Vermont
Trump Administration looks to sell off 4 federal properties in Vermont – VTDigger
Four federal facilities in Vermont could be on the chopping block as the Trump administration seeks to sell off what it has deemed “non-core” government properties in an effort to cut costs.
The U.S. General Services Administration on Tuesday published a list of 320 federal facilities considered “not core to government operations” that the agency said it would look to shutter or sell, including the Winston Prouty Federal Building in Essex Junction, the U.S. Post Office and Customs building in St. Albans and the Social Security Administration offices on School St. in Montpelier.
A “shed” in Derby Line that was listed as used by the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service was also included in the inventory.
By Wednesday afternoon, the list had been removed entirely from the agency’s website and replaced with a web page that said the list was now “coming soon.” The quick change raised further questions about whether the Trump administration would follow through on its plan to “dispose of” all the properties listed, as described on the web page.
“To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s immediately for sale,” Paul Hughes, a spokesperson for the General Services Administration, said in a written statement to VTDigger.
During the disposal process, the General Services Administration, which manages real estate belonging to the federal government, can transfer or sell a property to any number of entities, including private companies and organs of state or local government.
Assuming the agency does move forward with its plans, it’s unclear what would happen to operations at the Vermont properties, some of which provide essential services to Vermonters and residents of neighboring states.
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Formerly a post office facility, the St. Albans property now houses the state’s only U.S. passport center, as well as offices for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State Department, according to city manager Dominic Cloud.
“The building has been a prominent fixture of downtown for a generation,” he said. “People from all over the Northeast come to get their passports here.”
Cloud emphasized that he hoped the decision to sell the facility wouldn’t necessarily spell the end of the passport center, as the offices could be moved elsewhere. But he also questioned the building’s designation as a “non-core” facility.
“Over the 15 years that I’ve been here the building has been nearly constantly invested in and improved,” Cloud said. “It’s not a white elephant by any measure.”
“We’re monitoring the situation to see where it goes from here,” he said.
In Montpelier, Mayor Jack McCullough said that although he was aware that the city’s Social Security office had appeared on the General Services Administration list, the city had received “no communication” from the federal government about possible plans for the building.
The General Services Administration is currently in the process of trying to sell off the Federal Building in Montpelier, which housed the city’s post office and other federal offices until it sustained significant flooding damage in July 2023 and shuttered its doors.
But McCullough said that, as far as he knew, the Social Security offices were still operating and serving Vermonters.
“It’s a real concern to me because I think people in the community have been relying on that office as a way of communicating with the Social Security Administration,” McCullough said.
Assuming the building does get sold off, McCullough said, he hoped that the Social Security Administration would find another way to provide services to community members and that the facility would eventually fill a different need for Montpelier.
“One can imagine productive uses for the building,” McCullough said. “But I don’t really know what’s happening with it at this point.”
According to Hughes, the General Services Administration expects to republish the list “in the near future” and had received “an overwhelming amount of interest” in various properties on the list — though he did not specify whether any of the Vermont properties had garnered interest.
“To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s immediately for sale. However, we will consider compelling offers (in accordance with applicable laws and regulations) and do what’s best for the needs of the federal government and taxpayer,” Hughes said.
STORRS, Conn. – No. 9 UConn women’s hockey secured a decisive 4-0 win over Vermont on Friday night at the Toscano Family Ice Forum. Julia Pellerin led the way for the Huskies scoring three of UConn’s four goals in the win. UConn moves to 4-1 in Hockey East play and 9-3-1 overall this season.
UConn netminder Tia Chan was stout throughout, making 18 saves, earning her second shutout of the season.
The first period began with Vermont winning the opening faceoff and testing the Huskies’ defense early with a series of blocked and saved shots. UConn responded with offensive pressure, leading to a power-play opportunity after a tripping penalty against Vermont. Junior forward Julia Pellerin capitalized on the power play, finishing a great no-look pass at the back post from Livvy Dewar. This goal marked the beginning of a standout performance for Pellerin, who would go on to record her second career hat trick, and first in a UConn uniform.
Both teams continued to trade shots, but the Huskies maintained their 1-0 lead going into the first intermission, with shots favoring UConn, 17-8.
During the second period, UConn extended their lead with a series of effective plays, leading to goals. Pellerinonce again found the back of the net, marking her fourth goal of the season, putting UConn up 2-0.
Shortly after, UConn doubled their lead as Brooke Campbell added another for the Huskies with a re-directed shot in front of goal, making it 3-0.
The Huskies advantage grew to four when Pellerin completed her hat trick on the power play, going bar down from a near impossible angle. UConn maintained a commanding 4-0 lead going into the final period. Shots favored the Huskies in the second period, 13-3.
UConn maintained their four-goal lead throughout a scoreless third period. Despite multiple shot attempts from both teams, neither side could find the back of the net in the final 20 minutes. The period concluded with the Huskies securing a 4-0 victory to open the weekend series.
Up Next
UConn will conclude the weekend series with Vermont on Saturday, November 22. Puck drop is set for 2:00pm at the Toscano Family Ice Forum. TICKETS
WESTMINSTER, VT. (WWLP) – Two suspects, including a man from Springfield, were arrested in Vermont in connection with drug possession and trafficking.
Vermont State Police stated that at approximately 12:37 p.m. on Thursday, a trooper observed a motor vehicle violation on I-91 in Westminster and conducted a traffic stop. It was discovered that the passenger, identified as 48-year-old Kenneth Piller of Los Angeles, California, was wanted for drug-related offenses.
The driver, identified as 21-year-old Chantz Dudley of Springfield, Mass., was also detained, and both suspects were brought to the State Police Barracks.
Troopers seized the vehicle and executed a search warrant, during which time they located suspected crack cocaine and fentanyl. Piller was turned over to Rutland City Police custody, and Dudley was sent to the Southern State Correctional Facility in place of $30,000 bail.
Dudley was charged with possession of cocaine 1oz+, fentanyl trafficking, and transporting fentanyl into the state.
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The Office of the State Auditor found significant shortcomings with how the Vermont Department of Health reviews complaints related to food and lodging establishments, according to a recent report.
The report is the first audit of four planned for the coming months by Auditor Doug Hoffer and his staff, part of an effort to assess how the state government responds to Vermonters’ complaints.
The department’s Food and Lodging program is responsible for ensuring that Vermont restaurants, hotels, and other similar establishments, follow the state’s health and sanitation regulations and protocols. The program provides licenses and inspects more than 6,000 food establishments and regulates lodging facilities, while addressing the complaints it receives from the public.
The audit selected 45 complaints for review out of the 1,081 complaints the program received between 2022 and 2024. The types of complaints that come in include allegations of unsanitary conditions, bed bug infestations, inadequate cooking and contaminated food equipment. Inspectors have to first verify if the complaints are true, and if so, recommend corrective actions.
However, the audit found that inspections were not always conducted within the required timeframe, and, in some cases, inspectors did not follow up to verify if the problems were resolved. Of the complaints reviewed, 16 of them were not investigated in the timeframe required. Seven out of the 10 complaints with more serious allegations were not investigated within the required two days. Two of them were not investigated at all.
Additionally, inspectors closed 18 of the 26 complaints that required corrective actions without confirming if the problems had been resolved. Hoffer said this does not necessarily mean that the owner of the establishment did not address the problem but that the inspectors did not visit the place again to check if they did.
“If you’re calling for a corrective action for a serious problem, you need to make sure that it’s been done and documented, and they were kind of short on that,” Hoffer said.
The audit also found that the Department of Health doesn’t measure the performance of the Food and Lodging program, which is a state requirement. The program is also missing specific policies and procedures for handling complaints.
Hoffer said the auditor’s office will follow up in one year and again in three years to see if the department has implemented their recommendations to improve the program.
The public complaint system evaluated in the audit is just one part of the work carried out by the program, according to Liz Wirsing, the senior program manager for Food and Lodging.
“The report evaluated a small sample of the hundreds of complaints that we receive and follow up on every year, so sometimes other priorities have to take precedence for protecting public health,” Wirsing said.
Still the recommendations are helpful, and the program is already working on implementing them, she said.
“We appreciate the public reaching out to us and sharing their concern,” Wirsing said, adding that people should continue to file complaints. “It’s important information, and it does help alert us sometimes to things that need some follow-up.”
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