MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury residents on Tuesday voted 416-185 to affirm a June 25 selectboard decision to give Vermont Gas Systems (VGS) a free easement to funnel natural gas to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 3 Main St.

Tuesday’s vote was triggered by a citizens’ petition drive by resident Ross Conrad, who has maintained that while St. Stephen’s is entitled to its choice of fuel, VGS should be required to pay fair market value for the town easement through which it was seeking to provide natural gas service. St. Stephen’s is on the village green — which is owned by the town — so a municipal easement is needed so the gas line can cross under the green.

Conrad on Wednesday was disappointed about the vote’s outcome but was heartened by the fact that 40% of those casting ballots felt as he does — that VGS, a large vendor of fossil fuels, should at least pay for an easement that will boost its bottom line.

He added he’d hoped the selectboard would’ve reconsidered, by its own initiative, its original June 25 decision to give VGS the easement for free.

“While I was hoping the Middlebury selectboard would’ve had another chance to give St. Stephen’s the option of gas service without having to force Middlebury taxpayers to help subsidize the costs, eventually, associated with installation, I have been encouraged by the fact this whole process has slowed down the decision making process for St. Stephen’s and caused a lot of people to rethink their assumption on our continued reliance on fracked methane as a legitimate fuel source for the future.”

Meanwhile, St. Stephen’s officials were pleased with the outcome of the easement referendum.

“Even though we’ve made no final decisions about our future energy use, we’re very happy this allows us to keep the natural gas option,” said Linda Horn, who chairs the St. Stephen’s facilities committee. “We’re gratified that the town was able to support the selectboard’s previous decision.”

She added the church’s energy committee continues to study options for heating and powering St. Stephen’s. Church leaders have long embraced the notion of green energy while seeking the option of natural gas as a “bridge” fuel that would, in the short-term, allow St. Stephen’s to phase out fuel oil and save around $10,000 in heating costs per year.

Three years ago, St. Stephen’s invested $50,000 in the Addison County Relocalization Network’s solar farm in Bristol, to offset a large chunk of the church’s electricity bill during a large portion of the year.

The church’s 1997 addition is now equipped with heat pumps, though that technology won’t work within the building’s main worship space (nave), due to its size.

St. Stephen’s energy committee members are now taking a holistic view of the church’s energy needs, according to Horn.

“Our HVAC system right now is pretty jerry-rigged with a combination of things that are all aging out,” she said. “So this is the perfect opportunity to look at it as a whole. We want to be mindful of our responsibility to care for our planet, as well as to judiciously use our financial resources.”

This was the third time since 2017 that Conrad had brought to a petitioned vote selectboard decisions to give free service-line easements to VGS. In all cases, voters have affirmed the board’s decisions, though Conrad believes there will be a tipping point. The only question is whether that tipping point comes before climate change has become irreversible, he noted.

“Whether (the easement votes) are going to mobilize people or not will probably depend on how bad things get with the environment and how that will directly impact people,” he said. “Unfortunately, until things actually affect people personally, they usually don’t take a lot of action or pay a lot of attention.”

Conrad lost Tuesday’s battle at the ballot box, but he could see a victory at the Tuesday, Oct. 8, selectboard meeting. That’s when Middlebury’s Policy Committee is slated to recommend a town easement policy.

John Flowers is at [email protected].