City Council

Winooski City Council Remote and In-Person Meeting Tuesday, January 18, 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 1/10/2022 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant for 01/13/2022 and Payroll Warrant for the period of 12/26/2021-01/08/2022 c. Approval: 2022 Mileage Certification – J Rauscher VI. Council Reports VII. City Updates VIII. Regular Items a. Discussion: FY23 Budget – b. Discussion: Clerk’s Office Update of Election Procedures – J Willingham c. Discussion/Approval: VCDP Grant Application Selection – H Carrington d. Discussion/Approval: UPWP Application Letters of Support – E Vorwald/J Rauscher IX. Adjourn Minutes The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. Deputy Mayor Colston led in 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; Angel Lane, Assistant City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Heather Carrington, Community and Economic Development Officer; Paul Sarne, Communications Manager; John Audy, Fire Chief; Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director; Bruce` Palmer, Fire Marshall; Jenny Willingham, City Clerk; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Yasamin Gordon, Equity Director; Rick Hebert, Police Chief Others Present: Aurora Hurd, Meredith Bay-Tyack, Steven Berbeco, Town Meeting TV III. Agenda Review – None IV. Public Comment – None V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of 1/10/2022 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant for 1/13/2022 and Payroll Warrant for the period of 12/26/2021-01/08/2022 c. Approval: 2022 Mileage Certification – J Rauscher MOTION: by Councilor Duncan and second by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. VI. Council Reports: Councilor Oakleaf – The Municipal Infrastructure Committee is losing a long serving member, Laura Dlugolecki. Laura has served as Chair for 7 years. This was a remarkable tenure and she will be missed greatly. Interviews will be taking place over the next couple of weeks to fill the open positions. There is a blood drive taking place at the Senior Center on this Friday. Councilor Colston – The Legislature is now in session. They are using a hybrid format. Councilor Colston stated that it is good to be among his peers again. Councilor Duncan – There is a Housing Commission meeting this Thursday at 6 P.M. They will be discussing the Housing Trust Fund roll out. Councilor Myers – No update Mayor Lott - The Finance Commission met and reviewed the ARPA outreach plans with Staff. The Planning Commission also met and Eric Vorwald presented some potential zoning changes. The search for a City Manager also continues. VII. City Updates: a. Weekend Winter Storm -This was the first significant storm of the season. Thank you to everyone who helped with the clean-up and kept the streets cleared of vehicles. Having the ban in place for two nights allowed us to get the streets cleaned up.  b. Election Update – There are 2 open seats on City Council. The legislative bill allowing petitions to be submitted without signatures has passed and the Governor has signed the bill. Interested parties may download the petition from our website or stop by the Clerk’s office to obtain one. The petition must be returned to the Clerk’s office no later than next Monday, January 24th at 5:00 P.M. VIII. Regular Items: a. Discussion and Final Review of the Proposed FY23 Budget and Capital Plan Across All Funds – W Harrison/A Aldieri Mayor Lott began the discussion with a question regarding how we could cover the additional fee with GMT. Ms. Aldieri explained how this could possibly be covered with some excess funds coming from police staffing. There was some discussion regarding the CPI and how it is the highest it has been in 40 years. Councilor Oakleaf asked a question regarding the ARPA Funds and when will we see them in the budget. Ms. Aldieri explained b. Discussion: Clerk’s Update: Local Election Procedures – J Willingham J Willingham, City Clerk presented her packet to the Council. Some discussion ensued. The Mayor thanked Ms. Willingham for her detailed presentation. c. Discussion/Approval: VCDP Grant Application Selection – H Carrington Heather Carrington presented the process to Council. She explained that there can only be one organization moved forward for this particular grant. Three projects are interested in being considered for the grant; O’Brien Community Center rehabilitation, Our Lady of Providence conversion to assisted living with a memory care wing, Main and Mansion 54 unit mixed income housing development. Bringing the three projects before Council assured a fair and transparent selection process. Some discussion ensured. MOTION: by Councilor Oakleaf and second by Councilor Colston to allow the request for the rehabilitation of the O’Brien Community Center to facilitate full lease-up and to accommodate new partners brining additional services to the community to move forward as the project to apply for the VCDP Grant. Voted and passed 4-0. d. Discussion/Approval: UPWP Application Letters of Support – E Vorwald/J Rauscher United Planning Work Program Application – LaFountain/ Dion Scoping Study and Stormwater System.an Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works presented the projects. Eric Vorwald, Planning and Zoning Manager was not in attendance, Jon Rauscher was able to cover both projects. There were some questions regarding the funding of the required 20% match should the application be accepted. Mr. Rauscher stated that if approved the timing of that approval would not be until May 2022. Ms. Aldieri also interjected that should we not be in a position to cover the 20% match; the city could back out of the arrangement without any cost to the city. Councilor Duncan expressed his support for submitting both applications. Some discussion ensued. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan second by Councilor Colston to approve the UPWP Application Letters of Support as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. IX. Adjourn MOTION: by Councilor Oakleaf second by Councilor Duncan to adjourn at 7:06 P.M. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST: _________________________________________________