Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Composting is Cool

At the April Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission’s monthly Commission meeting, Buzz Ferver of the Composting Association of Vermont (CAV) discussed all the benefits of compost, the need for community scale composting operations and the latest development in legislation related to composting.

According to CAV’s website “the Composting Association of Vermont supports and promotes organics recycling that protects and benefits the environment. We advocate for the production and use of compost as a vital link between soil health and sustainable agriculture and communities. When organic materials are recycled into products of value everyone benefits.” For more information about composting and the Composting Association of Vermont visit: www.compostingvermont.org

The Calais Town Plan recieved regional approval, and a request for assistance from Montpelier and the Montpelier Senior Center to study the feasibility of a regional community/senior center were also discussed at the April meeting. Monthly Commission meetings are held at the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce, second Tuesday of each month at 7pm (except in August). Meetings are open to the public and are televised on Comcast, Charter, and Waitsfield Telecom cable stations.

2009 Housing & Wages Report

The latest "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Housing and Wages in Vermont" in now available.
According to the April 28 press release distributed by John Fairbanks, VHFA, this year's report found:
  • The median purchase price of a home in Vermont has remained stable in the last year, at $200,000.
  • A Vermont household would need an annual income of $63,000, as well as $14,000 for a downpayment and closing costs, to afford that home.
  • The median household income in Vermont is just under $52,000, enough to afford a $163,000 home.
  • The Fair Market Rent for a modest two-bedroom home is more than $900 a month, and more than half of Vermont’s workforce earns less than the $36,550 needed to afford that rent.
  • Vermont’s rental housing market is the tightest in the nation, and its homeownership market is the fourth-tightest.

The report also identifies the current housing wage on a county-by-county level. The housing wage is the amount a family would have to earn to afford a 2-bedroom fair market rent apartment. In Washington County the 2009 housing wage is $16.04, up from $14.67 last year.

A copy of the report is available for download from the Housing Awareness Campaign's website at http://www.housingawareness.org/publications/housing-wages-2009.pdf. For additional housing data visit: housingdata.org.

Friday, May 8, 2009

2010 Census is Coming!

Beginning this month, U.S. Census employees will visit every community in preparation for the 2010 census. By visiting addresses in every community, the Census Bureau will know where to send questionnaires and enumerators in 2010. Using hand-held computers, Census employees will walk through communities to identify the location of every housing unit. This helps the Census Bureau build an up-to-date address list and maps that serve as the backbone of the 2010 census. For more information, please visit www.census.gov