City Council

To be approved at 05-08-18 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held May 1, 2018 The Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order by Mayor Lucas Herring 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 John LePage and Richard Morey. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie and City Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Mayor Herring welcomed new Ward 3 Councilor Richard Morey, elected last week at the Ward 3 caucus. Adjustments to the Agenda: Councilor Boutin requested that the ball field naming agenda item be taken up before the naming policy discussion. Mayor Herring said the Green Up Day proclamation will be taken earlier to accommodate those in attendance. Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Regular meeting of April 24, 2018  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2018-18:  Accounts Payable: $154,160.16  Payroll (gross): $125,088.93  2018 Licenses & Permits – o Taxicab Driver:  Benjamin Metzger, Central VT Green Cab  Paul Trapani, Central VT Green Cab The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk Dawes reported on the following:  Fourth quarter property taxes are due by May 15th.  Barre City charter changes bill H.925 was taken up by Senate Finance today.  Green-Up Day bags are available for pick-up in the Clerk’s office. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Applicant Address Heather Duke 51 Patterson Street Liquor Control – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  Council received a workers compensation update memo from HR.  The semi-annual bike path inspections will be conducted later this week or next week.  A tentative police contract agreement was reached at yesterday’s mediation session.  The municipal pool was inspected last week and is expected to open for the season.  Will be setting up a series of department head introductions at Council meetings as part of the on- boarding process, and tours of facilities. 1 To be approved at 05-08-18 Barre City Council Meeting  Yard waste disposal at the Barre Town stump dump is available for the next three weeks. The schedule is posted on the website.  There is a kids’ bike safety rodeo this Saturday beginning at 9AM at the Civic Center parking lot.  There is a neighborhood watch informational meeting at Alumni Hall on May 9th. Visitors and Communications – NONE Old Business – NONE B) Discussion &/or Approval of Naming of Parkside Terrace Ball Field. Councilor Batham made the motion to name the ball field Cornerstone Field, seconded by Councilor LePage. Councilor Batham apologized for leaving last week’s meeting early, and he thanked the Times Argus for its thoughtful editorial on the ball field naming issue in today’s paper. Councilor Higby said it’s important to have a policy in place before naming the field, along with an assessment of the project costs, an understanding of ongoing maintenance, and contamination remediation needs for the field. She said there should be a contract or MOU between the City and involved parties. Councilor Higby said because of these issues she will be abstaining from the vote. Council voted on the motion as presented. Motion carried with Councilor Higby abstaining. A) Discussion &/or Approval of Naming of Barre City Assets Policy. Councilor Higby said she and Councilor Batham developed the draft policy presented to Council, and Mayor Herring also developed a draft policy. She suggested she meet with Mayor Herring and Councilor Batham to review the two drafts and develop a unified draft for discussion. It was suggested that Buildings and Community Services Assistant Director Stephanie Quaranta should be involved due to her years of recreation experience. New Business – F) Mayor Proclamation for Green Up Week. Spaulding High School student Anna Beech, a member of Spaulding Action for the Environment (S.A.F.E.), gave the locations where Green-Up bags can be picked up, and said they would also be available in front of the High School on Saturday. Ms. Beech said people who find needles, sharps or other hazardous materials should call the police department for proper disposal. SHS teacher John Lewis is this year’s Green-Up Day coordinator for Barre. He said there is additional information on the Vermont Green-Up website about disposal of hazardous trash. Clerk Dawes read the proclamation, which was then presented by the Mayor to Ms. Beech. A) Vermont Granite Museum Open House. VGM executive director Scott McLaughlin and board chair Patty Merriam said the museum will hold an opening day celebration this Saturday. There will be music, food, and art, and the new granite entryway sign will be unveiled. C) Review of Council FY18 Priorities. Mayor Herring updated the priorities list, and said it’s time again for the Manager’s review. The Council will work with HR director Rikk Taft on the review. B) Introduction of Employee Portal on City Website. Mr. Taft reviewed the portal on the City website. He said it will contain forms, policies, and training 2 To be approved at 05-08-18 Barre City Council Meeting opportunities, and is still a work in progress. Staff and Councilors will be provided with the login information. D) Overview of Pool Opening and Refurbishment Schedule. Manager Mackenzie reviewed the schedule, and said the pool will have a regular season this year. The hope is construction will be completed early enough next summer for at least a partial season. E) Council Authorization(s) to Sign Warrants. Clerk Dawes suggested Council appoint one or two members to sign warrants on the weeks when there is no Council meeting. Council appointed Mayor Herring and Councilor Boutin as warrant signers on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor LePage. Motion carried. Clerk Dawes said in the past Council has also appointed a member to serve as acting mayor if Mayor Herring is unavailable. Council will discuss this at a later time. Round Table – Councilor Batham congratulated Councilor Morey on his caucus victory. He wished everyone a Happy May Day/International Workers Day. Councilor LePage said in light of recent behavior at Council meetings, he hopes Councilors will hold themselves to better standards. Councilor Tuper-Giles reminded everyone of Saturday’s bike safety rodeo, and said free helmets will be distributed. He said the Spaulding High School Key Club will be doing a fundraiser for Cornerstone Field. Councilor Morey said he is pleased to have joined the Council. Councilor Higby said she attended a Primo Maggio event at the Labor Hall on the Work Project Administration. She said restoration of the bakery behind the Labor Hall is nearing the finish line, and expects to open in the fall. There is a hazardous waste drop off at the Barre Town garage this Saturday. Mayor Herring said Green-Up Day is his favorite holiday. He mentioned the following upcoming events:  May 2nd sharps forum at Capstone  May 14th spoking cessation workshop at Downstreet  May 17th blood drive at Alumni Hall The Mayor said the developer of the proposed Park Center project has offered to update the Council at a future meeting. He also said he met with Congressman Peter Welch to discuss ways the federal government could assist in that project. Executive Session – Councilor Batham made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of a 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 Boutin. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 8:53 PM to discuss a personnel issue under the provisions of 1 VSA sec. 313 on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie was invited into the executive session. 3 To be approved at 05-08-18 Barre City Council Meeting Council came out of executive session at 9:10 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 9:10 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor LePage. Motion carried. An audio recording of this meeting is available from the City Clerk. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4