NPA - All Wards

All Wards Meeting Burlington City Hall and via CCTV August 29, 2024 Christopher Haessly - moderator Nancy Harkins - notetaker Attendees: Ana-Maria Robu - city employee Chanel Bastian - city employee Erika Faulkner - Ward 2 Amy Prenowitz - Ward 3 Jess Hyman - Ward 2 Brian Pine - CEDO Nancy Harkins - Ward 6 Chris Haessly - Ward 3 Romeo von Hermann - Ward 6 Charlie Giannoni - Ward 2 Charlie Messing - Ward 3 Stella Sarefield - Ward 8 Tom Derenthal - Ward 1 Fosca Bechthold - CEDO Chris called the meeting to order at 6:40 We recognized and thanked Fosca for her work and support. Attendees introduced themselves and made announcements. ● Brian Pine, CEDO announced upcoming city meetings: ○ Mayor’s Public Safety Forum -9/5, 5:30-7:00 ○ Memorial Block Public Forum - 9/18, 5:00-7:00 ● Brian also stated that CEDO will be planning interim support for the NPAs until a new NPA Public Engagement Specialist is hired. Charlie Giannoni, Ward 2, asked if the NPAs could participate in the hiring process. Brian Pine said he would ask HR if that was possible. ● Nancy Harkins, Ward 6, announced that Rep. Tiff Bluemle offered to assist the NPAs with organizing a public forum on the Green Mountain Transit service cutbacks. Erika Faulkner, Ward 2, volunteered to work with Nancy and Rep. Bluemle to further develop this. NPA Funding and Reimbursements - Chanel Bastian, CEDO Finance & Grants ● The use of funds must be aligned with NPA goals. ● Recommended funding timeline ○ July 1- beginning of fiscal year  ○ Oct 31 - vote on budget. ○ Personal reimbursement requests can be submitted at any time. All requests for 2024 should be submitted by Jan. 31 and all requests for 2025 should be submitted by May 31. ○ May 31 - all expenses should be submitted. ○ June expenses should be coordinated with the NPA specialist. ○ Any use of funds outside of this timeline should be coordinated with the NPA specialist e.g. if an NPA wished to host a barbecue over the summer months. ● There is a new budget spreadsheet to facilitate tracking spending. ● You can now request personal reimbursement checks be picked up at City Hall in order to expedite reimbursement. ● There is a new form, NPA Request for Direct Payment form, to request that a vendor be paid directly by the city and not require out-of-pocket expenses. ● Location of the budget spreadsheet, the direct payment form and Chanel’s slides will communicated. CDNR Ad hoc committee - Chris Haessly This committee is working on a resolution on the relationship between the NPAs and the City. There has been one meeting so far.The committee is working on the protocol to solicit input and to provide updates to the All Wards representatives. The primary discussion has been regarding what are the hot-button issues in each ward on which they especially want prior communication from the city e.g. Ward 1 wants communication on any changes regarding the University. Open Discussion on Gun Violence in our community - Chris Haessly asked if the charter change to ban guns in bars could be brought back and could the NPAs support that effort. He asked if there were other ideas. Nancy Harkins heard that Rep. Tiff Bluemle and Rep. Stone were going to address that when the House meets again. Nancy to follow-up with Rep. Bluemle. There was some discussion of whether public safety should be a theme for all the wards and whether we should organize a community forum or activity such as distributing hygiene kits. There was no specific recommendation or action. The meeting adjourned at 8:10.