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, May 5, 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 and Councilor Charles Judge Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director, Paul Sarne, Communication Director, Jazmine Hurley, Housing Initiative Director, John Audy, Fire Chief, Justin Huizenga, Chief of Police, Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director, Angela Aldieri, Finance Director, Jenny Willingham, City Clerk and Kim Hier, Assistant City Clerk Others Present: Leslie Fry, Doug Nedde and Bill Niquette I. Call to Order at 6:01 pm II. Agenda Review Minutes: Removed Consent Item J and changed the date to the following meeting in order for the organizers to be present. III. Public Comment Minutes: Leslie Fry, a resident of Elm Street addressed concerns about truck traffic and signage on Elm Street. The three areas of concern are:1. large semi-trucks use this route and there is difficulty in navigating the road. 2. in 2001 there was an engineering study for Elm Street and West Street, when will the recommendations be put into place? 3. Concern that Elm Street residents are not being heard. There is a missing sign for Elm Street. Noise and exhaust are other concerns. IV. Consent Agenda A. Approval: City Council and Liquor Control Board Meeting Minutes of April 21, 2025 B. Approval: Payroll Warrant April 13-26, 2025 C. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrants April 22, May 1, 2025 D. Approval: Winooski Armory Redevelopment Project Request for Congressionally Directed Spending E. Approval: National League of Cities Advancing Economic Mobility Rapid Grant. F. Approval: Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month Resolution G. Approval: Jewish American Heritage Month Resolution H. Approval: Older Americans Month Resolution I. Approval: Mental Health Awareness Month Resolution J. Approval: Waking Windows Music Festival Resolution – moved to May 19, 2025 meeting K. Approval: Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission Planning Advisory Committee Appointment(s)  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Minutes: Consent Item J was moved to the May 19, 2025 meeting in order for the organizers and volunteers to attend. Motion: Motion by Councilor Judge and seconded by Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner to approve Consent Agenda Items A-I and K. Voted and passed 3-0 V. Council Reports Mayor Kristine Lott: Housing and Planning Commissions joint meeting where CCRPC presented future land use maps and draft housing targets. The future land use map pretty well matched our current zoning and uses. The draft housing targets ranged from a low number that matches current production, to a high number that would mean a 54% increase in housing units by 2050. The Commissions were more supportive of a middle number that would lead to positive impact on the housing market, without overwhelming our city's infrastructure and services. The CCRPC did recognize that for the past 5 years, Winooski has produced more housing per capita than any other Chittenden County town. Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner: Winooski Partnership for Prevention presented to Safe, Healthy, Connected People, the 2024 report can be found at winooskiprevention.org. Downtown Winooski is extremely thankful for the vote council took to approve their increased budget. Juneteenth will be celebrated on June 20th, Pride will be celebrated on September 13th both events will take place from 5 PM – 8 PM. In addition, Deputy Mayor Renner gave praise to the First Responders at the fire on Lime Kiln Road this past weekend. Councilor Charles Judge: There are no updates at this time. Councilor Aurora Hurd: Not present Councilor Bryn Oakleaf: Gave thanks to the Green-Up volunteers and staff. Congratulations to the organizers, performers, volunteers and visitors who attended the Waking Windows Event on May 2-May 4. The next Municipal Infrastructure Commission Meeting will be on May 14th. VI. City Updates Elaine Wang, City Manager, provided the following updates: Scheduled Stormwater Inventory Work May 2025 The Department of Public Works began work on a stormwater infrastructure inventory and mapping project today. This work will take 2 – 3 weeks to complete, with an estimated end date of May 30. Work will occur Monday – Friday from 7 AM – 5 PM in the following areas: • Mayo Street to the west • Abenaki Way to the east • Platt Street to the north • and the Winooski River to the south  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov DPW and our project partners will require access to stormwater catch basins and manholes, resulting in temporary parking restrictions at the access points prior to and during work performed. For full project details, please visit the news updates section of our website at winooskivt.gov. Blood Drive at the Senior Center on May 16 Spring is here, and blood donations are needed! Did you know that in the 6 hours it takes to spring clean, 10,800 units of blood may be transfused to patients? Help save a life and schedule your appointment today for the blood drive at the Senior Center on Friday, May 16, from 12 – 4:30 PM. To schedule, visit the news updates section of our website at winooskivt.gov or call 1 800 RED CROSS. VII. Regular Items A. Discussion: Fiscal Year 2025 Q3 Treasurer’s Financial Report - John Affinito, City Treasurer Minutes: John Affinito presented the third quarter financial report for FY25 ending March 31, 2025. He provided an overview of the financial status of the General Fund, Enterprise Funds and Special Revenue Funds. Council thanked John Affinito for his summary. B. Discussion/Approval: Overview and Introduction of Amendments to Unified Land Use and Development Regulations (Transportation Demand Management) - Ravi Venkataraman, Director of City Planning Minutes: Ravi Venkataraman provided a detailed overview of the amendments to the ULUDR (Unified Land Use Development Regulations) to improve transportation infrastructure (Transportation Demand Management- TDM) throughout the city. Ravi is coordinating with Green Mountain Transit and other modes of transportation including ride share and CATMA(Computer Assisted Text Makeup Markup and Analysis). The objective of these proposed amendments is to provide incentives for new developers. Some of these incentives range from reducing vehicle trips, to encouraging other modes of transportation etc. Some of the proposed amendments are to provide an adequate number of bike racks, shower and lockers. Other concerns are clarification of the language around the shower and locker situation. Additional concerns included marketing requirements that the landlord has provides information to the occupants regarding the transportation options related to the building, i.e – parking situation, location of bus stop, etc. The Public Hearing to discuss these proposed amendments will be on June 16th here at City Hall. Motion: Councilor Oakleaf seconded by Councilor Judge to set the Public Hearing for the proposed amendments on June 16th. Voted and passed 3-0 C. Discussion/Approval: Emergency Purchase Request for Security Cameras for Cascades Parking Garage - Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: Extensive discussion ensued regarding the proposed “Emergency” Request to purchase security cameras. The recommendation came from the Public Works Director, Fire Chief, Fire Marshall and Police Chief to help mitigate public safety concerns in the stairwells at the Parking Garage. The vendor was selected due to their installation of the initial camera system. Discussion arose from Council regarding the best use of the proposed expenditure and possible alternatives for the cost ($90,000). The City Manager requested guidance on the next steps as directed by Council.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Motion: Motion by Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner seconded by Mayor Kristine Lott. Councilor Oakleaf and Councilor Judge voted “no”. The motion failed. D. Discussion: Strategic Vision Goal Update: Safe Healthy Connected People - Ray Coffey, Community Services Director Minutes: The Goal Update for Safe Healthy Connected People was provided by Ray Coffey. His update included the proposed and adopted strategies as set forth by the Council adopted 2024-2025 Policy Priorities and Strategies. Questions arose regarding the tentative opening of the library in January of 2026. VIII. Executive Session Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313 which exempts from public inspection, (a) (1) (A) contracts Motion by Councilor Judge, seconded by Councilor Oakleaf to find the need of the Executive Session. Voted and passed 3-0. Motion by Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner, seconded by Councilor Judge to enter into Executive Session at 7:35 PM. Voted and passed 3-0. Motion by Councilor Judge, seconded by Councilor Oakleaf, to exit executive session at 8:02 PM. Voted and passed 3-0. IX. Regular Items A. Discussion/Approval: Amendment Agreement with Nedde Real Estate - Elaine Wang, City Manager Motion by Deputy Mayor Thomas Renner, seconded by Councilor Judge to approve Regular Item IX. Voted and passed 3-0. X. Adjourn Motion by Councilor Oakleaf, seconded by Councilor Judge to adjourn at 8:03 PM. Voted and passed 3-0 Attest: ________________________________________ Kim Hier, Assistant City Clerk