City Council

Winooski City Council Meeting Monday, April 15, 2019 6:05 PM Claire Burke Council Chambers 27 West Allen Street Winooski, VT 05404 Mayor Kristine Lott - klott@winooskivt.gov Councilor Hal Colston - hcolston@winooskivt.gov Councilor Jim Duncan - jduncan@winooskivt.gov Councilor Amy Lafayette - alafayette@winooskivt.gov Councilor Mike Myers - mmyers@winooskivt.gov Jessie Baker, City Manager - jbaker@winooskivt.gov I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Agenda Review IV. Public Comment V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council and Liquor Control Minutes of April 1, 2019 b. Approval: Payroll Warrant for period 3/25/2019 – 4/6/2019 and Warrant ending 4/12/2019 VI. City Update VII. Council Reports VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Appointment Chris Page to the Public Works Commission – J Rauscher b. Approval: Local Emergency Management Plan (LEMP) 2019 – J Audy c. Discussion: Greenride shared Mobility Presentation – J Rauscher d. Approval: Audit Contract Award – A Aldieri e. Discussion: Capital Improvement Plan Presentation – J Rauscher f. Approval: Resolution: Proclaiming May 3rd Arbor Day – J Rauscher g. Discussion: Tree Ordinance – J Rauscher h. Discussion: Equity and Diversity Summit Debrief – J Baker i. Discussion: 2019-2020 Policy and Priorities Strategies -Scheduling – J Baker j. Approval: Resolution: Finding of Public Interest to Execute the Settlement Documents Related to UMB N.A. v Winooski  Potential Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. §313 (1) (E) “pending litigation to which the public body is a party” – UMB Bank N.A. v. City of Winooski and (2) “the negotiating….of real estate purchase or lease options” IX. Adjourn  Minutes The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Deputy Mayor Colston. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Councilors: Hal Colston, James Duncan, Amy Lafayette, Michael Myers Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Angel Lane, Asst. City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Heather Carrington, Economic Development Director; Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; John Audy, Chief of Police Others Present: Stefan DePetris, Chris Page, Chauna Lota, Bryan Davis/CCRPC, Bryn Oakleaf, Bob Dale/Greenride Bike Share. III. Agenda Review None IV. Public Comment a. Bryn Oakleaf spoke to Council regarding a few thoughts with the Housing Commission and the Housing Loan Fund. Some concerns raised by Bryn was the 50/50 allocation of funds for existing housing vs. new construction and the fact that existing housing is in greater need over new construction. Reconsidering the 50/50 allocation could result in improved curb appeal of the existing housing. Also the eligibility requirements and frequency to access to the funds. Bryn acknowledged that the Housing Commission is in the early stages of this process development but she wanted to have these concerns brought before the Council. V. Consent Agenda MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4 -0. VI. City Update  Credit card payments for all tax, utility, and permits can now be accepted on line. Any item to be remitted to the City can be paid by credit card in the City Clerk's office. Convenience fee of 2% minimum of $1.00 for those who use the service.  School Ballots are available (voting early with election on May 7th)  Water/Sewer bills in the mail today.  Myers Memorial Pool bid opening was April 10th. They came in a bit lower than anticipated. We are still reviewing the responses and qualifications and plan to bring a recommendation to you on 5/6  Morning Light Bakery opened last Thursday, April 11th, at City Lights - 106 East Allen Street. The bakery is a self-serve shop that specializes in sweet and savory Hong Kong style pastries, as well as bubble tea and coffee. The opening received good media coverage through both Seven Days and the Burlington Free Press.  Candidate for the DWTN Winooski Executive Director will be giving a presentation this Thursday, the 18th, at 6 PM at CCV room 104. City Council and Winooski business owners are invited to attend.  Next Meeting o OCC overview and lease recommendation o Pool – Award contract and amount of debt to incur  Waking Windows – May 3 through 5th  Community Services o We had 60 Winooski residents join us for Eco Families of Winooski Day on Saturday. Many thanks to the Winooski Tree Committee (including Jim Duncan), Girls Scouts, and Champlain College for their support in making the event a success! As part of our partnership with the TREX Recycling Program we also collected tons of plastic bags, moving us towards our goal of collecting 500 pounds of unwanted plastic materials/plastic bags that TREX will use to make us a recycled bench for our community. We are still collecting items at the O'Brien Center, so if you have an abundance of plastic bags you are looking to get rid of, bring 'em down! ITEMS YOU CAN BRING TO HELP US MEET OUR GOAL: grocery bags, bread bags, case over wrap, dry cleaning bags, newspaper sleeves, ice bags, wood pellet bags, ziplock & other re- sealable bags, produce bags, bubble wrap, salt bags, and cereal bags ALL MATERIALS MUST BE CLEAN, DRY, AND FREE OF FOOD RESIDUE.  o This event was a great warm up for Green Up Day, which will be happening on Saturday, May 4 from 9 AM - 12 PM at the Community Center. o There are still spots available for Thrive April Vacation Camp, and we encourage families of youth in grades K - 5 to visit our website or contact Kirstie Paschall (kpaschall@winooskivt.gov) with questions or to sign up. o Thrive Summer Enrollment is live, and we encourage families of youth, grades K through 5 to sign up early to ensure their spot. We will be running full day programs the weeks of June 24 and for a shortened 3-day week the week of July 1. We will also be running half day program (in conjunction with the JFK Elementary Summer School Program) throughout July. o We are currently recruiting volunteers to help as Youth Football Coaches for our Winooski Spartans team. The season kicks off in mid-August, so visit the City website or contact Olivia Miller (omiller@winooskivt.gov) for more information. VII. Council Reports Councilor Duncan – There was not a Public Safety Commission meeting this week. He has met with Chief Audy and will be meeting with Chief Hebert this coming week. He is also working on an Arbor Day tree planting event. Councilor Colston – Spoke to a bill he has introduced in the State House. The bill will provide a provision for our immigrant professionals to obtain professional certification in this country. This will provide a tremendous opportunity for our immigrant professionals to obtain employment equal to their skillsets. Councilor Colston will update us on the progress of this legislation. Mayor Lott – Met this week with the Executive Director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. She also was able to attend a Winooski School District board meeting. There was a cultural presentation focusing this time on Iraq. The goal with the various cultural presentations is to be more welcoming. They discussed how this could be channeled through brochures, videos and entryway signage. Also all the members of the City Council attended the Diversity and Equities Summit. Councilor Lafayette – As Administrative Liaison she will be meeting this week with the City Manager and Treasurer. Councilor Myers – Was able to meet with two members of the Public Works Commission. He also meet with the appointee for the Public Works Commission, Chris Page. IX. Regular Items a. Approval: Appointment Chris Page to the Public Works Commission – J Rauscher Chris Page was presented as an appointee to the Public Works Commission. He is an exceptionally candidate and the Commission is very excited to present him to the Council. Chris spoke to the Council briefly and is looking forward to serving in the community in this capacity. MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the appointment of Chris Page to the Public Works Commission. Voted and passed 4 – 0. b. Approval: Local Emergency Management Plan (LEMP) 2019 – J Audy Chief Audy explained the purpose of the plan and that this is an annual process. There was some discussion and questions regarding the plan. One of the questions raised was how would the city handle all communications being down i.e. cell phones and landline service. The Chief explained that the City has redundant radio communications. Council Colston asked where the Emergency Operations Center would be located in the event of a Level 3 emergency. Chief Audy responded with City Hall and Public Works building. Discussion ensued. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Lafayette to approve the Local Emergency Management Plan (LEMP) 2019 as presented. Voted and passed 4 – 0. c. Discussion: Greenride shared Mobility Presentation – J Rauscher Bob Dale/Greenride Bike Share and Bryan Davis/CCRPC shared the functionality of the new E- Bike and presented the proposed E-Skooter. They are hoping to introduce a pilot program for the E-Skooter in the late summer. Discussion ensued. d. Approval: Audit Contract Award – A Aldieri Angela was available to answer any questions or concerns regarding the bidding and the recommendation. Some discussion ensued. MOTION by Councilor Lafayette seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Audit Contract awarded to RHR Smith and Companyas presented. Voted and passed 4 – 0. At 7:34 p.m. Mayor Lott called for a recess. At 7:38 p.m. Mayor Lott called the meeting back in session. e. Discussion: Capital Improvement Plan Presentation – J Rauscher Jon Rauscher presented the plan and entertained questions. Discussion ensued. The Mayor expressed her appreciation for the detailed work that went into putting the plan together. f. Approval: Resolution: Proclaiming May 3rd Arbor Day – J Rauscher MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Lafayette to approve the Resolution Proclaiming May 3rd Arbor Day. Voted and passed 4 – 0. g. Discussion: Tree Ordinance – J Rauscher Jon Rauscher went through and explained some of the minor changes that were made and why they were made. Some discussion ensued. h. Discussion: Equity and Diversity Summit Debrief – J Baker The Mayor thanked all who participated in the Equity and Diversity Summit this past Saturday. She thanked the Council for giving their time to this worthwhile event. Discussion ensued. i. Discussion: 2019-2020 Policy and Priorities Strategies – Scheduling – J Baker The Mayor laid out the plan for the retreat, seeking from Council whether or not they were interested in having the retreat and if so to schedule the retreat. It was deteremined that the retreat would be held on Saturday, June 1, 2019. Some discussion ensued. j. Approval: Resolution: Finding of Public Interest to Execute the Settlement Documents Related to UMB N.A. v. Winooski The Mayor explained the minor changed that was made and had been previously discussed at the last Executive Session. Going into Executive Session was deemed not necessary at this time. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the Resolution: Finding of Public Interest to Execute the Settlement Documents Related to UMB N.A. v. Winooski. Voted and passed 4 – 0. X. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Lafayette seconded by Councilor Colston to adjourn at 9:15 p.m.. Voted and passed 4 – 0. ATTEST:____________________________________________ Asst. City Clerk