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2026-04-29 - City Council (special)

Summary

Built from the official minutes (approved on the 2026-05-13 consent agenda). Meeting called to order 5:31 p.m.; adjourned 11:12 p.m.

  • Present: Mayor Marc Gwinn and Councilors Adrienne Gil and Pelin Kohn (both arrived 6:31 p.m.), Sal Alfano, Cary Brown and Jim Sheridan (virtual). Councilor Ben Doyle absent. Deputy City Clerk Sara McMillon was secretary.
  • Agenda approved unanimously (4-0, before Councilors Gil and Kohn arrived).
  • Whole meeting devoted to homelessness. A planned executive session with VLCT counsel Philip Woodward on encampment policy was not held because Councilor Sheridan said he would not vote for it and four votes were needed. Counsel instead discussed designating legal camping areas in open session, and said no other Vermont city has done so.
  • Presentations: Lt. Jake Larrabee (Central Vermont Situation Table), Beth Ann Maier (Emergency Cold Weather Shelter), Gary Gordon (Washington County Mental Health), Julie Bond (Good Samaritan Haven), City Manager Kury (encampment policy), State's Attorney Michelle Donnelly and Police Chief Eric Nordenson.
  • Motion by Councilor Brown (second Councilor Alfano) to authorize the City Manager to develop and enter an MOU with Capstone for temporary use of the City Hall basement as a shelter on May 8, 9 and 10: carried 5-0.
  • Council directed the City Manager to prepare an initial assessment of year-round shelter use of the City Hall basement, and to schedule an executive session with legal counsel on authorized camping locations.
  • Proposals the Council wants to examine: Community Resource Officer, loitering policies, picnic tables and benches, designated camping locations, mobile health unit funding, funds to help people secure housing, continued talks with partner agencies, and re-evaluating short-term rental regulations.
  • Public comment on homelessness was taken in two rounds after the Council reordered the agenda by unanimous consent. No other business.

Homelessness response and encampment policy

See Homelessness Response. Stephen Whitaker addressed the Council on homelessness in general business. Zack Hughes, chair of the homelessness committee, was among the public commenters; Councilor Sheridan gave the committee report, saying its last meeting was canceled by a videoconferencing problem and that one suggestion was picnic tables in places the public does not usually go.

  • Situation Table: a multiagency group formed in October 2025 giving wraparound services to people at elevated risk; Lt. Larrabee said it was already succeeding.
  • Washington County Mental Health: Mr. Gordon described an access hub, urgent care walk-in center, mobile outreach, peer workers, showers, meals and clothing, and urged a housing first approach.
  • Good Samaritan Haven: Ms. Bond said staffing runs about one staff person per 50 people served, alcohol abuse among the homeless in Montpelier is at an all-time high, and no overnight detox is available. She suggested a mobile medic or inebriate team outside business hours and an on-call psychiatric nurse for the region.
  • Encampment policy as described by the City Manager: the city is notified of an encampment and the Police Department tracks it; Good Samaritan connects people with services; people are told the camp will be cleared; the city stores belongings and later returns them.
  • Ms. Donnelly said a homeless person charged with a crime may quickly return to the community under release conditions set by a judge. Chief Nordenson said the Police Department cannot supply the long-term solutions needed; the City Manager noted Burlington hired Community Resource Officers and some people there were deputized to issue lower-level tickets for alcohol consumption.
  • Public commenters, first round: Ben Maniscalco, Sue Walbridge, Dave Bellini, Seth Collins, Jay Voorhees, Peter Kelman, Steve Whitaker, Brenda Siegel, Ali McGuirk, David Sweat, Zachary Hughes, Harold Megrath and Ken Russell. Second round: Melanie Hamm, Steve Whitaker and Dawn Little. The minutes do not record their positions.

City Hall basement as a shelter

See City Hall Basement Shelter. Ms. Maier asked for May 8-10; the MOU motion carried 5-0 and a year-round assessment was requested.

Sources