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FEBRUARY 4, 2021
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
A Town Meeting Day scramble
Selectboard reverses course on mailing ballots BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Trying to get the five communities of the Champlain Valley School District on the same page for Town Meeting Day has been especially challenging this year. The communities are bound together by a single school budget, voted on each March in five different locations, then collated for district-wide results. This year, the Legislature granted unprecedented flexibility to communities to conduct Town Meeting Day to protect public health in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Act 48 allows towns to limit in-person voting by mailing ballots unsolicited to all registered voters and to postpone their Town Meeting date — historically the first Tuesday in March — to later in the spring. The school district piggybacks
on Town Meeting Day elections in Williston, Shelburne, St. George, Hinesburg and Charlotte, relying on five different town clerks to distribute school ballots alongside town ballots. “I strongly urge local officials to take advantage of the flexibility this law affords by mailing each registered voter a ballot for upcoming elections,” Gov. Scott said upon signing Act 48 into law last month. Williston Selectboard member Jeff Fehrs had a similar message to his colleagues during a Jan. 19 board meeting, noting that universal ballot mailing led to record turnout in the November general election. “Shouldn’t a goal of ours be to maximize participation in the democratic process?,” he said before moving to direct the town clerk to mail town and school ballots to all Williston voters. “All towns (in the see TOWN MEETING page 2
Macaig, St. Hilaire seek reelection to selectboard Terry Macaig and Trustees with KathGordon St. Hilaire leen Deluca and Steve have filed with the Shepard both running Williston Town for the spot. The reClerk’s office to run maining positions for re-election to the elected at Town Meetselectboard. No other ing Day on March 2 candidates filed bewill be Lauren Koumfore the Jan. 25 deadjian (uncontested) for line. The incumbent a three-year term as pair will be on the lister, and Stephen Town Meeting Day Terry Macaig Perkins (uncontested) ballot in uncontestfor a five-year term on ed elections. Macaig the Board of Library seeks a two-year term Trustees. and St. Hilaire a threeTo request a year term. ballot for early votAlso running uning, call the Town contested are Josilyn Clerk at 878-5121 or Adams and Brendan email smason@wilMcMahon, who both liston.org. Ballots seek to continue repcan also be requestresenting Williston on ed on the Secretary the Champlain Valley of State’s website at School Board with www.mvp.vermont. new three-year terms. Gordon St. Hilaire gov. In-person votThe only contesting will take place ed spot on the Town Meeting Day at the National Guard Armory ballot will be to complete a five- next to Town Hall, 7846 Willisyear term on the Board of Library ton Road on March 2.
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When will it melt?
A clock will be placed on the ice on Lake Iroquois in mid-February as part of the inaugural Ice Out Challenge. PHOTO BY SHANNON KELLY
Iroquois Association starts ‘Ice Out’ challenge as clean water fundraiser BY CAMILLE SWEET Special to the Observer The Lake Iroquois Association has kicked off its first “Ice Out Challenge” where contestants try to guess the exact moment a cinder block will break through the ice during the spring thaw. Entries will be accepted through March 1. The cinderblock will be set up on the lake in mid-February. The association is hoping for $1,000 in ticket sales, with half the pot going to the person who guesses the time closest to when the ice breaks and half going to the Lake Wise program, which educates lakefront landowners on how to limit runoff from their property into the water. The association hopes to make this friendly competition an annual event. Shannon Kelly is a member on the Lake Iroquois Association board and an environmental manager at the Vermont National Guard. His passion for Vermont culture and creating clean water systems influences the work he does in environmental conservation. Kelly’s wife grew up on Lake Iroquois, spending summers at her family camp on the Hinesburg side. Kelly has been visiting Vermont for nearly two decades.
“I have had the privilege of going to Lake Iroquois to swim or fish or recreate and spend time with family,” said Kelly. After the Lake Iroquois Association amended its bylaws to allow non-lake residents to join the board, Kelly jumped at the opportunity to join the association that he holds close to his heart. The cinder block will be placed on a pallet with a small flag for visibility. A rope will be tied to the pallet and cinder block assembly and looped around a clock, so that as soon as the pallet goes under the surface, the clock will disconnect and stop the time, recording the exact time that the ice breaks. Tickets are available on the Lake Iroquois Association website, www.lakeiroquois. org. As of Monday, 490 tickets have been sold, with community members guessing, down to the hour, when the ice will break. The idea for the Ice Out Challenge came from Joe’s Pond in West Danville, which is famous for its Ice Out fundraiser. Many lakes around Vermont hold similar challenges. “I see the enthusiasm that Joe’s Pond has generated,” Kelly said. “They raised $12,000. It’s a really fun way for people to par-
ticipate in the middle of winter. It’s human nature to participate in games of chance.” The Lake Wise program, where half the money raised will be donated, is part of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. The association wants to incentivize property owners to take extra steps to keep the lake clean and limit runoff. “It’s designed to influence landowners, particularly folks that live near the shoreline of lakes around Vermont, to participate in establishing vegetative buffers, doing what’s called low impact development, just some design to protect the health of the lake by slowing runoff,” Kelly said. The goal of the Lake Wise program is to establish a new culture of landscaping on shorelines that helps protect lakes and waterways. The Ice Out Challenge is an opportunity for community members to donate to a cause that positively impacts their watershed, as well as brings a bit of friendly competition to winter days. Camille Sweet is a reporter with the Community News Service, a collaboration with the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.