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, April 17, 2023, at 6 PM I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:18 PM. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott, Councilor Thomas Renner, Councilor Bryn Oakleaf, Councilor Aurora Hurd, and Councilor Charles Judge Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager, Eric Vorwald, Planning and Zoning Manager, Ray Coffey, Community Services Director, James Charkalis, Police Lieutenant, John Audy, Fire Chief, Bruce Palmer, Asst Fire Chief, Paul Sarne, Communications Director, Jesse Acri, Human Resources Director, Jenny Willingham, City Clerk, Amanda Casper, Asst City Clerk and Angela Aldieri, Finance Director Others Present: Meredith Bay-Tyack, Downtown Winooski, Melissa Corbin, Downtown Winooski, Brannon Soter, Patrick Kelly, Camille Clark, Marguerite Adelman, Jennifer Decker, Cara Montague, Robert Ackland, James Leas II. Agenda Review Minutes: Council reviewed the Agenda and Mayor Lott proposed an amendment to add an Executive Session to discuss a personnel matter. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Oakleaf and seconded by Councilor Renner to adopt the amended agenda. Voted and passed 4-0. III. Public Comment None IV. Consent Agenda A. Approval: City Council and Liquor Control Board Minutes of April 3, 2023 B. Approval: Payroll Warrant March 19 - April 1, 2023 C. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant April 5, 2023 Motion: A motion was made Councilor Renner and seconded by Councilor Judge. Voted and passed 4-0. V. Council Reports Minutes: Councilor Judge announce that the Housing Commission will be meeting on Thursday April 20, 2023 [misspoken: correct date is May 4, 2023]. Councilor Renner announced that Meredith Bay-Tyack would be presenting the Council with Downtown Winooski updates later in the meeting. Mayor Lott announced: • The Airport Commission updated their website www.btvsound.com to include a map to include properties that are in the que for noise mitigation in the next year. Mayor Lott informed Council that their next grant application is due May 1, 2023 and following that we will receive an updated list of further properties to be included in the noise mitigation. Noise Comment data has now been overlayed with flight paths and is being shared at every Airport Commission meeting. • The Council hosted an annual convening of the chairs of their Policy Advisory Commissions to discuss potential shared priority recommendations for City Council and Staff Leadership for the Annual Strategic Prioritization Session on Saturday, May 13, 2023. That meeting is open to the public with more information to come. • The Finance Commission met to discuss priorities and reviewed the City’s Economic Development Strategies to check on progress and see how that will inform future priorities. • The Planning Commission met and discussed creating a new Design Review District that would add another layer to the permit review process in a designation part of the city, as a strategy to help with historic preservation. The Planning Commission will be holding a public hearing on Thursday, April 27, 2023 on proposed changes to our Land Use Regulations. • Mayor Lott met with the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance where a discussion was held about how teachers in the county are on the frontline of discovering housing instabilities with their students and their families with little resources to assist and how the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance can help mediate to get the schools and families the resources they need. • Mayor Lott and City Manager Elaine Wang attended a Winooski School District event on Saturday, April 15, 2023 to meet with parents that are multilingual to share information on housing, voting, and general city involvement and to answer any questions the parents had for the City of Winooski. • Mayor Lott congratulated the School District and the Community on the official completion of the Capital Project which culminated with a ribbon cutting ceremony two weeks ago. There will be a public open house to come. Councilor Oakleaf announced: • The Infrastructure Commission will not be meeting this month due to not having enough on the agenda.  • Green Up Day is May 6, 2023, be sure to be on the lookout for updates and information coming from the city channels. • The Bike Pad Master Plan has an advisory group Open House at the O’Brien Community Center on April 26, 2023 from 4 PM to 7PM. Councilor Hurd announced: • The Safe, Healthy, Connected People Commission did not meet this month due to not having enough on the agenda. • The Inclusion and Belonging did not meet last week due to not having quorum and will be rescheduling to meet before bring items to Council. VI. City Updates Minutes: As a reminder, the City Clerk’s Office is currently experiencing a staff shortage and has changed their regular hours, which are 8 AM – 4 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, closed on Tuesdays. Our Summer Teen Employment Program is now accepting applications! We have three seasonal, part-time positions that directly support community engagement in Winooski. All three positions run in May and June this summer and pay $15/hr – youth ages 16 and up are encouraged to apply – the positions are; • Counselor in Training: supervise and support participants in our after school camps and Community Services programs; • Library Assistant: support various operations at the Winooski Memorial Library such as circulation, programs, customer service, and administrative tasks; • and Parks and Trail Crew Member: maintain Winooski’s trails, parks, and open spaces with our Recreation and Parks team Learn more and apply at winooskivt.gov/jobs The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission is hosting a Community Workshop for the Winooski Walk/Bike Plan on Wednesday, April 26 – 4 PM at the O’Brien Community Center. There will be an open house, project presentation, and Q&A. This project, with support from VHB, aims to create a comprehensive walk/bike plan for Winooski with a prioritized set of infrastructure recommendations and planning level cost estimates. To learn more, visit the news updates section of winooskivt.gov or look for updates on our social media and Front Porch Forum channels. VII. Regular Items A. Discussion/Approval: Inclusion & Belonging Commission Appointment - Jenny Willingham, City Clerk  Minutes: Jenny Willingham, City Clerk presented the Council with Inclusion & Belonging Commission Appointment, Ruth Steinmetz for approval. Discussion ensued about applicant. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Renner and seconded by Councilor Judge for approval. Voted and passed 4-0. B. Discussion: Vermont Air National Guard (VTANG) 158th Fighter Wing Fire and Emergency Services - John Audy, Fire Chief, VTANG Fire Chief Soter and Environmental Manager Shannon Kelly Minutes: John Audy, Fire Chief, Brannon Sotter, VTANG Fire Chief, and Shannon Kelly, Environmental Manager presented the Council with an overview of VTANG services and what they bring to the City of Winooski. They addressed questions and concerns from Council before Council opened the floor to the public. Discussion ensued over logistics and public safety concerns over PFAS and PFOA chemicals used in flammable liquid fire response by VTANG. C. Discussion: Downtown Winooski Mid-Year Update and Executive Director Introduction - Elaine Wang, City Manager, Meredith Bay-Tyack, Melissa Corbin, Downtown Winooski Minutes: Elaine Wang, City Manager introduced Downtown Winooski and Meredith Bay- Tyack gave an overview on what Downtown Winooski is, why it is needed, what purpose it serves to the community of Winooski, and how they work alongside the City of Winooski to align with the City’s Economic Vitality goals. Discussion ensued with Council for more clarification on budgeting, funding, and upcoming events scheduled. Meredith Bay-Tyack introduced Council to Melissa Corbin, Meredith’s successor, and gave an overview of Melissa’s knowledge and experience that they bring to the role. Melissa Corbin thanked Meredith and the Council for the warm welcome and shared excited for the position and love for the Winooski Community. The Council welcomed Melissa Corbin to the position and thanked Meredith Bay-Tyack for her commitment to the Winooski Community and all the work she has done for Downtown Winooski. D. Discussion/Approval: Personnel Policy Update – Health Club Membership - Jesse Acri, Human Resources Director Minutes: Jesse Acri, Human Resources Director presented the Council with a Personnel Policy Update for Health Club Membership to include but be limited to: gym memberships, stress management, sleep management applications, and fitness equipment at the discretion of the City Manager and at the discretion of the Human Resources Manager. The financial impact is considered to be negligible as the payout is staying the same. Discussion ensued over clarification of language used and what all would be covered. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Renner and seconded by Councilor Oakleaf. Voted and passed 4-0 E. Discussion: Operational Overviews - Police, Dispatch, Fire, and Code Enforcement - Lieutenant James Charkalis, John Audy, Fire Chief  Minutes: Lieutenant James Charkalis presented Council with Operational Overviews for Police and Dispatch. Lieutenant James Charkalis updated Council on the progress for the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) to date as well as proposed goals and initiatives for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). Discussion ensued between Council and Lieutenant over clarifications of overview as well as recruitment and retention. John Audy, Fire Chief and Bruce Palmer, Fire Marshall presented Council with the Operational Overviews for Fire and Code Enforcement. John Audy reiterated that the City of Winooski has a combined Firefighting and Community Risk Reduction focus which is unique, since most Fire Departments have a combine EMS and Firefighting focus. He also discussed what that means for Winooski. John Audy discussed the ongoing recruitment and retention concerns. A strategic vision of Fiscal Year 2023 Accomplishments to Date were presented to Council as well as goals and priorities for Fiscal Year 2024. Discussion ensued. F. Discussion/Approval: Annual Approval of Local Emergency Management Plan (LEMP) - John Audy, Fire Chief Minutes: John Audy, Fire Chief presented Council with the Local Emergency Plan (LEMP) for annual approval. Discussion ensued. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Renner and seconded by Councilor Judge. Voted and passed 4-0 G. Discussion/Approval: Request for Use of Reserves – Emergency Lock Box Program - John Audy, Fire Chief Minutes: John Audy, Fired Chief requested Use of Reserves for the Emergency Lock Box Program. John Audy gave an overview of what the Emergency Lock Boxes are, how they will be used, and why they are needed. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Judge seconded by Councilor Renner. Voted and passed 4-0 H. Discussion: Strategic Vision Area Goal Update - Safe, Healthy, Connected People - Ray Coffey, Community Services Director Minutes: Ray Coffey, Community Services Director gave an update of the Strategic Vision Area for Safe, Healthy, Connected People to Council. Discussion ensued. I. Discussion: Items for City Council Strategies & Priorities Retreat - Mayor Kristine Lott Minutes: Mayor Kristine Lott led the discussion of Items for the City Council Strategies and Priorities Retreat on May 13, 2023. Discussion ensued. VIII. Executive Session  Mayor Lott requested the Council go into 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 to discuss a personnel matter. Motion: A motion by Councilor Renner and seconded by Councilor Judge. Voted and passed 4-0. Minutes: Executive Session was entered at 10:11 PM with Elaine Wang, City Manager. Executive Session was ended at 10:31 PM. IX. Adjourn A motion was made by Councilor Oakleaf and seconded by Councilor Renner to adjourn the meeting at 10:32 PM. Voted and passed 4-0. Attest _______________________________________________________ Amanda Casper, Assistant City Clerk