City Council

To be approved at 08-22-17 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held August 15, 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 the agenda may be adjusted based on who is in attendance when an agenda item comes up for consideration. 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 August 8, 2017  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2017-33:  Accounts Payable: $413,284.81  Payroll (gross): $120,429.23  2017 Licenses & Permits – o Commercial Swimming Pool:  Quality Inn, 173 S. Main Street The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk Dawes reported on the following:  First quarter property taxes were due by today, with additional payments expected to be received by mail over the next few days.  There are 6 properties scheduled for tax sale on September 7th. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. Applicant Address Greg D’Agostino 210 Merchant Street Global Values VT LLC 19 S. Front Street Liquor Control – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  Municipal swimming pool is closing this Thursday, and staff will begin investigating the leak. The season-end structural inspection will be done next week, and will serve as a baseline for next spring’s inspection and possible opening of the pool.  Attended a coordination meeting at Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission to discuss regional storm sewer mitigation projects, several of which are in Barre City.  Reminded Councilors of the upcoming Municipal Day in Montpelier on September 15th, and the VLCT Town Fair at Killington on October 5th. Visitors & Communications – NONE 1 To be approved at 08-22-17 Barre City Council Meeting Old Business – A) Boy Scout Community Wide Yard & Sidewalk Sale. Mayor Lauzon noted Pierre Couture was not present yet. Councilor Herring, who serves on the Barre Partnership board, said the Partnership has not reached a decision on allowing the event to fall under its entertainment license. The Mayor said this agenda item will be deferred until Mr. Couture arrives. New Business – A) Rotary Summer St. Wall Mural Project – Briefing & Authorization. Mayor Lauzon noted Caroline Earle was not present yet. The Mayor said this agenda item will be deferred until Ms. Earle arrived. B) Council Discussion – City Support of the Arts. Barre Opera House board members Bob Pope and Bill Koch, along with executive director Dan Casey were present. Clerk Dawes reviewed her memo outlining City support of the Barre Opera House (BOH), as was requested by Council at the July 18th meeting. The Clerk said her calculation of the out-of-pocket costs to the taxpayers for support of the Opera House is $10,000 - $12,000 per year. She said that is made up of the BOH portion of heating expenses, and the cost of parking permits provided to the BOH staff. Councilor Higby said the report should include information about square footage, verbal and written lease agreements over the years, and calculations related to in-kind support. She said she will submit an addendum to the report. Mayor Lauzon spoke of the value of the leasehold improvements made by the BOH. Mr. Pope said the City and BOH have had a good partnership for 35 years. Mayor Lauzon said the community is fortunate to have such rich and well-run arts organizations as the Opera House, Granite Museum and Studio Place Arts. Councilor Higby asked that a future agenda include further discussion on enhancing public support of arts and cultural organizations. Mr. Casey handed out packets of information about the upcoming BOH season. Old Business – continued A) Boy Scout Community Wide Yard & Sidewalk Sale. Mayor Lauzon noted that Mr. Couture had arrived. Mr. Couture said he had a map of the proposed sidewalk sales locations along North Main Street for the August 26-27 event. He said he had not yet been able to secure authorization from the Barre Partnership about operating under its entertainment license. Mayor Lauzon said Mr. Couture would return next week with the map and authorization. If the authorization is not possible, Mr. Couture will need to submit an entertainment license application and an umbrella vendor license application for Council approval. New Business - continued A) Rotary Summer St. Wall Mural Project – Briefing & Authorization. Mayor Lauzon noted Caroline Earle had arrived. Ms. Earle introduced herself as president of the Barre Rotary Club. She said the Club is interested in taking on the Summer Street wall as a legacy mural project. They would raise the funds necessary to create a mural in that location, and would provide ongoing cleaning, maintenance and decennial re-painting. There was discussion on repairs needed to the wall, working with Spaulding High School students on the project, the 6-12 month timeline, fundraising & permitting, and removing the current mural. Mayor Lauzon said he supports the project and is comfortable giving the Rotary Club free reign over content. The Mayor requested Ms. Earle come back with more information about funding and design. 2 To be approved at 08-22-17 Barre City Council Meeting Other) Mayor Lauzon distributed and reviewed his memo noting that the Barre City Department of Public Safety recently initiated a Heightened/Proactive Public Notification process and protocol in response to a high risk / not-treatment-compliant sex offender being released from Department of Corrections custody into the Barre community. There was discussion on options for those coming out of custody, including circle of support and accountability (COSA) teams and treatment programs. C) Review and Discussion of Draft Community Fund Program, guidelines and application. Clerk Dawes reviewed the draft guidelines and application. The Clerk said the next steps are for the Council to create the CF committee, and appoint members. She suggested six citizens and one Councilor, with her serving as staff to the committee. Council will also need to designate the amount of money in the fund for FY19, and suggested that amount equal the total amount of voter-approved appropriations included in the FY18 budget. Additionally, the Council will need to review the current Funding Request Policy, which will likely be canceled and replaced with the program. There was discussion on conflicts of interest among committee members, whether committee meetings should be public or private, and outreach to those organizations currently receiving funding to inform them of the changes as they go into effect. The Clerk will come back next week with a draft of a committee description and timeline. Round Table – Several Council members attended the VT Youth Conservation Corps gathering at the library this evening. Councilor Chadderton said she will be moving to Maine in the near future, and expects to be leaving the Council by October 1st. She expressed her appreciation to the citizens of Barre. Councilor Herring offered best wishes to Councilor Chadderton and her family. He reminded the Council of tomorrow evening’s special meeting to discuss priorities, and of the solar eclipse this coming Monday. Councilor Tuper-Giles wished Councilor Batham a happy birthday, which was yesterday. He said he has been having conversations with citizens who are in support of constructing a year-round recreational facility to replace the municipal pool. Councilor Higby said the Barre Promise Community organizations are entering their fall activities on the Facebook page, and recommended people check it out. She also encouraged people to love their neighbors. Mayor Lauzon said he rode a train from Montpelier to Barre earlier today, and there is an effort being made to create a commuter rail running between Barre, Montpelier, Waterbury and Burlington are part of the net zero communities initiatives. Executive Session – Councilor Boutin made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of 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 Chadderton. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 8:45 PM to discuss personnel issues under the provisions of 1 VSA sec. 313 on motion of Councilor Chadderton, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. Manger Mackenzie, Chief Tim Bombardier, and Human Resources Director Rikk Taft were invited into 3 To be approved at 08-22-17 Barre City Council Meeting the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 9:38 PM on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 9:39 PM on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. An audio recording of this meeting is available from the City Clerk. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4