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OCTOBER 6, 2022
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
CSWD pursues new recycling center Voters asked to approve $22 million in debt financing BY JASON STARR Observer staff General Election ballots are going out to all registered voters through the mail in the coming days. But one $22 million question won’t appear. The Chittenden Solid Waste District’s (CSWD) request to take on $22 million of debt to finance a new recycling center on Redmond Road in Williston is not eligible for the universal mailed balloting provision the Legislature first approved as a pandemic emergency measure in 2020, then made permanent in 2021. The law allowed the state, citsee CSWD page 21
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
ON THE BALLOT “Shall the Board of Commissioners of the Chittenden Solid Waste District be authorized to issue general obligation bonds or notes … not to exceed Twenty Two Million Dollars ($22,000,000) for the purpose of (i) funding capital improvements related to the planning, constructing, and equipping of a new materials recovery facility; (ii) funding a debt service reserve fund; and (iii) paying for associated costs of issuance; it being intended that the source of repayment shall be waste management fees and revenues collected by the District and, to the extent necessary, assessments to member municipalities in accordance with the District’s Charter?”
Redhawks fly in the face of the Hurricanes CVU’s Evan Lynds leaps high to break up a Hartford pass attempt during the Redhawks’ game vs. the Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon in Hinesburg. CVU won the game 31-19. For more photos, see page 11. OBSERVER PHOTO BY AL FREY
Voters faced with universal broadband question BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Joining Williston in voting whether to form a Communications Union District this November is Essex, Essex Junction, Shelburne and South Burlington. All five of these municipalities’ governing boards approved a special election to coincide with the Nov. 8 General Election to determine whether to incorporate what’s be-
ing called the Chittenden County Communications Union District (CUD). If a majority of voters in two or more of the towns/cities vote yes, the district — a standalone governmental entity under the authority of Vermont State Statute (Title 30, Chapter 82) — would be formed. Other Chittenden County municipalities could join it later through selectboard approval. The Chittenden County Re-
gional Planning Commission worked with the Vermont Community Broadband Board over the summer to promote the concept to the various town boards. There are nine existing CUDs in Vermont. Their goal is to hook up every address in the state with high-speed internet. Currently in Chittenden County, only about a quarter of homes and businesses have fiber internet capable of the fastest upload and download speeds. The
majority of homes and businesses have either a mid-speed cable connection or slower. Countywide, there are about 300 addresses that have no internet access, including about a dozen in Williston. “High speed internet providers are more likely to be interested in a single entity covering multiple towns with a greater number of addresses than a single town,” explained Rob Fish, deputy direc-
ON THE BALLOT “Shall the Town of Williston enter into a Chittenden County Communications Union District with one or more municipalities, under the provisions of 30 VSA chapter 82 for the purpose of improving access to broadband services?”
see CUD page 21
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