Williston
ECRWSS PRSRT STD US Postage
PAID
Permit #15 Williston,VT 05495 POSTAL CUSTOMER
OCTOBER 19, 2023
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
‘The best outcome for this piece of land’
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
Spending ARPA’s millions
Selectboard presented with extensive list of funding requests
The 15 acres fronting Mountain View Road on the Glaser property, above, would be preserved as public land under a development plan recently approved by the planning commission. Consultant Ken Belliveau, left, and landowner Jack Glaser, right, participate in a planning commission meeting earlier this year at Town Hall. OBSERVER FILE PHOTOS
Planning commission endorses Glaser housing development BY JASON STARR Observer staff After more than a year of deliberations, the Williston Planning Commission has given its blessing to a housing development plan on the 100acre Glaser parcel at the corner of Old Stage and Mountain View roads. Property owners Jack and Caitlin Glaser, with the help of former Williston Planning and Zoning Director Ken Belliveau as a consultant, have applied for development approval through the town’s rarely used “specific plan” process. The process calls
Charity Sale
25
Saturday, October 21st
% OFF
STOREWIDE
“Our involvement will end if the specific plan isn’t approved and the town will be working with a developer whose objective is to maximize profit.” Jack Glaser Property owner
for the Glasers to gift about half the acreage to the town in exchange for altering land use regulations to expedite the construction of 109 homes. The commission’s approval came earlier this month on a 6-1 vote, with member Chapin Kaynor opposed. The approval ends the commission’s involvement with the project and forwards it to the selectboard for consideration. The project would also need development review board approval before construction could begin. “I think the applicant has really made their case and earned the opsee GLASER page 8
Readers of a certain generation may remember a film where Richard Pryor’s character is tasked with spending $30 million in 30 days (“Brewster’s Millions” 1985). Divide the dollar amount by 10 and multiply the time frame by 60 and you have the situation the Town of Williston finds itself in. The town received $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds in 2022 and was given five years to spend it. The town has already spent $1.2 million of the federal funds, and town administrators have sought public input about how to spend the remaining $1.8 million. Suggestions have come from many sources. Leaders of organizations like the Williston Community Food Shelf, the Green Mountain Bike Club and the senior housing nonprofit Cathedral Square explained their needs during an Oct. 3 public hearing; the town’s advisory boards have submitted written wish lists; residents have sent emails about where to direct the funds; and Town Manager Erik Wells, with his unique insight into the town’s needs, has compiled his own list. As one might imagine, the list of suggestions overwhelms the available spending power. Discretion over the funds ultimately rests with the selectboard. Wells delivered a 42-page report with all the suggested uses to the board on Tuesday. “It’s not very often — I don’t know if we’ll see it again in our lifetime — that the federal government says, ‘here’s $3 million, Williston. Do with it what you will,’” Wells said. Board members struggled initially with how to prioritize the suggestions. One guiding principle has been to spend ARPA funds on one-time expenses, rather than on items that create ongoing expenses. The board is required by federal regulators to determine how to spend the money by the end of 2024, according to Wells, and to tap out the account by the end of 2026. “This is a multiple meeting discussion for sure,” he said. — Jason Starr
Donate $15 to the Vermont Foodbank on Saturday at Lenny’ s Shoe & Apparel...
Save 25% storewide when you shop during Lenny’s Charity Sale on Saturday, October 21! Discount in store on in-stock, regular priced items only, can’t be applied to prior sales. Excludes exclusive Darn Tough items, Yeti, Sitka & Gun Safes.
Barre, Williston, St. Albans, Plattsburgh M-F 10-6, Sat 10-5
LennyShoe.com