Residents and businesses clash as mayor signs downtown support resolution; mayor allocates $10,000 to help relocate Food Not Cops

Public comments at the Burlington City Council meeting on June 9 centered on a contentious resolution the council adopted May 19 supporting downtown businesses and calling for steps to relocate a recurring food distribution from the Marketplace Garage.

The dispute surfaced again during a lengthy public forum, where residents, business owners and volunteers described sharp differences over downtown safety, economic conditions and efforts by mutual-aid groups to feed unhoused residents. Council President Travers opened the forum and set two-minute limits for speakers.

Residents praised and criticized the resolution and the city’s handling of downtown challenges. Ryan Nick, introducing himself as a Ward 8 resident, said the resolution “calls for a plan to find a sustainable location for the lunch” and urged the council to “deescalate the conversation” and act quickly. Lee Morgan, another commenter, asked the mayor to veto the resolution, arguing it was divisive and tied to donor politics. Several speakers, including Emma Corey and Michelle (last name provided in comments), urged the council to appoint Christian Berry (also referred to as “Director Berry”) as the permanent head of the REIB office and to staff that office more fully.

Mayor Mulvaney Stanek read a prepared statement to the council, saying she had signed resolution 8.1 but remained concerned about late amendments to it. The mayor said a late amendment at the May 19 meeting removed language setting a hard relocation deadline for Food Not Cops and that removing the deadline was intended to reflect cooperative relocation discussions already underway. “My administration has been working diligently over the last several months on most of the action items outlined in resolution 8.1,” she said, and she described outreach undertaken since October 2024 to research alternative locations and to convene partners.

As part of her signing statement the mayor announced a $10,000 allocation from city funds to support cooperative relocation of Food Not Cops from the Marketplace Garage and said she would report back to the City Council by July 14 on relocation efforts and related food-security work.

The mayor outlined recent steps taken by city staff and community partners, including facilitated discussions with faith communities, offers of provisional resources such as kitchen space and a working group of stakeholders. She said city staff had been engaged with Food Not Cops and community partners since late 2024 and that “we will continue to provide regular updates to the city council about Food Not Cops relocation.”

Councilors and public commenters repeatedly pressed for quick action. Councilor Schachter said she supported a bipartisan approach and offered to put council discretionary funds toward relocation. Councilor Litwin and others asked the administration to bring concrete progress to the council by June 23 and to keep lines of communication open with affected residents and small businesses.

The mayor’s statement and the $10,000 allocation do not set a relocation deadline; the mayor described the funding as a contribution to “cooperative relocation” and said temporary locations could be part of any path to a permanent site. The administration also said it would coordinate with community partners and Food Not Cops on a working group to identify options.

A July 14 report-back to the council is required by the signed resolution and is expected to include updates on stakeholder outreach, potential temporary and permanent locations, and any supplemental city resources that could be offered.

Why it matters: The dispute pits downtown business concerns (foot traffic, customer safety, boycotts reported by some speakers) against volunteers and mutual-aid providers who argue they are meeting urgent needs. The mayor’s decision to sign the resolution while funding a small relocation effort aims to preserve both a visible statement of support for downtown businesses and a parallel track of cooperative work with mutual-aid providers and community partners.

What’s next: The mayor will report to council by July 14. Councilors urged a faster timeline for tangible steps, and several said they would support additional council funding if needed.

Speakers quoted and attributed in this article came from the meeting record and public forum.