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 Tuesday, January 2, 2024 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 Aurora Hurd; Deputy Mayor/Councilor Thomas Renner; Councilor Bryn Oakleaf. Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Barabara Pitfido, Senior Programs Manager, John Audy Jr, Fire Chief; Justin Huizenga, Interim Police Chief; James Charkalis, Police Lieutenant; Paul Sarne, Communications Director; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director; Jenny Willingham, City Clerk; Sarah Greenberg, Assistant City Clerk. Others Present: Melissa Corbin, Executive Director Downtown Winooski, Judy Lance, Connor Daley, Isabella Spano, Desiree, Jeff, WPD2. II. Agenda Review III. Public Comment IV. Consent Agenda A. Approval: City Council Minutes of December 11, 2023 B. Approval: Accounts Payable December 28, 2023 C. Approval: Payroll Warrants November 26 – December 9, 2023, December 10 – 23, 2023 Minutes: Items A to C of the Consent Agenda were presented to Council for approval. Motion: A motion to Approve was made by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Hurd. Voted and passed 3-0.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov V. Council Reports Councilor Hurd: The last Safe, Healthy, Connected People Commission meeting had presentations by the City library Committee and Staff. There has been a large jump in usage of the library, including a 76.3% jump in in- person visits, and a 46% jump in eBook and audio book use/requests. The Library committee’s presentation highlighted that the City library ranks last in square footage, collections size, and staffing levels for libraries serving similar populations. Similar libraries average 8 paid staff positions, Winooski has only 3 paid Library staff positions, and is only open an average of 34 hours in any given week compared to similar library’s 43 hours. At the last bi-monthly Inclusion and Belonging meeting there was an in-depth conversation about how the ambassador role to other Commissions is and isn’t working. Some suggestions were enfranchising Ambassadors with voting rights on Commissions and finding times to meet with commissioners and/or receive meeting minutes from Commission meetings for which Ambassadors were not required to be in attendance. Councilor Oakleaf: Infrastructure Commission met on 12/21/2023 and discussed the walk-bike plan. They are awaiting changes to the draft plan and discussed having an additional public comment meeting on the 18th in the Myer’s Pool community room to continue the discussion about Lafountain/Dion Street scoping project. The Airport Commission meeting will be on the 17th. The noise exposure map meeting will be on the 18th. The next Winooski bridge replacement public hearing will be at the Winooski School District on the 23rd. Mayor Lott: Join Mayor Weinberger of Burlington last month to present shared priorities from the cities of Burlington and Winooski to state legislators where they heard from some state legislators about the work they have underway to address the overdose epidemic, and crime and public safety concerns. Last month's Planning Commission meeting included a continued review of the City’s zoning ordinances with an eye to updates that will be necessary to meet the requirements of the HOMES Act. Zoning Administrator Eric Vorwald presented reductions to our dimensional standards (minimum lot sizes, coverage, setbacks, frontage, depth, etc.) that better match existing development in the city and would make 3- and 4-unit buildings more developmentally viable. The Planning Commission seemed supportive of the proposed changes. The Planning Commission is going back to meeting twice monthly, on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 6:30pm. The Planning Commission and Housing Commission Chairs, City Staff, and Council liaisons will meet later this month to coordinate on holding a joint meeting some time in February. Councilor Renner: Downtown Winooski has not been able to meet as a full board due to live-balance circumstances. Monthly Blingo continues and will be on the 9th at Onion City Chicken and Oyster.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov VI. City Updates Budget Season: Tonight continues the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) City Staff budget presentations. Tonight has Public Safety presentations by the Winooski Fire Dept (WFD) and Winooski Police Dept (WPD). The full schedule of City Staff budget presentations and all information concerning the City budget can be found at winooskivt.gov/fy25 and people are encouraged to reach out to budget@winooskivt.gov or call 802 655 6410 with any questions/comments/concerns. City Police Chief Survey: The City is seeking input on hiring the next City of Winooski Police Chief. Please visit winooskivt.gov/survey to fill out an anonymous survey or visit City Hall to fill out a paper survey by Friday the 5th. Town Meeting Day Election: Want to run for City Office? The offices of Mayor, 2 councilors, 3 school board trustees, and the Champlain Water District Commissioners are up for election this Town Meeting Day (March 5th). Any resident of Winooski is welcome to file a Consent of Candidate form and a petition with 30+ resident signatures with the City Clerk’s office by 5 PM on the 25th to be included on the ballot. Dog Licenses: Dog licenses for the 2024 calendar year are now available. Per State law any dogs owned in the City must be registered with the City Clerk’s office on or before April 1st. Visit the Clerk’s office Monday-Friday 8 AM - 4 PM to complete this process. Please be sure to bring with you a copy of the dog’s valid rabies certificate. Any questions can be directed to the City Clerk’s email at clerk@winooskivt.gov or by calling 802 655 6410. VII. Regular Items A. Discussion: Fiscal Year 2025 Staff Budget Presentations: Public Safety – John Audy, Fire Chief, Justin Huizinga, Interim Chief of Police Minutes: Fire Chief John Audy gave a presentation that focused on the Public Safety Departments of Fire & Building Code Enforcement. Key points were made concerning: Staffing Levels: There is a local, regional, and national shortage of emergency service workers to which Winooski is not immune. There is a span of time over night (6 PM to 6 AM) where the only City Fire Dept staff “on the clock” are on-call staff who respond to calls as available. The budget increases proposed by the Chief include adding a full time Fire Captain to increase some overnight coverage (specifically M-F 3 PM -11 PM). Code Enforcement – Building Inspections: New building projects, aging buildings falling into disrepair, and inflation increasing building materials and repair costs have all contributed to a rise in the need for new building inspections and building re-inspections. Equipment Maintenance: The City is down to one fire truck that needs repair to its electrical system and ladder. Likewise, the City’s inventory of Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses requires regular costly maintenance. Extensive Council discussion ensued.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov A 5-minute recess was called at 7:37 PM. Council resumed at 7:42 PM. Continued Discussion: City Manager Elaine began by reminding Council that Interim Police Chief Justin Huizenga was appointed to the role very recently (November 2nd, 2023), and that the budget he would be presenting tonight was developed mostly under the previous Chief of Police, Chief Hebert. Interim Police Chief Huizenga gave a presentation where key points were made concerning: Staffing Levels: There is a local, regional, and national shortage of emergency service workers to which Winooski is not immune. In FY25 there will be contractually required increases in full-time salaries and benefits for union police officers. The WPD is proposing to increase the number of police officer positions to 16 (up from the current number of positions of 15). There are currently only 12 officer positions filled, resulting in delayed response times and significant officer burnout. Building Improvements: Other than a small amount of work in the dispatch center in 2015, the police station has been relatively unchanged since it was built. Career Development: Carrying open positions severely limits the opportunity to send WPD command staff and mid-level managers to training opportunities. Regional Dispatch: Public Safety Communications Task force is working on the legislative mandates for statewide communication options. Extensive Council discussion on the above topics ensued. B. Discussion/Approval: Rescind Loan Approval to and Approve Prepayment Arrangement with Downtown Winooski - Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: After City Council’s December 11th, 2023 approval of the loan to Downtown Winooski as recommended by the City Manager, information was received that Vermont municipalities are not explicitly empowered by state law to issue direct loans. The City Attorney advised that the intent of City Council in their December 11th action could be achieved by a legally allowable prepayment arrangement. This is because the City provides payments to Downtown Winooski annually from sidewalk permit fees and local options taxes. The amount from local options taxes alone has always been much larger than the $36,000 requested loan. The Downtown Winooski Executive Director was consulted and agreed to the change. Approval of Council to authorize a check issued at this meeting was asked so those prepayment funds could be made available to Downtown Winooski sooner. If Approved, Staff then include the payment in the January 8th, 2024 ‘Subsequent to Payout’ warrant. Motion: A motion to Approve the prepayment agreement was made by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Renner. Voted and passed 3-0. C. Discussion/Approval: City Manager Review Process - Mayor Kristine Lott Minutes: A schedule was proposed, and Deputy Mayor Renner was volunteered to lead the City Manager Review process. Motion: A motion to Approve the above was made by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Hurd. Voted and passed 3-0.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov VIII. Adjourn A motion to adjourn was made by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Renner. Voted and passed 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:59 PM. Attest: _____________________________________________________________ Sarah Greenberg, Assistant City Clerk