PLAINFIELD – The final report of the East Village Expansion Advisory Committee (EVEAC) was approved in a 10-0 vote at its December 3 meeting, after which the committee voted to recommend to the select board that that meeting be its last.
Five days later, the Plainfield select board accepted the report and voted unanimously to dissolve the committee.
drawing by Engineering Ventures
The project is effectively stalled, following a failed bond vote and rejection of a key federal grant to fund the project.
The community has been divided over the town’s role in development, the specific location (including its effect on wetlands), the density of the proposed homes, the project’s overall cost and the risk associated with it, as noted by Vermont Public.
The bond vote would have funded purchase of property for the village expansion project in a way that would have allowed the town to generate revenue from the sale of lots, which buying it with the hoped for grant would not have.
Rejection of a $9.7 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that would have funded a significant portion of the project, was rejected by the state, at least in part due to the failed bond vote, reported The Times Argus.
Arion Thiboumery, one of three EVEAC co-chairs, presented the report, telling the select board the committee “has fulfilled its charge to the fullest extent it could,” noted meeting minutes.
In her grant administrator’s report, Karen Hatcher said feedback on the CDBG “was that the scale and scope of the project was too big to complete in six years.” She added that “there was concern based on the results of the bond vote that the town doesn’t have site control.”
An additional $14 million is available in a second round.
Hatcher explained funds are available in a second round of grant funding. “The state has reached out and encouraged the town to reapply during the second round of grants, where there is another $14 million available for housing.”
It was decided that the town’s “grants group will be in communication with state agencies to ask what they would like to see changed or amended.”
The EVEAC was established to create a feasible plan for developing a new neighborhood in Plainfield, Vermont, aimed at addressing housing needs and revitalizing the community.
The final report outlines the project’s goals, with timelines, design, budget, management, lot sales and permitting information.
Goals of the project are to provide affordable housing to help address Vermont’s housing crisis in the area and include diverse housing types, with single-family homes, multiplexes, tiny houses and apartments;
The committee recommended prioritizing the re-housing of flood-displaced residents affected by floods in 2023 and 2024 and community contributors.
It is hoped the project will contribute to restoring the town’s tax base and expanding the water/wastewater user base lost to the flooding.
Finally, the project should be cost-neutral to the town.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
