Volume 122        No 31 No 5538     December 15,  2005 Thursday   Morrisville, VT 056611     Web Edition

Town/Village Sewer Agreement Getting Closer

Postmaster Merchant to Retire

“Really Reconsider,” Say LUMS Faculty

LUMS: The Board’s Perspective

Sanders Presents Johnson Recreational Grant

The Benefits of Being Historic

Corse to Lead VPPSA

Tallman to Retire from Wolcott P.O.
by Amy Kolb Noyes
WOLCOTT – After 38 1/2 years of delivering mail, Dorick “Toby” Tallman will be retiring at the end of this month. Toby began delivering mail in Wolcott for the United States Post Office Department on May 20, 1967. When the department became the United States Postal Service, in 1972, Wolcott was consolidated from two routes to one. USPS sent Toby to work in Montpelier. He returned to the Wolcott Post Office a little over six years later, when Clifford Randall retired.
     Between his postal career and three years in the Marine Corps, Toby is retiring after 42 years of government service. Toby said he will keep busy in his retirement doing some work around the house. He’s sure to keep busy there with his wife Barbara, a daughter and three granddaughters living with him! Toby said he may also look for part-time work, “something that’s not 10 to 12 hours a day.”

Town/Village Sewer Agreement Getting Closer
by Amy Kolb Noyes
MORRISVILLE – Officials from the Town of Morristown and the Village of Morrisville have been trying for years to work out an agreement on guaranteed sewer capacity for businesses considering moving to town. The process has been slow and contentious. However, with the help of Community Coordinator Heidi Krantz and Bill Rossmassler, of the Lamoille County Planning Commission, that process took a big step in the right direction last week.
     Tuesday evening, December 6, members of the Morristown Selectboard, the Morristown Planning Commission, and the Morrisville Village Trustees met to discuss creating a Town Sewer Service Agreement (TSSA). The group discussed suggestions made by the Planning Commission and the trustees’ reaction to those suggestions. They also heard Rossmassler report back on a build-out analysis of the town’s commercial and industrial districts.
Morrisville Water & Light Department currently has about 100,000 gallons per day of unallocated sewer capacity. For new businesses or homes outside the village to hook onto the village sewer system, the owner must pay fees, pay for the infrastructure, and receive the approval of village voters. To date, voters have never denied such a request. 
     The town would like to buy the rights to a portion of the available capacity, to save prospective businesses from the uncertainty of voter approval and to streamline the process in specified commercial and industrial, and possibly residential, areas of town. Issues yet to be resolved include how much capacity should be allocated to the town, what and how the town would pay for that capacity and what specific lots would be eligible. 
      The town has also been concerned with the lack of village policy on individuals turning infrastructure over to the village once it is in place. Trustee Dana Wildes assured the selectboard, last week, “We are going to work diligently to get all the private lines basically where they should be, that is in public hands.” 
To date, Wildes said all private extension lines have been deeded over to the village except for those put in by H.A. Manosh. He assured selectmen the village is working diligently to come to an agreement with Manosh as well.
     The Planning Commission made some suggestions as to what specific zones in town should be covered by the TSSA. Those suggestions were based upon the town controlling half the available sewer capacity, or 50,000 gallons per day. Wildes said the village would rather start out with a smaller allocation to the town, such as 25,000 gallons per day. He noted, in the past five years, the village has only sold a total of about 5,000 gpd. As a rule of thumb, MW&L Superintendent Scott Corse noted, a residential property is allocated 200 gpd and commercial properties are allocated 5 gpd per 100 square feet.
      In discussing compensation for the TSSA Wildes noted, under present regulations, the trustees would charge the town fees based on its gpd allocation as well as hookup fees. The town could then pass those fees on to the homes or businesses using its capacity. Alternatively, Wildes suggested the town and village could set up a partnership  agreement toward building a new sewer plant, when it becomes necessary. 
     There is still much work to be done to determine exactly what properties the TSSA would encompass, especially in and around the north end commercial district. Wildes said he agrees with the idea of making sewer hookup easier on businesses outside the village. He noted he just spent thousands of dollars to hook his business, Country Home Center, onto village sewer. By doing so, Wildes said he also freed up a half-acre of land that was needed as a backup for his septic system.
“I love the idea of an enterprise zone. I think it’s a great idea,” said Wildes. However, he added, “I don’t think sewer should control zoning. Zoning should control zoning.”
     By the end of the meeting, both Wildes and Selectboard chair Shaun Bryer agreed to move forward with working out a basic agreement before getting bogged down on the details of specific TSSA boundaries. While such an agreement is far from imminent, it does, at last, appear to be an eventual possibility.

Postmaster Merchant to Retire
by Amy Kolb Noyes
MORRISVILLE – The new year will bring big changes for Morrisville Postmaster Gary Merchant. Friday, December 30, will be his last day on the job at the Morrisville Post Office, where he has served as Postmaster since November 1985. This week Mr. Merchant celebrated his 36th anniversary working for the United States Postal Service.
     Before becoming Postmaster in Morrisville, Merchant worked in several Vermont post offices, including offices in North and South Burlington, Winooski, Essex Junction and Montpelier. 
     Merchant “started on the docks in Pearl Street’s main post office, in Burlington.” He has seen a lot of changes in technology and mail volume since that time. Although technological advances have made mail-handling more efficient, Merchant noted, “we handle a lot more mail now, too.”
The Merchants will be staying in the area for the foreseeable future. Merchant said he is not sure what he will do for work next year, but he is not ready to go into full retirement yet.

“Really Reconsider,” Say LUMS Faculty
by Alicia Morissette
HYDE PARK – Some teachers at the Lamoille Union Middle School (LUMS) are concerned that the Lamoille Union District #18 School Board wants to transform the current middle school model into a junior high school, so they wanted to let the community know the different services provided by each type of school system.
Amy Rex, a LUMS teacher, and Adrianna Fox, head LUMS and Lamoille Union High School librarian, sat down to differentiate the structures, learning styles and needs that are met in these two very different learning institutions.
To begin the discussion, Rex said, “young adolescents... are developing so rapidly across various levels,” that include intellectual, physical, social, moral, psychological and emotional levels. According to Rex, this time is crucial and each student requires “special attention in those areas.”
      Since LUMS combines students from various towns, the transition is especially difficult. Rex said students are moving from elementary schools where they are “extremely nurtured,” to a new environment with other students they don’t know.
Elementary school classes are between 12 and 14 students, and these children see the same teachers. With the middle school approach, classes contain approximately 18 students and the same teachers on the team will be seen every day over two years. This method, says Rex, “provides them with that smoother transition.” Junior high schools “don’t have the team approach.”
Basically, as Rex explained it, junior high schools are miniature versions of high schools, where students see different students in every class, and it only focuses on the intellectual needs of the sudents.
Team structures, said Fox, allow teachers to identify problems with students, because they see the children day in and day out – “They don’t get lost in the shuffle.” Rex added that the team approach has been proven as the best method for young adults between the ages of 10 and 14.
It also takes time to get a good middle school structure in place. “It takes three to five years to get on track,” said Rex. Having taught at LUMS for almost 10 years, Rex said the middle school is at a great working level, saying it has “the most cohesive teams” she has ever been part of. “It’s not just teaching kids to read and write, it’s development.”
      One of the goals of the middle school structure is to deal with all of the developmental issues before students enter high school, explained Rex. Middle school teachers also have excellent communication with parents and have the “flexibility” to restructure their classes based on the students’ needs.
Team structures also help students develop socially by learning how to interact in a small community, said Rex. Physical activity is also important, because students have recess at elementary schools that gives them time to release energy and also work on social interaction.
     Rex also identified the team structure as teaching students to “become more accepting of each other” and tolerate difference and diversity. “It could take years to get back to where we are,” said Rex, who added that the system is “in jeopardy.” Fox said the board “needs to look at more than numbers.”
For example, the Vermont Middle Schools Association has asked Alpha Omega teachers, including Rex, to present their students’ work at a New England League of Middle Schools Conference in Rhode Island. Rex said they will be presenting the students’ interdisciplinary unit (IDU) work, which focuses deeply on a subject. Without the team structure, the IDU’s couldn’t be managed, said Rex, because there would be too many students for one teacher to handle.
Another point Rex presented was, “When the middle level was built, it was specifically designed for four teams.” Rex added that students need more than a “rigid staunch environment.”
     Ken Brighton, both a former LUMS parent and a graduate and undergraduate professor at Johnson State College with over 30 years of experience with middle schools, said, “a junior high school is the mini version of a high school... It doesn’t meet the developmental needs of 10 to 14 year olds.”
To Brighton, junior high schools have subjects that are “watered down” and focuses only on academics. Middle schools, however, don’t “downplay academics,” and they focus on social and emotional development.
     “The concept of teaming is the heart and soul of a middle school,” said Brighton. According to him, eliminating even one team would “eviscerate” the middle school.
At a High Schools On the Move conference, Brighton led a discussion on the interest in building high schools with “more caring learning environments.” Amazingly, high schools are being asked to look at and emulate middle school models. According to Brighton, if the board decides to make the three full time educator cuts and change the middle school structure, it would be “taking a step back” from what high schools are doing.
      “I still don’t think they know what that really means,” said Fox, regarding the board’s consideration of making a reduction in force (RIF). According to Fox, students’ test scores are improving every year, and the cuts could dramatically change this positive trend.
     “I hope they’re really, really reconsidering,” said Rex. She also wants all of the board members to visit the middle school before they make a decision. Rex wants the board to take a look at the system and make an informed decision.
On the money aspect, Fox said, “Those savings can be totally demolished if some students leave.” She mentioned all of the programs our community institutes to deal with young adults who have issues not dealt with in time.
The board will be discussing the option of cuts and listening to an alternative structure proposal presented by LUMS Principal Paul Lowe on Tuesday, December 20, at 6 p.m.
 

LUMS: The Board’s Perspective
by Alicia Morissette
The Lamoille Union District #18 School Board is in the process of reconsidering its prior decision to cut three full-time educator positions in the Lamoille Union Middle School (LUMS), and Peter Ingvoldstad, board chair, shared his thoughts on the topic.
    During a meeting on December 6, Ingvoldstad, with the help of fellow board members, attempted to answer community questions concerning the earlier decision. According to the board’s unofficial minutes, some community members asked how long the board had been considering the cuts.
In response, various board members shared that, last year, the Budget Committee started looking at cuts, but turned it over to the Curriculum Committee “to look at impact,” stated the minutes. It is also noted that LUMS Principal Paul Lowe asked for more time so the middle school could plan for the reduction.
Lamoille North Supervisory Union Superintendent Terry Bailey said these meeting agendas were posted. Susan Hamlyn-Prescott, of the board, specified the timeline by saying the reduction consideration occurred last May, and “the new hires were to be told the positions were possibly one year only,” according to the minutes.
Another question addressed by the board was why the Curriculum Committee was addressing the issue and not the Budget Committee. According to the minutes, Prescott fielded this question by explaining that a drop in students would mean a lower revenue received from the state. In addition, the state does not give as much money as it promises for each student.
A final comment in the minutes regarding this financial issue was, “Towns are growing but the kids aren’t there.”
      Another consideration the board has dealt with is the student to teacher ratio. Both LUMS and the state have predicted an enrollment drop over the next six years, which will change this ratio.
     According to studies, Vermont schools have a low student/teacher ration of one teacher per 12.2 students, compared to a 1:15 for the national average. LUMS currently has a 1:10 ratio, and the board wants to move its ratio to 11.1, a ratio that worked earlier at LUMS.
     Ingvoldstad said the financial aspect of the proposed reduction in force is important, because a loss of 35 students could mean a loss of approximately $245,000 of state revenue. “It is a financial issue,” said Ingvoldstad.
The non-financial issue is class size. Ingvoldstad said the board is trying to find a balance between its fiscal responsibility to the community and its educational responsibility to students. He wants to discover “if the different class sizes have different education.”
    Ingvoldstad did recognize, and said he was proud of, what the teachers have accomplished so far – lowering the dropout rate from 30% to 15%. He wants to know, “should we expect phenomenal results and lower dropout rates,” if the class sizes are substantially smaller?
According to Ingvoldstad, the board wants to find the “level of education this community can afford.” With David Wells’ assesment of the teacher to student ratio, even with these cuts, LUMS would be below the state average and well below the national average.
    “We’re not trying to micromanage,” said Ingvoldstad of the board, explaining that this is why it has asked Lowe to brainstorm some positive solutions. With Lowe’s current proposals to keep four teams but cut back on applied academics classes, Ingvoldstad said, “I don’t personally want to be responsible for the ‘Let’s cut the music program’.” He said he can’t decide which program to cut.
     Overall, Ingvoldstad explained that every board member is invested in education, but, “We have to be fiscally responsible as well as educationally responsible.”

Sanders Presents Johnson Recreational Grant
by Alicia Morissette
JOHNSON – Vermont Congressman Bernie Sanders appeared at the Johnson Elementary School (JES) Friday, December 9, to announce that $30,480 in grant funding will be given to Bringing Our Opportunities & Strengths Together (BOOST). This sum is part of a $220,000 federal grant that is going toward youth activities in Vermont.
   After taking a tour of JES, Sanders said he appreciated the school and all that it’s doing for the youth attending it. However, he said the grant money will help provide more positive recreational opportunities for these youth who “say there’s nothing to do.”
    Sanders then informed everyone that after studies were made, it was determined that the teens in smaller towns are the ones with less options for activities. The purpose of the BOOST grant is to give these youths healthy active options, so they don’t turn to unhealthy options such as drug use.
    Casey Romero, chair of the Johnson Sk8tePark & Bike Track Committee (JSPBTC), is the individual responsible for writing this grant that will benefit JSPBTC, JES, the Johnson Town Recreation Committee (JTRC) and Laraway Youth and Family Services (LYFC). Romero said she hopes the grant will “make them flower, so to speak.”
    Although there are no concrete plans for the money, all of the committees have many ideas for its use. Sanders said he isn’t worried about how the grant will be used – “I’m confident the money will be well spent.”
Eden/Johnson Representative Floyd Nease was also at the event, and he said to Sanders, “I want to thank you” on behalf of Johnson. He also thanked Romero for writing the grant. Greg Stefanski, executive director of LYFS, also thanked Romero, adding that “she does a lot for everyone.”
    Keep your eyes on this newspaper this coming spring and summer to find the new activites the community committees will be providing for Johnson youth!

The Benefits of Being Historic
by Amy Kolb Noyes
Morrisville is one of seven Vermont designated downtowns or village centers that received tax credits this month to support the rehabilitation of historic downtown buildings. The Vermont Downtown Development Board awarded a total of $312,000 in tax credits, as announced by Governor Jim Douglas. Two Morrisville properties, Melben’s railroad depot building and the Jost Electronics building at 124 Portland Street, were awarded a combined $34,607 in tax credits. Meanwhile, there is a local effort underway to increase the size of Morrisville’s downtown historic district, making additional properties eligible for such credits.
     “The credits will be used to install elevators, sprinklers, and support the overall rehabilitation of downtown buildings, promoting community and economic vitality in these designated downtowns and village centers,” a press release from the governor’s office stated.
     “This was a very busy month for tax credits,” noted Governor Douglas, “and demonstrates the increasing private sector interest in downtown buildings. We have been seeing a surge of rehabilitation projects around the state, as well as code-related work that makes these buildings safer. This includes the installation of sprinklers, and one need look no further than...[the] fire in Hardwick to see the need to support these improvements in our historic buildings.”
Governor Douglas noted the recent fire in Hardwick provides another reason to increase funding for these tax credits from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 as he has proposed in his affordable housing initiative.
    “For every dollar we have invested in this program, we have brought approximately seven dollars more in other resources to support downtown and village building rehabilitations,” the governor said. “These projects help support smart growth, continue our tradition of investing in community development and can play an important role in our efforts to make quality housing affordable and accessible for every Vermonter.” 
    “There has been a lot of interest in the Village Center Designation process, and I think this is reflective of the strong interest Vermonters have in their communities,” said Kevin Dorn, chair of the Downtown Board and Secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. “The energy and commitment of these small communities is impressive, and we look forward to supporting their vision for their village centers’ future.”
     To become a designated village center, a community must demonstrate a confirmed planning process and develop a map of the commercial and civic core of the village, consistent with the statutory definition. Those communities that receive designation become eligible for a number of benefits, including tax credits for building rehabilitation and improvements, to help support continued commercial activity in the village center. Additional credits are extended to properties in designated downtowns, such as Morrisville.
    Morristown Community Coordinator Heidi Krantz has been working with historic preservation consultant John Johnson, of Marshfield, to enlarge Morris-ville’s historic district. If accomplished, the larger district will make additional properties eligible for tax credits such as those awarded this month. 
Currently, only a portion of Main and Portland streets are included in the historic district, as well as Peoples Academy. That district was formed in 1982 and registered with the national Registry of Historic Places in 1983, according to Johnson. Using state planning grant funds, Krantz and Johnson are working to extend the historic district to include more of the village, including a portion of Park Street, properties south of Main Street, and properties west and north, as far as the river. The expanded area would also include the Bridge Street iron bridge and the parallel iron railroad bridge.
     At its meeting Monday evening, December 12, the Morristown Selectboard approved the concept of enlarging the historic district. Once a new historic district map is drawn, Krantz said the next step it to tailor the zoning bylaws to match the new district.

Corse to Lead VPPSA
by Amy Kolb Noyes
Morrisville Water & Light Superintendent and Morrisville resident Scott Corse has been chosen as the next chief executive officer and general manager of the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, in Waterbury. Corse will replace retiring CEO and GM William Gallagher, also of Morrisville. Corse will join VPPSA as CEO Elect beginning April 3, 2006. He will assume the top post when Gallagher retires in July. Gallagher has led VPPSA for the past 16 years.
     Corse has not yet determined when he will be leaving MW&L. He commented he will be asking the Morrisville Village Trustees for their input on an end date. Corse said he is looking forward to the challenges a new position will offer.
“I’ve been here for nine years,” Corse said of his MW&L tenure. “They’ve been nine wonderful years. I enjoy the fortune of moving from one great organization to another.” 
      Corse currently serves as  VPPSA Chair. The VPPSA Board of Directors is comprised of representatives from each of 14 municipal electric departments in Vermont. VPPSA serves its members as a joint action agency performing power supply and other functions.
     Before coming to Morrisville, Corse worked for the Burlington Public Works Department and Northeast Utilities. Corse holds a BS in Engineering from Northeastern University and an MBA from the University of Vermont. He was chosen to lead VPPSA from a field of over 70 candidates.