►
Description
For more information about upcoming Town Meeting Day 2023 coverage visit https://bit.ly/TownMeeting2023
https://linktr.ee/townmeetingtv
00:00:00 Introductions
00:01:14 Opening Statements
00:03:23 Budget
00:08:36 Ballot Items
00:14:09 Housing
00:19:01 Development and Change
00:24:48 Language Access
00:30:07 Public Safety
00:35:41 Climate Change
00:41:38 Closing Comments
This video belongs to http://www.cctv.org and published with permission under Creative Commons License CCTV Center for Media & Democracy Programming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
A
A
town
meeting,
TV,
hosts
forums
with
all
candidates
and
covers
all
ballot
items.
You
will
see
on
your
ballot
town,
meeting
television
election
forums,
introduce
you
to
community
decision
makers
and
connect
you
with
issues
that
shape
your
local
community.
If
you
are
tuning
in
live,
we
welcome
your
questions
at.
A
My
name
is
Elaine
Haney
and
tonight's
forum
is
for
candidates
for
a
two-year
seat,
an
open
seat
on
the
South
Burlington
City
Council.
Those
candidates
are
Paul,
Engels,
Tyler,
Barnes
and
Lydia
diamond.
We
will
begin
with
a
series
of
questions
and
an
opening
statement
and
we
will
have
lots
of
opportunities
for
folks
to
call
in
again
that
number
is
802-862-3966.
A
B
D
A
small
business
owner
in
South,
Burlington
I,
went
to
a
city
council
meeting
a
few
years
back
where
they
were
discussing
parking
requirements,
and
they
were
specifically,
they
were
discussing,
eliminating
them
for
on
new
businesses
and
as
a
small
business
owner
who
had
struggled
with
parking
issues.
It
was
something
I
wanted
to
hear
about
and
discuss
with.
C
I
was
a
city
councilor
from
2011
to
2013
and
I
have
been
on
the
charter
committee
and
the
Planning
Commission
and
I
have
done
a
lot
of
work
that
I'd
like
to
see
come
to
fruition,
and
it
is
up
to
the
city
council
ultimately
to
make
the
decisions
about
policy
for
the
city
and
I
just
thought.
This
was
an
opportunity
to
make
some
of
the
things
happen
that
I
wanted
to
see
happen
in
South
Burlington.
A
C
C
Think
the
budget
is
seven
percent
increase
or
something
but
inflation
right
now
is
8.3
percent
or
something
so
I
think
it's
a
tight
slim
budget,
but
there's
there's
a
you
know:
we've
just
gone
through
a
pandemic
and
there's
been
some
serious
hits
in
in
city
government.
We
need,
we
need
police
officers,
we
need
firemen.
C
We
need
a
budget
that
you
know
that
is
been
a
restore
the
the
city
after
the
since
the
pandemic,
the
school
board
budget,
a
school
budget
I,
don't
know
that
much
about
really,
but
the
school
has
been.
The
school
has
been
struggling
for
the
last
couple
of
years.
I
was
on
a
task
force
for
planning
and
visioning
for
the
school
district.
C
Our
schools
are
getting
old,
they
were
built
in
the
1960s,
you
know
that's
Now,
60
or
70
years
ago,
and
the
cost
of
construction
is
enormous.
You
know
there's
a
bond
issue
this
year.
Just
to
you
know,
keep
repairs
made
to
the
schools,
so,
yes,
anything
that
that
you're,
looking
at
is
I
believe
pretty
solid.
D
D
But
that
said,
I
think
there
are
a
lot
of
things
in
this
budget
that
are
really
important
and
I.
Think
I
applaud
the
city
council
for
and
the
Jesse
Baker
and
her
team
for
the
work
that
they've
done,
because
I
think
they've
done
a
great
job,
putting
together
a
budget
that
balances
our
needs
with,
while
accounting
for
where
residents
are
at
right
now,
specifically
with
the
wastewater
treatment.
D
B
Support
the
budget
I'd
like
to
see
more
come
from
the
state,
though,
because
the
state
it
wants
to
build
new
prisons
for
women
and
that's
not
okay,
people
are
struggling
to
maintain
people
are
struggling
with
food
insecurity
so
to
want
to
just
not
that
you
know,
people
aren't
already
struggling
like
EMTs
the
fire
department.
Everybody
stretched
then
and
I
want
to
see
the
state
do
better
by
South
Burlington,
as
well
as
all
the
other
little
towns.
A
The
ballot
of
the
budget
a
little
bit
with
some
of
the
ballot
items
that
are
coming
up
for
South
Burlington,
so
you
have
three
items
coming
before
the
ballot:
the
voter
on
the
ballot,
Bartlett
Bay,
Wastewater,
Bond,
the
district
financing
for
the
city
center
and
the
school
Capital.
Improvement
Bond
tell
us
your
thoughts
on
these
and
why
you
will
or
will
not
be
supporting
them
in
March
and,
let's
start
with
Tyler.
D
Yes,
so
the
again
we
we
spoke
about
the
Wastewater
Bond
I
mentioned
that
previously
I
do
support
that
I.
Think
it's
really
important
that
again
that
we're
proactive
in
these
issues,
Lake
Champlain,
is
one
of
our
most
treasured
natural
resources
and
I.
Think
it's
really
important
that
we're
that
we
take
the
steps
necessary
to
protect
it
and
that
our
town
does
its
part.
This
is
something
that
has
been
in
need
of
repair
for
quite
some
time,
but
at
the
same
time
hasn't
gotten
to
that
stage.
D
Yet
I,
don't
think
I'd
like
to
see
us
be
proactive
with
it
before
it
gets
to
that
stage.
The
Tiff
financing
for
the
city
center
again
a
lot
of
small
businesses.
A
lot
of
businesses
locally
have
been
clamoring
for
this.
For
some
time
it's
going
to
do
a
lot
to
ease
congestion
and
what
it
will
be.
The
heart
of
our
downtown
district,
so
I
think
it's
important
that
we
that
we
take
action
against
that
and
school
Capital
Improvement
Bond.
D
D
But
that
said,
there
are
a
few
areas
where
I
believe
South
Burlington
really
does
need
to
invest
to
maintain
the
character
that
it's
that
it
has
and
that
it's
known
for
and
that
I'd
like
to
see
continue
for
the
Next
Generation
and
schools
are
a
very
important
part
of
that,
and
these
are
improvements
that
we
need.
So
I
think
that
all
parties
have
done
a
great
job
coming
up
with
balanced,
reasonable
approaches
to
the
budget
given
where
we're
at
economically
right
now
and
I
support
these
measures.
Okay,.
B
B
Even
if
I
was
a
homeowner.
I'd
want
to
see
this
work
done
because
it's
important
it's
essential
to
our
future
and
the
schools
I
hope
they
don't
end
up
like
Burlington,
because
Burlington
has
a
mess
going
on
right
now,
but
I
think
that
self-loyment
tin
has
a
better
hand
on
and
they
doing
more
to
make
sure
that
you
know
they
don't
have
to
knock
down
a
building
and
find
a
new
space
for
the
children
to
go
to
school.
That's
a
lot.
The
children
are
in
a
Macy's
building
in
Burlington.
B
C
Beautiful
Street
we
part
of
it,
is
to
build
parks
and
the
City
Center,
Parks
I,
think
are
going
to
be
just
tremendous,
so
I
strongly
support
that
wastewater
treatment.
I
mean
we
know
what
happens
whenever.
There's
a
big
rainstorm
one
of
these
treatment
facilities
overflows
in
Lake
Champlain
becomes
unswimmable
in
the
summertime.
So
we
don't
want
that.
We
don't
want
any
destruction
of
our
lake
at
all,
so
that's
important
to
upgrade
and
to
maintain
the
level
of
of
support
we
need
for
our
for
our
Lake
and
the
school
district.
C
C
A
All
right,
thank
you.
So
the
next
question
is
more
an
opinion
and
a
Visionary
kind
of
a
question.
Do
you,
in
your
opinion,
feel
that
South
Burlington
has
a
housing
crisis
and
what
do
you
see
as
the
nature
of
housing
in
South
Burlington
and
how
to
meet
the
need
for
safe
and
affordable
housing
for
residents,
students
and
visitors?
Let's
start
with
Lydia
well.
B
D
D
How
I
would
like
to
see
that
addressed
I'm,
not
wholly
in
favor
of
limiting
and
restricting
new
housing
and
increasing
density
in
existing
neighborhoods
I?
Think
that
that
separates
us
and
I
think
that
that
it
creates
it
drives
us
apart
at
a
time
where
we
should
be
working
really
hard
to
bring
everyone
together
and
if
only
the
only
new
houses
that
can
be
built
are
ones
that
are
backfilled
in
existing
neighborhoods
I.
C
Tyler
mentioned,
you
know,
more
houses.
It's
to
me.
It's
the
the
old
myth
of.
If
you
increase
the
grand
grand
list
and
you
spread
out
the
the
cost
of
things
taxes
go
down,
there's
a
lot
of
studies
that
show
that
that's
just
absolutely
not
true
that
as
you
build,
you
need
more
services,
you
need
more
police,
you
need
more
Public
Works,
you
need
more
of
everything.
Taxes
go
up,
it
actually
costs
cost
us
money
to
to
develop.
Housing
South
Burlington
also
has
done.
C
C
There
are
1400
homes
in
the
pipeline
to
be
built,
so
I
mean
we're
not
Slackers
when
it
comes
to
housing,
I
think
we're
probably
leaders
in
in
the
state
as
far
as
housing
is
concerned,
so
I
think
we
need
to
think
you
know
a
little
more
be
a
little
more
circumspect
about
about
where
we
build
I
know
Tyler
mentioned.
He
thinks
that's,
not
a
good
idea
to
keep
the
the
development
to
the
they
call.
It
Transit
overlays
Liston
Road
City,
Center
Shelburne
Road.
A
Thank
you.
Let's
keep
with
the
theme
of
development
a
little
bit
the
new
Downtown
City
Center,
the
blue
Mall,
the
University
Mall
Higher
Ground
airport
expansion.
What
do
you
see
as
the
most
important
locations
that
need
Redevelopment,
and
how
will
you
use
your
role
as
a
city
councilor
to
address
these
issues?
Let's
start
with
Tyler.
D
Which
is
most
important?
That's
really
that's
a
great
question.
I!
Don't
know
that
I
can
prioritize,
I,
think
they're
all
incredibly
important
the
airport.
Well,
while
a
hot
button
is,
is
an
important
engine
for
economic
growth
for
our
community
and
without
it,
I
think
we'd
be
in
a
lot
of
trouble,
and
it's
already
as
as
a
home
to
the
Air
National
Guard
and
the
home
to
Beta
it's
an
invaluable
resource
for
us.
C
There
are
University
of
Vermont
buildings
being
built
in
City,
Center
to
House,
Medical,
Faculty
and
and
and
students
both
so
there's
going
to
be
an
integration
back
and
forth
between
the
University
of
Vermont
and
Yuma
and
City
Center
I
mean
that's.
My
great
hope
is
that
great
things
will
happen
with
Yuma.
A
B
I
would
like
to
see
more
bipod
people
in
business
in
South,
Burlington,
not
just
housing,
and
there
are
I
mean
during
the
pandemic.
There
were
lots
of
new
bipart
people.
You
know
trying
to
start
a
business
or
trying
to
help
folks
to
just
maintain
their
sanity.
You
know
being
shut
down,
but
there
are
a
lot
of
beautiful
bipart
people
out
there
and
I
want
South
Burlington
to
get
to
know
them
better
because
they
really
do
bring
something
to
the
table.
B
Elite
I
live
on
Lumpkin
Road,
you
know
with
bipod
elderly
disabled,
and
one
of
the
things
that
my
neighbors
asked
me
to
speak
about
was
the
difference
between
affordable
housing
as
far
as
the
city's
definition
and
what
it
really
means
to
the
people
because
they
struggling
they
struggling.
The
children,
struggling
I
got
grandchildren
in
the
school
system
and
for
the
first
time
we
are
in
Colchester
and
that's
never
happened
in
the
25
years.
I've
been
here
so.
A
A
Keeping
with
that
theme
a
little
bit
I'd
like
to
talk
about
language
access,
so
as
a
community
with
a
diversity
of
languages
spoken.
What
ways
do
you
see
that
city
government
can
expand
access
and
accessibility
to
more
community
members
who
want
to
participate
in
local
democracy?
Lydia?
Let's
start
with
you?
Well.
B
There
are
folks
who
are
translators,
I
was
on
a
equity
committee
and
it
was
huge.
It
was
like
a
hundred
people
and
they
had
translators
on
the
line
for
everybody,
and
it
was
fantastic.
It
was
it
was,
it
wasn't
all
peaches
and
cream,
but
you
know
the
the
people
who
could
translate
would
translate
and
then
other
folks
comment
and
it
was
across
the
board
of
people.
Black
white,
oh
everybody,
poor
Rich
was
great.
B
A
D
D
D
The
earlier
kids
learn,
then,
the
the
more
their
eyes
are
open
to
the
world
around
them
and
the
more
accepting
and
the
more
Curious
they
become
about
other
cultures
and
I
was
a
little
disappointed
to
learn
that
I,
it's
always
been,
was
my
experience
that
we
start
second
language
learning
in
sixth
grade,
but
I
was
really
disappointed.
My
son
started
sixth
grade
it's
titled
this
year
and
I
was
disappointed
to
find
that
he
only
has
one
semester
of
it.
They
only
study
it
for
half
a
year.
D
That's
not
how
we
learn
languages
so
I'd
like
to
see
that
change
and
the
second
way
we
can
do
it
is
by
recognizing
that,
yes,
it
starts
with
children,
but
it
doesn't
end
there
if
I
learned
anything
at
EF.
It's
that
remarkable
life
experiences
and
remarkable
life
changes
can
be
had
when
you
learn
a
language
at
as
an
adult
and
I'd
like
to
see
us
as
I'd
like
to
see
us
as
a
city,
council
and
city
government.
Take
action
on
that.
A
C
Oh
I
was
surprised
recently
to
find
out
that
11
of
the
population
of
South
Burlington
does
not
speak
English
at
home.
We
have
a
significant
non-english
speaking
population,
one
out
of
10
people.
We
need
to
address
that.
We
need
to
be
able
to
provide
translators
for
people
we're
talking
about
bringing
people
into
city
government.
It's
very
important
that
we
bring
this
population
into
our
city
government.
You
know
we
have
a
reputation,
I
think
as
being
a
pretty.
You
know,
Lily
white
town,
and
you
know
we
need
to
do
that.
C
Just
as
as
Lydia
said,
I
mean
she
wants
to
see
some
bipac
people
involved
in
city
government.
We
have
to
take
some
kind
of
affirmative
action
to
make
that
happen.
So
I
had
an
interesting
experience,
I
I
think
probably
everybody
in
South
Burlington
knows
Klinger's.
Bakery
I
was
in
there
a
couple
days
ago,
and
there
was
a
young
man
behind
the
counter
who
was
speaking
impeccable
Spanish
with
a
customer.
It
was
really
incredible.
C
A
D
D
I
I
don't
see
the
trends,
the
the
trend
slowing
anytime
soon
and
the
conversations
that
I've
had
with
folks
in
law
enforcement.
It
doesn't
seem
to
be
subsiding
so
I'd
like
to
see
us
get
ahead
of
it
before
we
start
experiencing
more
difficulties
like
some
of
our
neighboring
cities
is
thing.
One
thing
two
I
also
would
like
to
see
this.
D
The
city
council
take
a
hard
look
at
some
of
the
policies
that
have
been
enacted
by
Sarah
George,
while
I
fully
respect
and
appreciate
the
Need,
For
Change
I
think
it's
also
I,
don't
think
we
should
should
ever
subjugate
anyone's
rights
to
anyone
else's
and
right
now,
I
think
I.
Speaking
for
myself
self
and
speaking
for
members
of
the
business,
Community
who've
been
impacted
by
this.
D
It
feels
as
though
the
rights
of
many
small
business
owners
are
being
subjugated
to
the
to
the
rights
of
others
when
we
have
no
recourse
against
Crime.
That
occurs
so
I'd
like
to
see
us
as
a
council
find
a
find
a
way
to
find
our
voice
to
to
address
that
concern
in
a
positive
and
constructive
manner,
so
that
we
can
better
achieve
some
balance
behind
around
between
reform,
Social,
Justice,
Reform,
policing,
reform
and
making
sure
that
we're
keeping
our
city
safe.
A
B
I
am
I,
don't
need
data
when
it
comes
to
the
violence
and
the
guns
and
the
disrespect.
My
civil
rights
have
been
violated
right
here
in
Colchester,
and
it's
get
it's
already
a
a
level
where
it's
getting
out
of
control
seriously.
I
shouldn't
have
to
feel
for
my
life
ever
but
I
have
you
know
and
I
don't
like
to
talk
about
it,
because
by
talking
about
it,
I
relive
it,
but
I
want
people
to
lay
the
guns
down,
not
just
lock
them
away.
B
B
A
C
I,
don't
I,
don't
know
what
the
data
is.
I
agree
with
Lydia
I,
don't
know
that
the
data
is
all
that
important.
We've
been
getting
lots
of
car
break-ins
and
things
in
our
neighborhood
and
I'm,
originally
from
Rochester
New
York
and
when
I
first
came
to
Vermont
after
being
in
in
Rochester
I
I
was
amazed
that
you
know
that
drugs
was
marijuana
and
you
know
sex
was
free.
It
was
free
love
here.
You
know
that
where
I
came
from
you
know
drugs
was
heroin
and
and
sex
was
prostitution.
C
You
know
so
it's
it's
something
I
really
appreciated
in
Vermont
and
I'm.
Seeing
lately
just
now,
you
know
with
the
kinds
of
crimes
that
are
happening,
that
that
the
drug
world
is
here.
You
know
it's
it's
the
world
of
the
Junkies,
you
know.
So
that's
what
we
are
dealing
with.
I,
don't
even
know
that
anybody
is
acknowledged
dealing
with
it
yet.
C
A
C
B
B
C
C
This
is
this
is
a
really
a
life
and
death
issue.
I
read
recently
that
spring
is
coming
three
weeks
earlier
fall
is
lasting
a
month
longer,
you
know,
I
can
remember.
When
town
meeting
was
the
day
where
there's
a
little
trickle
of
water
along
the
along
the
sides
of
the
roads,
you
know
it
was
like
just
the
first
indications
of
spring
I
mean
that's
what
we
were
seeing
here
a
couple
days
ago,
I
mean
that's
the
three
weeks
earlier
for
spring
that
that
they're
saying
is
happening.
C
A
D
D
D
I
think
it's
really
important
that
we
engage
as
many
other
constituents
as
we
can
and
develop
a
long-term
plan
that
accounts
for
all
the
different
communities,
what
they
have
to
offer
and
what
they
can
bring
to
the
table
to
help
solve
the
crisis
and
I'm
excited
to
help.
Do
that
and
and
I'm
excited
to
explore
what
role
South
Burlington
can
play
in
that,
instead
of
focusing
just
on
what
we
can
do
within
our
own
walls,
Thing
One
Thing
Two.
D
As
someone
who
used
to
work
for
a
Solar,
Company
I'm
a
little
reluctant-
maybe
maybe
the
right
word-
to
rush
into
policies,
particularly
when
they
involve
technologies
that
have
not
quite
yet
been
proven
or
tested,
or
that
may
not
account
for
what's
coming
next
by
2035,
you
will
not
be
able
to
go
onto
a
car
lot
and
buy
an
internal
combustion.
Okay,
yeah
buy
an
internal
combustion
engine
car.
That's
in
10
years,
they'll
be
Electric.
D
The
average
electric
car
uses
as
much
electricity
over
100
miles
as
the
average
household
uses
in
a
full
day.
So
in
10
years
we're
looking
at
energy
demand.
That's
an
energy
demand,
increase,
that's
unprecedented
before
we
go
mandating
the
use
of
certain
appliances
or
what
have
you
or
anything
like
that?
I
think
it's
really
important
that
we
consider
those
as
those
implications
as
we
make
those
policy
decisions.
Sorry,
it's
okay!.
C
Home
yeah,
okay,
you
have
30
seconds
I.
Don't
think
that
the
nations
of
the
world
have
really
done
what
needs
to
be
done
and
I
really
think
that
the
solution
to
the
climate
change
problem
is
going
to
come
from
the
Grassroots.
It's
going
to
come
from
cities
like
South
Burlington
and
our
climate
action
plan
and
the
state
of
Vermont
and
the
state
of
Vermont
action
plan.
A
C
I
said
last
night
that
in
a
closing
remark
that
the
most
important
thing
to
me
when
I
was
a
city,
councilor
was
having
a
couple.
People
come
to
me
and
tell
me
in
confidence,
some
very
serious
matters
and
and
I
asked
them
why,
and
they
said
it
was
because
I
was
the
one
person
in
the
council
that
they
felt
they
could
trust
and
that
they
could
talk
to
I,
really
I.
Think
that's
what
I
offer
more
than
anything
and
I'm
not
terribly
aware
of
it,
but
but
that's
apparently,
who
I
am.
D
A
nearly
lifelong
South,
Burlington
resident
I'm,
proud
to
call
South
Burlington
my
home
and
to
be
a
to
be
able
to
raise
my
family
in
town
and
I'm.
Grateful
for
all
the
things
that
it
is
afforded
me
as
as
a
child
as
an
adult
as
a
parent
and
as
a
small
business
owner
and
I
want
to
see
that
continue
for
the
next
generation
and
I
believe.
The
best
way
to
do
that
is
to
bring
diversity
and
different
perspectives
to
the
table,
particularly
to
make
policy
decisions.
B
So
because
I
was
told,
I'm
messy,
I'm,
professional
and
I
wouldn't
be
voted
for,
but
I'm
from
Brooklyn.
That's
not
news.
I've
been
here
almost
half
my
life
and
I'm
gonna
keep
doing
what
makes
me
happy
all
my
children
are
adults.
My
grandchildren
give
me
joy
and
laughter
and
I'm
gonna
keep
doing
what
I
want
to
do.
So.
That's
why
I'm
here
I'm
here
for
those
that
look
like
me
and
I
love
all
of
y'all
too.
Likewise,.
A
A
Www.Ch17.Tv,
thank
you
to
our
candidates.
Paul
Engels,
Tyler,
Barnes
and
Lydia
Diamond
running
for
a
city
of
South,
Burlington,
open
seat
to
your
term.
Don't
forget
to
vote
on
or
before
March
7th
ballots
are
not
mailed
automatically.
So
please
check
with
your
town
clerk
to
request
a
ballot
or
make
sure
to
get
to
the
polls
on
March
7th.
Thank
you
for
watching
and
sharing
town
meeting
television
and,
if
you're
not
already
subscribed
to
our
town
meeting
and.