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OCTOBER 3, 2019
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Fire causes partial evacuation at All Breed Rescue
Park-and-ride gets public vetting
By Jason Starr Observer staff
Observer courtesy drawing
ABOVE: A VTrans drawing shows a 142-space park-and-ride slated for the southwest quadrant of the Interstate 89 Exit 12 interchange in Williston. BELOW: The red dot indicates the location of the facility on a town map.
New design accommodates state police barracks move By Jason Starr
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The Vermont Agency of Transportation unveiled new designs for a 142-space park-and-ride near Interstate 89’s Exit 12 interchange last week in a public comment meeting at Williston Town Hall. The agency has renewed its call for public comments after the project was redesigned earlier this year to accommodate a co-located Vermont State Police barracks. Original plans for the park-and-ride were presented to the public in 2017, but the agency later began working with the Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services to site a new state police barracks on an adjacent parcel — replacing the barracks currently located at the north side of Exit 12. The state acquired the parcel of land next to the park-and-ride parcel in 2018, and traffic engineers began designing a combined access to both facilities from Route 2A. The new design includes widening the road to accommodate left-turn lanes and will require easements from five private property owners on Route 2A. Negotiations on compensation for easements are set to begin this month. Three of the affected property owners attended last week’s meeting. The park-and-ride is slated for an undeveloped parcel to the immediate south of the interstate. It will include electric vehicle charging stations, a bike rack
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and a bus shelter. The access road from Route 2A will pass by the entrance of the new state police barracks. VTrans is claiming an exemption from having to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement for the project under the National Environmental Policy Act. “No significant environmental impacts are anticipated for this project,” VTrans documents state. Impacts on traffic and quality of life are what Route 2A homeowners are concerned with. Williston native Doug Williams lives next to the project site. The access see PARK-AND-RIDE page 3
A washing machine used to clean dog bedding at All Breed Rescue on Industrial Avenue caught fire about 7 a.m. Tuesday, causing the evacuation of staff members and eight dogs. Ten Williston firefighters with two fire trucks responded to a 911 call from staff members and contained the smoke emanating from the machine. No dogs or staff members were hurt and the building is unscathed, said All Breed manager Amanda Wagner. “Everyone is a bit shook up, but everybody is safe, and the dogs are safe. I don’t think it could have been handled any better … Everyone acted really quickly. Any dogs that were in danger were immediately brought outside.” The shelter had about 25 dogs and two staff members in the facility at the time. Wagner was called to the scene at the same time firefighters arrived. She joined staff members and the eight evacuated dogs in one of the shelter’s yards. Firefighters continually updated staff throughout the ordeal, advising them that the dogs that remained inside did not need to be evacuated. “The f iref ighters were so thoughtful, and that really made a big difference for us,” Wagner said. “We love our dogs and that was our main concern.” The shelter has two washing machines that clean the towels, blankets and pillows used to create a comfortable place for rescue dogs to sleep. Wagner said it was one of the belts on the machine that caught fire. She hypothesized that the age of the machine or the amount of use it gets led to the fire.
“Now we are worried about the other one,” she said. In the meantime, the inability to keep up with the wash is a concern. “We rely on blankets and towels, and being able to wash them is extremely important, so we’re trying to figure out what to do,” she said. The Air National Guard Fire Department staffed a fire engine at the Williston firehouse to cover any additional calls during the incident, said Williston Fire Department spokesman Prescott Nadeau. Firefighters were on scene at All Breed for about an hour. Williston Police handled traffic control on Industrial Avenue, and Nadeau said a fire department hose was damaged by multiple cars driving over it. “We were disappointed,” he said. “That fire hose is often our lifeline and is supplying us with water to help bring the situation under control. The hose is not strong enough to withstand vehicles driving over it. “(We) would like to remind people to use caution around fire apparatus, especially if you see a fire hose in the roadway.”
Observer courtesy photo
The Williston Fire Department reported that a fire hose was damaged Tuesday when drivers on Industrial Avenue drove over it.
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