How Municipalities Can Drive Local Economic Development

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 | 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM | The Hardwick Town House
Celebrate the power of municipalities in shaping vibrant communities and driving economic development at the Vermont Community Development Association Annual Spring Conference on June 25th in Hardwick, Vermont.
This event will highlight the pivotal role municipalities play in fostering vibrancy and resilience across Vermont. Join us in Hardwick to:
  • Hear firsthand accounts of impactful municipally-led projects driving positive change in towns across the state.
  • Share practical tools and strategies to empower municipalities in their development efforts.
  • Learn effective techniques for rallying support and engagement from municipal leaders.
  • Showcase stories of collaboration and unity, where communities and municipalities join forces to achieve shared goals.

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with fellow community champions, gain valuable insights, and contribute to the collective work of building a brighter future for Vermont. 

​Morning snacks & lunch will be provided. Coffee, tea and water will be available throughout the day.

Location
We are holding this event at the Hardwick Town House located at 127 Church Street, Hardwick, Vermont.

Parking
Parking is available in the following areas:
● Behind the Town House (access via Depot Street)
● On Depot Street (accessible parking)
● Town Garage lot (access via Creamery Road)
● Church Street (river side only)
● Hardwick Health Center parking lot (after hours only)

Please see the parking map below.

Click here to arrange a carpool.

Email Christine at [email protected] to discuss any special accessibility needs.

Congratulations to our 2024 Bernice Murray Award Winner
Karen Horn

Picture
​Karen Horn directed VLCT advocacy efforts from 1987 through the 2023 legislative session. She sought the governance, environmental, economic and management authority to allow local officials effectively discharge their responsibilities. This often entailed teaching “Local Government 101”, not only to legislators, but also all manner of mildly confused legislative, non-profit and executive branch staff at both state and federal levels. In 2024 Karen started the KB Horn LLC to offer project management assistance to municipalities.

​Karen earned her BA from McGill University and MA from UVM.  Back in the dark ages, she worked at the VT Department of Housing and Community Affairs, and Massachusetts Executive Office of Communities and Development.  She served seven years on Moretown and Washington West school boards, and started the Moretown Energy Committee, serving as both Coordinator and Committee Chair. Thus far, she has served thirteen years on the Moretown Planning Commission, currently as Vice Chair. Karen lives with her husband and exuberant dog on the side of a Moretown mountain.

Agenda

 9:00               Welcome                          David Gross, Hardwick Town House and David Upson, Hardwick Town Manager  

9:10                Keynote                               Dominic Cloud, St Albans City Manager

9:30                Panel                                    Downtown Organizations/Village Trusts Partnering with Municipalities

10:30              Break

10:40              Special Announcement

10:45              Panel                                    The Hardwick Yellow Barn Project: Public-Private Collaboration

11:40              Presentation of Bernice Murray Award

11:50              Lunch                                   Provided by Caja Madera

12:50              Tours of Hardwick

2:15                Special Announcement

2:20                Panel                                     Building Municipal Capacity for Development              

3:20                Group Discussion

3:50                Closing

4:00               Adjourn

Keynote:
Dominic Cloud, St Albans City Manager

Over the last fifteen years Dominic Cloud has directed the comprehensive redevelopment of St. Albans from his position as City Manager.  Under his tenure, the City has demonstrated the transformational power of forming public / private partnerships to advance economic development projects.  Mr. Cloud previously served as Director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns Municipal Assistance Center and as a lobbyist in the Statehouse.  He received an MPA from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a B.A. in Government from St. John’s University.  He lives in Essex, Vermont with his family.

Panel
Downtown Organizations/Village Trusts Partnering with Municipalities
Moderator
Gary Holloway
Downtown Program Manager, Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)

Gary has worked in a variety of downtown community development capacities for over 20 years.  Gary is currently the Downtown Program Manager for the State of Vermont Downtown Program, a Main Street America Coordinating Program.  Gary works in the field extensively, assisting Vermont communities on revitalization and preservation initiatives.  Prior to his work in Vermont, Gary managed two downtown revitalization projects, one in the City of Vineland, NJ converting an old, blighted department store into the Landis Marketplace, a year-round indoor marketplace and the Bellingham Public Market in Bellingham, WA converting an old grocery store into a marketplace of local businesses. ​

Gretchen Havreluk
Business and Municipal Consultant, Ingram & May
Wilmington Economic & Community Development Consultant

Gretchen is a business and municipal consultant with Ingram & May; specifically implementing small and large projects for her clients which includes writing and managing over $3 Million in grants.  The Town of Wilmington has contracted Gretchen part time since 2011 working on economic and community development projects from large scale sidewalk projects to creating business incentive programs. One of the first things she did in the role was to create Wilmington Works, the Downtown Designation and successfully received funding for the parttime Wilmington Works Coordinator position.

Gillian Sewake
Director, Discover St. Johnsbury

Gillian Sewake became the Director of Discover St. Johnsbury in December 2020, and is proud to support St. Johnsbury's revitalization, in concert with the Town of St. Johnsbury and community partners. Discover St. Johnsbury's mission is to stimulate and promote the vitality of St. Johnsbury’s cultural, commercial, and community resources through regional marketing, producing community events, support for local businesses, and other economic development activities. Sewake is a Vermont Business Magazine Class of 2021 Rising Star, a graduate of the 2021 NEK Leadership Institute cohort, and a 2020 member of the Vermont Changemakers Table. She is on the board of Kingdom County Productions and Vice Chair of the NEK Young Professionals Network. She and her husband Geoffrey currently reside in Peacham Village with their two children and own Whirligig Brewing in downtown St. Johnsbury.

Rick Ufford-Chase
Director, Newport Downtown Development

Rick Ufford-Chase is the Director of Newport Downtown Development and a member of Newport City Council. Newport Downtown Development is the independent, non-profit that partners with the City of Newport to drive economic revitalization. The organization has more than 75 active volunteers and is deeply involved in efforts to brand Newport as a hub for the four-season, outdoor recreation economy, to make Newport both a local and a tourist destination with events like the popular "Winter Saturdays" dances, and to build a vibrant downtown economy that grows out of a thoughtful long-term development strategy.

Kristin Urie
Director of the John Woodruff Simpson Memorial Library in East Craftsbury and a founding Board member of the Albany Community Trust

Kristin Urie is a founding board member of the Albany Community Trust, a non-profit formed in 2018 to support the vibrancy of Albany, Vermont. The group worked to bring back the general store in Albany village, and the Genny Albany opened June 3, 2021. She is a librarian at the Albany Community School and the John Woodruff Simpson Memorial Library in East Craftsbury, and serves on the board of the Craftsbury Community Care Center. She lives with her husband and four teenagers on Bonnieview Farm in South Albany, where they raise sheep and lease land and infrastructure to 4 other local businesses.  

Chad Whitehead
St. Johnsbury Town Manager

Panel
The Hardwick Yellow Barn Project: Public-Private Collaboration
Moderator
Misty Sinsigalli
Area Director, USDA Rural Development
​As an Area Director, Misty works across all Rural Development program areas for the New Hampshire and Vermont jurisdiction. She lives the mission of increasing economic prosperity and improving the quality of life for the communities of the two State region through utilizing a broad array of USDA Rural Development’s 60+ loan and grant programs. Prior to entering the Area Director role Misty worked as the Lead Specialist for Community Programs in Vermont and New Hampshire. Misty is a graduate of Champlain College and the University of Connecticut, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice and her master’s degree in Public Administration. She has worked for the Federal Government for over 17 years. She was with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for 8 years before coming to Rural Development. She is thankful she gets to work in a job she loves in a jurisdiction she has always called home. She lives in Fairlee, VT and has two children. She loves being outdoors with her children - no matter the season. Nature is the best playground for both adults and children.

Jon Ramsay
Executive Director, Center for an Agricultural Economy

Jon grew up on his family’s dairy farm located in Greensboro. Jon continues to manage the farm, now raising Black Angus cattle for both breeding stock and beef. Before joining the CAE, Jon was the Director of the Farmland Access Program at the Vermont Land Trust (VLT), where he focused on farm affordability for new and beginning farmers statewide and farmland conservation from 1999-2019. Jon, his wife Selina and their son Jin live on the family farm, where they enjoy gardening, walking trips to Long Pond and enjoying Caspian Lake during the summer.

Alison Low, AICP CFM
Senior Planner, Northeastern Vermont Development Association
​
Alison Low, AICP CFM is a Senior Planner at Northeastern Vermont Development Association, the regional planning commission and economic development corporation serving 50 communities of the Northeast Kingdom. In addition to assisting communities with planning and land use, she has written and administered numerous grants to construct key food system infrastructure, including the Vermont Food Venture Center in Hardwick, and the Cellars at Jasper Hill in Greensboro, and most recently, the Hardwick Yellow Barn Accelerator. She resides in Danville, where she serves on the selectboard.

Kristie Farnham
Director of Business Support, Vermont Department of Economic Development

Kristie manages programs that incentivize economic and community development across Vermont, specifically the Brownfields Revitalization Fund and the Northern Border Regional Commission. Kristie’s career in state government began in 1999. She joined the Agency of Commerce and Community Development – Department of Economic Development team in 2016.

Erica Burke
General Manager, Cabot Creamery Cooperative

Erica Burke is the General Manager of Retail Stores for Cabot Creamery and a critical leader in the development of the Yellow Barn retail experience. During her professional career, she has served in numerous roles that provide her with varied insights into public/private collaboration efforts in the State of Vermont. Her recent professional accomplishments include being a member of the Cabot Economic Development Committee, a former Board Member for the Vermont Specialty Food Association, and a presenter for Vermont Attractions. 

Eric Remick
Chair of the Hardwick Selectboard, Software Engineer and Sugarmaker

Eric Remick is a software and computing consultant from the private sector. Eric currently serves as the Chair of the Hardwick Selectboard and is a key member of the Hardwick Yellow Barn core project team. He has participated in weekly progress meetings since the core team’s formation in 2018 and has served as an anchor tenant liaison by attending regular design meetings with the project team’s architect and engineers, as well as design consultants for anchor tenants. Familiar with local, state and federal funding sources, he also regularly interfaces with project grant funders and lenders. He is also active on the Hardwick Trails Committee, and the committee for Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, which runs directly adjacent to the Yellow Barn. He lives in Hardwick, where he has been a sugar maker since 2004.

Tours of Hardwick

Attendees have three tour options, all of which will occur simultaneously

Tour 1: Showcasing Municipal and Nonprofit Partnership
Explore partnerships between municipalities and nonprofits and how they work together
Town House, Depot and optional Library walk 
Led by Tracy Martin, Community Development Coordinator, Town of Hardwick

Tour 2: Community and Economic Development - Revolving Loan Funds and other Strategies/Opportunities
Visiting businesses in downtown Hardwick
Led by David Upson, Hardwick Town Manager and Shari Cornish, Hardwick Selectboard member and business owner

Tour 3: Pedestrian and Bike Infrastructure - A Work in Progress
Localmotion, Pedestrian bridge, Loop from the LVRT down to the Pedestrian Bridge,
Mill Street walkability challenges (walk audits), LVRT Depot and Wayfinding
Led by David Gross, Chair, Hardwick Planning Commission

Panel
Building Municipal Capacity for Development
Moderator
Jenna Koloski, Director of Community Engagement and Policy, Vermont Council on Rural Development
​
Jenna Koloski has been the Director of Community Engagement and Policy at the Vermont Council on Rural Development since 2015. In that role, she coordinates statewide policy discussions on issues that impact rural communities and facilitates community-level prioritization for the future of Vermont towns. Prior to the work at VCRD, she worked in several Vermont organizations focused on outdoor recreation, community development, and food security. Jenna studied Conservation and Biodiversity at McGill University and holds a master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School. Jenna serves as the President of the Vermont Community Development Association. She lives with her family in Huntington, Vermont.

Tracy Nichae Martin
Community Development Coordinator, Town of Hardwick
​
Tracy grew up in the Bronx. She first came to Vermont to attend Marlboro College. She went on to earn an MA in archaeological studies from Yale and an MS in historic preservation from UVM. For more than 30 years, Tracy worked in museum administration, in both the nonprofit and public sectors. She and her husband have lived in East Hardwick for 19 years, so when Tracy retired from her work with Vermont’s State Historic Sites, she was thrilled to find a position that allows her to contribute her energies to the vitality of the town she has come to love and call home.

Ted Brady
Executive Director, Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT)

Ted Brady is the Executive Director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT).  Brady served as Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development in the Scott Administration for three years, was appointed by President Obama as the Vermont and New Hampshire State Director for USDA Rural Development, and spent more than a decade working as a community and economic development liaison in U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy’s office, both in Washington, D.C. and in Vermont.  He lives in Williston with his wife Erin and their two children.

Chip Sawyer
Director of Planning & Development, City of St Albans

Chip Sawyer is the Director of Planning & Development for the City of St. Albans.  There he oversees the City's land use planning and permitting, community development, stormwater planning, property valuation, and special projects.  Chip has previously worked as a Program Manager at the Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont and as a Senior Planner at Lamoille County Planning Commission.  He holds Master’s degrees in Public Administration and Natural Resource Planning from the University of Vermont.  Chip grew up in the City of St. Albans and lives there with his family today.

Tom Davis
Economic Development Director, Town of Northfield
Tom Davis has been the Economic Development Director Northfield, Vermont since June of 2022.   Previously he was a housing developer and the owner of radio stations and online newspapers in multiple locations.  He returned to his hometown in 2020 during the pandemic to become town's first full-time economic development director. Mr. Davis has recruited developers and property owners to work together to build housing, support local businesses with funding opportunities, and engage Northfield in future-focused, smart growth.  In the process, Mr. Davis has obtained over $500,000 through grants and tax credits, and has attracted new investments of over $5 million to build housing and improve Northfield's downtown.
 

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