City Council

Remote Winooski City Council Meeting Monday, August 3, 2020 @ 6 PM • Please read our updated Remote Meeting Procedures if you plan to participate. • To sign up for public comment, fill out our Public Comment Request Form or call 802 655 6410 to schedule. • Attend online: https://zoom.us/j/92222581429 • Attend by phone: 1 646 558 8656 • Meeting ID: 922 2258 1429 • Need help installing and using Zoom? View their online resources. • Watch the live-stream via Town Meeting TV. I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Agenda Review IV. Public Comment V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of July 6, 2020 b. Approval: May and June Subsequent to Payout Warrants, Accounts Payable Warrants of 07/21/20 & 07/30/20, Payroll Warrants for 06/28/20-07/11/20 and 07/12/20-07/25/20 c. Approval: Main Street Bond Documents VI. Council Reports VII. City Updates VIII. Public Hearing – 6:05 pm a. Public Hearing: Vermont Community Development Program (VDCP) Implementation Grant – H Carrington IX. Regular Items a. Approval: Resolution to Apply for a Vermont Community Development Program (VDCP) Implementation Grant – H Carrington b. Discussion: Update for VT-CBD Labs at 133 Elm Street – J Baker c. Discussion: Charter Commission Recommendations: All-Resident Voting, Administrative Changes, and Self-Governance Rights – Charter Commission d. Approval: FY21 Local Agreement Tax Rate – A Aldieri e. Discussion: Transportation Impact Fee Presentation – J Rauscher f. Approval: Hickok Street Reconstruction Phase 2 Bid Award – J Rauscher g. Approval: 2020 Street Resurfacing Bid Award – J Rauscher h. Approval: On-Street Paid Parking Expansion – Downtown – J Rauscher i. Approval: Grant Approval: Better Roads Grant – Elm Street Stormwater Outfall Rehab – J Rauscher j. Approval: Position Descriptions of “Recreational Programs Manager” and “Parks and Community Garden Manager” – R Coffey  k. Approval: Housing Tasks Update and Discussion – H Carrington X. Regular Items a. Former employee grievance hearing pursuant to Section 17.3 of the Agreement between the City of Winooski and the Winooski Police Association Fraternal Order of Police and Section 4.03 of the City’s Personnel Policy. XI. Executive Session a. Executive Session pursuant to 1 V.S.A. §313 (a)(1)(1) and specifically “….grievances ….where premature general public knowledge would clearly place the municipality at a substantial disadvantage” and pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 312(e) regarding quasi-judicial proceedings concerning a former employee grievance XII. Adjourn 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 MINUTES The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. Deputy Mayor Colston led the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Councilors: Hal Colston, Amy Lafayette, Mike Myers, James Duncan Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Angel Lane, Asst City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Heather Carrington, Community and Economic Director; John Audy, Fire Chief; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Paul Sarne, Communications Coordinator; Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works; Eric Vorwald, Planning and Zoning Manager; Rick Hebert, Police Chief Others Present: John Royer, Alexander Yur, Chida Dhimal, Dallas Wheakey, Kim Allbee, Marie Vea, Robert DiPalma, Steve Ploesser, Liz Edsell, Doug Johnson, Sam Myers, Jason Charest, Jonathan Slason III. Agenda Review – None IV. Public Comment – None V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of July 6, 2020 b. Approval: May and June Subsequent to Payout Warrants, Accounts Payable Warrants of 07/21/20 & 07/30/20, Payroll Warrants for 06/28/20-07/11/20 and 07/12/20-07/25/20 c. Approval: Main Street Bond Documents VI. Council Reports Councilor Duncan – Attended the Charter Commission Meeting. Councilor Myers – Pool update. Residents are very excited. The slide has been installed. Councilor Lafayette – Downtown Winooski is actively recruiting new board members. Councilor wanted to give a shout out to Meredith Bay-Tyack, Director of Downtown Winooski for doing an outstanding job. Also attended the Safe, Healthy, Connected People Commission meeting. Chief Hebert did a fantastic job with his presentation. It was a very positive presentation and is available to view on the website. Councilor Colston – Working with Mike O’Brien on pursuing the equity work. Also working with Heather Carrington Mayor Lott – Attended the Finance Commission meeting and the Planning Commission meeting – worked on Form Based Code and the Parking Waiver – no updates but the work continues. Attended the Department of Health meetings – reporting no new COVID outbreaks. Will be meeting virtually with Winooski High School students to discuss equity. Vermont Housing Development reached out to them to inquire about available State programs and is interested in what the eviction rate looks like at this point. Updates to follow. VII. City Updates COVID – Winooski Outbreak o 77 cases currently in Winooski 117 total o One positive since our last meeting in early July – and not a Winooski resident. o Of the 117 ▪ Median age is 24 (1 to 82) – 65% adults ▪ 60% report no symptoms ▪ Pop-up testing tomorrow at OCC from 9:00 to 3:00 ▪ Pop-up likely to be discontinued to support more sustained testing  ▪ Process improvement meeting with partners on Thursday morning ▪ THANKS to Neighbors: Over 4,500 neighbors from around Chittenden County have been tested in Winooski ▪ Stronger and better prepared to protect one another as we go into the next phase • August 11th – Primary Date – Absentee ballots are available o 1,459 absentee ballots request and sent out o 518 returned to date o The last day we will mail them out will be Friday. o Can come in and vote in person on Monday between 9:00 and 3:00 o Mail in ASAP – or drop them off at City Hall or in the dropbox outside the PD o Can also be returned to the Senior Center on the 11th o 1,093 voters in August 2016 o In person elections will happen on August 11th – masks will be required and we will minimize the number of people at the Senior Center. Folks should be prepared to wait in line outside to minimize people inside. • Tax Bills – o Mailed on August 7, 2020 this year. o Due to the Vermont State tax filing deadline extension to July 15th the City did not received homestead declaration information for many taxpayers until August 1st. If we had proceeded as normal, homestead declaration information may not have been included leading to confusion and potential overpayment. o Due September 8th ▪ September 8, 2020 • Sargent David Solomon will be retiring from the Winooski PD on August 7th o BA in education and worked for 3 years at a teacher at CenterPoint before starting his Law Enforcement career. o 20 year career in law enforcement ▪ 15 years at SBPD left as a patrol sergeant ▪ 5 years at WPD beginning in 2015 o Hired to transform the SRO program to the NASRO ( National Association of School Resource Officers) model o Served just under 3 years in that position o Represented WPD on Opioid Alliance Substat team o Sgt Solomon will be missed – but we are pleased to announce he won’t be going far! Starting at the end of August he will be a Code Enforcement Officer for the City! • Thanks to Nate Dagesse and EIV for allowing the use of 223 East Allen for fire training last week and over the weekend. o On Saturday August 1st Winooski and St. Michael’s fire departments conducted training at 223 East Allen. More than 20 firefighters conducted over 8hrs (160 combined hours) of hands-on  o training practicing deploying ground ladders, ventilation, learning building construction, and hose deployment. o 223 East Allen is scheduled to be torn down August 5, 2020. Site work will immediately be started and construction of the new building will continue well into 2021 o This real world training is a huge asset to the City and community. We are thankful that community members partner with us to enable this training to happen free of charge! • Staff continues to work with HallKeen Management to re-occupy 16 Abenaki following water damage. The majority of the residents have returned home, restoration efforts are expected to continue for yet another 4-5 weeks. • Sales Tax Reallocation award for Lot 7D in the amount of $646,785. Offset costs for the $9.7M bond approved by voters. • Anticipate kicking off the Parking Study (through the UPWP) later in August • Work on the pool project is wrapping up. The team is targeting August 20th for substantial completion and have scheduled a punch list walkthrough with the Contractor for that date. • Thank you to Winooski Gardening Group (formerly Operation Bloom) and the many volunteers that have been actively helping to beautify our various parks and green spaces the last few weeks. They’ve made a huge difference in beautifying our open spaces, and we really appreciate the time and energy that’s gone into it! • The Winooski Senior Center’s “More Than a Meal” and “Al Fresco Café” programs are going strong, and we encourage interested Seniors to call the Center at 655 6425 or visit our website to learn more. • The Winooski Memorial Library will be adding a third day of weekly curbside service to our schedule to better serve our community. Curbside will now be available on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday every week from 10 AM to 1 PM. Email winooskilibrary@winooskivt.gov or call 655 6424 to place your order for that next great read! VIII. Public Hearing – 6:05 p.m. a. Public Hearing: Vermont Community Development Program (VDCP) Implementation Grant – H Carrington Public Hearing Closed at 6:27 p.m. IX. Regular Items a. Approval: Resolution to apply for a Vermont Community Development Program (VDCP) Implementation Grant – H Carrington MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Resolution to apply for a Vermont Community Development Program (VDCP) Implementation Grant as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. b. Discussion: Update for VT-CBD Labs at 133 Elm Street – J Baker E Vorwald discussed the memo and change of use from a zoning perspective. Mr. Vorwald also discussed the Administrative Approval process. Mr. Vorwald explained how the issue would be handled. Complaints would need to be tracked. Councilor Myers asked if there has been any response to the correspondence. More discussion ensued. Chief Audy encourage the Councilors to be patient, this is a process and it will take time. There were comments by several residents including John Royer and Steve Ploesser. More discussion ensued. c. Discussion: Charter Commission Recommendations: All-Resident Voting, Administrative Changes, and Self-Governance Rights – Charter Commission A memo from George Cross regarding the Charter changes has been included in this discussion. Liz Edsell, Chair of the Charter Commission gave a history of the work done so far. Discussion ensued. d. Approval: FY21 Local Agreement Tax Rate – A Aldieri MOTION by Councilor Lafayette seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the FY21 Local Agreement Tax Rate as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. e. Discussion: Transportation Impact Fee Presentation – J Rauscher Presentation by John Slason. He explained the impact fees. More guidance to follow. Some discussion ensued. f. Approval: Hickok Street Reconstruction Phase 2 Bid Award – J Rauscher MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Hickok Street Reconstruction Phase 2 Bid Award as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. g. Approval: 2020 Street Resurfacing Bid Award- J Rauscher MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the 2020 Street Resurfacing Bid Award as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. h. Approval: On-Street Paid Parking Expansion – Downtown – J Rauscher Some discussion ensued. MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the On-Street Paid Parking Expansion as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. i. Approval: Grant Approval: Better Roads Grant – Elm Street Stormwater Outfall Rehab – J Rauscher MOTION by Councilor Layfayette seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the Better Roads Grant as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. j. Approval: Position Descriptions of “Recreational Programs Manager” and “Parks and Community Garden Manager” – R Coffey R Coffey explained the positions. Some discussion ensued regarding the language used. It was decided to simplify the wording. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Lafayette to approve the position descriptions of “Recreational Programs Manager” and “Parks and Community Garden Manager” with the suggested changes. Voted and passed 4-0. k. Approval: Housing Tasks Update and Discussion – H Carrington H Carrington explained the memo. More discussion ensued. X. Regular Items a. Former employee grievance hearing pursuant to Section 17.3 of the Agreement between the City of Winooski and the Winooski Police Association Fraternal Order of Police and Section 4.03 of the City’s Personnel Policy. City Manager J Baker explained the process moving to Executive Session. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Duncan to move to Executive Session at 9:16 p.m.. Voted and passed 4-0. XI. Executive Session a. Executive Session pursuant to 1 V.S.A. §313 (a)(1)(1) and specifically “….grievances ….where premature general public knowledge would clearly place the municipality at a substantial disadvantage” and pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 312(e) regarding quasi-judicial proceedings concerning a former employee grievance. XII. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Colston to adjourn the meeting at 10:25 p.m. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST:__________________________________________ Angel Lane, Asst. City Clerk