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, October 15, 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 October 1, 2018 b. Approval: Warrants: Payroll for period 09/23/18 & 10/06/2018 , Warrant ending 10/12/2018 VI. City Update VII. Council Reports VIII. Regular Items: a. Approval: Resolution: Clement Bissonnette’s Service to Winooski – S Leonard b. Approval: Event Permit Application – Festival of Pumpkins/City Halloween Event – H Carrington c. Discussion: Downtown Winooski – Downtown Winooski Board d. Discussion: Winooski Bridge Replacement Scoping Study Update – H Carrington & J Rauscher e. Discussion: Charter Establishing a Winooski Charter Commission – J Baker f. Discussion: Goal Update: Safe, Health, Connected People – R Coffey, R Hebert & J Audy g. Approval: Myers Pool: Engineering Contract – J Rauscher h. Discussion/Approval: Pre-Development Agreement with Champlain Housing Trust to Consider a Homeownership Affordable Housing Project at the Front of 32 Malletts Bay Ave. – J Baker IX. Adjourn MINUTES The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Deputy Mayor Mace. Members Present: Mayor Seth Leonard Councilors: Nicole Mace, Eric Covey, Kristine Lott. Councilor Colston was absent. October 15, 2018 Winooski City Council Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Janet Brouard, Asst City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Staff Accountant; Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director; Rick Hebert, Police Chief, John Audy, Fire Chief; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director. Others Present: Kelsey Adams, Brian Sweeney and Paige Feeser, Winooski Downtown Association; Peter Keating, Eleni Churchill, CCRPC; Brian Colburn, David Kull, McFarlan Johnson, Inc; Mike O’Brien, Clement Bissonnette, Sharon Bissonnette, Mitch Bissonnette, Doug Johnson, Cindy Robare, Olivia Miller, Vista. III. Agenda Review – None IV. Public Comment – None V. Consent Agenda MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Lott to approve the City Council Minutes of October 1, 2018 as presented. Voted and passed 2-0-1, Councilor Mace abstained. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the Warrants: Payroll for period 9/23/18 & 10/6/2108, Warrant ending 10/12/2018 as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. VI. City Update The City Manager gave the following update:  Rethink Runoff Murals: Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District and the artists who painted the Rethink Runoff Holly Greenleaf Rachael Forando Stephen Welter Chosen by the Chittenden County Stream Team to paint murals near two storm drains in the city. The artists worked all day to bring their concepts to life. The murals remind pedestrians that they play an important role in keeping Lake Champlain clean." o Would also be worth mentioning the efforts of Kristen Balschunat of WNRCD and Jon Choate/DPW for coordinating this project, which has received amazing feedback and engagement around the City and on social media.  Auditors here this week. Angela prepared binders of the 75 requested documents. May take up most of the week. Special thanks to Angela for pulling this together during budget season, with a staffing vacancy, and without a Treasurer.  WPD purchased a solar powered radar speed detection sign using governors highway safety funds and DPW installed it near 300 Main St. The sign has Bluetooth capability and we will be able to download and analyze the speed data.  Welcome Julie Montera to the Community Services team as our new Youth Services Coordinator! She started on Thursday last week.  Fire at the School last Thursday. Professionalism of the Fire Department, School staff, and Thrive team. All did an OUTSTANDING job managing the unknown issue, keeping people calm, and informing the community. October 15, 2018 Winooski City Council Upcoming Housing Events  Housing Policy Panel Discussion last Tuesday went well. Thanks to the panelist. For those who were not able to be here in person, it is posted on the CCTV website and our FB page.  Michael Monte, Champlain Housing Trust  Erhard Mahnke, Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition  Brian Pine, former City of Burlington Housing Director  Erik Hoekstra, Redstone  Todd Lawson, Burlington  Convening of Housing Committee Members in Chittenden County on Monday, October 29th from 6 to 8pm at the CCRPC offices at 110 West Canal Street, Winooski. Focus on Housing Trust Fund. Speakers from South Burlington and Champlain Housing Trust will provide an overview  Vermont’s biennial Housing Conference is being held on November 13th – 14th at the Hilton in Burlington. This year’s conference has a community/municipal-level theme and will be a great conference for all of you! https://www.vhfa.org/conference/ . Events  Clem going away party on October 27th  Saturday, October 27th for Halloween in Winooski. The Rotary will be covered in jack-o-lanterns, the Haunted Mill will be running, and the City's Community Services Department will be running hosting all sorts of fun, family-friendly activities in the Community Room at VSAC. VII. Council Reports Councilor Covey wanted to thank the City Manager and Heather Carrington for having the Housing Commission meeting. He thinks a lot of great information was presented. He also wanted to mention that a possible commuter rail project is in the works. Montpelier has a few of the train cars on display. Mayor Leonard said Season’s Greetings is gearing up for the Festival of Pumpkins He also wanted to give kudos to the Housing Commission and to Eric for a tremendous job with the Planning Commission. He reminded folks of the Housing Conference that will be taking place on November 13 & 14. Councilor Mace said she met with the City Manager regarding the proposal received on equity with in the City. Councilor Lott said she also attended the Housing Commission meeting. She met with the City Manager on the upcoming budgeting process. She also got valuable insight on the workings of the TIF District. VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Resolution: Clement Bissonnette’s Service to Winooski The Mayor said the first item on tonight’s agenda is to recognize Clem Bissonnette for all his years of dedication and service to the City. He said that October 15th will be Clement Bissonnette Day. He went on to say that, Clem will always be known as a “Pillar of the Community” and that he was extremely instrumental in the Downtown Development Project. The Mayor invited Clem up to the front and read the resolution recognizing him for his years’ of service. See attached. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Lott to approve the Resolution for Clement Bissonnette’s Service to Winooski as presented. Voted and passed 4-0 October 15, 2018 Winooski City Council b. Approval: Event Permit Application – Festival of Pumpkins/City Halloween Event The City Manager said that staff received and event permit application for the annual Festival of Pumpkins event. For the past two years, the Festival of Pumpkins has been held in Rotary Park. The display of approximately 1,000 jack-o-lanterns lit in Rotary Park draws hundreds of community members and visitors to our downtown. This year the event is scheduled for Friday October 26th and Saturday, October 27th from dusk until the candles burn out. This is the 16th and final year that the event will be sponsored and organized by Season’s Greetings. The City would like to thank the Season’s Greeting volunteers for all of their years of service and hard work putting on this wonderful signature event for our community. This year the City sponsored portion of the event will be co-located downtown at VSAC on Saturday, October 27th, to further consolidate the event and our partnership. Staff recommends approval of the permit. Because the event is co- sponsored by the City, staff also recommends waiving the $200 Rotary Park use fee. MOTION by Councilor Lott seconded by Councilor Covey to approve the Event Permit Application for the Festival of Pumpkins/City Halloween Event on October 26th and 27th as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. c. Discussion: Downtown Winooski – Downtown Winooski Board Kelsey Adams and Brian Sweeney appeared before the Council with an overview on the Downtown Winooski Association’s activities. Mr. Sweeney said the Association started in 2001 and has been through some changes since then, including eliminating the staffed position making it an all-volunteer board now. Ms. Adams said they are continuing on expanding their funding sources, bringing in new programs and advertising through several new facets. She said they are continuing to advocate for new businesses to join the Board. The Mayor thanked them both for being here tonight with a well-done presentation. d. Discussion: Winooski Bridge Replacement Scoping Study Update Mr. Peter Keating from Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission ( CCRPC) said they hired McFarland Johnson, Inc. to develop a coping study for the bridge carrying Main Street and US Route 2 & & over the Winooski River. Winooski staff participated in the project advisory committee, which looked at short and long-term needs of the bridge, traveling public, resource agencies, and evaluated alternatives to address the stakeholder concerns. CCPRC and McFarland Johnson presented an overview of the scoping study report, and the Winooski Advisory Committees preferred alternatives for Council to discuss. Discussion ensued with positive feedback. The Mayor commended CCRPC and McFarland Johnson for a job well done and he looks forward to future updates. e. Discussion: Charter Establishing a Winooski Charter Commission Councilor Covey said that Councilor Colston had to regretfully step away from the formation of the newly Charter Change Committee so he will now take lead on it. He presented the Council with a draft form of the charter for their review and comments. Councilor Mace said if we are going to suggest a School Board member be on the committee we should include them in on the creation of the charter. After lengthy discussion, the consensus was that Mayor Leonard and Councilor Covey would attend the next School Board meeting on November 14th to present the draft charter for their perusal. The Mayor called for a recess at 8:17 p.m. The City Council meeting reconvened at 8:19 p.m. October 15, 2018 Winooski City Council f. Discussion: Goal Update: Safe, Health, Connected People The City Manager said that Rick Hebert, John Audy and Ray Coffey are here tonight to give an update and progress report on their strategic vision for Safe, Healthy and Connected People. The Council was impressed with the amount of time and effort put in by all. Chief Hebert presented stats from the Howard Center Community Outreach efforts. He also presented an extensive Community Policing Strategic Plan that not only outlines focus areas, but also it includes department goals and objectives and persons responsible for achieving those goals. The Mayor commended Chief Hebert on the great work he has done within his department. g. Approval: Myers Pool: Engineering Contract The City Manager said Mr. Rauscher and Mr. Coffey are here to present a revised Weston and Sampson engineering proposal for the Myers Memorial Pool project. The revised proposal includes language clarification regarding the design scope, billing structure and includes an approximate schedule for each task. There was some concerns over why some line items have increased from the initial proposal. Mr. Rauscher said as the project moves forward, various items are being more defined and given a more concrete value. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Mace approve the Myers Pool Engineering Contract as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. h. Discussion/Approval: Pre-Development Agreement with Champlain Housing Trust to Consider a Homeownership Affordable Housing Project at the front of 32 Malletts Bay Ave. The City Manager said that Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) has identified grant funding to do a feasibility study to explore locating a perpetually affordable homeownership housing development at the front of 32 Malletts Bay Avenue. The funding application is due before our next meeting. Approval of this agreement would not obligate us to partner on the development but rather explore feasibility with no cost to the City. If successful, this may result in a go/no go decision in September 2019. The Council thought this was a great idea but wanted to make sure that if it ever becomes apparent in the future not to be feasible that we could be released from our obligation not to engage in any other potential development of the property. The Pre- Development Agreement states that the guarantee shall expire on June 30, 2019. MOTION by Councilor Mace seconded by Councilor Lott to authorize the City Manager to execute a Pre- Development Agreement with Champlain Housing Trust, pending administrative changes, to explore an affordable housing project at 32 Malletts Bay Avenue as presented. Voted and passed. 3-0. MOTION by Councilor Covey seconded by Councilor Lott to adjourn the City Council meeting at 9:01 p.m. Voted and passed 3-0. ATTEST: ___________________________________ Asst City Clerk October 15, 2018 Winooski City Council