City Council

To be approved at 11/19/24 Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council (Draft) Held November 12th, 2024 Council Chambers-Barre City Hall 1.) The scheduled Meeting of the Barre City Council was called to order in person and via video platform by Mayor Thomas Lauzon at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers at City Hall, Barre, Vermont. In attendance were: From Ward I, Councilors Emel Cambel and Sonya Spaulding; from Ward II, Councilors Amanda Gustin and Teddy Waszazak; and from Ward III, Councilors Samn Stockwell and Michael Deering. City staff members present were City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro, and Clerk/Treasurer Cheryl Metivier (remote). Absent: none 2.) Adjustments to the Agenda –Move #6 of the agenda to immediately follow adjustments Move #8-G to consent agenda Remove D from the consent agenda to follow Warrant approval 3.) Liquor/Cannabis Control Boards- Summer St Tavern (fka Jerry’s Sports Bar) owned by Tina Coates. Tina spoke to the council provided a brief history of community involvement and her desire to own an establishment of this kind for year. Moved by Councilor Deering, seconded by Councilor Gustin, approved Dollar General – North End #11046- 2nd class liquor license payment made. Pending payment for the South end store. (South end approved pending payment) Moved by Councilor Spaulding, seconded by Councilor Waszazak VT Strong –Cannabis Retail – owned by Steve Manning Moved by Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Stockwell, approved. (Mr. Manning needs to address Council as a formality) 4.) Visitors & Communications: *Abigail Beach-St.Monica Church and St. Monica/ St. Michael School has growing concern over the break-ins and loitering on the school campus. She has become leery of walking on the City streets after dark now and would like some safety measurers in place to strengthen security. Bern Rose recalls group walking, which provided a sense of community and security. *Brian Voyt – announced Central VT Regional Planning Commission hosting a Winooski River round table discussion on Dec 4th 2 530 pm in Montpelier. *Michael Boutin – Praised the upcoming coin drop that aids the “Christmas for Kids” program. He also wanted to thank voter for supporting and voting for him. His commitment and pride for Barre will be reflected in his newly elected position. 1 To be approved at 11/19/24 Barre City Council Meeting 5.) Approval of Consent Agenda: A. Approval of minutes i. Regular Council meeting Tuesday, October 28th, 2024 (corrections made) B. Clerk’s Office License & Permits-none C. Authorize the Manager to execute contract(s) i. Prospect St re-paving D. Consider contract for study of Berlin/Prospect St stop sign ($2,500) Expedite the process due to the time already passed with no clear result. Motion moved by Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor waszazak- approved 5.-a.) Approval of City Warrants A Ratify week of 10/30/24 & 11/6/24 B. Approval of warrants from week of November 13th, 2024 Moved by Councilor Gustin, seconded Councilor Waszazak – Approved 6.) City Clerk & Treasurer Report-None 7.) Terminate agreement between City of Barre and Vermont Granite Museum regarding Depot Square Moved by Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Gustin, approved 8.) City Managers Report *Detailed timeline of the Water Breaks occurring in Barre City due to main line flushing, most prominently the break on South Main St. candidly stating this was an estimated $109,000 event and maybe it is time to study the aging infrastructure of the water systems. *Amy Galford mentioned looking at the Capital Plan available online, for upcoming projects and possibly using that as a template. New Business A. Regroup sign-up tutorial Regroup is a messaging system that the City acquired to communicate important updates and news directly to residents’ phones. • This app is FREE to download and use. • Regroup will send in-app notifications straight to your phone so you can hear important updates, including weather alerts, winter emergency parking bans, and street closures. 2 To be approved at 11/19/24 Barre City Council Meeting B. Volunteer appointments i. Unhoused Community Committee – Daniel Barlow Beth Ann Mueller Moved by Councilor Waszazak and seconded by Councilor Gustin, approved Unhoused Community Committee – Beth Ann Mueller Moved by Councilor Gustin, seconded by Councilor Cambel, approved ii. Cemetery Committee – Heather Ritchie Moved by Councilor Stockwell , Seconded by Councilor Deering, approved C.) Accept CVRPC infill analysis final report – Eli Toohey A study of privately owned and city owned vacant lots for the purpose development. Further studies on these parcels included, flood resiliency, type of structure the lots could support. Many hours taken to characterize the parcels for development. D.) New winter parking rules overview What were the previous rules; •Purpose: Allow for efficient and timely plowing/clearing of snow by removing cars as obstacles during snow removal operations. • From November 15 through April 1, NO PARKING on any City streets or parking lots from 1AM to 6AM. • City sells overnight parking permits for designated spaces around the City. • Violators are towed New proposed rules; • Transition to a forecast dependent parking ban. Winter parking ban will ONLY be in effect based on known or expected weather patterns that may require plowing. Ban will continue to be 1AM – 6AM on impacted nights. • Parking ban communicated by emergency alert systems. Residents will receive notices via several communication methods about the onset of the ban and the lifting of the parking ban. • Permits available and auxiliary parking at the BOR. During parking bans, residents without off-street parking will be able to purchase overnight parking permits and/or park on the dirt parking lot adjacent to the BOR from 1AM to 6AM Alert notices; • Residents will be notified of parking ban and lifted parking ban via several communication methods: oBarre City Resident Alerts via ReGroup Mobile App (https://www.barrecity.org/regroup.html) oVT-Alerts (https://vem.vermont.gov/vtalert) oFacebook page (@BarreCityVT) oWebsite (barrecity.org) • Digital signs will be deployed throughout the winter to alert motorists • Civic Center sign on Seminary Street would be used to alert of auxiliary parking at the BOR. E.) Final review of flood resiliency plan (Gustin/Waszazak) Councilor Gustin and Councilor Waszazak brought to the table a final review of a combined community driven 3 To be approved at 11/19/24 Barre City Council Meeting and professionally advised plan, pieced together to create detailed actions to be implemented for future flood resiliency in Barre City. Many community meetings provide opportunities for community members to express ideas, concerns and support. Catlin Allen praised the hard long hours this plan required to become the spectacular resiliency model it is. Pat Moulten – Plans to bring this to local and national committees and services as a proactive approached for advocating for Barre City, and the need for funding of flood resiliency measures. Councilor Spaulding – Would like to see the Equity Assessment tool be used to ensure all groups are reached. She would like an approach that can provide progress and completion of projects. F.) Buyout update • These are preliminary awards by FEMA • Next step is for appraisers to be hired to set purchase prices (fair market value before the flood) • There are still several months ahead until any residents close on a buyout • Property owners and the City can both back out at any point, until day of closing • We expect more awards, this is the first batch Impacted areas; River St., Scampini Sq., Berlin St., Pike St, Vine St., Currier St., Portland St., Oswald St. Gunners Brook Round Table Councilor Spaulding Add to the next agenda approval-charge for the Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging ARPA funds Veterans Day Parade was lovely, especially enjoy the school bands. Councilor Waszazak Thank you for the confidence and support through the successful vote. Inspired and driven to bring important issues to the table in Montpelier. Councilor Deering – Thank you for the votes. Excited to continue working with the City Council for Barre City. Mayor Lauzon – congratulation of all the newly elected offices. Promising to bring hope. Enjoyed the Veterans Day Parade and spending time with Governor Scott recognizing the Youth Triumph statue in City Hall Park. Findings for executive session moved by Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Cambel, approved. Motion to enter executive session moved by Councilor Cambel, seconded by Councilor Gustin, approved. Motion the exit executive session moved by Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Stockwell, approved 4 To be approved at 11/19/24 Barre City Council Meeting Motion to adjourn moved by Councilor Waszazak, seconded by Councilor Stockwell, approved Meeting adjourned at 9:49pm Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 19th, 2024. The open portions of the meeting were recorded on the video platform. Respectfully submitted, Cheryl A. Metivier, City Clerk 5