In Charlotte Union vote passes by large majority
LIBERTY
DARR STAFF WRITER
Following a secret ballot vote on Sept. 25, employees in Charlotte have voted overwhelmingly to form a union.
In April, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 93 filed a petition with the Vermont Labor Relations Board looking to become the exclusive bargaining representative for a unit of 10 town and library employees — the town planner, zoning administra-
tor, planning and zoning assistant, assistant town clerk, volunteer coordinator at the senior center, along with five employees of the library.
According to an update from AFSCME Council 93, those workers voted 9-1 to join the union, citing the need for job stability, greater respect and a voice on the job.
Judith L. Dillon, executive director of the Vermont Labor Relations Board, said that there
See UNION on page 16
Hinesburg could face budget cuts, higher taxes, or both in 2026
PATRICK BILOW
STAFF WRITER
During the last two selectboard meetings, Hinesburg town manager Todd Odit expressed grave concerns about the town’s fiscal year 2026 budget.
In a memo to the board, Odit
said that temporary revenue sources will no longer be available in fiscal year 2026 to offset the cost of routine operations in Hinesburg. He warned that services would need to be cut, or
See HINESBURG on page 13
Hinesburg ponders local tax
PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER
Several Hinesburg citizens turned out at the selectboard on Oct. 1 to ask questions about the town’s proposed local option tax.
The option tax is a proposed 1 percent increase in sales tax that could raise as much as $175,000 in Hinesburg during a time when costs of service are outpacing revenue, according to local government leaders.
The public will vote on the tax during this year’s General Election on Nov. 5. Should it pass, the tax would go into effect on April 1, 2025.
The 1 percent tax could apply to meals, alcoholic beverages and lodging in Hinesburg. Voters will ultimately decide which of these categories, if any, the tax would apply to.
During last week’s meeting, questions about the proposed tax centered around the specifics of which items would be taxed within those three categories.
For starters, the tax would not include fuel sales.
Groceries are also excluded from the tax, although non-grocery items at stores like Lantman’s Market would be included, should the tax pass this November.
Online sales generated in Hinesburg, an overlooked source of local sales tax revenue, would be included under the tax as well.
Shelburne Museum hosts exhibit lecture
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Celestial Railroad,” published in 1843, offers a skeptical and satirical view of the era’s new means of transport. With a demon manning the engine, and a reassuring conductor named Mr. SmoothIt-Away describing the sights, the train sets out from the City of Destruction, across the Valley of Despond, on its way to the Celestial City. In this illustrated lecture at Shelburne Museum, “The Celestial Railroad: Nathaniel Hawthorne and American Art,” Stanford professor Alexander Nemerov, one of America’s leading art historians, learn how Hawthorne’s views match — and do not match — the visions of the railroad in the paintings of American artists of his era. The talk takes place on Friday, Oct. 18, 6-7 p.m.
Essentially, the option tax would apply to any item that Vermont currently collects sales tax on.
A full list of products is available on the state’s website. The selectboard complied with requests to include the list on Hinesburg’s
website along with other information about the option tax.
Members of the public also asked whether Hinesburg has enough visitors to carry the
burden of the option tax, which is its intention, or if the tax would burden locals.
One person called the tax “regressive” and suggested that
Visit shelburnemuseum.org for more information.
the town might be better off raising property taxes, which at least fluctuate based on property value. With the option tax, everyone would pay a flat rate.
PHOTO BY ANDY DUBACK
Charles Louis Heyde, “Steam Train in North Williston, Vermont,” ca. 1856. Oil on canvas, 20 9/16” x 35 3/16” in. Collection of Shelburne Museum, gift of Edith Hopkins Walker.
Candidates face off for three Chittenden Southeast Senate seats
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
Two Republicans and one independent are looking to upset three incumbent Democrats in Chittenden County’s Southeast Senate district this November, hinging their campaigns on affordability in a year that saw a 14.5 percent average property tax hike across the state.
Bruce Roy, R-Williston, ran uncontested in the primary election and received 1,527 votes from the towns that make up the Chittenden Southeast Senate district. This is his second try at a Statehouse seat after an unsuccessful run for the House in 2022.
After a four-year tour in the U.S. Air Force, he returned to Vermont and joined IBM as an engineer, continuing his military service as a member of the Vermont Air National Guard. He had a 30-year career at both organizations, retiring as a colonel from the Green Mountain Boys in 2008. He also previously served his alma mater, Essex Westford School District, on its school board.
“One of the things that’s got me cranked up was when the property taxes jumped up, and I saw all the veto overrides that were happening of Gov. Scott,” he said. “I said, ‘I have to give myself back to Vermont for a few more years to see if I can’t fix this.’”
Republican Gov. Phil Scott, along with former Republican Gov. Jim Douglas, have both endorsed Roy, who said he will make it a priority to support Scott should he be elected.
Taylor Craven, I-Shelburne, a Vermont native who graduated from the University of Vermont with a civil engineering degree, took over his family’s property management business in the Deerfield Valley in 2019. He’s also worked for large engineering firms like DuBois & King, focusing on municipal infrastructure projects. He has previously served on the Colchester Planning Commission.
Craven did not participate in the August primary election but garnered enough signatures to enter the General Election race.
The self-proclaimed “socially liberal but fiscally conservative”
candidate says the Statehouse’s Democratic supermajority has gone unchecked for too long.
“I could bring good recommendations of where we could streamline processes to make it easier on property owners, homeowners and just small businesses in general,” he said.
“One of the big catalysts that pushed me to run was the statewide property tax increase.”
Rohan St. Marthe, R-Jericho, also did not participate in the Republican Party primary election in August but was nominated as a General Election candidate by the Chittenden County Republican Committee. He ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2022.
St. Marthe did not respond to emails.
Together, incumbents Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Shelburne, Sen. Thomas Chittenden, D-South Burlington, and Sen. Virginia Lyons, D-Williston, have served in the Statehouse for about 40 years combined. Lyons, chair of the House Committee on Health
Ginny Lyons
Kesha Ram Hinsdale
Thomas Chittenden
Bruce Roy
Taylor Craven
Roman St. Marthe
CRIME & COURTS
Hinesburg Police Blotter: Oct. 1-7
Total Incidents: 49
Arrests: 1
Traffic stops: 16
Oct. 1 at 11:30 a.m., police investigated suspicious activity on Hollow Road.
Oct. 1 at 5:48 p.m., an officer assisted first responders with a medical emergency on Hollow Road.
Oct. 2 at 9:20 a.m., officers responded to a two-car motor vehicle crash on Route 116.
Oct. 2 at 11:05 a.m., a motor vehicle complaint on Shelburne Falls Road was investigated.
Oct. 2 at 6:10 p.m., a noise complaint was reported on North Road.
Oct. 3 at 8:57 a.m., a loose dog was returned to its owner.
Oct. 4 at 1:30 p.m., police investigated suspicious activity on North Road.
Oct. 4 at 4 p.m., found property was turned into the police department.
Oct. 4 at 5:30 p.m., littering was reported on North Road.
Oct. 4 at 10:15 p.m., someone reported damage to a car on Richmond Road.
Oct. 5 at 7:54 a.m., a loose dog
Police seek information
Police are looking for a woman they say broke into a car on Church Hill Road in Charlotte on Oct. 3 at 10:42 a.m. and stole two credit cards that she subsequently tried to use at Kinney drugstore on Shelburne Road in Burlington. The woman was captured on video and may be accompanied by a man in a tinted black Dodge Durango with a Vermont registration. If you have information about this incident, call Trooper Shamir Exantus at 802-878-7111 or at shamir.exantus@vermont.gov.
was turned in at the police department and reunited with its owner.
Oct. 7 at 8:05 a.m., police investigated a theft on Sherman Hollow Road.
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Oct. 7 at 8:31 a.m., a theft on Magee Hill Road was reported.
Oct. 7 at 8:45 a.m., a theft on Magee Hill Road was reported.
Oct. 7 at 12:50 p.m., police investigated a fraud.
Oct. 7 at 4:40 p.m., an officer investigated the report of suspicious activity on Cattail Lane.
Oct. 7 at 6:23 p.m., officers responded to a domestic dispute on Mechanicsville Road. Brenda Prim, 58 of Williston, was cited for simple assault.
Oct. 3 at 5:41 a.m., two vehicles crashed near Silver Street and Lewis Creek Road in Hinesburg. Police say one of the drivers fell asleep and sideswiped the other vehicle. Both drivers were injured, but not seriously, police said. Both vehicles were totaled. Williston police, Hinesburg fire and rescue and Charlotte fire and rescue assisted at the scene.
Oct. 4 at 8:14 p.m., police arrested Jonathan Handy, 36, of South Burlington, for driving under the influence, second offense, after a single-car crash on Lime Kiln Road in Charlotte. Handy had left the scene, but police caught up with him in a driveway down the road from the accident scene.
COURTESY PHOTO
State’s failure to turn over evidence complicates Seth Brunell murder case
ETHAN WEINSTEIN VTDIGGER
Failure by prosecutors to properly turn over crime scene evidence could further postpone an already delayed murder trial.
Seth Brunell, 45, is accused of killing Fern Feather, a transgender woman from Hinesburg, in 2022 in Morristown.
Currently, his second-degree murder trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 15.
At issue in the case is prosecutors’ failure to turn over a 3D crime scene model. Brunell’s attorney, Jessica Burke, argued at a hearing Wednesday that the evidence violation should lead Lamoille County Superior Court Judge Mary Morrissey to dismiss the case entirely.
“At the absolute bare minimum,” Burke said, the judge should exclude the model and the state’s expert witness who interpreted the model’s data from the impending trial. She called the case “the most disorganized” she’s ever experienced.
At an earlier hearing this week, prosecutors alleged the state had turned over the evidence in question to Brunell’s previous attorney. But by Wednesday, the state discovered that hadn’t occurred.
Instead, the state had turned over a model from a different case, court documents showed.
“I truly apologize for that misunderstanding,” Aliena Gerhard, Lamoille County’s State’s Attorney said at Wednesday’s hearing. She’s prosecuting the case alongside Assistant Attor-
ney General Sophie Stratton. Morrissey said she would issue a decision as soon as possible, given the trial is set to begin in less than two weeks. Already, the court has summoned 600 jurors, she said.
The crime scene model in question is called a “FARO scan,” named for the company behind it. The model of the Brunell crime scene included 106 million measurement points, according to Vermont State Police testimony. The defense is particularly interested in the model’s depiction of blood spatter.
Burke said her client does not want to postpone his trial. But if the court determines the state can use its 3D model and the expert witness as evidence, she did not rule out the possibility that she would request a delay so she could
hire her own expert. Brunell pleaded not guilty to the murder charge in April 2022. He has been held without bail since.
According to investigators, witnesses reported that Brunell and Feather had been spending time together since meeting each other while Brunell was hitchhiking a few days before the killing.
On April 12, Brunell used Feather’s cellphone and called the victim’s friend, telling that person he had killed Feather, according to investigators.
Morristown police officers arrived minutes later and found Feather lying face up and bloody on the side of the road and Brunell sitting in the car.
Brunell, according to the charging documents, told offi-
cers Feather had attacked him after making a sexual advance, which Brunell said he had rejected because “I wasn’t gay.” Officers reported that Brunell had no injuries nor “indications of an altercation,” the filing stated.
Feather’s killing led to an outpouring of grief and condemnation across Vermont, with advocacy groups and the state’s top officials calling for an end to transphobic rhetoric.
The year prior, Gov. Phil Scott signed a law banning the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense, a legal strategy in which suspects justify violence by citing their victims’ sexual or gender identity.
In addition to the murder count against him, Brunell was charged with attempting to escape from the St. Johnsbury prison in April 2023.
Five changes to the Addison gas pipeline are unsafe
Guest Perspective
Jennifer Decker
Vermont Gas Systems is misleading the public by telling the selectboard, planning commission and landowners that the new Public Utility Commission proceedings regarding five substantial changes to the Addison Natural Gas Pipeline are a mere technicality.
The company inaccurately states that the commission has found that, despite these changes, the pipeline “was adequately constructed and safe.” Vermont Gas fails to mention in April, the Vermont Supreme Court vacated and reversed the findings that the proposed CPG changes satisfy the safety standards of the law. The court ruled that these findings were “made in haste,” were “especially problematic” and were made without any opportunity for participation by towns or the public.
Because of the Supreme Court ruling, the Public Utility Commission will soon open proceedings to determine if the changes should be allowed. The pipeline, which runs from Colchester to Middlebury and straight through Hinesburg, is not safe.
One of the reasons it’s unsafe is that — and this is unbelievable — no engineer supervised the construction. This is one of the five changes that the utility commission ruled had happened. In 2018, in Lawrence, Mass., a natural gas pipeline exploded, killing one person and injuring dozens, and 30,000 people had to be evacuated.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the explosion occurred partly because that pipeline was not constructed under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer. A Vermont engineer has already testified that, because the pipeline lacked such supervision, these changes mean that it is not safe.
The highest authority in the U.S. on pipeline accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board, has ruled that this supervision is necessary for a gas pipeline to be safe.
During construction, Vermont Gas Systems repeatedly violated other safety standards (probably because there was no supervising engineer). For example, the utility commission found that soils were not properly compacted at road and driveway crossings, jeopardizing public safety. Compaction was explicitly required by the written plans, but Vermont Gas Systems didn’t follow its own plans.
The lack of compaction is the second of the five changes. Vermont Gas Systems says it will make up for this by having engineers check on the safety of all public road crossings, but it has refused to have its engineers check on the safety of the many private road and driveway crossings.
The Public Utility Commission also found that Vermont Gas Systems violated standard pipeline safety procedures by laying the pipe directly on trench bottom until September 2016 when most of pipeline had been completed. This is the third of the five changes.
The gas company says not to worry because it coated the pipeline with a corrosion resistant coating, and it runs internal tests of the pipeline. But the coatings were supposed to be inspected before burial and Vermont Gas Systems’ inspectors reported on 45 different days that a single inspector was responsible for three to five different crews, so pipeline may have been buried without having been inspected. And the federal Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Administration, which sets minimum federal standards for pipeline safety, states that while these measures are useful, they cannot substitute for strict adherence to safety standards during construction.
The fourth and fifth changes were that the pipeline was supposed to be buried in a 5-footdeep trench so that the top of the pipeline was 4 feet deep within the Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO) high-voltage
line right-of-way. But in part of New Haven in 2016, Vermont Gas Systems did neither. It didn’t bury it in a trench, and the pipeline was buried only 3 feet deep. Reliable testing in 2019 with a probe (rather than with a GPS) showed that it had risen another 7 inches so that it was only 29 inches deep, far less than the 4 feet that the utility commission
See GAS PIPELINE on page 6
Charlotte ballot features lots of JP choices
To the Editor:
If you are a registered Charlotte voter, you have likely received your ballot in the mail. Be sure to look at both sides of the ballot. On the back side, 21 people are running for justice of the peace positions. Note that you can vote for no more than 12. Why so many? And what is justice of the peace and what do they do?
Justice of the peace is a position created and defined in the Vermont Constitution. Every town or city in Vermont elects them to serve vital functions in the community. The number in a municipality depends on the population. Since Charlotte’s population is between 3,000 and 5,000, we can elect up to 12. Candidates are nominated by the major political parties, like Democrat, Republican and Progressive, in an official local caucus meeting. Individuals may also become a candidate as an independent by collecting signatures on a nominating petition. The term is two years beginning on Feb. 1 of the year after the election.
Justices of the peace candidates have varied responsibilities from administering oaths to deciding property tax assessment appeals to delivering and counting ballots as elections officials. The responsibilities and rules governing these responsibilities are spelled out in a guide published by the Vermont Secretary of State.
They help town clerks administer elections, including reviewing and updating voter checklists, testing and verifying the operation of tabulating machines, checking voters off the checklist when they vote, delivering ballots to homebound voters and counting the ballots after the polls close.
Justices serve on the board of civil authority and the board of tax abatement along with the town clerk and selectboard members. The board of civil authority hears appeals of property tax assessments when local property owners do not agree with the final decision of the listers. The board of tax abatement can determine whether a taxpayer’s property tax obligation should be forgiven under certain circumstances, such as a loss due to fire or flooding.
One of the most recognizable authorities and privileges of a
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Letters to the Editor
justice is solemnizing marriages. This is not a mandatory duty, but it is often a very enjoyable one. Being a justice of the peace is a privilege and an opportunity to serve that community, and all the candidates who have stood for election are dedicated to serving the town and citizens in a voluntary capacity. So, be sure to look over this important part of your ballot and cast your 12 votes.
Mike Yantachka Charlotte
Roy’s got just what Vermont Senate needs
To the Editor:
If you want to send a candidate to the Vermont Senate who will come with ideas, openness, fairness, critical thinking skills, a history of accountability, a willingness to work hard and do the right thing and a sense of urgency to get those things done, I recommend that you cast a vote for Bruce Roy.
I’ve known Roy for almost 20 years and have worked with him on some of the most complex, thorny deals and issues and with some of the orneriest characters. He knows how to compromise,
how to value and make reasonable concessions and how to win. He knows how to stand up firmly for good ideas while being able to shake hands at the end and get started on the next thing to be done, without having poisoned the work environment.
I will not agree with him on all the issues we face nationally,
GAS PIPELINE
continued from page 5
ruled in 2013 was necessary for public safety.
Vermont Gas Systems believes the pipeline has been rising through wetland soils, which is why it was only 29 inches deep in 2019. It may still be rising.
In Hinesburg, the Addison Natural Gas Pipeline was also placed in wetland soils in many locations. Is the pipeline near the surface now anywhere in Hinesburg? Vermont Gas Systems hasn’t used the same reliable depth measuring probe in Hinesburg that it was forced to use in New Haven.
Vermont law states that Vermont Gas Systems must
but I know that a vote to send him to the Senate is a vote for what we Vermonters need there: ideas, math, independent and critical thinking, leadership, work, acceptable and reasonable results, accountability and compromise.
Regina Darmoni Waitsfield
notify all affected selectboards, planning commissions and landowners within two days of the commencement of the Public Utility Commission proceeding on whether to approve of these five changes. The proceedings have not started. Once you receive notice, you can submit a form to the commission stating your intent to be a party. Public filings and forms to become a party to this case are available through the Vermont Public Utilities Commission. The proceedings will be virtual, so you can participate from home.
Jennifer Decker lives in Hinesburg.
COMMUNITY
This year’s East Charlotte tractor parade is Sunday, Oct. 13, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Festivities start at 11 a.m. on the Field of Fun at Green Mountain Hay on Spear Street. The parade will start promptly at 1 p.m. and go around the block. There will be games, music and vendors in the field. The Grange Hall will be open to visitors and host Charlotte’s 4-H club members, who will be selling refreshments. Follow signs for parking, bring a chair and leave your pets at home.
Community Notes
Charlotte Democrats host campaign event
The Charlotte Democratic Committee is sponsoring a “Meet Your State Legislators” on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. in the Charlotte Town Hall on Ferry Road. Charlotte-Hinesburg Rep. Chea Waters-Evans and Chittenden-Southeast senators Ginny Lyons, Tom Chittenden and Kesha Ram-Hinsdale will be available to discuss the challenges, successes and disappointments of the last legislative session and the challenges and plans for the next biennium.
This event is open to all. Dessert refreshments will be provided, and there will be a door prize raffle of Harris-Walz bumper stickers and a Harris-Walz yard sign. Participate virtually at bit.ly/3ZVEEtq.
Knights of Columbus host community breakfast
Join the Knights of Columbus DeGosbriand Council #279 on Sunday, Oct. 13, for a community breakfast, 9-11:30 a.m., in the parish center of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, 29 Allen St., Burlington.
The feast will feature bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, blueberry pancakes, French toast and more. Coffee, juice, butter and real Vermont maple syrup are included.
The cost is $10 and $25 for a family of four. The breakfast benefits seminarians or religious aspirants for books, car insurance, maintenance, travel during vacations, clerical clothing, emergency expenditures and other living expenses.
Contact David Ely, davidely1986@
gmail.com or 802-862-5109, for more information
Did the Dollar Store sign get your attention?
Are you interested in Hinesburg’s future and how new development will shape it?
With revisions to the town plan and Hinesburg’s zoning ordinances underway, now is a great time to meet other like-minded individuals to exchange ideas. The annual meeting of Responsible Growth Hinesburg is Sunday, Oct. 27, at 3 p.m. at the Goldsmith residence, 10760 Route 116, Hinesburg.
Bring a friend and enjoy homemade refreshments.
Tropical Fish Club explores creeks of Gabon
Guest speaker Gary Elson will share his adventures in Gabon in “Creeks of Wonder, Gabon 2023” at the Thursday, Oct. 10, meeting of the Tropical Fish Club of Burlington.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Essex Junction VFW, 73 Pearl St. Elson will cover mostly Microctenopoma, Cichlids, Neolebias, Lampeyes and Aphyosemions, with more information on habitats. Anton Lamboj was the group leader and a Gabonese Barb researcher who went along for the adventure.
Meetings include door prizes and an auction. Also, learn about the CatCon All-Aquarium Catfish Convention 2024 coming Nov 1-3 (tfcb.org/catcon-2024). Learn more at tfcb.org.
Saturday, 10/12, 10am-12pm
Prospective Families are invited to come check out Rice!
•Learn about our academic programs
•Tour our campus, meet our teachers
•Hear from parents and students about their experiences
bessette@rmhsvt.org 99 Proctor Ave, S. Burlington
www.rmhsvt.org
COURTESY PHOTO
Tractor parade
continued from page 3
and Welfare, has served in Legislature for 12 terms. An experienced Senate is something she says will be important in the coming biennium.
“The Senate turnover has been huge,” she said. “We’ve got at least a third of the Senate that is going to be new within the past two sessions. You can’t do that and expect to have some appropriate results in legislation. It’s really important to have experienced leadership in the Senate and I do bring that, and I will continue to bring that.”
Hinsdale, chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs has served six terms in the Legislature, four of those in the House and two in the Senate.
Chittenden, a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, has served two terms in the Senate after three terms on the South Burlington City Council.
Education
The property tax increases came after a change in the state’s education funding mechanism that sought to better equalize education, but also created steep tax hikes for some towns across Chittenden County.
One answer to rising taxes,
some candidates say, would be to combine schools and districts.
“I think that we really need to look at the writing on the wall with the education situation,” Craven said. “We’re going to need to combine some schools. We are so administrative heavy on the school districts. If you compare us with states like New York we’ve got so many superintendents. I think we would do ourselves some justice and certainly lighten a lot of taxpayers’ load if we did that.”
Lyons, on the other hand, said she would consider school consolidation but it’s important not to pull the rug out from under schools all at once. She defended her vote for the yield bill that established the jump in property taxes across the state, saying that it’s important for the Legislature and the Scott administration to work together.
She said Scott has yet to put up a viable solution to address education funding reform, noting that his proposal during the last session to borrow money to cover immediate costs would have adversely devalued Vermont’s credit in the long-term.
“One of the problems that we saw with putting money into the yield bill, was the administration really wasn’t present for most of the time. It was very difficult.”
Lyons said, “We did work with the administration, but the administration also has to work with us.”
Chittenden also said he would favor school consolidation and that while Vermont’s education funding formula is one of the most complex in the country, it does a good job at giving equal opportunity to every community.
Where it could improve, he said, is by recalibrating the amount of educational opportunities Vermonters can actually afford. He believes Vermont will lead the country in spending per pupil this year.
“If we truly want to address this tax burden, we have to scrutinize and hold accountable where our dollars are going and if they are exactly where we should be spending them, or if we should pair back some of our initiatives,” he said.
For Roy, it’s simple: Bring control back to taxpayers.
“Local taxpayers in the district don’t have complete control of the tax rate that’s not directly associated to the school budgets they’re voting on,” he said. “My proposal would be to go ahead and give local taxpayers more control, a direct relationship between spending and the local homestead tax rate.”
What comes with a Vermont Commons
Housing
But legislators and candidates also recognize that the lack of housing plays a key role in property tax increases. For Hinsdale, increasing the grand list is one of the greatest levers the state can use to balance these increases.
“It’s a perfect storm where you have a really high value for your home because it’s a scarce commodity, and that drives up your individual property taxes, but you’re not sharing that among enough properties overall because we are losing housing stock,” she said.
Recent legislation like Act 47, introduced by Hinsdale’s committee, mandates that municipalities allow certain density requirements if the area is served by water and sewer infrastructure. In addition to making denser development more feasible, she said the legislation was designed to “take some of the heat off of local decision makers and let them point the finger at the state.”
But the Legislature this year will need to look at sustainable revenue sources for affordable housing and ways to reduce any discrimination against clustered manufactured housing, she said.
Another main problem, Hins-
dale said, is the state’s prevalence of second homeowners.
“They should probably be paying more for that property as a luxury than residents are paying for their primary residence,” she said. “We don’t want to be unwelcoming to people, but if you can afford a second home, you can oftentimes afford to pay more than someone’s paying on their primary residence.”
With experience as an engineer, Craven said part of the solution would be to streamline and simplify development processes, noting that he supported recent housing legislation introduced by Hinsdale’s committee. Housing opportunities will bring more revenue to the state, which has relied largely on tourism revenues, he said.
“I’m not saying that you would necessarily loosen every regulation across the board,” he said. “But it’s risky to invest in Vermont. From a personal standpoint, there’s really no good argument why you couldn’t put something up to a four-unit building nearly anywhere in the state if you have the wastewater capacity.”
For Roy, he noted the state’s aging population and diminishing taxpayer base adds to the problem.
“As Gov. Scott says, we don’t need more taxes. We need more taxpayers, and we’re losing that,” he said. “We’re just eroding the tax base. I’m hearing some really heart-wrenching stories from people who feel they have to leave or sell their homes. People are angry, but they’re also scared.”
The housing problems in the state, Lyons added, stretches into a lot of other areas of concern for the state. While increasing housing is important, it’s equally as important to ensure homes are not being built in vulnerable areas, especially since the state experienced two catastrophic flooding events in two years.
“Housing is an overarching issue,” she said.
Heating up
Another contentious issue is the Affordable Heat Act, which
See CANDIDATES on page 9
CANDIDATES
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Republican candidates have been saying could lead to an even greater increase in heating fuel costs and exacerbate already complex taxing problems.
The law, meant to lead Vermonters away from using fossil fuels to heat their homes and businesses, leaves too many uncertainties, its critics say.
For Roy, he said the problem from the start was a lack of balance without any Republicans sitting on the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy — which introduced the bill — to offer a different perspective.
“How in the heck can you, as a committee, in reviewing testimonies and asking questions, how can you do that reasonably if you don’t have a contrary voice sitting on the committee?” he questioned.
The act, he said, is a “sledgehammer to the side of the head” for Vermonters who are already drowning in taxes, especially since the state produces some of the lowest carbon emissions in the country.
“Why would we put that on the back of Vermonters to the tune of maybe $3 to $4 in increase in fuel heat per gallon with propane or oil?” he said. “I believe in Vermonters, they always do the right thing, especially when it comes to the environment.”
Chittenden, who voted for the bill initially, said that while climate change is an existential crisis for the human species, he can also simultaneously recognize the limit of influence the state has overall.
He said he voted for the bill under an important provision called the ‘checkback,” which required the bill to come back to the Legislature in January 2025 with more information about what this program might cost Vermonters.
“With this checkback, we effectively came to this state where now we know, and we all agree, what the cost estimates are after spending a quarter of a million dollars on a comprehensive consulting study and those cost estimates are what I would argue as infeasible,” he said. “The complexity of standing up this solution, but also by many estimates, cost $40 million a year just for the administration of it.”
He said he now does not support the implementation of the Affordable Heat Act as contemplated in the bill passed 18 months ago.
“Vermont cannot bankrupt our rural citizens with this market-based scheme to incentivize weatherization and electrification,” he wrote online. “That bankruptcy will either drive people to move to states that don’t have this heating cost fee, or it means they may freeze to death when they try saving money by not turning on the furnace in February.”
Hinsdale, who previously taught environmental justice policy and structural inequality at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, defended her position on the affordable heat act and pointed to a volatile fossil fuel industry that creates its own uncertainties.
“When we were debating the affordable heat standard, Vermonters had lost millions of dollars to the increased cost of fuel given global conflicts,” she said. “As we try and use our resources in the state and create jobs in the state to harness more of our own energy power and remove ourselves from fossil fuel dependency, we may not be able to quantify the unknown of the costs we’re saving people from a volatile fossil fuel industry.”
Bruce Roy
“Bruce Roy is committed to working with me to make Vermont a more affordable place to live, work, raise a family, do business and retire in.
Colonel Roy has already dedicated much of his life to serving our country in uniform, and I know he would continue to serve Vermonters well in the State Senate. I encourage the people of Chittenden County to send Bruce to the Senate to help build a stronger Vermont.”
LEARN MORE
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Fall color arrives in the Champlain Valley.
Autumn means it’s time for the dragon migration
The Outside Story
Pamela Hunt
The great annual movements of fall include monarch butterflies winging toward Mexico, whales heading to the Caribbean to give birth and multitudes of birds in the autumn skies. There’s another migration this season that often goes unnoticed by casual observers: dragonflies.
Given that dragonflies (or something closely resembling them) have been on this planet for more than 300 million years, there’s even a chance they’re the original migratory animals.
We’ll never know, of course, but it’s likely that the ancient climate in which they evolved was warmer and seasonal movements weren’t as necessary. At some point, however, migration did evolve in dragonflies, and there are now a dozen or so species known to undertake seasonal movements in North America.
These are most obvious in fall, when large numbers of dragonflies are sometimes concentrated along coasts or ridgelines. Under the right conditions, thousands may pass by a location in a single day. The most familiar migratory dragonfly in our region is the common green darner (Anax junius), but this species is often joined by other migratory dragonflies such as the wandering glider (Pantala flavescens).
The common green darner is about 3 inches long and named for its lime-green thorax. More notable is the bright blue abdomen of the males (in females this is pinkish brown). These are usually the first dragonflies to appear in the Northeast in spring (often in April) and the last to leave in fall (typi-
cally by mid-October). And like monarch butterflies, the north- and south-bound individuals are from different generations.
One of the first attempts to study the fall movements of common green darners involved attaching tiny radio transmitters
& Gunther
to dragonflies in New Jersey in 2005 and attempting to track their movements from a small airplane (being high in the air makes it easier to pick up the radio signals).
Researchers found that most dragonflies stopped to rest for a couple of days (as migrating birds do), and the maximum single day flight was just under 100 miles — not bad for an insect weighing a little over a gram.
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The darners we see moving south in fall are heading to the Gulf of Mexico or beyond, where they will mate, lay eggs and die. A
second generation emerges in these more southern climes in late fall and gives rise to a non-migratory cohort, which spends winter there. It is the offspring of this seden-
OUTSIDE STORY on page 13 If it’s important to you or your community look for it in
Gomer
ILLUSTRATION BY ADELAIDE MURPHY TYROL
CVU football remains unbeaten; golfers win qualifier
Football
Champlain Valley 41, Middlebury 7: Dylan Terricciano had two touchdowns — one on defense and one on offense — to help Champlain Valley beat Middlebury on Saturday.
Terricciano recovered a fumble in the end zone and rushed for another score for the Redhawks. Orion Yates threw four touchdown passes, hitting Jacob Armstrong for three of those touchdowns. Billy Bates added a 17-yard TD catch.
The Redhawks moved to 6-0 with the win.
Cross country
The Champlain Valley girls’ cross-country team had three runners finish in the top 10 to win the Woods Trail Run in Thetford on Saturday, Oct. 5.
Lydia Donahue came in second place, while Audrey Neilson finished in seventh place and Charlotte Crum was eighth for the Redhawks. Alice Kredell was 15th and Annalise Wood came 19th, while Isabella Gravina-Budis came in 22nd.
On the boys’ side, Champlain Valley came in sixth. Cole Hart finished in 13th and Benjamin Holoch was 15th to pace the Redhawks.
Boys’ golf
The Champlain Valley boys’ golf team came in first place at the Division I qualifier at the Quechee Club to earn a spot in the state championship tournament.
Cooper Guerriere led the way for the Redhawks with a 73, while Camden Ayer and Jack Bryan each had a 74 and Brendan
Chevrier rounded out the scoring with an 83. Champlain Valley had a team score of 304 in its first-place finish.
Evan Marchessault had a 74 to lead the Wolves. Jack McDougall and Teddy Maynard each had a 75 and Trey Smith finished with a 91.
Boys’ soccer
Champlain Valley 8, BFA-St. Albans 1: The boys won their second game in a row, beating BFA-St. Albans 8-1 on Saturday.
Ethan Revoir and Will Wallace each had
two goals and an assist for the Redhawks, who moved to 8-2. Kyle Krieger, Henry LcLean and Caleb Greenslit each added one goal and one assist.
Miles Bergeson tallied a goal for CVU, while Ziggy Babbott and Zev Barth combined to get the win in goal.
PHOTO BY AL FREY
A trio of Middlebury players try to tackle Redhawks’ wide receiver Jeremy Bikule. CVU remains undefeated after the 41-7 win on Oct. 5.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
PATRICK LEAHY BURLINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2024, 6:30-8:00 P.M. CHAMBERLIN SCHOOL, SOUTH BURLINGTON
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2024, 6:30-8:30 P.M. WINOOSKI HIGH SCHOOL
Notice is hereby given that Public Meetings will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at 6:30-8:00 p.m. (South Burlington Public Meeting) at Chamberlin School, and Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, at 6:30-8:30 p.m. (Winooski Public Meeting) at the Winooski High School.
These meetings will provide an overview of the DRAFT NOISE EXPOSURE MAP REPORT that has been prepared on behalf of Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport. The meetings will be workshop style with various stations for individuals to review the information and ask questions. There will be no formal presentation. Comment sheets will be available for the public to leave their comments.
The draft report can be found on the Airport’s noise program website: btvsound.com. Physical copies of the draft report are also available for review at the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport administrative offices located at 1200 Airport Rd, South Burlington, VT, Suite 1.
Public comments can be submitted at the meetings or via email to btvsound@jonespayne.com
The public comment period will close Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Additional comments and questions regarding the noise program can be submitted at any time.
The Linden Nursing Home is hosting an Open House for LNAs, Nurses, and individuals interested in becoming licensed nursing assistants.
Wake Robin wants to support you in your career growth working with older adults to include scholarships and loan forgiveness programs as well as great benefits, a pristine working environment, work/life balance, and an opportunity to build strong relationships with staff and residents in a dynamic community setting.
LNA / Nurse / LNA Trainee Open House Tuesday, October 15 - 7:30am - 9:00am and 1:00pm - 4:00pm Wake Robin Drive, Shelburne, Vermont / wakerobin.com
Last year, Vermonters threw away 71,113 tons of food scraps which ended up in our only landfill. Equal to 242 pounds of food scraps per person per year.
CSWD’s Organic Recycling Facility (ORF) and our six Drop-Off Centers accept food scraps from residents and businesses to keep them out of Vermont’s only landfill.
continued from page 1
taxes would increase.
“I’ve been working on the budget and scratching my head trying to figure this out,” Odit said. “Even if total spending remained flat, property taxes would increase, and the budget we currently have isn’t enough to meet the town’s needs, especially highway.”
Odit’s memo references two departments for which a reduction in revenue will need to be made up through cuts or tax increases.
staffed police department by 2026. This will decrease budgeted revenue for Hinesburg from $240,000 to $84,000 in fiscal year 2026. Leftover funds to offset the annual cost of Hinesburg’s new highway garage will also be depleted. A bond payment of $186,925 will need to be covered by taxes in fiscal year 2026.
“Even if total spending remained flat, property taxes would increase, and the budget we currently have isn’t enough to meet the town’s needs.”
— Todd Odit
The town of Richmond, which currently pays Hinesburg for police coverage, expects a fully
OUTSIDE STORY
continued from page 10
tary group that move north in the spring, arriving in our region in April or May. This third-generation mates and lays eggs, which will hatch and become adults in the Northeast and begin their southward migration as summer wanes again. Migratory green darners may travel up to 2,000 miles.
The distances covered by another migratory species are even more impressive. The wandering glider (appropriately called the “globe skimmer” in other parts of the world) has been recorded on every continent except Antarctica, and even on isolated islands in the Pacific Ocean. Unlike the darner, this species has relatively broad wings that allow it to move more efficiently with wind, and it uses
Additional expenses related to the highway department are also outpacing revenue as the town grapples with road damage from flooding.
“No one calls me and says,
‘Hey, my roads are really bad, but don’t worry about it. Fix it in five, six years,’” said Odit. “They want it done now.”
Odit prepared draft budgets with different spending amounts to illustrate potential tax increases.
To maintain current levels of service in 2026, the town would need to increase spending by 5 percent due to an anticipated decrease in revenue and an increase in the cost of services. This would also increase the amount raised by taxes by 8.5 percent.
A different draft budget that reduces services would result in a 2 percent increase in spending and a 5 percent increase in the amount raised by taxes.
Either way, property taxes would increase, and the town would still fall short of meeting the desired needs of its citizens.
At last week’s selectboard meeting, members discussed the
town’s need to increase revenue.
During the General Election this year, voters will decide the fate of a proposed option tax that could raise as much as $175,000 a year for the town. If it passes, the tax will go into effect on April 1, 2025, according to Odit.
The board also discussed potential cuts to the 2026 budget and ways to engage the public this budget season.
Board Chair Merrily Lovell broached the subject of law enforcement, stating that she and Odit have discussed potential cuts within the department, which could mean a reduction in coverage.
“If we need to make cuts, then we need to hear from people about what they’re comfortable with,” board member Mike Loner said. Paul Lamberson echoed Loner’s comment.
“This is budget season. We need to hear from people,” he said. “The constraints that people feel around property tax burdens and wanting services are directly in conflict with one another right now.”
In the meantime, the board will meet with different departments to discuss cost savings. A draft of the fiscal year 2026 budget will be available in early December.
FINANCE AND TAXATION OFFICER
JOIN OUR TEAM: The City of South Burlington is seeking a dedicated and detail-oriented Finance and Taxation Officer to join our dynamic team. If you’re passionate about public service and have a talent for finance and numbers, this is the perfect opportunity for you to make a meaningful impact in our vibrant community!
this to its advantage when migrating.
Wandering gliders are slightly smaller than common green darners, with golden bodies and red eyes. Most studies on this species’ migration have been done in Africa and Asia, so we know little about its life cycle in North America. What we do know is that individual wandering gliders may travel up to 6,000 miles in their lifetimes, with some making non-stop flights of 3,000 miles from Africa to India.
Only a handful of New England’s 120 dragonfly species migrate, while the others overwinter as nymphs. So, if you catch a glimpse of a dragonfly that seems like it’s on a mission this fall, take a closer look. Is it a common green
darner headed south to launch the next generation? A wandering glider on an epic migratory journey to South America? Or perhaps it’s another migrant — a black saddlebag, Carolina saddlebag or twelve-spotted skimmer. Whatever the species, wish them luck as they travel south into the next stage of their lives.
Pamela Hunt is the senior biologist for avian conservation for New Hampshire Audubon. Illustration by Adelaide Murphy Tyrol. The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, nhcf.org.
WHAT YOU WILL DO: You will play a crucial role in ensuring compliance with taxation regulations, assisting with managing the City’s financial operations, and contributing to our community’s economic health. Your responsibilities will include overseeing tax assessments, property valuation, collections, and compliance activities and collaborating with the Finance Director to manage the City’s financial operations including developing budgets and forecasts.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting or a related field, plus 5 years relevant work experience in property assessment, or tax collection, accounts payable/receivables, and reporting, required; equivalency considered. Municipal government accounting experience preferred.
SALARY RANGE: $85,000-$90,000 (annually)
APPLY NOW: Review of on-line applications will begin November 4, 2024. To apply, learn more about the position and see a complete job description, please visit: governmentjobs.com/careers/ southburlington. The City of South Burlington is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
by Andrea
is a 10-day period in which the interested parties can file an objection with the labor board. If none is filed, the board will issue a certification order.
“The next steps will be trying to secure that first contract and to start preparing for those negotiations.” Jim Durkin, director of legislation and political action at AFSCME Council 93 said.
Selectboard member Kelly Devine gave an update at the meeting Monday night saying that all 10 of the employees are subject to the union, meaning that none can opt out.
The selectboard filed an objection in April to the proposed bargaining unit specifically pertaining to the inclusion of the library employees. The board
argued that the appropriate legislative body and employer governing these positions is the library’s board of trustees, not the selectboard.
Although the library director is appointed by the board of trustees and responsible for the hiring and firing of certain library staff, a nine-page written decision from the Vermont Labor Rela-
tions Board found that in several instances the selectboard has been the governing body responsible for library employee pay increases.
The decision also explains that the Vermont Labor Relations Board follows the policy that public rights are protected by larger units. Separating the library employees from the other
town employees could result in competition between groups and overburden the town in negotiations, they wrote.
Devine and board member Lewis Mudge met with the library board of trustees last week to ask whether two representatives of the board would be willing to join the selectboard at the negotiating table.
HONORING OUR VETERANS
“They have the opportunity to ask the selectboard to represent on their behalf, and then the selectboard would have to decide if it wanted to accept that responsibility,” she said.
She noted that negotiations should begin within the next 30 to 60 days, with 90 days from the time of certification, to complete them.
The final negotiated contract will supersede the town’s personnel policy, which has historically outlined benefit packages for employees.
The selectboard in July proposed a path to cut $30,000 from employee health benefits, a promise made to voters after the town budget in 2023 was narrowly shot down on Town Meeting Day. The months that followed that vote boiled over in a contentious battle between some taxpayers upset by high employee costs, and workers who said they felt “blindsided” by proposed changes to their compensation packages.
The new health package proposal, completed by Devine and Mudge this summer, initially proposed that town staffers who currently contribute 10 percent of their health insurance premium costs would now contribute 25 percent while also limiting the 11 available BlueCross BlueShield plans for employees to two or three — the Bronze Select and Silver Select — both of which are currently used most by town employees.
The proposal also suggested that employees would be responsible for paying 25 percent of out-of-pocket costs with the town covering 75 percent, down from the 90 percent the town historically paid.
The proposal was supposed to be officially adopted into the personnel policy by Sept. 1, but no official changes have been made at this point since discussions of a union began.
“There are a number of factors that determine how long negotiations would last,” Durkin said. “The first and the most important would be how far apart are the two parties at the first meeting. But they can also go extremely smoothly, provided that you have a mutually respectful process, and we are committed to that mutually respectful process.”