Board of Trustees

The Essex Junction Trustees is the governing, legislative body for the Municipality of the Village of Essex Junction. The five-member board is elected at large within the Village. After each Annual Meeting, one of the Trustees is elected by the other Trustees to the office of Village President.  The Village President is the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and presides at the Trustee meetings. The three-year terms of the Trustees are staggered to provide continuity.

Board Members & Contact Information

George A. Tyler, Village President gtyler@ essexjunction.org 802-310-8215
Elaine H. Sopchak, Vice President esopchak@ essexjunction.org 802-324-2546
Daniel S. Kerin dkerin@ essexjunction.org 802-879-8343
Lori A. Houghton lhoughton@ essexjunction.org 802-879-6701
Andrew P. Brown abrown@ essexjunction.org 802-876-7555

The Village Trustees welcome your questions, concerns and suggestions.  Please feel free to contact any Trustee at the email or phone number listed on this page.

Please be aware that the Trustees are not able to respond to emails as a group.  If you send an email to all five Trustees, it is mostly likely you will receive a response from only one Trustee.  This is because there are laws that prevent elected officials from conducting business outside of a public meeting.  Responding to a group email is an example of this.

If you wish to discuss a concern with the entire Board of Trustees, the best way to do this is either to contact the Village Manager to have your concern placed on an upcoming meeting agenda, or to attend a Board of Trustees meeting and address the Board at the beginning of the meeting.

To put an item on a Board agenda, call the Village office at 878-6944 and speak to either Patty Benoit or Village Manager Pat Scheidel.  To speak to the Board of Trustees at a meeting, be there when the meeting starts (usually at 6:30 p.m.)  Immediately after the Pledge of Allegiance, the Village President will ask the audience if anyone wants to speak about something that isn't on the agenda.  That's when you can bring up your concern.

Summary of Last Meeting

The Village Trustees met on Tuesday, September 13th.  Highlights from the meeting include:

The following topics were brought up during the public comment period:

-Chris Chiquoine brought up noise concerns regarding recent events at the fairgrounds.

-Anne Whyte reported concerns about parking and deliveries at 4 Pearl Street.

-Carol Bennett asked a question regarding flower planting in the Village right of way.

-Janet Wilson reported a problem with signage blocking visibility on School Street.

Old Business:

-The Trustees voted to table the adoption of the Land Development Code.  The following changes will be made prior its adoption:  

                -Change the language to disallow six story buildings in the Village Center, and have specific language to state that taller buildings will be allowed in the Light Industrial Zone, provided the criteria are met and a waiver granted. 

                -Add language about building height no higher than that permitted in the district above preconstruction grade unless approved by the Planning Commission.

                -Add language about separate preliminary plan and final plan reviews for planned unit development (PUD) applications.

-The Trustees voted to approve a resolution to: “Support and advocate for the recommendation of the Rec Governance Study Committee to create a Union Municipal Recreation District. The Board of Trustees resolve to warn the December 13, 2016 vote and urge the Selectboard to do the same.”

New Business:  

-Elaine Sopchak gave a report on research she had completed on special taxing districts.

-The Trustees approved a request from NECR to do work in the Village right-of-way in order to improve rail crossings in the Five Corners area.

The meeting can be viewed in full here: https://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/essex-junction-trustees-159. 

Archive of Minutes

Most meetings are available to watch on www.cctv.org