 Conversation if you could either end it or have it in the hallway that would be much appreciated We have a very full agenda, which is why I'm being a little ruthless in my Starting on time. So thank you all for coming. I hope you enjoyed the dinner My name is Lauren. I am a Ward 2 steering committee member Could my other steering committee members in wards 2 and 3 raise their hands Again, we have a full agenda, so we're not going to go around and do introductions for everyone But if you have any questions during the meeting Feel free to ask your local steering committee member And I encourage you if there's time in between presentations to talk to the people at your table if you don't know them get to know your neighbors So the first order of business for today is to adopt our agenda It is available via QR code which are on the tables. It's available on our website and there's also print copies Can I have a motion to adopt the agenda, please? Thank you, Chris. Can I have a second? Second, thank you. All right So with that let us move into public forum if you have anything to share Please state your name and ward and you have a max of two minutes. I will let our mayor go first Thank you. Hi everybody. I feel like it's the hometown hometown kid moment. Thank you So I'm mayor Emma Mulvaney Stanek I live in Ward 3 and I wanted to actually come and make a quick announcement that on Sunday right here at the Old North End Community Center, we're gonna do a community cleanup city-wide community cleanup. You're all welcome We're gonna have music and food We will also have all sorts of bags and gloves and trash picking up kind of tools for folks And it's gonna be think about it as a early green up I've always thought that one day of green up is not enough But it's really our effort as the mayor's office to get out there and give you all an opportunity to plug into community and Not quite day one. Maybe week ish one have a chance to really help us start rebuilding this beautiful city So I hope you'll come we'll do more things including things related to graffiti and whatnot soon enough But a great way to stay in touch is to sign up for the mayor's email. I have no idea how to do that I think it's on the website And and be in touch and come visit at City Hall anytime. Thanks Is this one good? Hi, I'm Trav Fryer Ward 2 You've probably heard me make this announcement before The third Saturday of the month is the Old North End repair cafe at 12 North Street So that's gonna be the 20th And it's a free event anything you have that's broken clothes anything you can carry in computers bicycles appliances furniture Anything we'll fix it or help you fix it yourself It's really fun, and we're always looking for volunteers if you want to you don't need any experience We'll feed you and help you fix things. So it's it's really fun. It's every month third Saturday 12 North Street At laboratory be so it's laboratory be org Slash repair cafe for more information or you can come talk to me 11 to 3 sorry Public forum. Yes Hi, my name is Evan. I'm from Ward 3 This is my first one of these I don't really know how these usually go, but oh, thank you Appreciate it. I just want to talk about I mean The mayor kind of already covered it but I was gonna talk actually about the graffiti in My neighborhood because it's really bad and like it's covering all these street signs one of which is for a deaf child and Like it's that's not okay, but it's not okay regardless But it's especially not okay with that and like I feel like you know I've been in Burlington a while now, and I've never seen it look like this before You know, I can't walk to the bus station without having to look out for needles There's graffiti everywhere. I saw someone having to spray paint their Fence back to the color it was because people keep tagging it and It's just not okay. And yeah, that that's my piece Hi Mila Grant Central District City Councilor in response to those comments a reminder for the app see click fix Some of the things aren't fixed right away, but we are getting ready to go into graffiti cleaning season Nothing's really done during the winter time because the solvents that are used aren't effective in the cold So see click fix for that see click fix for needles and definitely for any Signs like that that you see that are covered that Raise a potential risk for people who? Who those signs are meant to help and hopefully they will respond you can track your Submission on the app and when it's been seen and then you get notified when something's been completed But we still with the graffiti. We're still dealing with some of the blight from the pandemic Regretfully, but hopefully a lot of the new construction that we have happening will help reduce that. Thank you Any other public forum? Erica do you want to go? Hi, everyone. My name is Erica Faulkner. I live in Ward 2. I use she her pronouns I just wanted to give an announcement that the nonprofit I work at Vermont Natural Resource Council is doing a Community film screening called Wild and Scenic all about climate and activism on Thursday April 18th at 6 p.m. At Main Street Landing if anyone wants more information I have little flyers. Happy to hand out. Thank you Thank you Hello again, hello again everybody. I'm Jess Hyman. I live in Ward 2. I use she her pronouns I've taken off my apron and put on my official CVO vest because I'm Changing hats. I just wanted to let everyone know that today is a really auspicious day April 11th 1968 is when the Fair Housing Act was passed and this was Yeah, well we can clap but it didn't fix everything and so It When the Fair Housing Act was passed it enshrined into law essential protections To ensure that everyone can have the right to equal opportunity and housing choice and the right to Rent or buy or finance their home free from discrimination or harassment And there are protections at the federal level as well as at the state level To make sure that we can have equal opportunity in housing and as we all know So well especially now That isn't always the case. We have this incredible housing crisis There are a lot of people who are really struggling to have safe affordable and accessible homes And so we've got work to do During April we like to celebrate the things that are working as well It's a way to Fair Housing Month is a way to remind us all that there's still work to do to raise awareness about the Importance of equal access to housing and to have fun. And so you'll notice on the tables There are some art. There's some art prompts I mean I encourage you to take these home think about what home and community mean to you and get creative You can also see a really wonderful art exhibit in the second floor of City Hall that will be there all April some great artists from around around the region who Illustrated what home and community means to them and there are a whole bunch of other events going on all month You can go to the CVO website or go to fairhousingmonthft.org And thank you so much Thank you, Jess. I saw Charlie. Did you have okay? Hey everybody, I just want to Jessica Robbins Ward 3. I just want to raise the tension of a great opportunity at the state right now The Vermont tobacco control program is looking for youth leaders They're looking for applicants between grades 6 to 12 the 12 members that are selected The application is due main first, but they will get a stipend up to one thousand four hundred dollars For participating in the youth leadership program So if you know any amazing youth that want to raise their voice Encourage them to apply. Yeah Thank you, Jesse Any Charlie? Okay, so I want to say two things one is a repeat something I just said 20 minutes ago, but I wanted to make sure it got on the tape So the first thing is the city is about to clean the streets So you're gonna have to so late the last full week of the month People are gonna have to get their cars off the street just as if it was a snow emergency So I strongly recommend people go to the city website look for parking And it's a little hard to find but keep looking at parking until you know exactly what zone you live in Because the old North End zone doesn't really encompass the entire old North End So you don't want to get caught With your vehicle on the street because it could easily you could lose your car for a day or two and it'll cost you $150 so I encourage people to go to the city website and look up the day that your streets going to be cleaned Okay, it's coming up the last week of April the second thing I just want to repeat something I said a little earlier that I Was running around on eclipse day I was running around city hall park and church Street trying to get interviews for CCTV town meeting television And so basically what I said to everybody that I came in the contact with like who are you where you from? What do you think of the eclipse and what do you think of Burlington? And so I literally met hundreds of people because I got over 50 actual interviews But before I could even stop saying that people automatically started saying they loved Vermont and they loved Burlington and It was just overwhelming like I couldn't believe it person after person and I literally man I'm not exaggerating. I spoke to hundreds of people that day because I worked from ten o'clock until five and I just want to emphasize that that when people come here they think this is a great place and I think sometimes because of politics and things people They forget What a great community. This is so I just wanted to see it. Sorry Thank You Charlie Is there any other public forum? Hi, um, I'm Sam Powers. I'm your new Ward clerk That it's it's a yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Yes. Let's actually give it up for the old Ward clerk Charlie Yes, Charlie Yes Very very helpful in the transition. Oh Ward three. That's a good point because it's Ward two and three. Thank you Oh Right. Yes. My yes, Wendy co is definitely much better than me Ward clerking, but I'm getting there. Um, I just wanted to make a quick announcement that we're looking for poll workers So please if you're at all interested it's paid And it's a cool experience to kind of help out your community and meet a bunch of people in the area So, yeah, thank you so much And just a reminder we have an election in August and November, so I'm sure you need people for both of those Any other public forum? Great. Great. So the first item on our agenda is a Presentation from the Richard Kemp Center Is Christine here? We are running a little ahead of schedule Is she online yes, okay What we can do is Sam I can actually pass the mic back to you since we're a little ahead and we can see if Christine is available after your presentation So if you want to come on up, do you have anything to share? Hello, that's loud. Hi again. I'm also your CDBG representative Which if you don't know CDBG is just the community development block grant Every year we get a sum of money from the federal government from the Department of Housing and Urban Development To distribute to local projects. So we had about I think $600,000 split between both development and public service projects and I just wanted to kind of talk about the results of our Distribution of funds We get together twice a year just to kind of decide as a as a team Each ward has a representative and then I think there's a state representative as well and a youth representative, which is pretty cool And we all kind of decide on which which projects we think are most Deserving of kind of funds. So I just I'm just gonna list them off really quickly We fully funded Vita, which is the volunteer income tax assistance program, which is administered by CDOEO. It's pretty cool They help out a lot of people preparing their taxes, which is like a very kind of you know Overlooked, you know thing that really helps people who who are strapped for cash. That's really cool We partially funded the request from Lund's residential and community treatment services with $20,000 Which is really cool. We partially funded safe tonight's request They're they're run. They're a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse We partially funded the Vermont the Vermonters for criminal justice reform reentry and recovery program We partially funded housing first services in Chittin County, which is run by pathways Vermont And then we fully funded a decent number of projects that were under the umbrella of development We fully funded the small business equity project for $75,000 We fully funded the micro business development program with $70,000 as well We fully funded the Ethan Allen residents lighting upgrade And we fully funded the addition to the community resource center and feeding Chittenden with $200,000 Which is really cool, and I think we're seeing a presentation from them shortly. So that's cool And I guess just other news the city's strategic plan is Updating or the C. Doe's strategic plan I guess I should say is updating which will affect kind of the types of programs that are applying and receiving funding So probably as many or more housing projects will apply Possibly some climate priorities as well as community safety If you have any more questions about the community development block grant process feel free to reach out Yeah, I think that's it any questions from the from the audience. Is that what I call you the the neighborhood Citizens that's good. Yes. Yes residents Hi, I'm Liz. She her pronouns I'm just curious about like the lighting project Do you guys do you all like go and talk to BED and find out if they're if they have money to give For something like that or do you ask the applicant if they're getting like any incentives or like looking for because That kind of project. There's a lot of other money available. So I'm just wondering if you ask Yeah, there's a pretty rigorous Application process and need is taken into account We didn't have that many applicants for development funds this year. We had about five hundred thousand dollars To give and we had like about five hundred thousand dollars requested So we were basically just able to fully fund all of those projects The public service projects which receive a lot less money are the ones that we can only partially fund So does that answer your question? Okay, great. Awesome. Any other questions for anybody? Cool. Thank you so much. Yes. Have a good night. Thank you, Sam. I will ask again is Christine Hughes or someone from the Richard Kemp Center in the audience today. I'll keep asking So our next agenda item if our I Haven't seen Polly yet, but I think I see most of our city counselors If we if they feel so moved to start the next agenda item a little bit early if our three city counselors would like to come up Hello Lovely to be here again upset I missed the brownies, but That's what happens when you have a day gig We're so excited I'm excited. Is it okay to say we're we're so excited To get to work for this upcoming council year Think the the vibe has already changed if you know what I mean So I have faith in the process now. My name is Mila Grant. I am your central district City counselor words two and three. I guess what I will talk about are Quickly my committee assignments. I am going to continue to be on the public safety Committee, I hope to rename it to community safety Committee, I will be serving as chair. So I'm gonna really have an opportunity to Not just talk the talk but walk the talk which I wasn't able always to do But I'm very excited about some things mainly about educating people about what's going on in our city Especially with regards to our police department and our fire department Our continued attempts to fight the third wave of the drug crisis that we've been dealing with Talking more about the effects of that crisis on quality of life and on individuals who are suffering from SUD and other issues I Felt like during the election season. There was a lot of misinformation that was going around And I want to do my best to make sure I feel the community at large can be better educated So I'm going to talk about Data where you can find data where you can find like how many people does the fire department need how many people? Does the police department still need how many incidents are they responding to people generally? Complain a lot about not fully understanding That information and it is available to you. I'm going to try and make it Easier to find by putting it in more places So I'm also going to be really focused on Educating people in the use of civic clerk. I am determined that more people use civic clerk and adopt meetings to Watch or just read the minutes of I am also search back on the licensing committee liquor Commission and the cannabis Commission and will also be Serving on the REIB committee the racial equity inclusion and Belonging and I'll be serving as the chair for that. We haven't had any meetings yet, but I've scheduled some and they will be upcoming I Think that is it for me Okay, thanks Milo. My name is Joe Cain. I am the new award three city councillor a lot of you probably don't recognize me I came and spoke during public forum and November I think at one of these meetings about the apartheid free Community pledge that I was collecting signatures for I am replacing Joe McGee on Council Joe McGee is now I think Director of communications. I'm not quite sure I have the title right for for Emma. So that's that's really exciting I will be Stepping into actually, I think basically Joe's committee assignments. So the Yeah, not only keeping the name but also keeping the Board of Finance position the Community Development and Neighborhood Revitalization Committee I'm excited to work on Budget issues in the Board of Finance We have a budget deficit and I think that a budget deficit deficit is actually a good opportunity to Try to raise new revenues and how much is that budget deficit? Close to ten million dollars depending on how you look at it, but But the budget deficit. Yeah, as I was saying is an opportunity to to look for new streams of revenue or To try to expand existing streams of revenue So we can be You know looking at the property tax system and adding an income component an Occupancy component like the state does with the homestead program to fund the education system. There are a whole bunch of New ways and tweaks to the the revenue generation system that I enjoy Thinking about I think CDNR the Community Development and Neighborhood Revitalization Committee Will be an appropriate place to do some of that work some of that thinking I'm also interested in strengthening the NPAs giving giving more formal Power to the NPAs. I'm interested in issues of democratic process Including publicly funded elections paying counselors more The Prop zero measure that that sort of thing You know putting the giving the public the ability to put binding ballot initiatives forward So those are yeah a handful of things that I look forward to working on over the next two years and I yeah, I really look forward to Engaging with this community and getting to know many of you better. So nice to be here Thank you. Thank you, Joe The beauty of following Joe is that I get to give you the committees that I'm on and Many of them relate to the things that both of my fine colleagues will bring forward I'm gonna be the chair of the Charter Change Committee the The ability for us to do tax reform is in large part based on our ability to change the charter We have certain amount of control in the city of Burlington But then we rely on the legislature a long time ago I sat on the city council and we passed an anti-speculation tax And the city and and the legislature did not pass that if we had that We would be in less trouble than we are now with housing We would still have issues, but that would have been a good thing just cause eviction is stuck there but My approach and I've said this for a long time is that you have to raise the window of possibility You cannot say people are gonna stop you so therefore we're not gonna go there You have to make them in every way possible Open that window of what's possible. So we will try to do that In the Charter Change Committee of which I am the chair Knowing full well that there are two Democrats who are on that who are less inclined to push the window as Far as I would like to but that goes back to what? Milo and Joe were saying in terms of the involvement of people and elections matter and People ignore elections to their peril and so I think that the other folks on the council understand what we did and We will act accordingly What we're talking about in terms of revenue Measures are things that Emma talked about so they're the resonance between What we as counselors do and what Emma has proposed and will be working on you know should be really really there I am some of the things we have authority to to work on and I'm gonna be on the ordinance committee and things if We get back the Well, I was gonna say we're there there is hanging out There also a police oversight Charter change that got kicked far down the road to the police commission that hopefully we'll get back If that were to make it through Changes to ordinances would be in order. We'll have there are some things Inclusionary zoning people are talking about ordinance changes You have got a new neighborhood code that we Approved to increase the density Across the city, but there are many many pieces that still need to be worked on not the least of which is stormwater and Not the least of which is the affordability. So those are things that are going to be in the ordinance committee I Continue to be a Minority of one out of four we did try to get a four-member Committees so that you would have equality in the conversation There are reasons that we thought was important to be able to have the equal number of voices knowing that it's more difficult to pass things out so there's the trade-off but not being so partisan and Those were rejected Elections matter We did very well in the old north end. We did well in the Hill section We did less well elsewhere and progressives are a Five and the Democrats have seven So we will work with that political reality and try to get as much as we can Through the window as far as we can to have it open I am also going to be on the racial justice and racial equity and Racial equity and inclusion and in belonging committee are a IV is easier, but it's not so good to just say it like that and I mean, we're gonna get a document presented from CEDO around The the unified plan is that what it is or how what it what's the euphemism? Consolidated plan and if you look at the The really the first page of detailed information there, you'll see some stark numbers related to housing inequities particularly racial and I I see the REIB committee as being as well as the community economic Community and neighborhood revitalization committee being the place for that and I am finally Continued to be on the transportation energy and utility committee the TUC, which is the environmental committee And we have spoken here an awful lot I have spoken here an awful lot about the the work that We've been trying to do at the airport in terms of dealing with emissions dealing with McNeil the McNeil Resolution on District energy which I know lots of people did not support my position I believe positions us to do incredibly important work at McNeil and if we don't do that Then I will look back and say that I have failed and that it was a it was a mistake to go ahead So I am very very Serious about making sure that all the commitments to reduce emissions to increase efficiency To look for a transition that stops burning Stuff that adds to the carbon so that my grandkids and maybe even their kids can enjoy A planet that is livable for life, you know for for sentient beings is Is still there so there's lots of work and I just want to end by going back to saying Nothing happens without an engaged citizenry with an engaged people. So we need I need you to be part of that process Enough so on that note Let's engage our community community. Do you have any questions for our city councillors? I just wanted to ask a quick question because I thought I saw on the agenda something talking about the cleanup project Does that include graffiti? No, that's a different one. So a graffiti question is perfect for right now. Okay, so I'm originally from Philadelphia and I've certainly noticed all the graffiti problems around here and back in 1984 the city of Philadelphia decided to take some action and Established the Philadelphia anti graffiti network and originally it was punitive Lots of fines kids can't buy spray paint if you get sentence They were sentenced to community service to cover up some of their own graffiti and elsewhere But it was ultimately merged with the mural arts project and I would love to see something so those graffiti artists worked with more professional or with professional artists To create murals in the communities and they engage not only other taggers But community members in the design and the actual painting of those murals I believe now there's over 40,000 murals in Philadelphia as a result of that. So I'm wondering What do you think of such a project in Burlington? I love that project. I've actually talked about something similar in the past Before COVID I would go up to Montreal all the time and there's parts of Montreal That have these beautiful murals and they have a graffiti festival And it's it's part of their tourism like people come and go to specific areas to see the art So it's definitely something worth bringing up again We have a lot of mixed issues that lead to the graffiti problem that we have right now Prior to COVID you had construction projects that were approved some were languishing like the pit You had the old Here's an example the old YMCA building When they moved to their new building it was purchased someone was going to make a boutique Hotel then we had COVID Which stopped that project and many other projects. So you when you have abandoned buildings They are magnets for graffiti. We have Memorial Artorium. So when you think about where we have the worst graffiti It's on or very near places that have been abandoned Not fully abandoned, but there's been no activity. No one's in them No one's keeping an eye on them. And so we've really just been It's just been a real symbol of the blight that we have a lot of these projects are picking up They're starting. They're moving ahead. That's going to help and But to your point it's worth looking into that again because they The people that are doing it aren't always caught so it isn't always But I believe if we have a more positive way for people to engage In the artistic aspect that it could reduce What we're seeing. Thank you. So Nina it's funny that you say that because there I was walking to a meeting at City Hall And I think I think Tom Tordi is the head of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporate. What what is Tom? Brian what? Okay, there's your somebody who else is who is up there with like Okay, so this was a guy who is involved Frank Frank Frank coffee or coffee Frank coffee says hi I'm by the by the post office is he stops me and he's got a complaint about About graffiti and he says to me that and Frank again is the head of some business Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation. Okay, so like he's got he's got connections to money and He says to me we need to do something about graffiti around here And I would be ready to to raise money and then I go to City Hall to go to this meeting and there's Doreen Kraft And I say well, you know, I just was talking to Frank coffee And he says we should do this and her first response was get me money, but and I love Doreen I've known Doreen for a really long time, but this was a cannot do Response the I you know like don't talk to me about it because there's no money for it so and so I do think that There is the possibility of And I think it will be through our committees Maybe it's through a neighborhood revitalization committee. Maybe it's the public safety where we bring somebody like Frank in We people push come and and ask for us and we have Doreen there and we say, you know And then the committee says yes, you know, let's try to put together some matching grant And then you guys raised like a hundred thousand dollars to deal with the graffiti removal and will match 40,000 or 30 that you know, I don't know how are you know how that not those numbers gonna go but that would be a way that we can do it there are people who care who have the resources and It's a part of our thinking about how we make things happen and trying to make it happen So I you know, I just wanted to share that because I do think that there are possibilities if we engage in that way and we Seize the opportunities that seem to be in front of us those. Yeah I have a quick follow-up I neglected to mention there was a paint voucher program which involved and I'm not I don't recall which department in the city Which basically small businesses or businesses around town could request vouchers to get free paint And they would do their own properties So that it was kind of a public-private partnership there the money did come from the city. I believe though Thank you great question and before we move to our next question over here Polly if you want to just quickly introduce yourself. So we also are joined by one of our school commissioners So if you have questions about that as well Hi, good evening. I'm Polly Vanderputt and and I'm the Ward 2 school commissioner and Came tonight for this Q&A session not with any particular agenda But to answer any questions that people might have I'm sure there's lots to report But I'm thinking that the time is meant more for community members to ask so I'm gonna leave it at that Thank You Polly and I'll pass Jesse Ward 3 Prinouncer she her Jean this might be one for you on the transport and the something something committee. I missed the end of it Sorry But me my partner were literally talking today about The fact that we don't have room to store bikes in our apartment and maybe this has been talked about before I've only been in The US for a year. So I probably missed this conversation previously, but in East London where I used to live We had Community bike locks that were on the roads and when you move into your apartment You get an email being like, hey, would you like a spot in your community bike lock facility on the road outside your apartment? And I wonder if that's ever been a thing an idea that Bellington's had because I really want a bike But I have nowhere to put one Yeah, that's my question Again, these things are serendipitous, but maybe it's because we're working So last night we had a meeting here was actually very poorly Attended which proves that we have to do a much better job of engagement but it was about transportation options and One of the ideas relates to these transportation hubs places around our community where Transportation is facilitated. So something like a bike locker or you know something that's enclosed something that is safe something that your bike is not going to be destroyed by the weather or Revandalized and the planning department Charles Dillard in the specific is doing a major study and A an outreach related to among other things Where and what we could have for transportation hubs in words two and three and so I Think it would be wonderful for you to email me that request that I can pass on to them and that anybody else Including like where it could be You know because that's what we need there there We were trying to get some lockers not for bikes, but some lockers in the parking garage for this food program I think the mutual aid program in relationship to homeless people and foods and food and distribution and It getting a little bit of bureaucratic pushback from DPW on that And I say that because there's and you know, there are things that we've got to work through but The ideas of what could be where should just flow and People can email me that That and so G Bergman at Burlington vt. Gov And I can give you and and then We'll start to to push that and to the extent to which I'm not really in favor of Waiting until we get this perfect idea if we can get these little, you know pilot projects started I mean meet people's needs. I'd like to do that if we can we can do that so Yeah Thank you and just to note that all well all of our elected officials emails are in our meeting minutes But we'll be sure to include a counselor Bergman's as well. Yes, and they're on the tables as well Can I add something to that? I'm not on the city council at all, but I I hear what you're saying in Northern Germany The school where I work has an exchange program with high school in northern Germany and the teacher I was hosted by last winter does not own a car So we biked everywhere and there is one of these bike lockers I think it's similar to what you're talking about in East London, which is like it looks like a big Trailer truck kind of thing But you have a badge and that opens the door and then you have these double layer places where you can put your bike And lock your bike and then the badge is further security for it This bike locker was in a little parking lot Not on I'm just thinking about the old north end of Burlington and how a lot of properties It's either like green strip or private property and that would be a hard sell But there are also parking lots to consider where it wouldn't take up a ton of space or inhibit more than say one Cars worth of parking that would add this and kind of create this positive feedback loop I hope with the biking in this city So that's just an observation it worked It worked great and the residents who had the spot there either paid rent for it It was included in their rent and they used the badge to get in and out Well when if my school commissioner sends me an email I would pass that on in addition to that one as a greater support for for this and You know the details if if there was a picture that you took serendipitously, you know Like as you weren't thinking about doing this then right then that would be great So then we can see how much it would take because like we have tried to get parking Just shared parking at the Hinsdale lot Where the old fastest bakery for those of you who go way back as where channel 17? Is and there are these huge parking lots that we've been trying to get them to do shared parking and they've been like no It's private. He's got the right to say that and so but perhaps a small Space for a shared locker would be helpful and good and so that would be great Thank you. We probably have time for one or two more questions Thanks, I was just gonna riff off of what Jean was saying so At this meeting last night about the mobility hubs one of the things the city planners said was that Partnerships are starting to form like old spokes home is partnering with a ALB to talk about Trans-transportation demand management and all these jargony words, but that when the when city officials go and ask Businesses to use their parking lots. It isn't working but if organizations like old spokes home or ALB went to Jacob it might make a big difference and if Residents got involved in asking those property owners about it. It might make a big difference any other So I've got one go ahead so a quick one so Last year we were talking about the this huge sculpture That was going to be in the park across the street from the Wheeler school the integrated arts again Whatever happens anybody in the room know what happened to that project that particular sculpture. I'm assuming they're putting it somewhere. I have not Been over there. My understanding was on the first the foundation Was supposed to start being worked on it is proceeding The next few months has anyone seen any work Over there. Well, I'm gonna walk by after oh pancake breakfast at the sustainability Academy is On Saturday just want to remind everybody of that so after I have some pancakes. I'll walk over to Dewey Park see if there's been any Construction there is a website if anyone needs the link please Send me an email and I'll send it to you, but it had that was the latest update was at April 1st The foundation work was supposed to start See I wasn't even aware that where they had finally decided to put it that sculpture. My understanding was they were gonna reconsider Because of the farmers market there No, the farmers mark the farmers market was talked to a while ago last December there was a meeting Here in fact during one the MPAs that talked through all of that and there was a representative from the farmers market here so they had been clued in to that and I think some of the Initial issue was there was confusion between the multiple departments that were working on the project One department was responsible for communication with the neighborhood and that was not done well And that was discussed at length There was also the initial picture which was meant to Focus on the sculpture itself was very much out of scale with the park and That alarmed people because it made it look like it was gonna be much bigger like bigger than the park right frankly So then there were new photos that were at scale so but that is Anyone who needs a link just let me know and I can send it to you But it is a website that's updated quarterly and they might be doing more updates now that the construction starting All right, thank you. We have about five minutes left and I saw three questions There was currently there was also some Infrastructure work that needed to be done with the utilities around there So that was another complication that they had Okay, actually I had one thing for the school a school question. So I've been hearing a lot about riff So a reduction in force or deduction reduction faculty So it sounds like the the school faculty is being reduced. Is that having is that going to have some effect on the Direct instruction of students in Burlington So at our last meeting There was a formal That's the word I'm trying to think of the correct terminology but kind of like a formal protest from the Burlington Educators Association about the reduction in force riff of a 1.0 math teacher position at the high school and The math teachers had come to the previous meeting. They were incredibly eloquent about the work that they have been doing with students We as board members were assured that This riff does not change the Offerings for students that we are not going to see a major increase in class sizes that the teacher People often put a human face on these as they should that the teacher who is being riffed So that would be something to do with seniority according to the contract Will have a position at another school in the district So there were there were a lot of questions about the format and it's honestly kind of difficult to understand They talked about math labs and how these math labs had been created To help struggling students and students were helping as tutors and students spoke in a really impassioned way about it But we were told that this particular riff is not going to affect math labs or math offerings in any way And that it's just a way to do a more responsible kind of form of budgeting as we see Decreasing enrollment. So I'm sure somewhere in between What we are told and what is happening lies the truth I'm a public school teacher. So I know that these riffs have a serious effect on people and at the same time They will adapt and and the students will not be Enormously negatively impacted by it. I wish we could afford everything Thank you. So I saw two more questions on the last few minutes if we could get those last two questions in I Have a question and an update. There has been no construction. I work at IAA That's the park is where I eat my lunch if it's nice out They're doing a bunch of construction on the playground field So I hope they don't do construction at the park as well because it's just construction everywhere and it's not nice I wish they could wait till next year when there's no school there But my question is you mentioned Jean you mentioned outreach about meetings I'm curious where the best place to find out about like a meeting like last night's meeting Would be like I don't I didn't know about last night's meetings So where would be the best place to like keep track of all the meetings of Burlington? I'm not the best at checking my email. Yeah. So I mean in terms of last night's the focus was really on the neighborhood bounded by Willard and Riverside and north and Elmwood. So you would not have seen that we did some Targeted flyer and I went around with with staff and do that and then there were a couple of Efforts through front porch forum, but so that is a place to look at but But in truth and this was done by the planning offices was there their meeting They really did not do an energetic job and so It really does depend on the on the particular thing I think that front porch forum seems to me to be the the avenue of most frequent and comprehensive Outreach that we're doing on a community level Where it's pro it's more like proactive on that. So if you're not on front porch forum that would be something which I think would be a good thing and We're definitely going to try to do a better job, but We're not doing as good a job as we should Thank you and last question Actually, I quickly add to that. So front porch forum is is the minimum and it's just I Wish there was I have some ideas that I won't go into but we overall the city and Organizations work for and with the city need to do a better job as Jean just said about outreach But civic clerk in the city's website is the best place to go To look for all the variety the city council meetings the various committees and commission meetings You go city of Burlington's website You click on calendar at the top and it shows an actual calendar, which is a major improvement So you'll see the month and you can see what's been scheduled You can go back to previous months if you want to look at older meetings And you just click on the meeting that you want and you'll now be taken directly to that meeting where They're adding the links to the meetings as well so you can watch them But otherwise you can just look at the agenda Read the minutes Even if you're just reading the minutes that will help keep you informed of what's going on and what projects are going on neighborhood code actually had a tremendous amount of outreach and Still people felt like it came out of nowhere, but it I complained a lot about the lack of outreach This had a lot of outreach But people weren't looking we have to look in a way that we're not used to thank you My For the recording and anyone online. Oh, I'm sorry people are like Really active. I don't know if this is even you know, I I don't even I'm on there. I read there. I am I do some responses. I actually thought about doing a AMA And I did get some encouragement and I and I feel like if I do an AMA Then I have to make people promise to be good. Yeah, and if you're good No, no, no, no, but if they're good, I'll do a roast me Oh, so then it would be like a reward for people to be really good During the AMA be like really serious with your questions And I'll be serious answers and then I'll let you do a roast me So I guess I'm more about that I think more people would see a meeting on Reddit than a see a meeting on from porch forum Especially young people because I know all my friends See what's on Reddit. Even though it's like a lot of goofy stuff. They know they don't see from porch There is indeed plenty of legitimate conversation on red and I I am in there and I am reading what people are saying about public safety I'm reading about what people are saying about all the activities that Burlington had for the clips and all the wonderful things I was said I'm reading about those photos of Kids that are being put up everywhere. That was really. Yeah, that's that's very interesting I Will post about the upcoming city council meeting this weekend Thank you. Okay, so in the last minute we have one more question before I get to your question I just want to highlight that if you didn't get your question answered today all of our elected officials emails are in the Meeting minutes also, they're all very friendly people feel free to approach them. That's what they're here for My question overlaps from earlier in the conversation I Still want to ask it, but pieces have been answered, but I don't know which pieces haven't been answered So it was about the sculpture in the park so I'm just and and the Brujaha in the past which parts of the Brujaha got addressed or solved or which parts are left and Uh Yeah, and where what's the status now whichever pieces you know or where to go look for that status. Thanks Should there is a Website that the REIB department created just to keep people updated and they were doing quarterly updates Racial equity inclusion and belonging and yes, but it's not directly Linked from the city's website, which is annoying. So I have the link, but I just don't remember what it is But if you send me an email You know try try yeah try and Google REIB Embrace and belonging sculpture see what comes up and but the last Update was done in March and it did say that the foundation with work was supposed to start on April 1st So I will try and get I have a committee meeting coming up. It is the same design. I Support this project and I I know we don't have a lot of time left right now But I'd be happy to talk to anyone about it that has any questions All right. Thank you everyone and again Mila, maybe if we can put the link to the website in the meeting minutes We'll make sure that's included and any further questions, but thank you to our elected officials This is a great conversation. I'm glad we have a little bit of extra time for it All right real quick before our Next presenter. I just want to highlight. I don't think I didn't see Christine from the Richard Kemp Center But they did want to present today about a trip that they are doing in April. They are looking for help fundraising The trip is to the National Museum of African-American history and culture It's a four-day trip and they actually the participants pay very little So that's why they're looking for the fundraising to help people get to this museum and experience that so if you Need more information will try and include some of that in the meeting minutes, but I just want to uplift that Since they weren't able to make it tonight so with that we have a Presentation from one of our neighbors next about some efforts that she has been doing within her block And hopefully they will inspire you to do the same within yours Okay My name is Lisa Schofield. I live on the corner of Decatur and North Winooski and I would like to start a lending tool kit for Cleaning up if you want to your street I have to say that I was having bad thoughts about the litter that I was seeing and I Increasingly thought you know, what can I do about this and then I saw a woman picking up trash Near the waterfront with one of these so I went to Homeport and I bought all that they have and they promised me that they put in a big order of these But I would like to give out today to people who would like to try them out I'm telling you it has changed my life I feel joy now when I go outside and I have also Experienced personal growth because when I started this I said I'm not going to pick up those doggy bags poop bags but when I saw one on Right near a sacred place like barrios. I just had to pick it up So now I don't feel any compunction about picking up anything So I'd like to give out four of these this one is a little cheesy It's from Walmart But as I say this is a really splendid one and you can actually pick up waste without breaking your stride So it's a lot of it's a lot of fun My name is Lisa Schofield and if you have a really trashy area that you don't think you can do by yourself You can just call on me and I'll be there and I'll help you out So could I have four people who would like to try it tonight? Would you like to try it? And if you would just put your name and phone number? I'll be back next week and we'll see how it goes because picking up trash is not for everybody I know that but I'm into it. So I would like to spread this joy. Is there anybody else? Thank you Lisa. So are you aware of the the mayor was here earlier and told us about a cleanup that's gonna start at this building Okay, I'm just saying that if I'm just saying if you don't have anyone to give those two tonight If you come back Saturday at 10 o'clock in the morning, I think Sunday, oh Sunday, so 10 Sunday in this room. There's gonna be like 50 people Who might be able to put those to use? And also can be Inspired to keep using them Right. Well, well, if there's any are there any questions for Lisa? It's very important to say. Thank you. Thank you, Lisa All right, so I'm gonna get set up For the next part of our agenda, which is the discussion and voting for our NPA funds So one thing I will note as I am starting this conversation is that there should be a We have paper surveys for the vote as well as an online survey There are Jesse. There are QR codes right to scan for the do we have QR codes? We okay, so we have paper forms we have paper forms that we'll be doing So but how we how I'll structure this we have 20 minutes for this I'd like to leave 10 minutes for quiet voting. This is a ward specific conversation So we do have surveys for each ward So words to and word three So I'll spend about five minutes quickly going over what the steering committee is proposing Leave about five minutes for questions and then we'll leave about 10 minutes to ensure that you have enough time And you can if you have any questions to ask a steering committee member separately, you may do that as well So that said I have to use zoo which is Which should work all right I? Can I'll zoom in on this? And I'm just gonna quickly go through this right now and highlight What we are proposing So the first thing that I would like to highlight is that each ward gets $2,500 from the city to support the function of the NPI I want to highlight that the function of the NPA is important here The city has guidelines for how the NPA should be spending this money, and we are putting a renewed focus on Following the guidelines as put out by the city These funds must be used by the end of the fiscal year or by June 30th So that is why we are voting tonight Because we want to ensure that we have enough time to vote on all of these So we decided to draw up a funding proposal as a steering committee and you'll have the option to vote on each section Whether you'd like to completely support that or partially support or not support that as a steering or as an NPA member So as you can see on the screen, which I will Zoom in I am not the most zoom competent person So everyone needs to bear with me a little bit Hopefully that's a little bit clear and you can feel free to come closer to me if you can't see it we have broken the funds into four different sections And we've also broken it into what Ward two is contributing and Ward three So the four sections are the community dinner, which I know we all know and love Outreach rooms and facilities and meeting support. So I'll start with the community dinner There are a few items on here that would help to Allow our community dinner team to better prepare the dinners for us. One of those is a food processor and then bus trays aprons silverware and Also, we did put in some Dinner support here as well I'm not going to go through all the numbers on this The big thing we want to talk about that we'll be focusing with these funds is outreach That's something that the steering committee has talked a lot about So we want to ensure that we're reaching all of the residents in our wards and that they know about the NPA And that they can attend it. So we are proposing to do this by a few different ways One is with a direct mailer toward residents Another is with new lawn signs we as we all know have been in redistricted wards recently So we do need to update our lawn signs Tabling materials is another thing so we can be out in the public and talking about the NPAs As well as kind of building off that having listening sessions with NPA members outside the scope of the NPA meeting Another thing is an ad in the North Avenue news. This is more so for Ward 2 than Ward 3 and Then finally posters. I know many of you saw the posters from before They need to be updated because the boundary lines have changed The next section is room and facilities So we have a lovely kids section in the back that I'm sure most of you know about And there are arts and crafts there. So we want to ensure we're supporting that for our smaller residents And then finally meeting support. So we do pay a Zoom subscription So we can ensure that people can attend whether they can come here or not And I'm sure hopefully all of you have won a raffle prize at some point But we do need funding to support those raffle prizes So I flew through that and I know you are looking at the surveys as we speak Are there any questions the NPA members are floating around the room? You probably recognize most of us and I see questions happening now, but are there any questions for the larger group? Just why is Ward 2 fully funding the the North Avenue news thing? And I I wonder if it's just split up between the two wards because I see Ward 3's funding something else later. I Believe and I am not sure I don't see Chris I believe the decision for the North Avenue news was because North Avenue is primary almost a hundred percent Ward 2. I can Any other questions? For the larger group Okay, I was just wondering is it too late to fill us out online Great question. You can fill it out online, but we will be voting within the confines of this meeting So you can fill it out online We can provide the link for that if you or anyone is interested, but it still must be done within the confines of this meeting time So I believe that Ward 3 will be breaking into discussion if you are interested in a discussion as a Ward 3 residents For Ward 2 residents if you have any questions or would like to have a discussion as well The word to steering committee is also happy to entertain that and if you're come if you have them complete just like raise your paper So I don't think you have a question and I'll come get it If anyone wants to do it on the phone, we have a QR code as well You can come up and see Jesse over here and just an FYI will keep the voting open until For about 10 minutes Or until everybody looks really restless For those online We will put the link to the different surveys in the chat For those online, we will be I will say how we'll do it in a minute Fosca and I will get you the link to the survey and For those in I'm gonna stop sharing my screen to get that link But if anyone has questions about the line item, you can feel free to come up to me or another steering committee member Are there any Questions anyone wants to hit if anyone wants to hand in their survey and just wave it in the air and I can run around like the Energizer bunny and get it And for those of you online, we have put the links to the surveys depending on your ward in The Q&A so those online can access it via Q&A For those still pondering I'll give a five minute warning and if you're done you can eat seven minutes Thank you You can if you're done You can either wave it in the air or bring it up to this table right up here in the front The lovely lady in the green dress can take it from you For those who still have a survey if you have not handed it in feel free to wave it in the air or walk it over to me Does anyone still have a survey? All right. I do not see anyone filling out a paper survey. Is there anyone that I missed filling out a paper survey Okay, as a reminder if you're filling out online, you must complete it Please as soon as possible. We do we will announce it at the end of this meeting But with that said since it appears that everyone is done We can move on to our next presentation Which is on the expansion of the Feeding Chittenden building is there I Don't see a name. Is there a representative that will speak to that? I see some someone is being pointed at so Fosca is gonna it's easier. Yeah, and I Do we have an extra mic? Are you guys are we ready? Okay Hi, everybody. I'm Amy Demetro to the Champlain Housing Trust and It was about 30 years ago that we worked with CVO EO to build the food shelf over on North Winooski Avenue And we actually used the funding that Sam was talking about CDBG funds back then and he talked about how we now have a new allocation for this Renovation so that building is busting at the seams the folks from CVO EO are gonna talk about what's happening inside the building and Then Sam and Eli are gonna present what our plans are for expansion Thanks, Amy. Hi everybody Paul Dragon. I'm a CVO EO there's really two parts to The feeding chitin and building now one is the community resource center and then there's a market I'm gonna talk a little bit about the community resource center They are connected because feeding chitin and provides food at the resource center I want to talk a little bit about the evolution there First I want to thank the city and CEDO for sponsoring and providing CDBG funds for the expansion of the community resource center and The building this phase two renovation is going to be done with Some federally funded dollars. It's going to be done with some Argosy funds and it's going to be done with Great thanks to the King Street neighborhood revital is the development corporation Right and that's out of their zone there in the south end They recognize the importance of this building in the service So just a few things we started the community resource center For as a place at the beginning of a COVID for people experiencing homelessness And we started out at the VFW with with some city funding and with some donations the VFW building had Morphed into something else. It was temporary So one of our programs feeding chitin and we found a permanent host there for the community resource center And we've been there now for almost two years if it's okay I just want to let you know the importance of the place with some some data So the community resource center which is on the bottom floor, right? We're we're looking and expanding up But right now it's on the bottom floor. It's kind of a big open space With a dining room that we've enhanced. It's got a great culinary kitchen that Rob can talk a little bit about But we've served 3,000 unique individuals there last year 29,000 different services, there's only been three days since we've had the resource center and you know 19 or 20 months where There hasn't been a new person coming in for service. So this is a very open a very accessible place about Half the people that go to the resource center are not Stably housed no, 65% are not stably housed and 35% of the people who come to the community resource center are completely unsheltered right there not in a shelter They're living outside. We do a whole host of different services there a Tremendous meal service done by primarily our cooking Cooking program the culinary kitchen academy hot meals in the morning But we also do a lot around having people access Identification so they can be more integrated into the community just a couple of examples We help people 158 times last year with a photo ID People didn't have a photo ID and you can't do a lot 30 times with a birth certificate and then a host of number a number of other things we provide a lot of Connected services there as well with some of our community partners It's a drop-in center where people can get resources We did get 56 people into permanent or temporary shelter, which is pretty amazing And we have a great synergy with our partners CHT at the Elmwood shelter because we also have staffing there and we've referred people and placed people over there as well There's still so primarily we're seeing people experiencing homelessness, right? Mostly on shelter or 35% on sheltered the others in shelter the rest stably unstably housed and We see a lot of disparities in the population For people experiencing homelessness. So just an example I think Burlington is approximately 5% black or African-American at the CRC that number is 13% Four to five percent of our clients are Hispanic. I think that's over double the two percent Hispanic population in Burlington This is astounding to me because it says something about our society I think 30% of the clients we see again mainly people who are homeless are 55 and older That's 30% and 50% 15% are 62 and older. We're seeing an aging population of people experiencing homelessness And we average 121 people a day there on the highest day we had 189 people come to the community resource center You know the issue of unsheltered homelessness as well as we do in Burlington We've given out 120 tents just in the last few months and a bunch of other services including bicycles and other things so the second floor that Sam and Amy are gonna talk about is to bring our staff back because when we opened this at the beginning of COVID there was an overwhelming need for people Rob moved his staff out of there and and They've had they've they've had no place to go. They've primarily been working for home So with the second floor we're gonna bring the staff back which will provide more support for that building There's gonna be some conference and office space as well And then there's gonna be an expansion of the community resource center So we can get a few more tables in and a lot of updates that Sam can talk about and it's It's gonna be more trauma-informed and in a nicer space for people and it's already very nice So with that I'm gonna have Rob talk a little bit about the market Thanks, Paul. It's great. Hi everyone. My name is Rob me and I'm the director at feeding Chitenden Been there since oh seven after the great Wanda Hines moved on to help you all city We've got just an amazing partner with Champlain Housing Trust That is really the reason we're here tonight because we're able to finally make this move to make this addition on this Building that desperately needs it in the old North and as Paul mentioned We serve a lot of folks in Burlington about 5600 people come to the food shelf from Burlington proper There's twice as many that we serve throughout Chitenden County. We're growing into Addison Franklin and Grand Isle counties as well and looking at a lot of our expansive work online You can learn a lot about us at our website feeding Chitenden org and we can answer any questions But it's really the support of this community. That's been your food shelf for 50 years now celebrating 50 years this year There's many people that came before us who we're trying to continue to carry that torch and help people that experience food insecurity Are Lastly we believe that food is a human right and that's what we're we're working to let others know There was this really justice work this intersection of justice and compassion is the spirit of Burlington. Thank you all so much I'm gonna pass it over to Sam who is our architect working with Duncan Wisniewski and first I don't Amy if you wanted to say Can everybody see the screen? Okay. Okay. My name is Sam Beale. I'm with Duncan Wisniewski architecture I'm here with Eli Marosher and What you see up in front of you right here is the existing condition site plan and so everybody's familiar with site We've got North Winooski intersecting with Decatur and with North Union Street. It's an awkward intersection and currently the curb cut Intersects with that intersection in a way that's not terribly safe And so one of the major things we're trying to do with the site plan Can you go to the next site on that slide, please? It's actually shift that curb cut south and it allows us to do several things One it allows us to make the parking lot much more efficient. So we get more parking less paving We open up green space adjacent to the entrance so that folks as they're waiting or queuing for Services can be adjacent to green space instead of next to a parking lot We've got new bike parking and we've opened up some Permiable surface there to help treat that stormwater. So it's a big win It was a big risk and we weren't sure how the city would see it We've had a meeting this morning with the technical review committee with the city and Early returns are positive that they see this as a positive shift with the curb cut shifting Curious to hear if any neighbors have any questions about that after we finish our presentation because that's the biggest move I think on the site The dark gray box is the amount of the addition So we're basically building a two-story addition on the front of the building So right now the building is set back from the street and when we're done We'll be right up close to the sidewalk Can you go to the next slide, please? So this is just a rough existing condition plan You can see the commercial kitchen in the center the back as most of Rob's Operations food storage as well as the market. We have a limited amount of office space and Conference room in the bottom left and so go to the next slide, please This shows both the first floor plan and a partial second floor plan And so we are going to be extending that dining space the left side it shows you the first floor We're going to extend that dining space and make it a little bit more graceful in there and allow more people to Eat their meals Right now. It's a pretty busy place if you've ever been there on a morning when we're serving. It's very it can be very congested and Down to the left. We have open up another What we're calling a classroom, but essentially an ancillary program space will be used flexibly upstairs We have two shared workspaces a meeting room two offices. I think Rob's office is gonna have a nice window I hope and we've got a bathroom and a copy space. So This is this is the plan so go to the next slide So these are building elevations Illustrating in two dimensions how we're adding on they're a little bit hard to read We'll end with a perspective, but before I go there You're probably familiar with the work that Abby manic did to paint the siding recently That's what the color block is that you can see in the middle drawing We took a lot of inspiration from Abby's work and tried to populate some of those collars throughout the the addition So last slide is the perspective so this is what we hope the new building will look like provided we can Marshall the resources and get the cost estimate online But the idea being that we have this graceful Column aid for the so that people can wait undercover before they enter the building and again using that The artists work to inspire some of the colors as we come around So want to be respectful of time and leave time for questions We have about 10 minutes for questions and I see one in the back So I go on that intersection like a lot and you've got a bus stop there You've got the the bike path on Union Street merges There we'll forget the terrible pavement that occurs right there. You've got that really Funky go across for me. I am going to like the boys and girls club area where I live And so I go down to Cater Street. So I'm really curious I'm very supportive of this but trying to understand the circulation How cars are going to come out when people are riding their bikes the bike lane is on that side of the road Yeah, you get the picture I'm an architect not a civil engineer, but I can pretend can we go back to the proposed site plan for a sec Perfect. Oh, no one slide down. Sorry yes, so One what one thing I should have mentioned is this is gonna mean that all traffic coming to the food shelf feeding Champlain Valley Will be coming north on the one-way north Union Street and so one of the challenges with this reconfiguration is that some Naughty drivers may be tempted to short-circuit that and come through the five-way intersection We hope with signage and with education that we can allay those concerns But that is a concern that we've shared Unfortunately, this five-way intersection has always been unsafe particularly for cyclists and pedestrians. So The word, you know from talking through with DPW we all feel like this will be safer It's not safest but in terms of how bikes will move. I'm not I can't entirely speak to that I don't I am a cyclist as well, but I don't know exactly how that's gonna work because it's not showing on the plan yet There's a good thing to think about get curb cuts so that people can't go from You know cut the cut the corner so to speak. Yeah Curbs actually not curb cut there. There will be curbs and we will have signage to Hopefully tell people not to do that But I mean there's very little we can do in the right away or in the street to stop people from turning because the cars Still need to build come through the other direction, right? As far as the bus stop, I should have mentioned that it's currently right where the new curb cut will go We've communicated that with Green Mountain Transit and provided we build them a new slab to move the shelter They're happy to move it to the south So it doesn't shift far. It's like 20 feet to the to the south to the south continue to go south. Yes on there Yeah, okay. Thank you. You you got it with the mouse Any other questions? Yes, I Totally support what you're doing. I live in the Blue House right across from the shelter I'm concerned about the landscaping I was wondering if you could hire a landscaper who would not use a leaf blower There's a lot of noise coming from that and most importantly. There's a lot of dust I think they come weekly or every other week and it just adds to the Cacophony in that area I would be happy to bring my push broom and sweep up or rake if you could just kind of Hire someone who would be more in tune with that and also if you would do the no more Moe Thing not Moe during the May and I would be happy to work on with that with you But it just one it's just like one more thing for that very busy noisy dusty corner I totally appreciate that and I will pass that on to our property maintenance Department who manages that? That's really good feedback Thank you any other questions and I should ask if there are any questions online as well There are any questions in the room or online raise your hand either way Sounds great. I I guess the only thing I was thinking about is I did appreciate although During the last COVID years. There's that that space where there has been Gardens as they're gonna be another way for those gardens to move to another spot on the Site because I thought it was kind of a nice idea feeding Chittenden the ground We don't disagree and what you can see in the rendering here is we've started to show some perennials in that opened up green space in front there We've talked about potentially doing some planters as part of that work But we haven't engaged a landscape architect yet, so we're not entirely sure but that's good feedback So a question If you if you got all your funding, what is your timeline look like and where would you relocate to? If you haven't already answered that during the construction We are pretty close to having all of our funding in hand some of it as Paul was saying is federal funds that come with Certain restrictions that might take some time to get through But we're hoping that we're gonna be under construction this fall and the expectation is that they will continue to be Operational while we build the addition up front We won't we won't cut through that wall right the exterior wall that's there now We'll build an addition outside of that wall and when the addition is complete Then we'll cut through and and combine the the spaces so there might be some time You know a few weeks where things have to be shut down, but mostly we're expecting to keep it operational Any other questions in the last couple minutes? So I'm just curious about your long-term funding So there were a lot of projects going on in Burlington and yet this the mayor's office and the city council tell us that they're Strap for funds at this time. So how does it look for your future for these projects? long-term Yeah, sure. So this is always a question Every fall we get on the treadmill and we ask for help and we raise funds. That's something we've been doing for 50 years We now have a development team that's grown Substantially at CBO. Yeah, who are professionals and really cool people, but um, yeah, it's great question How are we gonna do it? What how we've done it is because Vermonters is specifically Chittenden County and Burlington residents have done it And so this is truly a grassroots Organization more than any that I've experienced before we have a really well-rounded pyramid of Donors so at the bottom you see people that are giving 10 or $5 to the top or people are giving lots and lots of dollars So it's a healthy Pyramid to do what we're doing food-wise and when we're talking about food We're talking 2 million pounds of food going to about 12,000 people in a variety of ways So to your point, there's fleets of vehicles. There's 19 staff people again a lot of us are displaced at the moment but There's foundations. There's major donor work. There's annual fund work. There's marketing. There's public relations But underneath all that again is a belief that food is a human right and that We need to make sure that everyone has access to food more So we want to make sure that food is food that's culturally relevant that's specific for medical needs that's helping children that's helping seniors and So I think it's not only finding the money But finding the you know resources and supports of the programming that makes us the most impactful that we can be and You know, I'm really proud of the people I work with and I think they generate revenue as well as anyone So pass it to Paul for more than just food Yeah feeding chicken is 85 to 90 percent donations and it's it's amazing It's close to two million dollars a year to get food out to all these people It's incredible the community resource center where we have housing advocates doing very specific work For people experiencing homelessness it we've been going one-year funding Since we started and it looks like out of the five how five we have 5.5 FT ease housing advocates and We have funding secured for one for after October 31st of this year So we're gonna continue to look for state city federal Dollars to keep this work going, but I got to tell you quite honestly It's like all the work we do we have to continually puzzle and put things together But I can't sit and sit here and tell you that the community resource center will have the same five and a half staff Come November 1st. It's the work that we're doing right now to try to secure that All right, I think that is all we have time for thank you to our presenters and thank you to Our attendees for asking questions if there's any further questions We will include some information in the meeting minutes And you can always reach out or you can reach out to us and we can put you in contact with the right people so our final presentation this evening will be from the Department of Public Works talking about a water line assessment Hi, thanks for having me tonight Martin Lee water resources engineering manager at the water resources department at the city I'm here to talk about the lead service line Inventory so I can probably keep this presentation pretty short But if I go over anything too quickly we can talk about it at the end if you have any questions I also put some handouts on the tables There's a trifold with project information. There's a handout with information about how to do the The inventory in your own house because a big part of this Outreach that we're doing is getting people aware of the project so that you can help in the community to do the Inventory in your own basement It's pretty simple and we can talk a little bit more about that So The first slide is about the a little history about the lead and copper rule the EPA Put together so in the 1980s lead risk in houses became more at the forefront of people's minds and The Safe Drinking Water Act was amended in 1986. This was to ban lead pipes But it did not require retroactively removing pipes from Anyone system And then in 1991 the EPA lead and copper rule established maximum contaminant levels for lead and copper Can you go to the next slide, please? So what Burlington did during that time frame was kind of react I Think probably a little bit ahead of what was happening the EPA regulations in 1982 Burlington started conducting samples for lead and other contaminants. There were six sites in the community that found elevated lead levels Burlington water is naturally corrosive So that is something that doesn't help if you have any sort of lead in the system that's going to go into the water and then That that's what was tested and found But since the the 80s we started to treat the corrosive water and It was the early 90s when zinc orthophosphate was used and this is a common drinking water corrosion inhibitor and Since that treatment that's still in place has been used We've been in compliance with the lead and copper rule levels. We do regular testing next slide So we bring it that brings us to today really And you know, we've had other communities around the country where lead has been a major concern and You know, that might be one of the reasons why EPA is now making another revision to the rules and It's just another step to protect the public from lead exposure The requirement is for all local and state water utilities to Submit submit inventories and that's what we're working on We need to identify lead service lines to be replaced as well as galvanized lines needing replacement And this needs to be done by October 16th of this year The Burlington annual reports when we look way back They list there was a period of time when they listed Pipes as galvanized cast iron and lead from 1929 to 1937 After 1937 lead was no longer listed With that information We don't have any records of actual lead pipes in our system from all the the actual records of people's Installed service lines and from the inventories that we've done We've never come across lead service lines. That doesn't mean that We're not going to try and get as much information as we can so that we know that for certain so currently this as of the end of March we have Some figures on where we're at we have 11,009 lines, so that's just existing conditions and So far since we've started this work late last year we've Done review of materials on seven thousand six hundred ninety-five of the lines We have three thousand three hundred fourteen unknown lines that still need to be identified So the way we're doing this is we're reviewing our records We have a lot of historical records of the service lines, but there are gaps in the data It's really important that we have the community Complete online survey surveys that we've Handed out and that we've been telling folks to do And then on top of this we also have in-person inspections, so we'll be able to do it's not Like we can go to every house, but we're gonna pinpoint the higher risk like older houses or lines that we know have have unknown service materials So we a little step through the timeline here. We did We started the outreach in November of 2023 and since then We've been contacting the priority properties And and that that's really like the areas that have older Older houses and We've been compiling those responses We're so from from December through June We're we're gonna be continuing to pinpoint those and target people that need the extra outreach Because we we want to make sure that we're compliant, especially in areas of higher risk like for example If it's after the lead band, we're not as concerned about those people And Yeah, so starting in June we're gonna be doing a little bit more door-to-door and getting a little bit more on the street We actually have hired Attempt that's helping us and we're gonna be During the summer when for example college kids are out We're gonna be Staffing up even more because we really want to make sure this gets done and Needs to get done by October. So I think we're in good shape, but we're we're definitely taking it seriously So yeah, October is the deadline this year and after that we'll be letting the public know Providing a map that hopefully is we're planning on maybe making something interactive so everyone can see their own Service line and what the material is Next slide, please yep, so here's a just a list of all the Outreach that we're doing and and means of getting to folks This is definitely an important one We're Yeah, getting getting our We have a good website so you can go there and it answers FAQs But I don't I don't need to go through all this unless you want me to next slide, please It is available in our meeting minutes so you can review later if you think of a question later, sorry Yeah, I think this slide is kind of interesting. So Here's wards two and three highlighted We have some good participation, but we really want to get those numbers up higher So we have Ward 2 is at 46 participants Ward 3 is at 72 the sum throughout the cities that We're getting close to a thousand just under a thousand or nine hundred ten and Yeah, lots of copper a few galvanized some pop plastic pipes and There are a fair amount number of unknowns But I think that that number gives us an opportunity to target folks that we that we need to Thank you, and let me know if you have any questions is the Category of galvanized is that essentially mean that you've got a steel pipe Martin is out then Yeah, the galvanize is like steel. It's a steel galvanized pipe Yeah, older style. Is that a safer material than the other alternatives at least certainly then copper and lead I guess right well cop coppers okay, so We're it's called the lead and copper rule, but we're we're really not Concerned we don't have high levels of copper in our drinking water It's really the lead that we're concerned about and galvanized is certainly much safer than a lead pipe But it's probably the worst out of all the other alternate. You know, it's it's an old pipe We're more concerned about those pipes breaking But I will get it there is kind of a caveat to that so if there ever was a lead pipe installed that was Upstream of a galvanized pipe That galvanized pipe will then be identified as galvanized that needs to be replaced So we're keeping track of that if we find any of that and if the city replaces a line in the last 20 or 25 years What would they have used for material? Most of the time copper and more recent years. It's plastic So maybe in the last 10 years it would be Plastic yeah two questions Is there an inventory or has the water department already addressed the materials between the main and the property lines? So what precedes what you're asking us to take a look at? Yeah, if we Maybe if I let me know if I'm not answering this correctly. So he said it's called a lateral Yeah, yeah, so it's a it's a water lateral water service line And that's what we're really doing the inventory on that line that's from starts at the water main and goes all the way into the house and It for us it's real it really stops at the meter inside the house so it goes into the house for a few feet and then it goes to the meter and the best we can do for now if it's either looking at records or Looking at that pipe that's coming right out of the basement floor before it goes to the meter and identifying what that pipe is and that's what we're asking in the Inventory that we want folks to go in it's we have a On you can just do it on your phone You take a photo and you you click a few buttons and it's it's done takes five minutes or less to do So to confirm that piece of metal piping that comes from the wall in our case To the meter is what we would see underneath The ground between the edge of our property and the main line. Is that correct? Yes, but since it is buried, I mean there is there is sometimes the chance where you You could have a different pipe that's from the water main to your we call the curb stop valve. That's like close to the sidewalk and then there's The certainty becomes much higher, but we can't ever say with a hundred percent certainty We don't we know and so if we ever become Come into a situation where we have an unknown pipe in the future not at this point We may have to do some potholing or excavation work to find out and then my second question is I know you have to do This for the EPA. What do you intend to do the with the results? Generally and is there funding for that? Yeah, that's a good question. So I think the fact that we we don't expect to find any lead Pipes would I would go out on a limb and say if we found someone that had lead we would immediately Get rid of that. Yeah but in terms of the other if we find any pipes that are categorized as either unknowings or galvanized needing replacement that You know we're we couldn't say for certain if it's a lead impact and If we if we're not seeing a high risk, we still may put it on a high priority But we'd be looking for state funds To help out with that because I think there is funding that's available to help us just We we're not at that stage. That's kind of like after October We then need to think about what that next phase will be and we are More fortunate than many other communities in the country, you know We there's other communities where lead was really a very typical line that was installed All right, we have time for one or two more questions and we have one back here Hi, I wanted to know who you're asking to furnish the information Yes, so The landlord or the tenants in other words my street. I think is all tenants and no landlords. Okay Yeah, I mean, I think the the landlord really should be the one that we'd like to put the onus on But at the same time, I think we would be certain, you know, perfectly happy with someone that's a tenant going down and and getting the information to us and Is there a way for a tenant to find out if the landlord has had it looked at you If you know what I mean if you Yeah, so I think That would be a good question Probably like to contact our customer care department because they they would have This 900 person list and that might be something that we'd be able to go in and check or provide you The information that we have available for that water service Thank you All right one more question Did you all talk to the rental housing code enforcement division about partnering for them to do inventory when they're in buildings Yes, we did I Would have to check on the status of that I know that I can say for certainty that our water meter team is every time they're doing like a regular job They're certainly getting the inventory data we did meet with code and I I just can't speak to the current status of whether they're completing those surveys in the houses So actually one last question so is this whole is this project that you're working on right now Is it completely funded by water rates? Or where is the funding come from for you this project? Yeah so the temp employees I think those are the Those are the the sole individuals that would be getting outside funding otherwise time that regular staff is putting towards this is Most likely going to be just out of our our regular budget So that's why that's why we're asking for the the help because I think it is something that's manageable right now and We're fortunate that we do have the temps that are going to be getting fun some outside funding to support But it is also being absorbed partly by regular Staff hours All right. Well, thank you for the presentation and the updates and thank you for the questions That's all we have time for I have three quick announcements before we close up today's meeting So thank you for your attention first is that I am happy to announce that for both wards two and three the budget has passed So thank you everyone for participating in that Second if there is a lovely volunteer who would like to take out the trash on their way out That would be greatly supported and then finally I saved the second most exciting for last Which is our raffle winner for today? West you can pick Hopefully they're here Erica you are our winner. I don't know what you win though Thank you everyone. Thank you to our presenters and for all