City Council

To be approved at 10-30-18 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held October 23, 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 Rich Morey. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie and City Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: Discussion of emergency replacement of the City Hall boiler will be added under new agenda items, and old agenda items will be taken up after new agenda items are completed. 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 October 16, 2018 o Regular meeting of October 16, 2018  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2018-43:  Accounts Payable: $434,404.62  Payroll (gross): $113,853.51  2018 Licenses & Permits – o Taxi Driver License:  William Thomas Belville, Central VT Green Cab o Entertainment License:  Washington County Republican Party rally, City Hall Park, Friday, October 26th from 2:30 – 5:30 PM The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes reported on the following:  Early voting is ongoing for both November 6th elections - the General Election and the school merger vote.  Annual license renewal notices will go out before the end of the week. All licenses expire at midnight on December 31st.  There are three properties scheduled for tax sale this Thursday, October 25th.  Auditors will begin their field work on site next week. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. Applicant Address Fecteau Residential Inc. Mtn King Run Liquor Control – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  The fall yard waste drop off ends this weekend.  Still working to resolve the traffic signal problems at Ayers/Hill/South Main Streets intersection. 1 To be approved at 10-30-18 Barre City Council Meeting  Granite Street storm sewer project installation will be complete by Friday, with paving scheduled for next week. Still contemplating whether to move forward with the North Main Street portion of the project this year, or wait until next construction season.  RFP for pool refurbishment architectural services is being issued. An advisory group will be part of the process. Visitors and Communications – Barre City resident, state legislator and legislative candidate Paul Poirier spoke of recent posting on Front Porch Forum by Councilor Batham. Rep. Poirier said that was false information, and stated his positions on the issues included in the posting. Barre City resident Bob Houle said Councilor Batham identified himself as a member of the Barre City Council on a recent Twitter posting, and had misquoted representative candidate John Steinman in the posting. He said Councilor Batham’s and Councilor Higby’s comments in a Seven Days article were unbecoming of the office of Councilor. New Business – A) Dog Park Committee Presentation. Jeff Cochran, chair of the Dog Park Committee, spoke of recently completed projects, including finishing fencing to separate the park into large and small dog areas, and completing construction on a shelter. They have been raising funds to help with costs, and hope to install a granite stone at the head of the path to help identify the way to the park. There was discussion on reduction in use due to the new Barre Town dog park, park capacity, landscaping the entryway, leveling the access path, security of the shelter, and spreading the word about the dog park through Facebook. Thanks were offered to Mr. Cochran and the committee for their hard work. B) Central Vermont Internet Update. Chris Riddell, Barre City representative to the CV Internet board, said Council had received copies of the draft annual report and FY19 budget. The board will be taking public comments at its November 13th meeting. There are currently 14 member communities in the communications union district. They cannot use taxpayer money, and all operations and infrastructure will be funded through subscriber fees. They expect to identify and build out the first 6 miles of network by fiscal year 2020. There was discussion on internet speeds, developing a rate structure, interactions with other providers in the area, and identifying areas of greatest need. Councilors offered congratulations on how quickly and thoroughly the board has come up to speed, having only organized in May. C) Central Vermont Disaster Animal Response Team. Lisa Lemieux, chair of the CV DART, said Vermont DART was set up after Hurricane Katrina, and the Central Vermont branch was started last year. Their charge is to protect domestic pets and small farm animals during declared emergencies. Ms. Lemieux said she is working to promote community awareness through visits to local communities. They have a mobile trailer to use during times of emergency, and are asking Barre City to house the trailer with others in the Civic Center parking lot. Manager Mackenzie asked Ms. Lemieux to be in touch with him to discuss housing the trailer. D) Approve Barre Partnership Request for Free Holiday Downtown Meter Parking/North Main Street Halloween Trick-or-Treating. Councilor Tuper-Giles, in his capacity as chair of the Barre Partnership, recused himself from the discussion and vote. Councilor Higby suggested the free parking time would be an opportunity to encourage donations to benefit the recreation department. Signage on or near parking meters would let 2 To be approved at 10-30-18 Barre City Council Meeting the public know that any money collected in parking meters during the holiday time – from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day – would be treated as donations for recreation programs. Councilor Batham made the motion to approve the Halloween Trick-or-Treating, and free holiday parking with the establishment of the recreation donations program. The trick-or-treating is contingent upon Police Department approval. Motion was seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried with Councilor Tuper-Giles recusing himself from the vote. Other) Emergency Replacement of City Hall Boiler. Manager Mackenzie reviewed the failure of the boiler over the weekend. The mechanical contractor has located a replacement, which will be installed next week. Funding is included in the $1.15M bond approved by the voters at the 2018 annual meeting. The Manager said approval of this expense was not included on the agenda this week, and he is requesting approval with ratification next week. There was discussion on the safety of portable heaters being used in the building until the new boiler is up and running, and providing heat for the Opera House during upcoming performances. Council approved purchase of the new boiler for City Hall, subject to ratification at next week’s meeting, on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Old Business – A) Selection of Salt Vendor. Public Works Director Bill Ahearn passed out a memo showing the results of the salt bids. The bids came back lower than that state’s salt contract, and Mr. Ahearn recommended Council approve entering into a contract with both bidders: American Rock Salt and Cargill Inc. Council approved the recommendation on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. Round Table – Councilor Batham reminded people that the school merger ballots are available, and recommend people support the merger. He apologized for any confusion caused by his recent Front Porch Forum posting which included his Councilor title when it was meant to be a personal posting. He said he never thought he’d live to see a Red Sox/LA Dodgers World Series, and he’s routing for the Red Sox. Councilor LePage said tonight was a new low with the political bickering at the Council meeting. Councilor Tuper-Giles said the downtown is decorating for Halloween. Councilor Morey recommended people read the materials and support the Act 46 school merger vote. He said there will be a Pizza with the Principals event at Barre City Elementary and Middle School so people can get to know the new principal. Mayor Herring said the Barre City sharps (needles) program is being reviewed by the state for possible expansion into other communities. He said the Ladies Ride for Cancer raised $6,000 for its beneficiary. He will be touring Brattleboro’s solid waste management recycling and composting facilities, and will be reviewing the City’s ordinances re. composting. There will be an opportunity forum at the Blanchard Block on November 8th. Executive Session – Councilor Boutin made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of real estate to be discussed would clearly place the City of Barre at a substantial disadvantage should the discussion be 3 To be approved at 10-30-18 Barre City Council Meeting public. The motion was seconded by Councilor LePage. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 8:34 PM to discuss real; estate under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie and Clerk Dawes were invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 8:48 PM on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 8:48 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 4