 I think we're going to go ahead and get started. So I'm Ben Doyle. I'm going to facilitate the session. And this is the session on advocating for more state, federal and philanthropic funding. And so we actually, Paul is like outlined a process and I'm a big believer in like trusting the process. And so what we're going to do is for 10 minutes we're going to talk about actually 15 minutes. What are the first steps that need to happen in order to advocate for state, federal and philanthropic funding? Right? So we're just going to kind of brainstorm the steps. Now, ordinarily this isn't like making a list for other people to do but I think in this case it's maybe a little bit of both. Right? So, you know, if Montpelier is going to advocate for more funding from various sources, what are the initial steps that need to happen to make that go? And then for 10 minutes after that we're going to talk about the resources that are going to be needed for this specific effort. If we're going to raise more federal, state and philanthropic funding what are the resources that we're going to need to do that? And then we're going to do that for 10 minutes. And then we're just going to spend actually five minutes just like kind of thinking about like next steps but really like if you're interested in this effort say for example if you're a legislator and you really want to kind of push this issue forward you can sign up here. And you're not necessarily like signing up to be part of a committee or anything like that but by signing up on this it's saying I'm interested in this issue, I want to be kept informed and if there is an opportunity to engage in this work like I want to be called upon, right? Does anybody have any kind of questions? Okay, so let's start. I want to say there's a lot of stuff that exists that people are not aware of. Yes. So it's probably on us to better educate the structures that are there and then how do we get people more engaged in it? There's central, there's Montpelier with all of its boards and commissions and everything. There's central Vermont Regional Planning Commission. There's state agencies like the EM and others who deal with this. There's agency of transportation is just putting out a resilience. And there's all of this and it's sort of people ask for those things as if they don't exist. How do we better communicate and how do we engage people? Okay, excellent. I'm going to push you a little bit and be like can you, do you have a potential answer to that question, right? How do we communicate more effectively or uncover more effectively the existing resources and systems that are out there? Some of the stuff I, okay. I could be biased because I'm kind of involved in this. Yeah. But often we put, we in the agencies put out things that are hard to digest. We can put out things that are shorter and more engaging and more multi-media. But we also want to make it easier for people to be involved. So some of it is on us and some of it is on everyone to read more and understand what is going on. So I think it's a two-way street. A two-way street. So agencies in different funding organizations, different funding opportunities need to do a better job of communicating to Montpelier what's available, what they're already offering in digestible ways. And then it's up to all of us to actually seek that information out and understand it. Yeah. Great. Yes, Sarah. I'm thinking about Fremcourt Forum and how that is often a local source of communication about how agencies, state agencies don't use it. Right? Like, why not find out where communities talk and move the resource conversations into those spaces like Fremcourt Forum? Yes. Thank you. Yes. I just want to speak to reality of what's happening in a couple of places. So I'm Melissa. I own Positive Pride. And a lot of the big businesses in Montpelier are really lacking funding to get back open or to stay open. Smaller businesses, I think, are having an easier time or don't need as much to reopen. So all we've been given is the $20,000 BGAP grant, which most of us haven't gotten yet. We haven't even started rebuilding because we're still waiting on funding. So we do have a group already formed. It's an advocacy group. We are meeting once a week. We're trying to put together an ask, which is what we were told to do. There's columns to the ask. There's an ask of what we need right now to rebuild and to make sure, like, I know three penny has said they've gotten the SBA loan, but unless they get more funding, they're not going to be able to make the payments on the loan on top of the expansion they had just finished and will be bankrupt within a year. So they need more funding in order to stay open. I think that's true of a lot of the bigger businesses in downtown. There needs to be more funding. So we're putting together an ask for that. Also an ask for the financial loss that we've lost in losing our entire summer and fall, which is our busiest season, which get us through winter. A lot of us are going to be reopening in the winter when we're slow and aren't going to be able to make it through without more funding. So these are being done already. Melissa Bounty, who spoke at the State House, is putting together this ask. She's working with our group. She's working with all the businesses, putting together an ask, but we don't know. A lot of people have told us ask, but don't count your chickens. It might not happen. So I don't know how to work to try to really get the case out there that if we don't get more funding, probably a lot of the bigger businesses won't make it. And if flooding keeps happening, they will not rebuild again. So I just wanted to say what is happening. We do have a group that's putting out an ask. We're hoping that it gets into the right hands and the right people here and bring more funding in. But we really need more funding, both for now and for the future in flood mitigation because most businesses have said they'll rebuild now, but if it keeps happening, they will not. And so there will not be a downtown if we don't get more funding. I really appreciate that perspective. And just really quick, like I think it'll be so important that if the businesses really clearly articulate what their needs are, both in the short term and the long term, and my hope at least would be an effort like this would really help galvanize that ask. And instead of just the businesses themselves asking, the entire community is advocating on their behalf, which I think is really important. Yes, sir. I have a piggyback on what you just said because I was in your group last time and listening to you and your colleagues and it was so clear that what you're confronting is a too little, too late set of options right now in that if we don't do something bold, your prediction is regrettably, it sounds like going to come true. I would submit that the one thing to consider is the special session. Call a special session in the month of October. Prepare for that special session by collaborating with all of the communities in Vermont who's all of the representatives and senators from the communities that are impacted. Start editorializing and banging on the governor's door to listen. That session should authorize the treasurer to issue debt in an amount that's going to, meaningfully, contribute to the collective cost in the state of Vermont for near-term recovery. But in that self-help, not wait for the feds, do something here in Vermont. In exchange, however, there should be a payback mechanism. If you wish a debt, you have to have a plan for retiring that debt. So somebody needs to do the calculation as to what's the big number, what's the term on the debt, what's the annual amortization, how many beneficiaries are there, what kind of contribution could they make, potentially a combination of a special assessment district for the property owners, the incremental addition on your taxes each year over 30 years, and a local option increment on the business. So I get a pie at your place, I got another percent and a half or two percent that I'm paying. And I know that I'm doing it, and I still have it downtown. Are you our senator by any chance? I'm one of your three senators. Yes. Well, it's lovely to see you. Thank you. This is on you guys. You need to lead charge to get your colleagues to pay attention and to do something meaningful. And the nickels and dimes that you're getting are not going to do the job and waiting for the feds to do it. Last time we said, well, you know, Hawaii, everybody's talking about Hawaii. They're talking about Florida. And next week we're going to be talking about wherever Hurricane Lee is. Sir, I'll tell you. Thank you. I think that is really crystal clear. Action items, special session, look for debt mechanisms to get the money that's immediately needed. Yes, sir. Yeah, and basically, I think what she was saying, I was in a different session last time and Vince from Mississippi, in my session, and he said that, you know, he said, here it is, we're struggling small businesses. We offer out very small percentage. He says, you're asking me to take on more debt even in a three or four percent. He says, that's more debt. He says, that's the road to our market. He says, we should be looking at grants. I like the idea of a special session because right now until there's actually funding in the legislature, I mean, certainly there's been some emergency funding in this big country, but housing being dispersed. And it was actually a really hard one. We did it. And a number of business owners were saying, how all this stuff that they've done, all the people working, they got kicked out, rejected for whatever reason, and they still don't have their own funding. They've been kicked out for one reason or another. And so it's really frustrating. If I was a business owner, I'd be really tearing my hair out. Can I ask, like, what's the action step that comes up? It's not tearing our hair out. It's like, what's the action step? I honestly think you need to have a special session. You need to start looking at grants and where the funding is going to be and they'll start re-looking the job. Okay. Great. Thanks. I just want to make sure we get some real quick. I just want to give a mechanism for you. Great, great, great. Navigators. Yeah. Every Obamacare. Navigators. So I live in Montpelier. I come to you. You and I fill the application real-time. And maybe even I'm authorized to say some element of it is approved. So when you have your bill and you have the money and the whole idea, get it out quick. Don't wait for the current bureaucracy to do it. Authorize 10 grand for people to do that work. Great. Thank you, sir. Ian, did you have your bill? I did. Yes. So, Ian Watson, one of your three senators. So I want to put a couple of other things on board. Right, our one is that the emergency board does meet throughout the off-session, apparently. And so they also have the authority to move money around, which is how Efficiency for Mud got, I think it's something like $10 million for a special program to help people rebuild with more energy-efficient appliances. So that is ongoing. It is happening. It's composed of money chairs and whatnot. And other thoughts that... Come back to it. Yeah, so I'm with 110 percent. We need to get back in there. We need to get to work, you know, because I don't just trust having the administration go through the motions and do what they're doing. Because it's not enough right now. Where I'm pushed back a bit is, collectively, we need to do it. It's myself and with Democrats, the governor's a Republican. It gets into a partisan sort of piss-and-match excuse the verbiage, you know, if we're the ones calling for it. However, 72 percent of central Vermampers in the last poll last week said Governor Scott's doing a great job right now as far as blood release there. So, Montpelier voted for us, but they also voted for Governor Scott in this administration. We need a mechanism to really bring up the heat. And what better mechanism than 500 people in the auditorium, up the hill, in the state house, and invite the governor to stand in front of all of us and say, what are you doing, right? That's the best mechanism I can think of as far as political pressure. I'll say that as an action step. 500 people, governor, front of the room, tell them what we need, right? Okay, yep. Is it possible that we could expand that circle, too, to, like, our congressional leaders or other folks? I think so, although I would want the heat firmly on him for most of us. Yeah. So, just to build on this, putting heat on the governor, asking you folks to get back at it as soon as you can, I think public relations is something that is, or somebody can tell you differently. I think it's missing. We do a great job as a local community. We lock arms together. We show that. We do that almost to the extent, almost to the exclusion, I think, of almost shooing away the attraction of the outside world. I think we're, if we're not already, I think we're very much at risk of being forgotten. Joe Biden showed up in Florida. I think he got to Hawaii, too. I've lost track, and no swipe on him, but just what does it take to get that level of attention here in Vermont? Yeah, we're liberal all that stuff. They get sold. But the point is, part of this pie is a public relations effort that also lives beyond just the local effort and focusing on state government and local government. Can I just ask a clarifying question on that? Is it a public relations effort to tell a story, or are you talking about a lobbyist? Or, like, what are you talking about? But I think, yeah, a loud story. A loud storytelling effort on the experience. I have a small business, and I can tell you from my limited experience, pink for public relations is part of how you get out there into the wider world, and I'm a little different topic to bring up. I talked to a friend of mine who was in flood insurance. He's retired now, but he said, well, you know about all the FEMA money you can get for hazard mitigation. I didn't really know, so I went on the website, there are these big grants you can get for hazard mitigation, flood prevention, infrastructure stuff to prevent and reduce future damages. And it turns out that in FY22, the federal government handed out $3 billion to grant funds. My question is, who's going to go after that money? Is it the city? Is it the state? Is it this new commission? I don't want to get lost. We need to go after that money. Who's the eligible applicant for the money that's available? Great. Yes? The other thing is, I don't know how much you guys have been calling the latest about what's happening in Washington, but apparently FEMA is down to $4 billion after opening these chapters. And it's kind of like, why is the additional funds put with the potential government to get them between the two? Okay. Thanks. Action steps, folks. Action steps, yes. I remember the other thing I was saying, which is that when Conner and I were involved in city outreach, we actually established that the city had a lobbyist. And so I appreciate that, so moving forward, that's great. I wonder if there is still a lobbyist for next session, I assume so, but I think we should, on Action Step, we need to ensure that there is still a lobbyist because it's important that somebody is in the room at the right moment to have those conversations and I would also add, in case of that person, perhaps have a list of interested molecular residents that they could alert to say, hey, this conversation is happening right now, contact your representative, put the pressure on when is the right time and so to pre-interface and have the lobbyist over at folks when it's right. Perfect. Thank you, Amanda. Yes. I guess if we get back up from the public relations aspect, this reminds me a little bit of COVID and how we had a weekly address from that health commissioner on the status of the numbers, what was being doing, what was expected of us and that has not happened and this is our own emergency to hit our state and not just Montpelier and we've had a void that has not been filled and I think that if we had a weekly address where we had what's being done and so pressure on the governor would be going right now. Can I ask a question when you say have a weekly press conference like they do with COVID? Well, that's one of my questions. Are you talking about state government, local government? All leaders, all leaders. Okay. Great. What other kind of, which is sick, I want to go here and then I'll go. Yes, go ahead. I think I've been able to try. Maybe it's a stupid question so tell me if it is. Especially for say philanthropic fundraising going towards foundations, corporate sectors I don't think we have a clear sense of the total amount that is sort of needed. From a business, from residentials I think having some idea will help not so much for grants, but like we need to think about how much we want or think having some sort of real effort and some sort of establishment of a baseline of how much they're working on that. That's the ask they're working on, but it is only the one that Melissa's working on is only for businesses. Everybody is being encouraged, each community is being encouraged right now to put together their ask, what they need, they need a number. What they said it has to be a concrete number to ask for and everyone for it. Who's that? Well, I think each community. So Melissa Bounty is helping that for Montpelier along with our business advocacy group. Who's going to receive this information? Who is they that's asking for? Is that the treasurer from the last meeting? I think it's for a special ask right? You're trying to put together something to bring to the legislature, to the governor, maybe to the feds. I don't know exactly the channels, but the bottom line is there needs to be, we need to qualify the economic loss for the city, like for Montpelier, both residences, the municipality, right, and visit. Okay, we really, we're going to wrap up in just a second and we do have like some next steps, but if there are other voices, yes. Wouldn't you have a ballpark of the ask because everyone is being encouraged to go there to register what they need? Yes. This is just you, sir? No, that's the hard part. FUMA does not have a ballpark of for-profit businesses. SBA might, but SBA's system of tracking is very different. So FUMA will have the public assistance value of the infrastructure asks and will have the individual assistance value, but will not probably have the for-profit losses. Really quickly, I'm going to survey the group because I think when we consider money and nobody knows where that comes from or how it started and what the figure could be, quick survey. Do you think it's under $500 million raised in hand? The state of Vermont? Yes. I think it's under. The state of Vermont? For me, near-term response to these downtowns, that's the ballpark you're asking. I'm not going to nail that figure, but just so we start to have a working concept, it's just not an average space. But it's a smart way to think about it, think globally, because hey, give mom pillars something less compelling than give Vermont something, give the quarter that was impacted something, coalitions, you're a Democrat, but I bet you the people in some other place are Republicans. Okay, great. Last one. Yeah, based on his question, I'm just kind of going over that. What is it we're covering now for Irene? Because obviously we're north of Irene and it's after an infrared complication. Me either. Yeah. One of those. Yeah. Okay, so we have already some really just great first initial action steps, right? And I think in terms of next steps, you know, they are standing up that commission and I think that they're going to work really quickly to take these kind of ideas and prioritize them. The last kind of thing that we're going to ask of you, like you need to sign up on this, right? Yeah. Like it means it does not mean you're signing up to go to a weekly meeting, right? But what it means is that you're going to be kept informed of this effort and that if you see an opportunity for you to sign up on this, then you need to like stay informed, follow it, wait for the call, step up when needed. But that's what you're signing up for here is to be kept informed of this effort. I think like just just for the sake of conversation, like the idea of having a list of people who care about Montpelier that when that conversation is having in the state house, that can be notified immediately that you need to be in that room at two o'clock today, right? Like that's what we're talking about. Okay. So please sign up. And then the next thing we're going to do and can I see something on that real quick? Yes. The, you know, committee schedules will never go back in there. Usually come out on Friday, right? And then we know it's going on the next week. And now what happens is when we testify, it's sort of the illusion that the public input is going to make him uncomfortable, right? Going to create those rooms so they see you know, feel the presence of it. So if we could divide and conquer just like you're saying Ben, sign up on that list and say, okay, you have all the natural resources, you have all the appropriations, and we'll raise our hand at the end and chime it in for Montpelier. That's going to be really effective because they expect us to go through the motions. We've got to think about that conference zone. Okay. All right, so we're actually going to go, I believe back to the auditorium for some closing remarks, but there's a pen right here. If you could just take a minute and sign up if you're available to do that. Yeah. Do we need to get a lobbyist? Is that what you think? You know, lobbyists to speak for us? Well, it's helpful because that person can be in the building, is paid to be in the building and follow, you know, when those agendas come out and see when those appropriate times are, and have conversations in the building to make sure that it's, you know, really for Montpelier is on agenda and being able to negotiate on our behalf, on our collective behalf. So we have one, we paid that 15K from the city of Montpelier, and that monitor stuff, we might need to prop that up to actually, like, have a few people in there, right? It's very, very far away. A lobbyist who told me they would work for downtown businesses for free. I would also just point out, like, I think there are a lot of organizations that employ lobbyists at the state house right now who could be activated because this is on mission, right? Like, the chamber has lobbyists, right? Like, the organization I work for has lobbyists, right? Like, all these action steps, Jenna's doing a fantastic job of taking copious notes, right? All of them are memorialized. We're going to share them with the kind of leadership group that's organizing the commission and the other things and they'll start to move this work forward and you will be kept informed through the sign-up sheet. We're talking about resources. We ran out of time on that. One more suggestion is the action step, which is the commission to coordinate all of the interested potential lobbyists, the citizens towns. Actually, all the people that already have people in the building to coordinate those efforts, I think that would be very effective. What's that? Do you go to A45? We're going to take this last five minutes until you can press the mike on. Thank you guys for coming to this. I really appreciate it.