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, December 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 Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott; Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner, Councilor Bryn Oakleaf, Councilor Aurora Hurd & Councilor Charles Judge Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Jon Rauscher, Director of Public Works, John Audy, Fire Chief, Angela Aldieri, Finance Director, Ray Coffey, Community Services Director, Jenny Willingham, City Clerk, Paul Sarne, Communications Director and Ruby Tetrick, Assistant City Clerk Others Present: Ted Nelson, City Assessor, Clayton Clark, Green Mountain Transit, Meghan O’Rourke, CCTV, Zoom username “ciarahagan” Town Meeting TV, Zoom Username “Jacquie and Nate”, Robert Berg, Jordan Mitchell, Matthew F. Smith, Alison Fredi Hayes, Isaiah Donaldson, Daniel Langfitt, Judy Lance and Connor Daley I. Call to Order 6:04 PM II. Agenda Review Minutes: Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner wanted to move Item H on the Consent Agenda to Item F as a regular item. Motion by Councilor Oakleaf seconded by Councilor Judge to approve moving Item H from the Consent Agenda to a Regular Item F. Motion voted and passed 4-0 III. Public Comment Minutes: None IV. Consent Agenda A. Approval: Liquor Control Board and City Council Minutes of November 4, 2024 B. Approval: Payroll Warrant October 27 - November 9, 2024 C. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrants November 13 and 22, 2024 D. Approval: City Council Legislative Priorities 2025 E. Approval: Regional and Local Initiative (RALI) grant application for business marketing and wayfinding campaign through construction F. Approval: City Council intent to enter new agreement with City Manager G. Approval: Recognition Resolutions H. Approval: Resolution - Transfer of South Unit at Lot 7D to Onion River Hotel LLC  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Motion: Motion by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Judge to approve the Consent Agenda (moving item H to regular item F). Voted and passed 4-0. V. Council Reports Mayor Kristine Lott: Planning and Housing Commission joint meeting developer roundtable: The goal was to get housing developers, including both for-profit, and non-profit, to inform drafting regulations for IZ (Inclusionary Zoning), Replacement, priority housing incentives, and TDM, as we want to ensure that regulations will result in creation of priority housing, and not be so cumbersome that they inhibit new housing development all together. The Planning Commission will spend the next meeting on December 12th 2024, working through what was discussed and tweaking the drafts. Mayor Lott led a Commission Orientation, which is available on the City website Boards and Commissions page. Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner: The Safe Healthy Connected People will meet on December 10th. Downtown Winooski met on November 20th, there was ample discussion about parking fines their customers have received, there is a general belief from Downtown Winooski that more signage would be beneficial. The 2024 season of events was very successful with over 7,000 attendees to 20 events. These events cannot be put on without the community, please visit downtownwinooski.org to learn more. Councilor Aurora Hurd: The Inclusion & Belonging Commission met on November 21st, along with Mayor Kristine Lott to review Outreach and Engagement. There was a great discussion on possible options. The next meeting is on December 19th at 6:00 pm Councilor Bryn Oakleaf: Municipal Infrastructure Commission: Joint meeting was with the Finance Commission on November 12th. They reviewed the CIP budget; no concerns from the joint Commission. Next meeting is December 19th where the review of the tree ordinance research by I&B representative and high school student doing his Capstone project. Likely over Zoom but look for details in the next few weeks. Chittenden Solid Waste District Met on November 20th and again on November 26th- draft budget does not propose a municipal assessment. Winooski Bridge Replacement Committee: Open House on December 11th, to be held at Main Street Landing in Burlington from 4:30 – 6:30, light refreshments, and limited childcare will be available. Folks are encouraged to drop in at any point. Councilor Charles Judge: Did not have any updates at this time. VI. City Updates Elaine Wang, City Manager gave the following updates: Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Discussions Tonight kicks off Fiscal Year 2026 staff budget presentations. Please stick around for my presentation, ask questions, and provide input on how you think your tax dollars are spent. For those of you new to the process, each year the City Manager and staff work together to create a budget that provides the same services currently offered to the community adjusted for increasing wages, prices, and growth in the City. We also discuss what needs to change. The budget proposals seek to provide the greatest benefit related to priorities set by the City Council. These budget proposals seek to provide the greatest benefit related to priorities set by the City Council. The City Council then decides what budget will be voted on by the community. Each year in March on Town Meeting Day the community votes on the total budget.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov For the full schedule of budget meetings and information, please visit winooskivt.gov/fy26 Annual Winter Parking Ban Reminder As a reminder, there is no overnight street parking from 2:30 AM – 6 AM in Downtown Winooski from December 1 – March 31. For everywhere else in Winooski, overnight winter parking bans are made during winter storms and for snow removal where street parking is not allowed from 11 PM to 7 AM. To sign up for our winter parking ban alerts, text the word ‘Winooski’ to 888 777 or register at nixle.com. For full details, please visit winooskivt.gov/parking. Operation Fire Cuffs 2024 The City of Winooski is thrilled to join the 2024 Operation Fire Cuffs annual toy drive for the UVM Children's Hospital. Every year, this special tradition brings joy to children in need and we encourage residents to donate. Donations can be made at the Winooski Fire Department, Monday – Thursday from 8 AM – 5 PM. Burlington/Winooski Bridge Open House The Vermont Agency of Transportation and Cities of Burlington and Winooski invite you to attend the Burlington-Winooski Bridge Replacement and Intersection Improvement Project Open House on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 4 PM at the Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center in Burlington. Everyone is welcome to attend - enjoy light refreshments, snacks, and fun activities for kids and adults to help shape the aesthetic look of the bridge's design. To learn more, visit the news updates section of winooskivt.gov. If you can’t make it, a virtual open house will be available on the project website soon! VII. Regular Items A. Discussion: Results from Budget Outreach activities - Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: City Manager Wang gave a brief overview of the Budget Outreach Activities. Angela Aldieri, Finance Director, created two budget activities to allow for more input. 1) An online survey (49 on-line surveys with 1 survey completed on paper), and (2) an in-person budget allocation activity where residents were invited to distribute $100 in toy money to spend among the departments. (80 Winooski residents). The survey was conducted from October 9, 2024, to November 6, 2024. City Manager Wang introduced Fredi Hayes (Management Fellow from the Town of Shelburne) to present and analyze the results of the online survey relating to budget outreach. Fredi Hayes gave an extensive overview of the results, findings and recommendations to the results of the various questions on the survey. The questions ranged from how the City spends your tax dollars, voting on the budgets, and understanding how taxes are spent with the City. Another set of questions related to what the City is doing well and the most valuable services as well as where the City can improve various services. Fredi explained the results of these questions to further offer community engagement ideas and increase participation. City Council appreciated this in-depth look at areas surrounding the budget items/services. B. Discussion: Town Meeting TV (TMTV) Report and Budget Request - Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: Jordan Mitchell from Town Meeting TV provided an overview of the proposed increase in FY 26. This is a valuable service, including livestreams as well as archives public purpose video for Winooski and other member municipalities. Due to the proposed shortfalls in funding, Town Meeting TV is asking for $12,000 in FY 26. Last year, the fee was $11,000 (FY25). Council members discussed writing a letter of support for Town Meeting TV.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov C. Discussion: Staff Budget Presentations: Overall, General Government - Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: City Manager Wang provided an extensive budget presentation for Fiscal Year 2026 (July 2025 -June 2026). City Council directed the staff to present a conservative budget. The proposed budget would result in an initial 5.38% tax rate increase, The budget process was reviewed with scrutiny to prove conservative catch- up with infrastructure and fire safety while maintaining a current level services. D. Discussion: Green Mountain Transit - Special Assessment - Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: The GMT leadership has been indicating for the last two or three years that their funding post-COVID cannot sustain their current level of service. They have been looking for solutions and more funding sources, including service cuts. They had planned to ask the Vermont Legislature for more funding for FY26. After the November 5, 2024, election and the apparent statewide mandate for the Vermont Legislature to focus on affordability, the GMT Board decided FY26 was not the year for this request and are asking their urban member municipalities for a special assessment. By their charter, all GMT’s urban members must agree to this special assessment in order for any of them to be assessed. The General Manager is hoping to have an answer from each member municipality’s elected body before the GMT budget must be set. That date, by statute, is February 15, 2025. Questions arose from Council and discussion ensued. As was recommended by City staff, the council decided to hold off on voting on this matter until all City budget presentations have been heard. E. Discussion: Strategic Vision Goal Area Updates: All, Economic Vitality - Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: City Manager, Elaine Wang presented an overview of the Strategic Vision Goal Area Updates in the All Goal, Equity, and Economic Vitality areas. These updates ranged from information on the ongoing Staffing Audit, the “Winooski Together” series of events, as well as an update on the Working Communities Challenge. The “Winooski Together” events were held to provide a broader community conversation regarding the Equity Audit. The Working Communities Challenge has focused on supporting multi-generational housing, entrepreneurship, and statewide advocacy. F. Discussion: Resolution – Transfer of South Unit at Lot 7D to Onion River Hotel LLC Motion: Motion by Deputy Mayor Renner, seconded by Councilor Hurd to move this item to the Consent Agenda on next week’s (December 9th) meeting. Motion carried 4-0. VIII. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 which exempts from public inspection, (a)(1)(E) pending or probable civil litigation or a prosecution, to which the public body is or may be a party. Motions: Motion to find that premature general public knowledge regarding this potential litigation would clearly place the city at a substantial disadvantage because the city risks disclosing its negotiation strategy if it discusses such in public by Councilor Hurd, seconded by Councilor Oakleaf. Motion carried 4-0. Motion to move into Executive Session to discuss this matter under the provisions of 1 V.S.A. § 313 (a)(1)(E) inviting City Manager, Elaine Wang; Finance Director, Angela Aldieri; City Assessor, Ted Nelson; City Attorneys Bob DiPalma and Steve Ellis; and City Clerk, Jenny Willingham by Deputy Mayor Renner, Seconded by Councilor Judge. Motion carried 4-0. Executive Session entered at 8:50 PM.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Motion to exit Executive Session made by Deputy Mayor Renner, seconded by Councilor Judge. Motion carried 4-0. Executive Session exited at 9:12 PM. IX. Adjourn Motion: Motion to adjourn made by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Hurd. Motion carried 4-0. Meeting adjourned at 9:14 PM. Attest: ______________________________________________________ Ruby Tetrick, Assistant City Clerk