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Selectboard sets May 19 library revote APRIL 9, 2026
Residents’ petition forces reconsideration BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Williston voters will have a chance to either re-affirm their support for a library renovation and expansion or overturn their prior approval during a Special
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Town Meeting set for Tuesday, May 19. The selectboard set the revote date during their Tuesday meeting, compelled by a successful petition drive from residents. The petition was signed by more than the required 435 registered voters (at least 5% of the electorate). Under state law, the petition forces a revote within 60 days of its submission at Town Hall, which
‘Slow down’
happened March 30. A slim majority of voters — 1,262 to 1,215 — approved a $13.9 million bond to finance the library expansion and improvements to the Village Green during Town Meeting Day in March. Cindy Roy, who helped lead the petition drive, said petitioners are not necessarily opposed to an expansion of the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, but they want
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smaller-scale options to consider. The project that was approved at Town Meeting would add a second floor and roughly double the size of the library. “It was a $14 million project — there was no other option,” Roy said during Tuesday’s selectboard meeting. “(Petitioners) want to do something on a smaller scale that is designed to fit Williston Village. It’s historical, it’s welcoming and
it’s quaint and that’s what we love about our village.” The Library Board of Trustees recommended the original expansion plan after months of gathering public input. “The community was clear that it wanted more community space,” Library Board of Trustees chair Charity Clark said, noting see LIBRARY page 3
On the bunny trail
Traffic calming
considerations for Old Creamery Road BY JASON STARR Observer staff
From white lines to rumble strips to cautionary signs to speed bumps, Old Creamery Road residents now have a suite of options to consider in their quest to slow traffic and increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Engineer Nicole Fox on Tuesday presented three phases of possible additions to the road — which doubles as a commuter cutthrough from Route 2A to Oak Hill Road and a residential neighborhood. Her presentation was part of a study of options the town initiated last year with the help of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. Fox said 15% of drivers on the road travel more than 10 mph over the posted
35 mph speed limit. There have been an average of roughly two car crashes per year over the past six years, one resulting in an injury, she said. Fox recommends a first phase of measures that include narrowing the travel lanes with newly painted shoulder lines and painting “optical speed bars” — thick lines that get progressively closer together giving drivers the illusion that they are accelerating. She also recommends intersection awareness signs placed before each of the several intersecting roads and speed feedback signs that flash “Slow Down” to cars exceeding the speed limit. These are an alternative to signs that reflect a driver’s actual speed because some reckless drivers attempt to increase their speed in reaction to
Isabel Johnson, above center, reaches for an egg at the annual Easter Parade and Egg Hunt sponsored by the WillistonRichmond Rotary Club on Saturday on the Village Green. Jeremy Papazian, right, poses with his find, the Rotary Egg, that earns him a special prize. Many people gathered, below, for the event. See more photos on Page 16. OBSERVER PHOTOS BY AL FREY
see TRAFFIC page 3
lunch & Dinner
Dine In, takeout, Family Style Open daily from 11am 27 Market Street, Williston 802.764.0097
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