A local nonprofit with a mission to spark tech innovation and growth in the Queen City has hired Burlington City Councilor Adam Roof (I-Ward 8) as its project manager.
BTV Ignite announced Roof’s hiring in a press release Wednesday. He started the position on Monday, said Tom Torti, president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, which manages the organization.
Roof replaces Dennis Moynihan, who stepped down as Ignite’s executive director this spring after about two years.
Founded in 2014, BTV Ignite is supported by a consortium of public and private partners who promote Burlington’s fiberoptic network as a means of increasing economic development in the city, according to its website. Burlington is one of two dozen member cities with US Ignite, which gives municipalities a platform for projects that enhance health, education, transportation and other services.
Torti said Roof was chosen from about two dozen applicants.
“Adam brings a passion and knowledge of the community along with consensus building skills that are hard to replicate,” he said in a press release. “I am thrilled that someone with Adam’s credentials is joining the Chamber team.”
Roof was previously a self-employed communications consultant for businesses in Massachusetts and as far west as San Francisco. He also cofounded Kinzly and Co., a clothing company that makes terry cloth apparel and vends on Church Street.
Roof is BTV Ignite’s only staffer. He reports to Torti and is technically a Chamber employee, but Ignite is also governed by a board of directors comprised of four Burlington city department heads and five representatives from local institutions such as People’s United Bank and the University of Vermont. Each of those groups pay Ignite an annual fee to fund its efforts — and, effectively, Roof’s salary.
Roof said he recognizes the conflict and vowed to recuse himself from any city council vote that allocates money to his new employer. He spoke to City Attorney Eileen Blackwood before he even applied for the job to ensure he wasn’t violating any city policies or ethics.
“It’s not a city department, and it’s not fully [supported] by city dollars,” Roof said of BTV Ignite. “I really think it’s a mischaracterization to say I’m paying myself from the city.”
Roof answered similar questions about potential conflicts in 2017 after Seven Days reported that then-city council president Jane Knodell, Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District) and East District Democratic candidate Richard Deane had paid Roof for work on their election campaigns. He said then that the arrangement didn’t violate any city policy on conflicts, and city attorney Blackwood agreed.
Both Roof and Torti said Wednesday that it’s impossible to avoid conflicts in a state as small as Vermont.
“It’s not a goal to eliminate conflicts; the goal is to declare them,” Roof said, adding, “If people have questions, I’m going to answer them. There’s no conflict here that hasn’t been fully addressed and fully transparent.”
Torti said he asked Roof about the potential conflict during his interview — which, Roof said, was conducted by board members who are not city employees. Like Roof, Torti doesn’t see it as an issue, calling the matter “city politics” with which he doesn’t concern himself. He was impressed Roof had vetted the idea with Blackwood before even meeting with Ignite board members.
“It shows an amazing amount of integrity,” Torti said.
Rather, Torti said he is more focused on the results Roof will bring to Ignite; that’s part of why Roof’s new title is project manager instead of executive director. The job listing mentions a minimum salary of $40,000 a year, plus benefits.
“We began to talk about what we needed,” Torti said. “Was it more policy … or could we make a bigger impact if we took a more practical approach to getting things done, things that people could look at and say, ‘Oh, that’s what Ignite does.’”
Torti envisions Roof marketing Burlington as a place to grow tech business. He wants BTV Ignite to solicit firms that can solve real problems with innovative technology: motion-activated street lamps, electric car-charging roadways, street-penetrating radar that locates broken infrastructure — none of these concepts are out of reach for businesses that partner with BTV Ignite’s supporters, Torti suggested.
Roof is excited about the opportunity to solve community problems through storytelling.
“I want to bring more folks to Burlington,” he said, noting the city’s “world-class fiber-optic infrastructure.”
“What I’m focused on is the mission of BTV Ignite and helping the entrepreneurs and underserved populations. For me, everything else is noise,” he said.
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Adam Roofs business partner at Kinzey Co is Colin Hilliard who works for the BBA. They worked together on the crooked Downtown Improvement District too, a clear conflict of interest.
What do we expect when there are no consequences for councilors who clearly use their position for personal gain and then continue to use their position to help their pro-business employer at the expense of the vast majority of residents?
Councilor Roof needs to step down since he is clearly unable to avoid constant conflicts. Public office is a privilege not a right.
Joke of the century:
“Roof said he recognizes the conflict and vowed to recuse himself from any council vote allocating money to his new employer. He spoke to City Attorney Eileen Blackwood to ensure he wasnt violating city policies.”
Roof knows full well this is a scandal.
So does Blackwood.
We get the government we deserve, people.
Roof is no more culpable than many city officials in obvious conflicts.
But they’re cheap distractions, that’s all.
If you want a real problem, check your property-tax bills, people. Look at the yearly increases – if you dare.
That is the real scandal – the one obscured by silly issues such as whether a small-time, allegedly self-employed councilor with a pretend consulting business may be compromising public confidence.
Vermont’s largest city is a joke, a caricature of itself.
Is Ms. Blackwood’s ‘opinion’ in writing with proper citations? Seems like such an appearance of impropriety by Roof should have a permanent point of reference in a city attorney’s letter for future considerations and actions.
Well, Burlington was ahead of the country in having a real estate developer as the chief executive officer. Watching the Trump officials and their abuse of privilege and power, should we expect anything else here?
And is anyone else bemused by BTV Ignite itself? Seems their claim to fame is: WE HAVE INTERNET!!! Uh, hate to break it to you, but Starbucks has internet, too (I know, bandwidth and all, but go check out the Ben & Jerry’s office in Williston where they are adding yet another satellite dish- if a company needs internet, it can get internet easy peasy).
“promote Burlington’s fiberoptic network” . . .oh, you mean the one we used to OWN?
Miro and his cadre of Neo-liberal hucksters will sell off everything that isn’t nailed down.
Really excited to see what Roof does as head of BTV Ignite. He’s very connected to the community and that’s going to be a big asset for the organization and the city as a whole
I am excited to hear that someone as qualified as Adam is now taking on this new role! His commitment to engaging more people in the Burlington community and truly showing off the potential Burlington has makes clear that Adam has Burlingtons best interests at heart.
This is great! Burlington has the potential to be a real hub of innovation and Adam can definitely make that happen.
Im very glad to see this change in BTV Ignite leadership and cant wait to see what Adam does as project manager. As a city we really need to be looking forward and working to foster innovation and attract more folks to our state. This is an encouraging first step!
Northoldender, BTV had its chance to own the BTelecom and they lied, stole money, and created the problem. Miro improved the situation since the prior administration could not run it
Lolz the last 4 comments that are super excited for roof were made by 4 diff uvm college dems lolz accounts all made today lolz what good lackeys lolz
“Lolz the last 4 comments that are super excited for roof were made by 4 diff uvm college dems lolz accounts all made today lolz what good lackeys lolz.”
And the comments critical of Roof are from incessant Miro haters who predictably blame him for everything, including bad weather, and who would continue to criticize Miro and Roof even if Godess herself descended from the skies today and declared them living spiritual saints.
It is incredibly discouraging to see that even in the comments on an article people continue to shame others for voicing their opinions. If the last few comments are college students, we as Burlington community members should be grateful to have students wiling to publically speak their mind. I also didn’t realize that the longevity of your account indicated the validity of statements made.
God I love to absolutely own students for weighing in on issues that impact them! You really do love to see it!
Lolz 2 more uvm dems made accounts yesterday lolz to defend daddy roof lolz cults r cool
Well, thats 7 really cool and hip uses of the really cool and hip word *lolz* in two short posts by the grammar and punctuation challenged but really, really cool and really, really hip poster Lolzkatz! Thats really so really cool and hip!
I also love the really cool and hip use of *diff* for different and *r* for are!
I feel totally cool-ified and hip-ified after reading his posts!
Thanks!
Lolz
Councilor Roof impresses me..he listens, researches issues thoroughly, and weighs the options carefully. I may disagree with a particular vote, however, I respect his honest, earnest and enthusiastic approach to his civic duties as my Councilor.
This is my first comment on a Seven Days forum. I am sick of having a handful of angry-at-everything individuals muddy up the public space. Why are you all so against our city moving forward? Why do you assume that every person that happens to employ others is evil?
Have you ever stopped to think that you’re creating angst without offering solutions?
I’ve seen your websites, I listened to you out meetings, and I read your comments.
Please, Please, stop assuming that Burlington is ANYTHING like the US political stage.
The collusion, evil intentions, downright disgusting backroom deals and profiting that occurs nationally makes me so angry. I am outraged. While you cannot necessary have a loud voice on the national stage to speak out about the wrongdoings — using our local government to let out your anger is not fair. To have local political system continuously painted in the same light offends me – and should offend everyone that grew up here or has decided to make Burlington their home. You might not agree with certain political decisions, but constantly shaming, pointing fingers, or trying to say their is collusion
We are a small town, and it’s not only hurtful, but also embarrassing for there to constantly be this negativity brewing under any and every thing that occurs in our city.
I understand that things don’t need to be sunshine and rainbows all of the time, but why do you have to constantly throw so many lightning bolts and roll in the gloomy clouds – when honestly, Burlington city councilors are just trying to keep Burlington a great place.
Please turn your energy towards working towards solutions.
Our city and state is aging, both in tax payers and our infrastructure.
There are SO MANY ISSUES that our city councilors have to balance.
Have you ever stopped to think that you’re creating angst without offering solutions?
Are you just angry that you weren’t elected?
Are you angry at your own life decisions?
I’ve seen your websites, I’ve listened to you out public forums, and I’ve read your comments.
Please, Please, stop assuming that Burlington is ANYTHING like the US political stage.
The collusion, evil intentions, and downright disgusting backroom deals that occur nationally fire me up. I am outraged. But to have our local politicians continuously painted in the same light offends me to such a degree that cannot be expressed in text.
Please turn your energy towards working towards solutions.
Here are some ideas:
– Develop a plan for how the city can pay for Memorial auditorium to be revitalized and put back into use (yes how can they pay for being the operative word)
– Develop a plan for how the city can create more parking options in the downtown for residents and those not able to walk easily to the core
– Develop a plan for how the city can best help to combat the opiate crisis and create hospitable solutions for individuals and families affected
– Develop a plan for how the city can best provide shelter and resources for the houseless population and how to pay for it and where to site it
– Develop a plan for how to keep our recyling program strong, despite less of a market for those materials
– Develop a plan for our we fix our roads and pay for those roads and not affect
– Develop a plan for how we attract and welcome new families of all races and backgrounds to our city to encourage
– Develop a plan for how to lower property taxes but still be able to pay for all of the programs that continue to increase in expenses
– Develop a plan for how small businesses that are barely scrapping by can be kept in business stay in business and offer their employees fair wages
– Develop a plan to remove graffiti in our downtown so that we can be proud once again of the beauty of our city
– Develop a plan for how to create more affordable housing within the city limits
– Develop a plan for how landlords can be held accountable for maintaining buildings up to code and keeping buildings safe for tenants
– Develop a plan for how one of Burlington’s main industries – tourism, remains strong… despite the aging infrastructure
– Develop a plan for how the city keeps our people safe from crime, despite being short staffed and needing a larger budget to hire enough police to properly
train and staff appropriately to avoid repeats the wrongdoings of the very recent painful few months
– Develop a plan for how the police manages the countless mental health crisis issues that they are not trained or equipped to handle that tend to take up the majority of their staff hours
– Develop a plan for how you see the police oversight committee (newly being formed) working and what success looks like to you
– Develop a plan for how the city encourages locally owned businesses to get started and stay in business – to help lessen the burden on individuals, as a strong business community helps pay for our city through important tax revenue
I could keep going… but I think that’s enough to get you going.
To me, it seems that if you have so much time to point fingers and find fault and generally be just so ANGRY… that you’d be a wealth of help with tackling the major issues our city is facing right now. I bet you have some great ideas for how to find solutions – and can’t wait to see what solutions would be possible if everyone worked together.