 Good evening and welcome to town meeting televisions continuing coverage of general election 2022 We are so happy to be here today with Regina Mahoney who is the city manager the new city manager of the city of Essex Junction Welcome Regina nice to meet you. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it So we were talking that you've been doing this job for about a month. Yes Just over four weeks. So but you're not new to Chittenden County. Nope I have been In Chittenden County since I came to Vermont in 2004 I worked for the town of Milton for eight years then I worked for Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission for about 11 years and So now stepping back into the municipal world and just such an exciting experience opportunity in Essex Junction being the new city and It's been really fun. Well, I'm gonna remind our viewers that if you are in the city of Essex Junction You're gonna have some additional items on the ballot to be looking at which have to do really with the Constitution and the responsibilities of being a city that need to be clarified during this election cycle And if you have any questions at 8 6 2 3 9 6 6, of course, we would love to hear from you It's the 17th of October. I believe that is the date. So there are five additional Ballot questions on the ballot in addition to voting on the House and the Senate the statewide offices So I thought we'd go through them. Yeah, and maybe we'll take it from the top. All right, great. Yeah, so The first question to the voters is about becoming a member of the Green Mountain Transit Authority. So Those are the folks that run our buses and this is a membership that the city residents have Always paid for through their town Taxes so We have a number of the of these issues where The city has already been a member of Green Mountain Transit through the town We just need to now because we are our own entity ask the voters That's a seat at the table of the governing board of Green Mountain Transit and also it will If there is a cost to being a member and getting that bus service Again, that cost has already sort of been in the works. It's just been through the town And we don't know the exact number of what FY 24 budget number is going to be for being a member of GMT on our own But that number will be get worked out over the next few months And will be in the budget for the voters to vote on in the spring So, let me just ask you a question that's somewhat related to this Because we're going to go through some of those other regional bodies What about the the city's role in regional planning or the solid waste district? Do you have a seat now in those bodies and did those questions require ratification? They do not as far as I know The both the city and the town have had a seat at the Chittenden County Regional Regional Planning Commission all this time We will continue to have two separate seats going forward and I I should know the answer to that on the solid waste district, but I don't know the answer So as the village of Essex Junction Essex Junction had party status or a seat at the table of many of these regional bodies And that didn't really change in the past couple years, I imagine Yeah, so, you know currently we still At least certainly from the budget perspective. We're still members of these two bodies We're paying for membership collectively to these two bodies Within this fiscal year because the the budgets are still combined So, yeah, we're really trying to set ourselves up for FY 24. Yeah, so that's and that's July So we're kind of part part way through the years. So the next question has to do with the Wynoski Valley Park District Yes, which is another regional? Yes, body that you're asking Yeah voters to vote. Yeah included in yes, and so Wynoski Valley Park District similar situation to Green Mountain Transit the the I Should refer to the village when I'm talking about sort of pre-existing conditions versus the city but the village has been a Contributing member of the Wynoski Valley Park District through again just through the town so Now that we are a separate entity as the city we've got to ask the voters to become a member and the membership dues again would be separate from the town membership dues and that Again is also being worked on right now what that number is for FY 24 but Yeah, so essentially Status quo, but we've got to ask these ask the questions of the voters and are there parks that are in the Wynoski Valley Park District that are in Essex Junction There are no actually there are no parks in all regional parks that folks take advantage of and Yeah, I mean, I think I think in terms of Those are that's sort of the Pros and you know the yes and no situation with this question is if the voters vote No, we wouldn't be a member if we if they vote yes, then we'll be a member We'll have a seat at the table and we'll Continue to pay dues, but they're just be separate from the town so I Imagine when you think about the city being part of these regional assets in effect It's because we are part of a region and city Vermont local government isn't really by nature county-based Right, so in other places We have this kind of these localities that are that really role and we've created these regional agreements Not because we're county-based government, right? You could maybe say something about that having been on regional planning for so long at that as a staffer Yeah, there are you know a number of municipal districts that have been created over time when it's made sense to address a particular utility or need More at a regional scale than a local scale Champlain water district would be an example Chin and solid waste district is an example and Certainly the bus service isn't is an example as well. It's not Transit is very expensive, and it's not something that likely an individual Municipality would take on on their own So and it might be interesting to know that town meeting TV is actually a regional asset Yeah, it's shared by seven municipalities in the region and the funds come from the cable Subscribers by way of the cable company. So it's a it's a solution of people joining Entities joining forces in order to create a pool of resources that allows a regional asset to be enjoyed Yeah, imagine and then this next question about the communications union district is the creation of a new Regional body and that's a question for the voters. So why don't we look into that one and tell us what they'll be voting on and what the pros and cons? Yeah, so thanks. Thanks for pointing that out. This is definitely new news new situation so The communication union districts there are a number throughout a number of them throughout the state They are put in place to try to get high-speed broadband access to All those in the state of Vermont that are not currently served That definition of who's served and underserved really Depends on if you are cable service and the speed of that is 25 up three down that in In accordance with the way the program is laid out now You're you're served You may now have the best of the best internet like fiber speed internet can get you But you but you are served the communications union districts are set up to Ensure that all folks who are not served by cable. So even less they are you know DSL or not served at all The structure is set up to ensure that those folks don't continue to be left behind and not served by providers at all And the goal of the state funding is that Serving folks from here out here on out should be at a fiber service hundred up hundred down technology Chittenden County currently Doesn't have a communications union district. There are other communications districts set up or throughout the state We're not the only region that doesn't have one but and There are other ways to access some of the state funding to make this to make the Fiber build-out happen For example in the southern part of Chittenden County Weitzfield Champlain Telecom has been able to access some of that funding directly because they meet the small service provider category and so this question is being asked in South Burlington, Williston Jericho and s-extunction Apologize I might be missing missing somebody there from that list but essentially The question is in front of the voters to set up this communications unit union district the Result would be that those towns could create one Once it's created other towns could join them join it if they want to with a vote of the legislative body and essentially It would be more of again a regional collective voice in figuring out who are the providers that could come to the table to help Serve folks who are underserved because again, that's the that's the priority of the state But also because the majority of our region is served by cable it opens up the opportunity to figure out how to How to get those folks covered by a potential by potential fiber Service so I have a couple questions. Yeah one when you say underserved is that because is that definition? that the lines have not reached them or that they can't afford service that's going by their house That's a great question the My understanding of it is it means that the lines haven't gotten there for for various reasons sometimes it's far down a very long road and the I'll say lack of density of the homes on the road have never made financial sense for a company to figure out how to go Down and serve it It could also be Just a very complicated Underground infrastructure that's very difficult and financially hard to access a number of different things that could Could be part of the challenge, but really those folks are they are underserved meaning the line is not it's not coming to them So how much of as ex-junction is not have is not served by infrastructure as ex-junction for the most part is Where there's some data that we're trying to get set figured out right now because the the best available data currently does show some pockets in the city that Do fall in that underserved category at the moment? We think those might be anomalies in the data because It it seems odd that they that they wouldn't be served. So we've got some data Points to figure out And I should just mention that the state through the Vermont Community Broadband Board has been able to put some funding towards a Business plan model and and looking at the financial model that could work for these areas in Chittenden County So that work is underway at the same at the same time And so there will be a lot more known in terms of how to get folks covered in this region then We know today that the thinking of putting this forward to the voters is just that this This mechanism this municipal entity mechanism is likely the best way to get And for the what's in it for the city if most people are already served? Yeah So For the folks who are on cable this can create some more competition in the region and Just provide some additional Hopefully additional choice in terms of how you might want to get your internet service and In s-extinction Their Burlington telecom has already been able to come into s-extinction and so they certainly have plans that they're they're there and that that will be Creating some competition for s-extinction already So there are many opportunities of how to solve this problem This is certainly one that Can just be really helpful to figure out a Collective voice to work with the state and to work with the other municipalities to Figure out the best financial plan and model and business model going forward. So unlike the Transit authority and the Winniski Valley Park District. There's no Do's attached to this at this time. This is just agreeing to be part of an alliance. Correct and In the state of Vermont, you can't use taxpayer money to provide Internet service and to provide broadband service so There won't be a financial implication on residents if this vote is is a yes They're like everything else the the city if this is a positive vote the City will need to put resources towards helping this there will be a Membership board that the city will need to be a part of so it's it's not to say there's zero effort needed going forward, but there isn't any Financial implication to taxpayers. Got it. So let's go on to the next one, which is article 4 So the license for the sale of malt and Venus beverages be granted in the city of Essex shoot in the town and so Again, we have folks who serve these things already in the city But you know in our in our Dillon's rule state, we've got to make the decision ourself whether we want to Issue these licenses now that we're on our own And if this is a if this vote is a yes by the majority of the voters We will move forward to issuing those license our licenses ourselves like many other municipalities do through a local liquor board and And go from there and so I don't know if most folks know how this work But you get a license from the state and then you also get your license at the local level as well So this is this is similar to articles one and two in the sense that as it impacts an actual resident These things are happening already, but now that we're a city With the vote has to go Forward in front of the voters directly in the city and do all of these articles articles one through five are simple majorities Fifty-one percent that is a good question. I believe so I'm not positive, but I believe so yeah, yeah, so This is before these are before these are gonna appear on the ballot. Yes, and there's also another item Which is the Murph? Yes, which it's Which is much more complicated than the Murph, but it's the Chittenden solid waste district's proposal That doesn't actually appear on the physical ballot It's a separate ballot and it wasn't mailed if you got your ballot in the mail and you have to obtain it separately Yes, so so could you tell us about that ballot question and remind people how they can obtain that ballot? So they can vote on it because it's a very important and in my mind Extremely exciting ballot question because I have seen the people Hands-sorting are recycling in this Dickensian Structure that is cold in the winter and hot in the summer and noisy and we need something that's automated So please tell the voters what is in store for them? Yes, so the solid waste district Has a question for a general obligation bond for a new recycling facility much more modernized recycling facility the You can go to the ballots on election day and the ballot will be there for you to fill out But if you want it beforehand to fill out You've got to request it specifically from Champlain Sorry Chittenden Solid Waste District, so you can go to their website CSWD net And I'm not sure of the specific steps of how you request that ballot on their website So yeah, but the clerk, but you don't call the the city clerk for it. Correct Yeah, you call the you call a solid waste district or you come and vote on the 8th of November Yes, I believe so. And just can you be just a little more specific? It's a new recycling facility But can you describe why this is important and why it's it's worthy investment? Yeah, so my understanding and and this is in conversations back at when I worked at Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission is That there are So many opportunities for reusing our recyclables and repurposing them and marketing them into other other products But if you can't successfully sort all those very specific different types of plastic We are missing out on the opportunity of being able to To sell those and repurpose them back into the market for other other products And so this facility really helps And it's for me. It's a little bit hard to imagine that a computer could sort them better than a human Could sort them, but there's I guess very just very specific depths and differences between the plastics and the More modern facilities have the have the ability to really sort that through a Whole new system. Yeah, and it's just Have you seen those people sorting hand sorting? You know, I think I have it's been a very long time But if you've ever seen it you will never forget it because it is a conveyor belt of all the things that we have failed To sort properly and then we just put in our bins Tops that we've kept up mean all these things that we do in a very bad way as recyclers and these five men Are this conveyor belt is going by super fast and they're putting All the things into the right order and then if it gets stuck it stops And they have to fix it and it's these little tops and they have to go in separate holes And then it starts again, and I'm not I'm not kidding when I say it is cold in the winter And it is hot in the summer and the din is Unbelievable I don't think any human should have to work in that in those in that and if people understood that that was what was happening When they're recycling they would do a better job of sorting their recycling So I know that you may not be able to advocate actively for any of these but I am Advocating actively for that one So I hope everyone gets their ballot or shows up on the eighth to vote because I'm going to go Just to vote for that because I've already put in my other belt All that being said Regina. Thank you for joining us Any last words for the voters of the city of I mean how exciting is that they're voting as city residents? Yeah it is very exciting and Yeah, we are also we're in the process of working on putting together the first city budget the FY 24 budget so Voters will be seeing that in April And so yeah, it's just it's really an exciting time and been really great Being there for four weeks and really looking forward to To moving forward. Yeah, well wonderful Regina Mahoney Thank you the new city manager of the city of s-extinction And I just want to remind you to vote on the 8th of November and if you haven't Received your ballot in the mail if you have received it feel free to vote From home except you have to get your hands on the Chittenden solid waste district ballot And if you are in the city of s-extinction in addition to the house and Senate seats and statewide Offices you will be seeing these five articles having to do with the status of the city in a variety of new regional bodies new and existing regional bodies in addition to taking on its liquor licensing Responsibilities so thanks for watching stay tuned here town meeting television for continuing coverage and don't forget in on