Williston Observer

By Kim Howard
Observer staff

A Williston father, recreation basketball coach and public access television show host pleaded innocent last week to charges of domestic violence allegedly spanning the last nine years.

Kaseen S. Smith, 31, of Williston was arrested on Feb. 20 on charges of aggravated domestic assault, aggravated sexual assault, and domestic assault. While Williston Police Detective Michael Lavoie was fingerprinting him, Smith also allegedly assaulted the officer in an attempt to get his gun; he was charged with aggravated assault of a police officer.

Smith pleaded innocent to all charges at his arraignment last week, and is being held without bail. Smith was previously charged with a domestic assault in Binghamton, N.Y., on May 6, 1998, according to a police affidavit.

Smith was a basketball coach with Williston Recreation this fall, according to Recreation Director Kevin Finnegan. Finnegan said the department found no flags on Smith in a Vermont criminal background check.

“(Smith) was very highly regarded among the coaches and the kids playing on his team,” Finnegan said. “So (the allegations) came as a shock to everybody.”

On his Web site, Smith says he has his own public access television show “KA Live.”

On Jan. 22, Smith’s girlfriend removed their two children from Williston Central School, and fled the Williston home she’d shared with Smith, his legal wife, and six other children, according to the police affidavit. (The Williston Observer does not name survivors of domestic violence.) Smith reported the girlfriend missing the same day, and later reported she had kidnapped the children; the woman is in hiding, according to police.

“The victim fears for her life and has taken measures to be safe,” the affidavit reads.

In a 16-page affidavit, police reported details of interviews with the girlfriend, as well as Smith’s legal wife, a caseworker from the Department of Children and Families, and two of the girlfriend’s former co-workers, among others.

Interviews with witnesses indicate Smith was extremely controlling, according to the police affidavit.

“Smith would attempt to control her every movement,” the police document reports a witness said. Each day at work, the girlfriend had three breaks. “The accused Kaseen Smith would require her to call him at the beginning of each break, and have her stay on the phone until the end of each break.”

The abuse, which allegedly had gone on over nine years, had become “much more violent and more frequent,” the girlfriend told police in a phone interview, according to the affidavit. “Acts such as not closing the cupboard cabinet correctly, or not answering the phone quick(ly) enough were some examples given of what disappointed the accused.”

“(She) described events that started with pushes and escalated to harder pushes to the head, and eventually became severe beatings to the head…and extreme emotional abuse,” the affidavit reads. She was hit with his hands, the affidavit continues, walking sticks, and small exercise weights.

The accused also allegedly forced her to stand in a corner where the children could see her; forced her to eat her own contact lenses; forced her to eat old food until she threw up; poured candle wax on her; put out cigars on her; and poured maple syrup on her nude body and forced her to go into the woods.

Last month, the girlfriend sought refuge through Women Helping Battered Women and later contacted the Department of Children and Families to report the abuse. The Department of Children and Families removed the six remaining children, ages 1 to 10 last week, Williston Police Chief Jim Dimmick said. A representative from the Department of Children and Families said she cannot comment on the case.

Dimmick, who conducted the police investigation, said police are still seeking witnesses.

“She’s been in Williston for a few years here; people may have seen things,” Dimmick said. “When people read the paper and see this woman was a victim of domestic violence, I’m hoping that people who’ve seen her with injuries … can hone in on time frames.”

Witnesses, such as the ones who’ve already come forward, are critical in home violence cases, Dimmick said, so the case is not one person’s word against another’s.

Dimmick said Williston police have “zero tolerance” for domestic violence.

“Domestic violence at any level is simply not to be tolerated,” he said by phone while on vacation earlier this week. “Any report of domestic violence can get quick attention. We know there are victims out there that need help. When a victim makes a choice to come forward, it’s an enormously difficult one. And they have to know that people are there and are going to stand with them and they’re not going to be alone.”

Dimmick also stressed that people in Williston need to know that home violence happens not only in this town, but in every town in Vermont.

“Be cognizant of it,” Dimmick said. “When you see something that bothers you, inquire if you’re comfortable, or report suspected abuse.”

Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office Deputy Peter Bevere said a bail hearing has not been set in Smith’s case.

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Williston caps new housing at 80 units per year

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

The Development Review Board last week doled out most of the remaining housing allowed under Williston’s growth control rules, effectively barring new proposals for big subdivisions for the next seven years.

The board, at its Feb. 27 session, allocated a total of 129 units to six projects. Four of the subdivisions are for people who want to add a second house on their property; the others are one large and one small project by developer Al Senecal.

Town regulations limit new housing construction to 80 units a year. Larger developments must be built over multiple years to fit under the cap.

With the newly approved phasing, there are only 96 units left to be allocated through the 2014-15 fiscal year, according to Town Planner Lee Nellis. The starting point was 785 units, which was based on how many homes could be served by new sewer capacity the town acquired in 2004.

Town officials have in the past occasionally fretted about reaching a point when all available housing under the phasing system had been used up. They worried that could mean a desirable project would have to be rejected.

But Nellis said that allocating most of the housing in advance is both a logical and desirable result of Williston’s growth-control system.

“That’s how we manage growth,” he said. “So we now know what is going to happen and when it is going to happen.”

Nellis pointed out that the vast majority of the units already allocated – nearly 600 – are located near Taft Corners. The town’s Comprehensive Plan calls for housing to be densely clustered within walking distance of shops and services in the commercial district.

“The thing is the (housing projects) that came are desirable,” Nellis said. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have approved them. There’s no rational reason to wait until something else comes in.”

Phasing is just one part of Williston’s multi-step review process for subdivisions. Those proposing larger projects must undergo a pre-application review, obtain phasing, receive preliminary approval and then final approval.

The purpose of phasing is to “ensure that residential growth is consistent with the town’s capacity for planned, orderly and sensible expansion of its services,” Williston’s subdivision regulations state.

The rules grew out of town and school officials’ concerns that Williston’s rapid growth was overwhelming its ability to provide municipal services and to accommodate enrollment growth.

The town at first set a quota of 80 housing units a year. That number was later lowered to 65 units, but has now been raised back to 80.

The two subdivisions proposed by Senecal, who owns Omega Electric Construction and is the developer of Taft Farms Village Center, would be located on North Williston Road and at the Williston Driving Range just east of Taft Corners.

The driving range project, to be built over seven years, was allocated 118 of 128 requested units; the North Williston Road project received a 7-unit allocation to be constructed over three years.

(Disclosure: The Williston Observer leases office space from Senecal in Taft Farms Village Center.)

The other projects receiving an allocation were two-lot subdivisions on Oak Hill, South Brownell, Williston and South roads.

Though town rules may prevent future proposals for housing, new home construction will not stop anytime soon. Hundreds of units have been allocated in previous years, mostly around Taft Corners.

Among the projects in that category is Finney Crossing, a 354-unit residential and commercial development, and The Hamlet, a 110-unit subdivision that includes affordable housing. The Hamlet has won final approval; Finney Crossing is still navigating the town’s review process.

When those projects are combined with the Senecal proposal and numerous smaller, previously approved subdivisions, the lineup for residential development is nearly complete for the next seven years. The remaining allocation could be used by several small subdivisions or one larger one.

“One more project could wipe us out, essentially,” Nellis said.

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By Greg Elias
Observer staff

After failing to score with a soccer facility, a local developer now wants to construct an industrial building at the same site.

Al Senecal has filed plans with the town for a 28,800-square-foot structure on Commerce Street and a 5,000-square foot addition to an existing building used by his business, Omega Electric Construction.

The project’s application indicates the new building could accommodate both warehousing and light industrial uses.

Senecal said he may lease the new building. If not, he might use it for Omega Electric, which has a shop where equipment and tools are stored at the Commerce Street site as well as administrative offices on Omega Drive, a side street off South Brownell Road.

“We could get the business back under one roof,” he said.

(Disclosure: The Williston Observer leases office space from Senecal in Taft Farms Village Center.)

The project represents a second attempt to develop the site by Senecal. He won town approval in November 2005 for an indoor soccer facility, but never built it after failing to find a long-term tenant that would have made the million-dollar building financially viable.

He wanted to build a 33,600-square-foot structure that would have housed multiple indoor soccer fields. The facility could have provided additional playing space for the thousands of children and adults who participate in Chittenden County soccer programs.

Senecal talked with Far Post Soccer Club, whose lease at Williston Sports & Fitness Edge was set to expire. But Senecal and the club could not reach an agreement, and Far Post eventually moved to the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction.

The arrangement announced last May called for Far Post and Nordic Spirit, the area’s two largest soccer clubs, to share a building and merge their indoor leagues while keeping other parts of the organizations separate.

Senecal said he felt he was in the running to sign a lease with Far Post but he simply couldn’t match the price offered by the Champlain Valley Exposition. “I just think the deal with the other facility was too good to be true,” he said.

John Adams, Williston’s development review planner, said he was still reviewing the application but did not foresee any major problem with Senecal’s new proposal.

One potential area of debate is traffic. The town had required Senecal to add a turn lane on Commerce Street where it meets busy U.S. 2 as a condition of approval for the soccer facility. The application for the new project asserts that it will generate less than half as many peak-hour trips, so widening the road is no longer necessary.

The Development Review Board is scheduled to consider Senecal’s site plan application at its March 13 session. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m.

Senecal acknowledged that drawing up plans and gaining town approval for the scrapped soccer facility cost him “a bit of money.” But now he’s ready to move on to another idea.

“That’s money over the dam,” he said.

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By Ben Moger-Williams
Observer staff

Ruth Painter, an organizer of what she says is “probably the first annual” pre-town meeting potluck, said about 50 people attended the event. Painter, a 53-year Williston resident, said the old town meeting used to be held all day and people would break for lunch together between the school meeting and the town meeting.

“This is an opportunity to resurrect that, an opportunity for people to talk with their neighbors,” she said.

Painter, along with residents Jean Hopkins and Carol Burbank had the idea for the potluck, which was held at 6 p.m. in Williston Central School’s dining room, and featured three enchilada casseroles and other fare. She said the supper was a chance to talk about local issues, but also just to get together.

“The people that I was sitting with were reminiscing,” Painter said. “I think they were just enjoying the fact that we were all together.”

An additional 75 people made their way to the school on Monday to hear about the town and school budgets, and a proposed ambulance service and additional fire/rescue staff for Williston.

Williston School Board member Darlene Worth started out the meeting by recognizing outgoing School Board Chairwoman Marty Sundby with a hug and a large bouquet of flowers. Sundby has been chairwoman for about 13 years.

Three notable articles from the town warning were passed by voice vote, two of them related to tax payments. The due dates of property tax payments were bumped up by several days to accommodate the change in the tax prebate system. And voters chose to have the tax prebate delivered “pro rata” instead of “in order.” This fiscal year, income sensitivity prebates or rebates on property taxes will not be sent directly to individuals. Instead, the payment will be sent from the state to the town, which will then take the amount off people’s tax bills. Voters decided to make the payments “pro rata,” which means that the amount of the prebate or rebate will be spread evenly as a discount on all three property tax payments. In addition, the due dates for tax bills for the upcoming fiscal year were pushed forward to Aug. 20, Nov. 15, and Feb. 15.

The other article that was passed had to do with increasing the maximum veteran’s property tax exemption from the current $20,000 to $40,000. The measure offers tax assistance to disabled veterans. Williston currently has nine veterans receiving the $20,000 exemption, Town Clerk Deb Beckett explained. She said the impact on the town was about $5,400.

SCHOOL BUDGET QUESTIONED

Worth led the discussion of the proposed $15.9 million school budget. Several questions were raised from the floor regarding the 7 percent budget increase.

Six-year resident Phil Ronco said that it was unrealistic to expect people to approve a 7 percent increase in the budget, when people in town are not getting comparable raises each year.

“I look at everything that’s going on in Williston,” Ronco said. “I think that the whole spending is out of touch with people’s financial situations.”

The $7.2 million town budget went largely unquestioned. However, Town Manager Rick McGuire pointed out one unknown in the budget, the change in the 1 percent local option tax. The rules governing how the tax is collected changed Jan. 1, and McGuire admitted that although the town anticipated in the budget that revenue from the tax would increase this year to about $2.7 million, officials are unsure if that will actually happen.

“It’s a huge question mark,” McGuire said.

AMBULANCE

Fire Chief Ken Morton took to the podium at about 10:30 p.m. and due to the late hour, proceeded quickly through his presentation on a proposed ambulance service and fire/rescue staff. Morton had hoped that the six additional staff would fill in the gaps in coverage for the town.

About 100 residents remained for the presentation. One of them, Bill Skiff Jr., was skeptical of the proposal, a sentiment that was to be borne out by a majority of voters at the polls the next day.

“It’s nice that there’s a grant,” Skiff said. “My thinking is, just because something is on sale doesn’t mean you should buy it. … If you want a Cadillac ambulance you’re going to have to pay a Cadillac tax bill. It’s hard for me to write that check three times a year.”

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By Kim Howard
Observer staff

Vickie Durgin would love for her son Hayden, 2, to attend the Early Essential Education preschool program at Allen Brook School next year.

The part-time preschool is free to participants. And the buses that pick up and drop off the children are convenient for working parents like her, the Williston resident said.

But when she called two weeks ago to add Hayden’s name to the lottery list, she was told the deadline had passed, though the lottery wasn’t scheduled until after March 9.

“I was told I was the fourth or fifth person already turned away,” Durgin said. When she asked where the deadline was advertised, Durgin said, she was told it was on the school’s Web site.

“How was I supposed to know to go to the Web site to find this out?” Durgin said. “If it’s a free program to taxpayers, then everybody should be allowed the opportunity to have their child in (the lottery).”

Students meet for 2.5 hours three days a week – either mornings or afternoons, but EEE, as it is known informally in school circles, is not a typical preschool program.

The purpose of EEE is to provide special education services to children ages three to five who have developmental delays in speech, language, motor, and/or social/emotional skills. In order to best serve those students, however, same-age peers without disabilities also are included in the classroom. About half of the more than 50 enrolled students have disabilities, and half do not. About a dozen additional students with disabilities are served at home or through one-day playgroups.

“Peers” are chosen by lottery since there are more parents interested than there are spaces, according to Carter Smith, Williston schools director of special education. For the 2007-08 school year, 40 students are signed up for a lottery of 14 spaces. (The remaining peer spaces go to returning peers who have not yet entered kindergarten; once a peer is accepted, the spot is guaranteed the following year as well.)

Smith said in the 10 to 15 years he’s been involved with the program the school always has advertised through word of mouth. He added, however, that from a “fairness standpoint” that might need to change.

“We may decide to change our process in subsequent years,” Smith said this week. “I know there have been some people who’ve called and said they didn’t know (the lottery list) was closed.”

Smith said the level of interest in the program among parents of potential peers speaks not just to the program’s reputation of quality, but also suggests there might be a need for more such programs in the community. Money alone couldn’t be the driver, he said, since the EEE program is only 7.5 hours a week; any child needing care outside of those hours would need his or her parents to pay for a full-time daycare slot anyway.

Durgin agrees it is not money that drove her interest in Hayden attending EEE. A daycare provider, Durgin already is home with her kids.

“I want my son to listen to somebody else, to follow somebody else’s directions,” she said. “Here I’m the teacher, I’m the person who sets the boundaries … So for me it’s … to know he’s ready because he’s following somebody else’s directions.”

Durgin said she does not want the school to reopen the lottery process for Hayden, but she does want the school to consider how to better advertise its availability in the future.

“I don’t know how many other people are out there that know they’ve missed (the deadline),” Durgin said.

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