Appendix B: Letter to Saputo

LaPlatte Watershed Partnership

Andrea Morgante
56 Mechanicsville Rd
Hinesburg, VT 05461
April 14, 2007
Tom Herbick
Saputo Inc
Rt 116
Hinesburg, VT 05461

Dear Mr. Herbick,

The LaPlatte Watershed Partnership (LWP) is a community-based organization that recognizes

the many interests in the LaPlatte watershed such as drinking water, agriculture, hunting, fishing,
and other forms of recreation. The goals of the organization are:
Work for the continuous improvement of the water quality of the LaPlatte, its
tributaries and Shelburne bay for wildlife, plants, and human cohabitation.
Work for the continuous improvement of the natural systems including
habitat, and natural areas nth watershed associated with the LaPlatte, its
tributaries and nearby wetlands.
Build relationships between towns in the watershed (Shelburne, Charlotte,
Hinesburg, St George and Williston,) and various interest groups.

The LWP is coordinating a long-term plan for the LaPlatte River corridor in the Town of
Hinesburg. The long term goal of the Stream Corridor Plan (SCP) is to develop strategies that
will aid landowners and the town in establishing land use practices in riparian areas that will
reduce production of sediment and nutrients and address the ongoing conflicts between people’s
land use expectations and river dynamics and needs, employing passive management strategies
(e.g., corridor protection, conservation easements, buffer planting) where possible. The project
aims to engage town officials and landowners in the process of development of the SCP
including analysis of management alternatives as developed by Vermont Department of
Environmental Conservation River Management Program. The project will provide officials and
landowners the information and a framework to implement strategies that can result when the
community understands and values the river as a system and recognizes the importance and
opportunity in avoid future conflicts between human investments and river dynamics and in
resolving current conflicts in the most economical and ecologically sustainable manner.

Landowners involvement is an integral part of the project. The LWP has met with many
landowners in a collaborative process and has discussed the benefits of corridor planning and
alternative management strategies. The goal is development of a SCP that identifies mutually
agreeable stewardship practices through restoration, easements, corridor purchase, etc with
riparian landowners, including the town. A comprehensive plan for the corridor allows resources
to be protected and private and public investments to be made that are economically and
ecologically substantial as individual parcels are subdivided and developed throughout the town.
The combined efforts of all stakeholders in the LaPlatte River Community can create an effective
plan for the stream corridor that will save money and aggravation and also enhance the stream’s
quality in the long term.
As part of Stream Corridor Management plan we have identified the riparian landowners whose
land abuts the river and its tributaries. Our research both in the town hall records dating to 1904
and in speaking with long time community members has revealed that the canal also shown as
Patrick Brook on old USGS maps has been part of the property controlled by the cheese factory
site. In the “1861 History of Hinesburg” by Erastus Bostwick and reprinted in 1976 indicates
that in 1820 Jedadiah Boynton and Mitchell Hinsdale dug a canal, from Pond Brook to the north
part of the village, where they built a Factory, where they manufacture cotton and woolen
cloth,…” In more recent deed transfers there is no specific mention of “the canal” and we are
seeking to determine the chain of ownership and would appreciate your comments and
understanding on the ownership issue.

Through the 1970s the cheese factory used water from the canal as part of its operation and
maintained the canal. Since that time maintenance has been minimal and owners of the cheese
factory have allowed the Hinesburg Fire Department to utilize the area at RT 116 to fill the
tanker trucks and maintain the canal. This relationship is much appreciated by the entire
community.

Over the past 30 years many changes have occurred in land use within the village. The
development of Commerce Park as an area to allow expanded commercial and light industrial
uses created the need to expand the village sidewalk system to this area. In 1998 a bridge was
constructed over the canal and the sidewalk extended to the Post Office. Today Patrick Brook is
returning to its historic channel because of changes in land use and deterioration of upstream
structures that had previously kept all the water in the canal. While water continues to be
diverted to the canal the increase in sediment occurring at the diversion structure up
Mechanicsville road the canal is experiencing greater fluctuations in flow. Confusion has always
existing regarding this body of water because until 2004 the “Canal” was identified on USGS
maps as Patrick Brook. This caused landowners adjacent to the “canal” to obtain flood insurance
and comply with regulations that in practical terms did not apply to them. In 2004 the USGS
service did conduct a ground survey and prepared a new map of the area and it now identifies the
water body along Mechanicsville Rd as the “Canal” and not Patrick Brook.

We are bringing this issue to your attention in hopes that LWP can facilitate a better
understanding of the responsibilities and opportunities to manage the canal as part of a
comprehensive management plan being developed for the LaPlatte and its tributaries as it
impacts Hinesburg Village. We believe that in cooperation with the town it is an opportunity to
identify strategies that can benefit Saputo and the town to achieve a mutually agreeable solution
to ownership and responsibility.

We hope to hear from you and look forward to finding a mutually agreeable solution to this
issue. Please feel free to contact me my mail or email.

Sincerely,

Andrea Morgante
Morgante@gmavt.net