Selectboard Roundup (4.16.25):

Act 250 exemptions, committee appointees, and possible development delays on the horizon

By Lynn Monty
The Record Staff

Chair Merrily Lovell began the meeting of April 16 by reading a statement regarding the Selectboard’s decision to no longer entertain public comments about the resignation of Police Chief Anthony Cambridge. A Selectboard sets its own agenda and is under no obligation to add specific items at the public’s request, she read. Natacha Liuzzi called in on Zoom mid-meeting requesting to talk on the subject. Lovell reiterated that the discussion is closed. Liuzzi had to be muted.

Kelley’s Field Phase Two and its 24 apartments for older adults is complete and fully leased, with 80 people on their waiting list. Cindy Reid, Director of Real Estate Development for Cathedral Square, was there to inform the Selectboard that the Vermont Community Development Program needed to close out the grant that the Town applied for on their behalf. Cathedral Square is a nonprofit, equal opportunity housing provider that includes both phases of Kelley’s Field. These independent living apartments were designed with supportive services on site to help people age in place safely. Phase two opened February 10, 2025.

“It takes a lot of municipal support to get affordable housing built and Hinesburg is the poster child for a municipality that does things well,” Reid told the Selectboard. “I appreciate your style of leadership and the gratitude that you have.”

Native Vermonter Anita Howard was appointed to the Planning Commission. She’s been in Hinesburg for about a decade after a stint in Real Estate in Tennessee. She currently works at MMU and The Howard Center. She is civically involved through school and church, and her son serves on the Fire Department. Howard said she is interested in getting back into her previous passions for subdivisions, developments, zoning laws and the like. “When you are planning a community it is important to look at the whole picture and everyone’s needs,” she said.

Matt Francis was appointed to the Affordable Housing Committee. He has a long family lineage here in Town and has just built a house next to his parents where he learned a significant amount of information about the process of development and affordable housing. He attended UVM and worked at NRG for several years. He recently moved back to Hinesburg from Winooski where he was the school’s district treasurer, and served on the Finance Commission. “Local government and committee meetings are no stranger to me,” he said.

University of Connecticut grad Suzie McCoy was appointed to the Town Common Committee. She gave a spirited “Go Huskies” shout out as she was interviewed. This Hinesburg resident has a background in advertising, sales and development, and media literacy. She was a professor at UVM and St. Michaels. She has served on a number of boards over the years and helped organize a Juneteenth event on the Town Commons land a couple of years ago. She said she sees the potential of the Town Common and is excited to see it come to fruition.

The Planning Commission will be asking the Selectboard to help designate some areas of Town to be exempt from Act 250, as required by the new Act 181 which passed last year. Sarah Muskin, a Senior Planner and Project Manager for the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, presented. She said this new act will overhaul Vermont’s planning framework for coordinating state, regional, and municipal land use.

Act 181 was passed to address the housing crisis, Muskin said. The act will make it easier to develop in Town centers and areas that are planned for growth. “It doesn’t do anything to restrict rural development,” she said. “Act 181 aligns local, regional, and state planning which helps to modernize how Vermont maps are drawn and directs public investments to designated centers, and speeds up Act 250’s transition to location based jurisdiction.”

Act 250 is a Vermont State law that is designed to regulate land use and development, particularly large development and subdivision projects. It will now be up to the locally elected body to opt in to Act 250 exemption. Muskin has been working with the Hinesburg Planning Commission and other Hinesburg committees over the past couple of months.

The Firefighters Association bought the Town’s antique fire truck for $1.00. Hinesburg Firefighter Katie Charbonneau offered appreciation to the Selectboard for permission for the sale and for helping to preserve such an important piece of history. The fire truck was originally purchased in 1945.

Well #4 repairs were approved. Water supply contingency plans are in place to haul in 40,000 gallons of water to add to the Town’s storage tank from Richmond to the tune of about $60,000. Repairs to the corroded pipe in Well #4 will be made during school vacation. This repair is in the ballpark of about $50,000.

As for water and wastewater rates, there will be an increase in operating supplies. The cost of materials have risen significantly. Tariffs could have an impact moving forward. The wastewater budget will need an adjustment half way through the year to better reflect the actual cost of running the new plant. The transmission line for Well #6 is on hold for the Haystack development because the cost estimate is held up due to the impending Trump tariffs on metal.

The Route 116 sidewalk engineering design proposal from Stantec Design grant was awarded. There is a $410,000 grant available to improve the sidewalk on the east side of 116 in town which is commonly under water or covered in sediment. This engineering design portion of this grant is approved at $86,500.

In Todd Odit’s Town Manager Report he announced that the Town is now responsible for The Mason’s building. The Town has owned the building next to Hinesburg Community School for some time, however it was maintained and insured by the Masons who have now handed that responsibility to the Town. Moving forward, the Town needs to have a lease agreement with the preschool operating in the building to allow them to stay short term. It will be up to the Selectboard as to what they want to do with the building long term. The Town owns the building because of the adoption of Act 60, the education law. Prior to the sale, the Masons were going to lose their tax exempt status, so they thought it would be easier to sell it to the Town to have the Town lease it back to them to avoid taxes, Odit said. There is no revenue currently coming in from that building. The preschool pays $1,700 annually to the Masons. This is the assumption of an asset that the Town doesn’t have the money to maintain, Odit said.