water, once more with feeling

Ok, where are we?

The Selectboard met last Tuesday night, mostly to discuss the allocation of costs for the upcoming bond vote on December 10th.

Quick refresher: we are having two votes that are related to water infrastructure:

1. In person vote on October 29th at 6pm to vote on the acquisition of the Woodstock Aqueduct Company, it’s property (excluding the Vondell), and it’s assets for $457k from the undesignated fund balance. The balance will be paid for by two grants.

2. An Australian ballot vote on December 10th (7am-7pm) to vote to bond the purchase of the Vondell and several capital projects.

Which projects are included?

The Selectboard agreed that the replacement of the water main from the tank at Cox District Road (also known as Option 1b), the purchase of the Vondell Reservoir property, the Elm Street Bridge pipe suspension, and the replacement for Well #005 should be prioritized. We left out the second storage tank (also known as Option 2) from this vote because Option 1b will (according to the engineering report) bring most of our hydrants into compliance and it requires procuring property for the site of the second tank.

Who is going to pay?

Last meeting the board tentatively agreed to the following split:

• The bonds for the Vondell and Option 1b being paid by each property (~$6.6M).

• The bonds for the Elm Street Bridge main suspension and Well #005 replacement being paid by rate-payers only (~$1.7M).

We also agreed to allocate the following on an annual basis:

• $60,000 from our new Local Options Sales Tax revenue (this is estimated to be roughly ~30% of annual revenue, though we are not sure as we just completed our first quarter since it’s activation)

• $75,000 from our Local Meals, Rooms, and Alcohol Tax revenue (roughly ~20% annual revenue). We initially discussed 30% of annual revenue being allocated but felt that the $40,000 delta would be more impactful elsewhere.

How did we get here?

If you recall from my last post, I made a case for everyone shouldering the costs of the bond, especially given that the hydrants are main driver of the cost and that if the Vondell is going to be a town asset, it should be shared equally.

My colleagues on the board who are on private wells shared the feedback they have been receiving from our community meetings: that non rate-payers do not feel it’s fair to shoulder the entire cost equally. So, after some philosophical back and forth, we hammered out the compromise above based on the fact that (unlike schools), not every property has the ability to connect to water but they do benefit (and currently pay for) the hydrants.

So, if you are a WAC customer, you will be paying for the $6.6M bond as well as $1.7M bond and an increase in usage fees.

What am I going to pay?

With the current fund allocation, all properties will be taxed based on assessed value around ~$40 per $100,000.00 per year. The amount will decrease by a handful of dollars each year as the interest decreases.

*This amount also assumes no additional grant funding will be available for bond projects

For WAC customers, the board is going to talk about the budget for the water company start talking about rates at our meeting on Wednesday 10/23 at 5pm.

Why are we using revenue from local options taxes to fund these projects?

Woodstock approved a Local Options Sales Tax at last Town Meeting Day specifically to defray the costs of upcoming infrastructure projects, because, boy, do we have them :)

Our other local options tax - on Meals, Rooms, and Alcohol - was approved on the ballot at Town Meeting in 2015, reading: “the revenue from which will be used for municipal economic development purposes, to invest in the future health and prosperity of the Town of Woodstock by promoting the town to potential visitors, residents and businesses, and by funding special projects that benefit the community.”

The Economic and Community Development Reserve Fund was established in late 2015 by a Special Meeting: Shall the voters of the Town of Woodstock vote, pursuant to Title 24 V.S.A. Section 2804 whose purpose is to fund economic and community development within the Town of Woodstock.

The Economic Development Commission was created in late 2009, with Charlie Kimbell serving as the first Chair. I have been told this body was created due a lack of bandwidth on the part of the Selectboard in sourcing ideas for economic development. The Commission serves as an advisory board to the Selectboard - they recommend to the board how the revenue from the Reserve Fund should be spent, and the board either approves or denies those requests. Commissioners are not elected, but appointed by the Selectboard.

As I have discussed (ad nauseam to most of you), I believe the acquisition of the water company is the single-most important thing Woodstock can do for economic development. As we experienced last summer, our businesses suffered greatly without access to clean and safe water. No water connections can be added to the system until the hydrant pressure is addressed. Expanding the size of the water main (from 8” to 12”) through Option 1B will increase the carrying capacity from the storage tank to the bridge by the Recreation Center, which will allow for increased pressure and also hopefully resolve some of the 30% water loss the system currently experiences.

The Vondell also has a strong case for economic development. Purchasing the Vondell is an investment in recreation for our residents and visitors (of increasing importance as winter sports continue to be limited by a warming climate). The Vondell is home to miles of both walking and biking trails, the latter which is currently maintained by WAMBA. Purchasing the land also allows Woodstock to diversify our assets, giving us leverage to raise capital in the future. Finally, it provides the ability to own an additional water source should we need to expand our system in the future (the Reservoir was used as a water source from the 70s until 1988).

Ok, so there you have it.

What else?

Have a plan to vote: the vote is in person on October 29th at 6pm at Town Hall. We have same day voter registration in Vermont - you can register in person at our Clerk’s office (hours here).

Reading

Only one reading recommendation this time - I have a long backlog to share once we get through the vote.

Conspiratorial Thinking, The Preamble

Let me know if you have questions or feedback. I apologize for the length of this.

water under the bridge?

Two weeks ago, the Selectboard announced our intention to bring two votes to our community related to our water infrastructure in the next two months:

1. A floor vote on October 29th to acquire the Woodstock Aqueduct Company for $920,000 (about half of the funding coming from grants and half coming from our undesignated fund balance) and;

2. An Australian ballot vote on December 10th to bond the purchase of the Vondell Reservoir and certain capital projects.

Some common questions I’ve gotten since then:

Why the floor vote then the Australian ballot vote? (aka “Quit Playing Games with my Vote”)

Here we go again. Until we permanently change our mechanism of voting to Australian ballot we will be voting from the floor by voice/raise of hands. Ironically, Vermont statute requires bond votes to be voted on by Australian ballot, so we’ll have one of each.

Of course, someone can make a motion for a paper ballot when we vote from the floor, which I expect to happen on the 29th.

What is an undesignated fund balance?

It’s the part of our budget that isn’t earmarked for specific expenses. As of our last audit, our undesignated fund balance was $1.7m. So, after this expense, we’ll be sitting at ~$1.2m, roughly 15% of our budget which is where auditors like to see it.

Why aren’t we buying it for $X amount?

$920k is the currently the debt of WAC, which we are all currently paying towards in usage and hydrant fees. In exchange for this purchase, we are receiving the company and their inventory (vehicles, machinery, property excluding the Vondell, all listed here). We have been in negotiations for months trying to balance the value of controlling our water system, the necessary investments to be made, and the timeline with which we want to see this achieved. This has been no small feat for our staff, our legal counsel, and our board. WE ARE NOT ASSUMING THEIR DEBT.

It’s important to note that there isn’t an alternative water company we could purchase for cheaper. Our residents are paying either way, and I consider it to be less offensive/maddening to own the company than to pay their debt (and the interest on it) while they still own it and poorly manage it.

Why aren’t we suing WAC ownership?

The board has no evidence to believe a lawsuit would be less costly or faster than acquiring the water company through a public vote. The State regulatory body recognizes that current WAC ownership has been taking loans to make improvements to the system. Our legal counsel recommends (as does the State) the path we are currently taking to acquire the water company.

Why is the Vondell Reservoir priced at $1.6M?

For starters, it’s 350+ acres in Woodstock 😬 We have negotiated the purchase of the Vondell without restrictions on the land. In addition to being the site of the only water storage tank and the reservoir which was a water source in the past and could be a water source in the future, the land could be an investment for the town. While it is mainly used for recreation now (by hikers and mountain bikers), there are pieces of the parcel that are able to be developed.

It’s 100% up to voters if you want the town to own this land. (It’s in current use right now, so it’s tax bill is roughly ~13k). I am personally for this purchase. I think this land is incredibly valuable to us as a community and could be instrumental in our future (something we have not spent an appropriate amount of time thinking about/talking about/changing for the better)

What am I going to pay?

The board met Tuesday to kick off discussions on this. We agreed that Option 1b (the new water main), the new well & pump, and the Elm Street bridge suspension were priorities for this bond. So the current plan is to exclude the second tank from this bond. With the Vondell, that takes the bond to ~$8.3M.

Let me explain why every parcel is going to pay for the bond: Right now, each parcel pays hydrant fees in their property tax bill. And as the hydrant deficiencies are the main driver of the cost of the bond, I think it’s reasonable for each parcel to continue contributing. The alternative again, is that WAC increases the hydrant fees to cover the costs of the projects necessary to bring them into compliance.

I also think it would be more than strange for only some residents to pay for an asset like the land of the Vondell.

Finally (and at the risk of using a term I loathe in the public sphere) there exists a very slippery slope if we are to start drawing lines where only users are paying for the public goods provided by the government. Should we only ask parents to pay for the costs of public schools? Should we only ask those who use the roads to pay for them? Doesn’t a rising tide lift all boats? We all benefit, directly or indirectly, from a safe and secure water utility - for our businesses, our schools, our municipal buildings, our public safety.

For users, it’s no secret we have been under-paying for water for a very long time. In order to run a successful utility and start capital reserves for future projects, rates have to increase significantly. I don’t think it will be unreasonable to expect at least double digit growth for user rates, but we have to work on what we expect the operating budget to require first.

What’s next?

We will be discussing other funding avenues at the Selectboard meeting this Tuesday - including the local options sales tax we approved this year, and the meals, rooms, and alcohol tax that funds the Economic Development Reserve Fund. I have a lot to say on that but in the spirit of brevity, I will end it here.

Please let me know if you have any questions and please, for the love of cider donuts, limit your exposure to the listserv.

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.

9/12/24 dispatch

Happy Foliage! I am happy to report that we haven't started battling over the thermostat in my house, but it's only a matter of time :) 

Correction 

Last time I wrote about special articles on the ballot. The Woodstock Rec Center has not historically submitted special articles for funding. They do receive funding from our operating budget ($235k as well as $15k in bond repayments + interest for the Little Theatre). In many towns, the library and the recreation department operate under the town - in Woodstock they are separate non-profit organizations.

Homestead Declaration

If you are a property owner in Woodstock, you should have received your tax bill via mail. After a handful of conversations over the past few weeks, I want to remind folks that you must file a homestead declaration EVERY year, regardless of income. This should be done by April 15th, but the Department of Taxes accepts late submissions until October 15, 2024. Please make sure to file to avoid the eye-watering penalties. Linking you to the criteria for homestead and the form: https://tax.vermont.gov/property-owners/homestead-declaration

https://tax.vermont.gov/sites/tax/files/documents/HS-122-2023.pdf

Ok, let's get into it:

Priorities and goals

The joint boards met last week to hammer out some more specifics on goals. While it's never easy to get 10 people on the same page, we are making progress and I'm grateful to be working with such a thoughtful group. Out of the gate, both boards agreed that the purchase of the Aqueduct (and its capital improvements) as well as the Main Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades were top goals. (Refresher: the Town is in active negotiations to purchase WAC and we have tentatively planned for a bond vote in March for the WWTP upgrades). 

Also high on the list: revisiting the short-term rental ordinance before the moratorium for new permits expires in the town (12/31) and the window for new applications opens in the Village (11/1); purchasing and implementing permit software; improving the technology for our public meetings; restructuring and redirecting our advisory boards; and, of course, the unsurprisingly controversial topic of merging. 

As a reminder, our goals are supposed to be specific so they are achievable. You can watch the recorded meeting here: https://youtu.be/1VdidToH9FA?si=f6N_mmHZ-OyoIBbs

Sip and Shop! 

We can have nice things! Some shop owners are organizing a Sip and Shop on the second Saturday of each month from September to December: https://townofwoodstock.org/2024/09/sip-and-shop/

Reading/listening:

Use it or lose it: the urgent case for civic engagement, The Vermont Standard (attached)

Gov. Scott, School Leaders Raise Alarm About Next Budget Season, Seven Days

Why Vermont streams have become more powerful — and how that fuels devastating flooding, Vermont Public 

Progress is being made in the battle to save trees from the emerald ash borer, The Berkshire Eagle

8/29/24 dispatch

Catching you up on what's being going on during the past two weeks:

Tax rate
At the last Selectboard meeting, our Finance Director Robert Densmore gave a presentation on tax rates and the board approved the new municipal tax rates. I'm attaching the rates for both the Town and the Village. These will also be available on the website soon. As you may know, most of our tax bill is the state education tax, and for Woodstock homestead owners, that rate is increasing by over 30% this year. This greatly limits the municipality's ability to raise taxes for necessary expenses - like infrastructure and staffing.

Two other points to highlight:
1. Special articles added over $200K to our tax rate last year. The threshold for these to appear on the ballot is low and I have yet to see a fundraising article fail. A few of these organizations have funding already included into our operating budget - Rec Center, Norman Williams Public Library, Pentangle Arts, and the Thompson Senior Center. While many of the special articles fund organizations that are impactful in our community, it has been suggested by a more than a few of you that we conduct a more thorough vetting of these organizations (especially those that appear on both sides of the ballot) since many have diverse sources of revenue (membership fees, private donations, grant funding, endowments, etc).

2. I asked the Municipal Manager to investigate a more efficient way to collect delinquent property taxes. We have a backlog and I hope we could claw back some of it to help our ever growing list of expenses.

Firetrucks
Chief Green came before the board again last Tuesday to make his case for purchasing two new trucks - an engine and a ladder truck. The impetus for these requests has to deal with their age and a potential new OSHA requirement dictating how often trucks need to be replaced, as well as our ISO rating which impacts insurance rates. While our engine is due for replacement, Woodstock hasn't had a ladder truck since 1998. Hartford, Killington, and Lebanon all have ladder trucks and we already participate in mutual aid with those towns (of course, they are all roughly 30 minutes away). The trucks have a 4-5 year lead time, so ordering the trucks sooner than later allows us to lock in the price right now and pay later. However, we have many upcoming expenses...

The next step is a publicly warned vote (and hopefully some public input) on whether or not to move forward with the purchase(s).

Main Wastewater Treatment Plant
The bond vote on the main Wastewater Treatment Plant renovation/upgrades is tentatively planned for Town Meeting Day 2025. We are still working out the best payment allocation for sewer users and non-users. As a quick refresher, these upgrades are state mandated and the entire Town would be on the hook for any penalties for not meeting our permits.

We did learn from Hoyle Tanner about something called an I/I investigation which could determine where flow is being lost in the system. This could lead to adding capacity by simply addressing the inefficiencies in the current system, but we won't know until we do it. And of course, it has to be done in warm weather. Still, let's take the wins where we can get them.

Board Goals
The Selectboard and Trustees met on Wednesday morning to start conversations around priorities and goals. This discussion was prompted by our Municipal Manager's presentation in June in which he challenged the boards to stop spending so much time on small things and more time tackling big things, if you will (I'm oversimplifying). We nailed down three priorities: Housing/Development, Affordability, and Increase Efficiency/Effectiveness. The next step is agreeing to specific measurable goals that we think can be achieved in the next year.

Reminder for OFRA input
The Planning Commission is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, September 4th at 7pm to continue discussing the square footage requirement (2800 sq. ft.) in the On Farm Restaurant Amendment. I encourage you to attend as the Commission is leaning on public input to help craft their recommendation. And please remember that the amendment applies to all On Farm restaurant applications.

School is in session
Teachers don't want staff pizza parties. They want help. (Ok, maybe they want both)
Please consider substitute teaching.

East End Community Celebration
Save the Date: Sept 8th 2-5pm. Music. Drinks. Fire Department Chicken. What more could you ask for?

Related reading/listening:
Yes in My Back Yard, The Vermont Standard (republished by Sustainable Woodstock)
Cape Cod Offers a Harbinger of America’s Economic Future, The Atlantic (thanks to Greta Thomas for sharing)
The Bottom of the Bowl, 99% Invisible

Per usual, this is longer than I intended. Is it too long? Be honest.