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DECEMBER 3, 2020
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
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Town manager proposes decreased budget BY JASON STARR Observer staff
The Town of Williston’s projected budget for the upcoming fiscal year shows a decrease in spending of $82,145 compared to the current fiscal year. The $11.5 million projection was delivered to the Williston Selectboard during its meeting Tuesday. The board will work in the coming weeks to finalize the proposal for voter approval at Town Meeting Day in March. Despite the decrease in spending, the budget would require a property tax increase of a half-cent for every $100 of assessed property value, Town Manager Erik Wells said. The decreased spending results from an expected decrease in revenue from local sales, meals and rooms taxes, town service user fees and interest from investments — all affected negatively by the coronavirus pandemic. The budget also projects no growth in the town’s property tax base, or Grand List. Williston’s Grand List has grown steadily over the past 20 years.
Without the increased Grand List, sales tax, interest and user fee revenue that could be counted on in past budgets, more of the burden will fall on the existing property tax base. That’s why the tax rate is projected to increase slightly despite the decrease in spending. Wells reported that local sales tax revenue rebounded in the July-September (third) quarter compared to the April-June (second) quarter — the first affected by the pandemic. Revenue from the spring was $55,000 less than the three-year second-quarter average. Revenue from the third quarter was $64,000 above the three-year third-quarter average. Board member Joy Limoge hypothesized that federal pandemic stimulus funding contributed to the solid summer sales tax numbers. Tax revenue from local hotels and restaurants was about $100,000 (46 percent) less than average over the second and third quarters, Wells said. see BUDGET page 11
This family's display gets more elaborate each year. OBSERVER PHOTO BY AL FREY
Williston lights the way BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Holiday decorating takes on a competitive spirit this season with the Williston Recreation and Parks Department’s inaugural Holiday Decorating Contest. Residents and business owners are encouraged to register their outdoor lighting and holiday decoration displays for drive-by judging by a panel of Parks and Recreation Committee members. Winners will receive prizes donated by contest sponsors Polli Properties, Williston Coffee Shop and Vermont Meat & Seafood. There are three residential categories: traditional/refined, fun/festive and multi-family housing. The business displays will be voted on by residents
for a “people’s choice” award. Recreation and Parks Director Todd Goodwin said the contest is similar to those conducted in neighboring towns and is a way to promote community spirit during a holiday season where typical togetherness will be hampered by the coronavirus pandemic. The idea was sparked by a citizen suggestion, he said. The registration deadline for homeowners and businesses wishing to participate is Sunday (register at www.willistonrec.org). The formal judging period will be Dec. 11-14, and winners will be announced Dec. 17. So far about 30 homes have registered, Goodwin said, located mostly in the Williston Village and Taft Corners areas. The addresses of the see LIGHTS page 2
Ice-out contest coming to Lake Iroquois Tickets on sale Jan. 1
BY JASON STARR Observer staff After a busier than normal summer on Lake Iroquois, lakefront homeowners are planning to maintain public interest in the lake through the offseason with an iceout contest. Tickets will go on sale Jan. 1 at the newly redesigned Lake Iroquois Association website (www. lakeiroquois.org). The contest will mirror ice-out contests at Joe’s
Pond near Danville and in Malletts Bay in Colchester. Contestants purchase a ticket and choose a late winter/early spring date to predict when the lake ice will melt. Prizes are awarded to those who predict the correct date. The summer of 2020 saw more boating and swimming on Lake Iroquois than in recent summers, according to Lake Iroquois Association President Chris Conant. After the spring stay-at-home order from Gov. Phil Scott during the beginning of the pandemic, people were
eager for outdoor recreation, and boating and swimming were popular pursuits. Lake Iroquois, which borders Williston, Hinesburg and Richmond, has a public beach and boat launch off Beebe Lane. “It was probably one of the best summers I remember on the lake because so many people spent time on the lake,” Conant said Tuesday during the Lake Iroquois Association’s annual report to the Williston Selectboard. “I realized how important Lake Iroquois is to
our communities. It has become a destination for recreation and enjoyment more so than ever.” The association seeks $15,000 in funding from the town for the upcoming fiscal year. It has also requested $15,000 from the Town of Hinesburg. Municipal funding helps the association provide a local match for grants to fund water quality improvement projects, Conant said. Some of the measures the association uses to mitigate overgrowth of the invasive species Eur-
asian milfoil were scuttled this year due to the pandemic — such as the annual diver-assistant pulling of the plant from the lake bottom and the placing of mats to cover the plant. The association has applied for a state permit to use an herbicide in the lake next summer to kill milfoil. A previous herbicide application was met with stiff resistance from some members of the lake community and was ultimately denied by the Department see ICE-OUT page 9
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