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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 10/03/2022CITY COUNCIL 03 October 2022 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 03 October 2022, at 6:30 p.m., in the Auditorium, 180 Market Street, and by Go to Meeting remote participation. MEMBERS PRESENT: H. Riehle, Chair; M. Emery, T. Barritt, Sen. T. Chittenden ALSO PRESENT: J. Baker, City Manager; A. Bolduc, Deputy City Manager; C. McNeil, City Attorney; P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; T. DiPietro, Public Works Director; A. Cote, J. Oster, B. Fisher, J. Riley, G. Nelson, A. Janda, B. Milizia, M. J. Reale, E. Krasnow, C. Palopoli, A. Moore, R. Thomas, K. Ryder, L. Bresee, M. Murray, S. Crowley, D. Leban, E. Goldman, J. Leas, A. Adams, D. Peters, S. Srivivasen, Isaac, M. Needle, S. Dopp, D. Castrigano, J. Decker, C. Martin, B. Heiser, K. M. Forlie, M. Ostby 1. Instructions on exiting building in case of emergency and review of technology option: Ms. Baker provided instructions on emergency exit from the building and reviewed technology options. 2. Additions, deletions or changes in the order of Agenda items: No changes were made to the Agenda. 3. Comments and questions from the public not related to the agenda: Ms. Ostby spoke to the need to make the streets near the Middle and High School safer for students. She noted that State Statute allows school boards to have jurisdiction over speed limits in the school areas, but this is not allowed in South Burlington. Public Works people told her that since no studies have been done regarding safety near school streets, only the Council could make that a priority. She also noted that it has been just about a year since a student was severely injured, and she hoped the Council could make that a priority before that year is up. Ms. Emery noted that what got attention on White Street near Chamberlain School was a letter from the Principal which got it put on CCRPC’s agenda. Ms. Moore, the mother of the young man who was injured. She said her son is now minimally conscious and still requires full assistance and a feeding tube. Her son had been leaving a school event on his bicycle in an area where children cross the road all the time. She felt that better lighting could have prevented the accident and said the city should do everything in its power to keep children safe. CITY COUNCIL 3 OCTOBER 2022 PAGE 2 4. Announcements, Reports on Committee Assignments, and City Manager’s Report: Members reported on meetings and events they had attended. Ms. Baker: A suspect in last night’s homicide is in custody. The city is playing an active role in the new Violence Task Force. Mr. Goldman has offered to give a presentation of the Climate Action Plan to the leadership team. The Wheeler Park fence will be installed on 24 October. Public Works will then place stone at the entrance. Dorset Street paving will begin on 10 October. There will be public outreach explaining this work. The developer is adding a turn lane to the Hillside development midblock between Kimball Avenue and Hinesburg Road. The intersection will be signalized in the future. The Water Department is looking into the leak under UMall. The final design for the bike/ped bridge will be presented on 13 October, 6 p.m. at City Hall. The winners of the Halloween decoration contest will be announced on 28 October. The final design for City Center Park will be presented on 27 October. 5. Consent Agenda: a. Approve and Sign Disbursements b. Designate an Attorney to assist with any required tax sales c. Authorization of an expenditure of $9,915 from the Open Space Conservation Fund to support the conservation of 500 Cheesefactory Road d. Approve the Housing Trust Fund Committee’s recommendation to allocate $50,000 of Trust Fund dollars to the Summit at O’Brien Farm Apartments e. Approve an Impact Fee credit for 108 Williston Road CITY COUNCIL 3 OCTOBER 2022 PAGE 3 Ms. Emery moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 6. Receive a presentation from the Department of Public Works and Hoyle Tanner on upgrades needed to the Bartlett Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant and consider a Town Meeting Day bond vote: Mr. DiPietro said the recommendation is for a $34,000,000 upgrade consisting of 3 components: a. Upgrade of the facility b. Upgrade of wastewater infrastructure c. Upgrade of pump stations Ms. Oster then explained that Hoyle Tanner has been working with the plant for decades. She reviewed the history of the facility through the major upgrade in 1999 and showed a map indicating the service area of the plant. Equipment is now 23 years old, and upgrades are needed to meet new regulations. A 20-year evaluation was done in 2019, and that work was then expanded to a preliminary engineering study and recommended project. Ms. Oster showed a chart of the anticipated remaining life of existing equipment. Most are in the 2-5 year range. One component is already experiencing failure. She also showed photos of age-related needs and indicated corrosion, ceiling leakage and the poor condition of the sludge storage tank. She also showed pictures of the “headworks” which she said was an obsolete design. Screening is ineffective, and solids are making their way through and creating issues throughout the process. The UV disinfection system (1999) is no longer being supported by the manufacturer, and part replacement is at risk. Ms. Oster showed an existing site plan and indicated some structures that have been abandoned. She then showed the proposed site plan with a new headworks building and a section of outfall that would be replaced. There would also be a new sludge storage facility, paving, and a new fence. Ms. Riehle asked what will happen to the abandoned buildings. Ms. Oster said they will be properly demolished with the possibility of some reclaiming. CITY COUNCIL 3 OCTOBER 2022 PAGE 4 Mr. Barritt asked if there will be a cooker tank similar to Airport Parkway. Mr. DiPietro said it will not. Materials will be brought to Airport Parkway. Mr. Barritt noted that the fans there are very noisy. Ms. Oster said they will be sound enclosed with lower noise. Ms. Oster then reviewed the history of the Airport Parkway facility and noted that the last upgrade was in 2011. She explained how sludge is handled there after being trucked from Bartlett Bay. The city is being required to document a plan for volatile solids reduction. She showed that plan for solids handling improvement in the primary clarifier. She noted that all 3 tanks are needed for that process, so they will have to add a 4th clarifier which will not be in service unless one of the other 3 needs maintenance. Regarding pump stations, Ms. Oster said the city has 32 pump stations, 23 of which are in the Airport Parkway area and 9 in the Bartlett Bay area. She showed a map of those in the Bartlett Bay area and indicated the need for refurbishing. There have been failures at these facilities as they have exceeded their anticipated useful life. This creates a risk to a spill into Lake Champlain. They are looking to possibly combine 2 of the pump stations which would result in a cost savings. Ms. Oster then presented the anticipated costs as follows: Bartlett Bay Construction $21,151,000 Bartlett Bay solids 1,823,000 4 pump stations 4,456,000 Legal/administrative/permitting 132,000 TOTAL ………. $33,833,000 Available funding includes: a CWSRF planning loan of 50% of engineering services up to $100,000 per project per year; pollution control grants up to 10% of the project total cost, and reapplying for Congressional Directed Spending of up to $350,000. There are no ARPA funds for this project. Mr. DiPietro bond payments would begin a year after the project is complete. They are working on a rate study. $1,900,000 would result in a 6.75% rate increase for 4 years, about $71 a year for a rate payer. He showed a chart of local sewer fees, indicating that South Burlington is the lowest in the area. CITY COUNCIL 3 OCTOBER 2022 PAGE 5 Mr. DiPietro then reviewed the next steps including bond documents, public education/information, a March bond vote, construction in 2024-2026. Mr. DiPietro noted that having a bond vote helps with the securing of grants. Mr. Barritt asked what percentage of homes in the city is not served by the sewer system. Mr. Bolduc said about 100 homes. 7. Approve the Dorset Street Signals Contract and financing: Mr. DiPietro said the project involves the replacement and/or rehabilitation of 9 traffic signals on Dorset Street. He then reviewed the complexity of the bid structure as the bid included 11 alternative options (he showed the list of these). Sen. Chittenden noted there are other options including preemption for emergency vehicles which can also be used for buses. Mr. Barritt asked if signals will be coordinated. Mr. DiPietro said that is the eventual goal, to make them as coordinated as possible. Mr. DiPietro then showed the financial overview. There is a bid of $1,700,000. All alternatives would be $992,000. The city has a VTrans grant of $1,000,000 plus an allocation from the FY22 surplus. The bid must be awarded by 14 November 2022. Mr. DiPietro said they would like to award the contract with all the alternatives (Option 2). The City Council would have to allocate $1,228,595 of the FY22 surplus. The remainder would fall in the FY24 CIP for the San Remo/Aspen and Blue Mall intersection alternate additives. Mr. Barritt said the worst intersection is at Trader Joe’s. Market/Dorset is also problematic, even when there is no traffic. He liked Option 2. Sen. Chittenden agreed and noted that Dorset Street/Williston Road is the busiest intersection in the State. Ms. Ostby noted that people speed up when they have gotten past San Remo into the “dark” area between San Remo and Kennedy. Mr. DiPietro said lighting is not part of this scope of work. Ms. Emery asked if the Regional Planning Commission could take that on. Mr. Conner explained that each November the city gets a packet from the RPC asking for requests for the coming year. They then fund as much as they can. This year they are dealing with lighting on Kennedy Drive. Ms. Ostby asked they can just add some flashing cautionary lights. Mr. DiPietro said they can look into it. Mr. Barritt said he would like to see an analysis of that stretch of road to see where the problems are. CITY COUNCIL 3 OCTOBER 2022 PAGE 6 Ms. Emery then moved to approve the Dorset Street Signals Contract and financing with Alternative 2, as presented. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 8. Approve Resolution #2022-9A, an update to the “Resolution Establishing Speed Limits on Public Streets and Highways in the City of South Burlington” in order to create a School Zone on White Street: Mr. DiPietro explained that the creation of a “school zone” allows a lower speed limit and a means to enforce it. A study by the RPC found that the 85 percentile speed in the Chamberlain School area was 34 mph in the 25 mph zone. The resolution would reduce the speed limit to 20 mph during school delivery and pickup. It would include flashing lights on a timer. Equipment purchase would be in the FY24 CIP ($13,000) and would be installed by Public Works. There would also be new painting on the roadway. Ms. Riehle asked if the city were to get the High School and Middle School areas on the RPC list, would the recommendation be a lot different from this proposal. Mr. DiPietro said there should be an engineering study before that decision is made. Ms. Baker added that Dorset Street is very different from White Street, and decisions need to be made on appropriate studies. Mr. DiPietro said he was hoping to come back at budget time regarding such studies. Ms. Ostby asked if the $13,000 can be spent now as a temporary measure and then reuse the materials once the study is done. She felt this would be meaningful, if not perfect. Ms. Baker suggested putting it on a future agenda and look at the options. Ms. Emery moved to approve Resolution #2022-9A updating the “Resolution Establishing Speed Limits on Public Streets and Highways in the City of South Burlington.” Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 9. Discuss an ordinance to regulate fuels for heating and hot water in new construction and possibly warning a Public Hearing for 7 November at 7:00 p.m.: Mr. McNeill reviewed some changes to the draft the Council saw at the last meeting. These include extending the date of implementation, amending the definition of “multi-family,” accepting the suggestion of a 2-year waiver for multi-family and commercial construction, and removing the word “large” adding “industrial” to the 2-year waiver. CITY COUNCIL 3 OCTOBER 2022 PAGE 7 Mr. Barritt noted that today you can pay more for other fuels (e.g., methane) added to Vermont Gas. He asked if that would be an exemption. Mr. Conner said yes, that is a way of complying. Mr. Barritt then asked if people could pay the fee and still keep the gas heater because with so many people, the amount would be so small. He also wanted to know the percentage of renewable gas being used and whether the city can ask Vermont Gas to report when someone stops paying for renewable gas. Public comment was then solicited. Isaac questioned whether renewable natural gas is a good thing for the state. He felt it should be removed. Ms. Riehle said that could happen following the public hearing. Mr. McNeill said the Council needs to decide when this goes into effect. Members agreed on 15 February 2023. Mr. Barritt added an end date for the 2-year period of 14 February 2025. Ms. Emery moved to warn a public hearing on 7 November at 7:00 p.m. on the ordinance to regulate fuels for heating and hot water in new construction as amended at this meeting. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 10. Further discussion and possible adoption of the Climate Action Plan as recommended by the Climate Action Plan Task Force: Mr. Conner reviewed updates since the last presentation including improved graphic design. He noted that they “dug” a little into the Airport issue and communicated with the City of Burlington and the new Airport Manager Nick Longo. The Airport is doing a sustainability master plan regarding some direct and some indirect emissions. They are interested in collaborating with the city on this. Ms. Riehle noted that a number of people have expressed concern regarding Airport emissions and wanted the Council to delay adopting the Plan so they can make a case that commercial and military aircraft emissions should be part of the Plan. They also felt there was a lack of public engagement in the preparation of the Plan. Ms. Riehle noted the Task Force would like to have the plan adopted with the changes outlined by Mr. Conner. Ms. Emery said she tends to agree and feels the urgency to take action. She didn’t see it as a final step and felt the public should remain engaged. Mr. Mittag concurred and said they need approval so they can move to the implementation phase. CITY COUNCIL 3 OCTOBER 2022 PAGE 8 Mr. Leas felt implementation should happen but the plan shouldn’t be approved until the Airport is included. He said there hasn’t been a public hearing, and the public should have a chance to weigh in. He noted that other businesses in the city are owned by people who live out of town. Mr. Conner explained that the regulations regarding buildings apply to all buildings in South Burlington, including Airport buildings. It is only aviation that is not included. A vehicle that remains on private property is not accounted for. Isaac felt aviation emissions should be included in the inventory. He was also concerned with the targets being those from 2018 and said that the problem is now much worse than what the city is planning for. He felt they should not be working with old data. Mr. Goldman said that regarding the Airport, measurement is a challenge. He didn’t feel the scale is what has been cited. He agreed they should continue to look at this. Ms. Adams felt the new language makes things worse and is ignoring the largest green gas emitter. She said the Airport should be required to provide data regarding emissions. She felt the language lets the Airport off the hook. Sen. Chittenden supported the language. He noted there is an island in Lake Champlain that belongs to South Burlington, but they are not capturing emissions from that island. Ms. Decker was concerned that the Council was minimizing the concerns of the public regarding the Airport. She also felt the plan should be updated to have targets for 2030, not 2050. Ms. Riehle noted the report includes targets for both years. She was concerned that if the city delays in order to get something “perfect,” nothing will get done. She stressed that this will be a living document which can be changed over time as new ways to reach goals are developed. She also stressed that there was a public hearing, and it was attended by very few people. Ms. Emery said they have to look at what can collectively be done, and she felt this plan does that. She stressed that this is not the end point but an important first step. Ms. Riehle moved to adopt the plan with the additional language presented at this meeting. Mr. Barritt seconded. The motion passed 4-0. CITY COUNCIL 3 OCTOBER 2022 PAGE 9 11. Receive an update on the Conservation Easement at Wheeler Park and provide direction to staff: Mr. McNeill said the city has been working through the MOU and documents. Some issues have arisen. What has been indicated as “homestead area” has increased to 11.5 acres. The 21-acre “leg” acquired from JAM Golf should be included in the easement. There is concern with encroachments onto that land, and the question is whether additional steps should be taken to mark the boundary line. Mr. Heiser said the Land Trust wanted a title search because of the number of abutters on the east side. They don’t want to wade into future issues. They feel the need to mark the boundary to be sure it is accurate. Ms. Emery asked about the cost. Mr. Bolduc said Elsom Parkway was in the $15,000-20,000 range. What is asked for here would be on top of the $40,000 already known. Ms. Emery asked if it could be done in stages. Mr. Heiser said it would be more cost effective to do it all at once. They could try to find cost savings with whoever did the original survey. Mr. Mittag suggested that JAM Golf must have surveyed the land when they gave it to the city. Ms. Riehle said it was surveyed, but there are no markers which is what the Land Trust needs. Ms. Baker said it makes sense for the Council to vote on the additional acreage and the intent to mark the boundaries. Mr. McNeill said they can come back with a cost estimate on those 2 things. Members agreed with the added acreage. Sen. Chittenden asked if there are different kinds of easements that might work here. Mr. Heiser said the Land Trust needs to feel comfortable they can enforce an easement there. Ms. Dopp asked if there are encroachments by homeowners now. Mr. McNeill said that when they walked the property, there were 2 or 3 obvious encroachments (i.e., mowed lawns, fire pits) but no structures. 12. Other business: Members agreed on a schedule for the Councilors column in the other paper as follows: October: Mr. Cota November: Ms. Riehle December: Mr. Barritt CITY COUNCIL 3 OCTOBER 2022 PAGE 10 January: Sen. Chittenden February: Ms. Emery Mr. Barritt noted that his son has successfully defended his PhD thesis. As there was no further business to come before the Council Mr. Barritt moved to adjourn. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 10:16 p.m. /s/ Tim Barritt _________________________________ Clerk