City Council

To be approved at 08/24/21 Barre City Council Meeting Special Meeting of the Barre City Council Held August 10, 2021 The Special Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order in person and via video platform by Acting Mayor Michael Boutin at 6:00 PM at Barre City Hall. In attendance 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 were City Manager Steve Mackenzie, Planning Director Janet Shatney, and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Others present: City Attorney Oliver Twombly, and White & Burke consultant Stephanie Clarke. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: NONE Visitors and Communications – NONE Executive Session – Councilor Waszazak made the motion to find that premature general knowledge of contracts and personnel 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. Mayor Herring joined the meeting at this time (6:02 PM) and assumed the chair. Council went into executive session at 6:03 PM to discuss contracts and personnel under the provisions of 1 VSA sec. 313 on motion of Councilor Hemmerick, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried. Manager Mackenzie, Ms. Clarke, Mr. Twombly, Planning Director Shatney, and Clerk Dawes were invited into the executive session. Council came out of executive session at 6:55 PM on motion of Councilor Cambel, seconded by Councilor Reil. Motion carried. No action was taken. The Special Council meeting was adjourned at 6:56 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried. There is no audio recording of this meeting. Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held August 10, 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 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 in person or via video platform were Manager Steve Mackenzie, Planning Director Janet Shatney, Public Works Director Bill Ahearn, Engineering Tech Elijiah Morgan, and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. 1 To be approved at 08/24/21 Barre City Council Meeting Absent: NONE. Adjustments to the Agenda: Mayor Herring said the TIF contract approval has been moved to the top of the new agenda items list. Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Cambel, seconded by Councilor Reil. Motion carried. A. Minutes of the following meetings: a. Regular meeting of July 27, 2021 b. Special meeting of August 2, 2021 B. City Warrants as presented: a. Ratification of Week 2021-31, dated August 4, 2021 i. Accounts Payable: $253,026.94 ii. Payroll (gross): $143,226.87 b. Approval of Week 2021-32, dated August 11, 2021: i. Accounts Payable: $112,519.32 ii. Payroll (gross): $129,979.90 C. 2021 Licenses & Permits: a. Entertainment Licenses: i. Enough Ministries, church music performance in City Hall Park, August 28th from noon – 6PM. D. Approve Allocation of Semprebon Bequest Funds for Community Visit. The City Clerk/Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Dawes reported on the following:  Tax bills were mailed last week. First payment is due by September 15th. Liquor Control – NONE City Manager’s Report - Manager Mackenzie announced the following:  The City has received the first American Rescue Plan funds of $446,000, which represents half of the total allocation. There will also be a payout of the reallocated county-level funds in the next 30 days. The Clerk said she is exploring investment options, as the City is entitled to any earned interest on the funds.  The City received a Northern Borders Regional Grant in support of the replacement of the ejector station on the north end of the City. The grant will cover about 1/3 of the project cost. Thanks go to Barre Area Development Corporation executive director Cody Morrison for shepherding the grant through the process.  Public Works is concentrating on street striping in the school districts. Visitors and Communications – Kiwanis Club member Rick McMahon said the Barre Planet Path signs have been reinstalled along the bike path, with the assistance of the Public Works Department. The signs indicate spatial relationships between the sun and planets in our solar system with 1 foot equaling 1 million miles. Mr. McMahon said the signs were originally installed in 2019, but were vandalized. He passed out cards with QR codes accessing videos on each of the planets. Old Business – NONE 2 To be approved at 08/24/21 Barre City Council Meeting New Business – C) Approval of Phase II TIF Consultancy Contract with White & Burke. Manager Mackenzie reviewed the document. There was discussion on various provisions of the contract. Council approved the proposed White & Burke Phase II TIF Consultancy Agreement contingent upon final terms and conditions as negotiated by the City Manager and approved by the City on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried. A) Appointment of Joshua Akers to the Transportation Advisory Committee. Joshua Akers expressed his interest in serving on the Transportation Advisory Committee. Council approved the appointment on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. B) Emergency Housing Program Update. VT Commissioner of the Department for Children & Families Sean Brown spoke about the emergency housing program that placed those experiencing homelessness in motels during the COVID pandemic. Mr. Brown said there is a growing trend towards homelessness, and the pandemic exacerbated the challenges. The program usually houses approximately 200 families during the year, and during COVID the number was more than 2,000. A working group of community partners was created to serve this community during the pandemic, and services are being provided to those housed in motels. The working group is now developing plans to transition to a system that is more sustainable. Housing availability is limited across the state as tourism increases and motel rooms become unavailable to the emergency housing program. Office of Economic Opportunities Director Sarah Phillips said there is a substantial increase in available funding at the moment, yet the availability of housing is restricted. There was discussion on the possibility of using FEMA trailers, lack of services actually being provided to those housed in motels, demographics of those experiencing homelessness, how can the municipalities find out what the needs are, investing in infrastructure and more housing, and addressing the root causes of homelessness. D) Presentation of FY22 Capital Equipment Plan. This item is deferred. F) Presentation and Review of TIF Audit. Clerk Dawes reviewed the process for the State Auditor’s Office TIF audit, and noted this is the first of three such audits that will be conducted over the life of the TIF district. The Clerk said the recommendations included in the audit will improve recordkeeping and accounting. E) SeeClickFix Mobile App Overview. Engineering tech Elijiah Morgan gave an overview of the mobile app. DPW director Bill Ahearn said the program is in the testing phase as they work through work flow management, notification, success measurement, and reporting. The plan is to continue with a soft rollout over the next few months, and go public in early fall. Currently the system is set up for DPW-related submissions, but could be expanded in the future for other departments. Round Table – Councilor Waszazak said the Aldrich Library is now open to the public. They will be holding their next book sale the weekend of August 27-28. Councilor Stockwell said there is no local housing available, and she’d like to see a local housing meeting. 3 To be approved at 08/24/21 Barre City Council Meeting Councilor Hemmerick said the Granite Museum also received a Northern Borders Regional Grant, facilitated by BADC executive director Cody Morrison. Mayor Herring said the August 24th Council meeting will begin at 6PM with a strategic planning discussion with Montpelier City Manager Bill Fraser. The Community Visit is scheduled for August 25th, and the community picnic will be held on September 1st. Executive Session – NONE The meeting adjourned at 8:58 PM on motion of Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Hemmerick. Motion carried. The meeting was recorded on the video meeting platform. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4