Hive Roundup #1 | Housing and Elections

Hello and welcome to the first edition of the Hive Roundup, a members-only weekly roundup of highlights from the week. I’m test-driving this new member perk for the rest of the year, and if it works out, I’ll keep it going in the new year. Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments or by replying to this email!

The week started with a festive feel, with an event at the Sculpture Park followed by Halloween trick-or-treating at West School and all over town.

Following the holiday, big themes this week were housing and voting.

Early voting is now over, but that doesn’t mean the campaigning has stopped. There is still plenty of discussion about Question 5 (whether or not Burlington should become a Community Preservation Act community) and the other state-wide ballot questions. I have also heard there’s been some confusion about whether or not poll workers can have campaign signs on their lawns. I’m going to follow up more on this on Monday, because the issue has a lot of questions surrounding it.

I interviewed Kerry Donahue from the Housing Partnership this week, and the Weekend Buzz was all about the state of housing in Burlington. An Affordable senior housing unit is available at Grandview Commons, and there were some showings this week. And, the Housing Partnership met to discuss becoming an Age/Dementia Care Community as well as establishing a Municipal Affordable Housing Trust.

Another huge topic of conversation, and likely a contentious issue come January, is the General Bylaw Review Committee’s petition to Town Meeting and the state to codify hybrid participation in Town Meeting and other municipal meetings. I’ll be interested to see how that discussion goes at the next Town Meeting

We had some big wins in sports, with our Boys’ Cross Country team taking the championship title and our Varsity Football team winning 42-8 against Medford. Unfortunately, we also had some disappointing losses, with the Volleyball and Girls’ Soccer teams’ seasons both ending after their first playoff game. Each of those girls has a lot to be proud of, however, because as much as such a loss depletes you, they worked so hard this season and grew a ton as athletes.

Alright, that’s a wrap on the Hive Roundup. Any feedback is encouraged so I can make this weekly email useful for you and not just another email.

Feel free to email submissions throughout the week of things you think I’d want to put into this special email, such as:

• featured photos
• featured community members or community member shout-outs
• featured businesses
• hidden gems
• other ideas you have for things that would be of interest to members

Thank you for being a valued member of our community.

Nicci