meeting was short and sweet — in sharp contrast to last month, when a discussion about a possible ordinance to increase ATVs’ access to town roads had the Select Board’s meeting room packed to the door. Most of the attendees seemed to support the drafting of an ordinance, according to the minutes.

Since that meeting, the Select Board has received four letters and a phone call from Cavendish residents expressing concern over the potential consequences of such a move, citing instances of verbal abuse and threats they say they’ve received from local ATV users.

Monday night’s agenda did not include the ATV issue, although it is likely to arise at the next meeting, Town Manager Richard Chambers said. A new ordinance would require a draft proposal and a public hearing before it could be approved.

Since the flood of 2023 made Cavendish’s Greven Field unusable as  a sports field, the town and several volunteer groups have been trying to decide what to do with it. It floods frequently, so long-term maintenance as a sports field would likely just be ruined again.

In that light, last week the town tore down the Green Monster, the beloved baseball backstop that had been ravaged by the flood. Groups of volunteers led by the Black River Action Team and Margo Caulfield have launched several efforts to clear the field of debris.

Thanks to their efforts, within the next week, Greven Field will enter its next phase of cleanup — goat mowing. As discussed at previous meetings, the town is contracting with Slippery Slope Goats in Landgrove to clear the gnarlier bits of the field. Afterwards, the town can manage the rest with mowing.

The goats have collars equipped with GPS and mild impulse collars to track them. Town Manager Richard Chambers said that the goats also will be surrounded by an electric fence.

Also on the agenda was raising town sewer rates across the board by 4.5%. Chambers said that last year’s 7.5% increase had been “decent” but not quite enough to remedy the underfunded sewer budget. Even with this latest increase, it’s “still a pretty tight budget,” he said. 

Select Board member Sandra Russo mentioned that the Select Board had discussed lowering the base rate and raising the per 1,000 gallons rate to help lower water and sewer rates for fixed income residents. She asked if this had been incorporated into the new rates this year. Chambers said no, but those kinds of changes could happen in the future, once more updated meters are installed and the town has more data to work with. “I was a bit optimistic about how quickly we could roll out the new meters,” he said. Of the 400 meters that are to be installed, 100 have been thus far.

The new rates as approved are:

• Metered (base): $108.14 per quarter for 10,000 gallons
• Metered (variable): estimated $3.20 per 1,000 gallons
• Unmetered: $113.74 per quarter
• Inactive: $39.32 per quarter
• Historical Society: $16 per quarter

In the Manager’s Report, Chambers announced that an assessor will be at the Town Office on Friday, June 26 to hear grievances. All grievances, however, must be received in writing by 4:30 p.m. that day. Click for the application for grievances or find it on the town website. It can either be emailed to lois.smith@cavendishvt.org or mailed to the town office at 37 High St., Cavendish VT. Residents can also call Smith at 802-226-8049 to schedule an appointment. 

Chambers also thanked the town for the Memorial Day celebration despite the weather and said that Hillcrest Cemetery soon will be getting a white split rail fence funded by an anonymous donor “It’ll look pretty sharp,” he said.

The Select Board also approved several annual liquor licenses, re-appointed Andy Amstutz as Town Auditor, and approved a contract for the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department contract for $62,400 — based on a price of $75 per hour with 16 hours per week.

This is slightly less than the $67,221 budgeted for sheriff services this fiscal year, which Chambers said will allow for some wiggle room in case of emergencies. While Chambers and Ludlow Police Chief Jeffrey Warfle had tried to arrange for Ludlow police to increase police patrol coverage in Cavendish, Chambers said that they haven’t been able to arrange a contract because it would be too expensive for Cavendish: “Moneywise, we’re just not there yet.” He added that Warfle said that Ludlow police would still respond to emergency calls in Cavendish even if a sheriff was in the area.

The Cavendish Select Board’s regular meetings are at 6:30 p.m. on the second Monday of each month, at the Town Office, 37 High St.