FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 11, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
                (802) 734-0617

Mayor Weinberger Announces that the City Will Open New Pop-Up Testing This Week in the New North End

Burlington, VT – Today, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger announced that the City will offer free Covid-19 testing on Thursday and Friday at the Robert Miller Community and Recreation Center in the New North End. Wastewater monitoring in that part of the City has indicated that Covid-19 may be on the rise, and wastewater detection of the virus can occur as much as 3-7 days before increased prevalence becomes apparent through positive tests.

“With the support of the Vermont Department of Health and in partnership with Garnet Health, we’re taking this step in order to increase access to testing for residents in the New North End,” said Mayor Weinberger. “We are committed to doing everything we can as a city to supplement the State’s total testing capacity amidst the recent increases of Covid-19 in Vermont.”

Testing is free to the public. Reservations are required and are available through Garnet Health at this link, which is separate from the Department of Health’s system. The testing at the Miller Center is intended for people who live or work in the New North End. Please check the Health Department website for information about additional testing options.

“The results from the wastewater monitoring are an early indicator that cases of Covid-19 in our community may be increasing,” said Mayor Weinberger. “Consistent with new State guidance announced Sunday, I encourage Burlingtonians to consider getting tested if you live in the New North End and have recently traveled, expanded your social circle to include new people, or participated in gatherings in the days immediately before or since Halloween. If you have symptoms, you should call your primary care provider to be scheduled for testing.”

The City also has worked with Garnet Health to establish both rapid and traditional Covid-19 testing options at the Burlington International Airport. The tests available at the Miller Center pop-up site will be the traditional PCR tests. The City will cover the cost of this testing using emergency funds authorized by the City Council in March, and will explore options for reimbursement.

“Thank you to the City team, the Vermont Department of Health, and Garnet Health for working with urgency to make this new testing option available to the people of Burlington,” said Mayor Weinberger. “Launching this new capacity so quickly has required a cross-departmental team that includes everyone from our Airport, to the Parks Department providing the facility, to the Fire Department providing a generator, and I am grateful.

“I once again urge all Burlingtonians to take action to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their neighbors by bringing this current growth in local infections under control. Now is a time to avoid high-risk activities, and to follow the Department of Health’s new guidance on social gatherings, travel, and testing, and remember the principles of ‘masks on faces, six-foot spaces, and uncrowded places.’ As in earlier stages of this pandemic, we can keep the spread of the virus in check if we work together and exercise vigilance. “

Pop-Up Testing Details:

When: Thursday 1:00-4:00 pm and Friday 9:00 am-1:00 pm

Where: Miller Center, 130 Gosse Court, Burlington

How: Reservations are required (no walk-ins). Reservations are available through Garnet Health at this link: https://phreesia.me/MillerCenterPopUp

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Meeting Date: April 11th, 2022 05:30 

Agenda

Minutes (Draft)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 11, 2020
Contact: Jordan Redell
                (802) 503-7664
 

Reparations Task Force to Hold First Meeting

Burlington, VT – Mayor Weinberger has called the first meeting of the Reparations Task Force, which will take place today, November 11, at 5:00 pm. Information about the virtual meeting and the agenda can be found here.

Members of the Task Force are:

• Pablo Bose, Professor of Geography at the University of Vermont
• Hal Colston, State Representative, Director of Partnership for Change
• Tyeastia Green, City of Burlington Director of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
• Christine Hughes, New Seasons Vermont and Racial Justice Alliance
• Rebecca Zietlow, Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Law

“I am proud that Burlington is the first City in the country to examine and account for the role it has played in the foundational injustice of chattel slavery and the responsibility of repairing its harm,” said Mayor Weinberger. “A shameful chapter of the long, terrible history of slavery and its aftermath is that for over 30 years, Congress has refused to even study the possibility of reparations, despite annual resolutions calling for that examination.

“As reported this week in the New York Times story about new details of Alexander Hamilton’s history with slavery, very little is known about slavery in northern states. My hope for this Task Force is that it will begin to reveal and bring to light inaccuracies in the way we have understood Vermont’s relationship to slavery and this part of American history.

“While I don’t know where this study will take us, because the City’s role in the institution of slavery and what is right for us to do in response is not yet clear, I do know that we will never fully realize the ideals of our country until the issue of reparations is fully addressed. The formation of this task force is an important step toward that crucial goal.”            

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia, Mayor’s Office
                (802) 734-0617

              HUD Public Affairs
              (607) 994-8355

Mayor Miro Weinberger and HUD Announce Award of More Than $3.6 Million to Burlington Lead Program

The award will protect Vermont families from lead and other home health and safety hazards, and make low-income families’ homes safer and healthier

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that HUD has awarded more than $3.6 million to the City of Burlington to help protect low-income children and families from lead-based paint and home health hazards. The announcement took place at a home that is enrolled in the Burlington Lead Program.

With this funding, the City’s Burlington Lead Program will be able to address lead hazards in 110 homes that are occupied by low- and very low-income families with children. The program also will use this funding to conduct education, outreach, workforce development, and capacity-building within Burlington and Winooski, and leverage local resources to further protect the community from lead poisoning.

“All Burlington families deserve homes that are safe, healthy, and affordable,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “Our Burlington Lead Program is a critical part of the City’s work to make that vision of a reality, and this award means that that work will continue. With this funding, the lead program team will keep working to prevent childhood lead poisoning, and also expand the scope of our program to address other housing safety and health issues faced by the most vulnerable members of our community. I am grateful to HUD for this award, to Vermont’s federal delegation for their support, and to CEDO and our Burlington Lead Program team for creating safer homes for Burlington families.”

“A healthy start at home translates to a successful life outside of the home,” said David Tille, HUD New England Regional Administrator.  “We congratulate Mayor Weinberger and his team for their outstanding work to eradicate lead paint in Burlington homes. HUD is proud to be your partner in making Burlington homes safe for families and their kids.”

“Lead paint is a dangerous and invisible toxin that often hits us where we live: in our homes," said Senator Patrick Leahy. "I’ve been glad to partner with Burlington and other communities to make lead removal a priority.  With the hard work of organizations like the Burlington Lead Program, its risk to children and families can be avoided.  During this pandemic, we all are spending more time at home. Vermont has one of the oldest housing stocks in the country, and this funding is more important than ever to help ensure that people living in housing built before 1978 stay safe and healthy.”

“Burlington is full of historic homes with character, but every resident deserves to know that their house is safe from poisonous chemicals like lead that have not been used for many years,” said Congressman Peter Welch. “This award is wonderful news for the Burlington Lead Program to continue their mission of protecting families and children from exposure to lead in their homes.”

“Lead dust is invisible and causes the most harm in children’s growing bodies,” said Margaret Williams, Coordinator of the Burlington Lead Program. “Our program works to keep children safe from hazards that may be in their home by replacing windows, stabilizing paint, and other needed treatments. I invite members of the community to reach out to the Burlington Lead Program with any questions or concerns about home hazards, and our program currently is accepting applications.”

Funding Breakdown

The funding is made up of $3,093,992 from the Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction (LBPHR) Grant Program and $530,000 in Healthy Homes Supplemental Funding, and is part of HUD awards of $165 million across 44 state and local government agencies in 23 states, which will improve over 14,000 homes. The LBPHR program is designed to identify and clean up dangerous lead in low-income families’ homes, and the Healthy Homes Supplemental Funding is designed to help communities with housing-related health and safety hazards in addition to lead-based paint hazards.

The following is a breakdown of the funding announced today:

About the Burlington Lead Program

The Burlington Lead Program is part of the City’s Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO), and was founded in 2003 with its first Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant from HUD. In the years since, the program has demonstrated a track record of high performance and innovative practice, receiving national awards, expanding its reach to neighboring Winooski, and helping to develop a culture of lead safety in Burlington. Over that time, the Burlington Lead Program has reduced lead hazards in 675 homes, completed evaluations in 889 homes, and been awarded over $13 million to address lead and other hazards in Burlington and Winooski homes.

The Burlington Lead Program works with property owners to reduce lead-based paint hazards at homes built prior to 1978 where the occupants earn less than 80 percent of the median income for Burlington, and also provides technical assistance and other free community resources to reduce lead poisoning and create safer and healthier homes. The most common ways to reduce lead hazards in people’s homes include in-kind window replacement, interior paint stabilization, and exterior stabilization and repainting.  Learn more at www.burlingtonvt.gov/blp or call 802-865-LEAD (5323). The program is currently accepting applications for single-family homes and rental properties.

About HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes

HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead paint and other housing-related health hazards from lower-income homes; stimulates private sector investment in lead hazard control; supports cutting-edge research on methods for assessing and controlling housing-related health and safety hazards; and educates the public about the dangers of hazards in the home. Read a complete project-by-project summary of the programs awarded grants today.  

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
                (802) 734-0617

Mayor Weinberger Updates His Call for Vigilance in Response to Rising Case Growth in Chittenden County

Burlington, VT – As Covid-19 cases remain high in Burlington and Chittenden County, Mayor Miro Weinberger today extended his call for Burlingtonians to exercise extra caution and shared key updates.

“Since Friday we have seen even more indications of elevated virus risk right now in Burlington and throughout much of Vermont,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger.  “Now is a time to avoid high-risk activities, and to follow the Department of Health’s new guidance on social gatherings and testing. As in earlier stages of this pandemic, we can keep the spread of the virus in check if we work together and exercise vigilance.”

Mayor Weinberger also shared the following key updates:

• Limit gatherings: The Vermont Department of Health continues to strongly encourage all Vermonters to limit gatherings to 10 or fewer people and with a very limited number of trusted households, and avoid unnecessary travel.
• New guidance: On Sunday evening, the Vermont Department of Health also issued new guidance that all Burlingtonians should be aware of, including: “If you have attended an event with people who are not in your usual social circle, please avoid close contact with others and consider obtaining a test now as well as 7 days after the event or gathering.”
• Increased risk in New North End: The City’s wastewater monitoring program is now detecting an increase of prevalence of Covid-19 in the New North End. This is an early sign of elevated risk, and if we act together now we can limit the spread of the virus. Our community is small and interconnected, which means that the entire City should be aware of this elevated risk. At the same time, the City is urging all New North End residents in particular to limit gathering sizes, contact your primary care provider if you have symptoms, and seek testing if you have returned from travel or seen people outside your normal social circle since the days around Halloween. The City is installing two variable message signs on North Avenue to further amplify the need for caution.
• Testing: The City is working closely with the Vermont Department of Health to evaluate potential new pop-up testing sites in the coming days. Look out for additional information as it becomes available. For now, Burlingtonians can see options for testing at: healthvermont.gov/covid-19/testing. Burlingtonians also are urged to call your health care provider if at any point you develop any symptoms.

Burlingtonians are invited to discuss this next stage of our response to the pandemic in a Telephone Town Hall meeting on Tuesday at 5:30 pm. Mayor Weinberger, Vermont Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine, and UVM Medical Center President and COO Dr. Stephen Leffler will discuss how to assess risk, what Burlingtonians should keep in mind as they’re making holiday plans, and other key topics, and also take as many questions as they can from callers. Find the full details and RSVP on the event page.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia, Mayor’s Office
                (802) 734-0617

                Beth Parent, VGS
                (802) 578-2776

Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces Federal Approval of New BTV Sound Mitigation Program and Partnership with VGS to Provide $550,000 Local Match

Pilot partnership expected to leverage $4.5 million in federal funds for soundproofing of Burlington, South Burlington, and Winooski homes in 2021, and lays groundwork for multi-year investment to follow
 

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced a partnership between the Burlington International Airport and VGS in which the utility will provide the local match for the BTV Sound Mitigation Program, closing the gap needed to apply for $4.5 million in federal funds for soundproofing in 2021, and without any impact on the general funds of the communities around the Airport. Mayor Weinberger was joined at the announcement by South Burlington Council Chair Helen Riehle, Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott, and VGS President and CEO Neale Lunderville.

“From my first days in this office, one of my top goals for the Airport has been to put the millions of dollars that we receive from the federal government into improving homes instead of tearing them down,” said Mayor Weinberger. “Today we’re announcing that we’ve nearly turned around the ocean liner, and are now on a route that should eventually make hundreds of homes in Winooski, Burlington, and South Burlington more energy efficient, comfortable, and quiet in the years to come. I’m grateful to Mayor Lott and Chair Riehle for the collaboration that brought us to this point, and to VGS for coming to the table with an innovative and impactful solution. I also want to thank Vermont’s federal delegation for their work to secure vital federal funds, and the Airport team, with leadership from Nic Longo, for their tireless work to get to this outcome.”

Through the partnership, VGS will use Energy Efficiency Utility (EEU) funds to provide the 10 percent local match that is required to secure federal funding for the program. Starting in 2021, VGS is prepared to commit $550,000 in EEU funds to provide the local match for $4.5 million in federal funds. The years of 2021 and 2022 will be considered pilot years during which the program will be launched and adjusted as necessary, and VGS and the airport will work together to lay the groundwork for investment at similar levels in the years to follow. The Airport’s previous FAA noise mitigation program was in place for 30 years, and it is expected that the new program also could be in place for a decade or more.

“Weatherization is a cornerstone strategy for achieving both Vermont’s and VGS’s bold climate goals,” said Neale Lunderville, President and CEO of VGS. “By pairing up weatherization and soundproofing, we help reduce our customers’ carbon footprint, lower their monthly costs, and make their homes more comfortable. This innovative approach demonstrates the value of partnership and collaboration, and is the kind of thinking we need to fight climate change in the years ahead. I applaud our community leaders for their unwavering commitment to make this project a reality.”

“I welcome the collaborative approach and partnership that Burlington International Airport and Vermont Gas Systems are bringing to sound insulation efforts affecting the surrounding communities,” said Senator Patrick Leahy. “As Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue to do my part by advocating for the necessary federal funding for the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program that supplies grants in support of those activities.” John Tracy, State Director for the Office of Senator Leahy, shared remarks at the announcement.

The Airport and VGS have signed a Letter of Intent, and now will be seeking further approvals. As an immediate next step, VGS will work with the Airport and the Airport’s sound consultant, the Jones Payne Group, to continue planning for the rollout of the sound program. The pilot program will enable the design and construction of soundproofing for an estimated 10-12 homes in 2021, and position the Airport to apply for federal funds to design soundproofing for 50 homes in 2021, construct soundproofing for those homes in 2022, and continue serving a similar number of homes in the years to follow.

This partnership follows other recent advances in noise mitigation, most notably, a $3.49 million federal appropriation that did not require a local match for soundproofing and HVAC upgrades at Chamberlin Elementary School in South Burlington. The design of this project is currently underway, with construction anticipated to start in summer 2021.

New BTV Sound Mitigation Program Received Federal Approval on October 16, 2020

The partnership follows the recent approval of the new BTV Sound Mitigation Program earlier this month by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Previously, the Airport operated under a sound program that was in place from 1989 to 2019, which followed a model of acquiring and demolishing impacted homes as its primary noise mitigation measure.

The new program, which has been in development for several years, was formally approved on October 16, 2020, and adopts sound insulation as the primary noise mitigation measure. Under this program, the Airport will work with homeowners to determine if they qualify, and if they do, will then plan for and construct replacements of windows and doors, and in some circumstances, air conditioning and air sealing.

Partnership Follows Breakthrough Agreement between Burlington, South Burlington, and Winooski

The partnership follows two years of discussions and negotiations between the cities of Burlington, South Burlington, and Winooski, that improved strained municipal relations on Airport issues and culminated in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that Mayor Weinberger, Councilor Riehle, and Mayor Lott agreed to in the winter of 2020, and were on track toward finalizing when the process was interrupted by the pandemic. The MOU committed the municipalities to collaboration on multiple fronts including finding a source for the local match that is not the general funds of the three communities, and to work with local utilities to maximize weatherization money. Though the MOU is not yet finalized, the partnership with VGS flows directly from the work that led to this agreement.

“South Burlington has been committed to finding a way to preserve and improve housing affected by the military mission at BTV,” said South Burlington Council Chair Helen Riehle. “We have been very vocal at times and determined to achieve noise mitigation. This partnership is a real start and a classic example of the ‘Vermont Way’ — don’t give up, talk through the differences, find a creative approach that works for all, collaborate with interested parties, and voila, you find a path forward!  The City of South Burlington is pleased and looks forward to moving ahead.”

“The City of Winooski has prioritized preservation of quality affordable housing throughout this process,” said Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott. “We're very pleased to see this kind of collaboration that can bring joint benefits of both sound insulation and weatherization to many of our residents. This is a great start and I look forward to continued collaboration in the effort to fund mitigation for as many homes as we can as quickly as possible.”

That Memorandum of Understanding followed, in 2019, the Airport releasing an updated Noise Exposure Map that identified 2,640 homes in South Burlington, Williston, Winooski, Colchester, and Burlington that are within the contour lines of 65-plus decibels, and therefore may be eligible for Federal Aviation Administration funds for sound mitigation through the Airport Improvement Program.

“For over 30 years, BTV has committed to participating in the voluntary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sponsored Part 150 program that assesses and quantifies noise impacts from aircraft noise, which aids in the development of the Noise Compatibility Program (NCP) to minimize those impacts,” said Gene Richards, Director of Aviation at Burlington International Airport. “This partnership with VGS illustrates how the Airport has worked with diverse partners. The Airport is grateful for VGS’ commitment to generating a win-win for our community.”

For additional information, please see:

• To learn more about the BTV Sound Mitigation Project, please visit: www.btvsound.com
• To learn more about the MOU between Burlington, South Burlington, and Winooski, please see the draft document.
• To learn more about the partnership with VGS, see the Letter of Intent [PDF].

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2020
Contact: Heather Matthews, ANEW Place

Olivia LaVecchia, Mayor’s Office
(802) 734-0617

ANEW Place Closes on Purchase of Champlain Inn and Announces Plan to Offer Temporary, Low-Barrier Housing Starting in December

The purchase realizes Mayor Weinberger’s long-held goal of establishing a year-round low-barrier facility for Burlington

Burlington, VT – ANEW Place today announced the purchase of the Champlain Inn at 165 Shelburne Road, and its plans to transform the space to provide temporary housing for those in our community who are experiencing homelessness. The Inn will fill the void left by the closing of the low-barrier shelter on South Winooski Ave, and realize the goal of establishing a year-round low-barrier option in Burlington that Mayor Miro Weinberger articulated in his 2017 State of the City and has budgeted local funds for in recent budget cycles. The City actively worked to support ANEW Place’s efforts through technical assistance, an emergency resolution, and funding for ongoing operations, and by fully backing and advocating for Covid-emergency funds to be used for this project.

At the Inn, there will be space for up to 50 people experiencing homelessness to access shelter in a way that is Covid-safe and available throughout the year. ANEW Place will provide Inn guests with onsite services, including case managers and assistance with finding permanent housing.

“ANEW Place is excited for the opportunity to purchase and reimagine the Champlain Inn,” said Kevin Pounds, Director of ANEW Place “Thank you to the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board for believing in this project and providing the federal funds to make it possible. All of us have been impacted in some way by the COVID crisis, and this is especially true for the increasing number of our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Our hope and prayer is the Champlain Inn will be a place where people, regardless of their situation and story, experience a new start. ANEW Place is blessed with an incredible team of people who’ve moved this project forward: Cindy Reid with Cathedral Square, Mark Sammut with Wright & Morrissey Inc., Bob Duncan with Duncan Wisniewski Architecture, Grace Ciffo with CEDO, and Hobart Popick with Langrock, Sperry, & Wool. I especially want to thank ANEW’s frontline staff who’ve worked tirelessly to provide a supportive shelter environment in a basement, RVs, and tents while navigating the challenges of COVID. We’re only as good as the team around us.”

“Low-barrier shelters save lives and are a critical resource for protecting some of our most vulnerable residents. The opening of a year-round facility represents a major expansion of our community’s capacity to address the challenge of homelessness,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “I am so grateful to the many partners who came together to realize this goal that we have labored for years to achieve.  I am thankful to ANEW Place and their committed team led by Kevin Pounds, Cathedral Square, and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board for finding a way to leverage the great need presented by this global pandemic and turn it into long-term opportunity, and to the neighbors and South End City Councilors who supported this initiative. Having a year-round low-barrier solution is just one of the ways that our community is going to emerge from this pandemic even stronger.”

ANEW Place closed on the purchase of the Champlain Inn on Friday, October 23, and funded the purchase with $2.5 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds granted by the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB). ANEW Place will use the 33-unit motel to offer free rooms year-round for projected occupancy of 50 people. The property also includes a 2,800 square foot house that will provide space for on-site services, group meetings, and laundry facilities.

Now, ANEW Place will make several needed repairs to the property, and plans to re-open to serve clients on December 1.

Meeting the Needs of People Experiencing Homelessness During Covid-19 Pandemic

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, ANEW Place was operating the Burlington Low-Barrier Shelter at a location at 179 South Winooski Avenue. However, when the pandemic hit, it became clear that the facility was not safe for staff and guests. It did not allow for physical distance, had poor ventilation, and did not have space where symptomatic individuals could isolate.

As a result, ANEW Place, the City of Burlington, and the State of Vermont worked quickly to find an alternative. ANEW Place shut down the site on March 26, and as a temporary solution, moved the remaining guests into 26 RVs at the City’s campground at North Beach. In June, this transitioned into a sanctioned tenting area with ANEW Place staff continuing to provide support.

The demand for a low-barrier shelter typically decreases during the warm weather months, but this year, by August, up to 40 people were staying at the campground, approximately two-thirds of whom were not staying at the Low-Barrier Shelter during the winter months before Covid-19. This is true even as more than 400 people experiencing homelessness are using State vouchers to stay in Chittenden County hotels.

With the need for a low-barrier facility clear, and the winter months approaching, the City of Burlington and ANEW Place began pursuing a plan to create a tiny home community for people experiencing homelessness on City-owned land on Sears Lane. However, funding for that plan proved difficult to secure. “It was August, our backs were against the wall, and we were praying for a miracle,” says Kevin Pounds, Director of ANEW Place. Kevin met with Champlain Housing Trust COO Michael Monte to identify possible facilities, and only the Champlain Inn met the needs of a low-barrier facility. Though the Inn was not for sale, Kevin reached out to the owner and initiated a discussion about purchase.

Hurdles remained. On October 5, the Burlington City Council approved an emergency resolution to amend the zoning of the inn so that people experiencing homelessness would have a Covid-safe option before the freezing temperatures of winter. The resolution aligns the occupancy permitted for a residential use with the occupancy that the Inn was permitted as a commercial use. Then, on October 13, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board approved ANEW Place’s application for Coronavirus Relief Funds to purchase the Inn.

At the Champlain Inn, each room will provide guests with a private or semi-private sleeping area, electrical outlets to recharge phones and for other needs, and direct access to ANEW Place’s programs and services. The facility provides space for physical distancing, has appropriate ventilation, and allows for the isolation of symptomatic guests – making it a space that meets the needs of the Covid era and where people experiencing homelessness will be able to access shelter with dignity and respect.

“The Board believes the successful application for a grant of $2.5 million to acquire and rehabilitate the Champlain Inn reflects both the tenacity and heart of ANEW and the City of Burlington,” said Gus Seelig, Director for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. “In this time of responding to a pandemic, it has never been more clear that Housing is Health Care. The Champlain Inn will keep people warmer and healthier in the months ahead. We thank CHT for identifying this opportunity and deeply appreciate the hard work of Cindy Reid and the Cathedral Square Corporation in developing the application and planning for improvements. Finally, much thanks go to Senators Jane Kitchel, Tim Ashe, and Michael Sirotkin, Speaker Mitzi Johnson, and Chair Tom Stevens for insisting the a portion of the Coronavirus Relief Fund be used to expand Vermont’s supply of affordable homes.”

“This project is one of several collaborations between Cathedral Square and ANEW Place,” said Cindy Reid, Director of Development for Cathedral Square. “The pandemic has certainly highlighted systemic inequities in our housing system. We share ANEW’s compassion for treating people in need with dignity, and for identifying and mobilizing resources to provide safe homes and services to help those in need.”

History of Effort to Create Low-Barrier Facility in Burlington

Until several years ago, there was no low-barrier facility in Burlington, meaning a facility that welcomes any adult regardless of their sobriety or mental health. That changed in 2014, when Mayor Miro Weinberger ended the City’s long-standing opposition to a low-barrier shelter, and several organizations worked with the City’s support to establish a low-barrier shelter for the winter months. In the years that followed, the facility took several forms:

• 2014-2015: First year pilot called the “winter warming shelter,” run by CVOEO
• 2015-2016:
  • In his April State of the City, Mayor Weinberger commits the City to a permanent shelter declaring, “We must now work with the State and private funders to move beyond a pilot program and find a way to permanently ensure that a low-barrier warming shelter opens before next winter arrives.” 
  • Second year, run by COTS for a season that spanned November 1-April 1; shelter had 50 beds but demand outstripped capacity
• 2016-2017: Third year, run by CHCB for a season November 1-April 18 (season extended for 18 days with operational funding from UVMMC). Shelter had 35 permanent beds and provided 5,290 individual shelter bed nights over the season
• 2017-2018:
  • In his 2017 State of the City, Mayor Weinberger calls for the low-barrier shelter to become a year-round facility
  • Mayor attends Chittenden County Homeless Alliance meeting to ask for the coalition’s focus and support for a year-round low barrier facility.
  • Fourth year, run by CHCB for a season November 1-April 15, expanded to 37 permanent beds and provided 6,333 individual shelter bed nights over the season
• 2018-2019:
  • Burlington budgets local funds for expanded shelter operations for the first time. While responsibility for temporary shelters are generally the responsibility of the State, the City has budgeted funds for expanded low-barrier shelter operations every year since.
  • Fifth year, run by CHCB for a season that spanned November 1-June 15, with the extended season funded by the City of Burlington. The name changes to the “Low-Barrier Shelter.”
• 2019: Sixth year, run by ANEW Place, and moved to the North Beach Campground when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
• 2020:
  • March: Covid-19 closes the shelter on Winooski Avenue, and the City, State, and ANEW Place partner to move guests into RVs at the City’s North Beach Campground
  • June: State funding for RVS ends, and City and ANEW Place sustain low-barrier services through summer with a tenting area at North Beach
  • July: ANEW Place and Mayor Weinberger propose a tiny home development on Sears Lane for people experiencing homelessness, but funding for proposal is denied
  • August-September: ANEW Place develops a new application for funds to purchase the Champlain Inn, which is approved in October
  • Seventh year, run by ANEW Place, moving to 165 Shelburne Road, opening December 1 and staying open year-round!

This section draws on information that was put together by the Community Health Centers of Burlington (CHCB) during the years that they ran the low-barrier shelter.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
                (802) 734-0617

Burlington Re-Opens City Hall Park

Revived park designed to invite more use with double the seating, accessible pathways, multi-functional central fountain, healthier trees, three stormwater gardens, and more

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced the re-opening of City Hall Park. The park’s transformation follows an imagining process that first began in 2011, years of public engagement and design work, and a year of construction, all aimed at bringing more life to this central public space in the heart of Burlington’s downtown.

“Jane Jacobs wrote that, ‘City parks need the boon of life conferred on them,’ and our primary goal with the transformation of City Hall Park was exactly that – to give it more life,” said Mayor Weinberger. “For many years, City Hall Park was amazing on summer Saturdays with the farmers market, but too often underused at other times. We could see that one of the great strengths of our city is public spaces like this one, and that we could create features that would help more people enjoy it, from a fountain that would be a destination for families, to twice as many benches where people can sit and talk, to spaces to support eating and small gatherings throughout the day. Even as the City works to steer Burlington through the coronavirus emergency, we also remain focused on long-term projects like this one that are an investment in our future. I hope the revived City Hall Park serves as a beacon of hope and renewal in these times.”

Overall, the revived City Hall Park is designed to be greener, more accessible, and better suited to its use in the center of the city. The features of the new City Hall Park include:

• Gardens: 384 shrubs and 3,435 perennials and ornamental grasses. All of the perennials, grasses, and shrubs were sourced from local growers. Many of them are species native to our region, and will be well-suited to the site, create pollinator habitat, and display color from May through October. The park includes a comprehensive irrigation system that will ensure the long-term health of the trees and turf.
• Stormwater: Three stormwater gardens to retain and filter stormwater, and one of the gardens includes additional below-ground structures to further hold stormwater during intense storm events. The park also features a seat wall that will help prevent stormwater from discharging onto Main Street and permeable pavers that will allow stormwater to infiltrate into the soil. Overall, the design will result in a 30 percent reduction in peak flow during a 1-year storm event and 52 percent reduction during a 10-year storm event – contributing to a healthier park and healthier Lake Champlain.
• Trees: 22 new trees, and 48 trees in total, only a slight reduction from the 51 trees formerly in the park. The trees now are planted in healthier soil that will no longer erode in every storm, in enough soil to support them to maturity, and with an eye toward the importance of having a diversity of tree species and ages in the park.
• Seating: Twice as much seating within the park boundaries, including seatwalls and longer benches made from sustainably sourced wood.
• Paths: Wider and more accessible pathways that maintain the historic connectivity across the park. The paths are realigned so that they are less steep, support better tree health, and allow for better maintenance.
• Spaces: Flexible spaces accommodate a variety of activities in the park, from an interactive fountain, to cultural programming, to a terrace and central plaza that could host food service for people to enjoy in the park and bring additional activation to the space.
• Fountain: A multi-functional fountain that can be used for active play, as well as light and water shows that will add visual impact.
• Public art: Art installed in the park includes the new Watersheds to the Lake, made from Champlain marble, gold paint, and granite cobble by artists Kat Clear and Tessa O’Brien, which highlights the relationship between Lake Champlain’s health and the impact of human activities along the watersheds that feed it.
• Landscape: The park design concentrates foot traffic away from grassy areas and creates space for gatherings, including through the use of permeable pavers, and actually reduces the amount of impervious surface in the park from 43 percent in the old park (25 percent hardscape and 18 percent compacted soils) to 32.5 percent in the new park.
• And more! The park includes a new restroom, lighting, irrigation, utilities, and much more to make it a safe, inviting, and functional space.

 “Parks build community at all times, and that’s even more true in the middle of a pandemic,” said Cindi Wight, Director of Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront. “We are thrilled to be reopening our core downtown park, creating an outdoor green space where our community can gather safely and supporting the outdoor lifestyle that so many Burlingtonians cherish.”

Project Background and Budget

The City Hall Park revitalization is the culmination of an effort that began with hundreds of Burlingtonians participating in the Imagine City Hall Park planning process in 2011, continued with the Great Streets planning process, and included more than 20 public meetings that spanned 2016-2018. Over the course of that process, landscape architects Wagner Hodgson and the City team worked to develop a design for the park that would be inspirational, responsive, and enduring.

Park construction began in July 2019, with a budget of $5.75 million for everything from planning work that began in May 2016 to the remediation of contaminated soils. The City used a combination of grant funds, stormwater revenues, TIF economic development funds, Champlain College payments, and philanthropic contributions secured by the Mayor. City staff performed additional work in-house in order to realize further savings. The funding sources used are virtually all restricted funds that can only be used for capital improvements or downtown infrastructure projects, and overall, the cost of the park to property taxpayers is less than $1 million.

Except for a short delay caused by the pandemic construction shut down, construction went very smoothly, resulting in a rare $125,000 mid-construction budget reduction, and completion of the project with the durable, high-quality finishes that were originally designed but at risk of being cut for budget reasons.

A detailed summary of the project budget is available online.

Dedication of City Hall Park Renovations to Burlington Residents Who Died of Covid-19

The re-opening of City Hall Park comes as Burlington is seven months into a pandemic that has required wearing masks, physical distancing, and many other actions that couldn’t have been imagined at this time last year – including ceasing many of the gatherings that are a core strength of cities and of central public spaces like City Hall Park.

At the re-opening ceremony, Mayor Weinberger announced that the park renovations are dedicated to the Burlington residents who died as a result of Covid-19. “The time is coming when it will be hard to remember this pandemic, its dramatic impact on our lives, and the members of the community who we have lost to it,” Mayor Weinberger said, and unveiled a plaque installed in the park. The plaque reads:

“A comprehensively redesigned City Hall Park re-opened after a year of construction amidst the largest global pandemic in 100 years. At the time of the opening, the City had been living under an emergency order for more than six months, masks were required in all public places, and group gatherings were severely restricted. This park renovation is dedicated to the Burlingtonians who died as a result of the novel Covid-19 coronavirus. In the years to come, as children play in jets of water and crowds assemble to enjoy each other and our city’s great music, food, and events, let us never forget that these joyous scenes are fragile, and that their continuation can only be guaranteed through an ongoing, vigilant commitment to public health and science.”

Support for City Hall Park

The reopening ceremony for City Hall Park included many people who were involved in the vision for the transformed park. Students from King Street Center, a neighbor of the park, were there to countdown as the new fountain officially started for the first time, and other park neighbors and people who worked to create the park shared their reflections on the park transformation. These included:

“I can only think in superlatives when I think about the new City Hall Park,” said Doreen Kraft, Director of Burlington City Arts. “We began the journey to redesign our City's crown jewel 10 years ago with Imagine City Hall Park, and have more than accomplished what we set out to do. This new park allows for a greater diversity of experiences, increased safety and accessibility, greener infrastructure, and more interactive features that will bring us all together in the midst of tremendous art, historic reminders, and verdant beauty.”

“The vitality of City Hall Park reflects the vitality of Burlington,” said Thomas Leavitt, President and CEO of Northfield Savings Bank. “A healthy, safe, inclusive ‘front yard’ for all citizens is essential to our City’s character. We are a vested neighbor and look forward to supporting programming that will enhance access and equity in this beautiful new space.”

“We are honored to have been involved in ushering in a new era for City Hall Park and are excited to see people enjoying the Park once again,” said Jeff Hodgson, Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture. “This is truly the ‘living room’ of the community and we thank all of the people who worked so hard to bring it to fruition.”

“We have learned a great deal in the nearly 40 years since any significant changes were made to City Hall Park,” said V.J. Comai, City Arborist. “We have learned about the importance of mitigating stormwater runoff and how plants can be incorporated into built structures to help achieve this goal. We have learned about proper planting of trees to ensure their long-term health and which species are best suited to specific sites. We have learned how to incorporate trees into hardscape areas in public spaces that will provide them with adequate soil volumes to support them to maturity. We have learned about the importance of having a diversity of trees species and age classes of trees in our urban spaces. And we have learned about the importance of supporting the health of pollinator populations through the use of native plants that supply what they need to thrive. We believe in science, so we incorporated all of what we have learned into the design and reconstruction of this park and the results are visible here today. The ecological health of this park has been restored, and most importantly, it has been done in such a way that it will be sustainable and will thrive for future generations.”

“What a thrill to see the City’s commitment for a beautiful new park finally come to reality,” said Ernie Pomerleau, Pomerleau Real Estate and Pomerleau Family Foundation. “Having played in this park as a child when it was filled with huge Elm trees, we continue to enjoy it in its new form, and many changes have occurred through a natural process over time. Now, to have been able to help create a truly beautiful and handicap accessible park and fountain for children, in memory of our sister Anne Marie who was a quadriplegic, is truly a wonderful moment for our family and community.”

“I’m excited to walk through the park, climb the stairs, and balance by the water fountain with the children again,” said Myle Truong, a teacher at the nearby King Street Center. “It will be great for them to recognize that space as a part of their community.”

For more information about City Hall Park, please see the Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department website.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
(802) 734-0617

Mayor Miro Weinberger Releases Building Electrification Proposal to Dramatically Reduce New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Construction

Proposed zoning ordinance would use science-based carbon pricing to accelerate electrification of thermal systems for all new construction

Burlington, VT – At Monday’s City Council meeting, the City presented a proposal for building electrification, the latest step in progress toward making Burlington a Net Zero Energy city. The proposal, called the “Building Electrification and Carbon Price Ordinance,” would create two pathways to incentivize new development to use efficient and electric power for heating needs and to dramatically reduce the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure in Burlington in the years to come. The proposal was heard by the Council and will next go to the Council’s Ordinance Committee as part of the process toward adoption.

“Even as Burlington has sought to respond to a global pandemic and national uprising for racial justice, we’ve also kept focus on our other central emergency – the climate crisis,” said Mayor Weinberger. “It is increasingly clear that strategic electrification of buildings and vehicles is a critical way to both help save the planet and sustain our standard of living. Burlington is aggressively leading the country toward this essential and promising vision, and our building electrification proposal represents the City’s next big step forward.”

Building Electrification and Carbon Price Ordinance

Efficient and electric buildings are one of the most important areas in which to reduce fossil fuel emissions in Burlington, according to the “Net Zero Energy Roadmap” for local-level climate progress that the City released in September 2019. Making buildings efficient and electric means incorporating comprehensive weatherization and using renewable electricity for space and hot water heating by installing technologies like cold climate heat pumps and heat pump water heaters.

Accordingly, the “Building Electrification and Carbon Price Ordinance” proposal that the City presented on Monday night creates two pathways. In pathway one, a new building does not connect to fossil fuel infrastructure and, therefore, no further requirements apply during the permit process. In pathway two, the new building connects to fossil fuel infrastructure and, therefore, the owner would pay a “building carbon fee” of $100 per ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent to the expected emissions for the first 10 years of building operation. This process would repeat every 10 years until the building no longer is using fossil fuels. The building also would be required to be constructed as “electric ready,” so it can add electrification technologies in the future. Further detail about the proposal is available online.

Work to decarbonize the heating of new buildings started in October 2019, and was endorsed by a City Council resolution in May 2020 that directed several City departments to develop a policy proposal that would include consideration of a ban on new buildings connecting to fossil fuel infrastructure for thermal needs. Since May, Burlington Electric Department (BED), Office of City Planning, and Department of Permitting and Inspections have been collaborating to develop this proposal, including holding a well-attended public meeting, consulting with building developers, and seeking technical assistance from the Building Electrification Initiative that included a review of building energy policies in other communities. Next, the City team will work to develop draft ordinance language and the Council’s Ordinance Committee will consider the proposal.

Progress Toward Net Zero Energy Goal

The building electrification proposal follows other recent progress. In July, BED presented a new analysis that contains encouraging numbers on Burlington’s progress. Takeaways from the analysis include:

• Between 2017 and 2020, Burlingtonians made investments that will collectively avoid more than 20,000 tons in greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of electric vehicles, cold climate heat pumps, electric buses, and electric bikes that were purchased with the assistance of BED incentives (the total number likely is higher as this analysis was limited to purchases for which BED incentives were available);
• Investments in energy efficiency have resulted in Burlington continuing to keep electricity consumption below 1989 levels, even as consumption has increased around the state and country, and even as Burlington has been focused on electrification;
• After having only a handful of solar installations eight years ago, in April 2019, Burlington was named the number one city for solar per capita in the Northeastern US by Environment America and repeated this achievement again in the May 2020 rankings. Burlington also ranked number five of all American cities in 2020;
• Burlington met and exceeded our earlier Climate Action Plan goal, with our emissions in 2018 down 20,000 tons annually from 2010 levels; and
• More takeaways and the full presentation may be viewed online.

While there is much more focused and hard work ahead, this early progress demonstrates the possibility of continuing to respond meaningfully to the global climate crisis at the local level.

“This policy proposal to reduce fossil fuel use and increase the use of technologies such as cold-climate heat pumps in new buildings would accelerate our progress toward Net Zero Energy and continue Burlington’s long record of climate leadership,” said Darren Springer, General Manager of BED. “Burlington Electric’s analysis shows that moving in the direction of Net Zero Energy is not only going to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also can reduce rate pressure for our customers, providing a true win-win for our community.”

Even as the City is focused on charting a path through the climate crisis at the local level, BED also has prioritized affordability and now is heading into its twelfth year of holding electric rates steady. Further, BED recently submitted an analysis [PDF] to the Vermont Public Utility Commission that shows that, even as electrification continues, with strong management of peak demand, additional sales revenues can outpace BED’s investment in new infrastructure – or in other words, that electrification can reduce rate pressure and be a net positive for BED customers.

About Burlington’s Goal to Be a Net Zero Energy City

Decarbonizing Burlington will take all of us. To become a Net Zero Energy city by 2030, the Burlington of the future will be one where all our buildings are energy efficient and use new electric heating technologies, such a cold climate heat pumps, where our land use and transportation policies help support less energy use, where nearly all vehicles are powered by 100 percent renewable electricity, and where we replace 15 percent of the miles we drive each year with forms of alternative transportation.

The City asks all Burlingtonians to consider efficiency and electrification every time you make a decision about your homes, businesses, and transportation. In return, the City is working to make those choices as easy and affordable as possible. Learn more about the Net Zero Energy goal and significant incentives for electric technologies like heat pumps and electric vehicles by visiting www.burlingtonelectric.com.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
(802) 734-0617

Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces Actions to Forge New Consensus on Policing in Burlington; Appoints YMCA CEO Kyle Dodson to Lead this Work as Director of Police Transformation

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced that he is appointing Kyle Dodson, the President and CEO of the Greater Burlington YMCA, to a new, temporary position titled Director of Police Transformation to help lead the City’s work to forge a new consensus on policing in Burlington. This work will include oversight of the Burlington Police Department’s planning, policy, and engagement efforts during a period in which the City is advancing a wide range of transformation efforts. Kyle will take a temporary leave of absence from his position at the YMCA to accept the position, which is anticipated to have a term of six months.

Mayor Weinberger also announced today a series of additional actions intended to help ensure that policing incidents like the ones that have caused community pain over the last two years become even more rare, and that when they do happen there is greater transparency and accountability around them.

“The events of this summer across our nation, from Minneapolis to Kenosha to Louisville to Burlington, have made unmistakably clear that as a country and a community we are at a moment of crisis in policing that has been building for a very long time,” said Mayor Weinberger. “In this critical moment, we have an opportunity and a necessity to finally root out systemic racism from all our institutions, including policing, and at long last to fully deliver to our Black and brown residents the fairness, safety, and solidarity that they are due. This is hard work that no American community has fully figured out. To get this right, I am expanding the City’s capacity and adding the perspective of a widely-respected, Black community leader from outside of law enforcement. We must move forward from the policing challenges of the past two years to build a new community consensus around policing. I am grateful and our community is fortunate that Kyle has agreed to lend us his considerable experience, skill, and vision to lead this work and help us make good on the promise of this moment.”

"In Vermont, we like to think about ourselves as a place apart,” said Kyle Dodson. “And there is something special about our physical environment and the character that it fosters. But we are also fully rooted in the American context. And America has a brutal history of institutionalized racism that continues today. It is pervasive. And therefore it is irresponsible, and it totally undermines any integrity we might want to claim, when we turn away from this reality. This move on the part of our Mayor is a definitive step in the direction of acknowledging the pain of BIPOC communities, and beginning the healing. I feel honored and humbled to be called upon to assist in this work."

"There are a lot of people pulling for change right now—the Mayor, the City Council, the Police Commission, protestors and advocates, myself and the men and women at the BPD,” said Chief of Police Jon Murad. “We’re still coalescing around what that change should be. How can we transform public safety while continuing to keep people safe? Because that’s the bottom line—keeping people safe. I’m eager for Director Dodson to help get all these stakeholders to pull in that same direction and pull together, and I'm excited about the transformation we can achieve."

New Role of Director of Police Transformation

As Director of Police Transformation, Kyle will bring deep leadership experience, strong community relationships, and his perspective as a BIPOC leader in Burlington to this work. He will report directly to the Mayor, and his role will focus on identifying areas for change, guiding the development of new policy, and including a broad range of community members and organizations in this work. A key part of his role will be managing, day-to-day, the multiple police transformation processes that the City already has committed to, which include:

• An operational and functional assessment of the Police Department, as outlined in the City Council’s June 29, 2020 resolution;

• An examination of public safety transformation, being led by a Joint Committee of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee and the Police Commission, as outlined in the City Council’s June 29, 2020 resolution;

• A review of who makes and reviews police disciplinary decisions, being led by the City Council’s Charter Change Committee, as outlined in the City Council’s September 8, 2020 resolution; and

• A review of police disciplinary measures, being led by the Police Commission, as outlined in the City Council’s September 8, 2020 resolution.

Even as the City undertakes this work to examine policing, it also is committed to identifying and addressing the root causes of systemic racism city-wide in multiple ways. These include the City’s new Director of Racial Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (REIB), Tyeastia Green, beginning a strategic planning process for REIB, and the City hiring a public health equity manager to coordinate work on the social determinants of health that make racism a public health emergency.

Kyle Dodson Brings Vision, Leadership, and New Capacity to City’s Work to Transform Public Safety

Kyle Dodson has served as President and CEO of the Greater Burlington YMCA since 2016. During that time, he has led the YMCA through pivotal changes, including constructing and relocating to its new location in the heart of Burlington, successfully completing the capital campaign for the new facility, and deepening its community service mission through changes like lower membership rates and expanded early childhood education. Kyle has served on the Board of the Burlington School District, as director of Champlain College’s Center for Service and Civic Engagement, and as a school principal in Massachusetts. He has lived in Burlington since 2008.

“Y communities all across the country are increasingly being called to provide service and leadership in new and unprecedented ways during these troubling times,” said Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable and Chair of the Board of the Greater Burlington YMCA. “The Greater Burlington YMCA family is proud that we are able to support the City of Burlington during its time of need. This will, indeed, be a sacrifice for the organization, but we are Y Strong and are confident that this is the right move by the City, and that Kyle Dodson is the right leader at the right time.”

Kyle will receive a salary of $75,000 for a six-month engagement, which is equivalent to his salary as President and CEO of the YMCA and will be funded from the Police Department and Mayor’s Office budgets.

Five Additional New Actions to Advance Transformation of Policing in Burlington

To complement all of this work, Mayor Weinberger today also announced five additional substantive actions. These actions respond directly to concerns raised by the Burlington residents protesting in Battery Park and other members of the Burlington community.

These additional actions are: issuing an executive order on disciplinary decisions; directing the City Attorney to review the City’s contract with the Burlington Police Officers Association and to make recommendations for areas of future change; requesting that the Police Commission approve a new body camera footage release policy by the end of October; creating a Community Service Liaison pilot program; and developing a new policy on the release of investigations into officer conduct. These actions are described in more detail in Attachment A.

Mayor Calls for Community to Include Police Officers as Partners in This Work

Also today, Mayor Weinberger called on the community to view the Police Department itself as a partner in this work to redefine public safety. “Long-term change in policing culture or practice is possible only with buy-in and support from Burlington police officers,” said Mayor Weinberger. “Further, when we talk about policing in Burlington, we are talking about dozens of officers who devote themselves to the very hard job of responding to violent situations, solving crimes, and keeping our community safe, even as their profession and the definition of safety are rapidly changing. We must find a way to support, value, and engage our sworn officers, and include them in the new consensus we are forging on what public safety means – and the work itself will be better and more enduring as a result.”

These announcements follow the approval earlier this week by the City Council of a separation agreement with Burlington Police Department Sergeant Jason Bellavance. Mayor Weinberger’s full statement about the agreement and the three officers whose actions have been at the center of recent protests in Battery Park, is available on the City website. The agreement seeks to bring some measure of resolution and finality to the controversies surrounding the actions of these three officers.

Today’s announcements are aimed at the future and designed both to accelerate the transformation processes already underway and advance additional changes that the community has called for around police governance, discipline, body camera footage policies, and accountability.

For additional information, please see:

• Attachment A: Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces Five Additional New Actions to Advance Transformation of Policing in Burlington [PDF]

• Attachment B: Memorandum from Mayor Miro Weinberger to Burlington Police Commission on Body Camera Footage Release Policy [PDF]

• Attachment C: Executive Order on Police Disciplinary Decisions [PDF]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
                (802) 734-0617

Statement from Mayor Miro Weinberger on the City Reaching a Separation Agreement with Sergeant Jason Bellavance

Burlington, VT – Tonight, the City Council voted 11-1 to approve a separation agreement with Burlington Police Department Sergeant Jason Bellavance. The full text of the resolution and details about the agreement are available online. In response, Mayor Miro Weinberger shared the following statement at the Council meeting:

“For approximately a year and a half, there has been significant community discomfort with the actions of three police officers, each of whom was involved in a separate use of force incident in the fall of 2018 or early 2019. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and a national reckoning with police violence and systemic racism, many more members of the community, including the protesters at Battery Park, have expressed concerns with those officers continuing to serve, and the City has been exploring the legal and moral implications of a range of actions.

“Tonight, the City Council is taking action on a proposal that the Administration brought forward and negotiated, which is intended to bring some measure of resolution and finality to the controversies surrounding these three officers. The resolution authorizes me to enter into a separation agreement with Sergeant Jason Bellavance, setting forth that he has agreed to resign in return for the equivalent of approximately three years’ compensation.

“Further, tonight, I am announcing my final decision not to support separation agreements with Officers Joe Corrow and Cory Campbell. Although the three officers have been grouped together in public discussions, the three use of force incidents are distinct, and the City Council and I must consider each individually.

Actions of Sergeant Bellavance

“In this moment of unprecedented community discord that is intertwined with an overdue national reckoning on racial justice and policing, I support a separation agreement in the case of Sgt. Bellavance because both his actions and position within the department were significantly different than those of the other two officers.

“Although the Police Department’s internal investigation found that Sgt. Bellavance did not use excessive or unlawful force, it did find that the force used was not necessary given the circumstances. The investigation concluded that, consistent with his training, there were a number of de-escalation techniques that Sgt. Bellavance could have used, but did not attempt, before using physical force. These findings are different from what occurred in the other two cases, where Officers Corrow and Campbell were not found to have violated departmental use of force training and policy that were in place at the time.

“An aggravating factor for Sgt. Bellavance is that, as the sergeant in charge on the night of September 9, 2018, he was in a leadership position where the officers under his command were looking to him to model what was expected of them. We must apply a higher standard to our leaders, and we must look to our leadership to establish a culture in the Police Department that is in line with Burlington’s values.

“Finally, in my discussions with Burlingtonians over the past years, I have listened carefully and heard clearly the many who have expressed that, of the three incidents that led to this moment of community anger and discord, they find Sgt. Bellavance’s actions the most troubling.

Actions of Officers Corrow and Campbell

“At the same time, I do not support pursuing voluntary separation agreements with Officers Corrow and Campbell. Their uses of force were found to be consistent with the policy and training that were in place at the time. To pursue separation agreements under these circumstances would set an unmanageable precedent that would challenge the department for years to come by suggesting that future employment decisions will be decided not by fair, deliberative processes that are clear to employees at the time, but rather that those decisions will be subject to retroactive reopening by the passions of public opinion.

“Further, Officers Corrow and Campbell had been with the BPD for only a few years at the time of the incidents and deserve a chance to show the public that they can serve the community in a manner consistent with Burlington values.

Moving Forward to Achieve Systemic Change

“I encourage Burlingtonians to consider that the most effective way to address today’s challenges is by moving forward with action steps designed to address systemic racism. Such steps include police training, governance, discipline, body camera footage policies, and more. We must advance changes that are responsive to concerns that have been raised in our community and that improve accountability and transparency, while providing a foundation for moving forward.

“I am committed to that significant systemic change. The Administration – in partnership with the City Council and Police Commission – already has embarked over the last 18 months on numerous, substantive efforts to improve these systems and policies.

“Later this week, I will announce additional steps to accelerate the reform processes underway and ensure that they lead to meaningful change. I hope the public will see tonight’s action by the City as a sign of our seriousness and commitment to complete that work.

“Even as the City is limited in our ability to change what has happened in the past, I urge the Burlington community to join me in completing the hard work of systemic change so that our policing fully aligns with the values of our community going forward. Through my conversations with protestors, other Burlingtonians, and the police, I remain confident that we have much opportunity for common ground when we are looking to the future of policing in this community.

“Now, there is great consensus that we must work together to overcome our country’s racist past and ensure that Black and brown Burlingtonians feel fully safe and supported in this community by the police and the City. I look forward to working alongside Burlingtonians to realize the great promise and potential of this moment.”

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