Not some government official, or even work for a local Montpelier business, but as a local to Montpelier it's really emotional to see how well the city has done in the last year alone, especially as someone that was here through the flood(s).
Last year it seemed like half the storefronts were vacant, now it's tough to find any available. So many great businesses have opened (or are opening), much of the broken infrastructure has been repaired, they lit up all the bridges which is pretty cool, and they actually clean the dusty streets consistently now.
It was packed today with tourists, gov workers enjoying their lunch, locals, and other Vermonters from other towns traveling in just for fun/shopping it seemed.
I get it's May day and a popular weekend, but it felt so much more promising than last years.
Okay done glazing my town now. Check it out if ya haven't been in a while though.