VHCB tells Corrections committee the governor's $2.8M capital request funds lasting housing and conservation benefits

The House Corrections and Institutions Committee on Feb. 17 heard a presentation from the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board on the governor's proposed $2,800,000 capital adjustment to support housing and conservation projects.

Gus Seeley, executive director of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB), told the committee the agency seeks capital funding because investments in conservation and permanently affordable housing create benefits that persist after bonds are repaid. Seeley said VHCB "support[s] the governor's recommend here," and explained the agency's projects often combine housing and conservation goals, citing a Putney development that preserved a community garden and a youth-camp property acquired in Fletcher for a mentoring program.

Stacy Sabula, VHCB associate conservation director, described how VHCB awards grants to conservation organizations and towns (often as conservation easements or land acquisition), and how the agency structures water protections for projects — for example, adding 50-foot buffers and wetland protections. "We provide grants to different conservation organizations, towns, groups like the Vermont Land Trust, who then work with land owners to conserve their land," Sabula said.

Liz Gleeson, who runs VHCB's Farm and Forest Viability Program, summarized the farm, forest and water-quality grant activity. Since 2017 VHCB has awarded about $5.5 million across its water-quality grant program and typically funds 15 to 25 projects a year; last year VHCB funded 16 new projects (roughly $600,000) that leveraged nearly $3,000,000 in additional funds, Gleeson said. She also described VHCB's business-planning and small implementation grants, and said the program helped communities and producers access roughly $35.5 million in federal, philanthropic and state grant funds through grant-writing and readiness assistance.

Committee members pressed staff about selection criteria, federal-match requirements and demand. VHCB said it maintains a multi-part review (including NRCS and Agency of Agriculture reviewers), operates an 18-month pipeline that typically includes about 50 farms, and that this year's water-quality round received roughly 31 applications requesting about $1.3 million—about twice the available funds.

The committee chair said the VHCB request is part of the capital package the committee will weigh in on with appropriations staff; no committee vote was recorded. VHCB staff offered to share funding guidelines and an annual report with members for further review.

The committee paused the session to resume later in the week for additional testimony and markup of capital-bill language.