The Williston Town Selectboard will be looking at the proposed Williston Town Energy Plan tonight on Tuesday, June 16.

The Energy Plan Task force (led by Brian Forrest) did yeoman’s work drafting the Energy Plan- a local level plan towards achieving the goals of the 2016 State of Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan. The Williston Comprehensive Plan lays out the community’s vision for the future. It provides a stable framework for working on community aspirations through town investments, regulations, and programs. State law requires it to be re-written and adopted anew every eight years (next due in 2024), but it can be amended at any time through a defined hearing process.The Planning Commission unanimously forwarded it to the Selectboard after making a number of tweaks and clarifications over the past ten months. The Planning Commission recommends hiring a full-time town Energy Coordinator to lead efforts on implementation of the plan. June 16 is the first time the Selectboard will be seeing these documents. A series of Public Health-related updates to the Comprehensive Town Plan will be discussed by the Selectboard as well. They could: 1- send either or both back to the Planning Commission for questions or changes, or 2- go right to public hearings (two before Selectboard votes on adopting changes).

Here is a link to the Selectboard’s June 16 meeting agenda: https://www.town.williston.vt.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={96449592-69A6-4502-BE3E-B65A07A333CB}&DE={129B5356-6134-440A-9309-6840CCFD8E0B} Look at the three attachments that start with “Comprehensive Plan…” The first is the “Transmittal Memo” that summarizes what the other two are about and the process for adopting them: https://www.town.williston.vt.us/vertical/sites/%7BF506B13C-605B-4878-8062-87E5927E49F0%7D/uploads/Comprehensive_Plan_Amendments_(Planning_Commission_Transmission_Memo_6.2.20).pdf

Note that the Public Health updates are summarized rather than being shown in context in the 140 page town plan document. The Energy Plan is an entirely new 52-page document which will be an appendix to the Town Plan at this point and may become more integrated into the Town Plan in the next update (in 2024).

The June 16th Selectboard meeting begins at 7:00 PM with Zoom Webinar ID: 858-4954-4031. The Comprehensive Town Plan updates are scheduled for 7:55, but that could change–in front of it is discussion of F-35 noise. It is recommended to join at 7:30 if you want to be sure to be present for the discussion of the Energy Plan. Most of the discussion will be the Selectboard asking questions of the Planners, as it is their first time dicussing the proposed Town Energy Plan. Two public hearings will be scheduled with a time for public comment. We recommend attending the Selectboard meeting, as it will be valuable knowing what questions they ask. We believe that tonight is the time to express support for going ahead with the public hearings–frankly we’re not sure how it will go.