City Council

To be approved at 07-10-18 Barre City Council Meeting Special Meeting of the Barre City Council Held June 26, 2018 The Special Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order by Mayor Lucas Herring at 6:00 PM at the Barre City municipal pool. In attendance were: From Ward I, Councilors Sue Higby and Jeffrey Tuper-Giles; from Ward II, Councilor Michael Boutin; and from Ward III, Councilor Richard Morey. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie and Buildings and Community Services director Jeff Bergeron, and BCS assistant director Stephanie Quaranta. Absent: From Ward II, Councilor Brandon Batham; and from Ward III, Councilor John LePage. The Council toured the municipal pool facilities. Mayor Herring adjourned the special meeting at 6:40 PM. There is no recording of the meeting. Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held June 19, 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, Councilor Michael Boutin; and from Ward III, Councilors John LePage (arrived 7:03 PM) and Richard Morey. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie and City Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: From Ward II, Councilor Brandon Batham. 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 Boutin. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Regular meeting of June 19, 2018  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2018-26:  Accounts Payable: $503,500.45  Payroll (gross): $153,755.42  2018 Licenses & Permits – NONE The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes reported on the following:  Water/sewer bills are due by July 2nd.  Tax bills are scheduled to be mailed out mid-July, with the first due date August 15th.  Early absentee voting for the August 14th primary election is available. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Tuper- Giles, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. Applicant Address Florence Perrin, estate 22 Onward Street Spaulding High School (2 permits) 155 Ayers Street David Blosser & Sally Redpath 233 Camp Street Elizabeth Rand 9 Jorgensen Lane 1 To be approved at 07-10-18 Barre City Council Meeting Liquor Control – Clerk Dawes said she received a special event license application for a vendor to set up on N. Main Street during the Heritage Festival. Councilor Tuper-Giles said the location may conflict with the kids’ zone, and he wants to review the location before the application comes to Council for approval. City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  The facilities tour schedule has been finalized and sent to the Councilors.  There is a bike path and sidewalk audit walk this Thursday for the VDH 3/4/50 program.  Street reconstruction is ongoing for the summer, including paving and underground utility work.  Mathewson Playground upgrades have begun.  The Energy Committee will have a booth at Thunder Road’s energy efficiency night.  There is interest in broadcasting the Council meeting live on the Facebook page.  The Traffic Advisory Committee meets tomorrow evening.  City Hall Wi-Fi is up and running. Visitors and Communications – NONE Old Business – NONE New Business – A) Rotary Drawing. Rotary Past President Caroline Earle drew the winning raffle ticket, which had been purchased by Mark Browning Sr. Ms. Earle said the proceeds from the raffle help pay for the Summer Street mural project. B) Council Ratification of BCJC Board Members. Barre Community Justice Center executive director Jeannie McLeod reviewed the list of returning and new board members. Council ratified the list on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. Manage Mackenzie asked Council to approve the BCJC annual grant agreement with the state, which will be placed on next week’s agenda for ratification. Council approved the grant agreement and authorized the Manager to sign on behalf of the City on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. C) Overview of BCS-Recreation Department Functions/Programs. Barre Community Services assistant director Stephanie Quaranta shared her background and experience in recreation management. She said she’s been working for the City since 1987, and described her recreation and cemetery work. There was discussion of recreation programs, the recreation budget, comparisons to other similarly-sized communities, and recreation partnerships with the schools. D) Fund Free Swimming Lessons via Brusa Trust. Ms. Quaranta said the City offers swimming lessons each summer. She said water safety is an important component of the lessons, and listed a number of donations received to fund scholarships. Councilor Higby said she would like to assure that kids who are interested in taking lessons can afford to do so, and that up to $600 of Brusa Trust funds should be used for partial scholarships. Council approved Council Higby’s recommendation on motion of Councilor Higby, seconded by Councilor Tuper- Giles. Motion carried. E) Approval of FY19 Tax Anticipation Note Paperwork. Council approved the documents for the FY19 tax anticipation note from Community Bank on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. 2 To be approved at 07-10-18 Barre City Council Meeting F) Authorization to Execute FY18 Audit Engagement Letter with Sullivan & Powers. Council approved execution of the audit engagement letter and authorized the Manager to sign on behalf of the City on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. H) Authorize Purchase of Water Treatment Facility Filter Media. Public Works Director Bill Ahearn said the filter media needs replacing. Mr. Ahearn said the average life is measured in decades. Staff will do the replacement work to help contain costs. Council authorized the purchase on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. I) Council Approval of Loan Application for WWTF Improvements. Mr. Ahearn said the $17,000 loan would cover costs associated with completing final designs for pending wastewater treatment facilities improvements, including replacement of a digester cover, a methane boiler and the methane flair. The loan is forgivable, provided the improvement work is completed. Council approved submission of the loan application on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. J) Council Approval of Loan Application for Water Distribution System Asset Mgmt. Plan. Mr. Ahearn said this is a similar loan program to that described above. The funds will be used to complete the development of the asset management plan, which will provide a reference system for tracking system failures and quality assurance. The City already received a grant for this program, but by converting the grant into a loan, we will not be required to pay all the costs up front. The loan will be forgiven once work outlined in the management plan begins construction. There was discussion on the daily loss of water through the system, different tools available to detect leaks, and showing cross-sections of damaged pipe to the Council when they tour the facilities. Council approved submission of the loan application on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. K) Discussion of WWTF Improvements Bond Vote in Conjunction with August Primary. Mr. Ahearn said the work outlined in item I above is expected to total approximately $900,000, and the City will be looking for voter approval to bond for that amount. Clerk Dawes said the intention is to hold a special election in conjunction with the August 14th primary. Mr. Ahearn said design plans would be finalized this fall/winter, and bid out in the spring, with construction during the summer 2019 season. The Clerk said the bond paperwork and warning for the special election will come to the Council at the July 10th meeting for approval. L) Discussion on Tax Billing, Setting Municipal Tax Rate, Adjusting Due Dates. Clerk Dawes said now that the legislature has passed a budget, municipalities are expected to receive the education tax rates by early next week. She asked Council to schedule a special meeting on Monday, July 9th at 7:30 AM to set the municipal and local agreement tax rates. Mayor Herring said the meeting will be scheduled as requested. G) Discuss/Establish City Mission Statement. Councilor Tuper-Giles said the Council consensus was that no mission statement is necessary, however there is some interest in adopting a set of core values. Clerk Dawes said a set of values was adopted many years ago by the Danforth Group. Councilor Higby said the marketing consultants working with the Barre Area Development Corporation are drafting phrases that might be appropriate. M) Council Priorities Discussion. Mayor Herring reviewed the list of FY18 priorities that have not been completed, and asked Councilors for 3 To be approved at 07-10-18 Barre City Council Meeting additions:  Include a part-time IT position in the FY20 budget.  Create more parks, green spaces and community gardens throughout the City.  Build connections between the neighborhoods and downtown.  Address vacant and abandoned properties and encourage families to move into the City, in conjunction with other planning and code enforcement issues. This work will begin in the fall after new Fire Chief Doug Brent is on the job.  Review resale shops and statute/charter/ordinance options for regulating.  Review policies, including the bullying policy and the tax stabilization policy.  Adoption of new City Plan in 2019.  Increased neighborhood watches.  Reach out to realtors, mortgage companies, and rental management companies with regards to what information they provide to clients about the City. Round Table – Councilor LePage said last week’s Concert in Currier Park was wonderful. Councilor Tuper-Giles said he is celebrating his fifth wedding anniversary this week. Councilor Morey congratulated the Spaulding High School Class of 2018. Councilor Higby said Capstone Community Action Council offers a number of free workshops for business owners. She said MoveOn Political Action is holding an event this Saturday in support of keeping immigrant families together. The event will begin outside Studio Place Arts at 10AM and continue over to the Depot. Mayor Herring reminded Councilors there is no meeting next Tuesday, July 3rd. He reminded everyone of the Authors and the Aldrich and concert and farmer’s market in Currier Park tomorrow evening, and wished everyone a Happy Independence Day. Executive Session – Councilor Boutin made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of personnel and legal 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 Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 9:18 PM to discuss personnel and legal issues under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie was invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 9:39 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor LePage. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 9:39 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