City Council

Winooski City Council Meeting Monday, December 2, 2019 6:00 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 Minutes of 11/4/2019 and 11/12/2019 b. Approval: Payroll Warrants ending 11/03/2019 to 11/16/2019 and Warrant as of 11/25/2019 VI. Council Reports VII. City Updates VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Community Health Centers of Burlington Lease at the O’Brien Community Center – R Coffey b. Discussion: FY21 Proposed Budget: City Manager’s Presentation – J Baker c. Approval: Resolution on Community Services Fees – R Coffey d. Approval: General Fund Reserve Request for Emergency HVAC Repairs at City Hall and the Police Department – J Rauscher e. Discussion: Resolution Supporting Municipal Authority in a Commercial Cannabis System – J Baker X. Adjourn  Minutes The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:03 pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Deputy Mayor Colston. Members Present Mayor Kristine Lott Council Members: Hal Colston, James Duncan, Amy Lafayette, Mike Myers Officers Present Jessie Baker, City Manager; Angel Lane, Assistant City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director; Heather Carrington, Community and Economic Development Officer; Others Present Adam Shafer III. Agenda Review - None IV. Public Comment - None V. Consent Agenda Mayor Lott brought attention to the fact that the minutes from November 12, 2019 had an incorrect call to order time. The time needs to be corrected from 6:00 pm to 6:45 pm. The time error has been corrected. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the Consent Agenda as presented with the correction to the call order to time as stated above. Voted and passed 4-0. VI. Council Reports Councilor Myers – none Councilor Lafayette – none Mayor Lott She attended presentations on community problem solving and improving communication by students at Winooski High School. The students are mid-way through this project at this point. She  looks forward to attending again in the future and hearing the final project. The Community Services Director also attending the presentation. She recently was involved with interviewing candidates for the open positions on the Planning and Finance Committees. Councilor Colston He attended the most recent BTV Aiport meeting. He stated being most impressed with the attempt at relationship building taking place. He also attended the most recent meeting of the Safe Healthy Connected People Committee. He feels that they are off to a good start. He also was the Council representative at the Charter Commission meeting. The goal is to get the community engaged in the process. Councilor Duncan He attended the Housing Commission meeting. Parking minimums were discussed. Looking for an update on the MOU to the Housing Trust Fund to be completed soon. VII. City Update  Petitions are now available in the Clerk’s Office for the March election. The return date is Friday, January 31st at 4:30 pm  State Auditor’s Office TIF Audit Exit Interview is this Wednesday afternoon.  Please join the Safe, Healthy, Connected People Commission on Tuesday, December 10th, at 6:30 PM at City Hall for the first of several public engagement opportunities on our Parks and Open Space Planning Project. Community feedback is critical to this process, so we hope to see many folks there! Omnes will be presenting their Inventory and Analysis findings, and will take feedback from those in attendance to help shape the first stages of their visioning work. More information available on the website/Facebook.  Human Resources Manager Interviews begin tomorrow. We received 120+ applications. We will interview eight this week and next. First round includes me, Angela, Clerk’s Office, and a union representative. Second round will be with the Leadership Team.  Charter Commission meets tomorrow night at 5:30 to discuss initial public education and outreach.  Events/Programs coming up:  o Congrats to the Senior Center for the great article in VT Digger highlighting the Friday New American Lunch and Learn program (a partnership with Age Well and Technology for Tomorrow). Check out the article (and the great pictures) on our Facebook page. o Registration is open for CPR/First Aid, American Sign Language 1, Ski Cubs Nordic ski program, youth indoor soccer and Chill learn to snowboard program. Visit our website or call Alicia Finley for more information or to sign up. VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Community Health Centers of Burlington Lease at the O’Brien Community Center – R Coffey Requesting approval of the lease documents so long as the final versions remain in substantial conformity with the documents reviewed. The City Manager is hereby authorized to negotiate ministerial and non-substantive changes to the documents and when complete to execute them on behalf of the City. MOTION by Councilor Duncan second by Councilor Lafayette to approve the Community Health Centers of Burlington Lease at the O’Brien Community Center as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. b. Discussion: FY21 Proposed Budget: City Manager’s Presentation – J Baker City Manager Baker and Finance Director Aldieri reviewed the FY21 Proposed Budget with Council. The Budget Books were made available to Council the previous week for their review prior to the meeting and available online at www.winooskivt.gov/1383/City-Budgets The City Manager stressed that this presentation was designed to give Council a “high level overview”. She also stated that this is a very different budget from last year’s as there is a smaller increase and no bond votes to be taken this year. She also reminded Council that the budget is the biggest policy decision that they will make in a year. She encouraged questions as she worked through her presentation. Mayor Lott took a moment to thank all involved for the hardwork that went into putting the FY21 Proposed Budget together. Mayor Lott also had a question regarding the change in dollars for the pool operations. She would like to discuss further during the Community Services presentation and see a side by side comparison. Ms. Aldieri explained that the increase in cost is due primarily to the added  Public Works employee to be assigned to assist with pool operations. This line item was not in the original plan. Discussion continued as the City Manager reviewed highlighted areas. c. Approval: Resolution on Community Services Fees – R Coffey Seeking approval of a Resolution establishing Community Services program fees. Mr. Coffey explained the reasoning for the resolution as it is dictated to be necessary according to the City Charter. Councilor Lafayette wanted to know how the rates for specific fees were set. Mr. Coffey explained that although the City works very hard to keep the rates competitive and affordable the rates are primarily set by the various instructors. Some discussion ensued. MOTION by Councilor Colston second by Councilor Myers to approve the Resolution on Community Services Fees as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. d. Approval: General Fund Reserve Request for Emergency HVAC Repairs at City Hall and the Police Department – J Rauscher Seeking authorization to utilize General Fund Reserves for HVAC emergency repair costs. The 20+ year old furnace in City Hall failed and could not be repaired. The Police Department needed replacement and cleaning of ductwork due to compromised insulation that impacted air quality. Some discussion ensued. Motion by Councilor Myers second by Councilor Lafayette to approve the General Fund Reserve Request for Emergency HVAC Repairs at City Hall and the Police Department. Voted and passed 4-0. e. Discussion: Resolution Supporting Municipal Authority in a Commercial Cannabis System – J Baker City Manager Baker explained the reasoning behind the resolution and VLCT’s request. Some discussion ensued. A question was raised by Mayor Lott concerning the language in the document and the City Manager assured Council that the document could be re-worded as needed. Councilor Duncan expressed that he considered this resolution a sensible ask and would agree to support VLCT in this resolution. It was decided by Council to table this item and to have the City Manager bring it back to Council at a later meeting. X. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Myers second by Councilor Lafayette to adourn the meeting at 7:23 pm. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST:______________________________________________ Angel L. Lane/ Assistant City Clerk