City Council

To be approved at 06-27-17 Barre City Council Meeting Special Meeting of the Barre City Council Held June 20, 2017 A Special Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order by Acting Mayor Lucas Herring at 6:00 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 Anita Chadderton. Also present were City Manager Steven Mackenzie and attorney Bernie Lambek. Absent: Mayor Thomas Lauzon, due to conflict of interest. Discussion from Attorney Bernard D. Lambek on State Statute V.S.A. 313 in relation to reasons to go into executive session. It was noted that there would need to be two motions to go into executive session for confidential attorney- client communications, the negotiating or securing of real estate purchase, and records exempt from the access to public records. Executive Session – Motion for "findings" for Legal, Real Estate, and Exempt Records made by Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion passed. Council went into executive session at 6:04 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie and Attorney Lambek invited into executive session. Motion to exit executive session at 6:56 PM by Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. No Action. Motion to adjourn made by Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:57 PM. There is no audio recording of this meeting. Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held June 20, 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 would be adding an item for discussion at the end of the meeting. 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: 1 To be approved at 06-27-17 Barre City Council Meeting o Regular meeting on June 13, 2017  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2017-25:  Accounts Payable: $314,711.68  Payroll (gross): $113,886.25  2017 Licenses & Permits – o Food Vending License  The Candy Van, ice cream truck o Taxicab Vehicle License  Central Vermont Green Cab, 1 vehicle Mayor Lauzon noted the minutes of the June 12, 2017 special meeting were not included in the consent agenda. Clerk Dawes said they are scheduled for approval next week. The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk Dawes reported on the following:  Water & sewer bill payments are due by June 30th. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Chadderton, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. Applicant Address Tender Loving Homecare LLC 15 Ayers Street Arthur & Mary Wissell 58 Country Way Mark & Kimberly Cyr 30 Hill Street Liquor Control – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  Pool painting began today, in hopes that the pool will open this Saturday, June 24th. Visitors & Communications – NONE Old Business – NONE New Business – A) Appointment of Ken Lunde to the Planning Commission. Mr. Lunde expressed his interest in serving on the Planning Commission, and his willingness to devote the necessary time. Council approved the appointment on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. B) Appointment of Mathew Flinn to the Traffic Advisory Committee. Mr. Flinn expressed his interest in serving on the Traffic Advisory Committee, and his willingness to devote the necessary time. Council approved the appointment on motion of Councilor Herring, seconded by Councilor Chadderton. Motion carried. C) Award Miscellaneous Bituminous Concrete Paving Bid. Mayor Lauzon disclosed his personal relationship with one of the bidders, Johnson Paving, and offered to recuse himself from the discussion and vote, at the Council’s pleasure. Hearing no objections, he continued to chair this portion of the agenda. Manager Mackenzie reviewed the memo from Deputy DPW Director Steve Micheli. Two bids were received, and Mr. Micheli recommended awarding the contract to low bidder Johnson Paving. 2 To be approved at 06-27-17 Barre City Council Meeting Council approved the recommendation on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Chadderton. Motion carried. D) Annual adoption of the LEOP including NIMS Certification and Delegation of Authority. Chief Tim Bombardier and Planning Director Janet Shatney reviewed the annual update to the Local Emergency Operations Plan, and recommended Council adopt the update. There was discussion on adding the designated Health Officer to the list of first responders. Chief Bombardier said that change will be made. The Chief will get copies of the updated LEOP to Councilors. Council approved adoption of the LEOP annual update, NIMS certification and delegation of authority as amended, and authorized the Mayor and Manager to sign as appropriate on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Chadderton. Motion carried. E) Award HMGP Buyout Demolition Bids. Ms. Shatney reviewed the list of 4 bids received by the City. She recommended awarding the contract to low bidder Blue Mountain Trucking and Excavation. Manager Mackenzie said Blue Mountain’s bid is under the amount originally budgeted. The Manager said a large portion of the savings is tied to the low amount of asbestos remediation necessary on the demolitions. Council awarded the contract to Blue Mountain Trucking and Excavation on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. F) Award Pool Security Camera Contract. Buildings and Community Services Director Jeff Bergeron reviewed the conditions of the proposal received from Mt. View Security, which would install 6 cameras and a DVR at the municipal pool for security purposes, with expansion capacity in the system. The cost is approximately $4,000. Councilor Boutin said he is opposed to purchasing the equipment when you can buy comparable systems on-line for a lower price. There was discussion on quality and durability of equipment, types of cameras, and customer service. Manager Mackenzie said Mt. View is also offering security oversight for and additional monthly charge. Council approved accepting the security camera and DVR proposal from Mt. View Security, along with the security oversight option add-on, on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried with Councilor Boutin voting against. Mr. Bergeron said repair and sandblasting of the pool is complete and painting began today. The schedule has been hampered by the rainy weather, but the hope is begin filling the pool tomorrow evening and have the pool opening on Saturday, June 24th. Mr. Bergeron thanked ACCUWORX for volunteering their equipment and an operator to clean up the silica sand residue following the sandblasting. Mr. Bergeron said the auditorium floor restoration is being completed, and there will be a photo-up and press coverage at 2PM tomorrow afternoon, should any Councilors care to attend. Mayor Lauzon stepped aside for the following discussion and any actions due to conflict of interest. Acting Mayor Herring chaired. G) Consideration/Acceptance of Real Estate Purchase Options Assignment. Acting Mayor Herring said the assignment of real estate options has been withdrawn, therefore no action on this agenda item is necessary. Councilor Batham said Council received documents by way of the Manager following the Monday, June 12th special Council meeting. Those documents and their possible 3 To be approved at 06-27-17 Barre City Council Meeting release to the public were the topic of discussion during last Tuesday’s executive session, and during another executive session earlier this evening. The Council wishes to make those documents public that are not exempt by statute. Councilor Batham made the motion to authorize Manager Mackenzie, in consultation with attorney Bernie Lambek, to release such documents as are determined to be public based on Council’s discussions during the June 13th and June 20th executive sessions. The motion was seconded by Councilor Higby. Councilor Boutin said the documents are subject to any Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and so there is no need for such authorization. Councilor Higby said she supports making the documents public to share with the community. Council approved the motion as presented with Councilors Tuper-Giles and Boutin voting against. Mayor Lauzon resumed chairing the meeting. H) Approval of Resolution 2017-09: FY18 Tax Anticipation Note documents. Clerk Dawes reviewed the documents from Community Bank. Council approved the resolution on motion of Councilor Herring, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Round Table – Councilor Higby said Barre City and Barre Town have jointly received a Promise Communities Grant in the amount of $200,000. There are eight partner organizations participating in the grant, with the largest portion of funds being used by the Aldrich Library to expand their children’s library programs. Councilor Herring said he wanted to caution the Council about responding to group emails, as it might be a violation of open meeting laws. Councilor Boutin said he wanted to remind the Council that emails are subject to FOIA requests. Councilor Batham said he and Councilor Higby have scheduled a few community engagement events for the Council. The first “Concert with a Councilor” event is tomorrow evening during the concerts in Currier Park. There will be similar opportunities during other concerts this summer, and also “Coffee with a Councilor” events at Espresso Bueno. Mayor Lauzon reviewed his memo on the Vermont Climate Pledge Coalition being created by Governor Scott, the Vermont Mayors Coalition and other municipalities, businesses and organizations throughout the state. The Mayor said he’s looking forward to finding ways to reduce carbon emissions in Barre City, and will be working closely with the Energy Committee. Mayor Lauzon said he remains committed to the projects he outlined during the June 12th special Council meeting. The Mayor said he sees the challenge is to find people with the juice to get the projects done. He said he plans on releasing the information on the real estate options associated with property he owns. Executive Session – Councilor Boutin made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of personnel 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 Herring. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 8:22 PM to discuss personnel and litigation issues under the provisions of 1 VSA sec. 313 on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. 4 To be approved at 06-27-17 Barre City Council Meeting Motion carried. Manger Mackenzie and Human Resources Director Rikk Taft were invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 8:58 PM on motion of Councilor Herring, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 8:59 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 5