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 July 18, 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 West Allen Street) I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Agenda Review IV. Public Comment V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: Liquor Control and City Council Minutes of 6/27/2022 b. Approval: Payroll Warrants 6/12-6/25/22 and 6/26/22-7/09/22 c. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrants as of 6/30/22 and 7/13/22 d. Approval: Reappointment of John Audy as Health Officer VI. Council Reports VII. City Updates VIII. Regular Items a. Discussion: Resident Complaint and Request – E Wang b. Discussion/Approval: Winooski United Methodist Church Historic Marker – E Wang c. Discussion/Approval: Event Permit Application: Wolfsgart AirOut – R Coffey d. Discussion/Approval: Inclusion & Belonging Commission Appointment – J Willingham e. Approval: Planning Commission Appointment – E Vorwald f. Discussion/Approval: Regional Dispatch Update and Fund Balance Request – J Audy g. Discussion: Introduction: Review Amendments to the Unified Land Use & Development Regulations (ULUDR)- Priority Housing Incentives – E Vorwald h. Discussion/Approval: Strategic Vision Goal Update: Economic Vitality – E Wang i. Discussion/Approval: Reserve Request – Staff Bonuses – E Wang j. Discussion/Approval: Nonprofit Funding Requests – K Lott, J Duncan k. Discussion: City Manager Performance Review Process – K Lott IX. Executive Session Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. §313 (3), the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee, provided that the public body shall make a final decision to hire or appoint a public officer or employee in an open meeting and shall explain the reasons for its final decision during the open meeting. X. Adjourn  Minutes The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:08 p.m. Deputy Mayor Duncan led the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Deputy Mayor James Duncan Councilors: Bryn Oakleaf, Aurora Hurd, Thomas Renner, Jim Duncan Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Angel Lane, Asst City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Paul Sarne, Communications Manager; Eric Vorwald, Planning and Zoning Manager; John Audy, Fire Chief; Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director; Jenny Willingham, City Clerk Others Present: Nick Weiner, Connor Daley, Stephen Berbeco, Ellen Ravelin, Linda Howe, Joe Perron, B. Pradhan, Dodit Tshibamba, Town TV III. Agenda Review – In courtesy to our guests the Mayor suggested switching item J. Discussion/Approval: Nonprofit Funding Requests with item c. Discussion/Approval: Event Permit Application: Wolfsgart AirOut. Council Agreed. IV. Public Comment Mr. Sikyala/ Congolese Community of Vermont wanted to share the mission of the Congolese Community of Vermont. He shared the group’s strong desire to work collaboratively with the City of Winooski. He also shared the group’s need of some operating funds. He expressed his deep appreciation to the City of Winooski for their assistance through Covid. V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: Liquor Control and City Council Minutes of 6/27/22 b. Approval: Payroll Warrants 6/12-6/25/22 and 6/2/22-7/9/22 c. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrants as of 6/30/22 and 7/13/22 d. Approval: Reappointment of John Audy as Health Officer MOTION: by Councilor Renner second by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. VI. Council Reports Councilor Renner – has nothing to report currently Councilor Duncan – The Housing Commission had met at the end of June. They reviewed the Priorities & Strategies goals received from the council session. They are in general agreement that these are good goals and relevant to the work they seek to do. They also reviewed the equity audit. Mayor Lott – On 8/15 the Commission chairs, members of Council and the staff liaisons will be meeting to review the goals for the upcoming year. Mayor Lott spoke in Burlington as they are considering All Resident Voting. ARPA listening sessions are continuing. Still seeking volunteers to serve on the Green Mountain Transit committee and the Town Meeting TV Board. Please let us know if interested. Mayor Lott will also be joining staff this week to interview potential candidates for City Treasurer. Councilor Oakleaf – The Infrastructure Commission meeting is this Thursday and there will be a guest from the Department of Public Service at the beginning of the meeting. There are visitors also planned for upcoming Commission meetings including Vermont Gas, Green Mountain Power, and Efficiency Vermont. Councilor Hurd – August 3rd at 5:30 p.m. will be the first meeting of the Inclusion & Belonging Commission. Councilor Hurd is excited to see this moving forward. Councilor Hurd has attended the ARPA listening sessions and concurs with the Mayor that concerns about housing and public transportation continue. Councilor Hurd also attended a Coffee Chat at the Senior Center and the concerns raised there were public transportation and the senior center remaining available and funded. VII. City Update Free COVID-19 test kits in Winooski - news update coming soon: For anyone 2 and up. Available at the Clerk’s Office, PD, Senior Center, and Library (starting tomorrow?) You may see that your test is labeled as expired. If the expiration date printed on your box states April 2022, the expiration date for the test is now October 31, 2022, per FDA approval. The 1st Vermont Health Equity Initiative BIPOC youth vaccination clinic (under 5) went well at the OCC, keep an eye out for future dates which we'll bounce from VHEI's channels Congrats to Officer Nathan March for graduating from the 113th Vermont Police Academy! Nate begins his field training next week. Annual Cleaning of Winooski Parking Garage Begins 7.18.22 - parking will be prohibited in stages, please look for signage in the garage or visit winooskivt.gov for info COVID-19 Recovery Business Grant - 2nd Round closes soon (July 24) - If your Winooski business suffered sustained revenue losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be eligible for emergency grant funding (up to $10,000). Visit winooskivt.gov/ARPA for details ARPA listening sessions going well, thanks so much to the Mayor and Councilors for attending. We've heard important feedback from Arabic, Vietnamese, Nepali, and Swahili community members. We are coordinating a Burmese session for this Saturday, so keep an eye out for that info. The Statewide primary election is on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. Voting will take place at the Winooski Senior Center (123 Barlow St.) from 7 AM - 7 PM. Early voting is also available. Voters can vote early at Winooski City Hall (27 West Allen St. M - F 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM) or call or email to request an absentee ballot: 802 655 6410 / clerk@winooskivt.gov. Full details available at winooskivt.gov/vote Work continues on the Citywide Reappraisal - notices have been going out to property owners. Full details can be found at winooskivt.gov/reappraisal. For those who don't know, the City of Winooski was ordered by the State of Vermont to complete a citywide reappraisal. State law requires Vermont municipalities to reappraise all forms of property when the Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) falls below 85% or rises above 115%. The purpose of the citywide reappraisal is to ensure that every property taxpayer is paying their fair share of (but not more than) property taxes. The Green Mountain Transit (GMT) Board of Commissioners is looking for a Winooski representative! Do you live in Winooski? Do you have an interest in supporting the GMT bus service, giving back to the community, and representing your neighbors? Visit the news updates section of winooskivt.gov to learn more and apply. VIII. Regular Items a. Discussion: Resident Complaint and Request – E Wang Resident Nick Weiner and City Staff disagree on what exactly the City said it would do when the City re-excavated the street. John Choate says the City agreed to only go as far towards Mr. Wiener’s property as the City’s contractor was likely to have caused damage to the service line. The resident does not recall this, and is relying on the invoice description that says, “curb to chimney.” City Manager Wang then gave a brief history of the situation on West Lane. Resident Nick Weiner explained his understanding of the situation and his expectations. Mr. Weiner stated that the work was not completed as stated on the invoice. Mr. Rauscher also shared the City’s version of the situation. Much discussion ensured. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan and second by Councilor Renner to reimburse Mr. Weiner $400.00 to repair the bur per the Bp Wastewater estimate.as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. b. Discussion/Approval: Winooski United Methodist Church Historic Marker – E Wang Pastor Ellen Ravelin requests permission to place a historic marker in the W. Allen sidewalk at the Winooski United Methodist Church. Ellen Ravelin presented the history of the Buffalo Soldiers and their historic ties to Winooski. Joe Perron also shared the history and the process of getting a historic marker. Mr. Perron also stated that Winooski could benefit from additional visitors. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan second by Councilor Renner to approve the Winooski United Methodist Church Historic Marker as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. c. Discussion/Approval: Nonprofit Funding Requests – K Lott/J Duncan Mayor Lott shared her memo and explained her desire to support the needs expressed by several of the non-profit organizations in our community. Ellen Ravelin and Linda Howe shared the needs of the food shelf. The Director of the Congolese Community had shared in public comment, Discussion ensured. Resident Stephen Berbeco had a comment in support of the memo but also wanted to state that equity of access to the funds is important. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan second by Councilor Oakleaf to approve allocating $50,000.00 of ARPA funds to be used for Community Organizations. Also, to approve giving $5000.00 each to the Food Pantry and the Congolese Community of Vermont as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. d. Discussion/ Approval: Event Permit Application: Wolfsgart AirOut – R Coffey City Manager Wang brought this before the Council. There were some questions regarding the area being utilized and trash removal. MOTION: by Councilor Renner second by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the Event Permit Application as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. e. Discussion/Approval: Inclusion & Belonging Commission Appointment – J Willingham City Clerk Willingham presented Ariano Cano as a candidate to the Council. Ariano Cano has come highly recommended.  MOTION: by Councilor Duncan second by Councilor Hurd to approve the appointment of Ariano Cano as a regular member of the Inclusion & Belonging Commission as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. f. Approval: Planning Commission Appointment – E Vorwald Mr. Vorwald presented Connor Daley to the Council as a candidate for the position of Alternate on the Planning Commission. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan second by Councilor Hurd to approve Connor Daley as an Alternate on the Planning Commission as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. g. Discussion/Approval: Regional Dispatch Update and Fund Balance Request – J Audy Chief Audy gave Council an update on the progress so far. Mayor Lott stated that she is excited to see this moving forward. There were some questions and discussion. MOTION: by Councilor Oakleaf second by Councilor Renner to approve the Regional Dispatch Update and Fund Balance Request as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. h. Discussion: Introduction: Review Amendments to the Unified Land Use & Development Regulations (ULUDR0 – Priority Housing Incentives – E Vorwald Mr. Vorwald presented the proposed changes. Mr. Vorwald then took some questions from the Council. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan second by Councilor Hurd to call for a Public Hearing on August 8,2022 on the proposed amendments. i. Discussion/Approval Strategic Vision Goal Update: Economic Vitality – E Wang City Manager Wang reviewed the process made so far in economic vitality. There was some discussion. Councilor Renner asked about the Equity Director position and when that open position would be filled. City Manager Wang shared the equity training that the staff is currently going through and would like Council to commit to a training soon. Ms. Wang would like to see more training of City employees before hiring occurs. Ms. Wang stated that there is work to do internally. Ms. Wang stated that the previous Equity Director suffered harm by staff and Ms. Wang wants to avoid a future Equity Director failing. MOTION: by Councilor Renner second by Councilor Oakleaf to accept the report as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. j. Discussion/Approval: Reserve Request – Staff Bonuses – E Wang City Manager Wang explained the request. Mayor Lott shared that she supports this request. Some discussion ensued. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan Second by Councilor Hurd to approve the use of $10,233.50 in unassigned fund balance to remit bonuses to AFSCME union staff included in the recently bargained contract as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. MOTION: by Councilor Duncan second by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the use of $22,766.50 in unassigned fund balance to provide one-time bonuses to exempt, non-union staff who took on additional work outside of their normal job description due to staffing vacancies in the last year without additional compensation as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. k. Discussion: City Manager Performance Review Process – K Lott Mayor Lott explained the 90-day review process. The Mayor is seeking a volunteer to collect and aggregate the results. Councilor Oakleaf volunteered for this task. Some discussion ensued. The timeline was discussed and agreed to.  MOTION: by Councilor Renner second by Councilor Duncan to approve the City Manager Review Process as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. IX. Adjourn MOTION: by Councilor Duncan second by Councilor Renner to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST__________________________________________________________________ Angel Lane/Assistant City Clerk