VIENNA -- The proposed comprehensive plan took center stage at annual town meeting Saturday.

Shortly after the meeting began, a motion was made to move the state-mandated plan forward for immediate consideration from its position as article 54 on an agenda of 57 items.

Comprehensive Plan Committee member Sue Burns outlined the 21/2-year process of updating the previous plan -- passed in the mid-1980s -- to bring it in line with current state requirements regarding growth and resource management.

Resident and Code Enforcement Officer John Archard spoke in favor of adopting the document, but tempered his support by saying some issues and recommendations of the plan need further work.

As an example, Archard illustrated the need for caution in the regionalization of services by pointing to a warrant article scheduled for consideration later in the meeting that asked for increased funding for the newly regionalized E-911 services.

Another resident called the two-page "Vision for Vienna" included in the document a "fairy tale" and questioned the whether envisioning "active farming" as "an important part of the fabric of the community" was realistic.

Discussion continued with resident Bob Weingarten noting that zoning issues have always been controversial at town meetings. He suggested that dialogue and education on what he called the "Z" word take place before the next comprehensive plan update.

Concerns over various aspects of the plan were met with the reminder that residents would have the opportunity to vote on its implementation and funding. The article to accept the plan was approved.

In elections Friday night, Town Clerk and Tax Collector Connie Smith was re-elected for another one-year term to both positions, as were all three selectmen, who all ran unopposed.

Helen Wilkie won a position on the School Administrative District 9 School Board, ousting incumbent Kevin Umlauf.

As the meeting continued, a motion was made to increase selectmen's salaries, from the requested $5,000 apiece per year to $6,000. A lack of interest in the positions and the need for a cost-of-living increase were cited as the reasons.

The article passed as amended.

Other amended articles included:

n increasing the winter road work budget, from $130,000 to $140,000, to accommodate continued increases in sand, salt and fuel costs; and

n increasing the sum appropriated for the Mount Vernon Food Bank, from $300 to $500.

All other articles passed, including a vote to exceed the state-set LD1 property tax levy limit to accommodate the budget as approved.

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