Williston
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Permit #15 Williston,VT 05495 POSTAL CUSTOMER
DECEMBER 21, 2023
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Onward and upward in Taft Corners
New building would be area’s tallest BY JASON STARR Observer staff
At six stories and nearly 90 feet, a building proposed for a parcel just south of the intersec-
tion of Route 2 and 2A in Taft Corners would be the tallest structure in Williston — the first mixed-use building reviewed under new zoning regulations approved by the selectboard earlier this year. Property owner Jeff Mongeon said the 59 apartments
will loosen the area’s housing market and help growing businesses like his attract and retain employees. Mongeon is founder and owner of Polly insurance agency, located in an existing three-story building on an abutting parcel. see TAFT CORNERS page 3
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
A six story building planned near the intersection of Routes 2 and 2A will be the tallest in Taft Corners. RENDERING COURTESY OF WILLISTON PLANNING AND ZONING OFFICE
CJC gets funding thumbs up from Richmond, Hinesburg BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Flood redux
Two-plus inches of rain combined with an autumn’s worth of melting snowpack to overwhelm the banks of rivers and streams on Monday, flooding areas of Williston that flooded in July, and areas that didn’t. As in July, the Winooski River spilled onto fields near the Essex-Williston town line, overrunning North Williston Road. The road was closed Monday and Tuesday. The Winooski also flooded River Cove Road, which remained closed to traffic on Tuesday, as well as the lower section of Governor Chittenden Road near the Richmond town line. Governor Chittenden had reopened by Tuesday morning. Van Sicklen Road and Sunset Hill Road didn’t flood in July, but on Monday, water from Muddy Brook was flowing across Van Sicklen and water from Sucker Brook was overrunning Sunset Hill. Both roads were closed Monday and reopened Tuesday morning. OBSERVER PHOTO BY RICK COTE
Town leaders in both Richmond and Hinesburg appear willing for the first time to help fund the Williston Community Justice Center. The restorative justice group operates out of Williston Police Department headquarters but serves both neighboring towns, adjudicating crimes with a restorative approach that keeps offenders out of the punitive justice system. It also provides a host of mediation and educational services. The center is primarily funded through the Vermont Department of Corrections, but the Town of Williston is anticipating $72,000 of expenses in the coming fiscal year not covered by the state, according to Town Manager Erik Wells. In addition, the future of state funding is in doubt, Wells said. “I’m reaching out to see if Richmond and Hinesburg would be interested in providing … budget allocation to support the work of the WCJC,” Wells wrote in a November memo to his administrative counterparts in Richmond and Hinesburg. Wells proposed a cost split based on the population of the three towns. That would cost Williston $38,000, Hinesburg $18,000 and Richmond $16,000. In selectboard meetings held after Wells’ request, both Richmond and Hinesburg officials said they value the Community Justice Center’s service and expressed a willingness
to contribute financially. “We should be paying our fair share of this,” Richmond selectboard member Jeff Forward said in a November meeting. “It’s a really valuable service.” Hinesburg Police Chief Anthony Cambridge, who is serving as Richmond police chief on an inter-municipal agreement between the two towns, said Hinesburg and Richmond have, combined, referred more cases to the center than Williston in recent months.
“It’s a really valuable service.” Jeff Forward Richmond selectboard
“We really are using them quite a bit,” Cambridge said. “It really is something we need.” In Hinesburg, selectboard members discussed the funding request at their Dec. 6 meeting. Town Manager Todd Odit disagreed with the population-based formula, saying the funding formula should also take into consideration how much each town is using the center. However, the center does not currently have accurate data on usage broken down by town, according to Richmond Town Manager Josh Arneson. “The town does get benefit from it, and we should contribute something,” Odit said. “What that contribution is, I don’t know.”