Dear Neighbors,

The City Council will meet again on Monday, November 20, with public comment starting at 6:30pm. You can join the meeting in-person at City Hall or online via Zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/99786265186.

I anticipate many people will be participating in public comment, particularly with respect to the McNeil plant and the carbon pollution impact fee ordinance. If you want to ensure your voice is heard during public comment, I recommend arriving early in-person or signing up beforehand to participate virtually: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/citycouncil/publicforum.

Before public forum, starting at 5:45pm, we will hear an update on the great work and service being done by Burlington's Community Sailing Center.

As always, there are also a number of interesting items on our consent agenda. One item includes our continuing to support engineering and design for the Railyard Enterprise Project and the construction of an extension between Pine Street and Battery Street, which will allow for the completion of the Champlain Parkway. A number of other items touch on the current state of public safety in our downtown, including consideration of a public safety resolution passed by the Church Street Marketplace Commission and our accepting grant monies dedicated to improving downtown vibrancy. I also anticipate we will hear from individuals who have been organizing a petition that includes a number of recommendations to improve public safety and harm reduction in our City. Please know that I am continuing to work with my colleagues on the Council to continue addressing these issues.

Our deliberative agenda includes the following items:

--> FIRE ALERTING SYSTEM - the Burlington Fire Department is seeking approval to replace the existing fire station alerting system. A modern station alerting system will ensure our firefighters rapidly receive reliable and critical call information in a variety of methods, and reduce the time it takes to respond to emergencies.

--> GREAT STREETS, MAIN STREET - as part of the City's ongoing "Great Streets" program, the City Council is considering a construction award for a Main Street portion of this project. Because the construction bids were higher than anticipated, the City is now proposing that this project be staged, with the first portion completed between the three gateway blocks between South Union and South Winooski. More information on the "Great Streets" initiative is available here: https://greatstreetsbtv.com/

--> CARBON POLLUTION IMPACT FEE - on Town Meeting Day 2023, Burlington voters gave the City authority to implement a carbon pollution impact fee up to $150 per ton of greenhouse gas emissions generated by fossil fuel thermal energy systems in new buildings and large existing buildings in excess of 50,000 square feet. In addition to standing up this fee, the ordinance before the City Council will require that new building applicants prioritize the use of clean electric, geothermal, or solar heat thermal energy systems. New building applicants may only use a combustible fuel, whether it be fossil or renewable, if they certify they are unable to use electric, geothermal, or solar heat. In the likely rare instance an applicant is unable to use electric, geothermal, or solar heat, the ordinance is written to allow applicants the choice between using: (1) a fossil fuel and paying an associated carbon pollution impact fee; or (2) a renewable combustible fuel that the State has determined will reduce greenhouse gas emissions as compared to its fossil alternative.

--> DISTRICT ENERGY - the City Council will consider a resolution that would authorize the City to take the steps necessary to construct the District Energy steam pipe from the McNeil plant to heat institutional customers, including the University of Vermont Medical Center. Because I am employed by the University of Vermont Health Network and have a conflict of interest, I unfortunately must recuse myself from this vote. I have been following this proposal closely, though, appreciate the improvements that have been made, and encourage interested neighbors to read the final resolution here: https://burlingtonvt.portal.civicclerk.com/event/6667/files/1959

As always, thank you for participating in our community. I welcome your feedback on all of the above or other City matters. I otherwise hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Ben Traverse
City Councilor, Ward 5
btraverse@burlingtonvt.gov
(802) 357-2055

Event Info

Dec 29, 2024, 10 AM to 12 PM

Dec 29, 2024, 1 to 3 PM

Dec 30, 2024, 7 to 8:15 PM