Town invites public to the table

The town Planning Commission updated the board Monday on how work is progressing on the Stowe Town Plan, the document that defines the town’s identity and its goals for the future on everything from economic development to recreation, conservation and more. Vermont towns are required to update their plans every five years.

Hagerty said much has happened since the last town plan was adopted in 2009, both in Stowe and nationally. Major developments in that time have included the national financial crash in 2008, Stowe’s move to a town manager form of government, and a major expansion at Stowe Mountain Resort.

Hagerty suggested forming an “ad hoc committee” of people from various interest groups, including recreation, conservation, education, agriculture and food, business and tourism, the media, arts and social services. The key, she said, is getting them all at the table at the same time, rather than having town officials query them separately.

Town Planner Tom Jackman, who helped write the 2003 and 2009 town plans, said he has been reaching out to such groups one by one and asking for their input. But Haggerty said a group approach would be more constructive

“Those are silos,” she said. When you put different people in the same room, “it starts percolating ideas that don’t necessarily come out in silos.”

Collective wisdom

The Town Plan provides a snapshot of the municipality, including the makeup of town and school government, tax and spending activity, and services provided.

But the real meat of the plan is in a section outlining the town’s goals and policies. That section is receiving the most attention.

On Monday, some people suggested the town could use a figurehead responsible for bringing new business to town. Planning commission member Chuck Ebel said Stowe should do more to attract businesses like the Alchemist, which is currently developing plans for a second brewery and retail shop in the area.

“Who is charged with trying to bring (businesses) here?” Ebel asked.

Stowe Reporter publisher Biddle Duke suggested the town should have someone akin to a mayor who can do some politicking and cheerleading for the town.

“That’s a hole in this community,” Duke said.

Town manager Charles Safford said Tuesday there is “a misnomer that municipal government holds all the cards” to spurring economic growth. But he doesn’t think the town needs to spend money hiring some sort of “economic czar” when budgets are already tight and money could be better spent on infrastructure improvements.

“I think we have the existing staff to fulfill our goals,” he said.

Simply improving things like sidewalks, bridges and roads could attract more people and businesses to Stowe, he said. Plus, the town has a list of more than three-dozen initiatives it has taken since 2003 to boost the local economy.

That list includes changing zoning laws to allow for increased density and more light industrial sectors, and to designate downtown as a separate district. It also includes major capital projects like Stowe Arena, the public safety building, and renovations to the library and art center. The town has prioritized recreation improvements, contributing to the preservation of Cady Hill Forest and Adams Camp, and widening roads to increase cyclists’ safety.

Safford said the towns he’s managed before — Hardwick and Essex — implemented things like tax stabilization and revolving loan funds under his watch. But it remains to be seen whether Stowe residents would favor such measures.

He said the whole community has to “break down silos” and chip in to help define the town’s future.

“I think every community has to be true to itself,” he said.