Hello Ward 1 Neighbors!
Congratulations first to Carter Neubieser on his election! We look forward to his thoughtful, calm, open-minded and inciteful perspective as he serves us on City Council. No stranger to the NPA, Carter will continue to be a big part of our monthly Wednesdays. And deep thanks to Geoff Hand for putting himself forward and managing a great campaign. We look forward to Geoff's continued civic participation.
Before going into the details of next Wednesday's NPA (3/13, 7-9PM Friends Meeting House), we heard back from Karen Vastine, who presented at last month's meeting on renewing/revising the city's MOU with UVMMC (not the UVM MOU). She writes:
"I wanted to let you all know that based on input from the neighbors regarding the number and scope of initiatives they're currently processing, we checked in with city officials about postponing the renewal of UVMMC's Land Use MOU to after a new mayor and city council have begun their term. They supported this and also committed to working with us over the next month as we continue to meet with neighbors. We will still be processing the MOU with the public and will be holding a Q&A session on March 7th from 6-7:30 in the Mary Fletcher Meeting room of the hospital. The purpose will be to go through the MOU line by line and discuss with neighbors."
Karen also provided a marked-up draft of the Memorandum of Understanding, which can be found somewhere near the agenda for the 3/14 NPA meeting on Civic Clerk:
https://burlingtonvt.portal.civicclerk.com/event/6972/files/agenda/10120
And on to the March NPA meeting.
We will start by recognizing Zoraya Hightower's enormous contribution to Ward 1 and the City. Sharyl Green will say some words (you can, too!), and there will be cake!
Next the election for Steering Committee. The current committee members would like to continue being so and plan to present a slate. Of course, Carter's ascension makes him ineligible to sit on the Steering Committee, so the slate will have 4 candidates. Our bylaws allow for 7 members, so there are plenty (3) of uncontested slots, and of course the slate can be voted down, in which case there are up to 7 slots! Please consider joining the Steering Committee. You can let us know you are interested before the meeting, or be nominated (or self-nominate) at the meeting itself.
Then School Commissioner and City Council updates, including introductions of our new representatives, Carter and newly minted Ward 1 School Commissioner Rida Kori.
We will at last vote on the Resolution we'd like the City Council to take up, that we have discussed since December. It is titled "Resolution relating to the relationship between city officials and the NPAs" There is a file at the link above, and the resolution is also present at the end of this post.
Finishing the agenda with a breath of fresh air, City Arborist VJ Comai will come to talk with us about Ward 1's trees.
Come to the Friends meeting house, 173 North Prospect Street for the evening on 3/13. Supper will be served at 6:45, and the celebration starts at 7. If you are not up to partying in person, Zoom in at:
https://zoom.us/j/96245939050
Webinar ID: 962 4593 9050
Or by phone: +1 929 205 6099 ID= 962 4593 9050
The agenda, again, is here: https://burlingtonvt.portal.civicclerk.com/event/6972/files/agenda/10120
Be seeing you!
Carol Livingston
Tom Derenthal
Samantha Ayotte
Carter Neubieser
Jonathan Chapple-Sokol
THE RESOLUTION we propose City Council takes up:
That WHEREAS, the 1982 Resolution "Relating to the Creation of Neighborhood Planning Assemblies" (NPAs) established the NPAs in part to provide a forum for Burlington residents to advise elected and appointed officials on municipal issues, as evidenced by language in that resolution: (The language has been removed in this FPF post for space reasons, but can be found in the link on Civic Clerk).
WHEREAS there currently exists no process to ensure that elected and appointed officials consult with the NPAs on any issues; and
WHEREAS it is not infrequent that City Council resolutions are made public and voted on before discussion at NPA meetings is possible or solicited.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council, in consultation with the NPAs, will establish processes and criteria for determining the municipal issues on which NPAs must be consulted for advice and input prior to City Council votes; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that said advice and input be considered in City Council deliberations and decision-making on those issues; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that those processes and criteria be created by commissions and city departments for the same purpose; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these processes and criteria be established by September 1, 2024.
Apr 27, 2024, 12 to 1:30 PM
LWVVT, Sec. of State Co-Host Virtual Forum on RCVMay 1, 2024, 7 to 8:30 PM
Green Up Day in WinooskiMay 4, 2024, 8:30 AM to 2 PM