Friday, September 25, 2020
Weinberger announced on Friday that he had appointed Dodson to a six-month role as director of police transformation, a new, temporary position that will lead the city's work to "forge a new consensus on policing."
Dodson, a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Vermont, has helmed the YMCA since 2016 and previously served on the Burlington School Board. He will take a leave of absence from the nonprofit to assume the new city position.
Tags: Burlington , police , reform , Miro Weinberger , Kyle Dodson , mayor , YMCA , Web Only , Image
The call to action was a response to the paper's cover story, “Battery Power,” published on Wednesday. The story, subtitled “How Black Lives Matter Protesters Occupied a Park, Captivated a City — and Got Some of What They Wanted," chronicled the movement that has spurred nightly protests at the park and city hall for more than a month.
Led by people of color and their allies, the protests have primarily demanded that three Burlington police officers accused of using excessive force be fired. Thursday's demonstration, however, sought to lift up Black women as a counter-narrative to Seven Days' coverage.
Tags: Seven Days , protests , Black Lives Matter , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
In a move to appease protesters camped out at Battery Park, the Burlington City Council agreed on Monday to offer a $300,000 buyout to Sgt. Jason Bellavance, one of three cops accused of using excessive force in recent high-profile cases.
Later in the meeting, councilors also backed a proposal to reexamine ranked choice voting and took actions to correct the body's violation of the open meeting law earlier this month.
Cosponsored by councilors Jack Hanson (P-East District) and Franklin Paulino (D-North District), the police resolution calls for Bellavance to resign by October 5. The agreement offers the sergeant 18 months of health care coverage, legal fees to cover his review of the agreement and "releases of claims," it says.
The city is finalizing the deal with Bellavance, but the sides have essentially agreed to the terms laid out in the resolution, a mayoral spokesperson said.
Tags: Burlington Police Department , Jason Bellavance , Cory Campbell , Joseph Corrow , Burlington City Council , protests , ranked choice voting , Seven Days , open meeting law , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Superintendent Tom Flanagan's announcement on Wednesday night follows the revelation last week that the district detected high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in the air of F Building, which houses classrooms for Burlington Technical Center and for special education students.
The school year had just begun when Flanagan announced on September 9 that classes would pivot to all-virtual instruction until September 21. That date is now pushed back at least four months.
"I know this news must come as a shock to many of you, and I know that many students are likely very disappointed to once again be missing out on so many in-person connections," Flanagan wrote in an email to parents on Wednesday. "I want to assure you that we will work as fast and as hard as we can to get students back into our buildings as soon as we can."
Tags: Burlington High School , Burlington Technical Center , BSD , PCB , air quality , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
In response to a complaint filed by Seven Days last week, Burlington city councilors on Monday acknowledged that they violated the state's open meeting law by inviting protest organizers into an executive session to discuss police personnel.
Councilors voted 9-3 to find themselves at fault, though they'll await guidance from the city attorney on what next steps to take. Councilors Jack Hanson (P-East District), Zoraya Hightower (P-Ward 1) and Ali Dieng (I-Ward 7) voted no.
The paper argued that while the law allows people "whose information is needed" to join closed-door sessions, the protesters didn't demonstrate that they had confidential information about three cops who've been accused of excessive force.
"In hindsight, most reasonable people would look at what we heard and not feel like that was the kind of information that falls under that kind of privilege and that should be kept from the public," said Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District), who voted against the executive session last week. "It should be no shame on this body to admit wrong."
The paper would have had the option to take the matter to court if councilors had decided no violation had occurred. The council now has 14 days to decide how to right the wrong.
Tags: open meeting law , Burlington City Council , Seven Days , open government , Web Only , Image
"For all of the cutting edge work that our community has done to advance harm reduction, we're the city that can be working with others to lead this effort," said Councilor Karen Paul (D-Ward 6), the measure's lead sponsor.
"Change doesn't happen by keeping silent," she continued. "We certainly have all seen that, and it doesn't happen by doing nothing or by waiting."
Overdose prevention sites, also called safe injection facilities, are staffed by trained medical providers who give users clean needles and can connect them with social services. Though the sites exist in Canada and Europe, among other places, there are none in the U.S. due to federal laws that prohibit facilities that allow people to use controlled substances.
Tags: coronavirus , safe injection site , overdose prevention site , Burlington , Burlington City Council , Web Only , Image
Friday, September 11, 2020
In the filing sent to city officials on Thursday evening, the newspaper argues that it was illegal for councilors to invite protest organizers into an executive session to discuss police personnel, specifically Sgt. Jason Bellavance and officers Cory Campbell and Joseph Corrow — the subjects of ongoing demonstrations at Battery Park. Deputy news editor Sasha Goldstein submitted the complaint on behalf of the paper.
Vermont law says the closed-door sessions are limited to members of a public body, municipal staff, attorneys and "persons ... whose information is needed" in a discussion. The newspaper asserts, however, that "nothing presented publicly suggested that the protesters possessed any privileged information regarding the conduct of the three police officers."
The law gives the public body 10 calendar days to either deny a violation occurred or to acknowledge the mistake and take steps to remedy it. If the newspaper is unsatisfied, it could choose to take the matter to court.
Reached on Friday, City Council President Max Tracy (P-Ward 2) wouldn't comment on the complaint itself. The full council will discuss it at Monday night's meeting — in executive session.
"I certainly take the complaint seriously and want to address it," Tracy said.
Tags: open meeting law , Vermont , Burlington City Council , open government , Seven Days , Web Only , Image
Thursday, September 10, 2020
The City of Burlington is taking the developers of the long-stalled CityPlace Burlington project to court.
In a lawsuit filed in Vermont Superior Court earlier this week, the city alleges that mall developers Don Sinex and Brookfield Asset Management violated a development agreement by failing to build the project on an agreed timeline. The city announced the lawsuit in a press release on Thursday.
The filing says developers had promised to continue construction on the new project "without interruption" once the former Burlington Town Center mall was torn down. The city says construction began when the mall was demolished in 2017, while the developers have argued that construction never started.
"Anyone who has looked at the construction site in the last two years knows that’s absurd," Mayor Miro Weinberger said in a statement. "We’re not going to let them get away with it."
Tags: Burlington , Mayor Miro Weinberger , CityPlace Burlington , Brookfield Asset Management , Don Sinex , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
A test in one of the school buildings found hazardous air conditions, Burlington School District Superintendent Tom Flanagan wrote in an email to parents late Wednesday afternoon.
“Thank you for your patience and flexibility,” Flanagan wrote in his email. “I am sorry to have to relay this message as I know everyone was looking forward to being back in-person to start the year.”
Tags: Burlington High School , air quality , PCBs , closed , Web Only , Image
It stops short, however, of protecting the demonstrators from being ticketed or told to leave. The resolution also does not address the protesters' primary demand that the city fire three cops accused of using excessive force.
Sponsored by all five council Democrats, the resolution directs the body's Charter Change Committee "to review options for who makes and reviews police disciplinary decisions" and report back in October.
The measure also asks the citizen-led Police Commission to study ways the city could introduce stronger discipline for cops who use brutal or excessive force. That report is due by November 30.
"The resolution is forward thinking," Councilor Karen Paul (D-Ward 6), its lead sponsor, said. "There are action steps many of us have called for."
Tags: Burlington City Council , protest , Battery Park , Burlington Police , camp , Web Only , Image