Grand Isle County leaders outline MBRC priority projects including wastewater, water and housing

Lake Champlain Islands Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Andy Julo presented Grand Isle CountyMBRC priority projects at a regional meeting, calling wastewater and water supply upgrades the top near-term needs.

Julo said the list is used by regional development corporations and regional planning commissions to rank projects for the stateMBRC priority-project submission and to compete for bonus points on other funding rounds. "First, just calling out a couple that did graduate off the list ... The Albert Clubhouse ... broke ground about 2 weeks ago," he said.

Why it matters: the projects on the list aim to address capacity constraints that limit housing, commercial expansion and public services across the islands. Julo said wastewater constraints limit restaurant seating and housing projects and described water main vulnerabilities on North Hero that have previously left residents without water for up to 48 hours.

Most-discussed items and status

- South Hero (South Hurrell) community wastewater: identified as the regiontop priority because village areas lack wastewater capacity that constrains housing and businesses.

- Alberg (Alberg) village wastewater: the existing system is at capacity and the town is exploring whether expansion or a root-cause fix will restore capacity; a moratorium on new connections was mentioned.

- Grand Isle village designation: Grand Isle has designated a village area on Hyde Road and proposes a town green that would include a new library near town offices and the fire facility.

- Cider nonprofit center site: purchase across from Cider to provide parking and a permanent home for vehicles used to transport seniors and residents with disabilities.

- Recreation and arts: proposed pickleball courts at Knight Island State Park; Island Arts Barn venue upgrades including ADA compliance and sound absorption; Island Pickleball Association and state park partners were cited as supporters.

- Historic and community building restorations: South Hero Meeting House (also called "Granny's Attic") and Island Arts Barn were listed; the Meeting House was recorded as an MBRC award recipient in the most recent round.

- Water infrastructure: North Hero water improvements were described as graduated from the priority list after the water board assembled funding; South Elberg waterline extension (about eight miles) was identified to address poor water quality concerns.

- Childcare and housing: the Albert/Alberg Clubhouse childcare project has broken ground; a privately owned childcare site called Turn to Joy needs building repairs; a Round Barn (Hayward Road) apartment redevelopment by Cathedral Square was mentioned to restore about 24 affordable units for seniors and people with disabilities.

- Courthouse parking: improvements to the Grand Isle courthouse parking lot to formalize spaces and increase paved parking were proposed to ease village parking pressure.

Julo said the MBRC ranking process assigns scores and occasional bonus points that can influence other state funding decisions. "So there are definite bonuses for the rankings on that list for MBRC applications," he said.

Questions and next steps

Julo invited questions after listing projects and said the county will continue to update the priority list; he also noted one additional project the region expected to add in the spring. Several projects are at varying stages of funding and will require further design, permitting or partner commitments before construction.

Ending: The presentation concluded with a prompt for questions and did not include final votes on any of the individual projects; commissioners and staff later discussed related town-level updates in a separate town spotlight presentation.