 Good evening and welcome to in the world of Winooski. I'm Winooski Mayor South Leonard happy you can join us And this is a live version on September the 25th 2018 and you can also call in today's show at 802-862-3966 again That's 802-862-3966 if you've got questions We do a lot of city updates today as we turn into fall and remind folks that we're nearing the election season So it's a great time to start paying attention to issues and engaging in things and encourage you to keep up that level of engagement questioning and learning as we move into the budget season into the the winter as well So today we're going to cover a number of big things that have unfolded over the past couple months in the city First off we want to make sure that you're staying up to date on the big projects that people have voted in via Bond votes in the last few months Namely the Main Street Reconstruction and also the Myers Memorial Pool Revitalization project, so we'll be doing quick updates on both of those items today and let you know where those things stand as we've Promised to try to keep folks engaged as you come into budget season and have an idea of where those projects are falling in terms of financing opportunities and options and How you can help again continue to provide feedback to city council and the city government on how we can best execute those Projects for you and the community We're also going to do an update on another issue that folks have paid a lot of attention to I think in our community Which is all resident voting I'll talk about the timeline that unfolded in regards to considering that issue and what may lie ahead in terms of process following the most recent vote to put the issue on a slightly different time track than was initially proposed and then I also want to alert folks about a housing series that's coming up in town and Again, a couple shows ago I think quite get to get into some of the details of the work that was being done by the housing commission Want to make sure folks are aware of those conversations taking place as we've changed zoning over the past few years allowed for additional Opportunities for development to take place in the community We also feel like it's really important to ensure that we've got good strong housing policy in place as well That'll help the community ensure that we know who we are and what we look like in terms of the capacity to continue to support our diversity Through the through a rich and diverse housing stock as well First off I want to start tonight by just going through a few big updates in the city for folks who haven't followed Winooski received a Zomber announcement from one of our longest standing Public servants and that's over 50 years. Clembus and that's served the city of Winooski in number of different capacities from city counselor Incredibly involved citizen mayor and most recently in the house Representatives for the state of Vermont can't say enough about the dedication Clems been Clems been known for through the years. He's given so much to the city of Winooski Steered the city through some very challenging times But also some exciting times Oversold the passage and creation of the state's largest redevelopment project in history in the downtown Creation of the TIF district or the tax current finance district. So as Clem signs off From a lot pillier and moves on to the next chapter of his life Please take a moment cinema message Thank him for all the work that he's done because it's folks like Clem who've dedicated themselves so many years to the city of Winooski that puts us in the exciting place We are and we wouldn't be where we are without Clem and all of his dedication through the years So from the bottom of my heart, I know much of the community Clem Thanks for all that you've done through the years and we look forward to seeing what's next for you and your family and life And hopefully you maybe get a little bit more down time now So thanks to Clem Bisonette and you can also watch over the next couple weeks I think there's gonna be a couple riding candidates potentially for that seat Or at least one riding candidate So please continue to keep track of what's going on there as we approach the November elections One thing that's obviously very pervasive in Winooski this time of year is the almighty pumpkins, right? So as we approach the the fall season one of Winooski's richest traditions is the festival of pumpkins And we're very happy to say season screening is back doing that event again I really want to urge folks that that is a volunteer driven event and it's a volunteer driven event by residents who have been doing it a long time and have put a lot into that event and You know, they'll be quick to tell you it's always in need of new energy and new blood That hasn't maybe put their hands on the festival before so encourage folks To reach out you can reach out to me even if you like at mayor at WinooskiVT.org Happy to put you in touch with the folks who organize that event That is a community-powered event that takes a lot of volunteer time and effort and we are constantly in need of extra hands Good backs for folks who don't mind cleaning scrubbing and helping with the pumpkins in addition to the pumpkin festival The festival pumpkins that will again be held in the circulator park We will also have the all the companions event the kids day and haunted Winooski all taking place Over that we can proceed are directly before Halloween We can so you'll see or Halloween day So you will see a number of announcements coming up from the city But recognize that once again, it'll be downtown and once again, it's going to combine all those various events So haunted Winooski is back on and we look forward to a great event and Really exciting season that I think Winooski's come to own in the area When you give shout outs to several and maybe plant the seed we've had several residents who have started block parties in their neighborhood and We're more than happy to support this as a city and I want to acknowledge our police department and their crew under chief Hebert who've gone out and done a lot of the cooking for these they we have a little budget that we put aside to do those types of outreach events So if you and your neighbors think a block party would be a good idea I really encourage you to reach out to the city again visit Winooski V T org and let us know what street You would be interested in potentially closing down or having the police come We set up a bouncy house on Hickok streets coming up soon And we've done on a West Street for a number of years so great opportunity to engage your neighbors create a cool environment for some great Exchanges to take place and the city is really happy to support that type of activity So hope folks out in their community will feel empowered to reach out to us something like that up with your neighbors Really encourage that and something we've seen take hold I want to address another kind of sticky political issue that popped up recently and that's the Recent hand or excuse me letter from ACL with the city received in regards to our panhandling ordinance Years ago the city did put in a panhandling ordinance that asked folks not to panhandle aggressively the ACLU or Decided to flag that as a potentially a policy that needed to be addressed from their perspective Want to update folks that council did take the action of putting an ordinance change Into motion to address that issue To ensure that we are providing a good environment for our community In terms of what residents will experience, you know Operationally we came to the conclusion that really had no impact that it was not really being utilized to Certainly discriminate against anybody but was was really just a backbone for addressing when folks Maybe we're approaching folks in regards to our community members in regards to potential donations to different causes But wasn't being used in any kind of threatening manner But I am pleased to report that we have taken about addressing that ordinance issue and look forward to having an update for Folks as we round the corner on updating that ordinance We want to update you to that in March you voted to help us Makes pretty significant upgrades to our wastewater treatment plant. I'll let you know that construction center way It's that whether those big exciting announcement that something's done But we are in the process of beginning that waterworks or excuse me Headworks project that will help Screen materials as they come into the wastewater treatment plant and elongate the life of that plant So kind of in the weeds municipal things there, but a big deal for the community We also set the FY 20 budget schedule In the last council meeting so again This is a great opportunity in December and January to make sure that you're addressing council about what your priorities are what you Think we should be focusing on financially Anything that you have you want to flag as a concern or what more information about you know It's it's challenging when we get to the first week in March and people express Questions or concerns because at that point in time we've set the budget we've put it forward So really encourage you to try to interject into that and reject your thoughts opinions and Concerns as as far in advance as you can and that can be as simple as going to the city website and sharing a few brief sentences With city counselors via an email But again when you ski vt-dr You can find all of our contact information and be sure to reach out share your thoughts about the budget as we Approach that season we're going to do it in a very similar fashion this year where we take a Department or area of focus for example public safety where we'll address the fire department the police departments all and the the Alternative Justice Center all in one Meeting so we'll have sort of topic areas that we'll discuss and very similarly we'll move to administration We'll talk about the city manager's office the clerk's office So we do that round Robin spend one meeting focusing on an issue But you can come to any meeting and weigh in And we meet every week in January Well, I probably actually also have an extra meeting in January leading up to approving a budget proposal in January And we're going to talk in just a second and really get into you know a bit more of an update on where the pool of Main Street issue are but this is also where those Projects are really going to come to a head so to speak and that we're working over the next couple months to Finalize the exact finance model that's going to be proposed to you in terms of a tax rate and What increase or impact they may have not just for this year, but for subsequent years as well So we want to share that with the public make sure you understand as you walk into those polls What you're voting on and voting for And then I just want to bring up one more item that when you do go to the polls this year You will be voting almost two years to the date In advance of our 100th anniversary in the city of Winooski and over the next couple months We're going to start engaging folks in regards to a legacy campaign to really ensure that we celebrate that hundred-year anniversary Properly or you might call it the hundred-year anniversary of our independence from the Colchester But that's something that's forthcoming but want to make make that known that when you see that seal Which shows up sometimes behind me and you'll see on my PowerPoint note in a moment We've got that 1922 date and we're getting very close to that So we'll have a two-year anniversary wind-up where we'll be working to have a year-long celebration to kick off Because we'll be just three short years away So now let's get into the main crux of our content today Which again, we're going to swing back and talk about a potential charter change that folks will hear more about over the coming Months and also talk a little bit about those project updates that I and I want to provide so first off I wanted to update folks on all resident voting and our and an issue that I think is really Really important to a lot of members of our community I think we all recognize that when you ski is the most diverse community by a great deal in the state of Vermont Over 16 percent of our population was not born in the United States in many cases that indicates that have either refugee status or Are in the process of going through this the citizenship The steps to citizenship as such we have a number of residents that live in our community who are not able to vote in Elections aren't able to vote on things like whether or not we should establish a pool in our community whether we should Spend money and invest in revitalizing Main Street Whether or not, you know the municipal language actually also extends to the school whether the school budgets To be able to vote on those as well So a few years ago we established a charter community This was flagged as a major issue for a new ski that needed to be addressed and with a public process That we needed to look at whether or not we should redefine what a qualified voter looks like In earlier this fall, I'll say late summer in August We voted on a timeline to pursue and investigate whether we should put it on the ballot for a potential charter change commitment and That would have been up for a vote in November To change the definition of voter and when you ski also means that we have to update our city charter The Charter is really the document that founds the community Outlays what our government looks like it talks about how we can raise money spend money departmental creation and really sets forth the powers that the city have the residents have and the staff have In a very general way. It also defines how our politic works Including who is a qualified voter that same charter is actually also relied upon by the school Which their charter refers back to it in terms of who is a qualified voter? So changing a charter includes not just a vote of our residents Which we would need to move the issue forward but would also include the legislator a legislative committee passing That item during the exploration process of potentially putting on November ballot I would just surmise or summarize that there were a number of items and issues that were flagged That I think the majority of council felt were Needed some more time to be worked through and in addition to that Wanted to give the community a bit more time to process the issue and have those thoughtful community conversations and engagement and outreach So we essentially hit pause on the issue for right now decided not to put it on the November ballot But that does not mean that this issue is going to the background We will be discussing it again in our first meeting in October and bringing this Item back to say what is a reasonable timeline? What do we think we can how quickly we can move forward on an item like this that that is also considered of all those? Complexities that we ran into and trying to potentially put it on the November ballot So this is an item that we're still very much looking for people's in the community's input on and feedback And it's also an item that I think we really appreciate you taking time to engage your neighbors about and have a Conversation with people in the community who it might affect who maybe would gain the right and opportunity to vote who might not otherwise So that's where the issue stands for right now. I think it's a to be continued But want to make that really clear for folks So there's not confusion as to whether it will not will be or will not be on the November ballot It will not be right now by city council action So that's where that's being left at the moment So one thing you will find on a ballot in March is Is a budget that reflects debt service payment on two important projects The first is Myers Memorial Pool and the second being the revitalization of Main Street So as a reminder of folks if I go back to this slide, we initially looked at a couple different proposals in regards to the pool We had the original proposal, which was the sort of all-in what we think the The community once in terms of a pool With all features all capabilities all capacity and that came in at three point nine million dollars Then we had a three point five million dollar option that was sort of value engineered meaning there were some Components of the pool that were taken out. I wouldn't go so far as to call them luxury items But maybe additions that weren't absolutely critical to the operation the pool And then we had the reduced tax impact proposal, which was the baseline that three point two nine million dollars proposal in the end council elected to send a couple of weeks ago Elected to send staff forward with the scaled-down proposal, which is that reduced tax proposal And in addition to going with that reduced tax proposal We opened the door for a very set amount of funds to be raised by the pool committee So the value engineered proposal moving forward with the pool committee seeking out Exact number doesn't come to mind, but three hundred thousand plus dollars in terms of fundraising that they would be pursuing To provide the additional components related to the features that they thought were important during their scope and study So again a lot of thought and community energy went into this process And a lot of people gave feedback as to what was important to them And at the end of the day and balancing the two projects, you know We've really kept the pool and Main Street sort of separate For quite a while in terms of conversations But given now that they're both going to be impacting the same budget felt like it was it was important not to bifurcate those two Conversations and start really blending them together in a concept that the same taxpayer is going to be asked to pay for both projects Right so in light of that we elected to start with the scaled-back pool and said Let's leave a window then for fundraising to take place that could perhaps Up the pool and I want to point out that we are talking excuse me not the reduced tax impact proposal But the value-engineered proposal that still left enough of those components there that ensure the longevity of the pool would be operational So we passed that news along to the fundraising committee. We look forward to seeing those efforts and activities I know there are several members of council who are going to be engaged in that But again if you need connection to the fundraising opportunities, there's been postings on front porch form reach out to the city We'll be happy to help be the spoken hub to get you in contact with those folks You know it's going to take more than bake sales to get the amount of funds that are being sought there So really looking for creative ideas to help raise some money to put some of those components in there that we think would be helpful But from a baseline perspective Decided not to put it right away in the initial proposal and then we also talked about the potential scaling Main Street So as a reminder Main Street includes a number of different components to the work Right. It had utility upgrades on street parking stormwater infrastructure bike path Expanded today's pedestrian accommodation and streetscape amenities So there were a number of layers to that project from a component perspective and it Spanned the entire Length of Main Street. So in our instruction back again to staff on the financing. We've asked for for This kind of somewhat similar to the pool. We've said, what would it look like to stage this project? What would it look like to either stage it from a Sectioning standpoint or on a work standpoint may be doing different layers of the work So we are waiting to hear back Final numbers and a proposal on what that might look like and essentially again what we're talking about is Potentially elongating the length of the project But doing it in a way that from a tax impact standpoint is a bit more sustainable on incremental increases Versus asking for everything up front, you know when we look at just natural increases of cost to the city You know, we're at about four percent or four cents on the tax rate. I've just naturally Naturally incurred cost to do the same business that we did last year and that's things like health insurance COLA the cost of goods just increasing So we want to be mindful that if we're also including capital projects that include another two percent four percent And we're not quoting percentages just yet. We'll be getting there very soon That we're we're taking that into account that the taxpayer is going to get you know a bill that says four to six percent Even if we do this in the most scaled back manner So with that recognize that initially if we did all went all in full speed on both projects We were probably looking at 18 plus percent over the first two years in terms of the impact on the tax rate Which I think you know while there was no formal vote in terms of In terms of the exact funding methods that we're going to end up using or exact funding schedule that we're gonna end up using I think everybody felt on council I think it's reflective to say that that was a that was a hard increase to pass along to taxpayers So we are looking we're looking at the fact that both Main Street and Myers-Pool bones Bonds were passed by voters So we are We are also moving forward as a result of that work and the redevelopment of Of Main Street on also coming up with housing parameters, which I'll speak about here now But just to wrap up that conversation on on Myers-Pool and Main Street Please just recognize that you know if you if you were in favor of those projects the votes that got us started Were the bond votes that gave us authorization to take out debt Really the next votes that occur on this is number one We'll be asking taxpayers to service that debt with an additional burden on the tax rate That's gonna be a reality So you'll hear us talk about the budget this year and we'll talk about what what portion of that budget is going towards Addressing those the debt to ensure that those projects happen, but in addition to that too. We also have auxiliary items like The creation of a 1% sales tax, which Manuski has never had but most surrounding communities actually do So we are looking at implementing that as part of the part of how we're gonna fund The debt on Main Street how we're gonna service that debt We recognize that with the creation of infrastructure on Main Street We also are increasing the opportunity that properties get redeveloped and that there be additional investment when you skip We're in an exciting time where people do want to build here They do want to open businesses here people do want to live in our community and as such that demand has created activity and part of the Part of the balancing act with that is ensuring yes We love that new activity love those new opportunities in the community But we also want to ensure that we're remaining affordable So we put together a housing commission work Which I briefed through these goals last time in terms of encouraging the development of affordable housing opportunities for a broad range of income Levels fostering a mix of housing types to serve the needs of different family compositions household types Promoting quality housing that's safe and we ask that goals be developed by that group and that group came back with very prescribed goals with 15% of new units Serving under 80% of the area median income Making sure that we have tools available to reach balancing goals is that next discussion Which I'm gonna bring up next and the proposals that are coming forward in the next few months and What we're looking at from a policy perspective There are three key ones I think you're gonna hear quite a bit a lot quite a bit about prior to the end of this Calendar year the first is a replacement ordinance that would require a placement of housing units It's if redevelopment of property occurs where there are current residential units So basically if you were to tear down a building that had 10 housing units in there a replacement ordinance might say Hey, you need to build two at least 10 units in the property that as you redevelop it There's also a housing trust fund component to the policy mix It's being discussed a housing trust fund can be used by a city to inject Funds into types of deals that may be create affordable housing opportunities that might otherwise have a hard financial time and then inclusionary zoning Which might guide what type of development takes place? And what type of incomes the development serves in the units that are available? so most importantly today, I want to point out that there's a number of Important housing housing sessions coming up for the community We've posted these and the first one occurred last night or the 24th of September Which was we looked at the replacement ordinance and trust fund Items initially the second one is Tuesday, October the 9th from 6 to 8 p.m.. And keep keep note I'm pretty sure that's going to be held at the community center. It might be at City Hall, but Tuesday the 9th of 2018 between 6 and 8 p.m.. They're gonna Look at the broader in impact of inclusionary zoning our replacement ordinances and How we might balance those policies and then finally the housing Commission on the 22nd of October from six days It's also going to have a meeting on those same topics again, so we're going to continue to focus speakers on Informing our community about these policies is we consider them and consider putting them in place as a reaction to some of the investment We're making infrastructure that we know might spur additional development Lots to keep track of hope folks stay engaged use that website that the city has to reach us ask questions Go to the primary resources on some of these really complex issues great to talk to your neighbors But remember we have professional city staff and counselors who spend a lot of time who are ready to help answer any questions You might have about these or other projects in the city Thanks very much for joining us for another session of in the world of Winooski. I'm Mayor Seth Leonard We'll look forward to seeing you for the next show