04/02/2026
๐๐ข๐๐ซ๐๐ซ๐ฒ/๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง - ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ค ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ
Dear Williston Community โ
On March 30, 2026, the Town Clerk received and on March 31, 2026, confirmed the submission of a valid petition signed by 5% of the registered voters in Town requesting reconsideration of the Town Meeting Day vote on Article 6 held this past March 3, 2026. Article 6 stated as follows:
๐โ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐กโ๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐กโ๐ฆ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ก๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐๐๐ก ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ ๐โ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ป๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐โ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ 00/100 ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ($13,900,000.00), ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ -๐๐-๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐, ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก?
Under 17 V.S.A. ยง 2661, if a petition requesting reconsideration of a question voted on at a previous annual or special meeting is filed with the clerk of the municipality within 30 days following the date of that meeting, the Selectboard shall call a town-wide meeting to vote on the matter raised in the petition within 60 days of its submission.
The Williston Selectboard will discuss and consider setting a date for a Special Town Meeting to vote on whether to reconsider Article 6 for the renovation and expansion of the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library and associated improvements to the Village Green at its next meeting on Tuesday, April 7th.
The Special Town Meeting will have this single article to consider following all the legal parameters required. This includes early voting available 20 days prior to the Special Town Meeting, an absentee ballot sent to anyone who requested one for Town Meeting Day on March 3rd, and holding a public information hearing prior to the Special Town Meeting. The date of the Special Town Meeting will be set by the Selectboard but must be held by May 29, 2026.
At Town Meeting, Williston voters approved Article 6 to authorize the issuance of a bond for the library/village green project by the following tally:
Yes- 1,262
No- 1,215
The article will appear on the ballot asking voters to reconsider the result from Town Meeting Day. ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ค๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐.
โข A โyesโ vote at the Special Town Meeting supports reconsideration of Article 6, which will overturn the original result (reconsider) and reject the authorization to issue a bond for the library/village green project.
โข A โnoโ vote at the Special Town Meeting defeats the reconsideration of Article 6, which authorizes the Town to proceed with issuance of the bond as approved at Town Meeting. Nothing changes from the original approval.
In addition, for the reconsideration article to pass, the number of votes in favor of reconsideration needs to be at least two-thirds of the number of votes that were in favor of the original bond article on Town Meeting Day. Therefore, the minimum number of majority votes needed to approve reconsideration is 842 โyesโ votes.
The Town will provide an update on the date for the Special Town Meeting to reconsider the library/village green bond article next week following the April 7th Selectboard meeting. The estimated cost for the Town to hold the Special Town Meeting is $4,000.
Leading up to the vote at the Special Town Meeting I encourage community members who have any questions about the project including its scope and financial components to contact myself or Library Director Kevin Unrath directly (contact information below). There will be several opportunities planned to connect with the community to go over the project scope and answer questions leading up to the Special Town Meeting. If you would like to meet with Town staff to discuss the project please reach out. The project website contains extensive information about the project need, the development process for the project scope that kicked off in 2022, and the ongoing capital campaign to support the project. It can be accessed at https://willistonlibraryproject.org/.
Sincerely,
Erik Wells
Town Manager
๐๐ข๐๐ซ๐๐ซ๐ฒ/๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง:
Kevin Unrath, Library Director:
[email protected]
802-878-4918
Erik Wells, Town Manager:
[email protected]
802-876-1168