City Council

To be approved at 08-13-19 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held July 30, 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, Councilor Rich Morey. Also present was City Manager Steve Mackenzie. Absent: City Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Adjustments to the Agenda: The Mayor added two agenda items under new business. Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Regular meeting of July 23, 2019  City Warrants as presented: o Approval of Week 2019-31:  Accounts Payable: $236,480.64  Payroll (gross): $128,691.65 o 2019 Licenses: NONE The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – NONE. Clerk Dawes on vacation. Liquor Control – Council approved a permit for alcohol at Rotary Park for Norwich University for a BBQ on August 9th from 10AM – 5PM on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried with Councilors Boutin and Tuper-Giles abstaining. Mayor Herring said there is a retroactive outside consumption permit application from the American Legion that needs consideration this evening. The Mayor noted he is a member of the Sons of the Legion and asked if he should recuse himself from leading the discussion. Hearing no objection, he continued. The Mayor noted the Legion held an outside event during the Heritage Festival without an outside consumption permit. DLC inspectors shut down the event without the permit, and asked that the permit be passed retroactively to avoid penalty. Council approved the retroactive outside consumption permit for the American Legion on motion of Councilor Morey, seconded by Councilor LePage. Motion carried with Mayor Herring and Councilors Boutin and Tuper-Giles abstaining. Approval of Building Permits – Mayor Herring led the Council through approval of building permits, however there were no building permits to be approved. City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  Received final plans for swimming pool refurbishment. Bids are being solicited.  Attended a coordination and partnership meeting re. 2020 census. City will be asked to appoint a Complete Count Committee to encourage local participation.  Received formal offer of $200,000 pool grant, which will be accepted this evening.  VTRANS welcome event now scheduled for early December. Plans continue.  Kudos to City staff who participated in lead-up to the Heritage Festival and the weekend’s events. Thank you to those community members who helped with pick-up of trash over the weekend. 1 To be approved at 08-13-19 Barre City Council Meeting Visitors and Communications – NONE Old Business – NONE New Business – A) Appointment of BUUSD School Board Member. Anthony Folland has been recommended by the board to fill the vacancy on the board. There was discussion on whether a BUUSD board member can be a paid school employee. Council approved the appointment of Mr. Folland to the BUUSD board on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried with Councilor Steinman abstaining. B) Public Hearing 7:15 PM – Interim Zoning Amendment: Amend Section 2005.B of the Unified Development Ordinance of the City of Barre, VT. Mayor Herring opened the public hearing at 7:14 PM. Planning Director Janet Shatney said the amendment corrects an error related to size of a dwelling unit and how many units can be on a plot of land. Upon approval the correction will be in place immediately. The Mayor asked for comments from the Council and public. Hearing none, the Mayor closed the public hearing at 7:18 PM. Council approved the interim zoning amendment on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. C) Discussion on the Salvage Yard Ordinance. Councilor Steinman said he reviewed the ordinance with City Attorney Oliver Twombly, and presented a draft to Council. The draft includes revised language related to establishing a set-back from schools, parks and playgrounds; amounts of waste; unregistered/uninspected vehicles; and reflects language back to the zoning ordinance. There was discussion on unregistered/uninspected vehicles and how long they can be stored on a property. Ms. Shatney said VSA Chapter 21 offers explicit details on unregistered/uninspected vehicles, and said the statutes should be referenced in City’s ordinance. It was also noted the City has an ordinance that addresses vehicles, and these two ordinances should be cross- referenced or combined. Councilor Steinman will continue working on the ordinance in preparation for a first reading in the future. D) Authorization to Award Pouliot Ave Project Bid to Lamberti Construction. DPW director Bill Ahearn reviewed the bids received. Manager Mackenzie said original review of the bids showed Lamberti Construction’s low bid was not responsive. Mr. Ahearn said the second low bidder will be negotiated with to contain costs associated with potential change orders to maintain the bid order. Mr. Ahearn recommended the contract be awarded to second low bidder Avery Construction. Council approved the recommendation and authorized Mr. Ahearn to sign the agreement on behalf of the City on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Added) Grant Agreement with LWCF for Municipal Swimming Pool Refurbishment Project. Manager Mackenzie said the $200,000 grant award documents were received after the agenda was closed. Ms. Shatney reviewed the grant documents and saw no irregularities. The Manager recommended acceptance of the grant. Council approved accepting the grant on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. E) Discussion and/or action on Highgate Nonprofit Human Services and Educational Facilities Competitive Grant Program Application Letter of Support. Mayor Herring said the letter is in support of a grant application for sprinkler system installations in the Highgate community room. Council approved the letter on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by 2 To be approved at 08-13-19 Barre City Council Meeting Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. F) Establish Date and Time for Councilor and Department Head Meeting. Council discussed options for a Council and department heads meeting to discuss priorities. They are looking at a late afternoon or early evening time, perhaps before a Council meeting. Council approved deferring the decision to the Mayor and Manager on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried with Councilor Steinman voting against. Added) Pop-up Overview. Mr. Ahearn gave a presentation on temporary traffic measures that have been put in place to evaluate their effectiveness. Pop-ups are currently installed on Washington Street, South Main Street, Mill Street, and North Seminary Street, which include parking spaces and crosswalk changes. The temporary changes are meant to help with traffic control and pedestrian safety. There is a survey on the City website asking for public comment on the pop-ups and other public safety issues. The Powerpoint presentation will be posted on the website. Mr. Ahearn said he intends to hold a public discussion on these pop-ups and the changes that have been put in place on Ayers Street after the school year starts again in the fall. The Mayor noted several of these changes have added parking spaces in and near the downtown. I) Request for City of Barre acceptance of Beckley Hill subdivision water lines, James Fecteau. Mr. Ahearn said the City routinely accepts water lines after a development project is completed. Due to a lack of engineer’s certificate on the system, Mr. Ahearn required the developer to warranty the system for 10 years, with protections in place for the City. Conditions have been placed on the developer in any instance of system failure. Council approved acceptance of the water lines with appropriate indemnification for the City on motion of Councilor Morey, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. J) Award of Ambulance Bid. Fire Chief Doug Brent reviewed his memo on the purchase of an ambulance. The Chief noted the funds are included in one of the recent voter-approved bonds. The build time is approximately 120 days. The City has applied for a USDA grant to assist with funding for this vehicle. The Chief said he is looking for Council approval to accept the bid and begin building the ambulance. Council will approve acceptance of the USDA grant and the lease/purchase financing plan in the future. Council approved awarding the ambulance bid as recommended by Chief Brent on motion of Councilor Morey, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie said USDA is requesting additional support materials for our recently submitted grant application for purchase of the ambulance discussed above. He requested that Council authorize him to sign the supplemental paperwork, subject to ratification at the next meeting. Council approved authorizing the Manager to sign the USDA grant supplemental paperwork on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. G) Affirmation of July 23, 2019 Approval to Submit VT Water & Wastewater Revolving Loan Fund Application. Council affirmed last week’s approval on motion of Councilor LePage, seconded by Councilor Tuper- Giles. Motion carried. H) Preliminary Discussion on Water and Sewer Rate Changes. 3 To be approved at 08-13-19 Barre City Council Meeting Manager Mackenzie said he is working on the rate changes with Mr. Ahearn and Finance Director Dawn Monahan. The rate changes resolution will be presented for approval at the August 13th meeting. It is expected that the increases will impact both the base rates and the usage rates. Round Table – Councilors thanked those who worked on the Heritage Festival, and said it was a huge success. Councilor Tuper-Giles said in the future he will ask that Councilors who are yelling and talking over each other excuse themselves for 5-10 minutes until they can come back and act like adults. Councilor LePage said he echoed Councilor Tuper-Giles sentiments about decorum. Councilor Morey offered kudos to the Street Crimes Unit for their ongoing efforts. He said you can see Councilor LePage on Youtube as Wizard John in support of CW Print & Design customer service. Mayor Herring reported on the following:  Read a list of thank yous from Barre Partnership executive director Tracie Lewis for the Heritage Festival.  This past weekend was the twelfth anniversary of Espresso Bueno.  This past weekend was the 100th anniversary of the Barre Fish & Game Club.  Participated in the call for backup training for post-traumatic stress disorder. Executive Session – Councilor Boutin 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 discussion be public. The motion was seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 8:32 PM to discuss personnel under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried with Councilor Waszazak voting against. Manager Mackenzie attended part of the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 9:50 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Council meeting adjourned at 9:50 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. There is no audio recording of this meeting. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4