Appropriations committee hears $9.1 million proposal to seed Vermont Infrastructure Sustainability Fund for housing-related infrastructure

The House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 27 heard a proposal to create the Vermont Infrastructure Sustainability Fund, a one-time $9.1 million appropriation to the Vermont Bond Bank intended to provide low-interest revolving loans to municipalities for infrastructure projects that have a direct nexus to housing production.

Commissioner Alex Farrell of the Department of Housing and Community Development and Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak described the fund in a joint presentation to the committee and said the program was developed in collaboration with the Agency of Natural Resources and the Vermont Bond Bank. Farrell said the fund aims to lower the up-front infrastructure barrier that stalls housing projects. “there's recognition that right now, it's 1 of the biggest hurdles to getting many, housing projects off the ground is the initial infrastructure investment,” Farrell said.

The fund would cover transportation-related infrastructure (for example sidewalks), and water and wastewater extensions or upgrades when those improvements are tied to meeting regional housing targets, according to Farrell. He told the committee the proposal is intended to operate as a revolving loan fund and that the state could use the $9.1 million as a loan-loss reserve to “stretch that much further” than using the dollars as direct loans: “We…