City Council

To be approved at 02-26-19 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held February 19, 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 was City Manager Steve Mackenzie. Absent: Barre City Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes, who was working at polls for the Special School Election. 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 Batham. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Regular meeting of February 5, 2019  City Warrants as presented: o Ratification of Week 2019-07:  Accounts Payable: $124,478.51  Payroll (gross): $120,978.56 o Approval of Week 2019-07:  Account Payable: $217,060.04  Payroll (gross): $141,310.23  2019 Licenses & Permits – NONE The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – NONE Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. Applicant Address Miles Block Properties LLC 162 N. Main Street Liquor Control – NONE Visitors and Communications – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  Code Enforcement team has completed review and draft revisions of the ordinance. The draft will be presented to Council at next week’s meeting.  Proposed FY20 budget has been posted to the City website. It will be voted on at the March 5th Annual Town Meeting.  Annual reports are due any day. An electronic version will be posted on the website when available.  Ambulance revenue for FY19 has been picking up since the fall. There was discussion on possible reasons for increases.  FY18 audit should be turned in by the auditors any day. Old Business – NONE 1 To be approved at 02-26-19 Barre City Council Meeting New Business – A) Appointment of Fire Chief Doug Brent as Emergency Management Director. Manager Mackenzie said this will change the appointment from Police Chief Bombardier to Fire Chief Brent, as per the recent Public Safety reorganization. Council appointed Chief Brent as Emergency Management Director on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. B) Appointment of Fire Chief Doug Brent as Chief Inspector – Minimum Housing Standards. Council appointed Chief Brent as Chief Inspector on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. C) Closing of the FY18 Grand List. Councilors approved closing of the FY18 grand list on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Batham. Motion carried. D) FY19 Seven (7) Month Budget Status Report. Finance Director Dawn Monahan gave a Powerpoint presentation on the first 7 months of FY19. We are running slightly ahead in both revenues and expenses. The net balance is favorable at $54,000 as of January 31st. There was discussion on specific line items in both revenues and expenses, including overtime, street expenses, equipment purchases, and timing of annual revenue receipts and expenses. The report will be posted on the City website. E) Presentation of the FY20 Budget. Manager Mackenzie gave a Powerpoint presentation on the proposed FY20 budget. The presentation will be posted on the City website, and the budget will be voted on at the March 5th Annual Town Meeting. Highlights included information on the significant changes, capital purchases, bond votes, and special ballot items. The projected tax rate increase is 2.38%. F) Update of the Onboarding Process. Mayor Herring said he provided an updated version of the process to the current Councilors, and those who are candidates for Council. G) Certification Approval of 2018 Annual Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Report. It was noted Clerk Dawes had sent a copy of the 2018 Annual TIF Report to members of the Council. Council approved certification of the annual report on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. H) Discussion/Action on Voter-Approved Charter Changes Related to Housing Board of Review. Council approved revising the Housing Board of Review charter change language included in H.73 to read: c) All powers designated by the city council through ordinance allowing the board to act as mediator in landlord-tenant issues. on motion of Councilor Batham, seconded by Councilor Higby. Motion carried. Round Table – Councilor Higby said the Central Vermont Humane Society provides significant services to our area, and encouraged people to visit the CVHS website to see how you can support the society. Councilor Morey said this past weekend’s Boots and Balls fundraiser was hugely successful. Also said he is pleased to see that Vermont Department of Transportation will be moving into City Place. 2 To be approved at 02-26-19 Barre City Council Meeting Councilor Tuper-Giles said Front Porch Forum has recently included a number of posts as to how polite Barre drivers are, letting people make left-hand turns. Councilor Boutin said Barre City is the best place to live. Councilor LePage said Saturday was supposed to be the annual seed swap, but attendance was low due to lack of publicity. There will be another date. Councilor Batham said he wants to combat the Scary Barre name, and said he was recently threatened walking into his office in Montpelier. He has never had a similar experience in Barre. He said he will give remarks next week on his observations for Barre’s future, as his term comes to an end after the March 5th Annual Town Meeting. Mayor Herring said there are a number of ordinance revisions that will be coming to Council in the near future; he attended Local Government Day and passed around a list of bills that have been proposed in the VT legislature; and Saturday March 2nd is a banquet to benefit the Aldrich Library. Executive Session – NONE The Council meeting adjourned at 8:06 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. There is no audio recording of this meeting. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 3