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WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
Town budget squeaks by
Peter Sloan, owner of Turner Toys, is preparing to pack all the merchandise at his Essex location for a re-opening in Williston in April. OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
Toys for Taft Corners Longtime Essex retailer plans relocation to Finney Crossing BY JASON STARR Observer staff
For the first time since Toys ‘R’ Us went under four years ago, Williston has its own toy store. Turner Toys will fill the last remaining retail spot in the Healthy Living plaza at Finney Crossing. The long-time Essex business, which started as an online-only toy and hobby retailer operating out of the back of a strip mall near the Champlain Valley Fairgrounds, plans to open at Finney Crossing in April. Owner Peter Sloan has begun planning for the boxing, labeling, moving and unpacking of hundreds of items of all shapes and sizes. “It’s daunting,” he said. The store has about 10 different categories of toys for babies through tweens — and even some grown-up kids at heart — from Legos to dolls and stuffed animals, to arts & crafts, model airplanes, trains and educational items. Sloan bought Turner Toys in 2011 when it was in its online-only phase. He started opening up the doors for walkins two years later. The store has moved three times since then, all in Essex, Sloan’s hometown. The current location is at the Essex Shoppes and Cinema (now known as the Essex Experience), where it moved after a stint at Five Corners. “We took this space, and it was wildly more successful than we expected,” Sloan said. “There seemed to be a lack of toy stores around and everyone was like ‘Wow, thank gosh we finally have a toy store.’” The closure of the Taft Corners Toys ‘R’ Us in 2018 changed the local toy retail landscape and provided a boost for Turner Toys, Sloan said. “We’ve been growing year over year tremendously,” he said. “We need more see TOYS page 24
Williston firefighters ask for voter support for the town budget on Tuesday.
OBSERVER PHOTOS BY AL FREY
Opposition shows up, but ‘yes’ vote carries BY JASON STARR AND KARSON PETTY Not since 2008 has there been a Williston town budget vote as close as Tuesday’s. After three weeks of early voting, a full day at the polls and a half-hour of vote-tallying, town officials announced the 971to-788 passage of the town’s $13.1 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget’s $1.6 million (14 percent) increase over the current year — with funding for nine new firefighters and a new energy coordinator — stirred up a level of opposition among residents not seen in 14 years. The budget is estimated to create a tax increase of 15 percent, amounting to an increase of roughly $115 on the annual property tax bill for the median-priced home ($300,000) in Williston.
meet our mission and protect our public.” The hiring process for the new positions is already underway.
Voting Results YES
NO
Williston Budget 971
788
School Budget
3395 2204
School Bond
4040 1530
Voters maintain social distancing at the Williston Armory on Tuesday.
“On behalf of the members of the Williston Fire Department — thank you, Williston,” Fire Chief Aaron Collette said. “The addition of the firefighter/emergency medical technician positions included in the budget will have a direct impact on fire and life safety for the Town of Williston. They will enhance the fire department’s ability to
“We look forward to welcoming them to our emergency services team,” Collette said. In total, 1,774 ballots were cast, 23 percent of the total number of registered Williston voters. John Shook, a retired UPS driver and Williston resident of 32 years, couldn’t
bring himself to say yes to the town budget. “For the first time, I voted it down,” he said. But it wasn’t so much the budget increase that swayed Shook’s opinion. He is more unhappy with the current direction of land development in town. Most benefits of recent development projects go to landowners, he said, instead of the greater Williston community. “Everybody else is sort of getting the shaft,” said Shook. “It’s just not equitable at all.” He feels his responsibility as a Williston resident to give input on town development, but admitted to not attending many planning meetings. “I need to go to those meetings,” he said. Shook did vote yes on the school budget, joining with the 3,395-to-2,204 majority across the Champlain Valley School District’s five towns in supporting the $89 million spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The school budget increases spending by $4.1 million (4.8 percent) over the current year, enough new funding for 11 new educators and administrators, including four full-timers in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion. The tax impact of the school budget for Williston residents is estimated to be an increase of 2 percent — roughly $93 on a median-priced home. In a statement Wednesday morning, the Champlain Valley School Board thanked voters for the financial support. “Our community, once again, came together in support of public education,” it said. “As the CVSD board moves out of the planning and development phase of the budget cycle and into the implementation, your voice remains an important part of the process.” David Howell, a Williston parent, voted yes on both town and school budgets. “I support the energy coordinator role and I want to make sure we’re adequately covered for our fire safety staff,” he said. “All the expenses requested seemed reasonable to me.” see VOTE page 24