Orleans County was Vermont’s Capital for a Day on Wednesday, September 25.
Governor Phil Scott, his Cabinet, and other state employees toured this county along the Canadian border to learn about successes and challenges facing employers, residents, and housing providers.
Newport: Housing Roundtable
The day started early at the former Sacred Heart Convent in Newport which is being turned into housing. RuralEdge told a group gathered for a housing roundtable that they hope to begin construction in 30 days. The goal is to build 50 rental and owner-occupied units on this campus.
Secretary Kurrle speaks at a housing roundtable.
Commerce and Community Development Secretary Lindsay Kurrle and Housing and Community Development Deputy Commissioner Nate Formalarie talked about the recent Housing Needs Assessment that shows Orleans County needs between 630 and 1,200 homes by 2029. Local leaders meet regularly on their own to try to create more housing opportunities. Roundtable participants heaped praise on the Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP), which provides grants to bring housing units back online that have fallen into disrepair.
Newport: Cabinet Meeting
Governor Scott and members of his extended Cabinet, including Secretary Kurrle, Tourism and Marketing Commissioner Heather Pelham, Deputy Commissioner Formalarie, and Economic Development Deputy Commissioner Brett Long, held a brief meeting at North Country Union High School.
Secretary Kurrle speaks during a Cabinet Meeting at North Country Union High School.
Dozens of students and staff were present. Governor Scott shared with them how weekly Cabinet meetings benefit the state by making sure the entire Executive Branch is on the same page. Students also heard who state leaders were meeting later in the day during their tour and why.
Coventry: Playground Tour
Coventry Elementary School emerged from COVID to discover that it desperately needed to update its playground. The school wasn’t even allowing 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to use parts of the playground for fear that they wouldn’t be able to support the kids’ weight.
Rep. Michael Marcotte suggested they reach out to Better Places. The Department of Housing and Community Development 2:1 crowdfunding program put out the call in September 2023: raise $20,000 on Patronicity for the new playground, and the state will grant the project $40,000.
School officials and SPICE volunteers share the story of their improved playground.
Coventry easily cleared that hurdle and during "Capital for a Day" showed off the new playground to Secretary Kurrle, Dep. Commissioner Formalarie, Dep. Commissioner Long and integral members of the DHCD Better Places team Richard Amore, Chris Cochran, and Gary Holloway.
Orleans: Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen is an iconic Vermont brand. The furniture company employs 300 people in Orleans and Beecher Falls.
In July 2023, the Orleans plant took a serious hit when three and a half feet of water flooded the plant, forcing a six-week shut down. Ethan Allen benefitted from a Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program (BEGAP) grant which helped them reopen and get their people get back to work.
Left: High water mark on the wall at Ethan Allen shows 42" on July 12, 2023. Right: Governor Scott, Deputy Commissioner Long, and Ethan Allen CEO Farooq Kathwari.
Today, Ethan Allen says its two biggest challenges are finding enough young talent to work at its Vermont plants and the soaring cost of providing health care to employees.
Orleans: Blanchard Oil
Holly Fortin started doing the books at Blanchard Oil in 2005. In April 2022, she bought the company. Today she has 15 employees who deliver fuel, and offer plumbing and heating design and installation, including pellet stoves and heat pumps.
Blanchard Oil is across the street from Ethan Allen. In July 2023, water also swept through this building. Fortin says she had five feet of it in the basement. She lost the majority of her tools and inventory. Thankfully, she had flood insurance, but after they paid her claim, the company dropped her. Now Fortin has coverage through another carrier, and she added waterproof concrete around the building that only allowed in six inches of water in during the July 2024 flooding event.
Left to right: Secretary Kurrle, Commissioner Goldstein, Dep. Commissioner Long, Northeastern Vermont Development Association Executive Director David Snedeker, and Holly Fortin.
Fortin faces the same labor challenges as Ethan Allen next door, but her business requires even more training. It takes years to get an employee through plumbing and HVAC apprenticeship programs.
Fortin also voiced concerns about the new Clean Heat Standard and its effect on her low-income customers and seniors. Fortin says she agrees that Vermont needs to take action on climate change, but she worries that the Clean Heat Standard is too much, too fast and will harm her people who are already struggling to pay for heat.
Barton: Rail to Road
Secretary Kurrle, Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn, and Liquor and Lottery Commissioner Wendy Knight visited with Dwayne Couture of Couture Trucking, Inc. Dwayne owns the company with his father.
Left to right: Secretary Flynn, Couture, Snedeker, Secretary Kurrle, Commissioner Knight.
Couture Trucking, Inc. bought this 80-acre parcel along the railroad in Barton about a decade ago. At this site, the company receives malted barley or wheat from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Saskatchewan via Vermont Railways and then load it into their silos. When his customers in the brewery business need grain, Couture Trucking takes it out of the silos and loads it onto their trucks. They serve breweries throughout the northeastern United States, including Rock Art, Fiddlehead, Harpoon, and Hill Farmstead.
Grain silos along the train tracks owned by Couture Trucking, Inc.
Like many of the employers ACCD visited, Couture’s top concern is finding young employees. Right now, he says most of his drivers are 40 years old or older.
Glover: Glover Sensory Trail
Governor Scott, the ACCD Team, and other government officials including Rep. Katherine Sims, finished the day visiting the Glover Sensory Trial. The inclusive 1,300-foot trail is for people of all ages and abilities. The park opened in June and includes ten sensory stations including a climbing wall, pump track, and zip line.
Governor Scott and state employees pose with volunteers who envisioned and built the Glover Sensory Trail.
The Glover Sensory Trail benefitted from several grants, including $182,000 from the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative, a joint effort spearheaded by ACCD and the Department of Forests, Parks & Rec.
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Orleans County was the third stop on the "Capital for a Day" tour. You can read more about stops in Caledonia and Washington Counties.