City Council

To be approved at 07/13/21 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held June 29, 2021 The Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order in person and via video platform by Mayor Lucas Herring at 7:00 PM at Barre City Hall. In attendance, participating in person, or by video or phone, were: From Ward I, Councilors Emel Cambel and Jake Hemmerick; from Ward II, Councilors Michael Boutin 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, Fire Chief Doug Brent, Deputy Fire Chief Joe Aldsworth, and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: There was discussion on the consent agenda item to approve the purchase of the bola wrap restraint device, and it was noted the purchase falls within the Manager’s spending limit under the procurement policy. The Manager said he included it in the consent agenda so the Council and public would have information about what actions the police department is taking. Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried. A. Minutes of the following meetings: a. Special meeting of June 22, 2021 b. Regular meeting of June 22, 2021 B. City Warrants as presented: a. Approval of Week 2021-26, dated June 30, 2021: i. Accounts Payable: $313,424.92 ii. Payroll (gross): $232,697.49 C. 2021 Licenses & Permits: a. Food Vending Licenses: i. The Fajita Hut, for Food Truck Thursdays ii. Mo’s Backyard BBQ LLC, for Food Truck Thursdays D. Purchase Approval of Bola Wrap Restraint Device. The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Dawes reported on the following:  Water/sewer bills are due by June 30th.  Today was the hearing in the Judd v. City of Barre election challenge case. The court ruled in the City’s favor. Liquor Control – Council approved an extended outside consumption permit for The Quarry Kitchen & Spirits to close off the Depot for July 23rd and July 24th on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Reil. Motion carried with Councilor Boutin abstaining. Council approved a Special Event Permit application for Lawson’s Finest Liquids LLC out of Waitsfield for a malt tasting at Mr. J’s on July 16th from 3-6PM on motion of Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried with Councilor Boutin abstaining. City Manager’s Report - Manager Mackenzie noted his written weekly report included in the Council packet. Councilor Hemmerick asked for an update on submission of a road grant to the state, the storm water permits applications, and repairs and clean-up following a vehicle accident on lower Camp Street over the weekend. Manager Mackenzie said he’ll look into them. 1 To be approved at 07/13/21 Barre City Council Meeting Visitors and Communications – Fire Chief Doug Brent asked for clarification on the use of the two donations received from the Hollow Inn, and noted the minutes from last week’s meeting indicated the donations will be used for the summer community picnic. Chief Brent asked that the Fire Department’s donation be allocated to the Department to use for the purchase of unbudgeted equipment. Council approved allocating the FD donation as requested by the Chief, and allocating the Police Department donation to the summer picnic on motion of Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Cambel. Motion carried. Resident Bernadette Rose read the following statement: Thank you All, for making Council and Committee Meetings hybrid, continuing to provide me and others with access. Being able to connect via ZOOM has given many of us older citizens and citizens with disabilities an opportunity to actively engage in our City Governance. Hybrid meetings allow me to participate more fully as a member of the ADA Committee as well. I am able to safely meet along with those for whom meeting in person is better. It is a win-win. Having been a parent, I imagine the great benefit of access for people with young children, for working people, for fostering greater accessibility, as well as holding open and transparent meetings. I am hard pressed to understand why anyone would find fault with your decision to make meetings at City Hall fully accessible with the modest investment in technology to do so. For this reason, I want to go on record as fully supporting the decision to keep the remote part of the meeting accessible, so ALL citizens in Barre can participate remotely or in person. THANK YOU. Old Business – A) Reschedule Grand List Workshop. Council requested the workshop canceled earlier this month be rescheduled for this fall. Clerk Dawes will be in touch with District Advisor Barbara Schlesinger to set up another date. New Business – A) Update from the Vermont Granite Museum. Granite Museum executive director Scott McLaughlin said the museum weathered the pandemic pretty well, but the number of volunteers has dropped. He is working with various organizations on building up the volunteer corps through work-based training initiatives. They held a soft opening in May, and have been open five days/week through June. They’ll be open six days/week beginning in July. Requests are coming in to rent the space for meetings and special events. Their focus this year is on five areas: 1. Support for the stone arts school, 2. Archive the building, 3. Hire a curator of collections and exhibits, 4. Create the sculpture park, 5. Make historic Barre Granite Association and Rock of Ages films available to the public. They have received a National Film Preservation Foundation grant to make this happen. 2 To be approved at 07/13/21 Barre City Council Meeting VGM board member Peter Anthony said Mr. Maclaughlin has helped improve the profile of the museum and the community through his efforts. B) CVHHH & Barre City EMS Dept. Community Collaboration Program. Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice CEO Sandy Rousse said they have been on the front lines since the beginning of the COVID pandemic providing services in the field. Ms. Rousse said they have been partnering with Barre City’s Emergency Medical Services, and Deputy Fire Chief Joe Aldsworth was named Community Partner of the Year for his assistance in enhancing care. Dep. Chief Aldsworth said it’s a team effort with the entire public safety department including EMS, fire and police, the mental health clinician, and the community services interventionist. Fire Chief Doug Brent said the City benefits from the great relationships between all the partners. Councilors gave Dep. Chief Aldsworth a well- deserved round of applause. C) Overview of ARPA Funding Program and Approval of Grant Terms & Conditions. Manager Mackenzie reviewed the terms and conditions associated with acceptance of the federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. Council approved the following motion made by Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried. Motion to certify that the Barre City Council agrees to the Treasury Department’s ARPA Funding Terms and Conditions, and to appoint the City Manager as the Authorized Representative for the grant administration, and requests the disbursement of ARPA funds to the City. D) Discussion of Ordinance Review Process in FY22. i. Administrative Ordinance. Mayor Herring reviewed the process and the cover memo he prepared for review of the administrative ordinance. There was discussion on what ordinances might need reviewing, the purpose and process for review, and meshing reviews of ordinances with reviews of charter to make sure language and content is consistent and accurate. Council gave unofficial approval to the process. E) Assignment of Ordinances for review in FY22. Mayor Herring said he will continue to work on the administrative ordinance. There was continuing discussion on purpose and process, and use of staff time. Ordinances on the Council FY22 priority list will be sent to designated staff members for review as their schedule allows. F) Appointment of Charter Work Group. Councilors Reil and Stockwell were appointed to serve on the charter work group with Clerk Dawes on motion of Councilor Cambel, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried. G) Discussion of Policy Review Process in FY22. Mayor Herring went over the list of policies still to be reviewed. It was suggested a policy be developed on the timeline and development of the capital improvement plan, to serve as a guiding document. H) Review and Approval of FY22 Council Priorities. Mayor Herring reviewed the list. There was discussion on the possible development of a PILOT program for properties owned by non-profits; reviewing trends in the grand list, budgets, deferred maintenance, costs to maintain services and building infrastructure; and tying priorities to goals. The PILOT priority item was moved from the FY22 priority list to FY23. I) Athena Leadership and Young Professionals Nominations. Mayor Herring spoke of soliciting nominations, which should be received by August 1st to allow for 3 To be approved at 07/13/21 Barre City Council Meeting submission by the September 1st deadline. Councilor Boutin said he will be nominating Barre Partnership executive director Tracie Lewis. Round Table – Councilors wished everyone a happy July 4th. Councilor Cambel said upon hearing the report from CVHHH, she is amazed and grateful for the work being done in the community. Councilor Waszazak said tomorrow is the last day of Pride Month, and wished everyone a happy Pride Month. He said most City staff members work under the radar every day, but the work is vitally important to the success of the City. Councilor Stockwell said she found Canales Park, and noted it’s a wonderful asset for the community. Councilor Hemmerick said how nice it is to be meeting in person again. Mayor Herring said Sunday’s ribbon cutting and re-opening at the municipal pool was great. Executive Session – NONE The meeting adjourned at 8:58 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Cambel. Motion carried. The meeting was recorded on the video meeting platform. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4