Ward 5 Neighborhood Planning Assembly Meeting Minutes
February 26, 2008 - 7:00 pm
Department of Public Works Building, 645 Pine Street, Burlington, VT

7:00 pm – Introduction and Ground Rules

Steering Committee members present: Elisa Nelson, Basil Vansuch, Bill Stuono. 42 people and a number of elected officials were present.

Open Forum

• We will be voting on NDBG at the next NPA meeting. Please have all applications in to CEDO by 2/29/08. See http://www.cedoburlington.org/cdbg/cdbg_main.htm for more info.
• Steering Committee elections will be held at the next NPA meeting.

School Commissioner Candidate Forum

Incumbent Amy Werbel (Chair of the School Board Curriculum Committee) and challenger Robin Guillian presented themselves as candidates for the Ward 5 School Commissioner seat. Each candidate had 2 minutes to speak and then fielded questions from the audience.

City Council Candidate Forum

Incumbent Bill Keogh (Democrat) and challenger Sean Starfighter (Independent) presented themselves as candidates for the Ward 5 City Council seat. Each candidate had 2 minutes to speak and then fielded questions from the audience. Not present tonight was candidate LisaAnn Oberbrunner (Burlington Greens). Read more on the candidates online: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/NEWS02/802270305&theme=.

BED – Nox Reduction project at McNeil

Mayor Bob Kiss and BED General Manager Barbara Grimes presented the Burlington Electric bond item and projects that will be on the March 4, 2008 ballot. There are 2 referendums on the ballot. One is for the approval of a Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) reduction system at the McNeil Generating Station and the other is for the approval of revenue bonds for BED. Barbara gave a strong presentation and fielded a few questions. Read the FAQ’s on the BED bond items on the ballot at http://www.burlingtonelectric.com/communication/FAQ%20for%202008%20bond%20question.htm.

Moran Plant

Mayor Kiss presented the advisory referendum to renovate and redevelop the Moran Plant and Jay Vos and Maurice Mahoney presented the advisory referendum regarding the demolition of the Moran Plant. Jay and Maurice represent the Green Democratic Alliance and Citizens for a Waterfront Park. The Burlington Business Association announced at the meeting they released a letter of support for the proposed renovation and redevelopment of the Moran Plant. As expected, this discussion became quite lively! Listen to the audio online and check out what you missed. Here are two links, one for the proposal: http://www.cedoburlington.org/moran_plant/Moran_Plant_redevelopment.htm and one against the proposal: http://www.moranvote.com.

School Board Update

School Commissioner Fred Lane talked about what was going on at the School Board and provided us with information regarding the FY09 School budget. Fred is the Chair of the School Board Finance Committee. He mentioned the goals of the budget are Student Achievement through adequate staffing and support for our demographics; absorb cost shifts and compliance mandates from federal and state laws; maintain a safe physical infrastructure through preventive maintenance; continue to maximize cost savings. The Burlington School District website is http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org and a direct link to the budget page is http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org/Board/BoardBudget.php. On the web at http://ward5npa.blogspot.com. 

City Council Update

Bill Keogh and Joan Shannon talked briefly about Westlake on Battery Street and the DPW sidewalks & streets budget. Westlake refers to the 4-part Westlake Development Project on Battery St. Westlake Residential Partnership has agreed to pay $400,000 into the City’s Housing Trust Fund rather than meet a mandate to build affordable housing units near the Burlington Waterfront. In exchange for building housing in the downtown area, the developer, Westlake Residential Partnership, was given permission to add 20 feet to the height of the hotel and apartments. Steering Committee member Bill Stuono mentioned that he was at a recent Design Advisory Board meeting in which Westlake has submitted plans to add 34 more units onto their hotel. Joan Shannon said that this is something the Council was not made aware of. Larry Kupferman commented that this is early construction of the last phase of their original proposal. Westlake’s settlement agreement is currently headed to the DRB for final approval.

Podcasts and more on the web at http://ward5npa.blogspot.com. 

The next Ward 5 NPA Meeting will be held March 25, 2008.

Page last updated April 07, 2008