Board for Registration of Voters — Burlington, VT
Date: 2025-10-07
Time: 18:00

Board for Registration of Voters

Tuesday, October 7, 2025, 6:00 PM, 1st Floor Conference Room, City Hall, 149 Church
 Street, Burlington, VT 05401 OR remotely via Zoom

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/93712437108
Meeting ID: 937 1243 7108


1. Call Meeting to Order

2. Agenda
 2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda

3. Announcements

4. Meeting Length
 4.1. Set Meeting Length

5. Adopt Minutes
 Subject
 File Attachments
 1. 9/2/25 BRV Minutes 9/2/25 BRV Minutes.pdf

6. Public Forum

7. Clerk's Report

8. Approval of Voter Challenges

9. Board Member Expectations
 Subject
 File Attachments
 1. BRV Rules and Procedures - DRAFT BRV Rules and Procedures - DRAFT.docx

10. New Business

11. Adjournment
 11.1. Motion to Adjourn

Board for Registration of Voters

Tuesday, October 7, 2025, 6:00 PM, 1st Floor Conference Room, City Hall, 149 Church
 Street, Burlington, VT 05401 OR remotely via Zoom

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/93712437108
Meeting ID: 937 1243 7108


1. Call Meeting to Order

2. Agenda
 2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda

3. Announcements

4. Meeting Length
 4.1. Set Meeting Length

5. Adopt Minutes
 Subject
 File Attachments
 1. 9/2/25 BRV Minutes 9/2/25 BRV Minutes.pdf

6. Public Forum

7. Clerk's Report

8. Approval of Voter Challenges

9. Board Member Expectations
 Subject
 File Attachments
 1. BRV Rules and Procedures - DRAFT BRV Rules and Procedures - DRAFT.docx

10. New Business

11. Adjournment
 11.1. Motion to Adjourn


 Page 1 of 9
Page 2 of 9
 BURLINGTON BOARD FOR REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
 CITY HALL, 1ST FLOOR, 149 CHURCH STREET, BURLINGTON, VT, 05401 OR
 REMOTELY VIA ZOOM.

 MINUTES OF MEETING
 September 2, 2025




1. Call Meeting to Order
1. Call Meeting to Order
Meeting called to order by Chair Grace Grundhauser at 6:00pm

Members Present: Alison Harte, Adam Franz, Lauren Ebersol, Lesley Gendron, Grace Grundhauser, Kevin
Lewis, Annie Schneider, Colleen Montgomery, Jeanne Schwartz, Karen Rowell, Michelle Lefkowitz, Youth
member WIll Cunningham

Members Absent: Janet Stambolian

Others Present: Sarah Montgomery, Assistant City Clerk

2. Agenda
2. Agenda

2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda
2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda
Grace Grundhauser suggested moving the board member expectations agenda item to the next meeting.
Jeanne Keller, the member who asked for it to be added, stated that she was amenable to postponing this.
Agenda adopted as amended.


3. Announcements
3. Announcements
Grace Grundhauser shared that a new board member, Janet Stambolian, was appointed to the board. Karen
Rowell stated that she feels she should not be the only Republican on the board and was upset by the
appointment decision. She said that she would like to see equal political representation on the board. Jeanne
Keller asked if any Republicans had applied for the position. Karen Rowell said that she does not know, but
by only advertising it on Front Porch Forum, conservative residents were not reached. Karen added that
there was a conservative applicant, Jeff Comstock, who was rejected. Will Cunningham asked if anything
could be done now that the appointment has already been made. Grace Grundhauser shared that her
understanding is that if a Republican had applied, and the City Council had rejected them, the Republican
Party could object. Alison Harte noted that she did reach out to Karen Rowell asking for other places to post
the vacancy. Karen said she did connect with Guy Page, who wrote an article, but it was at the last minute.
Lauren Ebersol suggested that the board create a list of places where to post openings, so it could be
standard in the future. Annie Schneider noted that it is a relatively new practice for the board to advertise
board member vacancies, and it is not required. Karen Rowell said she will appeal it to City Council. She
thinks it is important for the board to hear different perspectives and investigate and advocate to the
Secretary of State when there are registration issues that should be investigated.

4. Meeting Length



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4. Meeting Length

4.1. Set Meeting Length
4.1. Set Meeting Length
The meeting was set to end at 7pm.


5. Adopt Minutes
5. Adopt Minutes

5.1. Motion to adopt previous meeting's minutes
File Attachments
1. August BRV Minutes August BRV Minutes.pdf

5.1. Motion to adopt previous meeting's minutes
LG made a motion. 2nd by AH. Unanimous.


6. Public Forum
6. Public Forum
No members of the public were present.

7. Clerk's Report
7. Clerk's Report
Sarah Montgomery reported that there are currently 29,139 registered voters in Burlington. 5,123 of these
voters are challenged. In August, 174 new voters registered, 85 were transferred from Burlington to other
Vermont towns, and 35 were removed from the checklist.

8. Approval of Voter Challenges
8. Approval of Voter Challenges
Michelle Lefkowitz made a motion to challenge the voters presented to the board. Seconded by Lauren
Ebersol. Passed unanimously.

9. State District Boundary Audit
9. State District Boundary Audit

9.1. Discussion about Draft State District Boundary Audit Report
File Attachments
1. DRAFT Boundary Audit Report DRAFT Boundary Audit Report.pdf

9.1. Discussion about Draft State District Boundary Audit Report
Sarah Montgomery gave an overview of the material presented in the draft report, stating that 34 voters
were found to be incorrectly assigned — either to their state house district or their city ward. She stated that
it was a productive process and all errors found have been corrected. Jeanne Keller asked if the voters
affected by the correction would be notified. Sarah answered that she would notify them. Grace Grundhauser
asked if these updates would cause voter confusion at the polling places for the next election. Sarah
answered that she expects it might cause confusion for the 8 voters who had their ward assignment
changed, since this would affect their polling place. She also noted that the address where the ward was
incorrect was student housing, so those voters may no longer be at that address. Lesley Gendron asked if all
of this had been updated and VEMS and if that now can be trusted as the source of truth. Sarah confirmed
the updates have been made in the system. Adam Franz asked: would the voters who were incorrectly
assigned state house districts have voted in the wrong house district in the 2024 election? Sarah
Montgomery answered yes, any of those voters who participated would have received the incorrect ballot.
She can report back on the participation of those voters, but agreed that it was a valid concern, and was the
reason for the mandated audit across multi-district towns.




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10. Board Member Expectations
10. Board Member Expectations

10.1. Rules and Procedures for the Board for Registration of Voters
File Attachments
1. Rules and Procedures of the Board for the Rules and Procedures of the Board for the
 Registration of Voters Registration of Voters .pdf

10.1. Rules and Procedures for the Board for Registration of Voters
This agenda item was postponed until the October meeting.


11. Voter Checklist Protections
11. Voter Checklist Protections

11.1. Discussion about Voter Checklist Protections
File Attachments
1. Voter Registration Public Records Request Voter Registration Public Records Request
 Procedure Procedure.pdf

11.1. Discussion about Voter Checklist Protections
Sarah Montgomery gave an overview of the voter checklist request procedure that her office created in
conjunction with the attorney's office. Sarah also noted that the Secretary of State had recently released a
statement about voter data. Annie Schneider asked if this procedure prevents the legal resident voter list
being shared separately. Sarah confirmed that the procedure does not allow for that. Alison Harte asked if
the voter checklist is public information. Sarah confirmed. Lauren Ebersol asked if the procedure could be
made available to legal resident voters to share information about what is done with their voter information.
Grace Grundhauser suggested pulling that information together into a more user-friendly FAQ. Grace noted
that the information would still be available to BRV members and election workers. Sarah Montgomery added
that for Election Day materials, there are public records that are created that indicate whether a voter is a
citizen or non-citizen. She added that her office can think through that piece further, because having that
distinction available for election workers is important in administering the election correctly.


12. New Business
12. New Business
Lesley Gendron reminded everyone to review the flow chart.

Colleen Montgomery said she wasn't able to get into VEMS and asked anyone else if they had issues. Sarah
Montgomery will share the login link with everyone. All members should try to log in and let Sarah know if
they cannot access it.

Adam Franz asked what the board's policies are about tabling for voter registration, especially at UVM since
the school year is starting. Will Cunningham added that he could do some work at the high schools, but that
could be challenging because most high school students are not old enough to vote. Adam Franz said he feels
like UVM students do not have enough information about their eligibility to vote in Burlington. Annie
Schneider said that the City Clerk in Winooski does table at the high school and that she believes that would
be allowed in Burlington schools as well. Michelle Lefkowitz shared that she has done plenty of voter
registration outreach in tabling as a board member, but it hasn't happened much in recent years. Lesley
Gendron asked if this type of activity would be mandatory. Grace Grundhauser does not think this is a core
function of the board and should not be a requirement for members who are not interested. Adam Franz
asked if the board would mind if he reached out to UVM to coordinate. Grace Grundhauser encouraged him
to and reminded members that when doing board outreach, they should remain neutral, not have any
campaign information etc. Alison Harte suggested that she, Lesley Gendron, and Adam Franz organize some
materials/plans for voter outreach now so they can be prepared for next year's election-filled year. Adam
Franz will reach out to folks at UVM and let the board know his plans. Michelle Lefkowitz said to make sure to




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tell students that they can only be registered in one place. Michelle Lefkowitz noted that the Secretary of
State's office has a published how to do a voter registration guide. Sarah Montgomery will share some other
procedural resources.

Jeanne Keller was surprised to recently learn that board members were not required to attend pre-election
trainings, and asked for other board member opinions. She said that while policy decisions are not being
made at trainings, it is a good opportunity to learn from each other. Lesley Gendron said that there is a
nuance between board member training and volunteer training - the pre-election training is primarily tailored
for volunteers. She shared that her understanding is that the BRV members should already have the
knowledge that is shared at those training sessions. Lauren Ebersol said that she feels it is a good idea for
members to attend the training, but does not feel like it should be a requirement. Lesley Gendron added that
the post-mortem that the board members do after an election is a great opportunity to learn from issues that
occurred. Jeanne Keller noted that the day of election training was challenging for her, but she found the
pre-election training to be more helpful. Lesley Gendron said that previously there has also been training that
has happened within the regular meetings. Grace Grundhauser said she wants to balance the demands
placed on the members, who are volunteer community members. Jeanne Keller noted that the on-the-job
training that rotated between several wards was especially challenging because everyone had different styles
and specific workflows. Will Cunningham asked if it would be helpful for BRV members to stay at a single
election for their 1st election, and then rotate for their 2nd training election.

13. Adjournment
13. Adjournment

13.1. Motion to Adjourn
13.1. Motion to Adjourn
Lauren Ebersol made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by Adam Franz. Passed unanimously.




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Rules and Procedures for the Board for the Registration of Voters
(Proposal 6-1-2021)
PURPOSE: The Board for Registration of Voters is committed to the enfranchisement of eligible
residents through the voting process. Voting is a right and responsibility. The Board
encourages voter registration and acknowledges the right of voters to freely participate in
elections. The Board may actively initiate and participate in voter registration outreach.
The Board’s legal responsibility is to maintain the voting checklist for the City of Burlington by
upholding the Vermont Election Laws (Title 17 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated).
AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The Board for Registration of Voters is responsible for and
has authority for all duties with respect to preparing The City of Burlington’s voter checklist
pursuant to chapters 14, 15, 16 and 43 of the City’s Charter, and Title 17 of the Vermont
Statutes Annotated. The Board shall comply with the Vermont Open Meeting Law and other
laws covering public bodies.
In order to effectively and justly carry out its responsibilities all members will be expected to
familiarize themselves with the Vermont Election Law in Title 17 of the Vermont Statutes
Annotated, along with pertinent sections of the Burlington City Charter. The Board will
maintain an office in City Hall, wherein shall be kept available for public inspection the records
of all legal voters. The Board shall advise any petitioner affected by an adverse decision of his
or her statutory right to be included in the list of legal voters to seek judicial review of such
decision.
MEMBERSHIP: As established by the City-Charter, the Board for Registration of Voters shall
consist of 12 registered Voters of the City of Burlington, appointed by the City Council, with the
Mayor presiding. Appointments to the Board for Registration of Voters shall be for five (5)
years. Members may reapply and may be appointed for successive terms without limitation.
Members of the Board may be removed for incapacity, negligence, or bad conduct when a
majority of the City Council, Mayor presiding vote to remove the member pursuant to Chapter
129 of the Burlington City Charter. In addition and pursuant to this same section, when in the
judgment of two-thirds of the City Council, on the initiative of the Mayor, a member is no
longer effectively serving the city, that member may be removed from the Board.
Therefore because members are expected to actively participate in city elections, meetings and
other Board activities, a member’s continued non-participation in Board activities may result in
the Board’s recommendation to the City Council for removal from the Board.
MEETING ATTENDANCE: Any member who is absent from three (3) or more regular meetings
within any rolling twelve (12) month period shall be subject to review. Attendance is
documented in the official minutes.
ELECTION COVERAGE: Each polling place must be staffed by a Board member during all hours
the polls are open on election day (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.). With twelve (12) members and eight
(8) wards, no individual member is required to serve at every election, but each member must
remain generally available and willing to serve as assigned. The Clerk shall record in the official
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minutes of the next regular meeting which members provided polling place coverage for every
election.
This obligation arises from state law and the Burlington City Charter: 17 V.S.A. § 2144 requires
that voter registration and eligibility issues on Election Day be referred to members of the
board of civil authority (or equivalent body) present at the polling place; and Burlington City
Charter § 43 delegates those checklist duties to the Board for Registration of Voters.
Accordingly, physical presence at each polling place is a legal responsibility of this Board.
REVIEW PROCESS FOR NON-PARTICIPATION: Any member who is consistently unavailable for
election coverage, or who has reached the meeting attendance threshold above, shall be
subject to review. Upon confidential notice to the Chair or Clerk, the member’s record shall be
included on the proposed agenda for the next regular meeting. If the Board votes to include the
item, the Board shall then consider whether to recommend to the City Council that the
member be removed and the vacancy advertised. The Board may not remove a member
directly, but may only recommend removal to the City Council, which retains sole authority
over appointments and vacancies.
 A two-third majority vote of the Board is required for such a recommendation to the City
Council.
OFFICERS: At the first meeting of the Board, following the annual appointments, the Board
shall elect a Chair by majority vote. A Vice Chair and Secretary may be elected at the discretion
of the Board. Terms of office shall be one year.
QUORUM: A simple majority of the Board shall be considered a quorum
MEETINGS AND MINUTES: The Board for Registration of Voters shall hold meetings on the first
Tuesday of each month unless otherwise determined by a majority vote of the Board.
Additional meetings are scheduled to accommodate closing of the checklist prior to elections
(Vermont Statute Annotated, Title 17). All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public
except at such times when an executive session is in order. No action shall be taken at any
meeting of the Board without a quorum present. No action shall be taken in executive session.
(See open meeting law)
Roberts Rules of Order revised shall govern proceedings of the Board for all cases which are not
specifically covered by other laws, ordinances, by-laws, or regulations.
Minutes shall be kept of all meetings. The minutes shall be available for public inspection
according to open meeting laws.
WARNINGS OF MEETINGS: In accordance with Vermont Open Meeting Law, the Board shall
provide the Clerk / Treasurer’s Office with notice of regular meetings on or before the Thursday
before the week of the meeting. The Clerk / Treasurer’s Office will warn the meeting. For
special meetings, the Board shall publicly announce at least 24 hours before the meeting the
time, place and purpose with appropriate media and post with the Clerk / Treasurer’s office and
two other public places. Emergency meetings may be held without public announcement,
without posting notices and without 24 hours notices to members, provided some public notice
is given as soon as possible before such meeting.
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SPECIAL MEETINGS: Special meetings of the Board for Registration of Voters may be called by
the Chair, when the Chair deems it expedient or upon the request of two (2) members of the
Board for the purpose of transacting any business designated in the call. In accordance with
Vermont Open Meeting Law, Notice for a special meeting may be made by telephone or other
appropriate technology at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the date of such special
meeting. At such special meeting no business shall be voted on other than that specified in the
call.
ADOPTION OF RULES AND PROCEDURES: The Board may adopt rules and procedures as it may
deem wise for the regulation of its work. Rules may be amended by a two-thirds majority
provided that the proposed amendment(s) have been discussed at two meetings prior to the
meeting at which the amendment(s) will be voted upon.


These Rules and Procedures were adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Board for Registration of
Voters at its meeting on ___________________.




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BURLINGTON BOARD FOR REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
1ST FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL, 149 CHURCH STREET, BURLINGTON,
 VT 05401 OR REMOTELY VIA ZOOM
 MINUTES OF MEETING
 October 7, 2025




1. Call Meeting to Order
1. Call Meeting to Order
Meeting called to order by Vice-Chair Michelle Lefkowitz at 6:00pm.

Members Present: Janet Stambolian, Karen Rowell, Michelle Lefkowitz, Annie Schneider, Grace
Grundhauser, Kevin Lewis, Lauren Ebersol, Adam Franz, Colleen Montgomery, Jeanne Keller, Lesley Gendron,
and Youth Member Will Cunningham

Members Absent: Alison Harte

Others Present: Sarah Montgomery, Assistant City Clerk

2. Agenda
2. Agenda

2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda
2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda
Agenda approved unanimously.


3. Announcements
3. Announcements
There were no announcements.

4. Meeting Length
4. Meeting Length

4.1. Set Meeting Length
4.1. Set Meeting Length
The meeting length was set to one hour.


5. Adopt Minutes
5. Adopt Minutes

Subject
File Attachments
1. 9/2/25 BRV Minutes 9/2/25 BRV Minutes.pdf

5.1. Motion to adopt previous meeting's minutes
Karen Rowell made a motion to adopt the minutes. Seconded by Adam Franz. Approved unanimously.


6. Public Forum
6. Public Forum
No members of the public were present.

7. Clerk's Report
7. Clerk's Report
Sarah Montgomery reported that there are currently 29,231 registered voters in Burlington. Out of this total,
5,100 are currently challenged. In September:180 voters registered to vote, 52 voters were removed from
the checklist, and 101 voters were transferred from Burlington to other Vermont towns.

Sarah reported that the final district boundary audit was submitted to the state. Based on feedback from the
board, additional information about participation of the affected voters was added to the report, better
showing the impact of the incorrect assignments.

8. Approval of Voter Challenges
8. Approval of Voter Challenges
Annie Schneider made a motion to approve the proposed voter challenges. Seconded by Jeanne Keller.
Approved unanimously.

9. Board Member Expectations
9. Board Member Expectations

Subject
File Attachments
1. BRV Rules and Procedures - DRAFT BRV Rules and Procedures - DRAFT.docx

9.1. Rules and Procedures for the Board for the Registration of Voters
Grace Grundhauser explained that this document has been in draft format for many years. The board is now
discussing and updating it, specifically in regard to board member participation expectations. Grace
suggested that the board approve it and keep track of the approved revision dates on the document. Grace
Grundhauser asked Sarah Montgomery if this document should be approved by the attorney's office. Sarah
Montgomery agreed that it could.

Jeanne Keller asked if there should be more specific language about election day attendance — making it
more explicit what the expectations are for attending elections. Will Cunningham agreed that there should be
some more defined structure. Lauren Ebersol agreed, and suggested it be framed similarly to the meeting
attendance requirements. Janet Stambolian asked what the context for making these changes to the
attendance expectations is. Grace Grundhauser said that the rules and procedures didn't previously make it
clear that election day attendance was necessary, but when she looked at statute, she realized that BRV
members are required to be at the polling places because they have authority to determine election day
voter registration eligibility. She also noted that there are more members than polling places, so in theory,
not everyone will always need to work on election day, which is why she drafted language indicating
members should be available. Adam Franz asked what the previous expectations had been. Lauren Ebersol
proposed adding a sentence that says "inability to be available on election day is subject to review." Karen
Rowell suggested increasing the allowance to 3 missed elections before reviewing, since there will inevitably
be valid reasons for members to be unavailable for a single election. Members asked if, when thinking about
the threshold of 3 missed elections, the missed elections should be consecutive or total. Karen Rowell
suggested consecutive. Other members noted that a member could go a really long time without attending
an election if the threshold was 3 consecutive elections missed.

Jeanne Keller noted that in her original proposal, she wanted the process to be more objective, so it would
be an automated process, rather than a member needing to initiate it. Grace Grundhauser noted that she
added into the draft a semi-automatic trigger that would allow members to anonymously add an agenda item
to a meeting if a member had missed enough meetings/elections. Colleen Montgomery said she does not like
the idea of 3 consecutive elections because members could miss elections frequently, but never meet the
threshold for board discussion. She added that the proposed semi-automatic trigger still puts the onus on the
individual board members to report the absences and add the discussion item to an agenda. Kevin Lewis
agreed that he understood that the purpose of the policy would be to automatically add the item to the
agenda, so an individual member would not be required to take action — he would support the processes
being fully automatic to add the discussion to an agenda, even if it would sometimes end up being a
formality and the absences excused by the board.

Michelle Lefkowitz added that all members should be able to work the elections — even if that meant
doubling-up at a polling place. Other members noted that members could also do shorter shifts to allow
everyone the opportunity to work. Lesley Gendron said that one election might be too harsh — she
recommended two missed elections might be the right number. Lauren Ebersol asked if Grace purposely
removed the language about "excused absences" from the draft procedure. Grace Grundhauser said she
removed it intentionally to make the policy simpler and more concise. Adam Franz said he thinks any
absence should be communicated, so he feels comfortable saying any unexcused absence would be
discussed. Will Cunningham said that people's lives are too subjective and circumstantial to define absences
as excused or unexcused - he thinks it should be two consecutive missed elections, with an automatic trigger
to discuss at the next meeting. Janet Stambolian added that if people aren't showing up to do the work that
they have agreed to do, it warrants a discussion.

Annie Schneider made a motion to change the language to: If you miss 2 consecutive elections, there will be
an automatic trigger to discuss at the next meeting, with the board discussing whether the absences are
excused during the meeting. Adam Franz made a friendly amendment to edit the language to miss two
elections in a two-year period. Annie Schneider accepted the amendment.

Grace Grundhauser said that election attendance would be tracked in the minutes of the meeting following
the election. She asked if this would be triggered if a member was not needed for a certain election. Lesley
Gendon stated that everyone should have the opportunity to work at every election. Kevin Lewis suggested
that any excused absence (like having a baby) could be recorded in the minutes prior to the meeting. Grace
Grundhauser said she feels that might muddy things. Grace Grundhauser wanted to clarify if the board
agrees that everyone will be expected to work every election.

Annie Schneider made a motion to call the question. Seconded by Adam Franz. Question called. Question:
Include in the expectations an automatic trigger to add an agenda item for board discussion if a member
misses 2 elections within a 2-year period.

In Favor: Adam Franz, Lauren Ebersol, Karen Rowell, Grace Grundhauser, Annie Schneider, Jeanne Keller,
Colleen Montgomery, Kevin Lewis, Lesley Gendron, Janet Stambolian
Opposed: Michelle Lefkowitz

Motion passed.

Jeanne Keller made a motion that the review process for non-participation be modified in accordance with
the discussion and be brought back to the board next month for further review. Seconded by Colleen
Montgomery. Passed unanimously.

Grace Grundhauser will amend the draft document per the discussion and present at the next meeting.




10. New Business
10. New Business
Karen Rowell said there will be action requested of the City Council about the recent BRV member
appointment decision, because she feels she should not be the only Republican on the board. She stated that
the City Council should have appointed the conservative applicant who applied. She stated that there should
be 3 Republicans on the board, and it is not fair that the conservative applicant was not appointed by City
Council. She noted that 37% of the voters in Burlington voted for President Trump, and they should be
represented by the board. She stated that she is suing the city for non-citizen voting, and that she felt
attacked by the board after a resolution regarding that was adopted. She stated that she is in support of
legal immigration. She shared that it is difficult speaking about issues with the board, when everyone else
has opposing political views.

Will Cunningham said that he thinks that it is a good idea to add Republicans to the board — he asked how
that would happen logistically.

Annie Schneider noted that she is hearing the hurt and anger from Karen Rowell. Annie noted that it seems
that City Council followed the procedures correctly because the applicant was not listed as a Republican.
Grace Grundauser said that she heard Annie saying that the letter of the law was followed, but also heard
Karen saying that the spirit of the law was not followed.

Jeanne Keller noted that the quality of the applicant should also be considered — she does not believe that
the City Council deserves the criticism being directed at them.

Grace Grundhauser noted that conversations within the board are welcome, but discouraged back and
fourths between individual members.

Will Cunningham agreed that political representation is important, and he noted that the rule about political
party requirements is to avoid subjective decisions by the appointing board. He asked what action was being
asked of the board. Karen Rowell said that the request for action is being brought to City Council, not to the
BRV.

Annie Schneider said that despite political differences, she appreciates working with Karen Rowell on this
board. Grace Grundhauser echoed the sentiment. Karen Rowell said it takes courage to speak up in this
group, and it can be intimidating.

Colleen Montgomery made a motion to extend the meeting by 5 minutes. Seconded by Janet Stambolian.
Motion passed.

Janet Stambolian asked why Jeff Comstock ran as an Independent. Karen Rowell answered that it is because
being a Republican in Burlington is toxic. She noted that Jeff Comstock was a ward clerk and is well
qualified.

Colleen Montgomery asked about rules for party representation on the board. Grace Grundauser explained
that if there is an applicant from an underrepresented major party, City Council should appoint that
member.




11. Adjournment
11. Adjournment

11.1. Motion to Adjourn
11.1. Motion to Adjourn
Annie Schneider made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by Lauren Ebersol. Passed unanimously.