City Council

To be approved at the next Barre City Council Meeting Regular Meeting of the Barre City Council (Draft) Held April 22nd, 2025 at 6pm Council Chambers-Barre City Hall The warned Regular 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, Councilor Sonya Spaulding; from Ward II, Councilor Amanda Gustin and Councilor Jeff Bergeron; and from Ward III, Councilor Samn Stockwell. City staff members present were City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro, and Clerk/Treasurer Cheryl Metivier. Absent: Councilor Emel Cambel, Councilor Michael Deering Adjustments to the Agenda  Remove Item #3-A regarding National EMS Week. National EMS week is in May, not April, so we will consider this item at a forthcoming meeting.  The Mayor requested to move item 8-H regarding my contract to the top of the New Business agenda.  Remove Item #4-E as there are no contracts for approval at this meeting. Visitors & Communications – Susan Kelley spoke against the removal of the Berlin St. bridge, sighting the necessity for emergency vehicles, school buses, business traffic, often used as a bypass to the south end of Barre. Plans of petitioning the action. Bern Rose praised the Rain Garden activities held at the Aldrich Library over the last few Saturdays. Councilor Amanda Gustin did much of the leg work to bring these workshops to fruition. The attendance was abundant, the activities were fun and very informative. 4. Consent Agenda o Approval of Minutes o i. Meetings of 4/8/2025 (include approved Annual Meeting Warning) o B. Clerk’s Office Licenses & Permits o C. Volunteer appointments (DRB, PAC, TPW) Liz Turner (DRB), Abby Blum (PAC), and Art Bombardier (TPW) have applied for re-appointment to their respective committees and have been endorsed by their committee chairs. There are no other applicants for their seats. I recommend that Liz be reappointed to a 4-year term representing an At-Large seat, and that Abby and Art be reappointment to 2-year terms. o D. Approve allocation from Semprebon Trust for playground maintenance o E. Approve FY26 fee schedule Motion to approve consent agenda moved by Councilor Bergeron, seconded by Councilor Gustin - approved. 4-a. Approve City Warrants i. Approve week of 04/23/25 ii. Ratify week of 04/16/25 1  To be approved at the next Barre City Council Meeting Motion to approved City Warrants moved by Councilor Stockwell, seconded by Councilor Bergeron - Approved (Councilor Spaulding abstaining) 5. City Clerk & Treasurer Report *Absentee ballots are now available. You may request a ballot by calling the Clerks office, creating an account at mvp.vermont.gov, and request one or cast your vote in the Clerks office between 730am and 430pm, Monday-Fridays (except legal holidays) *Looking forward, Saturday, May 3rd is Green-Up Day. The Clerk’s office has a sign-up sheet for areas you intend to cover, and green bags for the collected items during the Event. 6. Liquor/Cannabis Control Boards – DOLLAR GENERAL S. MAIN ST 2ND CLASS-TOBACCO-TOBACCO SUB DOLLAR GENERAL N. MAIN ST. 2ND CLASS-TOBACCO-TOBACCO SUB The Meltdown 83 Washington St 1st Class Liquor License/Outside Consumption Permit VT Strong Cannabis S. Main St Tobacco/Tobacco Substitute Spencer’s/Christine Duggan 125 N. Main St. 2nd Class/Tobacco/Tobacco Substitute Beverage Baron 411 N. Main St. 2ND CLASS-TOBACCO-TOBACCO SUB Motion to approve presented Liquor License renewals moved by Councilor Gustin, seconded by Councilor Bergeron, approved. 7. City Manager’s Report *FOP contract was signed by the Mayor. *Removal of the trestle bridge is in the beginning stages. *Bulky waste pick-up will be May 10th – 9am-3pm, free to Barre City residents (proof of residency required; driver’s license, voter registration card, utility bill etc.) *Barre Town stump dump is open for use. Hours are Sat 8am-12pm, Tues. 10am-2pm 8. New Business A. Approve Manager’s contract A (5) year contract was counter offered and accepted by the Manager. Motion to approve the Managers contracts was moved by Councilor Gustin, seconded by Councilor Spaulding – approved. B. Police Department statistical Update Across the board, complaints related to quality of life issues were on the rise in 2024 compared to the prior three years (2021-2023). The call volumes tend to increase as the weather improves, and although the Q1 data is low, expectations are the numbers will increase. The data shows repeat offenders were the root cause of 367 BCPD contacts. C. Approve public video camera systems policy – Chief Vail, IT Specialist Kris Kirby A policy for the use of a public video camera system was presented, covering topics of scope of use, operational 2 To be approved at the next Barre City Council Meeting guidelines, the retention of information or date and the release of data. While the controversy was abundant, so was the support. Between both opinions, breach of information, the actual effectiveness in deterring crime, the security of safety cameras would offer, privacy violations, signage, evidentiary purpose, pre-arrival intelligence for officers, and whether the funds should be used elsewhere were, at times, heated discussions. Ultimately, with additional disclaimers regarding retention in Cloud storage will be inserted. Motion to approve the public video camera systems policy was moved by Councilor Gustin, seconded by Councilor Spaulding – approved D. Authorize purchase of security cameras The Verkada security camera systems responds to the key needs/priorities of the City and PD.. The system is in current use with many school systems and area municipalities. Citywide deployment of Verkada Cameras across City Hall and Public Safety Building and four high-traffic locations across the City will provide information before, during and after any event, disaster or incident occurring within the areas monitored. Motion to authorize purchase of security cameras was moved by Councilor Gustin, seconded by Councilor Bergeron; approved Yays – Councilor Stockwell Mayor Lauzon Councilor Bergeron Councilor Gustin Nay – Councilor Spaulding E. GMT update - Christian Meyer, Executive Director, CVRPC Christian provide a brief update on the discussions around transferring rural service provision from GMT to Tri- Valley Transit. A study for delivering cost-effective transit service across its service area. The study was completed in January 2025 and recommends the transfer of Washington County service to TriValley Transit (TVT), a transit service provider currently active in Addison, Orange, and northern Windsor County. Current impacts that need to be better understood include impacts to operations brought about by the transfer, union negotiations (although both service providers are part of the same union), and other administrative impacts to operations in Washington and Chittenden County. No decisions have been made. F. Approve elevation applications The state legislature secured $3.5 million for the elevation of residential structures. Barre was notified by VEM on September 24, 2024 that the City is eligible for $900,000 under this program. As a result, we recommend the following properties be elevated by this grant:  114 River Street  17 Vine Street  22 Berlin Street. We have received preliminary approval from the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), as required by the grant program. If approved by the Council, the City will notify VEM of our selections and enter into MOUs with the property owners so the program can get underway. Motion to approve the elevation applications was moved by Councilor Gustin, seconded by Councilor Spaulding, approved. 3 To be approved at the next Barre City Council Meeting G. Flood Resiliency Plan – approve storm water pipe study – Councilor Gustin To study and gather data to support necessary improvement projects for flood mitigation have/will include; Review current mapping, Pipe survey and network mapping, AC study area with many pipes and inlets, Supplemental GPS Survey, GIS Base Map, Pipe Modeling, Storm Sewer Model Setup and Validation, Backwater analysis with results of hydraulics study, Existing Conditions Reporting, Alternatives Analysis, Explore Pipe Network Flood Mitigation Alternatives and Alternatives Matrix to Summarize Results Resulting in create catalog of top five to ten storm water upgrades Motion to approve the storm water pipe study was moved by Councilor Gustin, seconded by Councilor Bergeron, approved. Upcoming Business; Mayor; Conduct in parks. PS Forum follow-up North End vision Councilor Gustin- Flood mitigation process updates May. Councilor Spaulding – BOR & Civic center financials Downtown Merchants Forum Meeting to address community struggles and getting funding from legislation (please invite Clergy- Peter Anthony’s suggestion) Councilor Stockwell – Center St. flooding cause 2000 Flood mitigation plan comparison Clarify assistance offered to repeat offender Round table; Councilor Gustin – expressed she felt Pope Francis was a perfect example of humility, passion and kindness and especially leadership. Councilor Spaulding – Attended the Master Plan charrette and noticed fabulous ideas, and feels beyond the current difficulties, Barre has many positive points. Mayor – Commended Janet Shatney for her role in putting together the Master Plan workshop. Motion to adjourn moved by Councilor Bergeron, seconded by Councilor Gustin, approved Meeting adjourned at 8:03 pm 4 To be approved at the next Barre City Council Meeting Next regular meeting is scheduled for May 6th, 2025 at 6pm. The open portions of the meeting were recorded on the video platform. (see attached documents) Respectfully submitted, Cheryl A. Metivier, City Clerk 5