GREENSBORO – Three hundred and seventy-four Greensboro voters weighed in today, April 29, with the majority voting against allowing the select board to sign a purchase and sale agreement with Rural Edge for a project to convert the town hall into 16 to 20 apartments. Two hundred-twenty seven of the ballots, or 60.7%, were marked no. One hundred forty-seven ballots were marked yes, just 39.3%, with one spoiled ballot marked both yes and no.
Today’s vote ends a chapter for town officials, including past and current members of the select board and housing committee, who have been looking for ways to expand the housing options in Greensboro.
The counting process took 40 minutes as Town Clerk Kim Greaves was joined by Justices of the Peace Tim Nisbet, Stewart Arnold and Maya McCoy. Four members of the public and two reporters were in the room witnessing the count, which was done twice, arriving at the same total each time.
The 375 votes recorded today is 15 more than those entered for Vermont Governor in the November 2024 election, but over 150 less than the votes tallied for president and vice-president during that same election.
Over the last several decades, Greensboro businesses, including Jasper Hill Farm and Hill Farmstead Brewery, have added significant numbers of employees, as the number of dairy farms and children in the town’s Lakeview Elementary School have dwindled. Estimates that over 100 more people are now employed in Greensboro than several decades ago were shared during a contentious process leading up to the vote.
photo by Paul Fixx
During the year leading up to today’s vote, a vocal group of town residents questioned the select board’s process, accusing it of not soliciting appropriate citizen input and not being transparent.
Had the vote been approved, it would have cleared one hurdle, bringing Rural Edge closer to investing funds to evaluate options for the project, which would have converted the town’s former high school into 16 to 20 one to three bedroom apartments. Further studies by Rural Edge would likely have included developing architectural plans for the building and an addition; developing site plans, to include parking options; conducting engineering studies on potential wastewater systems and beginning the permitting process, according to statements by Patrick Shattuck, the organization’s executive director.
photo by Paul Fixx
The vote today comes on the heels of a failed project to develop a town wastewater treatment system that came to an end at the December 11, 2024, select board meeting when it was revealed the wastewater project had run out of viable options and would return grant funds. Plans were made at that meeting to begin again by forming a new wastewater committee in 2025.
What comes next is yet to be determined, according to Town Clerk Kim Greaves.
Editor’s note: Minor grammatical corrections were made to this story April 5.
photo by Paul Fixx
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
Shameful NYMBYism