Ward 2 NPA

Meeting Agenda Ward 2 Neighborhood Planning Assembly (NPA) March 13th, 2025 | 6:30-8:30pm | All are welcome Join in person: O.N.E. Community Dinner ONE Community Center, 20 Allen Street 5:30-6:30pm | Free | Donations welcome Menu: Veggie Shepherd’s Pie with Colcannon, ​ Join remotely: Irish Soda Bread, Salad, Chocolate Stout Cake​ https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85860854764 Music: Ana Ruesink​ Outreach Guests: Carshare Vermont & UVM Cancer Center Facilitator: Lauren Ebersol​ Notetaker: Kason Hudman 6:30 pm Introduction -​ Lauren introduces the Ward 2 NPA 6:35 pm Public Forum (2 minutes max per person) -​ Wendy Coe (She/Her), mentions a concert from Emma’s Revolution, they do radical folk music, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, etc. The tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. -​ Trav Fryer, mentions that they are having a repair cafe at Laboratory B on Saturday, 11am-3pm, and every third saturday of hte month -​ Sean with the Burlington Lead Program mentions that they have a program to take away the dangers of lead paint. Mentions that there are brochures by the front -​ Jacob mentions that there is a website called Local Minutes that lets you know about local meetings and their publicly available notes (like I’m taking now!) 6:45 pm Overview of Parallel Justice Program at CJC 30 min Hannah Brislin - Victim Services Specialist, Burlington Community Justice Center (CJC) Anna Wageling - Community Support Supervisor, CAIP, Burlington Police Department -​ Hannah is talking about the Parallel Justice Program. The first note is on language, saying that the words “victim” and “survivor” are loaded words, so they will often use the words “impacted party”. The Parallel Justice Program provides emotional support, validation, resources, referrals (therapists etc). They will also accompany people to court dates, etc. They will support people regardless of law enforcement responses and court proceedings. A restorative justice approach is used throughout the CJC, including in the Parallel Justice Program. -​ Parallel Justice Commission is a partnership of local and state leaders to share resources and advocate for folks -​ Parallel Justice 2024 Data: 2186 people were reached, 314 people were supported. Last year the Parallel Justice Program won the community engagement award, particularly for their work with the tenants of Decker Towers. ​ ​ Ward 2 NPA - March 13th, 2025 - Notes - Page 1  -​ Anna with CAIP (Crisis Advocacy Intervention Programs) talks about CAIP, the goal is to provide a variety of services to folks who have been affected by crime (perpetrators, victims, etc). There is no paperwork or discharge, if you come for help, you will be provided help. -​ CAIP consists of an Assistant Director, a Domestic Violence Victim Advocate, a Domestic Violence Prevention Officer, a Community Support Liaison, and a CARES program -​ CARES Role: They will do outreach at community meetings, encampments, etc and provide service referrals to folks. They can respond to welfare checks instead of police officers, answer mental health calls, etc. They will also follow up after a police response to the impacted parties. -​ CAIP responded to 3,058 incidents last year. Anna shares CAIP’s contact information, including the CARES direct line and CJC Burlington. -​ Charlie from Ward 2, asks a question, asks the presenters to restate who they are. Hannah and Anne both answer and restate their roles. -​ Ward 2 resident thanks them for their work, and asks if there is anything the community can do to help. Hannah answers that there is power in community, and times are very difficult right now. It is important for us to show up for each other in community. Anne encourages folks to get educated about these programs, and refer others and let them know about them. -​ Ward 2 resident asks when the programs got started. Hannah answers that Parallel Justice started in 2003, became integrated into the BPD in 2006. Anne mentions that their program is much newer, CAIP started in October of 2021. Hannah mentions that their CJC position has been around since the beginning of the CJC. Hannah and Anne both mention that there is a database used by the entirety of Vermont, Valcour, that helps them connect with folks impacted by crime. -​ Ward 2 resident asks what folks who don’t trust the Burlington Police Department can do. Hannah answers that the CJC is under no obligation to share any information with police officers. Hannah mentions that if a point exists where an investigator needs to be involved, Hannah will advocate against uniformed officers or meeting in the police department -​ Ward 2 resident mentions that the CJC helped them in the past by protecting them from the police after they were arrested at a critical mass bike ride. This resident thanked Hannah. Hannah answered that the CJC has a few alternative/restorative programs that help folks who have been arrested. -​ Mara, Ward 2 resident, wanted to thank Anna for her work, she says that she has been pleasantly surprised by all the interactions with her and CAIP. -​ Melo Grant mentions that the program is quite special, and she wanted to thank Hannah and Anna for their work. 7:15 pm Update from City Councilors 30 min Gene Bergman (Ward 2) and Melo Grant (Central) -​ Melo Grant wants to talk about community safety issues. The next public safety meeting will be next Thursday. Melo also mentions that the Community Safety Forum was scheduled for tonight, and Melo encourages folks to watch it later, since it should be available online. Town Meeting TV should have all the Mayor’s appearances available. ​ ​ Ward 2 NPA - March 13th, 2025 - Notes - Page 2  -​ Melo mentions that Chief Burke will take office as chief of police at the end of March, and she encourages folks to give him some grace as he takes office. She also encourages everybody to give to Mutual Aid organizations during this time. Melo also encourages everybody to support our Downtown businesses that have been impacted by the construction. -​ Question from Ward 2 resident, mentions that there are a lot of public safety concerns downtown and that is why people aren’t going downtown. Melo answers that she completely understands that, she hopes that Chief Burke will help turn things around, much of this needs to be fixed with increased staffing. -​ Gene Bergman thanks the voters for passing the bond votes. Gene says that the upcoming budget will be much easier to work with the bond money. Gene decries all the slash and burn policies happening on the federal level, and encourages folks to read the Burlington City annual budget to get a sense of the budgetary issues. Gene says that there really isn’t a lot of waste, fraud, or abuse in the budget, and cautions against believing those words when they are thrown around. Gene says that in the new Mayor’s budget, there might be some proposals to privatize things (like perhaps the recycling program), and Gene does not agree with that. Gene is totally committed to an affordable city for folks working with low and moderate incomes. Gene believes that people who are best able to pay taxes should pay more. Gene mentions that there will be an update on March 24th on a new public safety building. There will also be an update on transportation impact fees for new developments that the city council is looking out for. There will also be a new zoning ordinance to turn a portion of Pine Street into a potential concert venue, which Gene will ensure includes proposals for transportation -​ Question from Kason, Ward 2, wants to get some updates on the Housing Developments in the city. Melo answers that the old YMCA building has changed hands 3 times, the current owner wants to develop mixed-use housing. Gene adds that the city council passed a resolution that should double the city contribution to the Housing Trust Fund, the water bonds we passed should allow for more development in the South End, and the Neighborhood Code should also be helpful. -​ Question from Ward 2 resident, wants to know what we are doing to reign in abusive landlords. Gene answers, we just passed a recent charter change that should give more power to our local leaders to give tenants more agency regarding eviction notices. Gene also mentions that tenants and the city should be more involved in code enforcement, since the landlords are clearly not interested in upholding the code. Specifically, Tenants should document when codes are not being enforced and officially complain. Melo adds that many UVM students are upset about the condition of housing in Burlington, and there is a movement to encourage students to report bad conditions. 7:45 pm Updates from State Legislators 30 min -​ Speaker Jill Krowinski and Abbey Duke are here. Jill mentions the Budget Adjustment Act, with the anticipation that Governor Scott will veto it. The anticipated veto is due to opposition to emergency housing funds, which Jill knows is important to Burlington so has no intention of backing down. Jill mentions that the state legislators are monitoring what is happening in Washington D.C., mentions that the chaos is making it difficult to govern, and ​ ​ Ward 2 NPA - March 13th, 2025 - Notes - Page 3  that 39% of the Vermont State budget comes from federal funding. Jill mentions that she will get a temperature check on our proposed charter changes to see what can pass the legislature. Jill has also started a podcast about the Vermont state house happenings. -​ Abbey Duke serves on the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development. Abbey mentions that there is a bill coming up with regards to housing, that should allow developers to use future tax revenue to finance housing infrastructure. Abbey mentions also that they are working on education workforce development. -​ Lauren, Ward 2 resident, has a question about the proposed education reforms. Jill mentions that the Governor’s plan as proposed will not actually cut taxes, and there is no magic policy that will cut taxes and improve quality. Jill is hopeful that there is a lot we can do with education reform, Abbey adds that right now there is a lot of opportunity, we can build a more efficient system that provides more equitable outcomes for our children. Abbey and Jill hope that they could have a framework, but both admit that this is a long-term process. Brian Cina, an additional state legislator, joined late but adds that the Healthcare Committee is currently looking at a way to cut healthcare costs, which are the primary driver of education costs. -​ Ward 2 resident, asks about the Emergency Housing proposal that the Governor is poised to veto. Jill answers that this is referring to the Emergency Housing system that has been in place since the Covid-19 lockdowns. Ward 2 resident adds that many of these hotels were trashed/turned into drug houses, and Jill answers that certainly the system should be modernized to result in more equitable outcomes. Brian Cina adds that hundreds of folks have been thrown out of Emergency Housing, and the Governor is currently looking to throw out many more. We will see this impact in Burlington, since that is where the folks will go to live: we have services in Burlington. Melo Grant emphasizes what Brian said. -​ Mae Stokes, Ward 2 resident, asks what constituents can do to pressure the Governor to pass the Budget Resolution. Jill mentions that you should call the Governor: 802-828-3333 Shawny, Ward 2 Resident, mentions that you can message the Governor using the ACLU VT link: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/vt-h141 8:15 pm Door prize drawing + Adjourn! 5 min Our next meeting is Thursday, April 10th! Scan the QR code (or click here) to: Email us • Go to our website • Watch meeting recordings on CCTV's website • Connect with us on Facebook or Instagram • Request a time slot with CEDO’s request form • Get to all links related to this meeting Appendix to the Agenda Ward 2 NPA Steering Committee To contact the entire Ward 2 NPA Steering Committee, email ward2npa@googlegroups.com ​ ​ Ward 2 NPA - March 13th, 2025 - Notes - Page 4 Name Email Joined Term expiration Lauren Ebersol lebersol27@gmail.com 2023 2027 Kason Hudson kasonhudman@gmail.com 2024 2028 Charlie Giannoni charliecpg@gmail.com 2024 2028 Marc Stannard Marc.Stannard@outlook.com 2024 2028 Vacancy Vacancy NPA Guiding Principles ●​ Operate through democratic principles and democratic procedures. ●​ Provide a safe and welcoming forum where residents can actively share their voices about issues that matter to them, and where they can learn from the voices of others. ●​ Cultivate involvement by a diverse spectrum of community members through active outreach and through eliminating barriers to participation. ●​ Operate in a manner that models respectful, inclusive, culturally, and economically aware practices. ●​ Be a fun, creative, and vital organization that provides value and benefit through the multitude of perspectives shared by those who participate. Ward 2 NPA Ground Rules ●​ Meetings should have clearly defined agenda and roles. ●​ Honor time limits: A best effort must be made to start on time, follow the agenda, and finish on time. ●​ Listen to others: Make efforts to be an open-minded member of the group. ●​ Respect the agenda and the process: Try to remain focused on the issue at hand. ●​ Share your opinion respectfully: Speak out, but not over, others’ comments. ●​ Treat people how you would like to be treated: Be respectful of everyone, including guests. ​ ​ Ward 2 NPA - March 13th, 2025 - Notes - Page 5 Elected officials representing Ward 2 Mayor Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Progressive mayor@BurlingtonVT.gov City Councilors Central District (Wards 2 & 3) Melo Grant Progressive megrant@burlingtonvt.gov 802-310-0962 Ward 2 Gene Bergman Progressive gbergman@burlingtonvt.gov 802-598-3602 School Board Members Central District (Wards 2 & 3) Jean Waltz jwaltz@bsdvt.org 802-355-7856 Ward 2 Polly Vanderputten pvanderputten@bsdvt.org 802-578-8653 Vermont State House Representatives Chittenden-15 Troy Headrick Progressive/Democrat theadrick@leg.state.vt.us (802) 828-2228 Chittenden-15 Brian Cina Progressive/Democrat bcina@leg.state.vt.us (802) 828-2228 Chittenden-16 Kate Logan Progressive/Democrat klogan@leg.state.vt.us (802) 828-2228 Chittenden-16 Jill Krowinski Democrat jkrowinski@leg.state.vt.us (802) 828-2228 Chittenden-17 Abigail Duke Democrat aduke@leg.state.vt.us (802) 828-2228 Vermont State Senators Chittenden-Central Tanya Vyhovsky Progressive/Democrat tvyhovsky@leg.state.vt.us (802) 828-2228 Chittenden-Central Martine Gulick Democrat mgulick@leg.state.vt.us (802) 828-2228 Chittenden-Central Philip Baruth Democrat/Progressive pbaruth@leg.state.vt.us (802) 503-5266 ​ ​ Ward 2 NPA - March 13th, 2025 - Notes - Page 6 ​ ​ Ward 2 NPA - March 13th, 2025 - Notes - Page 7 ​ ​ Ward 2 NPA - March 13th, 2025 - Notes - Page 8