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AUGUST 6, 2026
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New Faith in restorative justice Williston program coordinator takes helm after countywide consolidation BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Margaret McNurlan speaks at the June 30 meeting of the Champlain Valley School Board. She is among a group of Hinesburg residents alleging Open Meeting Law violations at the meeting. COURTESY MEDIAFACTORY
‘We’re asking them to start over’ Hinesburg residents file Open Meeting Law complaint seeking to invalidate school board’s artificial turf approval BY JASON STARR Observer staff A group of Hinesburg residents are charging the Champlain Valley School Board with Open Meeting Law violations following its June approval of an agreement to convert one of the athletic fields at CVU from grass to artificial turf. Bristol attorney James Dumont, representing a citizens group known as Responsible Growth Hinesburg, filed a formal complaint with the school board last Friday. It refers to an 8-3 board vote to accept a “gift agreement” and move forward with a privately-funded turf field at the high school. Dumont called the vote “a travesty” and said the board’s June 30 meeting “clearly violated Vermont’s Open Meeting Law in several important and highly prejudicial respects.” The board’s vote followed a closed-door deliberative session in the middle of the meeting. see CVU page 12
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Faith Brutus, a Champlain College graduate and UVM master’s degree recipient who most recently worked as guest services coordinator at the Harbor Place homeless shelter in Shelburne, started in July leading the Williston office of the Chittenden County Community Justice Center. She starts as the office is completing a transition from a separate restorative justice center to a satellite office of a countywide organization. The transition began under Act 180 in 2024 as the Legislature sought to expand restorative justice (as an alternative to punitive justice) statewide and bring the program under the direction of the Attorney General’s Office rather than the Department of Corrections. The new entity, headquartered in Burlington, officially launched last month, with satellite offices in Williston and South Burlington. The Williston office is a welcoming space, with soft lighting and cozy seating co-located with the Williston Police Department. From there, Brutus will oversee restorative justice meetings, guiding criminal offenders through an alternative to the justice system that seeks to work with community volunteers and victims to repair the harms of a crime. “The whole point of the program is to create both accountability and repair instead of blame and punishment,” explained Rob Michalak, a program volunteer for the past five years. “It’s a much higher level of justice, and I think it creates far better outcomes for the responsible party,
the affected party and the community at large.” Michalak helped see the Williston Community Justice Center through the transition into the countywide program. He plans to continue serving on restorative panels, but he has yet to meet Brutus.
McSweeney, stepped down shortly after the passage of Act 180 before the consolidation process began. The center’s other staffer, Mandy Ferland, participated in the transition, but stepped down in June. According to Rachel Jolly, Director of the Chittenden County Community
Faith Brutus started in July as Williston’s restorative service coordinator under the Chittenden County Community Justice Center based in Burlington. OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
Brutus senses similarities in her new role to her previous job at Harbor Place, where she “helped people navigate homelessness in Chittenden County.” “It’s different work, but meeting people where they are is the hallmark, and navigating with people,” she said. Under the countywide model, Williston’s office will be able to offer additional services than it had in the past. The Williston CJC’s former executive director, Cristalee
Justice Center, the regional structure will allow more victim services to be offered in Williston. Known as “parallel justice,” these services include safety planning, financial assistance and emotional support to crime victims even if no charges are filed and no perpetrator is apprehended. The countywide organization plans to hire a new parallel justice coordinator to expand the county’s
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see JUSTICE page 12