As reported by Adam Jacobs
6pm Executive Session around grievance from fire department
Joe Aldsworth received award for for excellence in helping EMS services.
Approval of licenses
Ward meetings coming up this week:
- Wednesday, January 24: Ward 2 at Brook Street School, 45 Brook Street 5pm-6:30pm
- Thursday, January 25: Ward 1 at Spaulding High School Library, 155 Ayers Street 5pm-6:30pm
- Monday, January 29: Ward 3 at the Mutuo Soccorso, 20 Beckley Street 5pm-6:30pm
Bill in State passed to allow cities to apply for abatements and reimbursements
Tuesday, January 30th, 5-6pm, Janet and City Manager to hold a Substantial Damage meeting
New union negotiations with police department
Waiting for Pike Street report. Taking awhile because of the complexity of situation.
Good Beginnings, small non-profit supporting children and families. Asking to place $1000 funding request on ballot. Extension for request extended due to change of Town Hall Date. Needs to fill out application.
Vermont Emergency Management Department:
- Housing Mitigation Program
- Allow communities access to funding which reduces future risk
- Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Receive allocation when federally declared disaster.
- June deadline for letters of intent
- Vast majority was property buy-outs, property scope-outs, infrastructure projects, residential elevations, floodproofing, utilities
- FEMA Swift Current Program. For states with recent disaster declarations. Specifically for reducing risk to flood insurance pool. Repetitive loss or substantially damaged. Help with buy-outs, relocation, elevations. May 15th is deadline.
- Could be more than one homeowner at a time, or just one.
- Increased Cost of Compliance: some funding available through National Flood Insurance program to help homeowners get in compliance.
- Assessments: Current Market Value on July 9th, or if did not flood, appraisal today. Must apply in this pot of money to get the pre-flood appraisal value.
- Landslide properties are eligible, not just flood hazard properties. This is a first thing. A landslide buyout needs a geologist letter saying in imminent possibility of failure.
City Manager: Updates on buy-out intakes. When the scoping assessment is underway, will be in touch with people. Not much to communicate right now.
There’s 40 properties. I think we can’t do all 40 (cc might have different opinion). There will be hard decisions to decide which one. Preliminary, are their buy-outs that increase flood plain restoration. Be more prudent on homes that can be elevated. Are there lots where landslides occurred that can be stabilized…now that the landslide gave?
RESIDENT: How can homeowners financially survive, having to pay for a mortgage, taxes, and a second place?
Apply for abatement. When we get more information, we will move as quickly as we can. For example, moved within days to demolish a home on Portland Street once green-lit.
RESIDENT: If no buy-out, people will be left with uninhabitable properties that they cannot sell. What happens then?
MAYOR: It would become a public nuisance, as all public uninhabitable properties become. Any state money to help make these homeowners whole again?
VEMD: 12.5 million for FEMA match, that could help go to that.
STOCKWELL: Bill 173, could give $$ for this situation.
RESIDENT: What happens in spring if during thawing, there is a second flood that affects it?
VEMD: It would not affect if you are eligible for buy-out programs.
BARRE UP: Please point residents who come to city council to see Barre Up. But there are privacy concerns around just transferring information.
RESIDENT: Privacy is a crock. Why have I not been put on a list.
BARRE UP: We are a separate non-profit from the city. Nicolas and city employees who are involved with FEMA are firewalled with what information can be shared with us. We are a separate organization. The city employees are working to do their best to follow their particular procedures that violates their own privacy procedures. We work with an opt-in model.
MAYOR: I hear this frustration. What I’m hearing is we have opportunities to improve communication to make sure these messages are clear. Looking at the VT Digger article on cliffhangers. Can we have a similar opt-in. This is where we are this week.
CITY MANAGER: There hasn’t been information to share. Please speak to Mr. Mason when we were working on his home. We can do whatever we can to make people feel better about information shared. Do give responses in email. We just don’t have new information to share. Happy to hear scoping is closed, getting to that point.
BOUTIN: Can we send out something similar to VT alerts?
CITY MANAGER: We could, even though people might tune out useless information. If it makes them feel part of the process, we can.
RESIDENT: The communication bit hasn’t really been great. Even knowing we don’t have information right now can be helpful. We’re only here until we find out about the buy-out process, but we’re going to leave the area. We don’t think it’s safe with flooding. Why did substantial damage letters not come out in August when inspectors came out in July?
STOCKWELL: I can’t stress the danger the city is in. This is a three part mediation. DEI, got a grant to do mediation. Extra money could be used for a mediation session for us for housing and hopefully come out working together better. Another session for DEI committee only and then another with council.
We are mediating our ideas about housing and disagreement on approaches.
BOUTIN: Why would we need mediation on this? What are the two sides for mediation?
STOCKWELL: Certain groups tend to disagree on council and sometimes very disruptive.
BOUTIN: It’s part of the process of politics. It’s part of the process and sometimes we disagree–
MAYOR: We just don’t want the city to lose–
LAUZON: I think he was talking and I want him to finish.
BOUTIN: What is the outcome for having a mediator in executive session?
STOCKWELL: The outcome would be two-fold. Some agreement over housing outcome. I want us to disagree. But sometimes some of the ways we disagree are very destructive–pounding the table, going home. I just think in this point in our city’s life, it’s not helpful.
BOUTIN: I just don’t get the outcome…I’m ideologically different than you are. I don’t think I’m going to change my opinion.
STOCKWELL: It’s not to change our thoughts, but change how we work…
MULVANEY: We only need to look back a couple years to developing the DEI committee and its relationship to itself and city council. There’s been many instances of very disrespectful behavior. Sometimes, when there are disagreements, there are not ways to process. It will help to deal with a difficult topic. Using that topic to explore methods and process. Not about changing people’s minds. Have to get away from winners and losers mindset. We were lucky to have some good advice from some professionals in the field. We want to make it fair–so everyone feels like they can say something. People scared to speak up, because scared there may be a reaction. Positive ways of interacting even when disagree.
RESIDENT: I’m a facilitator, maybe not mediation, but a facilitative process to have better conversations. Mediation is a very specific legal term, maybe just look into facilitation to have healthy disagreement and conversations.
MULVANEY: Mediation is not necessarily the right word, but it’s what we used to write the grant. This is not a classic mediation. An opportunity for us to have a better process and behave with each other.
LAUZON: I’m trying to figure out what we disagree on. Prospect Heights, RFP on Seminary Street, what I’m trying to figure out…my only complaint: $350/sqfeet to build a house and not moving faster enough.
STOCKWELL: They can’t continue talking to each other, and then when we lose out, the city loses out. A motion to support the mediation process.
MULVANEY: In our discussions, what were the barriers and progress. One of the community members talked about how they felt discriminated against within the committee. I know we still have work to do, not just among self, but those who come before you. How to move into different ways of thinking about things with people who share a common goal of community but not how to get there.
STOCKWELL: I want us to disagree, I want us to disagree successfully.
MULVANEY: If we can create it among ourselves, then we can pass it to other organizations and institutions.
BOUTIN: What are we mediating? What is the outcome?
MAYOR: I hear Stockwell say the outcome is building consensus faster and better. I have not heard her characterize two sides. There are ways to disagree agreeably and there are ways to disagree disagreeably.
BOUTIN: The city only owns so much property. People who have more than ½ acre, are we going to ask them to sell it to buy places for buildings? What does the city own? Properties that have are not developable. What would you see changing?
STOCKWELL: We would have better ways to disagree. It could be really powerful. It’s two sessions, it might make us better, it might not, the facilitation might not work. Some meetings I was embarrassed by their behavior.
LAUZON: I don’t think you want to go there with me. We’re talking about two different things.
MULVANEY: We can all be victims of our own emotions. It’s not about criticizing each other. It’s about finding new ways to find what we need to be done.
RESIDENT: You started out saying mediation…the mediator decides the result. Everyone has to agree on the mediator. What you are really talking about is facilitation…you might get mediation down the line…but we are no where near that now.
STOCKWELL: Maybe more facilitation, than mediation. My wife worked for consensus as a mediator.
MAYOR: Is there a motion?
STOCKWELL: I move we try facilitation?
MAYOR: Is there a 2nd?
WASZAZAK: I need a document outlining what will be happening.
STOCKWELL: Motion for someone to come for facilitation?
MAYOR: Move for next city council?
ROUND TABLE
Boutin: Holiday party
Waszazak: Incredibly frustrated, angry, and annoyed at this meeting…that shows how ineffectual how our government systems are…not designed to actually help average people…can’t help someone with their home…a buy-out consideration of the grandlist is a valid concern if you are the city manager…but how does that help the average person.
Lauzon: Pass.
Stockwell: Talking with people who are stuck. Young professionals we want to come. It’s so disheartening what people have gone through with FEMA.
Mayor: Pass.
Michael Deering: A lot of great work that needs to be done. I implore us all to act better, think better, get our act together better.
