City Council

To be approved at 08-07-18 Barre City Council Meeting Special Meeting of the Barre City Council Held July 31, 2018 The Special Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order by Mayor Lucas Herring at 6:00 PM at Barre City Wastewater Treatment Facility. In attendance were: From Ward I, Councilors Sue Higby and Jeffrey Tuper-Giles; from Ward II, Councilor Michael Boutin; and from Ward III, Councilor John LePage. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie, Director of Public Works Bill Ahearn, and Assistant DPW Director Steve Micheli. Absent: From Ward II, Councilor Brandon Batham; and from Ward III, Councilor Rich Morey. Councilors were given a tour of the facility. Meeting adjourned at 6:50 PM. There is no audio recording of this meeting. Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held July 31, 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 and Richard Morey. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie (arrived 7:10 PM) 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 Morey. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Regular meeting of July 24, 2018  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2018-31:  Accounts Payable: $378,453.28  Payroll (gross): $117,578.51 o Approval of Special Community Development Warrant: $3,179.00 from Summer Street Apartments implementation grant IG-2013-Barre City-00015. Funds to cover grant portion of FY17 single audit expenses.  2018 Licenses & Permits – o Entertainment License:  First Baptist Church event in City Hall Park, September 1st from 1 PM – 9 PM. Approval includes conditions that no liquids, oil, candles, food or drink are used around the Youth Triumphant Memorial. The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes reported on the following:  First quarter taxes are due by August 15th. More than 80 revised bills are being issued this week. 1 To be approved at 08-07-18 Barre City Council Meeting We anticipate additional revisions from the VT Department of Taxes between now and November 1st.  Early absentee voting is available for both the primary and special bond elections on August 14th. Approval of Building Permits – NONE Liquor Control – NONE Manager Mackenzie arrived during the following. Visitors and Communications – Boy Scout Ethan Asselin gave a Powerpoint presentation on his Eagle Scout project mapping all of Barre City’s fire hydrants. The list of hydrants included GPS locations and detailed maintenance needs. Mr. Asselin said he worked on the project from September 2017 to June 2018, with help from his troop and family, and mentorship from Deputy Fire Chief Joe Aldsworth. Deputy Chief Aldsworth said the data will be tied into the active E911 mapping system. Public Works Director Bill Ahearn said the data will also be used to create a new layer in the GIS mapping. Mr. Ahearn said Mr. Asselin’s work will allow his department to make efficient and effective repairs to the hydrants, and is a gift to the City. Steve Restelli said work is coming along on the Boy Scout monument, which is scheduled to be installed in Depot Square in early November. Fundraising continues, and the opportunity to have a sponsored cobblestone for the base area is open until the end of this week. The application for sponsorship can be found on their website or facebook page. Old Business – NONE New Business – A) Civic Committee Volunteer Appointments: i. Chrysta Daniels to the Dog Park Committee. Chrysta Daniels expressed her interest in serving on the committee. Council approved the appointment on motion of Councilor LePage, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. ii. Janell Perry to the ADA Committee. Janell Perry expressed her interest in serving on the committee. Council approved the appointment on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. B) Overview of Wastewater Treatment Functions. Mr. Ahearn said the City has 47 miles of sanitary sewer lines. Most of the system is more than 50 years old. The system is currently running at approximately 45% of capacity, so can support additional growth. Mr. Ahearn described the process of turning sewage into river water, and said the City has a track record of returning extremely clean water to the Stevens Branch. Current budgets and rates do not meet the continuing needs for ongoing repairs and replacement. The intention is to review the needs and recommend budget and rate changes going forward. There was discussion on the $900,000 bond question going before the voters at the August 14th special election. The bond will cover replacement of three pieces of equipment: a digester cover, a boiler, and the methane flare. There was also discussion on the City’s extremely low phosphates levels, the effects of flooding on efficiency of the facility, and callouts for service during the year. Mr. Ahearn said the successful operations of the facility are due to the staff, especially Assistant DPW Director Steve Micheli and plant manager Joe Rouleau. 2 To be approved at 08-07-18 Barre City Council Meeting C) Request Approval to Award Miscellaneous Paving Bid. Mr. Ahearn said the City received two bids, and recommended Council award the contract to low bidder Johnson Paving. Council awarded the contract as recommended on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. D) Review of Proposed Charter Change Language. Clerk Dawes reviewed the draft language. Manager Mackenzie noted some grammatical changes that need to be made. The Clerk and Manager will make the changes. No other edits were suggested. The language will come to the Council at its August 13th meeting for approval. E) Warn Public Hearings for Proposed Charter Changes to be Considered at November General Election. Clerk Dawes reviewed the statutory timeline requirements for charter changes, and suggested dates for warning and holding the public hearings. Council will set the warnings at its August 28th meeting. The first public hearing will be held on October 2nd. F) Ratification of FY19 Propane Contract with Irving Oil Company. Manager Mackenzie reminded the Council it authorized the Manager, Mr. Ahearn and Buildings and Community Services director Jeff Bergeron to monitor pricing for propane and fuel oil, and finalize a contract when they believe the prices are at their most advantageous levels. The Manager reviewed the propane price from Irving Oil and asked the Council to ratify the contract. Council approved ratification on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. G) Ratification of FY19 Fuel Oil Contract with Dead River Company. Manager Mackenzie reviewed the fuel oil price from Dead River and asked the Council to ratify the contract. Council approved ratification on motion of Councilor Morey, seconded by Councilor Tuper- Giles. Motion carried. City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  The RFP for workers comp and insurance options for calendar year 2019 will be released soon.  Interviews for a new executive assistant are taking place over the next week. Current executive assistant Nick Landry’s last day is this Friday, August 3rd.  The annual road pitch event is at the Vermont Granite Museum tomorrow afternoon. Round Table – All Councilors spoke highly of this past weekend’s Heritage Festival, and thanked all the organizers and volunteers who made it happen. Councilor Higby said October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and she encouraged men and women to take care of themselves and get mammograms. Councilor Boutin said Youth Triumphant is not a playground or jungle gym, and people should remember it’s a memorial. Councilor LePage said he spoke with a resident of the Good Samaritan Haven who is having trouble accessing services. Manager Mackenzie suggested Councilor LePage direct the person to speak with the City’s community outreach officer, who works out of the police station. Manager Mackenzie said with regards to Youth Triumphant, they are exploring installation of additional signage. The Manager spoke of damage to the memorial, and also damage to one of the granite benches 3 To be approved at 08-07-18 Barre City Council Meeting in Currier Park. There was discussion on signage and cameras, and it was asked that the item be placed on the August 13th agenda for further discussion. Mayor Herring said the VT Agency of Natural Resources has designated this as Clean Water Week. He thanked Mr. Landry for his service as executive assistant to the City Manager. Executive Session – Councilor Boutin made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of contract negotiations 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 9:02 PM to discuss contract negotiations 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 9:20 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor LePage. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, 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