Williston Observer

Ordinance sent back to drawing board

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

Another attempt to refine gun rules misfired on Monday, as dozens of hunters testified that the ordinance would restrict use of their own land and be inconsistent with state regulations.

The Williston Selectboard on Monday held a public hearing on an amended firearms discharge ordinance. After more than an hour of testimony, the board sent the proposal back to the drawing board.

“It appears to me at least that we need to do more work on the ordinance,” said Chairman Terry Macaig.

It was at least the third hearing on the issue, which has created considerable controversy over the past few months, with property owners arguing for more restrictions and hunting advocates lobbying for reduced regulation.

The current ordinance divides the town in two parts, north and south of Interstate 89. Firearms cannot be used in most of the area north of the interstate, but they can be used south of I-89, except for in public parks and recreation areas or within 500 feet of any building.

Town staffers suggested amending the ordinance to clarify what is a public park. Hunting advocates then urged the town to allow hunting on at least some of that land. But when that was proposed, others came forward and urged the town to ban firearm use on all town-owned property.

That provision was included in the latest version of the proposed ordinance. Other restrictions included a ban on firearm use within 10 feet of any public road or within 100 feet of any marked public trail.

Monday’s hearing was attended by about 40 people, almost all of whom were hunters or members of sportsmen’s groups.

Some of the most pointed testimony came from large landowners who also like to hunt.

Jeff Boomhower said he owns 190 acres south of I-89. He noted that his family granted an easement to the town for a trail that reaches Five Tree Hill.

Instead of a thanks, he said the ban on firearm use within 100 feet of a public trail would prevent hunting on his property.

“You are regulating private land,” Boomhower said. “This is a slap in the face.”

He later accused the board of being “out of control,” drawing applause from the crowd.

Others pointed out that the proposed rules departed from state regulations, leading to potential confusion.

Evan Hughes, central vice president of the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, said the ordinance would forbid firearm use within 500 feet of any building, even if the land is not posted, which is required by Vermont law to establish a no-hunting zone.

“Sportsmen are a law-abiding group,” Hughes said. “They need consistent laws.”

Several who spoke said at least some of Williston’s public land should be open to hunting. That would ensure that young people and those of modest means have an accessible and affordable way to participate in a centuries-old Vermont tradition.

“Lots of young people, who if land wasn’t close by, wouldn’t have the opportunity to go out and hunt,” said Greg Paulman, a local hunting instructor. “To make them drive an hour to get someplace they can hunt with the cost of gas what it is really isn’t fair.”

Notably absent from the hearing was anyone supporting the amended ordinance. At a September hearing, residents who live in the rural Brownell Mountain area said they were worried about their safety.

“I have 10 acres and I like to walk it. I don’t want to have to worry that my head might get blown off by a stray bullet or a ricochet,” Julie Bonanno told the board.

Some at Monday’s hearing, however, felt that hunters and hikers could co-exist.

“Public land is public land, and there is room for everybody,” said Williston resident Ladd O’Brien.

After the hearing ended, Macaig indicated there would be no vote on the proposal and the crowd streamed out the room. The board then informally talked about prospects for changing the ordinance before concluding there was no rush.

“Since the hunting season is over except for muzzle loaders, there’s not a lot of urgency,” Macaig said.

Any substantive change to the current proposal would require yet another public hearing, said Town Manager Rick McGuire.

A final comment by board member Jeff Fehrs crystallized why a seemingly modest ordinance change created such a divisive debate.

“I’m always going to put residents’ safety over hunters’ rights,” Fehrs said. “I’ll sit through more ugly public hearings if I have to to protect public safety.”

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By Rachel Gill
Observer correspondent

On the opening night of Champlain Valley Union’s budget season, all eyes were on the areas of operations and maintenance and information technology services.

The first pass at the 2008-2009 budget began on Nov. 26 with the first of what will be a series of seven work sessions.

Bob Mason, chief of operations for Chittenden South Supervisory Union, started the meeting by explaining how this year’s process will be different from previous years.

In the past, all CSSU boards started with a budget that incorporated all possible program, personnel and miscellaneous cost additions. Through the budget process the boards then discussed what to keep and what to cut.

Mason said this year the board will take last year’s budget and make adjustments, such as meeting contractual obligations and current operating costs, to arrive at a baseline budget.

Mason said all CSSU boards approved the change in the budget process during their retreats last summer.

“This is part of a district wide effort to make the budget process clearer and more transparent,” Mason said.

This year CVU is starting with a baseline budget of $20.6 million.

Mason also explained that figure reflects the minimum amount needed for the school to maintain the same quality of services as last year without any program changes.

The board’s next step is to focus on individual elements to either add or subtract from the baseline budget.

To start the new budget process, CVU Principal Sean McMannon presented this year’s operations and maintenance budget requests. Currently, the operations and maintenance budget request is hovering at just over $1.2 million, a $32,000 decrease from last year. Despite the overall decrease, numbers may change because of a request for a full-time grounds position not yet factored into this year’s figures. According to the operations and maintenance budget request report, the position could add $33,000.

Jeff Tobrocke, CVU Chittenden House director, presented the budget requests for information technology. This year’s proposed technology budget is currently $524,000 – less than last year’s $544,000 budget – but is expected to increase by $70,000. School officials said $63,000 of the increase will fund the lease of copier-printers.

The remaining $7,000 will help purchase equipment or software requests submitted by teachers, although the full cost of the requests would likely exceed the money available.

School officials said the requests are currently under review by the technology committee, which is expected to submit its decision on Dec. 10. Changes to the technology budget have not been approved and are also expected to go before the board at its next meeting.

For more information on this year’s budget process visit the CSSU Web site at www.cssu.org. The next CVU budget work session is scheduled for Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. in CVU Room 172.

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Taxpayers seen as unlikely to approve funding

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

Residents want a community center but won’t support a tax hike – at least not in the near future – to pay for it.

So concludes a new report that considers the need for a much-discussed facility that could serve as a central gathering place for teens and seniors and host community functions.

An eight-member task force compiled the report, gathering information from a variety of sources over the past year. The group included representatives from the Selectboard, Planning Commission and Recreation Committee as well as town staff and three community members.

After polling voters, holding a public hearing and interviewing residents, the task force learned that Willistonians liked the idea of having a community center.

But it also found out that there was little support for higher taxes to fund a facility that could cost millions to construct and thousands more in annual operating costs. Instead, the task force thought Williston could get by with existing public spaces for the time being.

“I think the committee believed that one is needed in the community eventually,” said Town Manager Rick McGuire, who served on the task force. “Just not yet.”

The community center envisioned by the task force would accommodate both seniors and teens and would include shared meeting rooms, storage, a kitchen and space reserved for each group. To serve those needs it would contain 3,000 to 6,000 square feet.

The report estimated the facility would cost $1.5 million to $2 million to build based on today’s construction costs. The task force acknowledged that a more accurate estimate would depend on many variables yet to be determined.

A voter-approved bond could fund the facility. Susan Lamb, Williston’s finance director, said the town is currently repaying slightly more than $8 million in bond debt, most of it for the new fire and police stations. Under state law, municipalities can carry debt equal to 1 percent of its grand list. In Williston’s case, Lamb said, that debt ceiling equates to about $12 million.

But it is doubtful that voters would approve more bond debt, the report said. The task force based its conclusion on previous votes rejecting the school budget and an ambulance service as well as comments from residents.

“The task force was unanimous in feeling that the capital construction costs for a community center, if it were built now or in the near future, should not come from taxes,” the report said.

Instead, the task force recommended a fund-raising campaign to pay for part or all of the construction. The report suggests that the community might be more receptive to paying for the facility in about five years, particularly if it was created by expanding Dorothy Alling Library or Allen Brook School or if it was partially funded from private sources.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

The task force was initially divided on the ideal location for a community center. The group eventually decided that the village would be the best site because of its proximity to the town’s two schools as well as other services such as the library.

In fact, one of the possibilities discussed by the task force was a library expansion large enough to accommodate a community center. Task force member David Yandell said that would dovetail nicely with the many programs already offered by the library and allow the use of existing library staff to help operate the community center.

Other locations discussed were the Williston Armory and Allen Brook School. The school location also could be built as part of an expansion, a long-discussed idea with an uncertain future given stagnant enrollment.

The task force discovered that community groups were making do with public spaces scattered around Williston. Those spaces include room at the police and fire stations, Town Hall, Allen Brook and Williston Central schools, the Vermont National Guard Armory and the library.

But the report acknowledges that many of those spaces are less than ideal or have limited availability. They are often shared with multiple groups and include no storage.

Recreation Director Kevin Finnegan said that poses a problem for ongoing activities. For example, he said a monthly teen coffeehouse once held in the basement of the Old Brick Church was popular. But organizers had to spend hours setting up before each session, then carting away gear when the event ended.

Still, the report said groups can find space. It noted that the town is developing an online system that should help community groups find and reserve space.

“There didn’t appear to be a desperate need for a serve-all community center at this time,” said task force member Carroll Lawes.

DOWN, NOT OUT

Though the report said the town can wait for a community center, it noted that demographic trends will force the town to act in the next several years. The state’s aging population will mean more seniors, who will drive demand for additional space.

“The task force concluded that there is not a pressing need at the present time, but within 5-10 years the town will need to respond – particularly to the needs of senior citizens,” the report said.

The report was presented to the Selectboard on Monday night. McGuire said the board had many questions and wondered what the task force thought the town should do next.

Exploring opportunities for private funding, locating a site, obtaining permits and constructing a building will take years, Yandell said. That means the town should get going immediately.

“We don’t need it right now, but we might need it in the future,” he said. “So it’s important for us to start planning right now.”

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Thirteen arrested at office in Maple Tree Place

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

A student protest against military recruiting on Friday ended with a noisy occupation of the Vermont National Guard office in Williston and arrests of 13 anti-war demonstrators.

The protest at Maple Tree Place involved about 75 people, including high school and college students as well as demonstrators opposing the Iraq war.

Protesters brandished signs, chanted slogans and shouted through bullhorns during the two-hour demonstration at two recruiting offices in the busy retail center. A few protesters confronted military members. After nearly an hour, police warned protesters that they would be arrested if they did not end their sit-in at the Guard office. Thirteen demonstrators, including three juveniles, were cited for trespassing, said Williston Police Chief Jim Dimmick.

Students at Mount Mansfield Union High School organized the protest, which evolved from efforts to rid their school of recruiters and to prevent the release of student information to the military. Among the organizers was Phoebe Pritchett. She said in an e-mail that she was pleased with how the protest went.

“I think our action was very successful,” she said. “We voiced our discontent with current recruiting practices and the war in Iraq, and no one got recruited at either of the offices while we were there.”

The students had sought advance publicity and contacted other anti-war groups. The organizing effort resulted in a raucous but non-violent war protest, the largest of its kind in recent memory in Williston.

At about 3 p.m. protesters massed near the Best Buy store and marched in formation toward the shopping center’s green. Their initial target was the combined recruiting office for the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines on the east side of the green.

But protesters found a locked door and a darkened office. They satisfied themselves with taping protest signs to the office’s front window and door.

“Education, not occupation,” they chanted in unison, “military out of our school.”

More soon joined the demonstration, which spilled from the sidewalk onto the street. Then someone noticed the National Guard office across the green and protesters began streaming toward it.

About three dozen demonstrators entered the storefront office while others stayed outside. Some plastered more protest signs – most with slogans, one with a graphic photo portraying war dead – on the walls. Others milled about the office or tried to engage military personnel in debate. One man read a list of Iraqis killed in the war.

Police presence was evident from the outset, and it grew to include personnel from the numerous area law enforcement agencies. Eventually, Dimmick told demonstrators they had to leave the Guard office or be arrested.

Some left immediately, and others drifted outside over the next few minutes. Williston Police Sgt. Bart Chamberlain stood guard for a short time before locking the door.

The crowd outside grew more excited, peering through the window and pounding on the plate glass window, which shook but did not break.

Meanwhile, officers inside began writing citations. Dimmick said protesters were then given a chance to leave, but they instead remained seated in a circle. Police dragged them out a rear door and into a waiting van, where most were taken to the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Office for processing. Three juveniles were cited and released.

Differing reasons for the protest

The combination of youthful demonstrators and what Dimmick called “professional protesters” produced a group with diverse views.

South Burlington resident James Leas, for example, identified himself as a member of the National Lawyers Guild. Leas said he wanted to ensure demonstrators’ First Amendment rights were upheld. He confronted Guard members and police, at one point asking Dimmick, “How did you get to be (the military’s) spokesman?”

Matt Howard of Iraq Veterans Against the War said he supported the students’ effort to end military recruitment in high schools. But he was also there to oppose the war.

“I want them out of the schools, I want them out of Iraq,” he said. “This war is based on systematic lies told by everybody from the Bush administration on down to recruitment personnel.”

Many of the students were taking tentative first steps in exercising their free speech rights. A few admitted they were able to attend the protest, which started before classes finished for the day, because they got permission slips from their parents.

Eliza West, 16, of Richmond, said the protest was exciting. She said she would continue demonstrating “until my mother picks me up.”

The students were upset about military recruiting practices, particularly a provision of the No Child Left Behind Act that requires high schools to release the names and phone numbers of students to recruiters. They circulated a petition signed by 171 students and teachers at Mount Mansfield Union asking members of Vermont’s congressional delegation to change the law.

Vermont National Guard spokeswoman Kate Irish declined to comment on the protest. She did say those at the recruiting office were not in a position to address issues raised by the demonstrators.

“They are there to carry out policies that have been enacted, not debate them,” she said.

Word got out about protest plans in the days leading up to the event. Dimmick said police met with organizers in advance to ensure they could exercise their free speech rights without affecting nearby businesses or creating safety hazards. But he said when they occupied the building and became disruptive, police had to act.

“We didn’t want to make arrests,” Dimmick said. “We have a great deal of respect for their First Amendment rights. But with those rights come limits.”

Pritchett saw things differently. She noted in her e-mail that protesters did not damage property or jeopardize anyone’s safety. They simply wanted to make their views heard.

“The point of our action was not for a bunch of people to get arrested,” she said. “The point was to express our discontent with misleading recruiting and the war in Iraq, a cause for which people were willing to accept any consequences to deliver our message."
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