City Council

To be approved at 05/21/24 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council Held May 7, 2024 The Regular 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 City Hall, Barre, Vermont. In attendance 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, Police Chief Brad Vail, and Clerk/Treasurer Carol Dawes. Absent: NONE Adjustments to the Agenda:  Add approval of Aldrich + Elliot contract under consent agenda.  Move the mayoral proclamation from under new business to follow approval of resolutions.  Move approval of Service Master contract to new business from consent agenda. Resolutions 2024-06 and 2024-07: Recognize the service of Stephanie Quaranta and Jeffrey Bergeron. Clerk Dawes read the resolutions honoring Stephanie Quaranta for more than 36 years of service as Recreation Director (resolution #2024-06), and Jeffrey Bergeron for more than 16 years of service as director Buildings & Community Services ( resolution #2024-07). Both resolutions were approved by the Council on motions of Councilor Lauzon, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motions carried. Those in attendance gave several standing ovations to Ms. Quaranta and Mr. Bergeron. Ms. Quaranta was given an official copy of the resolution and a lifetime pass to the municipal swimming pool. Saturday, May 11, 2024 was declared Stephanie Quaranta Day in the City of Barre. Mr. Bergeron was given an official copy of the resolution and a lifetime pass for use of the batting cages. Sunday, May 12, 2024 was declared Jeffrey Bergeron Day in the City of Barre. Mayoral Proclamation honoring Barre City elected officials with expiring terms. Mayor Hemmerick read the proclamation honoring those elected officials whose current terms will expire at next week’s annual meeting election: Mayor Hemmerick, Clerk Dawes, and Councilors Lauzon, Boutin and Deering. Visitors and Communications: Several people spoke in recognition of Mayor Hemmerick’s tenure as City Councilor and Mayor, and thanked him for his service. Those who spoke were: Lisa Liotta Ericka Reil Joe Shadroui Bernadette Rose Joelen Mulvaney Jim Deschler AJ Jones Janet Van Fleet Garrett Grant John LePage Ellen Kaye Sue Higby Kaitlin Burnham Rachel Van Vliet Danielle Owczarski Mayor Hemmerick thanked people for their comments, and noted his parents and sister were in attendance via Zoom. Approval of Consent Agenda: Council approved the following consent agenda items on motion of Councilor Lauzon, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried. A. Approval of Minutes: 1 To be approved at 05/21/24 Barre City Council Meeting i. Regular meeting of April 23, 2024. B. City Warrants as presented: 1. Ratification of Week 2024-18, dated May 1, 2024: i. Accounts Payable: $86,154.48 ii. Payroll (gross): $149,731.93 2. Approval of Week 2024-19, dated May 8, 2024 i. Accounts Payable: $205,423.51 ii. Payroll (gross): $146,587.75 C. Clerk’s Office Licenses and Permits: NONE D. Authorize the Manager to execute contract(s) i. Service Master Restoration: City Hall flood restoration (moved to new business under adjustments) ii. Aldrich + Elliot: headworks upgrade at WWTF (added under adjustments) City Clerk & Treasurer Report – City Clerk/Treasurer Dawes reported on the following:  Annual meeting election will be held on May 14th. Polls will be open at the auditorium from 7AM – 7PM. More than 600 early absentee ballots have been issued, and nearly half have been returned to date.  Fourth quarter property taxes are due by May 15th. Most of City Hall will be closed Tuesday, May 14th, because of the annual meeting date, however the Clerk’s office will be open that day to accept property tax payments. Liquor Control Board/Cannabis Control Board – NONE City Manager’s Report – Manager Storellicastro reported on the following:  Held a flood after-action debriefing today with department heads, VT Emergency Management (VEM) and Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission (CVRPC). Barre City is the first community to go through this process, and the discussions honed in on mitigation, culvert upsizing, and access to the public safety building.  The City submitted two additional requests for congressionally directed funding projects: North End housing and replacing the digester at the wastewater treatment facility.  The state has submitted a significant request for congressionally directed funding for housing in the North End.  New England Municipal Consultants (NEMC), the firm conducting the city-wide reappraisal, has started sending out letters to property owners, informing them of the upcoming reappraisal and offering ways to schedule an inspection. NEMC will be reaching out to all property owners over the coming months.  Installation of City Hall HVAC systems will start in approximately 2 weeks. New Business – A) Police Department trends report. Police Chief Brad Vail said the body-worn camera program rolled out starting last month. Operations are under the policy on use of cameras. Demonstrations are available to Councilors upon request. Mayor Hemmerick thanked the Chief for shepherding through the Police Advisory Committee approval of 84 policies to date. Councilor Boutin asked if the City was moving towards accreditation through CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies). The Chief said many of the policies that have been adopted were designed to satisfy CALEA standards. Accreditation is expensive, but could 2 To be approved at 05/21/24 Barre City Council Meeting provide some potential insurance cost savings. The Police Advisory Committee is aware of the accreditation option. The Chief gave a PowerPoint crime trend overview report. He noted violent crimes are decreasing, due in part to a variety of available programs including the City’s embedded mental health clinician, and the recovery coach available through Turning Point Center. The Chief said quality of life crimes are the most prevalent, and the number of domestic disturbances is higher than the statewide average. There was discussion on the effects of domestic violence on children and families, collaborating with Circle & Mosaic on developing a public service campaign to address domestic violence, filling police department staff vacancies, and police academy training schedules. B) Update on Auditorium renovation project. Manager Storellicastro reminded the Council the City was awarded a $3.5 million Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) grant sponsored by Senator Sanders for auditorium improvements including ADA access, electrical upgrades, audio/visual improvements, and HVAC upgrades. The original grant requires a local match of approximately $2.7 million. The grant is administered through USDA, and the City has been working with them since last summer to identify impacts of last summer’s flooding on the operating budget and the ability to secure matching funds. The City has the opportunity to apply to phase the projects and therefore forgo identification of the full match. The current discussions have been around identifying approximately $4 million in projects, with $3.5 million coming from the CDS and the balance being covered by a local match. There was discussion on what projects should be the focus of phase 1, and being sure to include the ADA renovations. The Manager will create a list of possible projects for the Council to review and prioritize. Bernadette Rose said the Buildings and Facilities Committee has made a commitment to raise $100,000 of the required matching funds. Ms. Rose suggested reaching out to neighboring Barre Town to seek support of this regional facility. It was noted the facility serves as a state emergency shelter, and there may be opportunities to secure matching funds from Vermont Emergency Management. Council approved authorizing the Manager to prepare a phased approach to the auditorium upgrade project on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Lauzon. Motion carried. C) Warned for 7:00 PM: Informational meeting for May 14, 2024 annual meeting election. The informational meeting opened at 7:35 PM. Clerk Dawes said such a meeting is required in the 10 days before an annual meeting election, and this is an opportunity for the Council and public to ask questions about or comment on what’s on the ballot. Bernadette Rose thanked the Clerk for advocating for voter access for early absentee voting and voting at the polls. Hearing no additional comments or questions, the informational meeting closed at 7:41 PM. D) Mayor Proclamation recognizing the service of Council members with expiring terms. Moved to earlier in the meeting through adjustments to the agenda. Added) Authorize Manager to approve Service Master contract for City Hall flood damage restorations. (moved from consent agenda through adjustments to the agenda) There was discussion on repairs being done in City Hall following flood damage from last summer. Manager Storellicastro said funding is coming from insurance and FEMA, with any balance coming from the City. 3 To be approved at 05/21/24 Barre City Council Meeting Council authorized the Manager to execute the contract with Service Master for repairs to City Hall on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Lauzon. Motion carried. Upcoming Business – Next Council meeting is May 21st. There will be a VLCT training for the new Council, a quarterly update from Barre Area Development Corporation, and presentation of proposed fee schedule changes. Council will also take up discussion on allocating ARPA funds in the near future. Councilor Boutin said he would like Council to discuss the Manager’s previous decision with regard to Ms. Chase’s fence, and the replacement thereof. Councilor Lauzon said there will need to be a discussion on identifying a funding source for pre- engineering expenses for the north end. The Council might consider using ARPA funds. Round Table – Councilor Stockwell said she had a great Green-Up Day experience getting out and cleaning up around the City. She also attended the Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee presentation at the Barre Area Development Corporation economic summit. Councilor Waszazak thanked those whose terms are ending next week, and said good work has been accomplished. Councilor Boutin noted last Saturday’s Blow Up to Glow Up festivities, and said he is proud of her niece, who organizes the annual event. Mayor Hemmerick said this is his final meeting, and it’s been an honor to serve. Executive Session – Councilor Boutin made the motion to find that premature general public knowledge of personnel issues to be discussed would clearly place the City of Barre at a substantial disadvantage should the discussions be public. The motion was seconded by Councilor Lauzon. Motion carried. Council went into executive session at 7:52 PM to discuss personnel under the provisions of 1 VSA § 313 on motion of Councilor Boutin, seconded by Councilor Lauzon. Manager Storellicastro and Clerk Dawes were invited into the executive session. Motion carried. Council came out of executive session at 8:00 PM on motion of Councilor Lauzon, seconded by Councilor Stockwell. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM on motion of Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Lauzon. Motion carried. The open portions of the meeting were recorded on the video platform. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn S. Dawes, City Clerk 4