City Council

To be approved at the 11/05/2025 Council meeting. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, October 28th, 2025, 6:00pm IN PERSON LOCATION: Council Chambers, City Hall 6 N. Main St., Barre, VT Item 1. Call to Order; 5:59 PM Item 2. Adjustments to Agenda; Remove item “8(C): Good Samaritan Haven update” from the agenda. Will be rescheduled for the 11/5/25 meeting. Add update on 3squares/SNAP benefits due to end Nov. 1st. Motion to approve the agenda dated October 28th, 2025, moved by Councilor Bergeron, seconded by Councilor Gustin, approved by all. Item 3. Visitors & Communications; Liquor / Cannabis Control Boards; Good Measure Brewing-Catering the Thunder Road employee appreciation banquet-Sat. Nov 8th. Scott Kerner, President, introduced his company, products and excitement to offer this service in Barre City. Motion to approve Liquor/Cannabis licensures moved by Councilor Bergeron, seconded by Councilor Gustin, approved by all. Liquor & Cannabis Board closed. Item 4. Consent Agenda; A. Approval of Minutes- 10/21/25 B. Clerk’s Office Licenses & Permits C. Place Good Beginnings on the 2026 Town Meeting Day ballot for $1,000 in voter-approved assistance D. Authorize the Manager to execute contract(s) Motion to authorize the approval of the Consent Agenda dated 10/21/2025 moved by Councilor Spaulding, Seconded by Councilor Bergeron, approved by all. Item 4a. Approve City Warrants; Approve City Warrants; To be approved at the 11/05/2025 Council meeting. i. Approve week of 10/29/25 Motion to approve City Warrants moved by Councilor Hilgartner, seconded by Councilor Gustin, 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. We will mail ballots through Friday, Oct. 31st, but encourage voters to bring the ballot to the polls or drop it in one of our (2) drop boxes (drop boxes close at 4pm on Monday, November 3rd). To date, the Clerks office has mailed 396 absentee ballots. A BCA (Board of Civil Authority) is holding a pre-election meeting on Thursday, October 30th at 6pm in Council Chambers at City Hall. Zoom information is on the warning posted online. Item 6. Liquor / Cannabis Control Boards; Previously addressed. Motion to approve Liquor/Cannabis licensures moved by Councilor _____________, seconded by Councilor ___________, approved by all. Liquor & Cannabis Board closed. Item 7. City Managers Report; We were expecting the first ice event at the BOR on November 1st, however the City is opening the ice to all on Halloween, Oct 31st. Costumes are encouraged, and please bring your own skates. The ice opens officially November 1st and the schedule is full. Fred Pond, has been selected and has accepted the offer of spearheading the Bike Share pilot program which the City Council agreed to pledge $10,000 toward. This nominee will be presented to the Council at the next meeting. The Head Works project engineering design report is at 60% completion, projecting a 90% completion soon and hopefully breaking ground in the spring of 2026. Police promotions; Officers; Jess Fecher was promoted to Corporal on June 15 Jacob Frey was promoted to Sergeant on Oct 26 Michael Reale was promoted to Corporal on Oct 26 To be approved at the 11/05/2025 Council meeting. Also, two new dispatchers and three recruits have come onboard. The upcoming elections are an important component to the growth of the city’s housing crisis, and an affordable option for a new DPW campus. The next council meeting will be on Wednesday, Nov 5th at 6pm. Item 8. New Business; New Business; New Business; A. Public Informational Hearing warned for 6:15PM: Special Election November 4, 2025 Treasurer & TIF Administrator, Carol Dawes outlined the two articles up for a vote on Nov. 4th Article I – provides the City permission to use TIF funds to prepare the site for a 31 unit housing complex name Stevens Branch. The new housing is critical in the City, and the tax base will provide more tax revenue later. Article II – Upgrades to the newly purchased DPW campus. The campus expense will cost $120 per sq ft verses building new at $500 per square foot. The building will house most of the Public Works fleet, offices and equipment. The savings potential for insurance and heating will be noticeable, and the extra space could possibly be rented out to neighboring communities for storage or used for a satellite location for some of their equipment. A Q&A session was held and the hearing closed at 6:40pm. B. Situation Table briefing Scott Allen and Mike Botieri who have championed this model across the State in partnership with the Department of Public Safety to implement the “Situation Table,” an innovative public safety response model that coordinates responses to residents who might be in need of multiple social services. Accompanied by Tess Taylor as chair of the local Situation Table, described the process of how the rapid response for someone in crisis whether it is housing, mental health or substance abuse, the table would wrap around the individual de-escalating and following through with assistance to tailor to the needs. The Table tries to look upstream as a preventative measure, foreseeing needs or obstacles. The data gathered may be a great tool for future funding at local, state and federal levels, allowing expansion of services to many more. C. 3 Squares/SNAP benefits briefing Mayor Lauzon understands the importance of the 3 Squares (SNAP) program in our community. 23% of residents rely on food assistance. Of our 8304 community members, 1904 members will be affected by To be approved at the 11/05/2025 Council meeting. the shortfall set for November 1st, of which 531 are children under 18. The Mayor intends to meet with our Representative Teddy Waszazak for updates. The discussion at the State level is IF the State should try to fund this program from reserves set aside for this purpose and how seamless or how difficult the process would be. The EBT cards are federally funded and for the State to load funds will be complex. He promises to stay on top of the situation and share information as quickly as possible. A bill in the Senate introduced “Fund SNAP”. The State several other states and filed suit against the federal government in the Massachusetts District Court. D. Discuss Neighborly Barre Committee proposal (Spaulding/Hilgartner) Councilor Hilgartner proposed the creation of a committee with the purpose of being a steering committee that generates and initiates actions and events throughout the City to provide a more welcoming community for residents and visitors alike. The committee could partner with existing programs and committees, allowing the ability to branch out in conjunction with current and future events. Members could initiate tasks to beautify areas, create opportunities for community connections at a small neighborhood level or at a city wide level. An interested resident, Ernie Drown suggested including Barre Town members also. The Mayor and Manager asked Councilor Hilgartner to return to Council with a clear charge and seated members list. Councilor Hilgartner did say Tracie Lewis, Ernie Drown, Joanne Reynolds, Marjorie Strong and Councilor Hilgartner. Per city policy the Manager does have to advertise for openings and must have number of members and terms outlined. E. Flood Resiliency Plan – Adopt a storm drain program (Gustin) Tying in with the 3.2 Stormwater System Repair, Upsizing and Maintenance and simplified, community members would adopt a drain in their neighborhood and keep it clear of leaves, trash, and other debris to reduce water pollution. The act of sweeping up, raking up or pick up the debris and/or trash allowing water to flow freely, makes it easy for communities to engage residents in watershed protection. Each participant is asked to enter data measuring the weight of debris for tracking purposes for the best successful outcome. This is a turnkey national program managed by Hamline University in Minnesota. The university sends reminders, allows data entry online and assist with all materials for education opportunities. The data creates a map, that the city can use to identify problem areas. Councilor Gustin asked the Council to sponsor the program with an initial fee of $15,000 . This covers kits to be used, and education materials for local students and educators and a 3 year subscription. Item 9. Upcoming Business; Mayor Lauzon; Hosting “On the Road” meetings Round #2 for GR grants are approaching. To be approved at the 11/05/2025 Council meeting. Bond Vote op-ed will be frequent up until Nov 4th election. Councilor Deering; Update on the Conduct Ordinance Councilor Hilgartner; Extra Mile initiative; Nov 1st is the date-find someone who has gone the extra mile, and thank them for all the hard work. Councilor Gustin; Roy Schiff from SLR Consulting will have a presentation on River Sediment Maintenance. He will walk us through the science of it all. Item 10. Round Table; Mayor Lauzon; Hoping to connect with local organization to see if they would be open to make the food shelves available on Sat and Sun, until funding can be uploaded to residents EBT cards. Councilor Deering; BYSA 7&8 grade football State Title game in next Saturday in Colchester. Councilor Hilgartner; Benefit concert at the Good Shepard Church Nov 8th at 4pm to raise funds for the warming shelter. The memorial bench in the dog park has been relocated by the family. Councilor Gustin; After complex relationships with rain in the past, the current rain is welcome. Councilor Spaulding; Webinar- Bond informational forum- Aldrich Library-Oct 29th 4pm 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. Hoping there is a list of places those who may need food this weekend is available somewhere. Councilor Bergeron – Halloween is Friday, please be cautious of Trick-or-Treaters. Slow down on the streets. Pedestrians , please carry flashlights or bright objects to help you be seen by drivers. Councilor Routhier To be approved at the 11/05/2025 Council meeting. Governor Scott has the highest approval rating in the Nation. Item 11 Executive Session – n/a Item 12 Adjournment; Motion to adjourn moved by Councilor Bergeron, seconded by Councilor Deering, approved Adjourned at 8:06 pm Next regular meeting is scheduled for November 5th, 2025, at 6pm. The open portions of the meeting were recorded on the video platform. Respectfully submitted, Cheryl A. Metivier, City Clerk