Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak stood on the bricks of Church Street Monday morning with a simple message: “Burlington is back.”
Furthering the theme established in her State of the City address in April, Mulvaney-Stanak said the Queen City, particularly the downtown area and the Church Street Marketplace, has been showing signs of improvement.
“Over the last few months, I’ve heard from residents, from businesses, from business owners, from visitors and from local Vermonters who have been cheering the city on through both its challenges and its successes,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. “There’s a growing sense that Burlington is turning a corner, that energy is back, the confidence is returning in the city, and that this city is moving forward.”
Burlington’s image has taken a hit as homelessness, drug use and occasional violence have plagued downtown. Canadian tourism has been down under the Trump administration, and residents and visitors also have been dealing with disruptions caused by years-long construction projects.
Those projects are now winding down and a slate of events are scheduled, Mulvaney-Stanak noted. She pointed to new investments in the Burlington Police Department and other support services as evidence that the city is making progress in helping the most vulnerable residents while curbing anti-social behavior.
The press conference was a way for the Progressive mayor, having just won council approval for the third budget of her administration, to counter narratives from her political opposition that the Burlington business community needs more support than she has been willing to give. Various city department heads were brought to the podium to promote their office’s roles in this revitalization effort. Public Works director Chapin Spencer talked up the three Ps — “paving, parking and projects” — while Bill Ward, director of permitting and inspections, talked about getting aggressive to push vacant building owners to renovate, demolish or sell.
The press conference was held outside Homeport. Its owner, Mark Bouchett, who is a Church Street Marketplace commissioner, said that Burlington was not only “back,” but was rising phoenix-like from the ashes of several turbulent years. He cited the opening of new apartments downtown and city funding for further public safety measures as evidence.
“Downtown Burlington and Church Street Marketplace were too valuable to leave to circumstance, so here we are taking the early steps towards Burlington’s bright new future, and there’s so many bright spots on the horizon,” Bouchett said.
Mulvaney-Stanak announced at the press conference that Bouchett will serve on a special committee to hire a new police chief to succeed interim Police Chief Shawn Burke. She said 12 candidates have come forward.
Some Democrats on the Burlington City Council have sought to position themselves as the champions of the downtown business community. They were dismayed that Mulvaney-Stanak’s initial budget proposal continued to rely on an increased gross receipts tax on restaurant meals, bar tabs, hotel rooms and short-term rentals. They argued that could push businesses to choose to locate in places such as Essex over Burlington’s downtown. Democrats sought unsuccessfully to have that tax reduced, but were able to get “admissions,” or ticketed events, exempted from the tax going forward.
Mulvaney-Stanak said her administration balances support for Burlington businesses with affordability for residents, and that maintaining an increased gross receipts tax was necessary to get revenue to offset property tax increases.
Though Bouchett is opening a second Homeport location in Essex later this summer, he said that the Church Street location was the business’ home, and it would remain there for the “long haul.”
In defending her record on support for local business and promoting the “momentum” in Burlington, Mulvaney-Stanak sought to reach beyond political divisions and focus on her message of unity.
“It is not the work of one mayor or a group of city councilors. It is all of us being in it together, and that is what is happening here today,” she said. “I welcome more people to join us as we continue to do this work together.”
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
