Vermont Grapevine

Preston Bristow has been hired to replace Dick Horner as Town Planner and Zoning Administrator at Killington. Due to a lull in major projects, Preston will be working part-time for Killington and continue part-time as Selectboard Assistant and Zoning Administrator for the Town of Barnard. Previously Preston worked for 12-years as a circuit-rider zoning administrator for multiple towns including Barnard, Braintree, Chelsea, Newbury, Pomfret and West Windsor.

Two new staff additions at the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission include Jonathan DeLaBreure and Zach Maia. Jonathan joined in December 2018, and staffs the Commission’s emergency management and hazard mitigation program, as well as providing land use assistance to municipalities. His diverse experiences are a wonderful fit with CVRPC’s programs – he’s a native of the Northeast Kingdom; a Lieutenant for the City of Winooski Fire Department and an instructor Vermont Fire Academy; and has formerly served as Vice Chair of the Winooski Planning Commission and as the Select Board Assistant for the Town of Duxbury.  Jonathan holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Environmental Sciences and Business Administration from the University of Vermont and Champlain College respectively.  He currently lives in Winooski with his partner Lindsay, and their dog Bella.

Zach has started working part-time at the CVRPC and will join full time when he graduates in May 2019 from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies. He will support the land use and municipal assistance program. Prior to joining the CVRPC, Zach interned with the Town of Colchester, where among other responsibilities, he drafted the Town’s enhanced energy element in support of their 2019 municipal plan update. He also interned with the Manomet U360 Sustainable Business Program, helping businesses incorporate social and environmental considerations into their bottom line.

The TRORC welcomed Sarah Wraight, the newest Regional Planner, in December. Sarah supports TRORC’s transportation, brownfields assessment, and hazard mitigation planning projects. She recently earned her master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a focus on Land Use and Environmental Planning. She also brings professional experience in environmental justice work, community outreach, transportation planning, Census data analysis, and mapping. Sarah spends her free time cooking, hiking, volunteering in the community, hanging out with friends and family, and helping her cat keep the couch warm.

Lee left the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission to assume a new role as the Town Manager in Shelburne. Lee began serving as the interim town manager in April 2018, and was appointed to the role formally in December 2018. In addition to learning the ropes in his role, he continues to serve on the Shelburne Volunteer Fire Department, and photograph our state’s exceptional landscapes and much-loved outdoor sporting events.

At its annual meeting in December, the VPA members elected three new members to serve on its Executive Committee. Catherine Byars is the Community Planning Program Manager at the Bennington County Regional Planning Commission, Ravi Venkataraman is the DRB Coordinator for the Town of Shelburne, and Chris Sargent, AICP, is a Senior Planner at Dubois & King.

Emily Nosse-Lierer, Senior Planner at the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, got married to Adam Wehmann on December 28. In perfect planner fashion, they chose a remediated brownfield site in downtown Cleveland, Ohio as their venue.

Richard Amore, AICP, Planning & Project Manager at VT DHCD was awarded the Christopher K. Jarvi Scholarship by the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals (SORP) in order to attend the Project for Public Spaces training in NYC. The scholarship is available to parks and recreation professionals to attend training or programs that will help them expand their knowledge and serve their communities. SORP will be soliciting the next scholarship applications later this spring.