City Council

City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Winooski City Council Remote and In-Person Meeting Monday May 16, 2022, at 6 PM Attend online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84364849328 Attend by phone: 1 646 558 8656 Webinar ID: 843 6484 9328 Attend in person: Winooski City Hall 27 W Allen Street I. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance II. Agenda Review III. Public Comment IV. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of 05/09/2022 b. Approval: AP Warrant for 05/12/2022, Subsequent to Payout Warrant for March, Payroll Warrant for period 04/17/2022-04/30/2022 c. Approval: Sidewalk Permit – New – Hype Nutrition V. Council Reports VI. City Updates VII. Regular Items a. Discussion/Approval: The Chittenden Solid Waste District FY23 Budget – J Rauscher b. Approval: Event Permit Application: Centennial Birthday Party – R Coffey c. Discussion/Approval: Fight for Kid’s Foundation (FKF) – Letter of Support – K Lott d. Discussion/Approval: Chittenden Regional Planning Commission Committee Appointments – J Rauscher e. Discussion: Juneteenth Holiday Recognition – J Acri f. Discussion/Approval: Multilingual ARPA Survey – P Sarne g. Discussion/Approval: Winooski Falls East Design Approval – J Rauscher h. Discussion: Update on Master Plan Goals & Objectives – E Vorwald i. Approval: Airport Commission Appointment – K Lott j. Approval: Arbor Day Resolution – K Lott/J Duncan k. Discussion/Approval: Settlement Agreement (Post-Executive Session) VIII. Executive Session a. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. §313 (e) pending or probable civil litigation or a prosecution, to which the public body is or may be a party. IX. Adjourn MINUTES Mayor Lott called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Deputy Mayor Duncan led in the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Deputy Mayor James Duncan Councilors: Bryn Oakleaf, Aurora Hurd, and Thomas Renner Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director; Paul Sarne, Communications Manager; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director;  Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Yasamin Gordon, Equity Director; Jenny Willingham, City Clerk; Eric Vorwald, Planning and Zoning Director; Angel Lane, Assistant City Clerk; Jon Rauscher Public Works Director; Jesse Acri, Human Resources Director Others Present: Town TV, J Shirras, Sarah VanRyckevorsel, Daisy Berbeco, Doug, CEA VT Office, Richard Deane, Bill Niquette, Amy, S Reeves/CSWD, Terry Zigmund, Nola/CSWD, Gita Seaton, M Morris/CSWD, Bruce Wilson, King McMillian II. Agenda Review – None III. Public Comment – Winooski resident Terry Zigmund shared two comments. First, she shared her concern with the bike lines not being painted. W. Center St is a particular concern as it is particularly unsafe in her observation. Terry would like to know when the painting will occur and inquired as to why it is taking so long to get this accomplished. J Rauscher spoke to her concerns. The intent was to have this completed last year expressed Mr. Rauscher but it was exceedingly difficult to purchase the needed paint product. This continues to be the case, but Mr. Rauscher expressed his hope that the city may be able to begin painting the bike lines in the June/July timeframe. Secondly Terry shared a concern with the tables on the sidewalk at the Mandarin. She stated that table spacing was not ADA accessible due to the light post. J Rauscher offered a solution of marking the clear space and monitoring for compliance. Terry stressed that the light pole in the center is the issue and needs to be addressed for the sidewalk to be accessible for all. IV. Consent Agenda – MOTION: by Councilor Oakleaf and seconded by Councilor Renner to approve the Consent Agenda items as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. V. Council Reports Councilor Renner – Councilor Renner expressed his appreciation for all involved in Waking Windows this past weekend. Councilor Duncan – Councilor Duncan is happy to report that the Centennial Tree is in the ground! Thank you to all involved. The Tree Committee went to Casavant Park and flagged the Ash trees that could be at risk by the Emerald Ash Bore. This gave a visualization of what the area would look like should these trees be lost to an infestation. Councilor Duncan encouraged residents to take a walk at the park to see what could happen to heighten awareness of the situation. Councilor Duncan also took a moment to welcome new City Manager Elaine Wang. Councilor Duncan also mentioned that the Housing Commission will meet this Thursday at 6 p.m. Mayor Lott – Mayor Lott reported that both the Financial Commission and the Planning Commission met this past week. The Mayor shared that the Policy Priorities and Strategies Retreat is this Saturday at the Senior Center 9:30 – 1 p.m. Mayor Lott expressed thanks to the Winooski Police Department and the South Burlington Police Department for taking a massive amount of drugs off the streets of Winooski. The Mayor also met with members of the Congolese community and is looking forward to more interactions in the future. Councilor Oakleaf – Councilor Oakleaf expressed thanks to all who participated in Green Up Day this year. The Centennial Tree planting was a remarkable success. Thank you to all involved. Just a note that the Infrastructure Commission will meet this week at the pool clubhouse. Councilor Hurd – Councilor Hurd shared that the Safe, Healthy, Connected People Commission met on May 10th. The Policy Priorities and Strategies and the Equity Audit were reviewed. Councilor Hurd attended Waking Windows on Friday night. It was a profound sense of togetherness. Splendid work by all involved in this event. VI. City Updates Jon Rauscher welcomed new City Manager Elaine Wang. City Manager Wang expressed her thanks for the welcome. City Manager Wang shared the success of Waking Windows, announced the upcoming Winooski’s Centennial Birthday Party on June 4th. Bring your families, friends, and neighbors for an all- ages, outdoor community birthday party to celebrate Winooski’s Centennial - enjoy food, drinks, music, kid’s activities, and more! She also shared that the Policy Priorities and Strategies Retreat is this Saturday at the Senior Center from 9:30 – 1 p.m. and the public is welcome. A warm welcome to Robin Merritt was  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov given as Robin begins her employment with the city as the new Recreation and Parks Director. Just a reminder that pool passes, and Summer Camp spaces are still available. VII. Regular Items a. Discussion/ Approval: The Chittenden Solid Waste District FY23 Budget Sarah Reeves Executive Director with CSWD reviewed the budget via a PowerPoint presentation. Some discussion ensued. Councilor Oakleaf who is also the Commission Liaison for CSWD is excited about the increased cap to $5,000 given to Winooski. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Renner to approve the Chittenden Solid Waste District FY23 Budget as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. b. Approval: Event Permit Application: Centennial Birthday Party Ray Coffey presented this item to the Council for approval. MOTION: by Councilor Oakleaf seconded by Councilor Hurd to approve the Event Permit Application: Centennial Birthday Party as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. c. Discussion/Approval: Fight for Kid’s Foundation (FKF) – Letter of Support Mayor Lott welcomed King McMillian, Bruce Wilson, and Gita Seaton to the meeting. King McMillian, Executive Director of Fight for Kids shared his vision for the program. Residents Bruce Wilson and Gita Seaton also added support. A letter of support from the city is essential to apply for the needed grants that the foundation is seeking. MOTION: by Councilor Renner and seconded by Councilor Hurd to approve the Fight for Kid’s Foundation – Letter of support and to approve the mayor signing this letter of support and future letters of support for the Fight for Kid’s Foundation. d. Discussion/Approval: Chittenden Regional Planning Commission Committee Appointments Jon Rauscher presented Mike O’Brien and Abby Bleything to serve on CRPCC. The Council expressed their appreciation for their willingness to serve Winooski in this capacity. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan and seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to appoint members to the Board, Transportation Advisory Council, and Clean Water Advisory Council as recommended. Voted and passed 4- 0. e. Discussion: Juneteenth Holiday Recognition J Acri presented the history behind this holiday. It was proposed to include Juneteenth (June19th) in our paid holidays, in accordance with the Federal Government. Some discussion ensued. This item will be presented for approval at the next City Council meeting. f. Discussion/Approval: Multilingual ARPA Survey Paul Sarne, Communications Manager introduced this item to Council in order to approve the schedule for the multilingual outreach of the ARPA survey in the community. Members of Council tentatively selected dates to attend. Mayor Lott will attend 6/11 and 6/25 Councilor Duncan will attend 6/11 and 6/18 Councilor Renner will attend 6/25 Councilor Hurd will attend 7/2 (and is open to attending another as needed) Councilor Oakleaf will attend 6/18 MOTION: by Councilor Hurd and seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the Multilingual ARPA Survey schedule as presented. Voted and passed 4 -0. g. Discussion/Approval: Winooski Falls East Design Approval J Rauscher introduced this item and then turned the presentation over to Bill Niquette. A PowerPoint presentation clearly displayed the original design to the revised design. Members of Bill’s team also shared in the areas of expertise. Discussion ensued. Mr. Niquette shared the need for the design to obtain Council’s approval to move forward with the ACT 250 process. Several members of Council shared their approval of the design and anticipation of the project moving forward.  MOTION: by Councilor Duncan and seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the Winooski Falls East Design as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. ** Mayor Lott called for a 6-minute recess – the meeting resumed at 7:50 p.m.** h. Discussion: Update on Master Plan Goals & Objectives E Vorwald reviewed some of the updates to give a sense where we are at this time in preparation for this Saturday’s Strategies and Priorities Retreat. There was some discussion. Several items were updated to a “in progress” status. i. Approval: Airport Commission Appointment Mayor Lott introduced this item. The Mayor shared that Eric Vorwald is willing to serve in this capacity. It is a 3-year term. Mayor Lott expressed her appreciation for Mr. Vorwald’s representation on the Airport Commission. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan and seconded by Councilor Renner to approve the appointment of Eric Vorwald to the Airport Commission as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. j. Approval: Arbor Day Resolution There was a brief presentation by Mayor Lott. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan and seconded by Councilor Hurd to approve the Arbor Day Resolution as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. k. Discussion/Approval: Settlement Agreement (Post-Executive Session) MOTION: by Councilor Renner and seconded by Councilor Duncan to ratify the Settlement Agreement as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. MOTION: by Councilor Renner and seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to enter Executive Session at 8:18 p.m. Voted and passed 4-0. MOTION: by Councilor Hurd and seconded by Councilor Renner to invite E Wang, City Manager: J Acri, Human Resources Director; A Aldieri, Finance Director; and J Rauscher, Public Works Director into Executive Session. Voted and passed 4-0 VIII. Executive Session a. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. §313 (e) pending or probable civil litigation or a prosecution, to which the public body is or may be a party. IX. Adjourn MOTION: by Councilor Oakleaf and seconded by Councilor Hurd to adjourn the Winooski City Council meeting at 8:35 p.m. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST:___________________________________________________________ Assistant City Clerk