City Council

Winooski City Council Remote Meeting Monday, May 3, 2021 at 6 PM Attend online: https://zoom.us/j/91225924855 Attend by phone: 1 646 558 8656 Webinar ID: 912 2592 4855 Call to Order I. Agenda Review II. Public Comment III. Consent Agenda a. Approval: Liquor Control Minutes, Winooski Community Development Trust Board of Trustees Minutes and City Council Minutes of 04/19/2021 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant as of 04/29/2021, Subsequent to Payout Warrants for Feb & Mar and Payroll Warrant for periods 04/04/21-04/17/21 c. Approval: Revised E-Bike Operating Agreement d. Approval: Keeping of Chickens-5 Florida Ave e. Approval: Contract for Lifeguard Services IV. Council Reports V. City Updates VI. Regular Items a. Approval: Event Permit: Juneteenth Winooski – H Carrington/M Bay-Tyack b. Approval: Event Permit: PTO Fun Dog Show – H Carrington/J Audette c. Approval: Event Permit: Winooski Wednesdays – H Carrington/M Bay-Tyack d. Approval: Event Permit: Winooski Farmer’s Market – H Carrington/M Bay-Tyack e. Approval: Police Department Staffing Plan – R Hebert f. Discussion: Unified Land Use and Development Regulations Amendments – Multiple Sections – E Vorwald g. Approval: Winooski School District Contract to Support Summer and Afterschool Recreational Programming (ESSER Funds) – R Coffey h. Approval: VT Afterschool Summer Matters for all Grant Application – R Coffey i. Approval: Community Services Department – Position Descriptions to Support Expanded Programming – R Coffey j. Discussion/Approval: Vermont Performing Arts League (VPAL) Lease at the O’Brien Community Center – J Baker Possible Executive Session: Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 (2) the negotiation of real estate purchase or lease options k. Discussion/Approval: Assessing and Reappraisal Contracts – J Baker l. Approval: City/School Memorandum of Understanding for 2021-2022 – J Baker m. Discussion/Approval: 2021-2022 Policy Priorities and Strategies Retreat Scheduling – R Coffey n. Discussion: City Management Transition Plan – J Baker o. Approval: Co-Interim City Manager Contracts – K Lott IX. Executive Session a. City Manager – Exit Interview discussion to take place in Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 (a) (3) X. Adjourn Mayor Kristine Lott - klott@winooskivt.gov Councilor Hal Colston - hcolston@winooskivt.gov Councilor Jim Duncan - jduncan@winooskivt.gov Councilor Mike Myers - mmyers@winooskivt.gov Councilor Bryn Oakleaf – boakleaf@winooskivt.gov Jessie Baker, City Manager - jbaker@winooskivt.gov  Minutes The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Councilors: Hal Colston, Jim Duncan, Mike Myers and Bryn Oakleaf Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Angel Lane, Assistant City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works; John Audy, Fire Chief; Eric Vorwald, Planning & Zoning Manager; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Phoebe Townsend, Human Resources Manager; Paul Sarne, Communications Coordinator; Rick Hebert, Chief of Police Others Present: David Cooper, Emily Eden, Steven Berbeco, Jessica Audette, Alex Venet, Hillary, Meg Cline, Meredith Bay-Tyack, Thomas Renner, Laura Hale, Mike Meehan, Gwen Talbott, E Cross, Arnale, Town Meeting TV, Rachel Repstad, Bob Dipalma, Attorney: Tay, Tay Olson, Victoria, Kim Jordan, Maisie, Sarah Mell, Mike O’Brien, Meg, Sarah Johnson I. Agenda Review – A motion was made to move item “J” below item “d” under Regular Items in order to accommodate the many participants on tonight’s call. MOTION: by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to make the above change to the order of the agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. II. Public Comment – None III. Consent Agenda – MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. IV. Council Reports – Mayor Lott – Mayor Lott mentioned that tonight is City Manager Baker’s last City Council Meeting. Mayor Lott gave highlights of the City Manager Baker’s service. The Mayor congratulated Ms. Baker on a job well done. The Mayor attended the Planning Commission meeting. They are reviewing form-based code. Also met with the City Manager Search Committee. The Mayor also is involved with the ongoing parking study. Councilor Duncan – Councilor Duncan also expressed his thanks to Ms. Baker for her support and service. Councilor Duncan attended the Housing Commission working on parking and density. Councilor Myers – Councilor Myers expressed his appreciation to Ms. Baker for her guidance and support when he was a freshman councilor. Her willingness to help and her friendship is what he is thankful for the most. Councilor Myers also expressed thanks to all who participated in Green Up Day. He stated that Winooski Youth Baseball is up and running. They are actively seeking more players.  Councilor Oakleaf – Councilor Oakleaf echoed her appreciation to Ms. Baker. Councilor Oakleaf attended the Airport Commission meeting. The Airport has provided a new contact number in order to log noise complaints. The number is 802-660-5379. Green Up Day was fantastic. Thanks to all who participated. CSWD recently met and has approved their budget. They are also seeking/interviewing alternates for that board. Councilor Colston – Expressed his appreciation for City Manager Jessie Baker. He is appreciative of her qualities in leadership. He stated that he has seen Ms. Baker as an ethical leader and being such builds trust in her leadership. Councilor Colston also met with the City Manager Search Committee. The Charter Change Bill is now in the Senate. V. City Updates – COVID Update Last week, we had 0 new cases in Winooski – and 9 total in the last two weeks. Testing daily continues. At the OCC 2 to 8 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. 9 to 3 all other days including Saturday and Sunday. Daily – can sign up at the VDH website or walk in. All information is on our webpage All materials are translated and there will be translators on site. We anticipate that testing will continue through the summer at the OCC Vaccines are now available for all NO walk-ups. You must register in advance. Healthvermont.gov/MyVaccine or 855-722-7878 Rotary Concrete Improvements Winooski work scheduled to start mid-May (surface grinding work in the evening) Burlington work is starting next week. Some Winooski construction signage will be installed this week in preparation for the mid-May start. A project update email will go out this Wednesday highlighting the construction signage installation. Next Wednesday’s (5/13) project update email is expected to list the exact date when the Winooski work will start. We’ll share the project updates through our city channels Reminder that Yasamin Gordon starts as the City’s new Equity Director on Monday. We look forward to introducing her to the Council on 5/17. Team meeting this week with the Working Communities team. Project Review Committee will be reviewing the Butternut Station proposal on May 10th. More info will come to the Council on May 17. The Parking Inventory, Analysis, and Management Plan development continues. The Advisory Committee met last week. About 250 people have provided input through the survey, and there have been over 1200 parking observations. Next steps include finishing the model and preparing potential management strategies and options for the Advisory Committee to review. Planning Commission will meet on May 13th to continue discussions on Form Based Code amendments DPW spring street sweeping  Begins May 3rd and will continue to the end of the month. Asking for community cooperation to not park on the street during the scheduled sweeping day. See map for schedule. Signs will also be installed the day before street sweeping to alert folks. Community Services Thanks to the over 130 community members who came out to help Green Up Winooski on Saturday! Many thanks to our partners at CSWD, CCV, and the VT National Guard, who all supported the day in various ways. The Vermont Patriots soccer program has their first games this weekend, including our first ever “home” game at Landry Park on Sunday. Many thanks to the over 24 volunteer coaches, the over 150 soccer players, and all the families who have made the growth of this incredible program possible! The opening of the Myers Pool is just about a month away, and we encourage you to get your season passes soon! We’d like to welcome 7 new additions to the Thrive family, as the chicken eggs that we’ve been incubating hatched over the weekend, and the kids will be meeting them today. The chicks will stay in program for about a week and then will be rehomed to a local farm. Thank you for the incredible opportunity and privilege of serving as your City Manager for the last four years. We have accomplished so much together and I look forward to talking about those things and celebrating Winooski with the Mayor on her “In the World of Winooski” next week. Tonight, I simply want to say thank you. Thanks to each Councilor and Mayor I have worked with. You always have put Winooski first and guided the way for staff. Thank you to the community members who give of their time, energy, and creativity to serving on boards or commissions, volunteering with the City, attending events, and helping shape our community conversations. And Thank you to just the best Leadership Team and staff I have worked with. We have such talent, compassion, and commitment on the team. The City is in excellent hands with the staff Winooski has in place. I’m so thankful that I get to continue to call Winooski home for years to come. If there is anything I can do to support the community and Council in the future, please feel free to reach out! VI. Regular Items a. Approval: Event Permit: Juneteenth Winooski – H Carrington/M Bay-Tyack Ms. Bay-Tyack shared the plans for the celebration with Council. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the event permit for Juneteenth Winooski as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. b. Approval: Event Permit: PTO Fun Dog Show – H Carrington/ J Audette Ms. Audette shared the plan for this fund-raising event with Council. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the event permit for the PTO Fun Dog Show as presented. Voted and passed 4-0.  c. Approval: Event Permit: Winooski Wednesdays – H Carrington/M Bay-Tyack Ms. Tyack reviewed the plans and dates for the proposed Winooski Wednesdays schedule. MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the event permit for Winooski Wednesdays as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. d. Approval: Event Permit: Winooski Farmer’s Market – H Carrington/M Bay-Tyack Ms. Bay-Tyack expressed her excitement for the return of the Winooski Farmer’s Market and addressed any questions and concerns that Council might have concerning the event. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the event permit for Winooski Wednesdays as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. J. Discussion/Approval: Vermont Performing Arts League (VPAL) Lease at the O’Brien Community Center – J Baker City Manager Jessie Baker reiterate the current situation with VPAL/North End Studios. There were several new board members of VPAL present on the call. Mayor Lott allowed each to speak. Mayor Lott asked specifically how this would be handled to prevent future harm to our community. Discussion ensued. During public comment many members from the community shared their concerns. One major concern raised is that April Werner is still acting Executive Director until a replacement can be hired. The newly placed board members were given an opportunity to respond to the public comments. Discussion ensued. VII. Executive Session: Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 (2) the negotiation of real estate purchase or lease options MOTION by Councilor Oakleaf seconded by Councilor Duncan to invite Bob Dipalma, City Attorney; Phoebe Townsend, Human Resources Manager and City Manager Jessie Baker to move to Executive Session at 7:40 p.m. Voted and passed 4-0. Council returned from Executive Session at 8:11 p.m. The Mayor acknowledged VPAL provided a service to the community but also acknowledged that VPAL has also brought harm to our community. She stated that she does not believe that there is sufficient structure in place to prevent future harm. Furthermore the VPAL organization cannot comply with the terms of their lease at this time. Formal notice of termination will be issued by the City Manager to VPAL to be effective May 7, 2021. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Duncan to direct City Manager Jessie Baker to issue formal notice of termination to Vermont Performing Arts League’s (VPAL) Lease at the O’Brien Community Center effective May 7, 2021 as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. e. Approval: Police Department Staffing Plan – R Hebert Chief Hebert reviewed the staffing plan with Council. He assured Council that with the assistance of Ms. Aldieri, Finance Director that this plan could be achieved through the approved FY22 Budget. He also stated that these new hires would move us toward achieving our goal of having our Department better reflect the community that it serves. City Manager Baker also expressed her support of the staffing plan. Some discussion ensued. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Police Department Staffing Plan as presented. Voted and passed 4-0 f. Discussion: Unified Land Use and Development Regulations Amendments – Multiple Sections – E Vorwald Mr. Vorwald explained the amendments and asked for any questions or concerns from Council prior to the document being presented for a public hearing. Councilor Duncan expressed his concern over the greenspace boundary remaining clearly defined. Councilor Duncan suggested a change to section 3.4 (pg. 8 of 16) Article 3 Item 1-striking the last part of the sentence. Mr. Vorwald stated that this change will reduce redundancy in the language. Council agreed with the change Councilor Duncan proposed. Some discussion ensued. A public hearing date of June 7th was agreed upon. MOTION by Councilor Duncan and seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the Unified Land Use and Development Regulations Amendments – Multiple Sections with the changes proposed by Councilor Duncan with a public hearing date of 06/07/21 as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. g. Approval: Winooski School District Contract to Support Summer and Afterschool Recreational Programming (ESSER Funds) – R Coffey Mr. Coffey presented the programming to the Council. Ms. Mace was also on to offer any explanations as needed. Some brief discussion ensued. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Winooski School District Contract to Support Summer and Afterschool Recreational Programming (ESSER Funds) as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. h. Approval: Vt Afterschool Summer Matters for All Grant Application – R Coffey Mr. Coffey presented the grant to Council. There was no discussion. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Vt Afterschool Summer Matters for All Grant Application as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. i. Approval: Community Services Department – Position Descriptions to Support Expanded Programming – R Coffey Mr. Coffey reviewed the reasoning for the added positions and the funding source. Some Q&A ensued. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the Community Services Department – Position Descriptions to Support Expanded Programming as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. k. Discussion/Approval: Assessing and Reappraisal Contracts – J Baker Ms. Baker reviewed the contracts. Some discussion ensued. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the Assessing and reappraisal contracts as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. l. Approval: City/School Memorandum of Understanding for 2021-2022 - J Baker Ms. Baker reviewed the document and some Q&A ensued.  MOTION by Councilor Duncan and seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the City/School Memorandum of Understanding for 2021-2022 as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. m. Discussion/Approval: 2021-2022 Policy Priorities and Strategies Retreat Scheduling – R Coffey Mr. Coffey presented the scheduling options. There was discussion to find a date and time that would accommodate the majority of the Council. The date of June 26 th was agreed upon. MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the 2021-2022 Policy Priorities and Strategies Retreat Scheduling as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. n. Discussion: City Management Transition Plan – J Baker Ms. Baker reviewed the plan. There was some discussion. Councilor Oakleaf suggested ways to make the transition plan available to the public. Ways to contact the appropriate person with concerns/questions need to be available. There was agreement on this concern and several options were presented. o. Approval: Co-Interim City Manager Contracts – K Lott Mayor Lott presented the contracts and explained them. Some discussion ensued. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Co-Interim City Manager Contracts as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. VIII. Executive Session a. City Manager – Exit Interview discussion to take place in Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 (a) (3) MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Myers to go into Executive Session at 9:11 p.m. Voted and passed 4-0. IX. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to adjourn at 9:48 p.m. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST: _________________________________________ City Clerk