Dear Neighbors,
This coming Monday, the City Council will convene its first of two meetings for the month of July. (Normally, the Council meets once in July. We are having a second meeting on July 31 to discuss Burlington Telecom.)
The Council will begin its evening with an Executive Session on the process for selecting a buyer/partner for Burlington Telecom. As I mentioned in my last preview, the Burlington Telecom Advisory Board, of which I am a member, has been meeting for the past four Wednesday evenings and will be meeting again this coming Wednesday to review the Letters of Interest in acquiring BT. We met the first Wednesday in June to review the LOIs and evaluate them in terms of the criteria the BTAB worked for over a year to craft and the Council unanimously approved. We then invited several of the 8 respondents to the LOI process to come meet with us in person to discuss their proposals. At the worksession, we will be discussing the proposals that the BTAB felt should be advanced to the Council for its consideration. The BTAB’s recommendation was based on the criteria the Council unanimously approved last year.
After this work session, we will begin our Council meeting in Contois Auditorium in City Hall. The first item on our agenda will be the swearing in of Ali Dieng, the newly elected City Councilor in Ward 7. Following the swearing in, we will hear an annual report from the Planning Commission and the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission.
The next item on our agenda will be the appointment of a new Assistant City Attorney following the departure of an attorney in the City Attorney’s Office. The Council will then hold a public hearing on the proposed common area fees for the Church Street Marketplace. Following the public hearing, we will be voting on the fee schedule.
The last item on our deliberative agenda will be a resolution on the North Avenue Pilot.
The resolution asks that the Department of Public Works review all improvements and draft a report to the Council on the status of each improvement by September 18. It further asks DPW to repaint the lines and markings on North Avenue to improve visibility (including the 3 lane markings) as well as designing intersection improvements at a few key intersections with direct engagement from the New North End City Councilors and the Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee (TEUC) of the Council, New North End residents and users of North Avenue. A final report regarding public outreach processes used in this project is due to the TEUC by September 25, 2017.
The pilot project has improved safety. It has reduced the number of accidents with injuries resulting. As a result, the number of bicyclists using North Avenue has increased. And, the number of New North End residents who are positive on the change has also increased. No project or public engagement is perfect but this project has received more public outreach than just about any other. I plan to support this resolution as written and hope it advances to implementation.
We will end our evening with an Executive Session on the Burlington Town Center Redevelopment.
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: https://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, 3 to 5 PM
Creative Cohort Starts Next Week!Oct 29, 2024, 5:45 to 7:45 PM
Vermont Choral Union Upcoming ConcertNov 3, 2024, 4 PM