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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 05/03/2021CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 3 May 2021, at 6:30 p.m., via Go to Meeting remote participation. MEMBERS PRESENT: H. Riehle, Chair; M. Emery, T. Barritt, Sen. T. Chittenden, M. Cota ALSO PRESENT: K. Dorn, City Manager; T. Hubbard, Deputy City Manager; A. Lafferty, City Attorney; I. Blanchard, Project Manager; J. Rabidoux, Director of Public Works; C. Holm, R. Gonda, M. Schaal, A. Crocker, P. Leonard, M. Murray, R. Greco, B. Sirvis, S. Dopp, J. Velevance, Wayne, K. Morrison, J. Kochman, F. MacDonald, K. Ryder, A. Anderson, K. Epstein, J. Louisos, C. Trombly, J. Shields, L. Yankowski, T. Woodard, B. Britt, D. Azaria, L. Kupferman, M. Sarfoadu, emille, M. Reale, M. Cross H. Gagne, L. Black-Plumeau, M. Larkspur, D. Leban, E. Goldman, B. Gagnon, S. Wyman, J. Nick, J. Bossange, J. Garup, M. Ostby, S. Dooley, B. Milizia, Penel, J. Stinnett, S. Goddard, P. Taylor, D. Bugbee, A. & A. Chalnick 1. Additions, deletions or changes in the order of Agenda items: Ms. Riehle asked to move item #13 to between #11 and #12 where it logically belongs. 2. Comments and Questions from the public not related to the Agenda: Ms. Bellevance spoke regarding the climate crisis and the need to create empathy for other living things. She said the biggest obstacle is hopelessness and the feeling that it is too late. She hoped the Council will have the courage to lead and to review all city issues as they relate to climate change. 3. Announcements and City Manager’s Report: Sen. Chittenden thanked the 30 volunteers who participated in the clean-up at the Shelburne Road Cemetery. Ms. Emery cited the success of Green-Up Day. Ms. Riehle participated as a “weed warrior” for removal of invasives and participated in Green- Up day. She also attended a meeting with Mr. Dorn, Ms. Emery, Lisa Bettinger and Sue Connelly regarding parallel justice. The possibility of a rental registry was part of that meeting, and she hoped the Council will take up that discussion. Mr. Dorn: City Hall, the City Clerk’s Office and the Library are now open, and it great to see everyone back. CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 PAGE 2 ARPA funds should arrive about 10 May along with rules for how those funds can be used. The Council will tour 180 Market Street this week. There will also be a special meeting on Thursday evening, mostly in executive session. Appraisal numbers will be published at the end of May. The City of Burlington has had some issues that they want to address differently. Lou Bresee has come up with a novel idea for Airport Parkway to reduce electrical costs. More will be heard about that. The MOU with the Cities of Burlington and Winooski was signed today. There is a rapidly changing story regarding TIFs in the State Legislature. It appears the city may not be able to change the boundaries of the TIF district. The appointment for CCRPC representative is up. Chris Shaw, who has been serving in that capacity, is interested in continuing. The Council should address this at its next meeting. Mr. Shaw has been elected Vice Chair. The City is doing a public service campaign reminding people to keep their dogs on leashes and to clean up after their pets. The situation has gotten out of control. The City is working to expedite the dog park but has encountered some wetland issues that are being addressed by the Army Corps of Engineers. 4. Consent Agenda: a. Approve and Sign Disbursements b. Award bids for annual paving contract and Kimball Avenue culvert project c. Designate and convey a burial plot at the City Cemetery on Shelburne Road Mr. Rabidoux noted that a conclusion was reached with the Town of Williston this morning regarding the culvert project. This will be on the agenda for their Selectboard tomorrow evening. The City is hoping for $360,000 in grants which would make this a ‘no-brainer” for Williston. Mr. Cota noted that if the project had to be re-bid, it would come in at higher numbers. CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 PAGE 3 Mr. Barritt moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Report and discussion on the Summit Employer’s Health Center/Captive Insurance Model: Ms. Holm reviewed the history and noted that the Center opened in July, which was good timing in light of the COVID pandemic. The aim of the Center is to address health employee health concerns and health costs. The Center is run by Marathon Health with insurance through CBA Blue. There are 3 other businesses partnering with the city. One additional partner is being sought. The Center focuses on primary car, prevention, disease management, occupational health, acute/urgent care, some lab work, and coaching for better health. Their records are accessible by the Medical Center. There is easy access to the Center with same-day appointments including COVID testing, at little to no cost to employees. The staff includes a Nurse Practitioner, Medical Assistant, and Mental Health Counselor. Review from staff have been very good. Ms. Holms showed a calendar of topics to be focused on during the years and a graph of visits from July of 2020 through March of 2021. The Center has seen at least 30 employees and or their spouses and children a month since the Center opened. This was a huge plus during the pandemic. The City gets a daily report to help manage people coming and going to and from the work site. 70 people have been seen which is helping to provide information on the type of care needed. 76% of those seen have chronic conditions and 75% of those people are receiving health coaching. Ms. Holm noted that since July 1, 2020, the total savings to the city has been $120,973.00 of which $60,00 is in redirected care. The cost of this service is about $40,000 a month. This coming July, there will be a “health care blue book” which will enable people to compare costs so they can choose where to go for a procedure. Mr. Barritt commented that it is sad that we haven’t figured out how to do this as a nation. 6. City Center Update and consider approval of the submittal of an application to the Vermont Bond Bank for the summer round: CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 PAGE 4 Ms. Blanchard said the Bond Bank has a call out to municipalities to fund capital projects. Since interest rates are very low and may start to climb, staff is recommending doing this now. An amount does not have to be determined at this time. The proposed bond would cover Garden Street and the remaining cost of 180 Market Street. Ms. Emery moved to approve submittal of an application to the Vermont Bond Bank for the summer bond pool. Sen. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously via a rollcall vote. 7. Public Hearing and possible Council action on extension of the Interim Zoning Bylaws: Mr. Barritt moved to open the public hearing. Sen. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Ms. Lafferty reviewed the history. Sen. Chittenden said he understands that 13 November is a hard deadline. Ms. Lafferty noted that if the new amendments to the Land Development Records are available before that date, Interim Zoning can be repealed. When the LDRs are warned, they will be in effect for 150 days or until approved. Ms. Louisos noted that the warning has to be by the City Council. Ms. Dooley and Mr. Gonda supported the extension of the IZ by-laws. Mr. Gonda praised the work of the Planning Commission but felt the results lack clarity. Sen. Chittenden moved close the public hearing. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Sen. Chittenden moved to extend Interim Zoning to 13 November 2021. Mr. Cota seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Council discussion and possible action related to qualification to serve on a South Burlington Board, Commission or Committee: Ms. Emery said she was contacted by Sandra Dooley who has researched housing and equity and how housing regulations have excluded certain people from a standard of living that others enjoy. This leads to inequity in education, etc. Ms. Emery noted there has been a question of whether minors and non-citizens can serve on city committees. She cited the importance of CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 PAGE 5 including youth who have a stake in the future of the community. She suggested possibly limiting the number to 2 students and 2 non-citizens so they would not be considered “token” members. They would be voting members but would not be able to attend executive sessions. A teacher felt this was a wonderful opportunity for students and would address the community service requirement. Ms. Riehle noted the possibility of students leaving to go away to college and suggested a one- year membership. Ms. Emery felt they should be full-fledged members with the same commitment. Mr. Cota agreed. Ms. Louisos noted there are specific references to committee membership on the DRB and Planning Commission in the City Charter and also in the Land Development Regulations. Sen. Chittenden said he would like the City Manager to weigh in on any concerns from staff’s point of view and possibly tweak the language. Ms. Greco noted that some years ago people were on committees “for life” and this discouraged others from applying. She also felt that appointees should commit to “doing what the city wanted.” Ms. Riehle suggested the DRB and possibly the Planning Commission be eliminated due to their specific regulations regarding membership. Mr. Dorn suggested that if the application form was changed from “are you a voter” to “are you a resident” it would cover what Ms. Emery is suggesting. Ms. Riehle felt the Resolution makes a statement, but she acknowledged that advertising could cover that. Ms. Murray noted that there are South Burlington students who are not residents of the city. Mr. Barritt said he preferred a limit of 2, not 2 students and 2 non-citizens. Mr. Cota and Sen. Chittenden agreed. Mr. Cota also did not want to increase the size of committees. Members agreed to continue the discussion at the next meeting. 9. City Council follow-up on Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission: Ms. Riehle said she spoke with the Commission Chair and they agreed the Council had said to get Chapters 10 and 12 done/approved and then move on to PUDs. Ms. Louios said that if the CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 PAGE 6 Council has comments during the public comment period regarding mapping, etc, it would be in the meeting packet. Mr. Cota said he still was not sure he wanted to do the environmental and PUD standards separately. He asked what would be most helpful to the Commission now. Ms. Louisos noted that the Open Space Committee work was “parcel-based” while the Commission’s work is “resource based.” If the Council wants to deal with the parcel-based information, that would be their work, not the Commission’s. She wanted that to be clear. Sen. Chittenden said that was a great point and important for the Council to consider when budgeting. 10. Interview with applicants for and appointments to City Committees, Boards and Commissions: The Council interviewed the following candidates for appointment to Committees, Boards and Commissions: 1. Jennifer Savas ……………………… Library Board of Trustees 2. Margaret Cross ……………………. Library Board of Trustees 3. Leslie Black-Plumeau …………… Affordable Housing Committee 4. Emily Krasnow ……………………. Affordable Housing Committee 5. Havalah Gagne …………………….. Bike-Ped Committee 6. Matty Larkspur …………………….. Bike-Ped Committee 7. Stephanie Wyman ………………… Development Review Board 8. Patricia Leonard ……………………. Development Review Board 9. John Bossange ………………………. Natural Resources Committee 10. Lisa Yankowski ………………………. Natural Resources Committee 11. Bernie Gagnon ………………………. Planning Commission 12. Andrew Chalnick ……………………. Energy Committee 13. Mary Jo Reale ………………………… Energy Committee 14. Steven Crowley ……………………… Energy Committee 11. Consider and possibly take action on a Resolution related to climate change: Ms. Emery noted the effort to reduce emissions by 90% by 2050 and said that “business as usual” won’t accomplish that. She felt there were some things in everyone’s reach. She cited CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 PAGE 7 the need to think morally about finding solutions for equity. She noted there are recommendations in the Comprehensive Plan related to climate change and cited the need to look at everything through the lens of climate change. Ms. Greco asked what is the city’s plan for not having “business as usual.” She said the obvious one is to stop destroying the environment. Ms. Leban said the city needs to place more emphasis on climate change in all of its decisions. Mr. Cota asked why Ms. Emery is not using the laws which are not goals but mandates. He said the City is charged by the State to come up with a climate change action plan, and the City has to comply in order not to be sued. He also cited action taken by the Council tonight that would have been in violation of the proposed Resolution. He noted that with the proposed Resolution, the city can’t have affordable housing. Ms. Emery said they would have to balance housing with transportation and not have housing that is only accessible by car. Mr. Barritt felt 10:30 p.m. was not the time to start this discussion, and he asked that it be tabled. Sen. Chittenden echoed this. He also said he had an issue with the word “morality.” He didn’t feel they can be legislating “morality.” He felt it made more sense to integrate Ms. Emery’s concerns with the law. Ms. Riehle agreed it was very late and also a very dense subject which the Council needs time to consider. She suggested the possibility of a “sustainability committee.” Ms. Murray felt that having a Resolution to use climate change as a filter was good in the short term. She added that everything will be affected by this crisis. Ms. Greco agreed and felt it should be considered at the next meeting, early on the agenda, and with committee members being invited to attend. Ms. Emery asked Council members to submit any proposed changes to her during the week. 12. Council discussion regarding the so-called Swift Street Extension: Ms. Riehle noted that the Planning Commission felt this was an important conversation to have and noted that it will require a change to the Official City Map. CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 PAGE 8 Ms. Louisos said this was discussed at the 13 April Planning Commission meeting. The Official City Map shows a road connection to Hinesburg Road which goes through some environmentally sensitive areas. The Commission decided to proceed with steps to remove the Swift St. Extension from the Official City Map but continue to show it as a path connection. The next step will be a draft change to the map and warning for a public hearing. The City Council would have to hold a public hearing as well. Mr. Cota asked whether that would occur before or concurrent with updates to the Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Louisos said the map in the Comprehensive Plan would have to be changed as well. Mr. Cota noted there are 2 other east-west corridors that haven’t been built: Cider Mill Road and Old Cross Road. He asked if there are changes proposed for that connectors. Ms. Louisos said not before there is an analysis done. Mr. Cota said the Council should get input from the Director of Public Works. Ms. Riehle added the Fire Chief as well. Ms. Borsellino, Ms. Crocker and Penel thanked the Council for considering this change. Sen. Chittenden said he was not opposed to the change. His only concern was that any developer on the other side would be responsible for building the bike/ped connection, not the City. Ms. Louisos said the Commission can make sure that is the case. 13. Possible reconsideration of vote taken by the Council taken on 19 April 2021 related to making a recommendation to the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission on their I-89 Corridor Study: Mr. Barritt said he understands the importance of both 12B and 13, and he was not backing down on his vote. Mr. Barritt then moved that the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission be redirected to study interchanges 13 and 12B. Sen. Chittenden said this is an advisory vote to keep options open. He felt it is important to keep 12B in the plan. CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 PAGE 9 Ms. Riehle said she felt the public didn’t get all the information from committees and had asked the chairs to share the conversations and conclusions that had occurred. Ms. Louisos said the Planning Commission unanimously supported the 13 single point diamond and continued study of a pedestrian crossing at Exit 14. Mr. Goddard of the Bike/Ped Committee said they also supported Exit 13. They had concerns with 12B as it is a complex region of the city on the edge of rural and commercial areas. They were also concerned with how much infrastructure the city would need to provide to handle traffic from 12B and didn’t feel Rt. 116 was set up to handle that amount of traffic. Mr. Goddard said if they learn new information about 12B, it would be something to consider in the future. Mr. Goldman of the Energy Committee said they felt the weighting and scores gave a false perspective and missed the point of comparing all the impacts. Their focus was more on bike/pd and public transit. In the end, they chose 13, but it was not a strong recommendation. Ms. Riehle read from the report of the Natural Resources Committee which supported 13 and 14 because of reduction of impervious and noise mitigation to existing neighborhoods and also better access to the Airport. Mr. Trombly of the Affordable Housing Committee said they wanted to bolster salaries for local workers and need an environment to create those jobs. They also understand that all development is not desirable. Ms. Emery read from the mission of the Economic Development Committee. Economics is tied to housing, quality of life, etc. and you can’t look at economics without the rest. Ms. Riehle said that the values for 13 and its closeness to 12B had led her to believe 13 was a better choice. Public comment included the following comments: Ms. Greco: 12B is a disaster to the environment at a huge economic cost and it caters to cars. Mr. Gonda: There are different ways of planning without encouraging more cars. CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 PAGE 10 Ms. Gagne: 12B does add some bike/ped infrastructure but not enough. 13 is better. 12B could be for “someday” but do 13 first. Ms. Sirvis: UVM announced today it is selling some property which could increase the demand in that area, so she supports 13. 12B destroys some open land. Mr. Dorn said he felt the Council should have a discussion with the School Board regarding 13 as the design would dump traffic in front of the Middle School and High School. He added that as City Manager, he is concerned with traffic stacking up in front of the Fire Station and delaying getting those vehicles out to respond to a call. Ms. Emery moved to table the discussion until the Council can meet with the School Board. Ms. Riehle seconded. Mr. Cota asked whether tabling would affect the time-line given by CCRPC. Mr. Dorn said CCRPC wants a decision the City will stand behind, as this had been a problem in the past. Ms. Emery said she felt they should hear from all stakeholders and that CCRPC would feel better if they got a firm decision on 17 May. Ms. Emery also noted she has a petition signed by 363 people opposing 12B. She noted there is on the Official City Map a service road north of Williston Road. She asked Mr. Baker if that had been taken into account, and he said it had not. Mr. Mittag said he felt the scoring was defective as it didn’t take into account the cost of land acquisition. In the vote that followed, the motion passed 3-2 with Sen. Chittenden and Mr. Cota opposing. Ms. Leban commented that she hoped the city would take up the issue of non-resident housing in the City and its effect on affordability. She said many condos in her neighborhood are not lived in much of the year. 14. Consider and possibly appoint Auditor for FY21: Mr. Hubbard said the 2020 audit has just been completed and the city is awaiting the pre-audit for 2021. There are still opening in the Finance Department and Management Team. His recommendation is to extend the Smith contract for one year for the 2021 audit and then go out to bid for FY 22 in the fall. CITY COUNCIL 3 MAY 2021 PAGE 11 Ms. Emery moved to extend the Smith contract for auditing services for one year for the 2021 audit and go to bid for the FY22 audit in the fall. Sen. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 15. Councilors’ Reports from Committee Assignments: Ms. Riehle: The Airport Commission: Canadian traffic is 17-20% of Airport traffic. They feel they are a year away from a “new norm,” but July and August are looking good. The noise monitoring grant offer was received. The Airport has hired a contractor. Three sites have been identified for monitors, and these have been approved by the FAA. They will monitor all flights. Ms. Emery noted that the Wing Commander informed her that the Guard has decided not to establish a “Restoration Advisory Board.” She felt this was a subject for Executive Session to get legal advice. Mr. Dorn said for that purpose, an Executive Session was appropriate. 16. Convene as Liquor Control Commission to consider the following: a. Duke’s Public House, Outside Consumption Permit Ms. Emery moved the Council reconvene as Liquor Control Commission. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Ms. Emery moved to approve the Outside Consumption Permit for Duke’s Public House as presented. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Sen. Chittenden moved to reconvene as City Council. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 17. Other Business: No other business was presented. As there was no further business, Mr. Barritt moved to adjourn. Sen. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 11:31 p.m.