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 September 18, 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 August 21 & September 5, 2017 b. Approval: Payroll Warrant as of 8/27-9/9/17, Accounts Payable Warrant as of 9/14/17 VI. City Update VII. Council Reports VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Welcoming Week and International Peace Day Resolution – S. Leonard b. Approval: Job Descriptions: Fire Chief and Battalion Chief – J. Baker c. Discussion: FY18 Policy Priorities and Strategy Update: Housing – H. Carrington d. Discussion: Mandatory Changes to City’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy – R. Hebert e. Discussion/Approval: Use of Reserves to Purchase AudioLog Recorder – R. Hebert f. Approval: Municipal Planning Grant Application for Master Plan Mapping Support – H. Carrington g. Discussion/Approval: FY19 Budget Plan and Schedule h. Discussion: Vermont League of Cities and Towns’ 2018 Policy Positions – J. Baker IX. Adjourn MINUTES The meeting was called to order by the Deputy Mayor at 6:00pm. The meeting began with the pledge of allegiance led by Deputy Mayor Brian Corrigan. Members Present: Mayor Seth Leonard (electronic participation) Councilors: Brian Corrigan, Brian Sweeney, Eric Covey, Nicole Mace Minutes of September 18, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 1 of 5 www.winooskivt.org Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Angela Aldieri, Assistant City Clerk; Heather Carrington, Community and Economic Development Director; John Audy, Code Enforcement Director; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Scott McGivern, Lieutenant; Paul Dreher, Zoning; III. Agenda Review No changes to the agenda were made. IV. Public Comment No public comment was made. V. Consent Agenda Consensus was to consider items on the consent agenda separately due to varying attendance at prior meetings with minutes under consideration. MOTION by Councilor Sweeney, seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the City Council minutes of August 21st as presented. Voted and passed 4-0-1, with Councilor Mace abstaining. MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the City Council minutes of September 5th as presented. Voted and passed 3-0-2, with Deputy Mayor Corrigan and Councilor Sweeney abstaining. MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve the warrants as presented. Voted and passed 5-0. VI. City Update Ms. Baker announced that Julie Hulburd was appointed by the Vermont Human Resource Association to serve on the State Ethics Commission formed by Act 79. Ms. Baker wanted to take the time to recognize Ms. Hulburd’s achievement. The second annual Financial Wellness Day for New Americans will be held on Wednesday, September 20th from 2:30pm to 5:00pm at VSAC. The event is sponsored by CVOEO, VSAC, the Vermont Humanities Council, and the Champlain Housing Trust, as well as the City. On Thursday, September 21st from 7:00pm to 8:00pm the Winooski Peace Initiative and the City of Winooski will be holding a candlelight vigil in Rotary Park in observance of Welcoming Week and the International Day of Peace. Ms. Baker announced that the new Communications Coordinator will start tomorrow after a competitive search. Paul Sarne, a former Americorps member for the City, was the person selected for the position. Additional hiring work is under way. The second round of Public Works Director interviews will be held on Wednesday and first round interviews for the Planning and Zoning Manager will take place the week of October 2nd. There are three openings for equipment operators with the Public Works department; those interested are encouraged to apply. The Public Works department has completed line striping works. A request for proposals is out to contract for snow removal in light of the vacancies in the department that may make winter operations a challenge. A project is underway to improve the pedestrian crossing at East Allen Street and Dion Street by installing a rapid flash beacon. Wastewater slip lining is underway and should be complete by the end Minutes of September 18, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 2 of 5 www.winooskivt.org of the month. The water taps for the construction projects on Main Street were completed last week. Ms. Baker thanked the public for their patience while the work disrupted traffic on the roadway. Ms. Baker stated that we continue to work with our neighboring communities in support of airport regionalization. She will be attending the Williston Selectboard meeting tomorrow night. VII. Council Reports Councilor Covey stated that the Public Safety Commission had a good meeting where there was substantial discussion regarding the staffing structure at the Fire Department. Also under discussion was the Welcoming Cities and Sanctuary City policy. The Chair of the Commission and Councilor Covey will be reaching out to partner agencies affected by the policies for feedback. Councilor Mace reminded Council and Leadership staff to complete the 6 month check in survey regarding Ms. Baker’s tenure.’ Mayor Leonard stated that the joint meeting with the School Board went well and thanked staff for their roles in putting the meeting together. VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Welcoming Week and International Peace Day Resolution – S. Leonard This is an event that the City has acknowledged in the past. Winooski is a great place to live where community is valued and we work hard to be welcoming to all. Thursday is International Peace Day which was noted as important to be recognized given the current environment seems more important than ever to recognize. Mayor Leonard read into record the Welcoming Week 2017 and International Peace Day Resolution. MOTION by Councilor Covey, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve the Welcoming Week 2017 and International Peace Day Resolution as presented. Voted and passed 5-0. b. Approval: Job Descriptions: Fire Chief and Battalion Chief – J. Baker The Public Safety Commission discussed this change at length last week. The proposal is to change the current job descriptions of Code Enforcement Director and Fire Chief to Fire Chief and Battalion Chief respectively. The intent is to further the combination of our fire suppression and prevention departments and limit the confusion regarding chain of command during differing situations that has occurred with the current job descriptions. This change will strengthen the group as a whole and will have limited impacts on the job duties of each party. Councilor Covey noted that the Public Safety Commission had discussed this change in relation to the stability of the department given the other recent changes that were made to the structure. He stated the Chief Spittle had attended the meeting and voiced support. Discussion regarding shifting duties away from Mr. Audy to the proposed Planning and Zoning manager and funding source followed. This change has been discussed with the officers of the Fire Department twice previously and would be intended to roll out this Wednesday if approved tonight. MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the job descriptions for the Fire Chief and Battalion Chief as presented. Voted and passed 5-0. c. Discussion: FY18 Policy Priorities and Strategy Update: Housing – H. Carrington Ms. Baker stated that this is the first of the Council reports on policy priorities and strategy with a focus on housing. She asked Council to provide any feedback regarding the report format. Ms. Carrington stated that the Housing Commission has been created and met for the first time in August. The group has an aggressive deadline to bring to Council housing goals in January. Firehouse implementation continues Minutes of September 18, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 3 of 5 www.winooskivt.org with prefilled landlord registry forms being sent in July and the first commercial inspections using the I- pad beginning this week. Form based code updates are currently on hold until housing goals are set. The permit process streamlining is intended to get underway when a Planning and Zoning Manager is hired. Ms. Carrington reviewed other staff priorities relating to housing that have been set and noted progress that has been made. Council requested anticipated start dates for items that have not yet begun appear on the reporting grid. Discussion regarding the State Affordable Housing bond and potential use of that funding source in Winooski followed. Ms. Carrington noted that the funding would be extremely competitive and that the City does not have a shovel ready project; however, she has met with Champlain Housing Trust who is interested in this type of project and they have many funding opportunities to develop affordable housing. d. Discussion: Mandatory Changes to City’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy – R. Hebert Ms. Baker stated that the City has adopted a Fair and Impartial Policing Policy. This policy is under review by the Attorney General and the Legislature. Staff received notice that the policy has changed and must be adopted by October 1st to conform with Federal Law. Lieutenant McGivern read the section of the USC referenced in the revised policy for Council’s reference. Discussion regarding the application of the policy and practical impacts followed. Council expressed frustration at the conflicting message presented. e. Discussion/Approval: Use of Reserves to Purchase AudioLog Recorder – R. Hebert Ms. Baker stated that the equipment that the Police Department was using to record radio and phone transmissions failed. The recommendation is to go with the mid-priced system, Acorn, rather than low bid for compatibility with our regional dispatch community partners. Lieutenant McGivern stated the equipment is used to revisit information during calls and to provide copies of recordings to the court as evidence. The total requested funding is not to exceed $9200f rom capital reserves. MOTION by Councilor Covey, seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the use of reserves to purchase a replacement AudioLog recorder as presented. Voted and passed 5-0. f. Approval: Municipal Planning Grant Application for Master Plan Mapping Support – H. Carrington This is a grant available to complete master planning work. The intent is to use the funding to augment the master plan with more mapping technology. Ms. Carrington stated that the mapping could be used as a data tool for analysis. The request would be for $20,000 in grant funding requiring match funds of $6000. If the grant is awarded a request to use additional Community Development funds would come back to Council. MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the Municipal Planning Grant application as presented. Voted and passed 5-0. g. Discussion/Approval: FY19 Budget Plan and Schedule Ms. Baker stated that staff is recommending changes to the FY19 budgeting process by reviewing the comprehensive budget all at once rather than over an extended period of time. This would give Council the full financial picture and implications as they make decisions. Ms. Baker presented Council with a memo outlining the proposed schedule, documents that will be provided, and the staff work that will precede the Council presentations beginning in December. Mayor Leonard noted that fund balance needs to be integrated into the discussion. Councilor Mace expressed that she did not want to lose the tax rate implications of decisions and that funding sources need to be made clear. Additional discussion regarding revisiting the fee chapter in City Ordinance in future years followed. Minutes of September 18, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 4 of 5 www.winooskivt.org MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve the FY19 Budget Plan and Schedule as presented. Voted and passed 5-0. h. Discussion: Vermont League of Cities and Towns’ 2018 Policy Positions – J. Baker Ms. Baker noted that at the previous meeting the Council had appointed her as the voting delegate to the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT). Discussion regarding the policy document put out by VLCT followed. Specific discussion regarding the open meeting law requirements for entities receiving City funding, the per parcel water funding, marijuana legalization, and a request for VLCT to advocate for a municipal member on the Governor’s committee occurred. This item will be back for further discussion on October 2nd after Council has had a chance to review the document in more detail and follow up questions have been sent to VLCT. IX. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Mace, seconded by Councilor Covey to adjourn the City Council meeting at 7:42pm. Voted and passed 5-0. ATTEST: ___________________________ Assistant City Clerk Minutes of September 18, 2017 Winooski City Council Page 5 of 5 www.winooskivt.org