Williston
LIVING GREEN
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PAGES 9-11
What about the Green?
APRIL 23, 2026
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
The proposed library expansion project has significant implications for Williston’s Village Green
For more information A series of informal drop-in sessions have been scheduled for residents to chat about the project with Town staff, library trustees and project architects leading up to the Special Town Meeting. Drop-in sessions are scheduled for the community room of the library at the following dates/times: • Wednesday, April 29, 1-2 p.m. • Monday, May 4, 6-7 p.m. • Saturday, May 16, Noon-1 p.m. Questions may also be directed to Library Director Kevin Unrath and/or Town Manager Erik Wells at the contact information listed below.
BY SUSAN COTE Observer staff The site of town band concerts, ice cream socials and outdoor library activities, Williston’s Village Green is important to town residents. When voters cast their ballots before or on May 19 during the special town meeting that will determine whether the library expansion and village green project proceeds or is reconsidered, proposed changes to the Village Green may be part of their thinking – either in favor or against. A scoping study conducted in 2023, which examined options to address Williston’s community, recreation and library programming space needs, concluded that the best option for the library was to expand in its current location. Advantages include reducing cost, keeping it as a vital element of the life of the village, and continuing its beneficial proximity to Williston Central School. The challenge was to devise a plan that would meet the library’s current and future needs, while also prioritizing the vitality of the Village Green. In June 2024 the DAML Schematic Design Advisory Committee, charged with making recommendations to the library’s board of trustees, began work on defining a plan that built on the
John Hemmelgarn, who served as project architect for the Library expansion and renovation/Village Green project, answers questions about plans for the addition and new library entrance from interested residents at an information session on Saturday. OBSERVER PHOTO BY SUSAN COTE
work of the scoping study. UPSIDES FOR THE GREEN
Once expanding in the current location was identified as the preferred option, said Library Director Kevin Unrath, the committee set about considering how to minimize the creation of more impervious surface and avoid creating anything that wouldn’t fit in with the overall historic nature of Williston village. That prompted them to look at the green and the landscape architecture as part of the project. Karla Karstens, library
trustee and chair of the advisory committee, noted that the decision of where to build the library addition was driven in large part by the desire to minimize encroachment on the green. Of the expansion options posed by the scoping study, the committee focused on the one that added the least to the footprint of the library and that did not significantly change the appearance of the library when viewed from Williston Road. The chosen plan places the addition to the back of the current building
and moves the entrance to face Williston Central School. “What we wanted and what we envisioned – and I think the architect did a really good job of this – was to try to make [the green] a place where people would go and where people would use it,” said Karstens, “not just on days like the 4th of July and Green Up Day.” “We thought that by improving the green and adding some extra things there, it would make it even more of a resource for the town,” said Karstens.
BREAKFAST, COFFEE, LUNCH OR DINNER 8AM-9PM DAILY DINE-IN / TAKE OUT / ONLINE ORDERING
• Kevin Unrath, Library Director: director@damlvt.org 802-878-4918 • Erik Wells, Town Manager: ewells@willistonvt.org 802-876-1168
PARKING SOLUTIONS
One of the challenges with keeping the library in the village, said Black River Design project architect John Hemmelgarn, was parking. The solution incorporated in the project removes the diagonal parking along Library Lane, which requires backing into the street, and adds a lot between the new entrance to the library and the school. While the new lot would displace lawn area, the parking spots along Library see GREEN page 4
258 Market Street, S. Burlington
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