City Council

To be approved at 07-23-19 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held July 16, 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 (arrived 7:10 PM) and Rich Morey. Also present were Acting Manager Fire Chief Doug Brent and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: Mayor Herring added an item under new business to discuss supporting an ATHENA Young Professional nomination. 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 Special meeting of July 9, 2019 o Regular meeting of July 9, 2019  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2019-29:  Accounts Payable: $64,939.61  Payroll (gross): $167,401.45 o 2019 Licenses:  Food Vending Licenses:  The Candy Van, James Fitzgerald The City Clerk/Treasurer Report –  Property tax bills were mailed last Friday. The first quarter due date is August 15th. Approval of Building Permits – Council approved the following building permits on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. Applicant Address Nicholas Landry & Heather Runk 110 Berlin Street Spaulding Union High School 155 Ayers Street Paul & Alyson Flint 17 Averill Street M&B Properties 101 Prospect Street Liquor Control – Alexis Dexter, owner of Forget-Me-Not Flowers and Gifts LLC, said they recently moved into a larger space in the former Aubuchon’s building. Ms. Dexter said they are purchasing a local business and taking over their wine and chocolate sales. Council approved their new 2nd class liquor license application for Forget-Me-Not Flowers and Gifts LLC on motion of Councilor Morey, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried with Councilors Boutin and Tuper-Giles abstaining. Council LePage arrived at this point in the meeting. City Manager’s Report – NONE. Manager is on vacation this week. Visitors and Communications – Councilor Waszazak said the Aldrich Library will start inviting the 1 To be approved at 07-23-19 Barre City Council Meeting Barre City Council and Barre Town Selectboard for quarterly update meetings at the library. The library has also offered to host Council meetings, should the Council like a change of venue sometime. Ian Apfel, member of the Barre Community Baseball & Softball 13 year-old Babe Ruth team, said the team recently won the state championship, and is headed to the regional championships in Connecticut this weekend. They encourage people to make donations to help cover costs associated with traveling to the reginal championships. Coach Chad Burke said the 14 year-old Babe Ruth team also won their state championship and is headed to the regionals in New York state this weekend. All members of the team introduced themselves, and those in attendance offered their congratulations on the state championships, and wished the teams good luck in the regionals. Old Business – NONE New Business – A) Authorize Award of BOR Safety System Installation Contract. Buildings and Community Services director Jeff Bergeron said the City had originally solicited bids for the safety system last November, but due to the City Hall boiler problems, the project was postponed. Bids were recently re-solicited, and Mr. Bergeron said he recommends Council award the contract to low bidder Benoit Electric. Council awarded the contract as recommended on motion of councilor Tuper- Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. B) Discussion and/or Action Regarding the Usage of the Wheelock Building. Councilor discussed the Wheelock building, following last week’s tour of the building and having heard from the public with regards to uses for the property. There was discussion on allowing the Barre Partnership to use the front portion of the building for their offices and a visitors center; possible use of the rear portion of the building for a teen center and/or drop-in center; partitioning the middle of the building for conference room space; issuing an RFP to solicit proposals for the use of the building; funding for and operations of the proposed teen center/drop-in space; Barre Partnership funding provided by the City; Barre Rotary Club use of upstairs space for storage of emergency supplies for families in need; and hearing a presentation from the Partnership on their plans for the space, and how to staff the visitors center. Councilor Boutin made the motion to offer the front of the main floor of the building to the Barre Partnership, with the Partnership and City staff working out the details to be brought back to the Council for final approval. The motion also included allowing the Barre Rotary Club to use space on the upper floor for storage. The motion was seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Councilor Waszazak offered an amendment to the original motion to require that the City issue an RFP for proposals on use of the building. Should no responses be received by October 1, 2019, then Councilor Boutin’s motion would be effective. The motion for amendment was seconded by Councilor LePage. Council voted on the amendment. The motion to amend did not pass with Mayor Herring and Councilors Waszazak and LePage voting in favor, and Councilors Morey, Boutin, Tuper-Giles and Steinman voting against. Council voted on the original motion without amendment. The motion carried with Councilors Morey, Boutin, Tuper-Giles, Waszazak and Steinman voting in favor, and Mayor Herring and Councilor LePage voting against. C) Review FY19 City Council Accomplishments. Mayor Herring reviewed the list of accomplishments. 2 To be approved at 07-23-19 Barre City Council Meeting D) Discussion on the FY20 City Council Priorities. Mayor Herring reviewed the list of priorities. There was discussion on conducting surveys of the citizens, including a budget survey; holding the next ward meetings in September; use of the BOR by the Barre Partnership as a rain location for the Wednesday concerts in the park and farmers market; conducting a city-wide reassessment; and pros and cons of establishing special assessment districts. E) ATHENA Young Professionals Leadership Nomination. (added) Mayor Herring said ATHENA Professional Leadership recognizes leadership by women in the community. The Mayor said the City could make a nomination through the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce. There was discussion on polling the citizens for potential nominees. Mayor Herring announced he will be asking for an executive session to discuss the format of the Manager’s annual review. Round Table – Councilor Morey congratulated the baseball teams, and wished them good luck in the regional championships. Councilor LePage said there is interest in holding a community picnic in the North End in August. Councilor Boutin displayed a Heritage Festival poster and noted the festival is next weekend. Councilor Tuper-Giles said he is volunteering at the municipal pool as a swimming lessons instructor, and will soon be taking the trainings to be able to lifeguard. Councilor Waszazak read his commentary speaking out against injustice and bigotry. He said he sent a copy to the Times Argus and posted it on his personal Facebook page. Councilor Steinman reminded everybody of the Rotary breakfast on Saturday, July 27th. All proceeds benefit the library. Mayor Herring reported on the following:  Barre City has been a member of Front Porch Forum for seven years. All Vermont communities are now members.  Magnifique Salon on N. Main Street held its grand opening last week.  Bigras Auto held its re-opening last week.  As a public alert, the Mayor announced there will be a 21-gun salute as part of a funeral this coming Saturday, in case anyone hears the shots and wonders what they are.  Distributed cards for the Barre Planet Path along the bike path. There are stations along the path that represent the planets and their spatial relationship in the solar system. Fire Chief Doug Brent, who is acting manager in Manager Mackenzie’s absence, announced there will be cooling locations throughout the City over the next several days of extremely hot and humid weather. The library is open as a cooling location, and some of the churches will be open in the mornings before the library opens. Information on cooling locations will be posted on the City website. Executive Session – Councilor Tuper-Giles made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of personnel issues to be discussed would clearly place the City of Barre at a substantial disadvantage should the 3 To be approved at 07-23-19 Barre City Council Meeting discussion be public. The motion was seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 8:34 PM to discuss personnel under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Steinman. Motion carried with Councilor Waszazak voting against. Council came out of executive session at 8:47 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Steinman. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 8:47 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Steinman. Motion carried. An audio recording of this meeting is available in the Clerk’s office. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4