Burlington City Council members on Monday delivered a clear directive about the downtown "Everyone Loves a Parade!" mural: Get rid of it.

A resolution to remove or cover the controversial painting by the end of August passed 11 to 1. Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District) voted no.

A council majority also approved an emergency order requiring people to wear facial coverings in Queen City shops and public buildings. Councilor Ali Dieng (I-Ward 7) cast the lone no vote.

The packed virtual meeting also featured a vote on a proposal to expand the massive Cambrian Rise development on North Avenue by 180 apartments. That passed unanimously. And councilors received a briefing on the long-stalled CityPlace Burlington project, which yet again faces potential construction delays.

The Burlington City Council on Monday will consider a measure to make mask-wearing mandatory in all city shops. Another resolution up for vote would remove the controversial "Everyone Loves a Parade!" mural from the Church Street Marketplace by the end of August.

The packed agenda also includes a request from developer Eric Farrell to add 180 more apartments to his 770-unit Cambrian Rise project, which is currently under construction on North Avenue. In addition, the council will get an update on the CityPlace Burlington development downtown.

The face-mask resolution, sponsored by Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District), comes as retail stores prepare to reopen Monday, albeit at reduced capacity. Gov. Phil Scott has said store employees must wear masks, but he has stopped short of requiring customers to do so.

At a press conference Friday, the governor did say that municipalities can set their own requirements — and Shannon said she has the votes to make it a reality on Monday. Progressive councilors Zoraya Hightower (Ward 1), Brian Pine (Ward 3), Jane Stromberg (Ward 8) and Jack Hanson (East District) all signed on as cosponsors.

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, who formerly served as both a Burlington city councilor and as chair of the Vermont Progressive Party, has announced her candidacy for the Vermont House.

Mulvaney-Stanak will run in the Chittenden 6-2 House district, where Rep. Jean O’Sullivan (D-Burlington) currently holds the sole seat. It includes parts of Burlington’s Old North End and New North End neighborhoods. Mulvaney-Stanak said she plans to seek the Democratic nomination, as well as the Progressive endorsement.

"Now more than ever, we really need voices in the Statehouse that are clearly and laser-focused on economic justice issues," she told Seven Days, including decent wages and workers' rights. The mother of two said she'd also focus on equity and education, and added that Vermont should do more for young families.

"I have a front-row seat to the struggles of finding affordable, high-quality childcare," she said. "That is a real-life struggle for thousands of Vermonters. It matters when you have people in the Statehouse who are actually living that."

Mulvaney-Stanak worked for more than 10 years for the Vermont-National Education Association teachers' union, where she led organizing and leadership development efforts. In 2018, she launched a consulting business, EMStrategies, through which, she said, she supports social change and equity issues for clients such as unions and school districts. She also coaches political candidates.

O'Sullivan, a businesswoman who established a financial services company,  was appointed to the seat in 2012 and has been reelected four times since. She, too, formerly served as a Burlington city councilor.

O'Sullivan did not respond to requests for comment. 

Construction on the long-planned Champlain Parkway is now scheduled to begin in spring 2021.

Burlington Public Works Director Chapin Spencer told the city council Monday night that "a shrinking number of legal challenges" remain but a start date next year is realistic. The 2.8-mile road through Burlington's South End has been in the works since the 1960s.

"We've made solid progress on this project," Spencer said, noting that the city has finalized utility and right-of-way agreements.

"These are milestones that have put the project in a position where we could be out to bid in seven or eight months," he added. "We're confident we can get there."

Spencer said last May that he expected the city would begin construction by December 2019. But that June, a grassroots group known as the Pine Street Coalition filed a federal lawsuit seeking to delay construction. They argued that the parkway design relied on outdated population, traffic and land-use data.  Last August, a judge granted the coalition's motion to halt construction and required the city to reevaluate how the project impacts minority and low-income populations in the King and Maple street neighborhoods, VTDigger.org reported at the time.

The City of Burlington will reopen some parks facilities and is planning to host youth summer camps now that the state is permitting more social interaction during the coronavirus crisis.

Mayor Miro Weinberger said Wednesday afternoon that city dog parks, pickleball and tennis courts, and the Andy A_Dog Williams Skatepark, all of which had been closed to comply with Gov. Phil Scott's "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order, will open this weekend. Basketball courts and playgrounds will remain closed, the mayor said.

"We're gonna do these quarter-turns of the spigot here at the local level," Weinberger said, employing Scott's oft-used analogy. "We've gotta do this. These steps are needed for our collective physical, emotional and economic wellbeing."