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 7, 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 Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott; Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner, Councilor Charles Judge, Councilor Bryn Oakleaf, Councilor Aurora Hurd Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Paul Sarne, Communications Director; Ravi Venkataraman, Director of Planning and Zoning; Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director; Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Jenny Willingham, City Clerk; Ruby Tetrick, Assistant City Clerk Others Present: Charlie Baker, Lance McKee, Ed Boldwin, Patricia Boldwin, Connor Daley, Mike O’Brien, Sarah Muskin I. Call to Order at 6:04 PM. II. Agenda Review Minutes: None. Public Comment Minutes: Connor Daley gave an update from the Airport Commission. Daley mentioned that much of the discussion involved talks about airport finances. There will be an event at Cairns Arena in South Burlington on October 12th for the airport. III. Consent Agenda a. Approval: Cannabis Control Commission and City Council Minutes of September 16, 2024 b. Approval: Payroll Warrants September 1 - 14 and 15 - 28, 2024 c. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant October 2, 2024 d. Approval: Municipal Energy Resilience Program (MERP) Grant Application e. Approval: American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Stormwater Grants (MS4 Grant and 3-Acre Permit Assistance) f. Approval: Lease agreement for new plow truck Minutes: None. Motion: Motion to approve the Consent Agenda by Councilor Judge, seconded by Deputy Mayor Renner. Motion carried 4-0.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov IV. Council Reports Mayor Kristine Lott: The Planning Commission has been working on replacement ordinances in addition to the inclusionary zoning work with the Housing Commission. There is a semi-final draft of this. This is intended to preserve 2+ bedroom housing by requiring the replacement of equivalent units in new developments or payment in lieu of the Housing Trust Fund in some cases. The next Planning Commission meeting is this Thursday, October 10th. Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner: Seth Leonard has stepped down from the Downtown Winooski board, we wish Seth well and thank him for his service to the board. Planning and Housing had a joint meeting where they discussed inclusionary housing requirements, incentives for affordable housing units, allowable building heights. There will be a developer roundtable in November. Councilor Aurora Hurd: Jenny, and I, and Ruth who is one of the co-chairs for the Inclusion & Belonging Commission, had two interviews last Monday. Hopefully these prospective applicants will come before council at the next meeting. We still have one alternate position open. If folks are interested in getting a sense of what it is like to be on a commission, we welcome folks to apply for this position and reach out with any questions. Our next meeting will be on Thursday, October 17th at 6 PM. This will be over Zoom. One of the things that has come up in discussion is around thinking about outreach/engagement and how we can do that better both as the Inclusion & Belonging Commission as well as reporting out to the council and other commissions. Councilor Bryn Oakleaf: The Municipal Infrastructure Commission met on September 19th. The commission welcomed two new commissioners; an alternate was approved but was unable to make as they were at the Board of Civil Authority meeting. We thank her for her vast amount of service to our community. In addition to general orientation, we reviewed the Master Plan, the strategic strategies and priorities, as well as the recent walk/bike plan that was adopted this past winter. We started to review the work plan and development drafting. There was quite a bit of conversation about tangible elements for the group to work on coming into the new year. As always, there was lots of interest and questions about the capital projects and the progress there. We anticipate having a joint meeting with the Finance Commission later this month. In the near future, we would like to have a joint meeting with the Inclusion & Belonging Commission. There will be a revised draft for the commission to review this month, at the regular October 17th meeting, the meeting may be at City Hall instead of the community room at the pool, if possible. Councilor Charles Judge: On September 27th, I met with housing commission chair Shaun Gilpin, and staff liaison Jazmine Hurley to begin work on the Housing Commissions’ annual workplan, with the goal of aligning the housing commission workplan and city council’s budget priorities. The Winooski Housing Commission meets next on October 22nd at 6:00 pm here at City Hall, there is also a hybrid option available via the city website. The Board of Civil Authority has been engaging in the property appraisal appeals process which concludes this Wednesday when inspecting members present their findings to the wider board for deliberation and voting. Notices will be sent out to property owners within 15 days of deliberation. IV. City Updates Elaine Wang, City Manager gave the following updates: Recognizing Corporal Jason Ziter, School Resource Officer  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Please join us in recognizing the great service of Corporal Jason Ziter, who is stepping down as School Resource Officer to pursue his next career opportunity supporting children and families outside of Vermont. Jason’s 8+ years in Winooski (and almost 25 years in law enforcement) included many accomplishments that will leave a lasting impression, such as the development of Public Safety Camp which has run 3 strong years at the Winooski School District, instructing the DARE program, training teachers and other SROs around the state, working with the VT Dept. of Children and Families to support investigations, offering first aid, CPR, and ‘Stop the Bleed’ training, and very notably receiving the 2024 KidSafe Vermont Outstanding Professional Award. Jason will be tremendously missed! You can view and share our full recognition of Jason on the City’s website and social media channels. Notice of Concrete Repair and Road Resurfacing Starting October 7, 2024 The Department of Public Works began a concrete repair and road resurfacing project which will affect Hall Street, Audet Street, and Shepard Street. This project is expected to take about 4 weeks to complete – residents in the area will receive door hanger notices and all project details including the schedule, work hours, construction activities, parking restrictions, traffic and driveway impacts can be found by visiting the news updates section on our website at winooskivt.gov. 2024 General Election The General Election will occur on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, from 7 AM – 7 PM at the Winooski Senior Center (123 Barlow Street). To view the official warning, sample ballot, and all election/voting information, please visit winooskivt.gov/vote. The Vermont Secretary of State has begun mailing general election ballots directly to active and registered voters - this is your ballot for voting! Please connect with the City Clerk’s Office if you have questions about your ballot. Volunteer Park Cleanup Days on October 11 and November 9 Spend some time with Winooski Recreation and Parks during our Volunteer Park Cleanup Days! Volunteers are needed for park and trail clean-up efforts on October 11th at the Casavant Nature Area and on November 9th at Memorial Park. Activities include plant trimming, litter pick up, debris removal, and other basic trail maintenance – to sign up, visit the news updates section on our website at winooskivt.gov. V. Regular Items a. Discussion: Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) Annual Report Presentation and Budget Preview – Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: Charlie Baker, Executive Director of CCRPC, presented CCRPC’s Annual Report and gave a budget preview. The Annual Report provides an overview of what CCRPC does, and the many ways CCRPC has supported and supplemented Winooski staff in advancing desired municipal and regional outcomes. The City budgets for dues for regular services provided by CCRPC. Match for project support is also often part of the City’s budget. In consultation with Winooski’s City Manager and officials from neighboring municipalities, CCRPC also drafted a proposal to create an Equity Policy Advisor. This individual would be a resource for  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov various municipalities if the position was created and implemented. Questions arose from Council and discussion ensued. b. Discussion/Approval: Overview and approval of proposed approach to redeveloping Armory lot, including public input – Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: Elaine Wang, City Manager, presented an overview of the proposed approach to redeveloping the lot at 255 LaFountain Street, formerly the site of the Winooski Armory building. As is their right, the National Guard is giving the City of Winooski the first right of refusal, that is, the Guard to offer to sell at market rate, to the municipality hosting the facility without first offering the property on the open market. The Armory parcel is located within the City’s residential zoning district, and being a larger plot than is typically found in Winooski, could fit a relatively large number of housing units. City Staff recommended this plot be used for a medium sized development, comprised of entirely affordable units, among other things. It was proposed that some of these units be rentals, and some be for purchase through a shared equity model. City Staff also presented various options on how to solicit public input for the project. Staff considered various levels of public involvement and ultimately recommended Public Input Option C., which would include a medium-intensity level of public input. A similar approach was taken by the City in the redevelopment of the O’Brien Community Center. Questions arose from council and thorough discussion ensued on topics including the potential breakdown of how many units in the development should be for purchase vs. be used for rentals. Motion: A motion to approve Public Input Option C. was made by Councilor Hurd, seconded by Deputy Mayor Renner. Councilor Oakleaf abstained. Motion carried 3-1. A motion to instruct staff to include in the RFP a requirement for local preference and language to the effect of “not less than 50% shared equity in the mix of units” was made by Councilor Judge, seconded by Councilor Hurd. Deputy Mayor Renner and Councilor Oakleaf voted nay. Mayor Lott cast the tie breaking vote. Motion carried 3-2. c. Discussion: Strategic Vision Goal Area Updates: Municipal Infrastructure; Safe, Healthy, Connected People – Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works Minutes: Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works, provided an update on the Municipal Infrastructure developments taking place in the city. These projects include construction on the Abenaki Way Garage/Winooski Falls East Development, continued work on the Main Street Revitalization project, and others. Elaine Wang, City Manager, on behalf of the Safe, Health, Connected People Commission, provided an update on the goals and priorities of this group. This included updates on the work being done at the O’Brien Community Center following the sale of the building to Champlain Housing Trust as well as updates on staffing in the Fire and Police Departments. VI. Adjourn Motion: A motion to adjourn was made by Councilor Hurd, seconded by Councilor Judge. Motion carried 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:46 PM. Attest: _____________________________________________________________ Ruby Tetrick, Assistant City Clerk