City Council

To be approved at 03-14-17 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held March 6, 2017 The Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order by Mayor Thomas Lauzon at 7:00 PM at Barre City Hall. In attendance were: From Ward I, Councilor Jeffrey Tuper-Giles; from Ward II, Councilors Michael Boutin and Michael Smith; and from Ward III, Councilors Anita Chadderton and Lucas Herring. Also present were City Manager Steven Mackenzie and Clerk/Treasurer Carolyn Dawes. Absent: From Ward I, vacant. Adjustments to the Agenda: NONE Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Chadderton, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Regular meeting on February 28, 2017  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2017-10:  Accounts Payable: $1,699,710.39  Payroll (gross): $120,596.77  2017 Licenses & Permits – o Taxi Driver Licenses:  Gary Clark, Central Vermont Green Cab The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk Dawes reported on the following:  Annual (Town) Meeting Day polls will be open at the auditorium tomorrow from 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM. Please note the Spaulding High School boys’ hockey team is hosting semi-finals against S. Burlington at the BOR at 5:30 PM, so there will be increased traffic in the area of the civic center from approximately 4:00 PM through the close of the polls.  Water/sewer bills are due by March 31st.  All dogs are to be licensed by April 3rd. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Chadderton, seconded by Councilor Smith. Motion carried. Applicant Address Gloria Goulet 16 French Street Tender Loving Homecare LLC 15 Ayers Street Liquor Control – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  Attended opening of the Center for Global Resiliency at Norwich University.  Attended meeting with Vermont Comic-Con presenter. Event is scheduled for first weekend in April.  Street and sidewalk cleaning is being scheduled.  Completed $100,000 downtown transportation grant application for the Keith Avenue parking lot. Visitors & Communications – Brandon Batham reminded the public that he is running for ward 2 councilor in tomorrow’s Annual 1 To be approved at 03-14-17 Barre City Council Meeting (Town) Meeting elections. Mr. Batham thanked the public for the opportunity to run, and said he has enjoyed going door to door. Old Business – A) Authorization to Award Street Sweeper Bid. Assistant Director of Public Works Steve Micheli recommended Council award the sweeper bid to Viking USA at a cost of $250,900, net of trade-in. Mr. Micheli said the expected delivery date is June 1st. There was discussion on trade in versus resale of the used sweeper. Mr. Micheli said the current sweeper is pretty well rotted out and doesn’t have much resale value. Council approved awarding the bid to Viking USA as recommended, noting there is a required 10% local match, on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Smith. Motion carried. New Business – A) (Re)appointment of CVPSA Director. Councilor Smith recommended reappointing Martin Prevost to a second two year term as one of Barre City’s representatives to the Central Vermont Public Safety Authority board. Council approved the reappointment on motion of Councilor Herring, seconded by Councilor Smith. Motion carried. Other – Mayor Lauzon asked Clerk Dawes to read resolution 2017-05 honoring Councilor Michael Smith as he steps down from the Council. Councilor Herring presented several sentimental gifts to Councilor Smith, noting his tenure on the Council since he was elected at a ward caucus in 2009. Council approved the resolution on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. A framed copy of the resolution was presented to Councilor Smith, along with a hearty round of applause. Round Table – Councilor Smith encouraged everyone to vote tomorrow, and to support the budget. He said Jim Ward is running a write-in campaign for the at-large seat on the Central Vermont Public Safety Authority. He thanked his ward 2 constituents for allowing him to serve. All Councilors encouraged people to get out and vote tomorrow. Councilor Tuper-Giles said he is concerned about the equal rights issue that has been raised with regards to election of Councilors, and he finds it disrespectful to ask people to vote based on gender. Councilor Boutin said he would like an executive session. Mayor Lauzon said he met with the Barre Area Development Corporation board and asked them to re- think economic development in the City. The Mayor asked BADC to form a committee to develop an economic development plan. Mayor Lauzon said he will be presenting new ordinance language next week related to abandoned and foreclosed properties. The Mayor reminded Councilors there is a special Council meeting this Saturday, March 11th at 8:00 AM. It will be an executive session to discuss the City Manager’s performance review. There will be a second such meeting in the near future at which time the Council will discuss the review with Manager Mackenzie. Mayor Lauzon said he would like to invite Councilor Smith and former Councilor Poirier to participate, as they have several years of experience with Manager Mackenzie. 2 To be approved at 03-14-17 Barre City Council Meeting Executive Session – Councilor Boutin made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of the contracts, litigation and personnel issues to be discussed would clearly place the City of Barre at a substantial disadvantage should the discussion be public. The motion was seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 7:44 PM to discuss contracts, litigation and personnel issues under the provisions of 1 VSA sec. 313 on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie was invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 8:45 PM on motion of Councilor Smith, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 8:45 PM on motion of Councilor Herring, seconded by Councilor Smith. Motion carried. An audio recording of this meeting is available from the City Clerk. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 3