City Council

To be approved at 01-15-19 Barre City Council Meeting Special Meeting of the Barre City Council Held January 8, 2019 The Special Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order by Mayor Lucas Herring at 6:15 PM at Barre City Hall. In attendance were: From Ward I, Councilors Sue Higby and Jeffrey Tuper-Giles; from Ward II, Councilors Brandon Batham (arrived 6:17 PM) and Michael Boutin (arrived 6:20 PM); and from Ward III, Councilors John LePage (arrived 6:21 PM) and Rich Morey. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie, Police Chief Tim Bombardier, Labor Attorney Scott Cameron, and Human Resources Administrator Rikk Taft. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: NONE Executive Session – Councilor Tuper-Giles made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of contracts, real estate, personnel and litigation 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 Morey. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 6:16 PM to discuss contracts, real estate, personnel and litigation under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie, Chief Bombardier, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Taft were invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 6:50 PM on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. No action was taken. Mayor Herring recessed the meeting at 6:50 PM. Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held January 8, 2019 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: Mayor Herring noted the Boots N’ Balls agenda item should be listed as the 1st annual, not the 2nd annual. Approval of Consent Agenda: Clerk Dawes read off the licenses to be approved as part of the consent agenda. Councilor Tuper-Giles asked that the entertainment licenses for Studio Place Arts, The Alley Cat and Mingle Nightclub be 1 To be approved at 01-15-19 Barre City Council Meeting considered as separate items. 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 Regular meeting of December 18, 2018 o Special meeting of December 21, 2018 o Joint meeting (Barre City/Barre Town) of January 2, 2019 o Special meeting of January 5, 2019  City Warrants as presented: o Ratification of Week 2018-52:  Accounts Payable: $158,563.86  Payroll (gross): $167,970.15 o Ratification of Week 2019-01:  Accounts Payable: $162,483.01  Payroll (gross): $127,278.61 o Approval of Week 2019-02:  Account Payable: $538,763.58  Payroll (gross): $138,579.20  2019 Licenses & Permits – o Food Establishment Licenses:  Quarry Kitchen & Spirits, 210 N. Main Street  Morse Block Deli, 260 N. Main Street  Si Aku Ramen, 237 N. Main Street  The Hollow Inn, 278 S. Main Street  Maria’s Bagels, 162 N. Main Street o Food Takeout Licenses:  Champlain Farms, 169 Washington Street  Cumberland Farms, 524 N. Main Street  Quality Market, 155 Washington Street o Entertainment Licenses:  American Legion, 320 N. Main Street, annual license  Ladder 1 Grill, 8 S. Main Street, annual license  Barre Elks Lodge, 10 Jefferson Street, annual license  Quarry Kitchen & Spirits, 210 N. Main Street, annual license  Mulligan’s Irish Pub, 9 Maple Avenue, annual license  Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main Street, annual license  Gusto’s, 28 Prospect Street, annual license o Taxicab Service Operator’s and Vehicle Licenses:  Payless Taxi, 1 vehicle  J&D Taxi, 1 vehicle o Taxicab Driver’s Licenses:  Dale Kew, Payless Taxi  Don Morway, Don’s Taxi  Lydia Race, Don’s Taxi  Douglas Bergeron, J&D Taxi  Darlene Avery, Green Cab  Paul Parsons, Green Cab o Waste Disposal Collector’s Licenses:  DJ’s Convenience, 2 drop off vehicles  Casella Waste, 10 pick-up vehicles  Myers Container, 12 pick-up vehicles 2 To be approved at 01-15-19 Barre City Council Meeting Council approved an entertainment license for Studio Place Arts for its April 12, 2019 BASH event on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried with Councilor Higby recusing herself due to conflict of interest. Councilors discussed the entertainment license applications from The Alley Cat and Mingle Nightclub, and asked that representatives from the establishments attend a Council meeting to discuss how the owners are addressing past incidents at the bars. The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes reported on the following:  Nominating petitions, consent of candidate forms and additional information for the Annual (Town) Meeting offices to be elected on March 5, 2019 are posted on the City website. The deadline for nominating petitions is January 28th. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. Applicants Addresses Jason Lawrence 33 Maple Avenue Liquor Control – Council approved a request to cater permit application from Gusto’s for the VT Burlesque Festival at the Barre Opera House on Friday, January 18th on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried with Councilor Boutin abstaining. Council approved a special event permit application from Champlain Orchards for the VT Burlesque Festival, January 18th on motion of Councilor LePage, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried with Councilor Boutin abstaining. City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  The municipal pool project designer has been selected. The advisory group will hold its first meeting later this week.  The 2nd City Hall boiler is being installed and should be operational by early next week.  Finance Director Dawn Monahan began working last week.  Salt consumption is running 20% above budgeted usage as of today’s date.  Staff will present the recommended soils quality assessment consultant at next week’s meeting for Council approval.  The City is seeking residents to sit on the joint Barre City/Montpelier solid waste management committee. Letters of interest may be submitted to the Manager’s office. Visitors and Communications – NONE Old Business – A) Budget Discussion. Manager Mackenzie said he included this on the agenda in case the Council or public has any questions. The Council will hold its next budget workshop on Monday, January 14th, beginning at 5:30 PM. New Business – A) 2nd Annual “Boots N’ Balls” Kick Ball Tournament. As noted by the Mayor at the beginning of the meeting, this is the 1st annual tournament. Organizer Sara Akers distributed a press release and said the event will be held on Saturday, February 16th at the Farwell 3 To be approved at 01-15-19 Barre City Council Meeting ball field, beginning at 7:00 AM. Funds raised will benefit 3-year-old Rowan Smith of E. Montpelier, who is being treated for polymicrogyria. Ms. Akers thanked all the sponsors, including the City of Barre, and invited people to form teams or make donations. B) Appointment to the Planning Commission. Resident Rick Badem expressed his interest in serving on the Planning Commission. Council approved the appointment on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. C) Appointment to the Planning Commission. Resident Rachel Rudi expressed her interest in serving on the Planning Commission. Council approved the appointment on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. D) VTrans Informational Meeting re: I-89 Exit 6 ledge removal project detour. Natalie Boyle and Bruce Martin from VTrans gave details on the upcoming project, which is scheduled to run approximately 6 weeks beginning in mid to late June. Ms. Boyle said she is in charge of project outreach. She will be providing preliminary details as the project comes on line, and will be sending out weekly updates during the project. Mr. Martin said he is the project manager. The project calls for closing the I-89 northbound ramp at exit 6, better known as the South Barre exit, to allow for blasting and removal of ledge in the area. Traffic will detoured to state routes off exit 5 and exit 7, so the City will see additional traffic during the project, especially truck traffic. There was discussion on signage, seismic testing requirements, and removal of blasted material. Mr. Martin said there will be a pre-construction conference for all effected municipalities and stakeholders, and a public meeting before the project gets started. E) Front Porch Forum Support. Mayor Herring said the City contributed $2,500 in startup funds when Front Porch Forum began a few years ago. Clerk Dawes said she had suggested to the Mayor that the City might want to make an additional contribution in light of the City’s frequent use of the resource as a way to communicate with residents. Councilor Batham made the motion to approve a $2,000 payment to FPF, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. There was further discussion on what would be the appropriate amount for this contribution, and it was suggested the amount be adjusted to $1,000. The mover and seconder agreed to amend their motion. Council approved the amended motion for a contribution of $1,000 to FPF on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried with Councilor Boutin voting against. F) Ratification of 2018-2020 FOP (Police) Collective Bargaining Agreement. Council approved ratification of the collective bargaining agreement as was discussed during the earlier special meeting executive session on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. G) Approval of Coin Drop Requests from Kiwanis Club, American Legion and Special Olympics. Clerk Dawes said she has received five coin drop requests to fill the five available slots for 2019. The first three received are from Kiwanis Club, American Legion and Special Olympics. The rest will come to Council for approval at next week’s meeting. Council approved the coin drop requests from Kiwanis (May 25th), American Legion (July 6th), and Special Olympics (June 15th) on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. 4 To be approved at 01-15-19 Barre City Council Meeting Council suggested the City create “coin drop ahead” signs to be used by groups who are holding coin drops to alert the public in advance of the coin drop locations. Round Table – Councilors wished all a Happy New Year. Councilor Batham offered condolences to the family of Nancy McGinley, who recently passed away. Mrs. McGinley was wife of Paul McGinley, who was a former Barre Town manager. Councilor Morey noted the freezing rain and icy weather we are currently experiencing, and asked people to drive carefully. Councilor Higby said she recently read a Burlington Free Press article about stormwater issues, and she noted Barre City does a great job dealing with such issues. She announced that she will be running for re- election in the Annual (Town) Meeting elections. Mayor Herring said the recent Neighborhood Watch meeting at North Barre Manor was well attended, and there will be another one at Tilden House in the near future. The Mayor said he recently attended the Spaulding High School civics class, and is working with students on special projects. He will be holding a “Coffee with the Mayor and Police Chief” event at Expresso Bueno this Saturday morning. The Mayor checked his phone for the results of today’s school merger re-vote in Barre Town. The vote did not pass with high enough numbers to overturn the original results from November. Clerk Dawes said this will lead to a number of special elections over the next few months, including an election in February to consider amendments to the state’s articles of agreement, another election to elect board members for the unified union school board, and an election to vote on a budget as developed by the new board. These elections will likely stretch into May. Executive Session – Councilor Batham made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of personnel and litigation 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 8:20 PM to discuss personnel and litigation under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie was invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 8:51 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 8:51 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 5