Ward 6 NPA — Burlington, VT
Date: 2025-05-01
Time: 18:30

Ward 6 NPA Meeting Agenda
Thursday, May 1, 2025
Location: Department of Public Works, 645 Pine Street

Or on zoom: https://zoom.us/j/81027856568 Zoom Webinar ID: 8102785 6568


6:00 Community Dinner – join us for great (free!) food and a chance to connect with your neighbors

6:30 Call to Order, Announcements, Public Forum

6:45 Front Porch Forum – how we connect to each other and build community
 Susannah Kerest

7:00 City Council Updates – including the City’s response on immigration enforcement issues
 Becca Brown McKnight and Buddy Singh, invited

7:30 NPA Business:
 • Role of NPAs: City Council Members Jonathan Chappell Sokol and Carter Neubieser proposed
 resolution (see attached)
 • Report from All Wards NPA on NPA Budgets, discussion about possibility for city-run open
 primaries (instead of pary-run caucuses)
 • Ward 6 NPA Budget: Motion to share excess funds from this year’s budget with Ward 5

8:15 Adjourn




What is the NPA?
Neighborhood Planning Assemblies (NPAs) are grassroots, neighborhood organizations that were
established in each of Burlington's wards to encourage resident participation in City government.
Working as neighborhood advocacy groups, Neighborhood Planning Assemblies help improve
communication between the residents of Burlington and City government through regular meetings
scheduled in each Ward. For more information, click here.
Resolution Relating to: Strengthening the Relationship between the City Administration, City Council, and
Neighborhood Planning Assemblies (NPAs) (Presented to the Ward 6 NPA on May 1, 2025)

In the year Two Thousand and Twenty-Five Resolved by the City Council of the City of Burlington, as
follows:

WHEREAS the City Council has adopted a resolution that encouraged and supported the establishment of
Neighborhood Planning Assemblies in each of the city's wards; and

WHEREAS the Neighborhood Planning Assemblies were intended to be open and accessible to all voters
of the city residing in a particular ward; and

WHEREAS the responsibility for organizing the Neighborhood Planning Assemblies was delegated to the
Community and Economic Development Office; and

WHEREAS all residents of a particular ward are considered voting members of the Neighborhood
Planning Assembly for that ward; and

WHEREAS each Neighborhood Planning Assembly has developed its own bylaws and meeting operating
procedures; and

WHEREAS the Neighborhood Planning Assemblies were established to help provide city residents with
information concerning city programs and activities; and

WHEREAS the Neighborhood Planning Assemblies were established to provide advice to the City Council,
the various city commissions, and city administration with respect to governmental decisions, the
allocation of revenues, and issues facing individual neighborhoods and the city as a whole; and

WHEREAS the priorities, needs, and interests of city residents has evolved over time as the city has grown
and developed; and

WHEREAS the City Council frequently considers matters of importance that intersect with the interests
and priorities of the Neighborhood Planning Assemblies; and

WHEREAS the City Council and Neighborhood Planning Assemblies have a mutual interest to work
together for the benefit of city residents;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Burlington and the Neighborhood Planning
Assemblies affirm the following principles:
• The NPAs are essential to the civic health of our community.
• The NPAs shall be open and accessible to all city residents and shall abide by Open Meeting Law.
• The NPAs shall adhere to federal, state, and local laws regarding anti-discrimination, free speech, and
accessibility.
• The NPAs shall adhere to the provisions of their bylaws and decisions shall be made in a transparent
manner.
• The NPAs shall expend funds allocated to them by the City Council in a manner consistent with the
City’s terms, conditions, and restrictions.
• The NPAs shall set the terms and conditions for their gatherings and shall determine their agendas and
priorities.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) shall:
• Develop a standardized process in collaboration with the NPAs by which each NPA can communicate a
list of annual priorities to the City Council and City Administration
• Consult with other relevant city staff to develop easily understood materials that outline the legal
requirements of the NPAs.
• Consult with other relevant city staff to review and update these materials as needed but no less than
every three calendar years.
• Collaborate with NPAs and other relevant city staff to ensure NPAs understand the legal requirements
of the NPAs.
• Include a representative, chosen by the NPAs to serve on hiring committees for staff roles
predominantly focused on supporting and liaising with the NPAs

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council acknowledges and agrees that:
• The NPAs play an important role in the city's deliberative process.
• The advice and counsel received from residents at NPA meetings is valuable and important to the City's
decision-making process.
• Individual City Councilors shall be encouraged to regularly attend NPA meetings in their respective
Ward or District.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council shall endeavor in good faith to consult with each NPA on:
• Issues that impact NPA governance and structure before proceeding with resolutions and ordinances.
• Issues that disproportionately impact a particular area of the city.
• Matters identified by the NPAs as priorities for the current fiscal year.
• All development projects that require Major Impact Review.
• Redistricting and changes to ward boundaries and polling places.
• Proposed charter changes and ballot questions that appear on the Annual Town Meeting Day ballot.

Neighborhood Planning Assembly Draft Minutes
 NPA: ​ Wards Wards Wards Ward Ward
 (choose one) 1&8 2&3 4&7 5 6

 Date of Assembly : 05 / 01 / 25 Start Time: (Commence): 6:30pm
 Location: Dept of Public Works Finish Time: (Adjourn): 8:15pm
 Note taker: Dale Azaria

 Steering Committee Members in Attendance: Dale Azaria, Mills Forni
 Discussion Topics
 6:00 | Community Dinner
 6:30 | Call to Order
 6:45 | Front Porch Forum
 7:00 | City Council Updates
 7:30 | NPA Business
 8:15 | Adjourn


Agenda Items and Highlights:
6:30 | Call to Order, Announcements, Public Forum
 ●​ Bob Leidy, Branch Out Burlington (local nonprofit with tree nursery, supply trees to Burlington for parks and along
 streets). Tree walk at Champlain College June 7, 10-12. Begins at Tower Terrace (which has parking).
 ●​ Migrant Justice – please take a look at information, sign up for more information

6:45 | Front Porch Forum – how we connect to each other and build community (Susannah Kerest, director of community
engagement)
 ●​ Everyone in the room uses FPF
 ●​ Susannah is director of community engagement.
 ●​ Burlington has neighborhood forums. Across the state every town has a forum. This makes for a different
 experience.
 ●​ 240,000 members. (Compare to 275,000 households)
 ●​ Not a non-profit, but a mission driven organization. 30 employees.
 ●​ Until recently Burlington had 20 forums. Reduced that to 7 – to ensure that experience is robust and people feel
 that they can be heard. Some forums were very quiet – didn’t have enough content to make it lively. There may
 be a loss in the neighbor communication (harder to ask to borrow a cup of sugar), but they think it’s worth it.
 ●​ In addition to e-mails, there’s the community calendar – anyone can put any event on there. No charge, viewable
 across your region.
 ●​ Business Directory. Any nonprofit or business in the state can be included in the directory, for free. Have 15,000
 entries – would like to have a lot more!
 ●​ About to launch a store where you can buy logo merch.
 ●​ Question: how do you avoid the hate that permeates social media? Answer: every posting is read by a human
 before it’s posted. No personal attacks, nothing illegal, etc. The guidelines are online. They’ll reach out to an
 author and ask them to take it down a notch or to revise it. Also because it’s not immediate.

7:00 | City Council Updates – including the City’s response on immigration enforcement issues (Becca Brown McKnight
and Buddy Singh, invited)
 ●​ Immigration (Becca): overall as citizens of this country, we need to keep our eyes on due process and speaking
 out whenever we can and as strongly as we can. We are “sanctuary-city-adjacent.” Sanctuary city is a legal
 designation. We have a lot of the same protections but are just short of that status. Our police do not support ICE.
 they will not knock on someone’s door and assist with a deportation. Also, the Burlington Schools have a robust
 protocol to protect any kids who might be at risk of action by ICE. Our schools and our educators are passionate
 and committed to protecting any kids who might be at risk.
 ●​ Buddy has spoken to ESL teachers. They Act as liaisons getting the word out to families to make sure they have the
 information they need. Tom Flanagan spoke to the city-wide PTO and laid out the policy. They are 100% behind all
 kids and committed to keeping them safe.
 ●​ Buddy: likewise, our teachers are on the frontline with DEI efforts. Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week and
 Buddy encourages us to express our appreciation to any teachers. They are going above and beyond
 ●​ Also, Green UP Day is this weekend. City will supply gloves and bags.
 ●​ Also, Sunday is Fire Fighter Appreciation Day and there will be barbeques at 3 fire stations.
 ●​ Becca: We are in budget season right now. We are hearing presentations from the Mayor/Administration, who lay
 out their plans and a first draft. Then we’ll have lots of conversations. Budget Sessions are every Wednesday and
 are open to the public.
 ●​ Questions about recycling program. At this point it doesn’t look like we’re going to make changes to it. One thing
 that Becca heard is that “recycling is one of the few things we get for our taxes.” She’s troubled by that. Property
 taxes go to a lot of important things. She wants people to understand where our local taxes go.
 ●​ Water Department and Electric Department are not funded by city taxes. They’re paid by usage.
 ●​ Property Tax: roughly 70% goes to schools and the balance (roughly $100 million) goes to the city. Police, Fire,
 Public Works (roads and streets) and Parks.
 ●​ Becca wants to know what people value – important to know that as we make decisions of what to fund and what
 to cut.
 ●​ The City is taking applications for various board and commissions. Application is available online. When you
 submit it, email to your City Council Reps.
 ●​ Greg Epler Woods introduced two guests, from Nigeria and Cape Verde. They are interested in learning about the
 NPA process, and in hearing about immigration policy. Irene from Nigeria is interested in seeing people from the
 community interacting with their elected leaders. She wants to take this back home. Maria from Cape Verde,
 where she teaches English.
 ●​ Question: South Winooski used to be a no-truck road, but now there are a lot of trucks. Is this because of the
 construction on Main Street? and will it stop.
 ○​ City Council isn’t sure, but will check with DPW.
 ○​ When will Main Street be finished?
 ■​ Full project will be complete in summer 2026, but this year’s work (underground work) will wrap
 in July or August and it will get a lot better then. There’s consideration of opening up a one-way,
 but need to review what that will do to the cost of the project.
 ○​ Becca encourages us all to keep up the drumbeat – if there are concerns, speak up!
 ●​ Charlie Gianonni: is concerned that there aren’t many people from Ward 8 or Ward 3 on any boards or
 commissions. And he is concerned that the Fire Fighter Appreciation hasn’t been well advertised. Buddy responds
 that a lot of the information went out today.

​
7:30 | NPA Business
 ●​ Role of NPAs: Jonathan Chapple- Sokol (Ward 1 NPA) and Carter Neubieser (Ward 1 City Council) proposed
 resolution
 o​ There’s no place in City Ordinance that clearly lays out the relationship between the City Council and NPA.
 There are various resolutions, but a lack of clear expectations. The goal is to strengthen the relationship
 by clarifying it.
 o​ NPAs were created in the 1980’s to encourage direct democracy – for City Council to be connected to and
 hear from their constituents.
 o​ Many people may not want to speak out in a City Council meeting. NPAs are meant to make it easier to be
 heard.
 o​ All NPA Steering Committee voted to send this to City Council, about a year ago, and to set up a
 committee to work with City Council on this. Working Group includes City Council, NPA Steering
 Committees, and CEDO
 o​ They’re seeking a vote from the Ward 6 NPA to continue with the process reflected in the document.
 o​ What the resolution does:
 ▪​ [See resolution attached to agenda]
 o​ Comments:
 ▪​ We are different from other wards – no parks, few businesses – we may not have identified
 problems that are “ours” but we have strong interests and concerns based on what’s happening
 in the city
 ▪​ Importance of being pro-active and facilitating communication
 ▪​ Becca: Ward 6 issues: parking, UVM MOU, transportation policies. There is value in choosing key
 issues, even if they are city-wide issues.
 ▪​ Becca: suggests that there should be an annual timeline for identifying priorities, trainings, etc.
 ▪​ Mills: really likes the idea of identifying priorities.
 ▪​ Motion: That the NPA Supports the spirit of this resolution. Passed.
 ●​ Report from All Wards NPA on NPA Budgets, discussion about possibility for city-run open primaries (instead of
 pary-run caucuses)
 ●​ Ward 6 NPA Budget: Motion to share excess funds from this year’s budget with Ward 5. Motion passed.

8:15 | Adjourn