City Council

To be approved at 06/22/21 Barre City Council Meeting Special Meeting of the Barre City Council Held June 15, 2021 The Special Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order on video conference by Mayor Lucas Herring at 6:02 PM. In attendance, participating on video or phone, were: From Ward I, Councilors Emel Cambel and Jake Hemmerick; from Ward II, Councilors Michael Boutin (arrived 6:10 PM) and Teddy Waszazak; and from Ward III, Councilors Ericka Reil and Samn Stockwell. City staff members present via video or phone were City Manager Steve Mackenzie and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: NONE Visitors and Communications – NONE Executive Session – Councilor Stockwell made the motion to find that premature general knowledge of litigation, personnel, and real estate 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 Reil. Motion carried on roll call, with all voting in favor. Council went into executive session at 6:04 PM to discuss litigation, personnel, and real estate under the provisions of 1 VSA sec. 313 on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Cambel. Motion carried on roll call vote, with all voting in favor. Manager Mackenzie and Clerk Dawes were invited into the executive session. Councilor Boutin arrived during the executive session. Clerk Dawes left the executive session after the litigation discussion. Council came out of executive session at 6:58 PM on motion of Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Hemmerick. Motion carried on roll call vote, with all voting in favor. No action was taken. The Council meeting was adjourned by Mayor Herring at 6:58 PM. There is no audio recording of this meeting. The open portion of the meeting was recorded on the video conference platform. Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held June 15, 2021 The Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order on video conference by Mayor Lucas Herring at 7:00 PM. In attendance, participating on video or phone, were: From Ward I, Councilors Emel Cambel and Jake Hemmerick; from Ward II, Councilor Teddy Waszazak; and from Ward III, Councilors Ericka Reil and Samn Stockwell. City staff members present via video or phone were City Manager Steve Mackenzie, Fire Chief Doug Brent, Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Aldsworth, Fire Marshall Robert Howarth, Planning Director Janet Shatney, and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: From Ward II, Councilor Michael Boutin. Adjustments to the Agenda: NONE 1 To be approved at 06/22/21 Barre City Council Meeting Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Reil. Motion carried on roll call vote, with all voting in favor. A. Minutes of the following meetings: a. Regular meeting of June 8, 2021 b. Special meeting of June 10, 2021 C. City Warrants as presented: a. Approval of Week 2021-24, dated June 16, 2021: i. Accounts Payable: $135,115.07 ii. Payroll (gross): $125,600.45 D. 2021 Licenses & Permits: a. Food Vending License: i. The Melted Cheesiere, for Food Truck Thursdays in Currier Park E. Approval of Annual Supply Bid Awards F. Authorize City Manager to Request ARPA Funds for the City of Barre The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Dawes reported on the following:  The Barre Unified Union School District budget was approved by Barre City and Barre Town voters at last week’s June 9th election. The Agency of Education will wait at least 30 days before calculating the education tax rates, therefore the Clerk will ask Council to set the first quarter payment due date for September 15th instead of August 15th. The request will come to Council at next week’s meeting.  Attended exit conference with the State Auditor’s Office re. the TIF audit. The final draft was received yesterday and the City has two weeks to submit its response. The Clerk noted there are a number of emergency legislations that expire with tonight’s expiration of the Governor’s emergency order including allowing all-virtual meetings, returning to usual open meeting laws, waiving deadlines and late fees for state licenses and permits, and the moratorium on water/sewer disconnections. Liquor Control – NONE City Manager’s Report - Manager Mackenzie noted his written weekly report included in the Council packet, and said he is cautiously optimistic the City will meet the goal of having the municipal pool open by June 27th. Visitors and Communications – Mayor Herring said Council will meet in person next week in the Council chambers. There was discussion about offering hybrid in person/virtual meetings. Staff members are researching the technologies that will be needed to allow regular hybrid meetings. This is likely to take some time to put in place. The Mayor announced the Rotary Club’s grant to make improvements at Rotary Park did not make the grant deadline, and Cornerstone Field is still under repair, and the ribbon cutting has been scheduled for next year. Old Business – A) Second Reading and Public Hearing Warned 7:15 pm Ordinance #2021-03: Chapter 17 Traffic. Mayor Herring opened the public hearing at 7:14 PM and invited comments and questions from the public. Merchant Street resident Jesse Rosado said the proposed changes to issuing municipal traffic tickets is taxation by citation, and the ACLU opposes such actions. Mayor Herring said the change will not generate additional tickets, it will only allow the City to retain more of the ticket revenue already being generated by the tickets being written. Hearing no additional public comments, the Mayor closed the public hearing at 7:17 PM and invited comments and questions from the Council. There were no additional comments or questions. Council approved the revisions to Chapter 17 Traffic on motion of Councilor Hemmerick, seconded by Councilor Reil. Motion carried on roll call vote, with all voting in favor. 2 To be approved at 06/22/21 Barre City Council Meeting B) Review/Approved City Fee Schedule Changes. This item is deferred to next week. New Business – A) Legislative Update. Barre City Representatives Peter Anthony and Tommy Walz, and Washington County Senators Ann Cummings, Anthony Pollina and Andrew Perchlik gave updates on the 2021 legislative session:  Rep. Anthony: working on updating pupil weighting system, which will benefit the City by making adjustments to the way education tax rates are calculated; getting in front of the deficits in the state, municipal and teacher pension systems; approved changes to the election laws that enfranchise voters by increasing accessibility. Resident Rosemary Averill asked Rep. Anthony why he voted against Barre City’s voter-approved flag charter change. Rep. Anthony said it’s better for the Council to take action on the issue and not tie the hands of future Councils.  Rep. Walz: Approval of the apology for eugenics projects supported by past legislatures; increasing investment in housing rehabilitation; converted the emergency legislation to permanent law that allows to-go service of alcohol; were unsuccessful in establishing a state-wide rental registry program similar to the one in place in Barre City. Councilor Waszazak asked legislators to advocate for American Rescue Plan funds allocated to counties to be reallocated to municipalities.  Sen. Cummings: Provided significant business assistance with federal funds; lowered the education tax rate due to the balance in the education fund; increased the earned income tax credit for the year due to the pandemic; working on access to broadband and affordable childcare.  Sen. Pollina: Working on consolidation of public safety with a focus on homelessness and mental health.  Sen. Perchlik: Growing the clean economy; allocated more money for municipal transportation spending and school construction. There was discussion on making changes to state law that requires the legislature to approve any actions on the local level due to Vermont being a Dillon’s Rule state. B) Appointment of Nancy Wolfe to the Recreation Committee. Ms. Wolfe wasn’t present, so this item is deferred. C) Appointment of Janelle Starr to the Recreation Committee. Ms. Starr wasn’t present, so this item is deferred. D) Appointment of Jim McWilliams to the Planning Commission. Jim McWilliam expressed his interest in serving on the Planning Commission. [N.B. there is no “s” on the end of Mr. McWilliam’s last name.] Council approved the appointment on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Cambel. Motion carried on roll call vote, with all voting in favor. E) Vacant Building Ordinance Update. Fire Chief Doug Brent and Fire Marshall Robert Howarth reviewed the vacant building information provided in the Council packet and noted there are currently 28 properties on the list. There was discussion on inspections, removing the fire chief from the appeal process and either naming an appeal committee or having the Council hear appeals, tax sale properties, how to deal with accumulations of garbage and rodents on abandoned properties, and funding support from Downstreet Community Housing for rehabilitating properties. F) Committee Charge and Priorities i. Recreation Committee Recreation Committee chair Linda Couture presented the committee’s objectives. There was discussion on mapping the City’s playgrounds and parks on the City website. There was also discussion on replacing the sign at Charlie’s Playground to reflect the name change. Council approved the charge and priorities on motion of 3 To be approved at 06/22/21 Barre City Council Meeting Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Hemmerick. Motion carried on roll call vote, with all voting in favor. G) Briefing on Proposed Barre City Municipal Government “Reopening Plan”. Manager Mackenzie reviewed his reopening plan, which calls for City Hall to reopen beginning Monday, June 21st, with no restrictions. Council gave informal approval. H) Review and/or Approve Changes to the Rules of Procedures Policy. Council reviewed the changes on meeting schedules and the makeup of agendas, and regular meetings vs. special meetings. Council approved the changes on motion of Councilor Hemmerick, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried. I) Presentation of Annual Internal Financial Controls Checklist. Clerk Dawes said she is required by statute to present the checklist to Council on an annual basis. No action is required. Round Table – Councilor Reil congratulated the state of Vermont for reaching the goal of 80% vaccination for COVID. Councilor Stockwell said she is grateful for her neighbors who are mowing the old railroad bed and have planted flowers. Councilor Hemmerick said he is grateful for a recent walk through Hope Cemetery with a neighbor. Councilor Cambel said people are enthusiastic to have been vaccinated, and there continue to be clinics available for those who haven’t yet received the vaccine. Councilor Waszazak said he attended a ball game at Fenway Park this past weekend, as the country opens up after COVID. He expressed his gratitude to the US Senate for unanimously approving Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Mayor Herring said there are ongoing conversations about those moving into homelessness as the emergency voucher program ends. Those involved in the conversation include the state, neighboring communities, and mental health providers. There are 72 people in our area who need housing. The Council meeting was adjourned by Mayor Herring at 9:37 PM. There is no audio recording of this meeting. The meeting was recorded on the video conference platform. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4