City Council

27 WEST ALLEN STREET WINOOSKI, VERMONT 05404 (802) 655-6410 CITY OF WINOOSKI (802) 655-6414 (fax) KATHERINE R. DECARREAU CITY MANAGER MAYOR SETH LEONARD DEPUTY MAYOR BRIAN CORRIGAN mayor@winooskivt.org CITY COUNCIL COUNCILOR NICOLE MACE COUNCILOR ROBERT MILLAR COUNCILOR BRIAN SWEENEY Agenda Tuesday, January 19, 2016 6:00pm 120 Main Street, Winooski Fire Station I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Public Comment IV. Consent Agenda a. Approval: Warrants as of January 15, 2016 V. Agenda Review VI. Regular Items a. Discussion: Planning Commission Delivers Proposed Unified Land Use and Development Regulation – J. Audy, R. Mahoney, T. Murray b. Update: Pool – K. Decarreau c. Discussion: Public Safety Budget – Code Enforcement, Fire, Police – J. Audy, D. Bergeron, R. Hebert d. Discussion: Sidewalk Permit Fees – S. Leonard VII. Executive Session a. Proposed Lot Line Adjustment EA106 VIII. Adjourn MINUTES The meeting was called to order by the Mayor at 6:00pm. The meeting began with the pledge of allegiance led by Deputy Mayor Corrigan. Members Present: Mayor Seth Leonard Councilors: Brian Corrigan, Brian Sweeney, Nicole Mace, Robert Millar Officers Present: Katherine Decarreau, City Manager; Angela Aldieri, Assistant City Clerk; John Audy, Code Enforcement Director; Richard Hebert, Police Chief; David Bergeron, Fire Chief; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Minutes of January 19, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 1 of 4 www.winooskivt.org Others Present: Jessica Lukas; Lynn Bergeron; Michael Bergeron; John Spittle; Michael Myers; Michael O’Brien; Erika Bailey; Ryan Smith; Candy Antoniak; Michael Antoniak; Regina Mahoney, CCRPC; Maura O’Neill, WCP; Liz Fell; Sam Myers; Patty Breneman; Paul Rabidoux; Gary Howe; Alex Caron; Josh Hayford; Andrew Hayward; Jeff Myers; III. Public Comment No public comment was made. Ms. Decarreau had all the members of the fire department present at the meeting introduce themselves briefly to Council. She noted that most of the department is per diem employees who do a fabulous job and work with Colchester and Malletts Bay fire departments for response coverage. Ms. Decarreau stated that the City is working on a final document regarding the strategic plan. The topics from the vision statement create by Council have been assigned to the various commissions to be addressed. Ms. Decarreau noted that Public Works has rented a second sidewalk plow to see if it helps address the speed at which the sidewalks are cleared. She went on to note that parking bans have been called for the West end on Wednesday night into Thursday and for the Malletts Bay to Main Street neighborhoods on Thursday night into Friday. This allows for fewer people to move their cars on a given night and gives areas to which vehicles can be moved. Ms. Decarreau stated that on Martin Luther King Jr. day the City had twenty-five people participate in activities and participate in a discussion regarding community service and diversity. IV. Consent Agenda MOTION by Councilor Sweeney, seconded by Deputy Mayor Corrigan to approve the consent agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. V. Agenda Review No changes were made to the agenda order. VI. Regular Items a. Discussion: Planning Commission Delivers Proposed Unified Land Use and Development Regulation – J. Audy, R. Mahoney, T. Murray Ms. Decarreau invited the members of the Planning Commission forward to present the Council officially with the draft code. Thanks were expressed to the entire commission but to Regina Mahoney with the CCRPC in particular who did the majority of the writing. Ms. Decarreau stated that the regulations will be broken into five parts to present to Council for discussion. Council was directed to the matrix on page ten and the maps on page ninety-four for a good overview of what is included. Presentations will begin in February. Mr. Audy stated that Council was provided with a written report summarizing the regulations and how comments from the public hearing were incorporated. The timeline for Council approval was reviewed noting that once the draft has been submitted Council must hold their first public hearing in 15- Minutes of January 19, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 2 of 4 www.winooskivt.org 120 days and must approve in a one year deadline. A paper copy is available in the City Clerk’s office for members of the public who wish to review the document. b. Update: Pool – K. Decarreau Ms. Decarreau stated that the City continues to work on the pool. Staff met with the insurance carrier today at the facility to receive feedback on our liability and the safety concerns. There is little information that can be gathered about the liner with the pool full of ice, but there were some items identified that need to be addressed. Concurrently, staff is working on a plan for activities that kids can go to every afternoon in the event the pool cannot open or must close suddenly. The City will continue to solicit feedback from the public regarding the next steps. The Community Services Commission will be meeting on January 27th. There have been a number of e-mails regarding the pool and staff is answering what we can. Discussion followed regarding public assistance in the repairs, the planned pool study, public involvement in the pool study bid award, the conditions of the pump house, and the age and condition of the sand filters. Ms. Decarreau noted that this is not just a short term problem and that a long term plan for the replacement of the facility is in place and that it addresses the needs of the community as it exists today. Additional discussion regarding the involvement of the swim team, and receiving input from the youth in the community followed. Jessica Lukas from the YMCA noted that the safety concerns are significant. Specific concerns regarding the deck and other safety risks were noted. She also expressed that having translation help available when involving the public would be useful. Ms. Decarreau stated that we are not likely to have cost information until later and that we won’t know the extent of the work needed to open the pool until May. She stressed that if one of the sand filters fails that the pool would not be able to operate. Discussion regarding getting donations or volunteer labor to help reduce costs and questions about a timeline for rebuilding the pool followed. c. Discussion: Public Safety Budget Police – J. Audy, D. Bergeron, R. Hebert Ms. Decarreau noted that the Public Safety budget is up for discussion which includes the Code Enforcement, Fire and Police Departments. Chief Hebert reviewed the Police department statistics for the 2015 calendar year including calls for service, arrests, and incident analysis. He went on to review the budget assumptions included highlighting the COPS and STOP Grants that are helping to fund some of our positions currently. He also noted that the City has assigned an officer to the CUSI in lieu of our monetary support for the organization. He also noted that we have a detective working with the DEA task force and that the City is being reimbursed for associated overtime. Chief Hebert reviewed the ten line roll up of proposed expenses and noted that the community outreach line item had been cut and is a proposed item on the restore list. Discussion followed regarding staffing levels and benefits related to special assignments. Chief Hebert reviewed the proposed change in VMERS plans for the dispatchers that appears on the add list noting it could make our department more competitive and help with retention. The Code and Fire budgets are reported together as Regulation and Code Enforcement. Chief Bergeron reviewed the fire department statistics. Mr. Audy reviewed the ten line roll up noting a shift in salaries due to changes in the staff structure. Mayor Leonard called for a recess at 7:18pm to allow the members of the fire department to suit up and respond to an emergency call. Meeting reconvened at 7:23pm. Minutes of January 19, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 3 of 4 www.winooskivt.org Mr. Audy reviewed the City’s recent ISO rating of 4 which was an improvement from the prior rating of a 6. This ISO program is a rigorous analysis of the ability we have to provide fire protection. This number can impact property owner’s homeowner’s insurance. It was noted that Burlington with a full time fire department received a rating of 3. Mr. Audy went on to review the cuts and proposed additions for the department. The item focused on with the addition of just over $12,000 to allow for a full time public safety administrative help. Currently that position also works several days in the Clerk’s office. Mayor Leonard called for a brief recess at 7:29pm to allow a second wave of fire department staff to respond to the emergency call. Meeting reconvened at 7:32pm. Mr. Audy continued to review the proposed add of fire department stipends to compensate the staff for times that they carry a pager or otherwise remain strictly on call for the department. Ms. Decarreau stated that the City is growing and trying to add positions that streamline our processes and allow us to provide better services. Discussion regarding the school tax rate followed. Thanks to the Public Safety commission were expressed for their work. It was noted that a planned presentation from the Fire Department would be sent to Council and placed on the website for the public to view. d. Discussion: Sidewalk Permit Fees – S. Leonard Mayor Leonard stated that these fees are related to restaurant seating in public space. The fees raised in the downtown get turned over to the Winooski Community Partnership to support their work in the City. It was noted that the WCP has brought in tax credits, organized the farmers market, and will be working on the renewal application for the downtown designation. The WCP has submitted a request for additional support from the City. The current sidewalk permit fee is $2.00 per square foot which hasn’t been raised in more than 14 years. The rates charged in Burlington were noted by Maura O’Neill representing the WCP. Discussion about involving businesses in the decision, the potential impact that any change would have on specific businesses, and the timeline for approval followed. It was noted that the earliest this could be processed would be for March as it requires a change to ordinance and therefore a public hearing would need to be held and there is a delay in the effect once approved. VII. Executive Session MOTION by Deputy Mayor Corrigan, seconded by Councilor Mace to enter into executive session at 8:01pm for the purpose of discussing a potential real estate transaction with the understanding that Council would only reconvene to adjourn. Voted and passed 4-0. VIII. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Millar, seconded by Councilor Mace to adjourn the City Council meeting at 8:43pm. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST: ___________________________ Assistant City Clerk Minutes of January 19, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 4 of 4 www.winooskivt.org