NPA - All Wards — Burlington, VT
Date: 2025-12-09
Time: 17:30

All Wards NPA Meeting Agenda
 Tuesday, December 9, 2025
 5:30pm-7:30pm

 Join in person: Contois Auditorium, 2nd floor City Hall, 149 Church St
 Join virtually: https://zoom.us/j/91083047703



Facilitator: Jason Note Taker: Barbara




5:30 Introductions | 5 min


5:35 VT Open Meeting Law Review | 25 min

 • Presentation and Q&A with Assistant City Attorney Emmett Wood


6:00 Discussion: NPA Resolution Implementation | 30 min

 • Jonathan Chapple-Sokol (Ward 1) and Barbara Turnbull (Dept. of Finance and
 Administration)


6:30 Discussion: Resolutions to present across all NPAs | 25 min


6:55 Building Civic Culture: What role can NPAs play? | 25 min

 • Jason Van Driesche (Ward 5)


7:20 Next Steps | 10 min


7:30 Adjourn

All Wards NPA Meeting Agenda
 Tuesday, December 9, 2025
 5:30pm-7:30pm

 Join in person: Contois Auditorium, 2nd floor City Hall, 149 Church St
 Join virtually: https://zoom.us/j/91083047703



Facilitator: TBD Note Taker: TBD




5:30 Introductions | 5 min


5:35 VT Open Meeting Law Review | 25 min

 • Presentation and Q&A with Assistant City Attorney Emmett Wood


6:00 Discussion: NPA Resolution Implementation | 30 min

 • Jonathan Chapple-Sokol (Ward 1) and Barbara Turnbull (Dept. of Finance and
 Administration)


6:30 Discussion: Resolutions to present across all NPAs | 25 min


6:55 Building Civic Culture: What role can NPAs play? | 25 min

 • Jason Van Driesche (Ward 5)


7:20 Next Steps | 10 min


7:30 Adjourn




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ERIK RAMAKRISHNAN, ESQ.
ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY




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Page 3 of 35
WHAT IS A PUBLIC BODY?

“[A]ny board, council, or commission of the State or one or more of its political
subdivisions, any board, council, or commission of any agency, authority, or
instrumentality of the State or one or more of its political subdivisions, or any
committee or subcommittee of any of the foregoing boards, councils, or
commissions, except that ‘public body’ does not include councils or similar groups
established by the Governor for the sole purpose of advising the Governor with
respect to policy.”


 - 1 V.S.A. § 310(6)



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WHAT IS A PUBLIC BODY?

 “This means the open meeting law governs the meetings of local selectboards and
school boards, planning commissions and development review boards, boards of
civil authority and of abatement, auditors and listers, municipal public library
trustees, cemetery and recreation commissions, and various other groups
referenced in state statute or by a town’s charter. It also applies to the meetings of
any committee or subcommittee that is created or empowered by a public body to
do its work, no matter its size.”


 - Secretary of State Guide to Open Meetings



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WHAT IS A PUBLIC BODY?
What distinguishes a public body from a group responsible for the routine administration of an agency? A public body
“aids in the conduct of the people’s business”.

Factors to consider include:
- Exercise of policymaking authority
- Delegation of power by governing body
- Answerable to governing body or to a chief executive officer
- Receipt of staff support


 Animal Legal Def. Fund, Inc. v. Instit’l Animal Care & Use Comm. of UVM,
 159 Vt. 133, 138 (1992)




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WHAT IS A MEETING?


“[A] gathering of a quorum of the members of a public
body for the purpose of discussing the business of the
public body or for the purpose of taking action.”
 - 1 V.S.A. § 310(5)

 This does not include …


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WHAT ISN’T A MEETING?

“[A]ny communication, including in person or through e-mail,
telephone, or teleconferencing, between members of a public body
for the purpose of scheduling a meeting, organizing an agenda, or
distributing materials to discuss at a meeting, provided that:
 (i) no other business of the public body is discussed or conducted;
 and
 (ii) such a communication that results in written or recorded
 information shall be available for inspection and copying under the
 Public Records Act[.]”

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WHAT ISN’T A MEETING?

“[O]ccasions when a quorum of a public body attends social
gatherings, conventions, conferences, training programs, press
conferences, media events, or otherwise gathers, provided that the
public body does not discuss specific business of the public body
that, at the time of the exchange, the participating members expect to
be business of the public body at a later time.”




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WHAT ISN’T A MEETING?


“[A] gathering of a quorum of a public body at a duly
warned meeting of another public body, provided that the
attending public body does not take action on its business.”




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WHAT ISN’T A MEETING?

The deliberations of any public body in connection with a quasi-judicial proceeding, where
“quasi-judicial proceeding” means:
- a proceeding governed by the Vermont APA, or
- “a case in which the legal rights of one or more persons who are granted party status are
  adjudicated, which is conducted in such a way that all parties have opportunity to present
  evidence and to cross-examine witnesses presented by other parties, which results in a written
  decision, and the result of which is appealable by a party to a higher authority ”.
NOTE: “Deliberations” refers to the decision-making process, not the taking of argument or
evidence from the parties.
 - 1 V.S.A. §§ 310(3), (8), 312(e), (f)




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WHAT ISN’T A MEETING?


“[S]ite inspections for the purpose of assessing
damage or making tax assessments or
abatements.”
 - 1 V.S.A. § 312(g)




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REQUIREMENTS OF A MEETING

1. Held in public except for executive session.
2. Required notice given.
3. Minutes kept.
4. Reasonable opportunity for public to speak, so long as order is maintained.
 (I.e., a public meeting is a limited public forum, and there can be rules of
 decorum reasonably related to the purpose of the forum.)




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REQUIRED NOTICE

• Post agenda 48 hours before regular meeting
• Post agenda 24 hours before special meeting
• Post online (if website exists), at municipal office, two other designated places in municipality, & on
  request
• Not required before “emergency” meeting “to respond to an unforeseen occurrence or condition
  requiring immediate attention by the public body”.
• Required for adjourned meeting if time/place not announced prior to adjournment.
• Agenda must state where public can participate in-person and/or online in the meeting.
• Per Secretary of State: “In keeping with the law’s intent, an agenda should allow interested members
  of the public to be reasonably informed about what specific topics will be discussed, and what actions
  may be taken, at the meeting.”
• The agenda requirement is generally understood to mean that action should occur only on warned
  items.


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ADDING ITEMS TO AGENDA

“If a public body wishes to add or delete an item from an agenda after it has been
posted, it may only do so as the first act of business at the meeting. 1 V.S.A. §
312(d)(3)(A). We recommend that last-minute agenda items, especially those requiring
board action, be added at a meeting only in an emergency. In other situations, a better
practice is to handle items that were not included on the posted agenda at the next
regular meeting or, if necessary, to call a special meeting so that the public gets notice
of the item and has an opportunity to attend and participate. Other adjustments to the
agenda, such as reordering agenda items, may be made at any time during a meeting.
1 V.S.A. § 312(d)(3)(B).” –Sec’y of State
“Our opinion is that the language in 1 V.S.A. § 312(d)(3)(A) does not give a public body
free reign to alter a meeting agenda at the last minute. Instead, our advice is that once
the deadline for posting an agenda has passed (48 hours in advance of a regular
meeting and 24 hours in advance of a special meeting) items should only be added to
that agenda when necessary to deal with an unforeseen occurrence or condition
requiring immediate action.” -VLTC

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SERIAL MEETINGS /
GROUP ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
• Serial meetings are not expressly forbidden in Vermont, but the
  Secretary of State counsels against them.
• Passive receipt of information on a collective basis is not a
  meeting, but communication back-and-forth likely is in view of 1
  V.S.A. § 310(5)(B).
 vAgenda setting vs. substantive
 vEmail addresses in Bcc
 vReminder not to hit “reply all”



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ACTION MINUTES REQUIRED

• Post five calendar days after meeting
• Must include ONLY the following:
 (A) all members of the public body present;
 (B) all other active participants in the meeting;
 (C) all motions, proposals, and resolutions made, offered, and considered, and what
 disposition is made of same; and
 (D) the results of any votes, with a record of the individual vote of each member if a roll
 call is taken. - 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(1).




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EXECUTIVE SESSION

• Requires 2/3 vote
• Requires separate motion re substantial disadvantage if re: contract negotiations,
  labor negotiations, arbitration/mediation, grievances (other than tax grievances),
  pending/probable civil litigation, or to confer with counsel.
• Also available for: real estate negotiations, personnel/disciplinary matters,
  security/emergency matters, &c.




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ACT 133 – HYBRID MEETINGS




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ADVISORY BODIES

“[A] public body that does not have supervision, control, or jurisdiction over
legislative, quasi-judicial, tax, or budgetary matters.” – 1 V.S.A. § 310(1)


Example: A planning commission in a town without zoning, such that the
commission’s only function is to advise the Selectboard on the adoption,
amendment, or repeal of a town plan.


NEW RULE: Subject to a request for access (discussed below), advisory bodies
may meet entirely remotely.



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WHAT IS A NON-ADVISORY BODY

A non-advisory body is a body that is not an advisory body. In other words, an
advisory body has decision-making authority. Specifically, it can do one or more of
the following: (1) adopt legislation, (2) hold quasi-judicial hearings, (3) make tax-
related decisions, or (4) make budgetary decisions. If a body exercises any of
these powers, it is non-advisory even if it spends nearly all its time advising a
municipal governing body.
Examples include selectboards/city councils, boards of civil authority, a planning
commission in a town that hears development review applications, DRBs, etc.




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NEW RULES FOR NON-ADVISORY BODIES

• Can meet remotely, but must have a staffed designated location
  where members of the public can attend in-person (i.e., hybrid
  meeting).
• SHALL conduct meetings in hybrid format in response to a request
  for access.
• Meetings must be recorded and posted for at least 30 days after
  minutes approved.



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REQUESTS FOR ACCESS

• Made by member of body, resident of municipality, or the press.
• For remote meetings of advisory body: request is to participate in-person from a
  designated location.
• For in-person meetings of non-advisory body: request is to conduct the meeting
  in a hybrid format.
• Request must be in writing at least two business days in advance.
• No reason for request is required.
• Must make a separate request for each meeting. No blanket requests.




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DENIAL OF REQUEST FOR ACCESS

A request for access shall be granted unless:
(1) A state of emergency or all-hazards event has been declared;
(2) A “local incident” has occurred (defined below); or
(3) Granting the request would result in “undue hardship”.




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WHAT IS AN UNDUE HARDSHIP?


• Compliance would be significantly difficult or expensive in
  light of the agency’s available resources.
• Agency has the burden of proof.
• More likely to pass muster in a small town than in a larger
  city.




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LOCAL INCIDENT - DEFINITION

• “[A] weather event, loss of power or telecommunication services,
  public health emergency, public safety threat, received threat that a
  member of the public body believes may place the member or
  another person in reasonable apprehension of death or serious
  bodily injury, or other event that directly impedes the ability of a
  public body to hold a meeting electronically or in a designated
  physical location.” – 1 V.S.A. § 312a(a)(4).
• Requires a written declaration by the highest ranking member of the
  public body.


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LOCAL INCIDENT - IMPLICATIONS

In case of a local incident, “all-hazards” incident (defined in 20 V.S.A. § 2(1)), or
declared state of emergency, the following apply:
• Meeting can be fully remote as befits the circumstances (e.g., in case of a
  blizzard that prevents driving to an in-person meeting).
• Meeting can be in-person even if hybrid otherwise required, as befits the
  circumstances (e.g., in case of loss of telecommunications services).
• In lieu of usual posting rules, meeting notice can be posted two designated places
  online or one designated public place and one designated place online.




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ADDITIONAL MATTERS

• New training requirements. See 1 V.S.A. § 312(k).
• Post online a copy of the text of 1 V.S.A. § 314 (penalties and enforcement) and
  an explanation of the procedures for submitting notice of an Open Meeting Law
  violation to the public body or the Attorney General.
• New recording requirements w/ respect to informational meetings held prior to
  town meeting day. See 17 V.S.A. § 2640(b)(2).




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Draft Vermont Open Letter to Educational Leadership – December 2025



Burlington’s Ward 1 Neighborhood Planning Association is writing in support of the
Vermont School Redistricting Task Force’s Map for the Future: The Vermont Regional
Education Model. We feel the Task Force has objectively reviewed the data and Vermont’s
educational landscape and have created a process by which change can be made that will
reduce costs while improving educational opportunity as well as maintaining Vermont’s
treasured local character.

They reiterate the well-understood and evidenced-based fact that district consolidation in
and of itself does not save money, nor does it improve access to quality education. Rather,
the Task Force identifies savings in BOCES-type structures that create the opportunity for
districts to work together in the financial sphere as well as leave open paths to share
student opportunities. Further, without a complete and complex overhaul of the whole
States’ school administrative structure, this creates a collaborative environment that can
grow. And by being strategic and voluntary in consolidation, residents of Vermont’s
communities retain control over their destinies and only merge districts where true
advantages are identified. Finally, a plan to create more regional high schools brings
communities together and revitalizes our old and costly-to-maintain. It would also result
in regional standardization of educational opportunity, to the great benefit of our children.



Please heed the product of the Task Force and recognize it as the work of a group of folks
who are deeply committed to improving the educational landscape in Vermont.




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All Wards NPA Meeting Minutes
 Tuesday, December 9, 2025
 5:30pm-7:30pm

 Join in person: Contois Auditorium, 2nd floor City Hall, 149 Church St
 Join virtually: https://zoom.us/j/91083047703

Facilitator: Jonathan Note Taker: Barbara

Steering Committee members present:

Ward 1: Jonathan Chapple-Sokol, Carol Livingston, Rob Gutman

Ward 2: Charlie Giannoni, Nora Aronds

Ward 3: Charlie Messing

Ward 4: Amy Bielawski-Branch

Ward 8: Tom Carroll

Others present:

Emmett Wood, Assistant City Attorney

Tenzin Chokden, Assistant City Clerk

Barbara Turnbull, NPA Public Engagement Specialist



5:30 Introductions | 5 min

 • Steering Committee members and staff in attendance introduced themselves with
 names and wards.


5:35 VT Open Meeting Law Review | 25 min

 • Assistant City Attorney Emmett Wood gave an overview of Vermont Open Meeting Law
 and its implications for the NPAs. [See slides & recording attached on Civic Clerk]
 • Carol: what about agenda setting meetings with the Steering Committee? Emmett:
 these do not count as open meetings as long as the meetings are purely
 logistical/informational, and not discussing business of the NPA.
 • Amy: what becomes NPA business – can we talk about issues that came up in the last
 meeting in terms of facilitation? Emmett: there is a lot of grey area, trust your gut
 feeling about what is business vs. logistics.
 • Charlie G: where are the physical agenda posting locations? Emmett: any public
 signs/posts count; Barbara: there is a city process for posting in municipal locations
 (library, e.g.) so all the Steering Committees need to do is send Barbara the agenda at
 least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.
 • Emmett emphasized that the Burlington City Attorney’s office recommends adding last-
 minute agenda items only in an emergency situation, because the spirit of the law is to
 inform people ahead of time what will be discussed.
 • Tom: instead of adding an item last minute, can we table it to the next meeting?
 Emmett: yes, particularly if it is a voting item. Jonathan: do all voting items need to be
 specified on the agenda? Emmett: yes they do.
 • Tom: does OML restrict an NPA member/Steering Committee member’s ability to speak
 as a private citizen? Emmett: no, it has no bearing on your speech as an individual.
 • Emmett clarified that advisory bodies (like the NPAs) CAN hold entirely remote
 meetings, although it would not be in the spirit of NPA meetings. If there were a request
 for a physical location, then the NPA would be required to provide that location.
 • Nora: is it best practice to have our meeting location in the ward, or can it be anywhere
 in the municipality? Emmett: it can be anywhere, though your bylaws may specify it
 needs to be in the ward.
 • Amy: can we ever ask someone to leave our meeting, if they are being aggressive?
 Emmett: the City Council handles this by simply shutting down the meeting. We can’t
 restrict public forum so instead they shut it down. You can put reasons why someone
 would be asked to leave in your bylaws, but otherwise it is an open public forum and
 that could be discriminatory. Emmett is happy to work with SCs on bylaws.
 • Barbara: if the 48 hour deadline to post the agenda is missed, can you call it a special
 meeting? Emmett: it depends, but if you know it’s “special” just because you missed the
 deadline, that’s not good, probably should cancel the meeting.
 • Rob: what happens if there is an OML violation? Emmett: City Attorney’s office reviews
 the complaint and will ask if you think you violated OML. There is a 14 day period to
 respond. If no, then they say no. If yes, then you have to “cure” the violation, and if not
 you may be sued 


6:00 Discussion: NPA Resolution Implementation | 30 min

 • Jonathan read clauses from the new NPA resolution [see attachment on Civic Clerk] and
 opened up discussion about creating a standardized process for the NPAs to
 communicate their annual priorities. He suggested that as a group, the NPA would
 define top 3 priorities towards the beginning of the City Council session.
 • Tom: should we have a collective process between wards, if there is overlap of topics?
 Issues will come up ward by ward, with a lot in common. How effective is it to flood the
 CC with 8 different wards’ priorities? Scattered approach or more coordinated?
• Jonathan: Ward 1&8 have UVM/Hospital in common. We could compile issues among
 wards in a digital “list” or in a meeting.
• Amy: is this a written report for City Council, or a meeting? How are the priorities
 delivered?
• Rob: is it between the NPA and the full council, or the ward’s councilors specifically?
• Carol: What “counts” as the process for giving input? Where in the process do we have
 meaningful input? It’s up to our councilors to pay attention.
• Jonathan: there are things that only one ward cares about. If it’s not documented, we
 can’t say you should have known. Want the city councilors to act in good faith based on
 the NPA’s documented priorities.
• Barbara: question about what the timeline would look like for identifying and
 communicating the priorities if they are annual. Suggestion that NPAs make sure the
 priorities they’re sending are specific, actionable, with an “ask” for the council/specific
 members. Who is going to be accountable?
• Amy: we need to be backtracking. If we present the priorities in April, then we need to
 discuss at the NPA ahead of time to determine the list.
• Carol: let’s start with our city councilors. In the future it can evolve.
• Rob: our councilors are accountable to us.
• Nora: agree, it doesn’t need to be the full council.
• Jonathan: this communication should come shortly after new councilors are seated.
• Nora: we can give them a roadmap.
• Tom: our councilors basically know our priorities, then they go to the council and just
 have 1 voice. That is the current system between councilors and the NPAs. What if we
 had a more collective voice?
• Rob: councilors have their perception of the issues. This would be the NPA’s perception.
• Carol: Expectation that councilors will pause on items that impact their ward. Councilors
 know this is something we’re working on – they passed the resolution. They are
 expecting a process they need to participate in.
• Nora: in another ward, there was a significant disagreement b/t Steering Committee and
 city councilor – councilor stopped showing up. This could help resolve.
• Jonathan: there could be one list of all NPA priorities on the consent agenda for Council
 – everyone sees it, everyone knows this is a Ward 8 priority.
• Tom: that is a key point.
• Barbara: “priorities” doesn’t have to be policy issues, they could be budget priorities too
• Charlie M: the NPAs are going to present to the council on the issues their ward
 identifies? Are they separate presentations?
• Jonathan: each NPA sets their priorities. Maybe there is a discussion with their
 councilors. Then a piece of paper goes to the council – formally logged/consent agenda.
• Barbara: could have a group come and amplify
 • Jonathan: we should bring this back to the NPAs and discuss. Then we compare notes at
 an All Wards in late March/early April. Then we create a document for the council.
 • Charlie: there are some issues that disappear for a long time – Memorial Auditorium.
 • Jonathan: I think it’s on the Monday agenda.
 • Carol: Summarizes the process of bringing this conversation back to the NPAs
 • Amy: Do you have councilors speak every time at the NPA meetings?
 • Ward 1, Ward 8: yes we do
 • Tom: do you limit the time for public comment?
 • Nora: we don’t have a separate agenda item for councilors, but they can discuss for 2
 min during public forum. Everyone gets 2 mins in public forum.
 • Carol: we don’t limit public forum at Ward 1. City Council/School board has limitation –
 red light. There is no conversation, that’s their protocol. The NPA is where that happens.
 It’s concerning that city councilors don’t feel welcome or that they don’t have a slot
 because that’s a key part of the NPAs is back and forth between elected officials and
 residents. This is the civic piece that is missing from other meetings.
 • Barbara: Other parts of the resolution – updating NPA documents. The Steering
 Committee handbook was last updated in 2018, working on a new draft and need
 volunteers to help review it.
 • Carol: Another clause is about NPA representation on the hiring process for staff liaison.
 We’ve spoken up about the hiring process, it’s a key issue for Charlie G. How does that
 get implemented?
 • Barbara: could be volunteer role or elected
 • Jonathan: we asked for a volunteer from each ward. Then it can be drawing names out
 of a hat.
 • Rob: is this eight people or one?
 • Jonathan: one person
 • Rob: what’s the mechanics of picking someone
 • Jonathan: when we did the resolution, we got 4 people volunteering for 3 positions and
 picked randomly.
 • Rob: each NPA puts one candidate forward, then the rep is chosen randomly.
 • Jonathan: that could be the process. that’s what we did but it wasn’t documented. We
 can talk through the process in the next meeting – whether we want to vet people or
 just pick someone out of the steering committee members. Or it could be anybody.
6:30 Discussion: Resolutions to present across all NPAs | 25 min

 • Jonathan: Ward 1 has written a letter that would go to education leaders across the
 state that endorses the redistricting task force report. [See attachment on Civic Clerk] It
 would go to local and state officials and governor’s office. The point is to amplify
 individuals’ voices on this issue, it’s not just a Ward 1 issue but would go out from the
 Ward 1 NPA. There are other city-wide issues that we care about that the NPAs could
 weigh in on. What could a procedure be? Should they be stored some place, then other
 wards can sign on? There is a shelf life, so we would need a real-time process to share
 things. Eg: GMT bus issues. We can build our voices and make a difference.
• Amy: yes yes yes. New to the Steering Committee, can you explain how you came up
 with this open letter and presented to the NPA?
• Jonathan: at the last meeting we talked with Sen. Gulick about the redistricting work.
• Carol: and our school board commissioners!
• Jonathan: we wanted to write a letter, I got together with the commissioners and wrote
 a letter. Then put it in the agenda and on FPF. Had we warned it as a vote, we would
 hand out copies and ask the NPA to endorse. We could modify it. We don’t have 2
 readings in bylaws, as long as it was warned we could bring it to the meeting and vote.
• Carol: warning requirement is due to OML, not our bylaws
• Nora: do we need something more formal than an email to All Wards that we are doing
 an open letter?
• Carol: we’ve done that before
• Jonathan: ward 5 has brought things to All Wards meeting before. It could also be an
 email. Or a folder/google drive.
• Amy: some issues could be really powerful coming from the NPA or multiple NPAs. Ward
 4/7 hasn’t done a resolution. We could make a huge difference, I support the idea.
• Tom: is this a way of influencing political process? Or enhancing the voice of the NPAs?
• Jonathan: yes, also amplifying our individual voices, it’s both. The resolution is saying
 city, take the NPAs more seriously, we can help make this a better place. This helps to
 build up the NPAs and their efficacy.
• Barbara: Ward 3 sent their resolution to the media and got some coverage. Send NPA
 resolutions to elected officials and also the media.
• Charlie: previous mayor disregarded our input. Our suggestions went nowhere.
• Jonathan: with the redistricting committee, both recommendations were ignored. As
 NPAs, none of us came to Council to say, read this report. If we had organized as a group
 things may have gone differently. This is about more formal, active advocacy.
• Barbara: will look into civic clerk, google drive options for sharing letters/resolutions
 across wards and tracking who wants to sign on. Form submission on NPA page.
• Jonathan: we should have an open system for all NPA participants to have access
• Carol: the NPA resolution was passed unanimously, it has enabled us to take an active
 role in neighborhood advocacy. We don’t make decisions, but we have people who
 come to meetings and want to be part of changing Burlington.
• Charlie M: many people feel like nothing they say or do will matter. Young people feel
 like everything is on the line. We need more perspective. The internet separates people,
 community has to bring people together.
• Tom: we should put the letter on our next agenda. Our school board rep could facilitate
 a discussion.
 • Carol: Governor makes assumptions on how Vermonters think, this would be a way to
 give feedback about what we think.
6:55 Building Civic Culture: What role can NPAs play? | 25 min

 • Jason Van Driesche (Ward 5)


7:20 Next Steps | 10 min

 • Jonathan: we should rotate which ward is planning and facilitating for All Wards
 meetings. Carol organized these for quite a while and it was challenging. What if we all
 took on the responsibility?
 • Rob: do we need to warn these meetings?
 • Barbara: it is a bunch of SC members in one place talking NPA business. Will ask Emmett
 because this is not an official body.
 • Jonathan: is there another ward who would like to work with Barbara to organize the
 next meeting?
 • Amy: Wards 4/7 can do the meeting after next but we aren’t ready yet
 • Nora: not sure how the rest of the committee will feel but nominates ward 2!
 • Carol: April?
 • Nora: What do I need to bring to fellow Ward 2 SC members?
 • Jonathan: how we are collecting priorities/implementing the new NPA resolution.
 Making sure everyone reads up on OML. Shared resolutions across NPAs. Building civic
 culture would be great for the next agenda (Jason’s item).
 • Charlie: question about the great streets project and if Pine is going to be connected
 • Jonathan: that’s part of the plan and it’s funded
 • Carol: city councilors should know the answer
 • Charlie G: 2010-2020 is when NPAs were most influential. Then covid and everything
 collapsed. There were regular All Wards meetings every 3-4 months and city staff would
 come to some of the SCs. NPAs were more cooperative. They would sponsor big events
 – discussion about Burlington Telecom, what to do about parks, public works. When the
 NPAs banded together, Council would take it more seriously than 5-10 people in a room.
 Idea that every Sept or Oct we have an automatic all wards meeting to talk priorities
 and then set dates to follow up. The NPA coordinator was very active with the SCs and
 organizing events.
7:30 Adjourn