City Council

Winooski City Council Meeting Monday, January 3, 2022 at 6 PM Attend online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84364849328 Attend by phone: 1 646 558 8656 Attend in person: Winooski City Hall (27 West Allen St - masks & 6' distancing required) I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Agenda Review IV. Public Comment V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of 12/13/2021 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant as of 12/29/2021 and Payroll Warrant of 11/28/21-12/11/2021 and 12/12/21-12/25/21 VI. Council Reports VII. City Updates VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Memorial Library Committee Appointments - R Coffey b. Approval: Bank Signatory Updates – TD, Peoples, Opportunity Credit Union – A Aldieri c. Approval: Sidewalk Plow Municipal Lease – A Aldieri d. Discussion: FY23: Department of Public Works and CIP Budget Presentation – J Rauscher IX. Executive Session a. Executive Session Pursuant to V.S.A. § 313 (1)(E) pending or probable civil litigation or a prosecution, to which the public body is or may be a party. 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  MINUTES The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. Deputy Mayor Colston led the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Councilors: Hal Colston, James Duncan, Michael Myers, Bryn Oakleaf Officers Present: Wendy Harrison, Interim City Manager; Janet Brouard, Sr. Asst City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Heather Carrington, Community and Economic Development Officer; Paul Sarne, Communications Manager; Eric Vorwald, Planning & Zoning Manager; John Audy, Fire Chief, Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director; Phoebe Townsend, Human Resources Director; Ray Coffey, Community Development Director; Nate Eddy, Library Manager. Others Present: Town Meeting TV, Steven Berbeco, Jess Wignall, Collette “Nikki” Khajehali, Colleen Moore. III. Agenda Review – None IV. Public Comment – None V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of 12/13/2021 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant as of 12/29/2021 and Payroll Warrant for periods 11/28/2021-12/11/2021 and 12/12/2021-12/25/2021. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. VI. Council Reports Councilor Colston – he attended the SHCP Commission meeting on December 14th and provided a Council update to them. Chief Audy attended the same meeting and gave a COVID update; also seeing a rise in numbers dealing with mental health particularly in housing. Mr. Coffey reiterated the mask mandate policy that’s in effect and that the Council will be revisiting at their next meeting. Mr Coffey also gave an overview of the budget that will be presented to the Council. The was some discussion on the ARPA planning process. Each member was asked to prioritize their top 5 goals for the coming year, then to be discussed at the next meeting. Councilor Myers – None Councilor Oakleaf – she attended the Municipal Infrastructure meeting on December 15th. She too gave an update from the last Council Meeting. She noted that the Commission is losing two position members. The vacancies have been posted on the City’s website. She is encouraging those interested to apply. She said the Commission will be returning to their regularly scheduled 3rd Thursday of the month meetings. They discussed the Main Street project; it is progressing well. She wanted to make folks aware that going forward any funding from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns will go through existing programs rather that creating new ones. Councilor Duncan – He attended the December 27th Housing Commission meeting. He said Chief Audy was in attendance as well and spoke about their inspection program, how it works and that they are currently accessing needs through partner programs. He said the next meeting will be on January 20th due to scheduling conflicts but after that they will be back to their Monday night meeting schedule. Mayor Lott – She attended the Airport Commission meeting. They shared the noise data that has been collected from the 3 sights; Winooski, South Burlington and Williston. You can log on to BTVsound.com to see the flights and noise decimals as they occur. It was noted that they will be uploading all the raw noise data to the website for anyone to see. They briefly spoke about the noise mitigation plan; 10 home pilot plans for this year and what the plan will look like moving forward. It was suggested to create a map of the areas that will be next on the list so people can know when their homes are slated to be modified. VII. City Updates Interim City Manager Harrison gave the following update; • As of the most recently reported data from the Department of Health on 12/29/21, Winooski and Burlington both saw a 62% increase in positive COVID cases over the previous two-week reporting period (which had ended on 12/22). Case rates in Chittenden County are up sharply in most other communities as well, but Burlington and Winooski have seen the highest recent increases. • For the week from 12/19 to 12/25, the CDC estimated that about 44% of the positive cases in our region (VT, MA, CT, RI, ME, NH) were Omicron, with models showing that we may be seeing an increase in that Omicron percentage in the subsequent week (12/26 – 1/2). • Hospitalizations due to COVID have remained high, but steady • Reminder that the City of Winooski mask mandate is still in effect for all indoor spaces. Please keep yourself and your community safe by masking up whenever you are indoors or in close  contact with others. The Council will consider the mandate resolution at the Jan 10 meeting next Monday. • If you’re sick, stay home, and get tested. Staff is developing a policy to comply with new Federal OSHA regulations regarding COVID and will update the Council at the next meeting. Sad to announce that we will be losing our Human Resources Director—Phoebe has let us know that she will be leaving mid-January and we wish her well, but will miss her. Night Flights The Vermont Air National Guard will conduct night flying from Tuesday, Jan. 4 to Saturday, Jan. 8. Nighttime takeoffs are scheduled between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. and landings are scheduled between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The City entered into a settlement agreement with VT CBD Labs who were operating a hemp drying facility at 133 Elm Street. They expect to vacate the property by the end of January 2022. The City Manager position has been posted and applications are due February 4. Please distribute the notice to your networks. VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Memorial Library Committee Appointments – R Coffey Mr. Coffey introduced Nate Eddy, Winooski’s Library Manager. Mr. Eddy was instrumental in recommending the appointments brought before you tonight. Mr. Eddy said he is very excited to have such excitement and enthusiasm coming on the the board. The three appointees were present and each were given the opportunity to introduce themselves. The Mayor thanked them for their willingness to serve. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the Memorial Library Committee Appointments as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. b. Approval: Bank Signatory Updates – TD, Peoples, Opportunity Credit Union – A Aldieri Ms. Aldieri said in order to ensure continuity of operations and to have appropriate backup in place in the event of emergencies having more than one signatory is a best practice. Current signatories on our accounts are Town Clerk Carol Barrett and Treasurer Alexander Anastasi-Hill. With the retirement of Carol Barrett and the hiring of Jennifer Willingham into the position of City Clerk/Assistant Treasurer we need to update the signatories on file with all of the banking institutions with whom the City has accounts including TD Bank, Peoples United Bank, and Opportunities Credit Union. We are requesting formal appointment of both Jennifer Willingham and Alexander Anastasi-Hill as signatories and approval of the attached Resolutions. Opportunities Credit Union will update the signatories with a copy of the minutes. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the Bank Signatory Updates as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. c. Approval: Sidewalk Plow Municipal Lease – A Aldieri Ms. Aldieri said the Public Works department solicited bids for a new sidewalk plow to replace the 2012 plow as was outlined in the current year capital plan. HP Fairfield was awarded the bid with a price of $178,164 to maintain consistency in our fleet. The capital plan included the financing of this equipment over a period of five years. Direct outreach was made to three local financing agencies for pricing on a lease. FNB Commercial Leasing was the low quote with an interest rate of 3.25%. State statute allows municipalities to enter into borrowing for the purchase of maintenance of highway infrastructure as long as the term is five years or less. We are seeking authorization for interim City Manager Wendy Harrison to execute necessary paperwork to finance a sidewalk plow purchase with FNB Commercial Leasing. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Sidewalk Plow Municipal Lease as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. d. Discussion: FY23: Department of Public Works and CIP Budget Presentation – J Rauscher Mr. Rauscher said the full FY23 Proposed Budget was presented to the Council on December 6, 2021. This presentation will focus specifically on the Public Works Department, Capital Improvement Plan, Water Fund, Sewer Fund and finally the Parking Fund. He said he will go fund by fund and stop for any questions. He presented a 32-page PowerPoint presentation, see attached. He proceeded by outlining the highlights of each fund, the current years focus, the current work force challenges and finally an overview of the year’s revenues and expenses. Mr Rauscher then gave FY23 Budget highlights for each fund; outlining the requests put forward, including proposed work to be accomplished in the coming year. The Council had some questions when it came to the Capital Improvement Plan. Lengthy discussion ensued. The Mayor thanked Mr. Rauscher and his team for all the great work accomplished and for the aggressive plan outlined for the coming year. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to serve as the City’s best interest to move into Executive Session. Voted and passed 4-0. IX. Executive Session a. Executive Session Pursuant to V.S.A. Section 313 (1) (E) pending or probable civil litigation or a prosecution, to which the public body is or may be a party. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to enter in Executive Session at 8:14 pm and to invite Interim Manager Wendy Harrison; Human Resources Director, Phoebe Townsend; Public Works Director, Jon Rauscher. Voted and passed 4-0. X. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Duncan to adjourn at 8:47pm. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST: ___________________________________ Sr Asst City Clerk