The Montpelier City Council voted unanimously on October 14th to adopt a letter of intent with developer DEW Construction for the first phase of housing on Country Club Road that is expected to include 108 new homes.

“We’re building a new neighborhood,” Councilor Paul Costello said before the vote.

Property owners say the city is taking their property on East State Street. The city is considering whether to settle, go to mediation or to take the matter to court.

Lack of guidance and expectations have led boards to do work that was not aligned with what the City Council and Mayor expected. This has resulted in frustrated volunteers and wasted time and effort.

As I’m sure some of the folks in the neighborhood have noticed, there’s been a homeless encampment at Blanchard Park for a couple weeks now.

The guys up there have been totally friendly, and I haven’t heard any noise issues.

However they’re really starting to trash the park. There’s a lot of empty alcohol containers, garbage, and what seems like a homemade bong (or crack pipe?)

I don’t want to call the police on them. One of the guys told me the police are already aware and just told them to be quiet/clean. They are also connected with local street outreach services.

I know it’s very hard to find shelter right now and I don’t wanna make life harder for these guys, and I also want the park to be clean and usable for the neighborhood. Is it possible to balance these things?

Does anyone know what would happen if I contacted the Parks Department? Would the city like, give them a warning and ask them to clean up?

I don’t know what the right answer is in this situation. I know this is a hot button topic and I’m hoping we can discuss how to meet everyone’s needs in a respectful and nuanced way.

Update: Today I went to the park and cleaned up the trash. There was one tent that was torn up/abandoned with some camping gear inside. I organized that stuff and left it to dry on the log.

I left a ziploc bag with garbage bags, gloves, and a note asking to keep the park clean next to the active tent.

I don’t know if this will work, I guess we’ll see. I think it’s clear that the “old ways” aren’t working, and that it’s up to us to experiment in new ways of solving problems in our community.

I’ve been going since I moved back in with my folks after college because they LOVE the bread so I tend to get something for myself there every time I go and I feel like it was so much better when it was in Middlesex. Every time I go now I feel like whatever I get just isn’t as good despite being more expensive and the workers almost always look miserable. Was there a change in ownership?

Hi everyone! I'm not sure the best place to post this but I am someone who lives in and works in the barre/montpiler area. I have been very busy with work with my new job I started full time a few months ago and also with my hours it makes me hard to get to certain garden stores while they are open. I was wondering if this is anything anyone would be interested in helping me with? I would provide money for the product, gas and compensation for time. This can all be discussed between us

What im asking for is basically i would just ask you to pick something up, money will be sent prior and then we would have a pre-discussed drop off or meet up spot which would preferably be in barre. Thank you

Improv show coming to the Grange Hall Cultural Center on Saturday October 24th! Tickets to the show are $10 and can be purchased ahead of time or at the door.

The Joy of Improv workshop includes admission to the 7:30pm show! In this workshop, you'll learn some basics of improv and have fun learning and collaborating. There will be a jam after the show where you can try out some of your new skills!

Time to make your *weekend-before-Thanksgiving* plans...

WORST. SONG. EVER. is just a month & a half away: Saturday November 21 at 7pm at the Barre Opera House.

$10 tickets on sale here! https://barreoperahouse.org/worst.-song.-ever.html

There’s a lot behind some buildings on state street, but directly across from the gas station with the arranda’s in it. It’s basically empty and I don’t see any tow/no parking/reserved signs. Is this a free lot or am I missing something? I only just moved here recently and I’m trying to find decent free parking close to work.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a dentist in or relatively near Montpelier? I used to go to River Station dentist but stopped going pwhen I moved out of state. Now I’m back and someone I trust didn’t think “new” dentist there was particularly good, so I’m shopping around for a new recommended dentist.

Looking for someone local who doesn’t charge an arm and a leg or try to upsell unnecessary repairs. Anyone have good experiences with a business in or around Montpelier?

Just thought I'd share my experience, I love where I live... Long live Taco Guy!

I put a comment about the new Clubhouse Commons/Late Light Cafe on another post and I thought it was important that I expounded on my thoughts. People really should give this space a shot. That opinion only grows more emphatic the more time I spend observing what they’re putting together.

Late Light is awesome. They’re new and fledgling. They’re in their first month. They need all the community support they can get! They’re booking out a ton of cool talent (their shows are free for under-21/$10 cover 21+, often Saturday nights — including tonight 10/3!!).

While their food menu is a little mid, they are working on re-inventing it live, and they also have phenomenal coffee/lattes and chai.

They are not a restaurant or bar. They are an afternoon-into-the-night hangout spot: one part youth and young adult social club, one part all-ages after-dark cafe — a true third space for people to come chill, read a book, study, meet up with friends over coffee, and catch some Friday karaoke or a Saturday show.

Also, the playlist is awesome. The music is on the louder side but not yelling-over-each-other ear-splitting.

I am almost 32 and Hutch, Jasmine, and the rest of the folks in there never made me feel anything other than warmly welcome. It is NOT just a “kids spot.” Just like the sign on the door states in bold: All are welcome.

It is an all-ages, sober situation run by a pack of business-minded folks in their 20s who are trying to lay important groundwork in the community. Not everyone’s vibe — definitely not a “bar scene” and, yes, the environment is tailored toward a younger crowd — but for this fully grown adult who just needed a late-night study/reading spot and some passive (and sometimes active) socialization in this often lonely-ass state where all the nightlife, scant as it is, centers heavily around either drinking or courting when I’m very often not in the mood or tax bracket to do either.. It’s really cool to have a genuine third space that’s trying to grow where I don’t feel out of place or even subliminally unwelcome, even given that I may be on the “older side of young”.

I mean, a sober spot open 3-11pm Tuesday-Thursday and 12pm-12am on Fri/Sat doesn’t sound like a spot that’s “just for kids.”

I am not affiliated with them in any capacity other than being a regular who really, really loves what they’re trying to do. We owe it to spaces like this when they arise to support them — especially considering the insane percentage of younger folks (20s-30s) who don’t stick around the area exactly because there isn’t anything like this going on here.

They’re really trying to do a good thing.

Edit: Schedule fix

If you’re in Montpelier, and want a nice drive with some of the best foliage I’ve seen in my 55 years here, head up Main street, on to County Rd, keep going when the pavement ends, continue all the way to Greenwood Lake. Stop at the Maple Corner Store for lunch and check out the Kent Museum exhibit while you’re in town. Traffic is nil except around the museum and maybe Maple Corner.

Bunch of cop cars