THE FRIENDS OF ALGIERS VILLAGE AND ACT 181

All About Me

The Friends of Algiers Village is a Nonprofit in Guilford Vermont. Their filed purpose reads: It shall seek to enable the residents of the Village to live in harmony with (…) their fellow citizens by buying, selling, and holding land and properties, including housing, and by education.  The word “education” is how the “friends” justify their 501c3 nonprofit status.

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As a 501c3 the Friends can receive tax deductible donations and apply for State and Federal Grants, but they are not permitted by law to lobby or promote political candidates. So, the Friends don’t publicly support candidates as an organization, but their board members most certainly do.

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The Friends of Algiers have bought, sold, and currently hold property in Guilford’s village center at the main intersection in town. One of the buildings they own houses the beloved local Guilford Country Store. The managers of the store pay their rent to the Friends for that privilege.

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In order for the "Friends" to secure more lucrative grant opportunities, Guilford’s Town Plan must align with regional planning strategies and laws like ACT 59 and 181 that were developing in the VT legislature. Guilford’s State Representative Sara Coffee’s husband was, and still is, a director for the Friends. They had inside information as to the development of those laws.

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The first obstacle the “Friends” faced were the farmers on Guilford’s Planning Commission. So, after volunteering 5 years and enduring the difficulties of Covid, Guilford’s 9-member Planning Commission was fired suddenly by receiving certified letters. This was done just weeks before the Town Plan was scheduled to be submitted.

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At 53:40, one of the fired commissioners asked the Selectboard, “why was the Planning Commission not invited to address your concerns before you terminated us?”

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Following several uncomfortable pauses, the SB’s liaison to the planning commission, Zon Eastes stated: “I think that’s a very good question. It was not considered because it was not required. It was not part of the discussion.”

In this process, four legacy farmers were fired from Guilford’s Planning Commission, and none were replaced.

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The newly appointed commission kept 99% of the original town Plan. The phrase that included the word “Wastewater” was the only substantial change. That word signals public approval for sewer expansion projects which help secure grants for sewer feasibility studies that lead to building projects in village centers, where the Friends own prime real estate and are looking to develop.​

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It would have been impossible to convince those farmers that Guilford should pursue any form of sewer expansion project. Instead of trying, the entire Planning Commission was terminated and replaced with members who would comply.

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The next step was to get funding. Although the Friends are extremely wealthy as individuals, they don’t like to spend their own money unless it lowers their tax bracket. So, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is where the Friends focused.

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Katie Buckley is a co-founder and a Director for the Friends of Algiers Village. She was also Guilford’s first ever Town Administrator and was appointed when Anne Rider (President of the Friends) was a member of Guilford’s selectboard.

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Following her time as Guilford’s Town Administrator, Katie became commissioner of the Department of Housing and Community Development and is currently the Director of the Federal Funding Assistance Program at the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. (VLCT)

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When ARPA money flooded the state, Buckley became the VLCT Director for the ARPA Coordination and Assistance Program to help municipalities navigate the federal requirements to administer those funds. Katie then assisted the Friends in funneling ARPA funds through their organization.

It started with 3 businesses, of the 200+ in Guilford, that were awarded about $60,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. All three businesses were directly associated with the Friends of Algiers. Two of them paid their rent to the Friends and the other business owner is a sitting director on their board.

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The previous managers of the Guilford Country Store were one of those three businesses. During covid they were struggling to maintain employees, so Anne Rider petitioned the Selectboard for ARPA funds, and they were awarded over $40,000.

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Several months following their award, the recipients of those ARPA dollars dissolved their business relationship with the Friends and left town.

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After the first three businesses received their ARPA awards, the selectboard established an ARPA Advisory Committee. Zon, acting as Chair of the selectboard, nominated himself to be the liaison to that Committee.

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Once the liaison, Zon started recommending where ARPA funds should be allocated. He started with awarding DV Fiber $30,000 to promote fiberoptic services in Guilford. However, Zon didn’t disclose that he just recently stepped down as a board director for DV Fiber.

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Katie Buckley then suggested using ARPA funds to hire a grant writer. She recommended, “that this would be a prudent expenditure, as there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in terms of the number of grants and funds available through ARPA and other sources, largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Zon approved $20,000.

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Zon’s newly appointed Planning Commission then applied for and was awarded $45,000 for a strategic planner to ensure Guilford’s town plan aligned with ACT 59, ACT 181, and Zoning requirements for infrastructure projects in village centers to benefit the friends. Zon awarded the funds.

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Then Sheila Morse, Treasurer and Principal officer for the Friends, requested and received $10,000 in ARPA funds for a matching grant to perform a traffic safety study in front of the building owned by the Friends. Zon awarded the funds.

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Anne Rider is the founder and President of the Friends and a former Guilford Selectboard Chair. Anne is also the Chairwoman of the Guilford County Committee for the Democrat party. She was an extremely outspoken and public supporter of Zon’s political campaign.

Anne petitioned and was awarded over $29,000 in ARPA funds to purchase a display cooler. This cooler is utilized by whomever manages the Guilford Country Store and pays their rent to the Friends.

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After Zon supported all ARPA request benefiting the Friends, every member of their board of directors endorsed him for State Rep. One of the directors was even his campaign treasurer.

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The next step was Zoning. If there is no zoning in Guilford, the Friends would miss out on more lucrative grant opportunities. Towns with zoning regulations have access to specific grants aimed at supporting development. Towns without zoning, face challenges in securing funding for planning and infrastructure projects.

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So, Zon’s newly appointed PC Chair, Jeannette Tokarz, with help from their hired grant writer, looked to secure a $30,000 grant on behalf of the Planning Commission with the goal of implementing Zoning Bylaws.

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Here’s the thing, Jeannette only told one person that the grant she was seeking was to promote zoning bylaws. Jeannette only told the Town Administrator, who was also appointed by Zon.

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To start with, the Town Administrator and Jeannette strategically neglected to show any Guilford Selectboard member the grant application, including the liaison. No one knew what the grant was for until after the grant was awarded at the last regular scheduled Selectboard meeting before the deadline to accept the $30,000 would expire.

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The Selectboard was about to approve the grant, believing Jeannette’s word that the budget for the $30,000 was flexible, until one resident who was sitting quietly suggested a delay. The short of it, the vote was delayed, and a special meeting was scheduled to look further into the grant.

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When the residents of Guilford discovered that Jeannette’s grant was intended to persuade them into creating zoning bylaws, they were not pleased. Similar to the response we are seeing now from rural Vermonters across the State concerning ACT 181, they began taking action. 

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Within days, there was an Online Survey conducted, where 260 votes were cast. 92% of the Residents said no to zoning. Other residents then created and signed a Petition intended to compel the SB to refuse the grant.

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Shortly thereafter, the SB was confronted that one of their members, who was supporting the grant application, had a conflict of interest with the vote because she was also the Treasurer and Principal officer for the Friends of Algiers Village.

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Another selectboard member was so disappointed in the process that she created her own petition for a special town meeting to remove the power of appointing Planning Commissioners from the SB back to the residents of Guilford. That meeting is scheduled for this May.

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Eventually, Jeannette lost at her attempt at the grant when Jenni Lavoi, who is the contracts and grant administrator for the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) rescinded it. “Due to recent events, we no longer have confidence that this grant will lead to a successful outcome and would be a good use of taxpayer funds. For these reasons, the department is rescinding this grant award.”

So, what were the "recent events" Lavoi mentioned? Well, the SB discovering what was written in the grant application was one. The second event was the public finding out what the grant was intended for.

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If Guilford's Planning Commission Chair or the Town Administrator had just shown the grant application to the SB, and/or the public, they could have avoided this altogether. However, they weren’t working for the residents of Guilford, they were working for the Friends.

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Jeannette even confessed if Guilford had zoning bylaws, there would be access to grants that were otherwise unavailable to organizations such as the Friends.

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“Some of the funding streams that are available from the state to promote housing development are tied to having zoning bylaws. So, as this all plays out (…) that opens the door for some funding that we wouldn’t otherwise have access to. So, there is a carrot being dangled there for sure.”

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No other entity in Guilford looks to benefit more from Zoning and ACT 181 than the "Friends of Algiers Village.” No individual in Guilford benefits more than Sheila Morse as their Treasurer and principal officer.

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Sheila Morse is a Guilford Selectboard member who was looking to vote in favor of the grant. If she voted yes, she would be releasing funds for the Friends to access. They can then use the grants to expand their wastewater and other housing aspirations. Can you say Conflict of Interest?

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Remember, the Friends filed tax purpose is to buy, sell, and hold land and properties, including housing, (…) The Friends already have total assets worth well over 1.1 million but that’s not their strength. Their strength is in their Board of Directors.

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The list of directors sitting on the board of the Friends is a who’s who of Guilford elites, which includes: 2 former Selectboard Chairs, 2 former Town Administrators, the former Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Community Development who is currently the Director of the Federal Funding Assistance Program at the VLCT, the wealthy husband of Guilford’s former State Representative, and Guilford’s Democrat Committee Chair, just to name a few before mentioning their lawyer, developers and financial manager.

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This group knows how to secure land and grant funding, as that is their purpose and motive. I could go on and on about the influence of the “Friends.”

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Here’s the important part. Remember Zon? The Selectboard member who orchestrated the firing of the Planning commission, the one who appointed Guilford’s new Planning Commissioners and the new Town Administrator? The one who nominated himself to the ARPA advisory committee to secure funding for the Friends? He’s now my State Representative.

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The entire Friends of Algiers organization, as individuals, all supported Zon in his campaign for State Representative. He announced his campaign standing in front of the building owned by the Friends (Guilford Store) smiling with my former State Representative Sara Coffee.

That announcement was followed by a gathering at Coffee’s house with her husband, David Snyder, who is a director for the Friends.

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If you made it this far, thank you! Now you know who you are fighting against. Even if Zon wanted to vote against ACT 181, would the "Friends" let him?