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VHCB urges lawmakers to broaden rural economic development rule so farms in larger towns can qualify
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Summary
VHCB representatives told a committee that Vermont's Rural Economic Development Initiative should broaden its definition of "rural" and add 'community development initiatives' so farms and related projects in some towns over the current 5,000-population threshold can get grant-writing and technical help; presenters said the program requires no new appropriation.
VHCB officials told a legislative committee that the state's Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) should be allowed to help farms and community projects located in some towns with populations above the program's existing 5,000 threshold.
Liz Gleason, Farm Viability Program director for the Rural Economic Development Initiative, said REDI was created around 2017 to help small communities and agricultural businesses access complex federal and philanthropic grants. "A farm is a farm, whether they're in a community of 4,900 or 500 or 6 or 7,000," Gleason told the committee, arguing that geographic lines should not bar otherwise eligible projects from support.
The presenters described REDI as a capacity-building program that pays for grant writers and technical assistance. Gleason said the program has spent roughly $1.2 million on grant-writing support and that participating communities have drawn down about $35.5 million in grant funding; an earlier slide referenced about $1.0 million spent and $32 million returned, a variance presenters acknowledged in the briefing.
Presenters reviewed REDI's statutory focus areas, which they said already include agriculture (for example, dairy processing), school reuse and child care conversion projects, coworking and outdoor recreation. They proposed adding "community development initiatives" to the statute so REDI could help projects that support agriculture, historic preservation or outdoor recreation when other state or regional staffing and resources are not available.
Committee members asked whether the statutory population threshold would remain in place. An agency official answered that the statute cites a 5,000-population threshold in one location but references an alternate definition elsewhere; the presenters said the proposed change would give REDI discretion to assist projects that meet its goals even if a project is physically located in a municipality above the numeric threshold.
The committee also asked whether hiring an additional REDI staff member to manage expanded demand would require new appropriation. An agency official said the position would be funded from the Conservation Board's base budget and that REDI was not seeking additional money this year.
Presenters offered examples where REDI assistance proved decisive: the revitalization of the East Calais General Store and assistance developed for towns such as Bridgewater and Shelburne Vineyards to pursue USDA value-added producer grant opportunities. They repeatedly emphasized that REDI aims to coordinate with—and not supplant—regional development corporations (RDCs) or other state partners.
The chair asked that the proposed statutory language be sent to Bradley Sheldon for inclusion in the committee's miscellaneous bill; committee members indicated support and expected to work that language into the bill on the committee's timeline. The committee closed the item and anticipated finishing related business next week.
Note on speaker names and transcript clarity: several passages in the provided transcript contained unclear transcriptions of speaker names and titles. Where the transcript did not supply a clear personal name, this article attributes remarks to functional roles used at the briefing (for example, "an agency official" or "the chair").
