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, October 16, 2023, at 6 PM Attend in person: Winooski City Hall (27 W Allen St) Attend online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84364849328 Attend by phone: 1 646 558 8656 Webinar ID: 843 6484 9328 I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott, Councilor Thomas Renner, Councilor Bryn Oakleaf, Councilor Aurora Hurd, Councilor Charles Judge Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager, Paul Sarne, Communications Director, Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works, Ray Coffey, Community Services Director, Jenny Willingham, City Clerk, Amanda Casper, Assistant City Clerk Others Present: Sam Nelis, Karol Cannon II. Agenda Review Minutes: Item J: Municipal Planning Grant Application Authorization was moved from Consent Agenda to Regular Items as Item F: Municipal Planning Grant Application Authorization. III. Public Comment Minutes: Karol Cannon addressed Council and Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director, about stenciling “stop” and/or “slow” on residential streets as a safety precaution. Jon Rauscher addressed Karol’s inquiries directly. IV. Consent Agenda A. City Council Minutes of October 2, 2023 B. Payroll Warrant 09.17.23 – 09.30.23 C. Accounts Payable 10.11.23 D. Accounts Payable 10.12.23 E. Subsequent to Payout Warrant for May 2023  F. Subsequent to Payout Warrant for June 2023 G. Subsequent to Payout Warrant for July 2023 H. Subsequent to Payout Warrant for August 2023 I. Public Safety and Public Works Administration Assistant Title, Purpose, Funding Source Draft – Jesse Acri, Human Resources Director Minutes: Items A through I from the Consent Agenda were presented to Council for approval. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Oakleaf and seconded by Councilor Hurd. Voted and passed 5-0. V. Council Reports Mayor Kristine Lott: reported that at the last Planning Commission meeting the group wrapped up work on a new Historic Register and Advisory Board for which a public hearing will be held at their November 9th meeting. The next Planning and Commission meeting is October 26th and this is when they will be reviewing updates to the Regulations that are necessary due Act 47 and the housing changes from the State of Vermont. Elaine Wang, City Manager, and Mayor Kristine Lott attended a Tenants Training Session hosted at the Winooski School by the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity along with the Winooski Housing Authority and Vermont Legal Services. Around 12 dozen people attended and many were connected to the resources they needed. There are plans to host a few more sessions. Wednesday, October 18th Mayor Lott will attend the monthly Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and will report back. Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner: Downtown Winooski meets Tuesday, October 17th. With Halloween coming up, Downtown Winooski and the City will need volunteers to help with picking, transporting, and carving pumpkins. If you are interested in helping to create Winooski’s pumpkin extravaganza, please go to downtownwinooski.org for more information. Renner reported that over the weekend he volunteered with the Winooski Food Shelf and found it to be a great opportunity to connect with residents that don’t typically reach out or come to council meetings. If you are a resident of Winooski and would like to volunteer or donate to the Winooski Food Shelf, they are always in need of volunteers as most days they are operating under quota for volunteers, so if you are interested visit: winooskifoodshelf.org Councilor Aurora Hurd: reported that they met with Safe, Healthy, Connected People on October 10th for a presentation of the final round of feedback sessions on the Winooski Bike/Pedestrian Masterplan. The information presented was a draft version of information gathered from the community. For additional information on meetings and recordings check out the CCRPC website: CCRPCVT.org. On October 12th Inclusion and Belonging met and introduced their two new members as well as provided additional feedback on the summary that has been created for the Equity Audit. The feedback is thinking about ways to better communicate, such as getting additional details on what audit meant by affordable housing, as well as, how to communicate further on how the City and School work together and how they don’t. Looking forward to the commission thinking about planning some discussions on the current structure of the commission on how it may or may not being working, now that the Inclusion and Belonging Commission is just over a year old. Two new ambassadors were introduced: Anna who will be on the Safe, Healthy, and Connected People Commission and Lily who will be on the Housing Commission. Councilor Bryn Oakleaf: reported that the Airport Commission’s next meeting will be on November 1st. Regular Items will always include Sound Insulation as well as Noise Exposure Map Complaint Tracking.  The contract for updating the Noise Exposure Map is underway, the first technical advisory meeting was this past week. As they progress along with updating the map there will be Public Hearings in 2024 to review the draft maps. There is a proposed lease extension for VTANG that will be going to the Burlington City Council meeting for a vote on October 23 rd and anyone from Winooski is allowed to attend that meeting and provide Public Comment. The next Municipal Infrastructure Committee meeting will be this Thursday, October 19, 2023. It will be a joint meeting with the Finance Commission. Together they will be reviewing Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Priorities and Capital Projects for City Staff and City Council to review as they develop the draft budget. The next Bridge Committee is likely not going to meet until the end of November, no additional date has been set yet. The next Public Hearing will happen sometime in January in Burlington since the first Public Hearing was held in Winooski. The Public Hearing will be held in person as well as a remote option. Councilor Charles Judge: reported that on Tuesday, October 10th from 3pm – 4pm the Winooski Housing Commission leadership met to set the agenda meeting, they’ll meet Tuesday, October 24th at 6pm. At the meeting the Housing Initiative Director, Jazmine Hurley and the new Chair, Jessica Bridge went over housekeeping items, including a script written by Hurley that will be used for upcoming commission meetings to allow for a smoother transition of leadership. Future agenda items include the ongoing conversation and exploration of various short term rental regulations, as well as ways to fund the Winooski Housing Trust Fund. The full agenda for the meeting has not been sent out yet. VI. City Updates Halloween in Winooski Downtown Winooski and the City of Winooski are excited to bring you our 2023 Halloween in Winooski event October 28th & 29th! This beloved community tradition is a favorite seasonal event for residents and visitors. Come see the amazing display of 1000 jack-o-lanterns, enjoy music and activities for kids, and event specials from local vendors and businesses. For details and to learn more about how you can volunteer during the event, visit downtownwinooski.org/Halloween. Chief of Police Executive Search Firm Chosen I’ve executed an agreement with the Police Chief search firm, JW Leadership Consulting, and we had our kick-off meeting today. More information, including community input opportunities to come. Note that the current Police Chief adjusted his last day a bit to November 25. We’re projecting making an offer to a new Chief near the end of January, so we’ll have an interim arrangement for two months. Those details are still being discussed. VII. Regular Items A. Discussion: Treasurer’s reports on fiscal year 2022-2023 and first quarter of 2023-2024 – Johnathan Fenney, Treasurer Minutes: Johnathan Fenney, Treasurer, and Angela Aldieri, Finance Director, presented Council key take aways from the 2023 and first quarter of 2024 fiscal year. Fenney reported that the City of Winooski is seeing a return of funds to pre-pandemic levels with some lingering effects. Fenny and Aldieri took questions from Council. Discussion ensued. B. Discussion/Approval: Investing City Cash Reserves – Angela Aldieri, Finance Director Minutes: Angela Aldieri, Finance Director, presented Council with her findings on looking into Investing City Cash Reserves and offered her suggestions on which financial institution the City of Winooski should go with: TD Bank. Mayor Lott confirmed investment rates and coverage with Angela. Discussion ensued. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Renner. Voted and passed 5- 0. C. Discussion/Approval: Award of Main Street Revitalization Construction Contract – Jonathan Rauscher, Public Works Director Minutes: Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director presented Council with Main Street Revitalization Construction Contract for approval so that the City Manager may award the contract. Rauscher informed Council of the bid process for the contract, deadlines, and the extension of the deadline we have been offered. Rauscher also presented an overview of the planned project. Mayor Lott and Councilor Oakleaf inquired more about costs being covered by the City and project details. Discussion ensued. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Judge, seconded by Councilor Hurd. Voted and passed 5-0. D. Discussion/Approval: Main Street Revitalization Interim Financing Resolution – Angela Aldieri, Finance Director Minutes: Angela Aldieri, Finance Director presented Council with the Main Street Revitalization Interim Financing Resolution. The financing for this project has been previously approved by Council with USDA but to move forward with the project USDA is requiring the City to obtain Interim Financing for an estimated 3 years. Aldieri explained that the City has exhausted our ability to do bank qualified tax exempt for this calendar year with the Abenaki Garage borrowing, limiting our ability to go out to commercial lenders due to them being unable to meet our terms. Aldieri explained that this, along with a recommendation from the School District, is how we decided on Municipal Capital Markets. Aldieri took questions from Council. Discussion ensued. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Hurd, seconded by Councilor Renner. Voted and passed 5-0. E. Discussion: Strategic Vision Area Goal Update – Housing – Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director Minutes: Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director, presented Council with a Housing Strategic Vision Area Goal Update. Hurley clarified the ordinance adoptions that happened earlier this month have changes forthcoming with just a little more time needed. Changes are expected to be seen this Fall. Hurley updated Council on airport sound mitigation. The timing and selection of qualifying homes is still pending. Hurley reported on rental protection and short-term rental goals. Changes are in process with a hearing date of November 6th. Hurley also presented Council with ways in which she and the Housing Commission have been working to better improve the Housing Trust Fund Program offerings and reach within the community. Hurley took questions from Council. Discussion ensued. F. Discussion/Approval: Municipal Planning Grant Application authorization – Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director Minutes: Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director, took questions from Council to clarify the Municipal Planning Grant Application. The goal being to keep Winooski Housing affordable for the  community and to move towards being more equitable. Discussion ensued. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Judge. Voted and passed 5-0. VIII. Adjourn Motion to adjourn by Councilor Judge, seconded by Councilor Hurd. Voted and passed 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:37 PM Attest: ________________________________________ Amanda Casper, Assistant City Clerk