City Council

To be approved at 12-17-19 Barre City Council Meeting Special Meeting of the Barre City Council Held December 10, 2019 The Special Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order by Acting Mayor Michael Boutin at 6:07 PM at Barre City Hall. In attendance were: From Ward I, Councilor Jeffrey Tuper-Giles; from Ward II, Councilors Michael Boutin and Teddy Waszazak; and from Ward III, Councilor Rich Morey. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: From Ward I, Councilor John Steinman. There is one vacancy in Ward III. Executive Session – Councilor Waszazak made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of negotiations 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. Mayor Herring arrived at 6:08 PM and assumed chairing the meeting. Council went into executive session at 6:09 PM to discuss negotiations and litigation under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Tuper-Giles. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie, Human Resources director Rikk Taft, Fire Chief Doug Brent and labor attorney Scott Cameron were invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 6:38 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. The Council meeting adjourned at 6:38 PM on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried. There is no audio recording of this meeting. Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held December 10, 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, Councilor Jeffrey Tuper-Giles; from Ward II, Councilors Michael Boutin and Teddy Waszazak; and from Ward III, Councilor Rich Morey. Also present were City Manager Steve Mackenzie and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: From Ward I, Councilor John Steinman. There is one vacancy in Ward III. 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 Morey. Motion carried.  Minutes of the following meetings: o Special meeting of December 2, 2019 o Regular meeting of December 3, 2019  City Warrants as presented: 1 To be approved at 12-17-19 Barre City Council Meeting o Approval of Week 2019-50:  Accounts Payable: $214,824.99  Payroll (gross): $134,262.73 o 2020 Licenses:  Food Establishments:  American Legion #10, 320 N. Main Street  Food Take out:  Champlain Farms, 169 Washington Street  Champlain Farms, 15 S. Main Street  Beverage Baron, 411 N. Main Street  Food Vending:  Rise Up Bakery, 48 Granite Street  Entertainment:  Quarry Kitchen & Spirits, 210 N. Main Street  Vermont Granite Museum, 7 Jones Bros. Way  American Legion #10, 320 N. Main Street The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Dawes reported on the following:  Water/sewer bill payments are due by December 31st.  Ward III caucus is scheduled for Thursday, December 19th, at 7PM at Alumni Hall.  The Clerk’s office will be closed on December 24th. The rest of City Hall is open that day. Liquor Control – Liquor control items deferred to next meeting to ensure enough Councilors are present who will vote on liquor items. City Manager’s Report - Manager Mackenzie reported on the following:  There has been confusion surrounding this year’s free holiday parking and the length of free time at the different colored meters. Staff has decided the best way to address the issues for the rest of this season is to offer free parking equivalent to the time limits on the meters, i.e. 2 hours free parking at the black-topped meters and 4 hours free parking at the yellow-topped meters.  Last week’s VTRANS welcome event at the auditorium was wonderful with approximately 230 attendees. Thanks to the organizers, and downtown merchants who made donations for the goodie bags.  Received word from insurance carrier PACIF of a $92,000 decrease in the 2020 premium for workers compensation insurance.  The Council held its annual coin and dollar drop last Saturday, raising funds to benefit children during the holiday season. Thanks to Nelson Hardware for donating collection buckets and making the first cash donation.  Bids are due tomorrow for the purchase of three City-owned properties.  Received the appraisal for the weathervane in the amount of $150,000. Will share that information with VT History Center to see if they will cover the weathervane under their umbrella insurance policy.  Met with Civic Center Committee to review financial operations and rates.  Paths, Routes and Trails Committee meeting tomorrow.  Barre Area Development Corporation’s rollout of the Barre Rock Solid marketing campaign is tomorrow evening at the Barre Opera House.  Breakfast with Santa is this coming Saturday at the auditorium.  Staff holiday luncheon is next Monday at Ladder 1 Grill. 2 To be approved at 12-17-19 Barre City Council Meeting Visitors and Communications – Brad Herring, Mayor Herring’s brother, delivered balloons in honor of the Mayor’s 40th birthday, and everybody in attendance sang. Old Business – NONE New Business – A) Working Communities Grant Application Approval. Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission director Bonnie Waninger, Central Vermont Medical Center CEO Anna Noonan, Capstone Community Action director Sue Minter and Barre Area Development Corporation director Joel Schwartz said they have developed a group of core partners across sectors, working to help bring communities out of poverty. They will focus on single women households with children, and workforce systems development changes. The group is applying for a $15,000 planning grant with the hopes of applying for a $300,000 implementation grant. There was discussion on offering educational opportunities as part of employment, providing wrap- around services for employers and employees, and marrying social service and economic development sectors. Council approved endorsing the planning grant application on motion of Councilor Morey, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried. B) Grand List Status Update. City Assessor Joe Levesque reviewed his memo on the health of the grant list. Mr. Levesque said the 2020 grand list is expected to grow by more than $10,000,000. He reviewed the process of tracking permits and the standard timeframe for annual assessment changes. He has hired a part time inspection assistant to perform exterior inspections, and said he expects he and the assistant will complete working through the backlog of permit inspections by May 2020. There was discussion on how sales prices affect assessment values, and the errors & omissions process and timeline. Clerk Dawes asked about the reason for increased assessments for three properties, and the standards used to determine whether a property qualifies as tax exempt under the public, pious and charitable language in state statute. Mr. Levesque said he will review the properties in question with Clerk Dawes. He will bring forward any possible E&O recommendations at next week’s meeting. C) Ratification of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the IAFF. Council discussed the collective bargaining agreement that was discussed in the earlier executive session. Councilor Waszazak said her personally doesn’t like the stabilization of how much the City has to pay for healthcare, but said he understands those representing the employees have agreed to those terms. Council ratified the collective bargaining agreement as presented on motion of councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. Mayor Herring noted there has been discussion on the inclusion of Columbus Day on the list of approved holidays in the CBA, however the day has been renamed Indigenous Peoples Day in Vermont. The attorneys working on the agreement will look for a way to reference the holiday so as to acknowledge both the state and federal holidays. D) Resolution 2019-05: Municipal Authority in a Commercial Cannabis System. Councilor Boutin suggested revising the draft resolution to limit the City’s option to opting out only, and remove the reference to opting in. There wasn’t support for this proposed amendment. Councilor Boutin 3 To be approved at 12-17-19 Barre City Council Meeting said he wants it noted that approval of the resolution does not mean the City supports going against federal law with regards to legal cannabis. Council approved the resolution as read on motion of Councilor Tuper-Giles, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried with Councilor Boutin voting against. Round Table – Councilor Waszazak encouraged Ward III voters to participate in next week’s ward caucus. Councilor Morey said last Saturday’s coin and dollar drop was fun, and the downtown was full of wonderful holiday activities last weekend. Councilor Boutin said the coin and dollar drop raised $3,864.33, and there has been an additional $1,000 donation received since then. Funds will be used to purchase gifts for children in need as identified by the school, and distributed by local police officers. Councilor Tuper-Giles reminded people to attend tomorrow evening’s Barre Rock Solid event at the Opera House. He presented Mayor Herring with a birthday cake featuring photos of City landmarks. Executive Session – NONE The Council meeting adjourned at 8:22 PM on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Morey. Motion carried. An audio recording of the meeting is available in the Clerk’s office. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4