by Don Keelan

For those of us who may remember when trains were powered by steam, the last car, quite nondescript, was the caboose. The occupant of the caboose had limited duties: they worked on the train’s brakes, checked for fire, and maintained sleeping quarters for the train’s crew. In the 1980s, the caboose became redundant and disappeared.

In the July issue of VermontBiz magazine, reporter Olga Peters metaphorically describes the economy of northwestern Vermont: “Chittenden County stands as the undeniable engine of the state’s economy, generating a disproportionate share of its jobs, wages, and income tax revenues.” Based upon Peter’s findings, the county is indeed a high-power speeding locomotive engine. 

Infrastructure projects, in the tens of millions of dollars, are being built not only in Burlington but in downtown Winooski, along with hotels, office buildings, and thousands of units of housing. Reporter Peter notes, “Investment and infrastructure are key themes in the economic activity across Chittenden County.”

In early June, Chittenden County-based GlobalFoundries announced it was investing $16 billion at its New York and Vermont facilities. The investment will place GF at the forefront of worldwide chip development. 

By incorporating additional fuel into the area’s economic engine through Tax Increment Financing, the city of Winooski is experiencing the development of new infrastructure, including wastewater, portable water, sidewalks, and other municipal projects. By doing so, the city is providing for the development of hundreds of housing units, retail stores, and a hotel. The new taxes derived from such building developments will be explicitly used to pay off the TIF debt service incurred to finance the infrastructure. 

Southwestern Vermont does not mirror northwestern Vermont. The latter has almost a third of the State’s population, huge industries, a major medical center, as well as several colleges and universities. Nonetheless, the Bennington County region could have its own economic engine if it wished. Presently, due to several circumstances, ‘the engine’ lacks the steam.

Several examples are notable. The developers seeking approval to repurpose the now closed Southern Vermont College have an excellent proposal to put that historic property into full use with a five-star resort.

The proposed $100 million endeavor had a site visit with the Act 250 regional commission on May 1, 2025. The purpose was to obtain Partial Findings, under the Act’s 9B Criterion, Primary Agricultural Soils.  If the developer cannot provide accepted mitigation (there are 10 other criteria still to be filed), it makes no sense to move forward with the project.

Word came on July 11th from the Commission in a 22-page report (the initial application contained over 50,000 KB of data); the Commission could not render an approval at this time. It required additional information on two other sections of the Act, which were still pending filing. Local businesses, municipal, and legislators should be in an uproar, but not a word from them.   

The local hospital, the area’s largest employer, is not unlike most Vermont hospitals: it continues to seek community support as it carries out its critical, “Back to Budget,” challenges.

Ten miles to the north lies the beautiful 58,000 square foot former headquarters building of the Orvis Co. There was a time when this facility was home to over 300 employees, and not a peep from local and state officials on efforts to assist in repurposing this prime property. 

More discouraging as to what is taking place in the county was a recent article in the Manchester Journal on summer youth lunches: “It should serve as no surprise that 85% of Bennington County public school students qualify for free or reduced lunch during the school year.”  With a State unemployment rate near a record low of 2.6% and so many job openings, what is driving such a high food insecurity issue in Bennington County?

And the next depressing news on the horizon will be just how many Bennington County schools will need to be closed under H-454? The county’s public schools have had declining enrollment for years. 

The cynical side of me believes there are folks in State government whose mission is to see Bennington County left behind when it comes to economic, educational, and housing growth. Furthermore, there are towns within the county that continue to place obstacles to prevent any development.  

If true, and I hope that I am wrong, let us resign to be the occupants of the caboose when we could be the engine driving the social and economic future of Bennington County.       

The author is a U.S. Marine (retired), CPA, and columnist living in Arlington, VT.