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 COUNCILOR ERIC COVEY sleonard@winooskivt.org DEPUTY MAYOR BRIAN CORRIGAN CITY COUNCIL COUNCILOR NICOLE MACE COUNCILOR BRIAN SWEENEY bcorrigan@winooskivt.org Agenda Tuesday, September 5, 2017 6:00 P.M. CLAIRE BURKE COUNCIL CHAMBER I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Agenda Review IV. Public Comment V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of August 21, 2017 b. Approval: Payroll Warrants as of 8/13/17-8/26/17, Accounts Payable Warrant as of 8/31/17 & Subsequent to Payout for July VI. City Update VII. Council Reports VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Approval: Appointment of Lauren Sampson to Library Committee – R Coffey b. Approval:Resolution: Statement from the City Council Reaffirming Winooski’s Welcoming City Status – S Leonard c. Approval: Event Permit: October Winooski Wednesdays In Rotary- H Carrington d. Discussion: Update on Thrive Director – R Coffey e. Approval: CCRPC Unified Planning Work Program Grant Application Study of Stormwater Work in the Pinegrove Terrace Neighborhood – J Choate f. Approval: Reaffirm Assignment of Reserves to Operating Expenses – J Baker g. Approval: ACH Positive Pay Program Vendors – J Baker h. Discussion: Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Winooski and the Winooski Incorporated School District for 2017-2018 – J Baker i. Discussion/Approval: Letters of Intent for the former YMCA Space – R Coffey • Possible Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 (2) the negotiation of real estate purchase or lease options. j. Approval: Appointment of a Voting Delegate to the Vermont League of Cities and Town's Annual Business Meeting – J Baker k. Approval: City Manager Six-month Review Process – J Baker IX. Executive Session a. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 (1) (B) labor relations agreements with employees and specifically AFSCME. b. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 (1) (E) pending litigation to which the public body is a party and (2) the negotiation of real estate purchase or lease options related to the Winooski Hotel Group, LLC proposal. X. Adjourn September 5, 2017 Winooski City Council  MINUTES The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilor Mace. Members Present: Mayor Seth Leonard Councilors: Nicole Mace, Eric Covey, Brian Sweeney and Brian Corrigan were absent. Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Carol Barrett, City Clerk; Raymond Coffey, Community Services Director; Heather Carrington, Economic Development Director; Kirstie Paschall, Thrive Director. Others Present: Lauren Sampson, Aphaia Lambert, Maura O’Neill, WCP; Lynn Balman, Ashley Bond, UVM; Moira Mulligan, UVM; Maria McClellan, UVM . III. Agenda Review – None IV. Public Comment – None V. Consent Agenda The Mayor said we would take the minutes and warrants separately. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Covey to remove the approval of the minutes off the agenda. Voted and passed 3-0. These minutes will be on the September 18, 2017 agenda. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the payroll warrants from 8/13/2017 – 8/26/2017; accounts payable warrant as of 8/31/2017 and subsequent to payout for July as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. VI. City Update The City Manager gave the following update: Public Works – tomorrow September 6, 2017 - Contractors working at 394 Main Street in Winooski will be installing water and sewer utility connections on Main Street. -Water work (just off the shoulder line) is scheduled to begin at 9am to 2pm. Result in lane narrowing. -Sewer connections (under the yellow line) will start around 7pm through completion that evening. Down to one lane. Events - Tomorrow night- Winooski Wednesday is happening (rain or shine, with rain location in the Monkey House) tomorrow! We welcome Adam Sullivan and Company to Winooski, 6 – 8 pm in Rotary Park! - Economic Development Community Dinner is Thursday (7th) at the O’Brien Community Center, dinner starts at 5:00pm, the meeting starts at 5:30. There will be a short presentation of findings thus far, followed by a community discussion/workshop. It will be another opportunity for residents to make their voices heard in creating the strategic plan! -City/School Committee joint meeting on September 13th at 6:30. Community Services September 5, 2017 Winooski City Council  -The Homework Help program at the Library starts on 9/12, and will be serving students from 6 – 9 pm from Mon-Thurs each week. Many thanks to Elsie Goodrich for all the hard work to get this program up and running for another year, and to the UVM Department of Education for their continued partnership! We are still looking for a few community volunteers, so please visit our website (www.winooskivt.org/volunteer) if you’re interested. - Aphaia lambert-Harper will officially be staring a year of AmeriCorps VISTA service on September 12th, helping to oversee and coordinate volunteer efforts for the City. She’s been a temporary employee in Recreation and Parks, and we are super excited to be keeping her on board for the full year! -3 STARS for Thrive! -RFP for Childcare space at the O’Brien Community Center is public as of today. Hiring: -Equipment Operators -Communications coordinator - finalists interviewed next week -Public Works Director – first round interviewed this week -Planning and Zoning Manager – first round interviewed next week. VII. Council Reports Councilor Covey – None Councilor Mace – None The Mayor said that they were behind in the Treasurer’s position but they are maintaining contact with Jim Ticehurst. The Housing Commission has a tremendous group of people. We continue to meet with other communities concerning the airport. We are waiting for responses from Essex, Colchester, Williston and Shelburne. He also said the Mayor’s Coalition meeting was held and that group continues to push forward on a number of items. You will see publicized in the next few weeks is a Climate Summit at Champlain College Nov 8 or 12. This is an all-day event where municipalities have the opportunity to speak with climate professionals. VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Approve Appointment of Lauren Sampson to Library Committee Mr. Coffey introduced Lauren Sampson. He said there is presently a vacant seat on the Library Committee, which Lauren is seeking to fill. Per the governing documents of the Library Committee adopted in 2014, terms are three years in length, and given that, Lauren is filling a presently vacant seat, her term, if approved, would run from September 2017 through the end of June 2020. She is currently on several boards and is working on filling her volunteer portfolio. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Covey to appoint Lauren Sampson to the Library Committee. Voted and passed 3-0. b. Approval: Resolution: Statement from the City Council Reaffirming Winooski’s Welcoming City Status The Mayor said Councilor Sweeney felt strongly about reaffirming Welcoming City Status. The Mayor read the following statement: See attached. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the Statement from City Council Reaffirming Welcoming City Status. Voted and passed 3-0. c. Approval: Event Permit: October Winooski Wednesday in Rotary Ms. Carrington said the Winooski Park and Recreation Department has submitted an event application to extend the Winooski Wednesday Concert series for an additional month in October. September 5, 2017 Winooski City Council  These events have been very well received over the summer months and attendance has been higher than initially projected, sometimes nearing 300 people. Events over 200 people require City Council approval. Staff have reviewed the application and recommend approval for the event. The event is to be held on Wednesday, October 4, 2017 from 6 – 8 PM. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Mace to approve Winooski Wednesday, October 4, 2017 from 6 – 8 PM as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. d. Discussion: Update on Thrive Director The City Manager said we talked about the Promise Community’s grant back in May, there was some question about; as the grant cycled out, the Children Family Program Manager’s position we wanted to come back to you with an update. This funding is slated to run through December of this year. Mr. Coffey said the Promise Communities grant partially funds our Children and Family Programs Manager, Kirstie Paschall, through December 2017. This has allowed Kirstie to not be engaged with Thrive, so we have had a fantastic staff person on point Jeremy Beauregard, who is leaving the area and moving to Maryland. He did a tremendous job running that program and building connections. We were at the point where we had to make a decision. Do we fill that temporary role for 3 months of programming or do we move back to the situation where Kirstie’s position, sort of shares duties managing Thrive Service Program and doing the community systems level that she has been exclusively to focus on with her position funded through the grant. The Mayor said it came up at a number of times during the Promise Community Grant acceptance. I appreciate you bringing this back; it represents a significant difference between what we talked about at that point in time versus the way things are going to look going forward. Councilor Mace thanked them and congratulations on the STAR, this is a huge benefit to families and the community. She would like more information around what is involved with Promise Communities at this time. Ms. Paschall, said we had several sub-group committees that were meeting to set up the next steps. We are passed that point where those groups are meeting as frequently. We are very much into those next steps, and they are in maintenance mode. Documents and grant applications are already written. Our RFP was posted on the website today and we already wrote our evaluation plan with the State Evaluators. At this point, it is a quarterly check in and following the steps with the RFP and sub-grants and this will happen at the steering committee meeting. Mr. Coffey said that 2/3 of Kirstie’s budget is paid out of the Thrive budget and that has pulled her into ratio as Director. She has first-hand approach of that program. Councilor Mace also want to thank Jeremy publicly, he did a tremendous job and was an active Thrive participant. He was on sight most days, and things were happening in the program. How does it work when you’re not going to be there all of the time? Are there other staff prepared to step in and perform that function that Jeremy was playing on site every day? Ms. Paschall said for the next few weeks, she would be there every day. Mr. Coffey said 3 of the 5 days during the week Kirstie will be on site, if not she will be directly involved. The Mayor asked if this was setting up for a different discussion in January and February. Mr. Coffey said it’s a conversation we should explore. We will also be looking at grants and other non- municipal resources that are out there. We are working with the school right now looking at potential partnership opportunities moving forward in the afterschool area. I think these conversations are early in process. We are trying to move those discussions forward. The Mayor said this is going to end up in fund balance. This action is going to create some form of tracking on the budgetary impact in terms of what we set aside. Essentially, we are going to have a vacancy. Mr. Coffey said no, Jeremy’s position and the resources that went towards that were in essence the equivalent of 2/3 of Kirstie’s time. He also said it is budget neutral at this point. September 5, 2017 Winooski City Council  The Mayor asked if we know what the 3 star rating impact will be. Ms. Paschall said has not figured that out yet. Mr. Covey said he appreciates the focus on the the quality. Ms. Balman asked if there were any other grants available for the community and these children. Mr. Coffey said in terms of the funding pools hat are available the YMCA Services that were operating within in Winooski, those are different funding pools then what we would access for early childhood. Their departure does not change the financial landscape for us. We have not done a lot of grant seeking around Thrive because it is a program that is driven by registration funding. Families pay and you also get help from the State. Our rates are set at the State rates. Ms. Balman asked what about the large, semi-large companies around here. Some other communities and States work with local child care, and they give a discount or they help contribute to their community child care, so their staff can go to work and have their children close. Mr. Coffey said as this relates to our afterschool program, we’ve run pretty much at capacity for the last 4 to 5 years, based on a number of staff and the space we have. We have not had a strong need to go out and to a lot of recruitment of kids. The Mayor said what we have done is bring the Promise Communities grant, which has added $200,000.00 in assistant to help us support the establishment of a childcare facility. e. Approval: CCRPC Unified Planning Work Program Grant Application Study of Stormwater Work in the Pinegrove Terrace Neighborhood The City Manager said this grant is proposed to further study and develop a conceptual plan for stormwater improvements in the Pinegrove Terrace neighborhood. She said there is a 20% of grant request ($1520) which can be in-kind services. The amount of the grant is $3,000.00 - $5,000.00 dollars. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the Grant proposal as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. See Attached Grant. f. Approval: Reaffirm Assignment of Reserves to Operating Expenses The City Manager said the City of Winooski Charter states that every appropriation other than for capital expenditures shall lapse as the close of the fiscal year to the extent it has not yet been expended. Several operating projects were assigned funding during FY2017 that were not yet complete by the end of the fiscal year. In order for these projects to be completed, the remaining balance of their original funding should be reassigned by Council approval. Approval to assign reserves for operating expenses with previous assignments crossing fiscal years for amount remaining from original assignment. The amount of the expenditure required is $89,650 FY17 Excess Reserves. The Mayor reminded the community to look back at budget meetings that were held in December, January. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the Reaffirm Assignment of Reserves to Operating Expenses for $89,650 as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. See Attached g. Approval: ACH Positive Pay Program Vendors The City Manager said the City wishes to implement the positive pay program for ACH transactions at TD Bank. This program only allows authorized vendors to receive electronic payment from our accounts without additional verification. This is an additional control we are able to put in place at no cost to prevent fraud. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the ACH Positive Pay Programs vendors as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. See Attached. h. Discussion: Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Winooski and the Winooski Incorporated School District for 2017-2018. September 5, 2017 Winooski City Council  The City Manager said the City Council and Winooski School District Board of Trustees will met in joint session on September 13, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. to consider the Memorandum of Understanding between the two entities. See attached. She said this MOU is very similar to the MOU that was approved last year and that we have been operating and including payment back to the City, SRO position, the obligations around plowing etc. There are three new additions to call your attention to; 1- In consultation with the Superintendent these edits were made with his approval. We have added a statement around our cooperative efforts, our municipal master planning process, economic development strategic planning process and branding and marketing. One of the things we are hearing in the last two, is we anticipate being part of the master plan process. The importance of our school district in recruiting new businesses and our identity as a very small community we have a unique opportunity to work in, we wanted to codify that in this MOU, and that the school will participate in these processes. 2- The Superintendent was appointed to the Housing Commission, we think that is a strong partnership, strong voice and we want to recognize in this document as well. 3- Talks about shared interest in maintaining the community’s affordability and our administrative interest in continually cooperating around long term capital planning. To that end, we have had conversations around professional development for the council and the school committee around the municipal finance tools that are to do large-scale capital projects. This interest in reviewing those tools together and thinking about how we jointly significantly do capital projects to protect the affordability of the community. These are the three changes we added but otherwise it is very close to the MOU you passed last year. I do not need a vote tonight I just wanted to see if there was any feedback before I ask for your vote next week. The Mayor said this is always something the City of Winooski has not always had. It has been about a decade of good cooperation and good teamwork and recognition that we are serving the same community. Beyond the financial, there is a real spirit of collaboration. I am excited to see this and excited about the additions and it makes a lot of sense. I appreciate the school’s effort to come together. Council Mace appreciates the three new pieces, the only concern I have is working together on long- term capital projects. I think continually communicating, cooperating is good, and everyone just understands. The Mayor said, if there is an understanding that there’s bonding taking place that the reality says that we have to keep in mind everybody is asking the same taxpayer for those capital projects and understand that there is some communication around what types of ”asks” are going to going around the community. Councilor Covey likes the MOU and would look to continue for us all to collaborate. The more we can get the City and School involved we can encourage all of us to look for opportunities. The Mayor said this will be considered at the joint meeting on September 13. i. Discussion/Approval: Letters of Intent for the former YMCA Space The City Manager said the YMCA vacated the space at the OBCC this summer and Ray has been working to fill the space. We have two letter of interest on the table that was sent to you in a confidential communication as they do involve documents that are subject not to public records law at this point. Our goal tonight is to outline for you, conceptually the two proposals and get your feedback on the community values and the priorities of the community for the use of that space and then potentially consider a vote to authorize myself or Ray to enter into negotiations on a final document that will be brought to you for approval. In the interest of making sure you understand what is before you, I recommend that you go into Executive session so we can talk through the two letters of intent and come back and have a conversation in open session with the public. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Mace to go into Executive Session to discuss the letters of September 5, 2017 Winooski City Council  intent pursuant to 1V.S.A. § 313 (2) for the former YMCA space and to include Jessie Baker and Ray Coffey into Executive Session. Voted and passed 3-0. The meeting reconvened at 7:16 p.m. The Mayor said there is a memo in the Council package that rather outlines how we got there. The OBCC lost what we would consider an anchor tenant in one of the largest spaces and the YMCA left a couple of months ago. The community center was constructed largely of public donations and a lot of ground work from Winooski residents to create a public space to offer an opportunity for community interaction to take place. One big concern is we have gone forward with consideration and what is going to happen next with that space. We are trying to continue to uphold that spirit and trying very hard to ensure that we are still living up to that promise and that the taxpayers and the people who live here. The Mayor said we have two interested parties; one is the UVM Medical Center, doing aquatic physical therapy center, was located with the YMCA, and currently still operates the space. We also have an option from a private entity that runs Snap Fitness, a franchise branch locally and is looking to expand. He said both are interesting opportunities, both provide the community with some level of service. We have a long-term partner, UVM who has been beneficial and one that we see is important going into the future. We also have an opportunity to replace something for the public that has been of keen interest from our population, something that we have received feedback on surveys is really missing from this community is an opportunity for a gym facility to exist as well. He would like the staff to re-engage between Jessie and Ray with parties and try to find a solution that includes co-habitation. The reasoning behind this is not siding with one proposal or the other is you really have the benefit of a medical opportunity for the community and a service that is beneficial. At the same time, we have a very important public space that services the public and really can walk through the door, granted there can be membership fees just the same at the YMCA level, but provided a more general public benefit. I think it would be ashamed to have either opportunity lost. I strongly recommend that be the pursuit of negotiations and the two of you pursue those. Councilor Mace said that is a direction I support, consistent with our vision statement. When we talk about vibrancy, economic development that ensures that are spaces have that vibrancy, but also that we are actively creating spaces for community and engaging healthy activities and to connect with one another. I do think it is important that we continue to operate or have a tenant that operates for the whole community and at the same time preserves the resources we have. Councilor Covey said having the word Community in the title of the OBCC Center. I think that is valuable, not in just how the public is able to access the services and spaces within that building, but also how relationships are conducted, between tenants in the building and with us as the City is responsible for that building. I think this is the direction we are looking for as Council. The Mayor thanked all the parties for their work and strong acknowledgment. I know it is not an easy process and I know we are kind of saying go back and have more conversation and I appreciate everyone’s willing to do that. Mr. Coffey said he want to acknowledge Esther Lots who has been working on the City’s behalf as a broker. The Mayor said no action would be taken. j. Approval: Appointment of a Voting Delegate to the Vermont League of Cities and Town’s Annual Business Meeting The City Manager said as part of Town Fair, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns holds its annual business meeting. This meeting will take place at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, October 4th. As a member community, we need to designate one official as the voting delegate to ensure that our voice is heard. This can be an elected official, the City Manager, or a staff person. The Mayor said we can discuss it our next meeting if we want to add anything to be discussed at the VLCT Annual Business meeting. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Covey to appoint Jessie Baker, City September 5, 2017 Winooski City Council  Manager as our voting delegate at the Annual VLCT Annual Business meeting as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. k. Approval: City Manager Six-month Review Process The City Manager said on September 13, 2017 is her six-month anniversary with the City of Winooski. My contract includes provisions on feedback and review. In the interest of continued communication and learning, I recommend we complete an initial six-month performance review to ensure that our expectations are aligned and allow for course correction where needed. She is recommending approval of the six-month review process. The Mayor said that they had discussed at length in contract negotiations and I commend you for it. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the City Manager’s Six-month review process as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. IX. Executive Session a. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 (1) (B) labor relations agreements with employees and specifically AFSCME. b. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 (1) (E) pending litigation to which the public body is a party and (2) the negotiation of real estate purchase or lease options related to the Winooski Hotel Group, LLC proposal. The Mayor explained that we are going into Executive Session to discuss two items. The first item he will be in attendance and the second item he will recuse himself and will come back to adjourn. We will also invite Jessie Baker and Ray Coffey into Executive Session. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Covey to go into Executive Session at 7:40 p.m. and to invite Jessie Baker and Ray Coffey as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. X. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Covey to adjourn City Council meeting at 8:05 p.m. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST:_____________________________ City Clerk September 5, 2017 Winooski City Council