City Council

To be approved at 03-05-18 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held February 27, 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, Councilor John LePage. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie and City Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: From Ward III, Councilor Lucas Herring. Adjustments to the Agenda: Mayor Lauzon adjusted the order of 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 Boutin. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Regular meeting of February 13, 2018  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2018-09:  Accounts Payable: $335,906.64  Payroll (gross): $119,152.56  2018 Licenses & Permits – o Taxi Driver License:  Daron Neal Guy, Central VT Green Cab The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk Dawes reported on the following:  Early absentee voting available for the March 6, 2018 Annual Town Meeting election. Polls at the auditorium will be open from 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM on March 6th.  2018 dog licenses are available.  City Council will hold its meeting next week on Monday, March 5th. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Applicant Address Bashara Paramount Theater LLC 237 N. Main Street Winston Franklin Steijger 57 Hill Street City of Barre 6 N. Main Street Liquor Control – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  The federal arrest grant application has been submitted. Results will be reported this fall.  The energy audit contract has been signed.  Information about Annual Town Meeting ballot items are in the election section of the website. Visitors and Communications – Barre City Elementary and Middle School student Julia Boltin, the official spokesperson for the Pathways for Accessibility project in the BCEMS community garden, addressed the Council about the garden and the accessibility project. Mayor Lauzon said Ms. Boltin is an inspiration to him and the community. Karen Lauzon presented Ms. Boltin with funds raised to support the project, and gardening supplies for her summer gardening. Ms. Boltin said she plans on shoveling, raking and growing flowers this summer. The Council and those in 1 To be approved at 03-05-18 Barre City Council Meeting attendance thanked Ms. Boltin and project coordinator Kris Pavek for their work on the community garden and the accessibility project. Mayor Lauzon noted this is his last regularly scheduled Council meeting, and he thanked Ms. Lauzon for her support through his years of service as Mayor. Barre City Representative Paul Poirier said after the recent Florida school shooting, and the incident in Fair Haven, Vermont, he is looking for community input with regards to gun safety. Rep. Poirier said the legislature is considering bills that would allow guns to be confiscated while legal cases are being adjudicated, and there will be future discussions on raising the age to purchase certain guns, confiscation of guns in incidents of domestic violence, storage of confiscated guns, and limits on magazine sizes. He will hold a public forum/listening session on March 20th at 5:30 PM, with the location to be finalized. Rep. Poirier thanked Mayor Lauzon for his years of service to the community. He said Mayor Lauzon has been an outstanding Mayor, and has made the community a better place. New Business – A) Review of Summer 2018 Streets/Sidewalk Program. Director of Public Works Bill Ahearn reviewed the list of streets scheduled for work this summer, including those that are part of the end of the FY18 paving budget, and those that are part of the beginning of the FY19 paving budget. Mr. Ahearn also reviewed the list of streets to be paved if the Local Options Tax charter change is approved on Town Meeting Day. He said many of the streets on the schedule also have subsurface infrastructure water or sewer system work to be done at the same time. There was discussion on the damage to equipment caused by streets in disrepair, ways of addressing potholes, crack sealing, sidewalk work to bring intersections into ADA compliance, implementation of a vegetation management plan, and re-paving sections of pathways in Currier Park. Mr. Ahearn displayed a map showing the locations of streets to be paved over the next five years. Manager Mackenzie said the map is posted in the election section on the City website. B) Update on Workers Compensation Program Management. Human Resources Director Rikk Taft reviewed ongoing progress on the Workers Compensation program. Mr. Taft said he is working closely with staff and the safety committee to explore ways to reduce WC claims. The City is applying for grants to allow for the purchase of assistive equipment to make certain tasks safer. Mr. Taft is also working with PACIF to review the City’s property & casualty insurance coverage, with an eye towards making some cost-saving changes. He is pulling together information to create and RFP for insurance services to be issued this summer. There was discussion on creating incentives for employees to participate in fitness programs, and creating a culture of fitness and safety. Old Business – A) FY2019 Municipal Budget Review. B) Capital Bond Ballot Item Review. C) Municipal Pool Refurbishment Bond Review. Manager Mackenzie gave his PowerPoint presentations on the budget and bond items. D) Local Options Tax Presentation. Mayor Lauzon gave his PowerPoint presentation on the Local Option Tax charter change ballot question. 2 To be approved at 03-05-18 Barre City Council Meeting New Business – continued C) Vermont Community Loan Fund Mortgage Acknowledgement. Mayor Lauzon said the VT Community Loan Fund has asked the City to sign an acknowledgement letter associated with the assignment of the Studio Place Arts loan. The Mayor said he confirmed with the Loan Fund that they want the City to sign the letter, regardless of the fact that the City assigned the loan to Community Capital of Vermont in 2014. Council authorized the Manager to sign the acknowledgement letter on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried with Councilor Higby abstaining. Round Table – Councilors encouraged people to vote on the Annual Town Meeting ballot, either early, absentee or in person on March 6th. Councilor Batham said he’s sent out a letter to Ward 2 residents about his first year on the Council. Councilor LePage said the City should pay attention to the currently inactive North Barre outdoor rink. Councilor Boutin said he spent Saturday in strategic planning with the Community Justice Center. Councilor Tuper-Giles said, speaking as the president of the Barre Partnership, he is disappointed in Central VT Chamber of Commerce president Bill Moore’s recent editorial, in which he encouraged people to travel to Berlin rather than patronize Barre City merchants. Councilor Higby said the library is preparing for a fundraising event, and the Rotary Club is organizing a team to work on the wall mural on Summer Street. Mayor Lauzon said once he is no longer Mayor, he will be approaching the City for parking accommodations and property tax stabilization for his redevelopment of the Reynolds House on S. Main Street. Executive Session – Councilor Boutin made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of the personnel issue 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 Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 9:36 PM to discuss a personnel issue under the provisions of 1 VSA sec. 313 on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie was invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 9:50 PM on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 9:50 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 3