ECRWSS PRSRT STD US Postage
PAID
Permit #15 Williston,VT 05495 POSTAL CUSTOMER
RECIPE INSIDE! APRIL 21, 2022
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Snow causes widespread power outages
in business. But in other cases we need tree crews to come in … and the lines or the poles are damaged and need to be replaced. “A storm like this is the worst cirThe tree limbs of Williston were uncumstance for us in terms of keeping the der extreme stress Tuesday morning. lights on.” Countless branches broke under the The snow ramped up in the early weight of about 3 inches of wet snow, morning hours Tuesday, and outages snapping power lines began in the pre-dawn and ensnarling trafhours. VEC crews were fic. North Williston ‘A storm like this is the assessing the various Road, South Road and outage points to give worst circumstance Bradley Lane were all customers estimates of closed for the majorfor us in terms of when power would be ity of the day due to restored. downed power lines, keeping the lights on.’ “We’re not sure unand thousands of resiAndrea Cohen til we can really assess dents woke up without Vermont Electric Coop it,” Cohen said. “When power. you have this many inOutages in the Vercidents, it takes a while mont Electric Coop (VEC) system perto get them back on with the crews we sisted into Wednesday, with roughly 300 have.” VEC members still without power at About 1,800 Green Mountain Power press time. In total, about 900 Williston (GMP) customers in Williston lost power homes get power through VEC. as well, according to company spokes“The heavy snow really causes trouwoman Candace Morgan. As of Tuesday ble for us. It gets on tree limbs and they afternoon, 49 homes served by GMP break and fall on lines,” said VEC Memwere still without power. ber Relations Manager Andrea Cohen, “Our crews … will work around the adding that spring buds on trees collect clock to get the power back on,” GMP Dimore snow and add weight. “Some of rector of Operations Eric Lemery said in them are easy fixes. We can just remove a news release. the trees and check things and we’re back
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
BY JASON STARR Observer staff
The snowstorm that swept through the area Tuesday caused many trees to lose their limbs, like this one at the Williston Golf Club and wreaked havoc on some of the early blooming spring flowers. OBSERVER PHOTOS BY AL FREY
Redistricting slices off southwest Williston
1,500 residents placed in new House district with South Burlington BY JASON STARR Observer staff Because of Williston’s population growth, reflected in the 2020 census, its representation in the Legislature has changed. Gov. Phil Scott signed new legislative districts into law on April 6. The changes will be in effect starting with this August’s party primaries. Williston has roughly 2,000 more residents than it did when legislative districts were last considered after the 2000 census. The growth means that its existing House district — with two at-large legislators elected to represent the whole town — is too populous, and a portion of town needed to be sliced off and grouped with a neighboring municipality in a new legislative district.
“We did not have a choice. There was no way to stay one district with two representatives,” Town Clerk Sarah Mason said. The town’s Board of Civil Authority held meetings this spring to give input to the Legislative Apportionment Board, which was working under the guidance of the Vermont Secretary of State. The local sentiment was to group a portion of Williston with a fellow Champlain Valley School District municipality, such as Hinesburg. Ultimately, though, the maps the Legislature approved and Gov. Scott signed into law created the “Chittenden 8” House district, which groups about 1,500 Williston residents on the southwest side of town with about 2,700 South Burlington residents. “They picked a quadrant that they thought would be the cleanest way to hack off part of our people,” Mason said. “There are
not a lot of ties to South Burlington socially or community-based … but that’s what they decided on and that’s the way the cookie crumbles.”
‘It’ll be an adjustment, but this is how things will be for the next 10 years.’ Sarah Mason Williston Town Clerk
The rest of town (about 8,500 people) is in the Chittenden 2 district and will continue to elect two House representatives. The two seats are currently held by Rep. Jim McCullough and Rep. Erin Brady. The line separating the two districts divides portions of Oak Hill Road, Old Creamery Road and Route 2A down the middle, so that people living across from
each other on opposite sides of the street will be in different legislative districts. Mason plans to send postcards alerting residents in the new Chittenden 8 district of the change. She expects there to be some hard feelings, especially at the polls on election day. “It will be confusing for people,” Mason said. “Some people will be up in arms and they’ll feel alienated and probably upset and wonder why they can’t vote for (familiar candidates) … They’ll probably have to vote for someone from South Burlington who they don’t even know. “It’ll be an adjustment, but this is how things will be for the next 10 years.” Williston remains whole on the Senate side, but is losing three Senate seats in the new law. The town had been represented together with the rest of Chittenden County by six at-large senators. The new law creates a “Chittenden Southeast District”
that includes Williston, Richmond, Hinesburg, St. George and several other neighboring municipalities, which will be represented by three senators. Sen. Ginny Lyons is the only Williston resident among Chittenden County’s current six-pack of senators. The reduced district size will mean fewer constituents, and perhaps a sharper focus on the constituents the county’s senators will still represent. Lyons is planning to run for election this year in the new Southeast Chittenden County district. “It will be a different dynamic,” she said. “It will allow for me to focus more on those areas. I very much look forward to that.” The town clerk’s office will begin accepting petitions from candidates to be on the August primary ballots on April 25 with a May 26 deadline. Early voting starts in June.