Vermont Housing & Conservation Board - Vermont Housing and ...

Vermont Housing & Conservation Board 

Annual Report to the General Assembly 

2003

Vermont Housing & Conservation Board 

John T. Ewing, Chair, Burlington 

John D. E. Roberts, Vice-Chair, Cornwall 

Sarah E. Carpenter, Executive Director, 

Vermont Housing Finance Agency 

Kevin Dorn, Secretary, 

Agency of Commerce and Community Development 

James Keeney, St. Johnsbury 

Steven Kerr, Secretary, 

Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets 

Nancy Nye, Taftsville 

Thomas Weaver, Essex Junction 

Jonathan Wood, Commissioner, 

Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation 

Deb Brighton, Salisbury (retired March 2003) 

Agricultural Advisory Committee 

Michael Audet, Orwell farmer 

Alan Curler, Agricultural Lender, Chittenden Bank 

Sally Goodrich, Cabot farmer 

Roger Allbee, USDA Farm Service Agency 

Kip Potter, USDA Natural Resources Con ser va tion Service 

Glenn Rogers, UVM Extension Service 

Vermont Farm Viability Program Advisory Board 

Jo Bradley, VEDA 

Judy Clark, Hyde Park farmer 

Jane Clifford, Starksboro farmer 

Doug Lantagne, UVM Extension Service 

David Major, Putney farmer 

Ross Thurber, Brattleboro farmer 

For the past month, a very 

special visitor has been 

spending time here in a 

Norway Spruce tree by 

our parking lot. The Varied 

Thrush is usually found in 

the Pacific Northwest, so we 

have had many birdwatchers 

coming by to see the bird. 

The bird (he or she—there is 

some difference of opinion) 

is about the size of a robin 

with beautiful orange, black 

and white coloring. 

E.J. Elithorpe 

VHCB Staff 

Executive Director: Gus Seelig 

Financial: Anne Kimball, Kym Andrews, Cheryl Viens 

Administration: Larry Mires, Pam Boyd, Kathleen Dempsey, Laurie Graves, Ethan Guiles 

Conservation: Paul Hannan, Billy Coster, Nancy Everhart, Karen Free man 

Housing: Polly Nichol, Rick DeAngelis, Nita Hanson, Lorraine McBride, Patrick Shattuck 

Lead Paint Hazard Reduction Program: Ron Rupp, Marty Bonneau, Rebecca Sheppard, Bob Zatzke 

Vermont Community Stewardship Program: Laurie Larson 

Vermont Farm Viability Enhancement Program: Ethan Parke 

Legal: Jim Libby, Elizabeth Egan 

Cover photos (left to right, back to front): Tuttle Block, Rutland; Sherry and Steve Ouellette and Pineapple, their 

2001 World Dairy Expo-winning Brown Swiss, Bridport (Bob Eddy photo); Hollow Drive, Wilder (Ray Brewster photo) 

Photography: Bob Eddy, Annie Van Avery, Peter Wrenn, staff, grantees, and as credited 

Writing: Doug Wilhelm | Design: Pam Boyd | Printing: Hull Printing, Barre

James H. Douglas, Governor 

State of Vermont 

Office of the Governor 

Montpelier, Vermont 05609 

January 

31, 2004 

Dear Fellow Vermonters, 

I am pleased to present the Annual Report of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board 

and to offer my congratulations to the Board and its community partners for their exciting efforts 

to improve the quality of life in our communities. This summer and fall I’ve had the opportunity 

to visit new neighborhoods in Wilder, Arlington, Hancock and South Burlington as well as 

conservation efforts in South Hero. 

All these projects share common goals and adhere to the principles of smart growth by siting homes 

close to services and transportation, which in my view makes good sense for Vermont. Both housing 

and conservation efforts promote strong civic involvement through public planning and private fundraising 

endeavors, and leverage Vermont’s investment with both private loans and federal grants. 

This has been a very challenging time for Vermont’s farm community. The Board’s Farmland 

Conservation Program provides a voluntary mechanism for farmers to generate capital from the 

sale of development rights and conservation easements. Many farmers use these funds to reinvest 

in their agricultural enterprises. In addition, I am delighted that the Board has joined Secretary 

Kerr of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets in developing a new farm viability 

program to provide technical assistance and business planning to Vermont farmers. 

As an individual long involved in historic preservation, I’m glad to see that a number of towns 

have used the Board’s assistance to invest in landmark community buildings, such as the Brookfield 

Town Hall, that are at the heart of rural life. 

The Board’s mission is fundamental to the future of Vermont’s economy. Affordable homes have 

been identified as a key issue for economic development. Our working landscape is perhaps our 

greatest economic asset and the conservation of this resource is critical to our travel and tourism 

industries and to the recruitment and retention of high quality employers to Vermont. 

Vermont continues to be challenged by difficult and uncertain economic times. My administration 

will work with the Board to effectively leverage Vermont’s tax dollars to achieve the many 

benefits outlined in this report. 

Sincerely, 

James H. Douglas 

Governor

2 

Letter from the Chair 

Dear Members of the General Assembly, 

On behalf of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board and our staff, I want 

to thank you for your continuing support of the Housing and Conservation Trust 

Fund. This report illustrates the positive and productive impacts of our partnerships 

with Vermont communities that are addressing the need for affordable homes, wise 

land use, and conservation of our working landscape. 

This year the Board invested in the development and rehabilitation of 490 homes. 

These housing commitments continue to focus on a mix of new construction and 

redevelopment in downtowns and village centers and assistance for Vermont’s most 

vulnerable populations seeking supportive and transitional housing. Seven historic 

structures funded by the Board will serve as community facilities in small towns 

across the state, and 32 farms with a total of 7,118 acres were conserved. Additionally, 

the Board allocated funds to precious natural areas and recreation lands such 

as the Chittenden County Uplands and the West Rutland Marsh, preserving and 

increasing recreational opportunities for Vermonters. 

A key element of the Board’s statutory mandate is to consider the opportunity to 

leverage other funds. The citizens we work with at the community level are skilled 

in this regard. Almost $4 is raised for every $1 of investment by the Board. In fact, 

in 16 years, more than $550 million dollars has been leveraged from private investment 

and federal grants. 

The leverage achieved, however, is more than financial. Citizens are leveraging 

the benefits of investment in Vermont’s traditional settlement pattern and historic 

structures. These commitments help Vermont towns to maintain their distinct identity 

and sense of community. Leverage is also found in what are termed “avoided 

costs.” The Secretary of the Agency of Human Services, Charles Smith, has asked 

that we reduce long-term human service costs while also providing quality homes. 

The Cathedral Square Corporation has helped achieve that goal by opening the 

first licensed and affordable assisted living facility in Vermont at Cathedral Square 

in Burlington. This facility will save taxpayer dollars by providing an alternative to 

more expensive nursing home care. 

Perhaps most importantly, the Board’s financial assistance leverages community 

and citizen involvement. Vermonters across the state participate by serving on 

Financial Leverage 1987–2003 

Leveraged 

Conservation Funds 

$180,000,000 

VHCB Conservation Funds 

$70,000,000 

VHCB Housing Funds 

$97,000,000 

Leveraged 

Housing Funds 

$370,000,000 

Total VHCB Funds: $167,000,000 Total Leveraged Funds: $550,000,000 

Workers at Depot Street Housing on the 

waterfront in downtown Burlington. New 

construction projects will result in 1,135 

new VHCB-funded units added to the 

market in the three-year period 2000-2003. 

Farm families like Tom Honigford and 

Sharon O'Connor from South Royalton, 

with daughters, Cora and Emma, are 

utilizing proceeds from the sale of 

development rights to expand and 

modernize their operations. 

Bob Eddy Annie Van Avery

nonprofit boards, in municipal leadership, 

participating in fundraising and 

volunteer efforts such as building homes 

with Habitat for Humanity, and numerous 

other community services. 

The Board’s newest initiative, in partnership 

with the Agency of Agriculture, 

Food and Markets, is the establishment 

of a new Farm Viability Program. This 

effort will provide technical assistance 

and business planning to Vermont farmers 

working to compete in a difficult 

marketplace. We anticipate assisting 

more than 30 farmers in the first year of 

the program. 

A critical function of our Board is 

to assure accountability and wise use 

of public funds. The Vermont Housing 

& Conservation Board scrutinizes each 

application for consistency with our 

statutory mission as well as with town 

and regional plans. Most importantly, we 

seek to assure the effective implementation 

of our programs at the community 

level. 

As Vermont moves into the twentyfirst 

century, we are committed to working 

with all communities to improve the 

quality of life for Vermonters with timely 

investments in the revitalization of our 

town and village centers, producing affordable 

homes, supporting Vermont’s 

working landscape and enhancing public 

access to Vermont’s natural resources 

and historic properties. 

I want to thank retiring board members, 

Deb Brighton, Nancy Nye and Jim 

Keeney for a collective 22 years of service. 

They have provided wisdom, dedication 

and leadership. We welcome new board 

appointees Tom Weaver, Chris Hart and 

Ken Perine as we look forward to working 

with the General Assembly in implementing 

this important work. 

Sincerely, 

The Preservation Trust of Vermont 

2003 Preservation Awards 

Two projects supported by VHCB grants this past year were 

recipients of awards from The Preservation Trust of Vermont. 

The Green Mountain Seminary in 

Waterbury Center. 

Pawlet School 

In 1998, when the schools in 

the Mettawee district were 

consolidated into a single new 

facility, the 85-year-old Colonial 

Revival schoolhouse in the heart 

of the village closed its doors. The 

Selectboard established the Pawlet 

Projects Committee, a not-for-profit 

board of volunteers to undertake 

what became a 4-year task of 

fundraising and rehabilitating the 

site into a functioning new library. 

Housing Vermont and the Central 

Vermont Community Land Trust 

were recognized for their 

restoration of the Green Mountain 

Seminary. In 1998 the two 

nonprofits began to work with the 

town on a plan to rehabilitate the 

deteriorated building for housing 

and for continuing use as a branch 

library. Today, with twelve foot 

high windows and hardwood 

floors, the Seminary is an elegant 

and affordable place to live for 

young families and senior citizens. 

The formerly vacant, historic 

Pawlet Schoolhouse has been 

converted into a town library. 

3 

John T. Ewing, 

Board Chair

Housing Programs 

In the 31 affordable housing developments funded in 2003 the Board invested 

in a variety of housing options for Vermonters of diverse incomes and 

personal situations. These investments not only provide shelter for low- and 

moderate-income households, but also strengthen communities and contribute 

to economic vitality. 

Among these new developments are projects that provide homeownership 

opportunities for lower-income Vermonters, create rental housing in some of 

the state’s tightest housing markets, provide transitional housing for homeless 

individuals and families, acquire, rehabilitate, and construct mobile home 

parks, develop or preserve affordable housing for elders, revitalize downtowns, 

and preserve the affordability of developments that previously received federal 

funding. These developments house low-wage workers, persons with disabilities, 

homeless families and individuals, and senior citizens, among others. VHCB 

funds pay for the construction of new buildings that add apartments, condominiums, 

and single family homes to the state’s housing stock. The infusion of 

VHCB dollars also ensures that the housing will remain affordable over time to 

benefit both current and future Vermont families. 

Rental Housing Development 

Vermont, with VHCB’s participation, has made significant strides over the 

past few years in adding affordable housing to the market and has seen a corresponding 

decrease in homelessness. In Chittenden County alone, the number 

of homeless families decreased by over 60 percent between Fiscal Year 2000 and 

Fiscal Year 2003, from 330 to 120. During the three year period ending December 

Cathedral Square added 28 units of 

assisted living to their senior housing 

development at 3 Cathedral Square 

in Burlington. 

4 

Governor Jim Douglas and State Senator 

Jim Condos cut the ribbon at the opening 

for O'Dell Apartments in Burlington, 

where the Lake Champlain Housing 

Development Corporation and Housing 

Vermont completed 130 affordable units 

of family rental housing in a 160-unit 

development on the Shelburne Road near 

the I-189 ramp. Representatives from 

VHCB, the Vermont Housing Finance 

Agency, Fannie Mae and Senator Leahy's 

office joined the developers to celebrate. 

100 units leased up the day of the opening; 

within 30 days all 160 units were leased.

2003, VHCB committed funds for 1,135 new apartments to be added to the state’s 

housing stock, primarily in the tightest housing markets in Chittenden County 

and the Upper Connecticut River Valley. Many of these developments are now 

completed and leased up. Although these gains have been substantial, much 

work remains to be done. The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Out of 

Reach survey of housing need in all 50 states again names Vermont as one of the 

ten least affordable non-metropolitan housing markets in the country. 

As in past years, VHCB spent a portion of its funds on the revitalization 

of distressed multi-family developments built approximately thirty years ago 

with federal funds. The transformations of Westgate Apartments in Brattleboro 

and Moose River Apartments in St. Johnsbury are remarkable not 

only because of the physical improvements to those neighborhoods but also 

because of the changes in the social environment that came with the acquisition 

and renovation of the properties. Investments of VHCB funds were also 

made in federally-assisted developments for seniors in Essex, West Rutland, 

and Norwich, helping local nonprofits organizations acquire these subsidized 

housing developments for the elderly, make modest improvements such as 

conversion from electric heat to a more cost-effective source, and preserving the 

federal contract that provides rental assistance for very low income seniors. 

Homeownership Programs 

In addition to addressing the shortage of multi-family rental dwellings, 

VHCB also responded to the desire of Vermonters of modest means to become 

homeowners. The buyer-initiated HOMELAND program experienced unprecedented 

demand, as did the fund for homes constructed by Habitat for Humanity 

chapters and vocational education programs. In 2003 five affordable single 

family homes were constructed in the center of the Village of Hancock and 

funds were committed for 60 affordable condominiums in a South Burlington 

development and for seven single family homes in Dover. 

A landmark study of resales of perpetually affordable homes, undertaken 

for the Burlington Community Land Trust, confirmed that not only are VHCBfunded 

affordable homes providing homeownership opportunities to low- and 

moderate-income Vermonters, but that the benefits of this initial investment 

continue over time as the homes become more affordable to subsequent generations 

of homebuyers. The Board also funded several projects involving either the 

acquisition and rehabilitation or expansion of mobile home parks, recognizing 

the importance of mobile home living as a homeownership option for many 

Vermonters. 

Downtown Revitalization 

The Board continued its commitment to the revitalization of Vermont’s 

cities and village centers by funding developments in population centers that 

frequently combine housing and commercial space, usually in historic structures. 

In late 2003, the renovation of Bellows Falls’ fire damaged Howard 

Block was completed as was the Daniels Block, a new building in downtown 

St. Johnsbury that replaced one destroyed by a serious fire in that community. 

Renovated properties in historic village centers in both Arlington and Richford 

also opened, and downtown buildings in communities throughout the state, 

A complete rehab of Townhouse 

Terrace apartments in St. Johnsbury 

called for a new name—Moose 

River Apartments is now home to 28 

families. 

Richford residents celebrated 

completion of an ambitious 

redevelopment encompassing 15 

units in 4 historic buildings. Seven 

new units of accessible senior 

housing were added to the town's 

housing stock and 8 units of family 

rental housing were rehabilitated. 

Fiscal Year 2003 

HOUSING COMMITMENTS 

VHCB Housing Commitments: 

$7, 277, 260 

490 units 

31 projects 

Federal Funds Commitments: 

HOME Program 

$3,725,749 

Lead-Based Paint Hazard 

Reduction Program 

$ 638,916 

5

including but not limited to Rutland, Bennington, Brattleboro, Groton, and 

West Rutland received funding commitments from the Board. 

Special Needs Housing 

VHCB awards during the past year included developments for Vermonters 

with special housing needs including housing for pregnant and parenting young 

women, a battered women’s shelter, transitional housing for the homeless in 

three Vermont communities, and housing for the elderly. The Vermont Center 

for Independent Living’s Home Access Program received continued VHCB 

funding to make privately-owned dwellings accessible to Vermonters with 

physical disabilities. 

An Effective Response to a Critical Need 

Vermonters and Vermont communities face a variety of housing needs. 

The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board recognizes these needs as it 

makes awards of funds to house the homeless, to build ramps for people using 

wheelchairs, to provide affordable, safe and decent apartments to families and 

senior citizens, and to create homeownership opportunities for Vermonters 

in a variety of settings. VHCB funding often serves as the catalyst for the revitalization 

of a downtown or village block, generating economic development 

along with the creation of housing. Strategic investments of these resources have 

frequently proven to be the spark necessary to kindle private sector investment 

as well. The money that the State spends on housing through VHCB not only 

provides shelter, but also helps to create stable families and healthy communities. 

Within the Arlington Village Historic 

District the Regional Affordable Housing 

Corporation acquired, preserved and 

rehabilitated 17 apartments in eleven 

historic properties in an ambitious, 

$4.5 million dollar project. Infill new 

construction created 12 apartments for 

seniors located in the village center. 

6 

Karen Smith, owner of a new Habitat 

for Humanity home in Fayston, received 

painting help and a visit from Governor 

Jim Douglas and Senator James Jeffords. 

Karen and her two teenagers, Jessica and 

Cody, put more than 500 hours of “sweat 

equity” into the home, which was built 

by the Camels Hump Chapter of Central 

Vermont Habitat for Humanity.

Downtown Development 

The renovation of historic downtown buildings and new construction 

projects within town and village centers reinforce Vermont’s traditional 

settlement pattern and create affordable housing opportunities within 

walking distance of stores and services. The everyday activity of residents and 

businesses in downtown buildings contributes to the economic and social health 

of communities. These development efforts are complemented by funding from 

historic preservation and downtown and village center development tax credits. 

Tuttle Block, Rutland 

“We can talk blithely of 

revitalizing downtowns— 

but the work of doing 

that gets excruciatingly 

practical. To take a 

building that is obsolete 

and make it competitive 

again, and to do that at 

a reasonable cost, is very 

challenging. We felt very 

confident that we were 

working with a nonprofit 

developer that was going 

to do what they said they 

were going to do, and 

would do it with very good 

quality.” 

—Matthew Sternberg 

Executive Director of the 

Rutland Redevelopment Authority 

Tuttle Block, Rutland 

The City of Rutland is collaborating 

with the Rutland County Community 

Land Trust to undertake renovation of 

the historic Tuttle Building on Center 

Street for retail use, RCCLT offices, 

and affordable apartments. VHCB 

funding helped make the $3 million 

project possible. Construction will 

begin in early 2004. 

Howard Block, Bellows Falls 

The Howard Block in Bellows 

Falls—damaged in a 1996 fire—was 

rehabilitated this year by the Rockingham 

Area Community Land Trust 

and Housing Vermont. A partnership 

between the nonprofits, the town, and 

the Bellows Falls Downtown Development 

Alliance won $2.9 million 

in funding from VHCB and other 

sources. 

A complete rehab produced 

13 affordable apartments, now 

fully occupied, and four first-floor 

commercial spaces for Bellows Falls’ 

downtown revival. According to 

Richard Ewalt, Director of Community 

Development for the Town of 

Rockingham and Executive Director of 

the Bellows Falls Downtown Development 

Alliance, 

“This one project has accomplished 

so many positive things. It 

saved a historic building; it has put 

back in use 6,000 square feet of 

commercial space on the first floor, 

and it has created apartments for 19 

more people in our downtown. All 

that has a positive influence on the 

community.” 

The Howard Block in Bellows Falls 

7

New neighbors and homeowners 

Samantha Kelly (left) with her son Cullen, 

and April Wood, with her son, Trevor, at Taylor Meadow. 

Bob Eddy 

8 

Taylor Meadow: 

New Homes, New Futures 

John Tenny, owner of Mill Bridge Construction in Middlebury, has been 

a builder for 30 years — and he’s the board chair for Addison County 

Community Trust (ACCT), a nonprofit developer of affordable housing. 

“I got involved on the ACCT board because as a builder, we were not in a 

position to meet the essential housing needs of a whole large segment of the 

community,” Tenny says. “In fact, the need is greater now. The disparity 

between costs and the ability to purchase is greater, and that’s to the detriment 

of communities.” 

This autumn, an ACCT project took shape on a two-acre parcel set aside 

for affordable housing by the Vermont Land Trust in 1987. Along the back rim 

of Taylor Meadow, a broad, conserved green space in the center of Hancock, 

five new, trim white houses now face the meadow, with their backs to the 

White River. Five households from Rochester and Hancock, four of whom 

have incomes below half of the county median, now reside in the new homes at 

Project Profile 

5 single family homes 

Developer: 

Addison County 

Community Trust 

Architect: 

Peter Morris, Vergennes 

Contractors: 

White River Timber Framing; 

Harvey's Plumbing & Electrical 

Affordability: 

less than 50% 

of median income

Taylor Meadow. Four of the five households are purchasing their homes with a 

subsidy provided by VHCB’s HOMELAND Program and with very low-interest 

mortgages from USDA Rural Development. 

Three of the five homeowners are single mothers. They include Hancock 

natives April Wood, who works for a doctor in Randolph, and her next-door 

neighbor, Samantha Kelly, who provides visiting home care for a local senior. 

“In this valley, finding a place to rent is a challenge! There’s really nothing 

available,” says Wood, “To know that this is mine—that I’m paying the 

mortgage, and I’m going to own this place eventually—it’s a really good 

feeling.” 

“It’s a dream come true,” agrees Kelly. 

When the nearby North Hollow Farm was conserved in 1987, the Vermont 

Land Trust set aside 20 acres for municipal use, with two acres reserved for 

affordable housing. An 8-acre field behind the homes will be developed as a 

recreational area with access to the White River. Almost 18 acres are still open 

for use by the community—which envisions a town green or common there, 

along with possibly a new fire station and light commercial use. The village 

school is just a few yards away, as is the white-steepled Community Church. 

The home design was donated by Vergennes architect Peter Morris. Area 

contractors White River Timber Framing constructed the homes, while 

Harvey’s Plumbing and Electrical of Rochester provided infrastucture for the 

development. 

“Look at communities’ needs,” says ACCT Chair Tenny, who also chairs the 

Middlebury Select Board, “You need stability, consistency, and a good portion 

of the people living there. This project contributes on all those levels. I think 

it’s a real boost to the community.” 

“In this valley, finding 

a place to rent is a 

challenge! There’s 

really nothing available. 

To know that this is 

mine—that I’m paying 

the mortgage, and I’m 

going to own this place 

eventually—it’s a really 

good feeling.” 

—April Wood, homeowner 

VHCB Supports Affordable Homeownership 

Working in cooperation with community housing groups, 

the Board funds homeownership developments and 

assists low- and moderate-income Vermonters to purchase 

their own homes. Over the past 16 years, VHCB has 

awarded funds to help nearly 650 households to become 

homeowners. 

HOMELAND Program 

The HOMELAND Program is an innovative home purchase 

program offered by eight regional housing organizations. 

Participation in Homeland is contingent upon a household’s 

successful completion of a homebuyer education 

program available through one of six NeighborWorks® 

Homeownership Centers located in St. Albans, Burlington, 

Barre, Lyndonville, West Rutland, and Springfield. 

Under the HOMELAND Program, credit-worthy buyers 

are eligible for purchase subsidy grants of up to $25,000 

to help them purchase a home on the private market. 

Buyers typically obtain mortgage loan financing, often 

from the Vermont Housing Finance Agency or USDA Rural 

Development, and contribute their own cash resources 

toward the purchase. Additional grants of up to $2000, 

repayable upon the sale of the home, are available to assist 

with downpayment and closing costs. In order to maintain 

affordability for subsequent buyers and to recycle the initial 

public investment, restrictions are placed on the future sales 

price of homes purchased under the HOMELAND Program. 

Habitat for Humanity Fund 

In addition to the Homeland Program, VHCB awards grants 

for the construction of homes built by one of Vermont’s 

eight Habitat for Humanity chapters. Projects that involve 

the construction of a home by a vocational school program 

are also eligible for grants through this fund. Since it was 

established in 1991, 43 homes have been built with this grant 

assistance. 

9

Braintree’s Mobile Acres: 

Housing and Community 

10 

a small community outside Randolph, about one 

every five residents lives in Mobile Acres, a mobile home 

InBraintree, 

park off Route 12A with 95 mobile home lots. Built in 1969 by 

a community-minded local farmer, the park was purchased in 1988 by 

investors who jacked up lot rents and let the place run down. 

This year at Mobile Acres, things changed. 

Cindy and Mark Williams came to live here because of the change. With 

two young children at home, one of whom has severe developmental delays, 

the Williamses were renting nearby when they heard that the Housing 

Foundation, Inc. (HFI), a nonprofit operated by the Vermont State Housing 

Authority (VSHA), was buying Mobile Acres. HFI planned to refurbish and 

improve the park, where deterioration and resident discontent had led to 

high vacancy rates, and local taxes were not being consistently paid. 

“They were helping low-income families purchase homes,” Cindy 

Williams says of the state housing agency. “Before we knew it was the 

VSHA, I said, ‘I don’t want to live there.’ But then when we knew who it was 

and what they were doing, I wanted to.” The family moved in last August. 

Over nine months of negotiations, HFI whittled down the park’s price 

from $2.4 million to $1.6 million. A package of VHCB funding played a 

major role in the park’s purchase, as did a block grant from the Vermont 

Community Development Program sought and won by the town of 

Braintree. 

Since the purchase, HFI has reduced rents on all the lots at Mobile Acres, 

paved some of the roads, upgraded the septic systems on 26 mobile home 

lots, moved four lots out of the flood plain, and put into place a 10-year plan 

to redo the park’s water system. “We’re also working with folks, wherever 

possible, to help them upgrade their homes,” says Will Giblin of the 

Housing Foundation, Inc. 

“The park shows consistent improvement,” says Jocelyn Stohl, chair of 

the Braintree Select Board. “It’s pretty evident. And I think the spirit is back 

with those citizens. They all seem to have a sense of pride, that things are 

being cared for now. I don’t think they had that for a long time.” The town 

is also able, she adds, to assess and collect taxes on the park and its homes 

much more consistently. 

For their part, the Williamses are seeking local approval to improve the 

stairway and deck outside their home. Inside, their place is immaculate. 

The family has a low-interest mortgage through the Vermont Development 

Credit Union. 

“We’re here to stay,” Cindy says, “to us, this isn’t a house, it’s a home.” 

“The park shows consis- 

tent improvement. It’s 

pretty evident. And I 

think the spirit is back 

with those citizens. They 

all seem to have a sense 

of pride, that things are 

being cared for now. I 

don’t think they had that 

for a long time.” 

— Jocelyn Stohl, Chair, 

Braintree Select Board 


Mobile Acres, Braintree 

95-lot mobile home park 

68 lots restricted to households 

at less than 80% of 

median income 

Developer: 


Funding: 

VHCB, VCDP, VSHA 

Infrastructure 

Improvements: 

water, sewer and electrical 

upgrades/replacements; 

repaving roads; two new 

playground areas 

Bob Eddy

Cindy and Mark Williams and their son, Zachary, 

with caregiver Holly at home in Braintree. 

11

In the Upper Valley, An Imbalance of Need 

The population of the Upper Connecticut River Valley area grew by 11 

percent from 1990 to 2000, but the region’s stock of rental housing units 

grew by only 2 percent, and its ownership housing by just 5 percent. On 

average, in the same period, home prices rose by 33 percent, rents by 36 percent 

— but household incomes by only 13 percent. 

These numbers come from the Upper Valley Housing Needs Analysis, a 2002 

study by Applied Economic Research of Laconia, N.H. The study outlines a 

housing crisis that has become severe. 

“You can’t grow businesses if you have no housing stock; you can’t create 

new jobs if you don’t have the housing,” warns Greg Kennedy, vice president and 

community lender at Mascoma Savings Bank and steering committee chair of 

the Upper Valley Housing Coalition. 

A time of strong economic growth in the bistate region has seen large 

employers, such as Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical 

Centers, expand their job rosters dramatically, while “we’ve also experienced an 

almost under-the-radar growth in small, high-tech companies,” Kennedy says. 

“At the same time, we’ve had a tremendous proliferation of retail jobs.” 

With many new folks coming to the area to take high-paying, high-tech jobs, 

housing prices keep rising. People on retail and service salaries are being forced 

to outlying towns—when they can find housing at all. The Haven, a nonprofit 

that runs one of the region’s very few homeless shelters, is currently turning 

away an average of 25 families every month. 

About two years ago, to help address the crisis, area business leaders and 

nonprofit groups together formed the Upper Valley Housing Coalition. “Step 

one is getting everybody to the table,” says Dan French, who staffs the effort. 

“We’ve been able to bring together business people, local planners, large developers, 

nonprofits, environmental groups, municipalities, volunteer board 

members, and elected officials.” 

“I think the biggest challenge is educating local officials to the need,” adds 

Becky Basch, senior planner at Southern Windsor County Regional Planning 

Commission. 

“You can’t grow businesses 

if you have no 

housing stock; you 

can’t create new jobs 

if you don’t have the 

housing,” 

—Greg Kennedy, 

Vice President, 

Mascoma Savings Bank 

12 

Sunrise Settlement in Quechee 

22 new rental units constructed by 

private developer Homestead Design 

using federal HOME program funds, 

administered by VHCB, to increase 

affordability. The Sunrise units are 

large single-family homes, with ample 

green space, in an upscale village in an 

especially tight rental market.

Ray Brewster, Twin Pines Housing Trust 

“ 

Hollow Drive Family Housing 

A low-key complex that “feels more like a community” 

We were trying to create a sense of neighborhood, or community, 

that you’d find in any small Vermont village or town,” says Richard 

Williams, Executive Director of the Vermont State Housing 

Authority (VSHA). “We tried to show that affordable housing can be nice, and it 

will fit into a neighborhood.” 

Williams’ words describe both the intent and the outcome at Hollow Drive 

Family Housing, a new, 18-unit rental complex in Wilder. Partly replacing 

nearby Templeton Court, a 1970s-era housing project where the number of units 

is being reduced in an ongoing renovation, the apartments at Hollow Drive are 

clustered in six modest buildings adjacent to eight single-family home lots. Six 

of those lots are designed for sale to market-rate builders; the other two have 

been sold at a discount price to Habitat for Humanity. 

“Habitat has the problem of not being able to afford land; we have the 

problem of not being able to afford builders,” says Rob Bryant of the Twin Pines 

Housing Trust, which co-developed Hollow Drive with The Housing Foundation, 

Inc., a nonprofit development company created by VSHA. The project was 

funded by VHCB, VHFA, HOME, and USDA Rural Development. 

Last February, former Templeton resident Renee Francoeur was the first 

rental tenant to move into Hollow Drive. She has seen, she says, an enormous 

difference. 

“The old place was noisy, there was a lot of traffic, there was a lot of teenage 

mischief,” says Francoeur, who is disabled and lives with two school-age children. 

“Here it’s like heaven. There’s grass for the kids to run around and play on. 

We have our own back yard, and a side yard where the kids can pitch tents, sleep 

out, and feel safe. We can have a barbecue." 

“The grounds are clean, 

and it’s a mixed environment. 

We have elderly, 

we have disabled people, 

single moms, two-parent 

families. I know every 

neighbor here. It feels 

more like a community, 

instead of that bad-stigma, 

low-income housing, 

other-side-of-the-tracks 

feeling. This place, as far 

as I know, if it has a reputation, 

it’s a good one.” 

—Renee Francoeur, Resident, 

Hollow Drive, Wilder 


18 apartments 

8 single family homes 

Developers: 

Housing Foundation, Inc., 

Twin Pines Housing Trust 

Affordability: 

Apartments: less than 

80% of median income 

Single Family Homes: 

2 will be built by Habitat 

for Humanity Chapters 

13

Theresa Palis and her four sons in a new apartment in Hartford 

Bob Eddy 

14 

Hartford’s Overlook Housing: 

Stepping Up from Homelessness 

When Theresa Palis moved herself and her four kids into a shelter for 

survivors of domestic violence, she had a high school education and 

virtually no experience in running a household. 

“When I was married, I had no control — over finances, decisions, anything,” 

she says. “All of a sudden I took on the responsibility of being a single parent.” 

After seven months in the Upper Valley shelter, last April Theresa and her 

four boys moved into Overlook Housing in Hartford. This brand-new cluster of 

10 units of transitional housing blends affordable rents with supportive services 

for residents who have been homeless. 

Developed by Twin Pine Housing Trust and Housing Vermont, Overlook 

— which also includes three downtown apartments for Vermonters with 

mental illness — is now home to five single-parent families and five other 

residents. Each has been referred by one of seven Upper Valley social service 

agencies. Each is working with a case manager, developing a plan to learn the life 

skills they need to live independently. 


10 apartments for homeless 

individuals and families; 

3 units for individuals with 

chronic mental illness 

Developer: 


Social Services provided by 

a consortium of Upper Valley 

social service providers 

HUD McKinney funding provides 

an operating subsidy and pays 

for a service coordinator

“The goal in all these apartments 

is that the person will live there for 

six months to two years, at which 

time they’ll go into more stable living 

situations,” says Rob Bryant, executive 

director of Twin Pines. “The goal is for 

all of them to be employed.” 

The month after Theresa Palis 

moved here, she enrolled at Community 

College of Vermont. “I wanted 

to do that so bad I could taste it,” she 

says. She now has a 3.50 grade point 

average, while at Hartford High School 

her oldest son, Gary, has made the 

honor roll for the first time. 

Theresa meets monthly with her 

case manager. “I feel very much more 

in control, more empowered,” she says. 

“I know how to do my financing, to 

pay the bills first. And it’s so nice to 

come home and feel good about my 

day.” 

At Overlook, where all the residents 

qualify for Section 8 rental assistance, 

there’s a growing sense of community. 

“People always watch each other’s kids, 

or give each other rides,” Theresa says. 

There’s also a waiting list. 

“Area motels are full of low-income 

families,” says Bryant. 

“Supportive housing helps people 

transition to a place where they can be 

self-supporting,” notes Rebecca Heller, 

a Dartmouth College junior who’s 

interning at Twin Pines. “It’s the first 

sustainable approach to the problem 

of homelessness in the Upper Valley.” 

Working to End 

Homelessness in Vermont 

“Its not a new strategy we have to come 

up with to end homelessness. We know 

what works, it's housing . . . In 2000, the 

Committee on Temporary Shelter served 

330 families with children. In 2003, it 

was reduced to 120. VHCB grants in 

2000 and 2001, utilizing state surplus 

funds, essentially doubled the number of 

affordable housing units in Chittenden 

County. We’re now seeing the benefit 

of those allocations three years ago in 

a very dramatic way. This means there 

are hundreds of children who don’t have 

to undergo the upheaval of losing their 

home, as their parents have places to live 

that they can afford.” 

— Rita Markley, Executive Director 

Committee on Temporary Shelter 

Burlington, Vermont 

15

VHCB Conservation Funding 

Supporting the Vitality of Vermont Communities 

16 

What does it takes to maintain economic stability and encourage 

responsible growth in Vermont’s small towns and cities? Good jobs, 

good schools, a healthy work force…the theories abound. Inevitably 

the phrase “quality of life” comes up. Theories aside, we know what we value: 

vibrant downtowns offering a range of housing options, shops and services, 

historic architecture, public meeting places, recreational facilities, libraries, and 

parks, surrounded by open farmland, woodlands, clean lakes and waterways. 

Conservation projects funded by the Board further these goals in many 

ways, whether it’s rehabilitation of historic buildings, funding of municipal 

parks, protection of trails and greenways, additions to state lands, or farmland 

conservation. Many communities have found that VHCB funding is a tool for 

enhancing economic vitality and attracting investment and jobs, bringing in 

visitors, and encouraging residents to get involved in local affairs. 

The conservation projects funded this year consistently reflect these 

considerations that are so critical to the development of Vermont’s economy 

and quality of life. While supporting developing economic trends, the Board 

continues to conserve Vermont’s traditional agricultural landscape, this year 

adding 7,118 acres of high quality, actively farmed land to previous years’ efforts. 

More and more, communities are recognizing that the restoration of historic 

resources can define their unique identities, linking past, present, and future 

generations through commnunity landmarks. Citizens of Brookfield, Poultney, 

Northfield and Ferrisburgh, among others, have coalesced around efforts to 

Aerial view of the town of Enosburg. 

Conserved Harness farm in the foreground. 

Fiscal Year 2003 

CONSERVATION 

State Funding Commitments 

Agricultural Land: 

$3,256,430 

32 farms 

7,118 acres 

Natural Areas, Recreational 

Lands, Historic Properties: 

$2,263,463 

20 projects 

2,026 acres 

Federal Funding Programs 

Farms for the Future: 

$621,800 

TEA-21Funds: 

$68,000 

NRCS Farmland 

Preservation Program: 

$2,844,200

Ethan Parke 

restore a part of their history—watching in wonder as historic renovation of 

important town buildings—a town hall, a library, a community center, or a 

grange—evolves into renewed community spirit. 

Likewise, initiatives to conserve small parks and recreation areas in and near 

village centers have been priorities in communities statewide. Spurred by a 

desire to increase recreational opportunities within walking or biking distance 

of their population centers, towns such as Montpelier, Manchester, St. Albans, 

and Killington have seized opportunities to acquire vital additions to their park 

lands. 

Conservation projects this year range in size from a one-acre state lands 

addition providing perpetual public access to the popular “20-Foot Hole” swimming 

area in Reading to the conservation of over 1,000 acres of Bolton uplands. 

The Bolton Uplands project enhances Long Trail and Catamount Trail protection, 

preserves wildlife corridors and protects views from the I-89 corridor. 

Extensive public involvement in management planning for this addition to the 

Mt. Mansfield State Forest will center on public recreational access to the largest 

tract of undeveloped acreage in Chittenden County. 

VHCB’s goals are linked, by statute, to the economic vitality and quality of 

life of Vermont. But it is the vision and commitment of people in communities 

throughout the state that bring these goals to reality. 

The town of Killington used VHCB 

local conservation funds to purchase 

land behind the town library and 

adjacent to the recreation center to 

be developed into new soccer and 

baseball fields. 

17 

Bob Eddy 

At the Brookfield Town Hall, a group is entertained by musicians at a weekly jam session organized 

last summer. VHCB funds will be used to restore the historic building for community use.

Vermont’s Farmland Conservation Program 

Since 1987, VHCB’s Farmland Conservation Program—in partnership with 

the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, and nonprofit 

land trusts (Vermont Land Trust, Upper Valley Land Trust, and Addison 

County Community Trust)—has conserved 105,500 acres on more than 352 

farms. During this time, private efforts have supplemented VHCB’s program to 

provide for the conservation of additional farms. 

The Farmland Conservation Program focuses on protecting working farms 

with good agricultural soils in strong farming communities where agriculture 

is likely to remain viable. VHCB funds the purchase of development rights on 

farms complete with buildings and on high-quality farmland parcels without 

buildings. The Program operates on a willing buyer/willing seller basis, with 

appraisals determining the price that is paid for an agricultural conservation 

easement. 

Although low milk prices put many dairy farms in peril during 2003, dairy 

farms still contributed about 85 percent of Vermont’s total cash receipts from 

agriculture, and dairying remains a vital part of many rural Vermont communities. 

Milk prices rebounded in the fall after bottoming out in April 2003. 

However, long range dairy price forecasts are not optimistic. Meanwhile, the 

pressure to sell farmland for development has intensified as land values trend 

higher compared to the relatively flat real estate markets of the 1990s. 

In the face of these economic challenges, some farmers are considering 

changes to the size of their dairy herds, diversification away from dairy, on-farm 

processing of farm products, direct marketing, or even agri-tourism. Some make 

selling development rights part of their plan. Since development rights owned 

by a farmer are assets that do not produce income if the land stays in agriculture, 

selling these rights can make good business sense. Proceeds from the sale 

of development rights are often used to modernize buildings and equipment, to 

finance new farm enterprises, or to facilitate transfers to the next generation of 

farmers. 

To help farmers make business decisions during this time of changing farm 

economics, VHCB, in partnership with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, 

Food and Markets, this year launched a Farm Viability Enhancement Program, 

offering business planning and technical assistance to farmers. 

“The dairy industry is undergoing 

a major transition as 

older farmers with small 

operations sell to younger 

farmers who recognize that 

larger operations are needed 

in order to remain competitive. 

Given the stagnant price of 

milk and the slight margins of 

profitability for dairymen, the 

majority of these transfers 

would not take place without 

land conservation. The sale of 

development rights benefits 

everyone: the seller, the buyer, 

and every citizen who cares 

about the heritage and beauty 

of our state.” 

—Reg Chaput, 

Chaput Family Farms, 

North Troy & Newport 

18 

Mark and Sarah Russell are 

using business and technical 

consultants provided by the Farm 

Viability Enhancement Program 

to help plan for a move onto a 

new farm in Orwell where they 

will expand their herd and buy 

different machinery.

New Farm Viability Program: 

Expertise Where It’s Needed 

In early 2003, when organic vegetable grower Mimi Arnstein began setting 

up a new, community-supported agriculture operation on three planted 

acres in Marshfield, the Vermont Farm Viability Enhancement Program was 

also new. During the past year the program, which VHCB developed in collaboration 

with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, has provided 

Mimi with four expert consultants: a UVM plant disease expert, a compost 

consultant, a business planner, and a veteran neighboring produce grower for 

general technical help. Their services were paid by the program, at no charge to 

the farmer’s operation. 

“I would not have been able to afford this kind of technical assistance—nor 

would I have seriously considered it, because of the cost,” Mimi says. “But it’s 

been helpful in lots of different ways.” 

Designed to strengthen the economic position of Vermont agriculture, 

and to work alongside existing land-conservation efforts, the Farm Viability 

Program can deploy a variety of consultants to meet a farmer’s needs. In 

Addison County, for example, consultants helped dairy farmers Mark and 

Sarah Russell prepare for a major change — a planned move to what Sarah calls 

“Mark’s dream farm.” 

“We rent a farm, and we’ve rented for approximately 17 years,” Sarah says. 

The couple lives on Mark’s family property in Sudbury, but that land doesn’t 

have the farming facilities they need, so they’ve been renting a place in Sudbury. 

Last spring, when an Orwell farm that Mark has always admired came up for 

sale, the Russells made an offer. 

“We just decided to go for it,” Sarah says. 

But making the change calls for a big transition. “We need to expand our 

herd numbers, we need to buy different machinery,” she says. “It’s a bigger farm; 

it’s going to change our operation.” 

Farm Viability Program consultants have helped the Russells with financial 

and farm planning. 

“We’re going over our finances, planning for the future,” Mark Russell 

explains. “Some of the people we’re talking to are really challenging us on our 

management: ‘Could you lower your production costs here? Could you raise 

your level of production?’ 

Thanks to the program, he adds, “We have several different professional 

people working for us, and it’s not costing us anything. We’re not getting any 

direct cash payment; the grant comes to us in the form of technical assistance. 

Which I think is going to be worth a lot.” 

David and Mary Ellen Franklin and 

their three sons operate a small 

diversified dairy farm in Guilford. 

The Franklins are working with farm 

business consultants from Working 

Landscapes, Inc. through the Vermont 

Farm Viability Program to develop 

markets for their products. 

Annie Van Avery 

Peter Wrenn 

Mimi Arnstein is using advice from ag 

consultants and a business planner to 

maximize profits on her market garden 

in Marshfield. The consulting services 

were provided by the Vermont Farm 

Viability Program. 

“I would not have been 

able to afford this kind 

of technical assistance— 

nor would I have 

seriously considered it, 

because of the cost, but 

it’s been helpful in lots of 

different ways.” 

— Mimi Arnstein 

19

In Bridport, Farm Conservation 

Keeps “These Beautiful Fields” 

Well-known nationally, even internationally, for their champion 

Brown Swiss cows, the Ouellette family of Bridport milks 730 

Holsteins and Brown Swiss on a very scenic Champlain Valley farm 

that covers three parcels, with 552 acres. The property includes 1,750 feet of 

undeveloped frontage on Lake Champlain — hugely valuable land that Steve 

knows he could have sold “in a heartbeat.” 

Instead, the Ouellettes conserved their whole farm, all but 90 hilltop acres, 

through the Vermont Land Trust, with funding from VHCB. 

“I really don’t want it developed, anyways,” Steve says. “This was a way for 

us to be able to work the kids in, and be able to build us a house to get off the 

farm, not to have to sell some land and some cows — to be able to think about 

retiring.” 

All three of the Ouellettes’ grown children are working in or headed toward 

farming. Nicole, 28, raises the calves here, and plans to be involved with her 

husband’s family farm in Middlebury; Aaron, 25, plays a key role in running 

the Ouellette operation; and Stephanie, 21, is studying animal science and ag 

business at Cornell. She does the showing that recently won a family cow Grand 

Champion honors at the recent World Dairy Expo’s Junior Show. 

Speaking of her children and 

the farmland’s conservation, Sherry 

Ouellette says: “We talked it over 

with them. We said, ‘This will affect 

you, too.’” 

All the Ouellettes have seen big, 

expensive houses sprout on nearby 

land sold off by other farms. “We’ve 

got mega-big, million-dollar houses 

just popping up everywhere,” says 

Sherry. 

But at the same time, five farms 

that adjoin the family’s land are 

conserved. The Ouellettes say the Vermont dairy industry still needs help to 

survive, and they can’t guarantee what the future will bring; but they share no 

regrets about conserving their land for agriculture, and for the beauty it offers. 

“It’s nice to be able to go out back and see fox and goose and deer,” Sherry 

says. “We’ve been all over the country, and seen a lot of nice places — but when 

you turn the corner here, and you see the Adirondacks, the open fields, and the 

lake . . . It’s just amazing. 

“We didn’t want to start breaking up these beautiful fields.” 

“I really don’t want it 

developed, anyways. 

This was a way for us to 

be able to work the kids 

in, and be able to build 

us a house to get off the 

farm, not to have to sell 

some land and some 

cows — to be able to think 

about retiring.” 

—Steve Ouellette 

21 

Bob Eddy 

Sherry and Steve Ouellette with Pineapple, 

Junior Show Supreme Champion at the 2001 World Dairy Expo

22 

Conserving a Good Farm’s Future 

Bill Ellis has been in farming since he was a boy, when he helped on his 

grandfather’s place in Georgia. After graduating from Vermont Tech in 

the early 70s, he and his wife, Anne, came to work full-time on Robert 

Newton’s 336-acre farm. Bill and Anne formed a partnership with Robert 

Newton in 1979 and over the years they made many improvements to the operation. 

In 1994, the Ellises were joined on the farm by their grown son Dan and his 

wife, Pam. 

The family co-owned the animals and equipment with Newton, who owned 

the land. Last September, the Ellises bought the land. Using VHCB funding, the 

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, purchased development 

rights on the farm—a step that facilitated the transfer and that is helping to 

make possible plans to build a new, state-of-the-art freestall barn and modestly 

expand their 103-cow herd. 

“It had to be part of it, in order for us to afford it!” says Bill Ellis. The farm’s 

conservation was integral to his farm improvement and expansion plans. 

“We thought about it,” he says of the decision to sell development rights, “but 

if you’re going to be in farming, you’re not going to develop your land, because 

you need your land for farming. I think if Robert Newton had known I was 

going to develop the farm, he wouldn’t have sold it to me. It was important to 

him that the land be preserved. It’s nice farmland — wide open, fresh air, nice 

location, nice view up here.” 

David Juaire photos 

“It kept me in farming,” 

Bill Ellis says of the 

conservation deal. 

“As far as the area is 

concerned, it keeps 

land open! It’s a good 

feeling—that’s what this 

farm gives us, up here. 

My boy got married up 

here, and he says this is 

where he wants to raise 

his family. We’re going 

to do our best.” 

–Bill Ellis, Georgia Farmer

The family’s decision to conserve 

the land also involved son and 

daughter-in-law, Dan and Pam Ellis, 

who want to keep the farm going. 

“You’ve got to have something to 

work for. He wants to do it, and I’m 

willing to help any way I can,” Bill says 

of his son. “I love farming — there’s 

nothing like it in the world. You can 

have a bad day, but it’s still satisfying.” 

The Ellis Family Farm, as it’s now 

called, has excellent soils and is welllocated, 

one of 28 farms still active in 

Georgia. It’s close to St. Albans and its 

agricultural services. 

“It kept me in farming,” Bill Ellis 

says of the conservation deal. “As far 

as the area is concerned, it keeps land 

open! It’s a good feeling—that’s what 

this farm gives us, up here. My boy got 

married up here, and he says this is 

where he wants to raise his family. 

“We’re going to do our best.” 

The Ellis Family Farm 

Bill and Anne Ellis work the family farm in Georgia with their son 

Dan, and Dan's wife, Pam. Above right, Bill with Dan Jr., Anne, 

Dan, and his daughters, Aliza, Chelsea, and Julia, and Sadie, the 

dog. Dan takes care of chores on the farm—with some help from 

Dan, Jr. 

23

Tom Honigford and Sharon O'Connor, 

co-owners of Hurricane Flats Farm 

Bob Eddy 

Beside the White River, 

A Reborn Farm Is Secured 

24 

Tom Honigford and Sharon O’Connor’s organic produce farm has 37 

acres of rock-free, river-bottom soil alongside the White River in South 

Royalton. “It’s 20 feet of soil to the ledge. In Vermont, that’s huge,” says 

Honigford, who conserved his Hurricane Flats Farm in 2003 through the Upper 

Valley Land Trust, with help from a VHCB grant. 

From across the river on a November day comes the droning rumble of a 

backhoe. Honigford gestures past his still-green fields to point out four new 

houses along the other bank. The backhoe is digging a foundation for the fifth. 

“If you’d been here last May, that was all grass,” the farmer says, describing 

other new development nearby. “They grow houses fast.” 

Even though his land has 100 percent prime agricultural soils, “developers 

would love it,” Honigford says. “You can stick in as many houses as you can stick 

in. You don’t have to cut down trees.” 

Now that won’t happen here. This land’s conservation caps a great deal of 

work by this family on their place, which was a badly deteriorated former dairy 

farm when they bought it in 1995. 

Tom and Sharon rehabilitated and added 

on to the 1780's house and barn, adding 

a walk-in cooler and a greenhouse. 

A second greenhouse and haying 

equipment were financed with 

proceeds from the sale of 

development rights.

“The house was a wreck, the barn was a wreck, there was junk all over the 

place,” recalls Honigford, who lives here with his wife and co-owner, Sharon 

O’Connor, and their daughters Emma, 7, and Cora, 5. 

Honigford renovated and extended the 1780-vintage house and put the 

falling-down barn back together, converting cow stanchions to horse stalls 

and adding a walk-in cooler and greenhouse. Into the fields he worked tons of 

manure, carefully rebuilding the soil’s fertility. Today the farm is self-sustaining, 

and Tom and Sharon are a regular presence at the busy weekly farmers’ market 

in Norwich. 

“On a market day in the summer, it takes three of us to sell,” he says. 

Though Honigford and O’Connor sold their development rights at a bargain 

price, the proceeds are enabling them to build a second greenhouse, buy some 

haying equipment, and supplement their kids’ college fund. But, says the 

farmer, “this was distinctly less about the money. I’m doing OK; I’ve got a selfsustaining 

operation. We just want to keep the land open.” 

“The success of the Hurricane Flats Farm demonstrates the strength of 

our local agricultural markets,” adds Jeanie McIntyre, executive director of 

the Upper Valley Land Trust. “In the Upper Valley, diversified farms can thrive 

because people desire fresh, quality products, because people value purchasing 

from their neighbors, and because people appreciate vibrant agriculture in their 

midst.” 

Mary Sue Henszey 

Emma Honigford 

Bob Eddy 

The Brookfield Town Hall will be renovated 

for town offices and public meeting space. 

Other towns using VHCB funds to acquire and 

restore historic buildings are Ira, Poultney, 

Pawlet, Northfield and Ferrisburgh. 

VHCB’s Local Conservation Program 

VHCB’s Local Con ser va tion Pro gram provides fund ing 

for the ac qui si tion of land or ease ments to pro vide public 

access to water, trails or greenways, to pro tect or ex pand 

town parks and town forests, and to con serve public 

his tor ic prop er ties. Local Conservation awards are lim it ed 

to $100,000 and re quire a one-third match of total project 

costs, as well as a letter of support from the town. 

Local Farmland Conservation 

Smaller farms that are unable to com pete for funding under 

VHCB’s state wide Farm land Con ser va tion Pro gram are 

eligible for grants of up to $125,000 plus associated costs 

under this pro gram, which also re quires a one-third match 

of total project costs in the form of local fundraising, inkind 

ser vic es, and/or donations of land and ease ments that 

further the conservation goals of the project. 

25

Southern Vermont Recreation Center 

Historic foundry building reborn as community recreation center 

26 

In a community-based project that brings together historic preservation and 

public recreation, a new recreation center is being created in an old foundry 

building that once supplied castings for the machine tool companies in the 

region. The foundry was built in 1917 and is listed on the Vermont State Register 

for its architectural significance as an early 20 th century building associated 

with the industrial history of Springfield. After standing vacant for 33 years, the 

building was donated to the the Southern Vermont Recreation Center by Helen 

and Stanley Patch of Charlestown, New Hampshire. Under its local conservation 

program, VHCB made a grant of $100,000 to the Recreation Center to be used 

for essential historic preservation such as masonry repair and repointing and 

reconstruction of damaged windows and interior walls. 

A major volunteer effort has been the keynote of the restoration work on 

the foundry building. Last winter more than two dozen volunteers swept out 

the vacant building and painted walls and it was reopened as a temporary 

indoor walking track. Volunteer electricians rewired parts of the building to 

restore lighting and a volunteer plumber removed long abandoned pipes. An 

area contractor contributed a five-man construction crew working ten days to 

The Southern Vermont Recreation Center 

will be created in a vacant foundry in 

Springfield. VHCB funds will be used to 

stabilize historic features of the building. 

Above, volunteers swept out the 

21,000-square foot building.

emove cement barriers in front of the Center’s shuttered windows. 

The Southern Vermont Recreation Center will serve residents of Springfield 

and eight surrounding communities. Located on Bridge Street with frontage on 

the Black River, there are plans to create a mini-park and small picnic area along 

the river and to extend the existing bicycle and walking paths to the site. 

The VHCB grant helped bring the project’s Building Fund beyond the halfway 

mark toward its $4.9 million construction budget. Since that time, pledges 

have approached $3 million. Twenty-four corporations in Vermont and New 

Hampshire have made pledges or donations ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 

to the project. A region-wide public fundraising drive to complete the budget 

is under way. When Springfield agreed to host a new state prison, the town 

received $3 million in state funds. Twice the residents have voted to use those 

funds to create an endowment fund for the recreation center that will subsidize 

user fees and maintenance. 

The Center is now serving as a training facility for a variety of programs. 

Several youth from the Diversion Program have completed their commuity 

service time here and three programs — in masonry, painting, and carpentry — 

are under way with the Worker Retraining Partnership, a program of the 

Department of Employment and Training and the Vermont Chamber of 

Commerce. Masons have been repairing brick walls as a practical part of the 

course. A work/training team from the Department of Corrections’ women’s 

facility in Windsor will work on rebuilding the windows. 

“This project has such a wide umbrella of diverse impacts that makes it so 

much more than a historic preservation project,” said former State Senator 

Edgar May, who is chairman of the Recreation Center’s Board. “The real story 

here is the story of the volunteers and a community demonstrating its hopes for 

the future. ” 

“It's going to take a lot 

of effort from a lot of 

people to make this 

thing work. I'd like to 

do my share. We'll 

help build the place 

and help make it go.” 

— Donald Gurney 

area contractor 

The completed complex will include a competition-size 

swimming pool, an indoor walking track, exercise rooms, 

meeting rooms, a small therapeutic pool and child care. 

27 

Armand Poulin

Bird Haven in West Rutland 

Town Conserves a Bird-Watcher’s Delight 

On a wet and chilly weekday morning in December, six devoted birders 

gather at the edge of the West Rutland Marsh, a wildlife-rich, 296-acre 

wetland habitat that VHCB funding helped the local municipality to 

acquire and conserve in 2002. 

These six will spend nearly four hours walking in the rain with binoculars, 

keeping careful track of every bird they see. They’re carrying out a monthly 

monitoring program, begun in 2001 by the Rutland County Audubon Society 

after the National Audubon Society declared this marsh a Vermont Important 

Bird Area. The marsh is also part of the Lake Champlain Birding Trail. Its location 

adjacent and in close proximity to almost 700 acres of other conserved 

lands improves wildlife viewing and public recreation opportunities. 

“I think it is important—because we’re losing so much of our open area 

to development,” says Fred Bates of Rutland, a retired forge operator from the 

nearby GE jet-engine plant who is one of the birders. “This is a place you can go, 

and at any time of year you’re going to see something.” 

In fact, the marsh monitors—a total of 298 people over the past two years, 

and a group that never misses a date, no matter what the weather—have 

recorded sightings of a total of 112 bird species, and sometimes over 500 individual 

birds in a day. 

“There’s a fair diversity of habitat,” says Roy Pilcher of Proctor, a retired 

teacher who is co-president of the county society. “One hundred twelve species 

is about a third of what you’d expect for Vermont as a whole.” 

With its mix of wetland, willows, alder swamp, meadows, scrub marsh, and 

poplar and pine stands, the West Rutland Marsh is home to many rare and 

rarely-seen birds, including the pied-billed grebe, least bittern, American bittern, 

Virginia rail, sora, common moorhen, and sedge wren. It also attracts human 

beings, for hunting, fishing, and trapping along with wildlife observation. 

“Numbers alone cannot convey the excitement and memories that some 

of these encounters have generated,” Pilcher wrote recently in the Rutland 

Audubon Society’s newsletter, “from a family of Virginia rails crossing the road 

to a male northern harrier coursing a meadow, from a Canada warbler in full 

song to a swamp sparrow testing the buoyancy of a lily pad.” 

Bird enthusiasts have been coming here for half a century. Now that the 

marsh is conserved, they can continue to come. It seems very clear that, whatever 

the weather, they will. 

At West Rutland Marsh the town has 

conserved 296 acres of wetlands with 

support from VHCB and the National 

Audubon Society. 

Intrepid birdwatchers—left to right: 

Bryan Palfey of Chippenhook, Fred 

Bates of Rutland, Marv Elliott of 

Rutland Town, Karen Barnouw of 

Rutland, Sue Elliott of Rutland Town, 

and Roy Pilcher of Proctor. 

Doug Wilhelm 

28

Federal Funds Supplement VHCB Awards 

In conjunction with state funds, 

VHCB administers federal funding 

for programs to develop housing, 

increase affordability, add support 

services, provide technical assistance, 

and leverage state and private dollars 

for land conservation in Vermont. 

Lead-Based Paint 

Hazard Re duc tion Pro gram 

With funding from the U.S. 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, this program has been 

operating since 1994, administering 

$13.5 million to reduce lead hazards in 

1,280 homes and apartments statewide. 

To read more about the program, see 

page 30. 

AmeriCorps Vermont 

Community Stewardship Program 

This program has operated for six 

years, this past year cosponsoring 26 

AmeriCorps members to serve with 

nonprofit housing and conservation 

en ti ties statewide. VHCB has administered 

$1.6 million in funds for this 

program since 1996. Due to cutbacks 

in federal funding for the AmeriCorps 

program this year, VHCB will sponsor 

an AmeriCorpsVISTA program in 

2004 that will place 10 members with 

housing organizations. To read more 

about the program, see page 32. 

Agency of Transportation TEA-21 

VHCB has been awarded $1.8 mil lion 

in TEA-21 funds to conserve land 

in prox im i ty to state highways. The 

“transportation enhancement” funds 

le ver age state funds, providing another 

source of funds to conserve farmland 

and open land. 

HOME Program 

Federal HOME Program funds are 

aimed at serving low- and very low-income 

Vermonters in housing projects 

meeting the priorities of the State’s 

Con sol i dat ed Plan. These funds help 

to cov er project de vel op ment costs, 

to cre ate great er affordability in the 

projects, and to sup ple ment VHCB 

funds. The Board ad min is ters the 

program on be half of the Department 

of Hous ing and Com mu ni ty Affairs. 

VHCB has ad min is tered $34 mil lion in 

HOME funds since the be gin ning of 

the pro gram in 1992. 

Farmland Protection Pro gram 

Through the USDA Natural Resources 

Con ser va tion Service, VHCB 

ad min is ters funds from this federal 

program to con serve farmland. These 

funds sup ple ment Ver mont’s state and 

pri vate ef forts, in creas ing the amount 

of farm land con served. The Board has 

com mit ted $9.4 mil lion in Farm land 

Pro tec tion Pro gram funds. 

Housing Opportunities 

for Per sons with AIDS 

HOPWA funds provide rental 

sub si dies, emergency assistance and 

sup port ive services to persons liv ing 

with HIV/AIDS. This program was 

developed in col lab o ra tion with the 

Vermont HIV/AIDS Care Consortium, 

the Department of Health, the Persons 

with AIDS Coalition, the Ver mont 

Center for Independent Liv ing, and 

the AIDS service organizations. VHCB 

has ad-ministered more than $2.9 

million in HOPWA funds. 

HUD Economic Development 

In cen tive Special Project Grants 

The Board administers these onetime 

federal grants to designated 

housing developments in the state to 

assist communities in meeting their 

housing needs. This year, Special 

Project Grant funds will be awarded to 

housing developments in Burlington, 

Vergennes, Rutland, Stowe, and 

Newport. Since 1987, the Board has 

administered nearly $12.4 million in 

Special Project Grants. 

HUD Technical Assistance Funds 

VHCB’s Community Housing 

Development Or ga ni za tion Tech ni cal 

As sis tance Program has administered 

$275,000 in various HUD funds to 

pro vide train ing, operating sup port 

and tech ni cal as sis tance to non profit 

de vel op ers of af ford able hous ing. 

VHCB used HUD technical 

assistance funds to develop and 

co-sponsor two trainings in 2003: 

Financial Management 101 and Mold 

Prevention and Remediation. 

29

30 

Vermont Lead-Based Paint 

Hazard Reduction Program 

The VHCB Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program provides 

grants, loans, and technical assistance to address lead paint hazards in 

the homes of low-income Vermonters statewide. Recognized by HUD 

as a top performer, the program was recently awarded a $3 million renewal of 

federal funds to provide lead paint abatement services to approximately 250 

families over the next three years. The program’s success and the high demand 

for services encouraged the City of Burlington to apply for their own HUD lead 

hazard control grant, increasing the available resources statewide. Funds used 

for lead hazard control generate economic benefits in the form of payments to 

contractors, building supply companies, and related businesses. Other program 

activities require spending on public education and training and working to 

create business opportunities in lead abatement and lead paint safety. 

Services 

Program participants receive evaluation and design services to define lead 

hazards and to prepare a work plan. Grants and loans are awarded to pay for 

work to be completed by certified lead abatement contractors. A typical project 

includes window treatment or replacement, stabilization of painted surfaces, 

removal of lead paint from friction or impact surfaces (i.e., door jambs, floors), 

and specialized cleaning. Families are usually relocated while the work is undertaken 

and clearance testing for lead dust is completed to assure homes are safe 

prior to reoccupancy. Since 1994, the program has helped to reduce lead paint 

hazards in nearly 1,300 homes and apartments. 

New Initiatives for 2004 

In 2004 a new pilot program will address the causes of childhood asthma 

in the home environment. In partnership with the City of Boston and New 

England’s Asthma Regional Council (ARC), based on referrals from the 

Vermont Department of Health, VHCB will provide assistance in the homes 

of asthmatic children to reduce asthma triggers such as moisture, dust, animal 

dander, carbon monoxide, dust mites, environmental tobacco smoke, pests, and 

radon. 

Also new this year is a program undertaken with Central Vermont Community 

Action Council to promote job opportunities in lead paint abatement and 

related fields for low-income individuals. 

While the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program has been successful 

on many levels, Vermont has a long way to go to eliminate the risks of lead 

poisoning for our children. Addressing the nature and extent of lead contamination 

in our environment requires both diligence and innovation. VHCB will 

continue to work with the Vermont Department of Health and our other partners 

to significantly reduce the number of children affected by this preventable 

condition. For more information contact us at 1-800-290-0527 or visit the web 

site: www.leadsafevermont.org 

A private landlord used Lead Paint Hazard 

Reduction funds in this 3-unit apartment 

building in Graniteville. 

For more information, 

contact us at 

1-800-290-0527 

or visit the web site: 

www.leadsafevermont.org 

All children should 

be screened for lead 

poisoning at ages 

one and two. To 

learn about free lead 

screening, contact the 

Department of Health 

at 1-800-439-8550.

A Safe Home and a New Chance 

The Lead Paint Abatement Program helps a family afford a home 

Nobody knows, Bonnie Chapline says, why her son Ian was born three 

months premature. He was just 1.5 pounds—the fragile edge of 

viability. She was working as an assistant speech pathologist in the 

Whitingham and Halifax schools, planning to earn a graduate degree. Suddenly 

she had to spend three months with Ian in the hospital, and couldn’t renew her 

school contract. 

“I was on a good track in life,” Chapline recalls, “but through a circumstance 

that nobody knows why, I was catapulted into joblessness and homelessness.” 

The long road that, four years later, led Bonnie and Ian into a purchased 

home in Hardwick, which was made safer and more affordable by VHCB’s Lead 

Paint Abatement Program, included a long time of isolation and struggle for life. 

For two and a half years the pair lived in Elmore, in Bonnie’s sister’s basement. 

Ian’s immune and respiratory systems were so underdeveloped that he 

couldn’t be exposed to other children. Through many health crises, Bonnie 

cared for her child full-time. 

“After that time, he started growing out of some health issues. That’s why I 

started saying, ‘What can I do now?’ So I started reaching out.” 

Bonnie scraped together what earnings she could, mostly from babysitting. 

She learned about Tangible Assets, a program of the Central Vermont Community 

Action Council (CVCAC) that matches funds earned by low-income 

Vermonters who are saving to buy a home, return to school, or start a business. 

The matching funds come from federal, state, and private sources, and they 

come with education about managing money. “It’s to give them a chance,” 

explains Renee Farnsworth of CVCAC. 

Bonnie Chapline found a very rundown house in Hardwick that nobody else 

wanted. She spent “basically a year” negotiating the seller down to $28,000. 

“This was the only way I could get myself into a home, and have a stable 

place to raise my son,” she says. “A crucial point of that was knowing that the 

Housing and Conservation Board did the Lead Abatement Program. I knew the 

program would come in and help me make it safe.” 

At no cost to the family, a program contractor painted the exterior, replaced 

all 17 windows, and pointed out interior high-lead spots. Bonnie did the work 

inside. She and Ian are moved in now. She works at a local day care center, where 

Ian is enrolled. “Every summer that comes along, he gets stronger and healthier,” 

she says. 

If, she adds, there is a stereotype of a parent who needs public assistance for a 

time, “I don’t fit it. This can happen to an educated, hard-working person. It can 

happen to anybody.” 

Bonnie Chapline and her son Ian 

outside their home in Hardwick. 

“This was the only way 

I could get myself into 

a home, and have a 

stable place to raise 

my son. A crucial point 

of that was knowing 

that the Housing and 

Conservation Board did 

the Lead Abatement 

Program. I knew the 

program would come 

in and help me make 

it safe.” 

—Bonnie Chapline 

31

2003 Nonprofit Sponsors 

of AmeriCorps Members 

32 

Member Cris Nicole developed before and after school activities for young residents of 

Brattleboro Housing Authority and Brattleboro Area Community Land Trust properties. 

The Impacts of AmeriCorps 

How Three ‘03 Members Made a Difference 

six of the Vermont Community Stewardship Program, a 

partnership between VHCB, the AmeriCorps National Service 

Inyear 

Network, the Vermont Commission on National and Community 

Service, and 22 affordable housing and land conservation nonprofits, 32 

AmeriCorps members (ACMs) served at 26 different sites around Vermont. The 

ACMs also mobilized 1,300 community volunteers, who donated about 15,000 

hours of their time and energies. 

Who are the 2003 AmeriCorps members? They are people with distinct 

goals and interests — like Alix Berry at Rutland West Neighborhood Housing 

Services, Eliza Smith-Vedder at the Burlington Community Land Trust’s 

NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center, and Paul Glowaski at the Day Station 

of the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) in Burlington. 

A recent college graduate, Glowaski found the Vermont Community 

Stewardship AmeriCorps Program on the Internet. “The COTS job really 

intrigued me,” he says. “I eventually want to work on public policy surrounding 

poverty issues.” 

With COTS, Glowaski helped connect homeless people with the services 

and resources that can help them address the reasons — education needs, 

health and mental health issues, and others — that they’ve been homeless, “and 

how they can move on from that. 

“Vermont has given me a lot of opportunity to learn about poverty, and 

what’s working,” he says. “I’m trying to learn as much as I can, to take that 

understanding with me when I go on to graduate school.” 

Peter Wrenn 

Conservation 

The Green Mountain Club 

The Na ture Con ser van cy of Vermont 

Trust for Public Land/Montpelier Parks 

Vermont Institute of Nat u ral Science 

Winooski Valley Park District 

Housing 

Addison County Community Action Group 

Applegate Residents Association 

Brattleboro Area Community Land Trust 

Brattleboro Housing Authority 

Burlington Community Land Trust 

HomeOwnership Center 

Central Vermont Community Land Trust 


HomeShare Vermont 

Lamoille Housing Partnership 

Morningside Shelter 

Rockingham Arts and Museum Project 

Rutland County Community Land Trust 

Rutland West Neighborhood 

Housing Services 

Vermont Arts Exchange 

Vermont Center for Independent Living 

Vermont State Housing Authority 

Templeton Court Apartments 

Westgate Housing, Inc. 

Member Catey Ritchie won the Governor ’s 

Award for Community Service for battling 

invasive non-native species with The 

Nature Conservancy of Vermont.

“It Is Needed” 

Alix Berry moved from southern Vermont to West Rutland, and 

AmeriCorps gave her the chance to get involved. She worked in the local 

housing nonprofit’s emergency shelter program, helping provide emergency 

funding to people in housing crisis. Today she works in the organization’s 

housing rehab section, making loans that enable low- and moderate-income 

community members to bring their homes up to health and safety code. 

“The people who are calling in, often they have nowhere else to turn,” 

Berry says. “Our interest rates are low; we have a loan committee, and our 

return rate is good, comparable to banks. We’re also concerned with efficiency 

improvements, such as new furnaces, so they’ll lower their fuel costs.” 

Two summers ago in Burlington, Eliza Smith-Vedder had put herself 

through college, and was working in retail sales — but she wanted to work on 

land use and affordable housing. One lunch hour, she walked into the office of 

Burlington Community Land Trust. When she walked out, she had applied to 

be an AmeriCorps member. 

In BCLT’s HomeOwnership Center, Smith-Vedder became an education and 

outreach coordinator. The pay was minimal; but for the first time, she found 

herself unconcerned with that. 

“The work was so much more purposeful than anything I had done before. 

I don’t want to romanticize it — it’s tough, but it feels right. It is needed.” 

This summer, AmeriCorps funding was slashed nationwide. Most members 

in Vermont lost their positions. The three members profiled here all took 

full-time jobs with their nonprofits. VHCB has developed a new AmeriCorps* 

VISTA initiative to continue the program’s positive impacts at housing 

nonprofits, where members have helped to sharply reduce crime rates, provided 

positive programming and over 5,000 meals to low-income kids, and delivered 

a wide range of services to homeless Vermonters. 

Annie Van Avery Annie Van Avery 

Member Paul Glowaski speaks with 

David Johns outside the Wilson Hotel, 

operated by the Committee on Temporary 

Shelter in Burlington. 

“There isn’t a day here 

when I’m not doing 

something that’s making 

a positive impact on 

someone somewhere.” 

— Liza Smith-Vedder 

BCLT HOMELAND Facilitator 

33

Housing Awards July 2002–June 2003 


Clinton Smith Project, Middlebury. $38,500 

federal HOPWA award to subsidize 1 unit for a 

household with HIV/AIDS in a 17-unit family 

rental housing development. Total project costs: 

$2,004,900. 

Smallest City Housing Project, Vergennes. $65,000 

VHCB award for rehabilitation of 19 apartments 

in 2 historic buildings on Main Street. $200,000 

HOME Program award. Total project costs: 

$3,370,427. 

Organizational Development Grant. $29,000 

award for organizational development costs. 

$15,000 HOME Program award. Total organizational 

budget: $600,000. 

On the waterfront in downtown 

Burlington, the Burlington Community 

Land Trust is developing 32 affordable 

apartments in a 40-unit complex. 

Addison County Community Trust 


award for organizational development costs 

related to housing program costs. $5,000 HOME 

Program award. Total organizational budget: 

$245,100. 

Battered Women’s Services and Shelter 

Washington County Shelter, Barre. $80,500 award 

to construct a 4-room addition to the existing 

Washington County Shelter. Total development 

cost: $557,693. 


Whetstone Housing, Brattleboro. $286,000 award 

for rehabilitation of 20 units in 4 buildings. 

$376,000 HOME Program award. Total project 

costs: $2,440,400. 

Annie Van Avery 

Cathedral Square Corporation 



Total organizational budget: $554,296. 

Cabot Commons, Inc. 

Cabot Senior Housing, Cabot. $100,000 award for 

construction of 8 units rental housing for elders. 

$175,530 HOME Program award. Total project 

costs: $1,261,991. 


Whitcomb Woods Senior Housing Project, Essex. 

$640,000 award for acquisition and heating 

system conversion of a 65-unit elderly housing 

development. Total project costs: $4,703,543. 


Bromur Street Apartments, Barre City. $149,900 

award for rehabilitation and refinancing of 18 

units of family housing in 2 buildings. Total project 

costs: $858,821. 

Flynn Avenue Housing Cooperative 

Flynn Avenue Housing Cooperative, Burlington. 

$32,000 award to replace the storm water system 

and stabilize the adjacent ravine bank. Total project 

cost: $59,500. 

Green Street, Brattleboro. $32,500 award for rehabilitation 

of 10 family rental units in 2 buildings. 

Total development cost: $902,230. 




budget: $551,191. 

34 

In Vergennes, the Addison County 

Community Action Group used VHCB 

and federal HOME funds to rehabilitate 

19 apartments in 2 historic buildings on 

Main Street. 





budget: $1,590,537. 

The Regional Affordable Housing 

Corporation acquired and rehabilitated 

eleven historic buildings with 17 

apartments within the Arlington Village 

Historic District.


Gilman Housing Trust 

Groton Village Housing Project-Related Capacity, 

Groton. $40,000 award to determine the feasibility 

of a multi-goal community development project 

with 18 units rental housing in 4-5 buildings. Total 

feasibility cost: $75,000. 

Elm Street Transitional Housing, St. Johnsbury. 

$90,000 award for refinancing to convert a single 

family home to 4 units of emergency and transitional 

housing for homeless teens. Total project 

costs: $145,051. 



$20,000 HOME Program grant. Total organizational 

budget: $800,000. 

Homestead Design Inc. 

203 Pearl Street, Essex. $250,000 HOME Program 

award for construction of a 30-unit family rental 

housing project. Total project costs: $4,245,432. 


Shady Pines Mobile Home Park, Westminster. 

$205,500 award to acquire and rehabilitate 21 

affordable lots and rehabilitate mobile homes in 

a 28-lot mobile home park. $145,000 HOME Program 

award. Total development cost: $852,253. 

Mobile Acres Mobile Home Park, Braintree. 

$408,000 award for acquisition and infrastructure 

repair for 68 affordable lots in a 95-lot mobile 

home park. Total development cost: $2,301,900. 

21-23 North Champlain Street in 

Burlington, new rental housing 

developed by the Lake Champlain 

Housing Development Corporation. 

Ruggles House, a historic home with 15 

units of new and rehabilitated housing for 

seniors developed by Cathedral Square 

Corporation in Burlington. 

Housing Vermont 

Highgate Apartments, Barre. $900,000 award for 

rehabilitation of 120-unit apartment complex. 

$645,000 HOME Program award. Total development 

cost: $10,613,652. 

Lake Champlain Housing Development 

Corporation and Housing Vermont 

Shelburne Interfaith Housing, Shelburne. 

$500,000 award to construct a 20-unit multifamily 

rental development on 2 sites in the village 

with 9 duplex buildings; rehabilitation of 2 

apartments in a historic house with 2 commercial 

units. $270,000 HOME Program award. Total development 

cost: $3,450,766 

Island Housing Project, Grand Isle. $400,000 

award for construction of 16 units family rental 

housing. $219,082 HOME Program award. Total 

development cost: $2,211,665. 



Total organizational budget: $1,586,583. 


Organizational Development Grant. $37,500 grant 

for organizational development costs. $20,000 

HOME Program award. Total organizational 

budget: $243,515. 

Regional Affordable Housing Corporation 

Depot Street, Bennington. $44, 624 award to 

rehabilitate a 7-unit development in 2 historic 

downtown buildings. $210,376 HOME Program 

award. Total development cost: $454,376. 

Manchester Commons, Manchester. $400,000 

award for the development of a 16-unit new 

construction family rental housing development. 

$300,000 HOME Program award. Total development 

cost: $1,851,352. 




Richford Renaissance Corporation 

and Housing Vermont 

Richford Village Housing Project, Richford. 

$30,000 HOME Program award for the development 

of a 15-unit senior and family housing 

project at 4 locations. Total development cost: 

$2,678,800. 

Rockingham Area Community Land Trust 

Brookline Apartments, Springfield. $260,307 

award for acquisition and rehabilitation to purchase 

and rehabilitate the historic, 13-unit Brookline 

Apartments. $174,693 HOME Program award. 

Total development cost: $2,087,000. 




budget: $754,403. 


Tuttle Block, Rutland City. $325,000 award for acquisition, 

rehabilitation, and development of 13 

apartments in a historic downtown building with 

commercial space on the ground floor. $390,000 

HOME Program award. Total development cost: 

$3,610,395. 

Rutland West Neighborhood Housing Services 

Kazon Building, Marble Street, West Rutland. 

$150,000 award for acquisition and rehabilitation 

of 6 affordable apartments in a historic downtown 

building. $165,000 HOME Program award. Total 

development cost: $1,200,379. 

35






budget: $380,635. 

Sexual Assault Crisis Team 

of Washington County 

Multi-Functional Facility, Barre. $6,000 award for 

creation of 2 additional units in a 3-room emergency 

shelter for victims of sexual violence. Total 

development cost: $318,050. 

Statewide 

Feasibility Fund Recapitalization 

$150,000 recapitalization of fund used for grants 

of up to $15,000 for project predevelopment costs 

such as options, surveys, appraisals, engineering, 

energy audits and marketing studies. 

Habitat for Humanity 

$173,500 recapitalization of fund for land acquisition 

and construction costs of 7 homes to be built 

by Habitat for Humanity and Vocational Education 

Programs. 


$1,000,000 recapitalization of program to provide 

purchase subsidies, downpayment and closing 

cost assistance and rehabilitation loans to 48 

home buyers purchasing homes through community-based 

housing organizations. $300,000 

Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston Affordable 

Housing Program funds. $150,000 IORTA funds 

granted by VHFA. 

Ground Breaking for Shelburne Family Housing. After several years of planning, 

spearheaded by the Shelburne Interfaith Housing Committee, this year the Lake 

Champlain Housing Development Corporation and Housing Vermont will create 20 

units of affordable family rental housing in two locations in Shelburne. Eighteen new 

apartments will be constructed in 9 duplexes on the corner of the Shelburne Road and 

Cynosure Drive and two apartments will be renovated in an existing structure near the 

town offices on Route 7. 





budget: $302,841. 

36 


Home Access Program, Statewide. $300,000 award 

for accessibility modifications to 43 homes and 

apartments statewide. $20,000 HOME Program 

award. Total program cost: $510,768. 

Vermont Community Loan Fund 



Total organizational budget: $759,903.

Housing Awards July–December 2003 

Peter Wrenn 

Young residents of Brattleboro Area 

Community Land Trust properties enjoy 

after school programs provided by the 

VCSP AmeriCorps Program. 


Butterfield Common, Dover. $1,125,990 award 

for construction and related expenses of 40 units 

intergenerational housing: 33 units elderly and 

family rental housing and 7 homeownership 

units. $425,000 HOME Program award. Total 

project cost: $6,724,269. 


South Burlington Neighborhood Homes, South 

Burlington. $300,000 award for acquisition, construction 

and related expenses of 30 affordable 

units in a 60-unit homeownership condominium 

development. Total project cost: $8,100,659. 

Cabot Commons Inc. 

Cabot Housing, Cabot. $75,000 award for construction 

of 8 units rental housing for the elderly. 

$111,656 HOME Program award. Total project cost: 

$1,261,991. 

Residents at new assisted living units 

at 3 Cathedral Square. 


Groton Community Housing, Groton. $300,000 

award for acquisition, construction and related 

expenses of 18 rental units. $204,200 HOME Program 

award. Total project cost: $2,998,320. 

Good Samaritan Haven, Inc. 

Good Neighbors Transitional Housing, Barre City. 

$45,734 HOME Program award for rehabilitation 

and construction to add 3 units transitional housing 

to existing transitional housing project. Total project 

cost: $490,750. 

Highgate Housing, Inc. & Housing Vermont 

Highgate Apartments, Barre. $50,000 additional 

HOME Program award for rehabilitation. Total 

HOME Program award: $645,000. Total project 

cost: $5,490,376. 

Homestead Design, Inc. 

Stony Creek, Hartford. $250,000 HOME Program 

award for construction and related expenses of 18 

rental units. Total project cost: $2,905,890. 

Housing Foundation, Inc 

Grove Street Transitional Housing, Rutland. $74,000 

award for construction and related expenses of 4 

units transitional housing. Total development 

costs: $601,850. 

Lund Family Center 

Lund Family Center Expansion, Burlington. 

$324,000 award for construction and related 

expenses in 18 transitional housing units. Total 

development costs: $3,163,000. 

Norwich Housing Corporation 

Norwich Senior Housing, Norwich. $151,683 

award for capital improvements and refinancing 

of 24 rental units for seniors. Total development 

costs: $1,369,800. 

Randolph Area Community Development Corporation 

& Housing Vermont 

Randolph Family Housing, Randolph. $50,000 

HOME Program award for development of 12 units 

of family housing on 2 sites in downtown neighborhoods. 

Total development costs: $1,798,134. 


Manchester Commons, Manchester. $85,500 

award to develop 16 units family rental housing, 

15 of which are new construction. $100,000 

HOME Program award. Total development costs: 

$2,101,081 


Mussey Street Mobile Home Park, Rutland City. 

$105,000 award for acquisition and infrastructure 

improvements to add 7 affordable lots. Total development 

costs: $371,000. 

STATEWIDE 


$593,000 recapitalization of program to provide 

purchase subsidies, downpayment and closing 

cost assistance and rehabilitation loans to 21 home 

buyers purchasing homes through communitybased 

housing organizations statewide. 

Organizational Development Grants 

$506,000 in organizational development grants 

to 14 organizations. $179,250 in HUD funds for 

organizational development grants. 


Home Access Program, Statewide. $300,000 award 

for program providing accessibility modifications in 

homes and apartments statewide. $20,000 HOME 

Program award. Total project costs: $739,014. 

Highgate Apartments, Barre. 120 

apartments acquired by a tax credit 

partnership in 1991 were rehabilitated 

in 2003. 

37

Conservation Awards July 2002–June 2003 


Organizational Development Grant. $7,000 award 

for farmland conservation program costs. Total 

organizational budget: $245,100. 

Aldis Hill Trust 

Aldis Hill Acquisition, St. Albans. $92,000 award 

to acquire and conserve 65 acres as part of a 

larger public recreation area. Total project cost: 

$138,000. 

Brookfield Community Partnership 

Brookfield Town Hall, Brookfield. $65,000 award 

to assist with the purchase and rehabilitation 

of the Old Brookfield Town Hall, originally constructed 

in 1850. Total project cost: $98,800. 

38 

Burlington City Arts 

Firehouse Center for Visual Arts, Burlington. 

$100,000 award toward restoration of historic 

detail on the Ethan Allen Fire House on Church 

Street, to be rehabilitated into a community arts 

center. Total project cost: $3,712,500. 

Catamount Trail Association 

Organizational Development Grant. $9,500 award 

for organizational development costs. Total organizational 

budget: $157,000. 

Gray Building Coalition 

Gray Building, Northfield. $57,500 award toward 

the acquisition and rehabilitation of vacant, historic 

1877 schoolhouse with frontage on the Dog 

River to be developed as a community center. Total 

project cost: $93,129. 

Green Mountain Club 

Bolton Mountain Uplands, Bolton. $135,000 

award to acquire and conserve 1,000 acres of forested 

uplands for addition to Mount Mansfield 

State Forest. Wildlife habitat protection and public 

access for recreational activities involving sections 

of the Long Trail. Total project cost: $430,500. 




Following a fire at the Green Mountain Club headquarters in Waterbury Center, VHCB 

staff and AmeriCorps members from VHCB's Vermont Community Stewardship Program 

spent a day of community service helping with various projects at the site. 


Main Street Mill Park, Richford. $50,000 

award for the conservation and redevelopment 

of the Main Street Mill Park property as 

part of a project involving housing in historic 

buildings. Total project cost: $90,500. 

Lake Champlain Land Trust 




Lake Champlain Land Trust and the 

Isle La Motte Reef Preservation Trust 

Goodsell Ridge Fossil Preserve, Isle La Motte. 

$100,000 award to acquire a 71-acre site internationally 

known by scientists as the oldest fossil 

reef in the world. Public access and educational 

purposes. Total project cost: $1,235,000. 

City of Montpelier 

North Branch Greenway III, Montpelier. $19,000 

award to assist with the purchase of property for 

addition to the North Branch Greenway and Trail 

system and provide access to the North Branch of 

the Winooski River. Total project cost: $49,500. 

Preservation Trust of Vermont 

Stonebridge Inn, Poultney. $6,500 Documentation 

and Stewardship award. 

Firehouse Center, Burlington. $6,500 Documentation 


Old Brookfield Town Hall, Brookfield. $7,500 

Documentation and Stewardship award. 

Southern Vermont Community Recreation Center, 

Springfield. $6,500 Documentation and Stewardship 

award. 

Gray Building, Northfield. $7,500 Documentation 


Ferrisburgh Grange Hall, Ferrisburgh. $7,500 

Documentation and Stewardship award. 

Southern Vermont 

Community Recreation Center 

Southern Vermont Community Recreation Center, 

Springfield. $100,000 award to assist with restoration 

of historic former foundry to be converted 

to a regional recreation center. Total project cost: 

$4,893,500.


In Bridport, conserved Ouellette farm 

fields stretch to Lake Champlain. 

The Nature Conservancy of Vermont 





and the Vermont Land Trust 

Audet Farm, Orwell. $34,190 award to support 

the purchase of a conserved farm and resale to 

a young farming family and to conserve an additional 

42 acres of riparian habitat along East 

Creek. 

Town of Poultney 

Stonebridge Inn, Poultney. $100,000 award to 

stabilize and renovate a municipally-owned, fire 

damaged, historic 1808 building on 5 acres for 

multiple community uses. Trail link to community 

trail system. Total project cost: $700,000. 

Town of Killington 

Killington Recreation Field, Killington. $23,120 

award to acquire 5 acres adjacent to Town land 

for the expansion of recreational fields. Trail linkages 

and protection of open space. Total project 

cost: $112,000. 

Town of Ferrisburgh 

Ferrisburgh Grange Hall, Ferrisburgh. $40,000 

award to renovate and restore municipally-owned 

historic grange hall for use as new town offices and 

community center. Total project cost: $438,700. 

Town of Manchester 

Greenberg Parcel, Manchester. $22,000 award for 

the acquisition of 16 acres in the town of Manchester. 

Natural resource protection and public 

access to the Batten Kill River. Total project cost: 

$35,000. 

Town of West Rutland 

West Rutland Marsh, West Rutland. $26,300 award 

to acquire and conserve 12 acres for addition to the 

conserved 296-acre marsh. Rare and endangered 

species habitat protection, water quality preservation, 

public recreation and educational opportunities, 

and economic importance as a major birding 

area. Total project cost: $206,900. 

Upper Valley Land Trust 

Gladstone/Newmont Farmland, Bradford. 

$155,676 award to acquire conservation easements 

on 3 separate parcels totaling 363 acres with 

Connecticut River frontage and archeological sites. 

$24,824 Act 250 Mitigation grant. $144,000 NRCS 

grant. Total project cost: $327,500. 

Ekolott Farm, Bradford. $195,100 grant to acquire 

conservation easements on 250-acre dairy 

and emu farm with extensive Connecticut River 

frontage. $163,000 NRCS grant. Total project cost: 

$361,500. 

Honigford/O’Connor Farm, Royalton. $31,000 

local conservation grant to acquire conservation 

easements on highly scenic 37-acre certified 

organic vegetable operation with substantial road 

and White River frontage. $13,000 NRCS grant. 

Total project cost: $68,200. 




At Perkins Pier in Burlington, the Lake 

Champlain Maritime Museum is building 

a replica of an early 19 th century schooner. 

Nearby, on King Street, an office and branch 

museum of the Ferrisburgh museum has 

been established in the historic Captain 

White House, acquired and rehabilitated 

with VHCB funds. 

Bob Eddy 

Irene and Leonard Dube (front row) with 

Walter and Margaret Gladstone and their 

three sons, Will, John and Matt. The 

Gladstones milk 600 cows and employ 10 

full-time workers on farmland conserved 

by the Upper Valley Land Trust. 

Vermont Agency of Natural Resources 

Long Range Management Planning. $30,000 grant 

to assist in the development of long- range management 

plans for VHCB-funded lands owned 

and managed by the Vermont Agency of Natural 

Resources. Total project cost: $50,200. 

Vermont Agency of 

Agriculture, Food & Markets 

Flies (Stillmeadow) Sheep Farm, Williamstown. 

$80,000 local conservation grant to conserve 

338-acre sheep and maple farm with deeryard. 


Ellis/Newton Farms, Inc., Georgia. $182,500 

grant for acquisition of development rights and 

conservation restrictions on 297-acre dairy 

farm. $158,000 NRCS grant. Total project cost: 

$343,000. 

William & Kim Bingham, Panton. $94,500 grant for 

acquisition of development rights and conservation 

restrictions on 199-acre dairy farm. $70,000 NRCS 


Larry Garvey Farm, Hinesburg. $140,500 grant for 


restrictions on 170-acre dairy farm. $115,000 

NRCS grant. Total project cost: $257,900. 

39


Vermont Agency of 

Agriculture, Food & Markets 

Kuehne/Stefanek, Benson. $31,500 local conservation 

grant for acquisition of development 

rights and conservation restrictions on 149-acre 

sheep farm. $57,000 NRCS grant. Total project 

cost: $135,200. 




Vermont Department of 

Forests, Parks and Recreation 

Yankee and Bessenyey Parcels, Shrewsbury and 

Mount Holly. $426,425 grant to acquire 980 acres 

to protect critical wildlife habitat and provide 

public access for recreation. Total project cost: 

$475,000. 


& The Nature Conservancy of Vermont 

Alburg Dunes State Park, Alburg. $500,000 grant 

to purchase 164 acres with extensive Lake Champlain 

shoreline for addition to state park. Public 

recreational use and habitat protection. Total 

project cost: $1,526,500. 


& Vermont River Conservancy 

Twenty-Foot Hole, Reading. $9,000 grant towards 

acquisition of 37 acres for addition to conserved 

land with public recreational access along the 

North Branch of the Black River. Total project 

cost: $14,000. 

On Isle La Motte, the Lake Champlain 

Land Trust (LCLT) has conserved parts of 

the oldest fossil reef in the world. LCLT 

celebrated its 25 th anniversary this year. 

Vermont Land Trust 

Auger House, Swanton. $47,000 grant to acquire 

and conserve land in an ancient Native American 

village with significant archeological resources 

and to provide one unit of rehabilitated affordable 

housing. Total project cost: $104,500. 

Correia III, Addison. $45,500 grant for conservation 

of 162 acres farmland with buffer zone along 

Dead Creek. $24,000 NRCS grant. Total project 

cost: $71,100. 

Preston Pond, Bolton. $267,668 grant to acquire 

and conserve 408 acres of forestland with views, 

unique topography, important wildlife habitat, 

and pristine, 3,500-year-old Preston Pond. Public 

recreational access and wildlife habitat protection. 


Harrness/Ryan Farm, Sheldon. $5,000 additional 

grant to acquire conservation easements on 291- 

acre dairy farm. $5,000 NRCS grant. Total project 

cost: $216,500. 

J & C Callan Farm, Fairfield. $121,500 grant to 

acquire conservation easements on 304- acre 

dairy farm. $100,000 NRCS grant. Total project 

cost: $223,700. 

Blacklock/Sumner Farm, Addison. $30,185 grant 

to acquire conservation easements on 26 acre addon 

to Forgues dairy farm. $17,000 NRCS grant. 


Dan Rainville Farm, Highgate. $86,500 grant 

to acquire conservation easements on 214-acre 

dairy farm and maple syrup operation. Conservation 

of 20 acres wetlands associated with Cutler 

Pond providing waterfowl habitat. $64,000 NRCS 


M & V Young Farm, Glover. $163,500 grant to 

acquire conservation easements on 392- acre, 

third-generation dairy farm. $142,000 NRCS 


Morze Farm, Canaan. $80,500 grant to acquire 

conservation easements on 259-acre Christmas 

Tree farm with views of Wallace Pond and north 

into Canada. $58,000 NRCS grant. Total project 

cost: $138,500. 

Pearl Farm, Barnet. $126,500 grant to acquire conservation 

easements on 243-acre third- generation 

dairy farm with Connecticut River frontage 

including deer wintering area and VAST trail with 

winter access. $100,000 NRCS grant. Total project 

cost: $226,500. 

40 

Conservation of natural areas preserves 

wildlife corridors neccesary for 

movement of larger species, provides 

public recreational opportunities and 

allows for forest management planning. 

Susan C. Morse 

Pion Farm, Troy. $66,044 grant to acquire conservation 

easements on 208-acre dairy farm for addition 

to 2,300-acre contiguous block of conserved 

land. $10,456 Act 250 Mitigation grant. $54,000 

NRCS grant. Total project cost: $132,500 

Nichols Farm, Enosburg. $169,500 grant to acquire 

conservation easements on 660-acre dairy 

farm, including Adams Pond, a beaver pond, and 

Meadow Brook, an outstanding ecological and 

wildlife habitat area. $155,000 NRCS grant. Total 


In St. Albans, the Aldis Hill Trust will 

acquire 65 acres for addition to a larger 

parcel of recreation land.


Clough Farm, Groton. $38,800 grant for acquisition 

of development rights and conservation restrictions 

on 47 acres farmland for addition to conserved 

Clough dairy farm. Wells River frontage. $17,000 


Hornbeck Farmland, Shoreham. $99,500 for 


restrictions on 289 acres farmland. Public 

trail easement. $77,000 NRCS grant. Total project 

cost: $178,000. 

The Lawrence farm in Shaftsbury, where 

253 acres were conserved by the Vermont 

Land Trust this year. 


Brisson II Farm, Ferrisburgh. $198,500 grant to 

acquire conservation easements on 321 acres of 

farmland for addition to conserved home farm. 

Archeological sites and wetland habitat. $170,000 


Sprano Farm, Alburg. $142,500 grant to acquire 

conservation easements on 259-acre organic 

dairy farm adjacent to Mud Creek wetlands 

with important natural communities and rare 

species. $118,000 NRCS grant. Total project cost: 

$260,500. 

Jewell Farmland, Addison. $62,700 grant to acquire 

conservation easements on 100 acres of 

farmland. VAST trail. $44,000 NRCS grant. Total 


Ouellette II Farm, Bridport. $62,935 grant to 

acquire conservation easements on 214-acres 

of farmland linked to the conserved Ouellette 

home farm. $44,500 NRCS grant. Total project 

cost: $107,435. 

Chris & Kathy Connor Farm, Bridport. $88,650 

grant to acquire conservation easements on 134- 

acre dairy farm. $68,150 NRCS grant. Agency of 

Transportation Enhancement grant. Total project 

cost: $162,300. 

Polymeadows (Lawrence) Farm, Shaftsbury. 

$110,500 grant to acquire conservation easements 

on scenic 253-acre dairy farm with historic house; 

option to purchase at ag value. $210,000 NRCS 


Desautel/Berthiaume Bros, Salisbury. $43,800 grant 

for acquisition of development rights and conservation 

restrictions on 116 acres farmland. $22,000 


Stockman Farm, Richford and East Berkshire. 

$64,000 grant for acquisition of development rights 

and conservation restrictions on 91-acre organic 

vegetable farm with river frontage. $37,000 NRCS 


Ladd Farm I & II, Alburg. $178,500 grant for 




Spring Meadow Farm, Cambridge. $64,500 grant 




Jones Farm, Hyde Park. $189,000 grant for acquisition 

of development rights and conservation 

restrictions on 304-acre dairy farm. Intergenerational 

transfer, facilitates addition of more 

farmland. $168,000 NRCS grant. Total project 

cost: $360,300. 

Public trails in Montpelier were 

linked by this bridge connecting trails 

maintained by the Vermont Institute for 

Natural Science with Montpelier Parks 

Department trails. 

Knowles Farm, Charlotte. $299,870 for acquisition 


on 99 acres farmland. Public trail easement 

for linkage to area trail system. $67,860 NRCS 

grant; Agency of Transportation Enhancement 


Newton Farm, Shoreham. $88,500 for acquisition 


on 221 acres farmland. $68,000 NRCS grant. Total 




organizational budget: $3,490,832. 

Vermont River Conservancy 


grant for organizational development costs. Total 


Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association 

Windmill Hill Project, Athens. $109,700 grant for 

acquisition of 131 acres of wooded ridgeline for 

addition to recreational trail corridor and nature 

preserve. Public recreational use and habitat protection. 


STATEWIDE 

Farm Viability Enhancement Program 

$200,000 grant to capitalize program providing 

business planning and technical assistance to 

farmers statewide. 

Feasibility Fund Grants 

$50,000 to recapitalize fund used for grants of 

up to $10,000 for predevelopment project work 

including options, surveys, feasibility and engineering 

studies. 

41

Conservation Awards July –December 2003 

The conserved Knowles Farm in Charlotte 

where a public trail easement will link 

to a developing trail system in the area. 

VHCB funds leveraged federal Natural 

Resource Conservation Service and 

Agency of Transportation funds. 

Capital Area Land Trust 

Canales Park, Barre City. $22,000 award for acquisition 

of approximately 2 acres for public outdoor 

recreation. Total project cost: $52,650. 

Intervale Foundation 

Calkins Community Farmstead, Burlington. 

$92,500 award for the historic renovation of the 

Calkins Farmhouse, the last dairy farmstead in 

the city. Total project cost: $508,153. 


Calkins Farmstead, Burlington. $7,500 documentation 

and stewardship award. 

Jacob Davis Farmstead, Montpelier. $7,500 documentation 



Devil’s Den, Bradford. $47,000 award for the 

acquisition of a 60-acre natural area, including 

access to unique geological formation. Habitat 

preservation and public access for recreation. 


Vermont Department of Forests, Parks 

and Recreation & Vermont River Conservancy 

Lower Clarendon Gorge, Clarendon. $74,750 

award for the acquisition of 48 acres for addition 

to previously conserved 18-acre parcel. Conserves 

the entire length of the gorge, a natural area with 

public access for recreation. Total project cost: 

$100,500. 


Knowles Farm, Charlotte. Additional $8,800 award 

for the acquisition of development rights and conservation 

restrictions on 99 acres farmland. Public 

trail easement to link with developing multi-town 

trail network. Total project cost: $420,900. 

Lewis Farm, Tinmouth. $71,000 local conservation 

award for acquisition of development rights 

and conservation restrictions on 129-acre farm 

with historic farmhouse. $72,000 NRCS grant. 


Reed Farm, Sheldon. $76,500 award for acquisition 


on 130 acres. $54,000 NRCS grant. Total 


Devos Farmland, Ferrisburgh. $140,500 award for 


restrictions on 195 acres farmland. $255,000 NRCS 


Bergmans II Farmland, Ferrisburgh. $43,500 award 


restrictions on 65 acres farmland linked to 

previously conserved home farm acreage. $24,000 


Farr Estate Farmland, Shoreham. $139,500 award 


restrictions on 177 acres farmland. 5,600 

feet frontage on Lake Champlain. Pedestrian public 

access to the lakeshore. $206,000 NRCS grant. 


Charlestream Farmland, Ferrisburgh. $170,500 

award for acquisition of development rights and 

conservation restrictions on 237 acres farmland. 

Ecological protection of wetlands. $150,000 NRCS 


Nadeau II, Holland. $54,500 award for acquisition 


on 100 acres farmland and sugarbush linked 

to previously conserved Nadeau home farm. 

$33,000 NRCS grant. Total project cost: $89,300. 

Hinsdale Farm II, Charlotte. $82,700 award for acquisition 

of development rights and conservation 

restrictions on 87 acres farmland. Trail easement 

for public access and linkage to area trail system. 

$60,300 NRCS grant. Total project cost: 143,000. 

42 

Chester Academy Building, Chester. $7,500 documentation 


Town of Chester 

Academy Building, Chester. $65,000 award for 

restoration of historic detail and rehabilitation 

of National Register building for public use in 

Chester Village Historic District. Total project 

cost: $183,230. 

Two Rivers Center for Sustainability 

Jacob Davis Farmstead, Montpelier. $57,500 award 

for the renovation of the historic Jacob Davis farmstead, 

to become an agricultural demonstration 

center and museum. Access to trails and Winooski 

River. Total project cost: $942,500. 

Bird hunters near Mallory Brook in East 

Montpelier, where the Trust for Public 

Land conserved 489 acres. 

Farmland Affordability Option 

$120,000 for options to purchase farmland at 

agricultural value.

Partners in Project Development January 2002–December 2003 

Funding Partners 

Bank North 

Charter One Bank 

Chittenden Bank 

Citizens Bank, Nashua, NH 

Citizens Housing and Planning 

Association, Boston, MA 

Community National Bank 

CVCAC Weatherization, Barre 

Development Training Institute, Baltimore 

Efficiency Vermont, Burlington 

Enterprise Foundation, Co lum bia, MD 

Factory Point National Bank, Manches ter 

Federal Home Loan Bank of Bos ton 

First Colbrook Bank, Colbrook, NH 

Housing Assistance Council, 

Wash ing ton, DC 

Housing Vermont, Burlington 

Institute for Community Eco nom ics, 

Springfield, MA 

Key Bank 

Mascoma Savings Bank 

Merchants Bank 

Morristown Revolving Loan Fund 

Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation 

Northfield Savings Bank 

Office of Ecomonic Opportunity 


USDA Rural Development 

Vermont Community Development 

Program 

Vermont Community Loan Program 

Building Community Fund, Montpelier 

Vermont Department of Developmental 

and Mental Health Services 

Vermont Development Credit Union 

Vermont Housing Finance Agency 

Foundations 

Enterprise Foundation 

Freeman Foundation 

John Merck Fund 

Open Space Institute 

Still Point Fund, Stowe 

Tommy Thompson Trust 

Waterwheel Foundation 

Windham Foundation 

Accountants 

Paul Birnholz, St. Albans 

Hickok & Boardman, Burlington 

Judlow & Weitin, Essex Junction 

Kittell, Branagan & Sargent, Inc, St. Albans 

KPMG-Peat Marwick, Burlington 

McSoley McCoy, So. Burlington 

Angela Norder, Morrisville 

Otis, Atwell & Timberlake, Portland, ME 

Stevens, Wilcox, Baker, Potvin, Cassidy & 

Jakubowski, Rutland 

Sullivan, Powers & Co., Montpelier 

Appraisers 

Allen & Cable, South Burlington 

Brian Audy, Arlington 

Eric Benson, Montpelier 

Fred Blais, South Burlington 

Central Vermont Appraisers, Inc., Rutland 

Gregory Doyle, West Brattleboro 

Everett Real Estate Services, Brattleboro 

Green Mountain Appraisals, Manchester 

Rodney Haggett, Addison 

Larson Appraisal Company, Wells 

Luce Hill Appraisal Services, Burlington 

Kurt Kaffenberger, Burlington 

Robert Lamprey, Newbury 

Martin Appraisals, Waterbury 

R. Russell Rice, Brattleboro 

Chris Rutken Appraisers, Manchester 

Sargeant Appraisal Service, Rutland 

James Thetford, Montpelier 

Thomas Armstrong, Holderness, N.H. 

W. Todd Brown, Brattleboro 

Hans Weltz, Bellows Falls 

Architects 

Arnold & Scangas Architects, Colchester 

Bannister & Greenberg, Putney 

Black River Design, Montpelier 

Centerline Architects & Planners, 

Bennington 

Davis Associates, Jericho 

Duncan-Wisniewski Architecture, 

Burlington 

E.H. Danson Associates, St. Johnsbury 

Frank Guillot, Architects Ltd, Burlington 

Michael Lawrence & Associates, Burlington 

MWLA-Monroe Whitaker, Brattleboro 

NBF Architects 

Scott & Partners, Essex Junction 

Truex Cullins & Partners, Burlington 

Vermont Architects Collaborative, 

Montpelier 

Bob White, Norwich 

J. William Maclay Architects, Waitsfield 

Williams & Frehsee, Inc., Brattleboro 

Ylian Alfaro Snyder & Assoc., Montpelier 

Attorneys 

Anderson & Eaton, Rutland 

Bauer, Anderson & Gravel, Burlington 

Bradford T. Atwood, Sharon 

Bergeron, Paradis, Fitzpatrick & Smith, 

Essex Jct. 

Patricia Beu, Brattleboro 

Craig Bingham, East Middlebury 

Richard Cawley, Bradford 

Cohen & Rice, Rutland 

Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, Burlington 

Geoffrey Fitzgerald, Montpelier 

Susan Ford, Woodstock 

Stephen R. Fowler, Hanover 

Gensburg, Atwell & Broderick, 

St. Johnsbury 

Gravel & Shea, Burlington 

Dot Helling, Montpelier 

Hershenson, Carter, Scott & McGee, 

Norwich 

Michael Hertz, Brattleboro 

C. Robert Manby, Jr., White River Jct. 

Mickenberg, Dunn, Kochman, Lachs & 

Smith, Burlington 

Molde, Black and Govoni, Johnson 

Myers & Smith, Essex Jct. 

Michael Nawrath, Manchester 

Paul, Frank & Collins, Burlington 

Ryan, Smith & Carbine, Rutland 

Nadine L. Scibek, Burlington 

Swanson and Lange, Burlington 

Webber, Chapman & Kupferer, Rutland 

John Whalen, Arlington 

John Williams, II, Bennington 

Consultants 

AAHSA, Baltimore, MD 

Alzheimers Association, Vt. Chapter, 

Montpelier 

Behilo Consulting, Greenfield, MA 

Burbank-Hammarlund Assoc., Brattleboro 

Burlington Associates in Community Dev., 

Burlington 

Capital Ideas, Burlington 

Clay Point Associates, Williston 

Cope & Associates, Shelburne 

CPG Enterprises, Shaftsbury 

Development Cycles, Amherst, MA 

Elizabeth Moreland Consulting, 

Orange City, Fla 

Flocksholm Design, Putney 

J.D. Kantor, Montpelier 

The Johnson Company, Montpelier 

43 

Partial list as provided by grant recipients


44 

Consultants 

Mcain Consulting, Waterbury 

Net Consulting, Hindsdale, NH 

Optima Design Associates, Brattleboro 

Lyssa Papazian, Putney 

Joan Peters, Guilford 

Liz Pritchett Assoc., Montpelier 

Charles Putney, Bennington 

Renaissance Development Corp., Waltham 

Right Track Design, Weare, NH 

S.J. Associates, Randolph, MA 

Todd Sternback Computer Consulting, 

Montpelier 

Virtual Design and Café, Killington 

Virtual Solutions, Killington 

Wheeler Environmental Services, Barre 

Contractors 

A. Marcelino & Company, Williston 

A-1 Construction, New Haven 

A-1 Sewer & Drain Services, Inc., 

West Rutland 

A.R. Germaine Excavating, Williston 

Able Paint Glass & Rental Co., Colchester 

Access Technologies, GA 

Ace Hardware, North Springfield 

Acme Glass Company, Burlington 

Advance Sprinkler, Essex Jct. 

Alpha Electric, South Burlington 

Alpine Sprinkler, Essex Jct 

All Cycle Waste, Burlington 

Al’s Electric Service, Colchester 

American Construction, NH 

American Electrical Contracting Co., 

Bethel 

ATC Associates, SD 

Bard Home Decorating, Burlington 

Bates Mechanical, Wilder 

Bay State Elevator Co., MA 

Bazin Brothers, Westminster 

Beldon Company, Inc.,Rutland 

Bendig, Rutland 

Benoure Plumbing & Heating, So. 

Burlington 

Bernie’s Plumbing & Heating, Williston 

Black Ox Standing Seam Roofing Co., 

Tunbridge 

Ben Blanchard, Burlington 

Blue Ridge Construction, E. Montpelier 

Booska Movers, Burlington 

Burgess Electrical Supply, Burlington 

Burlett Plumbing & Heating, Salisbury 

Burlington Commercial Interiors, 

Isle La Motte 

Burlington Electric Dept., Burlington 

Burlington Public Works, Burlington 

C&L Plumbing, South Burlington 

Carpet Warehouse, Inc., Rutland 

Cheshire Builders, NH 

Ciampi Construction, Montpelier 

Clark Construction, Fair Haven 

Climate Systems, Williston 

Cocoplum Appliances, Brattleboro 

Cooper Fence Company, Rutland 

Countertop & Tub Re-Nu, Inc., Rutland 

Crowley Construction Company, 

Colchester 

Cummings & Son, Brandon 

Cummings Electric, Colchester 

Delta Electric, Williston 

DiBernardo Electric, Bellows Falls 

Dion Security, Burlington 

Dompier Electric, Bellows Falls 

Don-Vac, Inc., Williston 

Door Control, Inc., NH 

Doran Roofing, Bomoseen 

Elevator Sales & Service, Inc., MA 

Engineers Construction, South Burlington 

Environmental Hazards Management, 

Inc.,Williston 

Fay Brook Painting, Sharon 

Fireprotec, Inc., Colchester 

Firetech Sprinkler Corp., Colchester 

Four Seasons Enterprise, LLC, 

White River Junction 

FSE, White River Junction 

Gallery of Cabinets, E. Montpelier 

Gazo Construction, Winooski 

Giancola Construction Corp.,Rutland 

Giroux Sign Smith, Burlington 

Green Mountain Drywall, Wallingford 

Green Mountain Insulation, 

White River Junction 

Green Mountain Systems & Service, Inc., 

Essex Jct. 

Gregory Building Supply, Burlington 

Harrison Concrete, St. Albans 

Harry Ambrose, Inc., So. Burlington 

Hathaway Electric, Bennington 

Hawk and Brush, Brattleboro 

HCI/Craftsmen, Winooski 

Hendee Excavating, Starksboro 

Hennessey Electric, Bellows Falls 

Heritage Environmental, Burlington 

Hi Tech Coatings, Inc., West Rutland 

Hills True Value, Burlington 

Home Depot, Williston 

Howard’s Fire Control, Inc., Rutland 

Hulbert Supply, Burlington 

J.A. Bradley & Sons, NY 

J.A. Morrissey Construction, Burlington 

Kingsbury Construction, Waitsfield 

Knox Company, CA 

Lakewind Construction, Essex Jct. 

Lamoille Construction, Morrisville 

Bernie LaRock & Son, Guilford 

Lighthouse Environmental, E. Middlebury 

Little Roger’s Cleaning Service, Burlington 

M&H Construction, Brattleboro 

M&M Carpeting, Barre 

Mansfield Environmental Abatement 

Group, Essex Junction 

March Construction, Guilford 

Marshall’s Alarm Service, Middlebury 

Mechanical Building Services, Colchester 

Millbrook Building & Remodeling, 

Essex Junction 

Moe Dubois Excavating, Shelburne 

Moriah Roofing, Essex Junction 

Mountain Valley Sprinkler Systems, 

Williston 

Myers Service Corp., Winooski 

Naylor & Breen, Brandon 

Neagley & Chase, South Burlington 

New England Air Systems, Williston 

Northeastern Security Alarm, Williston 

Northwoods Excavating, Thetford Ctr. 

Omega Electric Construction, Williston 

O’Raine & Sun Co., Rutland 

Otter Creek Electrical 

Ouellette Plumbing, Williston 

Patriot Insulation, Winooski 

Pest Control Service Co., Rutland 

PestPro, Inc., South Hero 

Phoenix Roofing, Townshend 

Pinette Mechanical Contractors, Cabot 

Jeff Pitts, Rutland 

Plaza Appliance Center, Rutland Town 

Fernando Portugal, Shelburne 

Pratt & Smith, Milton 

Pro Markings, Woodstock 

Professional Touch Painting, Rutland 

Property Management and Maintenance 

of Rutland 

R.J. Desabrais & Sons, Salisbury 

R.K. Masonry, Cambridge 

Randall Contracting, Barre 



Contractors 

Rutland Chimney Service, Inc., Rutland 

Rutland Contract Cleaners, Inc., Rutland 

Rutland Roofing Co., Rutland 

S&S Painting, NH 

S.E. Benson, Rutland 

Sears,Chicago, IL 

Seven Days, Burlington 

ServiceMaster of Central VT, Rutland 

Slab Hollow Chimney, Crown Point, NY 

Eric Slade Roofing, Brattleboro 

Slate Valley Electric, Inc., Fair Haven 

Smalley Contractors, sRutland 

Solar Applications, Brattleboro 

Stairs Unlimited, Richford 

Steven Farrell Construction, Rutland 

Stewart Construction, Essex Jct. 

Stewart Property Management, NH 

T.J. Rasmus & Company, NY 

Tamarack Services, Shelburne 

Tri-State Sprinkler, St. Albans 

Twin State Environmental, Colchester 

Twin State Standing Seam Roofing Co., 

South Royalton 

U 1 st Plumbing-Heating Co., N. Clarendon 

Vermont Custom Concrete, Milton 

Vermont Gas Systems, Burlington 

Vermont Paint Co., Burlington 

Vermont Shade & Blind, Brandon 

Walbridge Electric, Montpelier 

Ward’s Home Repair and Remodeling, 

East Arlington 

Wayne’s Remodeling, West Rutland 

Weber Accessibility Systems, Inc., 

Richmond 

Westfield Construction, NH 

Wilk Paving, Inc., Center Rutland 

Windows & Doors by Brownell, Williston 

Engineers 

Bannon Engineering, Warren 

Chenette Associates, Barre 

Conant Brothers, New Haven 

Criterium-Lalancetter Engineers, Rutland 

Richard Drew, NH 

Dufresne-Henry, North Springfield 

John Endrus, Bennington 

GWR Engineering, PC, Shelburne 

Ina Hladkey, Essex Jct. 

Hamlin Consulting Engineers, Inc., 

Colchester 

Paul Hobbes, Burlington 

Innovative Consulting, North Montpelier 

Krebs & Lansing Consulting Engineers, 

Colchester 

Northern Environmental Services, NH 

John Novelli, Shaftsbury 

Otter Creek Engineering, East Middlebury 

Pike Construction, Panton 

Pike Industries, New Haven 

Ploof Excavating, Salisbury 

Provan & Lorber, Montpelier 

Roberts and Franzoni, Rutland 

Short Surveying, Middlebury 

Ellis Speath, Manchester 

Stevens & Associates, Brattleboro 

Summit Engineering, South Burlington 

Vermont Contours, Bristol 

Vermont Solar Engineering, Burlington 

WV Engineering, NH 

Wright Engineering, Rutland 

Landscapers 

All Seasons Excavating & Landscaping, 

Colchester 

Abortech, Inc., Colchester 

Barrett’s Tree Service, So. Burlington 

Jeff Brown, Brandon 

Camels Hump Landscaping & Lawn Care, 

Huntington Center 

Cedar Glen Property Maintenance, 

Burlington 

D&F Excavating & Paving, Middlebury 

Dan Dwyer, Bennington 

Earthscapes, Inc., Essex Jct. 

Kirk Fiske, Middlebury 

Grass Cuts For Less, So. Burlington 

Greenleaf Forestry, Williston 

Gordon Hayward, Putney 

Heart and Soil Landscaping, Burlington 

Homestead Fence Co., Orwell 

Ed Hough’s Snowplowing & Excavation 

J&J Greenscape, Williamsville 

KRG Land & Tree Services, Woodbury 

Michael King, Arlington 

Michael Kittredge, Addison 

Ed Lanphear, Shoreham 

Levinsky Landscaping and Property 

Management, Burlington 

Palmers Service Center, East Middlebury 

Tim Patrick, Arlington 

QT Landscaping, Richmond 

Jim Ryan, Manchester 

Steve’s Landscaping, East Middlebury 

Teachers Tree Service, Bristol 

Treemasters of Vermont, Franklin 

Vermont Indoor Gardens, Burlington 

Jean Vissering Landscape, Montpelier 

Zeoli Tree Service, Middlebury 

Services & Suppliers 

A. Emilo Building Supply, Middlebury 

Above All Painting, East Fairfield 

Abraham’s Photo Studio, Burlington 

Absolute Air Care, Williston 

4 Systems, Winooski 

A & M Software, Inc., Burlington 

A Brush Of Color, Richmond 

A. C. Hathorne Company, Inc., Williston 

Accuprint, Essex Jct 

Acme Paint & Glass Co, Burlington 

Acousta Therm, Shelburne 

Adams Lock & Key, Bennington 

Adelphia Cable Communications,Williston 

Advanced Answering Service, Rutland 

Agway, Bennington 

Airborne Express, Seattle, WA 

All Cycle, Inc., Williston 

All Links Communication, Williston 

All Paint and Stain, Montpelier 

All Seasons Cleaning Services Llc, 

Winooski 

All Secure, Lebanon NH 

Applecheek Farm, Hyde Park 

Arcomm Communications Corp., NH 

Assisted Housing Management Insider, 

New York, NY 

Atomic Professional Audio, Rutland 

Aubuchon Hardware, Bennington 

B&B Rubbish Removal, Rutland 

Bailey’s Maytag, Brattleboro 

Bard Home Decorating, Burlington 

BCF, Montpelier 

Bell Atlantic, Albany, NY 

Ben Franklin, South Burlington 

BFI, Bennington 

Bisbee’s, Waitsfield 

Black River, Rutland 

Black River Produce, Proctorsville 

Blodgett Supply Co, Inc., Williston 

Blodgett Supply Co., Inc., Williston 

Blue Cross Blue Shield, Montpelier 

Blueprints Etc., S. Burlington 

Bob Thibault & Sons Appliances, St. Albans 

Bolster Movers, Brattleboro 

Booska Movers, Inc., Burlington 

Bouchard Bros. Appliance Ctr., Essex Jct. 

Bouchard-Pierce, Essex Junction 

Bourne’s, Inc., Morrisville 

45 



46 


Bourne’s Propane Co., Morrisville 

Boves Restaurant, Burlington 

Brandon Lumber, Brandon 

Brattleboro Chimney Sweep, Brattleboro 

Brite-World Professional Services, 


Brooks Mitchell, South Newfane 

Brown & Robets, Brattleboro 

Burgess Brothers, Bennington 

Burlington Communications Service 

Center, Burlington 

Burlington Electric Dept., Burlington 

Burlington Food Service Co, Colchester 

Burlington Free Press, Burlington 

Burlington Meals On Wheels, Burlington 

Burlington Public Works-Recycle, 

Burlington 

Burlington Rent All, So. Burlington 

Burlington Tool Repair, So. Burlintgon 

Bushee Plumbing & Heating, Arlington 

Calendar Sales, Milwaukee WI 

Calendars, Sidney, NY 

Carpet Center, Essex Junction 

Casella Waste Management 

CCTV, Burlington 

Cd Publications, Silver Spring, MD 

Ced Credit Office, Newport, ME 

CED/Twin State Electric Supply, 

South Burlington 

Cellular One, Colchester 

Central Business Equipment, Bennington 

CGU, Boston MA 

Champlain Valley Printing, So. Burlington 

Champlain Valley Property Services, 

Williston 

Chase Electric, Williamstown 

Cheese Outlet/Fresh Market, Burlington 

Chittenden County Suburban Newspaper, 

Williston 

C.L. White Glass, Bennington 

Claussen’s, Colchester 

Cocoplum Appliance, Brattleboro 

Code 3 Products, Brattleboro 

Coffee Time/Spring Water Co. Of Vt, 

Williston 

Colchester Agway, Colchester 

Colchester Chronicle, Colchester 

Commercial Services, Inc,. Montpelier 

Commercial Union Insurance Co., Boston 

Computer-EZ, Mendon 

Computer Exchange, Williston 

Computer Technology Consultants, 

Colchester 

Contact Communications, So. Burlington 

Conti’s Appliance & Furniture, Waterbury 

Copierworks Of Vermont, Colchester 

Copytek, Williston 

Costco Wholesale, Colchester 

Council Of Vermont Elders, Montpelier 

County Home Center, Morrisville 

Countryside Carpet & Paint, Middlebury 

Countywide Appliance, Burlington 

Creative Design At Bayside, Inc., 

Colchester 

Creative Office Interiors, Needham, MA 

Creative Thymes, Burlington 

Credit Bureau Services of Vermont 

Credit Card Services, Burlington 

CSWD, Williston 

CTC Communications, Hartford, CT 

Current, Inc., Phoenix, AZ 

Custom-Fit Software, Inc., Colchester 

Custon PC Works, Bennington 

D&E Tree Company, Brattleboro 

D & M Fire And Safety Equipment, 

Richmond 

D & M Fire Equipment, Burlington 

DT Supply, Rutland 

Daceasy, Dallas, TX 

Dave Hayden Plumbing & Heating, 

Bennington 

Decorative Energy Concepts, South Hero 

Demars Hardware & Rental, Morrisville 

Demars Properties, Morrisville 

Damian Flooring, Vernon 

Densmore Electrical Supply, Rutland 

Densmore Stone & Vermont Marble 

Center, South Burlington 

Design Graphics, Rutland 

Design Signs, Burlington 

Deter Security, Inc., Rutland 

Dick’s Lock Repair, Brattleboro 

Dion Security, Inc., Burlington 

Dough Boy’s Bakery, Burlington 

Dutton, Brenda, Leicester 

Easton Electronics, Canton, MA 

ECS Biological Services, Brattleboro 

E-Z Way Rental, Bennington 

Eastman’s, Rutland 

Ed’s Painting Service, Colchester 

Edson Painting, South Barre 

Elder Art Program, Burlington 

Electrolux, Burlington 

Elevator Sales & Service Inc., MA 

Eli Research, Research Triangle Park, NC 

Empire Janitorial Supply Co., Burlington 

Essex Agway, Williston 

Essex Appliance And Fitness, 


Essex Paint & Carpet, Essex Jct. 

Evans News, Bennington 

F.E. Hart Fence Company, Inc., Williston 

F.W. Webb Co., Williston 

Falcon Plumbing Services, Inc., Williston 

Fidelity And Casualty Company, 

Glens Falls,NY 

Filters Inc., Essex Jct. 

Fireprotec, Colchester 

Fireside True Value, Brattleboro 

First Choice Rentals Sales & Service, 

Williston 

Flag Shop Of Vt, Essex Jct. 

Fleming Oil, Brattleboro 

Foley Distributing Corp, Rutland 

For All Occasions, Williston 

Fortin’s Trucking, Williston 

Fox Printing, Burlington 

Fred Blakely Plumbing, Adamant 

Furniture Discounters, Shelburne 

Fyles Bros., Orwell 

GSS Fire Extinguishers, No. Bennington 

Gadues Dry Cleaning, Inc., Colchester 

Gallipo Logo Imprints, Rutland 

Gauthier Trucking, Essex Jct 

George Tudhopes Carpet Square, Williston 

Giddings Manufacturing Company, Inc, 

Pittsford 

Gilmore Home Center, Bomoseen 

Good Neighbor Handyman, So. Burlington 

Goodrow Lumber, East Middlebury 

Gordon Stamp And Engraving, Burlington 

Grainger, Palantine, IL 

Grappone Industrial Inc., Williston 

Graybar Electric Co., Boston, MA 

Green Mountain Clock, Williston 

Green Mountain Communications, Stowe 

Green Mountain Power, Brattleboro 

Greenscreen, Rutland 

Grenier’s Pest Control, Essex Jct 

H. Greenbergs & Sons, Bennington 

Ha Maintenance, Brattleboro 

Hallsmith-Sysco Food Services, 

Woburn, MA 

Hanson’s Hardware, Shelburne 

Hard Copy, Burlington 

Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and 

Insurance Co. 




Hardwick Electrick Dept., Hardwick 

Hartigan Co., Stowe 

Haskins Gas, Dorset 

Hawley’s Florist, Rutland 

Hendy Bros., Inc, Williston 

Heritage Copy Centers, Burlington 

Hickok And Boardman, Burlington 

High Tech, Manchester 

Hollisters Appliances, Bennington 

Hills True Value Hardware, Burlington 

Holyoke Equipment Co, Williston 

Home & Farm Center, Rutland 

Howard Printing, Brattleboro 

HPI, Williston 

Hubbard Brothers, Rutland 

Hulbert Supply Co, Burlington 

Ink Spot Press, Bennington 

Isabel’s On The Waterfront, Burlington 

J & P Electric Motor Service, 


J Care, So. Burlington 

J Clark Communications, St. Albans 

J*Care Janitorial Supplies & Paper Prod, 


JR’s Rubbish & Recycling, Bridport 

Jeri Hill Hardware, Jericho 

Jim Deery Carpet & Flooring, Bennington 

Judy Gauthier Cleaning, Bennington 

Just Delicious Catering, Morrisville 

Kaleidoscope Graphics, Burlington 

Kd Associates, Inc., So. Burlington 

Kelly Fuels, Bennington 

Kelly Temporary Services, PA 

Kelson Plumbing & Heating, Bennington 

Kenco, Inc., Barre 

Kens Radio & TV, Burlington 

Kinko’s, Atlanta, GA 

Koffee Kup Bakery, Inc., Burlington 

Kone, Inc., Moline Il 

L/R Pest Elimination Services, 


Lab Safety Supply Inc, Janesville, WI 

Labarge Floral Design, Burlington 

Lacillade Lumber Company, Williamstown 

Lake Champlain Cable TV, Milton 

Lakeshore Hardware And Marine, 

Colchester 

Lamoille Lock & Key, Waterbury Ctr. 

Landry Insurance, Colchester 

Larry’s Office Machines, Burlington 

Latham Trailer Sales, Waterbury 

LaValleys Building Supply, Rutland 

LCU Inc., Williston 

Leader Home Ctr., Brattleboro 

Leary’s Insurance Agency Inc, 


Lee Sturtevant Extinguisher Sales 

& Service, Morrisville 

Life Safety Systems, Essex Jct. 

Lifeline Foundation Of Vermont, 

Morrisville 

Light-Works, Burlington 

Limb Corporation, Williston 

Liquid Studio, Burlington 

Little Engine Heaven, Jericho 

Little Roger’s Trucking & Cleaning, 

Colchester 

Lock & Glass Crafters, Middlebury 

Long Distance North, Burlington 

Lori’s Cleaning Service, Stowe 

M & M Carpet Service, Barre 

Mace Engravers, Burlington 

Mad Hatter, Burlington 

Mail Boxes Etc, Essex Jct 

Mail Boxes Etc., Rutland 

Main Street Landing, Burlington 

Maintenance By Murphy, Inc., Waterbury 

Maintenance Warehouse, Boston, MA 

Manpower, Milwaukee, WI 

Mark Woodward, Johnson 

Mastercard, Burlington 

Mcgregor’s Pharmacy, Winooski 

Mckesson Medical-Surgical, 

Golden Valley MN 

Medline Industries, Inc., Chicago IL 

Merrill Gas, Brattleboro 

Metevier Electric Motor Service, 

Burlington 

Mid State Appliances, N. Clarendon 

Miles Lumber, Arlington 

Modern Floors, East Barre 

Moore’s Lumber, Williston 

Moore’s Lumber And Building Supplies, 

Williston 

Morf Transportation Inc., Burlington 

Morrisville Lumber, Morrisville 

Morse Hardwoods & Millwork Co., 

Essex Jct 

Morrisville Water & Light Dept., 

Morrisville 

Mount Vernon Lodge, Morrisville 

Mountain Appliance Service, Colchester 

Mountain Transit, Milton 

Myers Container Service Corp, Winooski 

Myron Manufacturing Co., Newark, NJ 

National Business Furniture, Milwaukee 

National Center for Housing Management, 

Arlington, VA 

Nebs, Inc., Boston, MA 

Nelson & Small, Inc, Portland, ME 

Network Services Corporation, Burlington 

New England Air Quality Testing, 

Burlington 

New England Business Services, Inc, 

Groton, MA 

New England Flooring, Burlington 

New England Guaranty Insurance Co, Inc., 

Montpelier 

New England Telephone, WRJ 

New Hampshire Fisheries Inc., Essex , MA 

New York Cleaners, Colchester 

Newline Communications, Williston 

News & Citizen, Morrisville 

NFPA, Boston, MA 

Niquette Bros., Inc., Winooski 

NNEAHSA, Hampton, NH 

Noble True Value Hardware, Rutland 

North Avenue News, Burlington 

North Star Leasing, Burlington 

North Star Vermont, Cumberland, ME 

Northeast Paging, St. Johnsbury 

Northern Cartographic, Williston 

Northern Security Insurance Company, 

Inc., Brattleboro 

Nortrax Equipment Co., Concord, NH 

Notifier Northeast Corp., Williston 

Noyle Johnson Insurance, Montpelier 

Nynex, White River Junction 

Office Furniture Exchange, Burlington 

Office Quarters, Brattleboro 

Offset House, Essex Junction 

One Ninety Seven Inc., Essex Junction 

Onebeacon, Boston, MA 

O’Neil Appliance Service, Essex Junction 

Only Once Graphics, Burlington 

Orkin Exterminating Company, Inc., 

Shelburne 

Ormsby’s Computer Store, Barre 

Overhead Door Co. of Burlington, Inc., 

Williston 

P&F Appliances, Manchester 

P&K Storage, Brattleboro 

P & P Septic Service, Inc., Williston 

P & T Inc., Rutland 

Padgett-Thompson, Saranac Lake, NY 

Parker & Stearns, Johnson 

Patterson Fuels, Shelburne 

Paul’s Pest Control, Bellows Falls 

47 



48 


Paw Print, South Burlington 

PDI, South Burlington 

Peck Electric, South Burlington 

Pella Products, Inc., Greenfield, MA 

Peps Market, Winooski 

Perkins Home Center, Brattleboro 

Perma Glaze, Shelburne 

Pest Pro, Inc., South Hero 

Pettersen Family Cleaners, Hinesburg 

Philbrick Consulting Home 

Inspection Services, NH 

Philip W. Noyes Co., Essex Jct 

Phinney’s Paint & Decorating, Middlebury 

Pinette Mechanical Contractors, Inc., 

Cabot 

Portland Glass, Brattleboro 

Postal & Business Service, Inc., Colchester 

Power Shift Online, Stowe 

Precision Air, Inc., Jericho 

Precision Balancing Llc, Essex Jct. 

Prime Offset, Rutland 

Print Quik, Bennington 

The Prompt Image, Brattleboro 

Prospect Park Press, NH 

Putnam Investments, Rutland 

Quality Plumbing & Heating, Bennington 

Quality Works, Colchester 

Queen City Printers, Burlington 

RGF Painting, Barre 

R.K. Miles, Manchester Ctr. 

R&M Maintenance, East Barre 

Radio North Group, Inc., South Burlington 

Ray’s Novelties of Vt. Inc., Newport 

Red Hot Supply, Colchester 

Reprographics of New England, 


Richmond Hardware, Richmond 

Richmond Home Supply, Inc., Richmond 

Ricketts & Sons, Warren 

Rooter-Man of Vermont, South Burlington 

Rotella, Rutland 

Royal Glass & Security Co., Rutland 

Roys Appliance Service, Bristol 

The Rutland Herald, Rutland 

Rutland Printing Co., Rutland 

S.T. Paving, Inc., Waterbury 

Sanborn’s Paint Spot, Rutland 

SAW Carpentry, South Ryegate 

Scantic Designs, Richmond 

Scrumptious, Burlington 

Security & Surveillance Assoc., Williston 

Selectronics, Waitsfield 

Service Master The Stephens Group, Inc., 

Williston 

Seven Days, Burlington 

Shadow Cross Farm, Inc., Colchester 

Shaws Supermarkets, Colchester 

Sherwin Williams, Bennington 

Sherwin Williams, Brattleboro 

Sherwin Williams, South Burlington 

Sherry Senior Designs, Shelburne 

Sign*A*Rama USA, South Burlington 

Signs By Steck, Burlington 

Small Engine Parts Dist, Essex Junction 

Smith Bell & Thompson Inc., Burlington 

Sondik Supply Company, Burlington 

Sovernet, Bellows Falls 

Spaceworks, Inc., Rockville, MD 

Special Services Transportation Agency, 

Colchester 

Spectrum Design, Bennington 

Staples, Bennington 

Sterling Equipment Of Vt, Williston 

Sterling Hardwoods, Burlington 

Suburban Propane, Bennington 

Sunshine Art Studios, Inc., Agawam, MA 

Swish Maintenance, Burlington 

Symquest Group, Inc., So. Burlington 

Synergy Gas, Bennington 

T.A. Haigh Lumber Co., Inc., Burlington 

Taylor’s Color World, Morrisville 

Technical Planning & Management, 

Waitsfield 

Tempo Home Furnishings, Shelburne 

The Carpet Center, Essex Jct. 

The Granite Group, Concord, NH 

The Green Machine, Williston 

The Locksmith Co., Colchester 

The Medical Store Ltd, So. Burlington 

The Pettersen Family Cleaners, Hinesburg 

Therriens Boiler & Mechanical Serv. Inc, 

Burlington 

Tina’s Home Design, Burlington 

Together Networks, Burlington 

Toolcraft Rental & Sales Ctr., Rutland 

Triad Temporary Services Inc., Williston 

Trono Fuels, Burlington 

Turner & Renaud, Dummerston 

Ultimate Choice Home Care, Brattleboro 

Ultramar, Manchester 

Ultramar Energy Inc., St. Albans 

Unifirst Corp, Williamstown 

Union Mutual Fire Insurance Co., Williston 

United States Postal Service, Burlington 

University Of Vermont, Burlington 

Upholster-All, Colchester 

Upper Room Design Center, New Haven 

Vacuum City, So. Burlington 

Valcom Ii, Inc., So. Burlington 

Vantage Press Inc, Burlington 

Verdon Seamless Gutters, Inc, Williston 

Vergennes Building Supply, Vergennes 

Vermont Correctional Industries, Windsor 

Vermont Courier, Inc., Williston 

Vermont Ethics Network, Inc., Montpelier 

Vermont Gas Systems, Brattleboro 

Vermont Hardware Company, Inc., 

Burlington 

Vermont Housing Managers Association, 

Burlington 

Vermont Karpet Kleaning, Burlington 

Vermont Maturity Magazine, Williston 

Vermont Paint Company, Williston 

Vermont Pavement Maintenance, Inc., So. 

Burlington 

Vermont Pure Springs, Inc., Williston 

Vermont Specialty Products, Burlington 

Vermont Telephone, Essex Jct. 

Vermont Times, Shelburne 

Vermont Toner Recharge, Burlington 

VGS Propane, Burlington 

Visiting Nurse Community Services, 

Colchester 

Vt Custom Sheet Metal Co., So. Burlington 

Vt Mutual Insurance Co., Brattleboro 

Vt Plastic Specialties, Inc., Williston 

Walsh Electric Supply Co, Inc., Colchester 

Walsh Electric Supply, Rutland 

Waterfront Catering Group, Burlington 

Ward’s Systems, Morrisville 

Water Works, Manchester Ctr. 

Wearguard, Chicago, IL 

Weber Accessibility Systems, Inc., 

Richmond 

Wehse & Kinney Insurance, Rutland 

West River Paint, Brattleboro 

Westside Press, West Rutland 

White Mountain Insurance Co., 

Manchester 

White River Paper Company, White 

River Junction 

White’s Heating, Northfield 

White’s Sewer & Drain Service, Hinesburg 

Whitman’s Feed Store, No. Bennington 

Wholesale Express, Burlington 

William St. Cyr, Montpelier 

Wilson County Camera, Rutland 

Winooski Press, Winooski 



Wood Lake Title Co., Rutland 

Woody’s Sales & Service, Johnson 

Yandow Sales & Service, No. Ferrisburg 

Yankee Electric Supply, Inc., Winooski 

Yankee Paint, Rutland 

Yankee Medical, Inc, Burlington 

Yarnell Inc. Kwik Dry, Colchester 

Zinn Graphics, Brattlleboro 

Surveyors 

Little River Survey Co., Stowe 

Parks Associates, Arlington 

Charles Rockwell, Dorset 

Vermont Nonprofit Housing 

and Conservation Organizations 



Aldis Hill Trust 

Archaeological Conservancy 

Association of Vermont Conservation 

Commissions 


Brookfield Community Partnership 

Building a Better Brattleboro 


Cabot Commons, Inc. 

Capital Area Land Trust 

Capital City Housing Foundation 

Catamount Trail Association 



CVOEO Mobile Home Project 

CVOEO Voices Against Violence Project 


Gill Terrace Retirement Apartments, Inc. 


Good Samaritan Haven, Inc. 

Green Mountain Audubon Society 

Green Mountain Club 

Hinesburg Land Trust 

HomeShare Vermont 



Intervale Foundation 

Lake Champlain Housing Development Corp. 

Lake Champlain Land Trust 


Lund Family Center 

Norwich Housing Corporation 

Putney Cares 

Putney Mountain Association, Inc. 

Randolph Area Community Development 

Corporation 


Richford Renaissance Corporation 

Rockingham Area Community Land Trust 


Rutland West Neighborhood Housing Services 

Sexual Assault Crisis Team, Inc. 

Shelter Committee, Inc. 

South Hero Land Trust 

Southern Vermont Community Recreation 

Center Foundation 

Stowe Land Trust 

The Conservation Fund 

The Friends of Robert Frost 

The Gray Building Coalition 


The Preservation Trust of Vermont 

Trust for Public Land 


Two Rivers Center for Sustainability 


Vermont Arts Exchange 


Vermont Community Loan Fund 

Vermont Historical Society 


Vermont River Conservancy 

Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association 

“Because VHCB enables 

local partnerships to take 

on higher risk projects, 

these investments have 

broad community impacts 

and frequently preserve the 

older, more historic buildings 

in village centers and downtowns. 

With what VHCB is 

doing in this area, Vermont 

sets the standard.” 

—Richard White, President 

Community National Bank 

The Gilman Housing Trust completed construction of Passumpsic View Housing 

in St. Johnsbury, with 25 apartments for seniors on the upper floors and 

commercial space at street level. The block replaces the 

Daniels Block, which was lost in a tragic fire in January 2000. 

49

Vermont Housing & 

Conservation Board 

Balance Sheet 

June 30, 2003 

General Funds Restricted Funds 

ASSETS 

Cash Accounts $ 10,644,778 $ 1,914,632 

Due from Other Funds 342,390 8,225 

Receivables 2,407 34,315 

Loans Receivable 45,904,962 16,766,282 

Administrative Reimbursements Receivable 3,085,183 

Anticipated Grant Revenues 3,288,170 6,866,408 

Repurchase Agreements 6,673,465 

TOTAL ASSETS $ 60,182,707 $ 35,348,510 

LIABILITIES and FUND EQUITY 

LIABILITIES 

Accounts Payable & Accruals $ 137,249 $ 211,995 

Due to Other Funds 9,725 340,890 

Due to the State of Vermont 2,806,037 

Deferred Revenue – Loans 45,901,962 16,432,685 

Anticipated Grants Committed 3,288,170 6,866,408 

Long-term Debt 7,018,038 

TOTAL LIABILITIES 49,337,106 33,676,053 

FUND EQUITY 

Fund Balance – Committed to Projects 10,729,265 907,243 

Fund Balance – Unreserved 116,336 765,214 

TOTAL FUND EQUITY 10,845,601 1,672,457 

TOTAL LIABILITIES and FUND EQUITY $ 60,182,707 $ 35,348,510 

50 

To receive a copy of the audited financial statement, please contact VHCB.

Revenues 

$25,246,113 

Farms for 

the Future 

8% 

Interest 

Income 

1% 

Loan 

Repayments 

1% 

Other 

Income 

2% 

Federal Grant 

Revenue 

44% 

State Property 

Transfer Tax 

44% 

Expenditures 

$25,068,739 

Other Project 

Related Expense 

7% 

Farms for the Future 

Interest Expense 

5% 

Administration 

7% 

Grants and Loans 

81% 

51 

To receive a copy of the audited financial statement, please contact VHCB.

Housing and Conservation Applications 

52 

VHCB makes grants and loans to nonprof 

it organizations, housing co-ops, 

municipalities, and qualifying state 

agen cies. The Board is able to respond 

quickly to assist municipalities and nonprofits 

to cope with the adverse im pact 

of development on Vermont’s af ford able 

housing stock, its ag ri cul tur al land, and 

its en vi ron men tal quality. The decision 

making process is set up to pro vide significant 

financial assistance rap id ly when 

a need is identified. 

The Board meets and makes decisions 

on applications approximately seven 

times a year. Applications are usually 

reviewed and decisions made within 

five to ten weeks of submission. The 

bulk of the Board’s awards are made for 

projects associated with the protection 

of agricultural lands, natural areas, 

public recreational lands, and historic 

properties, and for the preservation, 

rehabilitation, and development of 

perpetually affordable housing. Special 

encouragement is given to projects that 

meet both the affordable housing and 

the conservation goals of the Fund. 

All applicants are required to show 

long-term benefit to Vermonters through 

deed restrictions or other mech a nisms 

that ensure the funds pro vid ed will 

have a lasting effect. Housing projects 

must target Ver mont ers with incomes 

at or below median. Program ben e fi - 

cia ries range from tenants, po ten tial 

home own ers, and farmers, to all who 

enjoy Ver mont’s natural, rec re ation al, 

and his tor ic prop er ties. 

Application deadline and Board 

meeting dates are available from 

the VHCB office and are posted on 

the Board's web site, www.vhcb.org. 

Applications are rated according to 

the Adopted Rule of the Board. Applicants 

are invited to attend the meeting 

at which the project is reviewed, and 

are informed of the Board’s decision 

that same day. 

Purchase of Conservation 

Easements on Farmland 

The Board evaluates farmland 

applications in a two-step process. 

Pre-applications are reviewed by an 

Agricultural Advisory Committee 

that includes farmers, representatives 

from the UVM Extension Service, the 

USDA Farm Service Agency, Natural 

Resources Conservation Service, the 

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, 

and members of the VHCB Board. This 

group recommends projects to be 

considered by the full VHCB Board, and 

complete applications are developed for 

those projects. Evaluation is based upon 

soil quality, location, farm infrastructure, 

management, and other resources 

brought to the project. 

Applications for Federal HOME 

Funds and Lead-Based Paint 

Hazard Reduction Funds 

Applications for HOME Program 

funds are due on the same dates as 

VHCB housing project applications. 

Applications for Lead-Based Paint 

Hazard Reduction funds are reviewed 

as they are received. 

The Lake Champlain Housing 

Development Corporation 

and Housing Vermont 

rehabilitated 6 affordable 

apartments and commercial space 

in the Butler Block in St. Albans. 

Feasibility Funds 

The Board provides awards of up 

to $10,000 to assist with feasibility 

analysis for individual projects and up 

to $15,000 for housing projects involving 

more than one building. This program 

pays for appraisals, engineering and 

environmental studies, options, energy 

assessments, and marketing analysis. 

These awards are instrumental in 

helping grantees bring projects to the 

development stage. For a number of 

years, The Public Service Department 

has provided the Board with funds for 

energy efficiency analyses in proposed 

housing developments. 

Organizational Grants 

The Board provides grants to nonprofits 

for some of the costs associated with 

developing affordable housing and 

conservation projects. This critical 

support ranges from up to $15,000 for 

new organizations to up to $40,000 for 

regional groups actively involved in 

developing VHCB projects. Twenty-two 

such awards were made to housing and 

conservation organizations in FY2003.

PROJECT AWARDS BY COUNTY 

1987–2003 

GRAND 

ISLE 

16 units 

2,980 acres 

FRANKLIN 

210 units 

28,005 acres 

ORLEANS 

224 units 

18,478 acres 

ESSEX 

13 units 

179,366 acres 

CHITTENDEN 

2,449 units 

11,057 acres 

LAMOILLE 

162 units 

14,253 

acres 

WASHINGTON 

636 units 

8,627 acres 

CALEDONIA 

294 units 

5,138 acres 

ADDISON 

395 units 

38,500 acres 

ORANGE 

284 units 

9,037 acres 

RUTLAND 

276 units 

14,269 

acres 

WINDSOR 

864 units 

9,901 acres 

BENNINGTON 

296 units 

4,006 acres 

WINDHAM 

509 units 

8,075 acres

Vermont 

Housing & 

Conservation 

Board 

149 State Street 

Montpelier, Vermont 05602 

telephone: 802 828 3250 

fax: 802 828 3203 

www.vhcb.org 

Since 1987, 

creating affordable hous ing, 

conserving ag ri cul tur al 

and recreational lands, 

historic prop er ties, 

and natural areas

Vermont Housing & Conservation Board - Vermont Housing and ...

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