Williston Observer

Smith requests new public defender

By Kim Howard
Observer staff

A Williston man facing domestic assault charges requested a new public defender last week, alleging his lawyer is prejudiced.

Kaseen Smith, 31, alleged that his assigned lawyer, Harley G. Brown III, has provided insufficient counsel, is racially biased, and is “deliberately trying to sabotage” Smith’s case, according to a copy of his request. Brown also requested permission to withdraw as Smith’s lawyer since Smith made it clear he no longer wanted his assistance.

Smith pled not guilty this spring to charges of aggravated domestic assault, aggravated sexual assault, domestic assault, sexual assault and attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer.

In a two-page, handwritten statement to the court, Smith wrote that Brown, who is white, “told me I am a black man living in a white state so therefore I’m screwed…. And another thing he compared me to O.J. Simpson as in winning his case. I have my own opinion but I am greatly offended.”

In Brown’s motion to withdraw from the case, he wrote that he and the defendant have “irreconcilable differences,” that the defendant believes he is biased and prejudiced and that he “cannot represent someone who misinterprets everything I say to him.”

Smith also alleged Brown is trying to “sabotage” his case because Brown has made no motions, did not reduce bail, and “doesn’t say anything in court unless I ask him to.”

Lawyers do not determine a defendant’s bail amount; judges do. Smith has been held without bail since Feb. 23 at Chittenden County Regional Correctional Facility.

Brown said after last week’s hearing that he doesn’t want to comment beyond his written motion to withdraw, except to say there are more than 2,000 pages of documents in the case to date. That amount of information takes a great deal of time to sift through.

At Smith’s last hearing in March, Smith expressed his desire that the case move faster. Brown said it was impossible to do so and prepare an effective defense given the mountain of evidence. The judge had asked Smith if he understood the predicament; Smith said yes, and that he also understood the case might move more slowly than he would like.

Brown had scheduled five depositions for Friday, May 18, so requested “prompt attention” to the request. Vermont District Court Judge Michael Kupersmith granted the request, noting a new lawyer should be assigned immediately.

Smith is next scheduled for a hearing Friday, June 1 at 1 p.m. Stephen H. Mackenzie is the defense lawyer listed on the District Court’s online calendar.

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Area around former railroad depot settled in 1800s

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

Town planners have proposed creating a historic district in North Williston, a change that would help sustain the area’s character by imposing rules governing building renovation and construction.

The district would comprise about 290 acres and include parts of North Williston Road, Chapman Lane and Fay Lane. It would largely follow the boundaries of the existing state historic district.

Zoning Administrator D.K. Johnston said the idea of creating a second historic district in Williston – a portion of the village has long held the designation – came about after a new subdivision was proposed for the area.

Mike and Dan Fontaine want to build a 49-unit development called Settlers Village on part of the 293 acres of land they own in North Williston.

“We felt the best way keep consistency with what’s already there is to have it all be designed under a new historic district’s rules,” Johnston said.

The proposal is still being developed, so few specifics were available. But Johnston said that the rules for North Williston could be similar to those governing the village’s historic district.

Homeowners and businesses within the village who want to alter an existing building and construct a new one must complete an application. The application is reviewed by the Historic and Architectural Advisory Committee.

Then the Development Review Board decides whether to issue a certificate of appropriateness. If approved, the property owner must then apply for a zoning/building permit.

The rules apply to new structures as well as alterations to existing buildings, such as additions and decks. Johnston said the rules do not govern interior changes or exterior maintenance like painting or new roofs.

There are pros and cons to historic districts, Johnston said. Property owners who want to make major changes to structures must get the town’s permission, he said. But it also means your neighbor can’t do something out of character with the neighborhood.

“So you know your environment and views are protected from something inappropriate,” Johnston said.

Marianne Riordan, who lives at the corner of North Williston Road and Fay Lane, said she knew little about the proposal and so had not formed an opinion.

But Riordan, who lives in a home built in 1855, worries the town may impose rules mandating historically correct renovations that could make it much more expensive – or even impossible – for her to repair her home.

“If you have a house in the historic district that requires something, what if they don’t make it anymore?” she wondered.
North Williston is among the longest-settled parts of town. The area boomed following completion of a Central Vermont Railroad depot in 1850, according to a summary of the town’s history in Williston’s 2000 Comprehensive Plan.

The railroad allowed farmers to ship products to markets. The area eventually included a post office and a general store. A cold storage plant, which included one of the country’s first commercial refrigerators, was built in 1876, according to “The Williston Story,” a book by F. Kennon Moody and Floyd D. Putnam.

But development shifted back to Williston’s geographic center in the 1900s as roads were paved and electric power was installed. The flood of 1927 washed out miles of railroad track and signaled the beginning of the end for business activity in North Williston.

The area now has numerous historic homes and a few farms, one of which is owned by the Fontaines. Most of the properties in the proposed local historic district are listed in the state’s historic district.

That designation, however, is largely symbolic, Johnston said, because the state does not have authority to regulate local residential construction or renovation.

The Historic and Architectural Advisory Committee is scheduled to discuss the new historic district at its meeting on Tuesday, June 5 at Williston Town Hall. The discussion is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

The process of approving a new historic district is similar to that of processing a rezoning case, Johnston said. A total of four public hearings must be held before the Planning Commission and the Selectboard.

Those meetings have yet to be scheduled. Johnston said all property owners within the proposed district will be notified when hearing dates are set.

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Shortfall could mean property tax hike

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

Local sales tax revenue fell sharply in the first quarter of 2007, raising the possibility of a property tax hike to bridge a potential budget gap.

Williston collects a 1 percent levy on sales of goods and services, piggybacking on the state’s 6 percent sales tax. The town relies heavily on the local option tax, which funds almost 40 percent of the municipal budget.

So Williston officials were alarmed to learn that revenue from the tax dropped 22 percent for the quarter ending March 31 compared to the same period a year ago. The decrease, from $581,048 to $451,461, is especially startling because same-quarter revenue had increased virtually every time since the town began collecting the tax in 2002.

Though it is impossible to know for sure, the drop likely stems from changes in state law that govern what goods are taxed. Starting at the beginning of the quarter, Vermont exempted some items and began taxing others.

The state also altered so-called sourcing rules, with taxes now based on the purchase’s destination. That means that items bought in Williston but shipped or delivered elsewhere are no longer subject to the local sales tax.

“We assumed there was going to be some loss of revenue,” said Town Manager Rick McGuire. “But we didn’t think it would be this much.”

Vermont tax officials think the new sales tax exemption on clothing may at least in part account for the revenue drop in Williston. Bolstering that theory is the fact that Manchester, home to several factory outlets that sell clothing, saw an even steeper drop in sales tax revenue than Williston.

Michael Wasser, policy analyst with the state Tax Department, said first-quarter receipts for the statewide sales tax have actually increased. In Williston, he thought the new sourcing rules combined with a loss of revenue from clothing sales could have resulted in the big fall in tax collections.

State officials said the decrease might indicate that some taxes collected by businesses during the quarter have yet to be tallied.

“One of the reasons for the apparent drop could be that it’s a matter of one month’s returns are not completely processed,” said Bill Smith, a statistician with the Tax Department. He noted that the month-by-month numbers show local option tax revenue down 12 percent in January, 9 percent in February and a whopping 36 percent in March.

The state had warned towns that levy the local sales tax that they would likely see a drop in revenue when the new rules went into effect, Wasser said. “So it shouldn’t be a surprise, although that doesn’t make it any less painful.”

Williston officials did in fact assume sales tax revenue would level off in the coming fiscal year. The budget calculates that sales tax proceeds will be the same as the current fiscal year, despite the fact that revenue had increased substantially each previous year.

The new numbers put the town in a quandary. The 2007-08 fiscal year budget has already been approved by voters, who were told the $7.3 million spending plan would mean an estimated municipal property tax rate of 22 cents per hundred dollars in valuation.

Voters approve a budget, however, not a tax rate, which is subject to change based on revenue. And change it might if town officials determine the recent drop in sales tax revenue is more than an aberration.

The problem is that the town must guess how much the tax will bring in before setting the property tax rate. By law, the rate must be set by July 1 – well before the town even gets the next quarter’s sales tax results, let alone knows numbers for the coming fiscal year.

“One quarter doesn’t necessarily give you the whole idea about a trend,” McGuire said. “But that’s all we’ve got to go on right now.”

Changes to Vermont’s sales tax rules were made as part of a nationwide effort to standardize collections. The goal of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project is to convince Congress to pass legislation requiring taxes on Internet sales, thus capturing revenue that has eluded states and municipalities.

McGuire said the Selectboard will have to decide whether the new figures indicate that local sales tax revenue will continue to shrink or if the recent numbers are just an anomaly.

The board could draw on budget reserves – an estimated $800,000 for the coming fiscal year – set aside for unexpected expenses or shortfalls. It could raise property taxes. It could use some reserves while raising property taxes by a smaller amount. Or it could do nothing and hope sales tax revenue stabilizes.

Selectboard Chairman Terry Macaig said the board’s reaction to the latest figures was “not to panic at this point.”

The town was conservative in projecting sales tax revenue for the current fiscal year, he said, so there shouldn’t be a shortfall in the current budget. “Where we have a problem is what happens in the next fiscal year,” Macaig said.

He said that raising property taxes should be a last resort. Each penny increase in the property tax rate brings in about $120,000 in revenue.

A yearlong drop in sales tax revenue at a rate similar to the most recent decrease could leave a budget gap of more than $500,000, McGuire said

If the board decides the new figures indicate a larger-than-expected downward trend for Williston’s sales tax, McGuire said “it’s likely the tax rate will be higher than was estimated.”

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Natural Provisions to open on Harvest Lane

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

With poisoned pet food and tainted meat making headlines, it seems an especially good time to open a health food store. Mark Grenier is certainly bullish on the business.

Grenier, who operates the Natural Provisions health food store in St. Johnsbury, plans to open a second outlet in Williston. It will be located at 329 Harvest Lane, in the building that formerly housed Boise Cascade, an office supply company.

Grenier said he has seen sales steadily increase since he purchased the St. Johnsbury store three years ago.

“It’s getting bigger and bigger,” Grenier said. “And people are tending to eat healthier.”

So Grenier recently began looking to open another outlet in Chittenden County. He ruled out Burlington, and South Burlington, which each have stores – City Market and Healthy Living, respectively – that offer health foods.

Williston seemed far enough away from those stores yet central for many area residents. The location he found a short distance from Wal-Mart and other large retailers seemed ideal.

“Williston is an attractive area of course, with all those big-box stores,” he said.

The store will occupy 10,000 square feet on the ground floor of the sprawling Boise Cascade building. Though it will have a fraction of the space of a conventional grocery store, Natural Provisions will offer most of the types of products available at such stores, Grenier said.

He said he will squeeze many different types of items in the smaller space by limiting the number of brands of each product.

The store will have a selection of organic products such as vegetables, fruit, coffee and spices. Meat and fish will be offered. The inventory will include vitamins and nutritional supplements as well as wine and beer.

Grenier said he will carry well-known natural food brands such as Desert Essence, Nature’s Plus and Newman’s Own. He will also offer Vermont-made New Chapter vitamins.

Natural Provisions will have a small cafe that will have coffee, snacks and deli items. Grenier said he also hopes to offer a juice bar.

Organic and natural foods are increasingly available, not just in natural foods stores but also in farmers’ markets and conventional grocery stores.

In Williston, a pair of farmers’ markets are scheduled to open for their inaugural seasons in July. And both the Hannaford and Shaw’s grocery store chains have greatly expanded their organic offerings.

Hannaford announced this week that it had won recognition as a certified organic retailer. The grocery chain said the store now stocks more than 3,500 organic and natural products.

Grenier said he is currently working with a company to fit up the Harvest Lane store. He said Natural Provisions is scheduled to open in August.

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By Kim Howard
Observer staff

Emily Bruce thought science was boring until midway through high school.

“I didn’t understand it, I didn’t see how it was useful, and it certainly wasn’t exciting to me,” the 22-year-old Williston resident said recently. “Before junior year of high school, I would have said you were crazy if you said I was going to end up in a Master of Philosophy in Biological Science program.”

Come fall, Bruce will be studying exactly that – pathology in particular – through a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. The Vassar College graduating senior will spend her year in Cambridge conducting research on influenza-A.

Her science mind is built on an array of experiences. For the last two summers, she’s been at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in an undergraduate research program studying a protein that may affect the HIV infection process. Last spring, she studied in Mongolia, and conducted research for the World Health Organization on the availability of diagnostic tests for nomadic herders. On Monday, she turned in her biochemistry senior thesis, and her lab work continues until graduation, on what proteins interact with the protein Copine A.

“We don’t know a whole lot about how these proteins function, but they’re present in almost every organism, including humans,” Bruce said. “If you discover more about how it works, it can help in ways you can’t foresee.”

Jamie Bruce, Emily’s father, who himself has a Ph.D. in chemistry, said when his daughter began to express an interest in science, it was in molecular biology and “teeny tiny things” – what was happening at a cellular or sub-cellular level.

“She was always very detail oriented,” he said of his daughter. “She would design and make her own doll clothes, not bothering with sewing machines and patterns and things like that. So that attention to detail was sort of present from a very early age.”

Emily Bruce said it was Champlain Valley Union High School teacher David Ely who directly inspired her pursuit of science. When she took Advanced Placement Biology her junior year, that’s when her thoughts about science changed dramatically.

“It really made me think it was possible for me to go out and do scientific research and be able to change people’s lives,” Bruce said. “He made that seem like a feasible reality and incredibly exciting.”

Bruce said she’s not run across anyone in college who had the kind of high school preparation she had in A.P. Biology.

“His final exam was probably harder than the MCAT,” Bruce said, referring to the entrance exam for medical schools.

As a junior, Bruce began doing independent research with Ely, who helped her write her first grant for $500 from the Vermont Council of Arts and Sciences.

“Now I’m in a world of $18 million grants,” she said with a quiet laugh.

Bruce credits other high school and middle school teachers, and her parents, for encouraging her to pursue her varied interests. She also loves arts and crafts, has played the flute for 14 years (though she says she doesn’t have the natural musical talent of either of her younger sisters), and is interested in current events, political science, human rights and travel – all of which she traces back to the flexibility to explore during her days in Swift House at Williston Central School.

Though a few weeks ago she was offered a Fulbright Scholarship to Sweden, also to do immunology research, she chose Cambridge in part based on her time in Mongolia.

That semester, Bruce said was “amazing, unforgettable, truly life changing.” But the language barrier caused isolation and loneliness, she said, neither of which she would experience at Cambridge with roughly 100 other Gates scholars. Fulbright scholars are spread around the world.

After Cambridge, Bruce will still have many years of schooling ahead. She will enter an M.D./Ph.D. program at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York City.

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