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 Monday, January 25, 2016 6:00pm 200 Gilbrook Road, Winooski Public Works Garage I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Public Comment IV. Consent Agenda a. Approval: Council Minutes of January 11 & 19, 2016 V. City Update VI. Agenda Review VII. Public Hearing 6:15pm a. Discussion: City Charter Revision VIII. Regular Items a. Discussion: Public Works Operating and Capital Budget – P. Wernsdorfer b. Discussion: Capital and Operating Fund Balances and Assigned Reserves – K. Decarreau c. Discussion: Add/Restore List Review – K. Decarreau d. Discussion: Winooski Valley Park District – K. Decarreau e. Discussion/Approval: Legislative Charter Review Resolution – S. Leonard IX. 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: Minutes of January 25, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 1 of 4 www.winooskivt.org Katherine Decarreau, City Manager; Angela Aldieri, Assistant City Clerk; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Peter Wernsdorfer, Public Works Director Others Present: Michael Myers; Samuel Myers; Jeff Myers; Paul Rabidoux; Corey Mack; Nick Warner III. Public Comment No public comment was made. IV. Consent Agenda MOTION by Councilor Sweeney, seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the consent agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. V. City Update Ms. Decarreau noted that for approximately one week there was a smell emanating from the sewer. Staff is confident that the source has been identified as a grease plug locate somewhere around the parking lot across from Centerpoint School. The line is an old one made of brick that appears to have a hole as indicated by debris in the line. This caused a leak of sewer into the storm water system that did result in some direct discharge into the river. This has been reported to the State. Staff continues to work with the state and our contractor to repair. There is no additional leak at this time. The City will be listed on the state website for the illicit discharge but we do not anticipate being fined. Staff will attempt to find where the grease originated and the line will be slip lined in the spring to seal the hole. Mayor Leonard thanked the staff who worked the weekend to resolve the issued. Mayor Leonard stated that the applications for the sidewalk permits were already distributed to businesses and as a result the changes to the fees for this permit will be postponed for discussion and decision as it would be confusing to the businesses. Ms. Decarreau noted that we have been hearing issues with the parking in relation to businesses and the City needs to be careful and thoughtful about the pieces we are putting on to the businesses. Parking concerns will be addressed in the coming weeks. VI. Agenda Review There was a consensus from Council to move item e. to the top of the agenda to be addressed prior to the public hearing. VIII. Regular Items e. Discussion/Approval: Legislative Charter Review Resolution – S. Leonard Mayor Leonard provided a draft resolution regarding recent discussion of State versus Municipal legislation. The Burlington gun safety issue is the item that prompted this discussion. Mayor Leonard noted that this resolution does not address the gun issue specifically. Some Councilors felt that the resolution was fairly general and did not overstep bounds; however, concerns were expressed that it was overly broad and could be interpreted that Charters were allowed to overrule state regulations set for the public good. Mayor Leonard agreed that was not the intent Minutes of January 25, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 2 of 4 www.winooskivt.org and he would work with Councilor Mace to amend the resolution to clarify the scope. The resolution will be brought back at a future meeting for approval. VII. Public Hearing 6:15pm a. Discussion: City Charter Revision Mayor Leonard opened the public hearing on the City Charter revision at 6:15pm. He noted that this item has come before Council several times for discussion. This is the first public hearing on the revision with the second to be held on February 1st for approval. There have been no changes to the document since the last time it was reviewed. Ms. Decarreau stated that the redline draft and summary of changes have been available to the public since early January. Mayor Leonard noted that the changes outlined are primarily to clean up items so that we agree with current operations, state law, personnel law, or minor detail changes. Any major issues brought up were noted for future consideration. Jeff Myers requested a summary of the proposed changes. No other comment or questions were brought forth by Council or members of the public. Mayor Leonard closed the public hearing at 6:22pm. Members of the public are asked to contact the City Manager or Council with any feedback or questions on the Charter changes. VIII. Regular Items e. Discussion/Approval: Legislative Charter Review Resolution – S. Leonard This item was opened up to the public for question or comment. No members of the public addressed the Council on this issue. a. Discussion: Public Works Operating and Capital Budget – P. Wernsdorfer Mr. Wernsdorfer thanked all those present for visiting the public works garage. He went on to present the basic assumptions and estimates used in developing the base budget. He reviewed each component of the public works budget noting the cause of any significant changes from the prior year. Discussion regarding the downgrade of the EO3 position to an EO2, the public works union pay scale, and the Smith Park lease expiration followed. Mr. Wernsdorfer reviewed the functions conducted by the department as well as the work plan for the coming year. Additional discussion regarding contract items, an asset management system, youth employment, and COLA followed. Mayor Leonard called for a brief recess at 7:24pm to allow for the capital plan presentation to be set up. Meeting reconvened at 7:29pm. Mr. Wernsdorfer continued his presentation by reviewing the items proposed for funding in the FY17 Capital Plan. Discussion regarding the sidewalk snowplow, streets targeted for work – Platt and Maple, and a request for clarification of how the capital budget functions followed. Concern was expressed by Council about the large expenses in the plan in 2018 for fire truck replacement. Different funding options for those purchases were discussed. Item d. was moved forward in the agenda given the late hour and the presence of an outside party to address Council. Minutes of January 25, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 3 of 4 www.winooskivt.org d. Discussion: Winooski Valley Park District – K. Decarreau Nick Warner, the executive director of the Winooski Valley Park District, was present. He gave a synopsis of the program and the partnerships they have had in Winooski. He went on to review the fair share calculation for member towns funding requests. Mr. Warner asked that Council consider including the full funding request in the FY2017 budget. b. Discussion: Capital and Operating Fund Balances and Assigned Reserves – K. Decarreau Ms. Decarreau reviewed the reserves on hand as of June 30, 2015 and how those reserves are assigned by Council as cash on hand or to specific projects. Discussion regarding the difference between restricted and assigned funds followed. c. Discussion: Add/Restore List Review – K. Decarreau Ms. Decarreau present Council with the list of add and restore items prioritized as high by staff. The complete list will be sent out in an excel document for Council to test the impact on tax rates of the items they wish to include. Ms. Decarreau noted that we have identified approximately ten thousand dollars in additional revenue potential is the City begins acting as our own delinquent tax collector. Mayor Leonard asked that Councilors come to the next meeting with a list of times they want to see restored or added to the budget and an idea of the tax rate we would be comfortable with. Discussion regarding the impact of the school rate and future budget presentation opportunities in the community followed. The public hearing for the approval of the FY2017 budget will occur at the next meeting, February 1st. IX. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Millar, seconded by Deputy Mayor Corrigan to adjourn the City Council meeting at 9:15pm. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST: ___________________________ Assistant City Clerk Minutes of January 25, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 4 of 4 www.winooskivt.org