LONDONDERRY, Vt. – At a quick June 1 meeting, the Londonderry Selectboard heard from Trevor Powers, a member of the Londonderry Planning Commission, who discussed a few zoning bylaw proposals. Powers reported that members of the planning commission have been making revisions to the bylaws since July 2024, “with the valuable assistance of William Goodwin, zoning administrator.”

“Items that people of the town have been objecting to have been removed,” Powers continued, adding that clarifications have been made to sections that the state requires and therefore could not be removed. He reported that definitions have been added, and language of the bylaws themselves have been updated.

A summary of the changes can be found in the first two pages of the report, included with the eighth draft of the bylaws, which were approved by planning commission on April 27.

Some of the amendments to the bylaws were discussed by Powers. With input from the housing commission, the number of days that nonpaying guests can stay on a property have increased. The shopping plaza is allowed one large sign, and a smaller sign for each corresponding business. The boundary of the conservation district was raised to 2,000 feet.

The selectboard moved to approve and warn a public hearing for the proposed amendments to the bylaws on July 6, at 6 p.m., at the town office.

Town Administrator Aileen Tulloch announced that treasurer Tina Labeau has initiated tax sales. Tulloch also reported that Doings in Derry would like photograph submissions of the community to upload to the town website, and that the Chester Snowmobile Club sent a thank-you note to the town and will be hosting a community barbecue on June 7, in Chester.

Matthew Barlow from Turning Point of Windham County then spoke to the board about their peer recovery center. Barlow stated that they have a full center in Brattleboro, but the center understands that is not easily accessible to those in the greater Londonderry community. Turning Point is looking to spread awareness about their recovery services, and are seeking spaces in Londonderry or Townshend in which to set up and expand their resources.

Town Clerk Allison Marino moved to discuss the malfunctioning alarm system at the town office, and suggested switching the town’s provider. Currently, Countryside Alarms is servicing the building, but an issue with the alarms sounding has not been resolved in a year. Marino believed there were some redundancies in the system setup that could be eliminated and thought the town could get a cheaper and updated alarm service.

The board then moved to close the Prouty property to the public once construction on site begins.

The Londonderry Selectboard meets on the first and third Mondays of the month, at 6 p.m., at the town office and on Zoom.

The Vermont Housing Finance Agency Board of Commissioners has awarded tax credits that will generate $28 million for developing 241 apartments, according to a community announcement.

The homes will serve low-income renters in seven communities across the state, according to the announcement.

Awards of federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and state rental tax credits come as development costs and the demand for more affordable housing rise, according to the announcement. Since 2020, the cost to develop an affordable apartment and the number of Vermonters experiencing homelessness have both doubled, according to the announcement.

Competition for tax credits among developers is strong and the criteria for awards is rigorous, according to the announcement.

Three projects will receive $26 million for development costs.

• Highgate Village Housing in Highgate will create 30 apartments. Construction will begin in June 2027 with move-in starting in August 2028. The developer is Cathedral Square Corporation.
• Champlain Housing Trust and Evernorth are developing the Park Street Apartments in Winooski, which will have 24 units. The site is considered a brownfield and will be cleaned to state standards prior to construction. Occupancy is estimated for 2028.
• Twin Pines Housing Trust and Evernorth are developing the Sykes Mountain Apartments in White River Junction, which will have 48 units. Move-in is expected in December 2027.

ORWELL, Vt. (WCAX) – Bud Carpenter is about to take a trip down memory lane.

“Heading to Poultney,” Carpenter said.

The ride there is dotted with silos, with many of the barns he built. “This is one of our buildings here; there’s one over there,” Carpenter points out. And then there’s a building in Orwell.

“That post office over… we built that in the early 70s,” Carpenter said.

Reporter Joe Carroll: Have you figured out how many buildings you’ve built through the years?

Bud Carpenter: You know, I thought about that a lot; I really haven’t.

Bud Carpenter Incorporated, or BCI, started on a “wing and a prayer.” “I just started working, I’d do anything, I’d wash windows, I would paint. I’d even cut meat in the store,” he said. “My first year in business in 1965, I grossed $3,600… Somehow, we made it all work; I don’t know how.

With hard work came jobs and some mistakes. “I’ve done a lot of foolish things,” Carpenter said. “Like get into the used car business.”

Reporter Joe Carroll: How did you have the time to do all of this?

Bud Carpenter: I ask myself a hundred times.

There are massive cow barns to small horse barns, like one in Poultney. “We just did this one last year,” Carpenter said.

With a bum knee and a pacemaker, the 83-year-old no longer works on site.

“He’s a barn building legend!” said Todd Boutwell, Carpenter’s son-in-law, who took over running the day-to-day operations last year. “He’s still there, every day.”

“I like to come out to all of them, I’m on all of them, one time or another, yeah,” Carpenter said.

Back on the road, the conversation turns personal. “I think the hardest part is when I went through a divorce. I had problems with my wife, and we divorced, that’s probably the hardest thing I did,” Carpenter said. “And that’s having to go back on my word… When you get married, you take your vows.”

He has since remarried. Beth and Bud have been together for decades.

And then there was the heavy drinking. “I worked hard, and I drank hard,” Carpenter said. “But I never missed a day of work in my life.”

The drinking has been cut significantly. His recollections of what he’s done are numerous. “You get a little choked up at times on it, everywhere you go, you see things you’ve done: It makes you proud,” he said.

A journey that continues.