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Burlington would receive an infusion of $450,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds within the next month under the $2 trillion federal stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Senate, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said Thursday.
Weinberger said during a press briefing that the funds would be used to support low- and moderate-income populations in the city.
“There will be more flexibility with how we will use these funds, so we can deploy them in ways that will have the biggest impact on this emergency as quickly as we can,” he said.
In a typical year, the city receives $650,000 in CDBG funds.
The Senate unanimously approved the bill, which includes direct payments to individuals and funding to state and local governments, hospitals and corporations, in a 96-0 vote. The House is expected to pass the bill Friday before going to President Donald Trump.
Weinberger said that he was encouraged by the Senate aid package.
“This is an indication to me that we are going to do what needs to be done to get through this public health emergency and to recover from the public economic crisis in the weeks and months ahead,” he said.
Weinberger said the federal government will need to do a lot more to address the crisis, but thought the agreement was a significant step.
“For today, for this week, it does seem to me to be a far-reaching bill that does a lot of good and sends a very positive message,” he said.
Weinberger also announced Thursday that the United Way of Northwest Vermont has raised $105,000 in a coronavirus response fund that will aid those affected by the pandemic.
Russ and Roxane Scully, the Pomerleau family, Spruce Tree Mortgage and David and Laura Stiller donated a total of $85,000 to the fund as lead donors, Weinberger said.
“This is a challenging time to be giving money when there is so much financial uncertainty, and so much turmoil happening in the world,” he said. “It is reassuring to me, and I’m sure to the whole community, that these philanthropic leaders in the community have come through for the community once again.”
The first two recipients of the funds will be Feeding Chittenden and the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, said Jesse Bridges, the CEO of United Way of Northwest Vermont.
“We know food insecurity, the need has spiked dramatically,” Bridges said. “We know there are significant issues with people retaining housing, as well as those within our community without homes, and we know there is significant risk and issues with our older adult population.”
Gov. Phil Scott’s “stay home” order shuts down all construction in the city that is non-essential, including construction on City Hall Park and work on the Moran Plant project that was set to start this spring.
This will also halt projects by private developers, including construction at Cambrian Rise, Weinberger said.
Weinberger said he is set to have a phone call with Brookfield, the developer of the stalled CityPlace project, tomorrow to discuss the project. After years of delays, Brookfield said construction on the project was set to start this summer.
While the governor’s order does not directly affect that project, Weinberger said he would have to talk to Brookfield to determine if the global pandemic affected the project’s schedule.
