Mayor outlines plan to move Burlington homeless to campground

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger says the city is working to be more proactive in fighting the coronavirus.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Weinberger said he does not plan to make any more executive orders, but he says the city will likely make additional efforts in the coming days to curb the spread of COVID-19.

As our Erin Brown reports, the North Beach Campground is likely to transform as part of that plan.

Weinberger says the city wants to turn the campground into a site for homeless people to stay in during the coronavirus pandemic.

Weinberger says they're working to close the low-barrier shelter in downtown Burlington and move people to their own individual campers on the North Beach Campground.

They hope to put up about 24 campers.

Weinberger says they have an agreement with the state and ANEW Place, which currently runs the low-barrier shelter.

They're also working to set up another site at a separate location for homeless people who test positive for coronavirus to recover instead of having to go back onto the streets.

The mayor says this plan is still in the works.

"This is a really important site to set up. It's been challenging to set up. We are working closely with the state. This is something that is not solved yet, but I want people to know we are working on solving it. I want people to know the city is committed to doing everything it can with the state to make sure this need gets met as quickly as possible," said Weinberger, D-Burlington.

The mayor says the state also has expanded its hotel voucher program. He says vouchers are available to any homeless person who is elderly or has an underlying health condition.