Monthly Archives: February 2024

Mr. Dragon Brings the Fire

3 Replies

The House General & Housing Committee got an earful this morning from the mild-mannered Paul Dragon, Executive Director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity which, although its name sounds like some kind of neo-centrist business-promoting outfit, is in fact one of the biggest providers of shelter and services to unhoused Vermonters.

He was speaking in support of H.132, the Homeless Bill of Rights, a piece of legislation that’s been kicking around House General for several years now. Despite the sponsorship and support of committee chair Rep. Tom Stevens, the HBOR has never managed to even make it out of committee. But he’s trying again, and bully for him.

Dragon brought prepared testimony about what he called the “unprecedented levels of homelessness in Vermont,” which I’m going to append to this post because it’s just absolutely brilliant on the current crisis, misconceptions about the homeless, and all the ways we’re failing to meet this moment. (You can watch his testimony here, starting at the three-minute mark.) But first, let’s establish his bona fides.

Continue reading →

“I guess it’s time to bulldoze it and head south.”

2 Replies

For those who see Franz Kafka as a creator of nonfiction, a public meeting held Tuesday evening in Barre provided plenty of evidence. The title of the event was pure nectar for bureaucracy devotees: “Substantial Damage Informational Meeting.”

City officials held the event, attended by dozens of homeowners, to clear up abundant confusion around the rebuilding process after the July flood. Because Barre was so hard hit, the response has been slow, glitchy, confusing, and full of obstacles for property owners. The meeting featured a parade of people struggling to negotiate federal, state and local regulations, insurance coverage, property tax abatements, and the possibility that a flood-prone section of the city might be completely redeveloped in a few years’ time even if the houses therein are repaired. The situation puts the city’s finances in a perilous, uncertain condition — as reflected in City Council’s recent decision to postpone municipal elections from early March to early May.

The woman pictured above who, like most of the commenters, didn’t give her name, said that it would be impossibly costly to elevate her house as required for flood-proofing.. She closed with the quote that became this post’s headline, stood up, and walked away.

She was far from the only person who was at sea over how to rebuild or whether to even try. “The cost today to repair stuff is astronomical,” said a man named Gordon. “You’d be puttin’ into them houses two times what it could even sell for. And who’d want to buy ‘em now after this last flood?”

City Manager Nicholas Storellicastro said that 40 properties had already applied for buyouts, meaning the owners have no intention of rebuilding. “To be candid,” Storellicastro said, “the city can’t afford to buy out 40 homes both from a financial standpoint because we have to front all the money and then get it reimbursed, but also from a tax base standpoint, that would just be debilitating to the city.”

From the tenor of this meeting, I’d say it’s almost certain that more people will seek buyouts or simply walk away.

Continue reading →