City Council

Remote Winooski City Council Meeting Monday, September 21, 2020, at 6 PM • Attend online: https://zoom.us/j/98095435954 • Attend by phone: 1 646 558 8656 • Webinar ID: 980 9543 5954 • View our Remote Meeting Procedures and Public Comment Request Form at winooskivt.gov or call 802 655 6410 I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Agenda Review IV. Public Comment V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Meeting Minutes of 09/08/2020 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant ending 09/17/2020 and Payroll Warrant for period 08/23/2020 – 09/05/2020 c. Approval: Cascade Parking Garage Repair and Maintenance – Award Authorization VI. Council Reports VII. City Updates VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Grand List Errors and Omissions – T Nelson b. Approval: Working Communities Challenge Implementation Grant- J Baker c. Approval: FY21 Municipal Resolution for a Municipal Planning Grant – H Carrington d. Approval: FY22 Budget Planning – A Aldieri e. Approval: Commission Work Recommendation – K Lott f. Approval: Settlement and Purchase and Sale Agreement for 10 Cedar Street- J Baker g. Approval: Chittenden Unit For Special Investigations/Chittenden Children’s Advocacy Center (CUSI/CAC) Financial Operation Agreement – A Aldieri X. 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 6:06 pm. Councilor Colston led the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Councilors: Hal Colston, James Duncan, Amy Lafayette, Michael Myers Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Angel Lane, Assistant City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Eric Vorwald, Planning & Zoning Director, John Audy, Fire Chief; Paul Sarne, Communications Coordinator; Heather Carrington, Community & Economic Development Officer; Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works Other Present: Dave and Kim Allbee, Duane Sherwood, Richard Joseph III. Agenda Review No changes IV. Public Comment Richard Joseph shared his concerns with the disgusting odor being emitted from the CBDVT plant at 133 Elm Street. He shared how his life has been negatively impacted. Duane Sherwood also called in to share his concerns. He notices the pungent smell all the way to his home on Florida Ave. V. Consent Agenda MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. VI. Council Reports Councilor Duncan – none Councilor Myers – Wanted to offer condolences to the Picard Family. Peter Picard was a lifelong Winooski resident. He had a 35 year career at the school and NEVER missed a day of work. He also had a long career as the football coach. On behalf of a grateful city, our sincerest condolences. Councilor Lafayette – Safe, Healthy, Connected People Commission met and received the draft from Omni on the plan for the parks. This will be brought before Council at the October 5 th meeting so stay tuned. It is very exciting. Councilor Colston – Happily reported that this is his last week in the Legislature. He is looking forward to being more engaged in the City. He is happy to be available for discussion and education opportunities regarding the proposed Charter changes.  Mayor Lott – Met with the Planning Commission, they are working towards an update on the vision of the Master Plan. Particularly Winooski working toward being a multimodal city. The Finance Commission also met. The GMT Board representative checked in and discussed plans for the future and what that might look like. More information to come later on how the Cares Fund resources may be allocated. Whether investing in services or price reductions, at this point there is not a decision. VII. City Updates • Take a moment to thank Sue O’Brien and the full Winooski Gardening Group for their contributions to beautifying our public spaces this summer. They went above and beyond to bring joy to all who walked or rode around this City this summer. Thank you! • Financial and delinquency update o Water/wastewater: Overall the City has seen a doubling of delinquency over prior quarter; however, the delinquencies are also remaining outstanding for longer than normal which is more concerning. Initial delinquency this year the day after bills were due was $96,398.00 (20.39%), last year it was $41,076.92 (9.4% of amount billed). Current outstanding utility balances are $70,057.35; this time last year the outstanding balance was $15,429.17. This is likely related to not holding disconnections this quarter so that trigger that a payment was missed did not occur. We did send out yesterday a statement of balances due to try to solicit some payments from customers. o Property Taxes: On par with amount of late taxes paid last year as of 10 days after the due date. For last year, we are down to .38% delinquency. For the first quarter of FY21, we are at 2.65% delinquency (however, this also includes the E&O requests before you tonight. o We will continue to monitor this closely. • Ballots o Mailed out from the Secretary of State’s Office this week o 4,600 notices sent out this week regarding the Charter change proposal o Previously report by SOS that we would return unsigned ballots. We do not do this. Please carefully review the instructions on your ballot and return as directed. o Public Hearing on Tuesday, September 29th at 6:00 virtually. Information is on our website. • Library Director o Amanda Perry – served 16 years as our Library Director – left in June. o Recruitment process including generous time and commitment of members the Library Trustees and Hussein Amuri, we have a new Library Director starting on October 12th. o Nate Eddy joins us with 15 years of experience at the Free Library of Philadelphia, most recently serving as the Strategy Coordinator for the Strategic Initiatives Department and previously serving as branch librarian. o With a BA in English from UVM and a Master of Library and information Science from the University of Pittsburgh, the interview team was impressed with Nate’s work on strategic planning for modern  libraries and his proven track record of increasing access to libraries in the branch of the Philadelphia public library that serves the most New Americans in their city. Additionally, he recently contributed to the American Library Association’s whitepaper, “Library Programs and New Americans.” o A Rutland native, we are excited to welcome Nate to the Winooski team! • Masks: o Reminder to all that the City has reusable cloth masks available for the public. They can be picked up at City Hall on weekdays between 9:00 and 3:00. o Fire and Code Enforcement are currently working out the details of a plan distribute masks through several advertised one hour visits to community rooms, lobbies, or other designated area including making stops at 10-15 buildings (WHA Properties, O’Brien CC, HallKeen, Cascade, River House, River Run, Vets Building, etc.) o Aiming for the week of October 5th. • DRB held a hearing last Thursday on the appeal for 133 Elm Street. The DRB is expected to issue a decision in the coming weeks. • School Resource Officer – o Has returned to serving at the school. o Dressed down uniform, unmarked car, amended reporting of incidents requirements, and armed. o We look forward to being invited to participate in future community conversations about how we best provide public safety services for children and families in our community. • Community Services Updates: o Welcome Molly Schneider and Kate Nicoletti to our Community Services team as AmeriCorps VISTA service members. Molly will be taking over as our Community Engagement Coordinator, focused on volunteer recruitment and management, and Kate will be serving as the Youth Programs Coordinator through our Recreation Department. They are both off to a wonderful start, and we look forward to their contributions to Winooski over the next year! o Our Youth Tennis Program, in partnership with the US Tennis Association and Net Generation, got off to a great start on Saturday, and will be running through early October. The instructors and participants did an impressive job following safety protocols, and we are excited to be fully enrolled for this session! o Halloween in Winooski will be returning for 2020, and we will again focus on carving and displaying a TON of pumpkins in Rotary Park. Stay tuned for a formal announcement and further details, but we will be adjusting our approach to carving to ensure everyone’s safety in light of COVID-19, and are very excited to have a plan to safely deliver this community staple in spite of the pandemic. o Thanks to Mal Maiz and the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts for a FANTASTIC concert on Saturday at Richards Park! This event, which is part of their Hurly Burly Series, was a welcome opportunity to gather outside (with physical distancing and masks) and enjoy great music on a beautiful fall day. VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Grand List Errors and Omissions – T Nelson Mr. Nelson reviewed the list and explained each of the 10. Most were related to the COVID- 19 shutdowns per Mr. Nelson. Some Discussion ensued. MOTION by Councilor Myers second by Councilor Duncan to approve the Manifest errors in Grand List as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. MOTION by Councilor Colston second by Councilor Duncan to table items B-E and move onto item F to accommodate the Allbee’s. Then to return to items B-E to complete the agenda. The agenda adjustment was voted and passed 4-0. f. Approval: Settlement and Purchase and Sale Agreement for 10 Cedar Street – J Baker City Manager Baker explained the situation in way of review. David Allbee did add that his hope is that this will never happen to another Winooski family. He feels that with the aging infrastructure in the City, the City needs to be better prepared to handle this type of situation in the future. He is thankful that they are now moving forward. MOTION by Councilor Myers second by Councilor Colston to approve the Settlement and Purchase and Sale Agreement for 10 Cedar St as presented. Voted and passed 4 -0. b. Approval working Communities Challenge Implementation Grant – J Baker City Manager Baker gave an overview of the grant. MOTION by Councilor Lafayette second by Councilor Duncan to approve the Working Communities Challenge Implementation Grant as presented. Voted and passed 3 – 0. Councilor Colston recused himself from this item. c. Approval: FY21 Municipal Resolution for a Municipal Planning Grant – H Carrington MOTION by Councilor Myers second by Councilor Colston to approve the resolution to apply for the Municipal Planning Grant as presented. Voted and passed 4 – 0. d. Approval: FY22 Budget Planning – A Aldieri MOTION by Councilor Myers second by Councilor Duncan to approve the FY22 Budget Plan as presented. Voted and passed 4 – 0. e. Approval: Commission Work Recommendation – K Lott Some discussion ensued as to what the product would look like when complete and some pertinent questions to ask. MOTION by Councilor Lafayette second by Councilor Colston to approve the Commission Work Recommendation as presented. Voted and passed 4 – 0. g. Approval: Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations/Chittenden Children’s Advocacy Center (CUSI/CAC) Financial Operation Agreement – A Aldieri  A Aldieri explained how the City assists this organization. The City provides financial services in lieu of payment and has done so since 2018. MOTION by Councilor Myers second by Councilor Duncan to approve the Financial Operations Agreement with CUSI/CAC as presented. Voted and passed 4 – 0. IX. Adjourn MOTION to adjourn the City Council meeting at 7:01 pm by Councilor Lafayette second by Councilor Duncan. Voted and passed ATTEST:_________________________________________ Assistant City Clerk