Centenarian plus
Zems come online
S. Burlington resident celebrates 104
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Temporary classrooms open for business
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South Burlington’s Community Newspaper Since 1977
the NOVEMBER 2, 2023
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VOLUME 47, NO. 44
Williston-Dorset lane shift reworked
Middle schoolers win title
COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY JAY LYON
The Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School boys’ cross-country team won the state championships Oct. 29 by a wide margin. South Burlington’s top two runners were James Langan (208), who finished second overall, and Jack Henry (207) who finished seventh overall. For complete results go to bit.ly/3FDK9S4. More on page 10.
Driving through South Burlington’s Dorset Street and Williston Road intersection, drivers may notice a change: As they cross the intersection, they’ll actually be able to stay in their own lane. One of South Burlington’s busiest — and most awkward — intersections will undergo improvements this week as part of a broader push by the city to ease traffic congestion in its downtown area, and to add safety measures for pedestrians and drivers. In the intersection’s current configuration, westbound traffic on Williston Road forces drivers in its two right lanes to shift over as they approach the light, and then shift back to the left as they cross the light. The two left lanes take drivers down Dorset Street. The new realignment eliminates the lane shift and allows
drivers to proceed in a straight line as they drive through the light toward Burlington or I-89 southbound. There will now only be one left turn lane, allowing drivers to remain in their lanes as the drive through the intersection. Larkin Realty’s construction on a nearby development at the intersection has continued, with more than 100 apartment units and hotel units queued up. This project, along with a broader traffic signal replacement, gave the city the opportunity to make the improvements. Drivers should expect the realignment to go live this week, said Erica Quallen, the city’s deputy director for capital projects The realignment comes as city officials work on traffic and pedestrian improvements through its downtown. See LANE SHIFT on page 13
South Burlington City Council appoints new member LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
The South Burlington City Council has appointed Larry Kupferman to fill a seat left vacant by the resignation of councilor Tyler Barnes. Kupferman currently serves as the vice chair of the Natural Resources and Conservation Committee. His term will expire on March Town Meeting Day. “As you know, I have been playing a role in both affordable housing and conservation efforts in the City and hopefully adding
some positive progress to those efforts,” he wrote in a brief statement of interest sent to the council. The city council received 10 applications and council members Andrew Chalnick and Meaghan Emery spent the last week interviewing candidates before bringing their findings to the entire council Monday night during a brief executive session. Among Kupferman, the applicants were Lydia Diamond, Laurie Smith, Paul Engels, John Killacky, Michael Scanlan, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Jim Knapp, Linda
Bailey and Chris Trombly. Although the council received a slew of calls advocating for given candidates, council member Tim Barritt said, “We were looking for somebody that we respected and who has served in the city for a given amount of time and who’s shown fairness and good judgment in those committees that they’ve served on. I think Larry is a great choice for this job.” Barnes’ resignation put the city on a fast track to find a temporary replacement as the city begins to form its fiscal year 2025 budget. “It may seem a little rushed,
but it was my hope, and it seemed like council’s agreement that it would be really important to have someone fill that vacancy sooner rather than later,” council chair Helen Riehle said. “Especially in light of all the work that we have before us having five seats filled would be helpful.” Barnes was first elected in March 2023, beating out former councilor Paul Engels by only 212 votes to fill in the seat vacated by Matt Cota. A South Burlington resident for nearly 30 years, Barnes said he was motivated to run for council to “help ensure
that the city will provide our children with the same opportunities it did when I was a child and an aspiring entrepreneur with a young family.” In his announcement last week, he said he’d been promoted by his employer, which required his family to move out of Vermont, a “difficult decision” that he said his role as city councilor only compounded. Kupferman will serve the remainder of the four-month seat until the position is put up for re-election in March, when he can choose to run for a full term.