For immediate release
Contact:               John Irving, Manager of Generation
                             (802) 865-7482
 

McNeil Sets Record 93-Day Stretch of Continuous Operation
In February, Plant Broke Capacity Record Set in 1984

Burlington, VT – Earlier today, McNeil Generating Station completed its longest continual operating stretch – 93 days – in the plant’s 30-year history. Operators took the plant offline on Friday morning in preparation for its annual spring maintenance outage.

“Our hats are off to the dedicated team at McNeil Station,” said Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger. “McNeil is a key part of BED’s achievement of sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable generation.”

“It is a real testament to the men and women of McNeil that they kept the 30-year old plant operating at nearly full tilt for over three months during the dead of winter,” said Neale Lunderville, General Manager of Burlington Electric Department, which is the operator and 50% owner of McNeil, along with Green Mountain Power (31%) and Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (19%). “Because we were able to sell electricity into the market around the clock during February and March, we were able to offset our power costs. This is a big win for our customers.”

In February, McNeil ran at a 99.2% capacity factor, which is a new record for the plant. The old record was 98.7% set in November 1984. (The capacity factor is the ratio of a plant’s actual output to its potential output over a period of time.) McNeil produced a total of 33,334 net MWH of power in February and operated for a total of 672.0 hours or 100% of the total hours during the month. 

March was also a great month for McNeil. The plant ran at a 94.6% capacity factor. It produced a total of 35,135 net MWH of power and operated for a total of 743 hours or 100% of the total hours in March. 

“I’m proud of our dedicated team at McNeil,” said John Irving, Manager of Generation for Burlington Electric and chief of McNeil since 1985. “During our annual spring maintenance outage, we will make major repairs to the plant that are not possible when the plant is operating. These upgrades will help ensure that McNeil runs safely and reliably for years to come.”

The annual spring maintenance outage began earlier today. During this outage, workers at McNeil will replace the plant’s superheater, which is the core of the main boiler used to produce steam for the turbine. The superheater has not been replaced since the plant was commissioned in 1984.

McNeil Generating Station is a 50 MW biomass plant. The sustainably harvested wood chips used to fire the boiler come from within 60 miles of the station. Ninety-five percent of those chips come from logging residue and cull material created when harvesting higher value wood products. Harvests are conducted in accordance with strict environmental standards specified by the Vermont Public Service Board.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 7, 2015
Contact:  Mike Kanarick
                 802.735.7962

Vermont Mayors Honor AmeriCorps and Senior Corps Members and Celebrate Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service

Burlington, VT – The Vermont Mayors Coalition today honored AmeriCorps and other service members and highlighted the value of their national service to their communities through a joint proclamation and during events in Burlington and Montpelier. Vermont’s eight mayors, represented by Winooski Mayor Seth Leonard and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger at an event at the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Family Room in Burlington and represented by Montpelier Mayor John Hollar and Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon at an event at the Basement Teen Center in Montpelier, joined more than 1,800 mayors from around the nation offering similar recognition of their cities’ service members during the third annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service, a nationwide bipartisan effort to:

• Recognize the positive impact of national service on our cities;
• Thank AmeriCorps and Senior Corps participants who serve; and
• Encourage citizens to give back to their communities.    
   

“I am grateful for the dedication and commitment of Burlington’s AmeriCorps members, who are helping make our City stronger, safer, healthier, and more equitable,” said Mayor Weinberger. “National service demonstrates the best of the American spirit – people turning toward problems instead of away, working together to find community solutions. Today, as we thank national service members for their commitment, let us all pledge to do our part to strengthen our City through service and volunteering.”

“One of Winooski’s AmeriCorps members indicated to me that he entered into the program ‘to make a difference,’ said Mayor Leonard. “It is hard to look around Winooski without quickly identifying all the areas where AmeriCorps members have played an important role in many of our successes. They have helped to inspire and mobilize our community toward amazing achievements. We see measurable AmeriCorps member impact in our daily services like our youth programming, and equally in the results of long-term projects like the development of our dog park. The Winooski community benefits every day from the investment of these service-minded individuals, and we are immensely grateful for their work. I am pleased to say our AmeriCorps members have reached that goal of ‘making a difference,’ and they continue to inspire us all to work for the betterment of our community.”

“The Family Room is honored to be a trusted space for the New American and refugee populations of Burlington and Winooski, and part of that reputation is owed to the work of We All Belong AmeriCorps members who help make our programs a welcoming, inclusive place for all who walk through our doors,” said Samantha Stevens, Program Manager of the VNA Family Room.

The nation’s mayors increasingly are turning to national service and volunteerism as a cost-effective strategy to tackle challenges in their communities. Key partners in Vermont’s service efforts include:

• The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through AmeriCorps and other programs; and
• SerVermont, a State of Vermont commission that administers funding to the state’s AmeriCorps service programs, AmeriCorps*VISTA program, and promotes, supports, and recognizes volunteerism and community service throughout Vermont.

Vermont has engaged in national service for more than 20 years to make our state stronger. Beginning in 1993 and continuing to today, national service resources have been leveraged to address our state’s toughest challenges, including poverty and racism. 

This year, Vermont has over 200 AmeriCorps members serving throughout the state. Seventy-five of those members serve in the mayors’ communities. In addition, over 1,200 Senior Corps members serve in Vermont, with 375 Senior Corps members serving in the mayors’ communities.

“National service members continue to play a critical role in addressing Vermont’s biggest challenges” said Phil Kolling, Executive Director of SerVermont. “Our state is stronger and getting more done because of the efforts of AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members. Unified support from our mayors demonstrates that the service provided to their communities by national service members makes a difference. ” 

Vermont’s national service programs include four AmeriCorps State programs: Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, Vermont Youth Development Corps at the Washington County Youth Services Bureau, the Northeast Kingdom Initiative at Lyndon State College, and We All Belong at Burlington’s Community and Economic Development Office.  Vermont also hosts the Vermont Youth Tomorrow and SerVermont AmeriCorps*VISTA Programs. Senior Corps programs in Vermont include Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and Retired Senior Volunteer Program, all operating statewide out of multiple agencies. AmeriCorps members serve for one year and receive a $12,500 living stipend and a $5,750 education award that can be used to pay for future higher education or qualified school loans. National service members are all ages and perform many different types of service, from physical labor and direct service with the community to behind-the-scenes assistance to increase organizational efficiency.

SerVermont and all these national service programs receive funding from the CNCS. For more information about Vermont’s national service programs, please visit the Vermont Service Profile page on the CNCS website.

*Please see attached proclamation.
 

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 6, 2015
Contact:  Mike Kanarick
                 802.735.7962

Mayor Miro Weinberger Delivers State of City Address
Reports State of City Is Strong, Rising, Filled with Opportunity

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger this evening delivered the State of the City Address in City Hall’s Contois Auditorium during which he reported that the State of the City is strong, rising, and filled with opportunity.  The Mayor was joined by the City Council, City Department Heads, other members of the dedicated City employee team, and community members.   

“In sum, after a year of dramatic financial improvements and broad progress and momentum all around Burlington, the state of the City is strong, rising, and filled with opportunity,” said Mayor Weinberger.

The Mayor set forth three main themes and related goals of the City’s work ahead:

• Continuing to work on the financial stewardship of the City with a shift in focus toward long-term challenges
  
  • Finding solutions to our pension funding challenges
  • Implementing the City’s first-ever 10-year Capital Plan to maintain and make new infrastructure investments
• Continuing to modernize City government for the 21^st century
  
  • Position the Burlington Electric Department as a “utility of the future”
  • Overhaul the City parking system
  • Fund and execute a comprehensive study of the City’s permitting system
  • Improve the City’s data collection and analysis and continuous improvement efforts
  • Tailor ride-sharing and home-sharing rules that work for Burlington to integrate these new technologies
  • Modernize downtown zoning to promote infill redevelopment of underutilized properties to create much-needed housing and job opportunities
• Bringing focus and resources to initiatives that will expand opportunity for all Burlingtonians
  
  • Expand services for the homeless in Burlington
  • Make Burlington more affordable for all residents through implementation of a Housing Action Plan
  • Expand opportunity for our youngest Burlingtonians by creating the Burlington Early Learning Initiative
  • Continue to implement the Diversity and Equity Strategic Plan to work toward eliminating race-based disparities across City departments and the greater Burlington community and toward promoting inclusion and engagement of all community members

The Mayor concluded his address as follows:

“We still represent a young City, and are still set in a place of unequaled beauty.  In the year ahead, as we work to steward the City’s finances and infrastructure for the long term, modernize City government, and broaden opportunities for all Burlingtonians, we will begin the ambitious task of ensuring that Burlington’s next 150 years are even more prosperous and happy than its first.”
 

*Full State of the City Address follows.

State of the City Address

Good evening and welcome to City Hall.  I would like to share with you the state of our City and my vision for the year ahead.

First, I offer greetings and a warm welcome to City Councilors, Department Heads, Members of City Boards and Commissions, and Major General Steven Cray, Adjutant General of Vermont, and his wife Lisa.  I’d also like to extend special thanks for joining us this evening to my Vermont mayor colleagues, Mayor John Hollar of Montpelier and Mayor Mike O’Brien, the immediate past mayor of Winooski.

To Justice of the Peace Andrew Champagne, thank you for the honor of swearing me in for another term.  I am grateful for the many ways you have volunteered to serve our City over the years. 

I want to thank my incredible partner, my wife, Stacy and our daughters for their unending love and support.  And thank you to my parents, Ethel and Michael, for being here tonight and for all you’ve done to make my service to the City possible.

To our retiring City Councilors Rachel Siegel, Vince Brennan, Bianka LeGrand, and Norm Blais, we thank you for your dedicated service to our City. Congratulations to the ten returning City Councilors, to Sara Giannoni, the newest representative of the Old North End, and to Adam Roof, who will forever have the distinction of being the first councilor elected in Ward 8.  I look forward to the work and debates ahead that will take place right here in our recently improved Contois Auditorium.

And to the people of Burlington and everyone gathered here tonight, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve in this special role for another three years.  I will do everything I can to fulfill the ideals and opportunity represented by this office. 

The State of the City address comes as we slowly – too slowly – are closing out a challenging winter.  I would like us all to take a moment to thank Laurie Adams, leader of the Public Works Water Team, Rob Green, leader of the Streets Team, and Chapin Spencer, our DPW director, for the hard work that they and their teams performed this winter to restore water to homes with frozen pipes and keep the roads and sidewalks clear.

And, this State of the City will be the last one with Mike Schirling as our Chief of Police.  Chief Schirling has been one of the great Chiefs of the Burlington Police Department.  As Chief, he modernized the Department, deepened its community ties, and confronted squarely growing social challenges.  Chief, it has been an honor to serve with you, and thank you for all you have done during your 25 years in the Department to make your hometown the special place it is.

For the past three years, our attention has been focused on stabilizing and rebuilding the City’s finances.  Our success at fixing the finances was critical.  Our ability to provide essential City services, the confidence of our partners to invest and grow in Burlington, and the public’s trust all hung in the balance as we labored at the edge of fiscal crisis.

A year ago during this address, I said that, based on the collective work of the City Council, the Administration, and the voters, I thought that we had turned the corner and our finances were improving.  Today, after completing the BT settlement agreement, securing a clean audit, and earning an upgrade of our credit rating, we know that we have, in fact, stepped away from the cliff.  This shared success will grow and compound over time and keep tens of millions of dollars here in Burlington, instead of sending it to Wall Street in the form of high bond interest rates.

The improvement of our City’s finances is part of a broader Burlington story of progress and momentum over the past year. 

Other highlights within the City included Burlington earning well-deserved national accolades by becoming the first city in the U.S. to source 100 percent of its electricity from renewable generators, the Fletcher Free Library receiving the news that for the first time ever it will host a Smithsonian exhibit, and breaking ground for the enhanced Bike Path and the improvements to the northern Waterfront.

And it is not just municipal government that has had a productive year.  The City’s tech sector – a crucial component of our current and future prosperity – had a breakout year that included Dealer.com’s unprecedented billion dollar transaction, Ello’s incredible launch, and the creation of hubs of innovation and creativity at the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies and Generator, our dynamic new maker space.

We have more visitors coming to and staying in Burlington than ever before.  Eight years ago, there was only one hotel in this City.  Two weeks ago, we celebrated the opening of our fourth.  This growing regional and international interest in visiting the City’s restaurants, shops, bike paths, and arts and cultural facilities is creating local jobs and generating new revenues to the City and State, reducing some of the pressure on local property taxpayers.   

And the hospital and university, for so long the anchors of this community through thick and thin, are growing in positive ways.  Under the visionary leadership of its CEO, Dr. John Brumsted, the University of Vermont Medical Center changed its name and moved forward with a long-planned expansion effort to improve the services it offers patients in Burlington and across the north country.

Similarly, the University of Vermont is seeking to make major investments in its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math – or STEM – resources.  This includes reimagining and ultimately rebuilding substantial portions of the University campus, and I am pleased that as part of this effort UVM will be increasing the number of student beds on campus by at least 300.  In Dr. Brumsted and UVM President Tom Sullivan, the City has able and effective partners.

In sum, after a year of dramatic financial improvements and broad progress and momentum all around Burlington, the state of the City is strong, rising, and filled with opportunity.

With the wind at our backs, we now have the opportunity to proactively engage a new wave of municipal challenges.  I see three main themes to our work ahead:

First, we must continue our work on the financial stewardship of the City with a shift in focus toward long-term challenges. 

For the past 15 months, the Administration, the City Council, and our public employee unions have worked to understand the unsustainable trends faced by the City’s pension system for more than a decade.  We now are engaged in collective bargaining with all four of the City’s unions.  Our highest priority in these negotiations is to find, within the current pension system, solutions that end the stunning increases in taxpayer costs, restore the long-term solvency of the system, and create shared triggers to anticipate and prevent future pension problems.

We must also expand our efforts to steward the physical assets of the City. 

Last fall, on Main Street near City Hall, a DPW work crew digging a new manhole uncovered a run of bored-through wooden logs about 10 feet below the road surface.  These thick logs had served as water pipes for part of the downtown around the time of the City’s founding in 1865.  The log pipes were abandoned long ago, however, the discovery was a reminder that building and maintaining public infrastructure have been core responsibilities of local officials since the City’s start, and that much of that infrastructure in the historic sections of the City is today quite old.

Over the last year, we have been working hard to better understand the City’s long-term infrastructure needs. We have commissioned independent reports to study the physical condition of the City’s sidewalks, building facilities, parks, and garages.  Also, we have projected the level of investment needed over the next decade both to maintain our existing infrastructure and City vehicles and to make important new investments on the waterfront, the bike path, the Champlain Parkway, and downtown to support job creation and economic opportunity.

Later this week, we will submit to the City Council and the public our preliminary draft of what we believe to be the City’s first-ever comprehensive 10-year Capital Plan.  This plan attempts to define the magnitude of our substantial challenge and identifies a wide range of options for a path forward that is efficient and affordable and that brings more rigor to the City’s thinking on infrastructure investments. 

We look forward to launching this effort at a City Council work session next week and to a major collaborative effort among the Council, Administration, and relevant Boards and Commissions, with the goal of completing the plan together within one year.

I appreciate that interim Superintendent Howard Smith is here with us tonight.  I want to thank Dr. Smith and the School Board for the work they have done to lead the Burlington School District through a challenging time.  I also appreciate the willingness of Dr. Smith and others within the School District to join in this long-term capital planning effort and look for creative and efficient ways for the School District and City to coordinate our efforts.  I will be including planning dollars in my fiscal year 2016 budget so the City can be effective in this effort with the District.

Our second overarching task is to continue to modernize our City government for the 21^st century.  As with financial stewardship, this work is well underway and holds great promise for our future.

As often has been the case over the last 110 years, the Burlington Electric Department will be a focus area of innovation over the next year.  Sourcing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable generators was an important first step on our journey toward sustainability – but it was only one step.

The energy landscape is changing quickly.  Every year, more Burlingtonians want solar panels on their homes and businesses, the ability to plug in their cars, and the opportunity to use their advanced meters to lower their electric bills. 

All of these innovations and more have the potential to make our energy system more affordable, reliable, and sustainable.  However, the traditional utility structure of the past will not deliver these changes.  To succeed and thrive in this emerging environment, our municipal electric utility will need to maintain its strong financial footing and commitment to safety and reliability, while transforming into a more nimble, dynamic, and customer-centric organization that can lead our community toward true energy sustainability.

To achieve this strategic vision and position BED as a “utility of the future,” the BED team, under the leadership of General Manager Neale Lunderville, has begun a comprehensive, bottom-up reassessment of its staffing, structure, and operations.  I look forward to beginning soon the discussion of modernizing BED with the new Council.

BED will not be the only operational area of the City that we seek to update over the next year.  We will continue the major overhaul of our parking system, fund and execute a comprehensive study of the City’s complex permitting system, and, under the leadership of the newly created Chief Innovation Officer position, dramatically improve the City’s data collection and analysis and continuous improvement efforts City-wide.

This next year also will be important for modernizing the way Burlington regulates a number of important areas of City life. 

Ride-sharing and home-sharing services have come to Burlington and are growing.  These new technologies have the potential to benefit Burlingtonians – there is a place in Burlington for innovations like Uber and Airbnb.  However, at the same time, after months of work and study of these issues by the City Attorney’s Office, it is clear to me that these new and evolving technologies also generate new issues and disparities that must be addressed.  It is time for the City to take action on these issues.  We have submitted to the City Council the City Attorney’s Airbnb report, and I look forward to working with the Council to convene stakeholders and to tailor ride-sharing and home-sharing rules that work for Burlington.

In the year ahead, we also must make progress on modernizing our downtown zoning.  The last Council unanimously passed a resolution in the fall calling for new downtown zoning that will promote infill redevelopment of underutilized properties to create much-needed housing and job opportunities.  It falls to the new Council to complete this detailed work and implement a Form-Based Code that will create greater permitting certainty and better architecture for builders and residents alike.

Third, we must bring focus and resources to initiatives that will expand opportunity for all Burlingtonians.

One example of this work will be to expand services for the homeless in Burlington.  I recently toured with Jan Demers, the Executive Director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, the temporary, low-barrier warming shelter she has overseen for the last two months at the former Ethan Allen Club.  The shelter is basic, consisting mostly of a large open room, broken up into three spaces by shoulder-high dividers and filled with green cots.  While we are still evaluating the results of this new service, its benefits seem clear.  Not only did the facility shelter 92 individuals from the cold of a harsh Vermont winter and reduce the use of the emergency room and detox centers, but also 14 secured jobs, 10 found transitional or permanent housing, and six entered a recovery or treatment program.  To the team at CVOEO, thank you for championing this effort and ending the long debate about whether such a facility is needed in Burlington.  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. 

Another example of our work will be to make Burlington more affordable for all residents.  For over 30 years, Burlington has identified housing affordability as one of its most significant challenges and the City, its residents, and a collection of dedicated affordable housing non-profits have worked together to meet this challenge. Through these efforts, members of our community have developed innovative ways to make Burlington more affordable for thousands of low and moderate income households, and some of these approaches – like the shared-equity home model that keeps housing perpetually affordable – have garnered national and even international recognition. 

However, Burlington housing remains too expensive for too many residents.  We must both expand our traditional housing efforts and pursue new strategies to address the inadequate housing supply.  This month, after nearly a year of work including extensive collaboration with the City Council’s Community Development and Neighborhood Revitalization Committee, the Administration will bring a Housing Action Plan before the full Council for adoption.  

We also will look to expand opportunity for our youngest Burlingtonians by creating the Burlington Early Learning Initiative over the next year.  This program, announced in February, is focused on improving kindergarten readiness for Burlington children, reducing special education and other public spending over time, and breaking the cycle of multi-generational poverty here in our City.  The multi-year pilot will involve home visiting for pregnant mothers and new parents, scholarships for high-quality child care, and rigorous evaluation.  Home visiting is expected to be in place in early 2016.  Our goal in launching a Burlington Early Learning Initiative is nothing short of ensuring that all Burlington children have the opportunity to lead full, healthy, and successful lives.

Additionally, we will continue to implement the Diversity and Equity Strategic Plan developed last year.  The Strategic Plan is focused on eliminating race-based disparities across all City departments, promoting inclusion and engagement of all community members, and ultimately eliminating race-based disparities in the greater Burlington community.

Since last summer, a “Core Team” of City leaders and residents of color from the community called for in the Strategic Plan have worked to begin implementing the plan.  The team’s discussions have helped refine our objectives and led to important suggestions for improving the City’s job application form, our Boards and Commissions application, our Human Resources Department’s structure and function, and the type of training City leaders and City employees undertake to become more culturally competent.  While this important work will extend beyond this year, we will continue to make concrete progress on our diversity goals in 2015.

Just over one month ago, we gathered here in Contois Auditorium to celebrate the founding of the City in 1865.  Our predecessors created a City Charter and committed to new forms of collaboration and collective responsibility just as the City was entering its heyday as a major port for the country’s timber trade.  The City’s access to both the Hudson River and the Erie Canal and to the woods of Vermont and eastern Canada fueled growth and investment in Burlington that we still see and enjoy today in our downtown and historic neighborhoods.

Shortly after its founding, the first Burlington mayor, A.L. Catlin, spoke with optimism about Burlington’s future, saying “We represent a young city, which may in time be known and distinguished as the Queen City of New England.  It has just been launched upon a career that I trust will prove prosperous and happy.  Its location for natural beauty is not equaled in any part of the country – and for natural and acquired advantages in a business point of view, for manufacturers and a general business-character, few places are its equal, and none surpass it.”

Once again, today, the larger forces that shape our economy and culture have aligned behind Burlington.  Information technology and our transportation systems connect us to the world better than ever before.  In an age when innovators and entrepreneurs can locate nearly anywhere, our arts community, authentic sense of place, traditions of public engagement, and outstanding quality of life are keeping and drawing them here, to Burlington. 

We still represent a young City, and are still set in a place of unequaled beauty.  In the year ahead, as we work to steward the City’s finances and infrastructure for the long term, modernize City government, and broaden opportunities for all Burlingtonians, we will begin the ambitious task of ensuring that Burlington’s next 150 years are even more prosperous and happy than its first.

Thank you and have a great evening.

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2015
Contact:  Mike Kanarick
                 802.735.7962

Mayor Weinberger Releases Accountability Report Documenting Significant Progress on 96 Percent of Campaign Commitments

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger today released an Accountability Report that lists the commitments he made to Burlingtonians as a candidate for Mayor in 2012 and provides progress reports on the action steps taken to meet those commitments.  The report demonstrates completion, implementation, or significant progress on 96 percent of his commitments.

“From the first day I took office, my Administration has been focused on making good on the commitments I made as a candidate three years ago,” said Mayor Weinberger.  “Now that I’ve served a full term in office, I wanted to share this report as part of my ongoing commitment to restore trust and confidence in City Hall.  As the report shows, we have made great progress on accomplishing those commitments – progress made possible through the dedicated team effort among our City Department leaders, the City Council, members of our community, and the Mayor’s Office.”

The report, available here, provides information on the commitments, the City Departments tasked with implementing the commitments, the progress made as of April 2015, and a summary of the action steps taken to make good on the commitments.  The progress toward a commitment is classified as follows:

·         Done – if the commitment has been completed;
·         Implemented and Ongoing –  if the commitment has been met, but requires continued attention to maintain;
·         Launched – if significant work has been undertaken to make good on the commitment, but it cannot yet be considered completed;
·         Incomplete – if the commitment has not yet been met; and
·         Reconsidered – if, upon further consideration, the commitment was better achieved through alternative means.

The 81 commitments cover topics ranging from financial savings to the Bike Path to ways to make Burlington more affordable.  Of the 81 commitments, the following represents how many fall into each classification:  41 done; 18 implemented and ongoing; 19 launched; 2 incomplete; and 1 reconsidered.

*Please see Mayor’s Accountability Report.

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Chapin Spencer, cspencer@burlingtonvt.gov
March 24, 2015

City Endorses Innovative Street Design Guide
Expands City’s Toolbox for Future Streetscape Investments

Burlington, VT: At yesterday’s meeting, the City Council endorsed the use of an innovative streetscape design guide that will serve as a foundation for future roadway improvements.  The Urban Street Design Guide, developed in 2013 by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) – an organization of transportation leaders in forward thinking cities – provides a flexible toolbox for cities to make streets safer, more livable, and more economically vibrant. 

“Adopting the NACTO Guide adds to the City’s ability to make investments in our streets that recognize their value as important public spaces for Burlingtonians, as well as critical arteries for traffic,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger.  “The Guide will help ensure that the $10 million of voter-approved TIF investments in infrastructure make the downtown safer and more vibrant for walkers, bikers, and drivers alike.”

For too long, road designers in this country had very little ability to consider factors other than the flow of automobiles when making decisions about the details of our street investments.  The NACTO Guide, available at www.nacto.org/usdg, significantly expands the opportunities to consider additional factors.  The Guide was endorsed by the Federal Highway Administration in 2014 and, beyond its clear vision for complete streets, also integrates stormwater management and engaging public spaces to create environmentally- and socially-focused streetscapes.  This Guide will help the City propel Burlington’s 2011 Street Design Guidelines and best practices forward to meet our City’s vision for streets that are attractive public spaces and function as an interconnected transportation system with a range of choices that are safe, affordable, efficient, and convenient, as defined in our Municipal Development Plan.  The NACTO Guide will help Burlington better design streets that are friendly for people, the environment, and the local economy.

“Having the more holistic and flexible NACTO guidelines in place prior to beginning our City-wide pedestrian and bike master planning process will be incredibly helpful, as it will create possibilities otherwise limited by more traditional guides,” said City Councilor Max Tracy, Chair of the Transportation, Energy & Utilities Committee.

“As the biggest city in a predominately rural state, Burlington needs additional tools in our toolbox to address urban design challenges within our narrow rights-of-way,” commented Public Works Director Chapin Spencer.  “This guide provides many of the additional design tools needed.”

A CONCRETE EXAMPLE
This summer, with the help of an $11,890 grant from the State of Vermont Agency of Natural Resources’ Ecosystem Restoration Program, the City will install a stormwater friendly sidewalk containing elements recommended in the Urban Street Design Guide – http://nacto.org/usdg/street-design-elements/stormwater-management/pervious-strips/.  This stormwater friendly design will include a linear installation of pervious pavers along a reconstructed sidewalk on South Winooski Avenue between Main and King streets, which will reduce stormwater runoff volume and nutrient pollution to Lake Champlain.  More information on this project is available at http://bit.ly/1BIup4W. 

“It is smart policy to incorporate street designs from the best and the brightest into our toolkit for Burlington,” said Emily Boedecker, Executive Director of Local Motion. “We can learn from and build on how national leaders have safely integrated all modes of travel, and how other communities have successfully worked with the challenge of narrow streets and hilly topography.  Adopting and implementing the NACTO guidelines will help us make the most of each and every investment in upgrading and redesign our streets.”

“Great Streets are an essential part of a great downtown,” said Kelly Devine, Executive Director of the Burlington Business Association.  “Great downtowns are great for business. They are the places people want to spend time, where they come to connect with community.  NACTO cities around the country have realized that streets are an economic asset, as much as a functional element. Well-designed streets generate higher revenues for businesses and higher values for homeowners.”

“We are pleased by the proactive approach of the City to adopt the NACTO Urban Streets Design Guide, which will provide design elements to affect behavior and lower speeds that will enhance pedestrian safety,” said Kelly Stoddard Poor, Associate State Director of AARP.  “Our roadways have been designed to move traffic at high speeds, undermining the historic functions of streets to help people interact and get around, regardless of their mode of transit.  The NACTO guidelines provide a smarter framework for transportation design that allows traffic to move while keeping communities safe and connected.”

The City of Burlington has been an Affiliate (small city) NACTO member since 2012 and has engaged in peer-to-peer exchanges regarding urban street design.  In fact, City staff shared their expertise in the development of this NACTO guide.  For example, the Burlington Scoping Study for the intersection of Pearl Street/Prospect Street/ Colchester Avenue is featured in the Urban Street Design Guide as case study for complex intersection analysis and quick action.

The Guide is supported by key Burlington stakeholders:

• The City Council’s Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee unanimously supported the Urban Street Design Guide at its October 8, 2014 meeting.
• The Burlington Walk/Bike Council’s Steering Committee unanimously supported the Urban Street Design Guide in a letter to the Department of Public Works and Public Works Commission in October 2014.
• The Public Works Commission unanimously supported the Urban Street Design Guide at its October 14, 2014 meeting.
• City Engineer Norm Baldwin, PE, has reviewed the Urban Street Design Guide and supports its use.

The City Council’s endorsement authorizes planners, engineers, and designers working for and in the City of Burlington to utilize the Guide.  The City also relies on other guides including the City’s Street Design Guides developed as part of the 2011 Burlington Transportation Plan. 

National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit association that represents cities on transportation issues of local, regional, and national significance.  As a coalition of city transportation departments, NACTO is committed to raising the state of the practice for street design and transportation by building a common vision, sharing data, peer-to-peer exchange in workshops and conferences, and regular communication among member cities. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 23, 2015
Contact:  Mike Kanarick
                 802.735.7962

Governor, Mayor, International Leaders Participate in Flag Raising Ceremony to Celebrate International Francophonie Month

Burlington, VT – Governor Peter Shumlin, Mayor Miro Weinberger, Québec Premier Philippe Couillard, Acting Consul General of Canada in Boston Aaron Annable, Consul General of France in Boston Fabien Fieschi, and Honorary French Consul for Vermont Ernie Pomerleau today participated in a flag raising ceremony in front of Burlington City Hall.  The ceremony was organized in the spirit of promoting International Francophonie Month and the cultural and economic ties among France, Canada, Québec, the State of Vermont, and the City of Burlington.

“We welcome Premier Couillard and our other international guests to Burlington and appreciate the opportunity International Francophonie Month offers our City to strengthen our cultural and economic relationships with our French friends overseas and in Canada,” said Mayor Weinberger.

Acting Consul General of Canada Annable presented the flag to Mayor Weinberger on behalf of the New England Francophonie organizing committee. The City of Burlington’s Police and Fire Honor Guards conducted the official raising of the flag.

The annual flag raising for International Francophonie Month, a month to celebrate international French language and culture around the world, is a collaborative effort of these local and international governments and is supported by the Alliance Française of the Lake Champlain Region (AFLCR), whose mission is to engender awareness of French culture and support the local francophone economy. Today’s flag raising followed official proceedings in Contois Auditorium, during which Mr. Pomerleau, AFLCR President Victoria Brassart-Jones, and Burlington Honfleur Sister City Committee Chair Lise Veronneau also participated.

“We are thrilled to join delegates and community members together to celebrate our long history of friendship and partnership with France and our Québecois cousins just across the border,” stated Mr. Pomerleau.

“The Alliance Française of the Lake Champlain Region is proud to cultivate Francophone culture in Vermont every March and throughout the year,” said AFLCR President Victoria Brassart-Jones.  “Community members are invited to join language classes, films, conversation groups, social events, bilingual playgroups and more.”

The City of Burlington recently expanded its international French relationships with the formation of the Burlington Honfleur Sister City Committee on March 21, 2012, and the City has since nurtured that relationship, sending a Burlington delegation to Honfleur, France in 2012 and welcoming Honfleur Mayor Michel LaMarre and his delegation from Honfleur to Burlington in 2013.  Last summer, a local Boy Scout troop traveled to Honfleur, beginning the first official youth exchange between the two cities.  Committees in Burlington and Honfleur have been working for the past three years to promote and understand our respective cultures and economic development opportunities in mutually rewarding ways.

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE FRANCAISE OF THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN REGION
The Alliance Française of the Lake Champlain Region (AFLCR) is based in Burlington, Vermont where French history goes back 400 years. The AFLCR is dedicated to engendering awareness of French culture and supporting the local Francophone economy through a variety of activities, including those that take advantage of our proximity to Francophone Canada. The AFLCR is affiliated with the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA, the largest network of centers for French language and culture in the world.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 19, 2015
Contact:  Mike Kanarick
                 802.735.7962

Mayor Miro Weinberger Appoints Neale Lunderville as General Manager of Burlington Electric Department

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger today announced the appointment of Neale Lunderville as the new General Manager of the Burlington Electric Department.  Lunderville has been serving as the interim GM for the past eight months.  Weinberger has asked the City Council to approve the appointment at its March 23, 2015 meeting. 

“The energy industry is experiencing a period of great change and with that change comes tremendous opportunity,” said Mayor Weinberger.  “Neale has done an outstanding job as interim GM, and I am confident he is the right person to lead our nearly 110-year-old, beloved municipal utility through this exciting and challenging time.  Under Neale’s leadership, I expect to see BED continuing to provide reliable, affordable power to its customers, while also pushing the envelope to be a national leader in the sourcing and generation of clean energy and energy conservation efforts.”

During his brief tenure as interim GM at BED, Lunderville has delivered on the two key assignments with which the Mayor tasked him upon his arrival:  providing steady day-to-day leadership of the Department; and overseeing a strategic review of all elements of BED’s operations.

Lunderville is a native Vermonter who was born in Burlington.  He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of NG Advantage, an energy company he co-founded in 2012, which delivers compressed natural gas to industrial users.  Lunderville also served as Secretary of Administration and Secretary of Transportation for Governor Jim Douglas, and as Tropical Storm Irene Recovery Officer for Governor Peter Shumlin.  Lunderville’s contributions to Vermont communities extend beyond his professional work to service on various boards and charitable organizations, including Preservation Trust of Vermont, Champlain College, Vermont Journalism Trust, and the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund.

“Burlington Electric Department is on the cutting edge of the green energy revolution, and it is an honor to lead the organization through this dynamic period of transformative change,” said Lunderville. “BED employees are second to none.  I’m proud to be part of a team that cares so deeply for its customers and works around the clock to provide them safe, reliable, low-cost power.  As Burlington’s community-owned utility, BED will continue to pioneer creative energy initiatives and deliver the exceptional service that our customers deserve.”

“I want to thank Mayor Weinberger and his team, the Burlington Electric Commission, the Burlington City Council, and my wonderful colleagues at BED for their confidence and support over the last eight months,” added Lunderville. “I am optimistic about BED’s future and excited to continue this important work.”

Please see attached documents, including:

• Memorandum from Mayor Miro Weinberger to City Councilors dated March 18, 2015 requesting approval of appointment of Neale Lunderville as General Manager of Burlington Electric Department;
• Evaluation dated March 10, 2015 by the Burlington Electric Commission in support of Neale Lunderville;
• Memorandum from Mayor Miro Weinberger to City Councilors dated July 1, 2014 requesting approval of appointment of Neale Lunderville as interim General Manager of Burlington Electric Department; and
• Curriculum vitae of Neale Lunderville.
   

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 17, 2015
Contact:  Mike Kanarick
                 802.735.7962

Mayor Miro Weinberger Responds to Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling’s Retirement Announcement

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger today responded to the retirement announcement of Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling, in which he informed the Mayor of his plans to retire on June 30, 2015.  Schirling has served the City of Burlington through his work at the Burlington Police Department for more than 25 years, including his seven years of service as Chief of Police beginning in February 2008. 

“Michael Schirling has been one of the great Chiefs of the proud, 150-year-old Burlington Police Department,” said Mayor Weinberger.  “Chief Schirling joined BPD as an Auxiliary Police Officer while still in college and worked his way up the ranks, showing great energy, innovation, and compassion throughout his 25 years.  As Chief, he modernized the Department, deepened its community ties, and confronted squarely growing social challenges.  It has been an honor to serve with Chief Schirling, and I wish him much success and happiness with his future plans.”

Schirling began at the Department in 1989, first serving our City as an Auxiliary Police Officer while attending school full-time at the University of Vermont.  During his many years at BPD, Schirling served as a Patrol Officer, Detective, Investigator at the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations (CUSI), Director of CUSI, Co-founder and Commander of the VT Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Patrol Lieutenant in the City’s Old North End Policing District, Administrative Lieutenant, and Deputy Chief.  Additionally, he has been an instructor in a variety of police disciplines, including sexual assault investigation, interviewing, computer and Internet investigations, computer forensics, and criminal law.  During his tenure as Chief of Police, Schirling completed a City-wide reassessment of community policing strategy, crafted a number of recruitment and retention strategies to bolster staffing, designed and implemented an innovative computer aided dispatch and records management system, implemented online crime reporting, created the Community Police Academy, regularly hosted community forums and discussions, began an annual Community Barbecue and Open House, and instituted a Coffee with the Chief series.  Also of note are a host of local and national awards conveyed to the Department over the last seven years.

Mayor Weinberger and Chief Schirling met this afternoon with BPD officers and civilian staff to inform them of the Chief’s retirement plans.  During that meeting, Mayor Weinberger shared his commitment to assemble a search committee composed of individuals representing the diversity of our City to help him identify and appoint the best qualified candidate to lead the Burlington Police Department forward and ensured the BPD team of a smooth transition.

*Please see the following attachments:

• Retirement letter from BPD Chief Michael Schirling to Mayor Miro Weinberger; and
• List of BPD accomplishments, awards, and accolades.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2015

Contact:  Rubi Simon, Library Director
                 802.865.7214
                 rsimon@burlingtonvt.gov

Fletcher Free Library Selected as One of 19 U.S. Public Libraries to Host Smithsonian Exhibition
“Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?,” a Traveling Exhibition and Programming around Human Evolution

Burlington, VT — Mayor Miro Weinberger, Library Director Rubi Simon, and community partners today announced that the City of Burlington’s Fletcher Free Library (FFL) has been selected through a nationwide competitive process as one of 19 U.S. public libraries to host “Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?,” a traveling exhibition developed by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and the American Library Association (ALA). The exhibition will be hosted at FFL from February 18, 2017 – March 17, 2017. Through panels, interactive kiosks, hands-on displays and videos, the exhibition invites audiences to explore milestones in the evolutionary journey of becoming human — from walking upright, creating technology and eating new foods, to brain enlargement and the development of symbolic language and complex societies — advancements that define the unique position of humans in the history of life.

“Fletcher Free is very proud to be selected to host the ‘Exploring Human Origins’ exhibition,” said Director Simon. “We understand evolution is a controversial topic, and we are happy to host respectful community conversations about it here at our library. Additionally, programming is a key library service and an essential component of how libraries connect people with ideas in a changing world. Being selected to host the Smithsonian exhibition at Fletcher Free reinforces our strategic emphasis on providing programming and reinforcing partnerships for the Burlington community.”

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to host such a significant exhibition in Burlington,” said Mayor Weinberger. “Our community has a strong history of embracing diverse backgrounds and experiences, while fostering connections with each other, and Fletcher Free Library contributes significantly to that tradition. This exhibition will provide rich cultural and educational opportunities that will continue this important tradition for Burlingtonians and all who visit our remarkable library.”

The members of Vermont’s congressional delegation – Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representative Peter Welch – supported the library’s application to host the exhibition in a joint letter to the Smithsonian’s NMNH.  Leahy is a longtime member of the Smithsonian’s governing board, the Smithsonian Board of Regents.  In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders, and Welch said:  “The Smithsonian’s selection of the Fletcher Free Library in the competitive application process for this exhibit says much about the library and its community.  This exhibit will facilitate open, constructive, and civil conversations that encourage the exploration of the science of human evolution.”

“We are delighted to be selected for this wonderful programming opportunity,” added Barbara Shatara, Programs and Partnerships Librarian and Exhibition Project Director. “A conversation around what it means to be human will be a welcome counter-balance to highlighting our differences, allowing us to discover through dialogue our similarities and celebrate our collective uniqueness human beings. We have proposed a six-month programming and community engagement period prior to exhibition display – starting in the fall of 2016, building context and a shared understanding of different sides of the debate. We look forward to working closely with our community partners to develop robust programming that will enrich the exhibition’s presence in Burlington.”

Based on the Smithsonian’s “What Does It Mean to Be Human?” permanent exhibition hall at the NMNH, the “Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?” exhibition seeks to shed light on what we know about human origins and how we know it. The exhibition welcomes different cultural perspectives on evolution and seeks to foster positive dialogue and a respectful exploration of the science. The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of free library programs, including presentations by Smithsonian and local scientists. Additionally, the NMNH is developing a unique evaluation process to understand how people engage with the exhibition and associated programming in the local communities. The Fletcher Free Library will promote the exhibition in school districts around Vermont and plans to maximize the number of K-12 students statewide who visit the four week exhibition in Burlington.

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s preeminent museum and research complex. Each year, more than fifty exhibitions travel to hundreds of cities and towns where millions of people engage with discoveries and collections that give the Smithsonian its special place in American life. The Exploring Human Origins traveling exhibition is believed to be the first Smithsonian exhibition to be hosted in Burlington, Vermont.

FFL staff joined forces with over 30 local organizations and individuals representing diverse perspectives – education, research, religious, cultural, the humanities, and community engagement – to develop Burlington’s application.

Director Simon added: “We are excited to be developing the programming for this exhibition with a wealth of local experience and expertise.” Partners to date include the University of Vermont (UVM) and the University of Vermont Medical Center, Champlain College, St. Michael’s College, the Burlington and Winooksi School Districts, the Partnership for Change, the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Paul’s, the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, RETN, VPR, Rice Memorial High School, Vermont Commons School, Rock Point School, the State Department of Libraries, the State Division of Historic Preservation, and Burlington’s Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO).

"My colleagues and I at the University of Vermont are excited that the Fletcher Free Library was selected to host this important exhibit," said Deborah Blom, Chair of UVM's Department of Anthropology and member of the Consultation Panel that will advise the library on community engagement and programming development. "We look forward to helping widen the exhibition’s impact by contributing our expertise in anthropology to programming prior to and during the exhibit in partnership with a variety of community groups. Our goal is to promote a dialogue that celebrates differing perspectives and points of view. The exhibit will also provide invaluable learning opportunities for University of Vermont students in a broad range of disciplines."

Dr. Debra Leonard, Professor and Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UVM’s College of Medicine shared in support of the exhibition, “As a pathologist, my clinical practice focuses on the human genome and its influence on health and disease.  I am excited personally that this exhibit is coming to the FFL because it will provide a window not only into human evolution, but also into the role genetics has played in our evolution. Medical students, graduate students, residents, and faculty from the UVM College of Medicine and UVM Medical Center will benefit from the opportunity to see this exhibit and participate in these discussions.”

“I am excited that our school is partnering with the Fletcher Free Library to integrate the “Exploring Human Origins” exhibition with our curriculum,” stated Don Laackman, President of Champlain College. “Champlain College and our faculty will help develop programming that will engage and challenge not only our students, but all visitors to the exhibition, from Vermont and beyond.”

“I am very pleased to partner with the Fletcher Free Library as it hosts the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition “Exploring Human Origins,” added Jess Robinson, Vermont State Archaeologist. “The Burlington community's diverse make-up is one of its great strengths, and it is also one of the reasons that a conversation and exhibition related to our shared human origins will be particularly impactful. As the Vermont State Archaeologist, one of my central concerns is archaeology education and outreach. The exhibition allows us an unprecedented opportunity to explore with the public the processes, discoveries, and implications of important archaeological and paleoanthropological research.”

Phelan Fretz, Executive Director of ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, said: “Science education is in a crisis in this country, and at the core is a lack of understanding about evolution, especially human evolution. This exhibition provides the platform to better understand evolution as a foundation for exploring and celebrating all that makes us human.”  

“Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?” is organized by the NMNH in collaboration with the ALA Public Programs Office. This project is made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation and support from the Peter Buck Human Origins Fund.

The libraries selected to host “Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?” represent a range of communities, from small towns to large metropolitan areas. To view the list of selected sites, visit http://www.ala.org/programming/humanorigins.

About the Fletcher Free Library
The Fletcher Free Library is Vermont’s largest public library.  It is known regionally for its programming which inspires discussion, advances knowledge and strengthens our community.  FFL has established partnerships with many national, state and local organizations, and in recent years has participated in events that have laid groundwork for hosting this exhibition. Fletcher Free is located at 235 College Street. The exhibition is free and will open to the public during library hours from February 18, 2017–March 17, 2017.

About ALA’s Public Programs Office
ALA’s Public Programs Office provides leadership, resources, training and networking opportunities that help thousands of librarians nationwide develop and host cultural programs for adult, young adult and family audiences. The mission of the ALA Public Programs Office is to promote cultural programming as an essential part of library service in all types of libraries. Projects include book and film discussion series, literary and cultural programs featuring authors and artists, professional development opportunities and traveling exhibitions. School, public, academic and special libraries nationwide benefit from the office’s programming initiatives.

About the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is part of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s preeminent museum and research complex. The museum is dedicated to inspiring curiosity, discovery and learning about the natural world through its unparalleled research, collections, exhibitions, and education outreach programs. Opened in 1910, the Natural History Museum on the National Mall was among the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to house the national collections and research facilities.

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