Williston
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MAY 23, 2024
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Town budget passes
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
Celebrating national ‘Kids to Parks Day’ the Williston way
By a 595-to-470-vote margin, the Town of Williston’s budget for the coming fiscal year passed during a special election Tuesday. It was the town’s second attempt to get voter approval for a budget after the defeat of its original proposal at Town Meeting Day in March. The approved $15 million budget will increase spending over the current fiscal year by roughly $1 million (7.6 percent) and result in an estimated property tax increase of about 6 percent. The 1,065-voter turnout was down from the nearly 3,000 Williston voters who cast ballots at Town Meeting Day. Turnout Tuesday was 12 percent of the 8,640 registered voters in town. “I’m grateful that Williston voters approved a revised budget that balances affordability with service delivery needs for the community,” said Ted Kenney, chair of the Williston Selectboard. “This budget provides funding for public safety, maintaining critical town infrastructure and delivering outstanding library and recreational services, along with the many administrative functions across town departments that provide the backstop and framework to provide these municipal functions, and more.” After the Town Meeting budget defeat, the selectboard held a series of meetings in March and April to revise the proposal, ultimately deciding to decrease it by $310,000 and add $125,000 in reserve funds. As a result, the estimate tax rate was reduced to $356 for every $100,000 of assessed property value — an increase of about $20 for every $100,000 of assessed property value over the current fiscal year. In revising the budget, the town put on hold a new human resources director position and removed funds for police, fire and library vehicles. Reductions were also made to staff training, part-time and on-call staff wages, expanding library hours, path paving, sidewalk replacement, building maintenance, and technology, according to Town Manager Erik Wells. “Thank you to the Williston community for approving the revised fiscal year 2025 budget,” Wells said in a news release Wednesday. “We face many service delivery pressures from both a fiscal and operating standpoint, and the town staff and I will continue to rise to the challenge to provide the high-quality level of service the community expects.” — Jason Starr
The weather cooperated for Williston’s Kids Fest on Saturday in Village Community Park. See more photos of the event on page 3.
Inaugural Kids Fest attracts fun-loving crowd BY INDIRA BUSH Special to the Observer Every year on the third Saturday in May, local, state and national parks around the country host events to celebrate National Kids to Parks Day. This year, Williston joined in on the fun with Kids Fest, a Kids to Parks Day event hosted at Village Community Park on Saturday. The event, hosted and run by the Williston Recreation and Parks Department, was free and drew a large crowd to the park for an afternoon of kid-focused games and activities. The fields and park were alive with friendly sports matches, running kids with flying kites, handcrafted creations and ice cream cones. While Williston’s biggest
OBSERVER PHOTO BY AL FREY
recreation event of the year takes place on July Fourth, Alex Mihavics of Williston Recreation and Parks said Kids to Parks day seemed the “perfect time to offer something for the community.” It also was a way to promote the summer programming that Williston Recreation and Parks has to offer. Lynn Brown, who will host the “Fun with Food Camp” from July 22-26 and the “Culinary Adventure Camp” from July 29-Aug. 2, brought a table brimming with fruits and vegetables that she helped kids transform into butterflies, caterpillars and various other creatures. Sarah Mayer, a local art teacher, brought a wide array of activities for kids to try, from creating their own zine to crafting a foldable robot. This summer, Mayer will host a variety of art camps at Williston Central School in association with Williston Recreation and Parks.
An attendee of Kids Fest creates a bookmark in front of Dottie the Bookmobile on Saturday in Village Community Park. OBSERVER PHOTO BY INDIRA BUSH
Mayer said she started with the idea to lead an animation camp, but will instead offer camps with see PARKS page 3
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