The Charlotte News | July 3, 2014

Charlotte News The Hometown Paper Since 1958

Volume lVI Number 23

The VoIce of The TowN

Thursday, July 3, 2014

“It ain’t like it used to be...”

Charlotte’s Web Page 9

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The Charlotte News VoluMe lVi NuMber 23

the VoiCe of the towN

thursday, July 3, 2014

Photo by brett SigurdSon

With Town Plan Draft, Planning Addresses Most Pressing Issues Commission puts emphasis on increased density to offset aging, affordability issues Brett Sigurdson the Charlotte News

Up in the Air Drivers on Route 7 last week saw a sight reminiscent of the Disney movie Up: a century-old farmhouse lifted in the air. But it’s taking more than balloons to lift the home.The white Victorian house, on what is known as the Varney Farm, was recently purchased by Tim and Martha Hunt. Because of several health and safety issues with the basement of the house as well as its close proximity to Route 7, the Hunts decided to move the house to a new location roughly 400 feet behind where it was built. Over the course of the last two weeks, a crew of eight from Nop’s Metal Works in Middlebury have jacked up the house in preparation for its move. After it is transported, the house will stay lifted until a new foundation is built for it to rest on. Lou Nop, the owner of Nop’s Metal Works, noted that while moving the Varney home presented some challenges, his company has moved bigger buildings.

Charlotte’s Planning Commission released its first draft of the 2015 Town Plan for public comment late last week. While incomplete—there are two chapters missing and an appendix with supporting data outstanding as of this writing—the draft charts a progressive way forward in dealing with Charlotte’s most pressing problems over the course of the next 20 years.

Those problems are detailed early in the planned 13-chapter document, and they center around the town’s aging population, lack of housing options for a diverse population, dwindling school population and high taxes.

According to the draft, Chittenden County’s 65 and older population is expected to increase by 122 percent in the next two decades, far out-pacing the next closest age group, the 30 to 44 demographic, which is expected to grow by a relatively meager 22 percent.

Charlotte is seeing a similar trend.

According to census statistics, Charlotte’s population of those 45 and over represents the biggest segment of the town’s population at over 50 percent. Of that, the age 65 and over demographic is 11 percent of the total population. Such numbers will necessitate more health care, emergency response,

CoNtributor

The Selectboard Meeting on Monday, June 23, was consensual and efficient, though not brief, ending at 9:45 p.m.

The board unanimously approved a request from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to use Lake Field and town roads for the recreational fundraising Ride to Cure Diabetes on July 26, a request from a nonprofit club to use part of the Charlotte Beach area as a pit stop for the Eastern Tandem Rally on July 20, and a request from the Charlotte Recreation Commission to use the Town Beach for the Town Beach Party on August 3, which may or may not include a pig roast.

Outdoor Gear Exchange (OGE) is providing the water equipment (e.g., paddleboards) for the picnic.

The board also approved, again

unanimously, a one-year contract with the Vermont State Police (VSP) for FY 15 for a guaranteed 442 hours of service at an amount not to exceed $27,868. The rate offered by the VSP averages $63.05 per hour of service, considerably less than the $87 per hour rate offered by the Town of Shelburne, which has provided police services to Charlotte in the past.

Jeff McDonald, chair of the Planning Commission, and Jeannine McCrumb, town planning and zoning administrator, presented an update on the Town Plan, a draft of which is available on the town website as well as the Charlotte News website. Copies of the draft will also be available at the Town Party on July 12, and members of the Planning Commission will be

Selectboard

continued on page 5

Town Plan

continued on page 8

Celebrate Charlotte’s 20th Town Party on July 12

Selectboard Tackles Police Contract, Town Plan Susan Crockenberg

transportation and in-home support, according to the draft. The local volunteers the town relies upon for town and town-supported services could become scarce, too.

Providing housing for Charlotte seniors who want to stay in the community is also a consideration of the draft, though providing more housing for economically and demographically diverse new residents is also a key planning consideration in the draft.

Because of declining enrollment at CCS and the subsequent higher cost per pupil reflected in the tax rate, the town, through promoting more housing opportunities for more families, intends to link growth goals to an idealized school size as a way to stabilize school costs.

“We will strengthen our strategies to address our changing demographics and moderate our tax burden,” the draft says.

“With an aging population, we will attract younger families in keeping with a desired school capacity.”

One of the major moves the commission suggests to address this priority is to reconvene the town’s Affordable/Senior Housing Committee, which has disappeared in recent years. The proposed committee will work with the Planning Commission to evaluate land use regulation incentives for the creation of more affordable and senior housing. It will also be charged with helping the commission identify locations for potential projects and developers and working with regional organizations to educate aging

Beth Merritt & NaN MasoN

more. The celebration includes music as well, as the Hokum Bros will entertain the crowd. Lake Champlain Chocolates will The Town Party is 20 years old this provide ice cream. The suggested donation year! It’s hard to believe that what began for joining in all this fun is $5 per person as an effort by the Friends of the Library or $20 per family. Note that events here to showcase the library building project start at 10 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. to accommodate the schedules of has grown into such a fullthe youngest. Meet your scale town event. This year’s I f You Go friends at 10:30 a.m. in the party, again organized by the Old Lantern parking lot on Friends of the Library, is What: Town Party Greenbush Road, where scheduled for Saturday, July When: July 12, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. the annual parade forms.

12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Where: Charlotte Town Green The parade will proceed the Town Green. Highlights north on Greenbush and include a great book sale, The annual town celebration has turn onto Ferry Road, parade, community orga- become a summer tradition in arriving at the Town Green nization displays, Quinlan Charlotte. From the parade to the book sale to the socializing, it’s fun around 11 a.m. Everyone School activities and lunch for everyone. is welcome to join in the at the fire station. fun—marchers (costumes This year the Charlotte encouraged), tractors and Children’s Center celebrates its 30th anniversary and plans on making its fire engines, floats, bikes, scooters, skateTown Party activities extra special. These Town Party will include pony rides, a photo booth, continued on page 19 face painting, decorating cowboy hats and

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2 • July 3, 2014 • The

Charlotte News

The 2015 Town Plan: More Than a Good Read

The Charlotte News PublishEd by and for CharlottErs sinCE 1958 The CharloTTe News is a nonprofit community-based newspaper dedicated to informing townspeople of current events and issues. It serves as a forum for the free exchange of views of town residents and celebrates the people, places and happenings that make the Town of Charlotte unique.

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I’ve lately been reading Ben Hewitt’s The Town that Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food, a book that details how a burgeoning local farm and food movement in Hardwick breathed new life into that small Vermont town. What sticks out to me so far—I haven’t finished the book yet—is the energy of the people behind the movement, people like Tom Stearns, owner of High Mowing Organic Seeds, and Pete Johnson, proprietor of Pete’s Greens, who aim to chart a new course away from the once-wealthy town’s recent gritty history. It’s been a fascinating read, in part because I can’t help but think about Charlotte as I turn the pages.

The reason for this is simple. I’ve been enmeshed in researching and interviewing folks about Charlotte’s 2015 Town Plan for the last six months for our “Charlotte’s Web” series, a process that has put me firmly in the current of time as I examine the town’s past, present and future. As I move from one topic to another, uncover another interesting story or statistic, or attend a Planning Commission meeting, I’m constantly asking myself What does this mean for the town’s future?

But more than this, the personal subjects of Hewitt’s book, the Hardwick residents attempting to make a difference in their town, also remind me of some of those I’ve interviewed for the series. People like Mike Russell, whose insight into Charlotte’s issues and willingness to push for what he sees as right are inspiring.

Or Jeannine McCrumb, the town’s planning and zoning administrator, who I’ve seen lead Planning Commission meetings with a combination of firmness and curiosity as she’s pushed the commission members to explore what the town could look like and what it shouldn’t look like. Or the members of the Planning Commission, who I’ve witnessed carry out incisive

dialogues about even the most mundane issue at the monthly meetings I’ve been able to attend.

And now we have the product of that hard work and discussion: the first working draft of the 2015 Town Plan was released for public consumption last week.

After reading it, I have to say it’s a damn good start.

I’ve written in the past about my inability to truly invest in Charlotte because of the high cost of buying into the town, and I was happy to see the commission’s progressive policies aimed at nudging the town toward more development centered on affordable and senior housing, while also seeking to balance the town’s desire to protect its open spaces and rural heritage.

The Planning Commission is right, I think, to push for more development aimed at expanding the diversity and demographics of Charlotte. Given the very real issues that the town’s aging population and rising cost of living present to those who live here now, this is absolutely the right move. Will it be popular? I doubt it. The balance between development and conservation will likely be the main topic around which much of the debate over the Town Plan will center. This is the way it’s long been.

And so this is where the real work begins. The first draft of the 2015 Town Plan is the opening salvo in what promises to be—what must be—an important conversation about the future of this town. For Charlotte to have a Town Plan that truly pushes the community into the future, it must be carried on a wave of public energy. It must be the product of a vigorous and considered debate, the manifestation of a community that has truly looked at itself and accepted what it sees.

That’s why it is incumbent upon everyone in this community to read the Town Plan draft, to talk about it and to share their opinions with their friends, neighbors and—especially—the Planning Commission.

You’ll find it on the town’s website (charlottevt.org).

Take it from me, it’s a fascinating read. Like Hewitt’s book, I can’t wait to see what happens in the end.

Brett Sigurdson Editor

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The split in Islam between Sunnis and Shiites took place in the 7th century over who would succeed the prophet Mohammed. The Shias believed it should be Ali, Mohammed’s cousin and son-in-law. The Sunnis argued it should be a consensus choice of Mohammed’s close associates. The Sunnis won the argument, but the conflict continues to this day.

With the emergence of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, when most Muslims fell under Turkish rule, the split existed but was not paramount in that vast polyglot of cultures, religions and ethnicities that made up the Empire. The Ottomans were big losers in WWI, and at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1920 their empire was dismembered.

This resulted in the creation of several artificial states that bore little relationship to historic tribal and ethnic boundaries. Trans-Jordan, Greater Syria and Iraq came into being, ruled by Arab kings and princes appointed by the British and French. They were dictators who did not tolerate destabilizing religious disputes.

That situation prevailed through World War II when the importance of oil had become a major factor in Middle East politics. During the Cold War, the U.S and the U.S.S.R. each latched on to “client” states.

U.S. clients were urged, above all, to maintain stability.

Human rights and democracy were barely—if ever— mentioned. The oil must continue to flow. Israel must be safe.

Then came the Iranian Revolution of 1979, when a pro-Western absolute monarchy was overthrown by an anti-Western authoritarian theocracy. Significantly, in a region long dominated by Sunni Muslims, major-power Iran would be ruled by Shiites—the minority, downtrodden sect of Islam.

In 2003, the United States, oblivious to such sectarian divides, invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein— a Sunni, but mostly a secular dictator. The American presence empowered the majority Shiites in Iraq, now aligned with neighboring Shiites in Iran. They began to settle old sectarian scores, which Iraqi Sunnis violently resisted. In Iraq today, Shia Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki remains unwilling to share power with Sunnis and Kurds, which is the key reason for the immediate crisis.

In 2011, the Arab Spring and the democratic movements that came with it began to agitate for an end to autocratic rule in places such as Egypt, Libya and Syria.

Those revolutions failed to produce democracies, but they blew off the secular lid that had long suppressed widespread religious conflict. The grand battle was drawn, with Iran leading the Shias and Saudi Arabia the Sunnis.

If the Shias, the Sunnis and the Kurds of Iraq could agree to share power, Iraq could yet be saved and greater conflict averted. If not, Sunni extremists, under the banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, may succeed in their quest to punish the Western “infidels” and their Muslim collaborators while creating their own medieval Islamic state. That will pose a serious threat to the region and quite possibly to America as well.

This commentary originally aired on Vermont Public Radio (VPR) on June 26, 2014. Barrie Dunsmore is a journalist who covered foreign affairs for ABC News for 30 years. His columns and commentaries are featured in the Rutland Herald/Montpelier Times Argus and on VPR. He lives in Charlotte.

The Charlotte News • July 3, 2014 • 3

We’re Almost There...

Dear neighbor and friend, The Charlotte News is our town’s only nonprofit community newspaper, and it’s been that way for 56 years. Last year we initiated a “Thrive at 55” campaign to raise $55,000 over two years. We’re just about halfway there. Please help us reach our goal by making a gift today. Here’s why.

The new Green Mountain Habitat home on Albert’s way was dedicated June 22.

Third Habitat Home on Albert’s Way Dedicated June 22 marked the dedication of the third home on Albert’s Way in East Charlotte. The south wing of the duplex (above) will be home to Puspa and Durga Luitel. The Luitels are from Nepal originally. Puspa is a student at Vermont Law School.

His wife, Durga, is studying to become a nurse. They do not have children at the moment.

In siting the five units, a duplex and three homes, Habitat was careful not to encroach on conserved land. The fourth unit is underway, with Renee and Jordan Paquette contributing their sweat equity so that they and their three sons can move in later this year.

CorreCtions Our recap of the June 9 Selectboard meeting (“Selectboard Gets Update on Route 7 Reconstruction”) needs clarifying. In the article, we noted that much of the delay in the reconstruction of the three-mile stretch of Route 7 from the site of the former flea market to the North Ferrisburgh town line was largely due to the town’s insistence on an underpass to connect the Town Link Trail. In fact, the underpass was never an issue, said Ken Upmal, a senior project manager with Vermont Department of Tranportation (VTrans). (We misidentified him in the article, for which we also apologize.)

The main reason the long-in-the-works project has been delayed is because VTrans decided to completely redesign the stretch of road, as the original working design—engineered in 1992—did not go far enough. Beginning six years ago, VTrans set out to totally rebuild the highway, a move that required new engineering designs, land surveys and an ACT 250 review—all time-consuming, Upmal said. The new plan also expanded the original right of way from 50 to 100 feet, he explained, which meant a lengthy process of negotiating with abutting landowners.

As we noted in the article, VTrans expects to “file for necessity” in July against those landowners unwilling to negotiate.

He expects that process will not be completed until January of next year. From there, utility relocation is scheduled for the fall of 2015. Construction is slated to begin in 2016.

Upmal explained that he’s thrilled with how fast the project has come together since starting from scratch five years ago.

“In reality, a full redesign of a major highway is a commendable act,” he said. “We really accelerated this project. I’m very happy with the development and where it’s at now.” *** In the previous issue of the News, we misspelled Isabella Carrara’s last name. We apologize for the error. *** Due to a printing error during production of our last issue, readers may have received multiple copies of a special insert from CCS’s PTO, the Charlotte Children’s Gazette, in a single issue or no copy at all. The printer, Upper Valley Press, has reinserted the Gazette in this issue for those who may not have seen this special newspaper created by local elementary students. We hope you enjoy their hard work and great writing.

On the cover

The sign ThaT once welcomed drivers on rouTe 7 To sTeve’s ciTgo has been devoid of gas prices since The business closed in June 2012. phoTo by breTT sigurdson

Next issue deadlines nexT issue daTe: Thurs., July 31 conTribuTions: mon., July 21 by 5 p.m. leTTers: mon., July 28, by 10 a.m.

Our mission is to serve as a forum for the free exchange of ideas and to celebrate the uniqueness of our town, its people, places and happenings. To that end, the News this year has brought us stories on topics ranging from auto detailing and repair to local farming, art, music and education, as well as detailed accounts of Selectboard meetings and the work of the Conservation Commission and other town committees. Regular columns focus on parenting, health and wellness, trees and forestry, hiking and hunting, and even recent developments in foreign policy. And the News helps us celebrate as a community the meaningful events in our lives, from graduations and marriages to the births of our newest residents.

Just in time for Town Meeting last year the News featured an in-depth analysis of the conflict between Charlotte Town Hall and the Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service. More recently, the series titled “Charlotte’s Web” has looked the most important issues facing the town on the occasion of a comprehensive rewrite of the Town Plan.

Many of the articles, columns and stories in the News are written by volunteers in the spirit of a true community paper. Looking to the future, we want to ensure this level of community engagement in writing and reporting continues. We would also like to add more regular coverage of CCS, CVU and the Planning Commission, as well as a greater diversity of voices to produce special features and other commissioned work such as illustrations or photo essays.

And we would like to be able to pay our editors, managers and writers stipends that acknowledge the true value of their contributions to the paper and the community and that help make it possible for all of them to live in the town where they do their work.

Local journalism helps cultivate an engaged and educated community. But it comes at a cost. Last year, almost 300 people donated to the News, helping ensure that the paper continues to arrive in your mailbox every two weeks. Thanks to all of you who have contributed, and please increase your support this year if you are able. If you haven’t yet contributed, doing so now will help us reach our goal—and ensure that Charlotte’s only nonprofit community newspaper continues to thrive at 56.

You can support us by sending a check or money order to The Charlotte News, P.O. Box 251, Ferry Road Business Park, Charlotte, VT 05445, or by contributing online at thecharlottenews.org/support-the-news.

On behalf of the board directors and the entire staff of the Charlotte News,

Vince Crockenberg Board memBers Vince Crockenberg, Rachel Cummings Michael Haulenbeek, John Hammer Kathy Luce, Tom O’Brien Louisa Schibli, Meg Smith, Robin Turnau

A Note to Our Readers As is the case every July, the staff and volunteers of the News are going on a two-week hiatus with the publication of this issue. Despite the absence of a new issue until July 31, we’ll still keep readers up to date with breaking news and stories via our website (thecharlottenews.org) and our Facebook page. Be sure to stop by our table at the Town Party to view the winners of the 9th annual Peter Coleman photo contest, to grab a piece of cake and to meet our staff and board.

The Charlotte News Annual Fundraiser YES! I would like to support The Charlotte News for the coming year in keeping us informed, entertained and in touch with our town and neighbors. Enclosed is my check in the following amount: $__________ Name ________________________________ E-mail________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________ q I prefer to remain anonymous. Do not thank me publicly in The Charlotte News.

Please make your check payable to: The Charlotte News and mail to P.O. Box 251, Charlotte

4 • July 3, 2014 • The

Charlotte News

Campers Dig Green Thumbs Garden Camp Tai Dinnan Contributor Eight bright-eyed campers arrived at the CCS garden on a recent Monday morning ready for Green Thumbs Garden Camp. The cool grass was still wet with dew, but the strong sunlight promised a warm summer day. Though few of the campers knew each other, we joined together for our welcoming circle, inventing garden names we would use for the rest of the week.

Fast friendships and a thriving garden grew from a week that included a balanced mixture of garden work, harvesting, tasting, cooking, storytelling, art, free play and watering (ourselves and the plants). We were especially excited by animal visitors, including garter snakes, barn swallows and plenty of creepy crawly compost creatures.

By Friday, it was impossible to know that many campers had met each other just a few days before. When we said goodbye on our last day, many campers eagerly exchanged information so they could play with each other again soon. Campers themselves were transformed—tentative eaters discovered new flavors and food preferences, and each of us deepened our gardening expertise.

The school garden underwent a similarly remarkable transformation. All 12 raised beds were carefully weeded and

plants had grown noticeably taller!

Green Thumbs Camp was lucky to have several local experts and volunteers enrich our experience. Susan Raber of Springhouse Pottery taught us how to weave willow trellises for our climbing plants. Vera Simon-Nobes and Michael Haulenbeek of Fifth Fence Farm welcomed us to their farm for a wonderful field trip. There we petted sheep, carded wool, spun our own bracelets and gently held baby chicks. Deirdre Holmes, Abby Foulk,

(Above) “Garden camp was good because we played in the sprinkler,” said Liam (left), age 5, digging in the dirt with Henry, also 5. “We got to dig and weed. I liked planting.”

(Right) Shana, 7, and Alina, 7, meet the sheep at Fifth Fence Farm, run by Vera SimonNobes (left) and Michael Haulenbeek.

planted, newly woven trellises stood tall for our climbing veggies, colorfully illustrated signs labeled each garden patch, and painted pots were planted with climbing flowers standing in a row, ready to decorate the side of the new compost shed. And many of the

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and CCS administrators welcomed us to the school and ensured that we had everything we needed for a great week of camp. Thank you to all these supporters.

Space still remains in August’s camp session. Green Thumbs Gardening

Camp will run for a second week from Aug. 4 through 8. Parents of rising 1st through 5th graders are encouraged to find out more at growingstories.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/green-thumbssummer-camp/ or at charlottevt.org/ (click on “recreation,” then on “summer camps”). Questions can be emailed to Stacy and me at ccsgreenthumbs@ gmail.com.

2nd Annual Charlotte Beach Party to Feature Food and Fun Building on last year’s success, the Charlotte Recreation Commission will host its 2nd annual Town Beach Party on Aug. 3 at Charlotte’s Town Beach.

Planned this year are an open-air pig roast and potluck, live music from the Mystic Party Band, a demo of paddle boards, kayaks and other water gear courtesy of Outdoor Gear Exchange, a Celtic dancing demo, and activities like soccer, volleyball, tennis and more.

Admission to the event is a dish to pass around or a $5 donation for dinner as well as the usual beach parking fees.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Bill Fraser-Harris, chair of the Recreation Commission, at 425-3663 or at billandeva@gmavt. net.

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The Charlotte News • July 3, 2014 • 5

Selectboard Spotlight Lane Morrison Contributor The Selectboard has been meeting at least weekly for many months working on town employee pay, confirming an auditing firm for the end-of- thefiscal-year review, selecting police coverage for the town, reviewing the Town Plan update, planning a new library roof with associated insulation, and upgrading the Town Green to limit excessive water collection along with moving the WWII monument. Below are details on two of these issues.

At the March 2014 Town Meeting, the Selectboard promised to review town employees’ pay to verify that compensation is competitive and fair. The board has made this a significant project and has met Thursday mornings (warned working meetings) to review pay and all personnel matters. A list of tasks accomplished include updating the town personnel policies, verifying employees’ past benefit pay resulting in compensation for affected employees, and updating all employee job descriptions.

Continuing efforts include rating town jobs

Selectboard

continued from page 1

there to answer questions. In addition, the commission will hold three or four focus forums in mid to late July, late August and early September to provide opportunities for townspeople to raise issues and to discuss “hot topics’” identified by the commission.

These include higher density village areas (which will require community water and septic), affordable and moderately priced housing, water quality and quantity concerns in the context of state policy and legislation (flood and effluvial erosion hazard areas, Shorelands Act), wildlife habitat protection and corridors for movement, siting of renewable and other energy projects, keeping farms economically viable, and zoning districts—in particular the need to further differentiate “rural” zoning, which currently includes many different uses that are sometimes in conflict with one another.

The Selectboard unanimously approved a contract with PlaceSense for $4,560 to facilitate public involvement

(not the people) using a proven job evaluation manual; creating a job grade and experience pay matrix; performing a market survey of approximately ten Vermont towns that have similar populations and offer similar services; comparing employees’ actual pay to data developed, with early indications that our employee pay is generally in line with the collected data; and issuing a pay schedule similar to those used by many employers, with year-to-year adjustments based on cost of living and other factors that may occur.

Another area of focus over the last few months has been police coverage for Charlotte. For many years we have used the Shelburne Police Department for an average of 8.5 hours per week. The rate last year was $50 per hour.

Shelburne increased its proposed rate for the new fiscal year to $87 per hour for the same coverage. This caused the board to request bids from interested providers of police services, with the following results: Shelburne at $87 per hour. State Police at $63 per hour, and Hinesburg offered a no bid.

After several meetings with the two final bidders, the Selectboard chose the State Police; services started July 1, 2014, for a 12-month period.

Lane Morrison is the chair of the Selectboard.

in the Town Plan process, to be paid as a retainer out of this year’s budget.

Margaret Russell, Trails Committee co-chair, reported the committee’s successful fundraising for the pedestrian/ bike path, which included two grants.

The first grant has already been used to build a trailfrom the co-housing parking area to a pedestrian bridge built by the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps.

The second grant, in conjunction with funds raised from private donations, will be used this summer to complete the path from the bridge east to the scheduled Route 7 underpass. This will allow connectivity from Greenbush Road to State Park Road.

The town received two bids for the project, of which the committee preferred the more expensive $48,000 from Timber and Stone, based on the substantially greater detail included in the bid and the excellent references the company provided.

In response to a query by Selectboard member Charles Russell, Margaret Russell will confirm that the work by Timber and Stone is warrantieed and what precisely that means. The board unanimously supported the committee’s recommendation to award the contract for the co-housing trail to Timber and

Charlotte Rescue Makes Leadership Change Move comes as organization prepares to meet with officials about license restrictions As it continues to work toward a resolution to its recent license restrictions, Charlotte Rescue Service has made a change in its leadership structure by relieving Rescue Operations Manager/Head of Services Dave Stewart of his responsibilities. His duties have been transferred to Rescue Chief Meg Modley.

According to Ellie Russell, a Selectboard member and the town’s liaison to the Charlotte Volunteer Fire & Rescue (CVFRS) Corporate Board, Stewart is still an active member of Rescue. However, the specifics of the changes in the organization’s leadership structure, and his place within it, are still a work in progress.

The move comes as the organization prepares to meet with leaders from Vermont EMS District 3, which oversees and licenses Rescue, and state medical service officials on July 11. A ruling on the status of its paramedic-level license and conditional licensure will likely follow, said Russell.

Charlotte Rescue Service’s paramedic-level license was suspended for three months in April as a result of medication storage and documentation issues within its ambulances. At the same time, Rescue is approaching the end of a six-month “conditional license” due to problems with its post-ambulance-run paperwork.

Dr. Ruth Uphold, a retired emergency room physician and a member of CVFRS’s advisory board, has been working with Rescue and EMS District 3 to resolve the issues and reverse the suspensions.

Stone.

In other actions, the Selectboard unanimously approved a 1.5 percent acrossthe-board raise for town employees for FY15 as well as a motion to put the library roof and re-insulation project out to bid as soon as Fritz Tegatz makes some agreed-upon additions to the bid directions.

Tegatz indicated that adding re-insulation of the roof to the project will more than double the cost, but explained that it will be cheaper and less disruptive than going up through the ceiling at some later date. The town will use contingency funds to cover expenses above the roof replacement costs approved at Town Meeting.

The board also authorized an amendment to the Wetland Permit application for the work to improve drainage on the Town Green to include adding topsoil and re-contouring work. A private donation has made this additional work possible.

After a lengthy discussion of the pros and cons of changing the end-ofyear town financial statements from a modified accrual to a cash basis, the Selectboard decided to stay with modified accrual for next year in its only split vote of the evening, with Tegatz and

Charles Russell voting for the change and Lane Morrison, Ellie Russell and Matt Krasnow opposing it. Charles Russell had argued that cash basis statements would be more understandable to members of the Selectboard, whereas Nancy Wood argued that modified accrual statements are more accurate because they include financial commitments for the year not yet paid out. CPA Jon Limanek agreed, and a reported promise

by Sullivan, Powers & Co., the town’s new contracted audit firm, to make the modified accrual statement more comprehensible to non-accountants appeared to sway the three Selectboard members who did not support the change.

Selectboard members spent the remainder of the meeting discussing the budget status as the end of the financial year approaches (June 30) and hearing reports from members who coordinate with other town departments, such as the library, and with Charlotte Volunteer Fire & Rescue. The primary news is that Rescue meets with state and EMS District 3 representatives on July 11 to determine whether the changes for correcting deficiencies that led to their suspension are sufficient. If so, Rescue hopes to be back in full operation by the end of July.

6 • July 3, 2014 • The

Charlotte News

Charlotte Conservation Currents An Interview with Coyote Howard Verman Contributor Many a night I am awakened by a mournful howling outside in our woods, often followed by a frenetic chorus of yipping from several members of a coyote family. I can only surmise that an adult has killed a rabbit or mouse and the children are celebrating their impending midnight snack. Several times I have rushed outside in my pajamas trying to find an adult coyote to interview, but they are so secretive that my efforts have gone unfulfilled.

A friend suggested that I try to find a coyote online and see if I can perhaps get an interview by email.

After much searching, I found a site: amazingvacationsforrabbits.com. Immediately, my suspicions were aroused—this sounded like one of those sites intended to lure interested rabbits into a meeting with a “Certified Rabbit Travel Agent” (aka Hungry Coyote). Under threat to reveal his subterfuge to the entire online rabbit population, Hungry Coyote agreed to be interviewed.

Me: Why are there so many of you in Vermont?

Hungry Coyote: Well, I’ll tell you, long ago, we used to live mostly out in the western United States, where our natural enemies were cougars, wolves and bears. But as we expanded our territory eastward, those enemies were more scarce. Now we’re everywhere in the U.S. Some of us live near cities and suburbs. We love it here in Vermont. Our only real enemies are humans.

Me: Where else do coyotes live?

Hungry Coyote: I have family up to Canada, down to Mexico, and even as far south as Panama. But do I hear from them? Never! Not even a thank-you note

when I send birthday presents.

Me: Speaking of birthdays, how old are you?

Hungry Coyote: Me? I’m pretty old, about eight in your years. We usually live between 10 to 14 years. But I’m in great shape, I keep fit, eat right, and usually do over two miles every night hunting.

Me: What do you eat?

Hungry Coyote: What don’t I eat?

I eat everything: mice, rabbits, fish, fruit, small pets, grass, insects, birds, dead animals, even garbage. I usually hunt alone or with my family, sometimes in a pack of other coyotes. In a pack, we’ve been known to chase down deer, antelope, even elk.

Me: Any other special skills?

Hungry Coyote: Are you kiddin’?

Lots. I’m pretty darn fast, I can run up A coyote watches from the distance. Coyotes live all over the contito 40 miles an hour, and I’ve gone 400 nental United States, some close to cities and suburbs. miles in one journey. I’m an excellent swimmer, so in an emergency, if a Me: What about your family? predator is chasing me, I can jump in Hungry Coyote: Well, been with my mate, Gloria, the water. I’ve got a terrific sense of smell and amazing hearing. I can even hear prey scurrying around for about six years now. We coyotes are monogaunder the snow and can hear humans from up to a mous—that means we stay with the same mate for life. Our mating season is in February, and after mile away.

Me: Wow! No wonder I can’t find you guys when I about two months of being pregnant, Gloria usually run outside in the middle of the night in my pajamas! has between five and seven pups. They stay in the You coyotes have a reputation for being cunning and den for a couple of months, but if she finds that other dangerous animals are nearby, she’ll move the babies tricky. Is that really true?

Hungry Coyote: You betcha’. One time I was to another spot.

When the pups are small, we’ll bring them their hunting with my cousin Rene up in S’Albans. We saw this rabbit, and I commenced to jumping up and food, then Gloria will start to bring them live mice so down and prancing around. That rabbit was so taken they can practice their hunting skills by chasing the with watching my peculiar behavior that he didn’t see mice around. Later, they practice on their own by tryRene sneaking up behind him! Another trick I can do ing to pounce on grasshoppers. We fall down laughis walk on my toes real quiet so as not to be detected ing watching them jump all over the place.

Me: Well, I certainly appreciate the opportunity to by enemies.

My uncle Scooter out in Wisconsin hunts with a chat. I’ve learned a lot about you and wish you good badger. He tracks the prey with his nose and ears, and luck in the future.

Hungry Coyote: Sure! Just remember, no revealif something scurries down a hole underground, the badger can dig it out with its claws. That’s some inter- ing the true nature of my website. And I’ll be working on forgetting how silly you look in your pajamas. species cooperation for you!

Me: Where do coyotes like to make their dens?

Hungry Coyote: We mostly prefer to be under- Howard Verman is a member of Charlotte’s Conserground, sometimes in abandoned groundhog or bad- vation Commission. ger dens. We also like hollow trees, bushes or rock caves.

BREAKING NEWS!

www.thecharlottenews.org

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The Charlotte News • July 3, 2014 • 7

The

BoardsCorner Update from CSSU

Questions and Answers About Teacher Negotiations Five of the 15 students graduating from the Lake Champlain Waldorf High School live in Charlotte. They are (left to right) Thomas Fortin, Oliver Creech, Jonas Powell, Ian Wheeler and Noah Ranallo.

Waldorf High School Graduates Last Charlotte Class The commencement address was Five Charlotters among class honored at final commencement given by faculty member Merrily Lovell, who is retiring this month after 34 years before Shelburne move A packed audience was treated to selections of Handel performed by a student quartet during the commencement ceremony at the Lake Champlain Waldorf High School in Charlotte on Saturday, June 7.

The Class of 2014 is the tenth and last class to graduate from the school in Charlotte, as the high school will be opening a new campus in Shelburne this fall.

The 15 students of the class of 2014 sang several pieces a cappella in full, gorgeous harmony during the poignant and emotional ceremony.

Melendy Comey of Shelburne, the faculty sponsor of the senior class, described each student to the gathered parents, alumni, friends and teachers before presenting the diplomas. She spoke not about the students’ accomplishments but rather about a unique quality that each individual brought to the class and to the whole Lake Champlain Waldorf School community.

of teaching. She described her life-long exploration of three questions: Who am I? What is the purpose of my life? What is the meaning of life? She concluded, “I hope you do find the answers to these questions again and again and again as you find yourselves growing anew to who you are becoming in the changing context of your lives.”

Five of the 15 students graduating on Saturday live in Charlotte. Jonas Powell will be attending Wesleyan University in Connecticut this fall. Noah Ranallo plans to take a gap year and then attend Westminster College in Utah. Oliver Creech will be taking a gap year to travel and to study Buddhism before entering Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. Thomas Fortin will use his gap year to explore the world. Ian Wheeler will be heading off to Champlain College this fall to major in game design.

The high school students have made a mural of the Creamery Building that they will bring to the new campus as a fond reminder of their years in Charlotte.

Mark McDermott CONTRIBUTOR

Over the past school year the school boards comprising Chittenden South Supervisory Union (CSSU), including that of Charlotte Central School, have been in negotiations with the union representing the teachers on a new contract. Although much progress has been made, there are a few outstanding issues yet to be resolved.

The process, agreed to by both parties, has unfolded over the past year.

Both sides met and negotiated over the course of the fall and winter, and a mediation process was held this spring.

Finally the parties participated in a factfinding hearing in the past few weeks to help resolve the last outstanding issues.

The School Board thought answering a few questions about the fact-finding process and the report that was issued would be helpful.

Q. What is fact finding?

Fact finding is an event that both sides in a negotiation pursue when they are at an impasse. A hearing is held in front of a neutral person, the “fact finder,” where both sides are allowed to present their positions. The fact finder then issues a report based upon the hearing and the associated documents

presented by both sides.

Q. Is the report issued by the fact finder binding on the parties?

No. The parties may simply use the fact finder’s report as a framework to move forward in negotiations.

Q. May I read the fact- finder’s report?

Yes. We have reached a point in the process where the fact finder’s report is now available. You can find it at CSSU. org.

Q. What’s the biggest sticking point between the parties?

As you can imagine one of the remaining issues is the percentage of new money that will become part of the teacher salary pool from year to year. The school boards had presented an increase of two percent each year of a two-year contract. The teachers union had presented a proposal that would mean an increase of 4.75 percent per year over the term of a three-year contract.

After reviewing the proposals and information presented by the parties, the fact finder suggested an increase of 3.25 percent per year over the term of a three-year contract. The parties have had further negotiations on this point but have not yet come to an agreement.

Q. What’s next?

At the time of the writing of this column the parties have not scheduled their next negotiation session. However, it is expected that talks will continue, as they have all year.

As always we welcome your input.

You may contact us via e-mail at ccsschoolboard@cssu.org.

Mark McDermott is a member of the CCS School Board

Liza Pill and Lark Thompson Among Waldorf 8th Grade Grads Two of the 25 eighth graders who graduated from the Lake Champlain Waldorf School on June 5 are from Charlotte: Liza Pill and Lark Thompson. The ceremony was marked by songs and poetry performed by the students and the faculty. Both Liza and Lark will be attending the Lake Champlain Waldorf High School this fall.

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8 • July 3, 2014 • The

Charlotte News

Heart & Heritage Stables Offers New Drill Team Program Emma Slater The CharloTTe News Riders at Heart & Heritage Stables last Thursday were working and laughing hard as they participated in a special new program. Owner Heidi Garvey is excited to offer a weekly drill team practice in conjunction with trainer Marley Powden.

For those unfamiliar with the sport, a drill team is a group of horses and riders following a choreographed pattern set to music. Through this structured activity riders learn to control the speed and direction of their horses while practicing communication and leadership skills.

In the first week there were 12 participants learning to ride in formation Garvey and Powden have designed this program with a desire to help riders build confidence and friendships while enjoying exposure to a new sport.

Powden herself has fond memories of participating in a drill team as a young rider and hopes to create the same relaxed and positive atmosphere she experienced. She believes this is an excellent way for young riders to build skills in partnership with more experienced riders.

Town Plan continued from page 1 Charlotters about in-home services.

The committee would meet regularly with the Planning Commission to gauge progress on these goals.

Outside of this committee, the Planning Commission, through the town’s land use regulations and through other incentives, will encourage the development of senior and affordable housing through density bonuses, clustering development and emphasis on non-contiguous lots. With an eye on maintaining Charlotte’s rural character, the plan also calls for encouraging adaptive reuse of existing buildings to provide affordable housing wherever possible. Any new developments, which will be encouraged in Charlotte’s village areas, will be encouraged to conform to design guidelines and the town’s existing infrastructure. Finally, the commission proposes a build-out analysis of areas in and around the village area to

Drill team practices will take place on Thursdays from 5:30–7 p.m., and horses are available to borrow for these events when reserved in advance. Participants should be comfortable tacking up horses without assistance and trotting

potentially encourage greater density.

The West Village plays a part in the draft 2015 Town Plan in other ways.

Most notably, the Planning Commission is recommending the town move forward with expanding the wastewater system to accommodate development in the West Village. The plan recommends the Selectboard move forward with a facility master plan and then develop a wastewater ordinance for existing and new homes and businesses that may tap into the system.

This draft, like previous Town Plans, centers new housing and economic development in the West Village, Charlotte’s de facto town center.

Through regulations and polices, the Planning Commission says the town will encourage “the development of a more economically active town center with business services to fulfill local needs and moderately priced housing,” according to the language of the draft.

However, the extent of the Planning Commission’s economic development recommendations for that area of the town and others is not known

in a group.

Participation rates are $5 for barn members and $15 for the public. Those interested in joining can contact Marley Powden at marleydonaldson@gmail. com or Heidi Garvey at 802-355-8998 for more information.

(Left) Marley Powden directs drill teams from atop her horse. (Top) Cassandra Manning (left) and Caroline Slater are two of the participants who have taken part in the program. yet, as the “Economic Development” chapter, along with the chapter on “Transportation,” has yet to be released Other interesting sections of the Town Plan include: Establishing a “Farm and Food Council” to create a directory of local farms and food outlets as a way to increase community awareness of and access to Charlotte’s local food market while assisting local farmers with agricultural development resources and organizations A plan to conduct a study about the need for a new Charlotte Volunteer Fire & Rescue substation in East Charlotte.

A policy that states new or replacement electrical, telephone, cable or utility lines be located underground to protect scenic areas and reduce maintenance costs.

Language that states the town will work to meet a goal of making all town buildings “zero net energy” by 2050.

Moreover, following goals outlined by the organization Architecture 2030, which aims to combat climate change through more green buildings, the town

will require all new residential and commercial buildings and major renovations to produce all the energy required to run the building from on-site sources or renewable resources within 100 miles.

A recommendation that the town should consider a no-idling policy for cars.

A move to ensure that existing contiguous forest habitats are maintained, conserved and expanded.

The Planning Commission will hold focus workshops beginning in midJuly through September, though specific dates were not available as of this printing. The commission is encouraging Charlotters to share their feedback on the working draft. Comments can be sent via email to townplancomments@gmail.com, via postal service to Charlotte Planning & Zoning, ATT: Town Plan Comments, P.O. Box 119, Charlotte, VT 05445, or by hand delivery to the Planning & Zoning Office at Town Hall.

To view the draft of the plan, visit the town website at charlottevt.org.

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The Charlotte News • July 3, 2014 • 9

Charlotte’s Web Brett Sigurdson

The CharloTTe News It’s after lunch on a weekday in May, and Charlotte is evidently still waking up from a long winter. At the Little Garden Market on Ferry Road, however, a boisterous bop and swing jazz mix plays over a large speaker as owner Rick Benson moves briskly through his small kitchen, chatting with a customer and laughing easily as he prepares a roast beef sandwich with coleslaw, the Market’s specialty. There’s a low-key buzz to the place that’s alive, energetic, an antidote to the quiet outside.

The Little Garden Market is what you get when you combine a convenience store with a deli with a funky artist’s space (fitting, as Benson can handle paint brushes the way he does a paring knife). It’s the kind of business that can only happen in a small town, places where the eccentricities and personal touches of the owner can make an establishment one of a kind.

Among the expected shelves of graband-go food and beverages and a deli display case packed with prepared food and fresh veggies are Benson’s paintings—colorful explosions of lines and texture—antiques, crafts, photos (a prominent one: Ben & Jerry with an employee), and a wall of replacement strings for guitars, banjos and mandolins.

After the customer leaves, the store goes mostly quiet for the next hour.

Cars drive by along Ferry Road, but none of them, save for a beer sales rep—Benson’s fridge is full, nothing is needed—pull into the tiny dirt lot next to the Charlotte Children’s Center. It wasn’t always this way. A few years ago, Benson recalls a steady stream of people walking through his door, many of them local employees from the likes

of EatingWell magazine and the Post Office as well as travelers stopping by Steve’s Citgo.

“Hundreds of people a day stopped traveling through,” said Benson. “There were 40 people at EatingWell—they would drive by twice a day. Executives who came to town would stop here. Other businesses, their employees

Chapter Four:

Ain’t like it used to be

revenue that has forced him to cut back on hiring the four part-time staff he used to bring on during the busy summer months. Now he can afford to hire only one part-time staffer, just enough to give him a day off every now and then.

“It’s all linked to the business climate here that’s collapsed,” said Benson,

Rick Benson, owner of Little Garden Market, chats with a customer.

would stop here after work. We had a good run for the first few years.”

Things are different now, though businesses are gone or, in the case of the Post Office, slimmed back, and the lack of people moving through town has had a drastic effect on the Little Garden Market.

“Literally, it’s the difference between 15 and 20 people a day,” he says. “It’s a couple customers per hour fewer. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it adds up.”

Indeed, it does. Benson estimates he’s losing upwards of $40,000 a year in business compared to previous years,

growing quiet. “It ain’t like it used to be.”

–––– To look at the former West Village train depot near the last year was to see a structure sorely out of place with its surroundings. Beneath the silhouette of the Adirondacks and among the wide expanses of farm fields and forests was a structure whose charm had been stripped and negated from abuse, from the empty bottles, cigarette butts and graffiti on nearly every wall and surface.

The stairs to the platform where

people once stood to wait for one of nine daily round trips to Burlington on the Champlain Flyer were covered by a mélange of spray-painted juvenilia, as were the waiting room walls in which travelers would sit cupping the dollar they were required to pay—on the honor system—to ride one of the train’s two coaches each way. So, too, were the interior and exterior walls of the electric room that lit the depot and its parking lot from December 2000, when Burlington became the smallest U.S. City to offer commuter rail service, to February 2003, when the service ended.

Indeed, to look at the train station then was to lose oneself in thoughts of what might have been and what it had become: empty, abandoned and largely forgotten.

Yet the town had high hopes for the rail station and its impact on the nearby Ferry Road Business Park, the town’s only zoned industrial area. The 2000 Town Plan encouraged expansion of the commercial district near the West Village to promote both commuting by rail and the potential businesses rail commuters could take advantage of.

The image of the dilapidated train station seems a fitting metaphor for Charlotte’s business climate as well, for in the last 15 years, since the last revision of the Town Plan, high hopes for economic development have not come to fruition, and several Charlotte buildings that once housed thriving local businesses now sit empty or close to it.

“It’s difficult to provide an accurate depiction of the business climate in the last two decades, in part because the town has not kept specific records of the businesses operating here,” said Betsy Tegatz, a lister. The best record she could provide was a mostly hand-

Charlotte’s Web

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Charlotte's Web written list of Charlotte businesses penned in the mid-2000s, and it tells a sobering story. Out of the 83 businesses on the list, about 40 percent are no longer here.

This is further colored by the most up-to-date economic statistics provided by Sharron Murray, a community planner who worked with the Planning Commission early in the 2015 Town Plan process. Between 2000 and 2010, Charlotte lost 20 percent of its jobs, down to 441 from 566. Murray’s statistics show the biggest losses were in retail trade (85), construction (27), and professional/business (21).

Interestingly, according to the same statistics the number of establishments in Charlotte rose by eight between 2000 and 2010, from 108 to 116. The biggest gain came from the categories of information, construction and education/health.

But numbers don’t have the same punch as empty buildings and office spaces, which tell a similar though perhaps more sobering story than Murray’s figures. On a drive through Charlotte’s commercial and industrial area near Route 7, for example, it’s hard to miss Steve’s Citgo and Uncle Sam’s—both empty (Uncle Sam’s closed its doors this year). Nearby is the Charlotte Post Office, which lost eight employees when operations were moved to Shelburne a few years ago. There’s EatingWell, of course, which moved out of the Ferry Road Business Park to Shelburne Green in 2012.

And there’s the Lake Champlain Waldorf High School, which will move out of the former creamery building and into a new Shelburne campus this fall.

While it’s easy to understand numbers and empty buildings,

there are no easy explanations for Charlotte’s change in business fortunes. One reason could be Burlington’s economic engine, which has created a gravitational force of industry that draws employees from outlying towns where more and more people are choosing to live but not work.

“Increasingly, we see that as the Chittenden County core has grown, the county is increasingly a larger share of total economic activity drawing on the surrounding towns for labor supply and trade demand,” states a 2000 report titled “Economic and Demographic Forecast: Northwest Vermont and Chittenden County 2000 to 2035 and Beyond,” published by Chittenden County Regional Planning (CCRPC). “And increasingly, the population makes its home on the rural fringe and commutes to work within the region’s core and urban fringe towns.”

All this is true of Charlotte.

According to statistics from U.S. Census data, 81 percent of a total 1,826 employed Charlotters work outside of town. That’s roughly 1,400 people.

There are also the practical drawbacks of running a business in Charlotte. In terms of industry, the town is a distance away from the Interstate. With plenty of industrial land elsewhere in the county, some closer to I-89, this means Charlotte would be an unlikely area for industry, explained Regina Mahony, a senior planner with CCRPC. Further, a study by the town’s Commercial and Industrial Committee released in 1990 found that there’s not enough sewer and water in the Ferry Road industrial zone and it would be cost prohibitive for the town to develop it.

Given the limitations of Charlotte’s industrial area, as well as a general aversion to increased traffic and a desire by many Charlotters to protect

the town’s open space, an Economic Development Committee (EPC) organized in 2002 recommended Charlotte instead spend its efforts encouraging smaller home-based businesses.

In its 2003 report to the town, the committee wrote, “By creating a growing group of Charlotters who both live and work in town, a greater sense of ‘community’ will likely be encouraged.

Expanding home occupations provides a greater opportunity for employment for both residents and non-residents alike, and increases demand for existing services and retail businesses and may facilitate daytime staffing of Fire and Rescue.”

Without a list of town businesses—the EPC recommended the town create a Charlotte business guide, which never came to pass—it’s hard to gauge whether any effort to promote homebased businesses has worked.

Given that the town gained employers but lost employees between 2000 and 2010, it’s reasonable to assume the town witnessed growth consistent with small operations like home businesses. The fact that the biggest growth industry in town has been in information and financial sectors, both of which can allow remote employment, also lends credence to this.

Yet, CVFRS has certainly not benefited from a windfall of locals who are willing to leave their home offices to volunteer.

After all, the Fire Department has lost eight volunteer members since 2005; Rescue has lost at least 25. And in terms of creating a sense of “community,” 30 percent of the 121 respondents to the 2014 Charlotte News Town Plan survey cited community discord and lack of community cohesion as one of the town’s central issues, a number on par with those lamenting a lack of business (26 percent).

There may be one more reason that Charlotte’s business for-

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though. What was once the bustling home of Garden Way—a major Charlotte employer at one time—the office complex has for much of the last few years sat largely empty, providing a cavernous, quirky home for the few businesses—Bitybean, Artisan Engineering and Ursus among them—that call it home.

Its last biggest employer was EatingWell, whose departure in 2012 heralded a New York Times story that made the Ferry Road Business Park’s quirks seem less endearing than they are to current tenants. Said the article, “[EatingWell] moved out of the drafty warehouse offices it shared with curtain-climbing raccoons and a squirrel skilled at stealing bread loaves, and into a new $500,000 space with views of the Adirondacks and room to grow an edible garden.”

On the opposite end of the monster room, down a dark

hallway that passes several empty offices and two industrialsize kitchens with bare cupboards, is Mike Russell’s Pease Mountain Law office, one of the most expansive in the building. It’s decorated plainly and without fuss in a manner that’s not meant to reveal much of the individual tastes of the proprietor, though with Russell, whose practice specializes in, among other things, business formation, one gets the sense that plainspoken and no frills really are reflections of his personality.

The night before meeting with a reporter, Russell attended Images from Charlotte's business areas. While there are several flourisha Planning Commising businesses in Charlotte, many have left since the last major rewrite of sion Town Plan work the Town Plan began in 2000. session that centered on land use. During the often-robust two-hour meeting, Russell often challenged the commission members with a blunt, straightforward manner into imagining a more expansive village area and greater population density. During the following day’s interview, he injected a similar amount of straight talk about the future of the town, particularly its business environment.

“As you drive up and down the road what you’re seeing is something resembling blight,” said Russell. “If you measure the community from what you see driving by, it’s not well.”

Yet, since earlier this year, Russell—along with Martha Perkins and Nancy Wood—has been trying to figure out how business owners and developers can help reverse the trend.

Essentially, the members of this unnamed group are fulfilling tunes have changed in the last 15 years, and it has to do with a central divide in town: the battle between conservation and development. But, as we’ll see later, a grassroots group led by a local lawyer is quietly trying to bridge this divide.

–––– Visitors to the Ferry Road Business Park may want to take heed: there is a monster in the window near the east entrance of the main building. And skeletons and witches and a roomful of other Halloween decorations just off the small lobby area. This room once housed the Charlotte News office—it’s on the second floor now—and the Wallet Pen company (also presently upstairs) and a production area during filming of What Lies Beneath.

It’s been a long time since an office at the Business Park has seen this much action,

(802) 425-7157

“Endless Boundaries...”

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Charlotte's Web

what Charlotte could offer businesses.

“What’s lacking now is the other hand clapping between the public and private marketplace,” said Russell. “The town needs a private partner that has as its objective not personal gain but has the interests of the town in mind.”

Russell, Perkins and Wood are trying to foster these conversations in the same way the Charlotte Land Trust does with landowners and the town, Russell notes, but its goal is to encourage economic activity as well as moderate-priced housing. “There’s got to be places where people who aren’t pulling

The Charlotte News • July 3, 2014 • 11

a role that the town has not, despite recommendations by the EPC in 2003 that the town consider creating a business advocacy officer or group to assist current businesses and foster economic growth.

Over the course of the last few months, the group, formed solely from a mutual desire to see the economic trend in Charlotte turn around, has quietly held ten meetings with local developers, business owners and board members, making connections between them to foster conversations about how to bring more economic vitality to Charlotte.

They’ve also been taking stock of the town’s buildings, the septic and water systems, what’s allowable under land use regulations—all in an effort to gauge

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12 • July 3, 2014 • The Charlotte News

Week of July 14–18 Nanotechnology Be the biggest thing at the library this week as we explore the world of atoms, molecules and nanoscale forces.

Project Micro with Scientist Jan Schwarz, Monday, July 14, 2 p.m. Use microscopes and hand lenses to conduct investigations into the nano world, viewing everything from tiny sea creatures to sand found around the globe.

Grab your magnifying glasses for our nanoscience Story Time on July 15 and Books & Fun on July 17, both at 10:30 a.m.

by Margaret Woodruff

Summertime at the Library The chairs are on the porch and the beach reads are on the display table.

Our latest audiobooks are waiting for that car trip, and the downloadable options have been refreshed. Whatever you’re doing this summer, we hope it includes a trip to the library to relax and read or to refuel the entertainment for vacation travel. Our summer reading programs are full of opportunities for kids to explore, experiment and make some messes, too.

Week of July 21–25 Things That Go Use force and the science of simple machines all week long as we investigate what makes things go. Racing cars and launching rockets—who knows what else we’ll create during Story Time on July 22 and Books & Fun on July 24!

Library board Meeting: Thursday, July 17, at 5:30 p.m.

Board members: Bonnie Christie, chair; Vince Crockenberg, treasurer; Emily Ferris, vice chair; Dorrice Hammer, secretary; Jonathan Silverman, member-at-large.

upcoming at the Library Fizz, Boom, Read: Our summer reading continues.

Wednesday Night Knitters, July 9, 5:30 p.m. Join us every other Wednesday evening, where we compare notes, knits and share good company.

Week of July 7–11 Be a Junior Scientist Do you like to experiment? The library is a working laboratory this week. Slide on some lab glasses and be ready for slippery, slimy, smelly and colorful during Story Time on July 8 and Books & Fun on July 10. See the calendar (charlottepubliclibrary.org) and register for programs right from your computer.

Library Contact Information Director Margaret Woodruff

Hours Mon, Wed: 10 a.m.-–7 p.m.

Tues, Thurs, Fri: 10 a.m.-–5 p.m.

Sat: 9 a.m.— 2 p.m.

Phone 425-3864 Email charlottelibraryvt@gmail. com

Website charlottepubliclibrary.org

Taking Care

by Alice D. Outwater, Ph.D.

My Pilgrimage into Aging Aging is more difficult than I had expected. Friends my age often comment, “Why didn’t anyone tell me how difficult it would be? I’m so unprepared now.” Frankly, in earlier years, nothing would have interested me less. I was far too young, zipping around with energy to spare. The world was wide open with a multitude of opportunities.

I never thought I’d get old. That was for parents. And exactly how would one prepare for this phenomenon anyway?

When I turned 60 years old, I’d just gotten my Ph.D. That presented new choices. I did contemplate a bit how to handle my Old Age. My options included a more modest private practice, writing courses, even publishing more articles locally. I thought I might take short courses in new areas of interest and planned to read certain authors or subjects in depth. The Internet had just come along, and I would need to be savvy with it.

Around that time, my husband, John, and I did attend to our wills. That took care of the future. Off I continued with my over-busy life with John and with community involvements. There were the usual household routines with two houses, family responsibilities with four children, plus older parents who began to need more attention.

John died six years ago. Now I am definitely on a pilgrimage, finding my way into unknown territory. Aging begins to change many things—and no clear guideposts point the way.

After John died, I quickly reassembled my energy and reconfigured my thinking, as buyers immediately appeared for both houses. I scurried past many major decisions as I cleared out 56 years of accumulation in a few months. This included John’s Vt. Instrument Co. in the basement that made machines to order. I made lists of how to handle all this assemblage, including 2,000 books (to the library for its book sale).

I found a condo I liked on Dorset

Street overlooking the golf course, but it was not yet built. It would have high ceilings with light pouring in through the windows. Each step here necessitated more decisions. In my foggy and overwhelmed state, I somehow managed the move. Thank goodness for excellent guidance and assistance.

I still miss John. Living one by one is not as appealing as two by two. I’d never lived alone, having grown up in a large family of six children, then college, and roommates in Washington, D.C., where I had my first job.

Now I don’t have to share living space and have only myself to consider, shop for and cook for. It’s unfamiliar and in a way an enormous luxury. And yet…some days I feel guilty concentrating all this time and these resources on myself. It almost seems unbalanced and selfish. I want to contribute to my community’s worthwhile causes, yet my energy has lessened.

I forced myself to think this through and find a personal balance. It’s not as obvious as I assumed. My inner landscape needs to be in accord with my outer landscape. It’s important I feel passionate inside about what I’m engaged in outside.

I must be utterly clear about my values and find where I can make a small impact. No fuzzy thinking should intrude here. The world is a messy place these days, and I wish to pull my load.

I am pleased to live in a steady community with interesting friends of all ages, who are actively engaged.

Through this search I’ve learned to live more in the present and even slow down. Before nodding off to sleep at night, I review the day: I think of the people I’ve met; I’m always impressed with those who have done their tasks with pleasure and competence, no matter how simple their work. The following day will present new opportunities—I want to use these wisely but not be too rushed. I then order my priorities for the next day.

I am interested in a plethora of things, and I search for a method of rationing them.

Aging is much more challenging than we anticipate—and maybe our naïveté about the hard later years is a blessing, part of a kind and generous plan.

Editor’s note: This article is the continuation of Taking Care, a series Outwater wrote five years ago for the News. She is a part-time Charlotte resident and author of the books 82 Remsen Street and Revisiting Remsen Street.

The Charlotte News • July 3, 2014 • 13

Charlotte Senior Center

The Café Menu

by Mary Recchia, Activities Coordinator

Just a reminder that the Center will be closed on Friday, July 4.

–––– July Artist: Dan Falby’s photographs of the beautiful scenery of the Lake Champlain Valley and surrounding mountains invite you to look more closely at the beauty that surrounds us.

He takes viewers on a journey that can change their perspective on what Vermont means.

–––– Let’s Ride! with Sojourn on Tuesday, July 8, beginning at 9 a.m. with our destination: Essex, N.Y. Get outdoors, meet some folks, and enjoy yourself!

Join Charlotte-based Sojourn for this fun, recreational ride along one of the best cycling roads in the region. You will enjoy the camaraderie of Sojourn tour leaders as well as the support of a van. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

The ride will begin from the Center and will return by noon. If you would like to come along but don’t have a bike, let us know, and for $15 Sojourn will provide you with a properly sized bicycle. Registration required. Fee: $10.00 for round-trip ferry.

–––– Here’s a chance to show your “fall colors” in our 9th annual Charlotte Senior Center Community Art Show.

With a theme of “My Vermont,” this show will hang in the Great Room for the month of September and is open to all “creative spirits” 50 years or older in our community.

Look for registration forms with specific details to appear at the Center on Friday, July 18. (Deadline for submitting forms is August 15.) As always, there will be a reception for artists, friends and relatives on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 1 p.m.

–––– New sessions of our old favorites begin in the middle of July. Come try chair yoga, gentle yoga, tai chi and Pilates to find out what exercise might be right for you.

–––– Painting Color and Light—An Outdoor Pastel Class with Angela Manno will begin on July 22. Manno is an internationally acclaimed visiting artist who has taught out of her studios in Colorado and New York, in Provence, France, and through the New York Open Center in Manhattan.

Learn the approach to landscape painting that Claude Monet used to create his impressionistic masterpieces. Students will learn the secret to approaching subjects in changing light, how to simplify the landscape into basic masses and to develop the ability to see the full spectrum of color. Classes are taught in pastel, but those proficient in other media are also welcome.

Manno’s approach to capturing radiant color and light in the landscape and in still life has been handed down through the Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown, Mass., founded by Charles Hawthorne, a contemporary of Claude Monet who taught Monet’s painting technique. Her landscapes have received numerous awards, including

MONDAY, JULY 7: Summer chef salad with chicken, ham and cheese, Strawberry shortcake WEDNESDAY, JULY 9: Cajun chicken, mushroom salad, homemade dessert MONDAY, JULY 14: Chef's choice WEDNESDAY, JULY 16: Grilled kielbasa kabobs, homemade dessert MONDAY, JULY 21: Chicken and cheese enchiladas, sweet and sour coleslaw, MacIntosh applesauce cake a la mode

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23: Chicken salad, homemade dessert Participants in a recent Senior Center bike trip to Kingsland Bay, led by Charlottebased Sojourn, smile for a post-ride picture.

the Award for Excellence from the National Parks Academy of the Arts, and are featured in the French documentary film, Voyage au Pays des Lavandes (Journey to Lavender Country). Her art is in private collections throughout the U.S., Europe, South America and the Middle East and in the permanent fine art collections of NASA and the Smithsonian Institution. To see more samples of her work, go to angelamanno.com.

Open to beginning through advanced students. Five Tuesday mornings (July 22, 29, Aug 5, 12 and 19) from 9 a.m.– noon. Registration required. Fee: $150.

–––– Celebrate family with a new holiday: Geneology Day, with Ceal Moran after the luncheon on Wednesday, July 23, from 1–2:30 p.m.

Genealogy Day—think of it as a new-age family reunion—type science fair event with a cookie-cutter format that provides fresh ideas on ways to encourage your family to host reunions, without all the hassles. Ceal will share with you how rewarding genealogy can be; it’s way more than birth/marriage/ death certificates! That’s old school. It can take on a life of its own when you think of it as a new holiday. Discover a few ways to energize communication across the generations and promote this new holiday by digging into Ceal’s traveling briefcase.

To start you on the way, please bring with you a picture of yourself from when you were younger (8x10 is an ideal size), and Ceal will take a photo of you and your “younger self.” A 4x6 picture will be printed out for you to pick up on Ceal Moran’s Geneology Day Get Together on Saturday, August 9, at the Senior Center.

–––– Do you love theater? Do you appreciate the spoken word? All The World’s a Stage is our play-reading group that meets once a month and is for people who enjoy reading plays aloud or listening to others perform. As a participant or a listener, all are welcome to join as we continue to broaden our exposure to this rich and poignant form of literature

on Thursday, July 24, from 1–3 p.m.

–––– “Sail” by ferry to Essex for a mid-day concert and lunch on Thursday, July 31. We will meet at the Senior Center at 10 a.m. and go together to board the 10:30 a.m. Charlotte ferry. Point Counterpoint Chamber Music will perform at the Essex Community Church, a short one-block walk from the ferry. The concert starts at 11:30 a.m. and lasts about 45 minutes; admission is by donation and much appreciated.

Afterward you can visit the unusual shops in town and stop in at one of the local eateries for a bite to eat before returning home to Charlotte via ferry by 4 p.m. Please call the Center for a detailed description of each concert offering. Registration required. Fee: Lunch money and $7 for round-trip ferry ride.

MONDAY, JULY 28: Chef's choice WEDNESDAY, JULY 30: Grilled Italian sausage, green peppers and onions, homemade dessert

Senior LunCheonS are held every Wednesday at noon. Reservations are necessary in advance and can be made by calling the Senior Center at 425-6345. A $4 donation is requested. Reservations are not required for the Monday Munch.

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14 • July 3, 2014 • The Charlotte News

OutTakes Commentary

by Edd Merritt

Invasion of the Lobster Snatchers For several years running, the Merritt and Skilton clans have gathered four generations on Martha’s Vineyard, some might say to liven up the normally quiet neighborhood in Oak Bluffs. Others would say to see which generation is really in charge of family matters —the great grandparents or the great grandchildren.

Depending on the hour, it varies.

My wife Beth’s parents spend the better part of their summers in a gingerbread cottage that was moved from the Methodist Campground around which much of Oak Bluffs developed. What began as an actual campground run by the Methodist Church soon developed into a circle of quaint gingerbreadstyle small houses named “Carpenters’ Gothic” by their builders. Constructed on the owners’ tent plots they now circle an open-air tabernacle.

Beth and I have spent part of each of the last 44 summers on the Vineyard.

However, now with the addition to four generations, the necessary planning thickens. Beth and her sister head out a week in advance of the lobster snatchers and prepare not only the cottage but also great grandparents and neighbors. At minimum, it means letting the folks along Pennacook Avenue know when the four young invaders from outer space will land on the street. We’ve often considered giving the sheriff a heads up but, so far, have managed to get by without needing

his services. Fortunately, his office is was, so to speak, a piece of cake to nearby. handle.

This year proved to be an interestHere comes another observation, ing learning experience for me. Given however. The older twins showed us the advancing age of the twins (now how their individuality has expanded. seven) and the youthful exuberance It was sort of like how their father’s of Archie, the youngest at one and a food tastes changed daily. Whereas, half, with his brother Teddy caught one day, Rory was on a 24-hour verin the middle, I observed the unfet- bal clock, the next he turned to action tered directness of early youth played rather than voice mail, and his brother against the growing emotional tinge Ben became the talker. Well, almost, that the older boys are beginning to because (I think) Ben ran into an emodevelop with others of their age (We’ll tional roadblock on Wednesday. explore an example of that later.).

Here’s how I viewed the incident.

While the kids and their parents Piling everyone into two cars, we travel around the island, the older headed up-island to West Tisbury and generations generally stay at home, the farmers market. The marketers often picking up toys, gaining neighbors’ insights into the clan or simply chilling out on the porch glider.

Dinner, on the other hand, is the time for announcements.

Four-year-old Teddy arrived home, fishing rod in hand (still hooked and sinkered), to announce that, while he had not actually caught a fish off the pier in Edgartown, he had petted the sand shark hooked by the fellow next to him.

The most anxiety-provoking announcement, as far as I was concerned, was that he used squid for bait. You see, I am known amongst the clan as “Grampa Squid,” and my son Ian suggested that I beat The author's grandson, Archie, during a recent a path behind locked doors trip to Martha's Vineyard. if Teddy comes looking for bait.

Archie, on the other hand is very take over the Tisbury Grange for their content to chew practically any food wares, and right next door behind the that appears on his highchair. Lob- Town Hall is a playground that draws ster brought the biggest smile of the kids while parents shop. week, but so did crab, fish, steak, The twins took to the playground chicken, Cheerios—and on, and on— like the proverbial ducks to water. or an equally angry-faced No! when “How close can we come to real danhis desires were turned down. He ger?” was their key question. expressed his likes and dislikes in the “Daddy! Daddy! Flip me over the most un-thwarted way. As a result, he bar while I’m hanging on to this tire.”

“Most kids climb up the stairs to get

L

to the top of the slide. Not me, man.

I hike the slide and dodge the bodies coming down.”

“Oh, and here’s this wonderful whirligig that I can propel as fast as I want.”

Well, it was this last item that provided insight into Ben’s emotional growth. He and Rory were the two oldest riders to begin with, and they were holding its bars and running through the sawdust in circles as fast as they figured the younger kids could stand.

Rory, however, soon tired and left for a jungle gym. Ben, on the other hand, now the leader of the pack, remained as its engine while younger kids hung on for dear life.

At one point in the cycle, I looked up from my bench and noticed that Ben was now turning the gig with one foot aloft in the air, and one of the two-year olds had been replaced by a seven- or eight-year-old girl, blond pony tail blowing out from under a baseball cap as Ben spun her. She wore blue shorts and was well-tanned. What struck me was that she balanced with her back against one of the bars, not holding on for support, looking very confidently at Ben, arms folded across her chest.

Soon, the young crew departed, leaving the two oldsters alone.

She remained on board. He continued to giver her a ride. Then came the gesture. While holding the bar with one hand, she reached with the other and took Ben’s hand in hers for a brief but poignant moment, looked him in the eye before casually joining her parents at the bracelet-making table.

Ben gazed at her briefly. I said nothing about it to him when he returned.

It may have been simply a passing “gotcha” before each of them returned to their appointed planets. But, watch it Daddy. No amount of lobster can flatten the emotional curve. And despite their current focus on foods, Archie and Teddy will also follow it. And, when it happens, stay off the whirligig.

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The Charlotte News • July 3, 2014 • 15

SPORTS Flo Meiler smashes world record Flo Meiler from Shelburne broke a world pole vault record for her age class by clearing six feet at the Adirondack Open and Masters Track and Field Championships in Albany. Lest you think that six is no mean feet, you ought to know that Flo competes in the 80- to 84-year-old age group.

Several summers ago she participated in a vault set up behind the Charlotte Fire House. Only in her 70s then, she cleared ten feet effortlessly, landing softly and chatting about her form over the bar – legs up and push with the shoulders.

Several Redhawks gain Athlete of the Year honors from Burlington Free Press Led by Autumn Eastman, the Free Press’ girl athlete of the year, CVU placed several others among “athletes who left their mark” this year. Autumn was Vermont’s Gatorade cross-country runner of the year, winning Vermont’s Division I title by 50 seconds, placing second in the Manhattan Invitational in New York and third at the New England and Northeast Regional races.

Also a Nordic skier, Easrtman won the state freestyle championship and placed second in the classic race. Her track and field record was equally impressive, winning three titles in the Division I meet (1,500 meters, 800 meters, 3,000 meters).

Autumn will attend Georgetown University in the fall, where she hopes to continue her paths to victory.

Two CVU teams were named tops in their sports. The girls soccer state champions went undefeated at 18-0, becoming just the second team to repeat as champs three years running. Even more impressive was the fact that they allowed only a single goal all season, outscoring opponents 72-1.

Their winter counterpart, women’s basketball, also was named team of the year and also completed an unde-

by Edd Merritt

feated season with a squeaker over Rice. Down by one with less than two seconds left in the championship game, Amanda Lougee hit two free throws for a 35-34 win over the Green Knights.

Emily Kinneston repeated as the Free Press’ Miss Basketball and was a multipositioned player on the soccer team.

Alex Bulla joined her in being noted for individual prowess. Bulla was a Free Press first team selection in hockey, and he captained the state champion Redhawk lacrosse team.

Maeve Higgins is a top-ten decathlete CVU student and Charlotter Maeve Higgins placed second in the 1,500meter run and sixth overall among decathletes who competed in state championships at UVM. Three Vermont twin-state teams topple under the granite New Hampshire won men’s and women’s twin-state ice hockey as well as field hockey. The girl pucksters needed an overtime goal to clinch the game (4-3) for the granite staters, however. CVU’s Molly Dunphy played for the girls, while Patrick Pattison played for the boys.

In the field sport CVU’s Eva Dunphy was one of two Vermont goal-tenders who combined to stop 22 shots. The Green Mountain girls still lost 6-1.

New Hampshire wins the Byrne Cup Sponsored by the Hanover Lions Club, the Twin-State Byrne Cup went to New Hampshire this year as both men’s and women’s lacrosse teams knocked off Vermont. In the girls’ game U-32’s Nicole Lavigne scored within the first minute, but New Hampshire dominated after that as they cruised to a 25-9 win.

The Granite State boys completed the sweep 10-3. CVU’s Twin-State players included midfielders Alex Bulla and Steele Dubrul, attacker Nevin DiParlo, long-stick defender Cameron Harris and assistant coach Lowell Thompson.

7th Annual Golf Classic to Benefit Partners in Adventure Looking for a great day of golf on the most beautiful golf course in Vermont? Then join Partners in Adventure for a day of sunshine and fun—all for a special cause. The Vermont National Country Club will be hosting Partners in Adventure’s 7th Annual Golf Classic on July 21. Aside from great golfing, there will be a box lunch and lots of food and prizes, including a set of Callaway irons. Proceeds from the event will benefit Partners in Adventure, an organization that provides programming and events for people of all abilities. For registration and information call 425-2638 or visit partnersinadventure.org.

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U14 Girls Hockey Looking for New Members Scott Bushweller Contributor

The Chittenden South Burlington Hockey Association (csbhockey.com) has seen tremendous growth the past few years in the number of girls playing hockey. It is clearly evident girls love to play hockey because it is fast, fun and challenging and a great opportunity to make new friends.

CSB offers U8, U10, U10/U12 development, and U12 and U14 girls hockey programs. For the upcoming hockey season CSB needs three more girls to play on the U14 team because many girls will be playing for their high school teams.

If you have a daughter who is 13 or 14 years old, knows how to skate Kayleigh Bushweller is a member of CSB’s Girls U12 and would like to try team. hockey, longtime coach Robin Hall is willing to with two practices a week at Cairns teach your daughter the Arena and two games on the weeksport.

Robin has been involved in girls’ ends—usually one at home and one hockey for many years and is very pas- away. Games are played against other sionate about getting more girls to try Vermont teams and therefore do not the sport. Robin and I are willing to involve significant travel.

One of the great things about girls’ meet your daughter at a public skate session at Cairns Arena to assess her hockey, as opposed to some other skating and give her advice on what she sports, is that your daughter will have should work on prior to the start of the a greater chance of making her high school team and playing four years of season.

One position the team needs is a goal- hockey for her school.

Robin and I look forward to hearing tender. If your daughter plays goalie for field hockey, lacrosse or soccer or is a from you. Please email me at sbushcatcher in softball, I am sure she would weller@comcast.net or call me at 922love trying to be a goaltender in hockey. 4642 if your daughter is interested in The hockey season starts in mid trying girls’ hockey.

October and goes through February,

16 • July 3, 2014 • The Charlotte News

Charlotte's Web continued from page 11 in a lot of money can live,” he said. “If we don’t make that happen all this other stuff fails.”

Russell was hesitant to share too much about the private meetings, though he noted that some of the connections the group has fostered have been encouraging. He’s also heard some criticism that he thinks gets to the root of why business has left and why it's been hard to bring back.

In short, Charlotte isn’t business friendly. Russell said that, over and over, he’s heard from developers and others that land use regulations are too restrictive and too hard to navigate.

These difficulties are augmented by an ethos in town that is heavily weighted toward conservation, he adds. In Charlotte, the value of the town’s rural nature and scenic beauty are paramount concerns for residents, at the expense of its business landscape.

“Here, the value of conserving of land has been the dominant value in town for some time,” he said. “Anything that constitutes change challenges those values.”

Certainly the recent historical record bears this out. To wit, in 1995, Country Home Products withdrew an application to convert the Old Lantern to office space

to accommodate 100 employees because it’s planned expansion did not conform to zoning regulations. The company, which leased offices in several Charlotte-area buildings, decided to lease a facility in Vergnennes instead. It still maintains a distribution warehouse in the Ferry Road Business Park, however.

In the summer of 1995, Jeff Hutchins, Charlotte’s then road commissioner, proposed to build a small water park, Philo Plunge, near the intersection of State Park Road and Route 7—“a nice place for families to come and spend a few hours together and have fun,” he told the Zoning Board at his initial hearing. After a testy follow-up hearing, where several Charlotters complained of how the business would affect their views, increase traffic near their houses, or cited it as being outside Charlotte’s character, the Zoning Board unanimously rejected Huthchins’ application.

“The whole thing was blown out of proportion,” Hutchins later said. “The good thing is I’ve had offers from other cities to apply for a permit.”

In 2001, the first attempt to pass the Town Plan failed in part due to the Selectboard’s controversial, autonomous decision to remove 30 acres of land on East Thompson’s Point from commercial zoning despite the Planning Commission’s move to uphold the parcel’s long status as commercial/industrial and the owner’s desire to keep it that way.

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“I worked with the business committee which was set up two years ago to promise to encourage economic development within the town and to try to dispel this myth that Charlotte is anti-business,” said former Planning Commission member Harley Allen. “I think from what I see here it’s not myth but actual fact.”

And in 2005, Town Hall was filled with supporters of Steven Denton, owner of the former Steve’s Citgo on Route 7, who was prohibited by the Zoning Board of Adjustment from parking his landscaping equipment behind the building due to zoning regulations. According to an article published in the News, “Several people spoke in support of Denton, the majority decrying what they perceived as anti-business sentiment in town.”

However, at the next Selectboard meeting, Denton was allowed to move his equipment there after the Selectboard accepted an interim change to the zoning bylaws to make it possible for commercial expansion.

This last example provides an example of the kind of flexibility and balance Russell would like to see the town strike between protecting land and encouraging growth.

“I think you can have it all, he said.

“You can have great, protected land, a financially sustainable agriculture economy, and welcoming, efficient, comfortable, semi-rural village housing all in the same town. It takes work, it takes some

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precision, it takes some trust.”

–––– If Charlotte is to improve its economy by navigating the balance between maintaining the town’s rural heritage and supporting more business, it must start with a conversation of the kind of businesses that could realistically thrive in town, said Lee Krohn, a senior planner with CCRPC. “It takes a community realizing what a community’s strengths are,” he said.

“What can it realistically expect to encourage?”

As noted in a previous Charlotte’s Web article, the 2014 Charlotte News Town Plan survey revealed that over the last 30 years Charlotters have increasingly become more desirous of development in town, specifically in regard to more commercial businesses. In the News survey, many mentioned a desire for a café/pub, restaurant, pharmacy, hardware store, farm equipment store, auto repair shop, gas station, grocery store and bank.

But the reality of what Charlotters want could come up against the marketplace, said Jeannine McCrumb, town planning and zoning administrator and the driving force behind the 2015 Town Plan. While she sees possibilities for an expanded roster of small businesses, given Charlotte’s small population and proximity to

Charlotte's Web

continued on page 18

The Charlotte News • July 3, 2014 • 17

Real Estate Listings

Driving past the Donegan farm on Carpenter Road the other day, I happened to notice a couple of cows smooching behind the barn.

Maybe, I thought, they were emotionally pleased with the fact that the Donegans are exploring the possibility of conserving land through the Charlotte Land Trust, and the cows could show their tenderness on or off the mound.

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Lens on the Land, sponsored by the Charlotte Land Trust (CLT), is a monthly Charlotte News feature showing the beauty of Charlotte throughout the year. CLT encourages anyone to submit photos of town to info@ charlottelandtrust.org where all submissions will be judged and one selected. Please include a description of where the land is located and why it matters to you.

Summer on the water in a 1994, nicely renovated 3-bdrm, 2-bath cottage with spectacular views of the lake, mountains and sunsets. Great for entertaining with a 2 level deck that includes a summer kitchen. There’s direct lake access, a dock, mooring, clear water plus the benefit of association tennis courts, and dock. This cottage has all the comforts of home. $725,000.

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10 Acres of Privacy This hilltop setting is ideal for those looking for something that is a cut above. Existing surrounding homes are well established and have a track record for saleability in the resale market. Charlotte. $218,795 | MLS# 4220731

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Post & Beam. Panton. $625,000 | MLS# 4312672 $699,500 | MLS# 4337318

Nicely upgraded 3 bedroom ranch directly on Sunset Lake. 2036 sq ft, including finished space in walkout basement. 2 baths, hardwood floors, standing seam roof, new furnace and wrap around deck. Very well maintained. $274,500 Dottie Waller, Realtor, CBR 846-7849 1-800-864-6226 x7849 Dottie.waller@lmsre.com

18 • July 3, 2014 • The Charlotte News

Charlotte's Web continued from page 16 other nearby services, it’s unlikely that a large chain like CVS or Kinney Drug or a major grocery store would build in Charlotte.

What’s more, if Charlotte is going to make infrastructure investments to provide for more activity—business and otherwise—in Charlotte’s West Village, the town has to make sure its investment is going to pay dividends, McCrumb said.

She points to Richmond, where she was formerly a town planner, as an example.

The town invested in increased septic service to support a cheese factory that closed 15 years ago. Richmond residents have been paying for the increased septic ever since.

Right now, a major hurdle to welcoming more businesses in Charlotte is increasing the septic capacity in the West Village, the de facto town center and place where town officials have planned to center growth. But in the recently released draft of the 2015 Town Plan, the commission recommends allowing for more wastewater capacity to support more development. “But if doesn’t pan out and we don’t get businesses, then it’s a service people still have to pay for,� said McCrumb. “It’s the same with drinking water and roads.�

While the economic chapter of the Town Plan has not been released to the public, there are other entries that point to the direction the Planning Commission hopes to take economic development. In general, the commission hopes to “provide essential commercial services, and

Sweet Charity

The former Steve's Citgo on Route 7 has stood empty since 2012. enable environmentally-sensitive rural and small business enterprises� as well as “the development of a more economically active town center with business services to fulfill local needs.� It also hopes to enhance the town’s farm economy by encouraging on-farm and farm-related businesses, by re-establishing the farmers market, and through a Farm and Food Council.

McCrumb sees a lot of potential for business growth through promoting the aspects of Charlotte that are already here, specifically the town’s empty buildings.

According to the 2003 EPC report, the Ferry Road Business Park would make an ideal incubator space for businesses, especially because “demand by Charlotters for this type of space appears to be slowly growing,� the report stated. Mike Russell agrees. “I’d like more people to discover that there’s office space here that is good: close to trails, the ferry, the train station,� he said. “There’s opportunity for people who want to work locally but not in the city and not in their homes.�

He points specifically to opportuni-

ties for health and wellness businesses, publishing and non-manufuacturing businesses. The pinnacle, though, would be something in manufacturing, a business that, like Garden Way, would bring jobs to Charlotte. “It’s hard to have it on a scale consistent with Charlotte’s ideals, but not impossible,� said Russell. “These jobs employ a lot of people, bring in a lot of capital from around the world. Maybe it’s possible for Charlotte to become known for something again.�

But Russell knows it’s going to take a developer or company with capital who is willing to invest in Charlotte. They’ll also have to see Charlotte as open for business, and he knows it’s going to take a lot of effort and ingenuity to get economic development in Charlotte going again.

Russell said the local group he’s affiliated with plans to be involved with the Town Plan process all the way through its adoption. For his part, he’s ready to invest in Charlotte, for Charlotte’s economic development is personal to him. “I’m not satisfied with what Charlotte is,� he said. “I hear people who are

not satisfied with staying here. They’re symptomatic of community that is having trouble coalescing. It sounds hokey, but building community is a big part of my motivation.� –––– It’s mid-June and Rick Benson, as ever, is moving quickly through his kitchen as he prepares lunch for two customers who chat enthusiastically about the comedic merits of the film The Big Lebowski.

There was a time earlier this year Rick Benson was thinking about turning the Little Garden Market into a restaurant— expanding the kitchen, adding some places to sit, a small bar. He recognizes it’s something many Charlotters want, but it would mean an investment in money and energy that he wouldn’t make unless he absolutely had to. But he’s backed off on that idea lately because his catering business has taken off, and he’s taking on more and more jobs. Even better, he’s had a pretty successful June at the store, too.

It’s this kind of success that gives him hope he can be in Charlotte five years from now. “I’ve been enjoying the heck out of this town,� he says, adding cautiously: “I really want to stay a part of the community but I have to make a living at it. I have to be fair to myself and my family.�

If he doesn’t start a restaurant, though, he hopes someone else will. He sees Charlotters have a desire to spend money in their community because doing so represents something bigger, something the economy here itself represents. “I see that the community wants to have a place to gather, something other than sitting at a store, that’s what I’d love to see. If that’s healthy it seems like the town is healthy.�

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The Charlotte News • July 3, 2014 • 19

Around Town to Darif Krasnow, who successfully completed his first year at Touro University Medical School in Vallejo, Calif. This summer he was awarded a fellowship at the UCLA School of Medicine’s Medical Student Training in Aging Research program (MSTAR). He will return to Touro in the fall. Darif is the son of Sumru Tekin and Michael Krasnow of Charlotte. to Sarah Loomis of Charlotte, a student at Robert Morris University, Moon Township, Penn., for earning placement on the dean’s list for the spring term, 2014.

Sarah is majoring in nursing. to Elise Sherman of Charlotte, who earned a degree in integrated marketing communications from Ithaca College’s Roy H. Park School of Communications.

She received her degree at commencement ceremonies held in May 2014. to Chennah Sharpe and Taylor Thibault, both of Charlotte, who earned placement on the dean’s list at Providence College, Providence, R.I., for the spring semester 2014. Taylor received her baccalaureate

Town Party continued from page 1

boards—the more imaginative the better! As Fire Chief Chris Davis always says, “Whatever shows up goes down the road. The more the merrier.”

Be ready at 11 a.m. sharp for the opening of the much-loved book sale, an annual crowd pleaser. Great summer reads await you from what promises to be a large selection of gently used materials.

Donations of books in good condition can be dropped off at the library during library hours through Thursday, July 10. Donation guidelines are available at the library and on the library website (charlottelibraryvt.org). Proceeds from the book sale help stretch the library’s annual book budget.

The big tent on the green will again house displays and information from local organizations.

There you’ll find the Grange table, the Charlotte Land Trust display, information on the Lewis Creek Association, as well as the tables of the Selectboard, the Conservation Commission, the Trails Committee, Charlotte Recreation, and the Planning Commission.

Don’t miss Abby Foulk’s recycling table, Genealogy Day’s table and those of SCHIP (celebrating its 10th anniversary), CCS Connecting Youth mentoring, Hands to Honduras/Tela, the Boy Scouts, the Food Shelf, the Charlotte Democrats, the Historical Society, the

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degree this spring. Chennah is a member of the class of 2017. to John William Hill of Charlotte, who earned a bachelor of arts in economics from California State University at Long Beach. He received it at commencement ceremonies held May 21. John was a member of the CSULB sailing team, and he participated in the College Sailing Coed National Championship held this year in St. Mary’s, Md., early in June. He is the son of Dorothy and Jeffrey Hill. to Tyler Allen, who was promoted to senior editor of Explore Big Sky newspaper and Mountain Outlaw magazine, both printed by Outlaw Publications, headquartered in Big Sky, Mont. Tyler is the son of Jane and David Allen and a graduate of CVU and UVM. to Rebecca and Bryan Chicoine whose son, Camden Croix Chicoine was born May 24 at Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington. to Annmarie Plant, R.N., B.A., C.C.M., who was appointed the new president of Armistead Caregiver Services effective June 30. Annmarie has been a colleague of Charlotter Rachel Cummings, having worked with her at the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) and privately as a geriatric care manager.

Annmarie is a registered nurse with over 35 years of diverse leadership experience in healthcare, nonprofits and public health. She says she looks forward to working with the Armistead team to serve Vermont and its region of New Hampshire.

Champlain Valley Canine Rescue, and Building Bright Futures. You’ll also find the Charlotte News display in a separate tent again this year. As always there will be cake! And the winning photos from its 9th annual Peter Coleman photo contest are a must-see.

The aroma of grilling hamburgers and hot dogs will draw you across Ferry Road to the fire station. Lunch, under the able direction of Rita St. George, also includes soft drinks and baked goodies. Take a break, relax and visit over lunch, and also enjoy checking out the fire trucks and fire-fighting gear on display.

Next door the Senior Center will be open with coffee available. Enjoy the center’s display of Dan Falby’s photographs of our Lake Champlain valley and surrounding mountains.

Don’t forget to stop in at the Quinlan School, where you’ll take a step back in time to when Charlotte’s children attended one-room schools. At the same time you can create/print Quinlan School cards and watch a video of the school’s history that includes interviews of several former students.

Finally, CCS students will try to make this a “waste zero” Town Party. Student guides will help attendees sort compostable material, recyclables, bottle returns and trash into appropriate disposal bins. They are also encouraging people to bring their own water bottles and bags for the book sale.

So mark your calendars for this special all-town event: the Town Party, Saturday, July 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Town Green.

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to Kristen DeStigter, M.D., who has agreed to serve as the Fletcher Allen interim chair of the department of radiology and the department’s physician leader.

She is currently the John P. and Kathryn H. Tampas Green and Gold professor and the vice chair of radiology. Dr. DeStigter holds a medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and completed a residency in diagnostic radiology and a body-imaging fellowship at University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio. She lives in Charlotte.

Sympathy is extended to family and friends of June “Red” (Palmer) Curavoo of Burlington, who passed away June 21 at the age of 81. Her surviving family includes her sister, Elizabeth Hatch, of Charlotte. is extended to family and friends of Kathleen June (McNally) Martin of Williston, who passed away June 18 at the age of 92. Her surviving family includes her son, Dr. Jeffrey Martin, and his partner, Dr. Robert Smith, as well as their daughters Elise and Taryn Martin-Smith, all of Charlotte. For those who wish to make donations in memory of Kathleen, the family suggests that these go to Vermont Respite House, 99 Allen Brook Lane, Williston VT 05495 or to the Essex Junction Firefighters Association, 2 Lincoln Street, Essex Junction, VT 05452. The family invites you to share condolences on line at awrfh.com.

Check the Road for Chipmunks

Photo by Emma SlatEr

Congratulations

Drivers along Prindle Road be forewarned: chipmunks may dart across your path. Someone has placed homemade signs along the side of the road asking drivers to slow down so the cute creatures can cross the road safely.

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