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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Steering Committee - 06/22/2022 STEERING COMMITTEE 22 JUNE 2022 The South Burlington Steering Committee held a meeting on Wednesday, 22 June 2022, in City Hall Conference Room 301, at 6:30 p.m., and by remote participation. MEMBERS PRESENT: City Council: M. Emery, Acting Steering Committee Chair; H. Riehle, City Council Chair; T. Barritt, Sen. T. Chittenden, M. Cota; J. Baker, City Manager; School Board: Dr. T. Childs, School Board Chair; A. Henry, C. Tillinghast, M. Boyer, K. Bailey, B. Minier; D. Young, Superintendent of Schools ALSO PRESENT: A. Bolduc, Deputy City Manager; Rep. J. Killacky, Rep. A. Pugh, Rep. M. Townsend, P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; J. Slason, E. Goldman, M. Mittag, E. Krasnow 1. Directions on How to Leave the Building in Case of an Emergency: Ms. Baker provided instructions on exiting the building in the event of an emergency. 2. Agenda Review: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items: No changes were made to the agenda. 3. Comments & Questions from the public not related to the Agenda: No issues were raised. 4. City Council and School Board discussion on School Impact Fee Report from Jonathan Slason, PE from RSG: Supt. Young reviewed the history. He said it is important to discern where the school district is in terms of enrollment and to respond to any questions from the City Council. Two elementary schools are significantly over their maximum enrollment. This has raised the question of whether to bring back school impact fees to help defer some of the costs of the added enrollment. Mr. Slason said the city had school impact fees for many years, then sunset them. The school district now news to meet the challenge of increasing enrollment today and in the future. Mr. Slason stressed that impact fees are only part of the solution. They do, however, provide a fair amount of latitude as to what they can fund. The ones cited in his report represent the legal maximum. STEERING COMMITTEE 22 JUNE 2022 PAGE 2 Mr. Slason said the school district needs to identify 125,000 square feet of space to meet present and future enrollment. The estimated cost is $587.00/sq. ft. Impact fees would meet about 20%of that number. Ms. Tillinghast asked what impact fees were in the past compared to what is being recommended. Mr. Slason estimated between $2,000 and $7,000 per household unit in the past. Mr. Cota noted that traditionally impact fees are paid by a developer when a building permit is pulled. He also noted that a homeowner could be charged an impact fee for adding on a bedroom to an existing home. He asked if impact fees would be only on residential uses. Mr. Slason said that is what typically happens. Mr. Barritt asked what the previous impacts fee money was used for. Supt. Young recalled the addition of project rooms at two elementary schools. Ms. Riehle said there is a legal requirement that the school project has to be constructed while fees are being collected; the money can't be used for future planning. Mr. Slason said the project has to be identified, but they can do some pre-planning. You can collect money as long as it goes toward an identified project. Supt. Young added that the project has to be predicated on enrollment needs. Mr. Conner explained that state law requires the money to be used for "increased capacity," but how you measure that can vary. Mr. Conner noted that the city's Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a 10-year plan, so the city is looking 10 years out. He also added that since impact fees fund only part of the cost of a project, there has to be a commitment to secure the rest of the funding. Mr. Slason noted that if a project is not built, the money collected for that project has to be returned to the developers. Supt. Young said he is getting requests from Act 250 as to whether the school has capacity for a given development. He is now saying "no," and this could impact development in the city. Mr. Conner said the education impact fee in 2009 was $2800 for a single family home and $1600 per unit for a multi-family development. Mr. Cota noted that Mr. Slason is recommending assessing the impact fee based on the number of bedrooms. Mr. Slason said that is more equitable as studio and 1 bedroom apartments don't STEERING COMMITTEE 22 JUNE 2022 PAGE 3 generate a large number of children. The impact feel in those cases could also jeopardize affordability. Mr. Cota asked how many units are built in the city per year. Mr. Conner estimated 140. Mr. Cota said that would be about $35,000,000. Mr. Conner said some of those units are studios and single bedroom. Mr. Barritt asked if an impact fee would be levied on an affordable unit or project. Mr. Slason said it is common for a city to waive the impact fee in those cases. Mr. Conner stressed that the burden then gets shifted to other sources. Sen. Chittenden asked if a square footage basis was ever considered, to impact larger homes. Mr. Slason said that could be investigated. Sen. Chittenden cited the need to start thinking about a new school. He noted that most of the growth has been in the Southeast Quadrant where there is no school. Ms. Baker noted that saying "no" to Act 250 will result in developers doing projects that don't have to go through Act 250. She said there are other tools to get a "yes" to Act 250. Mr. Barritt asked whether a "no" to Act 250 carries a lot of weight. Mr. Conner said Act 250 can approve, approve with conditions, or deny. The direction given to them is that criteria can be used to attach conditions to a project; the project can't be denied because of it. Mr. Conner noted that very few schools in the state are having this issue. Ms. Boyer asked how they can get to a predictable enrollment number and whether they use the full resource of historical data. Supt. Young said the district employs a demographer. From 2014 to the present, he has been right on. Mr. Slason said the average increase in students is between 18-20+ per year, and that aligns with housing. Sen. Chittenden cited the need for another elementary school, and said impact fees could be used to help offset that cost. Supt. Young said it is important to begin the process and the collection of funds. It is also important to do due diligence. Ms. Emery asked if the School Board has said 'yes.' Supt. Young said they have. Dr. Childs asked people can be prevented from moving to South Burlington. Ms. Baker said no. STEERING COMMITTEE 22 JUNE 2022 PAGE 4 Ms. Emery asked if this would be a topic at the Council retreat and whether it would require a ballot item. Ms. Baker said it can be put on the Retreat agenda. Voters would not vote on the imposing of impact fees, but they would vote on the "match." She said she would encourage the Council to receive and respond to a specific recommendation from the School Board which is as detailed as possible. Mr. Slason noted that impact fees need to reflect all other financing (grants, etc.). There will be a legal maximum. Mr. Minier was concerned that they will be underestimating where they need to be. He noted they have underestimated the number of students in the past. He stressed that just fixing the Middle School and High School is a $100,000,000 cost. Mr. Slason noted that they could use impact fees for trailers now and then increase the amount in the next few years when plans evolve. Ms. Emery said there is a real concern on the part of parents with overcrowding. She asked what will happen in the interim. Supt. Young said they are 160 over capacity at each of the 2 schools. They now need modular units as they will far exceed expectations for next year. He stressed that these are not trailers. They look very much like classrooms. They can provide some time to plan. 5. Hold a legislative session wrap-up discussion with the current South Burlington State delegation: Ms. Emery introduced the Legislators present at the meeting. Ms. Riehle said it is also very important for candidates to come and listen to concerns as to what needs to be addressed. Sen. Chittenden said the Education Committee on which he serves spent a lot of time on new "pupil weighting." Mr. Chittenden said it looks like the additional $90,000,000 will allow another year of universal meals. He was concerned that people who are getting meals under that funding may have the means to provide for themselves. He said he would favor a "candy tax." Rep. Killacky said they had thought they had crafted a way to make Act 250 stricter and more regional, but the Governor vetoed it. STEERING COMMITTEE 22 JUNE 2022 PAGE 5 Rep. Pugh said pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) continues to be an effort to figure out with a child-care focus. Providers are trying the mirror the request to have pre-K more than 10 hours a week. She suggested the School Board may want to provide input in that discussion. There is still a question as to how to fund that. Rep. Pugh stressed the need for children to have a good educational start, and to make it affordable. She also stressed that significant strides have been made to provide the best for students in safe places. Rep. Killacky noted that a lot of money went toward affordable housing, particularly to address the "missing middle." ARPA funding will allow a developer to get part of the development cost for providing affordability. Rep. Townsend said the new budget has substantial investments regarding support for vulnerable Vermonters and provide them with needed services. This legislation includes a childhood and an elderly piece. Rep. Townsend asked the boards to contemplate the degree to which there will be new people in both chambers of the State Legislature. She urged then to reach out, not at the last minutes. She noted that funding from sports gambling has been a "death item" in the House in the past, but with new people there could be a new approach. The Legislature said "yes" to using $29,000,000 from the Ed Fund for universal meals, recognizing that children can't learn if they don't have good food. Rep. Killacky said the new representatives need to be educated on the needs of the city. He noted that representatives have been able to work together over several committees because they knew what was important. He also noted that 7 of the 11 committee chairs will not be returning which will radically change the House. Ms. Baker said the current elected officials have done an amazing job, particularly in interacting with city people (Police, Fire, Stormwater, etc.). She said the city will continue to focus on that and noted that the new Fire Chief may be at the head of getting regional dispatch. Mr. Barritt expressed concern about the pension issue. Rep. Townsend directed those interested in this to the appropriate website. She noted there were some changes made that took $2,000,000,000 off the top of the unfunded liability. This will not affect anyone already retired. STEERING COMMITTEE 22 JUNE 2022 PAGE 6 Ms. Boyer asked for a "back of the envelope" estimate of the South Burlington state tax rate. Sen. Chittenden said no more than 5%/year. There is a new method of weighting of students (e.g., English language learners, free lunch students, etc.). Supt. Young said the system makes it difficult to sustain programming. He stressed the need to be proactive and plan, even before November. He felt that new weighting system could result in significant reductions in programming. Supt. Young said the risk and liability in education is very high now. More schools may have to shut down as Burlington High School did. He said that child care and pre-K are very important factors in a planned outcome. He suggested that there should be an opportunity for education to connect with businesses. Ms. Emery then thanked the City's Representatives for their many years of service to the community. 6. Update on the Climate Action Plan and request for South Burlington School District participation: Mr. Goldman spoke to the need to rebuild communities to create a solution that will work for generations. He reviewed the history of the creation of the Climate Action Task Force which will deliver its recommendations to the City Council in September. The goal is to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030 and totally by 2050. Mr. Goldman noted that transportation represents about 2/3 of emission and buildings the other 1/3. The Task Force is looking to reduce vehicle miles traveled by 2-1/2% each year and to electrify a percentage of buildings each year. They are asking for an ordinance to prohibit fossil fuel use in all new buildings (which would require a City Charter change) and to reduce fossil fuel use in existing buildings. With regard to the school district, Mr. Goldman noted there are vehicles and buildings to be addressed. As educators of the next generation, there is also the opportunity to create students who will be part of the solution. He asked how the school district can partner with the city in this venture. Mr. Conner noted that the starting point for the Task Force was to build on the State's climate change plan, then to tie it to the local level. STEERING COMMITTEE 22 JUNE 2022 PAGE 7 Ms. Emery asked how the number of school buses could be reduced. Supt. Young said one issue is the safety of students walking to school. There are numerous infractions of people passing school buses, even when there are police behind them issuing tickets. On the positive side, there have been students instrumental in solar display. There are 4 electric school buses, and there have been heating upgrades though older buildings can have only limited efficiency. There has been work at Chamberlin with high-efficient heat pumps. In classrooms, students are learning about climate change mitigation. Supt. Young acknowledged that there is still a long way to go. Ms. Bailey asked if it is as simple as asking the question when ordering school buses and doing other planning. Mr. Goldman urged money to be spent on something that improves the situation. He suggested focusing new construction in transportation zones. He stressed that it goes beyond "better choices." Supt. Young asked if schools can be put in areas where there aren't major street crossings. Mr. Mittag said that schools need an intense curriculum regarding changes that can be made to keep the planet livable. He added that it could help mitigate the fear students have if the school curriculum can address the issues. One of those issues is students driving to school and how to get more students on buses. Dr. Childs said parents can't be forced to put their children on buses, and telling parents their kids can't drive is not the school's business. Mr. Mittag said the word is "encourage." Supt. Young said there is a lot to talk about including the use of volunteers to help create "safe routes to school." There was an effort to get public transportation in areas where there is none. That has to be a cooperative effort. Ms. Boyer said there is also the issue of students spending too much time on buses. Ms. Krasnow said there are also accessibility issues for some students with physical and other disabilities. 7. Other Business: Ms. Emery thanked Supt. Young for his many years of service and wished him well in his new venture. Supt. Young said it has been his pleasure to serve the community. Sen. Chittenden then moved to adjourn. Mr. Minier seconded. Motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 9:12 p.m. STEERING COMMITTEE 22 JUNE 2022 PAGE 8 rp/ City Council Clerk wcAke,u - School Board Clerk