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, May 6, 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 6:02 PM. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott, Councilor Thomas Renner, Councilor Aurora Hurd, Councilor Charles Judge, Councilor Bryn Oakleaf Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Paul Sarne, Communications Director; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Eric Vorwald, Director of Planning; Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director; John Audy, Fire Chief; Jenny Willingham, City Clerk; Amanda Casper, Assistant City Clerk Others Present: Annabelle Dally, WSP; Kevin McCarthy, WSP; Representative Daisey Berbeco; David Dabney; Drew Darrow; Amanda Buening; Peggy Imai; Elianna Fox; Mike O’Brien; Kristin Lawson; Elaine Kramer; Steven Heron; Karol Cannon; Craig Lavigne; Dave Joyal; Christine Sheehey; Joyce Mcknight; Jane Viens; Felipe Hoyos; Docia Proctor; Michael Lapierre; Gwen Hart; Ian Metcalf; Molly Robin-Abbott; Jason Charest, CCRPC; Ashley Lucht; Richard Wheeler; Robert Lloyd II. Agenda Review None III. Public Comment Minutes: Karol Cannon made public comment regarding reducing speeding on her street. Felipe Hoyos made public comment about lighting around his residence. IV. Consent Agenda A. Approval: City Council, Liquor Control Board, and Cannabis Control Commission Minutes of April 15, 2024 B. Approval: Payroll Warrant March 31 - April 13, 2024 C. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant May 2, 2024 D. Approval: Annual Financial Plan for Town Highways E. Approval: AANHPI Heritage Month Resolution F. Approval: Jewish American Heritage Month Resolution G. Approval: Older Americans Month Resolution H. Approval: Mental Health Awareness Month Resolution I. Approval: Fiscal Year 2024 Audit Contract Award J. Approval: Fire Captain Position Description  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Judge to approve Item A on the consent agenda. Councilor Hurd abstained. Voted and passed 3-0. A motion was made by Councilor Judge, seconded by Councilor Renner. Voted and passed 4-0. V. Council Reports Mayor Kristine Lott: gave a big thanks to staff and community members for Green Up Day and all the work that goes into that. Mayor Lott reported that the Planning Commission has scheduled a Public Hearing for their May 23, 2024 meeting to look at updates they’ve been making, working through Zoning in response to the State Legislation Homes Act 47 of last year. That act compels the town to make changes to allow for greater housing density and that is what they’ve been working through. This will be the first public hearing, they could take additional action after that or advance it to Council. Mayor Lott reported that the Planning and Housing commissions are scheduled to get back together June 25, 2024, they had been planning to reconvene this month in May but the Housing commission requested more time to work through potential inclusionary zoning and replacement language. Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner: reported that Safe, Healthy, and Connected People meets next week on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at 5:30 PM. Downtown Winooski met last week, there was no Quorum so some of the items were removed from the agenda, but they did discuss the Block Parties which is the Better Places Grant. The $15,000 goal was reached and exceeded, so Renner extended his thanks to everyone who donated to that campaign and made it possible. Downtown Winooski made the news for being awarded the Accredited Main Street America program through all of Melissa Corbin’s hard work with the organization. Lastly, Renner announced Blingo will be held at Standing Stones Wines 6PM – 8PM on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Councilor Charles Judge: reported that the Housing Commission met on April 23, 2024 and primarily discussed inclusionary zoning. The next meeting will be later this month on May 28, 2024, and it will be just the Housing Commission. The combined Planning and Housing Commission will be in June. Councilor Aurora Hurd: reported that on April 18, 2024, the Inclusion and Belonging commission met. The next meeting will be held in June. Discussion was primarily centered around the Equity Action Committee, which is a short-term standing committee to help advise the joint school and city community meeting that will go over the Equity Audit findings again to: talk about how to prioritize items, decide on some next steps, and find ways for the community to engage in doing some of the equity work as well. Members of the Inclusion and Belonging Commission were invited to take part. In addition to that discussion there was continued interest in having a combined meeting with the Housing Commission and the Inclusion and Belonging commission as well as to have the opportunity to have Jazmine Hurley come speak directly with the commission in June. So that is being looked into and if anyone would like to join, Hurd highly encourages it, as they know Housing is a big topic. Hurd was also reported that they were able to attend the International Food Festival held at the Winooski Community College of Vermont location which was very well attended and a lot of fun, so they wanted to thank everyone that put the festival together and engaged the community members in it. Councilor Oakleaf: reported the Airport Commission will meet this Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at 4 PM either online or in person. The agenda is on the Burlington City Website. Agenda items include: funding authorization for upgrading terminal lighting for LEDs and controls for occupancy sensors and natural lights to reduce their energy demand and funding authorization to hire a consulting firm to study collection, treatment, and disposal options for deicing liquid. Other standing agenda items are sound insultation and noise exposure map updates and noise complaint updates. Chittenden Solid Waste District met on April 24, 2024, at the time they reviewed changes to the policy for items dropped off at the Green Mountain Compost facility. They also reviewed with the Outreach and Communication team has been up to, includes website updates as well as reviewing the significant amount of in person trainings, bringing back waste warriors which took a pause during the  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov pandemic. Oakleaf also wanted to highlight the significant amount of solar eclipse glasses that were recovered and will be counted and sorted for reuse. Oakleaf reported that the Municipal Infrastructure commission did not meet last month and it is TBD if there will be a meeting this month, depending on actionable agenda items. If a meeting is held, it will be on May 17, 2024. VI. City Updates Elaine Wang, City Manager, gave the following updates: Main Street Revitalization: Sign up for Weekly Updates - Construction has begun! The Main Street Revitalization Project Team reminds you all to be sure to sign up for Construction Updates. These updates include construction activities, active work zone limits, traffic impacts, traffic pattern changes, and parking restrictions for the upcoming week. To sign up for these updates, and for full project details, please visit winooskivt.gov/mainstreet. If you have a property on Main Street, please be sure to go to that page and provide your contact information using the contact info form. This allows more timely communication if there is something that will affect your property, like if the project needs to impact your driveway in the next day or two. There is also a 24/7 hotline for any issues you need to ask about. And as a reminder, all businesses are open during construction! They are seeing a drop in revenue so if you can, please visit them. Operation Mayday! on May 11, 2024 - The City of Winooski proudly joins Vermont’s coordinated statewide firefighter recruitment effort known as " Looking for a new challenge? Want to support your neighbors and make the community a better place? Join us at the Winooski Fire Department (120 Main St.) on Saturday, May 11, 2024, from 9 AM - 1 PM. Get a firehouse tour, meet and greet our staff, check out the fire trucks and equipment, and learn more about career paths to your service as a firefighter. Job descriptions and employment applications will be available for Part-time, On-call Firefighters, and full time Fire Captain. Please also feel free to bring your young folks – never too early to recruit new firefighters! VII. Regular Items A. Discussion: Public Hearing - Unified Land Use and Development Regulation (ULUDR) Amendments for Gateway Zoning District - Eric Vorwald, Director of City Planning Minutes: Eric Vorwald, Director of City Planning presented Council and the Public with an overview of the Unified Land Use and Development Regulation (ULUDR) Amendments for Gateway Zoning District for a public hearing, highlighting the purpose of the amendments. Specific amendments with strikeouts to delete text and red/underline for new text, and Consistency with the City’s Master Plan to show that the amendments: Conform with the goals and policies including the effect of the proposal on safe and affordable housing, Is compatible with the proposed future land uses in the Master Plan, and carries out any specific proposals for planned community facilities. Mayor Lott opened the floor for a public hearing: Felipe Hoyos made public comment in support and asked for clarification on specific timeline for this project. Discussion ensued. Mayor Lott closed the public hearing. B. Discussion/Approval: Approval of Amendments to Unified Land Use and Development Regulation (ULUDR) Amendments for Gateway Zoning District – Eric Vorwald, Director of City Planning  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Minutes: Following the public hearing, Eric Vorwald, Director of City Planning presented Council with the Amendments for approval. Discussion ensued. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Judge, seconded by Councilor Hurd. Voted and passed 4-0. C. Discussion/Approval: Reserve Request – Fire Truck Down Payment – Angela Aldieri, Finance Director Minutes: Angela Aldieri, Finance Director presented Council with a Reserve Request for the Fire Truck Down Payment of $500,000 toward Fire Truck Purchase, reducing amount of borrowing, included in FY25 capital plan. Discussion ensued. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Judge. Voted and passed 4-0. D. Discussion: Lafountain and Dion Streets Scoping Study Recommendations Presentation – Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works Minutes: Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works, introduced Jason Charest from CCRPC and Annabelle Dally and Kevin McCarthy from WSP to Council and the Public to present the recommendations of the Lafountain and Dion Streets Scoping Study which included: Road Diet, Street Trees, Sidewalks and Shared Bikes on Roadways and Mini-Roundabouts, 15’ Corner Radii, and ADA Compliant Ramps for Intersections. Questions and comments were taken from the public: Craig Lavigne made public comment. Joyce Mcknight made public comment. Michael Lapierre made public comment. Gwen Hart made public comment. Ian Metcalf made public comment. Ashley Lucht made public comment. Richard Wheeler made public comment. Discussion ensued. X. Adjourn A motion to adjourn was made by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Renner. Voted and passed 4-0. Meeting adjourned at 8:18 PM. Attest: _____________________________________________________________ Amanda Casper, Assistant City Clerk