MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury selectboard on Tuesday agreed to spend $2,200 for an appraisal of the former Bourdon Insurance building and property on Merchants Row.
Board members are considering the acquisition of the Bourdon property as a potential economic development project in downtown Middlebury, which is rebounding from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a tunnel project that has caused noise and traffic detours within the community’s central shopping hub.
The appraisal will be performed by Luke Martin, of Montpelier-based Martin Appraisal Services. Town Manager Kathleen said the town could take the $2,200 from its business development fund.
In other activity on Tuesday,  board members agreed to:
•  Move forward with a plan to address Creek Road flooding (see story on Page 2A).
•  Spend $3,278 for 149 cubic yards of an engineered wood fiber product to cover the base of the new Tot Lot in Middlebury’s Recreation Park.
•  Approve Middlebury Fire Chief Dave Shaw’s request for $15,389.38 to replace turnout gear for his firefighters. The money will pay for six sets of gear (coats and pants) and four pairs of firefighting boots, according to Shaw. The purchase will be made from Bergeron Protective Clothing.
•  Approve, for public hearing on May 25, a series of amendments of ordinances relating to the Regulation of Traffic Lights and Traffic Signs (to establish Franklin Street as a one-way street, westbound from Academy Street to Storrs Avenue), and to the Animal Control Ordinance to provide for the “proper disposal of dog waste.”