City Council

To be approved at the 10/28/2025 Council meeting. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, October 21st, 2025, 6:00pm IN PERSON LOCATION: Council Chambers, City Hall 6 N. Main St., Barre, VT Item 1. Call to Order; 6:00 PM Item 2. Adjustments to Agenda; Add; Add conversation to clarify communication response to public or between council members. Discuss the memorial bench set in the Barre City Dog Park, the caretaking or relocation. Motion to approve the agenda dated October 21st, 2025, moved by Councilor Bergeron, seconded by Councilor Hilgartner, approved by all. Item 3. Visitors & Communications; Peter Anthony thanked and praised the street staff and supervisory staff for the extraordinary amount of street, sewer and water upgrades done though the paving and repair season. Bern Rose also commented with a positive and appreciative message following the same subject. Molly Gleason presented a plea to Council to have the non-profit added back to the list of community funding that fell to the wayside last year due to staffing changes and missed deadlines. The Council has requested she present support documents for a council meeting presentation in the near future. Item 4.Consent Agenda; A. Approval of Minutes- 9/30/25 B. Licenses & Permits; Event; Veterans Day Parade- November 11th, at 10am- beginning at the BOR/ending at City Hall Park. Speakers will be present on behalf of the Veterans, Elks and Community Leader at the parades end. C. Accept the resignation of Mark Martin from the Cow Pasture Committee D. Authorize the Manager to execute contract(s) • Ice re-surfacer: $121,957.77 to be funded from the Capital Improvement Plan ($89,301 budgeted) and a private sponsorship donation ($40,000). • SCBA: $283,925.68 to be funded from the Capital Improvement Plan ($284,000 budgeted). • PSB HVAC Roof Top Units: $45,700 to be funded from the Capital Improvement Plan ($48,000 budgeted). Motion to authorize the approval of the Consent Agenda dated 10/21/2025 moved by Councilor Bergeron, Seconded by Councilor Deering, approved by all. To be approved at the 10/28/2025 Council meeting. Item 4a. Approve City Warrants; Approve City Warrants; i. Approve week of 10/22/25 ii. Ratify week of 10/8/25 and 10/15/25 Motion to approve City Warrants moved by Councilor Hilgartner, seconded by Councilor Deering, approved. Approved * Councilor Spaulding abstained. Item 5. City Clerk Report; Absentee ballots for the City Bond vote and the CVCC bond are still available on request. If you have not yet requested an absentee ballot you may contact the Clerk’s office for them. A BCA (Board of Civil Authority) is holding a pre-election meeting on Thursday, October 30th at 6pm in Council Chambers at City Hall. If you are curious about the behind the scenes work to hold an election, come and sit in on the discussion. Item 6.Liquor / Cannabis Control Boards; Tally’s 1st & 3rd Class liquor license Gusto’s 3rd Class liquor license Reynolds House 3rd Class Motion to approve Liquor/Cannabis licensures moved by Councilor Deering, seconded by Councilor Bergeron, approved by all. Liquor & Cannabis Board closes at 6:15pm Item 7.City Managers Report; Security cameras are currently being installed on the exterior and interior of City Hall. (2) of (4) exterior cameras are completed with (2) additional due for installation on utility poles at strategic locations in the City. Expecting the first ice event at the BOR on November 1st. The Coyotes basketball season has started, bringing in good crowds and income potential to area businesses and the City of Barre. The Fire department’s engine no. 3 and ambulance no. 2 are here to replace the older models which will be/have been sold or used for trade in value and will be repurposed in other communities. Item 8.New Business; New Business; A. Volunteer appointment – Parks & Rec Committee Rhodelene Premont of Barre City was unanimously approved for a seat on the Parks & Rec Committee. She is eager to restart volunteering again with the community. Mrs. Premont has To be approved at the 10/28/2025 Council meeting. agreed to the Council’s recommendation appointment that would run through June 30, 2027. With her appointment the committee now has a quorum. A motion to approve the appointment of Rhodelene Premont to the Parks & Rec committee was moved by Councilor Bergeron, seconded by Councilor Deering, approved. B. Approval to consolidate St. Monica's Cemetery perpetual care funds with Cemetery General perpetual care funds City Treasurer, Carol Dawes explained the benefits of combining the funds, giving the City more investment return to be applied toward necessary maintenance and repairs for all cemeteries in the City. A motion to approve to consolidate St. Monica's Cemetery perpetual care funds with Cemetery General perpetual care funds was moved by Councilor Bergeron, seconded by Councilor Deering, approved. C. Approval to allocate Russell Bequeath Fund for ongoing Hope Cemetery maintenance and repairs City Treasurer, Carol Dawes presented an outline of the funds bequeathed to the City by Richard Russell to be used for cleaning and maintaining the monuments in Hope Cemetery. This allocation would allow the Facilities Director to use the funding, honoring the spirit of Mr. Russell’s request, and to avoid the repetitive Council approval. A motion to allocate Russell Bequeath Fund for ongoing Hope Cemetery maintenance and repairs was moved by Councilor Bergeron, seconded by Councilor Spaulding, approved. D. Authorize request for technical correction of water transmission CDS grant award The Manager and PW Director Brian Baker explain the origin of the grant funds and the need to shift the use to upgrades in the Wastewater Treatment plant. The shift of use would be allowed upon submission of a request letter and approval by the EPA. Other communities have gone this route when project priorities and funding shifts toward more pressing matters. A motion to authorize the request for technical correction of water transmission CDS grant award with submission of a letter was moved by Councilor Gustin, seconded by Councilor Spaulding, approved. To be approved at the 10/28/2025 Council meeting. E. Nominate representative for bike share pilot program steering committee In June 2024, the City Council agreed to pledge $10,000 towards a regional bike share pilot program. CVRPC has reached out to request that Barre City nominate a representative to the project steering committee. Though an able nominee has not been identified, a representative for consideration after soliciting input from members of the community, the Manager asks, with intent to find a person who checks all the boxes and maybe has already been vetted for another committee, can move forward in appointment knowing the Council will have the final say. F. Flood Resiliency Plan update (Gustin) The Manager had a power point ready to deliver the message, vacant or abandoned homes or buildings would face penalties unless steps were taken to improve or occupy safely for increased housing opportunities. The Council supported the need to hold property owners accountable for the state of the structures on their lots. Moving forward, the Code Enforcement Team (CET) including the Fire Marshal and other officials will take action to resolve the increasing dilapidated or vacant buildings. Item 9. Upcoming Business; Mayor Lauzon; Round #2 for GR grants are approaching. Bond Vote op-ed will be frequent up until Nov 4th election. Item 10. Round Table; Mayor Lauzon; Patriots are back. Local sports play offs are coming up – Good luck to all! Extra Mile Day – Nov 1st – thank someone you think has taken those extra measures to do better or make others better. Councilor Deering; It’s busy up on “The Hill”; Unspoken concert was enjoyed The Coyotes basketball game was fun to watch-has brought some new features to the Aud Councilor Hilgartner; Councilor Gustin; Amber Terway local entrepreneur-Tilli Tea Co. is growing her own tea and marketing locally Councilor Spaulding; Webinar- Bond informational forum- Aldrich Library-Oct 29th 5pm To be approved at the 10/28/2025 Council meeting. The City Manager & TIF Administrator Carol Dawes will be outlining and answering questions for the City Bonds. Jodi Emerson will be outlining and answering questions for the CVCC Bonds. Councilor Bergeron – Recognizing the passing of Former FD Chief Peter John. Councilor Routhier Item 11 Executive Session – n/a Item 12 Adjournment; Motion to adjourn moved by Councilor Gustin, seconded by Councilor Deering, approved Adjourned at 7:50 pm Next regular meeting is scheduled for October 28th, 2025, at 6pm. The open portions of the meeting were recorded on the video platform. Respectfully submitted, Cheryl A. Metivier, City Clerk