Committee for Animal Control Meeting Minutes- DRAFT
Town of Halifax, Vermont
August 12, 2025
6:00 PM at the Halifax Town Office
CALL TO ORDER
Sue Kelly called the meeting to order at 6:07 pm. Other Committee members present were Liz Moore, Jennie Crocker, Kim Lehner and Chris Lehner. Member of the public present was Nancy McCrea.
NEW BUSINESS
Elect chairperson and vice chairperson
Sue Kelly was unanimously voted to serve as chairperson. Kim Lehrer was unanimously voted to serve as vice chairperson.
Establish who will take meeting minutes – rotating or assigned?
It was agreed that the taking of minutes would rotate between committee members with Sue Kelly taking this meeting’s minutes. Kim Lehrer will take minutes at the committee’s next meeting.
Review of Open Meeting Law
Sue Kelly shared a summary of the Vermont Open Meeting Law that she had compiled from online sources, primarily the VLCT and Secretary of State’s office.
Timeline to get an ordinance approved at 2026 annual town meeting
Sue Kelly shared a proposed timeline from the drafting of a town-wide survey through adoption at Town Meeting in 2026.
Discussion of opinion survey design and implementation
The Committee discussed and agreed upon the wording of three questions to be distributed to the public as an online survey using Survey Monkey. It was agreed that responses will be limited to a Y/N format.
Discussion ensued about how to minimize the risk of individuals responding multiple times, thus skewing the results. Options included requiring the respondent to enter their name or email address or IP address. Each option has limitations and some people might wish to respond anonymously. The Committee agreed that IP addresses might minimize the risk of more than one response per person.
Discussion ensued about how to make the survey accessible to people who don’t use the internet or prefer not to fill out an online survey. It was agreed that the option of filling out a paper survey at the town office and possibly additional locations (post office, community hall) will be provided.
Discussion ensued about the cost of conducting a survey. Printing and mailing postcards would cost over $500. In order to avoid this expense, the Committee agreed to look into sending a link to the survey to all email addresses on file with the town, as well as publicizing via notices on the town website and at the town office, post office and community hall. A final decision will be based on whether there are enough email addresses on file to make the survey representative of town opinions regarding animal control.
Schedule next meeting
Next meeting will be at the Town Office at 4:30 PM on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.
OLD BUSINESS
None
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 7:12 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Kelly
Recording Link: https://youtu.be/zocjKGdaj8I
