City Council

To be approved at 02-20-18 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held February 13, 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 Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: Item 10 (C) is deleted, as it was addressed at last week’s meeting. The Mayor said he will rearrange the remaining agenda items to accommodate those in attendance. Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Regular meeting of February 6, 2018  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2018-07:  Accounts Payable: $131,298.21  Payroll (gross): $116,921.70 o Special warrant – wire transfer of funds for purchase of 85 Brook Street: $64,738.00  2018 Licenses & Permits – NONE The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk Dawes reported on the following:  Second quarter taxes are due by February 15th.  Annual Town Meeting ballots have arrived and are available for early voting. The first batch of absentee ballots will go in the mail before the end of the week.  2018 dog licenses are available.  City Hall will be closed on Monday for Presidents’ Day. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permit on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. Applicant Address Alberta Wood LE 40 Bailey Street Liquor Control – Clerk Dawes said 2018 renewal applications have been mailed out. All liquor licenses expire on April 30th. City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  Both boilers in City Hall are on their last legs. They are being nursed along to get through the heating season, with the plan being replace one of them this summer.  All City staff attended respect in the workplace trainings over the past few weeks.  Attended an orientation training on the VTAlerts emergency notification system.  Closed on the purchase of 85 Brook Street yesterday.  The 2017 annual report has been finalized, and should be available next week.  Ambulance revenues appear to be improving.  Working on the mid-year FY18 budget review. 1 To be approved at 02-20-18 Barre City Council Meeting Visitors and Communications – Corey Touchette from Freezing Fun for Families said their snow softball tournament is celebrating its 19th year. The tourney is the weekend of March 2nd. They are also holding their annual fundraiser banquet and silent auction later this month. Mr. Touchette said the mission of the organization is to alleviate stress and financial hardship for families dealing with childhood cancer. They offer voucher programs, grants and financial assistance. The Council thanked Mr. Touchette and the organization for the valuable work they do. New Business – A) Circle and Barre City Police Request Continuation for the Federal Arrest Grant Program. Circle co-executive director Karol Diamond and Chief Tim Bombardier said the City and Circle are long- time partners on federal arrest grants. The current grant expires the end of September, and they are seeking Council authorization to apply for the new grant round. The grant supports efforts addressing domestic violence, and helps fund two part-time investigators and two part-time advocates. The total funds over the three year life of the grant are up to $450,000. Council authorized submittal of the application on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. B) Presentation of Heart Safe Community Plaque. Dan Batsie, chief of Vermont Emergency Medical Services, presented the City with a plaque acknowledging the City has been named a Heart Safe Community for its efforts to improve survival rates associated with heart attacks. Mr. Batsie said the City is a leader with regards to training citizens, distributing defibrillators, and providing access to services. Council thanked Chief Bombardier and Deputy Fire Chief Joe Aldsworth for their efforts on behalf of the community. Old Business – A) Approval of Council Email Policy/Protocol. Council reviewed the policy and protocol distributed and discussed at least week’s meeting. It was decided that Councilor email format should be first initiallastname@barrecity.org. If there are duplications of name among Councilors and City staff, a Councilor’s email address will be modified to include “.council” after the last name. Council asked that a general email address be developed – citycouncil@barrecity.org – and that any email sent to that address would be automatically forwarded to all Councilors, the Manager and Clerk. There was discussion on archiving emails held in individual Councilors’ current email accounts and the frequency of changing passwords. It was decided that passwords should be changed every six months. Council approved the policy as presented and amended on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. New Business – continued C) Approval of Resolutions 2018-02 and 2018-03 re. Adding New Assistant Treasurer to Community Bank Account Signatories. This item was addressed at last week’s meeting. D) Review and Update of Council FY2018 Priorities. Councilor Herring reviewed the list of priorities, and noted those items that have been completed or are still active. Council will review the list again after Town Meeting, and will begin developing the FY19 priorities list. 2 To be approved at 02-20-18 Barre City Council Meeting E) Authorization to Accept “National Association of County and City Health Officials” (NACCHO) Grant for Water Treatment Facility. Manager Mackenzie said the grant will cover the cost associated with replacing the fluoridation equipment at the water treatment facility. There is no required local match. Council accepted the grant on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Herring. Motion carried. Round Table – Councilor Higby said Barre City Elementary and Middle School students will host an art exhibit at the Aldrich Library. She said the Comic Expo is holding its kickoff at Studio Place Arts before its return to the Civic Center. Councilor Herring said he attended the Planning Commission meeting. The PC will be holding its first hearing on the proposed zoning re-writes on March 22nd, and the public is invited to attend and offer comments. He said he attended last weekend’s Winterfest at the VT Granite Museum, and an opioid crisis panel last night. He and Councilor Higby will hold a mayoral candidate discussion at the local cable access TV studio. The discussion will be re-broadcast over the next three weeks. Councilor Boutin said he attended the recent Justice Center board meeting. They are getting ready to conduct an environmental survey in preparation for working on their strategic plan. He also said they are looking for Barre Town representatives to the board. Councilor LePage said Kris Pavek of the BCEMS community garden is still seeking funding for the Pathways to Accessibility project discussed at last week’s meeting. Mayor Lauzon said the project is half way to its goal, and he is hopeful they will meet the challenge to have their fundraising completed by Town Meeting Day. Executive Session – NONE The Council meeting adjourned at 8:34 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. An audio recording of this meeting is available from the City Clerk. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 3