South Burlington begins budget talks
Restorative justice, community policing lose funding
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
With fresh snow on the ground and the holiday season just around the corner, that can only mean one thing: Budget season is here.
This week’s South Burlington City Council meeting begins what should be a six-week process to deliberate and decide on a budget for the coming year with a final vote by the voters on Town Meeting Day in March.
While city manager Jessie Baker originally projected a 7
Growing grains
percent increase in municipal tax rates to the council in September, city staffers were able to minimize increases well below that initial projection.
Three budget scenarios were presented to the council with the highest tax increase at 5.19 percent and the lowest at 3.39 percent, the recommended scenario.
This initial pass at a budget would see a 2 percent increase in the city’s proposed general fund,
See BUDGET on page 11
Nitty Gritty finds its niche in locally grown food market
LIBERTY
DARR STAFF WRITER
Getting down to the nitty-gritty is about getting down to the root of it all and for the Nitty Gritty Grain Co. team, that’s exactly what they’ve been doing for the last 16 years: growing grain.
Grains are arguably the basis for it all — from flour to cornmeal — and without them, it’s likely the
things we love to eat most would not — or could not — exist at all.
Golden strands tossing freely against a Green Mountain backdrop fill the expansive farm property on Lake Road in Charlotte. For the Kenyon family, the dancing wheat signifies home. But for Vermont, it signifies something
See NITTY GRITTY on page 2
Chicken & Waffles
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Erika Stecklare of South Burlington, Clodagh Coghlan of Bolton and Elisabeth Wells of Burlington at the 48th Green Mountain Athletic Association Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving at the Gutterson Fieldhouse. The annual event is a fundraiser for Feeding Chittenden.
continued from page 1
much greater: the resurgence of a local grain industry.
The Kenyons have been farming for centuries in the Champlain Valley. The family started farming in the Shelburne area in the 1770s, and the family lore reveals a harrowing story of a family member who was killed over some type of grain crop debacle.
Growing grain is literally in their blood.
Tom Kenyon, the brain — and grit — behind Nitty Gritty Grain Co. is the seventh generation of these farmers. His certified organic farm, Aurora Farm, had been growing grains and selling the yield to the commodity market since the 1980s. But as time passed, a question lingered: Why is it customary to ask where our meat and vegetables are grown, but the same question isn’t asked of grain? In fact, at the time, it was nearly impossible to buy Vermontgrown flour in the grocery store.
That question posed by a neighbor planted the seed for what would later be known as Nitty Gritty Grain Co., which launched in 2008 with the help of a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant.
“Essentially, it was a way to bring the local identity back to the grain,” David Kenyon, eighth generation on the farm and son of Tom, said. “Because previously, we were just selling it to the commodity market where it gets lost in a massive stream of identity-less grain.”
The company has since grown to include its products on local grocery store shelves — including Healthy Living in South Burlington, City Market in Burlington and Shelburne Grocery — and in bakeries and restaurants across the state.
While Nitty Gritty Grain Co. is one of several grain producers scattered across the state, according to a 2015 University of Vermont article, in the 1880s Vermont was dubbed the “breadbasket of New England” because of its high
wheat production. However, by the turn of the century, and as colonial America expanded west, the crop largely disappeared from the Northeast and with it the knowledge and infrastructure needed to produce these crops.
“Historically, this was kind of like the breadbasket,” David Kenyon said. “But in more contemporary times, there’s not a lot of people that grow grain in Vermont. There are a lot more large dairy farms that are growing soybeans and corn for feed now.”
Part of the problem, he said, is that the climate and soil found in the state are simply not conducive to growing grains, especially with catastrophic floods that climate experts predict will only intensify in coming years. And for growing grain, wet conditions can be far worse than dry.
Kenyon explained that the soil found in the areas surrounding the farm is wide-ranging, from beautiful soil to the “heaviest clay you’ve ever seen.”
“The last two years have just been awful,” he said. “That’s probably our biggest challenge, the amount of rain we’ve had in the last few years.”
While Charlotte was hammered with more than five inches of rain during July, the farm itself didn’t experience much irreversible harm, but one variety of wheat they were growing at the time didn’t pass the quality test for human consumption because it got too wet.
In addition to growing hay, corn and different legumes, the farm typically grows three types of winter wheat, which is planted in the middle of September and harvested in early July.
“It comes up in the fall, usually from two to eight inches, which would be the tallest,” Kenyon said. “It goes dormant for the winter, and then it wakes up in the spring and shoots up in height throughout April, May and June. It’ll start to turn more of that golden brown,
yellow color. And then usually the first or second week of July, we combine it.”
The entire effort is a family affair. Tom Kenyon, nearing 70, still spends long days on the farm but now with the help of his son. Catherine Kenyon, Tom’s sister and self-proclaimed “Cornmeal Queen,” also helps with things like ordering and packing.
While Nitty Gritty Grain Co. hit the ground running in the renaissance of grain production in the state, it wasn’t without a lot of help from family, friends and a state that still intrinsically values locally produced foods.
“I think we are super lucky to be in Vermont because the consumer here actually appreciates and is willing to pay a premium for a local grain,” Kenyon said. “So, in that regard, I think that Nitty Gritty probably wouldn’t really
work as a model in a lot of other places in the country.”
For Kenyon, this was the entire reason he came back to the farm five years ago after working in
“That’s the biggest thing for me is being able to grow local, healthy, organically
architecture after school.
sourced grain
COURTESY PHOTOS
David Kenyon and his dad, Tom, of the Nitty Gritty Grain Co., at their farm in Charlotte. The next generation gets some time behind the wheel.
Two South Burlington residents picked as superior court judges
ALAN J. KEAYS
VTDIGGER
Gov. Phil Scott has named four people to serve on the Vermont Superior Court bench.
The new judges are Dana DiSano and Laura Rowntree, both of South Burlington, Bonnie Badgewick of Woodstock and Timothy Doherty of Burlington, the governor’s office announced in a press release.
“I have always believed making judicial appointments is one of the most important responsibilities a governor has, because judges have the enormous duty of interpreting the law and upholding justice,” Scott said in the release. “I believe Bonnie, Dana, Timothy, and Laura will be fair, thoughtful, and serve Vermonters well in their new roles.”
The appointees are expected to be sworn in in the coming weeks.
According to information supplied by the governor’s office:
• DiSano has over 14 years of legal experience, currently serving as a prosecutor in the criminal division of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. She most recently has served as a prosecutor for the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
• Doherty, with more than 20 years of legal experience, has been a partner in the law firm Downs Rachlin Martin handling both criminal and civil matters. He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Vermont. He currently serves on the Burlington City Council.
• Rowntree has worked in the Vermont Attorney General’s Office since August 2018, where she became chief of the civil division in April 2022. Before her time in that office, Rowntree worked as associate attorney for two law firms in New York City and as an assistant corporation counsel at the New York City Law Department.
• Badgewick has worked in private practice for more than two decades. She had primarily focused on litigation in civil and administrative fields. She currently serves as vice-chair of the Professional Responsibility Board and is president of the Vermont Bar Foundation.
Judge dismisses suit against short-term rental regulations in city of Burlington
COREY MCDONALD VTDIGGER
A Vermont Superior Court judge last week dismissed a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen rental property owners challenging Burlington’s regulations governing shortterm rentals.
The lawsuit, filed in July 2023 in Chittenden Superior civil court, argued the city overstepped state law when it enacted restrictions in June 2022 on short-term rentals.
Those restrictions set strict limits on property owners who rent out their properties using services such as Airbnb and VRBO. It prohibited short-term rentals in the city unless they are owner-occupied and defined a short-term rental as a dwelling rented to guests for fewer than 30 consecutive days.
The penalty for noncompliance starts with a $100 civil fine and increases to $200 after the second violation.
Burlington is not the only municipality to set limits on short-term rentals. Towns and cities such as South Burlington and Morrisville have in recent years enacted similar regulations to ensure the availability of housing for long-term residents.
In previous legal filings, the property owners’ attorneys wrote that enforcement would have a “substantial impact on Plaintiffs’ financial stability and greatly harm Plaintiffs’ business interest.”
State law grants municipalities jurisdic-
tion over regulating housing for the purpose of promoting a city’s or town’s health, safety and welfare. But the plaintiffs, 14 different individuals and business entities in Burlington, argued the city overstepped state law by setting duration limits and owner-occupied requirements for rental units.
Superior Court Judge Samuel Hoar was not convinced, and on Nov. 19 dismissed the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs’ claim “fails as a matter of law,” Hoar wrote in the decision, because the city “plainly has broad authority to regulate short-term rentals” under existing statute.
“The relationship between a lack of available long-term housing and strains on the housing market, with impacts on homelessness, is intuitive, as is the consequent impact on a municipality’s general welfare,” Hoar wrote. “Thus, the city’s regulation of short-term rentals bears an obvious and rational relation to public welfare, health, and safety.”
The judge’s decision was first reported by Vermont Public.
The plaintiffs in the case included three individuals — Sean Hurley, Kristin Baker and Petra Winslow — and several companies. The properties listed in the suit are mostly in the city’s Old North End.
Liam Murphy, an attorney with Burlington law firm MSK, which represented the plaintiffs, did not respond to a request for comment. City attorney Kimberlee Sturtevant and city spokesperson Joe Magee did not respond to an email seeking comment.
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CRIME & COURTS
South Burlington Police Blotter: Nov. 26 - Dec. 2
Total incidents: 140
Agency / public assists: 20
Directed patrol: 10
Traffic stop: 3
Accident: property damage: 4
Stolen vehicle: 4
Alarm: 9
Foot patrol: 14
Suspicious event: 8
Retail theft: 4
Motor vehicle complaint: 5
Welfare check: 4
Mental health issue: 3
Trespass: 10
Unlawful mischief: 3
Found/lost property: 3
Unsecured premise: 2
Animal problem: 2
Juvenile problem: 2
Disturbance: 4
Field contact: 3
Suicidal person: 3
Leaving the scene of an accident: 2
Larceny from a vehicle: 7
Arrests: Nov. 26 at 6:44 p.m., an 18-year-old juvenile was arrested for unlawful mischief and resisting arrest on Dorset Street. Nov. 30 at 3:19 p.m., Christopher M. Carpentier, 37, of Charlotte, was arrested for violating conditions of release on Iby Street.
Dec. 1 at 2:33 p.m., Dyllon M. Camley, 31, of St. Albans, was arrested for reckless endangerment on Farrell Street.
Dec. 1 at 8:40 p.m., Dewayne C. White, 39, of Burlington, was arrested on an in-state warrant on Hannaford Drive.
Note: Charges filed by police are subject to review by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney Office and can be amended or dropped.
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Police, fire departments answer call for kids’ gifts
TOMMY GARDNER STAFF WRITER
First responders around northern Vermont are once again banding together to bring holiday cheer to children undergoing medical treatment.
Operation Fire Cuffs is a joint toy delivery initiative that launched in 2010 when three law enforcement agencies — Burlington and Morristown police departments and Vermont State Police — banded together to fill a fire truck with more than a thousand gifts.
As always, the gifts will be delivered to the University of Vermont Medical Center Children’s Hospital. Now, though, Santa’s got a lot more helpers, nearly 40 of them between Barre and Highgate.
The participating agencies, organizations and businesses will collect the gifts and gift cards — a wish list is on the Operation Fire Cuffs 2024 Facebook page — and some of the police and fire departments will deliver the presents to the Children’s Hospital on Dec. 19. Presents should be new and unwrapped; gift cards are
welcomed, too.
Nearby gift collectors this year include South Burlington Fire Department, Burlington Fire Department, City of Burlington Police Department, Chittenden County Children’s Advocacy Center, Burlington Electric Department, Department of Corrections Chittenden County, Vermont State Police St. Albans and Williston Barracks, Northern Unit for Special Investigations, Morristown Police Department, Colchester Police, Fire and Rescue Department,
University of Vermont Rescue Services, U.S. Marshals, Winooski Police and Fire departments, Milton Police and Fire departments, Cambridge Rescue, Cambridge Fire Department, Cambridge Elementary School, Salon Elixir & Boutique, A1 Flooring, Fairfax Fire Department, Underhill/Jericho Fire Department, Vermont Department of Liquor Control, Global Foundries, Vermont Department of Agriculture, Essex Fire Department, PuroClean and Highgate Fire Department and Library.
Man arrested for brandishing firearm in road rage incident
South Burlington police arrested Dyllon Camley, 31, of St. Albans City, for simple assault after he reportedly brandished a firearm in a road rage incident near Farrell and Swift streets on Dec. 1 around 2:33 p.m. Police found Camley in a vehicle in the Market 32 shopping plaza and recovered a Smith and Wesson air pistol.
Camley is currently under supervision of St. Albans Probation and Parole following his 2022 conviction for brandishing a firearm during a road rage incident on Interstate 89. He is prohibited from possessing and owning firearms.
OPINION
Laws should clear court backlogs, strengthen criminal justice system
From the House
Rep. Martin LaLonde
On Jan. 8, the Vermont General Assembly will convene its 79th biennium. Based on what we have heard while reaching out to constituents, the Legislature’s priority will be affordability, primarily as it relates to education and health care. I hope to continue to serve as chair of the House Committee on Judiciary, where we will resume work addressing concerns related to public safety.
In the last session, the Legislature passed several initiatives to address public safety concerns. We targeted crimes that have specifically impacted our state, such as retail theft in Act 128, auto theft and trespassing into an auto in Act 129, drug trafficking in Act 125 and the proliferation of ghost guns in Act 120.
criminal activity have become slow and uncertain. Deterrence has therefore declined. Why has this happened? There is one major reason. Over the past several years, Vermont courts, prosecutors, defenders and victim advocates have lacked the resources to resolve criminal cases expeditiously.
To get to a point where cases can be promptly resolved, the Vermont criminal justice system must address a significant backlog of proceedings, which pre-dated the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, fewer cases were filed, but those that were filed were not being processed. After the courts fully reopened, a surge in new filings left the courts falling even further behind.
We also tackled systemic issues. With Act 138, we established a pretrial supervision program that includes electronic monitoring to ensure that people are complying with conditions of release as they await resolution of their cases. We reestablished community restitution, also known as work crew.
The Legislature also provided additional resources to the courts, prosecutors, defenders and victim advocates so that our criminal justice system will work more effectively. And we passed Act 180 to expand restorative justice throughout the state as a vital part of our public safety package.
The criminal justice system has several important goals: rehabilitation of individuals who have committed crimes, incapacitation of violent individuals who pose a threat to society and deterrence. Effective deterrence relies on two factors: the risk of being caught and certain and quick consequences for criminal activity. The consequences do not necessarily have to involve incarceration. They can include probation, community restitution, deferred sentences, diversion and mental health or substance use treatment. The key is that the consequences for offenders must be certain and swift.
In Vermont, consequences for
The courts use several metrics to track whether they are making progress on reducing the backlog. One of those metrics is clearance rates or the number of new filings compared to the number of cases the courts dispose of each month. Cases in compared to cases out. If the clearance rate is over 100 percent, that means the backlog is being reduced.
As of the end of October, the courts have achieved a clearance rate on criminal cases of 111 percent, an improvement over last year’s clearance rate of 106 percent. But the goal is to achieve a rate of 125 percent, which would allow the system to substantially decrease the backlog in the next four years.
Due in part to the court backlog and a lack of resources, criminal cases are frequently not being processed in a timely manner. The Vermont courts track the time from when a case is filed to when the court disposes of it. They set forth disposition goals. For example, 98 percent of standard misdemeanor cases should be resolved in 180 days and 98 percent of standard felonies should be resolved in 365 days.
Currently, approximately 50 percent of cases are meeting disposition goals. That means that, for many individuals alleged to have committed criminal offenses, the consequences are far removed from the offense, diminishing any deterrence value.
How do we reach these goals?
There are two primary solutions. First, we can provide the resources to the criminal justice system so that cases can be more expeditiously processed. This past year, the Legislature provided additional resources to the courts, prosecutors, defenders, victim advocates and community justice centers.
Second, we need not rely solely on the courts to provide expeditious consequences for criminal activity. A well-functioning, well-resourced restorative justice system can also ensure certain and immediate consequences, often with better outcomes for victims and offenders than the criminal justice system.
Restorative justice is a community-based response to crime that focuses on repairing harm and making amends. It holds individuals accountable for the harm they have caused in a manner that centers on the victim and the community that has been harmed.
For years, Vermont has successfully used restorative justice through its established court diversion program. Under this program, defendants charged with crimes can be sent to the diversion program as an alternative to being prosecuted.
Some communities in Vermont also successfully use what is called pre-charge diversion. In these communities, for low-level crimes and first-time offenders, law enforcement or prosecutors can send an alleged offender to a community justice center before they are charged with a crime. They are diverted from the criminal justice system earlier, with better results for victims and the community and quicker accountability for the alleged offender.
Pre-charge diversion had not been available or uniformly applied across the state. There was no pre-charge diversion program like there is for court diversion.
Act 180 corrected that problem. It establishes a statewide pre-charge diversion program overseen by the Vermont Office of the Attorney General, which manages the court diversion program. It sets forth standards for program implementation and access across all counties. It requires uniform data collection that will allow
Rep. Martin LaLonde
Let’s do it: a lot we can do to
Guest Perspective
Ryan Heraty
Thank you, Gov. Phil Scott, for your recent communications regarding the challenges Vermont is experiencing with its education finance system. We appreciate your support in addressing this complex problem. As you may know, the Lamoille South Supervisory Union has been significantly impacted by the current crisis.
In the Elmore-Morristown district, two failed school budgets resulted in a substantial decrease in services provided to students, including the loss of a middle school foreign language program and intervention support for children.
In Stowe, taxpayers have navigated an increase of approximately 30 percent in local property taxes. Many have expressed the hardship this is placing on their families. According to the most recent Agency of Education data, our supervisory union has the second lowest spending in the state. It feels as though we are being penalized for years of fiscal responsibility.
We believe in the sharing of tax dollars and that all students should have access to a high-quality education, regardless of zip code. Our schools also need extensive capital improvements and residents in all three towns are dedicating a much larger percentage of their income toward housing than others across the state.
Our children have significant needs, and the impact of the pandemic, mental health crisis, and opiate epidemic can be felt in each one of our buildings daily. Another round of budget failures will be devastating to students and teacher morale. I worry deeply about the future of our towns, schools and state.
Although many are committed to redesigning the system, this will take time. There are structural changes that can be made now to avoid a repeat of last year. Without any change, it is inevitable that we will have another round of budget failures.
We ask that you please initiate and support action around the following shortterm recommendations:
• Establish a reserve fund maximum (for example, 10 percent of expenditures) to immediately reduce pressure on the education fund, encourages districts to use reserve funds for capital improvements now and reduce future liabilities, and discourages districts from using Act 127 tax incentives to build a savings account to pay down future tax rates instead of lowering budgets.
• Allow local options taxes to be used for capital improvement to reduce the pressure on the education fund as some districts will be able to fund critical repairs and renovations through their local municipality; acknowledge the state’s decision to stop funding school construction and the burden this has placed on the education fund;
reduce school taxes
and address the immediate safety repairs needed in many schools and the impact of PCBs.
• Redesign tax categories — resident, non-resident and business — and acknowledge the large purchase of properties that occurred during the pandemic by out-of-state residents. This will ensure residents will pay an equal or lower tax rate than non-residents, and it will reduce financial pressure on renters by disconnecting the landlord tax rate from non-resident tax rate.
• Remove weights from tuitioning districts. The state is currently subsidizing those sending their children to private schools by lowering property tax rates with pupil weighting. The weights are designed to increase resources provided to students, not to reduce tax rates.
ance on unlicensed educators.
• Increase transparency and student investments by publishing actual per-pupil financial data while categorizing areas of spending — instruction, debt and maintenance, for example
Transparently showing where money is allocated increases accountability with how dollars are spent, thus ensuring money is directed toward student learning.
• Identify districts that have a disproportionate staff to student ratio. This one data point is critical for identifying inefficiencies in school budgets as salaries and benefits account for nearly 80 percent of all expenditures. Reducing overstaffing will also address the high number of vacancies in hard-to-fill positions and an over-reli-
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The misrepresentation of the word pupil is having unintended consequences on equity across the state. For example, a district that may be spending $45,000 per pupil might have weighted spending of $12,000 per pupil. The $12,000 figure is what will be written on the ballot, thus preventing taxpayers from making informed decisions regarding the value of their tax dollars. High spending in some districts results in failed budgets across the state. Transparently showing where money is allocated increases accountability with how dollars are spent, thus ensuring money is directed toward student learning.
Ryan Heraty is superintendent of the Lamoille South Supervisory Union, which operates public schools in Morristown, Elmore and Stowe.
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Time to abolish Green Mountain Care board
To the Editor:
Vermonters were recently alarmed to learn of cuts to the University of Vermont Health Network’s services statewide. This news comes amid skyrocketing health care costs, which also drive up property taxes and strain household budgets.
Instead of expanding access, Vermonters now face reduced services, including the closure of clinics, fewer inpatient beds, and even the end of UVM’s transplant program, forcing patients to travel to New Hampshire for life-saving procedures.
These cuts stem from the Green
continued from page 5
program effectiveness and overall cost savings more precisely.
Critically, diverting more cases pre-charge will take pressure off the courts to allow the criminal justice system to take care of the backlog and speed up case processing.
It will take time for this past session’s work to impact public safety. The pre-trial supervision program will start as a pilot in Orleans and Essex counties before rolling out to the rest of the state. As to the courts, in May we approved the addition of three
Mountain Care Board’s mandate to reduce the health network’s revenues. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. Hospital networks across Vermont are also reducing services. Understandably, Vermonters are asking what is going on.
To answer this, we must revisit the origins of the Green Mountain Care Board. Created in 2011 as part of H.202, Vermont’s ambitious effort to establish a single-payer universal health care system, the board was given broad authority to oversee health care funding and budgets. However, by 2014, the plan unraveled. Reports, such as one from Avalere Health, revealed that single payer would require $2.2 billion in new taxes. Amid
This rationing of care traces Letters to the Editor
judges. In September the Judicial Nominating Board recommended to the administration 12 candidates for the judgeships, and on Nov. 27 the administration appointed judges from this list. Filling positions takes time, and there will be a learning curve for these new judges and for additional prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Looking to the upcoming session, the House judiciary committee will monitor progress in addressing the backlog and will evaluate additional resource needs, including for the pre-charge
mounting public opposition and economic concerns, then-Gov. Peter Shumlin abandoned the initiative.
Yet the Green Mountain Care Board remained. By 2016, it pivoted to an all-payer model aimed at reducing costs system-wide. The board was granted final authority over hospital budgets and insurance rates, enabling it to mandate cost reductions. While this might sound like a prudent measure, it has led directly to today’s crisis: hospitals unable to adjust revenues to meet rising costs are cutting essential services instead.
LETTERS on page 8
diversion program. We will also consider other initiatives to ensure that our communities are safe.
I am grateful to the South Burlington voters who have put their confidence in me, and I am honored to be serving our community and Vermont. If you have any questions or input on matters before the legislature, don’t hesitate to contact me at mlalonde@ leg.state.vt.us.
Martin LaLonde, a Democrat, represents South Burlington in the Chittenden-12 House district.
See
Will Trump end gains with renewable energy?
Guest Perspective Mike Yantachka
There is no doubt that the trajectory of our country has changed in the past month. Based on the recent election and signals from the incoming Trump administration, the reversal of the nation’s approach to climate change will have significant implications not only nationally, but locally and globally.
In mid-October I attended the annual conference organized by Renewable Energy Vermont (REV2024) and sponsored by numerous businesses involved with renewable energy development. Renewable energy, including wind, solar, hydro and geothermal power generation, is
LETTERS
continued from page 7
back to a failed experiment in health care reform. Decisions made by the Green Mountain Care Board — an unelected body — have undermined the very goals it was created to achieve: a health care system that is high-quality, accessible, affordable and sustainable. After more than a decade, Vermonters are left with a system that does none of these well.
Luckily for the legislators who originally supported the legislation which brought us to this point, most of them are long-gone from
key to reducing our dependence on greenhouse gas-producing fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation needs.
While the Biden administration encouraged renewable energy development through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, the incoming administration has openly promised not only to end those efforts but to move in the opposite direction, promoting fossil fuel consumption.
Trump’s selection of Chris Wright, a CEO of a fracking company and a climate change denier, for energy secretary portends serious backtracking on efforts to fight global warming. In the meantime, we will see more droughts leading to wildfires, more extreme weather events leading to
floods and mudslides, and longer periods of extreme heat leading to heat-related fatalities, all of which will increase the costs in lives and recovery efforts. With the loss of federal support, it will fall to the states which recognize the seriousness of the situation to take up the cause of fighting climate change.
While the outcome of the election was still uncertain at the time of the REV2024 conference, presenters spoke about the current state of renewable energy development and the challenges that must be overcome. Allison Clements, a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, emphasized the need to move to an electric energy economy, calling it “the backbone of our modern society.”
She noted that our inherited
legacy generation systems remain an obstacle to developing clean generation systems, and fossil fuel companies will continue to have a larger influence on public policy than the renewable sector. Furthermore, continued growth of renewables will require making the existing grid more efficient and building new infrastructure for transmission.
During the last session of the Vermont Legislature a significant change was made to the renewable energy standard. Sen. Chris Bray, D-Bristol, chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, and Rep. Laura Sibilia, I-Dover, vice-chair of the House Committee on Environment and Energy, spoke about the changes in Vermont’s energy policy.
the Public Utility Commission to design the system, estimate the effect on heating costs to the consumer and report back to the Legislature, which will then either approve the plan or go back to the drawing board. Considering the change in the political makeup of the legislature on Nov. 5, its ability to override another veto is unlikely.
There are other opportunities currently available to help Vermonters reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. One REV2024 breakout session featured community geothermal heating systems, which use the constant temperature of the ground to generate heat for multiple buildings.
public office at this point. This means that Vermont voters are unable to hold them accountable for their poor decisions. Current legislators, rather than finding solutions, seem happy to point the finger at hospital executives, insurance companies and an unelected board carrying out the mandate the Legislature gave them.
There are no easy fixes. Rising health care costs are a nationwide issue. But Vermont’s approach has been a resounding failure. The
Legislature must acknowledge this reality and disband the Green Mountain Care Board. Only by reevaluating how we manage health care can we begin to restore trust and ensure affordable access for all Vermonters.
Shayne Spence Underhill
Shayne Spence is a former Johnson Selectboard member and was a Republican candidate for the Vermont House in 2020.
The standard set a requirement in 2015 that every Vermont electricity distribution utility would have to produce 75 percent of its electric demand from renewable generation by 2032. As of 2022, three utilities, Burlington Electric, Swanton Electric and Washington Electric Co-op, claimed to be 100 percent renewable using solar, wind, hydro and biomass.
In 2024, the standard was upgraded to require every utility to source 100 percent of its electricity demand from renewable generation by 2035. This achievement would be the foundation for the state’s transition from fossil fuels to clean electricity for transportation and heating, the major sectors contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to the renewable energy standard upgrade, the Legislature also passed over Gov. Phil Scott’s veto, the Affordable Heat Act, originally known as the Clean Heat Standard. This controversial legislation would require importers of fossil fuels to finance methods of reducing the fossil fuel consumption of their customers by weatherization, heat pumps and advanced wood heating.
The big unknown in this plan is whether the consequential increase in the cost of fuel would be offset by the savings in the reduction of fuel use and whether the increase could be equitably distributed across households based on their energy burden. Energy burden is the percentage of household income devoted to heating and cooling.
While Vermont households with lower incomes typically use less energy than those with higher incomes, lower-income households spend considerably higher percentages of their income on energy.
The Clean Heat Standard is not yet fully implemented because the Affordable Heat Act requires
Charlotte’s new town garage uses geothermal heating powered by the solar panels on its roof. The panels produce more than 90 percent of the electricity used by all five of the buildings owned by the town: the garage, library, town hall, senior center and fire station. Since the library is heated and cooled with air-source heat pumps, it, like the garage, is fossil fuel-free. With additional solar generation, it would be conceivable to build a geothermal system that would heat and cool the other three town-owned buildings in the west village. This is something Charlotte might look to in the future, assuming that the incentives of the Biden administration remain available.
So, from the federal perspective, the outlook for renewable energy generation and greenhouse gas reduction looks bleak. But there is a silver lining in that the states can continue to transition to renewable sources. Even many red states have come to appreciate the benefits.
Iowa produces 59 percent of its electricity by wind. Texas produces 28 percent from wind, 8 percent from solar and leads the nation in total megawatt-hours of renewable energy production followed by California. According to Yale Climate Connections, South Dakota has the most renewable energy generation by percentage (83 percent), followed by Vermont (76 percent), Washington (74 percent) and Idaho (69 percent). Progress has been made and will continue despite changes being planned by the Trump administration because renewable energy makes good economic sense.
We just have to keep doing our part.
Mike Yantachka is a member of the Charlotte Energy Committee and a former state representative who served 12 years on House committees responsible for energy policy.
Students visit Biocogniv
South Burlington High School science teacher Nathaniel Moore and Nikki St. Mary took 14 students to Hula in Burlington for a visit to the Vermont-based business, Biocogniv.
Biocogniv is creating AI based predictive diagnostics to be used in hospital settings to treat acute care patients. They are currently focused on a product called Sepsis aiMarker that can detect and predict sepsis up to 72 hours in advance using only routine laboratory panels collected in the emergency room.
The company’s tool has been granted a
breakthrough designation by the Food and Drug Administration.
The students met with some young members of their team who have backgrounds in everything from optometry to bioengineering to data analytics, all of them working together on this groundbreaking technology.
Orienteering
Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School students in Gary Russell’s social studies class practiced orienteering and map reading skills, identifying locations around campus based on Russell’s directions.
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COURTESY PHOTOS
Before the opening night of Mean Girls at South Burlington High School, the cast performed a dress rehearsal.
‘Mean Girls’ dress rehearsal
COMMUNITY
The gift wrap booth in the food court at University Mall in South Burlington is back this season, with all proceeds from the service benefitting the homeless services agency at ANEW Place. Bring your gifts to be wrapped by volunteers in quality papers and gift boxes, decorated with bows and ribbons. Drop off any item of any size and chill out in the food court or pick them up later. The gift wrap booth is open from Friday, Dec. 6, through Christmas Eve during mall hours. ANEW Place’s mission is to help create lasting change in the lives of the homeless. Learn more at anewplacevt.org.
Community Notes
Knights of Columbus hosts community breakfast
The Bishop DeGoesbriand Council will serve a pancake breakfast in its parish hall on Sunday, Dec. 8, 9-11:30 a.m., 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.
Take the stage for Players’ next show
Looking for a little humor and something fun to do over the dark winter months? Audition for “The Servant of Two Masters” with The Shelburne Players.
Auditions will be held Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 9 and 10, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., in the Pierson Library community room, 5376 Shelburne Road. If needed, callbacks will take place on Thursday, Dec. 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The play by Carlo Goldoni, will be directed by Su Reid-St. John and produced by Cathy Diamond.
Rehearsals begin Jan.13, and the play will run March 14-22.
The show has been called “a cross
between traditional Italian commedia and postmodern vaudeville, this new version of Goldoni’s classic pits the madcap servant Truffaldino against masters, mistresses, lovers, lawyers, and twenty-seven plates of meatballs. Imagine a Bob Hope or Woody Allen comedy written by Monty Python and performed with the physical bravura of Chaplin or Keaton.”
Learn more at shelburneplayers.com.
Group rolls out Lake Champlain action plan
The Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee on Lake Champlain rolls out its 2025 Lake Champlain action plan, “2024 State of the Lake and Ecosystem Indicators,” on Monday, Dec. 9, from 5-7 p.m. at the Shelburne town offices.
Featured speakers include Lake Champlain Basin staffers Dr. Matthew Vaughan, chief scientist, Meg Modley, aquatic invasive species management coordinator; Colleen Hickey, education and outreach coordinator; and Jim Brangan, cultural heritage and recreation coordinator.
The action plan addresses the committee’s most pressing clean water priorities, including flood mitigation, adaptation and resilience; solutions for chloride and other contaminants pollution; prioritization of land use and development that reduces water quality impacts; aquatic invasive species spread prevention; and equitable public access and recreation.
The meeting will also feature a remote option.
Light refreshments will be provided. Registration is requested for in-person participation and required to receive the remote log-in information. Register at bit. ly/3OrrBsp.
COURTESY PHOTO
from page 1
which includes all revenues and expenses related to day-to-day city operations — over last year at $35.9 million. At that rate, the average condo owner could expect a property tax increase of $51 while the average homeowner can expect a $75 increase. An increase in utilities would tack on an additional $67.68.
The budget assumes a 1.5 percent growth in the city’s grand list. Staff also expects a nearly 20 percent increase in the city’s tax increment financing, or TIF, grand list.
To increase revenue, permit fees would go up by 25 percent, bringing in roughly $20,000. Increased electrical inspection fees would add roughly $215,000, while an increase in ambulance billing would add $277,000. Local option tax revenue is expected to jump 5 percent.
The budget also assumes an increase in expenses for the loss of funding for two community programs utilized by the police department.
Through a contract with the Howard Center’s Community Outreach Team, outreach workers are embedded in nine police departments throughout Chittenden County to respond to residents in crisis. South Burlington paid $48,380 for the program last year, with the remainder of the funding made up in grants from the state’s Department of Mental Health and the University of Vermont Health Network.
The Department of Mental Health is shifting those funds away from the community outreach team, leaving the city to pay $88,000 next year. Baker noted that the city can buy down some of those costs by utilizing $25,000 from opioid settlement money the city received in 2022.
The city is also anticipating paying an additional $42,000 over last year for the city’s Community Justice Program, which primarily provides pre-charge restorative justice work. Baker explained that the Community Justice Center has historically been funded through the Department of Corrections through grants, but changes in the Legislature last year shifted funding for those pre-trial services to Vermont Attorney General’s Office.
“While that shift has occurred, there’s been no funds attached to that shift,” Baker said. “So basically, the (Department of Corrections) will defund us and we don’t know yet whether the next legislative session will fund the pre-trial services. So, we are trying to ensure that we have some capacity within our general fund budget to make the strongest argument we can to the attorney general’s office.”
“I think the schools are going to be greatly challenged to present a tax rate number that the public will vote for.”
lenged in March because I think the schools are going to be greatly challenged to present a tax rate number that the public will vote for,” council chair Tim Barritt said. “I think last year was a testament to the fact that the public is not happy and that the result of the recent elections also is a testament that people are not happy with property taxes in general. I like the 3.39 percent number, and I look forward to the budget retreat so we can hammer out a few more numbers and go from there.”
“It is hugely successful,” Baker said. “It’s an asset, not only to our neighbors but also to our officers who have something to offer to victims and offenders.”
The city still has weeks to go to finalize the budget.
City councilors this fall directed staff to both maintain the level of city services while also taking steps to address the state’s growing affordability crisis.
Baker said that her staff went into budget discussions with affordability in mind but noted that residents are likely to see another year of high education property taxes.
“I think we’re going to be chal-
— Tim Barritt
While the Vermont Department of Taxes recently issued a forecasted 5.9 percent average increase in education property taxes next year — significantly lower than the 18 percent forecasted last year — the South Burlington School District is projecting tax increase numbers that exceed that statewide average, which is mostly due to how the district fared in the new funding formula rolled out last year. “I will say, as a personal commentary, I have no idea how to fix the educational funding system in Vermont,” Baker said. “It is very frustrating that the lack of a system in that realm is putting financial pressure on municipal services that I think are equally as important in our state.”
The city will have a budget retreat with the council and leadership team and will continue its discussion at its next two scheduled meetings on Dec. 16 and Jan. 6. A public hearing to adopt a budget is projected for Jan. 13.
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Credit unions announce planned merger
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Green Mountain Credit Union in South Burlington and Opportunities Credit Union in Winooski plan to merge. The combined organization
would have approximately $165 million in assets. Bob Lake, CEO of Green Mountain Credit Union, and Glenn Von Bernewitz, chair of the
VERMONT Holiday Market
Opportunities Credit Union board of directors, expressed their enthusiasm for the proposed merger in a joint statement: “This anticipated merger represents an exciting step forward for both organizations. By joining forces, we would enhance our ability to provide comprehensive financial services to our members while maintaining the strong community focus that defines both credit unions.”
The combined organization would maintain branches in Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Berlin and Rutland, and would serve more than 10,000 members.
The merger is subject to approval by both state and federal regulators, as well as by the memberships of both credit unions. A target of mid-2025 has been set as a completion date for the merger.
Lake said no immediate job losses are anticipated.
Green Mountain Credit Union was founded in 1959, while Opportunities Credit Union was founded in 1989.
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Snow geese take flight over Dead Creek Wildlife Refuge in Addison on Nov. 25.
All about saffron: world’s most expensive spice
DEBORAH J. BENOIT
UNIVERSITY
OF VERMONT EXTENSION
Did you know that the world’s most expensive spice comes from a type of crocus? It’s true. Saffron is derived from Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus.
While blooming crocuses are as common in spring as boldly colored leaves are in autumn, the saffron crocus blooms in the fall.
Saffron corms (bulbs) are planted in late summer. Grasslike foliage emerges September to October, followed by lavender-colored buds that open to reveal a trio of bright red stigmas in late October and early November. It’s the stigmas that, once harvested, become the saffron found on our kitchen spice racks.
What makes saffron such an expensive product in comparison to other spices? It’s the labor involved in harvesting those three little, red stigmas. Each saffron flower must be individually handpicked, and the three stigmas carefully removed by hand. Once harvested, the stigmas are dried, becoming the saffron used in dishes such as yellow rice and bouillabaisse.
Saffron appeals to three of our five senses by offering a strong fragrance, its signature yellow color and a distinctive flavor to numerous cuisines around the world. In addition to its culinary uses, saffron has been used historically as a dye and for medicinal purposes.
It takes approximately 150 to 170 saffron flowers to produce one gram of spice. That’s about 4,000
saffron flowers to produce a single ounce.
Iran is by far the world’s largest grower of saffron. It is also grown in Afghanistan, Spain and other countries with hot, dry climates. Saffron has been grown in parts of Pennsylvania for over 200 years, mostly for personal use. Research is underway into expanding commercial opportunities for growing saffron in the United States.
The saffron crocus is hardy to United States Department of Agriculture Hardiness Zone 6 but readily survives in Zone 5 and even Zone 4, according to research conducted at the University of Vermont. No insulation is required. In fact, researchers discourage the practice of covering plants with mulch because it may attract rodents.
soil and water in. The plants will continue to grow all winter, going dormant in June.
Lining the planting area with hardware cloth and placing it over the corms can help deter squirrels, chipmunks, mice, voles or rabbits that will dig up saffron corms.
When in bloom, harvest saffron on a dry, sunny day, early to midmorning. Remove each flower by hand, then carefully remove each stigma. Place the stigmas separately on a paper-lined tray to dry.
If you’re thinking about trying to grow saffron at home, corms are generally available to order in late summer and are shipped at the proper time for planting.
If you’re thinking about trying to grow saffron at home, corms are generally available to order in late summer and are shipped at the proper time for planting.
Saffron corms should be plump and firm. Discard any that are shriveled or soft or that display signs of disease.
Select a location in full sun with well-draining soil. Standing water or excessive moisture can rot the corms. In the fall, plant corms about three inches deep, cover with
Like other herbs and spices, saffron should be stored in an airtight container out of direct sunlight and away from heat to preserve its flavor.
Over time, the corms in your saffron bed will multiply. After several years, dig them up and separate the daughter corms from the mother and replant to prevent overcrowding.
Growing your own saffron can be a satisfying and money saving endeavor.
To learn more about saffron, check out the UVM North American Center for Saffron Research and Development at uvm.edu/~saffron.
Deborah J. Benoit is a UVM Extension master gardener.
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Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice as each Crocus sativus blossom must be individually picked and its three stigmas carefully removed by hand and laid out to dry.
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Self-cleaning: Beavers, otters rely on fur to keep them warm
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The Outside Story
Rachel Sargent Mirus
Standing on the berm of a small pond, I watch the resident beaver leave its lodge, a silhouetted nose moving through the water. It disappears briefly and returns with a branch in tow.
The beaver clambers over the edge of its dam along a muddy path, branch bouncing along behind. Despite the muddy trail, the muddy dam and overall muddiness of the pond, I’ve never seen this — or any other — beaver caked in mud.
After making similar observations of another furry animal (his dog), Andrew Dickerson, a researcher in fluid dynamics at the University of Tennessee, wondered if fur had characteristics that help it to stay clean. He was especially curious about fur regularly exposed to water, including the coats of semi-aquatic animals like beavers and otters.
What Dickerson and his team found and reported in the Journal of The Royal Society Interface, is that hair’s ability to flex and move is an important factor in its proclivity for staying clean.
American beavers (Castor canadensis) and North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) both remain active through winter and have evolved many physiological and behavioral adaptions to live through freezing weather.
Beavers stockpile both food and body fat for the winter, and their metabolism slows, so they don’t eat that food too fast.
Otters eat a high-calorie diet of fish and other prey during the winter months, allowing them to keep a comfortable body temperature with a high metabolism. One critical component of the survival strategy for both is their winter coats.
Using samples from various terrestrial and semi-aquatic species, Dickerson first tested the tendency of single guard hairs to become covered in debris.
To do this, he fixed the hairs at both ends to a plastic mount and then subjected them to a flow of water containing titanium dioxide particles for 24 hours. These particles are non-toxic and so tiny that they stick very well to all kinds of surfaces.
After the hair fibers were exposed to this “dirty” water, Dickerson moved them to clean water and measured how much titanium oxide came off.
He found that hairs from semi-aquatic mammals stayed clean better than terrestrial fur and synthetic fibers.
Since fur has multiple, inter-related characteristics that influence how it becomes fouled, it is difficult to list exactly which characteristics most help it to stay clean.
On average, however, the hairs of the semi-aquatic animals tested were thinner, smoother, and more oval in cross-section than other hairs in the study.
Next, Dickerson tested the hair fibers with one end clamped and one hanging free, like how an individual hair grows out of an animal’s skin. He again exposed these hairs to water laden with titanium dioxide, then measured the accumulation of particles. He found that when hairs are anchored at one end, the free end flutters and waves in the cross current. That flutter helped the hairs stay cleaner by shaking off titanium dioxide particles.
American beavers and North American river otters both remain active through winter and have evolved many physiological and behavioral adaptions to live through freezing weather.
Both species grow thick coats comprising a layer of long, robust guard hairs on the outside and short, dense underfur below.
The many hairs that make up beaver and otter coats are thin and flexible fibers of keratin, a multi-purpose protein that also contributes to such diverse mammal features as hooves, fingernails, and whale baleen. Keratin is tough and insoluble in water, naturally contributing to the durability and water resistance of fur.
The factors that influence how dirt accumulates on an underwater hair fiber are complex, and researchers are still working to better understand them.
Dickerson’s research suggests that some characteristics of hair fibers — how curved its surface is, its cross-sectional shape, roughness and the sheer stress it experiences — contribute to its ability to remain clean.
Other factors to hair cleanliness for aquatic mammals include how long they are submerged, how dirty the water is, and how fast it is flowing.
Dickerson’s research suggests that there might be an optimal length for fluttering as a self-cleaning property of hair. Shorter hairs, whether from terrestrial or aquatic animals, didn’t flex as much as — and were dirtier than — longer hairs. But very long hairs bent and curved into line with the cross flow of Dickerson’s experimental currents, reducing their flutter, and presumably their self-cleaning potential.
He also pointed out that an animal’s hairs are packed tightly together, so they may clean each other by rubbing together.
“I want anybody who looks at my work to get a greater appreciation of how nature works and how wonderfully multi-functional fur is,” Dickerson said.
Beavers, otters, and their semi-aquatic comrades rely on their fur to help them stay warm through the winter. But those coats do more than insulate against cold and wet; they’re also dirt resistant and self-cleaning.
Rachel Sargent Mirus is a teaching artist and writer. 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.
ILLUSTRATION BY ADELAIDE MURPHY TYROL