Wards 2 & 3 NPA

Wards 2 and 3 Neighborhood Planning Assembly - NOTES Thursday, March 14, 2024, 6:30-8:30pm Join in person: ONE Community Center, 20 Allen St. Join virtually: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85860854764 Moderator: Erika Faulkner Notetaker: Roxanne Meuse Steering Committee members present: Erika Faulkner, Roxanne Meuse, Lauren Ebersol, Mollie Flanigan, Amy, Chris Haessly, Michelle Borbas Attendees present: See last page for sign-in sheets 6:30 pm: Introductions & Announcements 1. Adopt the agenda 2. Thank you to Joe Magee for your service as Ward 3 city councilor! 3. NPA member introductions 6:35 pm: Public Forum ● Polly Vanderputten (Ward 3 → Ward 2 school commissioner): Thank you for voting me in and for voting for the school budget. The budget is also a huge boost in morale for students, teachers, parents. ● Wendy Coe (Ward 2 clerk): HO Wheeler (IAA) is doing renovations, so the November election will be somewhere else. ● Gene Bergman (Ward 2 city councilor): ○ Amazed at the Ward 2 voting turnout - remarkable. ○ Green Mountain Transit has had a fare-free program, and the state legislature deemed not to continue funding it. And a requirement was set last year that they’d reinstate the fare. But working on free fare for youth and seniors, and capping the cost for low-income folks. The Transportation, Energy, and Utilities Committee (a City Council committee) is meeting on Tues March 26 will be on this topic. ● [unknown]: Eclipse glasses available - 1 per family - in this meeting - from Obscura BTV. Also, the Vermont Language Justice Project has translated info on the eclipse. ● Melo Grant (Central District City Councilor): This Friday (March 15), the motel program will push out 500 more people. Want to create an overnight shelter on Cherry St, run by the National Guard plus sheriff’s dept. This is inhumane. Please follow the news, and email the governor. ● (Maybe Curt McCormack?): Gave history on the bus fares. Bus should be fare free. ● Andrea Todd (Ward 2): Roosevelt Park is undergoing a reenvisioning project and requests the NPA has another update from them. In PlanBTV Walk Bike plan, there was a goal for greater transit use, but this Use the QR code to go to any of these links: Email us • Go to our website • Watch meeting recordings on CCTV's website • Connect with us on Facebook or Instagram • Request a time slot with CEDO’s request form • Links from this agenda  hasn’t been done. Great Streets has a big focus on parking but nothing about public buses. Also disappointing that the Public Works director is on the GMT commissioner but not pushing this. Requests that Gene and Joe push this. ● Sarah Hernandez Tim (public engagement coordinator with Burlington Police Dept): We have press releases you can subscribe to. Her email: stimm@bpdvt.org ● Erika Faulkner (Ward 2 Steering Committee member): A friend is starting a chapter of the Climate Reality Project (started by Al Gore) and trying to recruit people to take action on climate issues. ● Ivan Klipstein (former Ward 2, current NNE, soon to be Ward 2 resident): “Everyday Neighbors” Multilingual community calendar available. Most have gone out for free to lower income / working class hubs. Currently just breaking even and would like to sell the last dozen for $25 each. Can purchase on his website ● Charlie Giannoni (Ward 2 election worker): Election workers needed in Ward 3. Talk to Charlie if you want to learn more. ● Megan (Ward 2): Relaying info from a city council meeting: Someone reported seeing a lot of erosion happening in the Winooski River by the bridge. We should look into making sure the bridge doesn’t collapse, and that we protect the shoreline. 6:52 pm: Introduction to passive house design & benefits | Enrique Bueno, VT Passive House ● VT Passive House Association’s mission to educate the public on the Passive House Building Standard. ● See slides ● Call to action for NPAs to actively participate in improving energy efficiency and building codes. ● Local example that meets the standards: Elm Place 7:10 pm: Home electrification: What technology & incentives are available today to reduce fossil fuel usage| Jacob Flanigan, Ward 2 resident. ● See slides ● Some highlights: ○ Two main sources of incentives: Burlington Electric Dept and Inflation Reduction Act ○ For renters: leasing / “on-bill financing” is an option. Vermont Gas (VGS) will take out your water heater and put in a heatpump water heater on lease (they own it and will maintain it); you just pay the bill. ○ Backup to a heatpump: electrical resistance system (don’t need a gas generator) ● Questions from attendees: ○ Does Efficiency Vermont also offer rebates? ■ BED goes thru Efficiency VT ○ Brian Pine: In a lot of older homes, it’s 100amp service, so you’d have to upgrade to 200amp (a big ticket thing) to handle a lot of these. ■ Federal incentives to upgrade electrical services ■ And there are heatpumps that plug into a regular outlet now ■ Smart panels can help avoid peaks ○ Community support for requiring some of this stuff?  ■ Gene (Ward 2 city councilor): Tried to close loopholes but were defeated. Also a workforce lack of this stuff. Need an integrated approach. TUC committee is working on building codes. ■ Jacob: Would be great if BED had incentives for this. BTV and VT have building codes but aren’t well checked. ○ Andrea Todd: So people know, BED -- instead of working on stuff like this -- are choosing to remove parking in the ONE and low-income neighborhoods to make way for electrical vehicle charging. Feels that they’re experimenting on this with lower-income neighborhoods. Requests Gene raises this on city council. What Jacob’s describing will impact/benefit so many more people. ○ Also, lithium and cobalt (in electric cars) are from places like the Congo / use slave labor. Need to think about a green energy future for the world, not just Americans. 7:40 pm: Solar eclipse! What’s going on in Burlington for the eclipse (April 8) | Zach Williamson, Obscura BTV. ● View slides ● Last total eclipse here was 1932, next in 2106 ● Collab between BCA with Burlington Workforce & Development, DPW, Parks ● Peak lasts 3 minutes, but 1 hour before and after is partial. ● Remarkable and not something to be missed. Dark, quiet, temp will drop (by ~10 degrees), nightlife starts to make sounds. People say it’s transformational. People travel around to experience it. ● Eclipse glasses: You can’t see through them. Only need them when looking at the sun. The only time you can look up at the sun without them is during totality (2.5-3 min). ● If you want to take a photo, you need a lens on them. ● Street closings (see the visual in the slide): ○ Closing 127 at 10am so visitors can park on it (from Manhattan to Plattsburgh Ave). Working with GMT to run a shuttle. ■ Andrea Todd: Disappointed that really only the ONE is being used. ● Champlain Parkway not being used because the city isn’t allowed to use it until the keys are handed to us. Insurance issue. ● Will look into the Howard Center parking area. ● 127 chosen because you can fit so many in one fell swoop. Otherwise, we’d need many different parking areas, which makes bus logistics tougher. ○ Local roads: local traffic allowed, controlled by a police officer and flagger. ○ Park St will be 2-directional. ● Waterfront park: expecting 2-3 times the amount from July 3rd. ● “Obscura Afterparty” downtown ● Official viewing sites and events happening at: Battery Park, Battery Street, Waterfront Park, Perkins Pier, Oakledge, City Hall Park, Roosevelt Park (built out especially for families and streaming NASA livestream), Leddy Park. ONE Arts will also host something ● Eclipse-related events start soon! (not just the day of or even that weekend) Check out the website. ○ Zoe Keating Sat Apr 6 at Unitarian Universalist along with a projection designer.  ● Bathrooms will be added around town. ● Looking for volunteers ● Low is 30,000. 50-60,000 also possible. ● Burlington police and fire will be ready ● Andrea Todd: What if 127 fills up? ○ We have reversible signs and overflow would possibly go to the interstate. VTrans is activating their zone, and Vermont State Police will be based at their barracks in WIllison 8:10pm: Adjourned Thank you for coming! Our next meeting is Thursday, April 11.