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Hello everyone. Welcome to the public

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hearing on the master plan on

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September 30, 2026. Dana Allen,

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Chairwoman of the Planning Commission.

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Let me give a short

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presentation on the

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zoning plan and

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then today's hearing.

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We're recording it. The staff records and

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we record the online version. There are people

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online, there are people in the room. So let's discuss

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how this will work. But

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quickly, I wanted to introduce the

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other commissioners. So Billy

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if you want Billy Big Door

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Hi everyone. Thanks for coming

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.

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Monica Callan

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Robbie Adler

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Hello everyone. I'm Katie

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Gallagher.

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Neil Wright here. City planner.

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Hmm, thanks everyone. We have submitted

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an application for ID cards, but the

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city council has not approved them yet.

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So we'll get them one day. But

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anyway, yeah, thanks for

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coming. We appreciate it. People, if

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you drop by, could you

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sign? Teresa, thank you.

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Sorry. I will be the Cheryl Casey of

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today's meeting. Anyway

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, can we move on to the next

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slide, Neil? What can we

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expect tonight? We are here to

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hear your opinion on the

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spatial development plan in

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its current form. This is a draft

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plan. It is still under revision.

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Your feedback is an integral

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part of this process. So we're looking for

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specific things you want

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to change, or things you

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like or support. It's nice

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to hear things like that. Specific

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changes are welcome. You know,

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aspirations, goals and strategies are

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really the heart of this

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spatial development plan. And there's

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something that you think is missing, something that

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you think needs strengthening,

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etc., etc. That's what we want

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to hear about. You can ask

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technical questions about the process and project

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. We will provide you with information to the best of

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our ability about how

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individual policies and recommendations are developed.

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So we'll do it. And we are here

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to listen. We are focused on

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listening to as many

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community members as possible. We take in

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a lot of information. This is our

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main goal for tonight.

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Next slide. What is a

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spatial development plan? This is

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our shared framework for making

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decisions about the future.

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State law requires this. We have to

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do them every 8 years. It's been a while

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since

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we've done such a comprehensive

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update. I think the last time

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technically was in

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2013. And it has continued

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administratively until now. So…

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We did a really big

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renovation. We changed a lot of things. This is a

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big change. It gives us a city council,

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city committees and the like. It gives

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us goals to strive for.

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It gives us an overarching framework for

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making decisions. That's why it's important

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. This is not a

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zoning ordinance. And I want

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to repeat it. These largely

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regulate the process, but they

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are not zoning regulations in themselves. This is a separate

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process. So think of it as a

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big framework, a lot of ideas and

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guidelines. Think of

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zoning regulations as the foundation of how

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we actually regulate development in a given

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area or plot of land. Next slide.

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Hmm, the goals of this were to make the

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plan more accessible. We We, as

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many of you have probably seen, um, we have made a

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map of history. This is a website.

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We divided it into chapters. It's a

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bit more graphic. There is

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much less text than in the old, version. Hmm, we wanted it to be

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more accessible this way.

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Hmm, we also wanted it to be a bit

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more doable. Um, so

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we spent a lot of time

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aligning aspirations, goals, and

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strategies with what we felt was

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pretty important. We also did something that I don't think we've ever

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done before in a spatial development plan

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, which is to kind of

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recommend who would be

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responsible for implementing

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some of these aspirations, goals and

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strategies. So we try to

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assign a little bit of responsibility here and there

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. We say that

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we recommend that someone take care of it

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. We try to make sure it's not

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just a planning document that

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sits on a shelf, but something that someone

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can actually dig into and

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work on. We wanted it to be

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community driven.

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We've collected two years of feedback. This is the

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culmination of two years of collecting

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feedback. We'll talk about this a little

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more, but that was really the

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ultimate goal. Next slide. How

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did the community shape the plan?

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We started it in 2024.

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We have had many consultations with

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specific committees, partners,

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groups and the like.

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We conducted a

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community survey in the fall of 2024.

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I think it was open for almost

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3 months. Well, and we got

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a lot of answers.

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We then organized four

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visualization sessions. We sent many

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publications. We invited

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people such as committees,

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stakeholders, and the general public to these sessions via email.

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During these sessions, we asked a lot of

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detailed questions about what you wanted to

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see, what you valued, what you wanted to

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preserve, protect, and so on. Well,

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we then had meetings

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dedicated to individual chapters

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and aspirations, goals, and strategies.

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You will hear me often talk about

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aspirations, goals, and strategies. This

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is the heart of this plan. So when you

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think about it, it's kind of like a

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filtered vision.

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We held six separate

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chapter meetings,

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essentially covering two chapters

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each. Over time, we developed

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the details of these aspirations, goals, and

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strategies. We spent a lot of time

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developing a plan. We met

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several times a month. These

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meetings were mainly devoted

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to development. So

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we literally wrote this plan in this room with the

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help of a Meals Help consultant. And

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then others, you know, came and

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helped us with specific things. It

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was part of this whole public

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process. We published the project on

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August 4 this year. This brings us

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to now. The plan has been available in

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draft form for approximately 8 weeks. This is

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our public hearing that

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we are holding to get your

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feedback on this topic. After this

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public hearing, we will go

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through the amendments. So we'll gather opinions.

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We'll make some adjustments. We will make

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some changes. And then we'll take this

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second project basically to

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elect the board for two hearings

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that will elect the board, well,

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dates are still to be determined. We

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're not sure how much feedback we'll get.

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So we will work on it. It

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will take us some time. And then you

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will have to elect a board for their

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trial. Hmm, I think they have about

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180 days from the time we present the

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project to them to hold

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hearings. They will be publicly

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announced. Next slide. Here are the five

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biggest challenges

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we heard about. These were our “

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North Stars,” if you could

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have more than one. Hmm,

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property taxes, we've heard about that

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a lot. Hmm, I think we

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're all aware of that. Hmm,

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affordable and adequate

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housing, I think that's been a hot

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topic for a long time. Climate change and

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resilience to storms and floods is

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another important topic from the survey, from the

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visualization sessions, from the many pieces of

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information received. Growth and development is a

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broad topic, but it is definitely growing

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. How can we be flood-resilient while

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also ensuring a level of

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growth and development in our

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community? Hmm, and then the

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school system. And, you know, the note about the

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school system, that's also

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very concerning to us. It is an integral

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part of our community. It's

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technically a separate

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entity from the city and the planning commission

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and things like that. But this is something that

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we, as a planning commission, as a

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city, are paying attention to. They simply have

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their own

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administrative district. Many decisions are

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made at this level. So I'll just

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outline the discussion here. Well

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, next slide. All right. So,

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chapters of the plan. Introduction. What is it about

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? Planning context. What is the

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story behind this? What is the general framework

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we are looking at?

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We tried to

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isolate the key themes from what we heard.

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We created many different maps

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showing some of these

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data points and themes. Well, what we're

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getting at is we've really taken all of that

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and turned it into

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these ambitious goals and strategies. Again,

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that's the crux of the whole matter: what do

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we do about it, right? And that's what

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we think we can do about it,

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right? We've added

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progress tracking and

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engagement. This is something new in this

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plan. Basically saying, "Hey, these

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are the things we want to do, and these

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are the people we think can

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do them, and that's how we can

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measure progress." So it's

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quite general. This is a recommendation. We don't

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appoint someone and say, "

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You have to do this." But we exchanged

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names. So if you are one of

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those people, we would be grateful for your

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help and support on some

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issues. That would be great. Hmm,

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next slide. All right. This

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now brings us to the interrogation. Hmm,

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actually a few rules. Hmm, please,

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when you speak, come to the

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table. This will help Orga understand this.

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will help the owl understand. This will make it a

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little easier for us to see you. Hmm,

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tell me your name. Hmm, optional,

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place of residence. We hope

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mostly in Waterbury. Hmm,

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we're in person and on Zoom. So

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we will try to use

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these two methods alternately. So, we'll try

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to take, you know, questions from the floor,

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questions from Zoom, let's try to

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alternate there. Neil will be

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monitoring Zoom. If you're on

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Zoom, raise your virtual hand to

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be recognized. We will do

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our best to keep you in the

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00:09:38,278 --> 00:09:41,551
order you raise your hands.

278
00:09:41,551 --> 00:09:43,555
If something goes wrong, please be

279
00:09:43,555 --> 00:09:46,268
understanding. We try to keep

280
00:09:46,268 --> 00:09:48,170
our meetings as

281
00:09:48,170 --> 00:09:50,959
separate as possible. And one more thing, please

282
00:09:50,959 --> 00:09:52,938
limit your first

283
00:09:52,938 --> 00:09:55,703
comments to 3 minutes. Being

284
00:09:55,703 --> 00:09:57,900
focused is really good. We

285
00:09:57,900 --> 00:10:00,104
won't interrupt you after 3 minutes. You

286
00:10:00,104 --> 00:10:01,726
only have 3 minutes throughout the

287
00:10:01,726 --> 00:10:03,333
evening. We want everyone to have a

288
00:10:03,333 --> 00:10:04,889
chance to express themselves. Therefore,

289
00:10:04,889 --> 00:10:06,382
we ask that the first time you

290
00:10:06,382 --> 00:10:07,913
come forward and speak, it be for

291
00:10:07,913 --> 00:10:09,564
3 minutes. If you have more,

292
00:10:09,564 --> 00:10:11,473
please come back. However, we try to

293
00:10:11,473 --> 00:10:13,030
give everyone a chance to

294
00:10:13,030 --> 00:10:14,634
speak, at least initially,

295
00:10:14,634 --> 00:10:16,329
before we start calling people out a

296
00:10:16,329 --> 00:10:19,578
second or third time. I just wanted to

297
00:10:19,578 --> 00:10:22,157
mention this. Neil will keep track of

298
00:10:22,157 --> 00:10:24,722
time. We will do our best. Neil,

299
00:10:24,722 --> 00:10:26,239
if you could let people know

300
00:10:26,239 --> 00:10:27,755
when their time is left, you know, in a

301
00:10:27,755 --> 00:10:29,487
minute or so, that would be

302
00:10:29,487 --> 00:10:31,492
really nice. We are recording it as

303
00:10:31,492 --> 00:10:33,487
we said earlier. We'll try to

304
00:10:33,487 --> 00:10:35,359
transcribe it so we have all the

305
00:10:35,359 --> 00:10:36,941
comments. It will be easier for us

306
00:10:36,941 --> 00:10:38,597
to absorb much of what has been

307
00:10:38,597 --> 00:10:40,431
said. We will also take

308
00:10:40,431 --> 00:10:42,227
notes, but that was just my

309
00:10:42,227 --> 00:10:46,104
personal thing. That's all. That's

310
00:10:46,104 --> 00:10:48,192
all I have for you. Thank you for

311
00:10:48,192 --> 00:10:54,247
coming. And now the vote is open.

312
00:10:54,247 --> 00:10:57,643
Does

313
00:10:57,643 --> 00:11:01,847
anyone want to comment?

314
00:11:01,847 --> 00:11:03,035
I can comment.

315
00:11:03,035 --> 00:11:04,984
Great. I wanted to say that

316
00:11:04,984 --> 00:11:06,678
if no one speaks in a minute, we'll

317
00:11:06,678 --> 00:11:09,050
wrap up and say

318
00:11:09,050 --> 00:11:11,819
hello. Good evening. I am Pegine

319
00:11:11,819 --> 00:11:14,461
Mulhern. I'm with the Waterbury Land

320
00:11:14,461 --> 00:11:19,057
Initiative. I only have a few sections

321
00:11:19,057 --> 00:11:21,202
that I think we could

322
00:11:21,202 --> 00:11:26,930
add a bit to. One of them is in the

323
00:11:26,930 --> 00:11:32,675
social services department, where I

324
00:11:32,675 --> 00:11:37,909
believe we have our parks. There is

325
00:11:37,909 --> 00:11:39,781
nothing there about the Russell property

326
00:11:39,781 --> 00:11:41,602
being open to the public and having

327
00:11:41,602 --> 00:11:51,425
trails, so as those of you

328
00:11:51,425 --> 00:11:53,282
who follow

329
00:11:53,282 --> 00:11:55,238
permit applications know, we are applying for a parking lot

330
00:11:55,238 --> 00:11:56,894
, so we will need and

331
00:11:56,894 --> 00:11:58,800
want the city to support us as

332
00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:00,706
we change the parking lot to make it

333
00:12:00,706 --> 00:12:02,613
more accessible, as it

334
00:12:02,613 --> 00:12:04,368
is currently only accessible to people

335
00:12:04,368 --> 00:12:13,230
who know how to get there.

336
00:12:13,230 --> 00:12:15,215
So, um, I'd like the first

337
00:12:15,215 --> 00:12:16,609
thing to be done is to add this

338
00:12:16,609 --> 00:12:18,594
property, Russell Conservation

339
00:12:18,594 --> 00:12:20,365
Property, to the list of parks and things

340
00:12:20,365 --> 00:12:21,921
like that; and then, um,

341
00:12:21,921 --> 00:12:23,584
of course, we would be happy to

342
00:12:23,584 --> 00:12:25,569
sign on there as a

343
00:12:25,569 --> 00:12:27,232
participating entity or anything in its

344
00:12:27,232 --> 00:12:29,217
entirety where it's not the city, the

345
00:12:29,217 --> 00:12:31,202
Waterbury Land Initiative and

346
00:12:31,202 --> 00:12:38,845
non-city entities. And that brings

347
00:12:38,845 --> 00:12:40,701
me to the natural resources section

348
00:12:40,701 --> 00:12:45,697
where we are listed. The

349
00:12:45,697 --> 00:12:47,751
first place we are

350
00:12:47,751 --> 00:12:49,630
listed is Waterbury Land

351
00:12:49,630 --> 00:12:51,919
Initiatives with an S, which shouldn't

352
00:12:51,919 --> 00:12:53,974
be an S. And we're not listed

353
00:12:53,974 --> 00:12:59,186
specifically in

354
00:12:59,186 --> 00:13:01,132
participating entities outside the city, but

355
00:13:01,132 --> 00:13:03,765
we should be. It says Waterbury

356
00:13:03,765 --> 00:13:07,029
Land Trust. And essentially Waterbury Land

357
00:13:07,029 --> 00:13:08,986
Initiatives serves that function in this

358
00:13:08,986 --> 00:13:12,985
city. We just have a different name.

359
00:13:12,985 --> 00:13:15,012
So we think this correction could be

360
00:13:15,012 --> 00:13:18,892
there. And of course, we're

361
00:13:18,892 --> 00:13:20,623
happy to help in any other

362
00:13:20,623 --> 00:13:22,668
way you'd like us to help

363
00:13:22,668 --> 00:13:27,224
. And we will answer any questions

364
00:13:27,224 --> 00:13:30,863
if you do and have questions for us.

365
00:13:30,863 --> 00:13:34,576
We have a Waterbury Land Gmail account. You can

366
00:13:34,576 --> 00:13:36,158
find us on the internet. A

367
00:13:36,158 --> 00:13:38,329
clarifying question for you. Uh,

368
00:13:38,329 --> 00:13:40,423
Russell property, I assume

369
00:13:40,423 --> 00:13:42,144
adding it to the parks map.

370
00:13:42,144 --> 00:13:44,296
That would be good. Yes, and you know where

371
00:13:44,296 --> 00:13:48,034
you have the parks listed, yes. It was a bit

372
00:13:48,034 --> 00:13:49,734
hard for me to tell from the

373
00:13:49,734 --> 00:13:53,695
maps. Was there a list too?

374
00:13:53,695 --> 00:13:55,476
I didn't see that. I mean I'm

375
00:13:55,476 --> 00:13:57,334
looking at parks and you blew it up

376
00:13:57,334 --> 00:13:58,244
and but

377
00:13:58,244 --> 00:13:58,810
Okay.

378
00:13:58,810 --> 00:14:00,585
But I was in a hurry, so. Can

379
00:14:00,585 --> 00:14:02,070
you tell us? Can you

380
00:14:02,070 --> 00:14:03,429
tell? In case anyone does

381
00:14:03,429 --> 00:14:04,789
n't know yet, where is

382
00:14:04,789 --> 00:14:06,089
Russell Conservation Property?

383
00:14:06,089 --> 00:14:07,302
It's on Blush Hill.

384
00:14:07,302 --> 00:14:09,952
Mhm.

385
00:14:09,952 --> 00:14:11,767
And uh you can access it via

386
00:14:11,767 --> 00:14:13,330
Blackberry Lane or there's uh this

387
00:14:13,330 --> 00:14:15,146
property that's behind

388
00:14:15,146 --> 00:14:19,694
where the radio towers are. This is, um,

389
00:14:19,694 --> 00:14:22,498
west. So, you can

390
00:14:22,498 --> 00:14:24,561
reach it through there or through the fields

391
00:14:24,561 --> 00:14:29,384
before you get to Blackberry Lane. There's an

392
00:14:29,384 --> 00:14:31,284
open field and there's going to be a parking lot there and we're

393
00:14:31,284 --> 00:14:33,081
going to put a bench in to

394
00:14:33,081 --> 00:14:34,929
honor, uh, Chilia Russell who

395
00:14:34,929 --> 00:14:38,880
donated this property. And there are

396
00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:40,712
now mowed paths there, so

397
00:14:40,712 --> 00:14:42,340
you can walk through those fields

398
00:14:42,340 --> 00:14:43,048
. Great.

399
00:14:43,048 --> 00:14:43,935
and go in there.

400
00:14:43,935 --> 00:14:44,988
Thank you.

401
00:14:44,988 --> 00:14:46,007
Can I ask a question?

402
00:14:46,007 --> 00:14:47,385
Yes, sir. Would

403
00:14:47,385 --> 00:14:49,406
you like us to call it Russell

404
00:14:49,406 --> 00:14:51,811
Property? Is that what this is about?

405
00:14:51,811 --> 00:14:53,727
I think its full name is

406
00:14:53,727 --> 00:14:56,162
Russell Conservation Property.

407
00:14:56,162 --> 00:15:00,720
Okay. Thank you. It's

408
00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:02,852
actually called William G. and um

409
00:15:02,852 --> 00:15:04,878
Chilia Russell Conservation Property,

410
00:15:04,878 --> 00:15:06,798
but that might be a little hard

411
00:15:06,798 --> 00:15:10,698
for everyone to pronounce.

412
00:15:10,698 --> 00:15:13,152
We were actually told it would be difficult

413
00:15:13,152 --> 00:15:16,414
for the 911 sign. At least that's what it's

414
00:15:16,414 --> 00:15:17,000
called.

415
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:18,344
Thank you.

416
00:15:18,344 --> 00:15:19,677
for being here.

417
00:15:19,677 --> 00:15:21,606
Thank you. Thank you for all your

418
00:15:21,606 --> 00:15:22,026
work.

419
00:15:22,026 --> 00:15:25,817
Thanks. Anyone online? Do we have any

420
00:15:25,817 --> 00:15:28,316
hands?

421
00:15:28,316 --> 00:15:29,183
Not yet.

422
00:15:29,183 --> 00:15:32,480
Okay. Um, I don't see anyone online,

423
00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,401
anyone from the room?

424
00:15:35,401 --> 00:15:37,919
I'll stir the pot.

425
00:15:37,919 --> 00:15:39,448
Are you good at this, Chris?

426
00:15:39,448 --> 00:15:43,313
I am. Yes. So, I picked up a

427
00:15:43,313 --> 00:15:45,114
paper copy recently and, um,

428
00:15:45,114 --> 00:15:46,867
I haven't read it all the way through, but I'm

429
00:15:46,867 --> 00:15:48,425
getting to housing.

430
00:15:48,425 --> 00:15:49,934
Could you show me the five

431
00:15:49,934 --> 00:15:51,395
headings you had

432
00:15:51,395 --> 00:15:53,801
before, social housing,

433
00:15:53,801 --> 00:15:56,718
community housing, and adequate housing?

434
00:15:56,718 --> 00:15:58,586
And no, the five headlines

435
00:15:58,586 --> 00:16:00,241
you had, school, er,

436
00:16:00,241 --> 00:16:02,006
economic development.

437
00:16:02,006 --> 00:16:03,158
Yes, so this is the one.

438
00:16:03,158 --> 00:16:06,496
Yes. Yes. So, I dug a little deeper

439
00:16:06,496 --> 00:16:09,444
into the housing chapter. Hmm

440
00:16:09,444 --> 00:16:11,349
, my concern was that I didn't

441
00:16:11,349 --> 00:16:16,005
see any information there. And I

442
00:16:16,005 --> 00:16:17,866
want everyone in this room to

443
00:16:17,866 --> 00:16:19,728
know that I've spent 45 years of

444
00:16:19,728 --> 00:16:22,572
my career in the housing industry.

445
00:16:22,572 --> 00:16:24,485
So, I am not anti-housing in any way

446
00:16:24,485 --> 00:16:27,979
. Hmm, but

447
00:16:27,979 --> 00:16:29,883
this issue of public housing,

448
00:16:29,883 --> 00:16:31,787
property taxes, the

449
00:16:31,787 --> 00:16:33,747
school system, all of this is

450
00:16:33,747 --> 00:16:41,946
interconnected. Hmm, I was looking for some information

451
00:16:41,946 --> 00:16:43,845
that I don't know if anyone

452
00:16:43,845 --> 00:16:45,901
can provide, I mean, in the

453
00:16:45,901 --> 00:16:47,905
chapter on housing, it

454
00:16:47,905 --> 00:16:50,015
suggests that we should build 30 to 40

455
00:16:50,015 --> 00:16:59,204
houses a year in this city. My

456
00:16:59,204 --> 00:17:01,259
first question is: what is the

457
00:17:01,259 --> 00:17:06,416
end goal? You know what we're trying

458
00:17:06,416 --> 00:17:12,672
to achieve by doing this? And how does that relate

459
00:17:12,672 --> 00:17:14,487
to where there's a

460
00:17:14,487 --> 00:17:16,251
tipping point in terms of

461
00:17:16,251 --> 00:17:18,221
housing stock, because it seems like

462
00:17:18,221 --> 00:17:19,984
we're pushing the narrative that more

463
00:17:19,984 --> 00:17:22,007
economic development, more housing, is going to

464
00:17:22,007 --> 00:17:24,029
lower taxes, is going to lower school costs, is going to

465
00:17:24,029 --> 00:17:30,869
lower affordability.

466
00:17:30,869 --> 00:17:32,129
I wish we could do some

467
00:17:32,129 --> 00:17:34,068
research to

468
00:17:34,068 --> 00:17:37,407
find out what that number is. What goal

469
00:17:37,407 --> 00:17:41,564
are we achieving? Where is the line beyond

470
00:17:41,564 --> 00:17:43,594
which costs begin to

471
00:17:43,594 --> 00:17:50,718
decline? Because this is the same

472
00:17:50,718 --> 00:17:52,787
strategy that not only this city

473
00:17:52,787 --> 00:17:54,909
has had in the past, but every other

474
00:17:54,909 --> 00:17:56,872
city in the state, including the state, keeps

475
00:17:56,872 --> 00:17:58,676
pushing and it doesn't seem to be

476
00:17:58,676 --> 00:18:04,386
working. We just keep dragging

477
00:18:04,386 --> 00:18:07,998
people down. One day I was stacking

478
00:18:07,998 --> 00:18:09,783
firewood in the basement and I had an

479
00:18:09,783 --> 00:18:11,715
epiphany and I was thinking why

480
00:18:11,715 --> 00:18:16,368
, why do things cost so much?

481
00:18:16,368 --> 00:18:18,002
And I came to the conclusion that two

482
00:18:18,002 --> 00:18:19,588
things are the main factors in the

483
00:18:19,588 --> 00:18:21,318
problems we

484
00:18:21,318 --> 00:18:24,018
face today. First of all, the value of the dollar

485
00:18:24,018 --> 00:18:27,136
is in the toilet. In 1980,

486
00:18:27,136 --> 00:18:29,638
$100, what you could

487
00:18:29,638 --> 00:18:32,012
buy for $100,

488
00:18:32,012 --> 00:18:36,729
now bought you $11.20. And

489
00:18:36,729 --> 00:18:38,590
honestly, the second aspect, the second

490
00:18:38,590 --> 00:18:40,615
problem I see is that

491
00:18:40,615 --> 00:18:42,585
our state government has really put us through a

492
00:18:42,585 --> 00:18:47,621
tough test. We have exceeded our

493
00:18:47,621 --> 00:18:49,412
budget by a significant margin and there is no way

494
00:18:49,412 --> 00:18:51,302
back under the current structure

495
00:18:51,302 --> 00:18:56,973
because we simply do not have the money.

496
00:18:56,973 --> 00:18:58,717
I called into a radio program recently

497
00:18:58,717 --> 00:19:04,308
and there was a guest on there

498
00:19:04,308 --> 00:19:05,976
talking about the state

499
00:19:05,976 --> 00:19:08,537
pension program. I called and asked,

500
00:19:08,537 --> 00:19:10,110
"What is this pension plan like now

501
00:19:10,110 --> 00:19:13,029
?" 5 billion in the red

502
00:19:13,029 --> 00:19:15,180
. Four years ago I called and

503
00:19:15,180 --> 00:19:17,526
talked to Mike Pieciak about this.

504
00:19:17,526 --> 00:19:19,991
It was 4 billion in the red, now it's

505
00:19:19,991 --> 00:19:21,847
5 billion in the red. So we're

506
00:19:21,847 --> 00:19:23,327
definitely heading in the right

507
00:19:23,327 --> 00:19:24,529
direction when it comes to

508
00:19:24,529 --> 00:19:26,429
affordability. So I'll

509
00:19:26,429 --> 00:19:27,121
end there.

510
00:19:27,121 --> 00:19:28,067
Thanks Chris.

511
00:19:28,067 --> 00:19:34,359
Thank you. Just...Can I?

512
00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:34,842
Yes.

513
00:19:34,842 --> 00:19:36,805
Hello everyone. I'm new to

514
00:19:36,805 --> 00:19:38,852
Waterbury. I am Some of you

515
00:19:38,852 --> 00:19:40,945
know me from Montpelier, but I have lived

516
00:19:40,945 --> 00:19:42,880
here in Vermont for 23 years. I just don't

517
00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:44,654
go out much because I'm a writer.

518
00:19:44,654 --> 00:19:46,136
I just wanted to say hello to

519
00:19:46,136 --> 00:19:46,655
everyone.

520
00:19:46,655 --> 00:19:47,133
Name?

521
00:19:47,133 --> 00:19:48,864
Carlton Anderson. Uh,

522
00:19:48,864 --> 00:19:50,545
Carlton Anderson, thank you. I just

523
00:19:50,545 --> 00:19:52,253
want to say

524
00:19:52,253 --> 00:19:53,838
thank you all for what you do. That's

525
00:19:53,838 --> 00:19:56,764
all. When I look at new people, you

526
00:19:56,764 --> 00:19:58,783
know, I try to tell people

527
00:19:58,783 --> 00:20:00,650
in these positions that you're

528
00:20:00,650 --> 00:20:03,817
like comet shields. Nobody sees that they

529
00:20:03,817 --> 00:20:05,963
only see what is here and then they do

530
00:20:05,963 --> 00:20:08,056
n't see what is protected, so to

531
00:20:08,056 --> 00:20:12,784
speak, because they take it for granted.

532
00:20:12,784 --> 00:20:14,788
Um, and I'm new to Waterbury in these

533
00:20:14,788 --> 00:20:16,954
roles, but I've been here since Arvard, sleeping

534
00:20:16,954 --> 00:20:21,745
in attics and stuff. But uh I just

535
00:20:21,745 --> 00:20:23,624
want to say that I appreciate

536
00:20:23,624 --> 00:20:25,407
all of you and I have to say

537
00:20:25,407 --> 00:20:27,493
that you have a lot of work ahead of you.

538
00:20:27,493 --> 00:20:29,639
Eee, but it is it is it is not

539
00:20:29,639 --> 00:20:33,758
insurmountable. It's just about

540
00:20:33,758 --> 00:20:35,581
connecting worlds in such a way that we

541
00:20:35,581 --> 00:20:37,454
choose kindness above

542
00:20:37,454 --> 00:20:42,208
all else. And do it with the

543
00:20:42,208 --> 00:20:45,166
future in mind. I also try to tell

544
00:20:45,166 --> 00:20:47,304
people, you know, um, if you look

545
00:20:47,304 --> 00:20:49,281
at it as a fun aspect

546
00:20:49,281 --> 00:20:51,204
right now, it's going to be really

547
00:20:51,204 --> 00:20:54,192
fun in 20 years for other people.

548
00:20:54,192 --> 00:20:55,818
You just won't see it or

549
00:20:55,818 --> 00:20:58,525
get credit for it. It's not about

550
00:20:58,525 --> 00:21:00,253
us. It's really about, you know, the

551
00:21:00,253 --> 00:21:01,946
future and it always has been.

552
00:21:01,946 --> 00:21:03,755
That's why we're in this situation, because the

553
00:21:03,755 --> 00:21:05,565
future has been neglected in some way

554
00:21:05,565 --> 00:21:10,818
. Um, and you know I

555
00:21:10,818 --> 00:21:12,531
always have all these floods in my

556
00:21:12,531 --> 00:21:14,439
head because they affected me

557
00:21:14,439 --> 00:21:16,201
emotionally and physically, and I look

558
00:21:16,201 --> 00:21:18,109
people in the eye and I know

559
00:21:18,109 --> 00:21:23,086
it affected all of us. Ugh, but I

560
00:21:23,086 --> 00:21:25,366
'm one of those people. Er, well,

561
00:21:25,366 --> 00:21:27,876
thank you. I just wanted to say

562
00:21:27,876 --> 00:21:30,510
hello. Bye.

563
00:21:30,510 --> 00:21:31,484
Thank you.

564
00:21:31,484 --> 00:21:33,905
Thanks.

565
00:21:33,905 --> 00:21:44,312
Um, anyone online? Hands? Online? NO.

566
00:21:44,312 --> 00:21:46,956
Okay. Well, without using your hands. I will take

567
00:21:46,956 --> 00:21:50,795
one more person from the room.

568
00:21:50,795 --> 00:21:53,112
Hi, I'm Sierra Nogler. I live

569
00:21:53,112 --> 00:21:55,311
on Ripley Road in the city centre. I'm here

570
00:21:55,311 --> 00:21:57,553
representing Discover Waterbury.

571
00:21:57,553 --> 00:21:59,801
I'm on the board of Discover Waterbury

572
00:21:59,801 --> 00:22:01,991
and a new initiative called the Waterbury

573
00:22:01,991 --> 00:22:03,663
Pathways Initiative that

574
00:22:03,663 --> 00:22:05,796
we created with Discover Waterbury and the

575
00:22:05,796 --> 00:22:09,194
disaster committee. Together with this

576
00:22:09,194 --> 00:22:11,913
group, we looked very carefully at the

577
00:22:11,963 --> 00:22:13,675
transportation chapter and what

578
00:22:13,675 --> 00:22:19,168
improvements could be made. Well,

579
00:22:19,168 --> 00:22:20,817
I sent our, well,

580
00:22:20,817 --> 00:22:22,815
combined comments to Neil earlier; but I think the

581
00:22:22,815 --> 00:22:24,563
most important achievement

582
00:22:24,563 --> 00:22:26,511
was the inclusion of a list of priority

583
00:22:26,511 --> 00:22:28,459
projects in this chapter within the

584
00:22:28,459 --> 00:22:37,382
goals to identify what has been a

585
00:22:37,382 --> 00:22:39,358
priority for the city for years in terms of

586
00:22:39,358 --> 00:22:41,226
connectivity of paths, trails and

587
00:22:41,226 --> 00:22:45,855
multimodal traffic safety.

588
00:22:45,855 --> 00:22:47,347
So, we created this list of

589
00:22:47,347 --> 00:22:49,288
priority projects based on the

590
00:22:49,288 --> 00:22:51,179
many opinions you requested

591
00:22:51,179 --> 00:22:54,947
throughout this process. We've held

592
00:22:54,947 --> 00:22:56,944
several trail meetings with a lot of

593
00:22:56,944 --> 00:22:59,049
different stakeholders in the area and

594
00:22:59,049 --> 00:23:00,931
met with the

595
00:23:00,931 --> 00:23:02,989
wreck committee and we think these are projects

596
00:23:02,989 --> 00:23:05,104
we can work on.

597
00:23:05,104 --> 00:23:06,927
We are also using some of the

598
00:23:06,927 --> 00:23:08,701
results from the Better Connections grant, the

599
00:23:08,701 --> 00:23:12,646
Better Connections project at the center.

600
00:23:12,646 --> 00:23:14,789
And I think having that list, I know

601
00:23:14,789 --> 00:23:16,879
we talked to you earlier,

602
00:23:16,879 --> 00:23:18,754
and there was a purpose to make certain things

603
00:23:18,754 --> 00:23:20,683
a little vague in the city plan, but the

604
00:23:20,683 --> 00:23:22,559
way that list is, um,

605
00:23:22,559 --> 00:23:26,194
conceived, is quite broad. And it's

606
00:23:26,194 --> 00:23:28,020
just setting those priorities to

607
00:23:28,020 --> 00:23:29,744
just put into action and

608
00:23:29,744 --> 00:23:31,367
hopefully create momentum for

609
00:23:31,367 --> 00:23:33,243
some of these projects that

610
00:23:33,243 --> 00:23:35,170
we hope to implement, also with the

611
00:23:35,170 --> 00:23:38,783
recreation committee. That's all.

612
00:23:38,783 --> 00:23:39,602
Excellent.

613
00:23:39,602 --> 00:23:43,975
Thank you very much.

614
00:23:43,975 --> 00:23:45,787
Well done, because what I'm about to

615
00:23:45,787 --> 00:23:47,403
share kind of doubles

616
00:23:47,403 --> 00:23:49,334
Sierra's work. I am Elena

617
00:23:49,334 --> 00:23:50,897
Steiner. I just

618
00:23:50,897 --> 00:23:52,233
moved to Morrisville. I ask for

619
00:23:52,233 --> 00:23:54,186
forgiveness. I plan to return someday,

620
00:23:54,186 --> 00:23:55,929
but affordability...I am a

621
00:23:55,929 --> 00:23:57,817
member of the Waterbury Recreation Committee

622
00:23:57,817 --> 00:23:59,754
as well as the Waterbury Water Trails Initiative

623
00:23:59,754 --> 00:24:02,271
. We also provided several

624
00:24:02,271 --> 00:24:04,456
pages of detailed notes.

625
00:24:04,456 --> 00:24:06,512
I apologize in advance. I also want to start by

626
00:24:06,512 --> 00:24:08,198
thanking you for the work you have done. The

627
00:24:08,198 --> 00:24:09,342
website

628
00:24:09,342 --> 00:24:10,966
you created is beautiful. I'm very

629
00:24:10,966 --> 00:24:12,355
interested in websites and

630
00:24:12,355 --> 00:24:13,599
I find it very easy to

631
00:24:13,599 --> 00:24:14,906
navigate, so great job.

632
00:24:14,906 --> 00:24:16,386
Rather than go into detail,

633
00:24:16,386 --> 00:24:17,778
I just wanted to generalize

634
00:24:17,778 --> 00:24:19,034
some of the topics

635
00:24:19,034 --> 00:24:20,791
we came across. We analyzed

636
00:24:20,791 --> 00:24:22,438
social services, of course,

637
00:24:22,438 --> 00:24:24,444
because that's where recreation was heavily

638
00:24:24,444 --> 00:24:26,502
concentrated, but we

639
00:24:26,502 --> 00:24:28,097
also looked at utilities,

640
00:24:28,097 --> 00:24:29,898
transportation, natural resources, and

641
00:24:29,898 --> 00:24:32,446
housing. We appreciate that

642
00:24:32,446 --> 00:24:34,508
recreation is woven into all of

643
00:24:34,508 --> 00:24:36,462
these sections and want to emphasize its

644
00:24:36,462 --> 00:24:39,226
importance. Waterbury is a center for

645
00:24:39,226 --> 00:24:41,386
recreation, so we appreciate and encourage

646
00:24:41,386 --> 00:24:43,167
its inclusion in all

647
00:24:43,167 --> 00:24:45,589
aspects of the city plan. When

648
00:24:45,589 --> 00:24:47,222
I speak specifically about recreation,

649
00:24:47,222 --> 00:24:49,201
I am talking about its accessibility for people of

650
00:24:49,201 --> 00:24:50,587
all ages and with a variety of

651
00:24:50,587 --> 00:24:51,972
opportunities, both

652
00:24:51,972 --> 00:24:53,754
indoors and

653
00:24:53,754 --> 00:24:56,803
outdoors. As we began discussing

654
00:24:56,803 --> 00:24:58,592
the details, we highlighted a few

655
00:24:58,592 --> 00:25:00,637
key priorities. One of these

656
00:25:00,637 --> 00:25:02,586
was the development of a comprehensive

657
00:25:02,586 --> 00:25:04,713
parks and trails master plan. If it does

658
00:25:04,713 --> 00:25:06,657
n't exist, we want it to exist.

659
00:25:06,657 --> 00:25:08,298
I think the recreation committee

660
00:25:08,298 --> 00:25:10,125
could help make it happen.

661
00:25:10,125 --> 00:25:11,634
We wanted to specifically address

662
00:25:11,634 --> 00:25:13,327
the issue of replacing the municipal swimming pool and

663
00:25:13,327 --> 00:25:14,701
recreation building.

664
00:25:14,701 --> 00:25:16,348
We've talked a lot about outdoor recreation

665
00:25:16,348 --> 00:25:17,996
, but we've neglected

666
00:25:17,996 --> 00:25:19,798
indoor recreation a bit. I think

667
00:25:19,798 --> 00:25:21,577
this is a big step forward, especially for the

668
00:25:21,577 --> 00:25:24,691
recreation building.

669
00:25:24,691 --> 00:25:26,508
As Sierra mentioned, all

670
00:25:26,508 --> 00:25:27,963
trail work includes improving

671
00:25:27,963 --> 00:25:29,281
pedestrian paths and

672
00:25:29,281 --> 00:25:31,064
connectivity. We also highlight the

673
00:25:31,064 --> 00:25:32,584
same list of priority

674
00:25:32,584 --> 00:25:34,401
projects. I think there's, again

675
00:25:34,401 --> 00:25:36,037
, I agree with the ambiguity,

676
00:25:36,037 --> 00:25:37,674
but there's a benefit to having the

677
00:25:37,674 --> 00:25:39,177
city plan include these specific

678
00:25:39,177 --> 00:25:40,902
projects so that when we

679
00:25:40,902 --> 00:25:42,141
apply for potential

680
00:25:42,141 --> 00:25:43,777
funding, when it's strictly

681
00:25:43,777 --> 00:25:45,414
in the city plan, I think

682
00:25:45,414 --> 00:25:47,138
it really benefits those

683
00:25:47,138 --> 00:25:50,950
who apply for it. And

684
00:25:50,950 --> 00:25:52,764
I also wanted to double down because I think there

685
00:25:52,764 --> 00:25:54,327
was a map of

686
00:25:54,327 --> 00:25:56,293
all the objects, but I think it

687
00:25:56,293 --> 00:25:58,158
would be beneficial to write it down on a list too

688
00:25:58,158 --> 00:26:01,774
. I know it would be very

689
00:26:01,774 --> 00:26:03,936
long. And I think

690
00:26:03,936 --> 00:26:05,766
we would all agree that this would be a

691
00:26:05,766 --> 00:26:08,344
valuable addition. That was a lot.

692
00:26:08,344 --> 00:26:09,994
I spoke very quickly, but thank you

693
00:26:09,994 --> 00:26:20,264
for your time. Thank you.

694
00:26:20,264 --> 00:26:22,151
Well, online? Yes, ma'am?

695
00:26:22,151 --> 00:26:24,088
NO.

696
00:26:24,088 --> 00:26:30,407
Zoom Quiet Room. All right.

697
00:26:30,407 --> 00:26:35,576
Personally.

698
00:26:35,576 --> 00:26:38,507
Hi, I'm Brenda Hedges. I'm

699
00:26:38,507 --> 00:26:40,916
alone here. I don't represent anyone

700
00:26:40,916 --> 00:26:45,137
else. Well, I was, well, I was a

701
00:26:45,137 --> 00:26:47,276
member of the Waterbury Land Initiative,

702
00:26:47,276 --> 00:26:48,988
so I'm interested in

703
00:26:48,988 --> 00:26:51,073
environmental protection, especially agriculture

704
00:26:51,073 --> 00:26:55,473
and our farmland. And

705
00:26:55,473 --> 00:26:57,568
I deeply believe that this is a

706
00:26:57,568 --> 00:26:59,487
really important issue that we

707
00:26:59,487 --> 00:27:01,275
should address.

708
00:27:01,275 --> 00:27:03,118
Could you please speak up, madam?

709
00:27:03,118 --> 00:27:08,538
I'll try. Well, I believe that our

710
00:27:08,538 --> 00:27:10,578
agricultural soils are so valuable that

711
00:27:10,578 --> 00:27:12,617
if they disappear, we will not be able to

712
00:27:12,617 --> 00:27:20,943
get them back. I'd like to see some

713
00:27:20,943 --> 00:27:22,948
real, coordinated action to

714
00:27:22,948 --> 00:27:24,953
protect these soils and ensure

715
00:27:24,953 --> 00:27:26,958
that development is, um, considered as

716
00:27:26,958 --> 00:27:31,041
we implement it. More

717
00:27:31,041 --> 00:27:32,703
than taken into account that it is

718
00:27:32,703 --> 00:27:36,136
protected as we implement it.

719
00:27:36,136 --> 00:27:38,060
I took some extensive notes

720
00:27:38,060 --> 00:27:40,166
which I posted online.

721
00:27:40,166 --> 00:27:41,803
I didn't want to

722
00:27:41,803 --> 00:27:44,012
go through all of this here tonight. But I have a few

723
00:27:44,012 --> 00:27:46,350
things. First of all, I want to thank you all

724
00:27:46,350 --> 00:27:48,236
for all the work you've

725
00:27:48,236 --> 00:27:50,874
already put into this. I know it

726
00:27:50,874 --> 00:27:52,631
was a long process and

727
00:27:52,631 --> 00:27:56,607
you really put a lot into it. And then the

728
00:27:56,607 --> 00:27:58,486
specific things I had for

729
00:27:58,486 --> 00:28:00,364
tonight is that in the

730
00:28:00,364 --> 00:28:02,190
land use section,

731
00:28:02,190 --> 00:28:04,226
goal tool number two supporting

732
00:28:04,226 --> 00:28:06,261
land uses, recreational access

733
00:28:06,261 --> 00:28:07,931
and natural resource areas,

734
00:28:07,931 --> 00:28:11,427
strategy 2.2 says that

735
00:28:11,479 --> 00:28:12,836
land use regulations should support

736
00:28:12,836 --> 00:28:14,766
the viability of land uses

737
00:28:14,766 --> 00:28:16,749
, including agricultural resources and

738
00:28:16,749 --> 00:28:21,255
responsible forestry. And I have a

739
00:28:21,255 --> 00:28:22,927
question because I didn't see

740
00:28:22,927 --> 00:28:24,698
anything below about how we're going to

741
00:28:24,698 --> 00:28:28,826
provide this. There is nothing in the plan

742
00:28:28,826 --> 00:28:30,643
that says how this will

743
00:28:30,643 --> 00:28:34,625
happen. I would like to see concrete

744
00:28:34,625 --> 00:28:36,534
steps on how we will ensure

745
00:28:36,534 --> 00:28:42,575
the protection of these agricultural resources. Well

746
00:28:42,575 --> 00:28:44,541
, the second thing I had was

747
00:28:44,541 --> 00:28:50,014
about natural resources. The

748
00:28:50,014 --> 00:28:52,017
third objective is to focus development on the

749
00:28:52,017 --> 00:28:53,843
protection of natural resources

750
00:28:53,843 --> 00:28:56,023
identified in strategy

751
00:28:56,023 --> 00:29:00,547
1.1. Strategy 3.1 calls for limiting

752
00:29:00,547 --> 00:29:02,521
development in sensitive areas and

753
00:29:02,521 --> 00:29:04,269
redirecting growth to

754
00:29:04,269 --> 00:29:06,187
more densely built-up areas and designated

755
00:29:06,187 --> 00:29:08,161
rural centers to limit

756
00:29:08,161 --> 00:29:10,361
sprawl and protect intact

757
00:29:10,361 --> 00:29:13,927
natural and agricultural resources. And in this case

758
00:29:13,927 --> 00:29:15,645
, I thought that

759
00:29:15,645 --> 00:29:17,516
sensitive areas is a very, very broad

760
00:29:17,516 --> 00:29:20,553
concept. Well, if we could

761
00:29:20,553 --> 00:29:22,548
define what that means, I think

762
00:29:22,548 --> 00:29:28,944
it would be very clear. And the last

763
00:29:28,944 --> 00:29:30,948
thing I had was strategy

764
00:29:30,948 --> 00:29:33,007
3.2 talks about updating

765
00:29:33,007 --> 00:29:35,012
spatial planning and zoning regulations

766
00:29:35,012 --> 00:29:37,017
to take into account the highest

767
00:29:37,017 --> 00:29:38,859
agricultural value soils and

768
00:29:38,859 --> 00:29:42,930
land use conflicts. And I would like to, well

769
00:29:42,930 --> 00:29:44,709
, encourage you to change the word

770
00:29:44,709 --> 00:29:48,221
"consider" to "protect."

771
00:29:48,221 --> 00:29:50,230
Because I really believe we need to

772
00:29:50,230 --> 00:29:52,198
protect our agricultural soils. And that's all I had

773
00:29:52,198 --> 00:29:53,881
in mind.

774
00:29:53,881 --> 00:29:55,272
Thank you.

775
00:29:55,272 --> 00:29:56,994
Can I ask a quick

776
00:29:56,994 --> 00:29:58,426
question in written comments?

777
00:29:58,426 --> 00:29:59,926
You said what specific steps

778
00:29:59,926 --> 00:30:01,307
we should take to protect

779
00:30:01,307 --> 00:30:02,655
agricultural soils. Did you throw Did you

780
00:30:02,655 --> 00:30:04,034
include any suggestions in your

781
00:30:04,034 --> 00:30:04,927
written comments?

782
00:30:04,927 --> 00:30:05,877
Yes, I did.

783
00:30:05,877 --> 00:30:06,874
Okay, great.

784
00:30:06,874 --> 00:30:08,464
Thank you for that.

785
00:30:08,464 --> 00:30:09,351
Full page.

786
00:30:09,351 --> 00:30:10,628
This is really helpful.

787
00:30:10,628 --> 00:30:12,434
Yes.

788
00:30:12,434 --> 00:30:18,637
Thank you very much. Is there room?

789
00:30:18,637 --> 00:30:20,284
Not yet.

790
00:30:20,284 --> 00:30:22,541
Nothing. Is

791
00:30:22,541 --> 00:30:23,681
this 604?

792
00:30:23,681 --> 00:30:24,784
It's

793
00:30:24,784 --> 00:30:26,311
hard to hear you. Is

794
00:30:26,311 --> 00:30:28,748
this 604?

795
00:30:28,748 --> 00:30:30,375
Okay.

796
00:30:30,375 --> 00:30:32,435
Uh if it's still hard to hear us,

797
00:30:32,435 --> 00:30:35,096
let us know in the chat. Uhm, I don't

798
00:30:35,096 --> 00:30:47,968
see any hands online. Return to the room.

799
00:30:47,968 --> 00:30:49,782
Joe Camarota from Waterbury Center and I

800
00:30:49,782 --> 00:30:51,262
'm not here to talk about

801
00:30:51,262 --> 00:30:53,132
housing. I'm actually

802
00:30:53,132 --> 00:30:53,537
here

803
00:30:53,537 --> 00:30:54,651
What?

804
00:30:54,651 --> 00:30:56,585
I'm actually here on behalf of the

805
00:30:56,585 --> 00:30:58,674
Waterbury Historical Society. And, uh well

806
00:30:58,674 --> 00:31:00,520
, especially in the chapter on

807
00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:04,494
historical resources. And there is a map

808
00:31:04,494 --> 00:31:06,443
that maps the historic buildings,

809
00:31:06,443 --> 00:31:07,917
but it does not cover all the

810
00:31:07,917 --> 00:31:10,915
historic buildings in the city. It

811
00:31:10,915 --> 00:31:12,346
actually takes into account

812
00:31:12,346 --> 00:31:13,904
contributing structures that are

813
00:31:13,904 --> 00:31:15,461
located in my historic

814
00:31:15,461 --> 00:31:17,846
neighborhoods. And in fact, all

815
00:31:17,846 --> 00:31:19,576
properties in the city that

816
00:31:19,576 --> 00:31:21,255
have been listed on the State

817
00:31:21,255 --> 00:31:23,036
Register of Historic Places are

818
00:31:23,036 --> 00:31:26,149
available in the state. And they're bigger than

819
00:31:26,149 --> 00:31:27,899
just in historic districts,

820
00:31:27,899 --> 00:31:29,881
right? They are scattered throughout Waterbury

821
00:31:29,881 --> 00:31:31,956
Center and other locations. And I think it's

822
00:31:31,956 --> 00:31:33,561
important that these places

823
00:31:33,561 --> 00:31:35,218
are included in the plan,

824
00:31:35,218 --> 00:31:36,974
especially when you start talking about

825
00:31:36,974 --> 00:31:38,931
your goals and strategies, because

826
00:31:38,931 --> 00:31:40,939
you mention historic buildings but you

827
00:31:40,939 --> 00:31:43,963
don't define them. And you might want

828
00:31:43,963 --> 00:31:45,686
to think about a definition that

829
00:31:45,686 --> 00:31:47,576
includes those places listed on the

830
00:31:47,576 --> 00:31:51,950
state register. So when

831
00:31:51,950 --> 00:31:57,438
we delve into the topic of supporting

832
00:31:57,438 --> 00:31:59,177
their protection through

833
00:31:59,177 --> 00:32:01,581
zoning and the

834
00:32:01,581 --> 00:32:03,524
development review board, we might want to be more specific about

835
00:32:03,524 --> 00:32:05,256
what types and what types of structures

836
00:32:05,256 --> 00:32:08,763
we're talking about. And the only other comment I

837
00:32:08,763 --> 00:32:10,722
have is whether you're saying, you know, you're using

838
00:32:10,722 --> 00:32:12,362
the word "consider" or "

839
00:32:12,362 --> 00:32:15,962
take into account historic values ​​and

840
00:32:16,014 --> 00:32:17,862
historic preservation updates." I would rather "

841
00:32:17,862 --> 00:32:20,818
incorporate historic values ​​and

842
00:32:20,863 --> 00:32:22,451
heritage protection updates into

843
00:32:22,451 --> 00:32:24,128
planning regulations and

844
00:32:24,128 --> 00:32:28,805
development review processes." Thank you.

845
00:32:28,805 --> 00:32:30,313
Hey Joe, I have a question for you

846
00:32:30,313 --> 00:32:32,258
about nuts and bolts since I

847
00:32:32,258 --> 00:32:35,911
created this map. Is this a

848
00:32:35,911 --> 00:32:38,217
map of these structures or that awful

849
00:32:38,217 --> 00:32:40,303
PDF database?

850
00:32:40,303 --> 00:32:42,024
It's a terrible PDF database, but the

851
00:32:42,024 --> 00:32:43,798
historical society is trying to

852
00:32:43,798 --> 00:32:45,734
translate it into a form that

853
00:32:45,734 --> 00:32:48,746
can be mapped and used.

854
00:32:48,746 --> 00:32:50,672
Yes, Okay, I can work on that some more

855
00:32:50,672 --> 00:32:53,071
. Um, to be

856
00:32:53,071 --> 00:32:54,936
completely honest with you, I took this

857
00:32:54,936 --> 00:32:56,905
awful PDF database and got incredibly

858
00:32:56,905 --> 00:32:58,977
frustrated after spending

859
00:32:58,977 --> 00:33:00,894
hours trying to figure out a clever

860
00:33:00,894 --> 00:33:03,250
way to do it automatically.

861
00:33:03,250 --> 00:33:05,194
So I'll give it some time and

862
00:33:05,194 --> 00:33:07,138
see if I can get any further

863
00:33:07,138 --> 00:33:12,735
. Er, yes. So uh, anyway, yes

864
00:33:12,735 --> 00:33:13,548
, thank you.

865
00:33:13,548 --> 00:33:14,449
Yes, okay.

866
00:33:14,449 --> 00:33:26,330
I'll figure it out. So let's skip that.

867
00:33:26,330 --> 00:33:30,771
Too many maps. Too many maps. Yes.

868
00:33:30,771 --> 00:33:32,565
But if we did, we would have the

869
00:33:32,565 --> 00:33:34,454
best map of historical structures

870
00:33:34,454 --> 00:33:38,186
in any city. Er, is anyone

871
00:33:38,186 --> 00:33:41,992
online yet or not? Okay.

872
00:33:41,992 --> 00:33:42,957
I'll carry it.

873
00:33:42,957 --> 00:33:45,858
Okay, okay, perfect. Carrie.

874
00:33:45,858 --> 00:33:47,170
Hey.

875
00:33:47,170 --> 00:33:47,810
Hi. Can

876
00:33:47,810 --> 00:33:48,767
you hear me?

877
00:33:48,767 --> 00:33:53,678
Yes, very good.

878
00:33:53,678 --> 00:33:55,656
Hmm, I have something like...I'm just going to

879
00:33:55,656 --> 00:33:57,685
continue on with the definition of

880
00:33:57,685 --> 00:34:02,955
sensitive areas. Hmm, I think

881
00:34:02,955 --> 00:34:04,978
that's something in the whole plan that

882
00:34:04,978 --> 00:34:10,602
I had a question about. Hmm, throughout the plan

883
00:34:10,602 --> 00:34:12,358
there are sensitive areas,

884
00:34:12,358 --> 00:34:18,888
high risk areas, risk areas.

885
00:34:18,888 --> 00:34:20,868
Can we have a definition or dictionary of

886
00:34:20,868 --> 00:34:22,798
what this actually means and what is the

887
00:34:22,798 --> 00:34:27,758
definition?

888
00:34:27,758 --> 00:34:30,461
What would you suggest?

889
00:34:30,461 --> 00:34:34,568
Maybe a dictionary. Hmm, I wouldn't want

890
00:34:34,568 --> 00:34:36,477
anyone to make

891
00:34:36,477 --> 00:34:45,609
such a decision in the future. If this is supposed to be a plan

892
00:34:45,609 --> 00:34:49,964
for the next... I don't know how many years

893
00:34:49,964 --> 00:34:55,110
we can create a definition, a dictionary,

894
00:34:55,110 --> 00:34:57,369
for example, what is high risk

895
00:34:57,369 --> 00:35:00,015
and what is risk? What are

896
00:35:00,015 --> 00:35:02,518
sensitive areas?

897
00:35:02,518 --> 00:35:04,297
Rather, I was asking if you had a list

898
00:35:04,297 --> 00:35:05,972
that you would include in these

899
00:35:05,972 --> 00:35:09,083
categories. I do

900
00:35:09,083 --> 00:35:10,944
n't think it depends on

901
00:35:10,944 --> 00:35:13,161
me. I think it's up to you

902
00:35:13,161 --> 00:35:15,137
as the planning director and the

903
00:35:15,137 --> 00:35:16,671
planning commission.

904
00:35:16,671 --> 00:35:21,112
Noted. Thank you. Anything else on

905
00:35:21,112 --> 00:35:23,150
this topic?

906
00:35:23,150 --> 00:35:24,668
That's all.

907
00:35:24,668 --> 00:35:29,143
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

908
00:35:29,143 --> 00:35:32,777
Is

909
00:35:32,777 --> 00:35:34,797
anyone in the room since we had

910
00:35:34,797 --> 00:35:40,508
someone on Zoom?

911
00:35:40,508 --> 00:35:41,537
Sila Larsen

912
00:35:41,537 --> 00:35:42,171
Hello.

913
00:35:42,171 --> 00:35:44,415
Hi.

914
00:35:44,415 --> 00:35:47,035
My name is Sila Larsen. I am in

915
00:35:47,035 --> 00:35:48,946
Waterbury Center and I am also a

916
00:35:48,946 --> 00:35:50,963
member of the Waterbury Preservation Commission,

917
00:35:50,963 --> 00:35:52,926
but I am here today to speak on

918
00:35:52,926 --> 00:35:54,943
my own behalf as an individual, not as a

919
00:35:54,943 --> 00:35:59,018
member of the Waterbury Preservation Commission.

920
00:35:59,018 --> 00:36:01,388
I know everyone thanked me. I

921
00:36:01,388 --> 00:36:03,097
also want to thank you. It's a

922
00:36:03,097 --> 00:36:06,381
huge amount of work. I love these

923
00:36:06,381 --> 00:36:08,381
visualizations and maps. I'm a

924
00:36:08,381 --> 00:36:10,275
map person, so I think

925
00:36:10,275 --> 00:36:11,837
they're very accessible in that respect

926
00:36:11,837 --> 00:36:15,337
. I wanted to

927
00:36:15,337 --> 00:36:19,288
share this. I wanted to share

928
00:36:19,288 --> 00:36:21,299
specifically, you know, because I'm on the

929
00:36:21,299 --> 00:36:24,959
right track, a few questions. I'll

930
00:36:24,959 --> 00:36:29,514
start with the questions. Will we be able to

931
00:36:29,514 --> 00:36:31,206
review the revised plan between

932
00:36:31,206 --> 00:36:32,996
now and the city council meeting,

933
00:36:32,996 --> 00:36:37,238
or is this the only chance?

934
00:36:37,238 --> 00:36:39,031
No, the goal is to improve it and

935
00:36:39,031 --> 00:36:41,035
present it to the city council for

936
00:36:41,035 --> 00:36:44,176
consideration. Then they announce

937
00:36:44,176 --> 00:36:45,460
auditions.

938
00:36:45,460 --> 00:36:47,042
All right.

939
00:36:47,042 --> 00:36:49,299
At this point, the new project is now

940
00:36:49,299 --> 00:36:50,370
available.

941
00:36:50,370 --> 00:36:52,321
I see. You will be able to

942
00:36:52,321 --> 00:36:54,539
see it, and part of our job

943
00:36:54,539 --> 00:36:56,105
is to track changes.

944
00:36:56,105 --> 00:36:56,980
All right.

945
00:36:56,980 --> 00:36:58,990
So this is our next Yes, this is

946
00:36:58,990 --> 00:37:00,483
our next task.

947
00:37:00,483 --> 00:37:03,134
I see. Okay. Hey Neil, I'll send you

948
00:37:03,134 --> 00:37:05,243
my written comments. I haven't

949
00:37:05,243 --> 00:37:06,910
done it yet, but I'll pass it on to you.

950
00:37:06,910 --> 00:37:10,148
Okay. Hey,

951
00:37:10,148 --> 00:37:12,084
so I was focusing on the

952
00:37:12,084 --> 00:37:14,363
natural resources part and

953
00:37:14,363 --> 00:37:16,641
there's goal number one, strategy 1.2, uh,

954
00:37:16,641 --> 00:37:18,464
working with experts and

955
00:37:18,464 --> 00:37:21,707
landowners, the

956
00:37:21,707 --> 00:37:25,589
environmental commission will propose a management plan for the

957
00:37:25,646 --> 00:37:29,522
Shutesville Wildlife Corridor by 2030. I don't

958
00:37:29,522 --> 00:37:31,498
think it's a very ambitious

959
00:37:31,498 --> 00:37:35,156
plan. And I wish we had

960
00:37:35,156 --> 00:37:39,868
something more ambitious here. I wish we could

961
00:37:39,868 --> 00:37:41,495
say

962
00:37:41,495 --> 00:37:43,369
we are working on

963
00:37:43,369 --> 00:37:44,848
zoning regulations or an overlay district

964
00:37:44,848 --> 00:37:46,722
to protect this very

965
00:37:46,722 --> 00:37:52,159
valuable resource. And I think in the narrative

966
00:37:52,159 --> 00:37:54,075
, you have this chart and it's clear that this is the

967
00:37:54,075 --> 00:37:56,203
top priority of all the

968
00:37:56,203 --> 00:37:58,279
people you surveyed, and yet it does

969
00:37:58,279 --> 00:38:03,893
n't have a purpose of its own. You have a

970
00:38:03,893 --> 00:38:06,031
wetlands goal, you have a

971
00:38:06,031 --> 00:38:07,831
tree canopy goal, but the

972
00:38:07,831 --> 00:38:09,744
wildlife corridor is kind of

973
00:38:09,744 --> 00:38:11,769
woven into that, um, waterways and

974
00:38:11,769 --> 00:38:20,158
habitats. So there's a

975
00:38:20,158 --> 00:38:22,268
disconnect between the narrative and the

976
00:38:22,268 --> 00:38:24,114
aspirations section that I

977
00:38:24,114 --> 00:38:26,224
think needs to be addressed so that what

978
00:38:26,224 --> 00:38:28,123
people consider most important

979
00:38:28,123 --> 00:38:30,022
is framed under goal number

980
00:38:30,022 --> 00:38:38,197
one and becomes its own topic.

981
00:38:38,197 --> 00:38:39,532
Can I add something before

982
00:38:39,532 --> 00:38:43,081
we go any further? I think…

983
00:38:43,081 --> 00:38:45,954
I remember we put it there so we would

984
00:38:45,954 --> 00:38:48,675
n't drag it out to 2035 and

985
00:38:48,675 --> 00:38:50,657
2040. We received many

986
00:38:50,657 --> 00:38:52,652
comments saying that we

987
00:38:52,652 --> 00:38:54,753
gave you too much time. So

988
00:38:54,753 --> 00:38:56,506
I think I would say that if

989
00:38:56,506 --> 00:38:58,215
you want people involved in this

990
00:38:58,215 --> 00:38:59,617
particular environmental protection to

991
00:38:59,617 --> 00:39:01,019
give us this task, if

992
00:39:01,019 --> 00:39:02,640
you think there's a shorter timeframe, we

993
00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:03,748
should do it.

994
00:39:03,748 --> 00:39:04,209
Yes.

995
00:39:04,209 --> 00:39:06,297
I think we can put it there,

996
00:39:06,297 --> 00:39:08,333
and even if we can't, it's something to

997
00:39:08,333 --> 00:39:10,155
do by 2030. We could

998
00:39:10,155 --> 00:39:11,892
do it faster if we can

999
00:39:11,892 --> 00:39:13,236
do it. The question is whether it

1000
00:39:13,236 --> 00:39:14,983
is realistic to set a one-year

1001
00:39:14,983 --> 00:39:16,399
timeframe and actually

1002
00:39:16,399 --> 00:39:17,982
achieve it. So I think

1003
00:39:17,982 --> 00:39:19,604
we tried to find a balance

1004
00:39:19,604 --> 00:39:21,017
between not dragging

1005
00:39:21,017 --> 00:39:22,556
things out and not imposing such

1006
00:39:22,556 --> 00:39:24,690
tight deadlines. Correct.

1007
00:39:24,690 --> 00:39:25,252
So

1008
00:39:25,252 --> 00:39:29,401
I think I understand that. Please

1009
00:39:29,401 --> 00:39:31,268
correct me if I am wrong, but a

1010
00:39:31,268 --> 00:39:33,135
management plan is a plan, not a

1011
00:39:33,135 --> 00:39:38,157
regulatory tool for action. A plan is

1012
00:39:38,157 --> 00:39:40,124
simply a plan that we are developing now

1013
00:39:40,124 --> 00:39:42,042
to do something to protect the area in

1014
00:39:42,042 --> 00:39:43,764
the future, so we are actually

1015
00:39:43,764 --> 00:39:45,535
pushing protection even further into the

1016
00:39:45,535 --> 00:39:49,042
future. I wonder if this

1017
00:39:49,042 --> 00:39:50,809
could be something like what the

1018
00:39:50,809 --> 00:39:52,622
planning commission thinks about post-zoning

1019
00:39:52,622 --> 00:39:55,319
regulations

1020
00:39:55,365 --> 00:39:58,014
?

1021
00:39:58,014 --> 00:39:59,661
Maybe we could talk about

1022
00:39:59,661 --> 00:40:01,608
implementing this, considering it

1023
00:40:01,608 --> 00:40:06,879
was priority number one. Do

1024
00:40:06,879 --> 00:40:08,960
any of the other priorities have dates,

1025
00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:11,115
or just this one?

1026
00:40:11,115 --> 00:40:13,073
I would have to analyze them all

1027
00:40:13,073 --> 00:40:15,148
. I don't remember any hand.

1028
00:40:15,148 --> 00:40:16,632
I think it was one of

1029
00:40:16,632 --> 00:40:20,565
the few with a very specific date.

1030
00:40:20,565 --> 00:40:22,598
So it's prioritized, giving it

1031
00:40:22,598 --> 00:40:24,470
attention, saying this is the

1032
00:40:24,470 --> 00:40:29,579
deadline.

1033
00:40:29,579 --> 00:40:31,583
I think then, if we want to

1034
00:40:31,583 --> 00:40:33,529
stick to 2030, which I

1035
00:40:33,529 --> 00:40:35,770
still think is not super ambitious,

1036
00:40:35,770 --> 00:40:38,011
maybe then we'll change that to, we'll discuss

1037
00:40:38,011 --> 00:40:42,587
other options. This is also a management plan that I

1038
00:40:42,635 --> 00:40:44,496
disagree with because it is not a

1039
00:40:44,496 --> 00:40:48,528
regulatory lever. I think we could

1040
00:40:48,528 --> 00:40:50,543
discuss other options, other tools we

1041
00:40:50,543 --> 00:40:52,399
have in our arsenal to

1042
00:40:52,399 --> 00:40:54,149
protect this precious resource before it's

1043
00:40:54,149 --> 00:40:59,907
too late. I think so, so just

1044
00:41:00,939 --> 00:41:03,020
to put it in the context of the

1045
00:41:03,020 --> 00:41:04,686
whole process, city plans

1046
00:41:04,686 --> 00:41:06,456
typically influence regulations,

1047
00:41:06,456 --> 00:41:08,381
especially for cities that

1048
00:41:08,381 --> 00:41:10,047
are going through regulations changes and

1049
00:41:10,047 --> 00:41:12,635
modernizations, things like that. And

1050
00:41:12,635 --> 00:41:15,067
we are in the process of doing so. Yes,

1051
00:41:15,067 --> 00:41:16,573
phase one happened;

1052
00:41:16,573 --> 00:41:18,369
We were to proceed directly to

1053
00:41:18,369 --> 00:41:19,846
phase two. Instead,

1054
00:41:19,846 --> 00:41:21,853
we noticed that hey, our

1055
00:41:21,853 --> 00:41:24,174
city plan is expiring. That started the

1056
00:41:24,174 --> 00:41:26,257
process, and then it made sense for us as a

1057
00:41:26,257 --> 00:41:28,233
commission to go through that

1058
00:41:28,233 --> 00:41:29,941
process and then develop

1059
00:41:29,941 --> 00:41:31,864
the rest of the regulations in the city to

1060
00:41:31,864 --> 00:41:34,487
actually standardize our regulations.

1061
00:41:34,487 --> 00:41:36,438
Yes. So, to

1062
00:41:36,438 --> 00:41:38,543
contextualize this, it's referring

1063
00:41:38,543 --> 00:41:42,258
to this process, so I noticed

1064
00:41:42,258 --> 00:41:44,012
that, and I think we've had other

1065
00:41:44,012 --> 00:41:46,076
comments from other members of the

1066
00:41:46,076 --> 00:41:47,933
environmental committee and the environmental committee itself

1067
00:41:47,933 --> 00:41:49,945
saying similar

1068
00:41:49,945 --> 00:41:52,429
things. So yes

1069
00:41:52,429 --> 00:42:02,273
. Yes, no, and what I was thinking,

1070
00:42:02,273 --> 00:42:04,147
well, it escapes me now, but, but

1071
00:42:04,147 --> 00:42:05,915
of course, yes, that process

1072
00:42:05,915 --> 00:42:07,897
of sorting through the regulations is also a

1073
00:42:07,897 --> 00:42:09,880
separate process and may not be

1074
00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:15,318
approved, right? People may not

1075
00:42:15,318 --> 00:42:17,071
want these restrictions that come

1076
00:42:17,071 --> 00:42:19,144
with

1077
00:42:19,144 --> 00:42:21,216
overlapping districts and so on,

1078
00:42:21,216 --> 00:42:23,182
but at least they have it in the

1079
00:42:23,182 --> 00:42:25,308
2018 plan, it says, I think,

1080
00:42:25,308 --> 00:42:27,115
something like considering

1081
00:42:27,115 --> 00:42:29,081
protecting high mountain areas

1082
00:42:29,081 --> 00:42:33,214
with regulations. So it's

1083
00:42:33,214 --> 00:42:35,250
named and I think now there's

1084
00:42:35,250 --> 00:42:37,393
protection through the DRB that there has to be some

1085
00:42:37,393 --> 00:42:39,161
extra control when you want to

1086
00:42:39,161 --> 00:42:41,037
develop in high-

1087
00:42:41,037 --> 00:42:42,901
elevation areas. Definitely.

1088
00:42:42,901 --> 00:42:45,140
We do. Yes, we have an overlay for

1089
00:42:45,140 --> 00:42:47,476
steep slopes and elevations of 1200 and

1090
00:42:47,476 --> 00:42:48,290
1500 feet. I

1091
00:42:48,290 --> 00:42:49,112
understand you.

1092
00:42:49,112 --> 00:42:50,645
I wanted to say that you know

1093
00:42:50,645 --> 00:42:52,270
more about it than I do. So it comes

1094
00:42:52,270 --> 00:42:52,864
all the time.

1095
00:42:52,864 --> 00:42:54,028
Okay. So

1096
00:42:54,028 --> 00:42:56,070
something similar.

1097
00:42:56,070 --> 00:42:57,657
Yes, rather than just a

1098
00:42:57,657 --> 00:43:02,341
management plan. Um, is this,

1099
00:43:02,341 --> 00:43:05,183
um, a technical question, Dana? That this is

1100
00:43:05,183 --> 00:43:07,093
about spatial development

1101
00:43:07,093 --> 00:43:09,359
as opposed to a plan?

1102
00:43:09,359 --> 00:43:10,808
What is it? Sorry.

1103
00:43:10,808 --> 00:43:12,669
To satisfy what she was just

1104
00:43:12,669 --> 00:43:14,417
talking about. I think, I think you know,

1105
00:43:14,417 --> 00:43:15,558
I think you might be confusing

1106
00:43:15,558 --> 00:43:16,944
zoning with a

1107
00:43:16,944 --> 00:43:18,371
plan because, as he said

1108
00:43:18,371 --> 00:43:19,553
earlier, it's not a

1109
00:43:19,553 --> 00:43:21,086
zoning plan. This

1110
00:43:21,086 --> 00:43:22,760
is something that guides land use planning

1111
00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:23,504
.

1112
00:43:23,504 --> 00:43:24,432
Oh, sure.

1113
00:43:24,432 --> 00:43:25,142
Yes.

1114
00:43:25,142 --> 00:43:27,079
I'm talking about you requesting a, um,

1115
00:43:27,079 --> 00:43:28,711
management plan for the

1116
00:43:28,711 --> 00:43:33,174
Shutesville Hill corridor. And this is still a plan,

1117
00:43:33,174 --> 00:43:37,636
not a regulatory lever.

1118
00:43:37,636 --> 00:43:39,427
What I'm hearing from this, Monica, just to

1119
00:43:39,427 --> 00:43:41,323
clarify, is that, you know,

1120
00:43:41,323 --> 00:43:43,167
she sees a difference in the regulations in the

1121
00:43:43,167 --> 00:43:44,853
city plan and she's requesting a more

1122
00:43:44,853 --> 00:43:46,907
stringent or more protective

1123
00:43:46,907 --> 00:43:49,014
, I guess, measure that will be

1124
00:43:49,014 --> 00:43:51,069
outlined in the plan, which

1125
00:43:51,069 --> 00:43:54,140
will then influence what happens next.

1126
00:43:54,140 --> 00:43:55,896
So instead of just a management plan

1127
00:43:55,896 --> 00:43:57,652
for Shutesville, it's like,

1128
00:43:57,652 --> 00:43:59,474
oh, we'll try to do this. More like we

1129
00:43:59,474 --> 00:44:01,482
actually drew the

1130
00:44:01,482 --> 00:44:03,010
line and established the rules.

1131
00:44:03,010 --> 00:44:04,473
All right.

1132
00:44:04,473 --> 00:44:05,919
That's what I hear.

1133
00:44:05,919 --> 00:44:06,710
All right.

1134
00:44:06,710 --> 00:44:10,201
Thank you. I think this took my

1135
00:44:10,201 --> 00:44:12,178
3 minutes, but I have a few more

1136
00:44:12,178 --> 00:44:13,572
if I can.

1137
00:44:13,572 --> 00:44:15,748
You can come back.

1138
00:44:15,748 --> 00:44:18,549
Thank you. We took it over a bit.

1139
00:44:18,549 --> 00:44:22,639
Sorry.

1140
00:44:22,639 --> 00:44:30,160
All right. Zoom Room. I have a Zoom room.

1141
00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:40,460
Er, in person, next person. It

1142
00:44:40,460 --> 00:44:42,914
was like, maybe it's C. Leggett. NO

1143
00:44:42,914 --> 00:44:44,024
.

1144
00:44:44,024 --> 00:44:46,324
Hello, good evening. Uh, Teresa

1145
00:44:46,324 --> 00:44:49,149
Wood. Um, I live in Watervliet. Well

1146
00:44:49,149 --> 00:44:50,608
, I'll just add my

1147
00:44:50,608 --> 00:44:52,570
thanks to what

1148
00:44:52,570 --> 00:44:55,364
everyone else has said. It's not just about

1149
00:44:55,364 --> 00:44:57,084
hard work, but also about the format and

1150
00:44:57,084 --> 00:45:01,918
interactivity of the document. It seems

1151
00:45:01,918 --> 00:45:03,913
much more accessible and is

1152
00:45:03,913 --> 00:45:05,704
oriented towards working in many

1153
00:45:05,704 --> 00:45:08,680
places. I think the action-

1154
00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:10,535
oriented side could be improved a bit

1155
00:45:10,535 --> 00:45:13,224
. I think a few people

1156
00:45:13,224 --> 00:45:14,861
have commented on the use of the

1157
00:45:14,861 --> 00:45:16,410
word "consider," and you know,

1158
00:45:16,410 --> 00:45:18,092
if that's the direction

1159
00:45:18,092 --> 00:45:20,910
we're going, I think we could

1160
00:45:20,910 --> 00:45:22,995
strengthen some of those verbs

1161
00:45:22,995 --> 00:45:27,723
. Since this is essentially becoming

1162
00:45:27,723 --> 00:45:29,698
part of the story, I have included it in

1163
00:45:29,698 --> 00:45:31,573
my written comments from the

1164
00:45:31,573 --> 00:45:34,620
online link. Well, I couldn't

1165
00:45:34,620 --> 00:45:36,194
find it. I was looking for it

1166
00:45:36,194 --> 00:45:37,636
tonight but couldn't

1167
00:45:37,636 --> 00:45:39,918
find it. There is a reference to the

1168
00:45:39,918 --> 00:45:42,036
merger of the city and the countryside, and that is not what

1169
00:45:42,036 --> 00:45:46,230
happened. And that's why I think it

1170
00:45:46,230 --> 00:45:50,385
needs to be explained. The village, uh,

1171
00:45:50,385 --> 00:45:52,668
surrendered its charter, uh, and,

1172
00:45:52,668 --> 00:45:55,070
you know, E-FUD was, uh, established,

1173
00:45:55,070 --> 00:45:57,232
but the town and the village didn't

1174
00:45:57,232 --> 00:46:01,956
merge. That, uh, would require a vote,

1175
00:46:01,956 --> 00:46:03,934
which, you know, a lot of us passed

1176
00:46:03,934 --> 00:46:05,752
that vote, and I, I

1177
00:46:05,752 --> 00:46:07,837
just, I think that should be

1178
00:46:07,837 --> 00:46:09,975
, uh, clarified because these things

1179
00:46:09,975 --> 00:46:12,114
become historical documents and

1180
00:46:12,114 --> 00:46:14,145
people read them as fact, and I just

1181
00:46:14,145 --> 00:46:16,177
, uh, I thought it

1182
00:46:16,177 --> 00:46:20,635
would be important to correct that. Um, the other

1183
00:46:20,635 --> 00:46:22,696
thing I want to emphasize is that

1184
00:46:22,696 --> 00:46:24,870
, uh, you know, you appreciate the role of

1185
00:46:24,870 --> 00:46:27,043
other organizations, other

1186
00:46:27,043 --> 00:46:28,882
NGOs, and I think that's

1187
00:46:28,882 --> 00:46:31,111
really important because they add to the

1188
00:46:31,111 --> 00:46:33,341
vitality and, uh, the sense of community

1189
00:46:33,341 --> 00:46:37,147
that we have here. So, I just want

1190
00:46:37,147 --> 00:46:39,112
to thank you for that as well.

1191
00:46:39,112 --> 00:46:40,543
Thank you.

1192
00:46:40,543 --> 00:46:46,923
Teresa. Is anyone in

1193
00:46:46,923 --> 00:46:49,511
online arguments?

1194
00:46:49,511 --> 00:46:50,154
NO.

1195
00:46:50,154 --> 00:46:53,329
Nobody from The Matrix.

1196
00:46:53,329 --> 00:47:04,397
Er, in the room.

1197
00:47:04,397 --> 00:47:07,291
What, what hat are you wearing?

1198
00:47:07,291 --> 00:47:12,128
I left them back there. I'm here

1199
00:47:12,128 --> 00:47:14,227
as Roger Clapp of Railroad Street,

1200
00:47:14,227 --> 00:47:16,559
executive director of Discover Waterbury,

1201
00:47:16,559 --> 00:47:18,658
which is still officially called

1202
00:47:18,658 --> 00:47:24,529
Revitalizing Waterbury. And for full

1203
00:47:24,529 --> 00:47:26,543
transparency, I also serve on the

1204
00:47:26,543 --> 00:47:28,662
Waterbury City Council, but I'm here to

1205
00:47:28,662 --> 00:47:33,022
talk about Discover Waterbury.

1206
00:47:33,022 --> 00:47:34,822
Our mission is to preserve,

1207
00:47:34,822 --> 00:47:41,112
promote and enhance the economic,

1208
00:47:41,112 --> 00:47:43,142
historical and social vitality of

1209
00:47:43,142 --> 00:47:45,016
Waterbury for residents, businesses and

1210
00:47:45,016 --> 00:47:55,609
visitors. It gives us a pretty big,

1211
00:47:55,609 --> 00:47:57,569
working area and we're doing a lot, and

1212
00:47:57,569 --> 00:47:59,316
I appreciate the fact that you've done a

1213
00:47:59,316 --> 00:48:00,958
great job engaging

1214
00:48:00,958 --> 00:48:05,741
the community. Many of the people we

1215
00:48:05,741 --> 00:48:07,508
work with have already spoken out

1216
00:48:07,508 --> 00:48:09,853
this evening. Others also

1217
00:48:09,853 --> 00:48:11,902
submitted comments online, including

1218
00:48:11,902 --> 00:48:14,121
Gretchen Schizzel, our

1219
00:48:14,121 --> 00:48:18,315
economic development coordinator. I would like to

1220
00:48:18,315 --> 00:48:20,302
highlight and support the comments that have already

1221
00:48:20,302 --> 00:48:29,432
been submitted. And

1222
00:48:29,432 --> 00:48:31,742
then, uh, just a couple of things of

1223
00:48:31,742 --> 00:48:34,174
note, uh, in the section on

1224
00:48:34,174 --> 00:48:36,241
historic preservation, uh, uh, uh, I'd like to

1225
00:48:36,241 --> 00:48:38,612
note that Revitalizing Waterbury

1226
00:48:38,612 --> 00:48:40,983
has been directly involved in, uh

1227
00:48:40,983 --> 00:48:43,111
, several major historic preservation projects

1228
00:48:43,111 --> 00:48:45,482
, and most notably the Simpson

1229
00:48:45,482 --> 00:48:47,853
Graves block, uh, downtown, which is

1230
00:48:47,853 --> 00:48:50,224
why the organization was founded in

1231
00:48:50,224 --> 00:48:57,865
1991. Uh, and then, uh, with Green Mountain

1232
00:48:57,865 --> 00:49:00,099
Coffee Roasters, uh, the renovation of the

1233
00:49:00,099 --> 00:49:03,933
Waterbury train station. And, uh, that

1234
00:49:03,933 --> 00:49:09,135
's still part of our mission. Uh,

1235
00:49:09,135 --> 00:49:11,451
we're not directly involved,

1236
00:49:11,451 --> 00:49:13,648
uh, in, uh, historic, uh,

1237
00:49:13,648 --> 00:49:15,905
preservation projects, but, uh, we do help,

1238
00:49:15,905 --> 00:49:18,102
uh, businesses and entrepreneurs with, uh,

1239
00:49:18,102 --> 00:49:24,216
their historic preservation tax credits.

1240
00:49:24,216 --> 00:49:26,331
One of them received

1241
00:49:26,331 --> 00:49:29,965
$40,000 last year, and we believe

1242
00:49:30,019 --> 00:49:34,514
another will be awarded in the next week or two. And we

1243
00:49:34,514 --> 00:49:36,581
are in a unique position to

1244
00:49:36,581 --> 00:49:38,480
help leverage some of that

1245
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:42,607
support. And so, one of the things

1246
00:49:42,607 --> 00:49:44,577
you did this year was

1247
00:49:44,577 --> 00:49:46,443
identify organizations that can

1248
00:49:46,443 --> 00:49:48,153
implement some of the

1249
00:49:48,153 --> 00:49:49,345
strategic approaches that

1250
00:49:49,345 --> 00:49:51,108
you outlined, and I think we

1251
00:49:51,108 --> 00:49:53,025
should be mentioned in that regard

1252
00:49:53,025 --> 00:50:03,014
. As our

1253
00:50:03,014 --> 00:50:05,023
newest board member, Sierra

1254
00:50:05,023 --> 00:50:06,809
Nagler, noted, we are entering into the

1255
00:50:06,809 --> 00:50:08,651
Waterbury Pathways Initiative in

1256
00:50:08,651 --> 00:50:13,505
partnership with WADA and the

1257
00:50:13,505 --> 00:50:24,307
Wreck Commission and Wreck Department.

1258
00:50:24,307 --> 00:50:27,819
Last year, we secured a

1259
00:50:29,520 --> 00:50:31,550
$200,000 grant from the city for transportation to the city center, and this

1260
00:50:31,550 --> 00:50:33,580
year we want to apply for another

1261
00:50:33,580 --> 00:50:35,775
$150,000 grant

1262
00:50:35,775 --> 00:50:37,860
to support the further development of access

1263
00:50:37,860 --> 00:50:40,000
to more parking spaces

1264
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:41,920
, navigation systems, and

1265
00:50:41,920 --> 00:50:43,786
sidewalks so that residents can

1266
00:50:43,786 --> 00:50:45,596
use parking spaces

1267
00:50:45,596 --> 00:50:57,016
away from the city center. This is

1268
00:50:57,016 --> 00:51:00,479
something that the

1269
00:51:00,479 --> 00:51:02,454
Waterbury Area Development Commission that

1270
00:51:02,454 --> 00:51:04,013
we work with supports, and some of

1271
00:51:04,013 --> 00:51:05,936
Gretchen's comments relate to

1272
00:51:05,936 --> 00:51:13,135
that. So, um, these are just

1273
00:51:13,135 --> 00:51:14,968
points that I think are worth

1274
00:51:14,968 --> 00:51:16,909
noting, and the reason why it

1275
00:51:16,909 --> 00:51:18,958
's particularly important is that

1276
00:51:18,958 --> 00:51:21,061
when this goes into the city plan

1277
00:51:21,061 --> 00:51:23,164
, and we can cite it in, um, these,

1278
00:51:23,164 --> 00:51:25,213
um, grant applications, um, it strengthens

1279
00:51:25,213 --> 00:51:26,992
our, um,

1280
00:51:26,992 --> 00:51:28,825
comparative competitiveness in receiving these

1281
00:51:28,825 --> 00:51:30,820
grants, um, um, and it takes some of the

1282
00:51:30,820 --> 00:51:38,010
burden off the taxpayers of the city. Hmm,

1283
00:51:38,010 --> 00:51:42,711
I'll leave this here. I did one

1284
00:51:42,711 --> 00:51:44,380
thing, one thing

1285
00:51:44,380 --> 00:51:46,413
I wanted to point out is that

1286
00:51:46,413 --> 00:51:47,978
um, we have another, um,

1287
00:51:47,978 --> 00:51:50,012
public session on Monday at 7:00 to

1288
00:51:50,012 --> 00:51:51,993
look at some of what

1289
00:51:51,993 --> 00:51:58,929
can be done. We are working with the

1290
00:51:58,929 --> 00:52:00,634
National Park Service on

1291
00:52:00,634 --> 00:52:02,546
planning the River Meadow and

1292
00:52:02,546 --> 00:52:11,530
Waterbury trails and river access.

1293
00:52:11,530 --> 00:52:13,459
Specifically, what are some of the

1294
00:52:13,459 --> 00:52:15,339
compatible features that will

1295
00:52:15,339 --> 00:52:16,971
fit with

1296
00:52:16,971 --> 00:52:18,900
flood mitigation and also take into account

1297
00:52:18,900 --> 00:52:20,334
some of the interests within the

1298
00:52:20,334 --> 00:52:21,719
community in the

1299
00:52:21,719 --> 00:52:23,154
social and recreational interests of the

1300
00:52:23,154 --> 00:52:24,984
community and we invite people to

1301
00:52:24,984 --> 00:52:30,590
participate in that. So, thank you.

1302
00:52:30,590 --> 00:52:32,558
Before you leave, wait. Wait,

1303
00:52:32,558 --> 00:52:33,281
I have a question.

1304
00:52:33,281 --> 00:52:33,800
Time.

1305
00:52:33,800 --> 00:52:34,612
You start.

1306
00:52:34,612 --> 00:52:36,204
Prerogative of the chairman. I'm

1307
00:52:36,204 --> 00:52:37,093
starting.

1308
00:52:37,093 --> 00:52:38,841
Hmm, what would you like to be called on

1309
00:52:38,841 --> 00:52:40,684
this city map, because I know you're

1310
00:52:40,684 --> 00:52:42,585
changing names. So, I think

1311
00:52:42,585 --> 00:52:44,669
we were talking about the revitalization of Waterbury.

1312
00:52:44,669 --> 00:52:45,952
I know it's changing.

1313
00:52:45,952 --> 00:52:47,747
Well, yes, we are changing our name to

1314
00:52:47,747 --> 00:52:50,108
Discover Waterbury, so we will.

1315
00:52:50,108 --> 00:52:50,474
Hmm,

1316
00:52:50,474 --> 00:52:52,486
Discover Waterbury should be a

1317
00:52:52,486 --> 00:52:55,260
cross between "Yes." All right. Noted.

1318
00:52:55,260 --> 00:52:55,954
Thank you.

1319
00:52:55,954 --> 00:52:57,558
So, in the transportation section,

1320
00:52:57,558 --> 00:52:59,248
can we put, "Will you volunteer

1321
00:52:59,248 --> 00:53:00,937
for Waterbury pathways to

1322
00:53:00,937 --> 00:53:02,457
be in our, um, our

1323
00:53:02,457 --> 00:53:05,084
out-of-town groups to help with that?" Yes,

1324
00:53:05,084 --> 00:53:06,954
or Discover Waterbury. We've

1325
00:53:06,954 --> 00:53:08,358
already signed you up.

1326
00:53:08,358 --> 00:53:10,525
All right. Yes.

1327
00:53:10,525 --> 00:53:13,080
I'm looking at...I'm looking at Ed. You think

1328
00:53:13,080 --> 00:53:17,328
you can put that in,

1329
00:53:17,328 --> 00:53:19,119
so I think, you know, we'll

1330
00:53:19,119 --> 00:53:21,059
continue to work on using this

1331
00:53:21,059 --> 00:53:23,050
Waterbury pathways brand to signify

1332
00:53:23,050 --> 00:53:24,493
this focus on developing

1333
00:53:24,493 --> 00:53:26,334
multi-use, non-motorized

1334
00:53:26,334 --> 00:53:29,695
paths.

1335
00:53:29,695 --> 00:53:31,667
All right. Thank you.

1336
00:53:31,667 --> 00:53:33,044
Any other questions?

1337
00:53:33,044 --> 00:53:34,550
Thank you. Thank you.

1338
00:53:34,550 --> 00:53:36,807
Thanks.

1339
00:53:36,807 --> 00:53:37,879
Anyone online?

1340
00:53:37,879 --> 00:53:38,663
Not yet.

1341
00:53:38,663 --> 00:53:41,725
Okay. Uh personally?

1342
00:53:41,725 --> 00:53:43,381
I and I have one online. to

1343
00:53:43,381 --> 00:53:44,087
do?

1344
00:53:44,087 --> 00:53:44,812
Oh.

1345
00:53:44,812 --> 00:53:48,197
We have Don Snyder. Sorry.

1346
00:53:48,197 --> 00:53:49,148
Oh, Carrie.

1347
00:53:49,148 --> 00:53:55,053
You're welcome, Carrie. Oh,

1348
00:53:55,053 --> 00:53:56,013
she clapped.

1349
00:53:56,013 --> 00:53:56,524
Oh.

1350
00:53:56,524 --> 00:53:57,235
I

1351
00:53:57,235 --> 00:54:02,037
got you. Well, we appreciate that. Um, okay

1352
00:54:02,037 --> 00:54:04,072
, so I think in, uh,

1353
00:54:04,072 --> 00:54:07,253
in person, please. If anyone doesn't

1354
00:54:07,253 --> 00:54:08,302
...

1355
00:54:08,302 --> 00:54:10,532
Okay, I'm Josh Lincoln, uh,

1356
00:54:10,532 --> 00:54:14,357
Brush Hill. And, uh, I've lived there

1357
00:54:14,357 --> 00:54:16,210
half my life, uh, longer

1358
00:54:16,210 --> 00:54:19,102
than anywhere else. And I'll limit

1359
00:54:19,102 --> 00:54:21,155
, uh, one thing, I want to thank you.

1360
00:54:21,155 --> 00:54:22,966
You've done a lot of hard work. I

1361
00:54:22,966 --> 00:54:24,851
really appreciate it. That's, uh,

1362
00:54:24,851 --> 00:54:28,537
amazing. Um, but I'll limit my,

1363
00:54:28,537 --> 00:54:32,617
uh, comments to one thing. I'll be

1364
00:54:32,617 --> 00:54:34,267
pretty short, and you've covered

1365
00:54:34,267 --> 00:54:36,651
some of it. Silla touched on a few of

1366
00:54:36,651 --> 00:54:38,685
them and, um, sorry, um, my

1367
00:54:38,685 --> 00:54:40,607
hearing is poor, so I might have

1368
00:54:40,607 --> 00:54:42,586
missed, um, some of what

1369
00:54:42,586 --> 00:54:47,422
she said. But my comments

1370
00:54:47,422 --> 00:54:49,459
will be in relation to the

1371
00:54:49,459 --> 00:54:51,496
2030 emergency timeline for, uh,

1372
00:54:51,496 --> 00:54:53,589
establishing a definitive framework for protecting

1373
00:54:53,589 --> 00:54:55,406
some of our key

1374
00:54:55,406 --> 00:54:57,223
resources: uh, the

1375
00:54:57,223 --> 00:54:59,425
Shootsville Wildlife Corridor, the

1376
00:54:59,425 --> 00:55:13,287
Sharkeyville Wildlife Corridor. And I think

1377
00:55:13,287 --> 00:55:15,324
if I have one thing, uh, that

1378
00:55:15,324 --> 00:55:17,253
I'd like to achieve and I'll limit myself

1379
00:55:17,253 --> 00:55:19,396
to one, it's that we don't

1380
00:55:19,396 --> 00:55:21,432
put this off, that we

1381
00:55:21,432 --> 00:55:23,362
do everything we can

1382
00:55:23,362 --> 00:55:25,505
because a lot of the reason why,

1383
00:55:25,505 --> 00:55:27,595
uh, we're happy with the quality of what

1384
00:55:27,595 --> 00:55:29,631
we have here and people come to

1385
00:55:29,631 --> 00:55:31,614
see it is because

1386
00:55:31,614 --> 00:55:33,650
we haven't, you know, or haven't yet

1387
00:55:33,650 --> 00:55:35,740
allowed for the gradual parceling out

1388
00:55:35,740 --> 00:55:37,562
, the fragmentation, the development of areas

1389
00:55:37,562 --> 00:55:39,545
like Williston Road, Shelburne

1390
00:55:39,545 --> 00:55:41,206
Road, and areas that, uh, have

1391
00:55:41,206 --> 00:55:43,189
made communities into

1392
00:55:43,189 --> 00:55:53,752
something other than what they are. I worked

1393
00:55:53,752 --> 00:55:57,524
in Williston before any of this, you

1394
00:55:57,524 --> 00:55:59,796
know, was built. There were

1395
00:55:59,796 --> 00:56:02,833
fields there. I've seen bobcats and

1396
00:56:02,833 --> 00:56:04,745
coyotes running around there at 6:00 in the morning on

1397
00:56:04,745 --> 00:56:06,870
my way to work, and you know, obviously it's

1398
00:56:06,870 --> 00:56:11,433
far from that. And my goal is to

1399
00:56:11,433 --> 00:56:13,800
do everything we can to

1400
00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:15,802
not wait until 2030 to

1401
00:56:15,802 --> 00:56:20,629
protect these areas. And, you know,

1402
00:56:20,629 --> 00:56:22,689
I think there should be, you

1403
00:56:22,689 --> 00:56:24,631
know, and again, that's not my area

1404
00:56:24,631 --> 00:56:31,199
of ​​expertise. So, you know, whether it

1405
00:56:31,199 --> 00:56:33,284
's an overlay on the area, which I

1406
00:56:33,284 --> 00:56:35,482
think would be the most obvious,

1407
00:56:35,482 --> 00:56:37,454
or enhanced protection, enhanced

1408
00:56:37,454 --> 00:56:39,370
development review, or, you know,

1409
00:56:39,370 --> 00:56:41,455
expansion of conservation areas, which,

1410
00:56:41,455 --> 00:56:43,540
when you talk to Fisheries and

1411
00:56:43,540 --> 00:56:45,625
Wildlife, you know, they say, you know, 17

1412
00:56:45,625 --> 00:56:47,766
acres is the minimum area, but

1413
00:56:47,766 --> 00:56:49,795
whatever it is, that's not my area of

1414
00:56:49,795 --> 00:56:54,843
expertise. And again, as

1415
00:56:54,843 --> 00:56:57,782
you said, this is not a discussion about

1416
00:56:57,782 --> 00:57:02,681
spatial planning. But I would like to

1417
00:57:02,681 --> 00:57:04,574
do everything we can

1418
00:57:04,574 --> 00:57:06,518
to avoid anytime

1419
00:57:06,518 --> 00:57:08,052
something like this comes up, any

1420
00:57:08,052 --> 00:57:10,099
potential litigation between

1421
00:57:10,099 --> 00:57:12,094
the city and anyone trying to

1422
00:57:12,094 --> 00:57:18,671
do anything there. If we can be sure

1423
00:57:18,671 --> 00:57:20,555
, let's get this done before 2030 and

1424
00:57:20,555 --> 00:57:22,097
protect what I think is the most

1425
00:57:22,097 --> 00:57:24,267
important thing we have to

1426
00:57:24,267 --> 00:57:26,493
do, I think we just have to

1427
00:57:26,493 --> 00:57:28,435
do it and make it

1428
00:57:28,435 --> 00:57:32,524
happen. So I'll leave it at that and these are

1429
00:57:32,524 --> 00:57:34,911
my comments. Thank you. Thank you

1430
00:57:34,911 --> 00:57:35,067
.

1431
00:57:35,067 --> 00:57:35,778
Thank you.

1432
00:57:35,778 --> 00:57:43,579
I appreciate it.

1433
00:57:43,579 --> 00:57:45,130
Whatever?

1434
00:57:45,130 --> 00:57:46,138
NO.

1435
00:57:46,138 --> 00:57:49,092
All right. I ask for

1436
00:57:49,092 --> 00:57:57,389
peace.

1437
00:57:57,389 --> 00:57:59,725
I'm Aaron Starmer from Maple Street in

1438
00:57:59,725 --> 00:58:02,505
Waterbury Center. I'm on the

1439
00:58:02,505 --> 00:58:04,643
recreation committee, but I think

1440
00:58:04,643 --> 00:58:06,286
Emma did a great job of

1441
00:58:06,286 --> 00:58:07,687
relaying what we've already

1442
00:58:07,687 --> 00:58:09,687
sent you. So I approach it

1443
00:58:09,687 --> 00:58:11,467
more from the perspective of someone who

1444
00:58:11,467 --> 00:58:13,145
looks at a city plan and thinks about the

1445
00:58:13,145 --> 00:58:15,180
future, thinking that it's an

1446
00:58:15,180 --> 00:58:19,468
eight-year document. All that work

1447
00:58:19,468 --> 00:58:21,123
you did with the maps

1448
00:58:21,123 --> 00:58:23,108
is probably not…er…not a

1449
00:58:23,108 --> 00:58:25,149
living document in the sense

1450
00:58:25,149 --> 00:58:27,300
that it will be added to over the next 8

1451
00:58:27,300 --> 00:58:29,120
years as the maps and charts are

1452
00:58:29,120 --> 00:58:35,090
updated. As a citizen, I want

1453
00:58:35,090 --> 00:58:36,994
to see this data, and a large part of the

1454
00:58:36,994 --> 00:58:40,107
city's plan is about tracking it. And

1455
00:58:40,107 --> 00:58:41,948
you know, there's so much out there about

1456
00:58:41,948 --> 00:58:44,998
tracking that data. But the average

1457
00:58:44,998 --> 00:58:46,943
citizen, as we see, is not

1458
00:58:46,943 --> 00:58:50,307
present here. I don't know if they look at this

1459
00:58:50,307 --> 00:58:53,982
city plan. I don't know if they'll come back to it

1460
00:58:53,982 --> 00:58:58,663
after it's finished. But is there

1461
00:58:58,663 --> 00:59:00,508
some mechanism in the city plan

1462
00:59:00,508 --> 00:59:02,404
that says, "We'll take this

1463
00:59:02,404 --> 00:59:03,787
data, we'll take...we've already

1464
00:59:03,787 --> 00:59:05,734
created this...this framework, we'll take

1465
00:59:05,734 --> 00:59:07,630
this tracking data and make it available to the

1466
00:59:07,630 --> 00:59:09,679
public," in that...then the

1467
00:59:09,679 --> 00:59:11,677
public will know

1468
00:59:11,677 --> 00:59:16,206
what facilities, um, we're using.

1469
00:59:16,206 --> 00:59:18,168
Where are the needs, where are the, you know,

1470
00:59:18,168 --> 00:59:19,866
what are our priorities as a

1471
00:59:19,866 --> 00:59:22,913
community. Hmm, and I think it's

1472
00:59:22,913 --> 00:59:24,504
extremely helpful and you did a

1473
00:59:24,504 --> 00:59:26,244
great job putting it

1474
00:59:26,244 --> 00:59:29,993
all out there. But I'm afraid it'll get

1475
00:59:29,993 --> 00:59:31,958
buried in a

1476
00:59:31,958 --> 00:59:33,823
click-through page, and most people

1477
00:59:33,823 --> 00:59:35,536
will think, "Oh, it's probably just a

1478
00:59:35,536 --> 00:59:37,552
PDF with a lot of text

1479
00:59:37,552 --> 00:59:39,568
that doesn't apply to me," when there

1480
00:59:39,568 --> 00:59:41,432
's so much good data there, and

1481
00:59:41,432 --> 00:59:43,297
your goal is to be great at tracking

1482
00:59:43,297 --> 00:59:48,756
it all. So that was my

1483
00:59:48,756 --> 00:59:50,720
main thought while reading and you know

1484
00:59:50,720 --> 00:59:52,633
, we live in a world now where it's

1485
00:59:52,633 --> 00:59:54,295
much easier than it

1486
00:59:54,295 --> 00:59:56,308
used to be when a city map was just a

1487
00:59:56,308 --> 01:00:00,504
document lying around somewhere. Hmm,

1488
01:00:00,504 --> 01:00:02,450
so that's what I'd like to see

1489
01:00:02,450 --> 01:00:04,348
in the future, because you've

1490
01:00:04,348 --> 01:00:06,148
already done all this great work and we

1491
01:00:06,148 --> 01:00:09,536
all clearly appreciate it. So.

1492
01:00:09,536 --> 01:00:10,840
Can I ask you a question?

1493
01:00:10,840 --> 01:00:11,313
Yes.

1494
01:00:11,313 --> 01:00:13,222
Well, if I understand correctly, and

1495
01:00:13,222 --> 01:00:15,237
you are right, a city plan is a static

1496
01:00:15,237 --> 01:00:16,440
document. We don't

1497
01:00:16,440 --> 01:00:18,999
update, change, etc. We can't

1498
01:00:18,999 --> 01:00:20,812
unless we go through

1499
01:00:20,812 --> 01:00:23,981
this process. So, what you're saying is,

1500
01:00:23,981 --> 01:00:25,944
you know, we take something from this, these are the

1501
01:00:25,944 --> 01:00:27,960
things we want to track, right

1502
01:00:27,960 --> 01:00:29,866
? The things that we said in the

1503
01:00:29,866 --> 01:00:31,551
plan that we want to track, and the

1504
01:00:31,551 --> 01:00:33,284
organization or something like that, and

1505
01:00:33,284 --> 01:00:34,825
we create some sort of

1506
01:00:34,825 --> 01:00:36,611
dashboard or portal or whatever, where it

1507
01:00:36,611 --> 01:00:38,346
's like, hey, we said we're going to

1508
01:00:38,346 --> 01:00:39,699
do this for a purpose. Well

1509
01:00:39,699 --> 01:00:40,872
then.

1510
01:00:40,872 --> 01:00:43,046
Here's where we started, and here's what

1511
01:00:43,046 --> 01:00:44,072
we see now.

1512
01:00:44,072 --> 01:00:45,902
And that would be kind of a separate,

1513
01:00:45,902 --> 01:00:47,545
parallel thing. It's simply a

1514
01:00:47,545 --> 01:00:49,198
working, living document that

1515
01:00:49,198 --> 01:00:50,148
is updated.

1516
01:00:50,148 --> 01:00:52,228
It's kind of centralized

1517
01:00:52,228 --> 01:00:55,473
for all the initiatives

1518
01:00:55,473 --> 01:00:56,632
we're working on.

1519
01:00:56,632 --> 01:00:58,463
Yeah, and you know, something that people

1520
01:00:58,463 --> 01:01:00,194
could come back to every year, committees,

1521
01:01:00,194 --> 01:01:01,873
citizens, you know, town meeting day

1522
01:01:01,873 --> 01:01:03,807
, that it's something that we

1523
01:01:03,807 --> 01:01:05,028
all have access to, as

1524
01:01:05,028 --> 01:01:07,013
opposed to, you know, something that's

1525
01:01:07,013 --> 01:01:08,997
talked about at these meetings and

1526
01:01:08,997 --> 01:01:13,133
most people don't come.

1527
01:01:13,133 --> 01:01:14,919
Yes. Okay.

1528
01:01:14,919 --> 01:01:16,334
Thank you. Thank you.

1529
01:01:16,334 --> 01:01:19,270
Good suggestion.

1530
01:01:19,270 --> 01:01:20,579
online

1531
01:01:20,579 --> 01:01:22,873
Okay, great. What do you have?

1532
01:01:22,873 --> 01:01:26,311
Amy. Hi. Can

1533
01:01:26,311 --> 01:01:27,566
you hear me well?

1534
01:01:27,566 --> 01:01:28,513
Yes. Yes.

1535
01:01:28,513 --> 01:01:30,640
Okay, great. For those who do

1536
01:01:30,640 --> 01:01:32,443
n't know me, I'm Amy Marshall Carney.

1537
01:01:32,443 --> 01:01:34,386
I live in Waterbury Center. I am

1538
01:01:34,386 --> 01:01:36,135
the chairwoman of the

1539
01:01:36,135 --> 01:01:39,566
Environmental Protection Committee. Tonight

1540
01:01:39,566 --> 01:01:41,245
I had no intention of talking about what

1541
01:01:41,245 --> 01:01:42,727
I laid out in detail for all of you

1542
01:01:42,727 --> 01:01:44,653
in the document, and it was

1543
01:01:44,653 --> 01:01:48,935
repeated here with Silla and Josh.

1544
01:01:48,935 --> 01:01:50,808
So, when it comes down to it, unless

1545
01:01:50,808 --> 01:01:54,147
you want me to emphasize it, I can.

1546
01:01:54,147 --> 01:01:55,622
Er, what I wanted to talk about here is,

1547
01:01:55,622 --> 01:01:58,788
well, a few things.

1548
01:01:58,788 --> 01:02:00,651
I'll mention, just for those in

1549
01:02:00,651 --> 01:02:02,564
the audience, that some of the opinions

1550
01:02:02,564 --> 01:02:04,477
I shared were about

1551
01:02:04,477 --> 01:02:06,292
natural resources, but some of them were

1552
01:02:06,292 --> 01:02:07,910
also about the time allocation, um,

1553
01:02:07,910 --> 01:02:09,480
for this public

1554
01:02:09,480 --> 01:02:12,116
review. And, and I still have a lot to

1555
01:02:12,116 --> 01:02:13,821
do, and I just felt that

1556
01:02:13,821 --> 01:02:15,715
if we had more time, I think the

1557
01:02:15,715 --> 01:02:19,423
review could have been more thorough.

1558
01:02:19,423 --> 01:02:21,491
Um, so, I just wanted to say,

1559
01:02:21,491 --> 01:02:24,944
um, for everyone to hear. Hmm, I

1560
01:02:24,944 --> 01:02:26,652
should also start by saying

1561
01:02:26,652 --> 01:02:29,874
thank you so much, because I realize

1562
01:02:29,923 --> 01:02:32,702
I had a printed version when I was looking at this document.

1563
01:02:32,702 --> 01:02:34,770
Hmm, that's a lot of work. So, it's a lot of

1564
01:02:34,770 --> 01:02:36,601
work to create it, and I and I know you

1565
01:02:36,601 --> 01:02:38,336
all put a lot of

1566
01:02:38,336 --> 01:02:40,240
time into these creation sessions. So I don't

1567
01:02:40,240 --> 01:02:42,011
want any of these opinions to

1568
01:02:42,011 --> 01:02:45,172
diminish that effort either. Well

1569
01:02:45,172 --> 01:02:46,993
, I'm not myself, when I

1570
01:02:46,993 --> 01:02:49,016
step back, I wanted to look at it through the

1571
01:02:49,016 --> 01:02:50,888
lens of how they fit together and

1572
01:02:50,888 --> 01:02:52,709
I saw some inconsistency

1573
01:02:52,709 --> 01:02:54,681
that I'm not sure how you all

1574
01:02:54,681 --> 01:02:56,705
think to take into account since, well, you're

1575
01:02:56,705 --> 01:02:58,728
taking individual opinions

1576
01:02:58,728 --> 01:03:01,906
by section. But as I read

1577
01:03:01,906 --> 01:03:03,601
each one, each chapter

1578
01:03:03,601 --> 01:03:05,147
individually, and again, I have more to

1579
01:03:05,147 --> 01:03:06,942
do, they all seemed to make

1580
01:03:06,942 --> 01:03:08,947
sense. There were simply

1581
01:03:08,947 --> 01:03:11,494
parts where they were contradictory.

1582
01:03:11,494 --> 01:03:12,787
For example, the chapter on

1583
01:03:12,787 --> 01:03:14,804
housing tells us to plant

1584
01:03:14,804 --> 01:03:16,459
new buildings where

1585
01:03:16,459 --> 01:03:18,425
water and sewage systems already run, i.e. in

1586
01:03:18,425 --> 01:03:21,663
the center, in the centers of villages. Well, but

1587
01:03:21,663 --> 01:03:23,617
the chapter on flood resilience

1588
01:03:23,617 --> 01:03:25,788
uses a city map and tells us to

1589
01:03:25,788 --> 01:03:27,688
build new development away from the

1590
01:03:27,688 --> 01:03:30,367
river corridor. Well, it turns out

1591
01:03:30,367 --> 01:03:32,131
these are the same four districts

1592
01:03:32,131 --> 01:03:34,392
we have, right? Like Union Street,

1593
01:03:34,392 --> 01:03:36,763
Butler, Elm and Randall, and then South

1594
01:03:36,763 --> 01:03:41,730
Main. And when it comes to planning to

1595
01:03:41,730 --> 01:03:43,701
increase population density in

1596
01:03:43,701 --> 01:03:45,722
areas at the highest risk of flooding,

1597
01:03:45,722 --> 01:03:47,742
we also have federal programs that

1598
01:03:47,742 --> 01:03:54,238
help fund that. There's risk

1599
01:03:54,238 --> 01:03:55,855
built into it, and our

1600
01:03:55,855 --> 01:03:57,934
funding plans, and both of them, you know, are

1601
01:03:57,934 --> 01:03:59,666
marked as suspended or

1602
01:03:59,666 --> 01:04:03,361
potentially suspended. I just don't know

1603
01:04:03,361 --> 01:04:05,122
if you looked at it through this

1604
01:04:05,122 --> 01:04:08,247
prism. The bigger problem, from my

1605
01:04:08,247 --> 01:04:09,952
perspective, is

1606
01:04:09,952 --> 01:04:13,495
property taxes. You know, you mentioned

1607
01:04:13,495 --> 01:04:15,577
them at the beginning. And they are listed

1608
01:04:15,577 --> 01:04:17,001
as one of the most important

1609
01:04:17,001 --> 01:04:18,901
community problems. And they weren't just there

1610
01:04:18,901 --> 01:04:20,788
once, but were mentioned at

1611
01:04:20,788 --> 01:04:22,675
least three times in three separate

1612
01:04:22,675 --> 01:04:25,341
chapters. So when I think about it

1613
01:04:25,341 --> 01:04:27,098
through that lens, the plan never

1614
01:04:27,098 --> 01:04:30,055
really works out. These

1615
01:04:30,055 --> 01:04:31,762
are all like land-ownership conservation strategies

1616
01:04:31,762 --> 01:04:33,517
, and it sounds a

1617
01:04:33,517 --> 01:04:35,130
little strange to me from an

1618
01:04:35,130 --> 01:04:36,838
environmental perspective, where we

1619
01:04:36,838 --> 01:04:38,071
're trying to add some

1620
01:04:38,071 --> 01:04:39,684
protections, but we have a

1621
01:04:39,684 --> 01:04:41,592
river corridor, you know? We have

1622
01:04:41,592 --> 01:04:45,371
ridge overlays, we have habitat corridors.

1623
01:04:45,371 --> 01:04:47,122
And is this also a view of the

1624
01:04:47,122 --> 01:04:48,926
remaining land subject to

1625
01:04:48,926 --> 01:04:52,048
taxation? So, for example,

1626
01:04:52,048 --> 01:04:54,290
you know, a

1627
01:04:54,290 --> 01:04:56,660
$4.3 million flood control project, a new

1628
01:04:56,660 --> 01:04:59,158
stormwater management plan, and on top of that,

1629
01:04:59,158 --> 01:05:01,463
we already have a

1630
01:05:01,463 --> 01:05:03,641
school tax rate increase of about 25% over

1631
01:05:03,641 --> 01:05:08,699
five years? Something like that, 20-25%.

1632
01:05:08,699 --> 01:05:10,566
You know, all of these things

1633
01:05:10,566 --> 01:05:12,434
are reasonable on their own, but I'm not

1634
01:05:12,434 --> 01:05:14,509
sure how it all comes together

1635
01:05:14,509 --> 01:05:16,533
if the goal remains one of the

1636
01:05:16,533 --> 01:05:18,349
community's goals, which is to raise

1637
01:05:18,349 --> 01:05:21,522
property taxes. One other

1638
01:05:21,522 --> 01:05:23,291
specific example that

1639
01:05:23,291 --> 01:05:25,154
might help is the chapter on

1640
01:05:25,154 --> 01:05:26,830
housing, which describes new

1641
01:05:26,830 --> 01:05:28,133
construction as a way to

1642
01:05:28,133 --> 01:05:29,716
get more

1643
01:05:29,716 --> 01:05:31,602
children into school. Well, the

1644
01:05:31,602 --> 01:05:34,339
next chapter says that

1645
01:05:34,339 --> 01:05:37,219
enrollment has already dropped by 5% since

1646
01:05:37,219 --> 01:05:39,275
2021. The school committee, you know, is

1647
01:05:39,275 --> 01:05:40,960
discussing, as you know or should

1648
01:05:40,960 --> 01:05:42,600
know, at a public level about

1649
01:05:42,600 --> 01:05:44,011
Brookside Elementary School and

1650
01:05:44,011 --> 01:05:45,752
all these other places. Well

1651
01:05:45,752 --> 01:05:47,447
, it just doesn't seem like the

1652
01:05:47,447 --> 01:05:49,188
different units

1653
01:05:49,188 --> 01:05:51,086
agree with each other. So, this is supposed to be a

1654
01:05:51,086 --> 01:05:52,678
holistic plan for the city.

1655
01:05:52,678 --> 01:05:54,378
I would expect some of

1656
01:05:54,378 --> 01:05:55,701
this to be addressed in this way

1657
01:05:55,701 --> 01:05:58,600
. And if all

1658
01:05:58,600 --> 01:06:00,447
costs are not included, they do

1659
01:06:00,447 --> 01:06:02,197
not seem to be

1660
01:06:02,197 --> 01:06:07,071
distributed evenly. Well, every

1661
01:06:07,071 --> 01:06:08,700
division has, I think almost

1662
01:06:08,700 --> 01:06:10,082
all of them if

1663
01:06:10,082 --> 01:06:12,008
I read it correctly, they add layers of

1664
01:06:12,008 --> 01:06:16,391
rule review to the plots. And the

1665
01:06:16,391 --> 01:06:18,344
housing chapter,

1666
01:06:18,344 --> 01:06:19,769
you know, already acknowledges that

1667
01:06:19,769 --> 01:06:21,352
the complexity of the regulations is the

1668
01:06:21,352 --> 01:06:24,536
biggest obstacle. So that

1669
01:06:24,536 --> 01:06:26,422
makes life harder for landowners

1670
01:06:26,422 --> 01:06:29,655
, right? You know, one piece of land

1671
01:06:29,655 --> 01:06:31,542
is trying to divide itself and as I

1672
01:06:31,542 --> 01:06:33,429
think you've talked about in

1673
01:06:33,429 --> 01:06:35,418
your working groups, you know,

1674
01:06:35,418 --> 01:06:36,897
it becomes a little bit more difficult to

1675
01:06:36,897 --> 01:06:41,948
do. So my request is

1676
01:06:41,948 --> 01:06:44,075
, um, if the costs, well, well

1677
01:06:44,075 --> 01:06:46,147
, before the plans are approved, is there a

1678
01:06:46,147 --> 01:06:48,219
way to publish, you know, a

1679
01:06:48,219 --> 01:06:50,128
page or some kind of summary

1680
01:06:50,128 --> 01:06:52,145
that combines all the chapters,

1681
01:06:52,145 --> 01:06:54,217
shows everything added up, you know, and

1682
01:06:54,217 --> 01:06:59,020
what the math of the flood is? That's

1683
01:06:59,020 --> 01:07:00,812
all the math is, right? You have

1684
01:07:00,812 --> 01:07:02,590
tax math,

1685
01:07:02,590 --> 01:07:04,172
flood math, permit math,

1686
01:07:04,172 --> 01:07:05,679
all of that. Um, so as

1687
01:07:05,679 --> 01:07:07,708
residents, it might be a little

1688
01:07:07,708 --> 01:07:09,737
easier for us to see the net, net, how

1689
01:07:09,737 --> 01:07:11,309
all of this really translates to us

1690
01:07:11,309 --> 01:07:15,841
and affects us.

1691
01:07:15,841 --> 01:07:17,318
That would be helpful.

1692
01:07:17,318 --> 01:07:19,097
All right. Uh, yes.

1693
01:07:19,097 --> 01:07:24,842
Thank you.

1694
01:07:24,842 --> 01:07:32,463
Thanks. Would

1695
01:07:32,463 --> 01:07:38,472
anyone in the audience like to speak?

1696
01:07:38,472 --> 01:07:40,267
I'd love to try it again and maybe

1697
01:07:40,267 --> 01:07:41,879
learn something more than

1698
01:07:41,879 --> 01:07:43,718
Oh God, I think everything's

1699
01:07:43,718 --> 01:07:46,884
okay. Round two. You get

1700
01:07:46,884 --> 01:07:52,433
seconds.

1701
01:07:52,433 --> 01:07:54,236
You know, I don't give myself time because

1702
01:07:54,236 --> 01:07:56,422
the problem with 3 minutes is that you have to

1703
01:07:56,422 --> 01:08:00,672
stretch yourself.

1704
01:08:00,672 --> 01:08:02,415
You're trying to get your point across

1705
01:08:02,415 --> 01:08:04,364
, and there are too many things to

1706
01:08:04,364 --> 01:08:09,112
discuss that come

1707
01:08:09,112 --> 01:08:10,667
together to solve these

1708
01:08:10,667 --> 01:08:13,332
problems. If our mission is to

1709
01:08:13,332 --> 01:08:15,225
go back to those five headlines and

1710
01:08:15,225 --> 01:08:19,957
try to solve those problems…

1711
01:08:19,957 --> 01:08:24,944
I’m not sure the plan actually

1712
01:08:24,944 --> 01:08:27,069
has the information to get us there

1713
01:08:27,069 --> 01:08:31,072
. Maybe to Amy, who has

1714
01:08:31,072 --> 01:08:34,938
some concerns.

1715
01:08:34,938 --> 01:08:36,568
I presented the scenario to the

1716
01:08:36,568 --> 01:08:38,544
city council a while back and they probably don't want to

1717
01:08:38,544 --> 01:08:40,471
hear it anymore, but I'll give you something

1718
01:08:40,471 --> 01:08:42,802
to think about. I presented a

1719
01:08:42,802 --> 01:08:44,422
scenario of what would happen if

1720
01:08:44,422 --> 01:08:46,251
Waterbury built 100,000 homes

1721
01:08:46,251 --> 01:08:49,674
a year for the next 5 years. Let's call

1722
01:08:49,674 --> 01:08:53,245
them mid-priced homes. You could

1723
01:08:53,245 --> 01:08:57,683
consider $650,000. But

1724
01:08:57,683 --> 01:09:01,780
I guess it's fairly realistic. Total

1725
01:09:01,780 --> 01:09:03,803
tax revenue from these homes

1726
01:09:03,803 --> 01:09:05,607
would average about

1727
01:09:05,607 --> 01:09:08,169
$8,000. Correct.

1728
01:09:08,169 --> 01:09:10,654
So the city receives $800,000

1729
01:09:10,654 --> 01:09:12,767
a year in additional

1730
01:09:12,767 --> 01:09:15,128
tax revenue, but only 15% of it goes

1731
01:09:15,128 --> 01:09:20,819
to the city. That's $120,000. At

1732
01:09:20,819 --> 01:09:23,075
our last town meeting, the

1733
01:09:23,075 --> 01:09:25,531
annual increase was 3%, which amounted to

1734
01:09:25,531 --> 01:09:30,326
$150,000. So, at

1735
01:09:30,326 --> 01:09:32,282
100,100 homes a year, we can't

1736
01:09:32,282 --> 01:09:34,127
even keep up with our annual

1737
01:09:34,127 --> 01:09:38,932
budget growth. This is without any additional big

1738
01:09:38,932 --> 01:09:40,718
work, no big positions, no

1739
01:09:40,718 --> 01:09:42,895
bonds, no big projects, nothing like

1740
01:09:42,895 --> 01:09:48,131
that. Only an annual growth of 2 to 4%

1741
01:09:48,131 --> 01:09:54,859
on average. 100 houses a year is

1742
01:09:54,859 --> 01:09:56,864
unthinkable. I think 30 to 40 in the

1743
01:09:56,864 --> 01:09:58,473
area of ​​municipal

1744
01:09:58,473 --> 01:09:59,991
water supply is probably

1745
01:09:59,991 --> 01:10:01,742
unthinkable. First of all, I don't know

1746
01:10:01,742 --> 01:10:05,940
where the hell you're going to put them.

1747
01:10:05,940 --> 01:10:07,868
Land acquisition is a huge part of

1748
01:10:07,868 --> 01:10:09,904
Everyone says that state regulations

1749
01:10:09,904 --> 01:10:13,877
are a major cost factor.

1750
01:10:13,877 --> 01:10:16,071
Having been in the industry for 45 years, I don't

1751
01:10:16,071 --> 01:10:18,022
see this as a major

1752
01:10:18,022 --> 01:10:21,238
cost factor. I look at what

1753
01:10:21,238 --> 01:10:23,244
happened with land acquisitions, which

1754
01:10:23,244 --> 01:10:25,249
really moved the needle towards

1755
01:10:25,249 --> 01:10:29,193
things being unattainable. I don't know how to

1756
01:10:29,193 --> 01:10:33,536
solve this. Hmm, present

1757
01:10:33,536 --> 01:10:38,025
from you, however. The

1758
01:10:38,025 --> 01:10:40,064
current market The current market has driven

1759
01:10:40,064 --> 01:10:41,685
this to the point where people

1760
01:10:41,685 --> 01:10:43,776
are seeing this as, you know, maybe the

1761
01:10:43,776 --> 01:10:45,502
only way to survive with

1762
01:10:45,502 --> 01:10:47,384
all the inflationary problems

1763
01:10:47,384 --> 01:10:54,258
that we've been facing. If someone

1764
01:10:54,258 --> 01:10:55,958
sells a piece of real estate and wants to

1765
01:10:55,958 --> 01:10:57,959
stay in Vermont, they will

1766
01:10:57,959 --> 01:10:59,810
burn through it in the blink of an eye, equal to the

1767
01:10:59,810 --> 01:11:06,624
cost of living here. If he

1768
01:11:06,624 --> 01:11:08,443
cashes out to move somewhere

1769
01:11:08,443 --> 01:11:10,167
else, then he might be better off

1770
01:11:10,167 --> 01:11:11,842
elsewhere, but when it comes to

1771
01:11:11,842 --> 01:11:13,469
affordability,

1772
01:11:13,469 --> 01:11:15,097
no average working-class person

1773
01:11:15,097 --> 01:11:17,011
in this state, or even this

1774
01:11:17,011 --> 01:11:18,495
city, will be able to

1775
01:11:18,495 --> 01:11:28,042
touch those numbers. I wish I had

1776
01:11:28,042 --> 01:11:29,890
more time to invest because it

1777
01:11:29,890 --> 01:11:31,888
sounds like I just come in

1778
01:11:31,888 --> 01:11:33,685
and have a stomach ache, but

1779
01:11:33,685 --> 01:11:35,683
I really appreciate everything you've done, but

1780
01:11:35,683 --> 01:11:37,631
I'm so involved every day,

1781
01:11:37,631 --> 01:11:39,578
not just working with people

1782
01:11:39,578 --> 01:11:43,637
trying to find them a home. Their

1783
01:11:43,637 --> 01:11:45,533
biggest fear after finding

1784
01:11:45,533 --> 01:11:47,429
one is that I'm working

1785
01:11:47,429 --> 01:11:49,171
on a project right now that I could

1786
01:11:49,171 --> 01:11:51,275
get into, but they're a young couple. Their

1787
01:11:51,275 --> 01:11:56,683
biggest fear, even though their

1788
01:11:56,683 --> 01:11:58,746
family helped them with a huge part of the

1789
01:11:58,746 --> 01:12:02,567
project and I do too.

1790
01:12:02,567 --> 01:12:04,564
Diesel prices are rising, I see and

1791
01:12:04,564 --> 01:12:07,289
hear everyone raising prices.

1792
01:12:07,289 --> 01:12:11,189
I refuse. I refuse. I'm willing to

1793
01:12:11,189 --> 01:12:13,219
take it on the chin because I know the

1794
01:12:13,219 --> 01:12:15,249
impact this has on us as, you

1795
01:12:15,249 --> 01:12:17,251
know, citizens. I'll take

1796
01:12:17,251 --> 01:12:19,515
that for granted,

1797
01:12:19,515 --> 01:12:21,181
but if he didn't have the help of the family he

1798
01:12:21,181 --> 01:12:23,033
had, he wouldn't have been able to

1799
01:12:23,033 --> 01:12:26,320
do it. And his bigger concern

1800
01:12:26,320 --> 01:12:28,186
is how the hell am I supposed to

1801
01:12:28,186 --> 01:12:30,150
stick with it once I'm there, you know,

1802
01:12:30,150 --> 01:12:32,883
I can achieve that part.

1803
01:12:32,883 --> 01:12:34,489
Maintaining this later will be the

1804
01:12:34,489 --> 01:12:39,223
main concern. So I think I'm

1805
01:12:39,223 --> 01:12:41,036
looking at part of this

1806
01:12:41,036 --> 01:12:42,798
city plan and I haven't considered the

1807
01:12:42,798 --> 01:12:51,625
economic development aspect of it. I keep

1808
01:12:51,625 --> 01:12:53,484
thinking to myself, how can we, as a city,

1809
01:12:53,484 --> 01:12:55,239
come up with some form of

1810
01:12:55,239 --> 01:12:57,253
economic strategy that, you know,

1811
01:12:57,253 --> 01:12:59,009
just shifts revenue to this

1812
01:12:59,009 --> 01:13:00,713
city without impacting us from an

1813
01:13:00,713 --> 01:13:09,510
infrastructure perspective? From a

1814
01:13:09,510 --> 01:13:11,389
development standpoint, because of those 100

1815
01:13:11,389 --> 01:13:13,215
homes that were built,

1816
01:13:13,215 --> 01:13:15,093
if they were built annually

1817
01:13:15,093 --> 01:13:16,972
for 5 years, those tax revenues in

1818
01:13:16,972 --> 01:13:18,798
meeting the annual budget do not

1819
01:13:18,798 --> 01:13:20,833
take into account the impact of those 100 homes

1820
01:13:20,833 --> 01:13:22,659
on the community in terms of

1821
01:13:22,659 --> 01:13:32,998
additional services. So again, I don't

1822
01:13:32,998 --> 01:13:34,988
know what the answer is, but this

1823
01:13:34,988 --> 01:13:40,277
particular scenario was an effort

1824
01:13:40,277 --> 01:13:43,770
that was constantly tried and maybe, as I said,

1825
01:13:43,770 --> 01:13:45,469
the value of the dollar at that time

1826
01:13:45,469 --> 01:13:48,655
maybe worked back then. But that's

1827
01:13:48,655 --> 01:13:51,752
not the case anymore. So we have to change

1828
01:13:51,752 --> 01:13:53,470
our mindset about what

1829
01:13:53,470 --> 01:13:55,499
we can do to skin the cat

1830
01:13:55,499 --> 01:13:57,529
in a different way, because that

1831
01:13:57,529 --> 01:13:59,298
just leads us down a false

1832
01:13:59,298 --> 01:14:02,908
path. Because you won't solve

1833
01:14:02,908 --> 01:14:04,776
these problems as things stand

1834
01:14:04,776 --> 01:14:06,431
. I have a

1835
01:14:06,431 --> 01:14:08,220
question for you. If there is one

1836
01:14:08,220 --> 01:14:09,629
thing you would recommend we

1837
01:14:09,629 --> 01:14:11,121
include here, what would it

1838
01:14:11,121 --> 01:14:12,678
be? Because we have a lot of

1839
01:14:12,678 --> 01:14:13,904
questions too, right? Like we're

1840
01:14:13,904 --> 01:14:15,190
trying to solve a lot of these

1841
01:14:15,190 --> 01:14:18,843
problems, compromises, etc., So I'm just curious if

1842
01:14:18,843 --> 01:14:20,344
you have any specific suggestion

1843
01:14:20,344 --> 01:14:21,602
that you would put here.

1844
01:14:21,602 --> 01:14:23,833
I'm asking you this question. Has anyone

1845
01:14:23,833 --> 01:14:25,791
seen the latest video that was

1846
01:14:25,791 --> 01:14:33,474
released, um, it showed some

1847
01:14:33,474 --> 01:14:35,347
residents of that area around

1848
01:14:35,347 --> 01:14:40,320
Warren Weatsfield. Paul Hartshorn was

1849
01:14:40,320 --> 01:14:43,854
one of the people in this video. My

1850
01:14:43,854 --> 01:14:46,057
nephew sent me a video. I think it

1851
01:14:46,057 --> 01:14:48,079
was probably published

1852
01:14:48,079 --> 01:14:51,856
by the Republican Party. I

1853
01:14:51,856 --> 01:14:54,755
'm not sure. He didn't say it

1854
01:14:54,755 --> 01:14:56,711
directly, but Paul Hartshorn said,

1855
01:14:56,711 --> 01:14:58,276
"I had to cash in my

1856
01:14:58,276 --> 01:15:02,840
health insurance, or my

1857
01:15:02,840 --> 01:15:05,049
health insurance, what is it? A

1858
01:15:05,049 --> 01:15:06,806
life insurance policy I've had

1859
01:15:06,806 --> 01:15:08,663
for over 70 years, to pay my

1860
01:15:08,663 --> 01:15:11,998
property taxes this year.

1861
01:15:11,998 --> 01:15:14,001
It made my blood rush to my

1862
01:15:14,001 --> 01:15:17,633
head. I was so angry that

1863
01:15:17,633 --> 01:15:21,639
we'd come to this point. Um,

1864
01:15:21,639 --> 01:15:23,653
maybe I'll try to send you that video so you can

1865
01:15:23,653 --> 01:15:26,541
see it. It was, uh,

1866
01:15:26,541 --> 01:15:29,349
eye-opening. Um, frustrating,

1867
01:15:29,349 --> 01:15:38,254
quite honestly. Um, your question

1868
01:15:38,254 --> 01:15:39,833
again was: Can you

1869
01:15:39,833 --> 01:15:41,775
rephrase that?

1870
01:15:41,775 --> 01:15:43,574
Yeah, what would you recommend we

1871
01:15:43,574 --> 01:15:45,523
put in place here to solve some

1872
01:15:45,523 --> 01:15:47,349
of these problems?

1873
01:15:47,349 --> 01:15:49,036
Okay, so that brings me back

1874
01:15:49,036 --> 01:15:51,039
to why I lost the

1875
01:15:51,039 --> 01:15:53,590
thread. So I said to Senator

1876
01:15:53,590 --> 01:15:55,597
Beck, 'If I were governor, okay

1877
01:15:55,597 --> 01:15:58,889
? I think this is such a drastic

1878
01:15:58,889 --> 01:16:02,946
problem. If I were governor,

1879
01:16:02,946 --> 01:16:05,175
I would walk in the door on day one

1880
01:16:05,175 --> 01:16:07,403
and tell all the

1881
01:16:07,403 --> 01:16:09,689
department heads, 'Cut the budget by

1882
01:16:09,689 --> 01:16:11,741
25%, period. I don't care how you

1883
01:16:11,741 --> 01:16:16,441
do it.'" Then I would cut back on

1884
01:16:16,441 --> 01:16:18,446
all our expenses. Roger Clapp was

1885
01:16:18,446 --> 01:16:20,411
just talking about two separate

1886
01:16:20,411 --> 01:16:24,438
grants. I appreciate that, you know,

1887
01:16:24,438 --> 01:16:26,358
you brought up these issues, but the truth

1888
01:16:26,358 --> 01:16:27,958
is that because of the

1889
01:16:27,958 --> 01:16:30,039
circumstances we're in

1890
01:16:30,039 --> 01:16:32,172
, we have to really cut back on all of these

1891
01:16:32,172 --> 01:16:37,500
extra expenses. We have

1892
01:16:37,500 --> 01:16:39,581
enough resources in our citizens to

1893
01:16:39,581 --> 01:16:41,453
take care of this and get through it

1894
01:16:41,453 --> 01:16:43,274
for, you know, five years to

1895
01:16:43,274 --> 01:16:49,812
get back on our feet financially. All

1896
01:16:49,812 --> 01:16:51,499
grants, you know,

1897
01:16:51,499 --> 01:16:53,749
nonprofits, certain aspects are brought up

1898
01:16:53,749 --> 01:16:57,042
in their unpopular discussions. Nobody

1899
01:16:57,042 --> 01:16:59,188
wants to listen to them. So

1900
01:16:59,188 --> 01:17:01,529
, wait a minute. There is one person in the back

1901
01:17:01,529 --> 01:17:01,688
.

1902
01:17:01,688 --> 01:17:05,381
Yes. Well, so much of what

1903
01:17:05,381 --> 01:17:07,146
we do overspends on that

1904
01:17:07,146 --> 01:17:10,919
we need to focus on needs.

1905
01:17:10,919 --> 01:17:12,637
When I spoke with Amanda Jeanue,

1906
01:17:12,637 --> 01:17:14,449
she told me, "We need to get back to

1907
01:17:14,449 --> 01:17:17,308
basics." And I said, "I'm curious

1908
01:17:17,308 --> 01:17:19,413
what you mean by basics and what

1909
01:17:19,413 --> 01:17:22,535
I mean by basics." We return to

1910
01:17:22,535 --> 01:17:26,876
basic needs. We need to get back

1911
01:17:26,876 --> 01:17:31,411
on our feet. Lower those costs from a

1912
01:17:31,411 --> 01:17:33,480
property tax perspective, a

1913
01:17:33,480 --> 01:17:38,866
school tax perspective,

1914
01:17:38,866 --> 01:17:40,660
municipal taxes, you know,

1915
01:17:40,660 --> 01:17:42,563
municipal taxes, and I hate to

1916
01:17:42,563 --> 01:17:44,520
say it, but let's go back to the way

1917
01:17:44,520 --> 01:17:46,532
we old Vermonters used to

1918
01:17:46,532 --> 01:17:51,400
live. Let's get back on our feet and then

1919
01:17:51,400 --> 01:17:58,050
move forward. I emphasized that

1920
01:17:58,050 --> 01:17:59,949
I believed this and asked legislators,

1921
01:17:59,949 --> 01:18:01,654
"When will you admit the state is

1922
01:18:01,654 --> 01:18:03,553
bankrupt and start working backward

1923
01:18:03,553 --> 01:18:12,949
?" Because we really are

1924
01:18:12,949 --> 01:18:14,583
broke, because I could

1925
01:18:14,583 --> 01:18:16,473
list everything from our poor

1926
01:18:16,473 --> 01:18:18,311
educational facilities to our

1927
01:18:18,311 --> 01:18:20,201
housing problems to our

1928
01:18:20,201 --> 01:18:21,938
infrastructure problems to our health care costs to

1929
01:18:21,938 --> 01:18:23,981
our state

1930
01:18:23,981 --> 01:18:33,161
pension program. And so on, there is a list of at

1931
01:18:33,161 --> 01:18:35,291
least 10 expensive things that we

1932
01:18:35,291 --> 01:18:37,312
, the state, cannot solve

1933
01:18:37,312 --> 01:18:41,452
because we have no income.

1934
01:18:41,452 --> 01:18:43,458
So Chris, I'm going to So yeah,

1935
01:18:43,458 --> 01:18:45,433
I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.

1936
01:18:45,433 --> 01:18:47,269
Yes, yes, I know. I heard what

1937
01:18:47,269 --> 01:18:50,390
you said. Reduce expenses.

1938
01:18:50,390 --> 01:18:52,312
Yes, we will try to reach this

1939
01:18:52,312 --> 01:18:54,575
compromise. I appreciate this information. I know it's

1940
01:18:54,575 --> 01:18:55,830
complicated.

1941
01:18:55,830 --> 01:18:57,348
Yes, it's complicated, very

1942
01:18:57,348 --> 01:18:59,080
complicated. There's so much involved in this

1943
01:18:59,080 --> 01:19:00,836
and I say again, you

1944
01:19:00,836 --> 01:19:02,360
guys are doing a great

1945
01:19:02,360 --> 01:19:05,843
job. It's just about

1946
01:19:05,843 --> 01:19:07,683
achieving that mission, it's gonna

1947
01:19:07,683 --> 01:19:09,369
take a few different, a few

1948
01:19:09,369 --> 01:19:13,301
different, uh ideas.

1949
01:19:13,301 --> 01:19:14,727
Thank you.

1950
01:19:14,727 --> 01:19:19,044
Do you appreciate it? Comment on Zoom. Do we have a

1951
01:19:19,044 --> 01:19:21,833
hand in Zoom? Zoom member?

1952
01:19:21,833 --> 01:19:24,269
Hand on Zoom.

1953
01:19:24,269 --> 01:19:24,877
Carrie.

1954
01:19:24,877 --> 01:19:32,001
Good, good. Chris,

1955
01:19:32,001 --> 01:19:36,770
thank you so much for all your work. Well, that's

1956
01:19:36,770 --> 01:19:38,940
it, but my concerns about the plan

1957
01:19:38,940 --> 01:19:47,095
are very broad. I look at him as if I

1958
01:19:47,095 --> 01:19:48,800
were a member of the

1959
01:19:48,800 --> 01:19:58,106
city council in 5 years. How do I determine

1960
01:19:58,106 --> 01:19:59,730
what the plan is and who is

1961
01:19:59,730 --> 01:20:07,794
responsible? I think this is where I have a

1962
01:20:07,794 --> 01:20:09,769
problem with the plan, because we have a lot of things

1963
01:20:09,769 --> 01:20:11,693
that might be responsible and

1964
01:20:11,693 --> 01:20:18,850
which might not. Are you hoping to get

1965
01:20:18,850 --> 01:20:20,181
something published with

1966
01:20:20,181 --> 01:20:21,797
responsible parties or are you just

1967
01:20:21,797 --> 01:20:27,822
throwing it around? Well

1968
01:20:27,822 --> 01:20:32,461
, I'll try. As you noticed

1969
01:20:32,461 --> 01:20:34,736
, you know, we have these goals and strategies and

1970
01:20:34,736 --> 01:20:36,612
then we have sort of a

1971
01:20:36,612 --> 01:20:39,836
progress tracking section. At the heart of a lot of

1972
01:20:39,836 --> 01:20:41,463
these goals and strategies is,

1973
01:20:41,463 --> 01:20:44,608
I think, everyone's, you know,

1974
01:20:44,608 --> 01:20:46,576
responsible. So we actually

1975
01:20:46,576 --> 01:20:48,629
give names. So, if you

1976
01:20:48,629 --> 01:20:50,055
were on city council five years from now, you would

1977
01:20:50,055 --> 01:20:51,849
refer to this and ask,

1978
01:20:51,849 --> 01:20:53,689
“What did the planning commission say about

1979
01:20:53,689 --> 01:20:55,453
natural resources?” Oh, they

1980
01:20:55,453 --> 01:21:02,873
contacted this and this and this and this other organization. Do you know

1981
01:21:02,873 --> 01:21:04,845
if we have the authority to appoint,

1982
01:21:04,845 --> 01:21:06,412
bind, and hold them

1983
01:21:06,412 --> 01:21:09,746
accountable in this matter? I don't

1984
01:21:09,746 --> 01:21:11,726
think we have that kind of power

1985
01:21:11,726 --> 01:21:15,170
. I think maybe the city council

1986
01:21:15,170 --> 01:21:17,426
could do this. You know, a

1987
01:21:17,426 --> 01:21:19,684
public vote could do it.

1988
01:21:19,684 --> 01:21:22,209
Consensus could do it. But

1989
01:21:22,209 --> 01:21:23,985
I'm not sure we have the authority to

1990
01:21:23,985 --> 01:21:25,388
say you have any

1991
01:21:25,388 --> 01:21:28,067
say in the matter. And that's why

1992
01:21:28,067 --> 01:21:30,120
we put it the way we

1993
01:21:30,120 --> 01:21:35,580
put it. You say

1994
01:21:35,580 --> 01:21:37,721
you give many NGOs

1995
01:21:37,721 --> 01:21:41,908
a lot of power. And that

1996
01:21:41,908 --> 01:21:47,932
is my question. So you're not saying you're

1997
01:21:47,932 --> 01:21:49,863
not giving us a city plan

1998
01:21:49,863 --> 01:21:51,376
that says someone is

1999
01:21:51,376 --> 01:21:53,098
responsible, that there should be a

2000
01:21:53,098 --> 01:21:55,029
responsible party like the

2001
01:21:55,029 --> 01:22:00,815
city council to give the green light or

2002
01:22:00,815 --> 01:22:02,715
something happened. So this is

2003
01:22:02,715 --> 01:22:04,776
my question. Well, where are we

2004
01:22:04,776 --> 01:22:08,143
? We just say, "Well, that

2005
01:22:08,143 --> 01:22:09,997
might be the responsible party,"

2006
01:22:09,997 --> 01:22:11,650
but for every action that

2007
01:22:11,650 --> 01:22:13,203
imposes a burden on

2008
01:22:13,203 --> 01:22:15,057
the taxpayer, there should be one party

2009
01:22:15,057 --> 01:22:19,277
responsible.

2010
01:22:19,277 --> 01:22:21,403
Okay, so if I understand correctly

2011
01:22:21,403 --> 01:22:23,584
, the wording that we've assigned

2012
01:22:23,584 --> 01:22:27,398
to these different groups and so on isn't

2013
01:22:27,398 --> 01:22:28,979
strong enough and instead of

2014
01:22:28,979 --> 01:22:30,611
saying, you know, could,

2015
01:22:30,611 --> 01:22:33,562
we should say should.

2016
01:22:33,562 --> 01:22:35,709
Is this what I understand? Do

2017
01:22:35,709 --> 01:22:39,213
I understand this correctly? Are

2018
01:22:39,213 --> 01:22:40,594
you asking me?

2019
01:22:40,594 --> 01:22:41,513
Yes.

2020
01:22:41,513 --> 01:22:43,154
Should it be? I don't think there is such a thing

2021
01:22:43,154 --> 01:22:44,704
as "should

2022
01:22:44,704 --> 01:22:46,631
be." I think there should be a

2023
01:22:46,631 --> 01:22:48,631
specific definition of who is

2024
01:22:48,631 --> 01:22:52,705
responsible. The city council should

2025
01:22:52,705 --> 01:22:54,485
always have the ability to say

2026
01:22:54,485 --> 01:22:55,797
“no” or approve

2027
01:22:55,797 --> 01:23:01,158
any action in the city.

2028
01:23:01,158 --> 01:23:03,694
All right. So you're saying we should

2029
01:23:03,694 --> 01:23:05,450
absolutely indicate who will be in

2030
01:23:05,450 --> 01:23:07,078
charge of this?

2031
01:23:07,078 --> 01:23:07,920
Correct.

2032
01:23:07,920 --> 01:23:09,671
And present recommendations to the

2033
01:23:09,671 --> 01:23:10,272
city council.

2034
01:23:10,272 --> 01:23:10,961
Yes.

2035
01:23:10,961 --> 01:23:12,605
All right.

2036
01:23:12,605 --> 01:23:14,588
Because right now, and I'll say this, we have

2037
01:23:14,588 --> 01:23:16,410
a lot of non-governmental organizations

2038
01:23:16,410 --> 01:23:23,189
that are driving our city plan.

2039
01:23:23,189 --> 01:23:25,106
Well, there are many things happening in our city

2040
01:23:25,106 --> 01:23:26,827
that

2041
01:23:26,827 --> 01:23:28,450
should not necessarily be inconsistent with our

2042
01:23:28,450 --> 01:23:36,577
governance principles. We should

2043
01:23:36,577 --> 01:23:38,559
reinstate more regulations to

2044
01:23:38,559 --> 01:23:40,702
ensure taxpayers understand what is

2045
01:23:40,702 --> 01:23:46,123
happening. If you can

2046
01:23:46,123 --> 01:23:48,499
understand that. And maybe I'm not making myself

2047
01:23:48,499 --> 01:23:50,057
clear, but that's okay. I

2048
01:23:50,057 --> 01:23:51,988
understand what you mean.

2049
01:23:51,988 --> 01:23:54,434
Ok thank you.

2050
01:23:54,434 --> 01:23:56,437
Carrie, Carrie, I actually think it would be

2051
01:23:56,437 --> 01:23:59,596
helpful to clarify what

2052
01:23:59,596 --> 01:24:01,040
you mean when you say that the

2053
01:24:01,040 --> 01:24:02,740
city plan was written as if it were being

2054
01:24:02,740 --> 01:24:04,396
created by NGOs

2055
01:24:04,396 --> 01:24:05,841
, because I don't think our

2056
01:24:05,841 --> 01:24:07,115
process was

2057
01:24:07,115 --> 01:24:08,933
NGO-centric. It was

2058
01:24:08,933 --> 01:24:10,485
largely focused on

2059
01:24:10,485 --> 01:24:12,281
public opinion.

2060
01:24:12,281 --> 01:24:14,065
So are there any areas in the plan itself that

2061
01:24:14,065 --> 01:24:15,801
you think are focused on

2062
01:24:15,801 --> 01:24:17,440
NGOs, or is it

2063
01:24:17,440 --> 01:24:21,056
just about their naming in the plan

2064
01:24:21,056 --> 01:24:24,008
? Could you clarify this?

2065
01:24:24,008 --> 01:24:27,433
Yes. I think the city plan was

2066
01:24:27,433 --> 01:24:33,118
centered around a lot of...Discover

2067
01:24:33,118 --> 01:24:36,824
Waterbury. And please take this, you know,

2068
01:24:36,824 --> 01:24:38,451
I love Discover Waterbury,

2069
01:24:38,451 --> 01:24:41,751
Revitalize Waterbury. I think

2070
01:24:41,751 --> 01:24:43,714
they have done a lot of amazing things for

2071
01:24:43,714 --> 01:24:47,259
our community. I think

2072
01:24:47,259 --> 01:24:51,571
Roger too. However, I think they have a

2073
01:24:51,571 --> 01:24:53,403
lot of freedom in creating

2074
01:24:53,403 --> 01:25:00,830
spatial development plans. And

2075
01:25:00,830 --> 01:25:03,101
they present their initiatives and goals

2076
01:25:03,101 --> 01:25:10,106
without the city knowing what is happening and without

2077
01:25:10,106 --> 01:25:13,401
its approval. So I think there's a missing

2078
01:25:13,401 --> 01:25:15,396
step in the process, and I think that's

2079
01:25:15,396 --> 01:25:17,339
very clear now

2080
01:25:17,339 --> 01:25:19,282
throughout our land use plan

2081
01:25:19,282 --> 01:25:25,118
.

2082
01:25:25,118 --> 01:25:27,046
All right. Do you have any other

2083
01:25:27,046 --> 01:25:27,506
questions?

2084
01:25:27,506 --> 01:25:29,110
No, I think it's clear.

2085
01:25:29,110 --> 01:25:31,586
But I have a question for you, Carrie.

2086
01:25:31,586 --> 01:25:33,337
If there are parts of this plan

2087
01:25:33,337 --> 01:25:35,088
where we have a goal or a strategy

2088
01:25:35,088 --> 01:25:37,045
that you believe, regardless of

2089
01:25:37,045 --> 01:25:39,054
who proposed it, I don't want to name

2090
01:25:39,054 --> 01:25:40,908
names, isn't that a

2091
01:25:40,908 --> 01:25:42,917
process where you say you think it's the

2092
01:25:42,917 --> 01:25:44,925
wrong strategy and

2093
01:25:44,925 --> 01:25:47,623
shouldn't be in the plan? Is

2094
01:25:47,623 --> 01:25:50,267
n't that what we do? This is the

2095
01:25:50,267 --> 01:25:51,024
time.

2096
01:25:51,024 --> 01:25:52,889
I think the plan is great, but I don't

2097
01:25:52,889 --> 01:25:54,906
think you should single out

2098
01:25:54,906 --> 01:25:56,470
one specific

2099
01:25:56,470 --> 01:25:58,903
NGO. I think they should

2100
01:25:58,903 --> 01:26:01,597
all be there. Instead of saying "

2101
01:26:01,597 --> 01:26:03,670
Discover Waterbury" and everything else, it

2102
01:26:03,670 --> 01:26:08,544
should be "all." Discover

2103
01:26:08,544 --> 01:26:10,676
Waterbury is amazing and we do

2104
01:26:10,676 --> 01:26:13,380
all these things with them. The city does

2105
01:26:13,380 --> 01:26:16,442
all these things to them, right? But

2106
01:26:16,442 --> 01:26:18,102
if we focus on Discover

2107
01:26:18,102 --> 01:26:20,125
Waterbury, what happens if they

2108
01:26:20,125 --> 01:26:24,612
fall apart? We are looking for an

2109
01:26:24,612 --> 01:26:29,117
urban plan that will outlive them.

2110
01:26:29,117 --> 01:26:32,168
Potentially. True? We look to the

2111
01:26:32,168 --> 01:26:35,199
future. I hope

2112
01:26:35,199 --> 01:26:37,081
they last forever, but it's our

2113
01:26:37,081 --> 01:26:42,926
city, not them. That's why I'm asking that

2114
01:26:42,926 --> 01:26:44,934
everything we do and include in the

2115
01:26:44,934 --> 01:26:46,942
urban plan not

2116
01:26:46,942 --> 01:26:53,298
only apply to Discover Waterbury. It applied to

2117
01:26:53,298 --> 01:26:54,953
every

2118
01:26:54,953 --> 01:26:56,969
arts-focused community organization that we support

2119
01:26:56,969 --> 01:27:00,745
as a city. Please remember this

2120
01:27:00,745 --> 01:27:03,519
. We support them as a city just as

2121
01:27:03,519 --> 01:27:06,654
they support us. But what happens

2122
01:27:06,654 --> 01:27:08,504
if something collapses,

2123
01:27:08,504 --> 01:27:11,788
right? We are still a city. And this is what

2124
01:27:11,788 --> 01:27:13,742
I would like to see

2125
01:27:13,742 --> 01:27:15,182
implemented in our

2126
01:27:15,182 --> 01:27:17,653
urban planning process. Well, it's something

2127
01:27:17,653 --> 01:27:19,359
I've learned in my

2128
01:27:19,359 --> 01:27:21,021
business experience that you never

2129
01:27:21,021 --> 01:27:22,726
put your name in

2130
01:27:22,726 --> 01:27:25,213
someone's email address. True? It's

2131
01:27:25,213 --> 01:27:29,298
info@something. As a city, we

2132
01:27:29,298 --> 01:27:33,311
should always do this.

2133
01:27:33,311 --> 01:27:34,807
Thank you. Thank you for your

2134
01:27:34,807 --> 01:27:38,166
involvement. Carried out. I think an

2135
01:27:38,166 --> 01:27:40,054
asset planning committee

2136
01:27:40,054 --> 01:27:41,888
that would help with this process

2137
01:27:41,888 --> 01:27:43,991
would be, you know, specific feedback

2138
01:27:43,991 --> 01:27:45,771
within the plan that we'll

2139
01:27:45,771 --> 01:27:47,335
try our best

2140
01:27:47,335 --> 01:27:49,331
to identify; our choice of words,

2141
01:27:49,331 --> 01:27:51,057
I think it crosses

2142
01:27:51,057 --> 01:27:53,052
the line a little bit where... But, you know, if

2143
01:27:53,052 --> 01:27:55,156
you noticed areas in the plan, you know,

2144
01:27:55,156 --> 01:27:57,151
specific strategies, goals,

2145
01:27:57,151 --> 01:27:59,039
reference documents that you think

2146
01:27:59,039 --> 01:28:01,089
we attribute to, you know, agency, resources

2147
01:28:01,089 --> 01:28:02,707
or authority of the organization, that

2148
01:28:02,707 --> 01:28:05,376
was certainly not intentional.

2149
01:28:05,376 --> 01:28:07,016
So I think that

2150
01:28:07,016 --> 01:28:08,848
level of detail in the

2151
01:28:08,848 --> 01:28:10,392
feedback will allow us to, you know,

2152
01:28:10,392 --> 01:28:12,225
address your

2153
01:28:12,225 --> 01:28:13,431
comment more effectively. So.

2154
01:28:13,431 --> 01:28:15,169
Great. Thank you very much.

2155
01:28:15,169 --> 01:28:15,909
Thank you.

2156
01:28:15,909 --> 01:28:17,251
Would

2157
01:28:17,251 --> 01:28:19,063
anyone in the audience like to

2158
01:28:19,063 --> 01:28:22,178
speak again, Curtis? Am

2159
01:28:22,178 --> 01:28:23,561
I too late?

2160
01:28:23,561 --> 01:28:24,973
NO. Not at all.

2161
01:28:24,973 --> 01:28:26,518
Yes. You have time.

2162
01:28:26,518 --> 01:28:28,821
You still have 25 minutes.

2163
01:28:28,821 --> 01:28:32,305
But only in 3-minute fragments.

2164
01:28:32,305 --> 01:28:34,198
Sorry, of course. So

2165
01:28:34,198 --> 01:28:35,805
far I am very strict. Okay

2166
01:28:35,805 --> 01:28:37,869
, sorry. Continue.

2167
01:28:37,869 --> 01:28:39,619
Good evening, Chairman Allen and

2168
01:28:39,619 --> 01:28:41,508
members of the Planning Commission. My name is

2169
01:28:41,508 --> 01:28:42,963
Myers Mermel and I am

2170
01:28:42,963 --> 01:28:45,065
the owner of Radio Vermont, whose

2171
01:28:45,065 --> 01:28:47,198
main station is WDEV. I'm here

2172
01:28:47,198 --> 01:28:48,875
with my co-owner,

2173
01:28:48,875 --> 01:28:50,895
Caroline MacLane, in the audience. Er,

2174
01:28:50,895 --> 01:28:53,413
my business partner. For 94 years,

2175
01:28:53,413 --> 01:28:55,567
Radio Vermont has proudly served Waterbury

2176
01:28:55,567 --> 01:28:57,506
and the communities of Central and

2177
01:28:57,506 --> 01:28:59,176
Northern Vermont, broadcasting

2178
01:28:59,176 --> 01:29:01,061
flood warnings, local

2179
01:29:01,061 --> 01:29:02,515
sporting events and

2180
01:29:02,515 --> 01:29:05,896
community forums. WDEV itself holds

2181
01:29:05,896 --> 01:29:08,296
daily town hall meetings across the

2182
01:29:08,296 --> 01:29:11,317
state. We serve more than 560,000

2183
01:29:11,317 --> 01:29:14,377
Vermont residents out of 630,000 in the

2184
01:29:14,377 --> 01:29:17,002
state. And we think it's a

2185
01:29:17,002 --> 01:29:18,880
very important public and also

2186
01:29:18,880 --> 01:29:20,868
moral imperative to maintain this

2187
01:29:20,868 --> 01:29:23,962
type of daily dialogue. Maintaining this

2188
01:29:23,962 --> 01:29:25,755
independent, local voice into the

2189
01:29:25,755 --> 01:29:27,806
future, however, requires prudent

2190
01:29:27,806 --> 01:29:29,702
management of our assets, including

2191
01:29:29,702 --> 01:29:31,701
our 44-acre parcel at

2192
01:29:31,701 --> 01:29:33,341
681 Blush Hill Road. We understand, Mr.

2193
01:29:33,341 --> 01:29:35,289
Chairman, that tonight,

2194
01:29:35,289 --> 01:29:36,826
um, we are talking about strategy, or

2195
01:29:36,826 --> 01:29:38,825
rather planning, and

2196
01:29:38,825 --> 01:29:40,666
land use planning is tactics. But, um,

2197
01:29:40,666 --> 01:29:42,432
if we're being too specific,

2198
01:29:42,432 --> 01:29:44,844
please forgive us. However, we want

2199
01:29:44,844 --> 01:29:46,970
to address three specific areas. Well, we

2200
01:29:46,970 --> 01:29:49,910
advocate for a sensible,

2201
01:29:49,954 --> 01:29:53,070
environmentally conscious approach in the 2026 zoning update

2202
01:29:53,114 --> 01:29:54,738
that directly addresses

2203
01:29:54,738 --> 01:29:55,879
Waterbury's

2204
01:29:55,879 --> 01:29:57,603
housing and environmental goals.

2205
01:29:57,603 --> 01:29:59,457
We have submitted formal correspondence

2206
01:29:59,457 --> 01:30:00,987
proposing specific changes to the

2207
01:30:00,987 --> 01:30:02,483
text in three areas.

2208
01:30:02,483 --> 01:30:04,832
First, as part of our first

2209
01:30:04,865 --> 01:30:05,778
land use goal, we urge the commission to

2210
01:30:05,778 --> 01:30:06,920
establish, as part of the second phase of

2211
01:30:06,920 --> 01:30:08,225
regulations, a

2212
01:30:08,225 --> 01:30:09,236
density ordinance based on

2213
01:30:09,236 --> 01:30:10,247
employee incentives on

2214
01:30:10,247 --> 01:30:11,519
lots of 40 acres or

2215
01:30:11,519 --> 01:30:12,864
larger. Waterbury needs 36

2216
01:30:12,864 --> 01:30:14,395
apartments a year, we've heard, and

2217
01:30:14,395 --> 01:30:15,850
the number of affordable units

2218
01:30:15,850 --> 01:30:17,499
is lagging behind. In large areas

2219
01:30:17,499 --> 01:30:18,910
outside the village, the standard 5-acre

2220
01:30:18,910 --> 01:30:20,450
zoning leads to

2221
01:30:20,450 --> 01:30:21,851
uncoordinated sprawl.

2222
01:30:21,851 --> 01:30:23,100
We propose significant

2223
01:30:23,100 --> 01:30:24,641
density bonuses for developments

2224
01:30:24,641 --> 01:30:25,891
within the development plan

2225
01:30:25,891 --> 01:30:27,516
that permanently protect

2226
01:30:27,516 --> 01:30:29,098
at least 60% of open or

2227
01:30:29,098 --> 01:30:30,765
currently used land, combined with an

2228
01:30:30,765 --> 01:30:32,389
additional commitment of 43

2229
01:30:32,389 --> 01:30:35,222
% of affordable or workforce housing to be

2230
01:30:35,263 --> 01:30:36,638
provided within or outside the

2231
01:30:36,638 --> 01:30:38,169
rural development areas. To

2232
01:30:38,169 --> 01:30:39,529
achieve compact development that

2233
01:30:39,529 --> 01:30:41,161
protects hillsides, this framework

2234
01:30:41,161 --> 01:30:42,567
should also allow for

2235
01:30:42,567 --> 01:30:44,153
flexible heights of up to four

2236
01:30:44,153 --> 01:30:45,831
stories for buildings sloped to the

2237
01:30:45,831 --> 01:30:48,914
topography below the tree canopy,

2238
01:30:48,959 --> 01:30:50,591
context-sensitive site slopes, shared

2239
01:30:50,591 --> 01:30:52,405
decentralised sewer systems where necessary,

2240
01:30:52,405 --> 01:30:53,901
and amenities for private

2241
01:30:53,901 --> 01:30:55,353
residents. Secondly, under the

2242
01:30:55,353 --> 01:30:56,787
third housing objective

2243
01:30:56,787 --> 01:30:58,185
, we propose flexible

2244
01:30:58,185 --> 01:30:59,440
infrastructure pathways to

2245
01:30:59,440 --> 01:31:00,731
expand the missing

2246
01:31:00,731 --> 01:31:02,129
medium-density housing onto large

2247
01:31:02,129 --> 01:31:03,399
rural plots. We strongly support

2248
01:31:03,399 --> 01:31:04,542
partnering with the city through a

2249
01:31:04,542 --> 01:31:05,980
state-based TIF or CHIP program to

2250
01:31:05,980 --> 01:31:07,050
expand the city’s

2251
01:31:07,050 --> 01:31:08,303
water and sewer system to

2252
01:31:08,303 --> 01:31:09,778
eligible

2253
01:31:09,778 --> 01:31:11,253
environmental developments, with private

2254
01:31:11,253 --> 01:31:12,285
developers expected to pay a

2255
01:31:12,285 --> 01:31:13,723
fair, proportionate share of the

2256
01:31:13,723 --> 01:31:14,903
costs of booster pumps and

2257
01:31:14,903 --> 01:31:16,445
line extensions. However, if

2258
01:31:16,445 --> 01:31:17,772
municipal expansion proves

2259
01:31:17,772 --> 01:31:19,335
infeasible or too costly,

2260
01:31:19,335 --> 01:31:21,088
landowners should have the

2261
01:31:21,088 --> 01:31:22,841
regulatory freedom to provide

2262
01:31:22,841 --> 01:31:24,553
their own solutions. Phase

2263
01:31:24,553 --> 01:31:26,274
two regulations should explicitly allow for

2264
01:31:26,274 --> 01:31:27,995
advanced, state-approved,

2265
01:31:27,995 --> 01:31:29,539
shared, decentralized

2266
01:31:29,539 --> 01:31:30,995
water and sewer systems so that

2267
01:31:30,995 --> 01:31:32,628
missing clusters in the middle can

2268
01:31:32,628 --> 01:31:33,996
function without burdening

2269
01:31:33,996 --> 01:31:35,650
municipal utilities.

2270
01:31:35,650 --> 01:31:37,246
Third, under Transportation Goal 6

2271
01:31:37,246 --> 01:31:39,132
, Strategy 6.2, we are asking

2272
01:31:39,132 --> 01:31:40,922
the City to establish clear

2273
01:31:40,922 --> 01:31:42,808
mitigation pathways for the intersection of

2274
01:31:42,808 --> 01:31:44,598
Blush Hill Road and Route 100. The draft

2275
01:31:44,598 --> 01:31:46,484
plan identifies this location as a

2276
01:31:46,484 --> 01:31:48,423
high-crash location.

2277
01:31:48,423 --> 01:31:50,275
Without the city’s active collaboration with

2278
01:31:50,275 --> 01:31:52,391
Vermont Trans and transparent

2279
01:31:52,391 --> 01:31:54,349
fair share fees, this designation

2280
01:31:54,349 --> 01:31:56,201
creates an unintended moratorium on

2281
01:31:56,201 --> 01:31:57,789
any future

2282
01:31:57,789 --> 01:31:59,800
land development proposals

2283
01:31:59,800 --> 01:32:01,810
under Act 250. These three updates

2284
01:32:01,810 --> 01:32:03,663
unlock private investment and the

2285
01:32:03,663 --> 01:32:05,197
state’s housing stock

2286
01:32:05,197 --> 01:32:07,049
while ensuring that 60% of

2287
01:32:07,049 --> 01:32:09,060
our pristine hillsides remain

2288
01:32:09,060 --> 01:32:10,789
permanently protected. Thank you for

2289
01:32:10,789 --> 01:32:12,551
your service to Waterbury and I

2290
01:32:12,551 --> 01:32:14,313
respectfully request that you place our

2291
01:32:14,313 --> 01:32:15,458
official letter, which

2292
01:32:15,458 --> 01:32:17,000
I presented to Monica, on the permanent

2293
01:32:17,000 --> 01:32:32,174
record of the hearing. Thank you.

2294
01:32:32,174 --> 01:32:34,534
Um, uh, my name is Alyssa Johnson.

2295
01:32:34,534 --> 01:32:36,587
I live in Waterbury. Sorry about the

2296
01:32:36,587 --> 01:32:38,870
poor lighting in the office. I wanted to

2297
01:32:38,870 --> 01:32:40,858
start by thanking the

2298
01:32:40,858 --> 01:32:42,842
planning commissioners and city staff for

2299
01:32:42,842 --> 01:32:44,521
all their work on this project.

2300
01:32:44,521 --> 01:32:46,461
I just checked the

2301
01:32:46,461 --> 01:32:48,687
website and in terms of scale,

2302
01:32:48,687 --> 01:32:50,513
for those who haven't been keeping track, it

2303
01:32:50,513 --> 01:32:52,397
looks like this is your 20th

2304
01:32:52,397 --> 01:32:54,287
meeting in 2026.

2305
01:32:54,287 --> 01:32:56,318
They usually last about 2, maybe 3 hours,

2306
01:32:56,318 --> 01:32:58,183
as I often hear. And that's before

2307
01:32:58,183 --> 01:33:00,271
any of you

2308
01:33:00,271 --> 01:33:02,196
planning commissioners edited the feedback survey

2309
01:33:02,196 --> 01:33:04,121
or designed our GIS data maps,

2310
01:33:04,121 --> 01:33:05,661
and I just want the

2311
01:33:05,661 --> 01:33:07,442
public to know how much work you

2312
01:33:07,442 --> 01:33:10,490
put into this and to say thank you. The second

2313
01:33:10,490 --> 01:33:12,243
question was whether there was a

2314
01:33:12,243 --> 01:33:13,720
preferred time for completing the

2315
01:33:13,720 --> 01:33:15,428
online form that would be

2316
01:33:15,428 --> 01:33:17,181
most helpful to all of you,

2317
01:33:17,181 --> 01:33:21,262
other than as soon as possible.

2318
01:33:21,262 --> 01:33:23,499
I will close the online form by the end of this

2319
01:33:23,499 --> 01:33:26,167
week, on Friday.

2320
01:33:26,167 --> 01:33:28,659
Thank you very much. Now I would like

2321
01:33:28,659 --> 01:33:30,031
to add that

2322
01:33:30,031 --> 01:33:33,841
I will conduct a full analysis before Friday. I am

2323
01:33:33,841 --> 01:33:35,363
surprised, and I have heard this in

2324
01:33:35,363 --> 01:33:37,277
some of the comments today, at how much of

2325
01:33:37,277 --> 01:33:38,700
this plan

2326
01:33:38,700 --> 01:33:40,173
reflects the possibility of

2327
01:33:40,173 --> 01:33:42,038
achieving all of the things described here

2328
01:33:42,038 --> 01:33:45,167
. I think there was a recognition that there was a

2329
01:33:45,167 --> 01:33:47,079
really good mix of

2330
01:33:47,079 --> 01:33:48,936
city staff and

2331
01:33:48,936 --> 01:33:50,684
partnerships with nonprofits and other

2332
01:33:50,684 --> 01:33:55,111
community partners. Hmm, I'll say

2333
01:33:55,111 --> 01:33:57,023
as someone who has been on

2334
01:33:57,023 --> 01:33:58,728
city council and involved in the

2335
01:33:58,728 --> 01:34:00,589
day-to-day running of

2336
01:34:00,589 --> 01:34:02,449
city government, and it can be difficult for those

2337
01:34:02,449 --> 01:34:04,465
individuals to talk about who's doing that

2338
01:34:04,465 --> 01:34:06,377
work and what resources are available

2339
01:34:06,377 --> 01:34:09,869
to support them. I don't know where this

2340
01:34:09,869 --> 01:34:12,583
should go. I don't know if this is

2341
01:34:12,583 --> 01:34:14,286
part of, you know, the first goal of

2342
01:34:14,286 --> 01:34:16,350
city government, but I'm seeing more and more

2343
01:34:16,350 --> 01:34:18,363
very intense communication

2344
01:34:18,363 --> 01:34:20,273
about monitoring complex

2345
01:34:20,273 --> 01:34:22,999
coordination between multiple entities.

2346
01:34:22,999 --> 01:34:24,445
I heard about

2347
01:34:24,445 --> 01:34:25,796
the desires for

2348
01:34:25,796 --> 01:34:29,289
reports tonight. Hmm, and apart from the question

2349
01:34:29,289 --> 01:34:31,211
of who does what, I wonder

2350
01:34:31,211 --> 01:34:32,926
where the prioritisation is and whether there

2351
01:34:32,926 --> 01:34:34,640
should be a strategy for assessing

2352
01:34:34,640 --> 01:34:36,667
potential, whether

2353
01:34:36,667 --> 01:34:38,693
it comes directly from the municipality or

2354
01:34:38,693 --> 01:34:43,202
elsewhere. So what next, this is a

2355
01:34:43,202 --> 01:34:45,116
total gaffe, but again, hearing about

2356
01:34:45,116 --> 01:34:46,978
who is responsible for this, I realize

2357
01:34:46,978 --> 01:34:48,943
again that maybe

2358
01:34:48,943 --> 01:34:51,012
it's not the planning commission's job,

2359
01:34:51,012 --> 01:34:53,030
but maybe a few lines could be added like

2360
01:34:53,030 --> 01:34:54,685
"this will be

2361
01:34:54,685 --> 01:34:56,547
reviewed annually by the city council to

2362
01:34:56,547 --> 01:34:58,616
inform planning" or

2363
01:34:58,616 --> 01:35:00,426
something like that, if that's the

2364
01:35:00,426 --> 01:35:03,098
intention of other bodies in the city. But

2365
01:35:03,098 --> 01:35:05,533
thank you all for the welcome.

2366
01:35:05,533 --> 01:35:13,147
Thank you, Leslie. Thank you. Well

2367
01:35:13,147 --> 01:35:14,839
, has anyone else in the audience

2368
01:35:14,839 --> 01:35:19,872
commented or wants a second round

2369
01:35:19,872 --> 01:35:24,709
? I'll

2370
01:35:24,709 --> 01:35:28,237
do a second round. All right. Here you go

2371
01:35:28,237 --> 01:35:28,786
. Well

2372
01:35:28,786 --> 01:35:30,556
, of course you know

2373
01:35:30,556 --> 01:35:32,638
I'm in the natural resources chapter

2374
01:35:32,638 --> 01:35:39,924
. Well,

2375
01:35:39,924 --> 01:35:41,517
I was just looking at the 2018 plan and it

2376
01:35:41,517 --> 01:35:43,205
includes several action points

2377
01:35:43,205 --> 01:35:44,986
related to road salt pollution

2378
01:35:44,986 --> 01:35:49,644
. With what?

2379
01:35:49,644 --> 01:35:51,847
Road salt contamination. Salt. Oh well. Well

2380
01:35:51,847 --> 01:35:53,714
, well,

2381
01:35:53,714 --> 01:35:55,941
this year during the legislative session,

2382
01:35:55,941 --> 01:35:57,997
bill S218 dealt with managing

2383
01:35:57,997 --> 01:35:59,995
road salt to prevent

2384
01:35:59,995 --> 01:36:02,280
pollution and was vetoed

2385
01:36:02,280 --> 01:36:06,304
by our governor. And so,

2386
01:36:06,304 --> 01:36:07,910
I think my question, maybe a little bit

2387
01:36:07,910 --> 01:36:09,516
related to what

2388
01:36:09,516 --> 01:36:11,414
Alyssa just said, is about

2389
01:36:11,414 --> 01:36:14,620
keeping track of what happened. Have

2390
01:36:14,620 --> 01:36:16,644
we done anything between 2018 and

2391
01:36:16,644 --> 01:36:18,430
2019 to understand what

2392
01:36:18,430 --> 01:36:22,727
actions we took? And have

2393
01:36:22,727 --> 01:36:24,344
we gotten to the point

2394
01:36:24,344 --> 01:36:26,011
where we don't even need to

2395
01:36:26,011 --> 01:36:30,218
mention it in the new plan? Because we

2396
01:36:30,218 --> 01:36:31,958
won't get much help

2397
01:36:31,958 --> 01:36:34,238
because the bill was vetoed.

2398
01:36:34,238 --> 01:36:35,849
So, if we want to think about

2399
01:36:35,849 --> 01:36:37,763
road salt pollution, it has to

2400
01:36:37,763 --> 01:36:39,576
be at some

2401
01:36:39,576 --> 01:36:41,774
urban level. Do

2402
01:36:41,774 --> 01:36:44,277
you think we should? I think we

2403
01:36:44,277 --> 01:36:46,920
should. Yes, I think so. I think we

2404
01:36:46,920 --> 01:36:52,006
should think about it. And

2405
01:36:52,006 --> 01:36:53,826
mainly because, you know, we have

2406
01:36:53,826 --> 01:36:55,596
people using private

2407
01:36:55,596 --> 01:36:57,314
wells along the larger roads,

2408
01:36:57,314 --> 01:36:59,185
our Route 100 corridor; and there's,

2409
01:36:59,185 --> 01:37:00,954
you know, the state's management of road salt

2410
01:37:00,954 --> 01:37:02,875
, which we might not

2411
01:37:02,875 --> 01:37:04,746
be able to say much about, but

2412
01:37:04,746 --> 01:37:06,212
at least we can, you know,

2413
01:37:06,212 --> 01:37:07,981
manage what we as a city

2414
01:37:07,981 --> 01:37:15,411
use. And there's something about, you know,

2415
01:37:15,411 --> 01:37:17,596
salt flats and I just don't know much about what

2416
01:37:17,596 --> 01:37:22,910
we do in Waterbury. So this

2417
01:37:22,910 --> 01:37:24,484
might be a learning moment for me as well,

2418
01:37:24,484 --> 01:37:26,255
in terms of, did we get through

2419
01:37:26,255 --> 01:37:28,124
this and now it

2420
01:37:28,124 --> 01:37:30,845
no longer exists?

2421
01:37:30,845 --> 01:37:32,409
This might be a question for Bill

2422
01:37:32,409 --> 01:37:33,977
Woodruff.

2423
01:37:33,977 --> 01:37:35,928
Yes. Yes. Definitely.

2424
01:37:35,928 --> 01:37:37,980
Because he's on it, he's on it.

2425
01:37:37,980 --> 01:37:39,353
Yes. Yes.

2426
01:37:39,353 --> 01:37:40,414
Uh.

2427
01:37:40,414 --> 01:37:43,302
That's a good point. Um, and I'm not saying

2428
01:37:43,302 --> 01:37:45,360
it has to be there. I think it

2429
01:37:45,360 --> 01:37:47,710
was more of a question, as I saw it

2430
01:37:47,710 --> 01:37:50,059
mentioned many times in the 2018 plan

2431
01:37:50,059 --> 01:37:54,861
. And the other thing, again, uh, during the

2432
01:37:54,861 --> 01:37:56,996
legislative session we had H727, the

2433
01:37:56,996 --> 01:37:59,072
big data center bill,

2434
01:37:59,072 --> 01:38:01,267
which was also vetoed

2435
01:38:01,267 --> 01:38:02,987
by our governor after

2436
01:38:02,987 --> 01:38:10,726
bipartisan support. And, uh, there's been

2437
01:38:10,726 --> 01:38:12,830
a lot of talk across Vermont about

2438
01:38:12,830 --> 01:38:14,619
municipalities needing to take local

2439
01:38:14,619 --> 01:38:23,496
action to prevent

2440
01:38:23,496 --> 01:38:25,449
data centers from coming in and using these

2441
01:38:25,449 --> 01:38:28,723
resources. And I'm not saying we'll

2442
01:38:28,723 --> 01:38:30,849
put them in the Rando box?

2443
01:38:30,849 --> 01:38:36,172
Yes. And I'm not saying that this will happen

2444
01:38:36,172 --> 01:38:38,189
, but the 2018 plan again

2445
01:38:38,189 --> 01:38:40,259
mentions the extraction of groundwater

2446
01:38:40,259 --> 01:38:42,382
for commercial purposes, which is also

2447
01:38:42,382 --> 01:38:47,397
not in the new plan. So just

2448
01:38:47,397 --> 01:38:49,268
the mention of it gives us the opportunity to

2449
01:38:49,268 --> 01:38:50,786
think about it in terms of

2450
01:38:50,786 --> 01:38:52,455
zoning regulations, if we

2451
01:38:52,455 --> 01:38:57,049
wanted to. So removing

2452
01:38:57,049 --> 01:39:01,889
that completely will make it harder for us in the next phase of the zoning

2453
01:39:01,889 --> 01:39:03,465
bylaw process

2454
01:39:03,465 --> 01:39:05,356
if we wanted to think about that

2455
01:39:05,356 --> 01:39:08,433
.

2456
01:39:08,433 --> 01:39:09,863
Thank you.

2457
01:39:09,863 --> 01:39:12,243
Silas, thank you. Uh, Silas, I know

2458
01:39:12,243 --> 01:39:14,267
road salt pollution

2459
01:39:14,267 --> 01:39:18,293
is close to my heart. It's almost embarrassing

2460
01:39:18,293 --> 01:39:19,820
to admit that we err, didn't

2461
01:39:19,820 --> 01:39:22,000
take that into account. Thank you for

2462
01:39:22,000 --> 01:39:24,147
raising this topic. Ugh, great

2463
01:39:24,147 --> 01:39:27,298
comments.

2464
01:39:27,298 --> 01:39:28,954
Second time? Correct.

2465
01:39:28,954 --> 01:39:32,387
All right. Um, I hear you

2466
01:39:32,387 --> 01:39:34,619
asking what the solutions are, and I

2467
01:39:34,619 --> 01:39:38,476
'm... I'm a mediator. You know,

2468
01:39:38,476 --> 01:39:40,569
I'm the scapegoat, the

2469
01:39:40,569 --> 01:39:42,719
middle-aged child, the black sheep, always

2470
01:39:42,719 --> 01:39:45,861
looking for peace. I was interviewing

2471
01:39:45,861 --> 01:39:47,736
for a job at Beth's when no

2472
01:39:47,736 --> 01:39:49,466
one was there and everything was

2473
01:39:49,466 --> 01:39:52,090
falling apart. And you know, I just want to

2474
01:39:52,090 --> 01:39:53,990
help. So when you talk about

2475
01:39:53,990 --> 01:39:55,658
solutions, I want you

2476
01:39:55,658 --> 01:39:57,570
all to think about it, and I have a

2477
01:39:57,570 --> 01:39:59,743
business card. I started a new company.

2478
01:39:59,743 --> 01:40:01,456
Well, I'm not sure where this is

2479
01:40:01,456 --> 01:40:03,074
going because I hate

2480
01:40:03,074 --> 01:40:05,233
AI just like everyone else. Well

2481
01:40:05,233 --> 01:40:07,254
, it is an essential entity that

2482
01:40:07,254 --> 01:40:09,275
turns our brains upside down,

2483
01:40:09,275 --> 01:40:11,864
just like Google did before.

2484
01:40:11,864 --> 01:40:13,597
So, I beg you all,

2485
01:40:13,597 --> 01:40:15,636
think of me as someone who is looking for

2486
01:40:15,636 --> 01:40:17,114
solutions when it comes to

2487
01:40:17,114 --> 01:40:21,709
raising new money.

2488
01:40:21,709 --> 01:40:23,667
We need new money, and we need

2489
01:40:23,667 --> 01:40:25,731
international or foreign money

2490
01:40:25,731 --> 01:40:27,318
, instead of taxing

2491
01:40:27,318 --> 01:40:29,223
everyone or creating these brilliant

2492
01:40:29,223 --> 01:40:31,287
ideas and then being burdened with how to

2493
01:40:31,287 --> 01:40:36,603
finance them. I am a person

2494
01:40:36,603 --> 01:40:38,533
who deliberately did not have children. Well

2495
01:40:38,533 --> 01:40:39,983
, two years after 9/11 I

2496
01:40:39,983 --> 01:40:41,783
moved here. Well,

2497
01:40:41,783 --> 01:40:43,339
I made a conscious decision

2498
01:40:43,339 --> 01:40:46,230
not to have children. I am 52 years old.

2499
01:40:46,230 --> 01:40:48,125
I love practicing, but to this day I

2500
01:40:48,125 --> 01:40:51,724
don't have any children, as far as I know.

2501
01:40:51,724 --> 01:40:53,699
So, I'm begging you all, I go

2502
01:40:53,699 --> 01:40:55,319
to city council and I attend

2503
01:40:55,319 --> 01:40:57,192
school board meetings and I don't have

2504
01:40:57,192 --> 01:41:03,345
children. All right. So, I implore

2505
01:41:03,345 --> 01:41:05,378
all of you to look at

2506
01:41:05,378 --> 01:41:07,518
this through the lens of the possibility of change and, well

2507
01:41:07,518 --> 01:41:09,283
, the possibility of not

2508
01:41:09,283 --> 01:41:11,156
necessarily seeing what's

2509
01:41:11,156 --> 01:41:12,815
out there, well, because

2510
01:41:12,815 --> 01:41:14,741
technology is evolving in ways that

2511
01:41:14,741 --> 01:41:16,774
none of us understand, and that's

2512
01:41:16,774 --> 01:41:18,432
fire meeting the

2513
01:41:18,432 --> 01:41:24,791
limbic brain, well, a thousand times over. Well

2514
01:41:24,791 --> 01:41:27,009
, here's my business card, Craft

2515
01:41:27,009 --> 01:41:29,226
Question Works, Carlton Anderson,

2516
01:41:29,226 --> 01:41:32,844
Veracity Quest. Just thank you.

2517
01:41:32,844 --> 01:41:35,062
all. All right.

2518
01:41:35,062 --> 01:41:36,718
I believe there are currently many

2519
01:41:36,718 --> 01:41:37,992
vacancies on various

2520
01:41:37,992 --> 01:41:39,536
boards and committees in the city?

2521
01:41:39,536 --> 01:41:41,324
I know I need a

2522
01:41:41,324 --> 01:41:44,116
job right now, okay?

2523
01:41:44,116 --> 01:41:45,807
And also, if you don't If you want to

2524
01:41:45,807 --> 01:41:47,799
give your time for free,

2525
01:41:47,799 --> 01:41:49,461
yes, we have plenty of

2526
01:41:49,461 --> 01:41:53,446
opportunities. Ugh, I love it. This

2527
01:41:53,446 --> 01:41:56,602
is my top hobby. Er, okay

2528
01:41:56,602 --> 01:41:57,367
.

2529
01:41:57,367 --> 01:41:59,119
Smiling and calling. I am

2530
01:41:59,119 --> 01:42:00,500
willing to smile and

2531
01:42:00,500 --> 01:42:02,260
call.

2532
01:42:02,260 --> 01:42:04,370
Er, okay. Do we have anyone

2533
01:42:04,370 --> 01:42:09,883
online? Okay. Um, is there anyone in

2534
01:42:09,883 --> 01:42:11,661
the room who hasn't spoken yet

2535
01:42:11,661 --> 01:42:17,238
or would like another round?

2536
01:42:17,238 --> 01:42:19,243
Dino, I just wanted to say that

2537
01:42:19,243 --> 01:42:19,494
uh,

2538
01:42:19,494 --> 01:42:21,140
you want to go to the chairman,

2539
01:42:21,140 --> 01:42:21,494
Chris?

2540
01:42:21,494 --> 01:42:23,109
Yes, can you hear me? You must

2541
01:42:23,109 --> 01:42:24,354
approach the chairman.

2542
01:42:24,354 --> 01:42:24,767
Yes.

2543
01:42:24,767 --> 01:42:26,264
You have to step up to the hot seat.

2544
01:42:26,264 --> 01:42:28,728
Yes. Just a quick comment. From what

2545
01:42:28,728 --> 01:42:31,063
I understand, I think the state's Act

2546
01:42:31,063 --> 01:42:33,152
250 is actually working on new

2547
01:42:33,152 --> 01:42:35,302
regulations regarding the provisions of

2548
01:42:35,302 --> 01:42:37,022
Act 250 as it relates to

2549
01:42:37,022 --> 01:42:39,953
forest fragmentation. I think

2550
01:42:39,953 --> 01:42:44,070
they're trying to control it a little more

2551
01:42:44,070 --> 01:42:46,752
. Um, just

2552
01:42:46,752 --> 01:42:48,787
all I wanted to throw in there,

2553
01:42:48,787 --> 01:42:50,876
um, because there were a lot of comments

2554
01:42:50,876 --> 01:42:53,020
about, you know, critical habitat

2555
01:42:53,020 --> 01:42:54,725
and our open

2556
01:42:54,725 --> 01:43:00,206
land landscape. I think over time, as the

2557
01:43:00,206 --> 01:43:01,719
city grows, if

2558
01:43:01,719 --> 01:43:03,283
that actually happens,

2559
01:43:03,283 --> 01:43:09,978
we're at an impasse. Right now we're at an

2560
01:43:09,978 --> 01:43:12,019
impasse because of the cost of everything,

2561
01:43:12,019 --> 01:43:13,903
but as time goes on, I think these

2562
01:43:13,903 --> 01:43:15,893
critical areas, our open

2563
01:43:15,893 --> 01:43:17,986
farmland, er, forest sections, will come under

2564
01:43:17,986 --> 01:43:20,028
increasing pressure to want to go into

2565
01:43:20,028 --> 01:43:26,614
them. So, you know, creating

2566
01:43:26,614 --> 01:43:28,329
some kind of specific plan to

2567
01:43:28,329 --> 01:43:30,407
really protect these areas, I think

2568
01:43:30,407 --> 01:43:44,807
is very important. Thank you.

2569
01:43:44,807 --> 01:43:47,424
Anyone online? Anyone in the room?

2570
01:43:47,424 --> 01:43:50,127
Nobody online. I

2571
01:43:50,127 --> 01:43:51,826
don't like switching back and

2572
01:43:51,826 --> 01:43:52,329
forth.

2573
01:43:52,329 --> 01:43:53,261
Make sure.

2574
01:43:53,261 --> 01:43:57,557
Secure our bases.

2575
01:43:57,557 --> 01:43:59,420
If no one else in the room wants to

2576
01:43:59,420 --> 01:44:02,633
speak, we can sit here

2577
01:44:02,633 --> 01:44:06,962
awkwardly for 10 minutes. We have never

2578
01:44:06,962 --> 01:44:08,835
ended a meeting

2579
01:44:08,835 --> 01:44:09,992
10 minutes early before. It's

2580
01:44:09,992 --> 01:44:12,867
actually very nice not to have to

2581
01:44:12,867 --> 01:44:15,518
meet.

2582
01:44:15,518 --> 01:44:17,425
I want to give those in the audience,

2583
01:44:17,425 --> 01:44:19,332
honestly, if you want to come up and

2584
01:44:19,332 --> 01:44:22,742
speak, we still have 10 minutes.

2585
01:44:22,742 --> 01:44:25,794
So, feel free to either

2586
01:44:25,794 --> 01:44:27,753
We also, if you haven't seen it,

2587
01:44:27,753 --> 01:44:29,558
we have paper on the table here if you'd

2588
01:44:29,558 --> 01:44:31,467
rather submit a written, handwritten

2589
01:44:31,467 --> 01:44:33,323
comment, or there's also an

2590
01:44:33,323 --> 01:44:33,874
online form.

2591
01:44:33,874 --> 01:44:35,286
Yes. Let it be

2592
01:44:35,286 --> 01:44:37,057
legible.

2593
01:44:37,057 --> 01:44:37,527
Yes.

2594
01:44:37,527 --> 01:44:39,820
Well, if it's in the online form,

2595
01:44:39,820 --> 01:44:41,616
Carrie has

2596
01:44:41,616 --> 01:44:43,249
We Have Carrie Online.

2597
01:44:43,249 --> 01:44:45,188
Carrie McMillan?

2598
01:44:45,188 --> 01:44:47,030
Uh hello. Can you hear me?

2599
01:44:47,030 --> 01:44:48,390
Mhm. Yes.

2600
01:44:48,390 --> 01:44:50,385
Great. I just wanted to say

2601
01:44:50,385 --> 01:44:52,106
thank you.

2602
01:44:52,106 --> 01:44:54,101
Thanks, Carrie. I appreciate it.

2603
01:44:54,101 --> 01:44:58,558
Um No, really. This is the

2604
01:44:58,558 --> 01:45:00,053
hardest thing you will

2605
01:45:00,053 --> 01:45:07,319
ever do. Um, you make

2606
01:45:07,319 --> 01:45:09,572
decisions and land and

2607
01:45:09,572 --> 01:45:14,526
policy decisions for our entire city.

2608
01:45:14,526 --> 01:45:16,015
So, as much as I press and

2609
01:45:16,015 --> 01:45:17,864
question, um, I want to say

2610
01:45:17,864 --> 01:45:19,662
thank you and I appreciate everything

2611
01:45:19,662 --> 01:45:23,376
you do. So.

2612
01:45:23,376 --> 01:45:25,346
Thanks, Carrie. And um just a

2613
01:45:25,346 --> 01:45:27,439
reminder that we're going to deal with the

2614
01:45:27,439 --> 01:45:32,185
statute now. I'll be

2615
01:45:32,185 --> 01:45:37,546
there. No, but yes. Because if you have

2616
01:45:37,546 --> 01:45:39,551
10 minutes to kill, I can

2617
01:45:39,551 --> 01:45:45,046
say thank you. You can

2618
01:45:45,046 --> 01:45:47,124
nominate me for another position on the

2619
01:45:47,124 --> 01:45:50,807
planning commission if you like. But

2620
01:45:50,807 --> 01:45:52,835
you know, I really appreciate everything

2621
01:45:52,835 --> 01:45:59,085
you do. And yes, it's difficult. And I appreciate it

2622
01:45:59,085 --> 01:46:01,648
all. So thank you. And I will

2623
01:46:01,648 --> 01:46:05,645
continue to motivate you. I hope

2624
01:46:05,645 --> 01:46:09,531
you appreciate it. Yes, I appreciate that.

2625
01:46:09,531 --> 01:46:11,537
It's part of the process and we need it

2626
01:46:11,537 --> 01:46:17,785
. So, I heard.

2627
01:46:17,785 --> 01:46:20,048
I started to appreciate it. What do you think about this?

2628
01:46:20,048 --> 01:46:22,214
Will you come and talk to us? Yes.

2629
01:46:22,214 --> 01:46:24,714
All right. Short. Great.

2630
01:46:24,714 --> 01:46:26,778
Okay, you have someone in the room. So

2631
01:46:26,778 --> 01:46:28,086
take it away.

2632
01:46:28,086 --> 01:46:33,069
Good night. Good night.

2633
01:46:33,069 --> 01:46:35,321
Yes. And you know, really, most of

2634
01:46:35,321 --> 01:46:37,415
my comments were submitted

2635
01:46:37,415 --> 01:46:39,546
through the recreation committee that

2636
01:46:39,546 --> 01:46:43,337
I participate in. I also want to

2637
01:46:43,337 --> 01:46:45,194
reiterate my sincere thanks

2638
01:46:45,194 --> 01:46:47,714
to this group. I appreciated

2639
01:46:47,714 --> 01:46:50,171
Alyssa's calculations that she made with the hours. I do

2640
01:46:50,171 --> 01:46:51,991
n't know, we're getting to 100 hours,

2641
01:46:51,991 --> 01:46:53,711
maybe just because of what

2642
01:46:53,711 --> 01:46:56,427
you've invested in it. So I'm

2643
01:46:56,427 --> 01:46:58,163
grateful for this, for the visually

2644
01:46:58,163 --> 01:46:59,843
pleasing, easy-to-navigate

2645
01:46:59,843 --> 01:47:03,987
information. Um, for the opportunities that

2646
01:47:03,987 --> 01:47:05,987
I think people have been given

2647
01:47:05,987 --> 01:47:11,426
to contribute. Um, signs,

2648
01:47:11,426 --> 01:47:13,551
radio ads, uh, I think

2649
01:47:13,551 --> 01:47:15,732
you just set a standard that

2650
01:47:15,732 --> 01:47:17,857
I hope others can replicate

2651
01:47:17,857 --> 01:47:20,095
in terms of encouraging, inviting,

2652
01:47:20,095 --> 01:47:21,828
enabling

2653
01:47:21,828 --> 01:47:29,843
public input. Um, finishing up here

2654
01:47:29,843 --> 01:47:31,765
tonight, I wanted to encourage and I

2655
01:47:31,765 --> 01:47:33,788
hope to see, uh, uh, on the Front

2656
01:47:33,788 --> 01:47:35,760
Porch Forum and on the website

2657
01:47:35,760 --> 01:47:37,479
so people can really easily

2658
01:47:37,479 --> 01:47:39,452
find some of the things that

2659
01:47:39,452 --> 01:47:45,328
you've talked about at different times. That

2660
01:47:45,328 --> 01:47:47,017
your next step is to

2661
01:47:47,017 --> 01:47:49,774
take feedback into account. Then

2662
01:47:49,774 --> 01:47:52,388
you send the project to the city council. They

2663
01:47:52,388 --> 01:47:54,821
then have 180 days to conduct

2664
01:47:54,821 --> 01:47:59,810
two hearings. And that these

2665
01:47:59,810 --> 01:48:01,940
hearings, if I understand correctly,

2666
01:48:01,940 --> 01:48:04,017
may result in additional changes,

2667
01:48:04,017 --> 01:48:09,776
corrections to the plan. I don't know if it's you or the

2668
01:48:09,825 --> 01:48:11,779
supervisory board that's concerned about this, but I'd like to understand it clearly

2669
01:48:11,779 --> 01:48:15,042
. Well, there is

2670
01:48:15,042 --> 01:48:24,764
one more thing. And oh, Friday. It

2671
01:48:24,764 --> 01:48:28,161
wasn't clear to me either.

2672
01:48:28,161 --> 01:48:32,062
I heard from one person that

2673
01:48:32,114 --> 01:48:34,916
comments will be accepted at midnight tonight. But now it's the end of the

2674
01:48:34,916 --> 01:48:35,531
week.

2675
01:48:35,531 --> 01:48:37,257
We have extended the deadline. We've gotten

2676
01:48:37,257 --> 01:48:38,362
a few calls asking for an

2677
01:48:38,362 --> 01:48:39,347
extension, so...

2678
01:48:39,347 --> 01:48:41,319
Yeah, that's great. I know I may have

2679
01:48:41,319 --> 01:48:43,404
missed it. Maybe it was on the website,

2680
01:48:43,404 --> 01:48:45,926
but I was looking for the term.

2681
01:48:45,926 --> 01:48:47,745
I hear a lot of people say, "I'm not

2682
01:48:47,745 --> 01:48:49,291
done with, you know, the

2683
01:48:49,291 --> 01:48:51,490
chapters yet." I think it's

2684
01:48:51,490 --> 01:48:53,199
great that people have

2685
01:48:53,199 --> 01:48:55,004
a few more days and Dana, and I appreciate your

2686
01:48:55,004 --> 01:48:56,713
posts on the Front Porch Forum so you

2687
01:48:56,713 --> 01:48:58,422
can say, "Guys, this is

2688
01:48:58,422 --> 01:49:00,107
where we are." So, if

2689
01:49:00,107 --> 01:49:01,958
you can do a few more of these,

2690
01:49:01,958 --> 01:49:03,712
I hope people will give you

2691
01:49:03,712 --> 01:49:05,515
some additional suggestions, but um,

2692
01:49:05,515 --> 01:49:07,415
I really appreciate everything

2693
01:49:07,415 --> 01:49:09,150
. I hope it didn't last

2694
01:49:09,150 --> 01:49:10,324
longer than 3 minutes.

2695
01:49:10,324 --> 01:49:12,261
I think you're in time.

2696
01:49:12,261 --> 01:49:12,970
Thank you.

2697
01:49:12,970 --> 01:49:15,529
Scott, I have 30 seconds left.

2698
01:49:15,529 --> 01:49:27,102
One more person.

2699
01:49:27,102 --> 01:49:33,206
Uh, anyone else?

2700
01:49:33,206 --> 01:49:35,005
No, I just want to say thank you.

2701
01:49:35,005 --> 01:49:38,623
Thank you. Uh,

2702
01:49:38,623 --> 01:49:42,305
okay, it's 7:58. I think we've

2703
01:49:42,305 --> 01:49:46,886
collected comments. So that was the end of the

2704
01:49:46,886 --> 01:49:49,359
interview.

2705
01:49:49,359 --> 01:49:49,962
All right.

2706
01:49:49,962 --> 01:49:51,829
I request that the hearing be closed.

2707
01:49:51,829 --> 01:49:52,556
Great.

2708
01:49:52,556 --> 01:49:54,350
I support this.

2709
01:49:54,350 --> 01:49:56,448
Uh, everyone who is in favor of

2710
01:49:56,448 --> 01:49:58,227
closing the hearing says:

2711
01:49:58,227 --> 01:50:00,235
Me. I.