City Council

To be approved at 06-20-17 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held June 13, 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, Councilor Lucas Herring. Also present were City Manager Steven Mackenzie and Clerk/Treasurer Carolyn Dawes. Absent: From Ward III, Councilor Anita Chadderton. Adjustments to the Agenda: Mayor Lauzon said there will be adjustments to the order of 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 Batham. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Regular meeting on June 6, 2017  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2017-24:  Accounts Payable: $974,906.83  Payroll (gross): $126,186.09  2017 Licenses & Permits – o Taxi Driver License:  Jairo Sequeira, Green Cab The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk Dawes reported on the following:  Working with Assessor’s office to finalize grand list, so Council can set the tax rate the week of July 3rd. Mayor Lauzon tentatively scheduled a Council meeting for Wednesday, July 5th at 7PM.  Water & sewer bill payments are due by June 30th. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Herring, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Applicant Address 61 Country Way LLC 61 Country Way Spruce Mountain Granites & Custom Sandblast Inc. 33 W. Second Street Raymond Bisson 135 Bailey Street 13 Foster LLC 13 Foster Street Amanda Garland 24 Mill Street Joanna Guillette 26 Second Street Liquor Control – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  The responses for the Harrington Avenue demolition RFP are due by the end of the week.  Due to weather delays, the pool will likely not open on its original date of June 19th. The Manager is working with Buildings & Community Services director Jeff Bergeron to set a new opening date, hopefully no later than June 24th.  Meeting tomorrow to discuss security cameras at the pool.  The auditorium floor is being refinished later this month. 1 To be approved at 06-20-17 Barre City Council Meeting  Public Works is striping streets.  VT Youth Conservation Corps is coordinating this summer’s projects with the Cow Pasture Committee. Work is scheduled to begin next week.  Pavement milling continues on the state’s Routes 302 & 14 paving project. Visitors & Communications – NONE Buildings & Community Services recreation director Stephanie Quaranta announced a pool sponsorship program, making it possible for people to sponsor a child at the pool this summer. Donations are being accepted for daily or season passes. Ms. Quaranta said she’s excited about getting the pool opened for the summer, and has a great staff of returning lifeguards and cashiers. New Business – A) Resolution #2017-08 Recognition of the Retirement of Deputy Chief Andrew Marceau. Clerk Dawes read the resolution honoring Deputy Chief Marceau’s 38+ years of service on the Barre City Police Department. Council approved the resolution on motion of Councilor Herring, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Dep. Chief Marceau talked about his career in law enforcement, and his lifetime in Barre City. He received many accolades from those present, and a standing ovation. B) Introduction of Deputy Police Chief Larry Eastman. Chief Tim Bombardier introduced the new Deputy Police Chief, Larry Eastman. Larry has been a long- time member of the Barre City Police Department, most recently as a Detective Corporal, and was selected from a pool of candidates from all over the country. Chief Bombardier introduced the members of this summer’s bike patrol “Bees”, including:  Markie Delude - Norwich University student returning for her 3rd year.  Hunter D’Agostino – Castleton student returning for his 3rd year.  Brock Adams – Spaulding High School senior, 1st year.  Cameron Fennell – Spaulding High School senior, 1st year.  Matt Dailey – St. Leo’s University, 1st year. (unable to attend this evening’s meeting) Mayor Lauzon thanked the Bees for representing the City so well. Other) Mayor Lauzon thanked those who attended yesterday’s special Council meeting and executive session. The Mayor said he has forwarded all materials to the City Manager, along with the real estate options and all intellectual property associated with the projects discussed at yesterday’s meeting. He said due to conflict of interest, he will not participate in further discussions, especially those related to any of the properties he owns, unless asked to do so by the Council. Other) Mayor Lauzon noted the presence of his wife, Karen, in the audience. The Mayor said today is their 30th anniversary, and he thanked her for saying “yes” all those years ago. The Mayor excused himself from the balance of the meeting so he and his wife could celebrate their anniversary. Councilor Herring stepped in to serve as Acting Mayor for the balance of the meeting. E) Preliminary Discussion of Heritage Festival No Smoking Plan. Councilor Batham reviewed the Heritage Festival designated smoking areas map distributed by Barre Partnership executive director Josh Jerome at last week’s meeting, and presented a copy to Chief 2 To be approved at 06-20-17 Barre City Council Meeting Bombardier. There was discussion on the map, designating smoking areas within the festival zones, enforcement of the new ordinance passed at last week’s meeting, the size of the area to be policed, the mix of public and private spaces, and prioritizing public safety issues. Chief Bombardier said his intention is to focus on educating the public, and allowing the festival organizers to be the first point of contact with those smoking within the festival area. There was continued discussion on signage, locations for butt containers at the major entry points to the festival area, developing maps and educational packets for the out-of-town law enforcement personnel who will be working at the festival, designating specific areas as smoke-free, including the kids zone and food areas, and continuing to coordinate with Mr. Jerome. Old Business – A) Approve Proposal for Annual Report Printing Services. Manager Mackenzie reviewed the memo from Human Resources director Rikk Taft, and recommended Council award the contract to low bidder Jet Service Accura Printing. Council approved the award on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. New Business – continued C) Barre Area Development Corporation Update. BADC executive director Joel Schwartz said the historic district update is ongoing. He is working with a state architectural historian to finalize the update. There will be a public hearing on June 27th, followed by 30 days for public comment. Once the update is complete, work can begin on the proposed expansion of the district. Mr. Schwartz said the hope is to expand the district to include several other areas, however, preliminary discussions with the state have indicated they would require the creation of new districts rather than the expansion of the current one. Mr. Schwartz reported on other ongoing projects and programs, including:  Working on a grant application for Community Capital.  Continuing to coordinate efforts with the Barre Partnership and Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation.  Working on the development of an economic development strategy. A draft is expected by the end of the month. The plan will include marketing and branding strategies. Categories include messaging, recruitment, infrastructure and other items. BADC has committed $25,000 to the endeavor.  Exploring options to create a “landing place” – a one-stop website that contains links for various Barre area businesses and institutions. There was discussion on the way BADC receives its funding from Barre City and Barre Town, which is based on reimbursement for expenses. All other organizations that receive funding through the general fund budget get their allocations in full on a quarterly basis. Council was amenable to having a discussion on changing the funding process. D) Affirm Annual Appointment List. Council reviewed the list as presented, and made a few corrections. Council affirmed the list as amended on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Round Table – Councilor Batham asked for an executive session on real estate development. Councilor Tuper-Giles reminded people of the Wednesday evening events in Barre City, and encouraged 3 To be approved at 06-20-17 Barre City Council Meeting people to donate to the swimming pool sponsorship fund. Councilor Higby shared a 1970’s era fire safety coloring book. She said the US Fire Administration website has a lot of similar free materials available, and perhaps the City could make such materials available to children and families in our area. Acting Mayor Herring wished his father and all fathers a Happy Father’s Day this coming Sunday. Executive Session – Councilor Batham made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of real estate development 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 Boutin. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 9:12 PM to discuss real estate development issues under the provisions of 1 VSA sec. 313 on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. Manger Mackenzie was invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 10:05 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 10:06 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. An audio recording of this meeting is available from the City Clerk. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4