BRATTLEBORO-SEON is dedicated to promoting green building practices in our community - especially those that address the affordable housing crisis that holds back so many parts of our economy. Our Windham County delegation has contributed meaningfully to our recent efforts.
This spring, SEON advanced a federal earmark request for $9.9 million to expand our programs to help four local nonprofit builders build housing in our area. Working with SEON board member (and local entrepreneur), Jason Van Nest, we sketched a project to open temporary modular production space in the BDCC Business Park, help produce 200 modular kitchens and bathrooms, and distribute them to 2025 projects "on the boards" at Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, Groundworks, Downstreet Housing and Community Development, and other recipients.
U.S. Rep. Becca Balint and U.S. Sens. Peter Welch and Bernie Sanders saw how this project would be a double-win for our community: Not only would it drive down the cost of new affordable housing here, but it was also designed to create a first-in-the-nation worker training program.
SEON staff would craft research, craft, and deliver training programs for how Vermont craftspeople could ship, hoist, and install these modular products.
Ultimately, this offsite method of building reduces construction waste by 30%, it reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 40% to 60%, and it is simply faster. We face a moral imperative to explore, nurture, and promote these methods for our environment and our children.
When we approached the current state-level Windham County delegation for a letter of support, we found it at every level.
State Reps. Emilie Kornheiser, Michelle Bos-Lun, and Leslie Goldman co-authored a letter of support, and were joined by Sens. Nader Hashim and Wendy Harrison to organize their colleagues to co-sign a full-throated endorsement, which can be found at buildingscience.org/seon-cds.
Ultimately, the program proved too ambitious to make it into the U.S. Congress 2025 appropriations process. We're eager to streamline and try again next year with our delegation's support!
We at SEON feel fortunate to be represented by a delegation as accessible as ours in the Vermont Legislature - and we look forward to working with them in Montpelier in the years to come to make such projects an accessible reality for all Vermonters. We thank you all.
Sustainable Energy Outreach Network (SEON)
Brattleboro
Guy Payne, executive director
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