Board Votes to Sell Sweeney House

by Mickey Smith

HYDE PARK – As long as the trail system created on adjoining land can be preserved, the Lamoille Union School Board has agreed they do not need to keep the Sweeney House any longer.
After nearly an hour of debate, the board voted to sell the property and create a reserve fund of up to $100,000 to help with future work on the trails and to build a storage shed for the trail maintenance equipment. Bill Sander, of Cambridge, was the sole dissenting vote – he had been interested in using the property for housing a school-based program there.
The 100 plus year old house purchased in June of 2000 was bought as part of a 116 acre parcel for $380,000. The school wanted the land for a secondary wastewater site and athletic fields. An appraisal conducted in September values the house and four acres (the parcel the board voted to sell) at $300,000.
The board had broached the subject of selling the property at past meetings, but could not come to a clear consensus of what to do with the property. Before voting, the board decided to seek the public's opinion.
David Wells, of Waterville, spoke in favor of selling the property. "I appreciate the value of keeping something without an immediate use – it’s a long standing Vermont tradition," he said.
But he pointed out, a house is not like a piece of equipment that can sit in storage until needed. A building needs to be used (either by the school district or someone else), torn down, or left to fall down on its own. Wells did not consider the last two options viable, and since the board did not have immediate need, he felt the sale of the building would be the appropriate route.
Speaking on behalf of keeping the property, was Lamoille Union teacher and Johnson resident Doug Boardman and Pam Jaspersohn, of Johnson, both of whom are members of the nonprofit "Friends of Cricket Hill" group which has been formed to maintain the trail system created on the property. Access to the trails was the main concern for the Friends, as part of the trail system runs close to the house. A small segment of the trail will need to be moved from the area of the new septic system of the house. They also brought up concern regarding needing a home for the trail maintenance equipment.
In a letter presented to the board by Boardman, the Friends explained the trails are not just used by the cross country running and skiing programs, but also by the high school and middle school's physical education classes, science classes, a mountain biking club, programs for at-risk youth, and people wanting to take a quiet walk.
"Will we still be able to use the trails as we do today," queried Boardman?
Kalee Roberts, of Hyde Park, made the motion to sell the property, and originally suggested 50% of the funds be set aside for future work on the trails. The decision was made to change it to a dollar figure, based on uncertainty of how much the property could realize in a sale.
The board instructed Marty Spaulding, Lamoille Union's facilities and operations manager, to invite Marble Realty and Thomas Hirchak Co. to their second meeting in November (that meeting will be held a week early, November 13, to accommodate the Thanksgiving holiday) to discuss the options regarding selling the property.  Board Chair Peter Ingvolstad suggested the board come up with a minimum price they would accept, rather than just giving the property away. He felt there was some room to hold out for a better price rather than selling it far below market value.
In the meantime, the board will continue preparing the property for sale. A November 6 zoning meeting has been scheduled to begin the process of subdividing the property. Two meetings are expected for that process.

Goodbye Hilary's, Hello Hoagies
by Mickey Smith

After 23 years behind the bar, in front of the stove, and doing whatever else needed to be done, brothers Alan and David Vinick have sold Hilary's Restaurant, in NorthGate Plaza, Morrisville, and closed the doors. Their last official day was Sunday, October 14, but they reopened Monday to provide a space for the Morrisville Rotary.
"We wanted to give them one more week to find a new home," explained Alan Vinick.
Though the doors are closed now, the new owners are in hopes they will be back open about a month from now. The assets and trade name were purchased by the Hoagie's Pizza and Pasta restaurant chain, out of Newport. Greg Bliss, president of the group of four restaurants, said Morristown is an area where they have been considering expanding to for awhile. As of Monday, October 15, noon time, he said they had just begun the process of brainstorming ideas for renovation, but are in hopes to be back open in about four weeks. He said one key piece will involve getting in new kitchen equipment that the current kitchen does not have.
Over all, he expects to keep the same feel to the restaurant. He thought the set up worked well with their style of restaurants, and thought the work would be more of a "facelift."
Hoagie's began in Newport in 1996, and has since expanded to Essex, Lyndon, and Derby. They offer lunch and dinner, specilizing in pizza, pasta, and subs.
Bliss said at their other locations they serve beer and wine, but have not gone the route of a full liquor license. He said a final decision about that has not been made yet for this location. He said they will also not be doing anything with the banquet rooms at first, and explained their lease does not include the "Wicked Sister" space.
For David, retirement will be short-lived. He has agreed to come on board at the Charlmont as cook and manager, sharing duties with the current manager. David said this will include some menu changes as he hopes to combine the best of both restaurants on the new menu. Green Mountain Catering will also continue. David said he will continue to provide catering services through the Charlmont, and through an agreement reached with Howard Manosh, owner of the Charlmont, Hilary's gift certificates will be honored at the Charlmont.
Alan said he has nothing lined up and hopes to enjoy a little time off, but his wife, Sharon, noted he is not one to stay idle for long.
Hilary's has been on the market for a few years, and the brothers said they wanted to stay through some catering commitments before closing the doors.

Osgood & Smith Honored

The Vermont League of Cities and Towns has announced that Eric Osgood, Town of Johnson Select board chair and Gordon Smith, Village of Johnson Board of Trustee chair, will be co-recipients of the Municipal Person of the Year Award. Municipal Administrator Duncan Hastings, who with the support of both boards nominated Osgood and Smith, was notified last Friday that the two would receive this prestigious award during luncheon ceremonies at the League’s Annual Town Fair held on October 11, 2007, at Champlain Valley Fairgrounds in Essex Jct.
This award is given to an elected or appointed municipal official who has demonstrated outstanding service to his or her own municipality, and has also shown an active commitment to strong local government and service to the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.
Though the award is normally awarded to an individual, Hastings noted that he nominated Eric and “Gordy” together because of their strong belief in responsive, responsible and open local government, their commitment to close cooperation between the town and village, combined years of service to the community and their leadership qualities.
The coordination and cooperation between town and village has been so successful that the two entities have in many ways “functionally merged”. A shared Municipal Office building, shared administrative support staff, shared computer and software systems, municipal mapping systems, improved working relations between town and village staff and Boards, and shared equipment are some examples of this consolidation of services.
Gordy has served as a trustee for 15 years, a selectman for 6 years and Fire Department for 35 or 36 years, approximately 30 years as chief. Eric has been on the selectboard for 11 years, the school board for 2 years, and was on the fire department for 11 years.
Here are a few examples of accomplishments stemming from the leadership of these two individuals: Built new Municipal Office Building, joint purchase of  former talc mill for municipal complex (feasibility study underway to determine best use of balance of property), awarded numerous grants including: Main Street Enhancement Project, Pearl St. Bridge replacement, Johnson/Cambridge Hogback Rd. reconstruction, HSU equipment grants for fire and emergency services  (these grants total more than $6 million), $4.25 million water system improvement project, upgrades to electric utility infrastructure/substation re-build, EPA Award WWTF plant, Inter-municipal Agreement for Village/Town sewer services, combined Town/Village Personnel Policy and benefits packages, hosted “Community Visit” by the Vt. Council on Rural Development, hired Community and Economic Development coordinator, recovered from disastrous fire at fire station with new and attractive station designed to meet future needs.
These are only some of the things that have been accomplished over the past few years. In making the nomination Hastings stated, “These accomplishments would not have been possible in my estimation without the leadership exhibited by Eric and Gordy. I believe they exemplify the traits of outstanding service to community, region and state that are worthy of recognition as Municipal Persons of the Year.”

Cell Phone Problem

Am I the only one who can’t remember all the cell phone numbers of people I occasionally need to call? So many people now have cell phones that several quite real problems with effectively using them are becoming painfully obvious. One is that the call receiver, in this case, me, often only hears snatches of conversation. Unfortunately, the caller assumes you heard it all.

But the larger problem is that some folks now have ONLY a cell phone and if you need to get hold of that person for genuinely important reasons, how can you find the number? Not every necessary call is made to someone for whom you know the telephone number. How do you find a cell phone number?

This often prompts several calls to people who know the person and might know his/her cell number. Another really “fun” aspect of trying a new cell number is whether this particular number requires dialing the area code. With this happy procedure, one gets to dial the number again after you get the recording you’ve already heard 4,000 times. Oh joy! Then, don’t forget the three numbers in front of the final four – what do those mean? They are apparently no longer the exchange, so you do not know where you are calling...you can’t even look up the exchange in our little local telephone book or the back of the Green Mountain Trading Post!

There is a huge business opportunity created by this problem; there needs to be a cell phone directory. We may all have hated Ma Bell and danced when her trust was broken and we thought we’d get cheaper phone service, but she did give us a phone book. Certainly, cell companies are making money – even when the answer to the question “Can you hear me now? is “no, not clearly.” Can’t cell users demand a phone book? Won’t they demand a phone book?

It may be true that many folks don’t use their phones as their primary phones (or claim they don’t), but I think that sort of use-it-like-a-CB for emergencies only is on the wane. Maybe these folks could just have an unlisted cell number? Maybe a cell phone directory could be printed only of those cell customers who do want their numbers to be readily available.

Frustrated callers are you with me?