An Essex County Parking Dispute: Taxpayers in a Tight Spot
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Essex County
An Essex County officials’ parking fight puts taxpayers in a tight spot
Essex County’s sheriff and assistant judges are negotiating over justice center construction that could cost taxpayers more — whether work stops or continues.
By Emma White | October 4, 2026
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The Essex County Courthouse in Guildhall, center, sits between the Meeting House (left) and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
Dispute Over Parking Changes
Essex County’s sheriff and assistant judges have taken a simmering parking fight to court, leaving taxpayers caught between the cost of stopping construction and the risk of paying to redo it.
“Would it cost more to delay the project and design it correctly,” said Brice Simon, the sheriff’s attorney, “or would it cost more to do the project, find out later it wasn’t done quite right, and then have to deconstruct things and redo it?”
The dispute concerns changes to renovation plans for the Eben Judd Justice Center in Guildhall, a project projected to cost $4 million. The amended plan was approved by the Town Of Guildhall Planning Board on Aug. 27. Sheriff Trevor Colby argued that the revised plans for the parking area violate zoning laws and would hinder his department’s operations.
Opposing Views
Meanwhile, Evan Hammond and Kenn Stransky, two of the county’s assistant judges who lobbied for state approval and funding for the construction project, said that Colby lacks sufficient legal grounds for an appeal, while the project manager warns that delaying construction would drive up costs.
The outcome could determine both how the sheriff’s department operates at the renovated center and how much taxpayers ultimately pay for the work.
Colby filed his appeal of the permit on Sept. 4 with the Vermont Superior Court Environmental Division, which handles local zoning disputes. At the initial Sept. 21 hearing, Judge Joseph McLean asked the parties to try to resolve the dispute through discussions before proceeding in court.
“It’s important for these different components of county government to be talking to each other and working with each other for any number of reasons, but not the least of which is the public perception,” McLean said in the Sept. 21 hearing.
Simon said he understood the judge’s concerns, but also saw a benefit in creating space for civil disagreements.
“On the one hand, it shows a healthy dialog between different branches of government that’s being conducted in a manner that, although has certain procedural formalities, it affords each side due process and a chance to