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 3, 2025, at 6 PM Attend in person: Winooski City Hall (27 W Allen St) Attend online: https://us06web.zoom.us/s/84364849328 Attend by phone: 1 646 558 8656 Webinar ID: 843 6484 9328 Members Present: Deputy Mayor Bryn Oakleaf; Councilor Aurora Hurd; Councilor Alison Turkos; Councilor Elsie Goodrich Officers Present: Elaine Wang, City Manager, Ray Coffey, Community Services Director; Paul Sarne, Communications Director; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; John Audy, Fire Chief; Justin Huizenga, Chief of Police; Jenny Willingham, City Clerk; Kim Hier, Assistant City Clerk Others Present: Pastor Ellen Ravelin, Winooski United Methodist Church; Linda Howe, Winooski Food Shelf; Doug Nedde, Arica Bronz, Kate Coffey, Matt Anthony, Nora Doherty, Ryan Wade, Margaret Hicks, Jordan Mitchell, Town Meeting TV, Matthew Smith, Cassie O’Brien, Joseph Carleton, Carolyn Gould, Lucas Pelletier, Zoom user “BSD” I. Call to Order at 6:02 PM II. Agenda Review A. Move item D – Board and Commission Appointments from Consent Agenda to Regular Item A. B. Move item I – Proposed Changes to Municipal Code Chapter 29 – Trees to Regular Item E. III. Public Comment Minutes: Pastor Ellen Ravelin from the Winooski United Methodist Church, and Linda Howe from the Winooski food shelf presented numbers regarding number of families served in recent months at the food shelf, which is run out of the first floor of the church. They are very busy and numbers served are increasing. Prices are increasing and they have had to decrease the amount of protein rich foods that they are giving out. They are in need of staging space, preferably at an external location such as a restaurant or market. Financial donations would be greatly appreciated. There is an online donation option at Winooskifoodshelf.org. A line item in the City budget was requested, which City Manager Wang indicated could be discussed in the future. Arica Bronz discussed concerns with the lack of a sidewalk on Manseau street between East Allen and Lafountain. She stated the need for traffic calming measures, as speed bumps are not always effective. She is also concerned for the “blind corner” at the intersection of Manseau and High street. A sidewalk was proposed in 2023 and a survey was performed, however some property owners did not approve of the easement needed for the sidewalk, and the project was stopped. She expressed concern with increased development as it relates to traffic. She suggested taking over some of the street space to use as a sidewalk or bike path, although there are other large projects taking place in the City that are a priority. In lieu of the sidewalk she proposed installing a 3 way stop sign at Manseau and High St. in order to slow traffic.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Kate Coffey expressed concern over pedestrian safety on Manseau St. and stated that many children walk on this street to get to the school bus, as well as ADA accessibility. A section of Dion St. that is lacking a sidewalk is also of concern. She expressed concerns for future development in the city, handling of traffic flow, and overall communication between the City and the community. IV. Consent Agenda A. Approval: City Council Meeting Minutes of October 20, 2025 B. Approval: Payroll Warrant October 12 - 25, 2025 C. Approval: Accounts Payable Warrant November 3, 2025 D. Approval: Board and Commission Appointments E. Approval: Resolution - Native American Heritage Month F. Approval: Resolution - Veterans and Military Families Month G. Approval: Proclamation - Small Business Saturday H. Approval: Grant Application - Child Care Quality and Capacity Incentive Program I. Approval: Proposed Changes to Municipal Code Chapter 29 - Trees Minutes: Remove item D and move to Regular Item A. Remove item I and move to regular Item E. Motion: Motion made by Councilor Turkos to approve Consent Agenda items, seconded by Councilor Goodrich. Motion carried 3-0. V. Council Reports Councilor Aurora Hurd: Reminder that the Inclusion and Belonging Commission will meet on December 17, 2025. Deputy Mayor Bryn Oakleaf: The Municipal Infrastructure Commission will hold a joint meeting with the Finance Commission on November 20, 2025. Mayor Thomas Renner: Not present. Councilor Elsie Goodrich: The Housing Commission met on Tuesday October 28th and started the 2027 comprehensive plan visioning and goal setting to look at the vision statement and the ten housing goals and objectives currently in the plan. The Commission Chair, the City’s Housing Initiative Director, and the Council liaison met with the new candidate for the Alternate seat, who we are recommending for Council to approve. The next Housing Commission meeting will be Tuesday, November 25, 2025. Councilor Alison Turkos: None given. VI. City Updates Elaine Wang, City Manager, gave the following updates: Please check out our new Public Meetings page! At the beginning of every month, community members can look ahead to all of our City Council, board, commission, and committee meetings by visiting winooskivt.gov/meetings. A once-a-month news update will go out announcing that month’s meetings, and, where possible, we’ll continue to share meeting information on our other communications channels. We hope  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov this provides a new, central location to find out about public meetings. Residents are always encouraged to participate, ask questions, and provide feedback during public meetings. Many thanks to Downtown Winooski and the Community Services Department for another amazing Halloween in Winooski! This tremendous undertaking continues to provide an amazing community experience. The Vermont Agency of Transportation will perform utility clearance and soil boring work related to the Burlington-Winooski Bridge replacement project from Monday, November 3, to Wednesday, November 5, 2025. Traffic impacts and parking restrictions will be in place – please visit the news updates section on our website at winooskivt.gov for full details. Reminder: construction is slated to begin in 2027, this is simply preliminary work that is required. For full project details, please visit burlingtonwinooskibridge.vtransprojects.vermont.gov. VII. Regular Items A. Approval: Board and Commission Appointments Minutes: The following candidates introduced themselves: Development Review Board • Matthew Llabres, as a member for a 2-year term (expires June 30, 2027) • Ryan Wade, as an alternate for a 2-year term (expires June 30, 2027) Local Resources Advisory Board • Margaret Hicks, as a member for a 2-year term (expires June 30, 2027) Housing Commission • Nora Doherty, as an alternate for a 2-year term (expires June 30, 2027) Motion: Motion by Councilor Turkos to approve all four candidates for Board and Commission appointments for the Development Review Board, Local Resource Advisory Board, and Housing Commission, seconded by Councilor Goodrich. Motion carried 3-0. B. Discussion/Approval: Town Meeting TV Fiscal Year 2025 Municipal Update - Elaine Wang, City Manager Minutes: Jordan Mitchell, co-Director of Operations at Town Meeting TV (the public access cable station in the area), and Matt Smith, Trustee Representative for Winooski, discussed Town Meeting TV’s relationship to the City of Winooski. Services offered were discussed, such as archives dating back to 1984, and CCTV Productions, which is their fee-for-hire service. Service and coverage are allocated based on cable subscriber numbers. Production numbers for Winooski were provided. They are funded in large part by Burlington Telecom and Comcast subscribers, along with municipal contributions. Cable revenue is down 9%, and it was stated that there is increased demand for services as well as increased viewership. They are asking for an additional $1000 this year in Winooski’s annual budget, for a total of $13,000. There was discussion of using  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov Front Porch Forum for posting of events as well as including language access in future Town Meeting TV web site improvements. Motion: None C. Discussion/Approval: Treasurer's Reports Fiscal Year 2025 Q4 and Fiscal Year 2026 Q1 - John Affinito, City Treasurer Minutes: Treasurer Affinito presented key takeaways from the fourth quarter of FY25 financial reports, and an analysis of the quarter one FY26 forecast, which at this point is “best guess” given we are early in the year. FY25 numbers are final, therefore his primary focus was on FY25 for the purposes of the presentation. Discussion followed regarding any impact the government shutdown is having on the City of Winooski. Finance Director Aldieri indicated that any impact was minimal at this time. Motion: None D. Discussion/Approval: Introduction to Update Municipal Code Chapter 16.12a - Horseback Riding - Ray Coffey, Community Services Director Minutes: In March of this year, Doug Nedde, Developer for the Sugar House Hotel, approached the City regarding offering horse drawn carriage rides in Casavant Park. Chapter 16 of Winooski’s municipal code prohibits horseback riding within city limits, therefore an ordinance change would be needed. The proposed change is not to designate a specific bridal trail, but to allow horseback riding by permit only. Community Services Director Coffey has spoken with the Vermont Trails and Greenways Council and Forest Parks and Recreation colleagues. The Regional Wetlands Ecologist has been unavailable; however, he has spoken with a community member with a background in wetland permitting. Questions and discussion surrounding location of the trail, material to be used, ADA compliance, off-leash dogs, availability to the greater community, benefits to local options tax and downtown businesses, trail stabilization, and potential insurance costs took place. Mr. Nedde discussed his intention for limited weekends initially and also indicated he is open to discussion of possibly assisting with a dog park in Casavant, should one be approved. Director Coffey indicated the plan for the park must be reviewed regarding how the land can be used. He also stated that this ordinance change is the first step; without the change to the ordinance, there are other items that it does not make sense to pursue at this time. It was requested that a public hearing be conditional upon receiving input from a wetlands expert. Motion: Motion by Councilor Turkos to introduce amendments to Municipal Code Chapter 16.12a and set a conditional public hearing for December 8, 2025, seconded by Councilor Goodrich. Motion carried 3-0. E. Approval: Proposed Changes to Municipal Code Chapter 29 - Trees Minutes: The change to the tree ordinance is to address concerns raised at the last Council meeting, involving a change in language from “public tree” to “shade tree”. Affected are Article 2 table of contents – sections 29.03, 29.04, 29.05; Article 5 first sentence, Article 6 section 20.01 second sentence, Article 7 section 29.03 in the title, section 29.04 in the title, and section 29.05 in the title. Motion: Motion by Councilor Hurd to adopt changes to Municipal Code Chapter 29 for the tree ordinance, seconded by Councilor Turkos. Motion passed 3-0.  City of Winooski 27 West Allen Street Winooski Vermont 05404 Vermont’s Opportunity City 802 655 6410 winooskivt.gov VIII. Adjourn Motion: Motion to adjourn at 7:24 PM by Councilor Turkos, seconded by Councilor Goodrich. Motion carried 3-0. Attest: _______________________________________________ Kim Hier, Assistant City Clerk