Dear Neighbors,
This coming Monday, the City Council will convene its first of two meetings for the month of February.
We will begin our Council meeting at 7pm in Contois Auditorium.
Our agenda is relatively brief. In addition to a consent agenda and comments from Councilors and the Mayor, we have two items on our deliberative agenda.
The first item on our agenda is an ordinance regarding smoking prohibitions at City parks. Shortly after I was elected, a constitutuent approached me about the dangers of secondhand smoke and asked if there was something we could do to make our parks and beaches safer for children and adults who do not want to be exposed to smoking. Together with the Parks and Recreation Commission and other City Councilors, there have been several attempts to address this concern and each time, those attempts hit roadblocks. Crafting an ordinance that would garner Council support as well as truly address the dangers of smoke and make our parks safer was challenging. Hundreds of other municipalities in the country have gone smoke-free in their parks and beaches. I am proud to co-sponsor this ordinance and believe this time, we have an ordinance that will respect the rights of all who use the parks as well as one that will have significant Council support.
We have one resolution on Monday's agenda. It is a resolution appointing a task force to assess responsibilities of the Police Commission using civilian oversight models. On the state level, there is a civilian oversight committee, the State Police Advisory Council (SPAC). This resolution would create such a task force to look at the responsibilities of SPAC and assess whether there are further responsibilities beyond those of SPAC that should fall within the role of the Burlington Police Commission and make recommendations, if needed, to the Council and the Police Commission for their review and consideration.
As with all Council meetings, please keep in mind that you are always welcome to come and speak to the Council on any subject you wish during our Public Forum which begins at 7:30pm. Clickable agenda items can be found on the City's website via board docs at: http://www.boarddocs.com/vt/burlingtonvt/Board.nsf/Public All Council meetings are televised live on BT Channel 317 and streamed live to your computer or phone.
As always, I welcome your questions and concerns. Please be in touch over the weekend and on Monday.
My best,
Karen
Oct 29, 2024, 6:30 to 7:30 PM
EEE LectureNov 1, 2024, 1 to 3 PM
Vermont Women's RallyNov 2, 2024, 10 AM to 12 PM