City Council

Winooski City Council Meeting Tuesday January 21, 2020 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 1/13/2020 b. Approval: Warrant ending 1/16/2020 and Payroll Warrant 12/29/2019 – 1/11/2020 VI. Council Reports VII. City Updates VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Annual FY19 Audit Presentation – A Aldieri b. Approval: Event Permit Application: Wild Kratts Critter Crawl – H Carrington c. Discussion: FY21 Proposed Budget Discussion – J Baker d. Discussion: Resolution: FY21 Water Rates – J Rauscher, A Aldieri e. Discussion: Resolution: FY21 Wastewater Rates – J Rauscher, A Aldieri f. Discussion: Goal Update: Safe, Healthy Connected People – R Coffey, R Hebert, J Audy g. Approval: Certification of TIF Annual Report to Vermont Economic Progress Council – A Aldieri IX. Adjourn MINUTES The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilor Duncan. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Councilor Members: Amy Lafayette, Mike Myers, Jim Duncan and Hal Colston absent Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Angel Lane, Assistant City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; John Audy, Fire Chief; Liam Keating, Fire Captain/ Marshall; Rick Hebert, Police Chief; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director; Eric Vorwald, Planning/ Zoning Director; Heather Carrington, Community and Economic Development Officer Others Present: Amy Zielinski, Vermont PBS; Josh Quinlan, RHR Smith CPA; Ron Smith, RHR Smith CPA III. Agenda Review: - None IV. Public Comment: - None V. Consent Agenda: MOTION by Councilor Lafayette seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. VI. Council Reports: Councilor Myers – He attended the Burlington Airport Commission meeting last Wednesday. They covered many items including future revenues, a construction update and the Master Plan. Councilor Myers thanked Gene Richards of the Commission for the invitation to attend. The airport is turning 100 years old this year and some celebrations are in the planning stages. Winooski has been actively seeking a seat on the Burlington Airport Commission for several years. Bill Kehoe is excited about this prospect and is putting together a meeting with the Mayor and City Manager to discuss this further. The meeting should take place in March and the Council members are also invited to attend. Councilor Lafayette – Councilor Lafayette attended the Downtown Winooski meeting last week. They are working on the Bylaws, their goals for 2020 and recruiting new members. Mayor Lott - The Mayor attended the Finance Commission meeting and the Safe Healthy Connected People Commission meeting. She also attended a program at the High School, it was a culture presentation on equity, bias, power and privilege. There will be more to come on this program.  Councilor Duncan – He attended a family disco at the school. Councilor Duncan stated that is was really fun. Councilor Duncan was also able to volunteer at the food shelf. The Winooski food shelf serves over 700 community members in a year. VII. City Updates: • Thanks to Olivia Miller, the Community Services Team, and the members of the Council and public who participated for a great Martin Luther King Jr day of services yesterday. • Our wayfinding consultant, LandWorks, will be presenting signage alternatives for community input and feedback on Monday February 10th from 6-8 pm at Winooski City Hall Council Chambers. All are welcome to attend! • Project Review Committee for 223 East Allen Street will be held on January 30th. • We understand that the Rail is looking to upgrade the crossing at Mallett’s Bay Ave. We are meeting with them and their engineers this week to understand the impact on our community. More to come! • Regional Dispatch – Chittenden County Public Safety Authority o Final Report from IXP – Consultant – provided at today’s Board meeting o Cost is significant to move into a new space in South Burlington o With Milton not joining at this time and Williston maintaining service for free with the State Police, we are looking to reduce costs o Currently we are exploring standing up CCPSA out of the Burlington Police Department and incrementally over a few months – not all at once. VIII. Regular Items: a. Approval: Annual FY19 Audit Presentation – A Aldieri The Auditors Josh Quinlan and Ron Smith from RHR Smith CPA firm reviewed the packets, highlighted key areas and asked for questions from the Council. Mr. Smith stated that it was a pleasure working for the City and with Angela Aldieri in particular. He stated that Angela is one of the best Financial Directors in the state. The Mayor also praised the excellent work done by Angela. The Audit was received by Council. b. Approval: Event Permit Application: Wild Kratts Critter Crawl – H Carrington Amy Zielinski from Vermont PBS was here to share the details of the Critter Crawl. Amy hopes that this could be an annual event. The Mayor expressed her happiness at having PBS now in Winooski. Some discussion ensued regarding security and safety during the event. MOTION by Councilor Duncan and seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the event permit for Wild Kratts Critter Crawl on Saturday, May 30, 2020 with an approved rain date of Sunday, May 31, 2020. Voted and passed 3-0. c. Discussion: FY21 Proposed Budget Discussion – J Baker City Manager, Jessie Baker went through a PowerPoint presentation on the proposed FY21 Budget. Some discussion on the various line items ensued. The Mayor and Councilor Lafayette expressed their appreciation for the change in how the material was presented on one slide in particular. It made understanding the material much easier. There were some questions and the City Manager and Ms. Aldieri, Finance Director were able to address them. Councilor Lafayette stated that this is a “pretty lean budget” and that she “feels good about what has been presented”. The Mayor also stated that the increase is minimal and that we are carrying forward the existing commitments made to the City. Some discussion ensued. d. Discussion: Resolution: FY21 Water Rates – J Rauscher, A Aldieri Jon Rauscher reviewed the logic behind the increase and future projections. This increase brings the cost up to about average as compared to other communities. Some discussion ensued. e. Discussion: Resolution: FY21 Wastewater Rates – J Rauscher, A Aldieri Jon Rauscher explained the increase and review the plan. City Manager Baker stated that the City’s wastewater rates are significantly lower than the average rates as compared to other communities. Some discussion ensued. f. Discussion: Goal Update: Safe Healthy Connected People – R Coffey, R Hebert, J Audy Mayor Lott referred to the memo received in the packet and stated that it summed up the progress well. Councilor Myers had a question regarding the status of the canine program. Chief Hebert stated that since there was a significant change in leadership this year that the focus needs to be on growing the new leadership team. Starting the canine program this year would take away from that focus so his plan to put it off another year. Councilor  Duncan asked about the “Library of Things”. Ray Coffey stated that it is “live”. It is at this point a very small collection of items and that space for storage is limited. The plan is to reach out to the community to see what items would be beneficial to have available. The program is in its infancy but going forward. Councilor Duncan also asked about senior transportation opportunities. Ray Coffey addressed this question stating that we are very early in the process. There is a need for enhanced services as Winooski’s primary focus is transportation for medical needs. The Senior Center van is very busy but finding reliable volunteer drivers has been challenging. Councilor Duncan started some discussion regarding JAG funding and what options do we have to make those funds of $10,000 available to the Police Department. Chief Hebert explained the options and the current situation. Chief Hebert stated that he is comfortable where we currently stand but is open to further discussions with our stakeholders. Some discussion ensued. City Manager Baker stated that future updates on the JAG funding will be brought to Council in the future. g. Approval: Certification of TIF Annual Report to Vermont Economic Progress Council – A Aldieri Ms. Aldieri, Financial Director explained the annual certification to the Council. Some discussion ensued. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to accept the report on the 2019 Tax Increment Financing District activities as presented by staff. Voted and passed 3-0. IX. Adjourn: MOTION by Councilor Lafayette seconded by Councilor Myers to adjourn the City Council meeting at 7:35 pm. Voted and passed 3-0. ATTEST:______________________________________________ Asst City Clerk