Calendar of Upcoming Civic Engagement Opportunities
March 14 Montpelier Housing Committee Special Meeting
6:00PM Memorial Room, City Hall
Phone: 929-205-6099 Meeting ID: 817 8715 8075
[Most city committee meetings are recorded and after the fact can be obtained for viewing from the City Manager’s office.]
March 15 Homelessness Task Force Meeting
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM City Hall and Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Meeting Agenda, Meeting Room, and Zoom Invitation link not yet posted but should be available by 11:30 AM 3/6/23 under Agendas & Minutes Click on “Homelessness Task Force” (3/8/2023).
(See Commentary on Housing and Homelessness in Montpelier, below.)
March 15 Housing Town Hall
5:30 PM Old Labor Hall, Barre
Hosted by Congresswoman Becca Balint
Free and open to the public.
Becca will be joined by a panel of housing experts for a discussion of housing in central Vermont and across the state. As the affordability crisis grows both in Vermont and across the country, the Congresswoman is focused on solutions that keep families in their homes and eases the burden of rising housing costs. Vermont is especially feeling the effects of rising costs as the state with the second highest rate of homelessness per capita in the country. After the panel discussion, there will be time for moderated Q&A with the Congresswoman.
March 22 City Council Meeting
6:30 PM City Hall, City Council Chambers and via Zoom
Join Zoom Invitation link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82048636899?pwd=WUdNbTZ0QVFSeDV1TjJOb09NOGhldz09
Meeting ID: 820 4863 6899 Passcode: 411837 One tap mobile: (312)-626-6799
(See Commentary on Housing and Homelessness in Montpelier, below.)
Commentary on Housing and Homelessness in Montpelier
A great deal seems to be coming to a head regarding housing and homelessness throughout the state and in the City of Montpelier. We urge residents to stay abreast of news related to homelessness in our region and the state (VT Digger, Times Argus, The Bridge, Vermont Public) and possibly to participate in efforts to address this growing challenge.
Some of the issues and events to watch, understand, and perhaps even become involved with include:
- The 2023 budget adjustment bill (H.145), containing compromise funding for the State’s emergency housing program (aka “motel program”), passed both houses of the legislature on March 3 and was sent to the Governor for his signature. Apparently, it is still sitting on his desk.
As readers of PEN may recall, that compromise bill provides sufficient funding to continue the current “motel program” as is until May 31, but beginning June 1 it would limit eligibility to certain “prioritized groups”: people fleeing domestic violence, families with children, those aged 60 and over, pregnant people, people with disabilities, and certain households that recently lost their housing.” The Department of Children and Families (DCF) estimates that eligibility after May 31 would be limited to 1045 of the 1800 “households” (which include more than 500 children) now living in motels under the current emergency housing program. Where will the hundreds of other families and individuals sleep at night?
- The FY 2024 State budget provisions for emergency housing continue to be discussed in the legislature. Here is a link to Brenda Siegel’s relatively brief, cogent commentary on this: Action Needed Now to Keep People Sheltered.
In this piece, Brenda lays out a clear path to get from the emergency situation we face over the next few months to a more lasting solution. She writes:
It is true that we need a strategic long- and short-term plan to address emergency, transitional and permanent housing. Housing leaders have presented a “Bridges to Housing” proposal. The Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition has outlined the data on the impacts on removing shelter, and I have offered a Blueprint to End Homelessness by 2030 and with a commissioned report to direct implementation, we would have a path. But we cannot do any of this without adequate funding.
There is still time for concerned citizens to write and/or call appropriate* members of the House to urge them to appropriate sufficient funding to provide basic shelter for every Vermonter experiencing homelessness until there is enough permanent affordable housing for those who seek it.
* House Speaker Jill Krowinski (jkrowinski@leg.state.vt.us and https://speaker.vermont.gov/content/contact), our own representatives (CCasey@leg.state.vt.us and kmccann@leg.state.vt.us) as well as members of the House Committee on Human Services (listed here, click on their names to get email addresses.)
Homelessness in Montpelier
What happens statewide after June 30 regarding funding for emergency housing will depend on the FY 24 budget. However, right now the amount of money proposed by the Governor and even the amounts being discussed by the legislature are woefully insufficient and are likely to exit significant numbers of people statewide from the motels with no certain prospect of emergency housing, a number of whom will end up on the streets and woods of Montpelier, Barre, and Berlin.
- Where will they sleep? Benches along the multi-use path? In their cars? Where will they shelter? Tents in Hubbard Park? Where will they relieve themselves? The alleyways of downtown?
- No one wants this to happen, but what actions are we willing to take to make sure it does not come to this? What can and will we do as a City (government) and a community of compassionate individuals and faith communities to address this challenge?
- And what can the City do to address the longer term challenges of homelessness in our city and region?
Here in Montpelier, this week and next, Parker Advisors, consultants to the City Council and the Homelessness Task Force (HTF), will be delivering their long-awaited report and proposals for what the City can do to address a broad array of short to long-range challenges regarding housing and homelessness in the City.
Montpelier residents and merchants are encouraged to attend the March 15 HTF meeting where a draft of that report will be discussed and/or the March 22 City Council Meeting where the final draft of the report will be presented and discussed with the City Council.
(See Calendar above for details.)
PEN Tips: How to participate in Meetings of the Montpelier City Council and City Committees
Consistent with the State of Vermont Open Meeting Law, members of the public in Montpelier are afforded basically two kinds of opportunity to speak at any and all such meetings:
- During an Agenda item (often called “General Business and Appearances”) that usually occurs near the start of the meeting and is often used by members of 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 (in person or via Zoom), 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 are supposed to do so at that time; 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 us for some further coaching on how to meet agenda packet deadlines.
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