Dear Neighbors,

This coming Monday, the City Council will hold the last meeting for the month of April. We will begin our meeting at 6:15pm with an expected Executive Session to update the Council on the Kilburn death. We expect to end the Executive Session at 7pm.

Following a commission appointment and indoor entertainment permit for Pho Son on College Street, we have seven items on our deliberative agenda:

• Representatives from Brookfield Asset Management will be with us to update on us and the community on CityPlace.
• We will have a communication from CEDO on the Neighborhood Project. This is a report that will be forwarded to the Community Development and Neighborhood Revitalization (CDNR) Committee for further review. Despite this project having been an imperfect process, there are a number of recommendations that will benefit other wards in the city. I have worked hard to ensure that any further development for college purpose-built housing (by the area colleges or privately) will only be in areas that are appropriate. The report makes clear that the primary area for further development is the former Trinity campus. I have met with the housing consultant that UVM has hired to update its housing study and have spoken at length with officials of UVM on this issue. One key to addressing our housing challenge is for UVM to house more of its students in housing that is attractive and affordable, thus freeing up other housing in neighborhoods others such as families, young professionals, and older residents who may wish to downsize and be closer to the downtown core, among others. As a member of the CDNR Committee, I will be working to effect these changes which I believe will bring about positive changes for Burlington's housing challenges.
• We held a work session a few weeks ago on the staffing structure of the Water Resources Division of DPW. After the events of last summer, the City has been working to evaluate the structure of this division. The Council authorized the hiring of a consultant to help us with this evaluation. The results of this study have been shared with City staff and with the Council last week. We discussed this resolution at our April 15 meeting and I and others voted to delay our vote on this issue until we had some answers regarding funding the increased costs, particularly to ensure that we do not overly impact lower- and moderate-income residents. We will be voting Monday on the changes to the staffing structure of this division.
• Our other agenda items include a presentation from the Chittenden Solid Waste District on their FY2020 budget, a public hearing on the 2019 Community Block Grant and HOME proposed allocations, a resolution designating Burlington as a Bee City, and a resolution regarding increasing access to publicly available restrooms.

Please keep in mind that you are always welcome to come to a Council meeting and speak on any topic you wish during public forum. This begins at a time certain of 7:30pm at every Council meeting. You may access the Council agenda at http://www.boarddocs.com/vt/burlingtonvt/Board.nsf/Public Please note that all Council meetings are televised live on BT Channel 317 and streamed live to your computer or phone. Please go to youtube and type in "Burlington City Council meetings" and the live stream will come up.

As always, I welcome your questions and concerns. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

My best,
Karen

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