City Council

To be approved at 05-14-19 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held May 7, 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 John Steinman and Jeffrey Tuper- Giles; from Ward II, Councilors Michael Boutin and Teddy Waszazak; and from Ward III, Councilors John LePage and Rich Morey. Also present were Manager Steve Mackenzie and Clerk Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: Mayor Herring said he is adding a new item at the end of the agenda; approval of a letter of support for OUR House. 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 April 30, 2019  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2019-19:  Accounts Payable: $446,039.89  Payroll (gross): $113,059.47  2019 Licenses & Permits – o Food Establishment Licenses:  Delicate Decadence, 15 Cottage Street o Pool Table/Video Machine Licenses:  Elks Club, 10 Jefferson Street, 2 pool tables, 1 video machine The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk Dawes reported on the following:  A sample ballot for the May 14th special school budget votes is posted on the City website.  Fourth quarter property taxes are due by May 15th.  There is one tax sale scheduled for Thursday, May 9th.  The Board of Civil Authority will hold its pre-election meeting on Thursday, May 9th at 6:00 PM in the conference room at Alumni Hall. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Steinman. Motion carried. Applicant Address Patricia Maza 102 Railroad Street Liquor Control – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  Received outreach from Sen. Sanders’ office. Katrina Lisaius from the Senator’s office will meet with City representatives on May 15th.  Met with City Attorney Oliver Twombly to review legal notification requirements concerning the sale of 5 Second Street. Notification will be published before the end of the week, and the bid notification will be released in the near future.  The speed cart is being placed on different streets around the City, in response to speeding complains from citizens. 1 To be approved at 05-14-19 Barre City Council Meeting  A reminder from the Cemetery Department that all wreaths, artificial flowers and other tokens must be removed from the cemeteries by May 15th.  Yard waste drop off at the Barre Town yard waste site continues through this weekend and next. Visitors and Communications – NONE Old Business – NONE New Business – A) Relay for Life. Richard Swenson and Scott Gagnon addressed the Council on behalf of Relay for Life. Mr. Swenson said this is the 25th year of the Central Vermont Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The event happens June 7th at Spaulding High School, and will run overnight from dusk to dawn. This year’s goal is to raise $90,000, and they expect to have upwards of 500 people in attendance over the course of the event. Mr. Gagnon said they hand deliver notices to all neighbors to inform them of the event, and let them know why there will be overnight activity at the high school. Mayor Herring stepped down from chairing the meeting for the next agenda item. Councilor Boutin stepped in as chair. B) Appointment of City Representative & Alternate to CVFiber Communications District. Resident Greg Kelly expressed his interest in serving as the City representative to the CVFiber Communications District, and noted his experience in this area. Council appointed Mr. Kelly as the representative on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. Lucas Herring expressed his interest in serving as the alternate to the communications district, and noted his experience in this area. Council appointed Mr. Herring as the alternate on motion of Councilor Tuper- Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. Mayor Herring resumed chairing the meeting. C) Legislative Update (Senators/Representatives). Barre City Representatives Peter Anthony and Tommy Walz, and Washington County Senator Andrew Perchlik gave updates to the Council from their various committees, and with regards to bills working their way through the legislature. Rep. Anthony said he serves on House Ways & Means, and he spoke of the Clean Water Fund bill, and noted the legislature has identified a permanent funding source for the fund, using new sales tax revenue received from on-line sales. Sales taxes and rooms and meals taxes will be moved around in the education fund to allow for the funding of the Clean Water Fund and level funding for next year’s education tax rates. There was discussion on what drives education costs. Rep. Walz said he serves on House General Housing & Military Affairs, and he spoke of S.163, which is a consumer protection bill related to registration of building contractors, rental housing incentive grants, increased affordable housing, and providing training and support for community health officers in addressing rental housing issues. There was discussion on enforcement of the contractor registry, funding sources for the incentive grants, and ways the legislature can support communities in their local efforts in these areas. Rep. Walz also spoke of H.445, which is a bill he and Rep. Anthony sponsored that would provide similar housing supports as S.163, but aimed at single family homes instead of rental housing. The bill hasn’t 2 To be approved at 05-14-19 Barre City Council Meeting been taken up by the House this session, but may be taken up during the second year of the biennium. [N.B. the bill number is actually H.448.] Sen. Perchlik said he serves on the Transportation and Education committees, and he noted the Washington County senators have been holding county meetings. There was discussion on the City’s interest in having the legislature support the development of light rail in central Vermont. There was general discussion on the proposed minimum wage legislation and gun control legislation. Rep. Anthony said there will be a resolution coming out of the legislature in support of the Barre granite industry and its impact on public art throughout the state and country. Barre City and Barre Town will each receive a copy of the resolution. D) Miscellaneous Ordinance First Reading. Council reviewed the draft revisions to Chapter 11. Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions. It was suggested that the section dealing with open fires be kept in the ordinance, as it isn’t covered elsewhere in City ordinance. There was discussion on the youth curfew section, and proposed revisions. Councilor Boutin made the motion of strike the entire section on youth curfew, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried with Councilors LePage, Boutin, Waszazak and Steinman voting in favor, and Mayor Herring and Councilors Tuper-Giles and Morey voting against. There was discussion on the firearms section that says discharge of a BB gun requires a permit from the chief of police. Councilor Steinman made the motion to remove the BB gun language from the section on regulation of firearms, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion did not carry with Councilors Boutin, LePage and Steinman voting in favor, and Mayor Herring and Councilors Morey, Tuper-Giles and Waszazak voting against. A new first reading is scheduled for next week’s meeting. E) Ratification of Brusa Trust Allocation for the Highgate Kids Summer Program. Council ratified approval of the donation from the Brusa Trust to the Highgate summer program on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Steinman. Motion carried. F) Review/Approval of FY2020 Municipal Fees Schedule. Clerk Dawes reviewed the draft revisions, and noted it’s been seven years since the last increase for most fees in the Clerk’s office. Councilor Morey said he is interested in exploring some new fees or other fee changes over the next several months, for possible adoption this fall to be effective January 1, 2020. Council approved the fee changes as presented on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Steinman. Motion carried. G) Letter of Support for OUR House. Mayor Herring passed around a draft letter of support for OUR House. Council approved the letter on motion of Councilor Morey, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Round Table – Councilors thanked all those who participated in last weekend’s Green Up Day activities. They noted this is National Teachers Day, and they thanked local educators. 3 To be approved at 05-14-19 Barre City Council Meeting Councilor LePage said the Garden Committee will be announcing two new community garden locations. Councilor Boutin said there will be a neighborhood watch meeting for Beckley Street and the surrounding streets on May 13th at Alumni Hall. Councilor Waszazak said recent Tony award nominations were announced, and they include Anais Mitchell, who wrote Hadestown, which has been nominated for 14 awards. The musical premiered at the Barre Labor Hall in 2006. Councilor Steinman said there are still scholarships available for kids to attend the Green Mountain Youth Symphony summer camp at Northern VT University in Johnson. He said both his children attended, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Mayor Herring reported on the following:  This is National Corrections Officers week, Teachers Appreciation Week, and Mental Health Awareness Month.  There is a bike path committee meeting on May 8th.  Remember Mother’s Day on May 12th.  There is a blood drawing at the Elks Club on May 13th. Executive Session – Councilor Boutin made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of the contracts 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 with Councilor Waszazak abstaining. Council went into executive session at 8:58 PM to discuss contracts under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Steinman. Motion carried with Councilor Waszazak abstaining. Manager Mackenzie, Clerk Dawes, Finance Director Dawn Monahan, and Public Works Director Bill Ahearn were invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 9:38 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Steinman. Motion carried. The Council meeting adjourned at 9:38 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. An audio recording of this meeting is available through the City Clerk’s office. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4