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Photos: Montgomery's unusually packed town meeting

People walk up steps into a town hall building
Brian Stevenson
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Voters file into the Montgomery Town Hall for town meeting on March 4, 2025.

The Franklin County town of Montgomery saw lively interest in items related to supporting the town's proposed wastewater system.

"This is the largest turnout we've seen in ages," said Charlie Hancock, chair of the Montgomery Select Board.

Tosca Smith, a former select board member and codirector of the Heart Full Kitchen in the basement of the town hall, was splitting her time between the meeting upstairs and the kitchen downstairs.

She was concerned that due to the numbers she had not prepared enough turkey, gravy, biscuits, and cake for the free luncheon afterwards. 

"I've been coming to town meeting in Montgomery for 28 years and I've never seen one this big," Tosca said.

The wastewater-related items passed in floor voting.

Vehicles are parked on the side of a street with one side in a snow bank
Brian Stevenson
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With limited parking around Town Hall in Montgomery, attendees were forced to improvise.
A man stands with a microphone before a seated crowd
Brian Stevenson
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¿ªÔÆÌåÓý
State representative Allen "Penny" Demar from the Franklin-7 district answers questions before the start of Town Meeting in Montgomery.
Viewed through a balcony railing, a man stands at the front of a room at a podium
Brian Stevenson
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Jacob Racusin, Montgomery town moderator, center, works to keep the public comment and debate of town meeting in order at their local town hall.
People sit in a balcony
Brian Stevenson
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¿ªÔÆÌåÓý
Attendees of Town Meeting Day in Montgomery look on from the balcony inside Town Hall.
A man sits at a table and speaks into a microphone
Brian Stevenson
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¿ªÔÆÌåÓý
Montgomery Select Board Chair Charlie Hancock addresses a resident's request for information during Town Meeting Day.
A couple stand at a balcony railing with their kids
Brian Stevenson
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¿ªÔÆÌåÓý
Kristin and Daniel Khan, local business owners and parents of three kids, attend their town meeting in Montgomery. Just an hour earlier Daniel was nominated and elected to serve his first three-year term on the select board.
A child's socked feet walk near colorful magnetic tiles on the ground
Brian Stevenson
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Magnetic tiles are a parent's best friend on Town Meeting Day.
A person drops a slip of paper into a box
Brian Stevenson
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¿ªÔÆÌåÓý
A resident of Montgomery casts his ballot by paper vote on Town Meeting Day on March 4, 2025.
Food shelf directors motivated to serve their community amidst heated debate in Montgomery, Vermont

Tiffany Salyards, left, and Tosca Smith, codirectors of Heart Full Kitchen, which serves as Montgomery's food shelf, prepare a turkey gravy and biscuit luncheon for the attendees of Town Meeting Day, taking advantage of two large turkeys donated to them from a local farmer.
Brian Stevenson
/
¿ªÔÆÌåÓý
Tiffany Salyards, left, and Tosca Smith, codirectors of Heart Full Kitchen, which serves as Montgomery's food shelf, prepare a turkey gravy and biscuit luncheon for the attendees of Town Meeting Day, taking advantage of two large turkeys donated to them from a local farmer.

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