By Bob Ackland
Thank you to The Valley Reporter for excellent reporting on the recent Economic Vitality Summary Workshop held last week, Monday, October 19, at the Hyde Away and the supplemental article on LOT, Local Option Tax.
As chair of the Mad River Valley Planning District and one of the participants from the very early beginnings of the Vision and Vitality Steering Committee as well as the one identified with proposing the possibility of an LOT, I’d like to share additional information and provide more clarity about the process and thinking as we know it today.
First some background information:
The Vision and Vitality initiative came to be out of recognition of the work done in the 2014 Mad River Valley Economic Study – please read at www.mrvpd.org/Vitality.php. This study identified strengths and needs for The Valley.
The Vision and Vitality initiative was not created to grow the local economy. Its purpose was to provide a sustainable future in accordance with the vision we all have for The Valley and to maintain and enhance the quality of life here in The Valley. The 2014 MRV Economic Study identified that the quality of life in The Valley is a significant economic driver. It is the reason many of us have chosen to live here, full-timers as well as second-home owners – a vital part of our economy.
What happened this summer:
As the Vision and Vitality workshops progressed this summer, numerous issues were identified: impediments to maintaining our quality of life here and others that can enhance and maybe guarantee for some time the sustainability of what we all like about The Valley. Funding the various initiatives was a consistent point of discussion. Discussions ranged from bake sales to philanthropy, state and federal grants, free market initiatives and an LOT. Of these approaches only an LOT appears to create an ongoing sustainable source of funds.
Over the course of the workshops, 25 pages of ideas surfaced as challenges and opportunities. Recognized by all was that the demand for resources far exceeded the capacity of any town or organization within The Valley. Below is a summary of those 25 pages; it is not an official wish list or shopping list.
• Recreation – develop and maintain trails – backcountry skiing, foot, bike and horseback; acquire and maintain playing fields, a public swimming pool.
• Transportation – bus service, sidewalks, paths and trails, charging stations for electric vehicles.
• Housing – infrastructure for density which enables affordability, land planning to support a walking community in Waitsfield and Warren.
• A better sense of place for commercial activity – this is not just Waitsfield’s issue, we all need to help.
• Youth retention – internships for Harwood students, residency in study for college students, outreach to Harwood for developing job awareness opportunities.
• Supporting community efforts to have a performing arts facility – providing space for artists and craftspeople.
• Branding and Marketing – to say who we are, make it easier for people to discover us. (We all say we don’t want to be Stowe or Killington, but we are not nearly as clear in saying who we are or who we want to be.)
• Professional support to the towns in land use planning; currently towns have to share the one full-time employee of the MRVPD and demand significantly exceeds capacity.
These are just a few of the thoughts that have come out of the Economic Vitality workshops and there may be others that need to be shared. None is at a point of agreement but is a place to begin.
As the Vision and Vitality unfolded and the need for possible funds became an issue that would need to be addressed, research took place to see how an LOT could work in The Valley. All LOTs in the state are with a single municipality/town. Thanks to forward-thinking folks back in 1983, the Mad River Valley Planning District (MRVPD) was created to address the issue of planning for ski area development. The MRVPD is a unique entity within the state of Vermont. It is a municipal district covering Fayston, Waitsfield and Warren. In my presentation of the background above, you will notice that I don’t mention any singular town but reference The Valley. The economy we live in is not a Waitsfield economy or a Warren economy, it is a Valley economy. The challenges and opportunities we face are Valley ones; so we must think Valleywide in moving forward. The MRVPD is the logical entity to be managing an LOT for The Valley.
Assuming support for implementing an LOT for funding the initiatives that have been identified and others that doubtless will be added, the process can be put in place by drafting a charter change for the MRVPD, submitting that to the Legislature and to each of the three towns for approval. The town approval would have to be by Australian ballot.
The concept is that a pool of money would come to the MRVPD by adding 1 percent to the sales tax, rooms and meals tax and alcohol tax. There is no change in the reporting method for businesses; the state collects the money from businesses that have collected the tax at the point of sale, the same as today. The MRVPD would receive 70 percent and the state would retain 30 percent of the added 1 percent. The state’s share is for administration of the LOT and funding of a grant pool, which The Valley towns would be eligible to access via grant applications. For more information on LOT visit http://tax.vermont.gov/business-and-corp/sales-and-use-tax/local-option-tax.
More important at this time are the next steps and engagement of the community to explore whether an LOT is right for The Valley.
The issues identified to date are:
• Budget – what are the key areas requiring funding, and how much?
• Governance – who will manage funds and allocate them?
• Is there a sustainable alternative? (Not just a one-time infusion of capital or the need for repeated fundraising activities.)
No matter what the outcome of the LOT is, your engagement in the conversation about the vision and vitality of The Valley is critical to a sustainable future. “If you don’t participate you don’t have the right to complain” – not sure who said it but ain’t it the truth.
With that note, I hope to see you all at the 2015 MRV Economic Summit, December 17, at the Gate House, Sugarbush Resort, starting at 5:30 p.m. for a free buffet and cash bar. It will be an enjoyable, spirited and creative event that will both inform and encourage your participation, as we did at the 2014 Economic Summit. Thanks to Sugarbush for hosting this important event.
Ackland is the chair of the Mad River Valley Planning District, vice chair of the Warren Select Board and a member of the Vision and Vitality workshop series steering committee.
