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City may test federal law in drug plan

- By Cadence Mertz
Free Press Staff Writer

The city of Burlington might test the boundaries of federal law by continuing with a plan to provide its employees with discount prescription drugs purchased from Canada, Mayor Peter Clavelle said Monday.

City attorneys are researching the federal law to determine how Burlington can move forward with its plan, he said. Clavelle's comments come after a Food and Drug Administration official said Burlington's plan to buy prescription drugs through a Canadian company is illegal under federal law.

The FDA's interpretation is only one reading of the law, Clavelle said Monday at a news conference with Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

"I'm struck that the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, on this issue seems to be part of the problem," Clavelle said.

States and cities around the country are taking action to cut the cost of prescription drugs for their employees, Clavelle said.

The city of Springfield, Mass., in July began buying drugs through a Canadian firm. The FDA maintains the practice is illegal but has not taken action to stop the purchases.

Approximately 1 million Americans travel to Canada annually to purchase their prescription drugs at "a fraction" of what they would pay at a U.S. pharmacy, Sanders said. The drugs they purchase in Canada are often the same U.S.-made medications sold here, he said.

If it is legal for Americans to travel to Canada to buy their medication, why can't they do the same thing over the Internet or through a mail order service, Clavelle asked.

Legislation is pending in Congress that would allow the purchase of prescription drugs from certain Canadian pharmacies via the Internet or mail order services.

"The momentum is very clearly with us," Sanders said. The goal is to drive prices down in the United States to the same level they are in Canada and the rest of the world, he said.

Burlington could save more than $100,000 a year by having its employees purchase prescriptions through a Canadian-based pharmacy, Clavelle said. He added that he hopes those cheaper drugs could eventually be accessible to the broader community.

The city can wait for the federal government to "do the right thing" or it can make that happen, Clavelle said.

"It's not going to stop us," Clavelle said of the FDA's proclamation that Burlington's plan would be illegal.

Contact Cadence Mertz at 660-1847 or cmertz@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.

City to begin buying drugs from Canada

By John Briggs, Free Press Staff Writer --- Thursday, February 26, 2004

Burlington is about to make the Canadian connection.

Four months after the City Council asked Mayor Peter Clavelle to investigate whether the city should offer its employees the option of buying prescription drugs from Canada, the new option is nearly in place.

Clavelle is scheduled to describe the program details this morning at City Hall.

Earlier this week he said the drug option, to begin early in March, will save the city about $100,000 a year -- 15 to 20 percent of the $670,000 it spent last year on prescriptions for employees.

Last year Montgomery, Ala., and Springfield, Mass., began to offer lower-cost drugs from Canada to their employees. Since then, several states and cities including Burlington have moved ahead with their own plans.

The interest in the drugs from Canada has persisted despite warnings from the federal Food and Drug Administration that such importation is illegal.

After the Burlington council action in October, FDA Associate Commissioner William Hubbard said that mail-order importation of Canadian drugs was prohibited by federal law.

Such a city plan, he said, would violate both a 1938 law prohibiting the sale of drugs not approved by the FDA and a 1988 law barring the reimportation of U.S. manufactured drugs -- a law he said was designed to thwart drug counterfeiters. "The drugs would not be legal under any interpretation of U.S. law," Hubbard said of the Burlington plan. "They would unequivocally be in violation of U.S. law."

In late January, the FDA sent warning letters to three Texas companies involved in the Montgomery prescription program, warning them their actions are illegal, according to an FDA "talk paper" dated Jan. 22, which said Canadian drugs could be a "risk to public health."

City Attorney Joseph McNeil on Wednesday described the FDA position as "pretty consistent."

"As counsel to the city, I've spoken to the mayor and the City Council of my view of the law and they have weighed the risks and benefits as they perceive them," he said.

"They have made the decision that the potential benefits outweigh the risks of going forward."

The FDA could issue written warnings, as it has done elsewhere, or it could "theoretically" bring a "civil proceeding against the city or its supplier," he said.

McNeil said the council had weighed the liability risks arising from importing Canadian drugs. "The City Council," he said, "doesn't see a greater risk to the city with regard to drugs subject to the Canadian system."

Asked whether the city decision was an instance of municipal civil disobedience, McNeil was equivocal.

"I'm not going to use those words," he said.

Contact John Briggs at 660-1863 or jbriggs@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

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Clavelle launches seventh term

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Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle begins his seventh term Monday with a broad range of goals, a long-term vision for the city and the hard reality that the demand for services far exceeds the city's resources.

The mayor met with the Free Press editorial staff last week to discuss his plans for his three-year term and provide a preview of what he will tell Burlington residents in his state of the city address at the City Hall swearing-in Monday evening.

Clavelle is an old hand at this. First elected in 1989, he has comfortably presided over one of North America's loveliest and most envied cities with a practical city manager's eye on the budget and a Progressive activist's zeal.

For the most part, this two-pronged approach has worked for Burlington.

During his tenure, Clavelle has always balanced the budget. Along the way, he has also encouraged sometimes reluctant constituents to accept change in the community, such as a methadone clinic for heroin addicts or new affordable housing units in established neighborhoods.

With some exceptions, such as the high cost of housing and the troubling presence of illegal narcotics, Burlington is a city that works.

The downtown is vibrant; the historic architecture has been preserved; people walk safely on most streets; and there is a natural energy and strong sense of place.

In his own words, Clavelle lays out his agenda to protect and enhance Burlington:

Within the next few years in Burlington, there will be an estimated $65 million worth of transportation projects under construction.

In this calendar year, we will initiate the construction of Riverside Avenue, the reconstruction of North Street, the bike path adjacent to 127, as well as the multi-modal center on Battery Street.

The Southern Connector continues to be in the design/permitting stage and this year we hope to complete the permitting and design of Contract 2, which will take it from Home Avenue to Lakeside Avenue and construction for that project would be initiated in 2004.

We also have the ongoing upgrade of streets and sidewalks. In the next budget year, we'll be spending $1.5 million on that effort. We have 100 miles of streets and 200 miles of sidewalks.

Economic development

When we think of transportation in the city, we also could think of economic development.

Most of the transportation initiatives are designed to improve access of both people and goods into the city. It's a mix of conventional measures, but also we're pursuing multi-modal opportunities, like the downtown transit center, and we continue to advocate for rail service to Burlington.

Also a major project this coming year is the expansion of Burlington International Airport, which also is a transportation/economic development initiative.

Promoting rail

We would like to see Burlington served by passenger rail and I accept the disappointment of the Champlain Flyer, but I hope with the discontinuance of that project that we don't abandon our commitment to improved rail service in the state of Vermont.

There are corridors where there is greater demand than Burlington to Charlotte. One we're studying is Burlington to Essex. I also think rail service to Essex and ultimately into Burlington from Franklin County makes sense. Obviously Essex and the IBM facility alone are major employment centers.

I also anticipate you might see a resurrection of the Burlington to Charlotte route with the reconstruction of Shelburne Road.

Housing

The city of Burlington alone will not satisfy this region's demand for housing. We'll continue efforts and strategies to establish a fair share commitment where each community in this region will step up and provide safe, decent and affordable housing.

The regional planning commission has taken this on as a goal, but it's not going to happen overnight.

We have for a long time had a housing strategy based on the four Ps: Produce more; preserve the existing; protect the vulnerable in this community (many of them are renters, particularly those on fixed income and those with disabilities); and promote home ownership.

In terms of production, I think in the coming year you will see the initiation of construction on 40 units of mixed-income housing on Depot Street.

UVM

We will also advance significantly the plans through the University of Vermont to build more housing.

These will include additional apartments on the Redstone Campus. I'm also really pleased the university is seriously planning for construction of new residential units at University Heights.

We're finally seeing the realization of a decade-old goal of bringing 800 new beds on line.

It's also important to expand home ownership opportunities. We've seen an increase in home ownership in the city in the past decade and we continue to push that agenda.

In terms of protecting, there were a couple of charter changes approved by the voters of Burlington in March: requiring notice for eviction and requiring notice for a rent increase. Those now require the blessing of the state Legislature.

There's the preservation piece, which is to make certain we continue to enforce the codes that protect the existing housing stock as well as work with landowners and property owners to bring to the table the resources necessary for them to upgrade their apartments.

We're also investing more than $100,000 in rewriting the city's zoning ordinance to make it more user-friendly, comprehensive and understandable. It's probably 40 years old. It needs to be refreshed.

Sustainable community

What really excites me is the challenge of making Burlington a more sustainable community. I know that's a fuzzy word and sometimes when you speak the language of sustainability, people's eyes glaze over, but what you'll find in the mix of projects, priorities and initiatives planned in the city, both short-term and long-term are meaningful, real-world examples of sustainable development.

Sustainable development means pushing through a filter all the policies, all the projects and initiatives of the city and the lens is the future. We're constantly asking ourselves -- if this happens or if this doesn't happen, will Burlington be a better place for our kids, our grandkids, other people's kids and grandkids.

Building a sustainable community is akin to building a table. All four legs need to be strong and our four legs are the four Es of our sustainable community vision: environmental protection, economic development, social equity, and education.

What you'll find here is we're pursuing a very ambitious agenda, but one that looks at development comprehensively and looks for the integration of those Es.

We've embraced an activist model of governance, but we need an activist city government that's working with businesses, nonprofit organi- zations, and engaged citizens.

City Hall Park

Among our priorities is making City Hall Park, both in perception and reality a safer, more comfortable, more pleasant place for Burlington citizens and visitors.

There are a number of strategies that will be employed. In addition to a hot dog vendor, being the least important, there will continue to be physical improvements. We are very appreciative of the Rotary Club's adoption of City Hall Park.

There will be more activities programmed in the park and there will be an increased presence of police and/or parks and recreation department employees.

Balancing the budget

The needs and the demands for services far exceed available resources.

The biggest challenge for the coming year is balancing the city's budget. A tax increase is not being proposed.

Over the next few months, I and the department heads will be spending a lot of time working on a balanced budget for the year that begins July 1.

Nobody, nobody should think this is easy.

I've been mayor of this city for 12 years and every year, we've had a balanced budget. We have not run a deficit and we won't run a deficit this year, either. The question is what steps will need to be taken to balance the budget. It's not a pretty picture.

My goal is to maintain the current level of services. I don't know that we'll be able to do that. You have certain costs that are driving the budget that you don't have much control over -- the escalating cost of health care, which is not unique to Burlington; the increased price of fuel; and salary increases, very modest salary increases.

When people ask my priorities, they look for a grand list of projects and exciting initiatives. Priority No. 1 is pretty boring -- balancing the budget.

Schools

Priority No. 2, which is also not very exciting, is to adopt a school budget.

While I do not have direct responsibility for the schools, certainly assuring this community that there's a commitment to public education is a mayoral responsibility.

If we do not get a reasonable school budget passed, it would be necessary to cut $2.1 million from the proposed budget and the impact of that would be devastating.

Diversity

Burlington is an amazingly diverse community; increasingly, an ethnically diverse community. We're only 92 percent white now, but more telling is the face of our public school system, where overall, 14 percent of our students are students of color and in some schools, it's one-third.

So we're seeing increasing racial and ethnic diversity.

Burlington has always been an economically diverse community. In the next year, we'll focus on new efforts to improve the plight of working families, including those living in poverty.

Many of the folks in the community who are living in poverty are women and children. We have to ask ourselves, what can we as a community do?

We must be very aggressive and proactive in pushing an economic development agenda, providing the infrastructure for economic activity, providing the job training programs, ensuring the opportunities for a decent education.

Neighborhoods

We also need to pay attention to conditions in the neighborhoods, and make sure every neighborhood is a safe place to live and make certain the quality of life is not being eroded by pressures on our neighborhoods.

I think we've seen a diminished supply of drugs into the city. The area that needs to be bolstered is drug prevention, treatment and education. This is not a prime city responsibility, but it is also not one the city can walk away from.

Burlington as model

Burlington is looked upon, not only nationally, but internationally, as a model.

The ideas come from the community. As mayor, you're helping steer the boat when the real work in rowing that boat is being done in part by city government but more importantly by the community -- businesses, nonprofit organizations, engaged citizens.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a city where citizens are as engaged as in Burlington.

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Firemen Recruits pursue dream job

- By Emily Stone --- Free Press Staff Writer

A person standing at the open bay of Burlington Fire Station 2 on Wednesday could hear the whacking of a sledgehammer in one ear and the sound of retching in the other.

Inside the station, a firefighting hopeful ran through the department's rigorous physical test, which includes a round of 50 hits on a metal peg with a sledgehammer. Just outside, the most recent recruit through the test sat on a bench, hunched over and vomiting in a trash bin.

"We have an ambulance ready to take them to the hospital, and that has happened in years past," said Assistant Fire Marshal Thomas Middleton.

The 69 recruits started Tuesday by taking written and psychological exams. Thirty-nine passed and went on to take the physical exam Wednesday. Twenty-nine of those recruits completed the seven-part physical test in the required four minutes and will be scheduled for interviews.

"Every little boy wants to be a firefighter," said Chris Dooley, 32, of South Burlington after he finished the test in the required time. He said he trained by loading a backpack with 70 pounds of dumbbells and wearing it around the house and to do yard work. He also did 100 sledgehammer hits a few times a week.

There is one opening with the Burlington Fire Department, Middleton said. The recruits who pass their tests this week will qualify for that position and will go on a list that the department will use to fill new openings for the next year or two. All of the 29 who passed Wednesday were men. Two women failed the physical exam.

Many of the prospectives volunteer with smaller fire departments and want to make firefighting a full-time job. Burlington has about 80 full-time firefighters.

Recruit Kevin O'Brien has volunteered with the Waterbury department for 21 years. He is an instructor with the state Fire Academy and has taught some of the Burlington firefighters who were watching the tryouts.

O'Brien, 38, an auto parts salesman, said he has toyed with the idea of becoming a full-time firefighter for years. He finally decided to go for it. He loves the interaction with people and the camaraderie of firefighting, he said.

"You can go to any firehouse in any country, and you'll be welcomed with open arms," he said.

The seasoned veterans watching the tests echoed the recruits' enthusiasm.

"It really is the greatest job in the world," said Capt. Jim Hendry. He and Middleton said they do stop in at fire stations around the world whenever they are on vacation.

"It drives our wives nuts," Middleton said.

Recruit Arthur Bergeron said that becoming a firefighter is a "lifelong dream." He has volunteered with the Grand Isle department for five years and practiced for Wednesday's test with a fellow volunteer at night at the Grand Isle station.

He said he grew up across the street from a fire station in Boston and has always been drawn to a career in the firehouse.

"It's a good feeling getting up in the morning and knowing that you're going out to help someone," he said.

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Trash trucks end early noise

- By John Briggs
Free Press Staff Writer

Downtown residents won't be shaken out of bed at 4:30 a.m. anymore by the beeping and grinding and banging of trash trucks.

The Public Works Commission voted Wednesday evening to move the starting time for trash pickups to 7 a.m., with exceptions for certain difficult pickups that will be decided case by case over the next month.

Former Third Ward Councilor Doug Dunbebin, who lives in an apartment on Church Street, and Thomas DeSisto, a University of Vermont graduate student who lives on Main Street across from City Hall Park, were exultant after the meeting at the Public Works building. The two are members of the newly formed Downtown Neighborhood Association.

"Finally," Dunbebin said, "we're being treated like everyone else in the city."

Trash pickups in non-commercial zones of the city begin at 7 a.m.

Several trash haulers attended the meeting for the annual renewal of their city licenses, and they argued that they needed early starting times downtown to get their big Dumpster-emptying trucks into the narrow alleyways before parked cars, traffic and other vendors jam the streets.

"If we don't get started early, we don't get it picked up," said Leo Gauthier of Gauthier Trucking, a 53-year veteran of trash hauling in Burlington. "The streets get blocked and you just can't get it if you start late."

Serge Dupuis, the operations manager of All Cycle Waste, said early work downtown was safer than work after 7 a.m. because of the difficulty of backing a front-loading truck into traffic on narrow downtown streets.

"Everything's tight," he said.

Dunbebin estimated that 400 to 600 people live downtown.

James Barrett, chairman of the Public Works Commission, urged that any exceptions to the 7 a.m. starting time be kept to a minimum.

Contact John Briggs at 660-1863 or jbriggs@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
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