City Council

27 WEST ALLEN STREET WINOOSKI, VERMONT 05404 (802) 655-6410 CITY OF WINOOSKI (802) 655-6414 (fax) JESSIE BAKER CITY MANAGER MAYOR SETH LEONARD DEPUTY MAYOR BRIAN CORRIGAN mayor@winooskivt.org CITY COUNCIL COUNCILOR NICOLE MACE COUNCILOR ERIC COVEY COUNCILOR BRIAN SWEENEY Agenda Monday June 19, 2017 6:00 p.m. Claire Burke Council Chambers I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Agenda Review IV. Public Comment V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of June 5, 2017 b. Approval: Payroll Warrant as of 5/21-6/3/17, Accounts Payable Warrant as of 6/15/17 c. Approval: IT Policy VI. City Update VII. Council Reports VIII. Regular Items a. Approval; World Refugee Day Resolution – S. Leonard b. Approval: Commission Appointments – J. Baker c. Approval: Byway Resolution – J. Baker d. Approval: Allocation of Community Funding – J. Baker e. Discussion: Zoning Ordinance Change – J. Baker f. Discussion: Fee Ordinance – R. Coffey g. Approval: Use of Rental Registry Reserves for Intern Staffing – J. Audy h. Approval: Housing Commission Charter – H. Carrington i. Approval: Sales Tax Reallocation Application – H. Carrington j. Approval: Job Description – Communications Coordinator – H. Carrington k. Approval: FY2018 Budget – Community Justice Center – R. Hebert l. Approval: Fraternal Order of Police Contract – R. Coffey m. Approval: Public Works Reserve Assignment – J. Baker n. Approval: FY16 Fund Balance Allocation – J. Baker o. Discussion: Update on Regional Dispatch Planning – J. Baker p. Discussion: Vehicle Use Policy – J. Baker IX. Executive Session a. Pending mediation, an open discussion of which may place the City at a substantial disadvantage (1 V.S.A. §313(a)(1)) X. Adjourn Minutes of June 19, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 1 of 7 www.winooskivt.org  MINUTES The meeting was called to order by the Mayor at 6:00pm. The meeting began with the pledge of allegiance led by Councilor Sweeney. Members Present: Mayor Seth Leonard Councilors: Brian Sweeney, Nicole Mace, Eric Covey Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Angela Aldieri, Assistant City Clerk; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Kirstie Paschall, Children and Families Director; Heather Carrington, Community and Economic Development Director; John Audy, Code Enforcement Director; Richard Hebert, Police Chief; Paul Dreher, Zoning; Others Present: Maura O’Neill, WCP; Ali Boren, Esther Lotz; Nathan Dagesse III. Agenda Review Mayor Leonard noted that item h. Housing Commission Charter would be considered directly after item e. Zoning Ordinance Change to consider similar items together. IV. Public Comment Ali Boren stated that she and her daughters walk Main Street fairly often to get to school and work. She noted that the pedestrian crossing signal at Main and Spring Street doesn’t work well. She also cited issues with bikes and scooters using the sidewalk and asked if there was a way to add a bike lane to Main Street. V. Consent Agenda MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve the consent agenda as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. VI. City Update Ms. Baker stated that the City is moving forward with the Economic Development Plan. Camoin will be meeting with stakeholders tomorrow for feedback. The City Lights project is on the brink of opening at the end of the month. With the end of that project Abenaki Way would also reopen. The Burlington Airport is convening an advisory committee for a noise compatibility program grant application. Mayor Leonard and Ms. Baker will continue to serve as representatives of the community. On Thursday Ms. Baker and Chief Hebert met with UVM Medical staff to discuss mental health needs and the police department’s role. There were 30-35 people in attendance. Minutes of June 19, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 2 of 7 www.winooskivt.org Ms. Baker stated that as part of a renewed focus on training and professional development managers attended a two hour training on managing in a union environment. The majority of staff will be attending an unpacking unconscious bias training in the next two weeks. Additionally, the public works staff will attend training on the recently acquired asset management system. The annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner will be held tomorrow night at the Winooski Senior Center from 5:00p until 7:00p. A discussion regarding Council Priorities is to be held on Saturday June 24th. At that meeting the tax rate will also be set. Ms. Baker reminded the Council that an end of year warrant will be prepared and require a minimum of three Councilors to sign before checks can be processed. It was noted that the warrant would appear on the consent agenda at the July 17th meeting for approval in opens session as well. Ms. Baker stated that French Heritage Day will take place this Sunday, June 25th from 10a to 3p along Winooski Falls Way. The event was coordinated with the Winooski Farmers Market. VII. Council Reports Councilor Mace stated that she has been working with the Mayor and City Manager to pull together details for the discussion on Saturday. Mayor Leonard stated that an item to discuss the City Treasurer will be added to the agenda for the next meeting. He went on to announce that a Community Dinner in support of the Winooski Peace Initiative will be held at the Winooski Senior Center on Saturday at 5:30p. Mayor Leonard stated that there is an ongoing effort between municipalities to take an active role in monitoring and benchmarking successes in climate change initiatives. Winooski will be participating but needs to consider how this fits with our priorities and what benchmarks should be. Councilor Sweeney noted that the Winooski Community Partnership’s Farmers Markets have been going well. He stated that they have been working to coordinate with French Heritage Day and working on fundraising for future events. Councilor Covey reminded those watching that there is a vacancy on the Public Safety Commission. He went on to state that the Police and Community Justice dinner at the Dismas House would become a regular event in the future with Commissions and Councilors invited to participate. A survey regarding police interaction in the community will be going out in the future. Councilor Covey noted that animal control posts found pets on the Vermont Lost and Found Animals if an animal is impounded. Councilor Covey went on to thank Craig Mitchell, Alicia Finely, Heather Carrington and many others for their efforts to bring Jazzfest to Winooski. VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: World Refugee Day Resolution – S. Leonard This resolution is proposed to recognize the value our City places on diversity. Mayor Leonard read the resolution into record. Discussion regarding becoming a sanctuary city and making an effort to include the refugee population in the economic development plan followed. MOTION by Councilor Covey, seconded by Councilor Mace to approve World Refugee Day Resolution as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. Minutes of June 19, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 3 of 7 www.winooskivt.org b. Approval: Commission Appointments – J. Baker Ms. Baker stated that appointments to commissions were all aligned to have a July 1st start date and presented a slate of candidates for appointment. It was noted that there are still vacancies being actively recruited. Discussion regarding how partial and unexpired terms work followed. Consensus was that terms follow the seats on boards not the person appointed. Gratitude was expressed for those who chose to serve. MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the slate of commission appointments as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. c. Approval: Byway Resolution – J. Baker Ms. Baker stated that Council has voted in support of this item a number of times historically. The management plan focuses on resources, partnership, and economic development which mirrors our priorities in the City. Other communities have been asked to sign a similar resolution. Mayor Leonard read the resolution into record. MOTION by Councilor Sweeney, seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the Lake Champlain Byway resolution as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. d. Approval: Allocation of Community Funding – J. Baker Ms. Baker stated that the Council has $20,000 in the FY2017 budget to award to agencies that help the community and residents. It was noted that this funding was discontinued in the FY18 budget. Staff reviewed applications that were received in response to a request for proposal process based on the criteria of benefit provided, capacity to provide, and financial ability. Mayor Leonard pointed out that Council had given a previous award of $2500 for the Winooski Food Shelf from fund balance and that we should make it clear that they should not anticipate receiving this level of funding in the future. MOTION by Councilor Covey, seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the allocation of community funding as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. e. Discussion: Zoning Ordinance Change – J. Baker It was noted that at the time of adoption the intent was to make incremental updates to the Form Based Code to flesh out criteria. The Planning Commission has reviewed and accepted the four changes proposed for accessory use, removal of the Division for Historic Preservation mandate, nonconforming drives and rights of way, and bonus story energy requirements. Extensive discussion regarding affordable housing and how to ensure its inclusion in future development through code followed. Specific reference was made to the housing needs assessment recommendation of inclusive zoning. Discussion regarding the role of the housing commission followed. Concern was expressed that if the City’s strategic vision of maintaining affordability isn’t addressed soon that the gateway districts would be developed lacking that aspect of housing. Discussion of moving toward requiring affordable housing rather than incentivizing it followed. Additional discussion regarding any urgency to approve the current proposed changes followed with Mr. Audy and Mr. Dreher both citing a potential legal issue with having a requirement in our codes on a State Agency that is not mandated to conduct the work. Other changes were noted as items that have come up during the course of applications in process. There were two questions noted by Mayor Leonard as needing to be addressed: first, how to update the zoning codes as soon as possible to ensure affordable housing is developed; and second, what is the mix of housing we need. Additional discussion regarding the housing commission followed. Consensus was that by July 17th volunteers for the Housing Commission should be sought, options to address the concern should be outlined, and a timeline for implementation should be created. Nathan Dagesse expressed that inclusionary zoning should go through a proper process and not be rushed. Esther Lotz stated that the proposed change regarding Minutes of June 19, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 4 of 7 www.winooskivt.org nonconforming rights of way and drives is logical and should be considered. It was noted that this item should appear on Saturday’s agenda to be introduced and a public hearing should be held on July 17th. h. Approval: Housing Commission Charter – H. Carrington Ms. Carrington stated that the charter previously presented to Council has been updated to include in the purpose statement to engage the community in alignment with the strategic vision. Discussion regarding the membership size and who the Council liaison would be followed. Consensus was that Mayor Leonard would act as liaison. It was noted that Council did not wish to take action on the charge of duties until after the discussion on July 17th. MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the Housing Commission Charter as presented with the Charge of Duties to be taken up separately. Voted and passed 3-0. f. Discussion: Fee Ordinance – R. Coffey Mr. Coffey presented a memo and draft ordinance as well as supporting charts comparing Winooski rates to those of surrounding communities. Mr. Coffey noted that Mr. Audy had completed much of this work while he was in the role of Interim City Manager. He noted that charter requires that all fees charged by the City be set in ordinance. All Commissions reviewed the fees that fell under their area. It was pointed out that impact fees were not included. Discussion regarding the tiered recreation fees followed with focus on other approaches that could be used. Additional questions were raised regarding the Public Works fees relating to excavation that had been brought up at previous Council meetings. Mr. Audy responded to questions about reinspection fees for noncompliance. This item would also need to be introduced on Saturday to hold a public hearing on July 17th. g. Approval: Use of Rental Registry Reserves for Intern Staffing – J. Audy Mr. Audy stated that he had the opportunity to have assistance from a St. Michael’s Fire member who is a student at the school. Jamie Schwab has been working for the City as an intern to implement the Firehouse software. Mr. Audy stated he was able to cover Mr. Schwab through 6/30 but in order to continue the internship through August would need to use reserves. The implementation of the Firehouse software represents a huge improvement in services to the customer and provide quality data to the commission. Mr. Schwab has been updating information and testing it. The remaining reserves may be requested for use at a future Council meeting for a revolving loan program. MOTION by Councilor Sweeney, seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the use of Rental Registry reserves as requested. Voted and passed 3-0. i. Approval: Sales Tax Reallocation Application – H. Carrington Ms. Carrington stated that the project at 111 East Allen Street has not yet gone through plan review, but will do so. This item is before Council in advance of the review process because the sales tax reallocation application can only be submitted at the end of June. The amount of the award is estimated to be about $30,000. Pavers and street trees are included in the project plan that will help to define the corner. This was previously discussed at the June 5th meeting. MOTION by Councilor Covey, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve the Sales Tax Reallocation Application for 111 East Allen Street as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. j. Approval: Job Description – Communications Coordinator – H. Carrington Ms. Carrington stated that this job description was previously discussed during the budgeting process. She noted changes to the purpose section that reflect communicating with our diverse community. The Minutes of June 19, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 5 of 7 www.winooskivt.org target hire date would be September 1st with an advertisement going out this week if the description is approved. MOTION by Councilor Sweeney, seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the Communications Coordinator job description as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. k. Approval: FY2018 Budget – Community Justice Center – R. Hebert This budget was presented at the previous Council meeting. There were no questions. MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the FY18 Community Justice Center budget as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. l. Approval: Fraternal Order of Police Contract – R. Coffey Mr. Coffey presented the final draft of the Fraternal Order of Police contract noting that it has been ratified by the union. The prior contract had expired on 6/30/2015 and discussion regarding retroactive pay will follow later in this meeting. Mr. Coffey highlighted the major changes to the contract including reducing the number of steps in the pay scale to 20, alignment of retirement programs, insurance protecting the City and officers from liability in civil and criminal proceedings, and increases to dispatcher pay rates. It was noted that part of the delay was a one year transition from the former union group of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to the Fraternal Order of Police. Subsequently the City had a transition in the leadership role. The process of negotiation was described as collaborative. MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve the Fraternal Order of Police contract as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. m. Approval: Public Works Reserve Assignment – J. Baker Ms. Baker stated this is a cleanup item as these projects were previously approved, but did not have enough funding allocated. Discussion regarding the reasons for the dish sanitizer overages followed. MOTION by Councilor Covey, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve the Public Works reserve assignment as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. n. Approval: FY16 Fund Balance Allocation – J. Baker Ms. Baker stated that she is requesting assignment of fund balance for two items; police contract retroactive payments and a development consultant to follow up on several sites. She stated the remaining funds would rollover as unassigned reserves for FY17 and could potentially be used for a server replacement solution as our current lease is up in October. Discussion regarding the use of a consultant for the sequencing and determination of highest and best use for property followed. Concern was expressed for how the pool replacement fit into the development conversation. Questions regarding the value that would be received for the funding being requested were raised. MOTION by Councilor Covey, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve the assignment of FY16 fund balance as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. o. Discussion: Update on Regional Dispatch Planning – J. Baker Ms. Baker gave a brief update to Council regarding the regional dispatch discussions. She noted that Colchester, Milton, and South Burlington are in discussion to co-locate dispatch. p. Discussion: Vehicle Use Policy – J. Baker Minutes of June 19, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 6 of 7 www.winooskivt.org This item had been previously presented to Council. There were not questions and consensus was to place the policy on the July 17th consent agenda for approval. IX. Executive Session a. Pending mediation, an open discussion of which may place the City at a substantial disadvantage (1 V.S.A. §313(a)(1)) It was noted that this item is for discussion of mediation that would place the City at a disadvantage if discussed in open session. Ms. Baker requested that Chief Hebert join her and the Council in executive session. MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to go into executive session for the reasons stated inviting the City Manager and Police Chief to join them at 9:55p. Voted and passed 3-0. X. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Covey, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to adjourn the City Council meeting at 10:10pm. Voted and passed 3-0. ATTEST: ___________________________ Assistant City Clerk Minutes of June 19, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 7 of 7 www.winooskivt.org