Ward 6 NPA — Burlington, VT
Date: 2026-05-07
Time: 18:30

Ward 6 NPA Meeting Agenda
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Location: Department of Public Works, 645 Pine Street

Or on zoom: https://zoom.us/j/81027856568

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

6:30 Call to Order,
 • Introductions
 • Announcements
 • Steering Committee Membership

6:45 Department of Public Works, Summer Construction Plans (Chapin Spencer, Robert Goulding)

7:00 350.org on McNeil Generating Plant (Pike Porter, Nik Persampieri)

7:30 Parallel Justice Commission and Burlington Police Department (Hannah Brislin, Deputy Chief
Young)

8:00 City Council Report (Buddy Singh and Becca Brown McKnight, invited)

8:15 Adjourn

Ward 6 NPA Meeting Agenda
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Location: Department of Public Works, 645 Pine Street

Or on zoom: https://zoom.us/j/81027856568

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

6:30 Call to Order,
 • Introductions
 • Announcements
 • Steering Committee Membership

6:45 Department of Public Works, Summer Construction Plans (Chapin Spencer, Robert Goulding)

7:00 350.org on McNeil Generating Plant (Pike Porter, Nik Persampieri)

7:30 Parallel Justice Commission and Burlington Police Department (Hannah Brislin, Deputy Chief
Young)

8:00 City Council Report (Buddy Singh and Becca Brown McKnight, invited)

8:15 Adjourn




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DPW:
2026 CONSTRUCTION
Our Mission is to steward Burlington's
infrastructure and environment by delivering
efficient, effective, and equitable public services.

Chapin Spencer, Director
Cspencer@burlingtonvt.gov/802 - 863 - 9094
Robert Goulding, Public Information Manager
RGoulding@burlingtonvt.gov/802 - 881 - 2278
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THE TWO BIG PROJECTS
Main Street & the Champlain Parkway are
both anticipated to wrap up in early summer.

Both projects are on - time, and on - budget.

These projects are unlocking the potential for
additional housing & commerce while providing
enhanced infrastructure for residents




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CHAMPLAIN
PARKWAY
• 25MPH road
• Connects South End with
 Downtown
• Stormwater improvements
• Pedestrian enhancements: signals,
 shorter crossings, new sidewalks
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WHAT’S LEFT TO DO
(tentative schedules below)
Pine Street
• Roadway sign installation
• Signal activation (week of May 4)
• Pavement (Main Street) and sidewalk repairs (misc. along Pine) (upcoming weeks)
• General clean up
Champlain Parkway
• Overhead sign structure installation (continues)
• Roadway sign installation (starting next week, continuing)
• Final wearing course of pavement onto I - 189 and the ramps
• Pavement markings and line striping installation
• Traffic signal modification intersection of Home Avenue at the Champlain Parkway
• Full Parkway opening logistics (early Summer)
 • Signal timing adjustments for final condition along Champlain Parkway


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MAIN STREET

• A welcoming gateway into Vermont’s
  Queen City
• Wider sidewalks for pedestrians &
  commerce
• More trees & gardens
• Enhanced lighting
• Abandonment of ravine sewer
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WHAT’S LEFT TO
DO
• Sidewalks
• Signals
• Tree plantings
• Paving
• Public Art


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CHERRY ST


Near final design
Construction could start in 2027, though may begin later




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Ward 6
Work Since
2017

*Paving in orange
*Sidewalk in red




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SIDEWALKS

The season has started!
$1.65M contract + additional work with in - house
crew
3.1 miles planned overall - hitting our annual target
Contract largely funded by 2025 Town Meeting Day
Bond


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SIDEWALKS
• Developed using the City’s 2021 citywide sidewalk inventory,
• Prioritizes based on utilization, location, and sidewalk condition.
  Utilization refers to both the expected level of use and the types of
  users.
• Location considers the sidewalk’s proximity to schools, neighborhood
  activity centers, employment centers, etc.
• In addition, staff review resident requests, perform field inspections,
  and coordinate sidewalk improvements with other City projects.
• This information is combined and considered to create a work plan
  that makes sense for effective mobilization of a contractor




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 SIDEWALKS**




 **Short run segments not all included, but does include W6
 adjacent Sidewalk and bumpout on St Paul St in front of Decker
Towers to improve pedestrian safety and drainage at the existing
 crosswalk Page 12 of 47
PAVING

Asphalt plants are open!
$1.7M contract + remaining work from CY 25
Total ~3.5 miles planned for the year
Largely funded by 2025 TMD Bond
Larger workplan being developed for 2027 - 2030




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PAVING
BACKGROUND
 • Street network consists of over 96 miles of streets.
 • Classified as Primary/Arterial, Secondary/Collector and Tertiary/Residential.
 • Each street type has different anticipated lifespan generally based on average daily traffic
 volumes.
 • In order to keep pace with the anticipated lifespan of the Burlington Street network,
 minimum target is 4 miles/year.

PRIORITIZATION
 • There are a number of factors DPW Staff consider when selecting streets to pave and
 patch.
 • Funding, street condition, street type/traffic volume, nearby projects and resident requests

HEADWINDS
While this year we had our most competitive bid environment in awhile, inflation & fuel
prices have eaten into available construction funding




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 PAVING*




 Remaining 2025 contract
 streets
 College Union - Willard
 Pearl Battery - Winooski

*Includes patches on lower North Ave, Lake St,
 Archibald St, Intervale Rd
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WATER WORKS!
Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades
 • Stage 0 remains on target for completion this summer/fall. This
 is a major first step to begin comprehensive upgrades funded
 by 2025 TMD bond
 • Screening & grit equipment being installed at all 3 plants

Water main improvement project
 • Includes: Pine St (from S Crest to Home Ave), Summit St (Maple
 to Main), and all of Bennington Court (coordinated with paving)

Manhattan Ave Stormwater Outfall: late summer/early fall




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Page 17 of 47
WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR WATER:

 https://vt.adopt-a-drain.org/




 https://seagrant.w3.uvm.edu/blue/



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 STAY INFORMED
 STAY IN TOUCH
 Maintenance Construction Customer
 Requests Impacts Service




 • Front Porch Forum
 See Click Fix: 802 - 863 - 9094
 • Signage
burlingtonvt.gov/dpw • VT - Alert:
 dpw - pinecustomerservice
 burlingtonvt.gov/
 @burlingtonvt.gov
 construction

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THANK YOU Page 20 of 47
Burlington’s McNeil Plant:
 A CASE FOR CLOSURE
 A presentation to Burlington’s NPAs
 By 350 Vermont’s Chittenden Node & Stop VT Biomass




 SPRING 2026


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McNeil Plant Basics

• Commenced operation June 1984
• Located in Burlington’s Intervale
• Burns wood to generate electricity
• 50 MW (largest electricity generator in Vermont)
• Jointly owned by Burlington Electric Department (BED) (operator and 50%
  owner),Green Mountain Power (31%) and Vermont Public Power Supply
  Authority (19%)
• Provides 32-45% of BEDs total power supply (FY 2015-2023).



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The Case Against McNeil Plant

• Largest stationary source of greenhouse gas emissions in VT
• Harmful to health - particulate matter and other pollutants which leads to or
  exacerbates health conditions
• Negative impact on forest ecosystems and the benefits they provide.
• It costs a lot- the power it produces is expensive.
• It’s old and inefficient




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 McNeil’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions


“Burning wood to generate electricity emits more carbon dioxide per kilowatt-
 hour generated than fossil fuels- even coal, the most carbon intensive fuel.”
-John Sterman, William Moomaw, Juliette N. Rooney-Varga & Lori Siegel, Does wood bioenergy help or
 harm the climate?, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol 78, No. 3 (2022) 130.

McNeil emitted 316,405 tons of CO2 in 2025 (EPA). It also emits lesser amounts of
  the greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide. Fossil-fuel powered equipment and
 vehicles used to pull wood feedstock from the forests and transport it to the plant emits
 additional greenhouse gases.




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The Carbon Neutrality Myth

BED claims that McNeil is carbon neutral because BED engages in
sustainable forestry and the carbon dioxide emissions from its stack are re-
sequestered by trees as they regrow.
This is a myth. When trees are burned the carbon dioxide is released
immediately creating a carbon debt which takes decades to centuries to
eliminate through tree regrowth.
Also, regrowth is uncertain. Harvested areas may be converted to other
land uses or trees may succumb to insects, disease or drought.
 John Sterman, et al.; EU Bioenergy, Bioenergy Accelerates Climate Change,
https://www.eubioenergy.com/the-5-issues/it-accelerates-climate-change/




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 BED Theory :
“Closed Loop” Carbon Cycle
 NASA carbon cycle model




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Reality:
Wood burning power plants emit
more CO2 per unit energy and also
degrade the forest carbon sink.
The result is higher atmospheric CO2
concentrations.




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Ecological Harm

• Burlington Electric claims: “McNeil’s wood supply is primarily 88.4% in-woods
  chips/residues such as the tops and limbs left over from higher-value wood products,
  with an additional 9.7% from sawmill residue and 1.6% from waste-wood yard wood.”
 (Bold added)
 - McNeil, Climate and Forestry, BED website.

• The reality: McNeil’s burns “Whole Tree Chips,” which include chips generated by
  cutting down and chipping whole trees.
-PUC Dkt. No. 4450, Certificate of Public Good for McNeil, 9/14/81 § 87; 6/22/83 Order Amending Certificate of Public Good.

• The plant burns 400,000 tons of woodchips per year
 -April 29, 2022 VEIC Summary Memorandum.

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 This impairs forest ecosystems and erodes
important benefits forests provide, including flood
 protection, & has a destructive impact on forest
 ecology and wildlife.




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Carbon Rock Stars: Large, Older Trees & Forests
 How many oak trees does it take to store 8 tons of carbon?




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 Human Health
 McNeil emits particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile
  organic compounds, including benzene and formaldehyde, and other
 pollutants which are known to be harmful to human health.
 McNeil releases these pollutants in proximity to racially diverse, low and
middle-income neighborhoods of Burlington’s Old North End and Winooski,
 whose residents face greater environmental risks than residents of other
 areas.



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Expense
 $$ $
• BED Financial statements show that McNeil has generated losses for 8 of the last 10
  fiscal years (2016-2025) totaling more than $34 million over the 10-year period. (This
 figure includes depreciation, but does not include interest.)
• As 50% owner, BED bears 50% of these losses.
• The average real-time price for wholesale power in New England in 2024 was $39.50
  per megawatt-hour. www.iso-ne.com/about/key-stats.
• Wholesale prices were forecast to increase to $55/MWH in 2025. U.S.
 Energy Information Administration.
• The net cost of generating power from McNeil was $96.42/MWH in fiscal year 2025
  and $98.70/MWH in fiscal year 2024. McNeil Joint Owners Operating Committee Materials.


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Age & Efficiency of the Plant

• The plant is 26% efficient. (April 29, 2022 VEIC Summary Memorandum)
• It runs only about 50-60% of the time, and is frequently off-line for planned maintenance, repairs
  due to operational problems, or because of market prices.
• BED has invested in capital improvements to extend operation of the 42-year-old plant beyond its
  anticipated useful life.
• In 2023, BED obtained City Council approval to move forward with District Energy Project which
  would depend on McNeil.
• Additional capital expenditures are planned or under consideration.
• BED has planned all of these major expenditures without evaluating whether the plant should
  continue to operate or whether alternative sources of power would be more effective.



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Flawed Policies
Flawed Policies

BED has directed the course of Burlington’s overall climate policy, leading to flawed policies.
• These call for reducing fossil fuel use rather than reducing GHG emissions from all sources (such as
  the McNeil Plant).
• The Net Zero Energy Roadmap defines “net zero,” as eliminating fossil fuel use in the heating and
  ground transportation sectors, yet calls for pursuit of the District Energy Project, which would
  perpetuate McNeil’s massive GHG emissions to produce electricity.
• The Carbon Pollution Impact Fee is applied to heating systems powered by fossil fuels but not to
  “renewable” systems and fuels with significant greenhouse gas emissions.




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 This undercuts the potential benefits of electrification
 of buildings and vehicles. To meaningfully reduce GHG
emissions through electrification, we must electrify and
 obtain power from low carbon sources, such as
 hydropower, solar and wind.



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Our Vision:




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Advocate!

Burlington City Government Should:
• Place responsibility for development of the city climate policy in a city department
  or official independent of BED.
• Develop a plan to close the McNeil Plant, preferably by June 2028. The plan
  should include measures for a just transition to other employment for affected
  employees, a plan to keep electric rates stable, and ensure adequate energy for
  future needs.




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Actions We Can Take

• Connect with our city councilors (email, phone calls, in person conversations).
• Write to Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak.
• Attend a city council meeting and speak during public comment.
• NPAs to consider a resolution to send to City Council on this issue.
• Attend Electric Commission meetings and speak during public comment.
• Get involved with VT 350.org or Stop VT Biomass.




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Questions
Comments
Discussion



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 Public Safety and
 Support

Community Discussion on Public Safety
 in Burlington

 With:

 Deputy Chief Jon Young

Victim Service Specialist Hannah Brislin




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 BPD Incidents, 2016 - 2026




 Projections based on 30% of past years’
Data 1/1/2016 – 5/4/2026 incidents having occurred by May 4th.


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BPD Discretionary Incidents, 2016 - 2026




 Data 1/1/2016 – 5/4/2026


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 Discretionary Traffic Stops, 2012 - 2025




Data
1/1/2012 –
12/31/2025


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 Victim Services at the BCJC



 Parallel Justice Program Conflict Assistance Program
• Emotional support/Care Planning • Empowers community members in
• Safety planning talking through conflict and establishing
• Systems advocacy
• Resource coordination/referrals their own solutions
• Limited financial assistance • 1:1 conflict coaching
• Direct and Self Referrals without reporting to • Restorative dialogues
 police • Workshops
 • Mediation



 Victim Services in Restorative Justice

 • Impact statement support
 • Liason support in restorative process
 • Systems advocacy
 • Facilitation support for restorative process



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 Parallel Justice Program
 What do we How do we do it?
 do?
• Emotional support • We are here to support
 you regardless of law
• Information about enforcement responses and
  criminal justice system court proceedings

• Safety and care planning • Validation for what
 happened, opportunities for
• Systems advocacy support and community
 & accompaniment driven response

• Referrals • Restorative Justice
 approach
• Interpreter services ⚬ How were you impacted,
 and what do you need to
• Financial assistance make things right?
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 TALK TO US:
 Deputy Chief Jon Young:
 jyoung@bpdvt.org

 Victim Services Specialist:
 Hannah Brislin:
 (802) 557-7232
 Hbrislin@burlingtonvt.gov




The key to a healthy community is our relationships to one other.




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Ward 6 NPA Meeting Minutes
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Location: Department of Public Works, 645 Pine Street


6:00 Community Dinner – another amazing meal and time to connect with neighbors

6:30 Call to Order,
 • Introductions : Steering Committee Members (Nancy Harkins and Dale Azaria)
 • Announcements
 o Kevin Bloom, candidate for Chittenden County sheriff
 o Pike Porter, appreciation for food
 o Rep. Bram Kleppner. The Governor is insisting on forced school mergers, and threatening
 to veto our budget if we don’t have them. The best information is that these forced
 mergers will not save money or improve outcomes. Please contact the Governor and tell
 him not to insist on this.
 • Steering Committee Membership
 o Looking for new members

6:45 Department of Public Works, Summer Construction Plans Chapin Spencer, Robert Goulding)
 • Main Street, finishing up soon
 • Almost completed design for reconnecting Cherry Street – will start in 2027 or2028
 • Champlain Parkway, interstate connection should open in mid- to late-June
 • Coming up this summer:
 o Improving sidewalks, 3 miles per year (this puts all sidewalks on a 40-year schedule)
 o Re-paving, 3.5 miles. Got more competitive bids this year so can do a little more than
 expected
 o Upgrades to wastewater treatment plants
 • Question about connector from Pine Street to Battery Street (Railyard Enterprise)
 o They need to acquire right of way. Expect the project to cost $55 million for a ¼ mile
 connection, because of the need to accommodate the railway.
 • Question about lack of attention to stormwater and flood risk in Plan BTV 2050
 • Question about private roads and unaccepted roads.
 o DPW is doing research on ownership and responsibilities, working to resolve these issues.
 • Question about trucks on South Winooski, which used to have a “no trucks” sign.
 o They’ll check and reinstall sign.

7:00 350.org on MacNeil Generating Plant (Pike Porter, Nik Persampieri)

 • The science has changed since 1984 when MacNeil was built. At this point we know that burning
 wood is not a viable way to generate electricity.
 • MacNeil is very old and is running into lots of expensive maintenance issues.
 • Largest source of electricity in VT and also VT’s biggest stationary source of greenhouse gases
 • Also emits other pollution, like PM 2.5.
 • And it’s a very expensive source of energy. MacNeil has generated losses for 8 of the last 10
 fiscal years.
 • MacNeil claims to use waste wood, but there’s evidence that they use whole trees. Also, any
 burning of wood adds CO2 to the atmosphere, regardless of what part of the tree it’s from
 • Old North End, near MacNeil, has higher rates of asthma than other parts of Vermont, and
 Vermont has higher rates of asthma than many other states
 • It’s a problem that we’ve put the largest polluter in the state in charge of our climate planning.
 • They’re asking folks, if they agree, to contact City Council Members and State Reps to move
 forward with investing in clean energy.
 • They have a sign-up sheet for people who would like more information.
 • Question about the cost of developing an alternative energy source that would provide similar
 power:
 o BED could replace MacNeil with energy from another energy source on the New
 England grid
 o Could install more solar; install batteries; invest in wind
 o BED should issue a request for proposal for energy sources, and see what they get in
 response
 • Rep. Bram Kleppner notes that BED is part of the New England Grid and has ample power,
 including HydroQuebec, Nuclear, and some gas plants (which emit less CO2 than wood). But we
 also need to bear in mind that demand for electricity is going to grow.
 • Pike: We need new clean power, not just moving to natural gas.

7:30 Parallel Justice Commission and Burlington Police Department (Hannah Brislin, Deputy Chief
JohnYoung)

 • Overall BPD incidents went down from 2016 to 2021, but has gone back up
 • Discretionary Traffic Stops from 2021 to 2025
 o 957 this year, has gone down quite a bit, trying to emphasize more time in communities
 and on foot
 • Community Justice Center, Parallel Justice
 o Conflict Assistance Program (e.g. neighbor disputes)
 o Victim Services and Restorative Justice (court diversion)
 o Parallel Justice Program
 ▪ Receive referrals from BPD about crimes and those who were impacted to
 provide support to them
 ▪ This is separate from the criminal justice system, to make it more welcoming to
 those who might be reluctant to work with the police
 ▪ Help with costs (eg replacing key fobs or repairing broken windows), help in
 dealing with insurance companies, etc.
 • Question: What can we do to dissuade repeat offenders? How does that work with restorative
 justice?
 o This is often for people who have mental health or substance abuse, and the goal is to
 get them to agree to treatment in lieu of punishment.
 • Comment: appreciation for the work that the Community Justice Center does, and the fact that
 there’s a space for healing the victims and hearing from the offenders about what they need
 • Question: does this system enable more crime, because of the “squishiness” of the
 consequences?
 o Hannah works with people who are impacted by crime, who often feel very dismissed by
 the criminal justice system
 o Also, we need to make a collective decision about what the statutes require. It’s not for
 the CJC team to make those decisions.
 o If people don’t finish the program they’ve agreed to, they get sent back to the criminal
 justice system.
 • Question about relative recidivism rates.
 o Information online was released in February. It’s a standardized program overseen by
 the Attorney General
 • Question: what is the success rate based on your experience?
 o She focuses on victim services, not really court diversion, so she can’t speak to this.
 o She’ll encourage her colleague in court diversion to come talk to us.
 • Question about traffic enforcement and concerns about dangerous driving (for Deputy Chief
 Young). What can be done to address this?
 o There’s been an uptick on proactive enforcement over the last few months. There’s a
 little more funding for this. Please let them know about places that need extra patrolling
 to address the problems. They hear a lot from the North End, from Lake Street. People
 should e-mail him.
 • Question about the ICE enforcement raid. He hasn’t been involved.
 •

8:00 City Council Report (Becca Brown McKnight, invited)
 • Guns in Bars Burlington Charter Change did not get out of the Legislature
 • Annual City Budget Process is underway. They hear Department presentations.
 • Becca asks that we be in touch about city services that we value and/or could do without. They
 don’t hear much about that and it would be very helpful for her and Buddy.
 • Ash Tree removals. There are a lot of questions about this. Contact her for answers and she can
 help connect to the City Arborists
 • Major trash pickup in the Urban Reserve. And need for a more sustainable process for
 discouraging camping, e.g. in the Urban Reserve. Need to be able to connect people to resources.
 One agreement was “no tents on the west (lake) side of the bikepath” to reduce impact on lake,
 but even that isn’t being enforced.

8:20Adjourn