Submitted by tim on Sun, 02/18/2024 - 16:30 Open configuration options Open Primary tabs configuration options Primary tabs Smugglers' Notch project focuses on protecting natural resources by relocating popular ‘bootleg’ parking areas to formal parking areas designed with storm-water management. Courtesy photo. by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine Keep an eye on these projects in the works in Lamoille County: Johnson Light Industrial Park: The town of Johnson is developing the Jewett Property into a new industrial and commercial park. The estimated project budget is $1.7 million. Last year, the municipality received a 2023 Catalyst Award Grant through the Northern Boarders Regional Commission for $861,945. The money will fund infrastructure work at the property. The Jefferson Granary: Ben Waterman and workers spent five days pressure washing 8 inches of pigeon guano from the Granary’s grain hopper and elevator system a few months ago. The hard work is part of Waterman’s bigger plan to revitalize the former warehouse into a food hub and retail space. Waterman acquired the warehouse from its original owners, the McGovern family, who constructed the first part of the warehouse in the late 1920s. Throughout the family’s ownership of the approximately 1.5-acre property, the building grew into a granary with a railroad connection to drop off and process animal feed. Later, the family shifted from agricultural products to refrigeration and plumbing. Lamoille County Economic Report: The economy is strong, and good things are happening Waterman co-owns Waterman Orchard in Johnson. He is renovating the Granary under the business name Lamoille Builds, LLC. In a phone interview, Waterman said he is recruiting new tenants and aims to open the building this spring. Waterman Orchards will take a portion of the space. A food producer and a bike store have also agreed to take space. The nearby Lamoille Valley Rail Trail provides a synergistic relationship to the Granary. The Burger Barn, which has operated a food truck at the site for 15 years, will remain on site. Waterman said he took on the project to scale up his business and give a place for other local companies to do the same. “The future looks bright for Lamoille County,” he said. Smugglers’ Notch natural resources and parking: This multi-phase project focuses on protecting the Notch’s natural resources by relocating popular informal or “bootleg” parking areas to formal parking areas designed with stormwater management. The problem with the informal summer parking areas, explained Seth Jensen, deputy director of LCPC, is that they were often in sensitive stream banks and roadside areas that disturbed the Notch’s native vegetation. “I am pleased to report that the first phase of the project was successfully completed this summer. I have attached some pictures of the project during and after construction,” wrote Jensen in an email. The LCPC, AOT, and the state Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation are collaborating to source funding for phase two. “The second phase is “shovel ready” as soon as funding is available and will involve relocating additional roadside parking with a new formal area that will also improve access to some of the most popular climbing and bouldering areas of the Notch,” Jensen wrote. Photo: Smugglers' Notch project focuses on protecting natural resources byrelocating popular ‘bootleg’ parking areas to formal parking areas designed with storm-water management. Courtesy photo. Wolcott Community Wastewater System: Voters will decide whether to create a community leach field near the elementary school and fund a new septic system on July 11. Like many small communities, limited wastewater and septic spaces hinder development and the addition of new housing or businesses. Selectboard Chair Linda Martin explained that the school’s athletic fields contained the only suitable soils to support a leach field adequately. The proposed Septic Tank and Effluent Pump (STEP) system would collect sewage. Solids would settle in septic tanks. The remaining wastewater would flow through pipes to a collection pump station near the Town Forest. The next stop is the public leach field at the elementary school. “A community wastewater system for Wolcott Village would boost rural economy development, protect existing and future housing, and safeguard the environment,” according to the town’s website. Martin said the municipality investigated wastewater solutions for two years before establishing the Wolcott Village Wastewater Committee in 2020. The Slectboard charged the committee with developing a solution to the village’s many failing septic systems that endangered water quality and hindered economic development. According to the town website, the municipality has raised: $2.56 million in ARPA funding has already been awarded. $250,000 in DEC Village Wastewater Planning Grant loan forgiveness is expected. $640,000 CRRP Grant (Community Recovery and Revitalization Program). Wolcott has applied for $1.4 million in additional ARPA funding.
