Eliana Newton is a student at Saint Michael’s College. This article is published through a collaboration between The Winooski News and a journalism course at Saint Michael’s College.
WINOOSKI — Winooski residents took to the polls on March 3 and passed all Town Meeting Day ballot items.
Perhaps the most-watched item was a $950,000 bond to renovate city buildings, including the police station, where exposed asbestos and black mold have made for poor working conditions. The item passed 654 to 237.
“We can’t really ask for police officers to work in an environment where they know that there’s two respiratory issue-causing substances,” said Interim Mayor Thomas Renner, who was also elected to the permanent mayor position Tuesday night.
In other spending, voters approved a $34.8 million school budget and an $11.9 million city budget for fiscal year 2027. The city budget accounts for salary increases, a new fire marshal, contract increases and inflation, a capital plan increase and other expenses.
“I’m always proud of city staff for bringing us items that are necessary and important to the community. They rarely bring us things that aren’t a must-do item,” Renner said.
School Article Six on the ballot asked voters to use excess school funds from previous years to buy a house, located at 2 Normand St., for not more than $380,000.
School Board Trustee Nicole Mace said the school district will use the property to host specialized programs for children who learn best in a nontraditional school setting.
According to Mace, who explained the program in the February edition of The Winooski Newsletter, these students usually attend schools outside of the district, which can be costly. These out-of-district programs often have limited spaces, leaving students without access to learning environments that could benefit them more.
In local elections, Nicole Mace, Elom Essiba and Katie Livermore, who ran unopposed, are filling the city’s three school trustee seats. Allyssa Ravelin, who also ran unopposed, will continue serving as school treasurer.
Renner will finish out the remainder of former mayor Kristine Lott’s 3-year term. Lott resigned from the post in September of 2025.
Voters also elected Al Turkos, Eli Ogilvie and Elsie Goodrich to the city council. Both Ogilvie and Goodrich will serve two-year terms, and Turkos will serve the remainder of previous councilor Charles Judge’s term, one year.
Winooski residents also said yes to the city applying for funding outside of property taxes via Article Four.
Including the police station vote, the ballot contained three bond votes, asking voters if the city could borrow money to fund certain public projects. Over time, borrowed money will be paid off using property taxes.
Before Town Meeting Day, Renner said all of the bond articles were tasks that “just can’t wait anymore.”
Article Five will allow the city to fix the elevator in the Winooski Parking Garage on Cascade Way. The elevator is currently inoperable.
“There are people who can’t physically take stairs and who can’t walk all the way through the garage. For them to be able to utilize the garage, they need a working elevator,” Renner said.
The city intends to spend no more than $580,000 to fix the elevator and any other surrounding problems to ensure its functionality.
Article Six will allow the city to borrow no more than $500,000 to extend the sidewalk on East Spring Street. The state is also planning to add stop lights to the intersection of East Spring Street and Hood Street.
There is a potential to cut out some costs for extending the sidewalk, although it’s not a certainty, according to Renner, who said the city may be able to borrow equipment from the state.
Working on both of these projects concurrently will cut “down on the amount of time that drivers and residents in the area are going to experience interruptions,” Renner said.
Correction, March 7: A previous version of this story inaccurately described Elsie Goodrich’s city council campaign. Goodrich was appointed to the council last year and ran for office this spring, not for reelection.