Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces the City of Burlington July 3rd  Independence Day Celebration is Back  

Thousands of Burlingtonians, Vermonters, and Visitors to Gather on the Burlington Waterfront for Music, Fireworks, and More    

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger and the Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department announced the City’s annual July 3rd Independence Day Celebration will come back to Burlington. With the decades-long tradition returning after over a year of public health restrictions that limited large gatherings, the City team expects thousands to gather along the Burlington waterfront for the biggest fireworks show in Vermont on Saturday, July 3rd, 2021.  

“This is what we have been working toward,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “I invite Burlingtonians, Vermonters, and visitors to join us on July 3rd to recognize and celebrate the incredible resilience of our community as we look forward to a vibrant summer season in a fully re-opened city. I am confident this will be a celebration to remember.”  

“July 3rd Celebrations are always so important to our community and to our local businesses, and this year’s events may be the most significant we have ever organized. Our businesses are eager for visitors to come back to Burlington, and our neighbors want and need a community scale celebration.” said Kara Alnasrawi, Burlington’s Director of Economic Recovery.  

“Burlington has a long history of amazing Independence Day celebrations on July 3rd and the staff of BPRW are thrilled to bring this tradition back to Burlington this year.  After a year plus of restricted activity, it’s time to come together for Burlington’s biggest waterfront party of the year.  We hope that residents and visitors will join in the fun as we celebrate with music, food, activities and, of course, the best fireworks show in the state! “ said Cindi Wight, Burlington’s Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Director.  

The evening’s events in Waterfront Park will begin at 5:00 pm with a ceremony honoring local Covid-19 victims and celebrating the resilience of the Burlington community.  The fireworks show will start at 9:30 pm. Information about activities, parking, travel, and more can be found next week at www.btvjuly3.com.  

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Burlington’s City Hall Park Recognized with Public Places Honor Award 

Vermont Urban & Community Forestry, American Institute of Architects Vermont, Vermont Planners Association, and the Vermont Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects recognized the City Hall Restoration Project for Increasing use of Community Space

Burlington, VT – Yesterday, Vermont Urban and Community Forestry, Institute of Architects Vermont, Vermont Planners Association, and the Vermont Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects recognized the City Hall Park restoration project with a Public Spaces Honor Award. The project began when hundreds of Burlingtonians participated in the Imagine City Hall Park process in 2011, continued through the Great Streets Initiative during 2016-2018, and culminated in its reopening in fall 2020.  

The park restoration was led by a group including Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture and skilled members of the City of Burlington team from the Departments of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront, Public Works, Planning, City Arts, and Community and Economic Development (CEDO). The park now features infrastructure that makes it greener, more accessible, and better suited to its current uses in the center of the city.  

“We had a clear vision for how City Hall Park public use and enjoyment could be expanded with accessible pathways, rain gardens to manage stormwater, public art, multiple small event spaces, and of course, the fountain to splash and play in,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “What we couldn’t have known when we began this project is what an important, healing space the new park would be during the pandemic, and now, in the earliest days of the recovery for the thousands of community members and visitors who have come to City Hall Park to meet, play, rest, enjoy, and rejoin public life here in Burlington in recent weeks.”

Since construction was completed in October of 2020, and with the easement of state and local public health restrictions, the City has dramatically expanded public programming in the park, including; Splash Dance, the Twilight Concert series, All Heart in the Park, Flicks in the Park, the Summer Concert Series, and Art Market. Information about upcoming events can be found at burlingtoncityarts.org/events.  

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Statement Regarding the 100 Year Anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre

Burlington,  VT - In addition to recognizing fallen soldiers on this Memorial Day, we must also recognize the 100^th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. On May 31^st, 1921 a white mob who were deputized and given weapons by city officials, stormed the Greenwood District, a black neighborhood of Tulsa Oklahoma, becoming one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history.

At the time, the Greenwood District was the wealthiest black community in the United States, and aptly named Black Wall Street. The violence was carried out on the ground and in the air, destroying 35 neighborhood blocks, leaving more than 300 black people dead, more than 800 injured, and 10,000 black residents displaced.

This past week, survivors of the Tulsa Massacre; Viola Fletcher who was 7 years old at the time, her younger brother Hughes Van Ellis, and Lessie Benningfield,  spoke to Congress about what happened in the Greenwood District, and how that day changed lives forever – for not only the survivors of this massacre but also their descendants.

“We tend to think of racial events in siloes, the truth of the matter is, any event that happens in America, is an American issue. Not a southern or northern issue, not a white or black issue, but an American issue,” said Tyeastia Green, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (REIB) for the City of Burlington. “We cannot let this day go by without honoring those lost in this massacre. There has been no justice for the people of Greenwood, and no justice for what was lost on that day.  It is important that the Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging stand with the survivors and descendants of Greenwood.”

“I want to thank Burlington’s REIB department for ensuring that the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the darkest chapters of American racial injustice, does not pass without observation and reflection here in Vermont,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “Across the country, local governments have often contributed to and created racial injustice throughout the history of our country through housing, education, and law enforcement policies and actions.  We call on all local governments in America, to consider taking the step that Burlington has of formally creating a task force to consider local reparations for historic harms to Black Americans.  Such action at the local level is particularly important at a time when the federal government has not initiated any national study of slavery reparations, having rejected such proposals every congressional session for over 30 years."

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Mayor Announces New Burlington Walk-in And Pop-up Clinics As Chittenden Approaches 80% of Eligible People Vaccinated 

The City of Burlington, State, and Community Partners will continue to create new opportunities to reach community members with free vaccinations even after State goal met 

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced several new, upcoming opportunities for free, walk-in vaccinations across the City, even as Chittenden County becomes the first county in the State of Vermont to reach the Governor’s goal of 80 percent of the eligible population vaccinated. These clinics will use the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  

The City of Burlington will continue in close collaboration with several community and State partners to create new, and more accessible opportunities for community members and visitors to receive a vaccination even after Chittenden County and the rest of the State reach the 80% threshold.  

“Chittenden County is the most vaccinated County in the most vaccinated State in the nation, but the City’s work is not done even as we collectively reach the 80% threshold outlined by the Governor,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “In order to bring this pandemic to an end, we need to keep pushing to reach young people, close racial disparities, and educate and persuade our neighbors and friends on the fence about vaccination. Of the residents who have not yet been vaccinated, many are ready and willing  – we will keep working hard to make it easy for them to attend a clinic. I am grateful for the State’s partnership and commitment to this effort.” 

The City’s Covid-Response  leader Brian Lowe added, “These pop-up clinics are part of a shared strategy among our State and community partners to make vaccines as accessible as possible to every Vermonter –  at beaches, schools, churches, downtown late at night, the Farmers Market, festivals, and other locations.  We have many new opportunities to receive a free, effective vaccine coming up, and with support from the State team we hope to add more.”  

As of yesterday, Tuesday, May 25th, 79.9% of eligible people 12 years and older in Chittenden County and 77.2% of those eligible in Vermont had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.  

Upcoming Pop-up Clinics in Burlington 

Saturday May 29th 9am – 2pm – Burlington Farmer’s Market, 245 Pine Street,  Burlington 

June 4th & 5th, 11th & 12th - Burlington’s Discover Jazz Festival, City Hall Park by College St. exact times in the afternoon and/or evening to be determined, more information to follow at Flynnvt.org  

June 19th, - Burlington’s Juneteenth Celebration, downtown near City Hall Park, exact time and location to be determined, more information to follow at juneteenthbtv.org 

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Mayor Miro Weinberger Statement on the passage of Joint Resolution Relating to Racism as  Public Health Emergency 

Yesterday, the Vermont State Senate (29-1) joined the Vermont House (135-8) in declaring racism a public health emergency by adopting joint resolution JRH 6. Mayor Miro Weinberger made the following statement:  

“This is an action I fully endorse, and last July the City of Burlington along with over 30 community partners from across Chittenden County made the same declaration. I commend the leadership of the Vermont legislature and welcome their partnership in committing to ‘coordinating work and participating in ongoing action, grounded in science and data, to eliminate race-based health disparities and eradicate systemic racism,’ 

“The coronavirus has laid bare a terrible and longstanding truth: as a result of deeply embedded, structural racism, Black and brown Americans experience far worse health outcomes than their white neighbors do. In this pandemic, Black and brown Americans are getting infected with the virus at three times the rate of whites, and, with adjustments for age, are dying at even more disparate rates. While Vermont has much lower infection rates – and much higher vaccination rates - than other states, the same race-based disparities exist here too.  

“The necessity of ending these disparities in health outcomes did not begin, nor will it end, with the covid-19 pandemic.  

“Deep and structural racism has shaped the systems of our nation and community for far too long. Here in Burlington, we have shown that while battling multiple and simultaneous crises Vermonters can forge remarkable progress on even our toughest challenges. With this resolution, we can take collective action to eliminate systemic racism and its attendant stark disparities in health outcomes.” 

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Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces City of Burlington Closes with CityPlace Developer on Land to Reknit Pine and St. Paul Streets 

Reconnection of lost streets is guaranteed at no cost or risk to taxpayers, and the developer may advance transformational project   

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced that on May 14 the City and CityPlace developers closed on the Settlement Agreement and Amended and Restated Development Agreement approved and authorized by the Burlington City Council on February 25, 2021.  

As a result of the closing, the streets will be reconnected through the former mall site at no cost to taxpayers, the City secured millions of dollars in public benefits, and the City has dropped its lawsuit – the legal relationship between the City and developer is now defined by the Amended and Restated Development Agreement and the Developer can now advance the transformational commercial and housing development toward the start of construction. 

“Reconnecting Pine and St. Paul Streets is a long-held goal of the City that will transform and enable to flourish a section of our downtown that has been troubled for decades. This reconnection will happen,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “I appreciate the hard work that went into reaching this important milestone by all parties involved and am pleased the CityPlace developers can now move forward on this great project that will bring new activity, housing and affordable housing, and good jobs into the heart of our City. The new development agreement now in place ensures that their success will be Burlington’s success.” 

Don Sinex stated: “The Cityplace Team is happy to be part of returning these long lost streets back to the citizens of Burlington – for future generations to enjoy and interact in the new spaces being constructed. Scott, Dave, Al, and I are pleased to close our deal with the City and we all look forward to clearing out the remaining challenges and obstacles facing the CityPlace project and starting construction.” 

Settlement Delivers Reconnected Streets 

St. Paul and Pine Streets will be reconnected through the former mall site. This has been addressed in key ways: 

• The developers transferred to the City, at no cost to taxpayers, deeds to the land on which the reconnected St. Paul and Pine Streets will be built, which the developer had appraised by a National real estate consulting firm at $4.3 million. 

• The City received a guarantee from the CityPlace developers to reconnect St. Paul and Pine streets at no cost to taxpayers if the developers do not succeed in starting to build the project in approximately two years, or if the developers start but do not continue in keeping with established milestones. The value of this construction contract is estimated at $3.2 million.  

• If the project does proceed as planned, then the City will reimburse the developer for the cost of the streets, including other costs outlined in the new development agreement, from the Waterfront TIF district - which uses income generated by new revenues from the project – not taxpayers. Some street finishes in areas other than around the project site would be built later, outside of this contract to avoid the need to rip out newly constructed work.  

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Mayor Miro Weinberger Announced Brian Pine as New Director to Lead Community and Economic Development Office 

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced the appointment of Brian Pine as the new Director of the Community & Economic Development Office (CEDO). Brian brings decades of community development experience to the role, including 18 years as the Assistant Director for Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization in CEDO. He also worked as a Senior Consultant at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) and started his own consulting firm, Pine Consulting, to assist nonprofit and public sector organizations with project planning, financing and development. Pine has also served as a Ward 3 City Councilor from 1991-1995 and was elected again in 2018. 

“Brian Pine is  the right person to lead CEDO at this challenging and promising time,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “He is uniquely qualified, and has a proven dedication to City of Burlington. The work of CEDO in the months ahead will include making permanent the many innovations of the last year – like the Resource and Recovery Center, the Trusted Community Voices program, and implementing the language access plan, as well as leading the community engagement process that will determine the best way to invest ARPA funds into Burlington. I have every confidence in Brian’s ability to lead this important work.”  

“Serving the community that has been my home for 40 years is a real honor. For me, there is no higher calling than public service in terms of making a positive difference in the community, and I look forward to joining the Mayor and his team with that goal in mind. I am grateful for the opportunity to rejoin the CEDO team in support of the mission to engage the community in finding solutions to achieve our collective vision for an equitable, safe, and truly inclusive City with real opportunities for all.” 

Background 

In his time as the Assistant Director for Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization, Pine managed all federal and local housing programs and ordinances and led the City’s housing policies and programs. He led the creation of the Lead and Healthy Homes Program to prevent lead poisoning for low-income families and developed a master plan to secure $6 million for the revitalization of the North Street commercial district. Previously Pine was one of the first two employees to launch the Vermont Community Loan Fund where he performed loan underwriting, business development and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations serving low-income Vermonters. He spent a few years in youth development and job training before launching YouthBuild Burlington under the auspices of the King Street Youth Center.  

At VEIC, Pine consulted clients to make energy efficiency investments to traditionally underserved markets and was part of the team that advances low-income homeownership using zero energy modular homes. 

Pine has lived in Burlington since graduating from the University of Vermont in 1985, and lives in the Old North End with his wife, Liz Curry. They have two grown children who also live in Burlington.  

Next Steps 

Mayor Weinberger will bring Pine’s appointment before the City Council at its May 24 meeting, and Pine will resign his position as City Councilor effective upon confirmation by the City Council. The City Charter dictates that Special Elections will be held within 90 days of a Council vacancy, therefore, Mayor Weinberger will call a Special Election for the Ward 3 City Councilor seat for August 17, 2021. If confirmed, Pine would start his work as CEDO Director on June 7. 

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Mayor Miro Weinberger to Resume Search for City’s Next Police Chief

Search process will begin with robust public engagement effort and community survey

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced that the City will resume its search for Burlington’s next permanent Police Chief. One year ago, Mayor Weinberger suspended the Police Chief search due to the uncertain circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the goal of re-starting the search after the mayoral election.

“We need structural and cultural transformation of law enforcement in this country and in Burlington, and to forge a new consensus on the future of public safety here,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “Our new Police Chief will play an essential leadership role in that work. Our hope is to have a community informed hiring process that fosters trust and creates a strong foundation for our public safety transformation.”The res

The restarted process will begin with a public engagement effort, which will include a community survey and a series of stakeholder meetings to solicit input from the community on what they would like to see in the City’s next Police Chief.

During the month of May, Mayor Weinberger will hold a series stakeholder meetings with the goal of developing a position profile and vision for what the Police Chief’s priorities should be in their first year of service. In addition to visiting all Neighborhood Planning Assembly meetings during the month of May, Mayor Weinberger will hold discussions with stakeholder sectors including education, BIPOC organizations, social services partners, business, and youth.

Following the stakeholder engagement process, the Administration will publish a Public Engagement Report that compiles the survey data and feedback from listening sessions, update the position description, and post the opening with a position profile that incorporates the public input. At that time, the Mayor will also announce the full search committee, who will begin the interview process in mid-July. Mayor Weinberger’s goal is to forward an appointment to the Council for confirmation in September.

Mayor Weinberger will appoint the search committee in June, with up to 11 members, and include two Police Commissioners and two City Councilors. For the first time for a Mayoral appointment process, Mayor Weinberger is soliciting applications from community members interested in serving on the search committee. One community member will be selected and the deadline to apply is May 30.

The community survey and search committee application can be found on the City’s website, here: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/mayor/police_chief_search. A translated survey will be available next week.

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Mayor Encourages Use of New Online Permitting Portal

New online portal makes it easy for residents and contractors to apply and track permit progress; next step in ongoing reform of City permitting system

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger and City officials encouraged the public to explore and use the new online permitting portal opened this week. The new portal, available at https://burlingtonvt.viewpointcloud.com/, will make it easier to easier to get and track the permits required by the City for work on your home or at a building site –including permits for windows, decks, siding, roofing, or other electric, mechanical, building, zoning, right of way, and Fire permits.

“Putting the permitting online is another important step in our multi-year effort to improve our municipal permitting system — an area of city operations that has long provoked considerable frustration and complaint," said Mayor Weinberger. “This change will save applicants trips to City buildings, and allow them to track the status of their permits in real time. Taken together with the earlier reforms that merged three separate departments into one group that now works together, allowed for virtual inspections, and eliminated a number of confusing fee steps, we have made major progress towards our goal of creating a permitting system that works well for residents and contractors alike, and supports Burlingtonians and local businesses as they make investments that create opportunity, improve homes, and move this community forward.”

Online Application Portal

The new permitting portal is provided in partnership with a company called OpenGov and administered by City staff. Applicants simply go to the portal and sign up with their email address, then apply for the permit or permits they need. There is an online payment option, and you can save an unfinished application or submit and then return to check the status of the permit. Once submitted, an email link to a copy of the application will be sent to you.

While the system is designed to support City permitting needs, in the coming months it will also be configured to manage applications for items like birth certificates, dog licenses, and other records that will help residents avoid unnecessary trips to City Hall. Bringing City services online also reduces the need for residents to travel to City buildings to get the services they need.

OpenGov was selected after a comprehensive evaluation of different competitors because the company’s focus on small- and mid-size cities gave it the ability to provide necessary services for Burlington in a cost-effective way.

“I am extremely proud of our City team from the Innovation & Technology and Permitting and Inspections Departments who have worked diligently to construct an online permitting system that will improve both our operational efficiency and the customer experience,” said Department of Permitting & Inspections Director Bill Ward.

“Converting the City’s existing system to one that can support online applications not only makes permits easier to get for residents, but also creates an opportunity to streamline a number of City processes,” said Chief Innovation Officer Brian Lowe. “This new permit portal is part of a broader effort to modernize and simplify the City’s operations to better serve the community, and I’m grateful in particular to Pat Schmitz, Scott Duckworth, and Jay Appleton for doing the work to make this possible.”

Background on Recent Reforms to the Permitting System

Until 2020, the process to obtain a City permit for Burlingtonians looking to make improvements to their homes and small businesses often involved three different departments. For a typical small project, members of the public would start at the Planning & Zoning Department at City Hall, then travel to the Inspection Services Division at 645 Pine Street, and then get the review of the Code Enforcement Office at Pine Street. For even routine projects, the likelihood of getting through permitting correctly the first time was about 20 percent. City employees worked hard to advance requests, but the process was cumbersome and often unintuitive, especially for residents who only interacted with it occasionally.

Now, all of these functions – zoning, building inspections, and code enforcement – have been combined into the new Permitting & Inspections Department, with employees involved in the permitting process working on one team. Today’s announcement brings this process online, and adds in other related permits related to the Fire Department or Right of Way – so it should be even easier to apply for the permits you need to invest in your home or complete a project.  

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Burlington, VT -  Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following statement:

"With tonight’s passage of a mandatory weatherization ordinance Burlington joins just a handful of cities that require existing buildings to be brought up to modern insulation and air sealing standards.  This ordinance replaces outdated regulation with new, stringent, enforceable requirements that will dramatically lower tenant utility bills and reduce the fossil fuel emissions in hundreds of Burlington homes over the next few years.  The new ordinance will also support job creation and retention for weatherization contractors and help the broader Vermont clean energy economy.

The City Council has now approved four of the five policy reforms I called for following our 2019 Mayoral Housing Summits.  I look forward to continued collaboration with the Council to advance progress toward our ambitious Net Zero Energy City goals and to address our housing crisis in the months ahead by passing short-term rental reform and then hosting another Housing Summit this summer." 

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