Hillsborough trustees approve ELVD withdrawals, conditionally OK surplus water account change pending legal review

The Hillsborough Trustees of the Trust Funds voted Dec. 26 to approve three withdrawal requests from the Emerald Lake Village District (ELVD) and to conditionally allow a change to the purpose and use of the town’s Surplus Water Capital Reserve (CR 144) pending review of legal counsel documentation.

Trustee Judy Ann Thibault moved to approve ELVD’s requests for $6,000 from CR 100, $10,000 from CR 184 and $20,000 from CR 154; Trustee Lori Adams seconded and the trustees voted 3–0 to approve the withdrawals. The vote followed a review of the ELVD requests presented at the meeting.

At the same time, ELVD guest Brett Taber told trustees he had received legal counsel advice that modifying the stated purpose of CR 144 to permit use for unplanned emergency expenses — including transportation costs to support ELVD’s water supply — is permissible. The trustees discussed the request to deposit $25,000 from ELVD’s water checking account into CR 144 and a simultaneous $25,000 withdrawal from CR 144 back to ELVD checking to cover 2025 emergency expenses.

Trustee Riché Colcombe moved to conditionally approve the CR 144 purpose modification, the $25,000 deposit and the $25,000 withdrawal, subject to the trustees’ independent review of the legal documentation that Brett Taber provided. The motion specifies that if all trustees respond by email with an "I agree" after reviewing the documents, the modification and transfers will be approved; if any trustee objects after review, the approvals will be void and the trustees will reconvene to discuss next steps. The motion passed with a 3–0 vote.

The trustees did not approve the change outright at the meeting; they required the documented legal opinion for their records and for final confirmation by email before the change takes effect.

The trustees also formally approved the meeting minutes from Nov. 21, 2025, by a 3–0 vote.

Next steps: trustees will independently review the legal documentation provided by ELVD and indicate approval by return email if they agree; otherwise they will call a follow-up meeting.