 All right. Good morning and thanks for being here today. As we approach Thanksgiving, it's important to take a moment to pause and reflect on the many things in our lives we're thankful for. For me, I'm grateful for family and friends who continue to support me through thick and thin. I'm thankful for my talented team for their commitment to protecting Vermonters in their incredible work ethic. I'm grateful to public servants across the state, our first responders, national guard, teachers, road crews and so many more who we count on in times of need. And we've needed them quite a bit over the last few years from the pandemic to the last years or this summer's flooding. But I'm most thankful for the people of Vermont who continue to inspire me with their generosity and willingness to step up and meet the moment and help their neighbors. And for those who can, I need you to dig a little bit deeper because we still have more work to do. Heading into Thanksgiving week, many will be thinking about getting together with family, sharing a meal with loved ones, and maybe even doing some shopping. But with summer flooding not yet in the rearview mirror, many families are going into the holiday season, still trying to make repairs to their damaged homes. And some will be living with family and friends, while others are still trying to figure out what their future looks like. They also know many businesses are still trying to open in time for the holiday season, which they rely on heavily to survive. This is why it's as important today as it was in July for each of us to find ways to get back and support our communities. It could be as simple as a simple act of kindness, which can have more of an impact than you'll ever know. And giving your time and labor is another incredibly important gift for those who continue to be overwhelmed by this summer's flood. But there's another way to get back. As you may recall, soon after the flooding, we relaunched the Vermont Strong license plates to raise money for Vermonters and businesses in desperate need. To date, we've sold about 22,000 plates and received about 120,000 in donations, raising nearly $1 million. And this money has supported many in the aftermath of the disaster. But challenges and needs remain, and many of our neighbors are still struggling. From a lack of heat to buying food because their local grocery store is still closed, or even cooking it because their kitchen isn't usable, to paying bills because flood repairs weren't in the budget, to needing mental health services with all this on their shoulders. So starting today and for the next six weeks, we're going to sharpen our focus on fundraising with a campaign that targets specific needs for individuals and businesses impacted by the floods. The Community Foundation will focus its portion on individual needs in four main areas. Home repairs and heat, food security, helping families with household needs, and mental health services. And we'll continue working with ACCD to get the other half of the proceeds to businesses who are still working to open their doors and bring employees back. As I've said, we've raised close to a million dollars so far. And our goal with this campaign is to double it and raise another million. We know how much Vermonters care about each other, the way you showed up over the summer and into the fall is a testament to the strength of our communities and our resilience. But again, there's more work to do and more money to raise to help those still working to recover. So let's remember we're not just buying plates or socks, we're giving a helping hand to friends and neighbors. And there are other ways or others out there who are pitching in as well. And I want to mention Vermont Gloves, for example. So we have at both the socks, Vermont Strong socks, we also have Vermont Strong Gloves. And Vermont Strong Gloves is out of Randolph, Sam Hooper has been doing this for quite a number of years. And he's giving half of the proceeds to the Community Foundation. So these are worthwhile causes as well. And we know there are others out there doing similar things. So if you are and you're listening, let us know and we'll help get the word out. And please know how much I appreciate your contribution. So with that, I'll turn it over to Dan Smith at the Vermont Community Foundation to talk about how they're supporting individual needs. And then the Secretary Curley to speak a little more about those businesses who still need our help. So I think it's a great place to start and think about this week in the context of Thanksgiving, right? And we've got it's important to say thank you for all that's been done already in the course of this incredible event. It's affected so many of our friends and neighbors across the state, but also recognize that there's a ton more work to do and there's an incredible need that's still out there, particularly as the weather turns. And people are living in more challenging environments based on the conditions of their homes and the conditions of their places of work. To date, Vermonters and Vermont businesses have stepped up for the flood response and relief fund to the tune of just over $12 million of which 10.2 has been obligated or otherwise granted out. This next push, I think what's the most important about this next push around these license plate is not just the resources that will come in. A million dollars is going to go through the agency of commerce and through the community foundation straight out to those who are going to need it. With the presence of those tags on the front bumper of cars also sends a message that I think our neighbors need to hear, which is that we're looking out for each other, right? When you see that coming down the other way on the road, it sends a message to somebody who may be wondering in the context of this world who's got my back, you know, between the community foundation, this administration, the state neighbors helping neighbors, we have each other's back and that's one of the most inspiring things about Vermont and about Vermont communities. We look out for each other and it's really important to go into this time when we're going to celebrate with our own families, having wonderful meals with our own families, going into the holidays and thinking about what that will bring for our families to know that not every family is experiencing that the same way and one of the things we can do is participate in this campaign. So as the governor highlighted, those resources will go out the door supporting housing and heating implementation through local organizations, working with people who've been affected, food access and family security for people who have been, who are wrestling with those issues, supporting mental health and access to the supports as people wrestle with a series of crises that really erode our sense of well-being in the world. We know where the challenges are and this is one of those moments, one of my favorite phrases in the moment of a crisis is that there are some folks who really run towards a crisis. We're a state where people run towards a crisis when their neighbors are facing it and as we think about the next six weeks and the ability to raise another million dollars that are going to go back out the door to support our neighbors, this is a way we can all run towards our neighbors in need. Thank you to everybody for what you've done and what we're going to do in the next six weeks. Thank you, Dan. Good morning everyone. As you know, the Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program or BGAP, which launched less than a month after the floods, has been distributing grants to businesses to get their doors back open and rental housing stock back online. The $20 million program has supported more than 500 businesses with an average grant amount of $37,000. We've heard from many businesses about the real impact that this has had in getting their doors opened, their inventory replenished and their employees back to work. We have also heard from landlords who use the money to get housing fixed up and support the rehousing of people who were displaced by the floods. With the $20 million in funds that have been largely allocated, businesses reported more than $160 million in unmet total physical damages. So the unmet need remains great and we know every penny can help to get them to the next stage of reopening. As we raise more money through the Vermont Strong License Plate Program this holiday season, we will continue to provide grants through the BGAP program for those businesses that were already in the queue but did not get any money. We will not be reopening the application portal as the queue of applications already submitted remains sizable. The ability to grant more money will be the direct result of the generosity of Vermonters, their local communities and the business community in our state. There are many opportunities for businesses to sell these plates whether they are at their retail location or maybe they have a vehicle fleet that could be outfitted with Vermont Strong License Plates like GMP has done. You can see in the photo behind me. Or perhaps they could make their employee gift this year the gift of a plate and the knowledge that those dollars are going to support businesses reopening their local communities. We encourage all businesses to think creatively about how to support their fellow business owners through this holiday season license plate campaign. Plates can be bought in bulk very easily right on the Department of Motor Vehicles website. Again the recovery is ongoing and many people are still struggling. We can't lose sight of our neighbors in these coming winter months. The need remains great and this challenge to raise a million dollars will help those during a time when they need it most as the stress of the winter and the holiday season builds. Shopping local will also be important this year as our downtowns and our villages look to rebound from not only the physical damage but loss revenue and economic harm from this past summer. We hope Vermonters and Vermont businesses will get on board with supporting the Vermont Strong Program and help deliver needed relief and recovery resources. And with that, I'll turn it back over to the Governor. Thank you Secretary Curley. We'll get up to questions at this time. Many different organizations both on a smaller community collective to large Vermont companies pitching in over the past few months. Anything that stands out to you either from specific fundraisers to kind of the Vermont spirit across the state? Yeah, I think it's just so widespread and in all different sizes and that's what you know inspires me to want to do more and and I've talked about these random acts of kindness just doing little things that I've heard about people people just buying somebody else a meal somebody going and mowing somebody's uh some an elderly neighbor's uh lawn or just helping them clean up in some way just everyone trying to get back in some way and there's still more work to do so I would encourage anyone um it doesn't take long to find somebody who needs a bit of a lift and just just give them whatever you can whether it's time or money buy a plate buy a pair of gloves and and there are many other instances we'd love to hear about them too so we can tell their story because it's it just tells a lot about who we are as Vermonters. Governor of course in very Montpelier, Ludlow etc they're still living every day with the effects of the flood but how much of a concern is it that people in Chittenden County or Southern Vermont you know aren't aren't seeing it and it's not on their radar every day? Yeah I think it's uh it was a challenge during Irene I remember after Irene it didn't really affect much of the upper part of the state whether it was the the northwest or the northeast kingdom it just didn't have the same effect as it did in the southern parts of the central to southern and we struggled with that because people just didn't even know how bad things were but I would encourage people to to get out take a drive drive through around 302 right the main street of the berry and look at some of the homes that are still severely impacted drive through Montpelier the main street of the Montpelier and see the number of businesses that are still closed and struggling to open back up take a drive through Hardwick and take a look at the the hotel motel that's still halfway in the river and all the damage that they they felt they could drive through Johnson and see the the store that's still closed they're in the central part of the village and that was the main the main area of gathering for a number of things but but just to get the basic needs their groceries so it's still with us and you don't have to drive very far to find it but would you say the biggest need right now is volunteerism sort of you know bodies and people helping out or is it money or do you think it's both I think at this point it's it's both but money is going to go further at this point but there are still volunteer efforts still things to do I was I was out last weekend with a with our team and we finished up another playground in Barry and that's that's our third so there's there's still work to do we have one more playground to go in Barry and hopefully we'll get that done before for things freeze up but but there are playgrounds throughout the Vermont and in areas parks and so forth that still need needs some help on a separate but similar note do you know what's the latest with the FEMA trailers in in Montpelier the mobile housing units they're they've signed the agreement as far as I know they've signed the agreement with the city of Montpelier FEMA has so they'll start construction soon to put that the utilities in and get the pads in and so forth and I think they're looking into some probably middle of the winter before they're placing the first trailer but it'll it'll take some time is it surprising that's taking that long would you say it's it's discouraging that it takes a long but but I'm not surprised these are you know big decisions to make they had to find an area that was suitable to them we're dealing with the federal government and we're dealing with the local government and we're dealing with the state at the same time so we're all trying to pull in the same direction but I think the good news is we're on a on a path now to to provide for a certain segment of our population to have a home for the next 18 months is there any update you can give on the efforts to get heat to those who still might not have it yeah I mean we we make ground every day we had over 200 that we we contacted and it looks like the number is down to I think last I read Friday it might have been like 20 or 30 and we're still trying to reach but but we're in different stages there and hopefully we'll get that accomplished and we do have you know plan B if not but but I think we're going to get there looking at the Vermont community fund can you just explain a bit more into where those dollars have already gone to work in the community and how Vermonters who may have still applied have not received it yet how they might be able to qualify or get that money in the community sure so we've been running that fund the flood response and relief fund in phases you know from the sort of second day after the fund so the challenges you never really know how much you're going to have to work with so it makes budgeting particularly complicated you know we've been so we've been issuing them in stages and phases over since you know the second week of July the first phase was really oriented around immediate emergency response right making sure people had a place to go making sure they had food making sure volunteers were organized a lot of local grassroots work like the Montpelier alive Montpelier strong work in downtown local berry organizations and similar grassroots organizations moving more into systemic work you know the community action agencies capstone community actions been a great partner getting economic and food resources out helping organize case management in terms of people applying for federal resources and navigating those kinds of things we just closed out a 1.5 million dollar program in close coordination with the agency of agriculture supporting flood affected Vermont farmers it was you know I think roughly 150 different farms received grants directly from the flood fund to support their cash flow going into the winter months so the dollars have been coming in and going out as they've come through right now as we articulated earlier it'll be focusing on we've been working on a partnership with efficiency Vermont and some other folks around getting resources into the hands to address the heating crisis we're continuing to work on that case management question particularly Vermonters who are left out potentially of FEMA resources so letting those processes run and then figuring out how we can use the philanthropic dollars to backfill the gaps that are left in public resources we never quite have as much to work with as the public sector does but we can fill gaps fairly nimbly and fairly quickly when they're left in and that's one of the things we learned in Irene and the things we saw in the pandemic and one of the things we've been able to fluctuate in the last four months I would say the most important thing and the thing about which we're as an organization deeply grateful none of this works if we're not able to coordinate really closely with the administration so the partnership between the administration and the Vermont Community Foundation has been really really deep and really really clear and transparent so we've been able to put resources to work effectively and hopefully in ways to minimize redundancy and that's important to Vermonters who most end of benefit we'll continue to do with that with this next push of the campaign we'll get those resources back out to those who can most need them and can most put them to work Governor last week you appointed five superior court judges two of whom have extensive experience as defense attorneys you know those aren't the typical folks that wind up on the bench necessarily how do you how do you think about that decision to appoint public defendants yeah you know it's never been for me it's never been about appointing a prosecutor or defense attorney it's all about the person how they view the law how they're even uh uh keel um their their ability to to look at both sides of any any conflict and do what's best and adhere to the law so again we've we've appointed defense attorneys in the past but but I don't keep track because it doesn't really matter to me what what the game it matters to me that they adhere to the law and that they deal with things with a level level hand according to a recent report from state treasurer I think the state pension funds for state employees and for teachers still has a deficit something to the or shortfall something to the tune of 200 million have have you seen the latest numbers I saw that number as you might remember I uh I vetoed that bill because I didn't think it did enough it didn't go far enough that I didn't believe that it was going to solve our deficit and it appears it hasn't is there anything else you think should be done in this coming session or will you be making any I think they made it pretty clear they had no interest in what the suggestions I had if they want to take them up I was resoundly overridden by the legislature so I think it's up to them to make that move if they want to got a few folks on the line we'll go to next we'll start with Tim McQuiston from our business magazine and Governor a couple of things being of the legislature the hospital financing system is I think pretty clearly unsustainable is there do you have any thoughts about trying to work with legislators on trying to figure out a way forward and I'm not sure you can fix it but at least find a way forward and and try and assist them well obviously we all have the shared interests there we want to protect our healthcare system that's that's very important to every single for monitor but the Green Mountain Care Board has a role to play as well so we will continue to work with the Green Mountain Care Board and legislators to do whatever we can to make sure the our healthcare system is healthy and that's that's important. Secretary Curley I'm wondering if you've been able to have any data on how much economic activity was lost from the the summer storms and some of it was the perception of people coming here thinking Vermont was closed do you have any idea of what what might have been lost we have tried to survey to we have done some surveys to try to to to determine that to be honest with you I don't have that information with me and I'm not sure how accurate it's going to be because there's there's no way because it's so fluid I'm just not sure how accurate it will be that being said Tim I'd be happy to connect you with the team at ACCD so you can see what we have gathered to see if there's any strong conclusions we can draw from that but uh but I don't have anything with me here that I could that I that would be helpful right now it's large I think it's too soon to tell I think that we'll know a little bit more in the coming quarters thank you yeah one thing I will say is one thing I will say is that we are starting to see reports from the the lodging and hospitality industry that that would indicate that in certain areas the the visitors visits were stronger than they anticipated and I will say you know I you know little kudos to the team to our tourism team tourism and marketing team for getting out very quickly to let folks know that Vermont was in fact open for business and that the best way that they could support vermoners was to come to Vermont so again you know hopeful that that we you know I realized there were areas of Vermont that certainly you know we're not able to welcome folks they were you know places that were not open but but for those that were I'm hoping that they did see a consistent consistent numbers that they that seen in the past and in some places as I mentioned they saw some optics so hopefully we'll have better numbers for you in the coming quarter on on that Tim you know it's really anecdotal but my many trips to Johnson I'd go through Stowe during the September months and or September weeks and and it was packed it was just I couldn't believe I don't think I've seen as many people in in Stowe at that time of year and so they did quite well but you get to to Johnson and again you see the devastation there or you return to Montpelier and you see the devastation there so I guess it it really depends on where you were a lot though I think it's going to be interesting to see their numbers when we when we're able to attain them and see the impact it might have had on them but but again it really depends on on your geographically and geographic area all right great I'll keep an eye on that thanks Ed Barbara Newport Daily Express all right we'll try Keith Droughton-Herald Hi my apologies if this was already covered but I was wondering if we knew exactly how many people are still without heat and what the holdup might be with that if it's a labor thing or money or they're just not contacting it where or what the situation yeah Keith we we did have the question before it is somewhere around if I've got these numbers right I think it was as of Friday we had maybe 30 20 30 families that that were still trying to get in touch with and have been able to so we don't know about them but the vast majority we've been able to to help and there are different stages of recovery at this point so we think we'll be able to to accommodate everyone but but we're still trying to reach out to to some and and that's been a bit of a struggle and and I would say the the reasoning behind maybe the various stages of repair are all the above whether it's workforce or whether supply chain whether it's funding and whatever else that that might be the case it's it's all across the board so we're trying to fill all the gaps we can we've had a lot of help from the efficiency Vermont and the feudalist association and they've been rallying and helping and supporting these families so so again it's a testament to Vermont everyone seeing the issue coming together and and trying to fill those gaps as needed but you know they concentrated in any one area or they scattered or scattered a bit but but it would be no surprise to see that some many are in the Washington County area the hardest hit area in the state particularly in the Bay Area yeah so it was about 30 is that down from what was it before I can't I think it's like it seemed like it was 250 but we let me let me get you the exact numbers so that unless Dan do you have those I want to give you the exact numbers we'll get you the exact numbers so I don't get this wrong thank you that's all I had thank you thank you Tom Davis Compass Vermont thanks Jason the governor in the previous press conference commissioner housing went through a extensive list of the things that we still need on regulatory side to help with housing and the increase in productivity in the state I don't recall the date that you were going to meet with a legislative team about that I was curious if that has happened and if there are any modifications you made in that presentation prior to that yeah no we haven't put all that together this will be a package we'll put together for the legislative session to be pretty broad and pretty bold along with a another public safety package as well and that will be equally as bold and broad will you be sharing that with the public at the same time we will be we haven't decided at this point but somewhere between now and January something we'll get something to you very good thank you back to the room government where do we stand with um flood debris and the clean up a few weeks months ago you'd said that there was a concern especially given yeah winter and then the spring meld how where do we stand with that we're we're getting there I mean there's still debris left but I think the vast majority has been picked up and we continue to use state resources and picking up any additional debris that we encounter but but come come spring I think you if you if you take a look at all the riverbanks right now the leaves are gone and all we see is sticks and debris at this point so I think we'll have another push for a green up day in May and I would say that there's going to be a lot to pick up at that point in time probably more than any other year that I can remember but you're not concerned like with at this point sounds like with debris with right you know clogging up storm drains yeah the debris the the municipalities they did reach out to us some did and needed assistance and we provided that assistance so it looks like at this point fingers crossed that we're in pretty good shape in terms of our storm drainage are there any big points after this summer's flooding that we're looking at similar to how in Irene we knew we needed to rebuild a lot of bridges in a different ways or any specific infrastructure that kind of jumped out this time yeah I think it really is in our watershed areas and looking for opportunities to to store water for the future and during these flood events that'll be that'll be I think a focus point at least for me and and trying to to make sure that we're protecting our resources as best we can and that could mean different things in different communities but but first doing this evaluation of the watershed is going to be important and we're working on that can you explain what you mean by store waters that dams is that floodplain yeah mostly just to let it expand naturally right so if if take a river bank that our river that might be 50 or 100 feet wide we need to expand that you know to terrace it out of that and and increase the amount of capacity that's available for land just naturally open up and flood into these wetlands and in different areas to make sure that there's a place for it to go because if we can store it I mean we know climate change is real we're going to have to continue to have these intense storms so we're going to have intense rains and a lot of water so we just need to figure out you know it's a just a giant math problem how to store that volume of water so it doesn't impact our downtowns and villages a few weeks back you were in Rutland for their public safety town hall you just mentioned your upcoming public safety package you plan to bring to the legislature what what stuck out with you from that meeting how might that impact your thoughts on legislation going forward I think the anger and frustration and fear that I heard that night from from the residents of Rutland and I and I would say it's not dissimilar from what I'm hearing and and it's in the county area Burlington in particular but other parts of the state as well so as I've said I think the pendulum might have gone a little bit too far in some of our criminal justice reform and we'll be looking at at least bringing proposals for the legislature to consider to try and get back to the middle just a moment you mentioned it is a proposed assessment of our flood plains what what did you mean by that and are there any specific areas that that you'd be looking at you know watersheds of restoring I probably should let I don't know if anybody's on I will have Secretary Moore talk to you about this specifically because we do we are working with the federal government and others to try and do this study to determine where we might be able to expand some of the storage capacity and what would be make the most sense where the choke points in our watershed so but she she and her team are working on that so it'd be better if it came from her thank you all have a wonderful thanks