Year in Review: Winooski

By Matt Sutkoski
Free Press Staff Writer

December 28, 2007
WINOOSKI -- It was onward and upward during 2007 for Winooski, the little city that keeps getting bigger.

Construction on Winooski's big downtown development continued unabated through the year and began spreading to other neighborhoods after work began on a community center on Malletts Bay Avenue and Community College of Vermont announced plans to build an academic building in Winooski.

Though many cheered the Winooski boom, many residents fumed over property tax increases brought on by complicated state education financing.

The downtown redevelopment has been Topic A in Winooski ever since it was proposed in 1999. In recent years, in what had been a moribund downtown, a new headquarters for Vermont Student Assistance Corp. appeared, as did a municipal parking garage, housing for college students and a large roundabout that guides traffic on two main downtown streets.

The new development still has empty storefronts, but business owners said an influx of people has helped their bottom lines. Developers this year finished building the 213-unit Keen's Crossing apartment complex and moved on to start building The Cascades, luxurious condominiums near the Winooski River waterfront.

One of the developers, Ken Braverman, said interest remains strong in the downtown buildings even as the housing market weakened. Most of the apartments in Keen's Crossing are leased and occupied. Braverman said he has received many inquiries from people interested in The Cascades.

The only cloud over this otherwise sunny city growth spurt is taxes. Since Day One, Winooski officials vowed that the new development would not make property taxes rise in other parts of Winooski.

Because of a complex relationship among reappraisals, the base value of the new downtown buildings and state tax calculations under Vermont's education funding law, property taxes are rising for Winooski homeowners.

City officials beseeched state tax experts to rethink the calculation, but the state was unmoved. The law is the law, and it can't be adjusted without an act of the Legislature, said Bill Johnson of the state Department of Taxes.

Winooski has re-filed its appeal of the tax situation. The city also has filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Taxes demanding that the situation be rectified, City Manager Joshua Handverger said.

In applying the state education funding formula, tax officials disregarded the effects of a downtown tax increment financing district, city officials said. That meant Winooski taxpayers were billed about $300,000 in aggregate more than they should have been, Handverger said.

Additionally, Reps. Clem Bissonnette and Kenneth Atkins, both Winooski Democrats, said they plan to file legislation attempting to reverse the tax department's determination on Winooski's taxes.

Regardless of the tax situation, more growth is coming to Winooski. Community College of Vermont is planning its new building at the eastern edge of Winooski's downtown development, with construction scheduled to start in summer. The $17.5 million building would encompass about 70,000 square feet.

Elsewhere in Winooski, voters in September approved the $2.2 million bond for the community center. The center, at the site of the former Mr. G's shopping center on Malletts Bay Avenue, includes a community kitchen, meeting space and offices clustered around a central atrium.

The Greater Burlington YMCA is among the organizations that will use some of the space. Construction on the project is ongoing, and the center is expected to open in the spring.

OTHER 2007 EVENTS JOB CHANGES: Michael O'Brien was elected mayor after Clem Bissonnette decided not to seek re-election to the office. Joshua Handverger became Winooski city manager after Gerry Myers left to become Vermont commissioner of Buildings and General Services.
DPW FIRE: The Winooski Public Works building on Gilbrook Road burst into flames June 27, causing about $750,000 in damage. The spontaneous combustion of a preservative ignited combustible materials in the building, investigators said.
SCHOOL ENROLLMENT: Winooski High School is facing declining enrollment. The School Board and administration are thinking about changes, including scheduling adjustments and making efforts to tailor educational opportunities to individual students.
CEMETERY VANDALISM: A youth described as being in a rage vandalized St. Francis Xavier Church Cemetery in November. At least 100 gravestones were toppled. An army of volunteers quickly repaired the cemetery.
Contact Matt Sutkoski at 660-1846 or msutkosk@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com