Carla Occaso
Nearly three years after the flood of 2023 damaged much of downtown Montpelier, an expected $11 million FEMA payout is finally coming through. That was the word at the city council meeting April 8. The expected sum would fund repairs and improvements to city hall and the fire and police department buildings, all clustered together on Main Street.
City Manager Kelly McNicholas Kury said Department of Public Works Director Kurt Motyka had been informed an offer would be coming soon, and the city has to respond by April 15 or forfeit the cash.
Because that date comes before the next city council meeting, Motyka and McNicholas Kury asked council members to approve it ahead of time, unless the amount is significantly less than the expected $11 million.
“We have an opportunity to accept a lump sum offer with less strings attached to it versus a public assistance project,” Motyka said, referring to another FEMA process the city would have to go through to get recovery money if they turn this offer down. If they refuse the offer, staff members would need to start a different application process all over again through the FEMA Public Assistance Program, which could take an unknown amount of time to come to fruition.
This opportunity would not be enough to pay for constructing a new fire department building — an idea that had surfaced during previous discussions about solutions for municipal structures, Motyka said, noting that FEMA would pay only to fix up the buildings already in place.
City councilors unanimously approved authorizing the city manager to accept the offer to fund improvements and repairs to the buildings, as long as it is not less than $11,093,859 minus insurance payments.
Looser Sprinkler Ordinance Change Approved
In a split vote, the council opted to loosen the city’s strict sprinkler requirements to align with Vermont state standards. The change would exempt new construction of three to six residential units from being required to have a sprinkler system. Before the change, Montpelier required sprinkler systems to be installed for all new multifamily residential units. Proponents for the change argued the old rules thwarted small-scale developers and that the high costs of sprinkler systems were stalling creation of multi-family units.
This was the second reading for the ordinance change, with the first occurring on March 25. A handful of people commented, mostly in favor of the change. Alyssa Schuren, chair of the housing committee, said a majority of the committee supports moving to the state standards for fire and sprinkler codes for units over three to six units. She further said she hopes there are other ways to incentivize developers to install sprinkler systems.
McNicholas Kury said Montpelier has a tax credit on the books for those who install sprinkler systems in residential buildings with one to four units, but there is a gap for buildings with five or six units.
Resident James Moore urged the city council to adopt the change. Resident Zachary Hunter said he works in the construction industry and supports the change in order to “bring new housing opportunities to central Vermont.”
Fire Chief Derek Libby said at the previous meeting that the stricter sprinkler requirements should stay in place for the safety of the populace. Councilors voted 5 to 1 in favor of the looser requirements with Councilor Jim Sheridan voting against.
Split Council Approves Extra $18K for White + Burke
By an even more split vote (4 to 1 to 1), councilors voted to add $18,000 into the contract between the city and real estate consultants White + Burke to finalize the RFP process for the Country Club Road housing development. Councilor Adrienne Gil noted the subcommittee has already interviewed the four potential developers, but proceedings are more complicated than anticipated. Councilor Ben Doyle said the subcommittee should synthesize all the information and make a recommendation to the full council. Councilor Pelin Kohn asked to make sure all the city council members get the same information as the subcommittee gets on the process.
Mayor Marc Gwinn said more funds are needed to reach a final decision in the RFP process. Voting “yes” to adding $18,000 to the contract were councilors Sal Alfano, Cary Brown, Doyle, and Gil. Sheridan voted “no,” and Kohn abstained.
Council OKs Drafting New Tax Stabilization Policy
In keeping with the voter-approved article 11 that appeared on the city ballot this Town Meeting Day, the council unanimously directed the city staff to draft a change to expand the tax stabilization policy. The policy gives the council authority to offer tax stabilization contracts to owners of commercial real and personal property for new development, additions, or renovations.
According to a Feb. 24 article by Phil Dodd in The Bridge, “tax stabilization contracts reduce property taxes on new property for the period of the contract, which can be up to 10 years. They are meant to encourage additions to the grand list. Contracts can be approved by the city council after two public hearings.”
Under the current policy, the council can offer tax stabilization contracts on up to 50% of the value of the new property or renovations. The new language will allow the council to offer a tax break on up to 100% of the value of qualifying property.
Planning Director Mike Miller said such arrangements make Montpelier a more competitive place for developers and business owners to locate. The policy also helps developers recover high upfront costs (especially for flood-resilient builds) by keeping taxes at the “pre-improvement” level for a set period.
Going forward, the staff will draft new rules to be reviewed by an attorney. Two public hearings then will be held before a final draft is brought back to city council, Miller said.
Housing Needs Assessment Unveiled
Two members of the Central Vermont Planning Commission presented their findings from a housing needs assessment undertaken at the request of the city council. Executive Director Christian Meyer and Community Planner Lorraine Banbury affirmed Montpelier has a housing shortage, with a 4% vacancy rate. A 5% to 7% rate would be healthier, they said. And in recent years, the city has created 8.4 housing units per year compared to its goal of creating 75 housing units per year.
Montpelier’s aging population plays a role in the overall housing crunch, with 31% of residents over the age of 65. It is thought those residents live in larger single family homes with more bedrooms than there are people in those homes. However, seniors do not have smaller homes to move into with the housing crunch, according to their findings.
“As folks get older, their housing needs change. They need fewer bedrooms, and this is when you are past your new income earning years,” Banbury said. People facing decreased mobility also need accessible units with wider doorways, ramps, and no steep steps, she added.
In fact, the highest growth in housing unit development has been in accessory dwellings and expansion of existing rental units. Meyer and Banbury’s presentation showed Montpelier has a “missing middle” housing availability, meaning there are adequate low-income subsidized housing units, and adequate single family homes, but not enough “middle” options such as condos, tiny homes, and accessory dwellings into which aging people can “downsize.”
