the fountain of growth
I am breaking from our regularly scheduled programming to update you regarding the negotiations to purchase the Woodstock Aqueduct Company.
For those who didn’t last night’s meeting, the Selectboard had a plan to have a bond vote before the end of the year to acquire the Woodstock Aqueduct Company, its assets, the Vondell Reservoir, and fund necessary capital projects. That plan came to a halt a few weeks ago when the State of Vermont told our Municipal Manager that state grant funding we were expecting to help fund the acquisition needed to be allocated by September 30. That deadline has been pushed to October 31st thanks to some negotiating on the part of town staff and soon-to-be Rep. Charlie Kimbell.
That brings us to the new plan:
Have a public floor vote on Tuesday, October 29th to acquire the WAC and all of its assets (excluding Vondell Reservoir) using $457k from our undesignated fund balance so that we can still receive the grant funding. This would mean no additional cost to taxpayers.
Have an Australian ballot vote in early December to bond the purchase of Vondell Reservoir and necessary capital projects. The cost would depend on which capital projects the community would like to prioritize.
And yes, I know what you’re thinking: How can we possibly have more special votes this year? We’re going for a record. How could the board ask us to spend more money after our taxes just increased? The short version is that this dilemma we’re in right now was decades in the making. And there’s no overnight, low-cost solution for getting us out. We are going to be spending a while righting the ship.
But, let’s not be discouraged.
I will be dramatic when I say that buying this water company is the single most important step we can take towards a better present and future in Woodstock. Many of you experienced the impact of the water main breaks related to Hurricane Irene and the floods of Bummer Summer ‘23. And lest we forget those trying times, the pipe on the Elm Street Bridge serves as a daily reminder for how we have not chosen to invest meaningfully in infrastructure. Secure access to safe and clean water is imperative to our community.
Additionally, our ability to meaningfully grow our tax base is tied to our infrastructure capacity. Right now, those who want to build more housing and commercial spaces cannot because they can’t get a water connection. In the words of our Regional Energy Coordinator, if we want Woodstock to have a future, we must “grow or die.” This is not news to many of you, especially those who have tried to hire locally in the past five years (whether they be teachers, office administrators, tradespeople, store clerks, medical professionals, or public safety workers); or those who have tried to find housing that meets their needs; or those of you trying to open businesses here; or those who are simply trying to afford to live here and know we cannot spread our growing expenses amongst a smaller and smaller group.
There is way more information and answers you are deserving of on the Town’s website (including the presentation Eric made last night):
https://townofwoodstock.org/about/acquisition-of-the-woodstock-water-system/
Over the next two months, the Selectboard will be hosting information sessions at Town Hall and office hours out in the community to talk about the acquisition (I will be at Mon Vert tomorrow morning at 8:15 if you want to chat). I’ll post the schedule as it becomes available.
