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, July 1, 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 6:00 PM Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott, Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner, Councilor Bryn Oakleaf, Councilor Aurora Hurd and Councilor Charles Judge Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director, Justin Huizenga, Chief of Police, Jesse Acri, Human Resources Director, Ravi Venkataraman, Director of City Planning and Jenny Willingham, City Clerk Others Present: Judy Lance, Cara Montague, Lucas Pelletier and Jen Berger II. Pledge of Allegiance led by Deputy Mayor, Thomas Renner III. Agenda Review IV. Public Comment Minutes: Cara Montague expressed concern over the Vermont Air National Guard use of PFAS and the clean-up effort. Discussion ensued surrounding the recent incidents. Judy Lance had questions regarding the proposed traffic light on E.Allen Street & Hoods’ Crossing. Discussion ensued regarding the proposed costs. V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Meeting Minutes of June 17, 2024 b. Approval: Payroll Warrant June 9 - 22, 2024 c. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant June 27, 2024 Motion: Motion by Councilor Judge seconded by Deputy Mayor Renner to approve the Consent Agenda. Voted and passed 4-0  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov VI. Council Reports Mayor Kristine Lott: Mayor Lott did not have any updates at this time. Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner: As a reminder, the businesses on Main Street are still open during construction, they have seen a drastic decrease in business since the project started. So please, the next time you are thinking of eating out or getting takeout, consider one of the many restaurants on Main. There are also great retail businesses to check out too! French Heritage Day and Juneteenth were the best yet! The Farmers Market continues to outperform past years. You may remember Downtown Winooski became accredited through Main Street America, due to this, some grants were made available to apply for and the director has applied for a 50K grant. Mosaic tiles are also on the way for the project under the flag poles. And a UVM Master Gardener will be doing work in Rotary Park. Winooski Wednesday’s and Sunday Service continue. If you haven’t checked out Sunday Service yet it is a great way to do something fun before the weekend is over. The next Winooski Wednesday will be July 10th and the next Sunday Service will be July 21st. Councilor Charles Judge: The Winooski Housing Commission met with the Winooski Planning Commission last week and had an extensive overview of sections 5.16 and 5.17 of our land use code as a part of the commissions’ ongoing discussions about creating inclusive and accessible housing in Winooski. Last week, the housing director, housing commission chair and myself interviewed two of three potential candidates for two open commission seats, interviews will be completed by mid-July. Once completed, picks will be presented to council for approval. Councilor Aurora Hurd: Councilor Hurd mentioned the next Inclusion & Belonging Commission will be in August. Councilor Bryn Oakleaf: Three candidates were interviewed for the Airport Commission. The next Council meeting on July 15th, the candidate will be announced at the next City Council meeting pending City Council acceptance and approval. If Council accepts the appointment, the new Airport Commission representative will attend the August meeting. Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) met this past week. It was a monthly organization meeting. Additional overview included potential clean-up funds or grant funds available. II. City Updates Elaine Wang, City Manager gave the following updates: Winooski Together: Equity Action Committee Meeting Many thanks to all who planned and participated in the Winooski Together: Equity Action Community Meeting on June 22 and the next steps meeting on June 27! It was inspirational to see so many community members coming together to address the equity challenges we’re facing together in Winooski. There’s more work to do – we’ll have information and next steps available on the project page in the coming weeks. Lean more at winooskivt.gov/equityaction.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Thank you to Eric Vorwald and Welcoming Ravi Venkataraman, Director of City Planning While we’re sad to see him go, I invite the City Council and community at large to join me in thanking Eric Vorwald, our Director of City Planning, for his six years of dedicated service. We’re so thankful for Eric’s, expertise and experience – he will be greatly missed! From all of us at City Hall, best of luck on your next adventure. We’re pleased to announce that we’ve hired Ravi Venkatarman, our new Director of City Planning, who started last week. Ravi has extensive experience in land use planning having previously served as a Transportation Planner for the City of Burlington, the Town Planner for the Town of Richmond, and the Development Review Board Coordinator/Assistant Zoning Officer for the Town of Shelburne. He currently teaches urban planning classes at the University of Vermont and Virginia Tech. He holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Tech and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Planning, Governance and Globalization. Please join me in welcoming Ravi to Winooski! Blood Drive at the Winooski Senior Center on July 19 The next blood drive at the Senior Center takes place on July 19 from 12 – 5:30 PM. Learn more and make your life-saving blood donation appointment by visiting the news updates section on our website at winooskivt.gov. VIII. Regular Items A. Discussion/Approval: Appointment of Acting Zoning Administrator – Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: City Manager provided an overview of the interview process for the new Director of City Planning. There were six applications for the position. Two advanced to screening and in-person Interviews with department heads, the City Manager and a virtual panel with members of the Planning Commission and Development Review Board. The City Manager consulted several members of the community. The City Manager appointed Ravi (pronounced reh-vi_ Venkataraman to the position of Director of City Planning. A proposal to have the Council appoint Ravi to serve as Acting Zoning Administrator until such time that the Planning Commission nominates the Zoning Administrator. Motion: Councilor Hurd seconded by Councilor Oakleaf made a motion to appoint Ravi Venkataraman as Acting Zoning Administrator. Voted and passed 4-0 B. Discussion/Approval: Set Fiscal Year 2025 Municipal Tax Rate – Angela Aldieri, Finance Director Minutes: Angela Aldieri, Finance Director presented the proposed FY25 Municipal Tax Rate calculation to the board. Discussion ensued regarding the voted budgets and proposed tax increase for the FY 25 tax year. Judy Lance thanked the Board for presenting a more frugal lower municipal budget. She also thanked the Assessing Team for the courteous and professional manner. Lucas Pelletier inquired if tax dollars are sent to more rural communities. Mayor Lott responded by stating the tax dollars remain in Winooski. Motion: Councilor Hurd seconded by Councilor Judge motioned to approve the FY25 Municipal Tax Rate.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Councilor Oakleaf abstained. Voted and passed 3-0 IX. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 which exempts from public inspection, (a) (1) (A) contracts Motion: Deputy Mayor Renner seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to find an Executive Session is warranted. Voted and passed 4-0. Deputy Mayor Renner seconded by Councilor Hurd to enter into Executive Session at 6:41 PM. Voted and passed 4-0. X. Regular Items A. Discussion/Approval: Ratification of Fraternal Order of Police Union contract for Fiscal Year 2025 – 2027 – Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: The City Manager presented the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) to be ratified by the Union members and City Council. Motion: Deputy Mayor Renner seconded by Councilor Hurd to exit executive session at 6:45 PM. Voted and passed 4-0. XI. Adjourn A motion to adjourn was made by Councilor Judge seconded by Councilor Hurd to adjourn. Voted and passed 4-0. Meeting adjourned at 6:47 PM. Attest: _____________________________________________________________ Jenny Willingham, City Clerk