City Council

To be approved at 05-02-17 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held April 25, 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, Councilors Sue Higby and Jeffrey Tuper-Giles; from Ward II, Councilors Brandon Batham and Michael Boutin; and from Ward III, Councilors Anita Chadderton and Lucas Herring. Also present were City Manager Steven Mackenzie and Clerk/Treasurer Carolyn Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: Mayor Lauzon said he will be rearranging the agenda to accommodate those in attendance. Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Regular meeting on April 18, 2017  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2017-17:  Accounts Payable: $591,008.41  Payroll (gross): $109,852.19  2017 Licenses & Permits – o Food Vending License:  Southern Smoke Food LLC, April 28th from 5:00 – 8:00 PM at the Auditorium. New Business – D) Presentation/Review of FY 16 Audit(s). Randall Northrop from Corrette and Associates reviewed the FY16 audit results and the internal controls report. There was discussion on establishing a fiscal year cutoff for expenses of 90 days, review of the findings and City actions to correct. A) Appointment of Starr LeCompte to the Cemetery Committee. Starr Parnigoni LeCompte expressed her interest in serving on the Cemetery Committee and her history growing up in Barre City. Council approved her appointment on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Chadderton. Motion carried. Visitors & Communications – Resident Roger Otis thanked the Mayor for all he’s done for the community. The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk Dawes reported on the following:  Fourth quarter property taxes are due by May 15th.  Letters have gone out to owners of unlicensed dogs. They will have 30 days to get the dogs licensed before the list is turned over to the Animal Control Officer for enforcement.  BCEMS & SHS budget re-vote is May 9th. Early absentee ballots available in the clerk’s office.  Unclaimed property for 2015 will be submitted to the Vermont Treasurer’s office by the end of the week. The City is turning $234.41 over to the Unclaimed Property division representing 162 entries averaging $1.45 each. These are primarily overpayments received for property tax and/or water/sewer bills.  Charter changes approved by the voters on Town Meeting Day have been voted out of House Government Operations and will be taken up by the full House tomorrow. 1 To be approved at 05-02-17 Barre City Council Meeting Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. Applicant Address Margaret English & Steven Rich 43 Lewis Street Neal & Leisa Laybourne 52 Palmisano Plaza Nancy Bouffard 41 Merchant Street Robert Brown & Lisa Romain-Brown 18 Willey Street Gloria Shirlock 44 Palmisano Plaza Seventy-Four South Main Street Ltd. Co 160 S. Main St Thomas Kyle & Katherine Bramhall 25 Colby Street Gary & Sheila Jones 28 Farwell Street Liquor Control – Council approved the following license renewals on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried with Councilor Boutin abstaining. Establishment Address License Maria’s Bagels 162 N. Main Street 1st class New Business – continued C) Foster/Adoption/Permanency Presentation by LUND. Mark Simon from Lund Family Center and Project Family, and Christina Pollard from VT Department of Children and Families talked about their programs that seek permanent homes for children who have been removed from their families. There was discussion on support networks and training for foster parents, follow- up on children who age out of the system, average time from removal to permanent placement or reunification, average number of children in custody, and the recent rise in the number of younger children in custody due to increased drug abuse. Ms. Pollard said May is National Foster Care Month. Mayor Lauzon suggested collaborating with public access television to help raise awareness. City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  Received 10 applications for the Deputy Police Chief position.  Began work with VLCT on the Director of Public Works search.  Providing inspections for homes near the Gunner’s Brook flood mitigation project areas to ensure no damage caused by driving piles for the new trash racks.  Spring yard waste drop off/pick up schedules will be posted on the website starting tomorrow.  Thunder Road car show and parade this Saturday.  Notified the City will receive $100,000 downtown grant in support of finalizing development of the Keith Avenue parking lot. Old Business – A) Nine Month Budget Status Report. Manager Mackenzie reviewed the nine month report and projected year end numbers. The Manager said the estimated year-end surplus is $54,000. New Business – continued B) Funding Authorization for VT Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC). Mayor Lauzon said due to the estimated FY17 year-end surplus, he recommended Council approve $15,000 out of the FY17 budget be used for this summer’s VYCC team. The Mayor said if the surplus does not materialize, the general fund can be reimbursed from the Semprebon Annuity. Council approved the Mayor’s recommendation on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. Mayor Lauzon said the Council might spend an afternoon working with the VYCC team. Councilor Higby said there should be a call out to local organizations for projects in case the team’s work schedule needs to be fleshed out. 2 To be approved at 05-02-17 Barre City Council Meeting E) Authorization of ATC Contract for Basement Sealing at 214 No. Main St. Manager Mackenzie said the VT Agency of Natural Resources has asked the City to seal the basement of the Wheelock building as an addendum to the Enterprise Aly ongoing mitigation and monitoring. The cost of the sealing will be covered out of insurance set-aside funds. Council approved authorization of the contract on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Chadderton. Motion carried. Round Table – Councilor Batham announced the following:  Street paving has begun. Please drive carefully in construction areas.  The Cow Pasture Committee is holding Green Up in the cow pasture on May 6th.  The library Spring Fling fundraiser is May 6th.  Please vote on the school budgets on May 9th.  Barre Town voters are encouraged to support the library when they go to the polls on May 9th. Councilor Higby announced the following:  Studio Place Arts is hosting a pop-up exhibit hosted by Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District.  This is “fun-raising” season; there are events being held for Primo Maggio, the library and SPA. Mayor Lauzon announced the following:  At next week’s meeting Council will receive the Manager’s response to the recent evaluation. A special meeting will be scheduled to review the responses with the Manager.  Requested that the foreclosed and abandoned property ordinance be on next week’s agenda.  Requested that the no smoking ordinance be on next week’s agenda. Executive Session - Councilor Batham made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of labor negotiations, property and litigation 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 8:40 PM to discuss labor negotiations, property and litigation issues under the provisions of 1 VSA sec. 313 on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. Manger Mackenzie was invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 9:13 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 9:14 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. An audio recording of this meeting is available from the City Clerk. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 3