Church Street Marketplace Commission

Church Street Marketplace Commission Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/7366336595 1. Adopt the Agenda 2. Adopt Minutes Subject 2.1. Adoption of Minutes Meeting January 21, 2026 - Church Street Marketplace Commission Agenda - Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Category 2. Adopt Minutes Department Church St. Marketplace Type Action 3. Public Forum Subject 3.1. Verbal Comments Meeting January 21, 2026 - Church Street Marketplace Commission Agenda - Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Category 3. Public Forum Department Church St. Marketplace Type Discussion 4. Commissioner Updates (Marketplace Updates: up to 5 minutes per commissioner) 5. Bank & Cherry Street Project Update Subject 5.1. Julia Ursaki Presentation Meeting January 21, 2026 - Church Street Marketplace Commission Agenda - Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Page 1 of 11  Category 5. Bank & Cherry Street Project Update Department Church St. Marketplace Type Presentation Recommended Action 6. Cart Vendor Program Updates Subject 6.1. Payment and Contract Rescission Changes Meeting January 21, 2026 - Church Street Marketplace Commission Agenda - Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Category 6. Cart Vendor Program Updates Department Church St. Marketplace Type Action Recommended Action Subject 6.2. Cart Attendance Requirements Meeting January 21, 2026 - Church Street Marketplace Commission Agenda - Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Category 6. Cart Vendor Program Updates Department Church St. Marketplace Type Discussion Recommended Action 7. Reports Subject 7.1. Treasurer's Report Meeting January 21, 2026 - Church Street Marketplace Commission Agenda - Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Category 7. Reports Department Church St. Marketplace Type Report Subject 7.2. Director's Report Meeting January 21, 2026 - Church Street Marketplace Commission Agenda - Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Page 2 of 11  Category 7. Reports Department Church St. Marketplace Type Report Subject 7.3. Chair's Report Meeting January 21, 2026 - Church Street Marketplace Commission Agenda - Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Category 7. Reports Department Church St. Marketplace Type Report 8. Adjournment Subject 8.1. Motion to adjourn Meeting January 21, 2026 - Church Street Marketplace Commission Agenda - Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Category 8. Adjournment Department Council and Board Type Recommended Action 9. Informational and Non-Discrimination Statements Subject 9.1. This agenda is available in alternative formats upon request. For more information on access, call Lori Olberg, Licensing, Voting and Records Coordinator (802-865-7136)(TTY 802-865-7142). Persons with disabilities who require assistance or special arrangements to participate are encouraged to contact 802-865-7000 (voice) or 802-865-7142 (TTY) at least 72 hours in advance so that proper arrangements can be made. The City of Burlington will not tolerate unlawful harassment or discrimination on the basis of political or religious affiliation, race, color, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, HIV positive status, crime victim status or genetic information. Meeting January 21, 2026 - Church Street Marketplace Commission Agenda - Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 9:00 AM, Zoom/Sharon Bushor Conference Room, Ground Floor, City Hall 149 Church Street Category 9. Informational and Non-Discrimination Statements Department Church St. Marketplace Type Page 3 of 11  CHURCH STREET MARKETPLACE DISTRICT COMMISSION December 17, 2025 9:00 AM Location: City Hall, Bushor Conference Room, 149 Church St. Attendance: Commissioners: Mark Bouchett, Becky Holt, Linda Magoon, Sam Tolstoi, Erik Monsen, Sarah Beal, Chris Haessly (Zoom), and Romeo von Hermann Absent: Cara Tobin Staff: Kara Alnasrawi – CEDO Director, Samantha McGinnis – CSM Director, Jessica Dudley - Marketing Manager, Aida Washburn – Project & Event Coordinator, Andrew Bacher – CSM Coordinator, Kimberly Rojas – Community Engagement Coordinator I. COME TO ORDER a. Meeting is brought to order at 9:04am II. APPROVE AGENDA a. Motion to approve – Romeo von Hermann i. Seconded – Sam Tolstoi b. Agenda approved unanimously III. APPROVE MINUTES a. Motion to approve – Romeo von Hermann i. Seconded – Sam Tolstoi b. Minutes approved unanimously IV. PUBLIC FORUM – GENERAL a. No members of the public had comments for public forum V. COMMISSIONER UPDATES a. No commissioners had updates to provide Page 4 of 11  VI. BURLINGTON PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP a. Mark as preface: ModGov – work has begun to modernize how our government operates, which makes this a good time to consider this proposal b. Jeff Nick presents on private/public partnership model for the future of the Marketplace that would remove the Marketplace as a city department and create a new non-profit to manage the four blocks of the Marketplace. c. Kara: background on charter change process d. Commissioner discussion on merits of various model structures e. City Councilor Buddy Singh comments f. Public comments: merchants and property owners offered their perspectives g. Commissioner Sarah Beal: suggested organizing a subcommittee to explore this topic further. VII. ZA-26-02: DOWNTOWN FENCES DISCUSSION a. Sarah Morgan presentation on planning the current proposals for lot 1 fence height and materials in the downtown b. Commissioner questions surrounding allowances in specific scenarios c. Jeff Nick comment of how fence improved an alleyway by one of his properties d. Commissioners showing support/suggesting improvements to current proposal VIII. TREASURER’S REPORT a. Received ~80% of expected revenue. b. Waiting to receive ~100K in marketplace fees - largely from property owners. c. Still looking for more corporate sponsors. d. Commissioner discussion on how to approach the issue of non-fee-paying entities. IX. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Samantha McGinnis reports that: a. Most of the way through the holidays b. Many continuing and creative programs through the end of the holiday season. Samantha went with Mayor to visit multiple Marketplace businesses on Saturday, December 13th. Page 5 of 11  c. Starting to work on Q1 events. BTV Love Notes and Maple Madness will return. d. Mayor convened emergency meeting regarding lack of low barrier shelters in Burlington this winter. e. VSP presence will end at the end of December f. City Circle launching in early January g. Samantha working with Parking Department to create new ticket for people parking on marketplace after 10:30am. No tow, but there will be a fine. h. Many RFPs coming in 2026. Leunig’s Kiosk, lighting, and snow removals as example. i. Hired temp to help with snow removal j. Working on food cart program updates k. Black Cap closed. Olive & Ollie moved to former Whim space. Found a tenant to replace them at old location. X. CHAIR’S REPORT a. Shoutout to CSM team for their hard work on the holidays b. Additional lights in the downtown look fantastic c. Mark feels shop and sip was a huge success d. Seeing much more positive feedback this year compared to last e. Will be gathering a group to join governance subcommittee XI. ADJOURN a. Motion to adjourn i. Moved by Romeo von Hermann ii. Seconded by Sam Tolstoi b. Meeting is brought to close at 10:51 am Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 21, 2026 Page 6 of 11  CITY OF BURLINGTON DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS 645 Pine Street, Suite A Post Office Box 849 Burlington, VT 05402-0849 802.863.9094 VOX 802.863.0466 FAX 802.863.0450 TTY www.burlingtonvt.gov Chapin Spencer DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS MEMORANDUM TO: Transportation, Energy, and Utilities Committee (TUEC) FROM: Julia Ursaki, PE, Public Works Transportation Engineer (DPW) Laura Wheelock, PE, Division Director of Tech Services/City Engineer (DPW) DATE: November 25, 2025 CC: Chapin Spencer, Director of Public Works RE: Reconnecting Bank & Cherry Project Update This is an informational item. Funding Shortfall Earlier this year, the project team received updated construction estimates for the Bank & Cherry project totaling in approximately $48 million. There is $31,395,000 available in grant funding for construction of this project, leaving a funding shortfall of approximately $16.6 million. Table 1. Cost Estimate for All Streets Bank Street $ 15,368,478.72 Saint Paul Street $ 1,319,974.66 Pine Street $ 1,254,543.36 Cherry Street $ 29,450,064.00 Other Costs $ 631,000.00 $ 48,024,060.74 $ (16,629,060.74) The project team has considered different options to close this shortfall. We applied for another RAISE/BUILD grant but were not successful. We are also considering items for value engineering, but determined that the full $16.6 million shortfall could not be made up with value engineering alone. While it is still possible to apply for other grant funding to help fill this gap, waiting for grant cycles does not give us enough time to meet our construction obligation deadline for the Page | 1 of 3 Page 7 of 11 RE: Reconnecting Bank & Cherry Update November 25, 2025 Page | 2 of 3 Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) of June 2026. The CDS grant is $15 million, specifically for Cherry Street. In late October, the project team met with the Mayor and other city staff to discuss moving the Bank Street portion of this project into a different phase that is not funded with the CDS or RAISE/BUILD grant. This would allow the city to use the grant funding that we have already been awarded to move forward with the project on Cherry Street and the new blocks of Pine Street and Saint Paul Street while we seek other grant funding for Bank Street. Removing Bank Street from this phase of the project, there is still a budget shortfall of approximately $1.2 million, which the project team feels confident we can close using value engineering and smaller grant opportunities. Table 2. Cost Estimate without Bank Street Saint Paul Street $ 1,319,974.66 Pine Street $ 1,254,543.36 The project team is pursuing an amendment to Cherry Street $ 29,450,064.00 our grant agreement to remove Bank Street Other Costs $ 631,000.00 from the scope of our current grant funding. $ 32,655,582.02 The proposed scope still meets the purpose and $ (1,260,582.02) need of this project by reconnecting Bank Street and Cherry Street with the new blocks of Pine Street and Saint Paul Street. The City will still complete preliminary engineering and right-of- way for Bank Street under this grant so that it is a “shovel ready” project. Pursuing Bank Street construction in another phase of the project with separate funding has several benefits:  It closes a budget shortfall identified in our preliminary plan estimates while still allowing the City to meet our grant obligation deadlines and reconstruct 7 of the 10 blocks included in the original project.  It supports our local businesses by reducing the amount of construction happening downtown at once, which is a concern we have heard during our community engagement.  The contractor’s means and methods could result in work occurring at the same time on Bank Street and Cherry Street to meet the schedule of this grant. These are parallel corridors in our downtown and reconstructing both of them at the same time could cut off access to entire buildings and parcels in the downtown. Separating them into two phases guarantees that the contractor will only work on one at time. This proposed scope will still include isolated work on Bank Street to tie in the new Saint Paul Street and Pine Street. There are a few downsides or risks with removing Bank Street from the project, including:  Waterfront TIF – this project was described to the Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC) as including Bank Street. This scope change will need to be reviewed with VEPC.  Utilities – the sewer main on Bank Street is in poor condition and in need to repair. There is a risk that there will be more sewer breaks on Bank Street before the corridor is reconstructed. The water main on Bank Street is also very old and only 6 inches, which An Equal Opportunity Employer This material is available in alternative formats for persons with disabilities. To request an accommodation, please call 802.863.9094 (voice) or 802.863.0450 (TTY). Page 8 of 11 RE: Reconnecting Bank & Cherry Update November 25, 2025 Page | 3 of 3 does not meet the current fire protection standards. There are also risks of water main breaks on Bank Street before the corridor is reconstructed.  Other aging assets – the pavement condition, bricks crossing the Church Street Marketplace, and sidewalk on some sections on Bank Street are in need of repair and will continue to age as we delay construction. Limiting Construction Impacts Downtown The project team also met with business owners on Bank Street and Cherry Street earlier this year. We discussed several options for construction phasing and traffic control to reduce impacts to downtown, including:  Complete new blocks of Pine and St Paul first for more detour route options  Leave one lane open on each street at all times  Night work  Winter construction shut down with isolated winter work as necessary  Reopening street closures nights and weekends  Isolated full street closures only when necessary  Limit size of work area to ~400 feet (one block) and on one side of the street at a time We also discussed other items needing coordination by the City during construction, including:  GMT Schedules and Routes  Providing parking opportunities in the project area  Business hours of operation and access during construction  Maintaining public building access  Timing of private utility relocations  Timing of Church Street Marketplace re-bricking We have actively been discussing these strategies with our designers and will incorporate them into our traffic control plan and contract documents. Between these strategies and removing Bank Street from this phase of funding of the project, we will reduce the impacts of construction on our downtown. Next Steps The project team will progress plans for the entire project area through the right-of-way phase. We would expect to put the Cherry Street, St Paul Street, and Pine Street portion of the work out to bid in late 2026, and would seek Council authorization to award a construction contract in late 2026. An Equal Opportunity Employer This material is available in alternative formats for persons with disabilities. To request an accommodation, please call 802.863.9094 (voice) or 802.863.0450 (TTY). Page 9 of 11 To: Church Street Marketplace Commission From: Andrew Bacher, Marketplace Coordinator CC: Samantha McGinnis, Director Date: January 16, 2026 Re: Cart Vendor Program Policy Changes Voting Item Background: On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, Church Street Marketplace Staff presented to the Church Street Marketplace Commission regarding challenges encountered during the 2024-2025 Cart Vending Program. Staff identified the following issues affecting the program: • Vendors failing to pay their fees on time. • Vendors not meeting the attendance requirement of one weekday and one weekend. • Vendors operating in locations other than their assigned spot. • Lack of clarity regarding the circumstances under which a vendor contract may be rescinded. • Limited parking/storage options for carts • Decreased foot traffic in Downtown Burlington Following the presentation, the Commission directed staff to conduct a comprehensive review of the Cart Vendor Program rules and regulations. On Thursday, January 8, staff met with the Church Street Marketplace Cart Vending Committee to discuss potential changes to the program. During this meeting, staff presented several proposed updates to the Cart Vending Program, including the following: • Payment Structure: Require cart vendors to pay the full cost of their vending fees upfront, with an option to establish a payment plan. Vendors who pay their full fees prior to the start of the season would receive a 5% discount. • Contract Rescission Language: Revise the Cart Vending Contract to clarify that qualifying reasons for contract rescission do not include economic downturns, recessions, inflation, increased operating costs, supply chain delays, labor shortages, or changes in profitability or consumer demand. Additionally, if a contract is rescinded, any refund would be limited to no more than 15% of the annual fee. Staff also recommended modifying the attendance requirements to encourage more participation from vendors during summer season. Cart Vendors and staff noted that some vendors have left their spots vacant for the majority of the season, opting for alternative vending opportunities. Inconsistent vendor participation reduces public expectations that any carts will be operating during the season, thus hurting the sales of the vendors who do consistently participate in program. Staff proposed eliminating the weekend versus weekday Page 10 of 11 distinction and simplifying the attendance requirement to any two days of the week. The Cart Vending Committee expressed support for lifting all attendance requirement entirely, citing challenges with enforcement, widespread noncompliance, and allowing businesses to determine the best schedule for their operations. The committee voted to table the discussion on cart vendor attendance rules in order to allow a broader discussion with the full commission. Recommended Action: Staff recommends approval of the proposed changes to the payment structure and contract recission language to the Cart Vending Program Contract as outlined above. Page 11 of 11