City Council

To be approved at 12/20/2022 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held December 20, 2022 The Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order in person and via video platform by Mayor Jake Hemmerick at 6:02 PM at Alumni Hall, Barre Civic Center. 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, Assistant City Manager Dawn Monahan, Police Chief Braedon Vail, Deputy Police Chief Larry Eastman, Interim Fire Chief Joe Aldsworth, Public Works Director Bill Ahearn, Buildings and Community Services Director Jeff Bergeron, Assistant Buildings and Community Services Director Stephanie Quaranta, Human Resources Director Rikk Taft, Planning Director Janet Shatney, IT Administrator Ryan Starr, and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda: Move new agenda item re. sale of 22 Hill Street to end of agenda, to be preceded by an executive session. Mayoral Proclamation honoring Finbar Ciappara & Santa Fin. Mayor Hemmerick read a proclamation honoring Finbar Ciappara – “Santa Fin” – and his accomplishments as a professional Santa Claus and advocate for the community. Those in attendance gave Santa Fin a standing ovation, and he was presented with three dozen of his favorite vanilla sugar cookies. Visitors and Communications – Bernadette Rose thanked the City workers for plowing streets and sidewalks, and encouraged the purchase of another sidewalk plow. Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Cambel, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried. A. Approval of Minutes: i. Regular meeting of December 13, 2022. B. City Warrants as presented: 1. Approval of Week 2022-51, dated December 21, 2022: i. Accounts Payable: $175,568.92 ii. Payroll (gross): $134,740.09 C. 2023 Licenses & Permits: 1. Food Establishment licenses: i. Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main Street ii. Basil’s Pizzeria, 20 S. Main Street iii. Capstone Community Kitchen, 20 Gable Place 2. Food Takeout licenses: i. Cumberland Farms, 524 N. Main Street & 132 S. Main Street (2 locations) 3. Food Vending licenses: i. Rise Up Bakery, 48 Granite Street 4. Entertainment licenses: i. Barre Historical Society – Old Labor Hall, 46 Granite Street (annual license) 5. Commercial Swimming Pool licenses: i. ReHab Gym, 219 N. Main Street 1 To be approved at 12/20/2022 Barre City Council Meeting 6. Vehicle for Hire Driver’s licenses: i. Doug Bergeron, J&D Taxi D. Withdrawal from the Central Vermont Public Safety Authority by directing the Manager to prepare a question to the voters at the March 2023 Town Meeting Day seeking to withdraw from CVPSA. City Clerk & Treasurer Report – Clerk/Treasurer Dawes reported on the following:  Water/sewer bills are due by January 3, 2023.  Information, nominating and consent of candidate forms for the 2023 annual town meeting elections are available on the City’s website. The Clerk noted the correct deadline for nominating petitions is January 30th, not January 23rd, as she had originally announced. Liquor Control Board/Cannabis Control Board – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Storellicastro noted the following:  An event application form has been developed to be submitted by those holding events on City property or streets, to ensure coordination of services.  The Civic Center has been busy with new events.  The Manager and Clerk are meeting with representatives from all City committees on December 29th to discuss upcoming changes to Open Meeting Laws and trainings on use of Zoom equipment.  There is no Council meeting next week. Committee representatives will be attending the January 3rd Council meeting to weigh in on the proposed committee resets. There was discussion on deferring the resets until after the Town Meeting warning is approved in late January. Unfinished Business – NONE New Business – B) Finalize FY24 Budget. Manager Storellicastro reviewed his budget overview, and invited conversation around the proposed FY24 budget. The Manager noted the current draft shows a projected increase of 5.00%. Topics of discussion included the following:  Barre Housing Authority PILOT payments  Energy Committee funding  Welcome and warming center funding – place on the ballot for separate voter approval?  Barre City Justice Center stipend  Front Porch Forum donation  Vacant building registrations now broken out on a separate line  Increase projected parking meter revenues  Barre Area Development Corporation funding increase compared to requested increase.  Establishment of new overweight permits – projected revenues, enforcement; ordinance revisions. Council recessed for a short break at 7:28 PM on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Deering. Motion carried. Council meeting resumed at 7:43 PM. 2 To be approved at 12/20/2022 Barre City Council Meeting Discussion on the proposed FY24 budget continued:  Semprebon annuity  Barre Area Development Corporation; embedding community development, grant seeking and administration in City government; effect of not fully funding BADC’s budget request, comparing increases across the board for BADC, Barre Partnership and Aldrich Public Library; placing additional funding requests on the ballot  Holding discussions on the capital improvement plan and project management capacity needed to complete projects  Holding future discussions on enterprise funds for parking and cemeteries Manager Storellicastro reviewed the takeaways from this evening’s discussions:  Increase the projected parking meter revenue  Invite BADC to a future meeting to further discuss their funding request Assistant Manager Dawn Monahan noted the increased parking meter revenue brings the projected budget increase down to 4.97%. Executive Session – Councilor Lauzon made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of personnel issues and real estate regarding the sale of 22 Hill Street would clearly place the City of Barre at a substantial disadvantage should the discussions be public. The motion was seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 7:58 PM to discuss personnel issues and the sale of 22 Hill Street under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Manager Storellicastro and Clerk Dawes were invited into the executive session. Motion carried. Councilor Stockwell left the executive session at 8:05 PM after the personnel discussion due to conflict of interest surrounding the sale of 22 Hill Street. Council came out of executive session at 8:20 PM on motion of Councilor Cambel, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried. Councilor Stockwell rejoined the meeting. A) Approve the sale of 22 Hill Street to Habitat for Humanity and authorize the Mayor and Manager to negotiate and execute purchase and sale agreement, transfer documents, and loan terms. Council approved the sale of 22 Hill Street to Habitat for Humanity for $1, and authorized the Mayor and Manager to negotiate and execute purchase and sale agreement, transfer documents, and loan terms on motion of Councilor Deering, seconded by Councilor Waszazak. Motion carried with Councilor Stockwell recused due to conflict of interest, as Councilor Stockwell serves on the Central VT Habitat for Humanity board. Upcoming Business – Mayor Hemmerick said the January 3rd meeting will include discussion on the committee reset and continued exploration around the proposed FY24 budget. The January 10th meeting will include discussion on the capital improvement plan. It was suggested the Council invite someone from IDEAL VT to talk about the program. 3 To be approved at 12/20/2022 Barre City Council Meeting Round Table – Councilors said last night’s employee holiday party was wonderful. They wished everyone a Merry Christmas, happy holidays and New Year. Councilor Stockwell said she won one of the tree raffles at the Aldrich Library. Mayor Hemmerick offered congratulations to Argentina for winning the World Cup, and to Porter Walbridge, who recently received his Eagle Scout designation. He attended last weekend’s Queer Craft Fair at the Old Labor Hall, and was told the fair brought more than 1,000 people to the downtown. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM on motion of Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried. The open portions of the meeting were recorded on the video meeting platform. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4