There has rarely been a time when Public Engagement in Montpelier civic affairs has been more important than at this time, due to:
- repeated infrastructure problems affecting city residents (potholes, water main breaks, water pressure damage, etc.)
- inadequate information about Town Meeting Day election of a new Mayor and 3 new City Council members
- Town Meeting Day voting on a large city budget and bond issues that may not be well-understood by many
- the evolving plans for the now City-owned Country Club Road Site
- and the imminent sales of most of the buildings on the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) campus and the transfer of their educational programs to the Colorado Springs campus of Colorado College.
If you don’t already know what has been happening with respect to the VCFA situation over the past six weeks, you are encouraged to read some of the latest articles linked to below, as well as previous PEN commentary on this issue with links to articles in PEN Issue #2.
Most recent Articles include:
Luis Guzmán: Formal complaint filed on Vermont College of Fine Arts decision VTDigger, 2/15/23
This is a powerful statement and an accurate account of the very serious errors in the manner in which the VCFA administration made the decision to move its academic programs from its Vermont campus to Colorado College and to sell off all but one of its buildings.
Vermont College of Fine Arts plans to sell buildings for ‘health and wellness’ center VTDigger 2/15/23
This article describes the first of several expected announcements by VCFA of their buildings that are under contract to be sold.
This letter lays out very clearly one argument against DRB approval of VCFA’s Final Application for their Campus Master Plan/PUD.
Meanwhile, there have been no apparent efforts by Montpelier City government (City Manager, City Council, or Department of Planning and Community Development) to become involved in this matter in any way before or since VCFA’s June 15, 2022 announcement of their intentions to move their programs to Colorado College and sell off most of their buildings.
Since the College’s abrupt announcement of its intentions last June, I don’t recall a single discussion of the VCFA situation at a City Council meeting, nor has the City Manager raised the issue publicly, and, based on observation of three DRB public hearings on the matter, the Department of Planning and Community Development appears to have taken its usual passive regulatory stance, behaving as a mere zoning enforcer rather than a force for community development or planning.
No City government entity seems to have involved itself in working with the college to help them find more appropriate ways to address their financial challenges or to find a suitable higher educational replacement or even to encourage the college to engage with the public before making such a momentous move.
Doesn’t this remind us of how NECI disappeared practically “overnight” from Montpelier without the City lifting a finger to find a better solution to its financial challenges?
All of which Leads to this Plea to Montpelier Residents: Get Involved
There are those in city government who clearly believe (and have even publicly remarked) that the majority of Montpelier’s residents are satisfied to leave it to the “pros” to take actions if/when appropriate or, as some officials have suggested, most residents simply “don’t care” about such matters; that it is only some of those who are most directly impacted by issues who speak up (as if this were a disqualifier); and that some of us who call for greater municipal government transparency and pro-activity are somehow promoting “their own agenda.”
All residents of Montpelier are urged to demonstrate to the City Manager, the City Council, and the relevant City Departments that you do care about these matters; that you want the city to be more proactive in matters such as the City’s loss of VCFA and NECI; that you expect appropriate City departments to be more accountable for planning and implementing ways to address critical needs such as resilient long-term water, sewer and traffic infrastructure; and that you are concerned about the city’s lack of clarity and transparency about matters such as budgets, bond issues, city contracts, and performance reviews of the City Manager and city department heads.
How can you, as residents, make your voices heard at City Hall?
- Attend City Council meetings in person or on Zoom and speak out on issues you care about. (See below for pointers on how and when to do this.)
- Write letters to the editor of VTDigger, Seven Days, Times-Argus, and The Bridge.
- Email the City Manager, all City Council members (especially those from your voting district), and relevant City department Directors and staff.
- Attend in person or on Zoom and speak out on issues under consideration at appropriate public hearings by the Development Review Board (DRB), Planning Commission, and other regulatory City entities, as well as meetings of any city committee, all of which are open to attendance and speech under the SaTate of Vermont’s Open Meeting Law. (See below for pointers on how and when to do this.)
In particular, you are urged to attend and perhaps speak at:
- the Feb 21 DRB public hearing on VCFA’s Campus Master Plan/PUD (For details see the Calendar in PEN Issue #3.)
- the Feb 22 City Council meeting at which The City Manager’s performance review will be discussed.
For those of you who may not be aware of this process, the City Manager reports to and is accountable only to the City Council, which is supposed to review the Manager’s performance annually, an activity that is usually concluded in February. According to the warning for this item: “The City Council and City Manager have completed evaluation and self-evaluation forms, which are public documents exempt from disclosure.” Thus, the public knows little or nothing about how the City Council carries out the annual City Manager performance evaluation. Moreover, the results of the City Manager’s performance review are almost without exception carried out in Executive Session of the City Council. Nevertheless, there may be an opportunity for members of the community to offer comments prior to the Council going into Executive Session.
How to Participate in Public Meetings of the Montpelier City Council, Regulatory, and Other City Committees
Consistent with the State of Vermont Open Meeting Law, members of the public in Montpelier have basically two kinds of opportunity to speak at any and all such meetings:
- during an Agenda item, usually called General Business and Appearances, which is set aside near the start of the meeting for the public to speak about matters that are not otherwise on the agenda for that meeting.
- During discussion of a matter that is on the agenda
The way both of these opportunities are generally managed in Montpelier is that members of the public who wish to speak on either of these occasions, must raise their hands, be recognized by the chair, and make their comments completely and concisely; i.e. If they have more than one question or comment to make, they should do so at that time, as they generally will not be allowed follow-up questions or comments even under the rare circumstances that they get a response from the chair or other member of the body.
This is how “public participation” is managed in Montpelier “open meetings,” so prepare yourself. We recommend that ahead of the meeting, you write out your comments, time yourself reading them at an understandable rate, and edit them so you get it down to roughly two minutes. If you feel that what you have to say simply cannot be handled in that time frame, you should consider presenting a brief oral version of your statement at the meeting and emailing your full statement ahead of time to the appropriate committee staff to include in the agenda packet for members to read before the meeting and/or bring printed copies to be distributed at the meeting. Anyone choosing to go this route is free to email me for some further coaching on how to meet agenda packet deadlines.
As one last suggestion for active Public Engagement: if you have not already done so, complete the online survey regarding the Country Club Road Site, before it closes on 2/17/23.
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