City Council

To be approved at 06/21/2022 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held June 14, 2022 The Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order in person and via video platform by Mayor Jake Hemmerick at 7:00 PM at Barre City Hall. In attendance in person or virtually were: From Ward I, Councilors Emel Cambel and Thom Lauzon; from Ward II, Councilors Michael Boutin and Teddy Waszazak; and from Ward III, Councilors Michael Deering and Samn Stockwell. City staff members present were Manager Steve Mackenzie, Human Resources Director Rikk Taft, Planning Director Janet Shatney, and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Also present: Incoming City Manager R. Nicolas Storellicastro. Adjustments to the Agenda:  Unfinished business agenda items will be taken up after all new business is completed.  New agenda items for the capital improvement plan and bond update are deferred.  Adding an executive session for personnel. Visitors and Communications – Ericka Reil thanked the City for hosting the first Pride event this past weekend in City Hall Park. Ms. Reil said it was a wonderful event, and raised $1,100 for SafeSpace. The hope is this is the first of many annual celebrations. Amanda Gustin announced a debate will be held next Wednesday with candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vermont’s single at-large Congressional seat. The debate is at the Barre Opera House. Free tickets are available through the Barre Democrats’ website. Approval of Consent Agenda: Clerk Dawes noted the draft minutes were missing those staff members who attended last week’s meeting. The Clerk has made the corrections on the official version of the minutes. Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Lauzon, seconded by Councilor Cambel. Motion carried. A. Approval of Minutes: i. Regular meeting of June 7, 2022, as amended B. City Warrants as presented: 1. Approval of Week 2022-24, dated June 15, 2022: i. Accounts Payable: $87,063.73 ii. Payroll (gross): $136.188.17 C. 2022 Licenses & Permits: NONE D. Dissolution of the Manager’s Search Task Force City Clerk & Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Dawes reported on the following:  Water/sewer bills are due by June 30th.  Voters are encouraged to request ballots by mail for the August 9th primary elections. Ballots will be available by June 25th.  Request for proposal and offer documents have been drafted for the sale of 22 Hill Street. The Clerk asked for a Councilor to volunteer to review the documents before they come to Council for consideration. Councilor Stockwell offered to review the documents. 1 To be approved at 06/21/2022 Barre City Council Meeting Liquor Control Board – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Mackenzie added the following to his written report:  Ambulance revenue continues to trend positive for the fiscal year.  Thank you to those who planned and attended the community retirement gathering at The Meltdown on Sunday. New Business – A) Approval of Barre Area Veterans Council for Veterans Day Special Flag Display & Salute to Veterans Parade Request. Manager Mackenzie reviewed Council’s previous actions to approve displaying the large American flag over N. Main Street for Veterans Day, and noted the City has also received a request to display the flag for the Heritage Festival. The Manager said he will put together an agenda item for the next meeting for the Council to approve an annual display schedule to include Memorial Day, July 4th, Heritage Festival, and Veterans Day. Barre Area Veterans Council representative Chuck Barney requested the Boy Scouts presentation go first, as his request includes the Boy Scouts. Mayor Hemmerick rearranged the agenda accordingly. B) Barre Boy Scout Troop 1 Presentation. Local scouts Porter Walbridge, Evan Cross, Gavin Sickles, and Logan Cross gave a presentation on the recent merging of troops 714 and 795 into Troop 1, in recognition of Barre hosting the first Boy Scout troop in America in 1910. The presentation showed pictures of scout activities and listed areas of focus. Mark Saxon, Scout Executive/CEO of the Green Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America, presented the scouts with a framed copy of their new charter. A) Approval of Barre Area Veterans Council for Veterans Day Special Flag Display & Salute to Veterans Parade Request – continued. Chuck Barney from the Barre Area Veterans Council reviewed the history of Barre’s involvement with the Boy Scouts’ Salute to Veterans, and requested Council approve having the City host the salute again this year on Saturday, November 5th. The Veterans Day parade is scheduled that day, and scouts will be in attendance from all over the state. Mr. Barney requested use of the civic center for parking and parade preparations, and use of the auditorium for lunch after the parade. Ron Tallman and Scott Herring will serve as logistics coordinators for the events. Mr. Barney thanked the Council for previously approving display of the large American flag over N. Main Street from November 4-14 in honor of Veterans Day. Council approved the request to use the civic center area and auditorium on motion of Councilor Lauzon, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. C) All-in-for-Barre Task Force Report – River Access. Danielle Owczarski from the River Access Task Force reviewed their work to date since forming after the All In For Barre community forums. There are six board members, two resource people, and 13 residents on the email contact list. They have developed their mission and vision statements, and a strategic plan, and have set up Instagram and Facebook sites. The Task Force will hold tabling events at various community activities to engage people in what they’d like to see for river access, and will hold a river cleanup in the fall. There was discussion on water quality and species of fish found in the rivers and streams that run through Barre City. The Task Force presented a budget of $900 for their summer projects. The budget will be taken up for discussion in the next agenda item. 2 To be approved at 06/21/2022 Barre City Council Meeting D) Allocation of Mayor Herring’s Donated Stipend for Service on the VLCT Board to the River Access Group. Mayor Hemmerick noted former Mayor Herring donated to the City his stipend for serving on the VLCT board. Council had previously allocated the funds to be used for the All In For Barre community forums, however, the money wasn’t needed. The available balance is $1,357.84. Mayor Hemmerick also noted the Council had allocated up to $13,000 from the Semprebon Bequest Fund to be used for the All In For Barre events, however, only $3,107.23 was needed, leaving a balance of $9,892.77 in unspent funds. Mayor Hemmerick recommended Council allocate $900 from Mayor Herring’s stipend for use by the River Access Task Force, and reassign the balance of the funds to the general fund’s FY23 budget of $2,500 for committee support. The Mayor further recommended the unused Semprebon funds be returned to the available balance of the Bequest Fund. Council approved the recommendations on motion of Councilor Lauzon, seconded by Councilor Cambel. Motion carried. E) Decision/Action re: Award of Capital Improvements Planning (CIP) Consultant Contract. This item is deferred. F) Infrastructure Bonds Update – 4th Quarter. This item is deferred. G) Authorize Manager to Execute FY23 Fuels Contracts (No. 2 Oil, Propane). Manager Mackenzie said he is communicating with the City’s fuels broker. Contracts for heating fuel oil aren’t available at this time, but a contract for propane may be available in the near future. The Manager said when an offer is made the City must respond within 24 hours, which doesn’t allow time to wait until the next regularly scheduled Council meeting, and he requested Council authorize the Manager to execute a fixed price contract when judged to be prudent. There was discussion on projected costs vs. what’s included in the FY23 budget, contract bidding, and vendor selection. Council approved the Manager’s request on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Deering. Motion carried, with Mayor Hemmerick voting against. Unfinished Business – A) American Rescue Plan Act Funding Public Outreach Reboot. Mayor Hemmerick said Councilor Waszazak has stated he doesn’t have the bandwidth to take this on considering his new position as a campaign manager. Manager Mackenzie will get contact information to Councilor Lauzon and Clerk Dawes, who will report back at the June 28th meeting. B) Establishment of Local Cannabis Control Board & Planning Commission Request. Mayor Hemmerick reviewed his packet memo. Councilor Lauzon made the following motion, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried: 1) Adopt resolution #2022-07; and 2) direct Clerk Dawes to submit the signed, adopted resolution to the Cannabis Control Board; and 3) request the Planning Commission consider emerging guidance and allowable municipal approaches on zoning as they may relate to cannabis establishments, which may include such policies as allowing certain types of cannabis establishments in certain zoning districts, imposing specific conditions to avoid or mitigate public impacts, establishing an overlay district to impose specific standards across multiple underlying zoning districts, requiring that certain performance standards be met, or ensuring the provision of ADA accessibility to new establishments, etc. 3 To be approved at 06/21/2022 Barre City Council Meeting Upcoming Business – Mayor Hemmerick listed future items including:  Strategic planning session Saturday, June 18th 8AM – noon  There will be no Council meeting next week. Round Table – Councilor Deering congratulated this year’s Spaulding High School graduates. Executive Session – Councilor Stockwell made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of personnel discussions would clearly place the City of Barre at a substantial disadvantage should the discussions be public. The motion was seconded by Councilor Cambel. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 8:31 PM to discuss personnel under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Cambel. Manager Mackenzie, incoming Manager Storellicastro and Human Resources Director Rikk Taft were invited into the executive session. Motion carried. There were technical difficulties creating a breakout room on the video platform, which was needed to allow Councilor Deering, Mr. Storellicastro, and Mr. Taft to attend the executive session. The Mayor deferred the executive session until the next Council meeting on June 28th. The meeting adjourned at 8:54 PM on motion of Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried. The meeting was recorded on the video meeting platform. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4