City Council

To be approved at 01-30-18 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held January 25, 2018 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 Lucas Herring and John LePage. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie and City Clerk/Treasurer Carolyn Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: NONE Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried with Councilor Higby abstaining.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Special meeting of January 13, 2018 o Regular meeting of January 16, 2018 o Special meeting of January 20, 2018  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2018-04:  Accounts Payable: $289,169.85  Payroll (gross): $131,923.52  2018 Licenses & Permits – o Food Establishment Licenses:  Basil’s Pizzeria, 20 S. Main Street  Simply Subs, o Food Takeout Licenses:  Bella Campo, 131 S. Main Street o Entertainment Licenses:  Studio Place Arts, single event on April 20, 2018  Barre Partnership, covers all annual events o Taxicab Service Operator’s & Vehicle Licenses:  Central VT Green Cab, one vehicle The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk Dawes reported on the following:  2018 dog licenses are available.  Second quarter taxes are due by February 15th.  Information is posted on the City website regarding offices up for election at the Annual Town Meeting on March 6, 2018. The deadline for nominating petitions is January 29th.  Accepting early absentee ballot requests for all elections being held this year. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permit on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Applicant Address CWP Condo 15 Blackwell Street Ryan & Ashley Dunlea 185 Camp Street Liquor Control – Council approved a BYOB request for a birthday party at the Old Labor Hall on February 9th on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried with Councilor Boutin abstaining. 1 To be approved at 01-30-18 Barre City Council Meeting City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  Pierre Couture has given notice he will not be renewing his lease on the Wheelock building. Others have expressed interest.  Attended the Barre Area Development Corp. kick-off session with marketing firm Imagination Co.  Completed repair and reprogramming work on traffic and pedestrian crossing signals.  Received word from EPA that the Enterprise Aly grant has been closed out.  Staff has recommended a montage of playground photos for the cover of the annual report. Visitors and Communications – Resident Chris Riddell announced he is running for the Ward 2 Council seat up for election at the March 6th Annual (Town) Meeting. He said he is concerned about finding ways to hold property owners responsible for the condition of their property, creating ordinances to raise standards, and encouraging use of tax stabilization agreements. Family Center co-executive director Joe Ferrada requested Council place their funding request of $3,500 on the Annual (Town) Meeting ballot. Mr. Ferrada said they had submitted an application, but when contacted by Clerk Dawes about missing attachments, Mr. Ferrada was out of the country and unable to access his voicemail. He received the message upon returning, but the deadline for final submission had passed, and the Clerk had informed him that the Family Center’s application was denied. Council approved adding the $3,500 request to the ballot on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. Old Business – NONE New Business – B) First Public Hearing 7:15 – Proposed Charter Changes. Mayor Lauzon opened the public hearing at 7:43 PM and invited comments and questions from the Council and those in attendance. Clerk Dawes reviewed the two proposed charter changes:  Authorization to implement a Local Option Tax (LOT), and  Changes to the City Manager’s purchasing authority. Barre Partnership executive director Josh Jerome said he surveyed their membership and found that 63% of the members said the proposed Local Option Tax would not affect their businesses, however most food establishments were against it. Mr. Jerome said he spoke with other communities that have an LOT and was told there was no effect on local business. There was discussion on a proposal on allocation of the funds raised by the proposed LOT, with consideration given to allocating it to streets and sidewalks and/or marketing efforts for the City. Councilor Herring made the motion to approve the language for both proposed charter changes as presented, with the LOT funds being designated for streets and sidewalks. The motion was seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Councilor Batham made a motion to amend by designating the LOT funds to streets and sidewalks (75%) and marketing efforts (25%). The motion to amend died for lack of a second. Council voted on the original motion as made. Motion carried. Mayor Lauzon closed the public hearing at 8:18 PM. A) Discussion and Approval of Coin Drop Request by Barre Figure Skating Club. Council approved the request for a coin drop on October 6th on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. 2 To be approved at 01-30-18 Barre City Council Meeting C) Approval of Resolution #2018-01 and Declaration of Official Intent Related to Proposed Annual Meeting Bond Votes. Council approved the resolution and declaration on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. D) Approval of Annual (Town) Meeting Warning. Mayor Lauzon reviewed the draft warning as amended by addition of the funding request for the Family Center, which added another article to the ballot, and increased the budget amount. Norwich professor and Berlin selectboard member Jeremy Hanson said Barre City is one of 13 central Vermont municipalities including the communications union district on their Town Meeting ballots. Council approved the warning as amended on motion of Councilor Herring, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. Other) Mayor Lauzon said he will present a draft ordinance next week on licensing marijuana cultivation and storage. There was a brief discussion on public access to information collected on applications. Round Table – Councilor Higby said Studio Place Arts has three new exhibits opening next week. Councilor Tuper-Giles reminded people not to park on the sidewalks. He encouraged people to support the Local Option Tax, which would fund street and sidewalk improvements in the neighborhoods. Councilor Herring said the recently renovated and expanded Members Advantage Credit Union held its open house earlier this week. He said the Peewee Blades hockey team is playing tomorrow, and the Boy Scouts monument committee is meeting in early February to consider additional fundraising options. Councilor Boutin said he attended a Justice Center meeting at which there were changes made to the draft memorandum of understanding between the Center and the City. The amended MOU should be coming to the Manager in the new future for execution. He said marijuana laws need to be corrected on the federal level. Councilor LePage said the idea of investing in marketing is a good one, and should be considered in the future. He announced the Central Vermont Seed Swap to be held at the Presbyterian Church the last Saturday in February. Councilor Batham said the Washington County Democrats caucused last weekend and compiled a list of three candidates for gubernatorial appointment to fill the vacant state’s attorney seat until the next election. The three candidates are Rory Thibault, Ashley Hill and Steve Cradock. He said he is attending the AFL-CIO conference at the Labor Hall this weekend, and he will not be here for next week’s meeting. Executive Session – NONE The Council meeting adjourned at 8:48 PM on motion of Councilor Herring, 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 3