City Council

To be approved at 07-24-18 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held July 17, 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, Councilor 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 Acting Manager/Planning Director Janet Shatney and City Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: From Ward 1, Councilor Sue Higby. Adjustments to the Agenda: Mayor Herring said a discussion on live streaming Council meetings will be added to the end of the new items on the agenda. Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Special meeting of July 9, 2018 o Special meeting of July 10, 2018 o Regular meeting of July 10, 2018  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2018-27:  Accounts Payable: $347,747.97  Payroll (gross): $179,404.79  2018 Licenses & Permits – o Fireworks Permit:  Barre Heritage Festival, July 28, 2018 The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes reported on the following:  Tax bills were mailed yesterday. The first quarter is due by August 15th.  Early absentee voting is available for both the primary and special bond elections being held on August 14th. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. Applicant Address City of Barre 32 Parkside Terrace George Sanders 60 Palmisano Plaza David Raymond 40 Foster Street Kristin & Peter Wells 28 Circle Street Liquor Control –Council approved a special event permit for Dog River Brewery for a co-promotional beer and food event at the Snack Shack, 515 N. Main Street, for Tuesday, July 31st from 4:00 – 8:00 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried with Councilor Boutin abstaining. City Manager’s Report – NONE Visitors and Communications – The Barre Babe Ruth baseball team was in attendance, and honored 1 To be approved at 07-24-18 Barre City Council Meeting with a standing ovation for their recent victory as state champions. Spokesplayer Gabe Dexter said they are headed to the regional championships in Massachusetts later this week, and are fundraising to help cover costs. Manager Dan Kiniry said they have set up a Go Fund Me page, and encouraged people to make donations through the site. The Council wished them well in the regional championships. Old Business – NONE New Business – A) Tick Talk. Resident Bernadette Rose spoke of her 20 years with Lyme Disease. Ms. Rose said it’s a tick-borne disease, and she encouraged people to learn to identify ticks, prevent Lyme disease, recognize symptoms, and educate themselves, their staffs, families and the community. She said there should be signage at all trailheads, and said the City should treat uniforms of staff members who work in environments that could be tick-infested. She gave the City posters, signage, bookmarks, tick identification cards, and a variety of booklets. Councilors thanked Ms. Rose for sharing her expertise and materials. B) Award of Annual Supplies Bids. Public Works Director Bill Ahearn reviewed his memo on recommendations for awarding the annual supplies bids. Councilor Boutin made the motion to approve all low bids, which would exclude the bids for four items as identified in the memo. The motion was seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. There was additional discussion on the four bids in question, with Mr. Ahearn recommending they be included in the motion for approval. The mover and seconder amended their motion to include award of all bids as recommended by Mr. Ahearn, with the exception of the bid received for potassium permanganate. Motion carried. Council and Mr. Ahearn discussed the bids received for potassium permanganate and the differences between foreign and domestic products. Council approved awarding the bid for potassium permanganate as recommended by Mr. Ahearn on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor LePage. Motion carried. C) Council Board and Committee Appointments (Effective July 1, 2018) i. Jessica C. Egerton, Development Review Board, 4-year term. Ms. Egerton told the Council about her interest in serving on the DRB. Council approved her appointment on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. ii. Katrina Pelkey, Development Review Board, 1-year term Ms. Pelkey told the Council about her interest in serving on the DRB. Council approved her appointment on motion of Councilor LePage, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. iii. Romni Palmer, Energy Committee, 2-year term. Ms. Palmer told the Council about her interest in serving on the Energy Committee. Council approved her appointment on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. iv. Maureen Morey, Recreation Committee, 2-year term. Councilor Morey recused himself from the discussion and decision due to conflict of interest. Ms. Morey told the Council about her interest in serving on the Recreation Committee. Council approved the appointment on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor LePage. Motion carried with Councilor Morey abstaining. D) BADC Council Update. Barre Area Development Corporation executive director Joel Schwartz gave an update on recent 2 To be approved at 07-24-18 Barre City Council Meeting activities, including:  Marketing work. Work with the marketing firm is nearing its completion. A brand statement is being finalized, and an overall strategy and unveiling process are being developed. There will be a discussion on funding for implementation, and the marketing plan will be presented to the Barre City Council and Barre Town Selectboard in the near future.  New Market Tax Credits. Continuing to explore why the NMTC shifted from one side of N. Main Street to the other. There has been some interest expressed for a scaled-down version of the Park Center project, which could include a currently-vacant building on N. Main Street.  Reviewing the proposed new zoning ordinances. Will get feedback to the Planning Commission in advance of their presentation to the Council.  Working with the Barre Partnership on downtown vacancies. E) Barre Partnership Council Update. Barre Partnership executive director Josh Jerome gave an update on recent activities, including:  Concerts and Farmer’s Market in Currier Park on Wednesdays. They’ve had good attendance to date, and the Farmer’s Market is growing. They are exploring a pilot location for the Farmer’s Market after the concert series ends; perhaps for up to six weeks in Depot Square.  Walking Tour – received funding from National Life. Have re-scaled the project to include four placards to be located throughout the City, in conjunction with a brochure.  Granite City 5K is scheduled for Saturday, November 3rd. It will be held the same day as the Veteran’s Day parade and the state Boy Scouts Jamboree.  Music Series – looking to develop a series of performances in City Hall Park; possibly every Friday in September.  Heritage Festival is coming up the end of the month. Still looking for volunteers for the weekend, including “waste warriors” to help separate recyclables and compost from the waste stream. Council will designate the Festival as a non-smoking event at next week’s meeting.  The downtown wifi lost a hot spot after the fire at L&M Diner earlier this year. This has impacted the ability to track pings to the system. The Partnership and City will need to explore rebuilding and relicensing the system in the near future. F) Parking Team Utilization Survey Briefing. Acting Manager/Planning Director Janet Shatney reviewed a handout of all City parking lots and their average usage rates. Ms. Shatney said the information gleaned from her semi-annual parking lot census counts helps the Parking Team manage parking lot usage and meter placement. Added) Live Streaming Council Meetings. The Mayor reminded Councilors to have discussions in public forums, and that discussions held via email are violations of the Vermont Open Meeting laws. There was discussion on streaming Council meetings through the City website or Facebook page, costs involved, moral considerations for using Facebook, other social media platforms, maintaining control and managing comments, and possible integration with the current broadcast system. Round Table – Councilor Morey thanked the Recreation Department for the recent Wicked Cool science camp, and great swimming lessons. He said he and his family are excited for the Heritage Festival next weekend. Councilor Batham said he supports the UVM nurses in their recent strike and labor negotiations. Councilor LePage said receiving “thank you for your service” messages from constituents is wonderful. 3 To be approved at 07-24-18 Barre City Council Meeting Councilor Boutin said he is working on revisions to Chapter 11. Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions. He said he will review the changes with the Clerk before bringing them to Council for consideration. Mayor Herring reported on the following:  Working with the Rec Department on developing an on-line swimming lessons registration form.  Toured OUR House on Summer Street.  Reminded people to support the Babe Ruth baseball team through their Go Fund Me page.  Announced that Spaulding High School is looking for mentors for their football players.  Central Vermont Public Safety Authority is holding its second listening session Thursday, July 19th in Montpelier. Executive Session – Councilor Boutin made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of personnel 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 LePage. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 9:55 PM to discuss personnel issues under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Brandon, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. Council came out of executive session at 10:00 PM on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 10:00 PM on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. An audio recording of this meeting is available from the City Clerk. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4