City Council

To be approved at 10/25/2022 Barre City Council Meeting Special Meeting of the Barre City Council Held October 18, 2022 The Special Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order in person and via video platform by Mayor Jake Hemmerick at 6:00 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 City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro, Buildings and Community Services Director Jeff Bergeron, and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Also present: City Attorney Oliver Twombly Adjustments to the Agenda: NONE Executive Session – Councilor Lauzon made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of real estate and personnel issues 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 6:00 PM to discuss real estate and personnel issues under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Lauzon, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Manager Storellicastro, Attorney Twombly, BCS Director Bergeron, and Clerk Dawes were invited into the executive session. Motion carried. Council came out of executive session at 6:59 PM on motion of Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried. There was no action taken. The meeting adjourned at 6:59 PM on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Deering. Motion carried. Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held October 18, 2022 The Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order in person and via video platform by Mayor Jake Hemmerick at 7:02 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 City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro, Finance Director Dawn Monahan, Planning Director Janet Shatney, Interim Fire Chief Joe Aldsworth, and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: NONE Visitors and Communications – Peter Anthony thanked the City and Barre Partnership for filling the vacancy created when the Barre Craft Guild annual craft show was canceled. Mr. Anthony said the Partnership will hold a craft fair at the Civic 1 To be approved at 10/25/2022 Barre City Council Meeting Center Auditorium over the Thanksgiving weekend. There is a need for volunteers to work at the fair, and anyone interested in working that weekend should contact the Barre Partnership. Bernadette Rose said October is Blindness Awareness Month, and Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Vermont Center for Independent Living hosted a white cane walk along N. Main Street last week. Ms. Rose said she participated in the walk and it raised her awareness of barriers along the route including sandwich board signs and overhead flags. Ms. Rose said the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier is hosting a documentary film tomorrow evening on blind and visually impaired artists. Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Lauzon, seconded by Councilor Boutin. Motion carried, with Councilor Waszazak abstaining due to conflict of interest. A. Approval of Minutes: i. Regular meeting of October 4, 2022. B. City Warrants as presented: 1. Ratification of Week 2022-41, dated October 12, 2022: i. Accounts Payable: $1,614,071.49 ii. Payroll (gross): $134,170.46 2. Approval of Week 2022-42, dated October 19, 2022: i. Accounts Payable: $265,641.50 ii. Payroll (gross): $138,875.24 C. 2022 Licenses & Permits: 1. Ratification of Entertainment License approval for Amanda Gustin/Greater Barre Democrats event in Currier Park, Sunday, October 16th. D. Ratification of the 3-week suspension of the activities of the Diversity & Equity Committee. City Clerk & Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Dawes reported on the following:  Ballots for the November 8th general election have been mailed to all active voters. Ballots will continue to be mailed to new voters as they register. Voters can either return the voted ballots before the election, or bring ballots with them to the polls on Election Day. Liquor Control Board/Cannabis Control Board – ForbinsFinest LLC Councilor Lauzon recused himself from the discussion and action due to conflict of interest. Clerk Dawes noted this is the first cannabis-related item for the City’s CCB. ForbinsFinest LLC has applied to the Vermont Cannabis Control Board for an Indoor Cultivator Tier 3 license, which requires local approval. ForbinsFinest LLC representatives Angela Payette and Nick Mattei appeared before the Council, and introduced themselves and their business. Planning Director Janet Shatney and Interim Fire Chief Joe Aldsworth said they have worked closing with Ms. Payette and Mr. Mattei to ensure compliance with zoning and fire safety regulations. Council approved the license on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried with Councilor Lauzon recused, and Councilor Boutin abstaining. City Manager’s Report – Manager Storellicastro noted the following:  Acknowledged those who attended and participated in last week’s winter preparedness round table, and noted there are daunting challenges and good partnerships.  Continuing to refine the capital improvement plan, with the final draft scheduled to be presented 2 To be approved at 10/25/2022 Barre City Council Meeting to Council later this calendar year.  Attended the VT League of Cities and Towns town fair conference, and attended sessions on housing and ARPA.  Work continues on the strategic plan, with the latest draft to be shared and discussed with individual Councilors in the coming weeks. Unfinished Business – NONE New Business – A) Discussion of Extra Mile Day Nominations. Councilors submitted the following names for this year’s EMD nominees:  Jason & Ashley Aldrich, for their service to Barre Youth Sports Association;  Margaret Ferguson, for her service through 20 years at Capstone Community Action;  Renita Marshall, for helping children and families in need. Council approved the slate of nominees on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried. Clerk Dawes will prepare the Extra Mile America submissions, and the mayoral proclamation to be presented at next week’s Council meeting. B) ARPA Community Feedback Process Update. Manager Storellicastro reviewed the timeline for the upcoming community feedback process:  Submission of letters of interest for community innovation projects - ongoing  Development of survey tool – scheduled to go live in early November  Host public forum – week of November 15  Issue report to Council – before end of calendar year Bernadette Rose asked to include replacement of the broken benches in City Hall Park as projects to be funded through ARPA. There was discussion on including projects from the capital improvement plan, accessible projects identified by the ADA Committee, funding support for the warming shelter at the Aldrich Library again this winter, and allowing additional time for receipt of the letters of interest. C) FY24 Department Review: General Administration, Manager’s Office, Finance, Clerk/Elections. Manager Storellicastro gave a powerpoint presentation on the FY24 budget goals, negative impact of the COVID years on the City budget, and adjustments identified for the general administration, Manager’s office, Finance Department, Clerk’s office and Elections sections of the draft FY24 budget. The Manager noted individual department expenses for phones, office supplies, email accounts, and advertising/printing will be pulled together into general administration with an eye towards economies of scale. Clerk Dawes explained the history of the City’s purchase of 16 Enterprise Aly as part of the redevelopment of Enterprise Aly, and noted the purchase was financed through an interfund loan from the sewer enterprise fund. The general fund budget includes annual payments on the loan, and the staff recommendation is to pay off the note from the general fund surplus so as to remove that line item from the budget. Upcoming Business – Manager Storellicastro said the police and fire departments will make their FY24 budget presentations at next week’s meeting. 3 To be approved at 10/25/2022 Barre City Council Meeting Round Table – Councilor Stockwell said she has received some citizen complaints regarding the road conditions on Prospect Street. She walked the street recently and noted the lower section, in particular, is treacherous for pedestrians, and dangerous for drivers. She shared the complaints and her observations with Public Works Director Ahearn who is reaching out to the state to see if there is funding support available to make improvements. Councilor Deering said he’s had similar experiences walking on Prospect Street and Allen Street. He said Spaulding High School’s final football game is this Saturday at U32 High School. Mayor Hemmerick said drivers should be especially careful of bicyclists and pedestrians, now that the hours of daylight are getting shorter. The Mayor thanked those who participated in last week’s winter preparedness round table, and he noted the City is experiencing IT technical difficulties. The email system is down, but staff hope it will be operational again by the end of the week. There are notices on the City website and Facebook page. Executive Session – NONE The meeting adjourned at 8:39 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried. The open portions of this meeting were recorded on the video meeting platform. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4