City Council

Winooski City Council Meeting Tuesday, January 24, 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 1/18/2022 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant for 01/20/2022 VI. Council Reports VII. City Updates VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Sally Tipson Resolution – P Sarne b. Discussion: FY21 Audit Presentation – A Aldieri c. Discussion: FY22 Quarterly Budget Projections – A Anastasi-Hill d. Approval: Fire Truck Bond Resolution-A Aldieri IX. Public Hearing – FY23 Budget 6:00 pm FY23: Final Budget Approval X. Regular Items e. Approval: Town Meeting Day Warning – W Harrison f. Approval: Brownfield Revitalization Grant – J Rauscher g. Approval: Vtrans Grant – Tigan Traffic Signal – J Rauscher h. Approval: ARPA Business Relief – H Carrington XI. 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 6:01 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; Ray Coffey, Community Development Director; Rick Hebert, Police Chief; Alexander Anastasi-Hill, Treasurer; Jenny Willingham, City Clerk. Others Present: Town Meeting TV, Josh Quinn & John Boulay, RHR Smith; Sally Tipson, Kyle Tipson, Wayne Tipson, Aurora Hurd, Meredith Bay-Tyack, Executive Director for Winooski Downtown. III. Agenda Review – None IV. Public Comment – None V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of 1/18/2022 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant as of 1/20/2022 MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. VI. Council Reports Councilor Colston – He received an email from VHFA saying that there are funds available statewide through the Vermont Homeowners Assistance program. These funds are designed for property owners that need assistance with mortgage payments, utilities, property taxes and association dues. He will forward the email to all Council members.to disseminate. Councilor Duncan – The Housing Commission met Thursday; the meetings will go back to normal next month. He said they discussed the Housing Trust rollout. They are waiting for a few more pieces. They are continuing their talks on housing quality issues such as principles, accountability, vulnerable populations, they are continuing their outreach efforts for landlords, property owners and tenants. Councilor Oakleaf – The Municipal Infrastructure meeting did not meet. They have been working through the interview process to fill the current vacancies. She gave a special thanks to the Fire Department and the Red Cross for the blood drive held last Friday. Councilor Myers – None Mayor Lott – She will be on Town Meeting TV tomorrow at 6:15 pm, along with Wendy Harrison, to present the City Budget. They also will be doing a presentation with the School on the Monday before Town Meeting on March 1st. VII. City Updates Interim City Manager Harrison gave the following updates; • Water main break today at East Allen Street and Barlow/Cascade Way is fixed. We sent NIXLE notices and coordinated with local and regional officials. Thanks to Public Works staff. • Heads up that we’re operating with fewer staff than normal in the Public Works Department, due to a number of factors (market is tight for equipment operators (Advertising for an EOII), so please understand if it takes longer to plow the streets and sidewalks. • Regarding COVID, our staff seems to be tracking the state and hopefully the downward trend will continue. We have about five staff out with COVID, half than the ten that were out the last time I reported. • First Community Listening Session regarding APRA funds will be next Friday Feb 4, 6-7:30pm. Virtual. ARPA final rule much more flexible—sent a copy to the Council members and it will be on the agenda in February. • State has allowed fully-remote public meetings for municipalities. Council members were Ok with permitting Commissions and Committee chairs to decide if they want to hold meetings fully-remote. • Seven Individuals who have submitted petitions for City Council seats Chad Bushway Matt Crawford Darrell Desautels, Aurora Hurd Thomas Renner David Xavier Wallace (also running for School Board) Irene Webster VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: Sally Tipson Resolution – P Sarne The Mayor said they have invited Sally Tipson here tonight to recognize her many, many years of service to the City. She read the resolution honoring Sally and her many accomplishments, years of dedication to all the lives that she touched. Ms. Tipson said this was totally unexpected and that she has enjoyed the time she has spent here in Winooski. Councilor Myers said he is also very appreciative of all her hard work and dedication that she has demonstrated over the years. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the Sally Tipson Resolution as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. b. Discussion: FY21 Audit Presentation - A Aldieri Ms. Aldieri said the City Council approved the engagement of RHR Smith & Company to conduct an audit of the fiscal year 2021 financial statements on April 5, 2021. Preliminary field work was conducted in June and full fieldwork occurred the second week of October. Financial reports were completed and reviewed by the auditors and the final audit was received by the City in late December. Mr. Quinn from RHR Smith & Company walked the Council through a brief synopsis of their final audit report. He said this was the second year in a row that the City had no significant findings. The Mayor thanked Mr. Quinn for their service and acknowledged that next year the City will be going out to bid for audit services and she hopes that RHR Smith & Company be part of that process. Mr. Quinn said they look forward to submitting a bid. c. Discussion: FY22 Quarterly Budget Projections – A Anastasi-Hill Mr. Anastasi-Hill said he is please to submit the second quarter financial report for the FY22 ending December, 2021. He walked through the various funds, highlighting the expenses and revenues and some of the factors that caused impacts to them. Even though we have been going through a tough period, we continue to show that budgeting processes do work and our net fund balances are higher than normal. He is confident with these numbers and projections and sees no area for concern. The Mayor thanked him for the update. d. Approval: Fire Truck Bond Resolution-A Aldieri Ms. Aldieri said that we are looking for approval to authorize the borrowing to replace a fire truck in 2024. She said State statute governing borrowing funds for this duration requires the approval of the voters of the municipality. This tower truck replacement for the Fire Department in fiscal year 24 was included in the capital plan presented to Council. In light of the lead time to acquire and potential price increases, staff is recommending including a bond authorization question on the March 1, 2022 ballot not to exceed $1,300,000. Ms. Aldieri said by doing it this way, we could place the order as soon as approved, thus keeping the overall cost as low as possible and ensure that we receive the new truck in the year anticipated in the Capital Plan, Ms. Aldieri pointed out that at the time we purchased the current truck, the City had 6 high rise buildings, now we have 18. She also pointed out that we do have some leverage with the trade-in of the old truck. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the Fire Truck Bond Resolution as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. IX. Public Hearing – FY23 Budget 6:00 pm. The Mayor opened the Public Hearing at 6:51 pm. She said that we have had many discussions on the proposed FY23. She asked if there were any further questions for concerns from the Council and public. Councilor Myers had one concern over the unknown CIP amount that is due to come out in February. Ms. Aldieri said that we are governed by two unions, however we have some fluctuation with the non-union salaries. She is confident that we will be able to cover the increase, Hearing none others, the Mayor closed the Public Hearing at 6:52 pm. MOTION by Councilor Oakleaf seconded by Councilor Colston to approve the FT23 as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. X. Regular Items e. Approval: Town Meeting Day Warning – W Harrison Ms. Harrison said we are looking for approval of the warning for Town Meeting. The warning. In addition to the budget, it consists of a couple of regular items; to elect two City Council members and to expend Funds from other sources and now the newly approved authorization for a general obligation bond to finance a fire truck. MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the Town Meeting Day Warning as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. f. Approval: Town Meeting Day Warning – W Harrison Mr. Rauscher stated as a part of the re-development of Lot 7D, soil remediation work is required as identified during previously performed environmental investigation work. The state approved remediation work is outlined in our June 2021 Correction Action Plan, which mainly includes institutional controls and engineering controls. Acceptance of the Brownfield grant in the amount of $78,401.25 will support such efforts. Mr. Rauscher said the grant does come with a 20% match, which is already budgeted for. Councilor Oakleaf inquired whether this grant comes with a time line, Mr. Rauscher said that it needs to be spend within 3-4 years and he is confident that we will meet that deadline. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the Brownfield Revitalization Grant as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. g. Approval: Vtrans Grant – Tigan Traffic Signal – J Rauscher Mr. Rauscher said the purpose of this grant is to provide funding to replace the traffic signal at the intersections of Main Street and Tigan Street. This will be done as a part of the Main Street Revitalization project. This scope was previously included in the proposed Vtrans Exit 16 improvements. After further review with Vtrans, both parties have determined that the best approach would be to include this scope under the MSR project to better accommodate construction coordination and schedules. The funding amount is based on our MSR consultant’s cost estimate of $300,000. This proposed funding covers the full costs of this work with no match requirement. MOTION by Councilor Colston seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the Vtrans Grant – Tigan Traffic Signal as presented. Voted 4-0. h. Approval: ARPA Business Relief – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said with the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID and the surge in infections in Vermont, we are finding the urgent need for financial assistance for our local businesses. This need is time sensitive and cannot wait for a public process due to begin this spring. Ms. Carrington said they are looking to recommend that the City Council allocate a portion of the ARPA funds slated to come in be used to address immediate and urgent pandemic-related needs. Ms. Carrington initial recommendation was for allocating $250,000, but after subsequent discussions, that figure was reduced to $100,000. In order to maintain the stability of Winooski’s existing businesses the Economic Development office and Downtown Winooski recommend that the funds be made available as direct grants of up to $10,000 to each small business. Ms. Carrington said they are still trying to finalize the criteria and program guidelines. Ms. Carrington is confident that staff will have the guidelines finalized and ready to present to the Council prior to the grant program rollout in February 2022 should the City Council approve the use of the ARPA funds as presented. Lengthy discussion ensued between City/Downtown staff and the Council. The Council is hesitant on approving the allocation without a full set of complete criteria that must be met be even being eligible. Councilor Myers said we should put stipulations on the requests to make sure the funds are used for essential needs only. Councilor Oakleaf feels that any business in arrears with the City or has any violations, any funds given should be made to clear up those. Ms. Carrington and Ms. Bay- Tyack, Executive Director of Winooski Downtown agreed to take all these concerns and get to work developing the criteria to be used. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the ARPA Business Relief as presented. Voted and passed 4-0 XI. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to adjourn the City Council meeting at 8:01 pm. Voted and passed 4-0. ______________________________________________ ATTEST