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, November 4, 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 Auroura Hurd & Councilor Bryn Oakleaf Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Paul Sarne, Communications Director; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; John Audy, Fire Chief; Bruce Palmer, Fire Marshall; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Jazmine Hurley, Housing Director; Amanda Casper, Assistant City Clerk Others Present: Robert Millar, Wilmer Chavarria, Kamal Dahal, Elom Essiba, Isaiah Donaldson, Daisy Berbeco & Chloe Tomlinson I. Call to Order 6:01 PM II. Agenda Review Minutes: Mayor Lott asked for two resolutions to be added to the Consent Agenda due to oversight: November as Native American Heritage Month and Veterans and Families Month Public Comment Minutes: None III. Consent Agenda A. Approval: Cannabis Control Commission and City Council Minutes of October 21, 2024 B. Approval: Payroll Warrant October 13 - 26, 2024 C. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant October 31, 2024 D. Approval: Interim Appointments of Inclusion and Belonging Commissioners E. Approval: Resolution to Establish Parking Enforcement Holidays F. Approval: Proclamation Establishing November 30, 2024 as Small Business Saturday in Winooski G. Approval: Justice Assistance Grant H. Approval: Finance and Maintenance Agreement for Hood’s Crossing Signal I. Approval: Resolution – Recognizing November as Veterans and Military Families Month J. Approval: Resolution – Recognizing National Native American Heritage Month in Winooski Minutes: Mayor Lott presented Items A through J to Council for approval. Councilor Oakleaf asked for the Agenda to be updated to reflect the addition of the two Resolutions for Veterans and Military Families Month and National Native American Heritage Month.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Motion: Councilor Oakleaf made a motion to approve, seconded by Deputy Mayor Renner. Voted and passed 3-0. IV. Council Reports Mayor Kristine Lott: shared that she attended the Governor’s Chittenden County Capital’s public safety roundtable for a day with the Chief of Police. This meeting includes some of the Governor's staff and then Public Safety professionals, select board chairs from Chittenden County, and the State’s Attorney. This was a useful venue for municipalities to share challenges we are facing in our communities to inform work across admin: local, state, and legislative and part of our effort to continue collaborating on that front as we address concerns in our community. Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner: reported that their commissions did not meet due to Halloween. Deputy Mayor Renner thanked everyone who participated in the event whether it was carving, gutting, carrying, or just attending the festival. He reported being pleased with being able to continue with this Winooski tradition. Deputy Mayor Renner reminded everyone that the Winooski Food Shelf is seeking volunteers, this is one of their busier months, specifically seeking volunteers for November 16 th. Councilor Aurora Hurd: The Inclusion and Belonging Commission has a rescheduled meeting this week on November 7, 2024 at 6 PM over Zoom, with these two interim appointments hopefully there will be a quorum and be able to continue discussions about best ways to do future outreach. Councilor Bryn Oakleaf: reported that they had no updates to share but wanted to issue a reminder that the Municipal Infrastructure will have a 2nd joint meeting with the Finance Commission during the Finance Commission’s regular meeting time on Tuesday in the City Hall Chambers at 6 PM on November 12th. Discussion will be around budgetary items for 2026. IV. City Updates Elaine Wang, City Manager gave the following updates: 2024 General Election The General Election is tomorrow! Voting takes place at the Winooski Senior Center (123 Barlow Street) from 7 AM to 7 PM. If you have your ballot voted in hand, please bring them directly to the Senior Center. For all election and voting details, please visit winooskivt.gov/vote. If you still have questions, feel free to contact the City Clerk’s Office at 802 655 6410 or clerk@winooskivt.gov. Community Budget Survey Budget season is almost here with our first official budget meeting in December. We want to hear from you - please take a moment to complete our budget survey at winooskivt.gov/budgetsurvey. Your input will improve the City's budget planning process and how your tax dollars are spent! This survey is scheduled to end on November 6. Budget information and the meeting schedule will be available on the City’s website in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more info.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Volunteer Park Cleanup Day on November 9 Spend some time with Winooski Recreation and Parks during our Volunteer Park Cleanup Day! Volunteers are needed for park and trail clean up on November 9th at Memorial Park. Activities include plant trimming, litter pick up, debris removal, and other basic trail maintenance – to sign up, view our news updates at winooskivt.gov. Blood Drive at the Senior Center on November 15 Help save a life by joining us for the blood drive at the Winooski Senior Center (123 Barlow Street) on Friday, November 15, 2024, from 12 to 5 PM. View our news updates at winooskivt.gov to sign up! V. Regular Items a. Approval: Recognizing Firefighter Years of Service and Awards - John Audy, Fire Chief Minutes: Fire Chief, John Audy Jr, Battalion Chief, John Spittle, Fire Marshall, Bruce Palmer led and presented the Firefighter Years of Service and Awards to Council and the Public. The awards ceremony followed. b. Discussion: Biannual Joint Meeting with Winooski School Board - Mayor Kristine Lott Minutes: Mayor Lott introduced School Board Trustees, Robert Millar (President), Kamal Dahal, Elom Essiba, and Isaiah Donaldson from the School District. In addition Winooski School District Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria who led the Biannual Joint Meeting with the Winooski School Board and City of Winooski. Mayor Lott led the side of the presentation for the City of Winooski. Discussion ensued. c. Discussion: Winooski City Council Legislative Priorities - Mayor Kristine Lott Minutes: Mayor Lott led the presentation and discussion on Winooski City Council Legislative Priorities with focuses on access to appropriate and affordable housing, addressing public safety, social services support and retaining the commitment to equitable education access to Council and the Public. Discussion ensued. Daisy Berbeco made public comments on language suggestions and timelines. Mayor Lott addressed changes that will need to be made to the document and that they will bring it back for approval on December 2 nd. d. Discussion: Treasurer's Report: Quarterly Budget Projections - John Fenney, Treasurer Minutes: John Fenney, Treasurer, led the discussion on Quarterly Budget Projections for the City of Winooski to the Council and Public. Discussion ensued with Council. e. Discussion/Approval: Amendments to the Housing Trust Fund Home Improvement Program (HIP) - Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director Minutes: Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director, presented Amendments to the Housing Trust Fund Home Improvement Program (HIP) to Council and the Public. Discussion ensued with the Council. Councilor Hurd asked for the added language “if there is no money in the fund, that we cannot follow through with the request” as a stipulation for approval. Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Hurd, seconded by Deputy Mayor Renner. Voted and passed 3-0.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov VI. Adjourn Motion: A motion was made by Councilor Hurd to adjourn, seconded by Councilor Oakleaf. Voted and passed 3-0. Meeting adjourned at 8:18 PM Attest: ______________________________________________________ Amanda Casper, Assistant City Clerk