Williston
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JULY 17, 2025
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
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Library expansion cost estimate ratchets up Board mulls bond vote BY JASON STARR Observer staff
The cost of a two-story expansion of the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library is now estimated at $15 million. IMAGE COURTESY OF BLACK RIVER DESIGN
Cost projections on a plan to double the size of the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library are on the rise, but a new study reveals the project could garner significant philanthropic support. The Williston Selectboard commissioned CPG Enterprises of Burlington to interview potential local donors and gauge their interest in helping fund the library expansion. The resulting report predicts that several donors would give sums ranging from $1,000 to $250,000, which would amount to between $1.5 million and $2 million in charitable support for the project. That is shy of the town’s fundraising goal of $3.5 million. “We were not able to identify anyone we would call a ‘lead gift’
— a $500,000 to $1 million gift did not materialize,” said CPG Associate Maeve McBride.
“We don’t want to sneak this through on the voters.” Mike Isham Williston Selectboard
If the town were able to raise $1.5 million in donations, that would leave $13.5 million for taxpayers to support. The selectboard is considering seeking voter approval to borrow that amount. John Hemmelgarn, a Williston architect who designed the proposed expansion, said Tuesday that his $13.5 million project cost see LIBRARY page 7
Undercover sting nabs retail thieves The Williston Police Department has a proactive new tactic to disrupt rampant retail theft in Taft Corners. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration last Friday, two police officers joined forces with four sheriff’s deputies and coordinated with several store managers in an undercover sting operation that netted eight arrests. The officers and deputies used the department’s unmarked SUV, wore civilian clothes and,
in some cases, used remote video cameras and tips from employees to catch thieves in the act at several stores, including Walmart, Home Depot and Plato’s Closet. “We had deputies and officers throughout the entire business district,” Chittenden Sheriff’s Deputy Paul McManus said. “It worked out very well.” Seven of the eight arrestees were issued citations to appear in court. One, a first-time
offender, was referred to the local restorative justice center. McManus said future coordinated undercover operations, possibly involving officers from other municipalities, are likely, and he hopes they act as a deterrent to would-be thieves. “It was a success, and I think we will do them in other places, and in Williston again,” McManus said. — Jason Starr
An unmarked Williston Police SUV was part of an undercover sting operation Friday targeting retail thieves in Taft Corners. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY SHERIFF
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