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 Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 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 and Councilor Charles Judge Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Ravi Venkataraman, Zoning & Planning Director; Paul Sarne, Communications Director; John Audy, Fire Chief; Justin Huizenga, Police Chief and Jenny Willingham, City Clerk Others Present: Ruth Steinmetz and Brian Steinmetz I. Call to Order at 6:02 pm II. Agenda Review Minutes: To move Item F in place of Item D. III. Public Comment Minutes: None IV. Consent Agenda A. Approval: City Council Minutes of January 13, 2025 B. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant January 15, 2025 C. Approval: Subsequent to Payout Warrant November, 2024 D. Approval: Position Title Change – School Resource Officer to District Liaison Officer Minutes: Motion: A motion by Councilor Oakleaf and seconded by Councilor Judge to approve the Consent Agenda Items. Voted and passed 4-0 V. Council Reports Mayor Kristine Lott: I attended the CCRPC meeting: Equity & Accessibility Committee (n/k/a Community Engagement Advisory Committee) members are doing advocacy for GMT to the legislature. The Bridge Project  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov team hosted a focus group with AALV youth and shared updates and gathered design input. The Planning Commission is Thursday at 6:30 pm. Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner: Downtown Winooski is still awaiting approval from the IRS for their 501c3 status. Additional considerations around moving the winter farmers market away from the current model. Councilor Aurora Hurd: There are budget presentations at Winooski Housing Authority this week as well as some additional dates. The Inclusion & Belonging Commission meeting will be held in February at the regular scheduled time. Councilor Bryn Oakleaf: The Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) will meet on January 22, 2025 at 6:00 pm. Agenda includes meeting the new Finance Director, review new enforcement and updates to the open meeting law. Agenda packed and meeting participation details can be found here: https://cswd.net/information-library/cswd-full-board-meeting-january-22-2025/ Councilor Charles Judge: The Winooski Housing Commissions’ joint meeting with the Winooski Planning Commission has been cancelled and the Housing Commission will meet next week on Tuesday at 6:00 pm and there is a hybrid option on the city website. VI. City Updates Elaine Wang, City Manager, provided the following updates: Fiscal Year 2026 Budget and Town Meeting Day Election After tonight’s meeting, we should be done with the first part of Winooski’s annual budget process. If the City Council votes to approve the presented budget tonight, residents who still have questions can attend our annual City/School Budget Presentations. Join us for the Community Dinner Budget Presentation - Tuesday, February 4, 4 PM at the O’Brien Community Center (more details TBA soon) or the City/School Budget Presentation at the Winooski School District Performing Arts Center – 6 PM on March 3, 2025 (night before the Town Meeting Day election). After these presentations, residents will vote on Town Meeting Day (7 AM – 7 PM at the Winooski Senior Center). To register and learn more about voting in Winooski, please visit winooskivt.gov/vote. Running for Local Office Speaking of Town Meeting Day, those interested in running for local office (positions include 2 City Council seats, 2 School Boad seats, and a School Treasurer seat) must file their petition with at least 30 signatures and paperwork by 5 PM on Monday, January 27. Please visit the news updates section of our website at winooskivt.gov to learn more or stop by the City Clerk’s Office Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 4 PM. Call or email 802 655 6410 / clerk@winooskivt.gov. 2025 Dog Licenses Available It's time to register your dog! All dogs owned in the City of Winooski must be registered with the City Clerk on or before April 1 of each year per State and City laws. To get started, stop by the City Clerk's Office at Winooski City Hall on 27 West Allen Street (Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM) or call/email if you have questions: 802 655 6410 | clerk@winooski.vt.gov VII. Regular Items  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov A. Discussion: Public Hearing to Receive Comment on the Proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Budget and Capital Plan Across All Funds - Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: The Public Hearing opened at 6:10 pm for any comments on the proposed FY 2026 Budget and Capital Plan. There were no comments. The Public Hearing closed at 6:11 pm. B. Discussion/Approval: Fiscal Year 2026 General Fund Budget and Capital Plan to Present to Voters - Mayor Kristine Lott Minutes: Motion: A motion by Deputy Mayor Renner seconded by Councilor Judge to approve the FY26 General Fund Budget and Capital Plan. Voted and passed 4-0 C. Discussion/Approval: 2025 Town Meeting Day Election Warning - Jenny Willingham, City Clerk Minutes: Motion: Motion by Deputy Mayor Renner seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to approve the motion with a minor edit on Article 4, Section C & No. C to remove the 2nd (3) Voted and passed 4-0 D. Discussion: Update on Replacement Regulations - Ravi Venkataraman, Director of Planning and Zoning, Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director Minutes: Discussion ensued regarding the rationale for the pause in further discussions relating to the Housing Replacement Regulations. The Planning Commission on December 12, 2024 decided to pause these discussions about requiring the replacement of larger dwelling units when a property is redeveloped. This pause is due to the lack of data to support the replacement regulations. After discussions within the City as well as developers, the City does not want to rush into a situation where we generate less housing units because of restrictions. Questions raised by Council regarding the pausing of the regulations. The City is engaged with the Equitable Housing Needs Assessment Project to examine more data and housing needs. Discussion continued with the proposed timeline for the stronger data. E. Discussion/Approval: New Public Rights-of-Way (roads) Consideration and Naming - Ravi Venkataraman, Director of Planning and Zoning Minutes: A public hearing is required to review two proposed public rights of way. One new proposed public street is between Lot 7D (located along Abenaki Way) and Vermont Community College. The second is an Extension of Winooski Falls Way east of Abenaki Way. The proposed name of the public street is Community Way. Motion: Motion by Councilor Oakleaf seconded by Deputy Mayor Renner to set a Public Hearing for March 17, 2025. Voted and passed 4-0 F. Discussion/Approval: Winooski Small Business Loan Committee Loan Application Recommendation – Steinmetz, PLLC - Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: Extensive discussion and questions asked to Steinmetz, PLLC who has applied for the Winooski Small Business Loan Fund in the amount of $75,000 (revolving). This is a new loan application who is  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov eligible for this loan. The Winooski Small Business Loan Committee did recommend approval of this $75,000 loan. This Committee met on January 16, 2025 to review the application. Several questions were raised regarding the business model and projected income. Motion: Motion by Deputy Mayor Renner seconded by Councilor Judge to award $50,000 loan as part of the Winooski Small Business Loan Fund. Councilor Oakleaf abstained. Voted and passed 3-0. VIII. Adjourn Motion: A motion was made by Deputy Mayor Renner seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to adjourn at 7:35 p.m. Voted and passed 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:35 pm Attest: __________________________________ Jenny Willingham, City Clerk