Current News

Workers' compensation insurer The MEMIC Group of Portland, Maine, announced today it has acquired Vermont-based insurer Granite Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Company. MEMIC also said in a statement that it plans to expand its operations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 2012.
MEMIC purchased Granite Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Company of Barre for an undisclosed sum and will rename it MEMIC Casualty Company. The company will operate under the parent brand MEMIC as part of The MEMIC Group. According to company president and CEO John T. Leonard, the acquisition will give the group another vehicle to continue its impressive growth in the commercial workers' compensation insurance market.

After connecting its first customer two days before Hurricane Irene struck, ECFiber continues to add new customers along its Phase I route through Bethel, Royalton and Barnard. The second closing of local finance at the beginning of December raised $340,000. This allows ECFiber to build additional miles in Barnard and Royalton and adjacent roads in Tunbridge, Pomfret and Sharon. Once that construction is completed in the summer of 2012, ECFiber expects to have passed approximately 60-65 percent of Barnard households.

The Brattleboro Retreat (Retreat) has financed $9.935 million in new debt and refinanced $2.315 million in old through the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing Agency (VEHBFA). The new money financing will allow the Retreat to expand inpatient capacity for young adults; upgrade existing services; acquire an electronic medical records system and make much needed facility repairs.
The $2.315 million refunded bonds will replace an inefficient small issue. The new bonds will have an increased LOC renewal term and the Retreat expects weekly reset rates to be reduced by approximately 10 bps.
With the new bond issue, the Retreat’s contractor expects to hire over 90 craftsman with +$900,000 in payroll. Long-term the project will add up to 41 staff with an annualized payroll of +$1.2 million.
VEHBFA 12.20.2011

Champlain College has financed $7.7 million in new debt through the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing Agency (VEHBFA). The bond was privately placed with TD Bank. The VEHBFA financing will allow the College to construct a 98 bed, on-campus student dormitory.
The College feels its plan to increase the supply of on campus student housing makes the school more attractive to incoming students and increases retention among existing students, thereby improving the school’s financial position.
The dormitory project expects to bring $7.6M into the local economy in construction costs alone. The project’s contractor and subs will employ approximately 160- 200 craftsman, with over 60% of the dollar value of construction going to Vermont based sub- contractors.

On December 15, 2011 the VMBB issued $43.7 million in 2011 Series 5 Bonds to assist 26 municipalities to refinance outstanding debt issued through the US Department of Agriculture-Rural Development. The USDA-RD debt was originally issued to fund principally municipal drinking water and sewer projects. The refinancing bonds will save participating municipalities over $4,109,786 in future debt service payments.
Through the December 15, 2011 issue of $25.9 million in 2011 Series 6 Refinancing Bonds, the Bond Bank was able to refinance its 2003 Series 2 bonds resulting in $1,750,000 in future debt service payment savings for 27 Vermont municipalities and school districts. Loans from the 2003 Series 2 bonds were originally used mainly for ‘bricks and mortar’ construction and renovation projects.
About VMBB

US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $3,569,374 to renew funding to 22 homeless programs operating in Vermont. The funding announced today will ensure these housing and service programs remain operating in 2012 and are a critical part of the Obama Administration’s strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. View a complete list of all the state and local homeless assistance programs awarded funding.
HUD is renewing funding through its Continuum of Care programs to existing local programs as quickly as possible to prevent any interruption in federal assistance and will award funds to new projects in early 2012.

The Agency of Commerce and Community Development today announced that Dave Hakins has been named Publisher of Vermont Life magazine.
Hakins, who joined the magazine last spring as an advertising contractor, helped boost sales revenues in 2011 and oversaw several initiatives to increase the magazine’s visibility. He launched the new ‘Dine, Shop, Stay & Play’ advertorial sections for local communities, including Waterbury and Addison County, and developed the Vermont Life Emporium, a special section intended to make advertising affordable for Vermont entrepreneurs selling art, crafts, gifts, specialty foods and other Vermont-inspired products. Hakins is also credited with the magazine’s increase in full-page advertising displays from some of Vermont’s largest companies, such as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, People’s United Bank, Long Trail Brewing and Hannaford.

Vermont's unemployment rate for November fell three-tenths of a point to 5.3 percent, as both the labor force and total employment grew over both the October levels and over November 2010. This is the lowest rate since April, before the first of two floods hit the state. It's also the fewest number of unemployed since November 2008, just as the national recession was beginning.

Vermont Labor Force Statistics

Seasonally Adjusted

Change to
November 2011 from

November
2011
October
2011
November
2010
October
2011
November
2010

Total Labor Force
363,200
362,800
360,800
400
2,400

Employment
344,100
342,400
339,800
1,700
4,300

IBM announced today it has awarded $525,540 in grants, ranging from $500 to $10,000, to more than 100 Vermont not-for-profit organizations and schools throughout the state. The grants were awarded as part of IBM’s celebration of its 100th anniversary in 2011, and made to organizations where IBM employees are volunteers. The grants fund organizations throughout the state supporting the arts, education, disaster and emergency response, the environment, health and youth services, and libraries.
These grants bring the approximate value of IBM’s corporate and employee community support in Vermont to $2.7 million for 2011. This includes Centennial Celebration of Service grants and other corporate grants, employee pledges to the company’s annual Employee Charitable Contribution Campaign, and the value of more than 45,000 hours of recorded employee volunteer service.

The Board of Directors of the Champlain Valley Exposition, Inc. today named Tim Shea of Williston as the organization’s new Executive Director. Shea will assume his new position in February 2012.
In making the announcement, Matthew Stevens, President of the CVE Board, noted that Shea will have the benefit of working with longtime General Manager David Grimm for approximately eight months. Grimm announced in March 2011 that he would step down as General Manager following the Champlain Valley Fair in September 2012, concluding a 23-year career at CVE.

The holidays are here along with the busiest shopping days of the year. In all the excitement of buying and receiving gifts this holiday season, don’t forget to properly dispose of your old items. Amongst this year’s top gifts are likely to be TVs, laptops, computers, and computer assessories, along with all the other latest electonic toys and devices. When disposing of electronics, remember that electronics don’t belong in your trash. Instead, use one of more than 90 drop off locations in the state that participate in the Vermont E-Cycles Program.

Five Vermont schools are among the recipients of donations made by a regional auto dealership. Berlin City Auto Group, a family of dealerships founded in 1980 in New England, and its Drive for Education foundation, a forward-thinking program created by the employees of Berlin City Auto Group, announce the award recipients in its Drive for Education program. Donating $60,000 to 18 K-12 schools spanning across New England, Berlin City Auto Group has met its annual goal of awarding more than $100,000 to local schools. Beginning today, recipient schools will be honored with a check presentation at a Berlin City Auto Group dealership in Maine, Vermont or New Hampshire, Dec. 19-21.
‘We believe in giving back to the community and helping our local schools succeed in education.’