Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and others acknowledged that they’ve prodded Pecor to spread the wealth.
“Certainly, his capacity for philanthropy has gone up as a result of Burlington Telecom,” Weinberger said. “I, as well as others, have encouraged him to be as generous as he can.”
Schurz Communications finalized its purchase of BT for $30.8 million in mid-March, a deal that earned the city about $7 million. Pecor, whose family owns Lake Champlain Transportation Company, reaped about $11.1 million. He’d loaned the city $6 million in 2014, with the understanding that he’d earn 40 percent of the proceeds once the telecom was sold.
Pecor declined to comment, writing in an email to Seven Days that he and his family “love Burlington, but not attention.” Yet his wife, Dominique, was the guest of honor last week at the Old North End Community Center when officials unveiled a sign for the newly named Pecor Family Gymnasium & Performance Hall. The couple donated $500,000 to the center, which is nearing the end of a $2.2 million fundraising campaign.
“Thank you for inviting us to be part of this project,” Dominique told the crowd, adding that her husband was traveling. “Our family has enjoyed the benefits of this city and region immensely, and for the two of us, it’s really a privilege to be in a position to give back in this way.”
The Pecors’ donation was the center’s largest, according to former mayor Peter Clavelle, who has led the fundraising campaign. Champlain Housing Trust purchased the old St. Joseph School on Allen Street in 2017 and now leases the space to a variety of nonprofits, including the Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department. The money will go toward permanent financing and future renovations.
Clavelle said he reached out to Pecor as a result of the BT sale, adding that the family has always been “generous in a quiet way.”
“The Burlington Telecom sale has been a topic of discussion and controversy in the minds of some,” he said. “His participation in that project put him in the position to give back to the community.”
The Pecors also pledged $500,000 last month to the controversial City Hall Park redevelopment, which went nearly $2 million above the projected budget. The city trimmed some of the costs, and Weinberger said he asked Pecor to help fill the gap. The Burlington City Council approved $5.8 million in park spending on March 25, and construction is set to start later this spring.
There’s no written agreement or formal connection between the gifts to the city and the BT transaction, according to former city councilor Jane Knodell. She said she had told Weinberger “on multiple occasions” to encourage Pecor to be generous, even well before the sales process began.
“I could see it coming that they were going to do pretty well,” she said of the Pecors.
After former mayor Bob Kiss diverted $17 million in city funds in 2009 to try to save the beleaguered telecom, creditor Citibank sued the city, seeking to repossess the utility’s infrastructure. Burlington reached a settlement, but its poor credit meant that banks refused to lend it cash.
Pecor came to the city’s aid. In 2014, using an LLC he formed named Blue Water Holdings, Pecor borrowed $6 million from Merchants Bank and then reloaned the cash to the city for the settlement.
Back then, the city didn’t expect the telecom to fetch as much as it did, Knodell noted. “My own view is that the return was disproportionate to the risk that was taken on,” she said.
The large private payout was part of the reason Councilor Max Tracy (P-Ward 2) would have preferred to sell BT to the co-op Keep Burlington Telecom Local. “That’s why taking the higher bid wasn’t necessarily the best,” he said. Schurz paid more to the city, but “a lot of that money was going to go to other people.”
Still, Tracy said he was pleased to hear some money is coming back. “It’s always welcome,” he said of the Pecors’ donations.
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If he cared about this city and its citizens more than his own personal financial gain he wouldnt have made any money off the sale. Instead he made more in a day than most of us will maken in a lifetime, and he made it off of us.
Weird how we are so quick to give accolades and acclaim when the wealthy steal from us, hoard their wealth, and then give a pittance back. If I stole $100 from you but gave you $20 back would you call me a thief or a thoughtful and caring philanthropist?
Mayor Gladhand Clavelle must pinch himself every day thanking his lucky stars that the 2008 stock market crash didn’t happen while he was mismanaging BT. I’m sure he’s more than happy to dump on Kiss. Just as city funds had always been used to prop up entities like Burlington Electric, they were used to prop up another city-owned utility, BT. When the crash happened, no one in the country couldn’t borrow money which was the death knell for BT. By they Clavelle had grinned his way into the sunset and the weakened Progs decided Kiss could be the whipping boy. It’s so typical of them to act just like the Democrats they abhor.
Three mayors, three screw-ups. Mayor Clavelle initiated the buildout of BT without any realistic idea of the cost. Mayor Kiss improperly put in $17 million of taxpayer money when the costs got out of control. Mayor Weinberger added $3 million more and then flushed the whole thing down the drain. Pecor gets about $11 million after the $6 million loan is repaid. He had nothing in it. He co-signed on a loan the city got from the Merchants Bank. The city gets about $5.5 million of the $20 we put in. The mayor used to say that it was the CITI settlement that forced the sale of BT. He now acknowledges that this is not true. It was the Pecor deal that is forced the sale and he has been handsomely rewarded. Miro chose not to pursue conventional municipal financing for political reasons and this is what we get. PS I don’t think we have seen all the promises the mayor has made to Pecor yet.
“…Bob Kiss and his right hand man Jonathan Leopold illegally stole $17 million tax payer dollars…”
This is patently false. A State’s Attorney, U.S. Attorney and civil lawsuit all failed to conjure up anything illegal despite the simple narrative driven by Progressive opponents.
The Council had another funding source (started with a ‘J’, J.D. something?) but rejected it around 2009.
Lax spending controls surely contributed to BT’s fate, but so did the Great Recession, high expectations, and plain ol’ politics.
Here’s hoping that his benevolence extends to keeping the rates down!
We shall see.
Like I said before, Miro is just as crooked as the rest of the politicians!
“Like I said before, Miro is just as crooked as the rest of the politicians!”
And as I’ve asked several times before, please state your actual evidence of Mayor Weinberger’s corruption. Not your opinion. Actual evidence for your accusation.
“The mayor used to say that it was the CITI settlement that forced the sale of BT. He now acknowledges that this is not true. It was the Pecor deal that is forced the sale and he has been handsomely rewarded. Miro chose not to pursue conventional municipal financing for political reasons and this is what we get. PS I don’t think we have seen all the promises the mayor has made to Pecor yet.”
worth repeating. this is trash politics that has no place in our city.
our last election was a referendum on miro, the city demonstrated it moved beyond his ideas, it is time for change in leadership, burlington can do much better than miro.
The most far-reaching and in my opionion, best use of Pecor’s so-called humble generous gesture would have been to contribute towards fixing the city’s wastewater issue. Don’t quote me, but I am sure we’ll see a plaque with Pecor’s name some place in the City Hall Amusement Park to come.
I’m sure the kickback donation to the city was part of the backroom deal that got this thing done. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that Pecor donates a lot of money to the Weinberger campaign.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see that Pecor donates a lot of money to the Weinberger campaign.”
Wow! Someone might make a campaign donation to the candidate he agrees with? What a shocker! Can you tell me if that’s illegal? Cuz I don’t think it is. And how is it different from all of the campaign donations made to Carina Driscoll from the various people and organizations that wanted her to support their cause if she was elected mayor? Thanks!