BELLOWS FALLS-On Feb. 20, U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, got to do what he says is "a part of my job that I love, talking to regular Vermonters."
His morning meeting with over a dozen "regular Vermonters" at the Bellows Falls Municipal Fire Station had the added bonus of Welch handing over $598,000 to aid the Rockingham Municipal Fire Department build a new fire station with expanded emergency services in Saxtons River.
Welch is the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit. He recently announced that he secured $58.68 million in federal funds to support 38 Vermont projects, including several projects in southern Vermont, following the passage of 11 annual appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026.
He nominated project recipients through the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) process, a bipartisan evaluation to select projects that "can promote economic development, infrastructure, public safety, education, health care initiatives, and other worthy investments in communities across the country," according to the Senate Committee on Appropriations' website.
"Congressionally Directed Spending projects direct taxpayer dollars right back to projects that strengthen and improve our cities and towns," Welch said.
Several southern Vermont communities will benefit, in addition to Bellows Falls, to the tune of over $6 million. Other projects in the area benefiting from the federal funding include $3.25 million for the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation to create a new industrial park in Brattleboro that Welch says, "will spur economic development and add up to 350 new jobs in the next seven years."
Woodstock will receive $1 million to upgrade its 40-year-old main wastewater treatment facility. Hartford will receive $774,000 for its police department to upgrade its emergency communications infrastructure, modernize its emergency response capabilities, and improve dispatch capacity.
And $373,000 is earmarked for Turning Point of Springfield to address substance misuse in rural, high-risk communities by expanding peer recovery coaching and bringing community organizations together to engage with the issue.
"A new infusion of federal funds will soon help Vermont create new jobs, update outdated infrastructure and emergency response systems, and support folks recovering from substance misuse," Welch said.
Fire and EMS consolidation moves ahead
Welch said he was happy to provide help for the recent consolidation of three fire departments into the single Rockingham Fire and Rescue Department (RFRD), with the three fire stations and EMS headquarters, in Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, and Rockingham, respectively, under the management of one organization.
One of the issues moving the consolidation was that the Saxtons River fire station had been condemned. Its location in a flood zone has made finding a new site imperative.
Attending the meeting with Welch was Shaun McGinnis, chief of the consolidated fire departments; former Saxtons River Volunteer Fire Department Chief Art Smith; EMS Chief Nick Cushman, and several other members of the fire department and emergency services.
Also attending were Selectboard Chair Peter Golec, Vice-Chair Bonnie North, board member John Dunbar, Village Trustee Paul Obuchowski, and other town officials.
Welch acknowledged that there are "a lot of things happening" in Rockingham, and he applauded the town for making "the decision to make Saxtons River a better community."
"What's more important than the fire service?" the lawmaker asked.
Citizens assume that when "they call the fire department, someone will show up," any day or any time, said Welch, who relished the idea of getting tax dollars to improve fire and emergency services.
"Nothing makes me feel better," he said.
McGinnis said the town appreciated Welch's support. Golec said that the town has a building in Saxtons River in mind "that we can upgrade to what we need."
Welch said he appreciated what a challenge it had been to the community to consolidate three departments into one.
"That's hard," he said. "People are invested in their local organizations."
While the fire department personnel at the meeting agreed that the transition had been difficult and emotional, Smith was optimistic.
"It's working for most of us," he said.
Dunbar said that there was "a lot of emotion and history" in the consolidation discussion, but town officials held several public meetings and "just continued to put facts out there."
At the 2025 Annual Town Meeting, with a large voter turnout, the article to consolidate the three fire departments into one passed by a margin of nearly 2 to 1.
"I can't thank the board enough for sticking to their guns for consolidation," said longtime firefighter Tony James. "It was a long time coming. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome."
Cushman told Welch that while the EMS department has faced staffing issues, 30 EMS members have now been certified in the town.
"I'm very grateful for the merger that has happened," Cushman said.
Welch said that getting better payments to EMS services from Medicare was one of his legislative goals. Medicare often doesn't pay EMS for on-scene responses - only when a patient is transported to a hospital.
Welch said that the reality is that on-scene services save Medicare "a lot of money" if EMS personnel can help a patient avoid hospitalization.
"For me it's about helping community services," Welch said. "It's absolutely important."
Three Selectboard candidates want to revisit consolidation
Voters will get a chance to be heard again on the consolidation issue in the Selectboard races for a single, three-year seat and a pair of one-year seats to be decided in voting on Tuesday, March 3.
There are eight candidates for the three seats, and a candidates' forum was held on Feb. 22 in the Rockingham Free public Library.
Three of the candidates, William Crowther, David Barrett, and Larry White, are all former members of the Rockingham Volunteer Fire Department (RVFD).
Of those three, only Crowther showed up for the forum, and he spoke for a few minutes at the beginning when the candidates were introducing themselves.
He said he was there representing the RVFD and that a vote for himself, Barrett or White would be a vote to shut down a town project restoring the historic depot train station into a commercial property and a vote to reinstate the RVFD as a separate entity.
After making a couple of allegations against the current Selectboard, Crowther said that Barrett and White had not come because they felt it would be a hostile crowd.
Crowther then stated that he could see "hostile faces" in the crowd and he left, without answering any questions from or interaction with the moderator or the audience.
Two days before, speaking to Welch, Selectboard member Dunbar recounted what he described as one of the most impactful statements at the public meetings that took place before the 2025 merger vote.
Amid the contention, one citizen stood up.
"When my life is on the line, I want one fire department," he said. "I don't want people fighting over who's in charge."
This News item by Robert F. Smith was written for The Commons.