Archive - Jan 2007

January 29, 2007

By JOHN FLOWERS

MIDDLEBURY — All seven communities in the Addison Central Supervisory Union (ACSU) have crafted proposed 2007-2008 school budgets that are below the state’s per-pupil spending guideline, though some of the towns may be in store for hefty education tax jumps — particularly if they haven’t recently conducted town-wide reappraisals.

ACSU officials recently unveiled school spending plans for the towns of Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. The K-12 budgets showed increases ranging from 2 percent (Shoreham) to 6.3 percent (Bridport), though local taxpayers would see education property tax rate increases ranging from 2.7 percent (Cornwall) to 15.9 percent (Shoreham) if the budgets are approved as submitted.

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January 29, 2007

By JOHN FLOWERS AND JOHN McCRIGHT

MIDDLEBURY — For the second time this month local economic development officials and a contingent of more than 100 manufacturing workers are rallying to pull things together after the announcement of a Middlebury plant closure.

Standard Register Co. on Friday said it will close its Route 7 South plant in March, putting 112 people out of work. The Middlebury facility, which prints customized checks and forms, primarily for businesses, hospitals and government agencies, “will continue to perform limited production through March,” a corporate press release said.

The announcement from the Dayton, Ohio, corporate headquarters of Standard Register provided a second dose of bad news for the Addison County economy this month. Bristle-maker Specialty Filaments closed its doors on Jan. 5, sending 175 people in search of new jobs, though an Illinois-based company is making a strong push to acquire and reopen that operation (see related story, this page).

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January 29, 2007

By JOHN FLOWERS

MIDDLEBURY — Two local lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit against the Vermont Electric Power Co. (VELCO) on Friday, arguing among other things that the company had “misrepresented the scope of its condemnation authority” in acquiring land for transmission lines that will also carry fiber optic wires.

The four-page complaint, filed in Addison County Superior Court by attorneys Peter Langrock and James Dumont on behalf of as many as 1,000 Vermont landowners, asks that a judge:

• Prevent (VELCO) from further construction, installation and leasing of fiber optic lines along its electrical transmission rights-of-way across plaintiffs’ land and to remove any lines that are not directly needed for the transmission of electricity.

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January 25, 2007

By JOHN FLOWERS

MIDDLEBURY — Local economic development officials, union representatives and corporate lawyers were working feverishly this week on a deal through which an out-of-state company would buy, and resurrect, the former Specialty Filaments plant at 3046 Case St.

“The development corporation is working closely with a potential buyer of the facility,” Addison County Economic Development Corp. (ACEDC) Executive Director Jamie Stewart said on Tuesday. “If we can put together a deal that is viable, there is a possibility of the re-hire of all of the former Specialty Filaments employees.”

Stewart said the name of the prospective buyer is being kept under wraps pending the purchase of the Specialty Filaments business out of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Rutland, along with negotiation of a financial incentives package that would give the buyer tax credits and some short-term reductions in electricity rates.

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January 25, 2007

By JOHN FLOWERS

MIDDLEBURY — Faced with what they said have been numerous roadblocks thrown up throughout the years by state officials, Middlebury selectmen are exploring whether the community can build a new in-town bridge on its own.

“This is uncharted territory, and it’s a course that we cannot at all be sure where it will lead,” Middlebury selectboard Chairman John Tenny said on Tuesday. “It may in the end show that it is not a viable path. But we do not feel, at this point, that we have any good options trying to continue on the standard course — working with the state. We are not being supported there, and it doesn’t look like we will gain support in any reasonable time.”

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January 22, 2007

By JOHN FLOWERS

MIDDLEBURY — More than 30 employers from throughout the state converged upon Middlebury on Thursday hoping to recruit some of the 175 people who lost their jobs when Specialty Filaments closed its doors earlier this month.

Husky of Milton, Vermont Teddy Bear of Shelburne and Johnson Filaments of Williston joined Addison County companies like Goodrich Corp., Autumn Harp, Middlebury College and Carrara & Sons Inc. at a special job fair held at the Middlebury American Legion Hall on Boardman Street.

Fifteen minutes before the fair opened, an estimated 50 people were waiting to enter the hall and one observer said it was busy all day.

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January 22, 2007

By ANDY KIRKALDY

ADDISON — The town of Addison on Dec. 8 again won in court against farmers Mark and Paul Boivin, who for more than a decade have battled with Addison unsuccessfully — at one point all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — about the town’s property tax assessments on their 467-acre No-Mon-Ne dairy farm.

In addition to winning the 2003 tax case in last month’s ruling, the town of Addison also prevailed in two earlier court cases in which the Boivins challenged the 1996 and 2000 valuations of their Goodrich Corners Road farm.

And the Boivins aren’t done in court yet. Before the Dec. 8 rule, they appealed the town’s 2006 assessment on the largest of the three parts of their farm despite their past losses in court; that latest Addison Superior Court tax case is now in the discovery phase, Mark Boivin said on Thursday. The Boivins are not appealing the value of one 80-acre part of their farm, and last year successfully had the town reduce the value on another 98-acre portion of their farm.

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January 18, 2007

By JOHN FLOWERS

MIDDLEBURY — Three incumbent Middlebury selectmen confirmed on Monday they intend to seek re-election to new terms in office, while there remains a decided lack of takers for other municipal and school offices that will be up for grabs on Town Meeting Day.

Candidates for local office have until the end of the day on Monday, Jan. 29, to submit signed petitions to get on the election ballot.

Middlebury Selectmen Janelle Ashley, Don Keeler and Bill Perkins announced they will all seek another three years on the board. None of the three faces any competition at this point.

Ashley is finishing out her first term on the board. She has been a quick learner, and believes she can make even more of an impact with the experience she now has under her belt.

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