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APRIL 18, 2024
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
School budget passes on revote
The Champlain Valley School District’s reworked budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year passed with a 60 percent majority Tuesday. The $102 million budget will carry the district through the 20242025 school year with a 6 percent spending increase over the current year. The proposal was reduced from the $106 million proposal voters rejected at Town Meeting Day in March. About 7,300 voters in the five-town school district participated in Tuesday’s election, down from the roughly 8,500 voters who participated on Town Meeting Day. Tuesday’s tally was 4,358 ‘yes’ votes to 2,947 ‘no’ votes. “It’s a real relief for many reasons,” said CVSD board chair Meghan Metzler, “and it helps our educators and our families have
Tuesday’s school budget vote results YES 4,358
NO 2,947
stability and an understanding of what’s to come for next year rather than a lot of uncertainty, so I’m really grateful for that.” The failure of the Town Meeting Day budget was a first for the district, which formed in 2017 from a merger of smaller districts. It was part of a spate of failed budgets throughout the state as property taxpayers balked at tax increases of 20 percent or more. The failed CVSD budget would have resulted in an estimated 20 percent property tax increase in Williston.
Concert series to return to Maple Tree Place BY JASON STARR Observer staff
A voter drops their ballot in the collection box Tuesday at the National Guard Armory . OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
BY JASON STARR Observer staff
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
School administrators estimate that the budget voters approved Tuesday will result in a 14 percent tax increase for Williston property owners. “It’s a tough one,” Mark Peryea said after casting his vote Tuesday at the National Guard Armory in Williston Village. “We do have children in school, but 14 percent is an awful big increase so I can see where the vote could end up going either way.” The property tax increase is driven in part by how the state education fund is distributed to districts throughout the state. Lawmakers continue to work this session on changing the distribution formula. CVSD board members plan to have input in those decisions. “We’ve not historically as a board had to be very vocal advocates with the Legislature, but that’s something we’re really focused on see VOTE page 9
Good vibes return to the Maple Tree Place green this summer as the shopping center’s new owners are bringing back the Maple Tree Place Concert Series. The weekly series — featuring feel-good tribute bands to music legends like the Eagles, Beatles and Johnny Cash — went dark in 2019 under the ownership of Brookfield Properties. It had been a weekly summer ritual dating back to 2007 that attracted folks of all ages for free live music on the grassy square surrounded by shops, restaurants and the Majestic 10 movie theater. Acadia Realty Trust, based in Rye, N.Y., bought Maple Tree Place in January. Justin Kelley has been hired as the on-site property manager. “One of the things we are really interested in trying to do is re-integrate the property with the community. We thought a great way to do that is to revitalize the summer concert series,” Kelley said Tuesday during an event permit hearing with the Williston Selectboard. The shopping center has several new tenant businesses since the last time the concert series ran, and has lost a few others. I Heart Mac & Cheese, Artisan Vapor & CBD and Club Champion golf fitter are all new to the square. Christmas Tree Shops is a notable absence, having closed in 2023. Store staff that remember the concert series have been asking Kelley about bringing it back, he told the board.
The Maple Tree Place concert series, last held in 2019, will return to the shopping center’s green in 2024. OBSERVER FILE PHOTO
“We are excited to bring them back to the community,” he said. “We think it’s a great way for us to get the community back into Maple Tree Place and really try and make it more of a destination.” Six shows are planned on Thursday evenings starting June 20. Shows will run approximately 6-8:45 p.m. The selectboard on Tuesday approved the Temporary Events Permit. As part of the approval, Maple Tree Place will be required to hire at least two Williston firefighters for at least three hours to provide for public safety at the concerts.
2024 Maple Tree Place Concert Series June 20 Britishmania (Beatles tribute) July 11 Police Tribute July 25 Garth Brooks Tribute Aug. 1 Johnny Cash Tribute Aug. 15 (tentative) TBD Aug. 22 Eagles Tribute
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