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 HAL COLSTON sleonard@winooskivt.org DEPUTY MAYOR NICOLE MACE CITY COUNCIL COUNCILOR ERIC COVEY COUNCILOR KRISTINE LOTT Agenda Monday, June 18, 2018 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 4, 2018 b. Approval: Warrants: Warrant ending 6/15/2018 and Payroll for period 5/20/18 – 6/02/18 c. Approval: Audit Contract – Sullivan Powers & Co d. Approval: Headworks Bond Documents e. Approval: Treasurer’s Job Description VI. City Update VII. Council Reports VIII. Regular Items: a. Approval: Farmers Market Event Permit Application Amendment – H Carrington b. Approval: Sidewalk Usage Permit – Commodities Natural Market – Seasonal Tables – H Carrington c. Approval: Sidewalk Usage Permit – Commodities Natural Market – Popsicle Tent – H Carrington d. Approval: Myers Pool: Necessity and Reimbursement Resolution for Bond Vote – J Baker e. Approval: Myers Pool: Warning of Bond Vote and Public Hearing – J Baker f. Approval: State Auditor’s Internal Controls Checklist – J Ticehurst g. Approval: Website Vendor Selection – CivicPlus Contract – H Carrington h. Approval: Main Street Revitalization: Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant – J Rauscher i. Approval: Main Street Revitalization VTrans 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant – J Rauscher j. Discussion: Promise Communities Update and Library Plan – R Coffey k. Discussion/Approval: 2018-2019 Policy Priorities and Strategies – J Baker l. Approval: Municipal Bond Post-Issuance Compliance Procedures – A Aldieri m. Approval: Debt Service Ratio Amendment – TIF Bond – A Aldieri n. Discussion: Goal Update: Safe Healthy Connected People – R Coffey IX. Adjourn a. 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 Tax Increment Financing District. June 18, 2018 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 Deputy Mayor Mace. Member Present: Mayor Seth Leonard, Councilors: Nicole Mace, Eric Covey, Hal Colston, Kristine Lott Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Janet Brouard, Sr. Asst City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Staff Accountant; John Audy, Fire Chief; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director, Heather Carrington, Economic Development Director; Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director Others Present: Ron Stotyn, Brian Eckert, Four Quarters Brewery, Lisa Ritter, Dave Dube, Pat Everts, Megan Everts, Jess Lukas, Gabriel McGann, Gidgeon McGann, Mike Myers, Scott Olmstead, Renae Bouchard, Anastasia Tsekeris, Caroline Bergeron, David Weissberger. III. Agenda Review – None IV. Public Comment – None V. Consent Agenda MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the consent agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. V. City Update The City Manager began by announcing that today is Angela’s birthday! She then gave the following updates: • Opportunity Zones: Heather and I participated in the State’s Opportunity Zone Summit last week. Both of our census tracts have been named OZones. Through the Federal tax legislation, this allows investors to invest in Winooski projects without paying a capital gains tax and, if left in for a period of time, take it out tax-free as well. IRS is drafting guidance. We will be tracking this closely. • Creemee with a Cop. Launched last week. Kids demonstrating safety and neighborly kindness may be rewarded with creemees from Chick’s Market or Scout! • Tax bills – Without State budget, school tax rate is not set. Will wait to issue tax bills until this is set. Believe this is best from a customer service perspective. Once we have a State budget, the Tax Department has indicated that they need 5+ days to issue local tax rates. We must provide residents with 30 days’ notice before bills are due. • Tax Rate: Finalizing the grand list this week or early next. Requested a special meeting next Wednesday or Thursday to set the municipal tax rate. • Planning and Zoning Manager: Eric Vorwold. Most recently with Central VT Regional Planning Commission. 17+ years of experience with master planning, zoning bylaws, and community facilitation. Starts July 9th but has already jumped in – attending last Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting. • Master Planning: Regina Mahoney, with CCRPC, is on board to support us (through our municipal planning grant) with the Master Plan development. On Thursday, we reviewed and finalized the schedule for the next nine months. I’ll share that with the Council and Commissions in the next week. We also discussed a community outreach effort to supplement what’s been done through the other plans to date. • Events/Fun Stuff: ᴼ Winooski Wednesday will be happening again on July 4th, with Guagua, led by Winooski’s own Geoff Kim. Show starts at 6 pm, with free meals for kids and cash bar by Monkey House. [Come see the music before heading to catch fireworks (or just stay in Winooski for the evening!).] ᴼ July 3, 5:30-8:30 PM, Casavant Natural Area. Adults (18+). $30 registration cost: The City of Winooski June 18, 2018 Winooski City Council  Department of Recreation and Parks has partnered with Ondatra Adventures to provide and fun and educational Naturalist walk through Casavant Park in Winooski! It doesn’t take traveling to the far reaches of the Wilderness to immerse oneself in the world of edible, medicinal and useful plants. In fact, many plants that are considered ‘weeds’ are our most powerful and nutritional allies. Join Dave Muska of Ondatra Adventures to learn about the many edible and medicinal plants that inhabit our forests, fields, cities and backyards. Along the walk, Dave will share his knowledge and personal stories of plants, animals and fungal species, why they are significant and their relationship to humankind. ᴼ Still time to register for elementary school-aged child for Adventure into Summer (starts Wednesday) and Thrive Summer (starts Monday, 6/25). Visit www.winooskirec.com for more information and to register. ᴼ Registration for the “Libraries ROCK!” summer reading program are underway….visit the Library or log onto Their website for Facebook pages for more information about programs, or to sign up your child. VII. Council Reports Councilor Lott said she attended the Public Works Commission Meeting where they reviewed the data that was collected from the Weaver Street Bike Lane Pop-Up. Work is continuing on the Bridge. Councilor Mace said she had a good meeting with Jessie and Ray regarding the Promise Communities. She said she was invited by the Pool fund raising group to help with a letter for fund raising ideas. Mayor Leonard said that the Master Plan development is coming together. Regina with CCRPC has also helped with other planning efforts. The Mayor said that they are almost done with drafting up a MOU with the airport. He hopes to have a draft at the next Public Meeting. Councilor Covey said the Public Safety Committee met to discuss their goals and priorities. He also wanted to point out that the Secretary of State Office is launching a new accessible voting system. Will be in place for the August 14th Primary Election. This is designed for voters with a disability to be able to vote independently and confidentially on line and print out their ballot. Councilor Colston said he attended the Community Services meeting on June 13th. The pool project was on the top of the agenda and the possible upcoming bond vote. An update on the O’Brien Community Center use of space was presented due to the high demand of the Library; possible relocation plans have been evaluated. The Senior Center continues to move along becoming a more inter-generational use of space. Mayor Leonard mentioned that the City of Winooski has been chosen along with 3-5 other communities to be part of a case study conducted by the Vermont Council of Rural Development at their annual conference. It will focus on the progress that has taken place in our community. VIII. Regular Items: a. Approval: Farmers Market Event Permit Application Amendment – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said that City staff received an amendment to the original event application from DWTN Winooski for the Winooski Farmers Market to include alcohol tastings and sales. The regulation of the sales falls under Vermont DLC Farmers Market Licensing for Manufacturers to Sell Malt Beverages, and the vendor currently being added to the Farmers Market is Four Quarters Brewing, which holds a 2018 Farmers Market License. The Staff recommends approval for this permit amendment. The Mayor wanted to make sure that the application would follow the entire guide lines set by DLC. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Farmers Market Event Permit Application Amendment as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. b. Approval: Sidewalk Usage Permit – Commodities Natural Market –Seasonal Tables – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said City Staff receive a request for a Sidewalk Usage Permit from Commodities Natural Market to have 30 sq. ft. in front of their store to have two small tables and benches. The Staff recommends approval of this permit. June 18, 2018 Winooski City Council MOTION by Councilor Lott seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the sidewalk usage permit for Commodities Natural Market-Seasonal tables as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. c. Approval: Sidewalk Usage Permit – Commodities Natural Market – Popsicle Tent – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said the City Staff received a request for a Sidewalk Usage Permit from Commodities Natural Market to have a 10x10 tent outside the store (in front of our produce windows) The following dates requested are July 12 5:00- 8:00 p.m. and September 6 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Councilor Mace had one concern that the tent would not take up the entire sidewalk and block foot traffic. Ms. Carrington said that the sidewalks down there are extra wide and it will not be an issue. MOTION by Councilor Lott seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the Sidewalk Usage permit from Commodities Natural Market for the Popsicle tent as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. d. Approval: Myers Pool: Necessity and Reimbursement Resolution for Bond Vote – J Baker The City Manager said we are here tonight to approve the resolution for a $3.92M general obligation bond vote for the Myers Memorial Pool Renovation Project. Councilor Mace wanted to recap that the amount here is for an estimate necessary for a full build out of the pool. The Mayor said while the pool is a great asset to the community, he has agreed to go with the full amount on the bond. However, he will not support a 15% tax increase. He does not think it is feasible to put that weight on the Cities tax rate. Councilor Lott does not support the full scope of the pool due to the increased maintenance costs that will be incurred in the future years or for however long it lasts. The Mayor said we do have the ability to scale back on the plans. Councilor Colston said he supports the Mayor with his efforts. Several members of the Pool Committee were present as well as members of the Community Services Commission. Discussion ensued about what was taking so long to come to a decision. After several minutes of discussion, the City Manager thought is necessary to clarify that a bond authorizes the Council to take out debt; it does not obligate the work to be done. It then is the Council decision to move forward with the project. Mike Myers was interested in the feedback that the Council has received, if any. Councilor Covey said it has been very positive. Mr. Myers wanted to applaud the Council for their efforts in this endeavor and invited them to their fund raising meeting to be held July 9th. Mr. Stotyn, Chair of the Community Services Commission gave an overview of the Commissions goals and what they feel is necessary to maintain the quality of life for the people in the community. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Myers Pool Necessity and Reimbursement Resolution for Bond Vote. Voted and passed 4-0. e. Approval: Myers Pool: Warning of Bond Vote and Public Hearing – J Baker The City Manager said this part is to schedule the bond vote for the August Primary and approves the warning that will go out publicly and sets the date for the Public Hearing for August 6th. Councilor Covey asked the City Manager if she had plans of putting out notification of the vote. She said that with the Main Street vote we put out postcards since it was a special vote out of calendar and was not being noticed anywhere else. The August Primary will be publically noticed through our statutory requirements and as well, it’s a statewide vote. We certainly can do more if the Council wishes. The Mayor asked if we have any other mailing that are going out that we can piggyback on. Depending on when tax bills are generated, we can do that but water bills will be definitely going out in time. Councilor Covey is strongly in favor of sending out mailers to hit the majority of voters. Councilor Lott said that she already has notified the school to have it put in the school newsletter. It was determined that there are several upcoming events to provide information on the vote; such as the special meeting next week to set the tax rate, the Community Services meeting, Winooski Wednesdays, a community dinner and the Public Hearing on August 6th . City Staff will work with the Council to get the word out. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Myers Pool: Warning of Bond Vote and Public Hearing as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. f. Approval: State Auditor’s Internal Controls Checklist – J Ticehurst The City Manager said that Dr. Ticehurst is unable to be here tonight so Angela Aldieri, Staff Accountant will present you the Annual checklist for Internal Controls that needs to be filed with the State Auditor’s Office. Ms. Aldieri said the form is self-explanatory and hasn’t changed from last year. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Lott to approve the State Auditor’s Internal Controls Checklist as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. g. Approval: Website Vendor Selection – CivicPlus Contract – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said that part of the 2017-2018 Policy Priorities and Strategies it was identified the need to implement a new website as a priority strategy under the Winooski Strategic Vision goal of fostering Safe, Healthy, Connected People. June 18, 2018 Winooski City Council Paul Sarne our Communications Coordinator has been instrumental in obtaining proposals. The City received 12 proposals to evaluate. The selection team, which was led by Paul and included the City Manager, Community Services Director and myself, were unanimous in choosing CivicPlus. CivicPlus specializes in local government websites, servicing over 2,500 municipal clients. The CivicPlus pricing structure allow the City to redistribute the startup costs for the website implementation over the course of three years. By doing so, this will allow us to utilize the Community Development budget to cover the one-time cost of the website conversion, while building the ongoing hosting fee into the City’s operating budget. At this time, we are also requesting a one-time use of Community Services Reserves in the amount $3,473 to cover the shortfall when converting to the new recreation registration platform. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Website Vendor Selection – CivicPlus Contract as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Lott to approve a one-time use of Community Services Reserves in the amount of $3,473 to cover the shortfall as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. h. Approval: Main Street Revitalization: Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant – J Rauscher Mr. Rauscher said he is here tonight to get the Councils approval to submit the application for the BUILD Grant. The grant application request is part of our continuing effort to obtain additional funding sources and options for the proposed Main Street Revitalization project. The BUILD Grant is 80% Federal funds and 20% local match. The 80% = $18.4M and the 20% = $4.6M, across multiple funds. The City Manager said it worth noting that because this is a Federal US Department of Transportation grant it is much more highly funded, and they have tripled their funding from past years. One of the biggest implications of applying for this is that it is due by the middle of July so we need your permission tonight to do so. There are several stages throughout the process to know if we have been eliminated but we won’t know if we’ve been approved until December. This potentially can change the timeline and how we proceed. Having said that, because it’s such a significant subsidy to the project we felt we needed to bring it to you all as an option. MOTION by Councilor Lott seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the Main Street Revitalization: Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. i. Approval: Main Street Revitalization VTrans 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant – J Rauscher Mr. Rauscher said he is also here to request approval to submit this application. This grant is on the same lines as the USDA and SRF loans. This is time sensitive in that the application needs to be submitted by this Friday the 22 nd. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Mace to approve the Main Street Revitalization VTrans 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. There was a two-minute recess at 7:52 p.m. and the meeting reconvened at 7:54 p.m. j. Discussion: Promise Communities Update and Library Plan – R Coffey Mr. Coffey said he is here tonight because the Council had requested that he return to provide and update on the efforts related to the Promise Communities Grant, in particular the development of alternative plans for funding that was previously been intended for the construction of a childcare center at the O’Brien Center. This proposal details preliminary thinking and rationale behind a concept that would entail relocating the Winooski Library within the O’Brien Center building, and co-locating an early childhood “hub”, in partnership with the Winooski Family Center, within that space. Mr. Coffey said we are asking Council to consider the proposal, provide feedback, and discuss whether this is a concept that you feel warrants further refinement. Mr. Coffey’s proposal to the Council is attached. Councilor Mace wondered if the Librarians would be taking on the management of this new space. The City Manager said Mr. Coffey’s team will be located there so it won’t solely fall on the librarians, the whole Community Services team will service that hub whether it be registering for Thrive or a recreation programs, also the SRO officer, Jason Ziter will be based there throughout the summer. There was some concern by the Council about loss of revenue with these changes. Mr. Coffey said it’s about a $6000 impact on the Community Center budget. Mr. Coffey said he believes that this impact is small in comparison to the long-term benefits that the operational changes will bring. Councilor Mace is concerned that currently the building is not financially sustainable. We have not secured leases yet with Snap or the Medical facility, thus loosing revenue. We have painted a picture of what that building could be but that has not come to pass. We need to put more focus on making that happen. She said we need to be very careful on the operations side in that we’re not going to be back around budget time asking for additional staff to make these changes work. Her last concern was how do we plan to spend the $118,000 on the early childhood investments. Mr. Coffey said it is defined within his memo on the second to June 18, 2018 Winooski City Council last page (memo attached). The Mayor said he would like to hear if there are any holes in the finances or any expiring leases when this is brought back to the Council. k. Discussion/Approval 2018-2019 Policy Priorities and Strategies – J Baker The City Manager said the staff and Council met on June 2nd to review our annual shared work plan aligned to the Strategic Vision areas. As a result of that meeting, the City Manager was asked to make some changes and edits and she is here tonight to present those changes. The Mayor said the staff has done a wonderful job in preparing this work plan. It is recommended to bring this back for approval on the consent agenda at the “tax rate” meeting next week. l. Approval: Municipal Bond Post-Issuance Compliance Procedures – A Aldieri Ms. Aldieri said that the Bond Council has recommended adoption of the proposed procedures stating that the post- issuance compliance procedure is a document that should be adopted as a method to ensure compliance with the federal laws on tax exemptions. This is a policy that can always be updated over time, particularly as the law changes over time. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Lott to approve the Municipal Bond Post-Issuance Compliance Procedures as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. m. Approval: Debt Service Ratio Amendment –TIF Bond – A Aldieri Ms. Aldieri said that in 2014 the Council approved an agreement with TD Bank to refinance the Tax Increment Financing Debt. As part of that agreement there was a calculation included to insure that we were able to meet our debt obligation annually. The calculation as originally approved has been difficult to replicate by the bank from our financial statements and would not have allowed the City to use funds set aside in prior years to make debt payments. After discussion with TD Bank, we have tentatively agreed to the proposed language that simplifies the calculation. This language was proposed to TD Bank and has been reviewed by our attorneys. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Debt Service Ratio Amendment to the TIF Bond as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. n. Discussion: Goal Update: Safe Healthy Connected People – R Coffey/J Audy Mr. Coffey and Mr. Audy are here tonight to present their monthly update on the Safe, Healthy, Connected People strategic vision. Mr. Coffey said that the Police Chief was unable to be here tonight but he would like to say that there has been a solid start to the community outreach team. Mr. Audy said this process is huge, it is a road map and it keeps staff focused. The City Manager commended Chief Audy on his past work with the wage classification study. The work he has done over the last few months with a pay scale that is in line with training is tremendous. We have more people being trained within the fire department. The Mayor said he is very proud of the work that Ray, John and Rick have done. IX. Executive Session MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Lott to go into Executive Session at 8:47 p.m. Pursuant to 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 Tax Increment Financing District and to also invite Jessie Baker, City Manager, Angela Aldieri, Staff Accountant and Robert DiPalma, Attorney from Paul, Frank & Collins as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Lott to adjourn the Executive Session at 9:34 p.m. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST: ________________________________________ City Clerk June 18, 2018 Winooski City Council