City Council

Winooski City Council Meeting Monday, October 18, 2021 at 6:00 PM Attend online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81329355167 Attend by phone: 1 646 558 8656 Webinar ID: 813 2935 5167 Attend in-person: Winooski City Hall, 27 West Allen Street Masks and 6' distancing required 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 I. Call to Order II. Agenda Review III. Public Comment IV. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of October 4, 2021 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant as of 10/14/21 and Payroll Warrant for period 09/19/21-10/02/2021. V. Council Reports VI. City Updates VII. Regular Items a. Discussion: CCRPC Annual Report Presentation – J Rauscher, P Townsend b. Approval: Event Permit: Halloween In Winooski – H Carrington c. Approval: Event Permit: Spooky Street – H Carrington d. Discussion: FY23: Budget Goal Setting – A Aldieri e. Discussion: Priority Goal Update: Economic Vitality – H Carrington f. Discussion: Safe Healthy Connected People/Equity Work Update – R Coffey, Y Gordon, R Hebert g. Discussion: City Manager Hiring Process Update – K Lott, P Townsend h. Discussion/Approval: Interim City Manager Appointment – K Lott i. Approval: Municipal Planning Grant Resolution – H Carrington j. Approval: Bylaw Modernization Grant Resolution – H Carrington k. Approval: Winooski Small Business Loan Application – H Carrington • Possible Executive Session Executive Session Winooski Small Business Loan Application Pursuant to 1 V.S.A § 313 (6) records exempt from the access to public records provisions of section 316 of this title; provided, however, that discussion of the exempt record shall not itself permit an extension of the executive session to the general subject to which the record pertains l. Approval: Winooski Small Business Loan Committee Appointment – H Carrington m. Discussion/Approval: Fire Marshal Position Description – J Audy, P Townsend VIII. Executive Session a. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A § 313 (3) the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee (City Manager Hiring Process Discussion) - K Lott IX. Adjourn  MINUTES The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Councilors: Hal Colston, James Duncan, Michael Myers, Bryn Oakleaf. Officers Present: Phoebe Townsend and Jon Rauscher, Co-Interim City Managers, Janet Brouard, Sr Asst City Clerk, Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Heather Carrington, Community and Economic Development Officer; Paul Sarne, Communications Coordinator; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Yasamin Gordon, Equity Director; John Audy, Fire Chief; Rick Hebert, Police Chief. Others Present: Town Meeting TV; Charlie Baker and Michael O’Brien, CCRPC; Meredith Bay-Tyak, Downtown Winooski; Steven Berbeco, Wendy Harrison. II. Agenda Review – none IV. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of October 4, 2021 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant as of 10/14/21 and Payroll Warrant for period 9/19/21-10/02/21 MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. Councilor Oakleaf had audio trouble and did not vote. V. Council Reports Councilor Colston – SHCP did not meet due to the meeting not being properly warned. They will be meeting tomorrow night. Councilor Duncan – He attended the Winooski Stakeholder’s meeting. They are making progress and looks forward to upcoming meetings. Councilor Myers – none Councilor Oakleaf – none Mayor Lott – She wants to let everyone know that City Hall is open now and will be for all future City Council meetings and that at least one Council Member will be present. We are continuing to practice social distancing and masks will be required. She attended a presentation by HUD along with the Winooski Housing Authority to recognize a local resident, Pabitra Khatiwoba with an Unsung Hero of Housing Award. The Unsung Hero of Housing Award is a new initiative by HUD’s Vermont Office. The award honor’s Vermont public housing residents, staff members or volunteers who exemplify kindness, generosity, and neighborliness in great abundance to their community. Pabitra has been instrumental in providing an essential link between the housing authority and its residents. She has volunteered her time and energy in providing not only interpretation of complex information to people with limited English, but she is—in many ways, a cultural liaison; a bridge between new Americans and the community of which they are an integral part. Congratulations Pabitra! She met with the Director of the Airport regarding the noise monitoring equipment installed throughout Chittenden County. The portal will be going live this Friday. All data received will be made accessible to the public. She attended the Finance Commission meeting. They continue to look into fundraising, scholarship policies, and how to make programs more accessible. The Planning Commission met. They continue to review the gateway zoning districts. There will be a Public Hearing on November 11th. She attended the ribbon cutting held at Park Terrace on East Allen Street. It is a 45 multi-unit building fully leased. While she was there touring the building the F-35 did a fly over and it was relatively quiet. IV. City Update Jon Rauscher – none Phoebe Townsend - • We are still seeking volunteers to help support Halloween in Winooski, including for pumpkin picking this Thursday and Friday. To sign up for any volunteer activity, please email info@downtownwinooski.org. For full details, visit downtownwinooski.org/Halloween • Pumpkin carving will be happening on Saturday and Sunday (10/23 and 10/24) at the Winooski Senior Center from 9 – 5 PM. Remember, if you can’t make the carving days at the Winooski Senior Center, you can pick up any number of pumpkins, carve them at home and bring them back by October 27! VII. Regular Items a. Discussion: CCRPC: Annual Report Presentation – J Rauscher, P Townsend The Mayor introduced Charlie Baker of Chittenden County Regional Planning. Mr. Baker is here tonight to present their FY21 Annual Report. CCRPC is a critical partner as we implement the strategic vision of the city. Mr. Baker thanked the Mayor and Council for allowing him to speak and to thank the Winooski Representatives serving on the CCRPC Board. He gave a brief outline of the projects and initiatives that they currently are involved in. Some discussion ensued however the Council was pleased with the Commission efforts and look forward to collaborating in the future. b. Approval: Event Permit: Halloween in Winooski – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said staff has received an event permit application for the annual Halloween in Winooski event. For the past few years, the event has been held in Rotary Park. They plan on displaying around 1,000 lit pumpkins. This event tends to draw hundreds of community members as well as visitors to our downtown. This year the event is scheduled for Friday, October 29th through Sunday October 31st starting at dusk. This is the first year that Downtown Winooski will serve as the primary event sponsor, with continued support from the City. Staff recommends approval of this permit, as well as a recommendation to waive the $200 permit fee, in that the City is a co-sponsor. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Halloween in Winooski event permit as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. c. Approval: Event Permit: Spooky Street – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said staff received another event permit application. This one is for Spooky Street to be held on October 31st on LeClair Street between East Spring Street and ‘LaFountain Street. This event will require street closure to create a more pedestrian friendly and safe trick or treating environment. Ms. Carrington informed Council that this application was submitted by Steven Berbeco, who is here tonight. Mr. Berbeco held a Block Party event this past summer with no issues therefore staff recommends approval of the event permit along with street closure. MOTION by Councilor Oakleaf seconded Councilor Myers to approve the Event Permit for Spooky Street as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. d. Discussion: FY23 Budget Goal Update: Economic Vitality – A Aldieri Ms. Aldieri said the FY23 process will follow the methods established in prior years. A proposed budget will be presented with all departmental budgets. She said this will provide the most complete picture of the City’s financial position and operations. Tonight, the Council will set goals for the FY23 budget to inform how they would like to see staff develop the budget. Discussion ensued on the process, expectations, thoughts on additions/cuts and finally their tax rate goal that they would like to see. Ms. Aldieri gave some key areas that would potentially cause a change to the tax rate; grand list growth, health insurance projections, potential loss of substantial personal property revenue, AFSCME contract will be up for negotiation. The Mayor thanked Angela for all her work and her memo was very informative. e. Discussion: Priority Goal Update: Economic Vitality – H Carrington Ms. Carrington briefed the Council on the FY22 Priorities and status of each. She attached a chart of the adopted strategies, a narrative of the updates, as well as actions the Council can expect to see over the next few months. f. Discussion: Safe Healthy Connected People/Equity Works Update – R Coffey, Y Gordon, J Audy Mr. Coffey briefed the Council on the status of their Priorities. He highlighted some key areas, successful first pool season and preparation for the 2022 season and increased number of programs offered. He said that Regional Dispatch has hit a road block and asked Chief Audy to update. Mr. Audy said that it was scheduled to happen in 2021-2022 year, but now due to loss of the availability of the facility it will be delayed to 2022-2023. We had a verbal commitment from the then City Official for the building to be used and now that offer is off the table. Mr. Audy said he will keep the Council informed of any potential changes that may shorten the proposed timeline. Councilor Oakleaf said she recognizes the anticipation of a new fire truck and questions if it is necessary to purchase a brand new one? Have we explored the option of purchasing a used one from another municipality? Chief Audy explained his thought process on the fundamentals for used verses new. Fire trucks are built for specific departments needs at the time. The Mayor called a 5-minute recess at 7:37 pm to reconvened at 7:41 pm g. Discussion: City Manager Hiring Process Update – K Lott, P Townsend The Mayor said they have updated the City Manager Hiring Process and will be extending the search in hopes of finding a 3rd party recruiter to expand our candidate pool. The Council and HR Director will work with the recruiter to establish a thorough recruitment and interview process that includes multiple opportunities for community input. Staff will bring recruiter recommendations back to the Council at the November 1st meeting. h. Discussion/Approval: Interim City Manager Appointment – K Lott Mayor Lott said Council authorized staff to negotiate an interim City Manager agreement with Wendy Harrison at the October 4th Council Meeting. The attached agreement will be to perform interim City Manager duties for a temporary period of 90 days, to be extended if needed at such time. Mayor Lott introduced Wendy and asked her to say a few words about herself. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve Interim City Manager Appointment as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. i. Approval: Municipal Planning Grant Resolution – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said staff is requesting approval to apply for a Municipal Planning Grant in The amount of $22,000. This grant will allow the continuation of our equity policy work specific to housing by allowing the City to hire a consultant to develop an equitable housing plan . Specific issues of concern include ensuring the availability of multi-bedroom housing and looking at ways to close gaps in access to safe, healthy and affordable housing. MOTION by Councilor Oakleaf seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Municipal Planning Grant Resolution as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. j. Approval: Bylaw Modernization Grant Resolution – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said the Housing Commission is interested in looking at zoning bylaw updates in support of new housing development. The attached Bylaw Modernization Grant will allow us to hire a consultant to work with the Housing and Planning Commissions to develop recommendations and draft language for the necessary zoning changes that would support our Master Plan Housing Goals. Staff requests authorization to submit an application to apply for such grant. MOTION by Councilor Oakleaf seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the application for the Bylaw Modernization Grant Resolution as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. k. Approval Winooski Small Business Loan Application – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said back in 2016 the City allocated funds for the purpose of establishing a small business revolving loan fund. The purpose of the Winooski Small Business Loan programs is to assist Winooski businesses in obtaining financing for a wide range of business needs. The intent was to promote long-term viability of Winooski businesses. The City in collaboration with Winooski Downtown Association and Opportunities Credit Union developed criteria and areas to evaluate before disbursement. Ms. Carrington said the attached request came through in the amount of $60,000 but based on the evaluations guidelines the Committee is recommending a loan approval in the amount of $30,000. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the Winooski Small Business Loan Application as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. l. Approval: Winooski Small Business Loan Committee Appointment – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said the City Council approved a Charter for the Small Business Loan Committee back in 2017. The Charter provided a structure of three voting staff members, City Manager, Finance Director and the Planning and Zoning Manager. Two seats held for community members. There are currently no alternate seats for staff participation. We recommend appointing the Equity Director to the Committee as a staff alternate. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Duncan to appoint the Equity Director as staff alternate to the Winooski Small Business Loan Committee as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. m. Discussion/Approval: Fire Marshal Position Description – J Audy, P Townsend Ms. Townsend said we have found the need to review and revise the duties and responsibilities to our Assistant Fire Marshal/Captain position in light of a recent vacancy. By elevating the position to Fire Marshal, it will better reflect the actual job duties, responsibilities and enable operational depth across departmental needs. Chief Audy said this position will serve as a Battalion Chief. Councilor Myers commented that he thought we already had a Battalion Chief, was this a replacement or adding another one. Chief Audy said it would be in addition. The current Battalion Chief covers night and weekends and this position would primarily cover day shifts but be expected to cover all calls as needed and may serve as Acting Chief in the absence of the Fire Chief. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the Fire Marshal Position Description as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. VII. Executive Session – none IX. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to adjourn the City Council meeting at 8:17 pm. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST: _____________________________________ Sr. Asst City Clerk