City Council

City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Winooski City Council Meeting Monday, December 5, 2022, at 6 PM Attend online: us06web.zoom.us/j/88120733591 Attend by phone: 1 646 558 8656 Webinar ID: 881 2073 3591 Attend in-person: Winooski City Hall (27 West Allen St) I. Call to Order II. Agenda Review III. Public Comment IV. Consent Agenda a; Approval: City Council Minutes of 11.7.22 and 11.28.22 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrants 11.16.22, 11.18.22, 12.01.22 c. Approval: Payroll Warrants 10.30.22 - 11.12.22, 11.13.22 - 11.26.22 V. Council Reports VI. City Updates VII. Regular Items a. Discussion/Approval: Assessor’s Office Errors & Omissions - Elaine Wang, City b. FY24 Budget Presentation: Overall Budget Presentation & General Government - Elaine Wang, City Manager c. Discussion: Strategic Vision Area Goal Update - Economic Vitality - Elaine Wang, City Manager d. Discussion: Consider Airport Commissioner Appointment - Elaine Wang, City Manager VIII. Executive Session a. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. §313 (2) the negotiation of real estate purchase or lease options related to Lot 7D (Abenaki Way) IX. Regular Items a. Discussion/Approval: announce an agreement if any is reached during executive session X. Adjourn MINUTES The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:07 pm. Councilor Oakleaf led the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Deputy Mayor James Duncan Councilors: Bryn Oakleaf, Aurora Hurd, Thomas Renner Officer’s Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Janet Brouard, Sr Asst City Clerk; Paul Sarne, Communications Director; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; John Audy, Fire Chief; Rick Hebert, Police Chief; Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director; Eric Vorwald, Planning/Zoning Manager; Jenny Willingham, City Clerk; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director. Other’s Present: Town Meeting TV, Francine, Marielle Matthews, Heather Carrington, Arica Bronz, Daisy Berbeco, Indra Acharya, Abdimajiid Mohamed, Margaret Bass, Mary Hussman, Thea Wurzburg, Ryan Johnston, Corali Bisbee, Bruce Wilson, Andy, Sam Russo, Hal Colston, Meghan, Amelie Thurston, Bill Niquette, Melo Grant, Robert Millar, WSD Antiracism Steering Committee. Courtney Fleischer, SurjBTV, Erick Nsabimana, Hadija Uwizeye. II. Agenda Review – None III. Public Comment – None IV. Consent Agenda a; Approval: City Council Minutes of 11.7.22 and 11.28.22 b. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrants 11.16.22, 11.18.22, 12.01.22 c. Approval: Payroll Warrants 10.30.22 - 11.12.22, 11.13.22 - 11.26.22 MOTION by Councilor Renner seconded by Councilor Hurd to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. V. Council Reports Councilor Hurd - said the next Inclusion and Belonging meeting will be this Thursday December 8th at 6:00 pm. it will be a virtual meeting. The Safe, Healthy Connected People meeting will be on December 13th at 6:30 pm. Councilor Oakleaf - reported that the Municipal Infrastructure Commission met on November 17th. It was a joint meeting with the Finance Commission. They continued to work on capital assets, ARPA fund allocations and future opportunities to for city improvements. The next meeting will focus on a work plan review and will be held at the community room at the pool. Mayor Lott – The Planning Commission continued their work on revisions to parking requirements. The next meeting will be December 8th at 6:30 pm. There was some discussion to bring back the Design Review Committee. She met with Town Meeting TV’s Board of Trustee, might have an applicant. We are still conducting the listening sessions at the Senior Center for ARPA uses. We are also continuing outreach with the school to get youth input as well. The ARPA survey is still active on the website. Please feel free to call or email any Council member with suggestions. Deputy Mayor Duncan – reported that the next Housing Commission meeting will be December 8th at 6:00 pm. They continue to work on the public building registry. Heart Winooski met to award funding to member of Winooski School District. He met with Winooski Housing Authority residents for a listening session. He  wanted to hear their views on various issues within the City. ARPA spending priorities was the main topic. He hopes to continue these sessions alternating between each housing facility. Councilor Renner – nothing to report from the Downtown Winooski Board. The ARPA session held at the Senior Center was well attended and a similar session will be held at St Francis School on December 7th. Look forward to hearing from some students on their perspective. The Pop Up held last Thursday was a great success!! VI. City Updates • On behalf of our community and our Fire Department, we wanted to thank the Fire and Rescue Departments of St. Michael’s College, Vermont Air National Guard, Burlington, South Burlington, Colchester, Essex, and Williston for supporting our response to the structure fire at 72 East Allen Street. Although the structure was a total loss and several people are now displaced, the efforts of about 70 firefighters and rescue personnel on scene ensured their safety and that the neighboring buildings were not damaged. I also want to thank our own Fire department and leadership for their tireless and effective work this weekend. • The Winooski Fire and Police Departments have partnered with Operation Fire Cuffs and the University of Vermont Children's Hospital for their annual holiday toy drive! Donations can be delivered at the following locations: o Winooski Fire Department (120 Main St) - use back parking lot door o Winooski City Hall (27 W Allen St) - M - F, 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM, entrance on Weaver St. o Winooski Police Department (27 W Allen St) - enter at lobby, 24/7 To see the list of recommended donation items and for more info, visit the news updates section of winooskivt.gov • As you know, tonight official marks the start of Fiscal Year 2024 budget season! Community members are encouraged to get engaged in the process, and we are glad to see the many folks joining tonight on Zoom. To see the full budget and meeting schedule, please visit winooskivt.gov/fy24. Questions? Contact us at 802 655 6410 / budget@winooskivt.gov or get in touch with me or your Councilors directly. • Winooski Recreation and Parks are excited to announce their slate of 2022/2023 winter programs – which include Youth Basketball, Adult Yoga, a special February Break Camp for grades K – 5, Winter-themed outdoor activities, Friday afternoon outings, and more. Visit winooskivt.gov/rec programs to sign up today • As we head into the holiday months, the City of Winooski encourages our residents and visitors to do everything they can to prevent the spread of COVID-19. More COVID-19 illness is to be expected as people are spending more time gathering indoors and over the holidays – for info on vaccines, testing, masks, and other resources – visit winooskivt.gov/covid-19. Free take-home test kits are available while supplies last during the open hours of Winooski City Hall, the Winooski Memorial Library, and the Winooski Senior Center. • Winter parking ban reminder: Overnight Street parking is prohibited in Downtown Winooski from 2:30 AM to 6 AM from December 1st to March 31st. For the rest of the city, winter parking bans are made on a case-by-case, weather-dependent basis or for area-specific snow removal where overnight street parking is prohibited from 11 PM to 7 AM. To receive up-to-date winter parking ban alerts, sign up for NIXLE by texting ‘Winooski’ to 888-777. For full details about winter parking bans in Winooski, please visit winooskivt.gov/parking VII. Regular Items a. Discussion/Approval: Assessor’s Office Errors & Omissions – E Wang Ms. Wang presented two corrections to the 2022 Grand list. Both are Personal Property accounts. The first was deleted on the 2021 Grand list but was carried over to 2022 in error. The reason for the second one is that the property is no longer in the City of Winooski. The removal of these two accounts will decrease the Grand list by $146,959 and decrease revenue by $2,102.45. MOTION by Councilor Hurd seconded by Councilor Renner to approve the Assessor’s Office Errors & Omissions as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. b. FY24 Budget Presentation: Overall Budget Presentation & General Government – E Wang City Manager Wang presented the FY24 budget process. She explained this will be a long presentation with a lot of information that she will try to simplify. The budget process starts with keeping in line with the Strategic Vision set forth by the Council. City staff have worked very diligently to bring forth two budget scenarios; the first being level funded services that results in a 14.53% tax rate increase and the second reduced to a 5% tax rate increase. Ms. Wang walked through how each scenario was arrived at illustrating the recommended expense cuts and anticipated revenues. She ended with what her proposed budget will be to Council. Tonight’s departmental presentation will be focused on the General Administration budget. Each Council meeting from now until February we will present individual department budgets that will give the opportunity to dive deeper in the weeds, if necessary. Several members of the public voiced their opposition to some of the proposed budget cuts, specifically not filling the Equity Director and the Youth Interventionalist positions. Others offered suggestions and recommendations that City Manager Wang said she would take into consideration. The Mayor thanked everyone for their thoughts and concerns. This is a particularly challenging time of year, and these discussions are good to have. The Mayor called a 5-minute recess, to reconvene the meeting at 7:57pm. c. Discussion: Strategic Vision Area Goal Update – Economic Vitality – E Wang Ms. Wang said the attached memo is very self-explanatory. One item she wanted to mention is that the letters for the sidewalk permit changes did not go out as previous stated would. We still have some minor changes that need to be done. d. Discussion/Approval: Consider Airport Commissioner Appointment – E Wang City Manager Wang stated that the Burlington Airport Commission is an advisory body accountable to the Burlington City Council. It has a responsibility to provide advice on all matters related to the operation of the Airport, including financial matters. City Council may delegate additional Airport related duties to the Commission. The Commission meets once a month. Commissioner terms are three years. Ms. Wang said Eric Vorwald, who has been serving as Winooski’s Airport Commissioner, discovered that he is not eligible to be appointed because he is not a legally registered voter of Winooski. It is preferred that a Council member be appointed, however you can decide to advertise it out to the public. One concern voiced was that currently the meetings are held on Wednesdays at 4:00pm. There has been some talk of changing the time due to difficulties for members to attend. Councilor Duncan offered to serve as interim until such time as a permanent replacement is found. Ms. Wang said the Mr. Vorwald is willing to continue to attend the meeting as a member of the public, but to serve as back up as well. Councilor Oakleaf suggested the option of Council sharing the role. Mayor Lott agreed to reach out to the Airport to see about altering the meeting time and will come back to Council for further discussion. MOTION by Councilor Oakleaf seconded by Councilor Renner to find that the following discussion will put the City at a disadvantage and should be discussed in Executive Session. Voted and passed 4-0. MOTION by Councilor Renner seconded by Councilor Hurd to enter in Executive Session at 8:30 pm and invite Elaine Wang, City Manager, Angela Aldieri, Finance Director, Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director, Bill Niquette and Doug Nedde. Voted and passed 4-0. VIII. Executive Session a. Executive Session pursuant to 1 V.S.A. Section 313 (2) the negotiation of real estate purchase or lease options related to Lot 7D (Abenaki Way) MOTION by Councilor Renner seconded by Councilor Hurd to adjourn Executive Session at 11:15 pm. Voted and passed 4-0. IX. Regular Items a. Discussion/Approval: Announce an agreement if any is reached during Executive Session MOTION by Councilor Renner seconded by Councilor Duncan to commit $11.4 million for the garage on Lot 7D and commit to seek financing or alternative funding up to $11.6 million as outlined in the 12/5 financial proposal, contingent upon renegotiation of the settlement agreement, including removal of the right of alternative use from the south unit from the agreement, and authorize the City Manager to execute said agreement, as well as enter into an agreement with the Echo financing agency. Voted and passed 4-0. X. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Hurd seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to adjourn the meeting at 11:20 pm. Voted and passed 4-0. ATTEST: ______________________________________ Sr Asst City Clerk