Burlington Parks Board Votes to Add WebEx Access to Public Meetings

BURLINGTON — January 12, 2026 — Burlington's Parks and Recreation Commission voted 5-0 to add WebEx remote public access to its meetings and heard that Overlook Park construction has uncovered an active septic system and multiple buried concrete pads that could strain the project's already thin 2.5 percent contingency fund. Director Brendan Regan told commissioners that engineers from Weston and Sampson are working with the contractor to determine the cost of connecting the building to the municipal sewer on Edgemere Drive and removing the concrete pads — remnants of the site's former life as a Nike missile radar installation. Commissioner Greg Brooks called the missed septic discovery "a really big one" and said the board should reconsider using Weston and Sampson on future projects. The department's proposed FY27 budget carries a 4.9 percent overall increase, which drops to roughly 3.4 percent if a $24,000 electricity add for new Marshall Simons Field lighting is set aside. The board also fielded two years of public complaint from town meeting member Bob Young about crumbling stonework at Simons Park's Bedford Street entrance, with Regan committing to fund repairs this spring from an existing $50,000 fences-and-walkways account, requiring no new town meeting vote.